Entertainment mogul: Starting his business with the internet

Chapter 212 A twist of fate

In the office, Cai Yinong rested his chin on one hand, his brows slightly furrowed, looking puzzled.
"By the way, Shishi! The blogger who posted the photos has the ID 'Poetic Chang'an,' and all the photos he posted are stills that the production team hasn't released to the public. Did you send them to him?"

"I know this blogger, he is indeed my fan, but I haven't sent him any photos!"

Liu Shishi, who was originally relaxed, was completely confused by what Sister K said. She got up and came to her side, saying, "Sister K, open his Weibo homepage and let me see."

Cai Yinong quickly opened the webpage as instructed, and with a few clicks of the mouse, showed the content posted by the blogger to Yijie.

"This!" Liu Shishi leaned forward, squinted at the screen, and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

A moment of confusion washed over me. I saw several photos on Weibo, all carefully taken by Tangren Media, which they planned to release gradually. These were stills of Mu Nianci from the drama.

She only showed these photos to one person.

Cai Yinong clicked on each photo to zoom in and browse, muttering to himself, "These stills were released in advance. If you didn't release them, could it be Jiang Yuanyuan?"

Liu Shishi shook her head without hesitation, her hair swaying slightly, her tone firm: "Yuanyuan never sends my photos to her fans without my permission."

"That's strange! It's just these few photos that your man liked, and they got you trending on Weibo." After saying that, Cai Yinong continued working on Weibo's trending topics list.

"The Ideal Type of 1 Female Celebrities"

"Two Song Dynasty Poems Praised"

"The 3 Most Beautiful Mu Nianci"

Several keywords caught her eye. Liu Shishi stared blankly at the trending search list, a strange thought creeping into her mind: Could that blogger be Mr. Song's alternate account?

After all, she had only shown those photos to Song Ci. And what a coincidence! The fan posted the photos, and her boyfriend immediately liked them.

Looking at the top three trending topics, Cai Yinong's lips unconsciously curled up. He nodded in satisfaction and said happily, "I'll check later to see if someone inside the company leaked the photos."

But it doesn't really matter; the promotional effect of our own efforts might not even be as good as what your fans post. I'll arrange a press release to capitalize on this trend later.

Seeing that Sister Yi didn't react for a while, Cai Yinong waved his hand in front of her and said, "Are you listening to me, Shishi?"

Liu Shishi slowly came back to her senses and replied softly, "I was just thinking about something. Sister K, you don't need to investigate anymore. I think... I roughly know how the photos were leaked."

"Well, what's going on?"

"Don't ask anymore, I'll handle it, Sister K."

Seeing this, Cai Yinong said no more and simply nodded: "Then I will not interfere in this matter. With the premiere of 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes' imminent, it is always a good thing to increase its exposure."

At this moment, Liu Shishi just wanted to call Song Ci to find out what was going on. "Sister K, if there's nothing else, I'll go back to the dormitory first. I need to pack up and go back to the film set to shoot."

"Wait a minute, there's something else!" Cai Yinong hurriedly called out to Sister Liu, who was about to leave, and took out something that looked like a greeting card from a folder on his desk and handed it to her.

Liu Shishi took it with a curious look: "What is this?"

"invitation!"

"invitation?"

"Yes, it's the invitation to this year's Harper's Bazaar Charity Gala. They invited you and Hu Ge to attend."

Upon hearing this, Liu Shishi's face lit up with joy. She quickly opened the book and read aloud, "We cordially invite Ms. Liu Shishi..."

He held the invitation in his hand, looking at it with great interest, and at that moment he was thinking about the scene of attending the event openly and legitimately with Song Ci.

As soon as she left the office, Liu Shishi couldn't wait to take out her phone and call Song Ci. The call was quickly connected.

A familiar and warm voice came through the receiver: "Have you arrived in Hengdian?"

The eldest sister nodded her little head and replied in a soft, sweet voice, "We arrived safely, darling."

After a long silence, Liu Shishi spoke softly again: "Yiyi, can I ask you something?"

Song Ci seemed to have anticipated this, letting out a light, captivating laugh: "About trending topics?"

Liu Shishi bit her lip: "Hmm, is that 'Poetic Chang'an' your alternate account?"

"Why do you ask that?" Song Ci asked in return, her tone carrying a hint of a smile.

A blush crept onto Liu Shishi's pretty face. She looked around, and only after confirming that no one was nearby did she speak with relief:
"I only sent you the photos on Weibo, and they were sent together with those special photos. No one else could possibly have them."

Song Ci stopped hiding it and openly admitted, "It's my alternate account. You always need an alias when you're out in the world, right?"

"Oh!"

Sensing that Miss Liu wasn't in high spirits, Song Ci asked in confusion, "What's wrong? Aren't you happy that I got you trending?"

"I'm not unhappy!" Liu Shishi muttered. "I'm just a little disappointed. I thought I had finally met a kind and understanding fan, but it turns out it was you, Mr. Song."

"I saw a poll online this morning, and knowing your temper, I knew you'd be unhappy to see it. So, when I had a spare moment, I used both my main and alternate accounts to help promote you. Cheer up, the most beautiful Mu Nianci!"

