The Entertainment Industry in Turmoil: Young Actresses All Want to Rise to the Top

The filming of "The Journey of Flower" has been underway for several days, but Shen Mo only joined the crew today.

When Shen Mo's black car arrived, reporters from various media outlets who had been waiting there in advance quickly surrounded him.

A bunch of microphones were practically shoved into his mouth, and a dozen mouths were talking at breakneck speed about their own questions, making his ears feel like they were about to explode.

"Shen Mo, what are your thoughts on the box office performance of 'Lost in Thailand'?"

Do you think this adaptation of "The Journey of Flower" can replicate the success of Mohen's previous works?

"Could you tell me about the Ink Trace No. 1 Fund?"

"Shen Mo, what are your thoughts on Huayi's defeat this time?"

"Why would Mohen acquire shares in Huayi? Didn't they short-sell Huayi before?"

Will the battle between Inkhen and Huayi continue into the next movie?

……

Hearing the commotion, the assistant director, who had come out to patrol the set, noticed the scene and immediately rushed over with the crew's security guards, then shielded Shen Mo behind him.

Finally, there was some space, so they weren't suffocating. Shen Mo pressed his hands down, signaling for quiet.

"To save time, I'll answer them one by one in order."

"The success of 'Lost in Thailand' is the result of the collective efforts of the entire crew. Of course, we also want to thank all the movie fans for liking and supporting the content produced by Mohen."

"I can't guarantee whether 'The Journey of Flower' will achieve the same level of success as the previous works produced by Mohen, since filming has just started. But please trust that any production by Mohen is bound to be a masterpiece."

"Ink Trace No. 1 Fund is a private equity fund launched by Ink Trace Asset Management under Ink Trace Capital. It has a size of about 580 million yuan and is mainly used to invest in some emerging industries."

"As for Mohen and Huayi, we have no conflict or struggle. There were just some differences in our views before, and it's not as serious as everyone thinks."

"Otherwise, the situation you all see wouldn't have happened. Our No. 1 Private Equity Fund just completed its acquisition of a stake in Huayi today. This reflects our optimism about the film and television industry, and also our optimism about Huayi."

……

After answering a series of questions briefly, Shen Mo finally entered the film crew under the protection of security guards.

"President Shen! You've finally arrived! Director Lin was almost frantic with worry!"

The assistant director led him toward the core area of ​​the set while quickly giving him instructions in a low voice.

"To catch up on the schedule you've fallen behind, Director Lin has rescheduled all the available scenes today, just waiting for you to come and tackle them together."

Shen Mo nodded without saying anything more and walked straight to the filming area, which had been cleared and was ready to go.

Lin Yufen was watching the monitor replaying the previous footage when she heard the noise. She looked up, saw Shen Mo, and without bothering with formalities, stood up immediately.

"Mr. Shen, time is tight, so we'll have to trouble you to film a few more scenes today."

"This afternoon we'll mainly film a few scenes featuring you as the main character, and your key scenes with Yitong will be filmed tomorrow morning."

"In my plan, we'll try to film your scenes first, since you're busy. If something comes up at the last minute, we'll have plenty of time."

"I'll follow Director Lin's instructions."

Shen Mo took the script from his assistant, quickly glanced at the marked scenes, and headed to the dressing room to change.

……

"What is Shen Mo thinking?" Yang Mi, who was on the front lines of gossip, immediately called Li Yitong.

"Aren't you enemies? Why are you buying Huayi's stock?"

"Hey, Honey, what's the point of buying stocks? Isn't it all about making money?" Li Yitong sat in the rest area, her eyes never leaving Shen Mo, who was busy at work.

Yang Mi on the other end of the phone still didn't believe it. "Making money doesn't necessarily require a shareholding disclosure, does it? You can't trade for six months now. Do you really believe Huayi's stock price will rise afterward?"

"Of course! Huayi is a well-known giant in the entertainment industry. Making money for us is a piece of cake for them, isn't it?"

Hearing Li Yitong still laughing it off, Yang Mi rolled her eyes. "If it were Huayi a few years ago, I would absolutely believe it."

"But in the past two years, Zhang Ziyi, Fan Binbin, Li Binbin, Zhou Xun, and Ge You have all left Huayi."

"You can't even handle Mohen, a company that's only been around for a little over a year? How can I trust you?"

"Sigh, sigh, sigh!"

"Honey, stop swearing!"

Talking about other things is fine, but talking about ink marks is not allowed; Li Yitong won't accept that.

"What's wrong with Inkmark? Our Inkmark is 'super' strong too! Okay!"

On the other end of the phone, Li Yitong pouted, her face full of confidence and pride.

"Tch~~" Now that she's become more familiar with Li Yitong, Yang Mi no longer pretends in front of her.

However, recalling the news from a while ago that Shen Mo made 100 million yuan by shorting Huayi, Yang Mi's eyes started to dart around again.

"Do you really believe Huayi's stock price can rise? Should I buy some too?"

Li Yitong chuckled, "Hehe, Sister Mi, even if we don't make money in the stock market by raising our stake, we're still qualified to join the Huayi board of directors. We won't lose money even if we don't make any."

"But you, if you're going to go in, you'd better be careful!"

