The opening credits just finished playing at this moment, and there was a silent black screen for a few seconds before entering the main film. It was no exaggeration to say that you could hear a pin drop when these words were spoken.
Those sitting in the first two rows were either the main directors or shareholders who were invited to watch the film. From the third row onwards were well-known film critics or more authoritative reporters. Since Song Xuanhe and Xue Mian arrived one after another, everyone had paid close attention to the middle seat in the second row.
Sitting in the back row was a reporter who had switched from entertainment gossip media to film and television media. From the very beginning when Xue Mian and Song Xuanhe were talking, his sensitive nose for gossip had already detected something wrong, so he didn't even watch the opening credits, but kept listening to the previous conversation with his ears perked up.
Although Xue Mian and Huang Cong were talking about the movie, they both spoke in very low voices, and even though he was sitting in the back he couldn't hear the specific content clearly. He had originally planned to give up and was prepared to watch the movie quietly and then go back to produce the publicity material. However, who would have thought that God would reward those who work hard, as soon as Actor Xue apologized, the man next to Young Master Song humiliated him without mercy.
Although the man's voice was not loud, and even a little low due to its heavy tone, it could not stop the clear quality of his voice. Although his voice was low, it was very clear and reached his ears clearly.
The reporter swallowed excitedly and leaned his head forward unconsciously. More than ten years of experience as a paparazzi and gossip told him that there must be hidden secrets here, and these secrets could definitely make for a good show.
The next second, he heard Actor Xue say, "I wasn't paying attention. I'm very sorry for disturbing you."
Actor Xue is worthy of being Actor Xue. He apologized sincerely when he was in the wrong, which is consistent with the rumors outside. I just don’t know how the gentleman next to Young Master Song will respond.
The reporter waited with bated breath, but as one or two seconds passed, the theater, which had been plunged into darkness due to the black screen, lit up as the light from the big screen gradually brightened. The gentleman in front did not speak, and even from the reporter's perspective, he could vaguely see his cold outline, and he did not look like he would respond at all.
This... is a bit too arrogant.
The reporter thought to himself, although Actor Xue's background has never been exposed, reporters who have been in the circle for a long time naturally have their own intelligence circles. Xue Mian's employer, Zhuangyue Media, has his former colleagues, and he also has a vague idea about Xue Mian's family background. The Xue family's base is not in the imperial capital, and their influence may not be as great as that of the Song family, but it is definitely not something that the Song family can easily control.
There is solid evidence for this. When Xue Mian just debuted, the boss of a film and television company wanted to seduce him, and it seemed that he used some shady means. Unexpectedly, he was thrown into jail a few days later. The person behind the boss was very powerful in the imperial capital, but he couldn't get him out. When he found out that the matter was related to Xue Mian, he even gave up on him, which caused sighs from those who were watching at the time.
From this we can see that Xue Mian's background is not just a figment of his imagination.
Unexpectedly, Xue Mian, who could only make a few sarcastic remarks even when the young master of the Song family was dissatisfied, would face such embarrassing but absolutely merciless indifference.
The first thing the reporter thought of was Xiao Yuanmu's background. Just now when Song Xuan and they came in, he stayed outside for a while because he met an old colleague. Naturally, he heard the discussion of those reporters. He had reservations about this, but now he believed it a little.
Perhaps, the person next to Song Xuanhe is really more important than Song Xuanhe.
The reporter sighed a little. It seemed that Actor Xue could only endure this slap in the face. However, Actor Xue was not the kind of person who liked to stir up trouble. It was thought that he would not say anything more. Besides, he might just leave after the movie was over. After all, no matter how well-mannered a person was, it would be difficult for him to stay there as if nothing had happened after being humiliated in public.
However, the reporter was slapped in the face again.
The premiere ended with a small cocktail party. Actor Xue not only did not leave immediately, but also walked up to Song Xuanhe and Xiao Yuanmu again and chatted with them with a smile on his face.
However, the atmosphere did not seem to be harmonious and joyful, because only Xue Mian was smiling, while the other two had a cold look and a blank expression.
