Chapter 341: Cheated on!?

"Huh?"

"She said it's because you gave her a good business idea, to open some chain hotels in Canada. She plans to do this business, to start a venture, so she asked the company for leave. Is that true?"

Chen Nuo remembered and frowned: "Yes, and then?"

"Then, she called me, saying she wants to do this well, and said she wants to take a break for a while, asking the company to pause all her activities. Although I also think she should indeed take a break, but when she said she plans to take a break for a year, I felt it was a bit strange."

A year?

Chen Nuo was quite surprised.

He did tell her about opening a shop in Canada.

But did it need a year to operate? Opening a company, hiring some people, at most asking her two parents who had nothing to do to help, a month should be enough, right?

A year? Was she immigrating?

And why didn't she call him, but called Qi Yuntian?

Or rather, why didn't she tell him after calling Qi Yuntian?

This was truly full of suspicious points.

Qi Yuntian said: "Hmm, you also feel it's incredible, right? So I'm a bit suspicious..."

Was I cheated on? Chen Nuo almost answered subconsciously.

Fortunately, Qi Yuntian hadn't thought that deeply yet. He also stopped in time, not making a fool of himself.

In Chen Nuo's complex and inexplicable gaze, Qi Yuntian said: "Could she have other thoughts? After all, she only has 5% of the shares in our company, and the promised dividends this year weren't distributed... I don't know if *Inception* will make or lose money in the end... That 50 million of hers, hmm, speaking of which, it's also a loan..."

Qi Yuntian rambled for a long time, actually suspecting whether Sister Bingbing wanted to set up her own business.

Chen Nuo thought Qi Yuntian's words also made sense.

This was also a possibility.

Anyway, either she wanted to fly solo, or she wanted to fly solo after cheating on him.

There was almost no third reason.

Because for Chen Nuo, this matter was really too strange.

Fan Fan Binbing was different from Liu Yifei. In his impression, before the tax evasion case broke out, this woman was almost on the headlines every day and had absolutely never taken such a long break.

Especially since Fan Fan Binbing's achievements in this life were clearly better than in the previous life.

Although she was eighth on the celebrity list.

But, truthfully speaking, from first to tenth, how much difference was there in terms of popularity? They were basically household names, okay.

Under these circumstances, not only was she not making money, but she wanted to take a break.

............... Gathering less and parting more, Sister Bingbing was also a 30-year-old person...

It really couldn't help but make Chen Nuo think too much.

But if he was really cheated on, what could he do?

When Sister Bingbing gave that 50 million, Chen Nuo really wanted to remember her favor for a lifetime.

If she had a new love and wanted to set up her own business, he couldn't say no, and it was even more impossible to go to court.

After thinking for a while, Chen Nuo said directly: "After I finish filming *Twilight*, I'll go see her and ask her in person."

Qi Yuntian said: "Okay."

Chen Nuo still felt uncomfortable, so to distract himself, he continued to look at the list.

At the 19th position, he saw a familiar name.

Between 18th-ranked Zhou Xun and 20th-ranked Zhao Wei,

was 19th-ranked Liu Yifei.

Income 13.8 million, ranking 61st.

But her media exposure ranked 8th, so combined, she became 19th. The comment after her name was: "Starred in *Under the Hawthorn Tree*, romance exposure sparked huge controversy."

After reading the domestic list, Chen Nuo clicked on a link left by a fan.

The international list in this link was the reason why many people congratulated him in the comment section.

He didn't know if Forbes' mainland and North American editors didn't communicate, which was why such a bug occurred.

In short, he, who ranked second in China, became the first Asian star to break into the top 30 of the global Forbes Celebrity List; Jackie Chan was only at 41st.

And he ranked 29th, squeezed between 28th-ranked LeBron James and 30th-ranked Brad Pitt.

Here, let alone his pitiful 22 million USD annual income.

Even if his invisible income was counted together, compared to those big celebrities who made hundreds of millions, it could only be considered a hair.

