Chapter 372

"President Yan is coming to Hangzhou—we'll sweep our floors clean to welcome him at Alibaba."

Jack Ma shook hands with Seeing Yan Li and left first; Seeing Yan Li then greeted several Huayi shareholders one by one.

The Wang brothers felt a bit off—this was their turf, these were their shareholders, yet it felt like Seeing Yan Li was the host.

"Manager Wang."

Seeing Yan Li called out; Wang Zhonglei instinctively replied, then hurried over with a beaming smile.

"President Yan, stay a bit longer—I've got a bottle of fine wine stashed away; let's find a quiet spot and savor it."

"No need for savoring—I've got other matters. Let's discuss today's business again; at least on Weibo, I'll definitely support Huayi."

Weibo thrives on buzz; Huayi's IPO involves many stars getting rich overnight, so Weibo will naturally ride this wave of traffic—it's also groundwork for Yi'an.

As for personally promoting Huayi, Seeing Yan Li didn't commit, but he didn't refuse either.

The meaning was simple: see how sincere Huayi is.

Wang Zhonglei understood—he wasn't afraid of giving Seeing Yan Li some advantage, only afraid Seeing Yan Li would suppress Huayi and refuse.

It seemed Seeing Yan Li's vision remained as broad as ever: seize territory, sure, but if there was a win-win opportunity to expand the whole industry's ceiling, he'd lend a hand.

"Tomorrow I'll send Zhonglei to visit you personally."

Huayi had very few things worth Yi'an's attention—perhaps just a few hot projects and a handful of top-tier artists.

If Huayi could gain some market momentum, it would be acceptable to moderately open and transfer some equity stakes to Yi'an.

In fact, Yi'an's involvement might even significantly boost the projects.

As always: in business, few ever form irreparable grudges.

Under any circumstance, making money comes first—today's fight is for profit, tomorrow's truce is for profit, fighting while negotiating is for profit on both sides.

Even if the two Wang brothers hated Seeing Yan Li in their hearts, if Seeing Yan Li could lift Huayi's stock to twenty billion, they'd kneel and kowtow to him without hesitation.

Likewise, if Huayi could help Seeing Yan Li earn a few billion, they'd become his closest brothers, speaking sweeter words to him than they did to Fan Xiaopang and the others.

After some polite small talk, Wang Zhonglei left; Li Bingbing sidled up: "You going home?"

"Uh, I promised I would."

Seeing Yan Li checked the time—it was late; Qin Lan was pregnant, so he'd better behave himself, though he wouldn't mind working overtime if he didn't have to.

"Alright then."

Li Bingbing looked disappointed; Seeing Yan Li noticed and quickly changed the subject: "How's the film 'Detective Dee: The Mystery of the Phantom Flame' coming along?"

"Not going well—it's stuck between the director and Chen Guofu."

"The Wind" is now just a step away from 300 million in box office; Li Bingbing, as Huayi's star shareholder, is at the perfect moment to be tied to a promotional push, and many inside Huayi support her.

But the director Xu Laoguai and producer Chen Guofu, having previously collaborated with Young Master Zhou, favor her more and back Zhou.

Especially Chen Guofu—Li Bingbing once suspected he had some connection with Young Master Zhou, stubbornly backing her; otherwise, the role would already be hers.

Another reason: this film is Huayi's attempt to retain Young Master Zhou.

If they give the role to Li Bingbing, Young Master Zhou—who has no equity stake—will become even more determined to leave Huayi.

"Understood. I'll mention it to them later."

Seeing Yan Li had no objection to adding another condition—he was used to it: taking Huayi's resources meant owing him favors.

He even asked if there were any roles suitable for Xu Qing and Huo Siyan; he'd help fight for them too.

Li Bingbing almost felt sorry for the two Wangs: "Show some decency."

"What's that talk? I'm promoting your Huayi artists—meat's still in the pot. Your Manager Wang should thank me for recommending talent."

Li Bingbing didn't want to talk to him, but still said: "There's a Wu Zetian role—apparently set for Liu Jialing, but Xu Qing could play it too."

"Perfect."

Seeing Yan Li gave an OK sign, chatted a bit more, then turned to find Xu Qing, who had been waiting nearby.

"Sister, about last time… never mind, I won't bring it up. Right now I don't have suitable resources, but Huayi has a movie—I'll fight with Manager Wang for you."

