"Mr. Lu, what are you up to?"
Qingqing followed him inside, only to suddenly exclaim as Lu Liang picked her up around the waist and carried her towards the bathroom.
After a whirl of intense passion shrouded in darkness, Lu Liang wrapped in a bathrobe, walked out of the bathroom, leaving Qingqing alone to tidy up.
He lay on the sofa on the balcony, enjoying the river breeze, lighting an after-act cigarette, tapping his fingers on the tabletop, feeling quite pleased.
The scenario Lu Liang had most feared hadn't occurred; instead, he'd reaped an unexpected boon.
He still had a hunch, though, which would need another four days to confirm.
...
The next morning, Lu Liang drove with Qingqing back to Good Dream Film Company.
After exchanging contact information, he patted her shapely behind, "You go ahead with your tasks, I have something to discuss with your Mr. Wu."
"Why don't I get you a cup of tea?" smiled Qingqing, who lived in Tangchen Yipin and drove a Bentley.
She considered Lu Liang her true destiny's match and the noble connection on her road to success.
"Go ahead," Mr. Lu said with a smile, but as soon as she left, his smile quickly faded.
He took out a project proposal, "Mr. Wu, I'm quite interested in this project, could you please put me in contact with the other party?"
An investment of just five million could yield 1.2 billion in seven months, a return of 24 times; it was hard for him not to be tempted.
"Happy Mahua?" Wu Tianzheng frowned, "That's a start-up company, I'll look up their information for you."
"They just established their film department last year, having produced stage plays before, and this movie is an adaptation of one of those plays."
"Mr. Lu, are you sure you want to get in touch with them?"
Happy Mahua's general manager, Zhang Chen, had also approached him a few times to pull strings and draw in investments.
Wu Tianzheng didn't have high hopes for this project, since it was the outsiders' first movie, and it was adapted from a stage play.
That also meant those who'd seen the play already knew the storyline; there was a lack of freshness and anticipation.
Happy Mahua's clout was limited; the movie's main cast, including the director and writer, were all key creators from their theater.
It looked like a project decided on a whim.
Since Lu Liang was Meng Changkun's friend, Wu Tianzheng couldn't just watch him jump into a pit.
"I've seen this play; it felt quite good, so I'll trouble Mr. Wu to contact them for me."
Lu Liang knew Wu Tianzheng meant well, but he had unwavering faith in the "voice from the future."
That Wu Tianzheng failed to see the film's potential box office simply showed his lack of vision.
In fact, one could say most investors lacked the insight, or else this dark horse wouldn't be left wandering without backers.
Lu Liang had found himself an opportune moment.
"I'll contact him for you then," sighed Mr. Wu, giving up on persuasion and dialing Zhang Chen's number.
"Mr. Zhang is in Yanjing, heard you're interested in investing; he's booked a flight for noon. Mr. Lu, when are you available?"
"Let's make it three o'clock in the afternoon, help me schedule it, then send me the address, I'll go directly there."
"And Qingqing, does she go with you, or should I reach out to Bai Xiaoqin from yesterday?" Wu Tianzheng asked cautiously.
He figured, Lu Liang must be aiming to promote someone, otherwise why invest in this movie?
"Never mind Bai Xiaoqin, as for Qingqing, I will trouble Mr. Wu to provide her with some resources in the future."
A movie that could turn a mere 20 million budget into 1.441 billion at the box office was something Lu Liang didn't plan to meddle with; best leave it to its natural course.
If he forced a role that caused the movie to flop, rounding it off, he'd be losing over a billion.
"Would you like to see any other proposals?" Mr. Wu didn't inquire further, being well accustomed to such ruthless decisions.
Moreover, last night Qingqing was asked to accompany drinks, and a promise was already made to tilt resources her way, as well as reward her with a sizable bonus.
"I won't check it today, I still have some things to do later."
Zhao Haisheng of Guotai called, saying that Lu Liang now qualified for the VIP room and needed to take some time recently to complete the relevant procedures.
