Entertainment mogul: Starting his business with the internet

Chapter 265: Legend of Sword and Fairy 3 Airs

In July, with the sweltering summer heat and the arrival of summer vacation, a wave of "Chinese Paladin" fever quietly swept across the country.

The highly anticipated period drama "Chinese Paladin 3," meticulously crafted by Tangren Media, is set to premiere on television during the summer season, quickly creating a buzz among film and television enthusiasts, fans, and gamers.

With one of the "Four Little Fresh Meat" leading men and two of the "Four Little Fresh Meat" leading women, the cast of "Chinese Paladin 3" has become a hot topic among netizens.

Several lead actors, including Hu Ge and Yang Mi, have appeared on various variety shows to promote the drama. In every recent interview, they have cleverly steered the conversation towards "Chinese Paladin 3".

Not only did they share interesting anecdotes from filming, but they also told stories behind the characters, adding more mystery to the drama and raising audience expectations for "Chinese Paladin 3".

The production company, Tangren Media, dared not slack off in the slightest, preparing a large number of press releases well in advance and promoting the product extensively on online platforms such as Baidu Tieba, Weibo, and Tianya Forum.

For a time, topics related to "Chinese Paladin 3" frequently topped the trending search list, with the level of discussion continuing to rise and the popularity remaining high, showing a strong momentum of becoming a hit even before its release.

The number of Weibo followers of the main actors is also growing rapidly, and they are all eagerly anticipating the early broadcast of "Chinese Paladin 3".

On July 17th, the day before the broadcast of "Chinese Paladin 7", the main actors Hu Ge, Yang Mi, and Liu Shishi went to Tengda Technology Building to accept an exclusive interview with Toutiao Entertainment.

Inside the lounge, the group of people who had just finished recording an interview program in the morning were resting and chatting. They were going to take several sets of promotional photos in the afternoon, so they would basically be spending the whole day here.

In the small lounge, several people sat on the sofa. Hu Ge looked at his listless girlfriend and asked with concern, "Mimi, you don't look well. Didn't you sleep well last night?"

Yang Mi gently patted her cheeks, trying to perk herself up: "I've been too tired lately."

Her contract with Rong Xinda is about to expire, and in order to squeeze out the last bit of value from her, the agency has recently been arranging commercial performances for her like crazy.

In addition, she also had to find time to promote "Chinese Paladin 3", which has kept her very tired lately.

"Work is important, but health is more important. Mimi, you still need to get more rest."

"It's alright, I can manage. I'm just destined to be a workaholic." Yang Mi pouted as she listened to Liu Shishi's words.

I thought to myself, "My dear best friend, it's easy for you to say that without having to work hard yourself. You can get everything you want without having to struggle."

Tang Yan got up and walked to the window, looking out. All she could see were tall buildings and bustling traffic.

"This is my first time here. As expected of a large corporation, the office space is very impressive."

Chen Xiao chimed in, "Sister Yan, don't even mention it's your first time. Even I, a member of Tengda, am here for the first time at headquarters today. I'm here to broaden my horizons."

Yuan Hong chimed in, "This is the second time Lao Hu and I have come here. We came once before to promote 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes.' As for Shishi, there's no need to mention her!"

The woman smiled shyly, her eyes revealing a hint of joy, and gave a brief introduction: "This is the famous science and technology park in Beiping. The building next door is Baidu, and in front is the NetEase Building. It's surrounded by well-known domestic internet companies."

Watching the boss speak eloquently, Yang Mi felt envious and sweetly called out, "Okay, boss lady!"

She will officially join Tengda Culture next month, at which time Liu Shishi will be her boss.

Liu Shishi smiled radiantly, tilted her head, and stared intently at her best friend.

Yang Mi felt a little uncomfortable under the unexpected gaze of the top sister, and subconsciously sat up straighter: "Shishi, why are you looking at me like that?"

"Mimi, did you have plastic surgery? Your chin looks a bit pointed, not as round and full as before."

After hearing what Liu Shishi said, the others carefully examined Yang Mi. After observing her for a while, they all felt the same way, but they were too embarrassed to say it.

For a moment, the atmosphere in the lounge became somewhat awkward.

Yang Mi gently shook her head, her expression showing no sign of panic, and vaguely replied, "I didn't use any surgery, I just straightened my teeth and had a few back molars extracted."

She had mentally rehearsed this question countless times and already knew how to answer it.

Liu Shishi nodded understandingly and said no more. She had only asked one question out of curiosity, and everyone has their own choices.

She knew that haters and netizens had been mocking Yang Mi's square face for a long time, which had always been a source of anxiety for her good friend.

It's understandable for women to pursue beauty, and nowadays her face does indeed look more refined.