But for Chinese fans, this was already worth brushing congratulations and a bunch of congratulatory words under his Weibo.

After all, everyone knew that with the existence of the Great Firewall, many things were not communicated smoothly.

The Forbes Celebrity List could also be considered the data that could most intuitively feel someone's influence overseas.

In 2009, he ranked ahead of movie star Brad Pitt and 38th-ranked Tom Cruise, which definitely could explain some things.

"You were filming at the time, so I didn't tell you. Actually, many domestic media have reported it." Qi Yuntian looked at his phone screen and interjected, "Although this list changes a lot based on the year's works and news, it can be considered a bit of a gimmick."

Chen Nuo felt Qi Yuntian was right; indeed, these lists were all gimmicks.

It could even be said that they were all the carrots hanging in front of a donkey's head.

Just look at the comments in his latest Weibo post.

The top five most-liked comments were all talking about this.

"Nuo's Little Rocket: Global top 30!! Brother Nuo has saved face for the domestic entertainment industry!! Jay Chou's fans are too sour, hahahahaha. Waiting for *Twilight 3* to break the Hollywood box office again next year! (PS: Can you surpass Jackie Chan next year? 【Dog Head】)"

"Crazy for Nuo: Three European Best Actor awards + the only Asian seedling in the global top 30, some sour chickens from Taiwan are still talking about income? I vomited."

"The Flower Next Door: Am I the only one who thinks global rank 29 is too low?"

"Solo for Life: When other artists' fans are comparing China lists, the global list is the real class! What is a global artist? Please Jay Chou fans check the dictionary before hating 【Vomit】."

"Did Nuo Nuo announce it officially today: On the China list, the 19th-ranked fairy seems to rely entirely on rubbing your heat to get ahead 【Smile】, are you and Liu Yifei hyping or for real? Can you answer?"

From these awkward-to-death comments, one could tell that since these lists could exist and sweep the world, it showed they were effective and eye-catching enough.

Speaking of which,

he currently ranks second domestically, doesn't he want to rank first next year?

He ranks 29th globally, doesn't he want to rank 19th next year?

He hadn't really become an immortal.

The competitive spirit, from a 3-year-old toddler to an 85-year-old man, as long as one is a person, it's likely hard to escape.

It's just that some people can let go, and some can't.

The former can be the owner of the carrot, while the latter is the donkey.

He was just living a second life, having a bit of an owner's style.

Thinking of the word "Fan," Chen Nuo's mood, which was originally not bad, suddenly turned gloomy again.

After distracting himself for a long time, there was still a knot in his heart.

If it weren't for the fact that the guest he was waiting for had arrived, he might have made the call to ask for the truth.

When Peter Chan met Chen Nuo, the admiration he showed was at least 90% sincere.

"Nuo-zai, long time no see. Seeing you win an award in Berlin was truly my happiest day this year."

"Thank you, thank you Director Chan. Sit for a while, the other side will be here soon."

"It doesn't matter, I don't mind waiting; it's just right to chat with you."

Long time no see, the two were very warm.

They chatted for a while about *Inception*, which Chen Nuo had just finished, and chatted about the interesting things they met at the Golden Horse Awards. They also talked about this new film project that Peter Chan had been misled by investors about.

Hearing that Peter Chan had originally prepared three films—a Chinese fantasy blockbuster *Zhong Kui*, an action film, and the project discussed today—and had been busy for a year, but none of them started filming, made Chen Nuo feel inexplicably emotional.

The economic crisis these two years, honestly, was not easy. This was still Peter Chan, who made money on *The Warlords*. Last year, the number of domestic TV series starting filming, according to Boss Xu of Hengdian, hit a five-year low.

Lori Eisner didn't make the two wait long; basically, following the habits of American business people, she arrived right on time.

Although it had only been two days since she left Warner and joined Netflix, it seemed the new company gave her a really good treatment, making this blonde Barbie even more radiant. High heels plus a pencil skirt, she walked with a breeze.

