Chapter 41 Acquisition? (nonono)
As soon as these words were spoken, the two of them laughed in unison, but Shen Mingzhao's smile was particularly awkward.
Fang Zhuo: "No need to find another place, let's talk here. Which aspect of Giant Entertainment's business does Deshen Film & Entertainment want to acquire?"
"Does it only include company employees and artists, or does it also include the ownership of Star 399, private spaceships, and cruise ships?"
Shen Mingzhao has lived for over forty years and has climbed to the top management position in a leading brokerage firm. He rarely experiences such an embarrassing moment where he feels like he could crawl into a hole in the floor with his eyes.
Previously, the board of directors of Deshen Film and Entertainment had a very unified view on Giant Entertainment. They unanimously believed that the boss of Giant Entertainment was a rebellious and incompetent second-generation rich kid who was just squandering his family's money. He just happened to catch a few trends in the process of squandering.
As long as the losses continue to mount, there will eventually come a day when the family has to stop paying their mortgage. That will be a good opportunity to buy Deshen at a low price.
The seasoned board members didn't expect Shen Mingzhao to close the deal immediately. They simply asked him to come and sound out the situation first, and also to plant a seed in the other party's mind that he could contact Deshen anytime if he needed money.
As for private spaceships and private planets, those old men didn't care about such material possessions at all.
They've seen plenty of rich kids; it's perfectly normal for young people with a little money to rent cloud storage to show off these days.
The spaceship and private planet are just upgraded versions of putting on a show of wealth, which only further proves that Fang Zhuo is a vain and face-loving rich kid.
Even before meeting Fang Zhuo in person, Shen Mingzhao thought so.
However, the other party's three-hour banquet reception was flawless. Not only did they bring over the boss of a competitor company to perform, but they also announced an ambitious investment plan on the spot. Even every verbal probing attempt made by Shen Mingzhao was perfectly deflected.
Even if Shen Mingzhao were to take Fang Zhuo's place and organize the banquet, he wouldn't be confident that he could do a better job.
Such ambition and matching business acumen are rare finds; the other party is certainly not an empty-headed fool.
Moreover, judging from Fang Zhuo's words, the cruise ship and spaceship were not rented, but rather purchased by someone else.
Upon hearing this reply, Shen Mingzhao felt a cold sweat rise from the soles of her feet.
He forced a smile and said, "The plan of the board of directors of Deshen includes the acquisition of existing employees and artists, as well as some fixed assets related to the entertainment industry, such as group broadcasting studios."
"If you encounter financial difficulties later, you can consider us."
More and more brand representatives, eager to discuss investment opportunities in detail, gathered around. Fang Zhuo gave Shen Mingzhao a meaningful look:
"Then your company may not be able to wait for this opportunity."
The cold sweat on Shen Mingzhao's back seemed to freeze instantly into ice crystals, and when the gentle breeze in the banquet hall blew on it, he shivered.
The amount of information conveyed in this sentence is astonishing.
Just how much capital is behind Giant Entertainment to guarantee that there will be no economic problems? The waters behind this young man are much deeper than anyone else imagined.
Shen Mingzhao retreated to the tea break area at the back of the banquet hall and quickly switched to the chat interface on his personal computer.
Several directors in the core operations group had tagged him several times out of curiosity, urging him to ask if the boss of Giant Entertainment had any intention of selling the company.
Shen Mingzhao wiped the sweat from his forehead and briefly recounted what had happened that evening.
[@Shen Mingzhao, Xiao Shen, did you hear that right? The ownership of a private planet so close to the main planet is worth far more than 10 billion. What exactly is Giant Entertainment's background?]
[@Shen Mingzhao, what does it mean that President Fang said they don't plan to go public? Are they going to rebel against the industry association?]
[@Shen Mingzhao, you need to be more careful with your attitude when communicating with others in the future. Young people these days have bad tempers. Fang Zhuo probably said those things on purpose to provoke you.]
[@Shen Mingzhao, Xiao Shen, didn't you record Mr. Fang's speech? Post it here for everyone to see.]
It felt like ten thousand people were tagging him in the group at the same time. Shen Mingzhao was overwhelmed and simply forwarded a few minutes of the recording to the group.
Without him needing to explain, Fang Zhuo's remarks and content were enough to shut everyone in the group up.
