Chapter 59 World 2 [29]

Boss Hao drank his tea calmly, and only slowly gave the answer after Director Li's repeated urging.

"The bad news is that your original male lead and investors have also been implicated. However, there's no problem with the investment funds. The 10 million yuan Miss Jing gave is more than enough to cover the difference. I'm afraid you'll have to re-select the male lead you've chosen. If you can't find a suitable candidate, filming may have to be postponed."

"Oh, strictly speaking, it's not just the male lead. Several actors who were originally scheduled to appear in guest roles can't come either. You'll need to reschedule the relevant auditions. Don't even think about taking a break during Spring Festival this year. Overtime is inevitable."

Director Li exclaimed, slapping his head. "That's really bad news. His acting is pretty good. Is he involved with Mu Chengzong too?"

"That's not the case. It was something that happened at a private banquet recently. The police blocked the relevant information, and the outside world only knows who committed the crime." Boss Hao shook his head.

"Director Hua has also been implicated. I'm afraid his plan to direct the tribute film is going to fail." Boss Hao paused and said, "If you act quickly, you might be able to get a role as director of a short series."

"Forget it. The directors of tribute films are basically monopolized by that circle. I don't get along with those people. If I go there, I will be pointed at and criticized. It's very annoying." Director Li clicked his tongue, rolled his eyes, and looked at Jing Ke with a smile.

"Jing Ke, you are the boss of Xinsheng Entertainment, right?" Director Li asked with a smile.

"Yes." Jing Ke nodded.

"There are still some good talents in Xinsheng Entertainment. Do you mind if I take a few days to audition at your company? If the appearance and acting skills are suitable, it's not too late to start training now." Director Li said.

The female characters under Director Li's lens tend to be relatively more outstanding, but that doesn't mean the male characters have no popularity at all. The two complement each other, and their personalities are not at all templated.

"You are most welcome. The artists who are still in the company are still a little bit skeptical about me as the new boss. If Director Li spreads the news that he will hold internal auditions at Xinsheng Entertainment, perhaps many people will choose to sign with Xinsheng Entertainment." Jing Ke smiled and accepted Director Li's goodwill.

"Okay, then it's settled. I'll go to your company after New Year's Day and release the news seven days in advance to give them some time to consider." Director Li is also a straightforward person, and what he says is what he means.

-

Considering the turmoil in Hai City, Yu Hongjun and the others were not in a hurry to return. While taking care of their friend, they also paid attention to Shao Qing's situation.

Yu Hongjun is Shao Qing's master in the play, and there are many rival scenes between the two. As time went by, they started to act out the scenes in advance.

After watching it for two days, Director Li couldn't help but jump in and join in. He began to break down the plot settings and character settings and told Shao Qing about them. He also revised the script again and again, and doubled the master-disciple scenes, which only lasted an hour.

It is worth mentioning that when the three of them entered the crew's shooting state in advance, Jiang Qingyi spent most of the time watching from the side. He seemed very interested in it, and the expression on his face became much more lively.

Boss Hao did not participate in it, but discussed with Jing Ke some projects in the circle that lacked investment funds.

As more and more artists and investors in the industry are sent to jail, many investments that have not yet been received have been temporarily canceled, causing headaches for many producers and directors in the industry.

What Boss Hao did was to divide these projects that lacked investment into more detailed categories, pick out stable projects with relatively good returns and recommend them to Jing Ke.

Originally, Boss Hao thought that three or four projects would make Jing Ke's cash flow tight, but he didn't expect that after investing 50 million, Jing Ke still seemed very interested in the project.

"Mr. Jing, may I ask how much working capital you have?" Boss Hao couldn't help asking, changing the address to Miss Jing.

"There are still quite a few. If they are just projects worth tens of millions, I can probably invest in five or six in the name of the company. If there are more, I will consider re-registering an investment company." Jing Ke said.

"If there are more than ten projects, can Boss Jing handle it?" Boss Hao once again changed his address to Jing Ke and couldn't help but feel curious about Jing Ke's financial strength.

Jing Ke smiled, and after thinking of Shao Qing's cautious character, she also restrained herself a little, "If it's an investment of hundreds of millions, I can probably follow up with more than ten. Such a capital investment will not affect my normal life."