The VIP room of Guotai Securities wasn't just a symbol of identity and status but also came with many practical benefits.
Previously, Lu Liang had a regular account, with a transaction fee of 0.03%.
That's 3000 yuan for 10 million, and it isn't just a single transaction; each trade incurs such high fees.
If upgraded to VIP, the transaction fee could drop to 0.012%, and he would also enjoy financial services such as financing and short selling.
Before long, Lu Liang walked out of the office chatting and laughing with Wu Tianzheng, just in time to meet Bai Xiaoqin, who had come to sign a contract.
"Mr. Lu, Mr. Wu, hello."
A glint of joy flashed in Bai Xiaoqin's eyes. After returning home yesterday, she received an invitation to audition for the fourth female lead.
She knew all of this was thanks to Lu Liang, to the extent that she was anxious all night, barely able to sleep.
Bai Xiaoqin had heard of many under-the-table rules, especially for online drama crews with less than ten million in production costs, like "Disc Immortal Battle Pen Immortal."
For example, a producer inviting a female actor to read the script at a hotel late at night, and if she didn't agree, she would be subjected to petty annoyances the next day, or scenes she had worked hard on for months could be completely cut.
Such incidents were not uncommon.
However, last night, Bai Xiaoqin received no such invitation calls, which gave her a slight good impression of Lu Liang, but only a slight one.
"Do well in your acting, I'm looking forward to your performance," Lu Liang greeted her, ignoring Qingqing, and left the Good Dream Company.
"I will definitely work hard," Bai Xiaoqin said excitedly, bowing deeply, watching Lu Liang disappear into the distance.
Qingqing walked by with a cold face and a sneer: "Ha, so naive. If effort alone were enough, there wouldn't be so many extras."
She was very annoyed that Lu Liang had ignored her as he passed by, clearly acting like he didn't know her once the deed was done.
"Senior, did I do something wrong?" Bai Xiaoqin was straightforward and didn't understand why she was being targeted.
"Xiao Bai, don't mind her. Once the contract is signed, go report to Director Liang," Wu Tianzheng glared at Qingqing and called her into the office.
"Next month's issue of Bazaar magazine has a few fashion sets to showcase. Prepare a bit, and go to Yanjing to assist with the shoot."
Wu Tianzheng noticed that Qingqing was still unconvinced and said earnestly, "Qingqing, don't overthink it. Those with money aren't fools. Actually, Mr. Lu is no different from the previous Mr. Liu and President Zheng."
He didn't know what had happened last night or what Lu Liang said to Qingqing.
But judging from their attitudes today, it was clear that Lu Liang wasn't taking it seriously, while Qingqing took it to heart.
Qingqing clenched her teeth, fiddled with her manicure, and finally let out a resigned sigh: "I got it, Mr. Wu."
"Alright, you can leave now." Wu Tianzheng nodded slightly, showing a satisfied smile.
Flexible and willing to put in the effort, he believed that Qingqing would make a name for herself sooner or later.
On the other side, Lu Liang arrived at the Guotai branch.
Today was Saturday, a non-trading day, and investors coming to open accounts or inquire about stock market conditions were obviously fewer.
Zhao Haisheng had been waiting at the entrance early on and couldn't help but be astonished and envious when he saw Lu Liang getting out of a Bentley.
He remembered that just half a month ago, Lu Liang was a small player who could only manage 250,000 yuan in financing, but in the blink of an eye, he had become a big investor with tens of millions in assets.
And if not for his "contribution," such a quality customer wouldn't have fallen into his lap.
"Liang, you can park your car here."
Zhao Haisheng quickly adjusted his mentality, put on a smile, hurried over to remove the bollards, and cleared a parking spot.
Having been in the industry for seven years, he had seen and heard too much and had long understood what was meant by time, fate, and luck.
Some people, some things, you just can't envy; he just needed to do his job well.