As they were chatting, a server came over from the backstage to remind them that Wei Cancha was ready. Simon retracted the short sword he had been using to lift the chin of the girl in front of him and gestured to the side. The princess, who had been kneeling on the carpet, understood and obediently moved aside. She only stood up after leaving the central sofa, her curious gaze scanning the surroundings. To her surprise, she spotted a familiar face.
Professor Yu.
Both of them were from the Beijing Film Academy. The princess was from the class of '88, while Professor Yu was from '89. They were both in the acting department and had interacted frequently during their school days.
Professor Yu, who was squeezed onto the back sofa with several other female attendants, locked eyes with the princess. It took her a moment to recognize the princess, as she had been deliberately dressed up by Chen Qing to resemble herself. The recognition brought a wave of awkwardness.
However, since they had recognized each other, Professor Yu had no choice but to nod in greeting.
The princess, on the other hand, wasn't as reserved as Professor Yu. She glanced at Chen Qing and a certain man beside her, and seeing that neither was paying attention to her, she walked over and squeezed in next to Professor Yu, who had made some room for her. In a low voice, she asked, "What are you doing here?"
Professor Yu thought for a moment before replying, "Have you seen the recent movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon?"
The princess nodded, her eyes showing a hint of anticipation.
Professor Yu then gestured toward Li Youhu, who was cuddling with Chen Xingwei on a single-seater sofa. "I'm Li Youhu's acting coach."
The princess was surprised. Recalling the recent media reports in the USA about Li Youhu, one of the leading actresses in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, potentially receiving an Oscar nomination by the end of the year, she couldn't help but give Professor Yu a few more glances. Though her eyes showed some disbelief, she still complimented, "That's really impressive."
After this exchange, an awkward silence fell between them.
Professor Yu didn't ask why the princess was here.
Aside from the surface-level reasons, it was pretty obvious.
Professor Yu wasn't sure what the princess was thinking, but as she glanced at the man on the front sofa whispering something to Chen Qing, she couldn't help but feel a bit more resentful.
Just how many women does this guy have around him?
As the silence threatened to become unbearable, the lights in the room dimmed, and the stage lit up.
Wei Cancha walked onto the stage, holding a short sword and dressed in a white, Qin-Han-style robe with red trim on the collar and sleeves. The outfit was simple yet carried a sharp, elegant aura.
Once Wei Cancha took her position, the live music from the Twelve Beauties began to play.
To the stirring melody, Wei Cancha began to dance, moving like a willow catkin on the verge of falling, light yet filled with a sense of tragic finality.
The singing began.
...
The sands of the Chu River gather and scatter,
The sun and moon shift through the ages,
How many beauties have been lost in the chaos of war, leaving only a sigh.
Who once broke through the Qin gates at Julu,
With blood staining a thousand miles of spears and swords,
Only to end in a light breeze and a gentle mist.
...
Professor Yu listened intently and quickly grasped the general meaning of the song.
Some time ago, Li Youhu and Wei Cancha had privately discussed preparing a song and dance about Yu Ji. Professor Yu hadn't been present at the time, but after hearing a section of the song, it was easy to tell that the girl on stage was portraying Yu Ji.
It was a song she had never heard before, and it wasn't hard to guess who had composed it.
Due to her lingering resentment toward a certain someone, Professor Yu couldn't help but be critical. She felt the lyrics were... just average, perhaps slightly better than the popular songs back home, but nothing particularly stunning.
In fact, the song itself wasn't as impressive as Wei Cancha's dancing.
The dancing, however, was truly remarkable.
Even someone who knew nothing about dance could feel the intense emotions conveyed through Wei Cancha's movements.
But this critical mindset only lasted for a little over a minute. When the chorus hit, the stunning operatic vocals sent shivers down Professor Yu's spine.
...
Amidst the chaos of Gaixia, the songs of Chu echo in all directions.
With sorrow, I bid you farewell, drink from the sword, and let my blood freeze into frost.
Reluctant to part with the past, what does it matter if our fate has ended?
Where our souls reunite, there lies the vast wilderness.
...
Stunning.
That was the only word to describe it.
By the time the chorus repeated, Professor Yu found herself silently mouthing along.
When the three-minute song ended, everyone in the room instinctively applauded, once again struck by the strange feeling that their boss must have been Chinese in a past life.
