Huayu: I'm reborn, but you still force me to be a scumbag?

Chapter 614 Concealing Strength in a Box
"Haha, Ruoruo is such a good girl. Don't worry, Daddy will definitely be back before your birthday..."

"I'll definitely bring you a gift. What do you want? Do you want a Barbie doll? Oh? You don't want a Barbie doll, you want to go horseback riding?"

"It's too cold now. Dad will take you when it gets a little warmer..."

"Then Dad will ask Mom to buy you a horse so you can ride it at home."

"Hahaha, then give the phone to Mom, and Dad will talk to her now."

Then, the screen on the phone started shaking wildly, and the delicate little girl was replaced by a large woman with a fox-like face.

Fan Bingbing said with a grin, "So, what kind of horse do you want to buy?"

Chen Nuo asked, "What about Ruoruo?"

“I asked the aunt to take her to bed. It’s past 9 p.m., and she was already sleepy. She’s been keeping watch, just waiting for your video call. Tsk tsk, ever since we brought her back from Montana, she’s been calling you ‘Daddy’ all the time. She’s even closer to you than I am.”

Chen Nuo said, "Ruo Ruo likes riding horses. I'm going to England this time, so I'll pick out a Shetland pony for her as a birthday present. You should get ready, tidy up the backyard, make a horse pen, and see if there are any good riding instructors in Shanghai. If we can't find any in Shanghai, I'll have someone ask around in England, and we can bring the horse and the pony over together."

Fan Bingbing asked in surprise, "You really want to buy it?"

Chen Nuo yawned and said, "It won't hurt to spend more time with animals. Besides, that land in Montana will be hers eventually. If she can't even ride a horse, won't she be laughed at?"

Fan Bingbing said, "Alright then, I'll have Xiaomei find someone to tidy it up tomorrow. By the way, how's Feifei doing? Is she feeling better after going to Africa?"

Chen Nuo gave an OK sign and said, "The medicine will cure the disease."

Fan Bingbing chuckled and then looked at him, licking her lips. Her voice changed to a sweet, coquettish tone as she said, "Wow, Mr. Chen, what medicine did you give Feifei? Could you give me some too? I think I'm sick too."

Chen Nuo laughed and asked, "What illness?"

"I have itchy skin, and I can't sleep at night. It's so uncomfortable."

Chen Nuo said, "That won't do. This medicine is too strong, and your body can't handle it right now. I can only come back and treat you personally when you get a bit sicker."

"Want something even more amazing? You just wait."

Fan Bingbing switched her phone to the rear camera and pointed the lens at her lower body. The woman was wearing a flesh-colored silk nightgown; the thin material clung to her slender body, revealing almost half of her snow-white legs. She reached one hand under the hem of the dress and slipped it inside.

Then, beneath the thin fabric of the skirt, the hand moved continuously for a few seconds before the legs came together and were lifted upwards. The next second, the hand under the skirt was revealed again, this time holding a pair of pink panties.

She spread the panties out in front of Chen Nuo's eyes, "Look at this... isn't it amazing enough?"

Chen Nuo frowned and said, "You didn't even dry it after washing it? Aren't you afraid of catching a cold?"

"There's nothing I can do. Shanghai has been so humid lately, and my pants just won't dry no matter how I hang them out to dry. I have to make do with wearing them, and that's why I got sick."

"That's so stupid, just use a hairdryer to dry it."

“I’ve tried, but it still doesn’t work…” Fan Bingbing said, switching the camera back to the front view. A stunningly beautiful face filled the entire screen. Her eyes were large and alluring, with slightly upturned corners, and her pupils seemed to hold two burning flames. “I just feel like the firepower isn’t enough.”

Chen Nuo shifted uncomfortably in his seat; the airplane bed seemed a bit hard. He coughed lightly and said, "That must be a problem with the plug. The voltage is probably too low. You'll need to get a bigger one."

"Mr. Chen, when will you be back to replace my power plug with one that has enough power?"