"Mr. Song, I heard that you are the only investor in "Bath of Fire". Director Huang also said that the filming of this drama depends entirely on your support. The subsequent additional investment and the addition of new investors will all depend on your opinion. I wonder if you are willing to add another investor." For the first time, Xue Mian looked at Song Xuanhe seriously without mentioning Xiao Yuanmu.
Song Xuanhe took a sip of wine, frowned, put it down, turned to look at Xue Mian, raised an eyebrow and asked: "Are you planning to invest in "Bath of Fire"?"
"Yes." Xue Mian said, "I am very optimistic about this script, and I have always liked Lei Huo in the script. After listening to Director Huang's ideas about filming, I am even more confident about this movie, so I want to discuss the investment with you."
Hearing this, Song Xuanhe narrowed his eyes and showed his big white teeth: "You also said that this movie will definitely make money, why should I share a piece of it with others? Do you think I'm stupid?"
Xue Mian kept smiling and said gracefully, "Of course I won't compete with Mr. Song for any interests. I want to invest only because I am optimistic about this script and I really like it."
Song Xuanhe raised his eyebrows, pretended to be surprised and asked with wide eyes: "So what you mean is that you invest money, but after the movie is transferred, you don't want to believe in the dividends of the share?"
Xue Mian's smile changed, and after a while he said, "My investment will only take up a very small part of the entire movie. I can give up some of the box office share in the future."
Song Xuanhe: "Since you have little investment, why should I let you get involved? Or do you think I'm short of those millions?"
Xue Mian: ...
Song Xuanhe was truly the most unconventional and difficult to persuade person Xue Mian had ever seen. When he met Song Xuanhe before, he thought he was different from the rumors. However, when he saw him again this time, he was no different from the arrogant and unbridled person in the rumors.
But precisely because of this, Song Xuanhe should not be underestimated. He can completely change anyone's impression of him, and change his attitude towards other people completely according to his own wishes. This kind of easeful switching is shocking even to Xue Mian, who won the Best Actor award early on and whose acting skills have never been questioned.
Such a person may be arrogant and overbearing, but he will never be mindless and domineering.
Xue Mian unconsciously glanced at Xiao Yuanmu, who was thinking about something with his eyes lowered. His eyes dimmed. He had never known why someone like Xiao Yuanmu would be with Song Xuanhe. When he asked his assistant to find out, he heard that Xiao Yuanmu had to agree because of Song Xuanhe's coercion. Even though he felt from the bottom of his heart that someone like Xiao Yuanmu would not be constrained by others, he couldn't help but think in his heart that it would be nice if this was really the case.
Because only in this way will he have hope, be able to snatch Xiao Yuanmu from Song Xuanhe, and then have a chance to make Xiao Yuanmu fall in love with him.
However, the scene he saw while watching the movie just now shattered Xue Mian's fantasy.
In the middle of the movie, there was a very funny scene. When he heard Song Xuanhe's laughter, he didn't know why, but he subconsciously looked towards Xiao Yuanmu, and happened to see him turn his head to glance at Song Xuanhe who was laughing so hard. He couldn't see what expression Xiao Yuanmu had when he looked at Song Xuanhe, but he saw the corners of his mouth slightly curved when he turned his head.
This was the first time he saw Xiao Yuanmu smile. Even though he couldn't see it very clearly in the dim movie theater, it made him feel bright.
But after being amazed, Xue Mian felt depressed, because Xiao Yuanmu's expression told him that he and Song Xuanhe were definitely not in a relationship where one party forced the other as rumored.
Now, knowing that Song Xuanhe was not only completely different from the rumors, but might even be more charming than he had imagined, Xue Mian's already depressed mood became even lower.
However, no matter how depressed he was, Xue Mian, who at the age of 20 was able to withstand the opposition of his entire family and the threat of his father to kick him out of the house, and chose to do what he wanted to do with all his heart, had never had the word "give up easily" in his dictionary.
Besides, even if Song Xuanhe is really good, so what? Xue Mian doesn't think he is worse than Song Xuanhe. Under fair competition, everyone depends on their own ability.
