Chapter 297

After the birthday banquet, they arranged to go to a karaoke private room in the city.

The conditions here in Hengdian are limited, so we have to make do; if it were Beijing, we could find other activities.

"President Yan, I toast you—happy birthday."

Wen Zhang, who attended the birthday banquet as a family member, came over to offer a drink; he and Ma Yili had come all the way from Beijing specifically to celebrate Yan Li's birthday.

He was at best a distant brother-in-law; Yan Li clinked glasses with him and chatted casually.

"I heard you're about to sign with Orange Sky?"

Wen Zhang nodded: "We're still discussing it."

Earlier, Ma Yili had officially signed with Orange Sky as one of their 【Five Warriors】, alongside Yuan Li, Hao Lei, Chen Xiaodong, and Wang Yan.

It's no surprise Yan Li looked down on Orange Sky—they bundled artists into gimmicky groups like "Four Dan and Two Bing," which was understandable as a marketing tactic.

But the groupings made no sense: no selling point, no hook, just forced pairings.

For instance, the so-called Five Warriors—Yan Li couldn't tell which five elements they represented; after checking, they claimed things like "fiery passion," "earthy depth," "sharp metallic energy," and so on.

You'd think they were assembling pop stars; if you didn't know, you'd swear it was a xianxia web novel.

Bundled marketing requires finding common ground.

If I were running it, I'd kick out Chen Xiaodong and replace him with Mei Ting—call them the Five Qingyi of Orange Sky or the Five Golden Flowers—either would be stronger than these Five Warriors.

Perhaps Orange Sky themselves knew it wasn't working, so they set up a rivalry with Huayi's Five Tigers.

The so-called Huayi Five Tigers were the five male artists Huayi signed this year: Huang Xiaoming, Feng Yuanzheng, Zhang Hanyu, Li Yixiang, and the last one—【Brocade Ma Chao】—was kept secret for over two months before being revealed as Li Zonghan.

All the hype actually relied entirely on Huang Xiaoming, the current rising star, to draw attention.

After months of back-and-forth, neither side generated as much buzz as the Four Big Ones' Baisha Charity Night, let alone the Four Dan and Two Bing.

Realizing it was pointless, Huayi withdrew on their own.

Huang Xiaoming, the leader of the Five Tigers, broke away from the group and, bearing the title of Huayi's top male artist, mingled with the other top stars.

With no rival to compete against, Orange Sky's Five Warriors became even more awkward—none of the artists even wanted to include that title in their press releases.

Still, Orange Sky didn't seem ready to give up; they were planning another new group of post-80s rising stars called the Seven Princesses of Orange Sky.

It's hard not to suspect they're trying to ride the coattails of 【The Seven Fairies of Joy and Happiness】, especially since these seven women are all well-known actresses in the industry now.

Although Orange Sky had plenty of gimmicks, it was still the most suitable company for Wen Zhang to sign with.

His good brother Tong Dawei and his girlfriend were already there—he could be looked after and form a certain alliance.

Wen Zhang wasn't sure what Yan Li meant by that—did Yian also want to sign him?

That would truly be a hard choice!

Sure, Orange Sky had people looking out for him, but their internal resources were limited; artists often had to take outside roles and relied on personal connections to secure them—otherwise, Ma Yili and the others wouldn't have gone out of their way to get close to Qin Lan.

Yian was completely different: rich in both internal and external resources, with a bright future.

The outside world called them the Four Giants: Huayi, Yian, Hai Run, and Orange Sky.

In reality, Orange Sky was the most hollow of the giants.

They had money, but it was all poured into 【Red Cliff】 and plans to acquire Shaw Brothers; most of their business was artist management.

Hai Run was strong, but focused almost entirely on TV dramas; their film achievements were negligible.

So in many people's minds, Huayi and Yian were the only true all-around giants.

Huayi had deeper overall strength; Yian's edge lay in its potential and standout strengths in specific areas.

Especially since Yan Li personally owned 【Yian Cinemas】, which added major value to Yian.

If Yian and Yian Cinemas merged, even without outstanding film production or distribution, they'd still force Huayi to tread carefully.

A real, billion-yuan investment in physical theaters couldn't be compared to lightweight film companies.

So if Yan Li personally recruited him, Wen Zhang truly considered abandoning Orange Sky for Yian.

After all, Orange Sky still had his girlfriend and his good brother looking out for him—any good opportunity would still include him.

But soon he realized Yan Li had no such intention—it was just idle chatter—and he left, disappointed after raising his glass.

Yan Li watched Wen Zhang's retreating back and shook his head inwardly.

Wen Zhang had talent in acting, but his image didn't fit, and he lacked a unique advantage over Yian's other male artists.