If Deshen Film and Entertainment had such a young talent, he would probably be promoted to management within three years, like a rocket. He's definitely not some lazy, spendthrift good-for-nothing.
The group chat was originally discussing how high a price to offer for Juyu, but now the silence was deafening. Shen Mingzhao thought he had accidentally turned on the mute mode.
About ten minutes later, a rather disrespectful assistant tossed a news link into the group chat: "[Giant Entertainment's CEO Fang has just announced two major investment plans. Will Giant become the next Deshen? Will the competitive landscape of top talent agencies be drastically reshuffled? Let's wait and see!]"
The next second, one less person was online in the group chat.
The group chat, which had been quiet for over ten minutes, became active again: [How is this managed? Don't add interns to this group anymore.]
[@Fu Hao, Chairman Fu, this is a full-time employee, but they are currently going through the resignation process via OA (Office Automation) this month.]
[...]
Shen Mingzhao felt like laughing for some reason and replied with a string of ellipses.
It was 9:30 p.m., which was supposed to be the end of the banquet, but a staff member told him that there were luxury suites available on the cruise ship, and they could choose to stay overnight on the giant ship.
The hours at work belong to the company, but life after work is his own. Given such a great opportunity to enjoy a luxurious suite on a giant ship while on a business trip, he naturally chose to stay.
To put it bluntly, everyone here is just a high-level working class. Shen Mingzhao glanced around the banquet hall and found that very few people had left.
After nearly five hours at sea, the cruise ship docked smoothly. Even the CEOs stayed overnight on board, and almost none of the fans wanted to disembark.
The entire cruise ship was brightly lit, and the tremors from docking were quite slight, just enough to wake me from a nightmare during my light sleep.
Ruan Zihan was so seasick that his limbs felt weak, and his addiction to hallucinogens kicked in again. He quickly leaned over the toilet and dry-heaved for a while.
He wanted to use his personal computer to send a message to his assistant, but he found that there was no signal on the cruise ship.
He quickly rinsed his mouth, loosened his tie, and swayed as he pushed open the door and walked out of the room.
Several bigwigs I had just met during the banquet hall performance appeared at the other end of the corridor. Among them were the young and promising Vice President Shen from Deshen Film and Entertainment, senior executives from Baisheng Entertainment, and even design directors from several luxury brands and editors-in-chief of top fashion magazines whom I rarely see.
As expected of a high-end dinner sponsored by Charent, the lineup was truly luxurious.
This opportunity for small talk was practically handed to him.
Ignoring his physical discomfort, Ruan Zihan quickly stepped forward:
"Hello everyone, I just sang the theme song for Xinghan Media's new short drama on stage. Do any of you have a moment to listen to me talk about this drama..."
To his slight surprise, the faces of the people opposite him all wore expressions of sympathy and pity, their eyes looking at him as if he were looking at someone with intellectual disabilities, as if they were about to throw two coins at him at any moment.
Ruan Zihan paused slightly before noticing that the big shots in front of him seemed to have noticed something, and they all split into two rows to make room for the middle.
Fang Zhuo slowly strolled over from the center of attention, smiling and clapping lightly.
"Thank you, Mr. Ruan, for your wonderful performance at the banquet. What did you just mention? Was it Xinghan's new short drama? I'm sorry, I've been too busy lately and haven't had a chance to buy it to support you yet."
Ruan Zihan was stunned for a moment.
Why is Fang Zhuo here? Shouldn't he be at some damn fan meeting?
Ruan Zihan felt dizzy and took a half step back to the edge of the railing. He saw a few fans below leaving with large bags and small packages, and they were also holding huge light boards with Tao Mi's name printed on them.
A banquet... What banquet? Is it organized by Giant Entertainment?
What about his performance at the Giant Entertainment Gala? Was it considered an animal performance?
For a moment, it seemed as if every bone crevice was radiating intense pain from friction, and the anxiety brought on by the loss of the hallucinogen surged up.
Ruan Zihan could no longer control his emotions. He took two steps forward and threw a powerful punch that was about to hit Fang Zhuo's face.
The surrounding executives immediately made a gesture to break up the fight, while Fang Zhuo simply extended his right hand and chuckled as he made a shooting gesture at Ruan Zihan.