Although Yang Mi spoke casually, she was clearly still concerned. She changed the subject and asked, "What do you guys think? Compared to before, has my face shape changed significantly?"

The three men exchanged a knowing glance and chose to remain silent; a woman's appearance, especially a female celebrity's face, was a taboo topic.

Tang Yan compared the Yang Mi in front of her with the image in her mind: "I can see that her chin is a little sharper. Mimi, people will definitely use this to talk about you in the future, so you have to be prepared."

Yang Mi looked indifferent and very carefree: "If I was afraid of being criticized, I wouldn't have gotten my teeth straightened. Those haters on the internet are just making a fuss over nothing. They can say a thousand or ten thousand things, but I won't lose a hair."

Tang Yan shook her head with lingering fear and patiently advised, "Netizens follow the crowd and get too caught up in the hype from haters, which will inevitably affect our public image. Besides, as the saying goes, 'three men can make a tiger,' so being slandered and caused trouble is never good for us."

Hu Ge defended his girlfriend, saying, "I really don't understand the mentality of those haters? Why are they so keen on attacking celebrities!"

Yang Mi has a broad-minded and open-minded attitude: "Hate fans are nothing more than jealousy and venting their dissatisfaction. By belittling us, they put themselves on a moral high ground and gain psychological satisfaction and a sense of recognition."

As the saying goes, everyone has a different perspective, so let them be. Besides, isn't there a popular saying online these days that one hater is worth ten fans? Go ahead and hate on me for ten or twenty years if you dare.

Liu Shishi greatly admires her friend's inner strength. She witnessed her friend confronting haters on Weibo and not caring about any insults when filming "Chinese Paladin 3".

She can't do that. Sometimes when she sees some harsh comments, she still gets upset and her emotions fluctuate.

Seeing that everyone was deep in thought, Yang Mi paused and continued, "We are born to live as ourselves, not to live as others expect us to."

Some people criticize themselves because they believe they are better than others. Others criticize themselves simply because "honest advice is hard to swallow."

At this moment, Liu Shishi felt a surge of admiration for her best friend. She truly deserved to be called one of the Four Little Actresses, having worked her way up step by step and bit by bit. She was a clear-headed person.

Upon hearing this, everyone sighed with regret. Who doesn't want to live for themselves? But in the entertainment industry, one is often not in control of their own destiny. Every word and action is under scrutiny, and it's not easy to do as one pleases.

The lounge fell silent for a moment, then a knock on the door broke the silence, and a woman pushed the door open and entered.

Liu Shishi looked closely and was pleasantly surprised to find it was an old friend. She exclaimed with delight, "Sister Tiantian, what brings you here?"

"Shishi!" Jiang Tiantian replied with a smile, then revealed her purpose: "Everyone, I am Jiang Tiantian, the office director of Tengda Group."

Chairman Song knows that you're all here today for a program and would like to treat you to a simple lunch. He would like to invite you all to the restaurant later. Although Hu Ge and the others were secretly delighted, they politely replied, "That would be too much trouble for Chairman Song."

Jiang Tiantian wore a polite smile and said, "The chairman specifically instructed me that since you are all friends and it's rare for you to come to the company, we should naturally extend our hospitality."

I have some other matters to attend to. Please have a seat here for a moment; someone will come to invite you to the restaurant shortly.

After saying that, he turned to Liu Shishi and said, "Shishi, Chairman Song is still in a meeting upstairs. I'll go up first. See you in a bit."

After Jiang Tiantian left, Hu Ge asked Sister Yi, "Shishi, Chairman Song is so busy, is it inappropriate for us to bother him? We can just grab a quick bite for lunch."

Liu Shishi waved her hand dismissively: "It's alright, he has time at noon."

Mr. Song wants to invite the lead actors of "Chinese Paladin 3" to lunch; he discussed it with her last night.

Firstly, because these people are all her friends, and it's rare for them to come to Tengda. If she doesn't see them, it would be a disgrace to her, Liu Shishi, who is the top sister.

Secondly, I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their hard work in helping Song Ci when we returned from Switzerland last time, and invite them to dinner to express my gratitude.

Seeing Liu Shishi say this, the group was completely relieved. Opportunities to dine with the richest man are rare, so they had to cherish them.

The following day, July 18th, happened to be a Saturday, and it was also during the summer vacation.

Students don't need to go to school, and televisions in every household are turned on normally, allowing viewers to freely choose their favorite programs to watch.

Inside a high-end villa in Beiping, the patriarch, Li Zhong, had just finished watching the evening news and was about to watch the CCTV drama series "In That Faraway Place."

At this moment, his daughter Li Lingyan couldn't wait and snatched the remote control: "Dad, I want to watch Jiangsu TV. There's a new drama airing today."