Seeing Mr. Song's gentle and considerate nature, Liu Shishi's slight gloom instantly vanished, and she regained her fighting spirit, full of energy: "I know! But next time I'm going to defeat those bad women fair and square!"

"Shishi, I have to hang up now, I have a meeting soon. I'll come to Hengdian to see you when I have time."

Liu Shishi said with concern, "Okay, darling, take care and get some rest, don't overwork yourself."

After hanging up the phone, Sister Yi had unknowingly returned to her dormitory, where her two assistants, Jiang Yuanyuan and Lin Xia, were helping her pack her things.

Ms. Liu waved to the two of them and walked straight to the computer in the corner of the room. She had only briefly browsed Weibo at Sister K's place earlier, and now she was going to take a closer look at the trending topics on Weibo.

Inside a high-end apartment in Beiping, Jing Tian, ​​the female lead of "So Many Years," was also looking at Weibo.

In the morning, she was called back to the set by the director. After filming the last few shots, the highly anticipated final installment of the Zhenhua series was finally completed. It is now ready to be edited and submitted for review before being released next winter vacation.

Jing Tian was bored out of his mind and had obviously noticed those trending topics on Weibo.

Out of curiosity, I clicked on Song Ci's Weibo homepage, but unfortunately, Song Ci's account was very quiet, with only two posts in total.

One was the formulaic welcome message on the day Weibo was launched, and the other was a photo of him and his superiors at the Tengda Group relocation ceremony at the beginning of the month.

Although there were only two posts, the comment section below was bustling with activity, especially since Song Ci topped the trending list today because of the "like" incident, with netizens gathering in his Weibo comment section to leave messages.

"Honey, look at my picture, I'm hotter than that actress who played Mu Nianci!"

. . . . . .

"I see, so my husband likes girls who are pure and gentle."

Jing Tian blushed and was speechless at the explicit terms "husband" and "darling" used by Song Ci's female fans. He was amazed at how unrestrained and daring these female netizens were. After calming himself down, he followed Song Ci's account and clicked on the trending topic on Weibo, where he saw the photos that Song Ci had liked.

After some research, Jing Tian discovered that the actress who played Mu Nianci was named Liu Shishi. A strange ripple stirred in Jing Tian's heart, and he wondered if Liu Shishi was the Miss Liu who sat next to Song Ci last night.
After taking a closer look at the photo of the gentle and beautiful woman in ancient costume, which vaguely overlapped with the slender figure he had seen last night, Jing Tian became increasingly certain, based on her woman's intuition, that the person next to Song Ci last night was most likely Liu Shishi.

Driven by curiosity and a desire to explore, Jing Tian opened Liu Shishi's Weibo homepage, and was filled with envy at her 80 followers.

After several months of effort, she only has a little over 5000 followers, and most of them are loyal viewers and book fans of the Zhenhua series after she played the female lead in "So Many Years". The gap in popularity between her and Liu Shishi is not that big.

"Thank you, Mr. Song, for your recognition of my portrayal of Mu Nianci! @Songciv"

Looking at the latest update from Tangren's top female star, Jing Tian stared at it for a few seconds and muttered under his breath, "Pretentious!"

I felt a bit disdain for Liu Shishi's intimate and boastful behavior. She was hiding her relationship, and with that kind of attitude, it was bound to fall apart sooner or later!

The phone on the table suddenly vibrated. Jing Tian looked down and saw that it was his mother calling.

"Where is Tian Tian?"

"The filming has wrapped up. I'm in my apartment right now, and I'll go back to school later."

Jing's mother asked with concern, "Be careful and go back to school early. I heard from Xiao Zhao that you drank last night?"

Jing Tian didn't know if her agent had told her mother the details, but she didn't want to say too much, so she said vaguely, "It was a crew gathering, and I had a drink or two."

Fortunately, Jing's mother didn't press the matter, but earnestly advised, "You're a grown woman now, so just be mindful of your actions. But you must take good care of yourself when you're out."

Feeling the deep love from her parents on the other end of the phone, Jing Tian's initially impatient heart softened instantly: "Don't worry, Mom!"

"Then you go ahead with your work, remember to go back to school early."

"Don't hang up on Mom, I want to ask you something."

"What's the matter, you say?"

"Um..." Jing Tian was a little embarrassed. After hesitating for a while, he still asked shyly:

"Mom, didn't the family say they'd introduce me to someone during the New Year? I remember the guy's name was Song Ci, but what happened to him?"

Upon hearing this, Jing's mother couldn't help but smile and teased, "Why are you suddenly asking about this?"

Jing Tian's brain raced, and he quickly came up with a lie: "Your precious daughter is the most beautiful girl at Beijing Film Academy, and she has many boys chasing after her."

But remembering how my family was clamoring to introduce me to potential partners during the Chinese New Year, I couldn't refuse my elders. This kept bothering me, and I didn't dare interact with any boys at school.

Upon hearing this, Jing's mother believed her and explained, "The man is a very outstanding young man, quite famous. You can search for Song Ci's photos online; he's incredibly handsome!"
Your uncle originally tried to set you two up through connections, but unfortunately he already has a girlfriend, so it had to be dropped.

