Entering the Chinese entertainment industry is like entering a deep sea

Chapter 811 One step away

The night before its listing, the Pearl of the Orient was bustling with activity.

Two of the four mentors from the first season of "The Voice of China" have returned, including Jay Chou and his wife.

The Running Man cast is led by Deng Chao. Although the first season of Ace vs Ace has not yet aired, Shen Teng and Jia Ling have received invitations from Yang Siwei.

CJ's Lee Mi-kyung, RC's Yu Miao, and Jun Ji-hyun and her husband also came from South Korea.

The paparazzi in Hong Kong are dazzled by the sheer number of stars; even the entire cast of all previous Hong Kong Film Awards combined cannot compare.

In the mid-levels villas of Hong Kong, the night is as dark as ink, and the lights of Victoria Harbour flow brilliantly below, like a winding golden galaxy.

Li Chen stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, holding a glass of whiskey in his hand.

Yang Siwei, who stood quietly behind him, had a faint smile on his lips, his eyes fixed on the back of his legendary benefactor.

Yes, it's her benefactor. They say a scholar will die for one who understands him, and Yang Siwei feels that even if she were asked to die for the big boss right now, she wouldn't flinch.

"Thinking, why do you think people like to stand at a high place?"

Yang Siwei gazed at the lights of Victoria Harbour, pondered for a moment, and slowly said, "Boss, I think when people stand at a high place, they have a kind of illusion, as if the world below them is their own."

Li Chen smiled; Yang Siwei's answer was a bit metaphysical.

“What you’re saying isn’t entirely wrong. Look at those office buildings; the higher you go, the more expensive the rent, yet everyone wants to squeeze up there. Why? Because when you’re high up, you can temporarily forget that you’re just one of the masses.”

"But people are just greedy. Before they come up, they think, 'How wonderful it would be if I could just take a look,' but once they're up there, they start thinking, 'Can we go a little higher?'"

“Siwei, do you still remember when I invited you to join Rongchen back in your sophomore year?” Li Chen’s voice was deep and gentle, with a touch of emotion.

Yang Siwei stepped forward and smiled somewhat shyly: "I remember, to be honest, boss. My first impression that day was that you were either a lunatic or a gambler."

"Why didn't they hire so many qualified and capable people? Instead, they chose me, a penniless college graduate, and even offered me a director position!"

"If I weren't so good-looking and had such a hot body, I would have thought you had something on your mind! Haha," Yang Siwei laughed self-deprecatingly.

Li Chen burst into laughter upon hearing this. It was only natural for Yang Siwei to think that way back then.

After a moment, Yang Siwei's smile faded, and he said seriously, "Without the boss, I wouldn't be who I am today."

Li Chen shook his head, his gaze deep: "It's because you have the ability. Even if I give you a chance, you still have to be able to seize it."

"The listing tomorrow is just the beginning; there is still a long road ahead."

Yang Siwei took a deep breath, nodded, and said nothing.

He thought to himself, "Boss, don't worry, I will make 'One Heart' the industry benchmark. Even the three major Hollywood talent agencies will only be fit to shine our shoes!"

-

December 8th, 6 AM.

Central Hong Kong was still shrouded in the mist of Victoria Harbour, but the area in front of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange was already packed with hundreds of media outlets.

On both sides of the red carpet, 20 hostesses dressed in custom-made cheongsams held up light boards with the logo 'HK.8118', while a giant LED screen behind them played classic clips from seven seasons of "Running Man" and "The Voice of China" in a loop.

At 7:30 a.m., the first black Rolls-Royce Phantom drove in.

The car door opened, and Li Chen stepped out in a custom-made suit.

Wearing a panda badge from Rongchen Pictures on his chest, he was followed by Yang Siwei, president of Yixin Media.

Wearing a plus-size Stella McCartney pantsuit, she held a copy of the prospectus, the gold-embossed '200 billion valuation' on the cover gleaming under the flashlight.

The media immediately swarmed in.

"Mr. Yang, did you ever imagine this day twelve years ago when you were a sophomore at the Communication University of China?" the reporter shouted.

Yang Siwei stopped and looked at his boss beside him, smiling, "Twelve years ago, don't say I didn't think of it; I'm afraid only one person in the world could have foreseen Yixin Media today!"

The media naturally know who Yang Siwei is referring to.

"Mr. Li, what made you choose Mr. Yang back then? Did you foresee the current state of Yixin Media, as Mr. Yang said?"

Li Chen smiled calmly: "Yang Siwei deserves a lot of credit for Yixin's listing today. I'm not a god, I just provided her with a platform and let her give full play to her abilities."

The media wanted to ask more questions, but Li Chen raised his hand and smiled, "Dear media friends, there are still many guests present today. There will be a Q&A session after the bell is rung."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Rongchen staff and security personnel accompanying Li Chen and Yang Siwei separated the numerous media in front of them.

Some sharp-eyed media outlets have already recognized that the silver Rolls-Royce behind Li Chen is the vehicle belonging to Ying Huang.

Soon after, many media outlets turned their attention to this newcomer, who is said to be appearing with Chenglong today.