At that moment, Ruan Zihan suddenly remembered what the group of thugs he had sent out earlier had told him when they returned—Fang Zhuo had simply made a gesture and said "bang," and then one of them was suddenly shot and fell down.
Ruan Zihan's pupils widened instantly.
This explanation was completely unbelievable to others, but he himself had been reborn once and had an inexplicable aversion to such supernatural and bizarre claims.
Fang Zhuo's lips tightened, as if he was about to utter that word—"bang."
Ruan Zihan's right leg suddenly lost its strength, and he slid down the wall for a short distance.
To everyone else, he looked as if he had been so frightened by a simple gesture that his legs went weak.
In the blink of an eye, he only saw the expressions of shock or speechlessness on the faces of the people opposite him. Although the vice president of Deshen Film and Entertainment covered the lower half of his face, a smile still shone through his eyes.
"Fu Zhaoyu, escort President Ruan off the ship." With Fang Zhuo's words, Ruan Zihan felt as if he was suddenly pulled up by an unexpected force.
Even after the bodyguards had pulled Ruan Zihan far away, his angry shouts could still be heard in the corridor: "Fang Zhuo, you wait, you just wait..."
Fang Zhuo turned to the crowd and explained, "I'm sorry, Mr. Ruan may be experiencing some kind of addiction, which is affecting his behavior and logic."
Shen Mingzhao kept his fist pressed against his mouth, suppressing a laugh for a long time before finally replying, "I can understand."
Bai Sheng's vice president also lamented indignantly: "The Star Federation should have strengthened its control over hallucinogens long ago. The papers all say that this kind of drug has a very large impact on cognition."
This little incident didn't affect the success of the banquet at all. On the contrary, it gave everyone the impression that Ruan Zihan wasn't very bright. From now on, this group of people will have to be much more cautious about any investments related to Xinghan.
Fang Zhuo continued to introduce the various facilities on the giant ship, and deftly opened the door to the luxury suite on the cruise ship for everyone.
The interior design here is more expensive than the Aegean Sea series that won the bid. The suite has a total area of more than 200 square meters and two floors. In the center of the living room is a silver-white slide that goes from the second floor to the first floor. There is also an outdoor walk-in bathtub outside the second-floor terrace, and next to the bathtub is a wine cabinet filled with various premixed cocktails.
Such hospitality would be considered top-notch at any business dinner. After a day of this, Shen Mingzhao was utterly impressed and patted Fang Zhuo on the shoulder as they left.
"Mr. Fang, I'm so sorry for bringing up the acquisition today. It was really offensive. Please feel free to contact me if you need anything in the future."
"While I can't offer much help, I can still act as a semi-insider headhunter."
Fang Zhuo smiled and nodded, indicating that the other party didn't need to take it to heart. After confirming that each guest had been assigned a dedicated staff member, he turned and left through elevator number 13.
This elevator was only used by internal staff of Juyu and third-party service companies. After descending two floors, he saw Zhou Zongyun and Yu Yu rushing in from outside, panting heavily.
"Holy crap, Mr. Fang, you scared me to death! How did you manage to get Ruan Zihan tied to the boat?"
Zhou Zongyun, his mouth greasy from eating at the restaurant downstairs, shook his shirt, trying to dry the sweat he had just produced.
"You have no idea, just now when Ruan Zihan saw me and Yu Yu walking together, he suddenly went berserk and tried to jump up and bite us. Luckily, the guy next to us punched him in time."
Fang Zhuo: "Very reasonable."
In just two days, Ruan Zihan experienced a short drama flop, being attacked by Yao Mengran's fans, unexpectedly performing at a competitor's banquet, and being so frightened by a gesture in front of a group of bosses that his legs went weak. Now he suddenly discovers that Yu Yu also betrayed him back then, and was just trying to jump up and bite him. His mental state has stabilized.
The elevator was still more than ten floors away from the first floor, so Fang Zhuo casually started a conversation: "How did you two meet Ruan Zihan?"
"Sigh, it's all a tragic fate..."
“Back then, Yu Yu, two other friends and I started working together. In our junior year of college, another friend’s girlfriend drove the four of us to a commercial exhibition booth in a small, outdated car. We got into a car accident on the way.”
"Later we found out that the private Yunlie that hit us was delivering goods to Ruan Zihan's film crew. He and Chi Yingying even came to the hospital to visit us. Later, Ruan Zihan signed the three of us who were still alive to his subsidiary."
