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

On December 31, 1999, the courtyard downstairs in the Quancheng Workers' New Village residential area was preparing for the last hurrah of the 20th century.

Under the streetlights on the left, a square table was surrounded by people, and the shouts of "One of the suits!" and "Two of the suits!" blended with the laughter of the onlookers to create a warm and cozy background sound.

Beside the bluestone slab on the right, the charcoal fire was glowing red, and a teenager wearing an apron was skillfully turning over the sausages on the wire mesh, the sizzling oil splattering and releasing an enticing aroma.

A group of children, captivated by the aroma, chattered incessantly around the warm light.

But in the shadow of the old locust tree in the corner of the courtyard, a different kind of confrontation was taking place.

Li Xue, whose height advantage was already becoming apparent, stood with her hands on her hips and her chin held high, glaring at Shen Mo, who was half a head shorter than her, with undisguised contempt.

That look in her eyes clearly showed a little queen ruling her own territory.

Not far away, the warm glow of the charcoal fire illuminated the smiling faces of several elders.

Li Xue's aunt was cracking sunflower seeds, her gaze fixed on the little girl, full of admiration.

"This girl has a great figure and is very intelligent, but she's a bit wild."

She turned her head and made a suggestion to Li Xue's mother beside her.

"Sister-in-law, let me take Xiaoxue to learn to dance. My classmate happens to run a training class. She's such a good talent, it would be a shame not to let her learn. Learning to dance can also improve her temperament."

Looking at her daughter's "arrogant" appearance and thinking about her mediocre grades, Li Xue's mother nodded thoughtfully.

Learning to dance is indeed a path. Even if you don't achieve great success, it can still temper your character, improve your temperament, and add a touch of gentleness.

"Mo's mom," Auntie said with a smile, turning to the other side, "why don't we let little Mo come along too?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Mo's mother gently brushed the sunflower seed shells off her trouser leg, changed her slightly numb leg, and waved with a smile towards the old locust tree.

"Xue'er, Xiao Mo, come here! I have a question for you. Do you want to learn to dance? Learning to dance will make you even prettier!"

Before she could finish speaking, Li Xue skipped over her mother and buried herself in Shen Mo's mother's arms, tilting her little face up and nodding vigorously with her big eyes blinking.

Shen Mo, whose seat had been taken, pouted and leaned against Li Xue's mother in a huff, loudly announcing her departure.

"I don't want to learn to dance! I want to learn martial arts!"

[Once I learn martial arts, I must beat her up!]

In the way she looked at Li Xue, there was a small flame of defiance burning within her.

The adults were amused by this childish declaration and laughed heartily.

"Learning martial arts is great!" Aunt clapped her hands and laughed.

"What a coincidence! My classmate's girlfriend is a martial arts instructor! Their classes are right across from each other!"

Amidst the laughter and chatter, a streak of light suddenly pierced the distant night sky.

Then came the second, the third...

Fireworks burst forth, transforming into a dazzling shower of stars that illuminated the entire sky.

The chimes of the new millennium were played silently.

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The distance between the Beijing Dance Academy and the Beijing Film Academy is only six kilometers.

Having already completed his graduation performance and only waiting to receive his diploma, Shen Mo rented a two-bedroom apartment on Zaojunmiao Road, between the two schools, to avoid exchanging pleasantries with his "close" roommate whom he hadn't seen for over ten years.

Upon hearing the news, Li Yitong's eyes instantly curved into crescent moons, and she unhesitatingly claimed one of the bedrooms.

The upturned corners of his lips seemed to say: You keep saying you can't forget Xiaotian, but you still saved a room for me.

Thinking of this, she suddenly got up from Shen Mo's embrace, nimbly turned around and climbed onto his back.

"Go go go, let's go!"

She patted his shoulder cheerfully, "Take me to see our new home!"

"Hey, hey," Shen Mo said, deliberately frowning.

"She's over thirty, and still needs someone to carry her?"

"What? You're in your thirties?!"

Li Yitong pouted in dissatisfaction and gently tugged at his ear with her fingers.

"She's clearly a beautiful 20-year-old girl! Tell me, are you going to carry her or not?"