Well.
He had almost inadvertently hit the truth.
The song was fast-paced, and Wei Cancha's choreography matched its speed. After finishing her performance, she took a moment to catch her breath before standing up. Seeing the man in the audience give her a thumbs-up, she smiled, lifted her skirt, and jumped off the stage. She walked over to him, and Simon pulled her into his arms, praising her, "You danced wonderfully."
"It's all thanks to the song you wrote, boss. But it was really exhausting—my heart was pounding."
"Oh, let me feel it."
"Alright," Wei Cancha said, taking Simon's hand and placing it over her heart. She then greeted Chen Qing, who was standing nearby. "Sister Chen, you're here too."
Chen Qing nodded and then turned to Simon. "Boss, what's the name of this song?"
"Yu Xi Tan (Yu Ji's Lament)."
"It's such a stunning song, and the name is perfect," Chen Qing said, suddenly inspired. "Boss, maybe we could make a movie based on this—a real 'Farewell My Concubine.' What do you think?"
"Doesn't China already have many similar products?"
"I mean, we could create a movie based on this song, just like Love is Not Blind."
Simon immediately thought of the movies The Assassins and The Last Supper, both of which were related to the same historical period and had starred his muse. Neither film had been particularly successful.
As for the reasons, it was hard to say.
In the film industry, success has a hundred reasons, and failure has a hundred reasons too.
In the end, it's always a gamble.
However, if they were to make a movie based on this song, it wasn't entirely out of the question. Of course, if they focused on the love story between Xiang Yu and Yu Ji, they would have to make a lot of adaptations, which would inevitably lead to criticism about distorting history. Moreover, the historical backdrop of the Chu-Han contention meant that this would have to be a big-budget production. Anything less would be a waste of effort.
Thinking this through, Simon said to Chen Qing, "Alright, send a sample of this song to China when you have time. Find some screenwriters and have them each take a stab at writing a script. I'll take a look."
Chen Qing nodded.
Simon didn't forget the soft, delicate girl in his arms. He turned to Wei Cancha and asked, "Do you want to play Yu Ji?"
Wei Cancha thought about Li Youhu's recent success and felt tempted. However, despite being directionally challenged in life, she had a clear sense of her own path. She quickly calmed down and said, "Boss, I think I'm better suited for dancing."
Simon, holding her slender waist, smiled with a hint of something deeper. "Dancing doesn't have much of a future. If you miss this opportunity, you might regret it later."
Wei Cancha blinked and said, "Boss, as long as I stay by your side, you won't let me regret it, right?"
Simon was momentarily taken aback. He leaned in and kissed her lips, then nodded with assurance. "Of course."
Dancing truly didn't offer much of a future. If she transitioned to acting, with Simon as her powerful backer, Wei Cancha could easily reach heights that others could only dream of. Once the Chinese film industry took off, she could become a top-tier star, earning tens of millions in just a few days.
But if this girl truly decided to stay by his side, Simon could easily provide her with a life far better than what tens of millions could offer.
Just like now.
The daily treatment of the girls in the National Style Art Troupe was still at a princess level, even surpassing that of some minor European royal families.
After chatting and resting for a while, Simon nudged the girl in his arms, whose heart had stopped racing. "Go on, dance for me again."
Wei Cancha obediently got up and returned to the stage.
After performing again, she switched to other songs like Ren Jian Hui (Gathering in the Mortal World), and this continued until evening, when they returned to the estate where they had stayed the previous night.
After dinner, Chen Qing finally got the chance to speak with Simon alone.
In the study of the villa.
Chen Qing sat on Simon's lap as she reported on her recent work. Finally, she brought up some matters related to Jinshu. After all, she could clearly see that Simon's investments in China's industrial sector were the main focus. Jinshu, being relatively small in scale, was more of a side project.
However, due to the recent success of Super Girl and Kangxi Microblog Travels, what had initially been a side project seemed to be gaining more significance.
"Not counting next year's second season or the long-term Kangxi Microblog Travels, this year alone, these two projects are expected to bring Jinshu a net profit of no less than 50 million RMB. Fifty million! In the domestic industry, "Many television shows are considered very profitable whether they make a few hundred thousand or a couple of million. "Naturally, some people have started to resent us."
Simon continued to play with the girl in his arms as he flipped through a final proposal for a shipyard in Jiangsu. He asked, "What's the problem?"