"But Yan Huai's girlfriend died in that accident, and he also injured his cheek. Later, he terminated his contract, leaving only Yu Yu and me..."
As Fang Zhuo listened, his brows gradually furrowed.
He interrupted when he heard that last familiar name: "Yanhuai? What's your friend's last name?"
Zhou Zongyun realized that President Fang's attitude was unusually serious, and quickly said:
"His surname is Cen, Cen Yanhuai. He's really super handsome, and his face injury isn't serious at all. If he can persevere, he'll definitely become a huge star."
“But after the contract was terminated, none of us knew where he went. Even Ruan Zihan looked for him for a long time.”
Yu Yu, who had been silent all along, finally found an opportunity to interject: "I know, he said that Ruan Zihan's gaze made him very uncomfortable, so he didn't want to stay here."
“His uncle introduced him to a wedding emcee job in his hometown, with a higher monthly salary than the subsidiary he works for here. He specifically told me not to tell Ruan Zihan.”
Fang Zhuo let out a long sigh without making a sound.
Found it! Finally found it!
This is the same actor who, in the original novel "Brilliant," brought Liu Xiaolan from the bridal shop into the entertainment industry—
Cen Yanhuai was supposed to take his girlfriend to ES Bridal Shop to choose a wedding dress six years ago, which is how he met stylist Liu Xiaolan.
Fang Zhuo closed his eyes briefly. No wonder Cen Yanhuai didn't get married to his girlfriend in this life; it turned out he had encountered this unexpected turn of events.
His prediction about Ruan Zihan was correct; according to this timeline, the other party had been reborn for at least seven or eight years.
Although this person had very low cognitive abilities, he was ruthless and ruthless in his actions, and indeed, he had more than one life on his hands.
"Were Ruan Zihan and Chi Yingying the only ones who went to the hospital to see you at that time?"
Zhou Zongyun shook his head: "There are three, but I only recognize two of them. The other one is wearing a mask and looks quite old. I should be able to recognize him if we meet in person."
Fang Zhuo had a general idea of what was going on. He asked Yu Yu for the address of Cen Yanhuai's hometown, then explained the precautions for organizing the investment promotion documents for each brand to Jiang Yu, and quickly walked out of the cruise ship corridor.
Holding a note in your hand, you walk through the long corridor, from the dimly lit room to the bright light. Your eyes will inevitably sting for a moment because they are not used to it.
Cen Yanhuai raised his arm to shield his eyes and stuffed the slip of paper with the newlyweds' names and the emcee's speech into his pocket.
He greeted the forklift driver and, together with the workers, unloaded the upright bouquet of red and pink roses from the forklift pallet, carrying the bouquet in both hands as he walked into the field.
This small wedding planning company is run by his uncle and has been operating for eight years, so it can be considered quite stable.
The largest city on Star 894 has a permanent population of just over two million, and its scenery is far from being suitable for tourism development. Apart from desert enthusiasts, there are almost no migrant workers, so the demand for weddings is not that great. However, the wedding industry is relatively uncompetitive, and it has a small but beautiful self-sufficient feel.
The job doesn't pay that much. In this remote planet where the average salary is three or four thousand yuan, I can earn a little over five thousand yuan a month after tax. It's much better than working at a modeling agency where there's not much work to do.
It's only a little past seven in the morning, and it's not time for the newlyweds' relatives to enter yet.
After helping to set up the venue, Cen Yanhuai would always stretch his legs out over the railing of the second-floor corridor and sit quietly for a while.
My uncle always says that he walks like he's in a dream every day. He also considers himself a rather sentimental person. Whenever he looks at the simple yet thoughtful wedding venue below, he always feels a sense of desolate sorrow.
Seven years ago, he also had unrealistic dreams.
At that time, he and a few classmates created a group chat and visited all the commercial activities around the school during breaks from class.
During that time, Wenwen felt sorry for them because they had to take the monorail for half an hour every day, so he bought an outdated small car to pick them up and drop them off at the monorail station, which aroused envy from other classmates.
He always thought he and Wenwen would stay together until they got married. He would do everything he could to give her the best wedding. Even if they didn't have money, they would still exchange rings in a simple setting, with the blessings of their parents and friends.