When Peter Chan stood up, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart again.

Who could have thought that a young handsome guy who was brought to his company by a teacher to audition could reach this point today? In just a few years, he could actually bridge the gap between him and Hollywood capital.

Chen Nuo didn't think so much.

On one side, Lori said that after joining Netflix, she planned to start from the second half of this year, looking for some directors to cooperate in producing some low-budget films to put on streaming media, including Asian directors, and asked him if there were any suitable projects.

On the other side, Peter Chan just happened to call him to talk about the new film.

So he simply bridged the line.

If it could be negotiated, he would invest some money.

If not... then it wouldn't be negotiated.

Both sides were very familiar acquaintances, so Chen Nuo wasn't polite. After sitting down, he even bantered with Lori for a few sentences, and then introduced in English: "Director, let me introduce you. This is the former president of Disney, the famous... okay, okay, don't look at me like that. Let me rephrase, the vice president of the famous American video rental company, Netflix, my good friend, Miss Lori Eisner."

"This is Director Peter Chan, one of the best directors in Hong Kong, and also the first director in the world to let me act in a commercial film. Similarly, he is also my good friend."

Lori Eisner smiled: "Hello, Director Chan, nice to meet you."

"Hello." Peter Chan reached out and shook hands with Lori.

Afterwards, the parties took their seats. After the initial warm-up greetings, when Peter Chan started talking about his new film concept, Chen Nuo spoke very little.

*Jack the Ripper on Queen's Road*.

This was the new film Peter Chan came to pull investment for.

Although he had never heard of it in his previous life, Chen Nuo had heard Peter Chan talk about some concepts on the phone before.

Chen Nuo felt it sounded quite creative. Thriller, erotic, suspense, horror, and bizarre all in one, and very imaginative. It was exactly the type of genre Hong Kong cinema was best at. That was why he brought the director and script to the United States.

He did this also because the director had definitely been reciprocal to him. Not to mention the previous friendship, just the film *Bodyguards and Assassins*, invested by the Renren Film Company founded by the director, Huang Jianxin, and Bona—Fan Fan Binbing being able to be the female lead in it was definitely giving him a lot of face.

Now that it was a matter of convenience, he naturally wouldn't refuse.

The few didn't chat for long, because Chen Nuo had to catch a flight to Universal City, California, today to talk to Summit Entertainment about the contract for the final *Twilight* film, *The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn*.

So at noon, everyone had lunch together, and after Peter Chan and Lori exchanged phone numbers, they parted ways.

When parting, Lori Eisner said she was quite optimistic and would contact Peter Chan in three days, and then she left gracefully with her secretary, leaving behind a breeze of fragrance.

Left with Peter Chan, the long-haired one, he hugged him for a long time when saying goodbye, urging him to call when he returned to China.

At the headquarters of Summit Entertainment, Chen Nuo, visiting for the first time, received a quite warm welcome, no less than the welcome Zhang Yimou and Liu Yifei received at the Chengtian Cinema in Chengdu a month ago.

Although Summit Entertainment signed a contract that was a bit of a loss, they definitely ate meat.

This time, not only did they arrange a Rolls-Royce Phantom for the airport pickup, but CEO Rob Friedman also personally led a dozen company executives to welcome him at the entrance.

Afterwards, after the two sides talked preliminarily for an hour or two, they had a preliminary communication about the contract.

Then, Summit Entertainment, as the host, also prepared to arrange a dinner.

But Chen Nuo declined.

Returning to the hotel, he talked for over an hour with the few American lawyers he brought and Qi Yuntian, and then everyone rested.

Chen Nuo checked the time and made a call to China.

After a few rings, Liu Yifei picked up the phone.

But she clearly hadn't woken up yet, asking groggily: "Who?"

Chen Nuo was a bit embarrassed, hmm-ed and said: "It's me."

"Waaaah!!!!"

After two seconds of silence, Liu Yifei suddenly burst into tears.