Some things must be done before speaking; others must be promised before being done.

Like now: promise something vaguely, don't lock it in—if you deliver, it's Seeing Yan Li's favor; if you fail, it's the Wang brothers neglecting their own; then Seeing Yan Li can offer another resource, and the effect will be better.

Hmm, Seeing Yan Li even felt a little evil himself!

Xu Qing was slightly surprised, but not because of the resources—because of Seeing Yan Li's thoughtfulness.

At her age, a comeback wouldn't mean much; her drive for career wasn't that strong.

She'd grown up in comfort, seen and experienced plenty; she didn't have much money, but never lacked, and her material desires were relatively low.

So for Xu Qing, throwing money or resources helped—but emotional value and emotional comfort mattered more; combining both yielded the best effect.

Giving you a resource versus fighting specifically for you to get that resource—superficially similar, but the meaning is entirely different.

Xu Qing's lingering resentment instantly dissipated; she leaned close to Seeing Yan Li's ear, gave him her usual address, and said she'd be home these next few days.

After they finished talking, Seeing Yan Li returned to the car; Huo Siyan was already waiting, eagerly asking.

"Brother-in-law, that Xu Qing…"

Seeing Yan Li pinched her lips with two fingers: "Don't ask. Don't say."

"Oh."

Huo Siyan nodded; she wasn't jealous—not really, though a little was true—but mostly curious about how they'd gotten together.

But Seeing Yan Li wouldn't say, and wouldn't let her ask; she had no choice but to bring up something else.

"Brother-in-law, Gan Wei has been pretty active lately."

Seeing Yan Li shifted, lying back on Huo Siyan's lap: "How so?"

Huo Siyan expertly massaged his head, then explained.

"Before, our big sister-group gatherings were always organized by me and Lan Jie—she'd approve, I'd arrange, sometimes dragging Li Xiaolu to help."

"Now that Lan Jie is pregnant and goes out less, aside from visiting her at home, outside gatherings—except for birthdays and such—have basically stopped."

But starting in October, Gan Wei slowly began organizing gatherings for everyone.

At first, they were just small groups of two or three; I didn't pay much attention—big gatherings were hard to organize, people had varying levels of closeness, so small get-togethers were normal.

But gradually, I noticed Gan Wei's gathering frequency had become too high—she even held gatherings every day, which was clearly unusual.

Actually, gathering every day isn't impossible; close female friends often stick together daily, sometimes even living together.

But Gan Wei isn't that kind of person, and she's married—she has to spend much of her time with her husband.

So despite not acting, she's sometimes harder to book than those top stars—you have to pay attention to her time, location, and the nature of the gathering.

Under these circumstances, Gan Wei suddenly organizing sister-group gatherings at such a high frequency clearly has ulterior motives.

Huo Siyan attended a few herself and asked Zhao Ke and Li Xiaolu, but found no abnormal behavior from Gan Wei.

But Gan Wei kept taking the sister group out to eat, drink, and play, occasionally giving gifts—once you accept favors, you're obligated; once you eat someone's food, you're soft-spoken—Huo Siyan clearly felt Gan Wei's popularity and prestige within the group were rising daily.

"I suspect she's taking advantage of Lan Jie's unavailability, buying people's loyalty to seize power."

Huo Siyan stated her judgment; Seeing Yan Li asked: "What's her goal in seizing power?"

"For her husband's LeTV."

Clearly, Huo Siyan had done private research: "Her husband's LeTV is investing in movies and launching LeTV. com—it definitely needs celebrities to drive traffic. Our Teddy Sister Group has decent fame and can be used by them as a couple."

When Weibo was first launched, Huo Siyan led the Teddy Sister Group into the fray; she understood how celebrities could drive internet traffic.

"Good, your level has improved."

Seeing Yan Li praised her; though Huo Siyan was somewhat irresponsible, fond of comfort and vanity, her mind was often sharp.

Gan Wei's small moves immediately alerted her, and combining them with LeTV's situation, she made accurate judgments—most people couldn't manage that.

"What should we do now? Should I find a way to kick Gan Wei out?"

Huo Siyan certainly didn't want the Teddy Sister Group taken over by Gan Wei.

Qin Lan now had a child; the Teddy Sister Group's importance had declined, yet Huo Siyan still needed it to bolster her own status.

"Just keep watching—I have my own plans."