"People are jealous of our success, so they are filing complaints. It's annoying. Kangxi is not a problem, but Super Girl is in the spotlight because our requirement is that participants be over 16 years old. Some accuse the program to deceive minors into pursuing incorrect social values.
Simon simply hummed in response.
Having been part of the industry in a past life, Simon was no stranger to such tactics. Moreover, since Chen Qing was bringing it up now, the issue had likely already been resolved. Even if it hadn't, and the project was shut down, it wouldn't be a significant loss for Simon at this point.
However, thinking more deeply, it seemed that Jinshu had been a bit too sharp in its rise.
It needed to tone things down.
Seeing that her boss wasn't particularly concerned, Chen Qing didn't delve into her plans to deal with the举报者. Instead, she wrapped her arms around Simon's neck and pressed closer. "Boss, what are you thinking about?"
"Considering making a few bad movies to lose some money."
Chen Qing immediately understood and laughed. "That's a good idea. Two TV projects have already netted us 50 million, and then there's Keep Cool. Jinshu's annual earnings are equivalent to what some competitors make in a decade. If we keep this up, people will only grow more envious. But... with you around, boss, even losing money seems difficult, doesn't it?"
Simon played along with Chen Qing's flattery. "Exactly, that's the real challenge."
"Haha."
After the joke, Simon thought for a moment and then said seriously, "Here's what we'll do: set up a few shell companies. Don't use the Jinshu name, and as much as possible, so people can't easily trace them back to us. Or at least, make it less obvious."
"Boss, I don't think it's a big issue. Like the last time Jinshu's film studio was report, or this time with Super Girl, nothing really happened."
"It's true, but it's not good to have people always watching us. We need to be more discreet," Simon said. "There should be many emerging media companies in China recently. You can personally supervise the acquisition of some of these companies and then collaborate with Jinshu. For some projects, these companies can take the lead in distribution. Also, please share more information with the "This way, Jinshu can indirectly obtain more media resources."
"I'll start fixing that soon," Chen Qing said, nodding after listening carefully. But then he smiled and added, "But, boss, if we do this, many media companies in China could end up having ties to Jinshu. Wouldn't that make us even more conspicuous than we are now?"
Simon smiled and countered, "Would it really?"
Chen Qing tilted her head, then shook it, unable to help but marvel at how well her boss understood Chinese culture.
It was simple.
Some people just wanted to 'cover their ears and steal the bell.' As long as they couldn't see or hear it, it didn't exist.
Even if Jinshu continued to lead future projects, as long as they operated under the guise of other companies and stayed in the background, it wouldn't matter even if some in the industry knew the truth. As long as no one talked about it, it would be fine.
As for the benefits lost in the process, Chen Qing wasn't particularly concerned.
Take Super Girl as an example. While everyone focused on the show's success and the tens of millions it brought to Jinshu, they overlooked the fact that the Nongfu Spring mineral water brand, which had sponsored the show as part of the Westeros System's investment, had experienced a meteoric rise in popularity in recent months. Its projected profits for the next year were expected to exceed 100 million RMB.
The profit margin on mineral water was quite substantial.
This wasn't even accounting for the numerous other major projects the Westeros System had invested in across China, spanning industries such as real estate, steel, machinery, technology, food, and more.
In truth, Chen Qing suspected that for Simon, Jinshu might be more of a personal hobby. Its utility in helping him attract women might even outweigh its potential for making money.
Thinking this, Chen Qing changed the subject and asked with a smile, "By the way, boss, how did you like the gift I brought you this time?"
Simon knew exactly what Chen Qing was referring to. While he wasn't particularly interested in the once-famous social butterfly, she was still a beauty, and keeping her around wasn't a bad idea. Recalling a classic scene from an old Jiang Wen movie, Simon felt a spark of interest and whispered into Chen Qing's ear, "Later, have someone..."
Chen Qing's legs, which were resting on her boss's lap, tensed up, whether from excitement or nervousness. Her voice trembled slightly as she asked, "Boss, should I join too?"
"Not you."
"If only I'd known you liked this earlier."
Chen Qing's face flushed with an unusual redness. She wanted to volunteer herself, thinking that one person might not be enough to satisfy her boss. But then again, if it came to that, one could always play the role of two, or even three. That should be enough.
______
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