In this crying, there was a grievance that had been accumulated for who knows how long; it sounded truly heartbreaking.

Even though Chen Nuo was battle-hardened, he couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed for a moment.

It was just that he was a bit harsh in the last call when he told her not to contact him, and later she called a few times and he didn't pick up, hanging up directly; was it necessary?

Liu Yifei cried for probably two or three minutes before her voice slowly quieted down, sobbing: "I swore I wouldn't pick up your call, but you took advantage of me being groggy while sleeping... Otherwise, I wouldn't care about you."

Chen Nuo laughed: "How is that possible? You are so kind, generous, and broad-minded that even if you weren't sleeping, you would definitely pick up my call. I know, don't try to lie to me."

It must be said that this kind of roundabout, seemingly disparaging but actually praising way of the "scumbag" Chen, the innocent and kind Qianqian really couldn't handle. With just this one sentence, she suddenly had a hint of breaking into laughter through tears, snorted, hiccuped, and said: "You, you stop trying to make me happy. I had already decided not to care about you."

"Thoughts change, right? Especially since I heard that the smarter people are, the faster their thoughts change. Since you are so smart, you must have changed long ago, right?"

"You you you... I didn't change!"

"Hahahaha, alright, let me tell you something serious."

Chen Nuo knew the timing was about right.

When coaxing girls, remember not to just play with words. Saying one or two sentences is called humor, but saying more will make the other person feel like they are in a disadvantageous position and that you are slick.

At this time, you can appropriately change the topic and distract them, and the matter will be about over.

Moreover, one of the purposes of his call was indeed to ask something very important.

"Have you been in contact with Sister Bingbing recently?"

Perhaps hearing that Chen Nuo's voice was very serious, Liu Yifei didn't make a fuss anymore, thought for a moment, and said: "I called once last week. What's wrong?"

"Did you ask where she is, and if there's anything different about her from usual?"

"She's in Canada, saying she's preparing to start a business there, opening a few hotels. Is there anything different from usual... hmm, it seems so."

Chen Nuo's heart tightened, and he asked: "What's different?"

Liu Yifei said: "She hung up after saying a few words to me, looking very busy. And, for more than half a month, she always said she had things to do and was very busy, and hadn't texted me much."

Saying this, Qianqian felt a bit aggrieved again, with a crying tone: "... You, you two haven't cared about me recently."

Chen Nuo's heart felt a bit cold at this moment, heavy, and he couldn't help but turn to look in the mirror. He didn't know if it was the lighting, but he really felt a bit green on his head.

He didn't want to play with words anymore and said very seriously: "*Inception* is a very important movie, I told you last time. I must fully commit to it. This movie isn't just my business; it relates to you, to Sister Bingbing, to Qi-da, and to our entire company. There's no telling how many people are waiting to see us make a fool of ourselves outside. If they see this movie lose money, many people might get up overnight to pop champagne. Tell me, can I not be serious?"

Liu Yifei said: "I know... I just..."

Her voice suddenly dropped. Fortunately, Chen Nuo's room was quiet enough to hear those faint words from the receiver: "I miss you so much."

Chen Nuo thought for a moment and said: "Then do you want to come to Vancouver? I'll be going there to film *Twilight*."

"Huh?" Liu Yifei's voice was suddenly surprised and happy, "But, but you, aren't you still filming?"

Hearing her so happy, Chen Nuo's mood lightened a bit.

Perhaps this is why scumbags and scumbag women prepare some spare tires. They can indeed provide some emotional value at certain times.

Although the relationship between Chen Nuo, Liu Yifei, and Fan Fan Binbing wasn't like that, saying it like this was actually a bit inappropriate, but it was about that meaning.

"*Twilight* is just *Twilight*, different from *Inception*; I can act with my eyes closed," Chen Nuo boasted.

Liu Yifei sounded happy now, "Okay! You said it. I, I'll call to book a ticket now!"

Chen Nuo said helplessly: "Wait, don't be so anxious, wait until I get there before you come."