Jia Boss and Gan Wei's schemes, Seeing Yan Li had long been aware of—even deliberately tolerated them.

LeTV has money and power; there will always be celebrities willing to show support—even without the Teddy Sister Group, it would just be slightly more troublesome.

Better to let the Teddy Sister Group assist LeTV than let LeTV start fresh elsewhere; Seeing Yan Li could remain behind the scenes and take a share of the pie.

Huo Siyan didn't understand Seeing Yan Li's calculations and worried: "If we do nothing, I'm afraid everyone will be pulled over to LeTV?"

"No."

Seeing Yan Li shook his head: "Think for yourself—if you had no connection to me, faced with Gan Wei's overtures, would you pick a side, or avoid offending either side and please both?"

Huo Siyan paused, then said: "I'd definitely avoid offending either side and please both—even more so, I'd please you, because Yi'an + Weibo is stronger than LeTV and more useful for artists."

"Exactly. Even if I and LeTV weren't competitors, even if we clashed—when gods fight, what's it to you?"

"If they won't fully commit to me, why would they fully commit to LeTV?"

When Weibo was first launched, Seeing Yan Li had already realized most people were fickle—those who firmly chose a side were rare.

This was actually the right choice; putting yourself in their shoes, if Seeing Yan Li were one of these celebrities, he'd do the same.

Because of this, Seeing Yan Li viewed the matter with detachment.

As long as he was strong, his company was strong, loyalty would follow; the tide was with him—even those who sided with the other side could still serve him.

"Relax—as long as I'm here, you'll remain firmly the second-in-command of the Teddy Sister Group."

Seeing Yan Li teased; he understood Huo Siyan's mindset and didn't mind letting her wave his banner.

"Thank you, brother-in-law."

Huo Siyan kissed him, then whispered she'd recently bought many new toys and asked him to take a look.

Seeing Yan Li felt a headache—Qin Lan couldn't be left alone, Dong Xuan's marital dues couldn't be neglected, and one or two others kept tempting him.

His energy held up, but his time didn't!

……

Hua Yi had just gone public; everyone began paying more attention to total market cap, but soon, they started digging into how much each celebrity had earned.

After all, Hua Yi's market cap meant little to most people, but how much celebrities earned was different.

The former belonged to finance; the latter was gossip—people were genuinely curious about this.

This was also one reason Hua Yi gave shares to celebrities: to leverage their influence for positive feedback for the company.

In this Hua Yi IPO, the biggest earner was Feng Kuzi.

Although the original share count remained unchanged, new shares were issued during the IPO, diluting his stake to roughly 2%.

That meant the value of his current stock was nearly 200 million.

Feng Kuzi had been Hua Yi's first investor in the secondary offering; he bought original shares at an extremely low price—each share cost only a few jiao, totaling just a few million—and now his investment had multiplied dozens of times.

Similarly, Zhang Dahu, Li Bingbing, and Huang Xiaoming—all early participants with large original shareholdings—each now held stock worth over 100 million.

Dozens-of-times returns, four brand-new entertainment industry billionaires, plus a string of celebrity shareholders worth tens of millions.

These eye-catching super-stunts immediately ignited public opinion.

"The Stock God Has Descended: Huang Xiaoming Earns Hundreds of Millions, Becomes a Life Winner."

"Feng Xiaogang Admits: Never Expected to Earn So Much."

"The Quiet Big Winner: Li Bingbing's Net Worth Soars, Declines Interviews, Focuses on Work."

"Huo Siyan Reveals Her Investment Multiplied Dozens of Times, Jokes About Being Asked for Money by the Sister Group."

"…"

Countless related news stories kept emerging; entertainment and finance sections both rode this wave, and Weibo trending topics kept finding new ways to climb.

Many celebrities, for various reasons, were reluctant to flaunt their wealth—press releases were fine, but they refused interviews or gave only brief comments.

Only two cases were somewhat special.

One is Huang Xiaoming; although he rarely gives interviews, press releases about him are issued extremely frequently, hyping him up as an investment master and spinning wealth myths and so on.

The team probably wants to elevate him as an elite all-rounder—this persona is highly advantageous nowadays.

Moreover, Huayi needs an active celebrity shareholder to boost its visibility; Li Bingbing is likely to leave, Feng Kuzi lacks popularity, so Huang Xiaoming is the most suitable.

