Chapter 21 - The abrupt onset of sound

"If it were easy to get started, what would be the point of it?" Lu Liang had no liking for women who would go to bed with any man for a bit of money. He was a rather casual person himself, but he detested women being just as loose as he was. "I guess I'm not enlightened enough. You really know how to play!" Meng Changkun picked up his phone from the table and called it a day for the interview in advance. "Let's go. Lao Wu is treating us to dinner." Lu Liang nodded and stood up to leave as well. "Mr. Meng, Mr. Lu, the private room is all set…" A group of them got in the car, left the Landmark Tower, and headed to a private restaurant by the Huangpu River. Inside the private room, Lu Liang saw Zhou Xiaoqi, who had just attended the interview, along with several models and artists signed to Haomeng Film Production Company. When Zhou Xiaoqi spotted Meng Changkun, her face lit up with a smile. She wrapped her arms around his plump waist. "Darling, how did I do just now?" "Marvellous! Absolutely marvellous!" Meng Changkun grinned and gave her a thumbs-up in approval. Though he was a bit shorter than Zhou Xiaoqi, it didn't stop him from putting his arm around her slender waist. "This is Mr. Lu, our esteemed Mr. Lu Liang." Wu Tianzheng signaled to a young lady to pour Lu Liang a drink, then pulled out a stack of documents. "Mr. Lu, these are film projects looking for investment recently. Take a look and see if any catch your fancy." The stack of materials, containing twenty project proposals, was almost half the height of a basketball. "So many? Are they all initiated by your company?" Lu Liang casually slipped an arm around the model's tiny waist and picked up a few of the proposals to flip through. The Terror Archives, Summer of the Stars, Goodbye Mr. Loser, Disaster of the Two-Headed Serpent… Internet movies, web series, theatrical releases—there was a wild mix of genres, with funding gaps ranging from millions to tens of millions of yuan. Lu Liang was astonished. If all these projects were under Haomeng's umbrella, then Wu Tianzheng was far more powerful than he had imagined. "You flatter me, Mr. Lu," Wu Tianzheng replied smoothly, sneaking in a compliment. "At the moment, we only have the Ouija Board project in the pipeline, and that's all thanks to Mr. Meng's generous support." He then explained that these were all film projects in the industry in urgent need of funding. Several companies like theirs shared resources and helped each other out. If none of these appealed to Lu Liang, he could always get him another batch. "Alright then. I'll take these back and go through them slowly. I'll give you a call if I find a project I like." Lu Liang nodded in understanding. It was just like his old job as a broker—he had clients, but the properties those clients wanted weren't in his portfolio. In such cases, you either referred the clients and earned a commission, or you secured the properties yourself by paying a referral fee. Wu Tianzheng was playing the exact same role he used to play back then. "Come, come, everyone, dig in…" "Qingqing, don't just sit there idly. Pour Mr. Lu some more wine. If you make him happy, you might just land the female lead role in our next film." Wu Tianzheng was the life of the party. At his reminder, the model beside Lu Liang finally perked up, practically clinging to him. ... After several rounds of drinking and a feast of dishes, Meng Changkun "couldn't hold his liquor anymore" and left the private room with his young lover. "Mr. Wu, thanks for the wonderful dinner. I've had a bit too much to drink as well." Lu Liang's head was spinning, and he planned to take the chance to leave. "Mr. Lu, let me arrange someone to take you home. Mr. Meng's driver just left with him and his companion." Wu Tianzheng waved over a young man—his assistant. "Xiao Qu, take Mr. Lu home first." The female model named Qingqing quickly stepped forward to support Lu Liang. "Mr. Lu, let us take you back." "Thank you, Mr. Wu." Lu Liang put on a tipsy look, pressed his palms together above his head in a gesture of gratitude, and didn't decline the offer. As soon as he got in the car, he gave the driver his address, then lay his head on Qingqing's lap. "Alcohol… it's really not a good thing." "Oh, men are always saying one thing but meaning another. You act like you hate it when you're drinking, but you're a different person after you've had a few." Qingqing smiled brightly, reached out her fair, jade-like fingers, and gently massaged Lu Liang's temples. A man's residence was a sure indicator of his wealth. Lu Liang lived in Tomson Riviera—a place that meant his net worth was at least three to five hundred million yuan, if not a billion. It