Song Xuanhe and Xiao Yuanmu didn't know that in just a few seconds, Xue Mian's mind was already full of thoughts. Seeing that he didn't say anything, Song Xuanhe thought that his words had finally made this legendary actor who had almost no temper angry, and he felt a sense of accomplishment.
However, the next moment Xue Mian smiled and said, "Of course I don't think Young Master Song is short of money. It's just that I recently had the idea of investing, and "Bath of Fire" is a script I like very much, so I said this. If Young Master Song wants to invest alone, I won't force it."
What Xue Mian said was very nice. It saved both his own face and Song Xuanhe's face. Song Xuanhe felt it was pointless to continue finding fault, so he curled his lips and stopped talking. Xue Mian didn't want to make himself boring anymore. He glanced at Xiao Yuanmu and left.
"Bath of Fire?" Xiao Yuanmu, who had been silent all this time, asked, "Are you planning to invest in a movie?"
Song Xuanhe glanced at the lively drinking party and suddenly felt it was boring, so he nodded nonchalantly.
Xiao Yuanmu's eyes flickered slightly. In his previous life, he didn't pay much attention to the film and television industry, but he knew several big hit movies, one of which was "Bath of Fire". At that time, this was a typical low-cost, high-grossing movie. He heard a partner in the film and television industry talk about it and regarded it as a typical "small wins big" case in the film and television investment industry. So Xiao Yuanmu remembered clearly that the investor of this movie, which cost no more than 10 million yuan to shoot, in his previous life was not Song Xuanhe.
Moreover, he remembered that the filming of this movie did not start until three years later. Because Huang Cong was very unsuccessful in his early years, he had been working as an assistant director for commercial directors in various crews. It was not until two years later that he finally found an investor willing to invest in "Bath of Fire" and then directed it alone.
The reason why he followed Song Xuanhe to the cocktail party this time was because he heard that the assistant director of this movie was Huang Cong. He wanted to get in touch with Huang Cong in advance and invest in this movie as a starting point for his future investment in the film and television industry.
Unexpectedly, Song Xuanhe got the upper hand.
Xiao Yuanmu looked at Song Xuanhe with a hint of inquiry in his eyes and asked, "Why did you choose to invest in movies?"
"It's fun." Song Xuanhe said casually.
"Then why is it "Bath of Fire"? " Xiao Yuanmu Mingche stared at him with calm eyes, as if trying to find some clues on his face.
"Because Huang Cong is a talented person and quite interesting." Song Xuanhe didn't think much about it. The film and television industry has been very hot recently. It is not uncommon for investors with unique vision to make huge profits after investing in film and television. Many people have already set their sights on film and television investment, so it is not surprising that Xiao Yuanmu would be interested in him.
However, he paid Huang Cong to make a movie not because of considering returns or preparing to enter the film and television industry. In two years, he would return to his own world, and there would be no use for him to have so much money, not to mention taking the professional investment route. There was only one reason why he invested in Huang Cong's movie. Huang Cong was so good at chatting, and he was very happy to praise him, so he thought Huang Cong was interesting and invested.
So when Xiao Yuanmu asked, although Song Xuanhe's tone was casual, every word he said was true and he definitely did not lie.
"What does Huang Cong mean?" Xiao Yuanmu's gaze moved away and fell on Huang Cong, who was like a butterfly in the crowd. Seeing Huang Cong chatting with people everywhere, he withdrew his gaze.
This sentence is also Xiao Yuanmu's real question.
"Why is it boring?" Song Xuan pointed at Huang Cong, who was smiling flatteringly and saying something, and said, "Look, how sincere and exaggerated he is in praising others. It's so funny. Isn't funny interesting?"
At this time, Huang Cong walked up to an investor not far from them. Song Xuanhe and Xiao Yuanmu heard him smilingly say to the investor, "Mr. Zhang! I was wondering why I didn't see you. You look... radiant! I almost couldn't recognize you. I heard that your sister-in-law gave birth to another fat boy for you. Did you work out to hold the baby? This figure... Tsk, it's not worse than the boxers in my movies."
