Be reborn and be happy to the fullest

Zhang Nianhua would only lament "bad luck," but would never truly be puzzled by his failures.

Because both he and Li Shuo understood that a bad teammate is worse than any god-like enemy. If Zhang Nianhua hadn't had Zhang Xiang as a huge burden, he wouldn't have ended up selling Century Huayue to Li Shuo at a bargain price.

Similarly, although "YunGuo" Film and Television is inconspicuous and has never received much attention, Fu Chengguo and Tang Yunyi have a super teammate like Li Shuo!
The single "The Disguiser" project transformed Yunguo Film & Television from a concept to a reality, while the addition of Wei Ni and Zheng Yingshan to the SHN project rewrote history, turning "SHN48" into "SHN12" and allowing them to debut ahead of schedule...

This is something for later, let’s not mention it for now.

Li Shuo's acquisition of Century Huayue was merely the starting point for his return to Lenghai. The next day, Li Shuo, accompanied by Yuan Ke and people from Shuoguo Culture, personally visited the headquarters of Century Huayue and signed a share transfer agreement with Zhang Nianhua.

With the addition of the "equity and debt swap agreement" signed yesterday by You Dongjie and Zhang Xiang, Li Shuo has become a major shareholder of Century Huayue.

世纪华悦股份构架变为：云果15%、李硕35%、游东杰（代持）5%、硕果文化5%、司嘉雯5%……

The shares held by Shuoguo Culture and Si Jiawen in the company were a hidden move left by Li Shuo before. This time, they were not used at all, but this is a necessary process in the acquisition of a company. Even a lion will use its full strength to hunt a rabbit.

Furthermore, having acquired absolute control of the shares, Li Shuo had established a one-man rule over Century Huayue. So, on the afternoon of the day he took control of Century Huayue, while the people who had come to attend the shareholders' meeting were still there, he called out the remaining minority shareholders and asked to have one-on-one private talks with them!

The minority shareholders trembled with fear, and then unanimously approached Han Renyi, the owner of Hualebao: Hualebao and Century Huayue held shares in each other. Although the former was small in scale, it still owned about 10% of Century Huayue's shares, making it the institution with the most shares among the remaining shareholders.

"Old Han, your son is so successful, he can just quit. What's there to be afraid of?"

"That's right. Even Li Shuo, who has such a big reputation in Lenghai, do you think he would dare to offend your son?"

The other two small shareholders who were on good terms with Han Renyi cheered him on. Of course, they were also sticking together for mutual support and encouraging themselves!
Han Renyi quickly said modestly, "My second son was just lucky, he happened to catch the wave of the times, how can he be compared to Young Master Li..."

"Haha, don't be modest, who doesn't know the name of Young Master Han!"

"Yeah, Li Shuo is also in the entertainment industry, how come he didn't become one of the Four Young Masters?"

"I heard that Li Shuo got scolded by Zhang Yi this time..."

"Huh? Isn't the guy Zhang Yi was spitting out the young man who just signed with Sony's agency?"

"You don't know? Rumor has it that our young master Li is actually X..."

Han Renyi wasn't particularly nervous at first, but after listening to the group's chatter, she inexplicably felt as if she had seriously offended her boss!

Just then, the new boss's beautiful secretary came out and gestured to him, saying, "Mr. Han from the *Huale Daily*, please come with me..."

Han Renyi took a deep breath, stood up, and followed the beautiful secretary into the chairman's office: This used to belong to Zhang Nianhua. The walls were still covered with many honors of Century Huayue, especially the regional honors of Lenghai, which covered the entire wall. Among them, Han Renyi also saw a photo of his son Han Er with Zhang Nianhua...

"After I took over Century Huayue, the first thing I heard was about President Han. I never expected that you could have trained such a talented young man as the Second Young Master Han. My apologies for not being more knowledgeable..."

Li Shuo stood up and extended his hand to Han Renyi. His words, though seemingly casual, carried a hint of genuine感慨 (gan3kai3, a complex emotion encompassing both admiration and regret). It seemed he'd been running into things related to the "Four Young Masters" one after another lately. He truly hadn't expected that Han Renyi, the founder of the *Huale Daily*, would have Han Er as his son!

Sensing Li Shuo's "sincerity," Han Renyi breathed a sigh of relief. He first thanked Li Shuo for the praise, then repeatedly said, "...Compared to Young Master Li, my son is far inferior. If you ask me, you are too young and promising. If you had been born in their era, Young Master Li would definitely be the head of the Four Young Masters..."

