Li Guoli called the shareholders of his companies to confirm they had all received the acquisition offer from Jiangnan Group, and that it had happened just minutes ago. He was also genuinely considering selling his shares. Li Guoli knew then that he had encountered a true tycoon.
His company was about to have a new owner.
“Mr. Huang!” Li Guoli said with a wry smile. “Although I don’t know why you’re suddenly acquiring Tangren Pictures, if you do take over Tangren in the future, I must inform you that casting Miss Zhiwen as Li Xiaoyao carries immense risk. The entire series could very well fail miserably. In that case, I fear…”
“If it truly loses money, I guarantee I won’t make things difficult for you, but only if Director Li puts his utmost effort into filming this series,” Huang He said.
“Mr. Huang, that’s difficult to say, as what exactly constitutes ‘utmost effort’ is subjective…”
“Utmost effort means that besides Li Xiaoyao, you have the final say on all other actors, the script, and the filming. I promise not to exert any other pressure on you, and there will be no issues with the series’ funding. I can even help you find world-class special effects studios to work on the series’ effects… If even then you cannot put in your utmost effort, then I have nothing more to say.”
“Understood!” Li Guoli nodded. “But Mr. Huang, I have one more request. If you don’t agree to it, then I’ll sell you my shares, and you can just leave me be!”
“That won’t do. The main reason I’m willing to buy Tangren’s shares is for you, Director Li!” Huang He quickly said.
In reality, Huang He was primarily interested in some of Tangren’s signed artists, such as Hu Ge.
However, the most important factor was Tangren’s dominant position in the television industry before 2015, and its numerous renowned dramas, which perfectly aligned with Mr. Huang’s cultural development plans.
One of Mr. Huang’s five small goals was cultural victory. To achieve this goal, the best method was cultural export, making strategic investments in the entertainment industry a necessity for Mr. Huang.
Acquiring Tangren was merely a small step for Mr. Huang at the moment, a step to hone his skills and train his team. His true future lay in Hollywood, in the global arena; this was Mr. Huang’s ultimate objective.
Therefore, promoting Leng Zhiwen so aggressively was also something Mr. Huang had to do. It wasn’t entirely to please Leng Zhiwen. After all, Mr. Huang had already decided to marry Zhiruo, and these younger sisters-in-law would truly be his sisters-in-law from then on. They were off-limits, alas. xxs1
“Then I’ll be blunt. I want one year for Miss Zhiwen!” Li Guoli said very directly.
“One year?” Huang He was taken aback. Could this old man be a pervert?
“Ahem, Mr. Huang, please don’t misunderstand. This year is actually for building a foundation for Miss Zhiwen!” Li Guoli sighed. “Miss Zhiwen is a promising actress, but she has never studied acting, so she has no foundation in performance.”
“Although she has some experience in stage plays, stage plays are ultimately not the same as actual television dramas. The acting styles for stage plays and television dramas are vastly different. Therefore, Miss Zhiwen needs systematic acting training to build a solid foundation!”
“The series ‘Chinese Paladin’ is still in the preparation and filming stages. It’s estimated that actual filming won’t begin until this time next year, so a year is just about right.”
“Within this year, I will invite some renowned teachers from the industry to train Miss Zhiwen individually. Miss Zhiwen must also study diligently, as one year is a very short time. University students have four full years to graduate; one year is a significant compression of time.”
“Only after such a period of study can Miss Zhiwen truly portray the role of Li Xiaoyao. Otherwise, even if you give me the best conditions and more money, I still won’t be able to film ‘Chinese Paladin’ successfully. The success or failure of a TV series almost entirely depends on its protagonist. If Miss Leng Zhiwen’s performance causes viewers to break character, then no matter how well I film it, the show cannot succeed! Not to mention that Miss Zhiwen is playing a male lead role in disguise.”
“You mentioned Ms. Veronica Yip’s experience earlier. You know then that without Ms. Veronica Yip’s more than ten years of acting experience, she would not have been able to portray Xu Xian so well. This was the foundation of her success. If Miss Zhiwen also wants to succeed, she must build a solid foundation and become a true actress!” Li Guoli delivered a long speech.
“So that’s how it is!” Huang He fell silent for a moment. During this silence, he thought of a certain big star.
At this time, the then 13-year-old big star was about to debut as a model in a year.
Later, this big star met the ‘Cult Master’ and received almost the same treatment as Leng Zhiwen, with various acting offers directly thrown her way. As a result, the big star had no acting skills and hadn’t even attended a single professional acting class before directly landing a leading role.