Shen Mo couldn't help but chuckle, but he still steadily supported her legs, lifted her up a bit, picked up his backpack from the ground, and started walking towards their new home.

Time flows like water, quietly passing by.

The capital city in June was already shrouded in summer heat.

While Li Yitong was busy putting away the newly purchased home furnishings, Shen Mo's plan finally reached its first key milestone.

As he had predicted, the Hang Seng Index steadily declined from its initial high of 23700 points, eventually dropping to around 22170 points by mid-June.

The market is shrouded in pessimism, with various bearish reports rampant.

At this moment, Shen Mo was sitting upright in front of the computer, the screen displaying a chilling green.

The morning was unusually calm until just before 10 a.m., when the candlestick chart suddenly and unexpectedly started to rise.

"There's money going on a buying spree." Shen Mo frowned slightly.

Immediately afterwards, a positive market rumor spread like wildfire.

Despite the unclear source of the rumors, in a desperate market, any positive news will be amplified infinitely.

The Hang Seng Index seemed to have been injected with a stimulant, with the index rising straight up from 22170 points, surging more than 300 points in five minutes.

"Sure enough, someone couldn't sit still any longer."

Shen Mo interlaced his fingers, his thumbs unconsciously rubbing against each other.

Millions of Hong Kong dollars in unrealized gains evaporated instantly from his account, but he didn't panic. Instead, he quickly typed on the keyboard and added 40 short positions.

"Ballad of Balotelli is a timeless proverb: Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful."

"Every unconventional rebound is an opportunity for major players to shake out retail investors and prepare for the next decline."

"An emotionally driven rebound will ultimately be no match for the fundamental weakness. Policy cannot be reversed at this time; doing so would be tantamount to drinking poison to quench thirst."

Sure enough, an hour later, the relevant person in charge issued a statement refuting the rumors.

The false prosperity burst like a bubble.

The gains of the previous hour were completely wiped out within five minutes, with the decline even more severe than the rebound, directly breaking through the support line that had held for several days.

Shen Mo stared at the account. The original 200 short positions had a floating profit of over HK$2000 million, and the newly added 40 positions had also yielded a profit of nearly HK$200 million.

He exhaled softly, a faint smile playing on his lips.

This battle has only just begun.

Teng Huatao's film investment is imminent, and it's time to secure some of the profits.

As the positions were closed, HK$18 million was withdrawn, leaving HK$4 million to remain dormant in the market.

This wave perfectly demonstrates that the market did not cause a serious butterfly effect due to its rebirth.

In that case, the decline over the past two weeks is just an appetizer; the real despair will come on August 5th.

Before that, the recent rebound high will become a resistance level that will be difficult to overcome in the next month.

He only needs to calmly set up his short position when the price rebounds to that level again, and then wait for the right opportunity.

Because on August 5th, S&P will make an unprecedented downgrade of the America government's sovereign credit rating.

This completely exposed the false prosperity of the global capital markets, directly leading to a sharp drop in US stocks and subsequently triggering a global stock market crash.

The Hang Seng Index plummeted 4000 points in two weeks, falling to 16170 points in early October, marking its lowest point in more than a decade, and it was not broken again until October 2022.

Faced with systemic risks of this magnitude, Shen Mo was not worried at all about the possibility of a market manipulator trying to wash away his meager profits.

After the storm passes, he will consolidate his gains, pool his funds with established brokerage firms in Hong Kong, and go long, patiently waiting for the two super bull markets of 2015 and 2018.

The real test is yet to come.

How to legally and legitimately inject this HK$1800 million into the mainland has become a difficult problem.

Shen Mo chose to hold shares in Mohen Capital through a Cayman company, transforming it into an investment platform with foreign investment background, and then applying for an "Overseas Investment Certificate for Enterprises".

He spent several days immersing himself in a sea of ​​policy documents and personally drafted a "Business Plan".

Shen Mo really racked his brains to develop this business plan, since he used to delegate these tasks to his capable subordinates.

When the notification of approval arrived, even he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Is that all? Now all the funds from the port can be legally transferred in, right?"

Looking at the fluctuating numbers on the account, Li Yitong couldn't help but give a long, slender thumb.