Return to the City: The Strongest King
Chapter 766 - 767: Stay

Chapter 766: Chapter 767: Stay

As a director, if you wanted to shoot a movie or a TV series, the first thing you had to do was secure investments.

Aside from a few top-tier directors in the domestic circle, who after announcing a project would have many investors eagerly offering money, other directors didn’t have such capabilities. Although Li Quan had also directed a fairly popular TV series, to be frank, he was somewhat known in the directors’ circle but not particularly famous.

So now that he had a promising script in hand, he had to find investors, and companies like Huaming Entertainment were exactly what he needed.

When Li Quan saw Sun Zilang approaching, he immediately greeted him with a smile, saying, "Vice President Sun, hello!"

Only twenty-five this year, Sun Zilang was still at an age for fun, and he loved playing around even more. If he had involved himself with other Sun Family enterprises, he might have performed even better, but no place was more entertaining than an entertainment company—abundant in beauties and celebrities. With just one word from him, those stars would be more than willing to climb into his bed.

In the national circle, he might not be very influential, but in Minghe’s circle, Huayang Entertainment was one of the top options, and his name was the most prominent.

Sun Zilang laughed heartily and said, "Old Li, do you have another good film for me?"

Li Quan immediately replied, "Indeed, I do. Right now, I’m looking for investors, and that made me think of you, Vice President Sun."

"It looks like you’ve got an eye for it, but let me make it clear—you can’t just throw any old rubbish my way; I don’t take kindly to sand in my eyes," said Sun Zilang.

"Rest assured, rest assured. I need to keep working in this circle; I wouldn’t dare offend you, Vice President Sun," Li Quan responded.

"Haha... Let’s go inside and talk then," Sun Zilang suggested.

At that moment, Sun Zilang seemed quite like a businessman. Indeed, the guy did have some skills; otherwise, the Sun family wouldn’t have assigned him to this entertainment company.

"Vice President Sun, let me introduce you—this is Qiao Bin, a supporting actress I’ve chosen for this movie. She was originally a host. Not bad in terms of image and temperament, right?"

"Hmm, not bad at all!" Sun Zilang appraised Cheng Xiaoyue, saying, "With the right packaging, she really could become popular."

Cheng Xiaoyue was also observing Sun Zilang. If Sun Zilang had seemed sleazy, she would have turned and left immediately.

But Sun Zilang appeared to be more like a businessman, which somewhat reassured her, and she was not in a hurry to leave; after all, such opportunities were rare.

Little did she know, Sun Zilang was a seasoned player when it came to women and was extremely confident in himself. He didn’t need to ingratiate himself with Cheng Xiaoyue like Qiao Bin. With just one word, these aspiring actresses would willingly come forward; he was absolutely sure of it.

Everyone headed directly to a private room. Sun Zilang took the seat of honor while Li Quan and Cheng Xiaoyue sat beside him, one on each side. Qiao Bin, however, had to sit in a less prominent position. To him, being able to stay in the room was satisfying enough.

After ordering, while everyone awaited the arrival of the food and drinks, Li Quan also shared the creative concept and script he had prepared with Sun Zilang.

Sun Zilang listened quite attentively, even interjecting to ask a few questions about the details.

"Hmm, this really isn’t bad. If it’s well-produced, it indeed has the potential to be a hit. Just add a few top-tier actors, and there will be no problems at all," he said.

"Vice President Sun really has great insight. However, big-name actors will require a sizable investment. I’m estimating it’ll take fifty million to produce this film," Li Quan hurriedly said.

Sun Zilang immediately responded, "Fifty million? What kind of actors can that amount attract? I think we need to invest at least two hundred million; otherwise, we’ll totally waste this script."

Li Quan replied excitedly, "Vice President Sun, you aren’t joking with me, are you?"

Sun Zilang said, "Do I look like I’m joking? We can put up two hundred million ourselves, but we want some of our actors to participate in the film too, to give them some training."

Li Quan quickly said, "Of course, that’s absolutely no problem."

Cheng Xiaoyue listened quietly from the side, finding Sun Zilang truly career-oriented, which relaxed her a lot. She gained some understanding of the drama and grew even more eager to join the cast.

By then, the dishes and drinks had been served, and both Li Quan and Qiao Bin offered toasts to Sun Zilang.

Li Quan said with a smile, "Cheng Xiaoyue, now it’s your turn."

Cheng Xiaoyue hurriedly poured wine for Sun Zilang, filled her own glass, raised it with both hands, and said, "Vice President Sun, I toast to you."

Sun Zilang laughed heartily and said, "With a beauty offering a toast, I definitely must drink."

After drinking for a while, nothing seemed amiss. Cheng Xiaoyue, as a host, definitely had no problem keeping the conversation going, setting the mood of the meal rather nicely.

An hour later, Sun Zilang said, "I have a suite upstairs, let’s go up and talk there."

Everyone ascended to the suite upstairs and sat down in the living room to discuss further collaboration.

All seemed pretty normal, and Cheng Xiaoyue was quite relaxed.

At this point, Sun Zilang yawned, and Li Quan immediately said, "Vice President Sun, it’s getting late. Let’s end our discussion for today. We’ll leave now and continue tomorrow. Cheng Xiaoyue, you stay here."

"What?" Cheng Xiaoyue was taken aback.

Sun Zilang had already nodded and said, "Then I won’t see you out."

Li Quan and Qiao Bin both gave Sun Zilang a knowing look before getting up to leave.

"Wait, I’m leaving with you," Cheng Xiaoyue came to her senses and insisted.

Li Quan frowned and said, "Cheng Xiaoyue, where are you going? It’s a rare opportunity that Young Master Sun has asked you to stay. Don’t be foolish."

"No! I’m leaving with you!" Cheng Xiaoyue’s stance was very firm.

Qiao Bin was becoming anxious and whispered urgently to Cheng Xiaoyue, "Little Yue, don’t be foolish. If you don’t stay, you’ll lose your chance."

Cheng Xiaoyue shook her head even more resolutely and said, "I’d rather not have that kind of opportunity." If it were before, Cheng Xiaoyue would certainly have cherished such an opportunity, but ever since she met Song Xiaodong, she no longer wanted such opportunities.

Sun Zilang snorted and said, "Director Li, the actor you picked doesn’t seem to be very cooperative."

Li Quan grew even more anxious, his face stern, and said, "Cheng Xiaoyue, if you don’t agree, forget about acting again. And with Vice President Sun’s connections, you might find it hard to make it in this industry."

Cheng Xiaoyue was startled and said urgently, "Vice President Sun, I know Sixth Young Master Su. Could you please show some leniency?" She initially wanted to mention Song Xiaodong, but considering that Song Xiaodong also relied on the face of Sixth Young Master Su, she instead directly brought up Su Qingmiao.