Liu Qiangxi watched the entire group fawn over the opportunity, how could he miss such a chance.
No matter who it was, politeness first.
He was considered a top figure in the group, but those more powerful than him were also fawning, so there was no reason for him not to.
Especially his elder brother, Penguin Ma, whose fawning was sickeningly obsequious, and the two great families from America were fawning to a nauseating degree.
If not now, then when?
As for who this Xia Lin was, he could find out later. Now that he was a shareholder of Fenglin Entertainment, he would eventually know the identity of the big boss.
Liu Qiangxi's last defense was broken, and he also began to shamelessly follow suit.
He felt that as a newcomer, his fawning posture was a bit off, lacking depth. He edited another message and sent it out.
CD Liu: Lin'er, you are the most beautiful, the most stunning, pure and lovely. You are the most beautiful in this world.
Penguin Ma: @CD Liu, you're going too far. Have you met Lin'er?
And you say you're the most beautiful in the world. While it might be true, you can't fawn so brainlessly.
Your own wife, Milk Tea Sister, has never fawned over you like this. If Milk Tea Sister saw this, she'd probably be kneeling on a washboard.
Old Wang: Truly disgusting. Xiao Ma, how do you know such a person?
Jiang Quanshui: No comment.
Liu Qiangxi pretended not to see the messages criticizing him in the group. He was happy to do so, and they couldn't control him.
Besides, he was used to fawning. If he couldn't compare in other aspects, he had immense confidence when it came to his wife.
Lin'er: Uh... you guys chat, I have something to do.
Xia Lin really couldn't stand it anymore and blocked the messages. These people, who appeared to be powerful big shots, were now acting like such sycophants. Xia Lin's worldview was shattered.
So, there's nothing wrong with being a sycophant; it depends on what kind of sycophant you are.
Fawn well, and you'll have wealth and status for a lifetime.
Fawn poorly, and you'll end up with nothing.
Old Wang: @CD Liu, look, you scared Lin'er away. Stop disgusting everyone.
CD Liu: So sorry, so sorry.
With such a grand lineup at its establishment, Fenglin Entertainment not only caused a stir in the Chinese entertainment industry but also created a huge wave in foreign media, primarily due to the sheer number of influential figures involved.
This included two world-renowned families from America. The American media seemed unfazed, only promoting Fenglin Entertainment's positive aspects, with no outlet speaking negatively of it.
Xu Jiaying, looking at the overwhelming news, fell into contemplation.
He knew more than anyone what Fenglin Entertainment was all about. Now, seeing so many people investing, he began to feel a sense of curiosity.
These were all big shots like himself, or even more influential, along with world-class families.
Did this mean all these people were fools?
Clearly not.
More likely, he himself was the fool.
He felt he had missed out on hundreds of billions. Whether it was about money or not was secondary; there must be some extraordinary secret behind this.
He could have invested and joined this collective, but he had refused.
Xu Jiaying's nature was such that if he didn't get to the bottom of things he was thinking about, he couldn't even sleep.
After a period of deep thought, he decided to call Penguin Ma to find out the truth. Their relationship was quite good, and since they were both in Guangnan Province, they often visited each other.
"Hello, President Ma, are you still in Shanghai?" Xu Jiaying asked after connecting the call.
"President Xu, what's up? I've been in Shanghai all this time." Penguin Ma had a rough idea, nine times out of ten Xu Jiaying was calling about Fenglin Entertainment.
The media was reporting on Fenglin Entertainment everywhere; anyone with a phone knew about it.
"President Ma, to be frank, tell me what exactly is going on with Fenglin Entertainment?" Xu Jiaying asked directly, without beating around the bush.
"What else could it be? Everyone thought it was fun to start an entertainment company. And the entertainment sector has been very profitable in recent years," Penguin Ma replied.
"President Ma, to be honest, one doesn't need to make such a big fuss to make money. I'm truly curious, so please enlighten me."
Seeing that Penguin Ma was being evasive and unwilling to reveal anything, Xu Jiaying pressed for an explanation.
He didn't believe a single word Penguin Ma said; it was utter nonsense. Even if entertainment was that profitable, they wouldn't invest trillions just for fun, would they?
How many movies would it take to recoup such an investment?
Besides, without someone to lead, how could you all gather together?
Old Wang was definitely not the leader. Even if Old Wang were the leader, you, Penguin Ma, wouldn't give him face and collude with Jack Ma.
You two act like you've slept with each other's wives whenever you meet, how could you possibly pee into the same pot?
So Xu Jiaying guessed that there was a very important person acting as the facilitator, or perhaps the country wanted this done and had them act together.
And he was the one who had missed this opportunity.
If that were the case, Xu Jiaying couldn't be more regretful.
"There are some things that cannot be said. Guess whatever you want in your heart. In short, let me tell you one thing: if you had invested in Fenglin Entertainment, it would have been ten thousand times better than what you did with Hengda. This would have been the most worthwhile investment of your life. What a pity."
Although Penguin Ma didn't explicitly state it, the meaning conveyed was substantial.
After hearing this, Xu Jiaying regretted it even more.
He no longer doubted Penguin Ma's words.
The reality was likely as he suspected; he had truly missed a great opportunity.
"Is it still too late to invest now?" Xu Jiaying asked a perfunctory question.
He really hoped Penguin Ma would say, "Invest quickly, it's not too late yet."
"Dream on. It's too late. We're not short of money."
Penguin Ma's response left Xu Jiaying very disappointed. As expected.
With trillions already invested, they were short a few billion from him?
Offering charcoal in the snow is valuable, but adding flowers to brocade is not.
Now they have plenty of money, why would they bother with you?
"Uh... that's truly regrettable," Xu Jiaying finally managed to utter after a long pause.
"Idiot."
Penguin Ma hung up the phone.
It wasn't Penguin Ma who swore; it was Xu Jiaying himself who said it. Whoever regrets it is an idiot, and now he truly was an idiot.
Xu Jiaying listened to the dial tone of the phone, speechless. He had truly made an idiot of himself this time.
Perhaps he would become a joke in their eyes in the future, a single misstep leading to eternal regret.
"Who are you calling an idiot?" Old Wang asked Penguin Ma.
"Guess." Penguin Ma smiled.
"Guess my ass, just say it."
"Guess? You guess if I'll guess."
"Old Xu, who else could it be? He said it himself, and I had to back him up," Penguin Ma explained.
"Haha, so Old Xu regrets it?"
Old Wang was very pleased upon hearing this. So, he really was an idiot this time.