This celebrity became even more popular after being exposed of having multiple girlfriends
Chapter 478 - 349 All Familiar Faces

Chapter 478: Chapter 349 All Familiar Faces

Wu Mu followed Yang Rongfa and was about to enter the door.

But before entering, Yang Rongfa paused slightly, then hesitated and said, "President Wu, there are quite a few people you know inside..."

Hmm?

People I know?

Wu Mu was slightly taken aback.

The way Yang Rongfa said it, it didn’t seem like they were good acquaintances.

Yang Rongfa looked very hesitant, wanting to say something, but in the end, he said nothing and just pushed the door open and went in.

Wu Mu followed him in.

Undoubtedly, as soon as he entered, he immediately attracted a lot of attention.

The guests chatting near the entrance quickly noticed him, their eyes flashing with surprise.

Wu Mu?

While the people around looked at him in surprise, Wu Mu was also observing the situation in the room.

The room was very large. The main living room alone was half the size of a basketball court, with a smaller lounge area on the side.

It was all in European style, with wooden floors, Persian carpets, and fireplace oil paintings. There were long tables filled with food and drinks and sofas for relaxation on both sides.

After a quick scan of the room’s environment, he started looking for familiar faces.

This Vice Chairman named Qiao Xin obviously held a high position and had a wide range of acquaintances. There were many guests; a quick scan estimated at least sixty or seventy people, many of whom were familiar faces often seen on TV.

Then Wu Mu quickly found his acquaintances.

First familiar face.

Xiao Yi, who quickly turned his head away awkwardly after making eye contact with Wu Mu.

Second familiar face.

Geng Wei, the boss of Xiao Yi’s company that had blacklisted Wu Mu. He hadn’t noticed Wu Mu yet and was holding a wine glass, chatting and laughing with someone. Reminded by someone beside him, he then saw Wu Mu, his face visibly darkening.

Third familiar face.

Liu Lan... looking at Wu Mu expressionlessly, even when their eyes met, she remained indifferent.

Hmm, but as Wu Mu casually glanced away, an angry look flashed across her brows.

There really are quite a few "acquaintances"...

One can only say the circle is this small, and it’s easy to bump into familiar faces at high-profile gatherings.

But besides these acquaintances, there were also true acquaintances.

Lin Qingyue’s father, Lin Xueming, was sitting on a sofa in the smaller lounge area, talking to someone beside him.

There were quite a few of Wu Mu’s enemies present, especially Liu Lan, Wu Mu’s former boss, which made Yang Rongfa somewhat embarrassed, "They all just arrived. I didn’t know they would be here either."

Wu Mu didn’t mind, "No worries."

"Chairman Qiao just went upstairs to check on his grandson. I’ll introduce you to him when he comes down."

Since he came, he definitely had to greet the host, but the host was not present at the moment.

After a moment of thought, Wu Mu stepped towards the small lounge.

Since Lin Qingyue’s father was here, it wouldn’t be appropriate not to go and greet him.

The small lounge was clearly a gathering place for the big names; as Wu Mu approached, he recognized several familiar figures.

Heads of major companies in the industry, famous directors like Lin Xueming, and others.

So the atmosphere here was much quieter.

As Wu Mu approached, he could hear Lin Xueming’s voice:

"This year’s film market situation is alarming. The official data from the National Film Bureau hasn’t been released yet, but I’ve already got the detailed figures from their director, Cao Guang. This year’s total box office is 42.5 billion, a 21% decline compared to the same period last year."

Lin Xueming’s voice paused as he saw Wu Mu approaching, his face showing a noticeable frown.

Although it was always apparent that Lin Xueming didn’t like him much, such a clear frown was a first.

Probably because of Liu Lan.

Wu Mu speculated in his heart.

The people in the small lounge hadn’t noticed Wu Mu’s arrival until they saw Lin Xueming’s frown and followed his gaze to see Wu Mu.

Their expressions varied.

The smaller figures were obviously surprised to see such a rare guest.

The bigger names took a brief glance and didn’t pay much attention.

He was indeed very popular, with significant momentum now, but he was still a distance away from the heads of major companies and famous directors in the circle.

"This year’s total number of moviegoers also dropped significantly. This year it was 1.01 billion, compared to 1.299 billion last year, a decrease of nearly 300 million. Compared to 2019, the situation is even more severe. In 2019, the total box office was 64.2 billion, a decline of 33.9%. Five years have passed, and instead of growing, our total box office has been declining year by year."

Lin Xueming paused slightly, then continued after a glance at Wu Mu.

Wu Mu didn’t interrupt and stood at the edge of the lounge.

"It’s even lower than ten years ago, in 2015, when the total box office for the year was 44 billion. Our industry’s overall revenue has regressed to the level it was ten years ago. Such alarming numbers, I think, should make us filmmakers reflect deeply on the reasons behind this result."

Lin Xueming was talking about the decline of the film market.

This had indeed been the trend in recent years, with the film market declining annually instead of booming as everyone anticipated a few years ago, returning to the level of ten years ago.

Because of the obvious and exaggerated data, the fact that the industry had not only not grown in ten years but had regressed, immediately brought a chill to the interested parties present, with each of them showing signs of concern.

The decline in box office revenue was undoubtedly a significant bad news for every practitioner in the industry.

If it continues to decline, how many more years can one make money in this industry?

Wu Mu, with his unique system, was not particularly worried.

If he couldn’t make money as a celebrity, he could always switch to making games.

And frankly, relying mainly on the Performance Card, he wasn’t much affected by the industry’s cold winter. The Performance Card’s effect rendered the cold winter meaningless.

In fact, if used enough, the Performance Card could potentially reverse the industry’s cold winter, turning it into a "prosperous era."

As Lin Xueming finished his speech, a bald man wearing a cotton beret took over:

"Director Lin’s point is something I often ponder over this year. Why do today’s audiences no longer like watching movies? Why do people not want to spend money to go to the cinema anymore..."

Wu Mu took this opportunity to step forward, "Director Lin."

Lin Xueming showed no particular expression on his face, "Here for the party?"

"Yes."

"Qingyue didn’t come?"

"She still has work with the crew."

Others around pretended to listen to the analysis of the industry’s cold winter, but their attention had already secretly shifted to the conversation between Wu Mu and Lin Xueming.

The situation between Wu Mu and Lin Qingyue was something that those who paid attention had more or less heard about.

Wu Mu might soon become Lin Xueming’s son-in-law.

But their conversation now was clearly unimportant...

Everyone had some thoughts in their minds.