After hesitating for a few seconds, Rong Jing frowned and chose to turn off the phone without replying.

Xie Xuanqing watched the message he had sent stay at the bottom of the chat page for a long time, until the screen went dark. There was no reply from the other party, and his eyes were slightly deep.

The index finger lightly tapped the phone, and the screen lit up again.

Xie Xuanqing looked at the crescent-shaped avatar and tapped the input box with his fingertips.

Xie Xuanqing: Mr. Rong?

Xie Xuanqing: Have I offended you in any way?

Xie Xuanqing: [Cat peeking out.gif]

The notification sound when receiving a new message seems a bit annoying in the quiet night.

Rong Jing originally put his phone back on the bedside table, but under the urging of the reminder sounds that rang one after another, he couldn't help but frown, reached out to take the phone, lowered his eyes and opened WeChat again.

Seeing the messages sent by Xie Xuanqing later, Rong Jing's expression paused slightly.

...How should he say this?

The reason for Xie Xuanqing's attitude towards him was just his own guess. If he really said it to Xie Xuanqing himself, it seemed a little wrong.

But that strange feeling of anxiety surged in his heart again. After a while, Rong Jing pursed his lips and typed a reply.

Rong Jing: Nothing.

The attitude in his reply seemed to be the same as before, just as cold and indifferent.

But as Xie Xuanqing watched the screen slowly dimming, he keenly sensed something was wrong.

Why does he feel like... Rong Jing seems to be avoiding him today?

Could something have happened in the special department?

Or maybe... someone said something to Rong Jing?

Xie Xuanqing stared at the screen which had gone completely dark, as if thinking about something.

After Rong Jing finished replying, the other party seemed to sense his distant intention and there was no further movement.

Heaving a sigh of relief, Rong Jing subconsciously ignored the subtle unhappiness in his heart, put his phone back on the bedside table, then put the script away, got up, rinsed his mouth, then pulled the quilt over him, turned off the lights, and lay down.

The script of "Poppy" is indeed good, and Sang Lianyun's directing ability is also quite smart. As long as the editing is done more carefully, it should be a good movie.

Moreover, when Cheng Yuan first wrote this story, he should have taken into account the financial conditions of Sang Lianyun's crew and confined most of the scenes to the hospital, which would undoubtedly help the crew save a lot of money on renting other filming locations.

Therefore, the investment required for the entire film is not large, and the largest proportion should be on the actors' salaries and the preparation of filming equipment.

Rong Jing thought about the balance in his account. It wasn't that it was not enough. On the contrary, when he participated in the metaphysics exchange activities before, he earned nearly 6 or 7 million at the trade fair. Add on the 2.4 million from the crew of "The Legend of the Heavenly Master", the total was nearly 10 million, which was barely enough to make a low-budget movie.

But... thinking about the source of the more than 2.4 million, Master Rong clutched the quilt in his hand, and a rare look of confusion appeared on his beautiful and cold face.

He was indeed very optimistic about the script of "Poppy", but given his and Xie Xuanqing's current situation, it seemed not a good idea to ask the other party to invest directly.

Then... bear all the investment yourself?

Rong Jing had several thoughts in his mind, but in the end he couldn't decide what to do.

The next day, Sang Lianyun's message came.

Rong Jing wiped his palms, rolled up the sleeves of his shirt that were wet from washing, then lowered his eyes to look at the WeChat message he had sent.

The tone was gentle but a little distant, probably from Cheng Yuan using Sang Lianyun's account.

The entire list was filled with a detailed listing of the approximate expenses required for the crew. Rong Jing opened it and took a look, and found that they were all within a similar range.

But he has also participated in the filming of two crews and knows that anything can happen during filming. When preparing funds, he cannot just prepare for this.

After thinking about it, Rong Jing suddenly remembered someone.

Wang Boyui was a little surprised when he received the message from Rong Jing.

After politely nodding to Xie Xuan on the opposite side, he reached out and opened WeChat, and saw Rong Jing asking him directly on WeChat whether he had any intention of investing in a movie.

The Wang Group also has an entertainment company under its umbrella. Ruiming Entertainment’s revenue last year was ranked high in the Wang Group’s financial report. If there are any good projects at this moment, Wang Boyui will naturally not miss it.

