Chapter 277

Yang Mi has been very happy lately.

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

Meanwhile, after relentless effort, Dong Xuan finally changed her attitude toward her, readmitted her, even began to value her, and recommended 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 ordinary cast, and was not produced by Yi'an, it was still a legitimate female lead role.

Moreover, besides this drama, they arranged for her a film, "Contract Lover."

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

This film stars Zhang Zhilin and Wang Ou; her role as the second female lead is to create turmoil and deepen the romantic tension between the leads.

One TV drama female lead plus one film 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, true integration into Yi'an would come with ample resources.

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

Wang Ou might pose some competition, but Yi'an alone produces or participates in no fewer than a dozen film and TV projects annually, with even more distributed and radiating projects.

This is only film and TV resources; artist packaging and commercial opportunities are also Yi'an's strong suits.

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

In Yan Laoban's words, Yi'an must ensure that only artists complain about being tired, never that the company lags behind and holds artists back.

For some artists, Yi'an's approach may bring pressure, 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 negligible.

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

How to put it? Last year, "The Return of the Condor Heroes" made her slightly famous, but aside from "Wang Zhaojun," the company never sustained her momentum.

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

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

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

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

Over the past two years, their self-produced dramas have all performed mediocly, failing to replicate the explosive success of "The Emperor in Han Dynasty" or "The Red Orange." Their flagship director, Li Shaohong, moved to 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 a company's drama flops, it drags down other projects.

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

With top star Zhou Young Master gone, top male star 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 reduce production, forcing its artists to scramble for external roles—outsiders might even mistake it for a pure talent agency.

Still, Rongxinda hasn't just sat idle.

Rumors suggest 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.

Indeed, 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.

By the same logic, although Yang Mi was introduced to Yi'an by Dong Xuan, after accidentally meeting Qin Lan, she once again began to crave both.

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

Compared to others, Qin Lan and Seeing Yan Li have fewer visible connections.

Although Dong Xuan took her in, because the time was short and out of respect for their teacher-student relationship, she didn't dare admit she was jealous of Qin Lan; moreover, her main goal was to get Yang Mi into Yi'an, so 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's relationship with Seeing Yan Li isn't as obvious as Fan's or Dong's, 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 these rumors are a mix of truth and falsehood; those without status or direct access cannot discern the truth.

It's not true that sleeping with Yan Laoban lets you rule Yi'an.

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

At this stage, at least twenty to thirty female stars have been linked to Yan Laoban in rumors, 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 limited 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 that 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 and Seeing Yan Li have a relationship—and it's deep.

Especially certain incidents when she met Qin Lan at Yi'an prove this point.

The head of Yi'an's film and TV department, the renowned 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 connections and influence.

This confidence, she had seen before in Dong Xuan.

So Yang Mi deduced that even if Qin Lan wasn't as strong as Fan Xiaopang and Dong Xuan, her power was still not to be underestimated—otherwise, she couldn't have gathered a Teddy Sisters Group.

This discovery made Yang Mi consider whether she should get closer to Qin Lan and seek some advantages.

But she wasn't sure how close Dong Xuan and Qin Lan really were, and didn't dare to 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 was simply drawn by Sister Lan's personal charm and wanted to make a friend.

With Dong Xuan, she wouldn't mention Qin Lan either—after all, Dong Xuan hadn't brought up Qin Lan to her, only warned her to watch out for Fan Xiaopang and Wang Ou; ignorance is no crime.

If she ever slipped up, it would be Qin Lan who approached her first; if she gained benefits, she could always 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 provoke, and without strong backing, she felt insecure.

…

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

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

This little vixen's scheme might fool everyone—even herself—but it couldn't fool Seeing Yan Li.

Still, Seeing 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 a valuable asset to the company; if she messed up and stepped on two boats, Seeing Yan Li could use her to draw fire and clean his own name.

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

Aside from a few like Guan Yue, Huo Siyan, and Liu Yun—who were diehard loyalists to their respective factions—everyone else held back.

Inside Yi'an Company, most were seasoned veterans; at most, they leaned toward one side, but remained smooth-talking toward everyone else.

Even those who clearly picked sides rarely burned bridges outright; some even maintained contact, or were quite friendly.

Li Xiaolu of the Teddy Sisters Group, for instance, had dealings with Dong Xuan's side too—though she favored the Teddy Sisters more, she kept it low-key and infrequent.