proved that Wu Tianzheng hadn't been exaggerating. If she could keep Lu Liang happy, she would definitely be the female lead in their next film. "You're young, but you sure know how to read a man's mind." Lu Liang closed his eyes and pretended to be dozing off, a faint whiff of perfume filling his nostrils. "Who says I'm young?" Qingqing pouted playfully, unconvinced, and stuck out her chest proudly. "You're right. You're not 'young' at all." Lu Liang opened his eyes with a mischievous grin, hooked an arm around her neck, and pulled her down to feel just how "not young" she was. "Mr. Lu~ You're so naughty!" Giggles echoed through the car. It was nearly midnight when Lu Liang, along with the model Qingqing and the driver Xiao Qu, arrived at his home. "Mr. Lu, I've left the documents on the table. If there's nothing else I can do for you, I'll take my leave now." The driver said. "Hmm. Drive safely on your way back. And send my thanks to Mr. Wu." Lu Liang walked over to the bar counter and made himself a glass of lemon tea to sober up. "Living in such a huge house all by yourself… aren't you scared at night?" Qingqing looked around in awe and envy, like Grandma Liu stepping into the Grand View Garden for the first time. She wandered from room to room, finally stepping out onto the balcony, where she was instantly captivated by the unobstructed river view outside the window. She had once paid a few hundred yuan for a night cruise on the Huangpu River to enjoy this very scenery—a view that ordinary people had to spend money to see, but Lu Liang got to admire it every night, from a much better vantage point with a wider view. "Scared of what? If a female ghost knocked on my door in the middle of the night, I'd be over the moon." Lu Liang carried his lemon tea out to the balcony. As the weather grew hotter, he found himself liking to come out to the balcony in the middle of the night more and more—basking in the river breeze and taking in the night view of the Magic City. At this moment, his heart was calm and peaceful. Qingqing pouted and nudged him playfully. "Eww~ Don't say things like that at midnight. You're giving me the creeps." "I'm here. What do you have to be afraid of?" Lu Liang slipped his arm around her waist—it was slim and slightly bony, not nearly as voluptuous as Zhang Qian's, but it had a charm all its own. His hand slowly slid downward, unbuttoning the button at her waist… Qingqing let out a soft sigh, giggled, and wriggled out of his embrace. "I think I'll go take a shower first." Lu Liang suddenly froze, his mind wandering. "Go ahead." He frowned tightly and glanced at the wall clock—it was just past midnight, marking the start of a new day. Qingqing sensed something was wrong. Thinking she might have done something to displease him, she turned around and headed back to him just as she reached the bathroom door. She threw her arms around Lu Liang, her fingertips tracing patterns on his forearm, then leaned in and breathed softly in his ear. "How about we take a shower together?" "Go on your own. I just remembered something I need to take care of." Lu Liang walked back into the living room and rummaged through the project proposals Wu Tianzheng had given him. He found the proposal for Goodbye Mr. Loser—produced by Mahua FunAge, with Liu Hongtao as the producer and Yan Fei as the director. It was a theatrical film with a production budget of 20 million yuan, and currently had a funding gap of 5 million yuan. The story revolved around a man who gets a second chance at life, goes back to his school days, and becomes a famous singer. Lu Liang muttered to himself, "Is this movie really that amazing?" Just a moment ago, he had heard that voice from the future again—but this time, it wasn't about stocks. It was about a movie. [November 30th, Goodbye Mr. Loser, box office revenue: 1.441 billion yuan] At the dinner party earlier, Wu Tianzheng had told Lu Liang a great deal about investing in film projects, including how box office revenue was split. For a theatrical film to turn a profit, its total box office revenue had to be at least three times its production budget. A film with a 20 million yuan budget would break even with 60 million yuan at the box office, and the production company would take 35% of any revenue beyond that. Taking the 1.441 billion yuan box office figure as an example: subtract the 60 million yuan break-even point, and there would be 1.381 billion yuan left for profit sharing. If Lu Liang invested the full 5 million yuan to cover the funding gap, and didn't put in any more money later on, he would be entitled to 25% of the production company's 35% share of the profits. That would amount to a net profit of approximately 115 million yuan.