Chapter 277

Yang Mi has been very happy lately.

"Wang Zhaojun" will be coming out in just a few months; if this drama performs well, it will greatly benefit her career.

At the same time, after persistent effort, Dong Xuan finally changed her attitude toward her, readmitted her, even began to value her, and introduced her to Yi'an.

Under Dong Xuan's care, Yi'an made a big move, directly assigning her the female lead role in a drama.

Although this drama had low investment, an average cast, and was not produced by Yi'an, it was still an official female lead role.

Moreover, besides this drama, she was also arranged a movie, "Contract Lover."

Of course, in the movie she wasn't the female lead, but the second female lead.

This movie stars Zhang Zhilin and Wang Ou; her role as the second female lead is to create drama and emotional turbulence between the leads.

One TV drama female lead plus one movie second female lead—under the clearly reduced output of Rongxinda in the past two years—this is a substantial gift.

Moreover, Dong Xuan hinted to her that this was merely an opportunity Yi'an gave her to prove herself; if she performed well, real resources would follow upon officially joining Yi'an.

Currently, Yi'an's top star, Fan Xiaopang, produces her own TV projects and focuses on high-quality films, so she doesn't compete directly with Yang Mi.

Wang Ou might pose some competition, but Yi'an alone oversees or participates in at least a dozen film and TV projects annually, with even more distributed or affiliated projects.

This is only film and TV resources; Yi'an also excels in artist packaging, commercial deals, and many other resources.

As long as you become popular and make money for the company, resources and work will never be lacking.

In Yan Li's words, Yi'an should ensure that artists complain about being tired—not that the company falls behind and drags them down.

For some artists, Yi'an's approach can be stressful, but for Yang Mi, she feels Yi'an is a company that truly helps artists grow.

In contrast, Rongxinda, after signing, offers only two or three projects per year, some of which are external productions.

Of course, this is partly because she's still in school and her fame is still weak.

But Rongxinda's various performances have still caused Yang Mi some anxiety.

How to put it? Last year, "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" gave her a brief rise in popularity, but aside from "Wang Zhaojun," the company never sustained that momentum.

Everyone knows it's best to become famous early, but if you rise fast and fade quickly, it's practically the same as never being famous at all.

Watching her early advantage over peers slowly vanish, Yang Mi couldn't help but feel uneasy.

In fact, Yang Mi isn't the only one at Rongxinda with ideas.

Since the top star, Zhou Young Master, left, Rongxinda's development has hit pause—and even regressed.

Over the past two years, their self-produced dramas have all performed mediocly, failing to replicate the success of "The Emperor in Han Dynasty" or "The Red Orange." Their lead director, Li Shaohong, went into film and received lukewarm feedback.

Never mind whether these projects lost money or affected company funds.

TV stations and distributors also play favorites; when one company's drama becomes popular, other projects benefit too; when one flops, it drags down others.

Rongxinda's poor drama performance has affected investment, distribution, and sales.

With top star Zhou Young Master gone, Chen Kun lacks the strength to carry dramas alone and is focused on moving into film; Li Shaohong's shift to film was also influenced by Chen Kun.

Under these circumstances, you can't force Chen Kun to bleed for the company, or you risk driving him away.

You can only build projects around Chen Kun, but whether they'll succeed and reverse the decline remains uncertain.

This has led Rongxinda to cut production, forcing its artists to scramble for external roles—outsiders might even think it's a pure talent agency.

But Rongxinda hasn't just sat idle.

Rumors say that due to irreconcilable conflicts between the director of "The New Dream of the Red Chamber," Hu Mei, and the investors, Li Shaohong may take over the project with Rongxinda.

Profit is one thing; more importantly, it's about reviving the company's reputation and cultivating new artists.

Honestly, these are the only two things Yang Mi still holds onto regarding Rongxinda.

One is that she debuted under Rongxinda and spent many years there—she still has some emotional attachment; the other is "The New Dream of the Red Chamber."

Even if they don't give her Baochai or Daiyu, giving her Wang Xifeng would be fine.

If Rongxinda treated Yang Mi like a top star and heavily supported her, she might still leave eventually—after all, Yi'an has a higher ceiling—but perhaps she'd delay it, fulfill her contract longer, and join Yi'an with more confidence.

She wants both!

Yang Mi isn't unaware of the risks involved, but compared to the benefits, she's willing to take the chance.

For the same reason, although Yang Mi was introduced to Yi'an by Dong Xuan, after accidentally meeting Qin Lan, she began thinking again about wanting both.

Yang Mi doesn't fully understand the relationship between Qin Lan and Yan Li.

Compared to others, Qin Lan and Yan Li have fewer obvious public connections.