Consequently, the big star planted the seeds of her future downfall at this very moment. With labels like ‘staring blankly’ and ‘queen of bad movies,’ the big star would likely never be able to shake them off.
By 2021, no film producer dared to invite the big star to act anymore because every film she starred in lost money, a foolproof pattern. Even the most foolish producers and platforms, no matter how much they loved traffic, would not invest in the big star.
Therefore, Leng Zhiwen was now very likely to follow the same path as the big star. Especially since Leng Zhiwen was even more beautiful than the big star, and naturally so. Such beauty was a double-edged sword; without the support of acting skills, the more beautiful one was, the more severely they would be criticized. This was inevitable.
Although Huang He had already made up his mind, he still looked at Leng Zhiwen and said, “Zhiwen, one year is very important for you. Although you’re in your third year of university and it’s mainly for internships, if you miss a year, you might have to take a temporary leave of absence from university!”
“Furthermore, if you decide to dedicate a year to training, I will not provide any assistance. Everything will be decided by Director Li. Whatever he requests that is beneficial to you, I will support him. If you try to run away halfway, I will bring you back. I will not grant you freedom until the year is over.”
“So, think carefully whether you want to accept Director Li’s request and become a professional actress!” Huang He said with a deep sigh. “Brother-in-law can provide you with all the resources, but he cannot give you acting skills. I hope you understand this.”
“I understand that without you telling me!” Leng Zhiwen said calmly. “You don’t need to say that to me. Becoming a real actress is my dream, and the opportunity to realize that dream is right in front of me. I will absolutely not give it up. I will cooperate fully with Teacher Li’s guidance as you requested!”
“Good!” Li Guoli nodded with satisfaction. “Since that’s the case, come find me in Shanghai next Monday. I’ll immediately arrange teachers for you and start intensive closed training!”
“Actually, your foundation in physical expression is already perfect, your grasp of emotions is also excellent, and your line delivery is quite strong. Perhaps you won’t even need a full year to be ready!”
“I will listen to Teacher’s instructions!” Leng Zhiwen nodded. This matter was settled.
In the following days, Huang He spent two days sightseeing with Leng Zhiwen in Beijing, visiting the Forbidden City and the Great Wall. Then he flew back to Wenzhou, allowing Leng Zhiwen to say goodbye to her mother and sisters.
Although Madam Zhang was very reluctant to see Leng Zhiwen leave for a year, she did not try to keep her back, considering that this was about her daughter’s lifelong future.
On Sunday evening, the family gathered for a reunion dinner. Leng Zhiwen would be taking a flight to Shanghai the next morning.
“Zhiwen, do you have any other requests or anything you wish to do? Brother-in-law will help you achieve it!” Huang He asked, feeling quite sentimental during the meal. Seeing Leng Zhiwen standing outside later in the evening, he proactively inquired.
“I want to play on the computer. I’ve never used a computer before in my life. Can you teach me, brother-in-law?” Leng Zhiwen asked after a moment of hesitation.
“Play on the computer?” Huang He was surprised. “Alright, I’ll tell Zhimeng to lend you her computer for one night!”
“Will she be willing to lend me her beloved computer? She’s always said that her computer and husband are not for loan!” Leng Zhiwen chuckled.
“Ah, today you are the most important person in the family. I believe Zhimeng will be willing to lend you her computer!” Huang He said.
“Never mind. If she’s willing to lend it to me, I might not want to use it!” Leng Zhiwen shook her head. “Accompany me to an internet cafe. They have computers there too.”
“Internet cafe?” Huang He was taken aback, but then he nodded. Huang He had originally intended to go to an internet cafe near their home, but unexpectedly, Leng Zhiwen hailed a taxi and said something that made Huang He’s blood run cold to the driver: “Take me to Happy Internet Cafe!”
“Happy Internet Cafe? Isn’t that the internet cafe from that night? Could it be…” Huang He felt uneasy in the car. Leng Zhiwen, looking out at the passing street scenery, recalled what Zhang Yali, her mother and Huang He’s mother-in-law, had said to her, or rather to all her sisters, that evening.
At that time, everyone was still gathered around the dining table, eating. Huang He had gone to the restroom, leaving only the sisters at the table.
“My daughters, Mother has some good news to tell you!” Zhang Yali said excitedly to her daughters. “Zhiruo admitted to me last night that your brother-in-law has already proposed to her. They are already discussing wedding dates and are likely to get married within the year!”