"Cough, as soon as possible."

"Okay, you said it. If I don't see you for a week, I'll go to the store and buy a plug myself."

Chen Nuo paused for a moment, then cursed, "You fucking bastard! Do you want to die?"

Fan Bingbing laughed so hard her big eyes narrowed into slits. "Hehe, you're going to kill me just because I bought a plug? That's too domineering! Don't you have any sense of reason?"

"You can reason with people, but who the hell can reason with a vixen? A vixen can only be taught a lesson with a stick."

"Oh, Mr. Chen, you're so impressive! So, how do you plan to teach me a lesson?"

Fan Bingbing rolled over and lay face down on the other side of the bed, moving her phone slightly to the side, instantly revealing her buttocks, clad in a flesh-colored silk nightgown. The thin silk was stretched taut and rounded by her full curves, and with the slight sway of her body, the line of her buttocks traced an alluring arc under the light.

The bed beneath Chen Nuo's buttocks seemed even harder, damn it, it was so uncomfortable. No, he couldn't play with this woman anymore, otherwise, they would be at odds and he definitely wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.

He immediately changed the subject, asking, "When will your 'Empress Wu' start filming? I heard the date has been moved up, and filming is going to begin next month?"

Fan Bingbing looked at him with a half-smile, a smug look flashing across her face, but she didn't say much, replying, "Yes, I guess I'll be joining the crew after celebrating Ruoruo's birthday."

"What about Ruoruo? What will we do then?"

"I'll ask my parents to help take care of her for a while, just to get through the busiest time. Sigh, sometimes I really wish I could just stop acting and watch Ruoruo grow up."

Last year, Fan Binbing told his family about Ruoruo's situation. Chen Nuo knew about it, but he pretended not to hear and didn't ask any questions. At this moment, he also pretended not to hear and said, "Me too."

"You?" Fan Binbing laughed, "Come on, if you stop making movies, the Ministry of Culture will probably be shaken up. They'll probably have to hire a sedan chair to carry you into the show. Besides, do you really want to do that? I don't believe it."

"Heh, what do I have to be reluctant about? When I become the world's richest man, whoever is still acting is a dog."

"Hahahaha..." Fan Bingbing laughed for a while, then her expression turned serious, and she said, "Speaking of this, you recently partnered with Tencent to promote your game live streaming platform. Hey, what were you thinking? Is that game platform really that important? I saw in the media that you're even planning to play the games yourself?"

Chen Nuo laughed and said, "You found out so quickly?"

But Fan Binbing didn't reply, and the screen suddenly froze.

Okay, while the G650 offered a top-of-the-line satellite communication system and onboard Wi-Fi, 4G wasn't even widespread at that time, so the signal strength was naturally far inferior to later models. The fact that the video chat lasted this long before buffering is extremely rare, proving that the G650 was indeed worth the price.

After being stuck for about 10 seconds, Fan Binbing was able to move again.

"Hello, hello, Chen Nuo, can you hear me?"

"Okay, okay, it just crashed. I was wondering how you knew so quickly."

"Is it fast? It seems like Tencent started hyping it up three days ago. The ads are everywhere online and offline. At first, everyone thought it was fake, but unexpectedly... me too. I had to call Qi Da to find out that it really was you. In the last two days, the media has been full of reports about this. Some say you're neglecting your duties, some say you're lowering your status, and some even say they want to blacklist you, saying that as a public figure, you're setting a bad example. Honestly, what were you thinking? This will affect your image, do you know that?"

"I don't know, I'll just treat it as a fan meeting," Chen Nuo said with a grin.

"A fan meeting!" Fan Bingbing rolled her eyes at him and said, "I don't believe you. You're probably the actor who hates fans the most in the world. You want to have a fan meeting? I think you just want to never see any of them again in your life."

Chen Nuo laughed and said, "If you don't believe me, fine. It's true. I was just thinking of holding a meet-and-greet and promoting the platform that Qi Da is working on."