Dong Xuan took her in, but because the time was short and out of respect for their teacher-student relationship, she didn't dare mention competing with Qin Lan for favor, and since her main goal was getting Yang Mi into Yi'an, she only hinted a few times about Fan Xiaopang.

But not fully understanding doesn't mean Yang Mi knows nothing.

In this regard, Yang Mi possesses maturity and shrewdness beyond her peers.

Although Qin Lan doesn't have the same visible ties to Yan Li as Fan, Dong, and others, she's close to Yi'an and has formed the Teddy Sisters Group; her circle isn't full of deaf or blind people, so rumors still circulate.

But rumors are mixed truth and falsehood; those without status or direct access can't grasp the real situation.

It's not that sleeping with Boss Yan gives you power to command Yi'an.

Having an affair with Yan Li and being half the boss of Yi'an are completely different things.

At this stage, at least two or three dozen female stars have been linked to Boss Yan, but only Fan Xiaopang is publicly recognized as having real power within Yi'an.

Dong Xuan and Qin Lan are known only within small circles or by those who've had direct contact with them.

For example, if Yang Mi hadn't accidentally connected with Dong Xuan, learned the truth, and personally witnessed Dong Xuan's influence, she wouldn't have believed a regular Beijing Film Academy teacher could wield such power.

Qin Lan, Yang Mi doesn't know well, but based on her personal analysis, Qin Lan has a relationship with Yan Li—and it's deep.

Especially certain incidents when Yang Mi encountered Qin Lan at Yi'an prove this point.

The head of Yi'an's film and TV department, the famous producer Wang Da, clearly treated Qin Lan with familiarity and even a touch of respect.

Later, when Qin Lan chatted with her, her words carried confidence in Yi'an's network and influence.

She had seen this same confidence in Dong Xuan.

So Yang Mi deduced that even if Qin Lan isn't as powerful as Fan Xiaopang or Dong Xuan, her strength is still considerable—otherwise, she couldn't have gathered the Teddy Sisters Group.

This discovery made Yang Mi consider getting closer to Qin Lan to gain some advantages.

But she wasn't sure about the relationship between Dong Xuan and Qin Lan, and didn't dare test it—what if they were enemies? How would she navigate that?

So Yang Mi decided to pretend to be clueless!

With Qin Lan, she wouldn't mention Dong Xuan at all—she'd simply claim to be drawn by Sister Lan's personal charm and wanted to be friends.

With Dong Xuan, she wouldn't mention Qin Lan either; after all, Dong Xuan never brought up Qin Lan, only warned her to be careful of Fan Xiaopang and Wang Ou—ignorance is no crime.

If she ever slipped up, she could say Qin Lan approached her first; if she gained benefits, she'd find a way to repay the favor—as long as she didn't betray either side, there'd still be room to maneuver.

Yang Mi weighed it in her mind: the risks were high, but there was room to operate.

Most importantly, if both Dong Xuan and Qin Lan supported her, the benefits would be huge; Fan Xiaopang and Wang Ou weren't easy to deal with, and without strong backing, she felt insecure.

Most importantly, if Dong Xuan and Qin Lan both supported her, it would benefit her greatly; Fan Xiaopang and Wang Ou were not to be trifled with, and without strong backing, she felt insecure.

"Tsk tsk, stepping on two boats—what guts."

Yan Li, reading the daily intelligence report, couldn't help but marvel at the boldness of today's young people climbing the ladder.

This little schemer's calculations might fool everyone—even herself—but they couldn't fool Yan Li.

Still, Yan Li had no intention of exposing her this time.

First, he wanted to see how far Yang Mi could go—just for entertainment.

Second, if she played it well, she'd be valuable to the company; if she messed up and stepped on two boats, Yan Li could use her to absorb heat and clear his own name.

Third, double-dealers aren't just Yang Mi.

Aside from a few like Guan Yue, Hu Siyan, and Liu Yun—who are diehard loyalists to one side—everyone else holds back.

Within Yi'an, most are seasoned veterans; they might lean slightly toward one side but remain smooth with everyone else.

Even those who clearly took sides rarely burn bridges completely; some even maintain contact, or even good relations.

Li Xiao, from the Teddy Sisters Group, actually has ties with Dong Xuan's side, but since she leans more toward the Teddy Sisters, she keeps it low-key and infrequent.

Li Lin and Yang Xue from the Seven Fairies have been mentioned multiple times; although they're close to Fan Xiaopang and Dong Xuan, they're also fine with others.

Even Sun Li and Deng Chao, who clearly favor Fan Xiaopang, won't foolishly offend Dong or Qin unless absolutely necessary.

This is normal human psychology: how they fight is between the parties involved.

Whispering behind the scenes or occasionally joining the chorus is fine, but no need to get too emotionally invested.