Li Lin and Yang Xue of the Seven Fairies had been mentioned multiple times before: though close to Fan Xiaopang and Dong Xuan, they got along well with others too.

And Sun Li and Deng Chao, who clearly leaned toward Fan Xiaopang—despite picking a side, they'd never be foolish enough to offend Dong or Qin unless absolutely necessary.

This was one of the normal mindsets: how they fought was up to the parties involved.

Whispering gossip privately, occasionally joining the crowd in cheering or shouting—fine; no need to get emotionally invested.

Even saying it bluntly: if Dong Xuan's people were trying to destroy Fan Xiaopang, maybe Dong Xuan was happy—but what did Seeing Yan Li think?

After all, she was Seeing Yan Li's woman—he protected his own.

Dong Xuan had old feelings; Seeing Yan Li might not want to go too hard on her—but he still needed to vent and make some kind of accounting. Who, then, would be the scapegoat?

So, aside from isolated figures like Huo Siyan and diehard loyalists like Guan Yue and Liu Yun, most were just trying to get by; picking a side didn'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 could you ever draw such clear lines?

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

Seeing Yan Li didn't have much spare attention to spare on Yang Mi—he was already swamped with matters inside and outside the company.

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

As previously mentioned, after Google bought YouTube for $1.65 billion, video websites became a hot new frontier in the internet industry.

According to incomplete statistics, over a hundred video websites were already locked in fierce combat, and the number kept rising.

Numerous capital firms and venture capitalists had thrown themselves into the industry with wild enthusiasm.

Just in the first half of 2007, the entire industry was rumored to have raised nearly a hundred million U. S. dollars—such massive capital fueled the activity of countless video websites.

Under these conditions, the market valuations of the industry's leading websites soared rapidly.

Take Tudou. com as an example: during this Series B round, internal and external valuations for Tudou. com were likely reaching $200–300 million.

Even Seeing Yan Li, who had repeatedly mocked the internet bubble, couldn't help but complain when he saw Tudou. com's figures.

No wonder capital loved the internet—it was damn good at making money.

He'd invested in Tudou. com only a few years ago, and now its valuation had multiplied dozens of times over.

At a $250 million valuation, Seeing Yan Li's 30% stake, at current exchange rates, was worth 570 million RMB.

Just from these Tudou. com shares, Seeing Yan Li was guaranteed a spot on the Forbes list.

Of course, valuation was valuation—whether the market accepted it depended on the Series B funding, which would take time, and the shares would be diluted after the round.

But even so, this Tudou. com investment was an enormous profit for Seeing Yan Li.

Still, Seeing Yan Li's interest in Tudou. com wasn't just about making money—he had other plans.

This was evident from his active participation in the Tudou. com Series B funding discussion.

…

Tudou. com, conference room

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

Tudou. com's ambitions were huge: their Series B funding target was at least $50 million.

At Tudou. com's $200–300 million valuation, the equity offered for this round would be roughly 20–30%.

But the real question was whether the investing capital would accept that valuation.

Investors would naturally try to drive the price down—if Tudou. com's valuation was pushed to $200 million or lower, the equity offered would exceed 30%.

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

Beyond Tudou. com itself, Seeing Yan Li, as a shareholder, was also deeply concerned about his personal interests.

Like his equity stake, his returns, and his influence within Tudou. com.

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

For Tudou. com's funding rounds, Seeing Yan Li's Yan Ye Capital had been the angel investor and followed in the Series A; IDG had led the Series A.

Currently, the management team led by Wang Wei holds the largest stake in Tudou. com, followed by Yan Ye Capital, then IDG, and then other minor shareholders.

Notably, the combined shares of Yan Ye Capital and IDG exceed those of Wang Wei and the management team.

So this large B-round funding makes Seeing Yan Li suspect that Wang Wei and his team might be bringing in new allied capital to balance against him and IDG.

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

After dinner, Seeing Yan Li left first; not long after, at a private club in Shanghai, Boss Xiong arrived for the appointment.

"Boss Xiong, sorry to have called you so late."

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

Boss Xiong of IDG is undoubtedly a towering figure in investment and internet circles, having invested in Sohu, Penguin, and Baidu, with an astonishing resume and considerable influence.

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

Yet he holds no ill will toward Seeing Yan Li.

In investment, one accepts the gamble and bears the loss; if you lack the boldness to win, don't blame others.

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

Because Tudou. com has reached its current position—even surpassing Youku as the industry leader—it owes much to Seeing Yan Li's various resources and support.