What's more, this was an invitation from Rong Jing. Even though the project looked a bit shabby, Wang Boyui still read it carefully.

And surprisingly, the script is really good.

Wang Borui thought about it and replied.

Wang Borui: Of course I am interested.

Wang Borui: Will Master Rong Tian be starring in this movie next?

Wang Borui: I will give the order later and ask the crew to contact the person in charge of Ruiming Entertainment directly.

His attitude was extremely straightforward.

Yes, no matter how many upgrades "Poppy" has, in the end, because the framework of the whole story is there, the funds required will not be that much.

Wang Borui’s investment in a movie would easily start from tens of millions, so there is no need to hesitate too much about investing just a few million now.

But Rong Jing came to him for more than one reason.

After hesitating for a while, Rong Jing still sent his previous plan.

Wang Borui: ? May I ask if Xie's company wants to invest?

Wang Borui: Isn't Master Rong on good terms with Patriarch Xie? Why...

Why are you asking him here all of a sudden?

Rong Jing: “…”

Master Rong Tianshi: I’m just asking in passing.

Wang Borui keenly sensed something strange, but Rong Jing had always been a cold person, and it was rare for him to take the initiative to ask him whether he wanted to invest in a movie. If he continued talking, there would probably be no result.

He also replied very considerately, "I understand."

Master Rong Tian: Yes.

After putting away his phone, Wang Borui returned to his seat.

The contract with Xie's company had been almost negotiated. Xie Xuanqing politely sat in his seat, holding a cup of tea in his hand and taking a sip slowly.

Every gesture is full of elegance and nobility.

However, Wang Borui recalled the other party's strong and sharp negotiation style during this cooperation and even the previous cooperation. He felt like playing around and said with a hint of anger, "Has anything happened between Patriarch Xie and Master Rong recently?"

Xie Xuan paused for a moment while drinking his tea, then raised his head, his brows grim, and his tone cold: "Why do you say that, Uncle Wang?"

Wang Borui looked at him with the same expression as before, and began to doubt his own judgment. Could it be that Rong Jing really just asked him to ask?

...this is a bit too roundabout.

Wang Boyui smiled as his thoughts raced through his mind. “Nothing much. Just now, Master Rong Tian sent me a few messages asking me if I want to invest in a movie.”

"I read the script and thought it was pretty good, so I agreed."

Xie Xuanqing's eyebrows moved slightly when he heard this, but he was still as tall and straight as a pine tree, without any abnormality.

"Is that so?"

Seeing this, Wang Borui became more and more shaken.

After thinking for a while, he continued to probe: "Doesn't Patriarch Xie have a good relationship with Master Rong Tian? Didn't Master Rong mention this to you before?"

Xie Xuanqing's eyes were calm: "I have been busy these days, so I didn't have time to ask Mr. Rong."

As he spoke, he put down the teacup and mentioned the recent developments in the east of the city as if inadvertently.

The high-speed railway station over there has already started to operate, and the economy in the east of the city has also begun to prosper. As the first enterprise group to enter the market and take the largest share, Xie's company does have a lot of things to do at the moment -

But I am busy with all the money-making projects.

Wang Borui: Thank you, I am already angry.

Not only did he fail to find out whether there was a rift between Xie Xuanqing and Rong Jing, but Wang Boyui was so angry at Xie Xuanqing's move that his self-control almost broke down.

He silently picked up the tea on the table that he had specially asked Rong Jing for and took a sip. The slightly bitter but sweet aroma of the tea spread on his tongue, and finally he suppressed the nameless anger in his heart.

"What does Patriarch Xie think now?" Wang Boyui asked with a fake smile, "I wonder if Patriarch Xie is interested in this small project."

After lightly prodding Xie Xuanqing, Wang Boyui finally told him Rong Jing's plan.

Xie Xuanqing listened carefully, and then said: "Since Uncle Wang has invested in it, this project must be really good, and my nephew naturally won't miss it."

What about his little nephew? Uncle Wang is almost getting high blood pressure because of his little nephew.

Wang Borui has always been very well-mannered, but he had just finished signing the contract. When he saw Xie Xuan was frowning, he snorted and chuckled.