Until an accident took everything from him.
He lost his girlfriend of eight years, whom he had known since junior high school, lost his best friend, and spent nearly a month in the ICU. The Yunlie driver only left behind a casual remark: "It was knocked off course."
Did they crash into something? Wenwen specially bought a small orange-yellow car for commuting, and even put reflective strips on the body. Why can't they be seen in the dark?
From then on, he was surrounded by all kinds of malice.
The owner of that agency seemed responsible, even thoughtfully assigning them jobs, but the way he looked at them always carried an inexplicable sense of jealousy and rejection.
His colleagues would casually observe him, and whenever he failed another job interview, they would intentionally or unintentionally mention that something was wrong with his facial features. Some even went so far as to invite him to a plastic surgery clinic for a consultation after get off work.
He also once caught a colleague secretly pouring some kind of white powder into his water glass, while the colleague claimed that he had poured protein powder into the wrong glass.
At first, Cen Yanhuai thought he was just overthinking things, but when he arrived at the hospital near the company, the doctor said that paranoia was a typical precursor to schizophrenia.
He practically fled the company, forever abandoning his impossible dream of becoming a model.
There was even a moment when he resented himself.
If he hadn't insisted on going to a business event with his friends, Wenwen wouldn't have bought that outdated little car, and they wouldn't have been hit by Yunlie on their way back to school.
After the incident, he knelt down to Wenwen's parents, cried in the rain in the flower bed downstairs from her house, and finally, like a coward, chose to pack his bags and run away from everything, only regularly sending half of his income to Wenwen's family every month.
He was a lonely atoning man, whose only purpose in life was to repeatedly see his sins and misfortunes reflected in one happy wedding after another.
"With tokens exchanged, hands clasped, love endures forever! It seems our bride and groom have a wonderful relationship. Bride, please don't laugh! And all of us here, please raise our glasses and wish the newlyweds a long and happy life together!"
Cen Yanhuai raised the microphone high, and even though he had recited this speech with great familiarity, his voice still trembled slightly.
This year's bride and groom seem particularly youthful. They both went from school to wedding dresses, completed their studies together on the main planet, and then returned to their hometown to open a husband-and-wife business.
The bride has two big dimples when she smiles, and she often turns her back to secretly laugh...
Cen Yanhuai took deep breaths, suppressing the urge to burst into tears, and uttered his final words of blessing:
"Today marks the beginning of a new life for the two newlyweds. From this day forward, may you share warmth and joy, and admire the beauty of our land together. Wishing you peace, happiness, and all your dreams come true."
His emotions collapsed like a burst dam, and no one present noticed his abnormality.
For all the relatives and friends in the audience, the emcee's words meant that they could finally start to eat and drink heartily.
This formulaic line is commonplace to everyone, but for Cen Yanhuai himself, it was an unattainable dream in the past.
He came to the rooftop of the five-story building and stood motionless, quietly watching the kitchen staff carrying ingredients back and forth at the back door. The world became silent here, and only in these moments of solitude could he find peace.
The silence was broken by a phone call from his uncle: "Yanhuai, oh right, I forgot to tell you, some of your friends have come to see you. They're waiting in the innermost room on the third floor. Remember to come over after your ceremony is over."
Cen Yanhuai asked instinctively, "Who is it?"
My uncle isn't very educated, and he can't even pronounce his name clearly.
"His name is either Dayu or Little Fish or something, another one is called President Zhou, and another one is also called something like President, anyway there are several people, you'll find out when you get there..."
Cen Yanhua pieced together the information from his uncle's jumbled descriptions and concluded that the "Da Yu" was likely Yu Yu, and the "General Manager Zhou" was probably Zhou Zongyun.
Since the accident, he has cut off contact with all his former friends, and only revealed his past to Yu Yu, a junior from the same school, before leaving.
Although Yu Yu is usually not very talkative, he is a person who can keep secrets and has his own opinions; otherwise, he would not have chosen to confide in Yu Yu.
However, the other party has now become a famous live streamer throughout the entire Star Federation, and they haven't been in contact for at least four or five years. Why would Yu Yu and Zhou Zongyun suddenly come to find him?
After closing the rooftop door, Cen Yanhuai quickly went downstairs, his fingers resting on the doorknob of the innermost room on the third floor—
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