Li Zhong had a daughter in his middle age and doted on her rotten. He always indulged her every whim, so he readily agreed to even the smallest request.

Moreover, it was a rare summer vacation, and his daughter didn't have to go to school for evening self-study at this time, so he thought he could spend more time with her. He smiled and nodded, then sat on the sofa and watched TV with his daughter.

Li Lingyan excitedly switched the channel to Jiangsu Satellite TV. After a few commercials, a TV series began to play on the screen.

"Chinese Paladin 3!" Li Zhong wasn't the kind of old-fashioned person who didn't understand new things. He had some impression of "Chinese Paladin" and remembered that it seemed to have been broadcast a few years ago and was very popular at the time.

"Yanzi, is this a sequel to the one from a few years ago?"

Li Lingyan enthusiastically explained to her father, "The Legend of Sword and Fairy is a series adapted from a game, and both were produced by Tangren Media, but the two are not closely related."

Seeing his daughter's excited expression, Li Zhong vaguely guessed what was going on: "Is this TV series starring your favorite star, Liu Shishi?"

"Yes, my sister is in it. Okay, Dad, I'm not going to talk to you anymore, let's focus on watching the TV series."

The opening theme song ended quickly, and the father and daughter sat quietly on the sofa to watch "Chinese Paladin 3".

Looking at the charming and lively heroine Tang Xuejian on the screen, Li Zhong asked curiously, "She is Liu Shishi."

Li Lingyan shook her head: "No, no, she is Yang Mi, but she acted alright."

"Oh." Li Gang nodded slightly. Although he didn't like watching idol fantasy dramas, he had to admit that the props, costumes, and special effects of "Chinese Paladin 3" were very well done, and the acting of the main actors was also acceptable, so it was watchable.

The 45 minutes flew by, and the first episode ended quickly. Li Lingyan looked dissatisfied because Liu Shishi, whom she had been longing to see, had not yet appeared. On the contrary, Li Zhong was watching with great interest.

"Yanzi, your favorite actor hasn't appeared yet, has he?"

"Yes, my older sister hasn't appeared yet."

"This drama is not bad, it's quite novel." Li Zhongping commented frankly, expressing his approval of "Chinese Paladin 3".

During a break in the advertisement, Li Lingyan suddenly remembered something and asked her father, "Dad, give me tens of thousands of yuan. I want to go on a trip in a few days."

"No way." Li Zhong refused without even thinking.

It wasn't that he was stingy with the money; as the CEO of a listed company, tens of thousands of yuan was just a drop in the ocean for him. But he was worried about his young daughter going out to play alone.

The little girl looked aggrieved and unhappy: "Dad, why are you so stingy?"

Li Zhong patiently said, "Dad doesn't care about the money, but you're not an adult yet, so don't go out alone."

"Who said I'm alone? I'm with Yuqing."

Upon hearing this, Li Zhong frowned slightly and hesitated. He knew that his daughter's best friend, Liu Yuqing, was the daughter of the president of the Beiping branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. The two shared similar interests and were very close.

Where are you going? How long will you be gone?

Li Lingyan thought about it and decided it was better to tell her father the truth, otherwise she might not be able to get the travel expenses.

“Yuqing and I went to Hengdian for a few days in August. At that time, Sister Shishi was filming in Hengdian, so Yuqing and I went to see her.”

"Let me think about it and I'll give you an answer tomorrow." Li Zhong planned to stall for time and contact Director Liu tomorrow. It was always worrying to have two young girls traveling alone.

"Okay." Li Lingyan pouted, a little disappointed.

After the father and daughter finished talking, Li Lingyan's mother also sat down on the sofa to watch TV with her husband and daughter.

The second episode begins quickly, with a fast-paced plot that unfolds one after another, captivating the entire family of three.

When the end credits rolled again, the Li family of three slowly came back to their senses.

Li Lingyan, still feeling unsatisfied, couldn't help but praise: "Tangren's production of 'Chinese Paladin 3' is really good. Hu Ge, the leading man, has the right acting skills. The only regret is that the older sister hasn't appeared yet."

Ahhh, when will Sister Shishi appear? I want to see Longkui! No, I have to ask Yuqing which episode she appears in.

As the girl spoke, she quickly picked up her iPhone from the coffee table, skillfully opened the Green Bubble app she had just installed a few days ago, and contacted her best friend.

Seeing his daughter's somewhat out-of-control behavior, Li Zhong whispered in his wife's ear, "Is Yanzi always like this? Is she really that obsessed with that celebrity?"

Li's mother nodded helplessly: "It's not just Yanzi, but also Xiaoyuqing. These girls are particularly crazy about chasing stars. They don't have any other bad hobbies, so let them chase stars, especially female stars. I just let them be."

(End of this chapter)