Xie Xuanqing didn't mind his attitude. Their two families were old friends, and although he was a little strict about the terms of the contract, it was not a bad thing for Wang's family.

At the very least, among so many companies, Wang Boyui finally chose to sign a contract with Xie, right?

Standing up politely and shaking hands with Wang Boyui, Xie Xuanqing handed the signed contract to Yue Feng, and then said, "It's a pleasure to work with you."

Wang Borui: "…Happy cooperation."

This guy is really something. No matter how you provoke him, he won't react at all.

He really deserves the title of the evil spirit of the business world.

Just as Xie Xuanqing said, although the contract terms listed by Xie were harsh, the profits allocated to Wang were not low. And those harsh conditions seemed to be more like urging Wang to do a good job of quality control. Compared with other companies, they were more trustworthy.

Wang Boyui just thought so in his heart but never boasted about it out loud.

Just watching Xie Xuanqing get up and leave and disappear behind the elevator door, he couldn't help but sigh slowly.

Back then, Xie Xuanqing was only 20 years old when he took over the huge Xie Group. Everyone thought that he would not be able to hold on. Who would have thought that in the end, this young man not only survived, but even led the Xie Group to its current state.

Just looking at his increasingly close relationship with the government, as long as Xie Xuanqing doesn't do anything stupid himself, it is unlikely that anything unexpected will happen to the Xie Group.

Thinking of the rumors he had heard earlier about Uncle Xie, Wang Boyui smiled.

He could hear a lot of the other party's plans, so how could Xie Xuanqing himself not be prepared at all?

This is indeed the case.

Yue Feng followed Xie Xuanqing downstairs with the contract, and then reported the previous news to Xie Xuanqing in the car.

"...Young Master Xie has sold his 1% of Xie's shares. I have sent someone to buy these shares at a low price according to your previous instructions."

Xie Xuanqing looked even more stern after he came out from Wang's place. Yue Feng carefully told him the news he had received, and finally said, "But Young Master Xie seems to have raised enough funds recently, and is currently trying to extend his hand to the project in the east of the city."

The east side of the city can be said to be one of the most important projects of the Xie family recently. As long as he can get a foothold in it and obtain some management rights, the funds withdrawn will be enough for Xie Xuanzhong to buy back the Xie shares he had sold before.

His plan was a good one. After all, Xie Xuanzhong was also a descendant of the Xie family, and his second uncle Xie was still alive. Many of the Xie family's old officials felt that Xie Xuanqing was too cold and indifferent to family affection in being the sole ruler of the Xie family.

If Xie Xuanzhong acted a little pitifully, some "old ministers" who considered themselves to be the heroes of the Xie family would actually relent and let him go.

But they forgot that when the Xie family was on the verge of collapse, it was Xie Xuanqing who put it back on track, and Second Uncle Xie and others were just the "bloodline of the Xie family" who wanted to usurp power after he took over the Xie family and stabilized the situation.

The temperature in the car was getting lower and lower. Yue Feng sat next to Xie Xuanqing, not daring to move easily.

I don't know how long it took before Xie Xuanqing said, "I understand."

"Let someone check who reopened the back door for Xie Xuan, and then check the recent project expenses in the east of the city."

Yue Feng breathed a sigh of relief, and said solemnly, "Okay, sir."

Others had no idea of ​​the turmoil that would follow in Xie's management.

Xie Xuanqing placed his hands on his knees, his dark eyes quietly watching the passing scenery outside the car window.

Xie Xuanzhong's actions were within his expectations.

After he failed to seek help from himself, he would inevitably turn to other aspects to raise money.

What Xie Xuanqing didn't expect was that Xie Xuanzhong would actually sell 1% of his shares for a small holiday villa.

You know, for a behemoth like the Xie Group, the dividends that can be obtained from each share are enough for an ordinary family to live a very affluent life for ten years. However, Xie Xuanzhong actually sold out these shares of the Xie Group for a holiday villa.

Fortunately, Xie Xuanqing had asked Yue Feng to keep an eye on Xie Xuanzhong long ago. While Xie Xuanqing wanted to quickly convert the shares into cash, he lowered the price severely and bought back all the shares at an extremely low price.

But Xie Xuanqing still felt a little depressed.