Upon entering the venue, Ye Ning from Wanda and Liu Zhiping from Tencent were already there, chatting and laughing with Zhou Songgang, Chairman of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Tim Smith, who played Chi You, and Andy Bode, who played Disney, also arrived early.

Upon seeing Li Chen and Yang Siwei arrive, Zhou Songgang and the others hurriedly came forward and said with smiles, "Mr. Li, Mr. Yang, the global capital market is waiting for this bell to ring today."

"Chairman Zhou, you flatter me," Li Chen said politely with a smile.

The claim that global capital is waiting for this bell to ring is an absurd exaggeration.

Li Chen exchanged a few pleasantries with Ye Ning and the others, and then shook hands with each of the foreigners present.

Some of them, he wouldn't have known at all if Yang Siwei hadn't introduced them, like Michael Burke, the CEO of LV, and Paul, the president of Chanel's global luxury division.

The guests arrived one after another, keeping Yang Siwei and Li Chen extremely busy.

Fan Bingbing and Li Bingbing appeared in the same frame, looking very close.

"I knew it, Mr. Wang definitely wouldn't be coming today?" Fan Bingbing had just finished taking a photo with the president of Chanel.

"Why is Mr. Wang here on this occasion? Is he just here to humiliate himself?" Li Bingbing laughed, she wasn't idle either.

One moment he's chatting and laughing with Cheng Long, the next he's posing for a photo with the president of Warner Music, his arm around his waist.

During the group photo just now, Miranda was surrounded by men; not a single female guest was willing to stand next to her.

Given Gao Yuanyuan's experience at the brand event in Shanghai earlier this year, these two Bingbings are unlikely to repeat the same mistake.

"Brother Chen's muscle-flexing this time is so bad it makes life seem hopeless!" Fan Bingbing covered her mouth and laughed with Li Bingbing.

"Isn't that right? Look at all the people we invited, only Xiaoming's wife benefited from Xiaoming's fame."

Angelababy was introduced to a group of bigwigs by Huang Xiaoming, but what she cared about most was the resources from the three top luxury brands.

However, the female celebrities who came today all came with great force!

Yang Mi, Fan Bingbing, Li Bingbing, Zhang Ziyi, Liu Jialing, and others all wore costumes that were full of intrigue.

"Didn't you say Yang Mi wasn't coming?" Da Baobei followed Huang Xiaoming around, only to be somewhat disappointed.

The most favored by capital are Dilraba, Yang Mi, and Fan Bingbing.

Of course, Miranda and Scarlett are exceptions.

These two are like cheat codes.

When a young model meets a supermodel, she stays as far away as possible, completely outclassed.

"I only heard from her that she wasn't coming. You women are so fickle," Huang Xiaoming said with a nod and a smile to Li Bingbing from afar.

"The banquet hasn't even started yet, and I can already smell the gunpowder." The darling maintained a polite smile throughout.

-

At 9:29 a.m., the air in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange trading hall seemed to freeze, and some people had already started the countdown as the clock struck midnight.

"Ten! Nine! Eight two! One!"

Li Chen stood in front of the gong, smiling broadly along with Rongchen executives including Yang Siwei, Yu Miao, and Wu Bin. Yang Siwei stood half a step to his left, her shoulder-length hair styled in a high ponytail, revealing the diamond earrings the boss's wife had given her last year.

Just as the hammer was about to fall, Yang Siwei suddenly said in a voice that only Li Chen could hear, "Boss, thank you."

The moment the gong boomed and exploded, Li Chen and the others burst into laughter.

The crowd erupted in applause and congratulations.

The electronic screens in the trading hall suddenly turned completely red, and the opening price of HK$68 flooded the entire wall like a blood-red wave.

"HK$68, a 51% surge from the issue price!" Liu Zhiping of Tencent and Ye Ning of Wanda were both shocked and delighted.

The whole audience exclaimed.

Doesn't this mean that 200 billion has become 300 billion?

“Ah Long, the younger generation surpasses the older generation; the future belongs to Li Chen.”

“Mr. Yang is right. I’ve never seen such a lively scene for mainland companies listing in Hong Kong!” Cheng Long said with a hearty laugh.

The cameras focused on several superstars!

The first one is Leonardo DiCaprio.

Leonardo DiCaprio waved at the camera with a fairly charming smile.

Unfortunately, Miranda, the woman he loved but couldn't have, didn't even see him as a playboy.

Even if he could lose weight like lightning for her, he would still not be the dream lover of his dream lover.

Scarlett Johansson blew a kiss towards Li Chen through the camera.

When the camera turned to them, Yang Mi, Fan Bingbing, and others all flashed their most charming smiles.

Everyone knows that such footage will likely become headline news in major media outlets around the world in no time.

Just like Jack Ma's classic frenzied demeanor when he rang the Nasdaq bell back then.

During the media interview, Yang Siwei suddenly burst into tears, extremely emotional: "Twelve years is a cycle. The naive and ignorant college student of that time has transformed into the president of a listed company. All of this is inseparable from one person."