The girl was a bit disappointed, "Huh? Then when is that?"

"In a few days. I'm still in the US, talking about the contract with the production side."

Liu Yifei's voice was soft, "Then, then hurry up."

"Okay!"

Liu Yifei finally laughed, looking very happy, "We can go see Sister Bingbing together then."

Chen Nuo said noncommittally: "We'll see the situation then. If Sister Bingbing is busy, then forget it."

Liu Yifei hmm-ed: "Indeed, starting a business is so busy. Chen Nuo, let me tell you, I also started a business during this time!"

Chen Nuo laughed: "Is that so? What did you do? Did you also open a hot pot restaurant like others?"

"Not at all." Liu Yifei laughed, "I opened an animation company."

"What? An animation company?"

"Yes, an animation company, right there in your Chengdu."

Chen Nuo didn't believe it at all, laughing: "What kind of animation? Doraemon or Hello Kitty, oh, is it that thing you like most, Chibi Maruko-chan?"

"What! Not at all! And what I like most is Minnie! Not Chibi Maruko-chan!" Liu Yifei said dissatisfiedly.

"Oh oh oh. Right, Minnie. I remember your pajamas are all this, right."

"Hehe, yes."

"So you started an animation company to draw Minnie for you?"

"No, not at all! Don't look down on people. Hmm, actually it's not just me alone, I'm just investing."

Wow, Liu Yifei actually knew how to invest. Chen Nuo laughed, "Awesome, Qianqian. How much did you invest?"

Liu Yifei said proudly: "One million, for 50%."

"One million?" To be honest, this number exceeded Chen Nuo's expectations, "Who is your partner? What do they do?"

Originally he thought Liu Yifei was just playing around.

However, 1 million was not a number to play around with.

And what Liu Yifei said next gave him more than 60% certainty that this woman had been deceived.

"It's the president of our union. This time I learned that his profession is animation. He's been doing it at home for several years, and recently made a short film, which is said to have won many awards, and will go to Germany to compete in the second half of the year. It just so happens that he's preparing to expand his scale and recruit people, and seems a bit short of money..."

You even believe netizens, Qianqian, oh Qianqian, you really haven't been beaten by society. Chen Nuo sneered and said: "So you volunteered, saying you wanted to buy shares."

"Yes. Sigh, actually there's another reason, which is that during the *Hawthorn Tree* roadshow, I found a few complimentary tickets to give to people in our union. As a result, the president was called up by the host to ask a question. He asked Director Zhang a question, and after Director Zhang answered him, I felt the president was a bit sad, looking a bit pitiful. Later I thought, anyway, I have money, so I might as well make some investment and start a business like Sister Bingbing. Hehe."

"What did he ask?"

"I forgot the specifics, it was probably him asking Director Zhang what he thought about making animation films in China, whether there was a future, etc."

"Then what did Zhang Yimou say, why did you sympathize with him?"

"Director Zhang talked for a long time, but the meaning was to advise him to change careers."

"... Oh. So you decided to do a good deed, right? Hehehehe, are you sure you weren't deceived?"

"Definitely not, I went to see the Watermelon Studio before, right there in your Chengdu High-tech Zone."

"What's the studio called?"

"Called Jiao Chocolate."

What chocolate, never heard of it.

Chen Nuo was now almost 100% sure that Liu Yifei had been scammed.

Not the kind of scam that's fraud, but a pit that tricks people into jumping in.

Chengdu's tertiary industry is developed, and there are many companies doing games, animation, and all sorts of things.

But as far as Chen Nuo knows, very few can make it. Basically, they open for three or four years and then go bankrupt.

Liu Yifei likely encountered this kind. That one million was basically thrown into the water.

He said in a bad tone: "Does your mother know about this? What did she say? Why didn't you tell me?"

Liu Yifei said dissatisfiedly: "I called you before, just wanting to discuss it with you. But you didn't pick up and hung up my phone directly! My mom, my mom doesn't know, I only told you."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 342 =====