To put it bluntly, if Dong Xuan's people go all out to destroy Fan Xiaopang, Dong Xuan might be happy—but what does Yan Li think?

After all, they're both his women; he protects his own.

Dong Xuan has old feelings; Yan Li might not go too hard on her, but he still needs to vent and make some kind of statement—who would be the scapegoat?

So, aside from isolated figures like Hu Siyan and diehards like Guan Yue and Liu Yun, most are just trying to get by; taking a side doesn't mean cutting off all ties—or fighting to the death with the other side.

The world isn't black and white, and interpersonal relationships are even less so; you're in me, I'm in you—how can you draw such clear lines?

If Yang Mi truly has the ability, she might even get both Dong and Qin to support her.

Yan Li doesn't have much spare time to focus on Yang Mi—he's already swamped with company matters inside and out.

In early June, Yan Li flew to Shanghai to attend Tudou. om's Series B funding meeting.

As previously mentioned, after Google bought YouTube for $1. 5 billion, video websites became a hot new frontier in the internet industry.

According to incomplete statistics, over a hundred video websites are now fiercely competing, and the number keeps rising.

Many investors and venture capitalists have shown enormous enthusiasm, betting heavily on this industry.

Just in the first half of 2007, the entire industry was rumored to have raised nearly $100 million in funding—this massive capital flow is what keeps so many video websites active.

Under these conditions, the market value of leading websites has skyrocketed.

Take Tudou. om as an example; for this Series B funding, internal and external valuations likely reached $200–300 million.

Even Yan Li, who often complains about internet bubbles, couldn't help but scoff when he saw Tudou's figures.

Even though Yan Li had often criticized the internet bubble, he couldn't help but complain upon seeing the information from Tudou. om.

No wonder capital loves the internet—it's truly a money-making machine.

He invested in Tudou. om only a few years ago, and its valuation has multiplied many times over.

At a $250 million valuation, Yan Li's current stake of about 30% is worth 570 million RMB at today's exchange rate.

Just from these Tudou. om shares, Yan Li is guaranteed to make the Forbes list again.

Of course, valuation is valuation—whether the market accepts it depends on the B-round financing, which will take some time, and the shares will be diluted after financing.

But even so, this Tudou. om investment has been a huge win for Yan Li.

Yet Yan Li's interest in Tudou. om isn't just about making money—he has other plans.

This is evident from his active participation in the B-round financing discussions.

…

Tudou. om, conference room

After reviewing Tudou. om's reports, Yan Li frowned slightly.

Tudou. om's ambitions are large—their B-round financing target is at least $50 million.

At a $200–300 million valuation, Tudou. om would offer about 20–30% of its shares for this funding.

But the key question is whether the actual investing capital will accept such a valuation.

They'll surely try to drive the price down—if Tudou. om's valuation is pushed to $200 million or lower, its financing equity will exceed 30%.

The entry of shareholders at this level—even multiple ones—would greatly impact Tudou. om.

Beyond Tudou. om itself, Yan Li, as a shareholder, is deeply concerned with his personal interests.

Such as his equity stake, potential returns, and influence within Tudou. om.

Yan Li couldn't help but exchange a glance with Xiong, the boss of IDG.

In Tudou. om's financing rounds, Yan Li's YanYe Capital was the angel investor and followed in the A-round; IDG led the A-round.

Currently, Wang Wei's management team holds the largest stake, followed by YanYe Capital, then IDG, then other minor shareholders.

Notably, the combined stake of YanYe and IDG exceeds that of Wang Wei and the management team.

So with this large B-round, Yan Li has reason to suspect that Wang Wei and his team are bringing in new allied capital to balance his and IDG's influence.

After that day's meeting ended, Yan Li and the other shareholders attended Tudou. om's welcome banquet.

After dinner, Yan Li left first; soon after, at a private club in Shanghai, Boss Xiong arrived for their meeting.

"Boss Xiong, sorry to drag you out so late."

"Don't mention it—I've long wanted to talk more with you, Yan. Today's opportunity is rare; I'm delighted."

Boss Xiong of IDG is a towering figure in both investment and internet circles, having backed Sohu, Tencent, and Baidu—his track record is astonishing, his influence substantial.

It's said Boss Xiong noticed Tudou. om early on, but before he could act, Yan Li snatched it away, pouring heavy capital into the A-round.

Still, he holds no ill will toward Yan Li.

In investment, it's all about accepting the gamble—if you lack the guts, don't blame others for your failure.

In some ways, Boss Xiong even owes Yan Li a debt of gratitude.

Because Tudou. om's current success—even overtaking Youku to become the industry leader—wouldn't have been possible without Yan Li's various resources.