"He is the one who turns lead into gold. Without him, there would be no Yixin today. He is the soul of Rongchen people, my boss!"

The audience erupted in applause, and Fan Bingbing gave Yang Siwei a thumbs-up from below the stage.

While clapping, Zhang Ziyi glanced at Fan Bingbing out of the corner of her eye.

In this setting, although her status is no less than Fan Bingbing's, her personal charm and appeal to brands are not as strong as these younger actresses.

There was another brief moment of gasp of amazement at the scene.

It turned out that a holographic projection of Liu Yifei appeared on the big screen, and it seemed that she was at home in Beijing.

The scene suddenly fell silent, with only the flashbulbs of the media going off frequently.

Liu Yifei's voice was clear and pleasant: "Congratulations, Siwei! Congratulations, President Li! It's a pity you couldn't come to Hong Kong, but I've already seen the good news about our united front in Beijing!"

"Although my husband has certainly already thanked all the guests for coming, I would like to thank them again."

Laughter filled the air.

At this time, the trending topics on Weibo and Douyin were firmly occupied by the headline "Yixin Media's market value exceeds the combined value of TVB and Yinghuang".

The Wall Street Journal surprisingly featured Yixin's IPO on its front page with the headline "China Conquers Global Capital with Variety Shows."

Major media outlets around the world have successively published news about Yixin's IPO.

The image of Li Chen, Yang Siwei, and a group of executives ringing the bell became a global topic on December 8th.

Dilraba was all smiles.

"Xiao Di, the market value has exceeded 300 billion. So, with the options you hold, how much will you get if they are eventually exercised?"

"I don't know, and I don't care about that!" Dilraba stood in the crowd, smiling brightly, completely unwilling to answer her manager's jarring question.

She knew better than anyone else the value of the options she held.

Dilraba glanced at Yang Mi, who happened to be looking at her as well.

It's just that one person's laughter is flawless, while the other's laughter is like a spent arrow.

Everyone was looking forward to the dinner party that evening.

Because the location was on the luxury cruise ship that Li Chen bought for 5.8 million yuan.

The cruise ship is named 'Crystal Heart', but Liu Yifei, the owner of Crystal Wu, hasn't had a chance to experience it yet.

As night falls, the neon lights on both sides of Victoria Harbour are reflected on the dark sea, while the "Crystal Heart" cruise ship docked at Central Pier shines as brightly as day.

This luxury cruise ship made its debut tonight, and it hosted a grand event that will go down in the history of the Chinese entertainment industry: the celebration banquet for the listing of Yixin Media.

At 7 p.m., the cruise ship's gangway was covered with a deep red carpet, and 20 ushers in custom-made cheongsams stood on both sides, holding champagne trays with gold foil stamped on the bottom of the glasses bearing the inscription "HK.8118".

Yang Siwei, accompanied by two top-tier celebrities from Yixin, Dilraba Dilmurat and Lu Han, stood at the top of the gangway to welcome guests.

Yang Siwei changed her usual sharp trousers for an Elie Saab starry sky dress. Although she looks pretty much the same in anything, at such an event, her makeup represents her status and etiquette.

While Dilraba Dilmurat tried her best to downplay her brilliance, the contrast was striking.

Tonight, Dilraba wore a nude pink Reem Acra gown and a Van Cleef & Arpels four-leaf clover necklace.

Coupled with home advantage and its own exotic charm, it is almost comparable to Miranda.

"Reba, your options rose 37% today," Yang Siwei said with a low laugh.

Dilraba's eyes lit up, and she nodded obediently, "Sister, I will work even harder!"

Yang Siwei nodded in satisfaction, then turned to Lu Han and instructed, "You're not allowed to get drunk tonight. You have to maintain your image as a 'high-quality idol'."

Lu Han smiled meekly and said, "I will obey your orders, boss!"

At 8:00 AM sharp, all the guests boarded the cruise ship.

The Crystal Heart slowly departed the harbor and headed towards the center of Victoria Harbour.

"Wow!" Several guests holding various kinds of fine wines exclaimed in surprise from the deck.

Suddenly, a huge "8118" shaped firework exploded in the night sky, turning the sea surface golden and red.

Yang Mi, holding a wine glass, stood alone in a corner of the partition, looking somewhat forlorn: "Look up, the fireworks are dazzling."

"Honey, why are you here all alone?"

“Reba, you’re a ‘shareholder’ now.” Yang Mi heard Reba’s voice and immediately turned around with a joyful expression.

Dilraba smiled and said, "Sister Mi, don't make fun of me. If you hadn't left the company, you would definitely have more stock options than me."

He does not mean that.

Yang Mi thought Dilraba was mocking her, and her expression immediately turned somewhat unpleasant.

Dilraba also realized that she had said the wrong thing.

He immediately explained, embarrassed, "Sister Honey, that's not what I meant!"

Yang Mi smiled with relief: "It's alright, you're right, one wrong step leads to another! Maybe this is just a matter of one step away!"

She still hasn't managed to strike up a conversation with her senior.

Not to mention Binbin and her role.

(End of this chapter)