"Oh? Is that so? I think so too!"

"Ok?"

But Li Shuo nodded as if it were a matter of course and said, "I just don't know if President Han really thinks that way?"

Han Renyi was a little slow to keep up with Li Shuo's pace, and quickly nodded: "Of course, this is my true thought, I think..."

Before he could finish speaking, Li Shuo immediately interrupted, "If that's the case, what's the deal with the Huale Daily's commentary on X?"

"what?"

In an instant, a large bead of sweat appeared on Han Renyi's forehead: He had only just heard that Li Shuo was X, and this guy immediately brought up the relationship. Did he have to be so sensitive? Moreover, what was supposed to be "coming in to discuss the future development plan of Century Huayue"? Why was he getting hung up on such a trivial matter?

"Why isn't Mr. Han saying anything? Are you trying to tell me you don't know anything about this?"

"No, no, no... Yes, that's right, I really didn't think you were X before..."

The more Han Renyi stammered, the more urgent Li Shuo's questions became, and the greater the pressure he put on her.

He frowned and said in a deep voice, "It is or it isn't. If President Han thinks that the comments about X are right, then just admit it openly. If President Han thinks that the comments are wrong and didn't know I was artist X before, then just admit it now and apologize to me. Given our current relationship, what else can I do to President Han?"

These words left Han Renyi with no other choice. He quickly nodded and said with a wry smile, "Alright, it was indeed my intention to have Hualebao criticize X, because I really don't think X's remix of a song is anything special. Of course, I really didn't know that President Li was actually X before. I, Han, swear that if I had known this, even if Young Master Li hadn't taken over Century Huayue, I would never have let Hualebao publish such a critical article..."

"Because we are both from the Cold Sea Circle, we are on the same side, so naturally we must unite!"

Han Renyi may be telling the truth, but Li Shuo is determined to cause trouble, so he won't let it go so easily.

"Well, it's not too late to find out now. Mr. Han, why don't you have Hualebao draft an apology article and publish it on the front page tomorrow?"

"Ah? Young Master Li... But, a hasty apology would damage the reputation of Hualebao, which is now an asset of Century Huayue. Young Master Li, what do you think..."

"Bang!" Li Shuo slammed his hand on the table and stood up angrily, shouting, "Han Renyi! Have I been too lenient with you?"

Pointing a finger at Han Renyi's forehead, he said, "You said you didn't know I was X, and I believed you! You said you considered me one of your own, and I believed you too!"

"And what was the result? You wouldn't even let Huale News apologize and clear my name? I didn't even ask you, the founder of Huale News, the former head of Lenghai Culture Station, and the father of this great talent, to personally apologize!"

Every time Li Shuo mentioned a name related to Han Renyi, the flesh on his face would twitch, because each name put immense pressure on him. If he apologized to Li Shuo with these names attached, things would gradually change.

Just like in the capital, Li Shuo and Zhou Huanian's first conflict was solely because the final result was that they "split the cake equally." Afterwards, Zhou Huanian held a grudge about this and directly distanced himself from Yu Jianhai, the assistant director of "Palace," thus sowing the seeds for their eventual falling out...

It can be said that people in this circle value their reputation and image above all else. Even if they are really wrong, apologizing means admitting that they are inferior to others, and they will have no face to live in the cultural circle afterward!
"Young Master Li, you're too kind..."

On matters of principle, Han Renyi could not back down, but as soon as he opened his mouth, Li Shuo immediately said:
"Alright, so Mr. Han thinks I'm in the wrong? In that case, how about I invest in acquiring the remaining shares of Century Huayue from Mr. Han, and we'll keep to ourselves and not interfere with each other from now on?"

This is actually a good idea, and it was Han In-ye's bottom line before she came in.

Of course, on the surface, he still had to say a few words of "humility": "Well, Mr. Li, that's not what I meant. I still want to cooperate with you..."

The next moment, Li Shuo sneered, "Of course you need to cooperate with me!"

"First, you entered the Century Huayue board of directors through a share swap based on your shareholding in Hualebao. Therefore, if Century Huayue reassesses the value of Hualebao, you may end up with nothing!"

"Secondly, the Cold Sea Circle is very small. The former President Han was, after all, a highly respected senior figure in the arts and culture world. You don't want to run into walls everywhere in your own circle in the future, do you? You know I have that ability!"