"Tiantian, our family doesn't care about social status or family background. As long as you like someone and have good character, your father and I will support you."

Jing Tian felt a pang of regret. His uncle was really something; why hadn't he introduced Song Ci to him sooner?

“Tiantian, now that you mention it, I do remember. Your uncle said he asked someone to ask Song Ci to look after you. The young man has a lot of influence in the entertainment industry and can help you out, which makes your family feel much more at ease.”

Upon hearing this, Jing Tian's eyes lit up: "Is that so? Shouldn't we invite them out for a meal to thank them?"

After thinking for a moment, Jing's mother felt that her daughter's words made sense, and softly agreed: "However, this matter still depends on your uncle's arrangements. I will ask him another day, and ask him to take care of it when he comes to Beiping."

"Thank you, Mom!" Jing Tian smiled sweetly. After ending the call, she held the phone to her chest and muttered to herself, "It would be good to get to know each other first. Who knows who will win or lose in the end?"

At the same time, in the office of Tengda Culture, General Manager of Zhongao Building, Zhang Zhao stared intently at the female artist who had recommended herself to him the night before.

"Are you an artist under Huayi Brothers Entertainment?"

"Yes, Mr. Zhang." Zhao Liying sat upright, barely daring to breathe, feeling immense pressure from the person in front of her.

Zhang Zhao carefully examined the little girl. She had a round face and a simple, honest air about her, which was quite distinctive.

He then looked down at the resume in his hand: "You're not from a professional background?"

Zhao Yingli immediately became nervous and hurriedly said, "President Zhang, I have participated in various acting training programs. Director Teng and Director Ma both praised my acting skills, saying that I am no worse than those who have formal training."

Zhang Zhao was slightly taken aback. How could someone as insignificant as Huayi know the director of Tengda Culture? "You know Director Teng?"

"Mr. Zhang, I acted in the movie 'First Love' directed by Director Teng."

Zhang Zhao nodded, vaguely remembering such a thing, and then continued to look down at Zhao Liying's resume. The office was silent for a moment.

A knock on the door broke the silence.

After receiving permission, a man walked into the office: "Mr. Zhang, you wanted to see me?"

"Sit down!" Zhang Zhao gestured to the chair opposite him and introduced Zhao Yingli, "This is Yang Tianzhen, the deputy director of our company's artist management department."

Zhao Liying quickly stood up and greeted, "Hello, Mr. Yang."

Yang Tianzhen nodded slightly to the young girl, her expression calm, and sat down beside her, awaiting instructions from the general manager.

"Her name is Zhao Liying. She's an artist with Huayi Company. Last night, she volunteered to come to our company. Tianzhen, take a look at her resume." Zhang Zhao said succinctly, and then handed over the materials in his hand.

Yang Tianzhen took the resume and immediately started looking at it. The girl's resume was quite interesting; the two dramas she had recently acted in were both produced by Tengda Culture.

Zhang Zhao leaned back in his chair, glanced at the anxious Zhao Liying, and casually asked, "Do you think it's okay to sign?"

Yang Tianzhen considered it for a moment and said, "President Zhang, I think it's a good idea to sign her. She's not valued at all in Huayi, so transferring to another company won't cost much in breach of contract fees. Besides, Ms. Zhao's last two projects are with our company, so she's practically one of us."

Zhang Zhao nodded slightly and immediately made the decision: "Then sign it. You can handle the rest of the formalities."

Zhao Liying was overjoyed and could no longer contain her happiness. Her eyes reddened slightly as she said, "Thank you, President Zhang! Thank you, President Yang!"

"From now on, you will be an artist under the Tianzhen Group, and she will be responsible for your subsequent management affairs. Go to the 'Dream of the Red Chamber' production team tomorrow. After meeting Director Li Shaohong, tell her that you are from Tengda Culture, and she will arrange a suitable role for you."

Zhang Zhao spoke calmly, seemingly indifferent to whether or not Zhao Liying would be signed. However, he had always admired ambitious people, so he decided to give the young girl a chance to see what kind of trouble she could cause.

"Ah, thank you, Mr. Zhang." Zhao Liying was taken aback at first, then overjoyed. She hadn't expected Tengda Culture to be so helpful, arranging for her to join the cast of "Dream of the Red Chamber" right away. This is a super production adapted from one of the Four Great Classical Novels.

Yang Tianzhen asked cautiously, "President Zhang, the casting for 'Dream of the Red Chamber' has already ended, and filming has been underway for some time. If we send Liying there now, will she still be able to get a good role?"

Since Zhang Zhao assigned the person to her, she has to be responsible for Zhao Liying's future.

Zhang Zhao waved his hand dismissively, "Don't worry, Rong Xingda got the lead role in the company's 'The Bourne Identity,' the Lis will know what to do. Tengda's resources aren't given away for nothing!"

Seeing that the general manager was confident, Yang Tianzhen glanced at the girl who seemed to be in a dream, and stood up with a light laugh: "Come with me, Liying, let's talk about the company and your contract. We also need to resolve the matter with Huayi."

(End of this chapter)