Xiao Yuanmu's gaze shifted from Mr. Zhang, who was bloated, bald, and had bags under his eyes, looking weak, to Song Xuanhe.
Song Xuanhe laughed so hard that his shoulders were shaking. He noticed Xiao Yuanmu's gaze and looked up to ask him, "Isn't he sincere and interesting when he tells lies? If he can tell lies with his eyes open and make others believe him, isn't that a talent?"
Xiao Yuanmu originally thought that the talent Song Xuanhe was talking about was Huang Cong's attainments in filming, but he didn't expect that he was talking about this. However, his eyes fell on Song Xuanhe's brilliant smile, and he couldn't help but curl his lips.
Some people are just like this, naturally easy to like. When they laugh, people want to laugh with them. When they eat delicious food, people's appetite is stimulated. Even when they act condescendingly and arrogantly, it is difficult for people to feel disgusted with them.
It was very strange. Obviously, Song Xuanhe in three lives were the same person, but in the previous two lives, he never thought that Song Xuanhe was likable. Only in this life, he didn't know whether it was because Song Xuanhe seemed to have completely changed as a person or because of the influence of the memories before rebirth, even though the current Song Xuanhe was as arrogant and domineering as in the previous two lives, he did not feel any disgust or hatred at all.
Seeing Xiao Yuanmu smile, Song Xuanhe raised his eyebrows with some pride. Just as he was about to say something, Huang Cong came over and said to him, "Mr. Song, Liu Xu just asked me if you have time. She said she has something to tell you."
"What's the matter?" The person who spoke was not Song Xuanhe, but Xiao Yuanmu. He remembered Liu Xu, a female star whom he disliked very much in his memory before his rebirth.
Huang Cong glanced at Xiao Yuanmu and said, "I'm not sure, she just said she wanted to meet Young Master Song."
Song Xuanhe glanced thoughtfully at the corridor leading to the terrace and said, "Why did she ask you to come over if she wanted to see me?"
"She..." Huang Cong frowned in embarrassment, thought for a moment, and moved closer to Song Xuanhe, whispering, "She must have offended someone, and someone above has said that she will be banned. She may have come to you for this matter, but no one knows who ordered the ban. Mr. Song, listen to my warning. You'd better not get involved in this mess."
Unexpectedly, Huang Cong, who never offended anyone and was best at protecting himself, would remind him like this. Song Xuanhe looked at Huang Cong in surprise.
Huang Cong also noticed Song Xuanhe's gaze. He knew what image he had in other people's minds, so he smiled bitterly and said, "What I said is very offensive, but Young Master Song has been very kind to me, and I can't just watch you fall into the trap without knowing anything. I've said this, and you decide for yourself whether to go or not."
There was also a hint of surprise in Xiao Yuanmu's eyes when he looked at Huang Cong. He had heard a few things about Huang Cong in his previous life. Compared with the popular dramas he filmed, his reputation was not inferior. The previous collaborator talked most about Huang Cong's movies, and also mentioned one or two things about Huang Cong. One of them was that he betrayed his partner of many years and became a famous director. At that time, the collaborator lamented that he was indeed talented, but his character was hard to comment on.
When he met Huang Cong, who was good at dealing with people and telling lies without blinking an eye today, although he had no prejudice against him, he couldn't help but think of what his previous collaborator had said, so he was indeed a little surprised to see Huang Cong say such words at this time.
"Of course I will."
Hearing Song Xuanhe's gaze, Xiao Yuanmu suddenly turned to look at him. The scandal he had seen in his memory suddenly appeared in his mind, and a trace of gloom flashed across his eyes.
Huang Cong didn't expect that even though he had said that, Song Xuanhe would still go. However, thinking of his reputation, Huang Cong smiled somewhat melancholy and said, "Since Young Master Song wants to go, then go ahead. Liu Xu is over there on the terrace."
Song Xuanhe didn't notice Huang Cong's expression. He glanced at the terrace again and patted Huang Cong on the shoulder, saying, "Don't worry, I'm not that ignorant. I know who banned Liu Xu, and she can't plot against me."