"How much money can you make from that platform? At the end of the year, it's probably less than if you took on a couple more endorsements. Don't you find it troublesome?"

"Hehe, even a mosquito's leg is still meat, we don't mind."

"You're behaving strangely. Are you hiding something from me?"

"No way," Chen Nuo said without even blinking.

"Of course you're hiding something from me."

Chen Nuo smiled without saying a word.

Even though Fan Binbing had gone to such lengths, he still had no intention of revealing everything. Liu Qi's matter was truly top secret to him right now; he wouldn't tell even Pan Chengrong and Chen Bicheng, except for the initial few people who knew about it. If Liu Yifei hadn't asked him when he was feeling somewhat lost, he probably wouldn't have spoken up.

After all, although he's not too afraid of complicated relationships now, if some rumors were to spread, and a few people suddenly appeared out of nowhere wanting to take a bite out of his bowl, it would still be a headache.

Therefore, he genuinely believes that it's just right that outsiders think like the media outlets that Fan Binbing mentioned.

Call him a slacker or a condescending individual, but whatever you do, let's not bother with him anymore.

……

However, his wish was ultimately just a delusion.

Just as he was discussing this with Fan Binbing, in a luxury mansion in Beijing, people were also talking about him. Wang Zongjun tossed the magazine he was holding onto the table; it featured a huge, colorful advertisement.

At the very top is half a face, mostly hidden in darkness, with only a pair of golden, amber-like eyes gazing at the person outside the pages.

Below are cartoon heroes in red and blue, and a row of four metallic words: "Legend Arrives".

Below that is a line of smaller print: "November 20th, Knight Live Streaming Platform launches Carnival, League of Legends All-Star Match."

"Is this really him?" Wang Zongjun asked.

Wang Zonglei said, "It should be. It's all over the media. Tencent is deliberately keeping it a secret to keep us in suspense. But think about it, WeChat and QQ are all promoting this Knight Live. Ma Huateng isn't a philanthropist. If he hadn't personally intervened, why would he have gone to such lengths?"

Wang Zongjun was silent for a moment, then suddenly chuckled and said, "Judging from your sour tone, you think this is a good thing for him?"

"Brother, I was just thinking, if we could also cooperate with Tencent and get Ma Huateng to help promote our movie, I estimate that even an idiot could make 10 billion."

Wang Zongjun nodded, then shook his head. "That's true, but, haha, I actually hope he stops making movies and just does this kind of nonsense. We'll just wait and see, haha. I fucking don't believe that kid can make money from every movie he makes, and he can make every investment in this kind of side business a success? How many people in the entertainment industry succeed with their side businesses? Besides, even if they do succeed, this kind of thing isn't highbrow, and it won't make much money. That Switch overseas is still losing money to this day."

Wang Zonglei nodded and said, "Yes, that's what I think too."

"Well, you still need to focus all your energy on 'The Prodigy' and 'Journey to the West: Demon Slayer.' We can't afford to lose any more, understand?"

"Yes!"

"As for that kid, hehe, just wait and see how long he can stay arrogant! Once a person gets cocky and thinks he's invincible, and starts neglecting his duties, then his downfall is not far off! Remember this, that's what I said!"

While Wang Zongjun was making a domineering declaration of defeat for Chen Nuo in his mansion in Beijing, someone in Shanghai said something similar.

"At first I thought it was just a rumor, but I never expected it to actually be him. Is he just asking for too much money? The internet must be a tough business, right?"

Cai Yinong agreed with Li Guoli's words on the phone, but said, "But no matter what, he can afford to lose. Even if he loses hundreds of millions, it's probably just a drop in the ocean for him."

Li Guoli said, "That's true."

"Director Li, you worked so hard to finish post-production so quickly this time, and we've finally made it to the release date before the end of the year. Thank you so much."

"It's not hard work. A total of 400 million yuan, plus a loan of 200 million yuan, such a large investment is unprecedented for us. I hope it will have a good result."