Another is Huo Siyan; this woman has no complex motives—she simply shows off her wealth, flaunting how much she made.

She's naturally a show-off; if she'd only made money herself, she might have been more restrained.

But everyone knows about this, and she's not the only one who made money—so it'd be strange if she held back.

Although Huayi's Two Wangs have little fondness for Huo Siyan, among Huayi's female artists who received original shares, either they're as low-key as Li Bingbing, or they're not as famous as Huo Siyan or didn't make as much.

For the company's sake, Huayi had to cooperate by issuing some press releases about Huo Siyan, positioning her as another star who became rich because of Huayi.

Huo Siyan has always been extravagant and vain, frequently posting on Weibo about luxury brands or gatherings with her friends at upscale venues, giving everyone the impression that she's wealthy.

Now that she's made a huge profit, she's showing off herself, and Huayi is promoting her further—making her the representative of wealthy female stars.

Hmm, although Huo Siyan's title as a wealthy woman is somewhat hollow.

But setting aside gold-diggers like the Four Dan and Two Bing, or those from wealthy families or married into wealthy ones, most female stars really don't have as much money as she does.

Even those who married into wealthy families may not be worth as much as she is, since marrying into a wealthy family doesn't mean you personally have money.

Although Huo Siyan loves spending, she's not foolish enough to leave nothing behind; following Qin Lan's advice, she used part of her savings to buy property.

Property prices have been rising steadily these past two years—any purchase meant profit; her current assets—real estate, cash, and stocks—total close to thirty million, if not more.

In 2009, when being a millionaire still carried significant weight, she could barely pass as a minor wealthy woman.

As Seeing Yan Li and Jack Ma said, Huayi's success spurred multiple film and television companies, all wanting to become the next Huayi.

Companies like Hai Run, Hua Ce, and Ci Wen have all been rumored to be preparing for IPOs.

Meanwhile, stars have also been greatly encouraged, wanting to imitate Huang Xiaoming and Huo Siyan by making huge profits in the stock market.

At this point, Seeing Yan Li finally acted, pouring oil on the fire and making this trend burn even hotter.

Seeing Yan Li was invited to appear on the program "Lu Yu You Yue," primarily discussing how Huayi's IPO changed the film and television market.

"Lu Yu You Yue" had invited Seeing Yan Li multiple times before, but he'd missed each one for various reasons.

This time, Seeing Yan Li wanted to create momentum, and his reason for choosing "Lu Yu You Yue" was simple: the show is popular.

Many CCTV or media programs are deeper and more valuable, but they can't reach broad audiences.

The public doesn't want to hear overly highbrow topics; Lu Yu's interviews have countless talking points, but many questions are exactly what people want to know, so its ratings and spread crush all those so-called in-depth interviews.

Of course, there's currently another interview program even more popular than "Lu Yu You Yue"—"Kang Xi Lai Le."

This Taiwan-based program is currently one of the most popular variety shows in the country, especially online, where it's arguably number one and has become a fixed traffic point on Youku; its two hosts also rank among the top on Weibo in terms of followers.

But this program is too entertainment-focused to suit Seeing Yan Li's tone, so he chose "Lu Yu You Yue."

"Lu Yu You Yue" airs on Phoenix Satellite Television, but is recorded in Jingcheng.

Seeing Yan Li took an afternoon off to cooperate with Lu Yu for the episode; Phoenix Satellite Television rushed production and aired it just a few days later.

…

Chaoyang, a certain club

Gan Wei found an excuse to invite the Teddy Sisterhood and some friends over again for a gathering.

Huo Siyan and Li Xiaolu arrived together, surprised to see Jia Boss chatting with someone.

"Whoa, your old Jia's here today too?"

Among the Teddy Sisterhood's partners, Jia Boss is even more elusive than Seeing Yan Li.

Seeing Yan Li sometimes shows up to support them and can occasionally be seen at Qin Lan's place, but Jia Boss appears at their gatherings so rarely you can count his visits on one hand—and most of those times were clearly because of Seeing Yan Li.

"He's off today, helping me organize."

No matter what Gan Wei feels inside, she always presents a picture of deep affection with Jia Boss in public.

Among sisters in private, gossiping about men is perfectly normal—even Qin Lan has occasionally complained about Seeing Yan Li—but Gan Wei has never uttered a single negative word about Jia Boss.