[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-intelligence-king-of-chinese-entertainment":3,"chapter-the-intelligence-king-of-chinese-entertainment-the-intelligence-king-of-chinese-entertainment-chapter-44":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Intelligence King of Chinese Entertainment",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2260347,4411,"Chapter 44: Beijing","the-intelligence-king-of-chinese-entertainment-chapter-44",44,"\u003Cp>“Hu teacher, you’ve worked hard—let me treat you to dinner later.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t be so formal with me; be sure to show up.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After bidding farewell to Hu Qiang, Yan Li returned to the car and looked at Li Peng in the back seat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Director Li, shall we take a break, or head to the next school?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let’s rest a bit—I need to think over which few candidates are most suitable.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Peng rubbed his tired eyes; though the time spent had been short, seeing over a hundred students at once—observing, selecting, analyzing, and even conversing with those he found promising—had drained him. He was getting older, and truly couldn’t keep up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright, you said you wanted to taste authentic Beijing roast duck—I know a small place called Minfuju, great flavor—I’ll take you there.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yan Li didn’t drop Li Peng straight at the hotel; he wasn’t really here to run errands for him—he had to seize every chance to build ties.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was for Dong Xuan, and also for himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over these two days, he’d used the system to find out: Li Peng had come north from Taiwan to develop on the mainland, and found a backer—the Zhonglu Group!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhonglu Group was a company based in Shanghai, primarily focused on investment; last year, it acquired the famous Forever bicycle brand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides Forever bicycles, Zhonglu also acquired Shanghai’s Xie Jin Film Company, entering the film and television industry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Peng was a senior executive of the restructured Zhonglu Film Company, currently fully in charge of “A Mother’s Journey” \u002F “Snowflakes Goddess Dragon.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to Yan Li’s intelligence, Zhonglu Film Company had limited capital and wasn’t highly valued by its parent company, Zhonglu Group.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it was still a legitimate film company, and willing to invest in production—something Yan Li, right now, needed to cultivate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His channels were limited, his network thin—he’d rather swing at three trees for one date than miss a chance; who knew when it might come in handy?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Peng was quite respectful, or rather, after two dealings and having worked together, he greatly admired this young man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bold and decisive, strong in social skills, his words and actions were always well judged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Peng had even considered offering Yan Li a position as executive producer on “Snowflakes Goddess Dragon” to assist him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the shrewd, seasoned Li Peng could see Yan Li’s ambitions lay elsewhere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though the boy appeared eager to serve, he wasn’t merely fawning—he always left room, always held back, clearly confident in his own ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To be honest, Li Peng often felt Yan Li had figured him out, and held the upper hand in their interactions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such skill—and so young!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Peng had high hopes for Yan Li’s future; even if he never became a major figure, he’d surely carve out a place in the industry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If so, Li Peng considered whether to offer a favor while Yan Li was still rising.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, Dong Xuan’s qualifications were decent; granting her the role for Yan Li’s sake would earn him a big favor—and if this boy ever made it big, it would be worth far more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Peng hadn’t yet decided, but during dinner and conversation, he began deliberately showing warmth toward Yan Li.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the other actors in “A Mother’s Journey” hadn’t already been cast, and if the leads weren’t already tied to established names, Li Peng would’ve fought to get Yan Li a role himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It would be a favor—and a way to lure Yan Li into helping on set.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This old man’s really sneaky.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That night, Yan Li reviewed the day’s intelligence report, learned Li Peng’s thoughts, and muttered irritably.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he hadn’t considered this possibility himself—apparently, showing potential could attract investment support.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hmm, learned another trick!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>————\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the following days, Yan Li accompanied Li Peng to visit the Central Academy of Drama, the PLA Art Academy, and several other schools.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To Li Peng, he was a local kingpin in Beijing, with connections at every major art school.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To the schools, he was the executive producer of a legitimate production team, coming to scout students and help them rise to fame.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Playing both sides seemed easy, but it wasn’t so simple to pull off!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Yan Li had his intelligence system—he knew the audition rules at every school, which teachers loved helping students, which students enjoyed organizing such events, which could be bribed, which could be bribed themselves…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After this round of visits, Yan Li had genuinely built some connections across Beijing’s major art schools, and his lies had become truth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, if another production team came to recruit from art schools, Yan Li could confidently declare:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I own these schools!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the art schools settled, the Beijing talent agencies were even easier—he just had to make a call, and they’d rush over with files to recommend candidates.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Li Peng didn’t value Beijing drifters much; those with formal training were fine, but non-professionals were almost entirely ignored.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Several leads in “A Mother’s Journey” were non-professionals already; if the female lead were a complete newcomer, the director would be cursing just trying to train them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After reviewing and comparing everyone again, Li Peng still felt Dong Xuan was the best fit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Should’ve known not to go through all this trouble!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Peng, who had already been hesitating about building ties with Yan Li through this, now firmly decided—he invited Yan Li and gave him the good news.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yan Li had already known through the system, but still put on a look of shock and delight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Director Li, rest assured—Dong Xuan will perform excellently, you won’t be disappointed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Good. I trust my eye—and I trust yours.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Peng’s every word implied he was doing this for Yan Li’s sake, determined to cement the favor; Yan Li played along perfectly, saying he’d never forget it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No matter Li Peng’s private motives, he had indeed helped Yan Li and Dong Xuan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So Yan Li had to accept this favor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yan Li believed in repaying every kindness—if you help me, then someday when you need me, I’ll repay you.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, Yan Li didn’t forget to bring Dong Xuan along—ostensibly to thank Li Peng, actually to claim credit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dong Xuan was destined in future intelligence to be the female lead of “Snowflakes Goddess Dragon”; that’s why Yan Li had gone through so much trouble to intervene.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First, to ensure nothing went wrong; second, to scout for dangers in the production team; third, to impress Dong Xuan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d worked hard to secure her the female lead!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You can imagine how Dong Xuan felt—later, if Yan Li made even a small mistake, this alone would cut her anger by a third.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Peng, a seasoned veteran, had long seen through the chemistry between Yan Li and Dong Xuan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since he was giving a favor, he might as well give it fully—he lavished praise on Yan Li in front of Dong Xuan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How Yan Li had worked tirelessly to help Li Peng for her sake; how the real credit for her role belonged to Yan Li; how lucky the girl was to meet a man who’d go so far for her, and so on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Yan Li was slightly moved; Dong Xuan was even more so—her gaze, filled with tenderness and gratitude, could drown him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That night, when he returned home, Yan Li enjoyed royal treatment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dong Xuan was more tender than ever, fulfilling every one of his reasonable and unreasonable demands…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1249,"2026-06-19T16:16:52.605Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","e0616aeee4b7877c20b47f77d41235677065ae41587eea1bcea86d5e6ac86cd4","the-intelligence-king-of-chinese-entertainment-chapter-45","the-intelligence-king-of-chinese-entertainment-chapter-43",405,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-intelligence-king-of-chinese-entertainment-cover.jpg"]