Cai Yinong laughed, "It's an absolute all-star cast. Besides the director, screenwriter, and him, we've almost completely reunited the original crew of 'Eagle Catches Chickens.' We've also referenced the plot. Yuan Quan, Chen Daomin, Zhang Guoli, Sun Li, Zhao Liying, Hu Ge, and Shi Shi. Plus you, director, I don't expect it to be a global phenomenon. Even if it only sells to Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, it'll be enough for us to make a living. The most important thing is that after this operation, we've opened up that market, and it's an inexhaustible gold mine."

Li Guoli sighed, "I hope we can have a good start tomorrow night. Anyway, ever since the last charity gala, I've said I'll listen to you from now on."

"Yes, don't worry, I'm confident."

After exchanging a few more words, Li Guoli hung up the phone.

Cai Yinong leaned against the bed and stared blankly for a while. To be honest, although she had seemed very confident just now, how could she not be worried about going all out on an all-star lineup?

The more she thought about it, the more upset she became, and she even felt a little regretful. After watching the final cut, she realized that Li Guoli was actually not very good at managing those Hong Kong stars, and that he had made some compromises on the plot in order to make more money and recoup his costs. In the end, the final product was nearly 60 episodes long, far exceeding the length of "Eagle Catches Chickens". This made her really unsure whether the audience would accept it.
We'll see what it's really like tomorrow night on Dragon TV. With such a huge investment and such a star-studded lineup, if they can't break records, then it's a failure!
After checking the time, to distract herself, Tsai Yinong opened the browser on her laptop and started watching a Taiwanese variety show.

The two hosts, a man and a woman, and an old guest chatted and joked around. Cai Yinong was often amused by the old guest's sharp words and laughed out loud, forgetting her worries without realizing it.

After a while, the topic changed, and the male host asked the other person with a smile about their opinion on this year's Golden Horse Awards.

Tsai Yinong knew that this was to be expected. In early October, when the list of nominees for this year's Golden Horse Awards was announced, it caused quite a stir not only in Taiwan Province but also in mainland China.

The reason is that a commercial film that seems completely unrelated to the Golden Horse Awards has actually been nominated for several technical awards, which is truly astonishing.

When the male host asked, the guest, maintaining his usual quick wit and outspokenness, said, "That's why I say Hou Hsiao-hsien's biggest flaw is that he wants everything. He's like that when he's making films, and he's like that when he's the chairman of the Golden Horse Awards, so he'll never be as good as Ang Lee. What's the use of being nominated for a few technical awards? If you're going to kneel, kneel more thoroughly; if you're going to surrender, then don't have any shame. What about Best Costume Design, what about this and that? If you ask me, just give him Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Film, oh, and Best Supporting Actor, give him all of them."

Cai Kangyong laughed and said, "So, Master Li Ao, you think that Tiny Times' nomination is a surrender of the Golden Horse Awards to Mr. Chen Nuo?"

Li Ao said, "Otherwise what?"

Little S laughed and said, "But I think Tiny Times was pretty good. My sister and I went to see it in the cinema, and we both thought it was great. Master Li Ao, did you go to see it in the cinema?"

“I didn’t,” Li Ao said confidently. “But I don’t need to see it. I can tell what kind of movie it is just by looking at the poster. This is an idol movie that Angie Chai came up with. It’s the new version of Meteor Garden. Hou Hsiao-hsien nominated it because he wanted to make peace with Chen Nuo. But do you think he’ll even listen to him? I’m telling you, I’m 99% sure Chen Nuo won’t come. He probably won’t even say a word. Who does he think he is now? You’re just some lousy film award from Taiwan. You played them like that back then. If you can’t kneel down, raise your hands in surrender, and turn your belly upside down, then nobody will listen to you.”

Cai Kangyong smiled and turned to Xiao S, saying, "This is the first time I've heard Li Ao say that someone is more famous than him."

Little S laughed and said, "Maybe it's because he would get beaten up if he didn't say that."