In short, most of the roles he could play could be handled just as well by Yian's existing male stars.

For unsuitable roles, Yan Li could assign them to close associates like Tong Dawei, Nie Yuan, or Wu Yue.

Wen Zhang lacked competitiveness and connections, so naturally, Yan Li didn't favor or value him.

Of course, Wen Zhang could break through this barrier—if he became famous.

If he could generate real value, if he could make money, Yan Li would take notice.

Yan Li remembered old ties, but in business, he was pragmatic: if you made him money, he'd value you.

Under equal conditions, relationships came first; but if someone could make more money, that person became top priority.

As for Fan Xiao Fan, no need to mention him—Deng Chao was heavily promoted, even outperforming Zhou Yiwei and others, because Yan Li saw his value.

If Deng Chao demonstrated his worth and repaid Yan Li's investment, his position as top male artist would be unshakable; if he didn't, he'd eventually have to step down.

In the entertainment industry, fame meant everything; not being famous was a sin!

Of the Teddy Sisters' group, only Ma Yili brought a family member; the others either had none, no time, or weren't suitable—everyone came alone.

Several of them took turns toasting Yan Li, their brother-in-law; by normal logic, he should have favored Hu, Li, or Liu Yun—those who were popular or close to him.

But no one expected Yan Li to talk the most with Gan Wei, the younger sister.

"What's your husband Jia up to? Haven't seen him in ages—let's get together sometime."

Though he had no intention of getting entangled with LeTV, he still needed to maintain private contact.

Boss Jia was a great conversationalist—easy to talk to—and LeTV was at least a half-rival; meeting him could yield useful intelligence and even inspire ideas.

That's also why Yan Li sometimes liked meeting with the Wang brothers from Huayi.

If he was lucky, he'd uncover Huayi's dirty laundry—many Huayi executives knew less about their own company's secrets than Yan Li did.

If Yan Li chose to, Huayi would have to hunt for moles every single day!

Gan Wei was surprised by Yan Li's familiarity with Boss Jia—she recalled Boss Jia hadn't met Yan Li more than a few times.

But she wasn't foolish; she quickly replied: "Boss Jia often mentions you, Brother-in-law. He was supposed to be on a business trip this time—he'd have come if he could."

"Exactly! I heard LeTV is planning to enter the film industry. With your relationship to Qin Lan, we could exchange resources—maybe even find collaboration opportunities."

Yan Li smiled warmly, but Gan Wei was confused—she'd only heard Boss Jia mention this plan twice, so how did Yan Li know?

Others, overhearing their conversation, turned their gazes toward Gan Wei.

Gan Wei's background, though she kept it low-key, was known within the Teddy Sisters—anyone joining couldn't hide it completely.

But to secure her place in the group and avoid trouble, Gan Wei rarely mentioned LeTV, and no one paid much attention to the obscure Boss Jia.

They only knew he had some wealth and treated Gan Wei well, which explained her generous spending—but no one knew exactly what industry he was in.

Mostly, Yan Li's spotlight was so bright and so closely tied to them that everyone's attention was fully absorbed by him.

Only when Yan Li showed special attention to Gan Wei and casually mentioned Boss Jia did many realize they'd underestimated the man behind this little sister.

Gan Wei became more popular; Hu Siyan, who was close to Yan Li, quietly pulled him aside to ask.

"Brother-in-law, who exactly is this Boss Jia?"

"He's in telecommunications and the internet—have you heard of LeTV? That's his."

Hu Siyan shook her head blankly; at this stage, there were hundreds of video websites, and except for the most famous few, others had little visibility—LeTV hadn't yet taken off, and many hadn't even heard of it.

Yan Li thought for a moment and rephrased: "He's probably worth over a hundred million."

He wasn't certain if Boss Jia's net worth had reached that yet—by company and asset value, it was far more, but the key wasn't necessarily Jia's own money.

Still, Jia's potential was clear—even if he wasn't worth it now, he would be soon.

Hearing this, Hu Siyan instantly understood—Little Nine (Gan Wei) had hooked a big fish.

It was 2007; a net worth over a hundred million was absolutely elite status.

Many popular stars hadn't even landed someone like that; Gan Wei, a minor actress, had clearly struck gold.

And more importantly, even Yan Li knew him and acted like they were on good terms—this meant he wasn't just any rich man, especially since he was apparently planning to enter film.

If he were an ordinary tycoon, even wealthy, he'd just be rich to these stars.

But if he were an insider, that wealth meant something entirely different.

Hu Siyan watched Gan Wei, who was now chatting with Xiong Naijin and Ma Yili, and suddenly felt her position as second-in-command of the Teddy Sisters was in jeopardy.

Hmm, maybe not.