"Thirdly, Lengyi and Lengwen are all closely related to us cultural figures, especially Lengwen Publishing House. As far as I know, it has collaborated with your son quite a bit..."

Pointing out each issue one by one, Han Renyi's expression turned ashen. He had been naive, but now, after Li Shuo's comment, he realized that withdrawing his investment would be tantamount to breaking ties with Li Shuo. In Leng Hai's small circle, who didn't know that Li Shuo was already showing signs of becoming the boss? Anyone who broke ties with him would find it incredibly difficult to move an inch!

The next moment, the thought of "handing Century Huayue over to Li Shuo" completely vanished. Han Renyi lowered his head and sighed:
"Oh, Young Master Li, I really didn't mean to slander you... If you want me to apologize, then I will apologize..."

"Actually, there's no need for you to apologize..."

"Ok?"

"Old Han, let's be frank. Your apology isn't important. What's important is that X has been attacked by industry media! I need Hualebao to change its attitude towards X, even to become a media outlet that cheers for X: Recently on Weibo, Zhang Yi has been arguing fiercely with other industry insiders because of 'X.' You can take the lead..."

Letting Han Renyi "get involved first" is to make him submit a pledge of loyalty, and then there won't be any problems.

In that instant, Han Renyi felt a sense of "when you think you've reached the end of the road, a new path opens up before you." He even wanted to say: That's it? Why didn't you say so earlier? Although I'm a traditional cultural figure, in the media world, we don't need to be so concerned about saving face. What I did yesterday, I can do today...

"Okay, I understand. I'll get the editors at Huale.com working on it right away..."

Li Shuo nodded and watched Han Renyi leave, but he still had many thoughts in his mind that he did not reveal: letting Huale.com flood the market was only the first step in the counterattack!
Afterwards, the secretary summoned the other shareholders. Li Shuo reviewed their information and either appeased or suppressed them, addressing each issue individually. The remaining shareholders were even weaker than Han Renyi, and naturally, they were completely under Li Shuo's control...

……

That day, Han Renyi worked overtime until 10 p.m., and only after the editors of Hualebao published the "battle report" and carefully checked it did he breathe a sigh of relief.

The subordinate editor said softly, "This is the latest commentary on X for tomorrow. We've gone through almost all of X's songs and deduced from various aspects, ultimately concluding that 'X is a super musical genius.' Mr. Han, aren't we going a bit too far?"

Han Renyi said irritably, "What do you mean by 'too much'? X is Li Shuo, our boss. Have you ever seen a media outlet praise their own boss and think it's going too far? You guys really need to adjust your thinking..."

He rambled on and on, but what he really meant was that Li Shuo had put too much pressure on him today. He was terrified of Li Shuo, even filled with dread. What if he failed to serve this "future most powerful figure in the Cold Sea Circle" well? What would become of his future...?

"hiss"

That night, Han Renyi even woke up several times in a fright. When his wife asked him what was wrong, he said with a terrified look, "I had a nightmare!"

Before I knew it, it was 8 a.m. the next day. The electronic report from Hualebao was sent out on time, and the "highlights of the day" were also posted on the official website, Weibo and other places.

On Weibo, Hualebao directly apologized to X, claiming that after investigation, they found that X's composition style was entirely original, imaginative, and full of personal characteristics...

"Mr. Han, it's a phone call... It's Young Master Li..."

The second half of the sentence was spoken in a low voice.

Han Renyi jumped, and nervously answered the call: "Hello, Young Master Li..."

"Old Han, you truly live up to your reputation as a veteran writer. I read the report; it's very well written, with first-rate prose..."

Li Shuo's voice was enthusiastic and high-pitched, indicating that he was in a good mood. Han Renyi also breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to himself: I finally served this master well.

"It seems that the *Hualebao* newspaper does have some strength. Old Han, would you mind if Century Huayue acquired more shares in *Hualebao*? Hmm, another 25% of the shares, bringing Century Huayue's stake to over 75%, and I personally will increase my investment in Century Huayue in return..."

"Well, after the investment, your small shareholding in Hualebao will be further diluted, but you will receive about 125 million in working capital. The company will transfer this capital to your personal account through dividends and other means. In short, I'm spending 125 million to buy some more shares of Hualebao from you. What do you think?"

Han Renyi felt like a pie had fallen from the sky and hit him right on the head: "What? 125 million? To acquire shares in Hualebao? Uh, okay, that's great... Thank you, thank you, President Li..." (End of Chapter)