When he walked out of the room, Shu Han was still a little dazed.
Even Liu Rulan looked at Xiao He again and again.
Clearly, neither of them expected that Xiao He would actually be able to persuade He Jinnian to "sell" his studio to their Linghui Studio.
Of course, there are quite a few additional conditions.
First, there's the basic treatment and arrangements for the original studio employees led by He Wenming. Some of them were originally from Shanghai and are willing to return to Shanghai, so they will follow the studio back to Shanghai. For those who are unwilling to follow the studio, they will be provided with subsequent compensation and work handover.
In addition, Linghui Studio will join forces with He Jinnian to invest in He Jinnian's upcoming film projects. If conditions permit, Xiao He and Shu Han will also participate in He Jinnian's filming...
Although this cost a significant amount of working capital, it was still worthwhile overall. After all, He Jinnian could have easily sold the studio to his former employer, Yunheng Entertainment, or another company, instead of them.
This was largely thanks to Shu Han's existence, which made He Jinnian inclined to have He Wenming become Shu Han's agent. On the other hand, it was also because Xiao He and his team were more generous with their money than other companies.
The allure of money is captivating under any circumstances.
This is especially true for He Jinnian now.
"Is He Jinnian short of money?"
Shu Han had a rough idea of what was going on, and asked Liu Rulan with some confusion, while looking at Xiao He, "How did Xiao He know?"
“I haven’t heard anything about it, so I don’t think he has made any explicit moves to attract investment yet.” Liu Rulan shook her head and looked at Xiao He.
Xiao He shrugged: "I was just guessing. After all, if he wants to move behind the scenes without being restricted or tied down, the best way is to invest himself. So I thought, what if the project he wants to create doesn't have enough funds? Then our opportunity will come—and I guessed right."
Liu Rulan: {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} ...
Shu Han: ...
How is this possible? Really? Do we look stupid?
That reason and idea are so lame!
However, Xiao He did not offer any further explanation.
He Jinnian is indeed short of money, but not that short of money.
It's simply because what he wanted to film was a science fiction movie.
As everyone knows, science fiction films top the list of films that burn through the most money, and there is no dispute about it.
Who could have imagined that He Jinnian, who said he wanted to retire behind the scenes and switch careers to become a director, would make his first film a science fiction movie!
Let alone finding familiar investors, even his former employer, Yunheng Entertainment, might not dare to directly invest money in He Jinnian.
This thing is just a waste of money, who would dare to bid on it?
Not to mention that He Jinnian is just an actor who has been in the industry for a few years and has become complacent. He wants to switch careers to become a director and make movies, thinking that he can fulfill his dream in the entertainment industry, complete his value transformation, and prove his achievements in another field. In that case, the probability of his idea flopping is even greater.
Unless investors are foolish, they won't invest a lot of money in Ho Kam-nin, unless Ho Kam-nin really goes crazy and insists that Iron Head sign an exorbitantly priced betting agreement, betting that his work will be a huge hit in the future and he will make a fortune. Otherwise, he will sell himself into servitude to pay off his debts.
Clearly, while He Jinnian is ambitious, he hasn't gone to such extremes.
A betting agreement, with the word "bet" in it, is almost always a losing proposition—while some people in the industry have indeed succeeded, most have quietly failed and are now working to pay off their debts.
He Jinnian wanted to make a big film, but at the same time, he didn't want to be completely without options if he failed.
Even if he loses his money, he can earn it back. But if he loses his freedom, his past reputation will be ruined. These big companies, once they get the chance, will squeeze him dry.
He Jinnian came from one of these large companies, so he naturally understands the complexities involved.
Therefore, he would rather spend more money investing in himself than dig a hole for his future self. He can accept investment from other companies, but only for investment purposes. He will not accept any investment with other impure motives.
Of course, Xiao He wasn't that concerned about He Jinnian's thoughts, nor did he care whether He Jinnian succeeded or failed.
Although Xiao He had agreed to He Jinnian's conditions and would continue to invest a large sum of money as support after the project was established, he never expected that this money would be recouped.
He had already figured it out: he could use the money to get a decent studio, and He Wenming, whose connections and abilities were no less than Liu Rulan's. He could also successfully bring Shu Han into the studio. This money would be well spent.
After all, Liu Rulan alone already made Xiao He feel like he had struck gold. If He Wenming, whom even Liu Rulan acknowledged, came along, Xiao He would throw money at the problem to bring him over.
Those funds that were promised for investment projects, just consider them as a favor and give them away.
Now that his goal had been achieved, apart from the sudden loss of his wallet causing a slight ache in Xiao He's heart, he wasn't feeling too bad.
"Forget it, this guy's sources of information are sometimes even more outrageous than mine."
Liu Rulan shrugged, not pressing Xiao He for details, and said to Shu Han, "Although the general situation has been settled, I will still have our studio's legal team come over tomorrow to discuss the contract and procedures in detail. Keep an eye on things then, and also have a good talk with He Wenming."
He Wenming wasn't brought to this meeting, and the conditions might change tomorrow. He Wenming might have his own ideas, so Liu Rulan still needs to talk to Shu Han separately.
Shu Han nodded: "Don't worry, Sister Liu, I will talk to him."
As the group walked down the corridor, they unexpectedly ran into Tong Junhui again!
This time, however, Tong Junhui was accompanied by a man with sharp eyes and a mask and hat.
This time, no one greeted each other; they simply passed each other as usual.
Only Xiao He's gaze fell on the strange man, his eyes widening slightly, his heart filled with surprise.
The man glanced at Xiao He, frowned, and finally looked away.
Xiao He immediately withdrew his gaze, suppressing the shock on his face.
This guy! This guy actually triggered his hound instincts!
He's a policeman?!
What's going on?
Why are the police being so secretive, acting even more mysterious than these celebrities... And why are they with Tong Junhui?
Could it be...?
Xiao He had a gut feeling that this matter was very important, but encountering them here didn't seem like a good thing.
Xiao He strode forward, ready to urge Sister Liu and the others to hurry up and leave this "dangerous" place as soon as possible.
"This is the place. I've knocked on the door several times, but there's been no response."
Tong Junhui turned to the person next to him and whispered.
"I'm worried... something bad has happened—"
Cheng Bei frowned in thought, then suddenly took a careful sniff of the air. His expression changed, and he took out a master key from his pocket and quickly swiped it to open the door.
The next moment, the door was pushed open a crack, and thick smoke billowed out of the room, mixed with a wave of heat, rolling into the corridor—
"Waaaaah—"
Instantly, the corridor's fire safety system was triggered, and the localized sprinkler heads on the ceiling automatically popped up, starting to "rain" like crazy.
Before Xiao He could even remind everyone to hurry up and take the elevator to escape, he was the first to be drenched in water by the overhead shower.
He quickly walked a few steps away from the "rain" range of the sprinkler head, wiping the water off his face with a mixture of speechlessness and despair, and let out a long, sorrowful sigh.
No, couldn't we have waited for him to walk a few more steps?
It's just a few more steps, just a few steps!
Why did it have to happen at this time?
What did he do to deserve this?!
