I am a Big Player
Chapter 535 - 529, About to Set Off (Third Update)_1

Chapter 535: 529, About to Set Off (Third Update)_1

Zhang Ming’s wry smile had its reasons. In fact, Zhang Ming had always thought that Ren He had no real clout in the entertainment circle. Meeting Zhou Wumeng, who isn’t strictly considered part of the entertainment circle but rather someone with certain influence in the media industry, didn’t change that perception.

He knew Xia Yuting, but Zhang Ming didn’t understand the extent of her relationship with Ren He; they both seemed to be deliberately keeping their distance.

So, when facing Ren He, Zhang Ming treated him like a pure outsider to the circle.

But now things were different. Zhang Ming felt he knew too little about Ren He, or perhaps this young man had his own strict hierarchy of friends—you would naturally learn certain things at each level...

This approach had its pros and cons, and all Ren He wanted was to better protect himself.

He was a Knight, a gold-medalist composer and lyricist in international public opinion, who had written songs that dominated the North American Top 100 for three months. And his girlfriend was an international pop diva. If such a person was still considered to have no influence in the entertainment industry, that would be a huge mistake!

At the very least, judging from fan energy alone, no one in the entire entertainment industry could rival this couple. Just look at the number of likes and shares on Weibo. Knight’s Weibo followers now were 12.7 million, the highest, while Yang Xi had 11.9 million, ranking second.

At this time, Weibo had only been operational for less than half a year, so what the future would hold was hard to predict.

Zhang Ming realized a question: considering Ren He’s own fan numbers plus his exquisite acting skills, what kind of box office would it be if such a person starred in a major film?

But Zhang Ming knew that Ren He probably really wouldn’t act again.

"If you don’t want to act, then what’s the point of going to the Central Academy of Drama?" Zhang Ming couldn’t wrap his head around this question, thinking that with Luohe Group’s resources, it wouldn’t be difficult to find Ren He a proper school and major.

"To experience life," said Ren He cheerfully. In fact, many people didn’t understand his desire to experience campus life and the feeling of being on stage.

Appearing in plays was a compromise. It wouldn’t make him too famous, yet he could get his fix of acting. Of course, he wouldn’t keep acting forever, especially since he had new things coming up soon.

Zhang Ming took a deep breath, and, for some reason, he felt he understood Ren He’s idea of experiencing life. It was an optimistic approach to life, and of course, it was a privilege of the strong. If a weak person couldn’t even secure the basics, constantly struggling over buying a house and car, then they’d have no foundation to go and ’experience life.’

There were those who enjoyed ’poor travel’ and ’happy poverty,’ the notion that one could be poor yet joyful. But the reality was that society is very pragmatic. You could be poor, but what about your spouse? Your children?

When you were young, your parents gave you the very best life, but when you grew up and your parents fell ill, what if you were left crying outside the intensive care unit, unable to pay the medical bills? Could you still be carefree then?

This is what society is like; you can only consider the spiritual realm after you have material security. The rule is cruel, but Ren He felt it was fair.

"I plan to find some suitable actors and directors at the Central Academy of Drama, and then produce some of the scripts I’ve thought about. Whether it turns out well doesn’t matter much; it’s mainly about satisfying a current, fleeting obsession," Ren He thought for a moment before seriously explaining, as the other party was a veteran in this field and might offer valuable advice.

Zhang Ming initially didn’t react, but after two minutes, he asked in surprise, "You really want to direct and produce a movie yourself?"

"Of course," Ren He replied cheerfully. "What, you don’t believe it? I’m not short on funds, and I’m not short on good scripts, so why not produce them?"

"Good scripts?" Zhang Ming pondered a moment before asking, "How good are these scripts?"

Actually, having been in the entertainment industry for so long, Zhang Ming shared a similar hidden personality with Zhou Wumeng; otherwise, the two wouldn’t have become such close friends.

Zhou Wumeng had a persistent desire to engage in charity work earnestly, while Zhang Ming’s obsession was to always have good scripts to film.

The one who felt the most accomplished when a thought-provoking film was made was actually Zhang Ming himself, which was why he jokingly said to Ren He that if Ren He could produce ’Cang Hai’, he would recommend him to study at the Central Academy of Drama.

Zhang Ming was no longer short of money or fame. He yearned even more to create meaningful works in his life.

This was why he went to see Chen Da’s play because he had always been trying to raise investments for Chen Da’s drama, hoping to adapt it into a film. However, Chen Da had originally offended too many people, making it difficult to secure investments.

Ren He pondered and said, "I think they are all very meaningful scripts. They don’t necessarily need big productions or a cast of stars. I’m not even chasing box office returns; I just want the movie to be meaningful. To me, it’s natural for these movies to succeed, and it doesn’t matter if they don’t."

Zhang Ming was puzzled. How could Ren He, a complete outsider who had never been involved in film production before, have the confidence to think that these movies deserved to be box office hits?

However, he suddenly remembered what Zhou Wumeng once said to him... This young man had the ability to turn decay into magic!

Zhang Ming was somewhat tempted, partly by the scripts Ren He mentioned and partly by one of Ren He’s remarks: It didn’t matter if he lost money.

A director needs to consider making and losing money. If you always make money, every investor will revolve around you because they have their own interests, but if you lose money, investors will discard you like worn-out shoes.

Fortunately, Zhang Ming’s works had always been profitable.

But what if one day they stopped making money? Did that mean that even if he had exceptionally good scripts, no one would be willing to take the gamble with him?

It was much simpler with Ren He. He just wanted to make good scripts into films, and it wouldn’t matter to him if he lost money; he wasn’t short of cash!

Zhang Ming knew all too well that Zhou Wumeng was currently, in fact, working for Ren He. Zhou Wumeng used to be the chairman of a big state-owned enterprise, and now he was a hardworking old man who, nevertheless, lived joyfully because he didn’t need to ask for anything from anyone.

In Zhou Wumeng’s words: Ren He never made him worry about money. He could play with his sentiments however he wanted and carry out charity his way without accepting outside donations. Yet, the Qinghe Fund was still affluent, even wealthier than those that accepted donations!

Zhang Ming envied that kind of life. If he could focus solely on perfectly presenting a good work without considering the peculiar demands of investors or facing them if he lost money, wouldn’t life be much more pleasant?

Zhang Ming noticed that Ren He was watching him with a half-smile. But Zhang Ming was a seasoned person who wouldn’t rush to reveal his thoughts. He smiled and said, "Feel free to show me these good scripts; maybe I can help in some way?"

Words were not spoken in full, yet there was an unspoken understanding. Ren He realized that Zhang Ming now had intentions.

What he needed to do was to present stunning scripts to get Zhang Ming on board his ship and then face the mission that was soon to arrive.

With the preparatory work of the current phase complete, Ren He felt it was time to get moving. This time, he had waited too long!

...

Finally finishing work and returning to the hotel, I felt somewhat guilty for only updating two Chapters a day recently, so despite my exhaustion, I still managed to write an additional Chapter as a bonus for the overlord noone. Even though there’s another wedding on the 13th, I promise that as long as there’s no natural or manmade disaster, this book will never be on break again before it concludes.