Boss Hao, who is always calm and composed, couldn't help but be stunned for a moment after hearing Jing Ke's words, and called out Jing Ke's new name more firmly.

"Boss Jing, I will list all the good projects for you later. You can choose one and I will act as the middleman for you." Boss Hao said, with a hint of fear in his eyes when he looked at Jing Ke.

Regardless of Jing Ke's background, the fact that she can control such a large amount of money is enough to prove that she is not as simple as she seems.

"Okay, thank you for your hard work, Boss Hao." Jing Ke kept smiling and ignored the extra fear in Boss Hao's eyes.

Whether Boss Hao was afraid of her or trusted her made no difference to Jing Ke. She defined the relationship between the two parties very simply: they were just business partners.

-

The capital relations in the entertainment industry are indeed complicated, and it is very difficult for a single individual or company to fight against the capital behind them.

But if the country takes action, then solving those cancers will be as easy and efficient as autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves. Apart from the fact that some stars in the early stage tried to use their fans to delay time and slip out of the country, there has not been any major chaos.

Because for most Chinese people, after hearing that causing trouble will result in detention and record in their files, which will affect the civil service exams for three generations, most of their desire to cause trouble has disappeared.

The arrest storm, along with the tax storm, almost came to an end at the end of December.

According to official information, after the tax audit, the amount of back taxes paid by artists in the circle alone was close to 70 billion.

Even if that much money is divided equally among everyone, they can still get dozens of dollars. If it is all used for charity, I wonder how many people can break free from the constraints of family and environment.

As for the nationwide campaign against organized crime launched in December, the first phase has now come to an end, with nearly 30,000 people, both large and small, arrested by police stations across the country.

The total number of people announced in the circle is seventy-nine, and all of them are already confirmed criminal suspects.

Their arrest has put many TV dramas and variety shows that have not yet been broadcast in danger of being stillborn. The same is true for many works that are currently being broadcast, and many of them have been temporarily removed from the shelves.

Fortunately, the authorities did not take a one-size-fits-all approach, but instead tacitly allowed them to use facial blurring. As long as the faces were replaced in time, they turned a blind eye.

Of course, if you are the leading actor, then don't think about appearing on the big screen in the short term.

With the arrival of the New Year’s Eve party and New Year’s Day, the bad things that happened before were quickly forgotten by the general public.

The entertainment industry has never been short of people and works. After some works were taken off the shelves, those well-made films that lacked traffic and money for promotion had the opportunity to show up. Some niche themes also gained a lot of attention, resulting in a short period of flourishing.

After realizing that the disappearance of dozens of people in the entertainment industry did not affect their ability to watch TV dramas and appreciate the handsome men and beautiful women acting in their dramas, netizens forgot about those people even faster.

After the three-day New Year's Day holiday, only those fans who were brainwashed too thoroughly are still struggling.

But with the introduction of real-time IP addresses, many professional fans who had done bad things secretly began to get scared and gradually became quiet.

-

After living with grandma in the urban-rural fringe area for more than half a month, Jing Ke and Shao Qing each carried a large bag of pure natural ingredients prepared by Grandma Shao, and under her reluctant eyes, they got into the car driven by the assistant, waved goodbye to this quiet and warm place.

Because they had a lot of luggage, the two did not choose to fly back this time, but chose to take the high-speed rail. After sleeping in the first-class seat from morning to afternoon, they successfully arrived in Hai City.

After the cleanup, Hai City's airport was less crowded with fans and supporters. The artists who weren't affected by the incident also kept a low profile, so low-key that Shao Qing almost didn't recognize them in the VIP channel.

But this is also good. Everyone is more low-key, and the number of quarrels between fans has decreased, which has led to a peaceful life on all platforms.

The director and regular guests of the variety show "Who is the Murderer?" are all relatively reliable. They all escaped the turmoil unscathed, making it one of the few local ace variety shows that has been retained.

This led to many netizens rushing in after the program team announced that the first episode would be broadcast live with multiple cameras. After only ten minutes of the trial broadcast, the number of people watching exceeded one million.

The director couldn't stop smiling. He spent money overnight to improve the relevant equipment and added more than ten cameras to ensure that the audience in the live broadcast room could have the best experience.

"Who is the Murderer?" is similar to the gameplay of script-killing shows, with five permanent guests and two flying guests, and all seven people have their own identities and corresponding living areas.