"Ugh, this is so annoying! Can't you just not say that?"

Hearing Yang Mi's frustrated voice, Li Yitong finally laughed heartily.

-----------------

In Wang Zhonglei's office at Huayi, Wang Zhongjun sat opposite him on the sofa.

What do you think of Shen Mo's move?

Wang Zhonglei held a cigar between two fingers, letting the smoke drift away.

"Brother, to be honest, I don't quite understand what he's trying to do."

"Begging for mercy? Making peace? Or do you have other intentions?"

Wang Zhongjun sat on the sofa, his brows slightly furrowed. He did not immediately answer Wang Zhonglei's question, but instead asked a question in return.

Do you think Shen Mo is an impulsive person?

Wang Zhonglei was taken aback, then shook his head.

"No way. Although this kid is young, he's ruthless and experienced in his work; he doesn't seem like the type to act impulsively."

"That's it," Wang Zhongjun said slowly.

"He wasn't begging for mercy, nor was he simply trying to make amends. That was a very clever move."

He stood up, walked to the window, and looked out at the tall buildings.

"They shorted us and made over 100 million. This is a show of force to demonstrate their capital operation capabilities."

"Tell us that even if we don't enter the entertainment industry, he can still mess with us."

"But now they've acquired a stake and become our shareholder."

"This also tells us that he has the ability to short us, but he can also change his stance and support us."

Wang Zhonglei was puzzled: "Isn't this a contradiction? It's like hitting and pulling at the same time."

"It's not contradictory at all." Wang Zhongjun turned around.

"This precisely demonstrates his vision and character."

"He's telling us that he doesn't want to fight us to the death, but rather to get a share of the pie in this industry."

"By becoming our shareholder, you can gain a voice on the board of directors and share in the dividends of Huayi's development."

"More importantly—"

He paused, then nodded solemnly.

"This move immediately led outsiders to believe that our two families had gone from enemies to friends."

"Those investors who were initially hesitant and those partners who were wavering will now reassess the situation."

"He's using Huayi's influence to amplify the prestige of his Mohen."

Wang Zhonglei took a deep drag on his cigar, and his face turned grim amidst the swirling smoke.

"So we're just going to let him lead us by the nose like this?"

"Of course not."

Wang Zhongjun walked back to the sofa and sat down, his tone calm and composed.

"But we can no longer confront each other head-on like before."

"Shen Mo's move is both a demonstration of power and an olive branch."

"He demonstrated his strength, but also showed that he was unwilling to fight to the death."

"If we continue with a full-scale confrontation, we will only suffer losses on both sides."

He looked at Wang Zhonglei and said earnestly, "Zhonglei, times have changed."

"The time for us to have a monopoly is no longer here."

"Shen Mo, as a member of the new generation, has both the resources and the vision."

"Aside from his identity as an actor in the entertainment industry, he is also an investor!"

"The movies include 'Love is Not Blind' and 'Lost in Thailand'; the TV series include 'Beijing Love Story' and 'My Love from the Star'; the companies include Xiaomi, Toutiao, Meituan, Bilibili, and Didi; and the financial company is Mohen No. 1 Fund."

"He's not just a simple actor in the entertainment industry who can be suppressed at will; he's a capitalist."

"It's better to go with the flow than to be an enemy."

Wang Zhonglei remained silent for a long time before finally stubbing out his cigar in the ashtray.

"Brother, you're right. But I can't swallow this."

"If you say that companies like Alibaba and Tencent, which have an internet mindset, have taken our shares and joined our board of directors, I have nothing to say."

"But what gives Shen Mo the right to rely on? Just his so-called foundation?"

"As an investor, he only holds small shares in the companies he invests in and has no real control. Haven't we at Huayi achieved a lot in television dramas and movies?"

"He dares to raise his stake in Huayi? Isn't he afraid I'll fight him to the death and keep the stock price stagnant for a year? Let's see how he explains himself to those fund investors."

Wang Zhongjun didn't even look up, just rolled his eyes at her.

"Don't you know what Huayi's stock price is right now? It's 12 yuan. Even if he loses everything, it'll only amount to 8000 million."

"He couldn't have lost all the 100 million he made from us last time, let alone the at least 500 million in the fund."

"After he loses everything, think about it again, what do you and I have left?"

"After you lose everything, how are you going to explain this to your shareholders, Alibaba and Tencent? You've played them for fools; we'll be lucky if they can even have a meal with us after this!"

At this point, Wang Zhongjun calmed himself down and said, "The business world is like a battlefield; there are no permanent enemies, only permanent interests."

Wang Zhongjun said calmly, "I'll ask you one thing: do you want to take a bite out of the Mohen 400% return fund?"

"He just got incredibly lucky. I don't believe he can maintain such a high rate of return," Wang Zhonglei said dismissively.

Wang Zhongjun tapped his fingers hard on the table. "Don't say so much, I'm just asking if you want to eat it."

Wang Zhonglei snorted coldly, but did not say anything more about refusing.

"Although Shen Mo's lesson was painful, it also made us see many things clearly."

"The ways of the entertainment industry are nothing compared to real capital."

"Next, we need to re-examine our relationship with Inkmark."

He picked up the financial report on the table, his gaze deep.

"Perhaps this will be a new beginning."