He asked the driver to roll down the window a little, and Xie Xuan gently blew the slightly cool breeze blowing from outside. His depressed mood finally felt better.

He was not too sure before, but after what happened to Wang Boyui today, Xie Xuan was certain that something must have happened to Rong Jing.

Or maybe... I heard something from someone else.

What kind of situation would make Rong Jing distance himself from me so decisively, to the point where he had to rely on others to talk about whether to invest in a film project?

Xie Xuan lowered his eyes slightly, with some vague guesses in his mind.

After returning to the company, Yue Feng went downstairs to arrange the business. When he came back, he saw his master sitting at the desk, seemingly looking at something... ?

Yue Feng handed the collected documents to Xie Xuanqing for signature and took a glance at them.

Poppy? The name sounds familiar.

After thinking about it, Yue Feng finally remembered that this seemed to be a film that Master Rong Tianshi had auditioned for a few days ago.

Because of business dealings with Rong Jing's agency, Xie Entertainment will also receive some information about their developments.

Yue Feng took a look and then looked away.

Xie Xuanqing didn't say anything. He just took the document and looked through it carefully. After making sure that there were no mistakes in the content, he took out a pen, opened the pen cap, and signed his name on it smoothly.

"Do you have any plans for Friday?" Xie Xuanqing put the signed document aside and suddenly asked indifferently.

Yue Feng came back to his senses and thought quickly after hearing what he said: "I have a meeting with the engineering department this morning, which will last until noon. In the afternoon, Xu will come to discuss the cooperation for the next quarter, but the attitude from Xu is to maintain the contract terms of the previous quarter, so the negotiation time should not be too long. I have reserved about three hours."

After discussing the cooperation matters for the next quarter with Xu, Xie Xuanqing still had to review a few more documents, and then he had to attend a cocktail party at the Jinghang Hotel at around six o'clock.

Yue Feng simply recited the itinerary for that day. Xie Xuanqing listened quietly, then raised his eyebrows and said, "Cancel the cocktail party at 6 o'clock, and then... call the person in charge of the "Poppy" crew and tell them that I want to discuss the investment of the movie with them."

"Okay...ah?" Yue Feng responded subconsciously, and then realized what Xie Xuanqing had just said. He was so surprised that he didn't even care about his professional ethics, and looked down at Xie Xuanqing in surprise.

It's just a low-budget movie, and the investment amount is at most four or five million. If Xie Xuanqing really wants to invest, can't he just give a message to Xie Entertainment directly? Is it necessary for him to go and negotiate in person?

Although the cocktail party was indeed unnecessary and it didn't matter if it was cancelled, discussing investment matters with the crew of "Poppy"... it seemed even more unnecessary.

Xie Xuan frowned slightly: "Is there a problem?"

Yue Feng was speechless: "...No, I'll do it right away."

After saying that, Yue Feng picked up the contracts that Xie Xuan had signed and walked out, then continued to work on his boss's "sudden idea".

The change in Yue Feng's expression naturally could not be hidden from Xie Xuanqing's eyes.

It's just that he himself doesn't like to participate in any social activities. In addition, Rong Jing seemed to have suddenly become distant with him after the audition for the "Poppy Flower" crew. Now that the opportunity has come to him, Xie Xuanqing naturally wants to see it in person...

What exactly is wrong with this crew?

The high salary and bonus offered to Yue Feng every year were not given for nothing. In just a short while, Yue Feng contacted the crew of "Poppy" and made an appointment to meet at six o'clock on Friday afternoon.

After hanging up the phone, Sang Lianyun still looked a little dazed.

"That person just now said...the chairman of Xie Group will discuss the film investment with us in person on Friday?"

He was just a newly graduated director! Could it be that the script of their crew was really so good that even the chairman of Xie Group came to personally inquire about it?

If Yue Feng had not proved his identity on the phone, Sang Lianyun would have suspected that someone was deliberately playing a joke on him.

Compared to Sang Lianyun's excitement and shock, Cheng Yuan's reaction was slightly calmer.

Considering that Rong Jing had said before that he would help with the investment issue, Cheng Yuan asked, "Could it be that Mr. Rong stepped in?"

Sang Lianyun also came back to his senses and couldn't help but nodded when he heard this.

