"I'll come see you once I've sorted things out here," Ou Minghan said perfunctorily.
After hanging up, Ou Minghan breathed a sigh of relief. How could Ou Tiantian, who depended on him so much, betray him? He had been overthinking it. Even if everyone in the world betrayed him, Ou Tiantian wouldn't.
From now on, he could confidently entrust his money to Ou Tiantian's care. At most, he would just remind her not to spend it lavishly anymore.
And now, he could focus all his energy on movies and games.
In fact, the words he used to persuade Ni Na weren't just to trick the Cen family out of money.
Taoxun had a massive hit with just one movie. Moreover, although Ou Minghan genuinely felt that Taoxun's games were not up to par, they were incredibly profitable!
During the popularity of "Beauty Showdown," the companies that paid the most readily were those with reskinned casual games. Ou Minghan even chatted with the owner of one of these game companies and learned what it meant to make a fortune quietly.
Therefore, he was truly envious.
These two industries were practically paved with gold. Why shouldn't he try to pick up some money too? Anyway, the money spent was the Cen family's. Even if they lost money, it would be the Cen family who lost it. If they made money, he would get a share.
With no downside, Ou Minghan was full of drive. He quickly presented his plan to Ni Na, and she transferred the money.
He immediately began assembling a game development team and preparing for the production of several movies.
Noticing Ou Minghan's activities, Feng Jie went directly to Ye Zhi's office to inform her of the situation.
Ye Zhi seemed a bit surprised. "Did Ou Minghan tell you these things?"
"Not exactly. He's wary of me now and didn't tell me directly," Feng Jie replied. "But I've been keeping an eye on Feilong Live's recruitment. I noticed they've been aggressively hiring game development talent lately, even poaching from Taoxun's game department. So, I infer that Ou Minghan is currently building a game team. As for preparing to shoot movies, he did call me to complain about how expensive copyright fees are nowadays, saying some novel websites are even more rapacious than he is. So, I surmise he intends to buy copyrights to produce movies or TV series."
"Oh?" Ye Zhi's interest immediately piqued. "He actually called others rapacious? It seems he's been taken advantage of. Tell me the details."
Feng Jie nodded. "He did indeed complain to me about the whole ordeal. He said he originally wanted to buy the copyrights of several popular online novels. He first inquired about prices on a major website, but found their asking prices too high. So, he chose a smaller website."
"Smaller websites are even more rapacious!" Ye Zhi exclaimed.
"Exactly. However, Ou Minghan thought that smaller websites might be rapacious towards their authors, but he was buying copyrights, so they shouldn't be able to exploit him." Feng Jie continued, "He selected an online novel from a small website. It had been selling well across various channels and was considered moderately popular. To prevent being swindled, he first had someone contact the author. After communicating with the author, he learned that the manuscript fee for his book was only around 50,000 yuan. Ou Minghan then negotiated with him, offering 100,000 yuan for the film and television copyright, which the author readily agreed to. However, the author couldn't make the decision himself; the copyright belonged to the website, and Ou Minghan had to deal with them. To his surprise, when Ou Minghan approached the small website, they asked for a million yuan! Ou Minghan thought he misheard and confirmed with the website repeatedly. The small website then rudely told him that the novel was very profitable on their platform, having already earned millions during its serialization and continuing to generate over 100,000 yuan in monthly income after its conclusion. The website owner bought his new car with the profits from this book. Offering Ou Minghan a million yuan was already showing him a lot of respect."
Ye Zhi was speechless. "Rapacious! Truly more rapacious than Ou Minghan!"
"Isn't that the truth?" Feng Jie sighed. "Even Ou Minghan was shocked this time. He specifically confirmed with the author if he knew about this. Only then did the author realize how much money his book had made, and that the website had completely swindled him! The author is now trying to find a way to sue for the money back!"
"That lawsuit won't be easy," Ye Zhi said with a sigh.
Feng Jie nodded. "Indeed. The settlements with other channels are all in the small website's hands. The author has no evidence, and gathering relevant evidence is incredibly difficult. If it goes to court, it won't be over in less than a year or two. The small website has lawyers and isn't afraid of a prolonged legal battle, but the author needs to make a living. Spending a year or two in court would not only affect his creative work but also his life. It's extremely difficult for ordinary people to contend with capital."
Ye Zhi remained silent, deep in thought.
"Later, Ou Minghan complained to me that other small websites were just as rapacious. He inquired about several others, and their prices were no lower than those of the major websites. He also asked me how to buy cheap copyrights in bulk," Feng Jie continued. "It was through this that I deduced he must be planning to make movies, and not just one."
"Your deduction is quite sound," Ye Zhi frowned. "But if he's developing games and shooting movies, where does he get so much money?"
"The Cen family is supporting him and giving him the money. He mentioned this when he was showing off to me. However," Feng Jie said with some confusion, "I'm also quite surprised. Feilong Live was supposed to be suspended for rectification, yet the Cen family seems to trust Ou Minghan even more and is giving him money more generously?"
Ye Zhi pondered for a moment, then suddenly, as if she had thought of something, she glanced back.
"President Ye, what's wrong?" Feng Jie asked blankly.
"I suddenly feel a weight on my back," Ye Zhi said with a hint of helplessness. "Perhaps, without my knowledge, I've already shouldered a great many burdens."
Feng Jie: "…Are you implying that the Cen family's support for Ou Minghan is because he's shifted a lot of blame onto you?"
"Likely so," Ye Zhi nodded.
For them to suddenly unite… or rather, to collude, there must be a common enemy.
After much thought, Ye Zhi concluded that her own hatred value was probably the highest.
Feng Jie didn't know what else to say. Suddenly, as if recalling something, he continued, "Oh, President Ye, Ou Minghan also helped Cen Ya open a fashion design studio."
"Fashion design?" Ye Zhi was somewhat surprised, but not entirely. Fashion designer, a common occupation for novel heroines! However, she remembered that in the original plot, Cen Ya's profession was jewelry designer. After all, their family's main business was jewelry, and Ni Na was also the chief designer for their jewelry.