Li Ao corrected him, saying, "Kang Yong, you're wrong. I didn't say he's more famous than me. We just have our own strengths. He is indeed more powerful than me in the US and Europe, but my influence in the Chinese community is still a bit less than mine."

Cai Kangyong said, "Wow, Little S, he really dares to say that! Little S, do you think he's right?"

Little S retorted irritably, "What nonsense! Even a single hair from Chen Nuo's leg is thicker than his."

"Hahahaha, aren't you afraid he'll sue you again if you say that?"

"I'm not afraid. Okay, okay, I am afraid. Master Li Ao, please don't glare at me. I take back what I said, OK? If leg hair is no good, arm hair is fine."

"Hahahaha." Cai Yinong finally couldn't help but laugh at this moment.

Li Ao shook his head and said, "I won't argue with you."

Cai Kangyong quickly changed the subject, saying, "So, Master Li Ao, do you really think Chen Nuo won't come?"

“Definitely not,” Li Ao said decisively. “I’m asking you, what makes him qualified? If you ask me, Taiwanese people are all overly self-important, always thinking too highly of themselves. But what is the Golden Horse Award? In their eyes, it’s probably nothing. Besides, Chen Nuo, from what I’ve observed, is actually somewhat like me when I was young—hiding his sharpness in a box. Do you understand what that means? It means that on the surface he’s like a blockhead, but inside he hides a deadly sword. If anyone thinks he’s easy to bully, they’re truly blind. Moreover, he does things very methodically. Outsiders often only see one layer of the picture. In reality, haha. These young actors in Taiwan today aren’t even worthy of carrying his shoes.”

Cai Kangyong exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, Master Li Ao, you've really changed! You're so good at praising people now. It seems you really like him."

Li Ao said, "Because of him, many foreigners are now starting to learn Chinese, and my book sales in the United States have skyrocketed, making me a lot of money. Who do I like more than him?"

"Hahaha, I see! Alright, Master Li Ao, let's talk about your new book."

Upon hearing this, Cai Yinong suddenly lost interest in reading further, closed the browser, leaned back in her chair, and let out a long sigh.

Conceal your sharpness in a box.

Is taking on a side job also a way to conceal one's true abilities?

Forget it, I can't figure it out, so I'll stop thinking about it.

Cai Yinong had to admit that ever since Jin Chen came to talk to her about terminating her contract, she had felt a slight dissatisfaction with her.

Although she knew it wasn't the other person's fault and that Jin Chen's infidelity wasn't new, she couldn't help but feel a little resentful.

However, Cai Yinong also knew that befriending the other party would bring her absolutely no benefit; just look at the Golden Horse Awards. Li Ao was absolutely right. Everyone in the industry knows that getting Tiny Times nominated was an attempt to salvage their declining reputation in recent years, hoping to bring back the Best Actor award they had forgotten in Taiwan.
Therefore, the best thing she could do was to wish him well, not badly, and to be his friend, not his enemy.

Otherwise, Tangren might become the next Huayi.

Cai Yinong sighed.

However, his collaboration with Tencent and the overwhelming amount of advertising have overshadowed their drama. What should they do?

The following day, Tangren's 2013 blockbuster drama, "Dangerous Game," with its all-star cast, premiered on Dragon TV. The first episode achieved a 4.1% viewership rating and a 14% market share, setting a new record for the premiere of a local TV series in recent years.

The industry was abuzz with excitement, and Cai Yinong and Li Guoli were all smiles, relieved.

Such a beautiful sight! It seems they were just overthinking it?

It seemed as if a glorious victory surpassing "Scarlet Heart" was about to arrive. This time, it felt like this wave would not only propel Tangren Media to international heights but also influence the future production models and landscape of television dramas. News media unanimously used the phrase "the moment of Heroes" to describe the premiere miracle created by this nationally acclaimed, lavish production.

The entertainment industry was bustling with excitement, and CEO Cai and others were riding high. However, Chen Nuo met the somewhat haggard Nolan brothers in a quiet and luxurious country villa in the London countryside.

(End of this chapter)