Cheng Yuan's guess is not without reason.

After all, Ruiming Entertainment also contacted them yesterday.

"That should be the case..." said Sang Lianyun.

The one who contacted them from Wang's side was just a member of Ruiming Entertainment's management, but from Xie's side it was Xie Xuanqing who acted directly. Although it was most likely because of Rong Jing's relationship, Sang Lianyun was still a little worried.

However, when the day of the meeting came, Sang Lianyun and Cheng Yuan went to the appointment together, and saw a very handsome and very cold young man sitting at the agreed seat.

He had a cup of coffee in his hand and was flipping through a business magazine.

As if noticing their gazes, the man raised his head, his pair of dark and deep eyes moved slightly, and his gaze fell on them.

"Have Director Sang and Screenwriter Cheng arrived?"

The man's voice was a little low and cold, but extremely pleasant to the ear.

Upon hearing this, Sang Lianyun nodded quickly and subconsciously pulled Cheng Yuan's wrist and walked over.

Xie Xuanqing's eyes swept lightly across their held hands, and his heart moved slightly.

"Hello." Xie Xuan nodded politely and asked, "What would you like to drink?"

Sang Lianyun had never thought that the chairman of Xie Group looked so young. When he heard his question, he quickly shook his head: "No need to bother."

Xie Xuan smiled slightly and asked the waiter to serve them two cups of coffee.

Cheng Yuan: "I didn't expect Mr. Xie would be free to meet with us."

The scale of the Xie Group is so huge that Xie Xuanqing, who controls such a business empire, should be busy with all kinds of things, but he deliberately set aside such a period of time to meet with him and Sang Lianyun, two unknown screenwriters and directors...

Cheng Yuan didn't quite understand, and at this moment he stared at Xie Xuanqing calmly, as if trying to see what he was planning.

Sang Lianyun was not as alert as Cheng Yuan. A simple smile appeared on his handsome and rough face. "Yes, A Yuan and I didn't expect Mr. Xie to come and discuss film investment with us in person."

Cheng Yuan: “…”

Cheng Yuan turned his head to look at the dull-headed Sang Lianyun with some helplessness, but didn't say anything else.

Xie Xuanqing's gaze fell calmly on them, and he vaguely saw something from their obscure yet intimate interaction.

Xie Xuan tapped his fingertips on the coffee cup, lowered his eyes slightly, hiding the emotions in his eyes, and then said: "Well. I read some of your scripts a few days ago. The ideas are good."

It seemed that he really came here to discuss the film investment. Cheng Yuan was a little wary at first, but when he saw Xie Xuanqing casually but sharply raise the share to an extremely high proportion, he couldn't help but speak and started chatting with Xie Xuanqing.

The table was filled with invisible swords and sabers.

Sang Lianyun simply handed over all the power of negotiation to Cheng Yuan. Then, seeing Cheng Yuan's cheeks turning red due to his fast speaking speed, he raised his hand to call the waiter and asked for a glass of water for Cheng Yuan.

Subconsciously turning his head and holding the straw to drink some water to moisten his throat, Cheng Yuan noticed that the expression of the head of the Xie family seemed to have changed.

"Are you still thirsty?" Sang Lianyun asked, holding the cup.

Cheng Yuan finally noticed that the actions between the two of them seemed a little too ambiguous to outsiders, so he quickly stepped back and answered in a low voice.

"……fine."

Sang Lianyun didn't feel anything. He and Cheng Yuan had been together for a long time and had long been accustomed to the intimacy between them.

Xie Xuanqing calmly sat back in the booth, and waited until the two of them finished talking before he spoke: "If Director Sang has no objection, the contract will be based on the terms we just discussed?"

Sang Lianyun subconsciously looked at Cheng Yuan, and when he saw him nod, he said, "Okay, Mr. Xie."

Xie Xuan smiled faintly, then extended his hand: "Happy cooperation."

He wanted to...

He roughly knew why his Mr. Rong had been distancing himself from him recently.

Rong Jing stayed at home and continued reading the script. When he reached out to take the cup of water on the table, his heart suddenly trembled.

It seemed as if something related to him had happened quietly without his knowledge, bringing with it a sense of unknown, hidden danger.