Huang Cong opened his eyes wide in surprise, and gossip instantly burst out in his eyes. In fact, people who are good at getting along with everyone usually have high intelligence capabilities, and people with high intelligence capabilities are usually extremely gossipy. Huang Cong himself is no exception. He knows so many deeply hidden news in the circle because he himself loves to listen to gossip and dig up gossip.
Seeing Huang Cong's expression, Song Xuanhe knew what he was thinking, but he didn't want to hide it, and whispered: "It was Song Guochao who wanted to hide her, you just need to know it yourself, don't spread it around."
Huang Cong nodded. He didn't dare to spread the news about the president of the Song Group even if he wanted to.
Xiao Yuanmu also withdrew his gaze. He found that the relationship between Song Xuanhe and Song Guochao in this life seemed to be more tense than in the previous two lives, almost to the point of father and son becoming enemies. Although Song Xuanhe and Song Guochao did become enemies later in the previous life, that happened a year later when the Song family completely gave up on Song Xuanhe and announced the expulsion of Song Xuanhe.
I just don’t know what happened in this life that exacerbated the already tense relationship between Song Xuanhe and Song Guochao.
Thinking of this, Xiao Yuanmu suddenly remembered the eldest son of the Song family, Song Xuanhe's brother Song Xuanlin. He was a man who was very aware of the times and decisive. The Song family chose him as the successor, and he was indeed more suitable than Song Xuanhe.
Song Xuanhe's figure gradually disappeared at the end of the corridor. Xiao Yuanmu raised his eyes, no longer restraining the coldness in his eyes, and looked at Huang Cong and said, "You should know that it was Song Guochao who hid the catkins in the snow. Why did you come here to tell Song Xuanhe?"
Huang Cong was stunned and opened his mouth to deny it. However, after meeting Xiao Yuanmu's gaze, the lie on the tip of his tongue seemed to be frozen in his throat. He opened his mouth for a long time but did not speak.
After a long while, he took a step back nervously and explained, "I mean no harm."
Xiao Yuanmu said nothing, but his eyes were as cold as ice, making people feel a real chill all the time.
"Really!" Huang Cong swallowed nervously and spoke out all his thoughts at once: "I'm just afraid that Young Master Song himself doesn't know about this matter, so I tried to pry him out. I'm afraid that he doesn't know anything and will argue with his father for Liu Xu. Recently, a lot of things have happened in the Song family. The discord between Mr. Song and Young Master Song is known to everyone, but Mr. Song is Young Master Song's father after all, and I heard that Liu Xu was once raped by Mr. Song... If something is revealed between Young Master Song and Liu Xu at this time, no matter what, others will think that Young Master Song is in the wrong, so I want to remind him."
Xiao Yuanmu narrowed his eyes slightly and asked calmly, "Why didn't you stop him when he passed by just now?"
Huang Cong smiled bitterly, "Although others say that Mr. Song does things without considering the consequences, although I have only known him for a short time, I know that he is not as the rumor says. He is confident in most of the things he does. I think since he knew the person behind him and still went forward, he must have been completely confident."
Xiao Yuanmu's eyes were dim, and he said with an ambiguous meaning: "You are quite nice to him."
Huang Cong curled his lips when he heard this and said, "I know what kind of reputation I have outside, and I admit that I am not a good person. Most of the rumors outside are true, but I am not a good person, but I am a normal person. Over the years, Song Shao is the first person who never looks at me with strange eyes, and never speculates about me based on what others say. Based on this point, I think he deserves to be liked and respected more than most people. People are all made of flesh and blood. No matter how inhuman I am, I will not harm those who are truly good to me."
"Do you like him?" Compared to his previous cold voice, Xiao Yuanmu's tone was very calm when asking this question, and it seemed to be much gentler.
However, Huang Cong wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and shook his head repeatedly: "No, no, I don't dare. I respect Mr. Song. How dare I like him? Even if I like him, it's the love of an elder for a younger person, the love of a friend for a friend. There will definitely be no other feelings!"
Xiao Yuanmu finally withdrew his gaze and said calmly without any emotion: "Respect is enough."
The author has something to say: Xiao Yuanmu: It’s not necessary if you like it.
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