Among the seven people, there will be one or two murderers. What the murderer has to do is to perfectly conceal his crime and pin the blame on others.

The task of the guests who did not draw the murderer card is to find the murderer and send him to the designated police station (small dark room) before dark.

"Who is the Murderer?" has been filming for several seasons now, and its fan base is very strong, and the statistics are also very good. As long as the guest stars don't act too stupid on the show, they can easily gain six figures in followers.

To maintain the mystery, the program team only released the list of five permanent guests before the live broadcast began. After the live broadcast began, the two flying guests were announced through multiple cameras.

[Ahhh, it's Qingqing. I haven't seen Qingqing move around in a long time. Woohoo, my dear wife, let me kiss you.]

[Wow, Shao Qing's look this time is so cool. The ID card she drew is a male character, and she's a woman dressed as a man. She looks so cool.]

[So beautiful and cool, you're worthy of being my master, woof woof woof!]

The director of the program is very fair. In addition to the main live broadcast room that switches back and forth, each guest has an exclusive live broadcast room, which maximizes the experience of the solo promoter.

As an investor, Jing Ke made an exception and was qualified to enter the director's room to observe. Not only could he see the barrage of comments floating around on the big screen, but he could also see the reactions of different guests at the same time.

Of course, being able to see different guests doesn’t mean Jing Ke will watch them. Apart from occasionally glancing at the main screen, Jing Ke’s gaze only stays on Shao Qing.

-

Shao Qing had only received her role settings the night before. The story of "Who is the Murderer?" was set in the West, and she was to play the deceased's sole heir, a knight bestowed by the king and a future duke.

The other six guests were the old butler, the butler's daughter, the old duke's second wife, a visiting noble lady, an unfavored prince of the royal family, and a foreign merchant.

The character Shao Qing drew was a bit special. He had an extremely outstanding appearance. On the surface, he was an engaged couple with a noble lady, but in fact, he had ambiguous relationships with his stepmother and the housekeeper's daughter.

To be honest, Shao Qing was quite excited after getting such a scumbag role. She usually plays female characters who tear scumbags apart with their bare hands, and has never played a scumbag in the true sense.

So after the ten-minute introduction session, Shao Qing immediately got into the mood and behaved very appropriately in front of the noble lady, like a very filial fiancé.

While searching for clues, Shao Qing found an opportunity to spend some time alone with his stepmother and the housekeeper's daughter. He gave the former a rose and the latter a trophy he had won on the battlefield, which made both of them smile.

It can be seen from the live broadcast room that Shao Qing has completely entered the role and is having a lot of fun.

But Jing Ke, who was watching the live broadcast outside, was not that happy, let alone enjoying it.

[Wow, it's an amorous knight, what a novel setting! Finally, he's not just a knight who silently protects the princess.]

[Oh my god, Shao Qing already captivated me when he was dressed as a woman, and now he looks so handsome in men's clothing too! If this continues, my sexual orientation will become like Shao Qing's!]

So this time, the role must be a crossover, right? If she were a woman disguised as a man, she wouldn't be so fickle.

"That's not necessarily true. Have you forgotten the rumor I mentioned before? The Duke's only heir was frail and sickly as a child, with a boyish appearance. He didn't regain his health until he joined the army at the age of fifteen. I think this is very likely a hidden setting!"

Jing Ke took a look at the barrage of comments. If he were a conscious being now, he would probably be reading these comments to the other party, right?

After shaking his head lightly to clear useless thoughts from his mind, Jing Ke watched Shao Qing's performance seriously again.

When Shao Qing got the character card yesterday, she immediately shared the information with Jing Ke.

So Jing Ke knew very well in his heart that Shao Qing, who seemed to be the most suspicious person, was actually the real murderer.

Shao Qing’s true identity is the same as what some viewers in the live broadcast room guessed. She is not playing a male character in a cross-dressing role, but this character is originally a woman dressed as a man.

Looking at Shao Qing holding the noble lady in his arms in the live broadcast room, Jing Ke sorted out his somewhat messy emotions with an expressionless face.

Be more rational and calm.

Shao Qing did this to interfere with those people collecting evidence, not because he really liked them.

It's all fake, just a show.

Besides, even if it’s true, you would only be Shao Qing’s collaborator.