Zhou Xun looked at her phone with curled lips. "How dare you hang up on me! I wanted to tell you that if you sacrificed yourself, I'd risk my life to join your firm. You lost that chance now!"
Zhou Xun fixed her eyes on her busy agent. What did he hide from me? I'll have a talk with him in the evening.
Before Qin Guan could make his second call, he received an unexpected call from Li Bingbing. Her familiar loud voice sounded excited. The smart girl wanted something from him.
She could be considered a friend, so Qin Guan disclosed more facts to her. Then the honest girl betrayed Wang Jingcao.
"Listen to me. Wang called me as soon as I returned home. She asked me to join Tiancheng after my contract expires. She promised me the top position at the firm, the position Zhou Xun holds in Huayi. She also said she'd give me priority for good scripts."
"Did you make a deal with her?"
"Of course not! I'm not an idiot. A few famous actresses followed her, but no famous director did. A good film requires a screenwriter, a cameraman, a producer, and so on. A good actor cannot make up for the lack of a good team. I'd rather stay at Huayi. Zhou Xun is not right for 'The Knot' after all."
She was a really smart, honest girl. Some actresses seemed clever, but actually lacked a brain. When he called Fan Pingping, she sounded nervous and confused. After a 30-minute conversation, she burst into tears.
"What should I do? I promised Sister Wang I would leave Huayi."
"When does your contract expire?"
"In six months."
"Then renew your contract for one more year."
"Would that be alright? It would be obvious that I did it to avoid working with her."
"Do you want to join a new firm? Your commercial status is clear. Without any speculation or public affairs, your popularity will diminish. What you need right now is a reliable director and a good script. Would Tiancheng offer you that?"
"But Wang helped me..."
"Your dilemma suits her plan. Everyone wants to be a true actor instead of just a pretty face. You two are just taking advantage of each other. She only cares about famous actors, she doesn't give a damn about you! Don't be silly!"
"Do you know who else is leaving with her?"
"Yes, most people are. All stars from Hong Kong and Taiwan and some big shots from her early days."
"Well… Cheers, Qin Guan!"
Social relationships were always fascinating. Fan thought she should be on Qin Guan's side because they came from the same city.
The stars leaving Huayi were really famous among ordinary people, but Qin Guan didn't see any future development in their careers.
The next day, the storm hit. The media in China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan were divided into two sides. One side favored Tiancheng and published striking names on their heanlines, including Chen Daoming, Hu Jun, Chen Hao, Yuan Yongyi, Wu Junru, Guan Zhilin, Xia Yu and so on.
"No monopoly in the entertainment circle. A fair environment to be created."
"The poor centripetal force of Huayi!"
The other side criticized Wang's tricks with indignation.
"Should actors belong to an individual or a firm? Stealing actors should be considered a crime!"
"Taking advantage of a firm's resources to achieve personal success."
"Lack of entertainment regulations! Huayi is suffering despite its innocence."
One side was aggressive, while the other was dramatic. At that point, Qin Guan's firm took action. That intense period was their best chance to intervene.
His announcement put an end to the battle among the media. All the editors replaced the headlines with new ones and hurried to write new articles for the big event.
Qin Guan's investment was a vital stimulant for the fragmented, unstable firm. It was actually a helping hand. Here was a really honest man. In modern society, putting icing on the cake was much easier than providing timely help.
Thus, everyone learned that Qin Guan was the third major shareholder of Huayi, inferior only to the Brothers, and had rights to the function of the firm, as well as the power to make decisions.