106: Zhang went it alone

The people around them burst into laughter, and Meng Wei spoke in a lecturing tone:

"Everyone here is your senior. They've handled fifty, if not a hundred, A+ projects. Your company has only one work, and you have the nerve to brag?"

"You just finished one A+ project and got a little success, yet you're already this arrogant. Do you really think that just because you made some money, you can just enter this circle?"

"And you, Xu Dalong. I heard your company couldn't make it anymore and started filming short dramas. You've certainly fallen fast."

Wang Ning was being scolded, and Xu Dalong, standing next to him, was also dragged into it.

Hearing this, Xu Dalong shot back at Meng Wei bluntly, "Whether I've fallen or not is none of your business. You talk as if Xiangwan Entertainment hasn't had any flops."

"Wasn't it you guys who invested 400 million last year and only got 30 million back at the box office?"

Xiangwan Entertainment had bet on the wrong horse last year. They invested 400 million in a famous director, but the result was something nobody watched. This incident was quite famous; while people didn't mention it to Meng Wei's face, they gossiped about it plenty behind his back.

The fact that Xu Dalong's company was on the verge of bankruptcy was also related to Xiangwan Entertainment. These people were incredibly arrogant and had always looked down on his small company. Xu Dalong didn't want to associate with them anyway, so he spoke very sharply.

Meng Wei's face soured at these words. He was still hurting from losing so much money last year, and Xu Dalong had just poked his wound. Meng Wei immediately spat out a threat.

"In the future, you'd better stay away when a Xiangwan Entertainment project is being released. Otherwise, I won't be responsible if you get crushed."

The people around them looked at Wang Ning and Xu Dalong. Meng Wei's attitude was clear; he wanted to teach these two a lesson. It seemed their future path would be difficult.

Wang Ning was fuming throughout the banquet. Xu Dalong had been in the industry for many years, and although his company wasn't large, he had seen many storms. After they left, Xu Dalong comforted Wang Ning:

"That's just how these people are. Don't take it too seriously."

"They've occupied their positions in the circle for too long and love their monopolies. They're also jealous of your short dramas."

It was indeed as Xu Dalong said; the profits from short dramas were massive. However, Qingcheng Entertainment's speed in dominating the market was too fast; one company occupied nearly two-thirds of it.

It wasn't that Xiangwan Entertainment didn't want a piece of the pie, but they were used to being the top dog in the film and television industry. Now that they were on the short drama track, they wanted to be the boss there too.

But Qingcheng Entertainment didn't bow to them. So he invited Wang Ning just to let everyone know his attitude toward Qingcheng Entertainment, discouraging others from cooperating with them.

Wang Ning also understood this: "Brother Xu, thank you."

Xu Dalong patted Wang Ning's shoulder: "No need to be polite with me. If there's a chance in the future, let's collaborate."

Wang Ning looked at Xu Dalong with gratitude.

On the way back in the car, the more Wang Ning thought about it, the angrier he got. These people were so self-righteous and acted so condescendingly. The more they were like that, the more Wang Ning wanted to defeat them.

They looked down on him, failed to see Qingcheng Entertainment's worth, and scoffed at him buying novels. Fine, he would show them what he was capable of.

Fueled by this anger, Wang Ning didn't even go home. He went straight to the company to work overtime on projects.

The next day, he asked Lu Qingyu for a meeting to discuss the company's future plans.

Lu Qingyu had been very busy these past two days. Qi Fei was setting up a new company in the US, and the two of them had to call each other every day for meetings, accounting for the time difference.

Su Jixing had many good projects on hand, but the schedule was limited. Lu Qingyu could only participate in one at a time, and Su Jixing was currently struggling with the choices.

At six in the morning, Wang Ning arrived with breakfast.

Lu Qingyu saw Wang Ning standing at the door and his brain couldn't quite process it. Wasn't the meeting at nine?

Wang Ning was holding breakfast. He hadn't slept all night and had drunk two espressos; he was very energetic now.

In one hand was breakfast, and in the other was a stack of proposals and scripts:

"Boss, I brought the information on the novels we bought, along with several project proposals. Take a look and see which one we can film."

Wang Ning's tone was normal, but Lu Qingyu sensed something was wrong. The two sat at the dining table. Wang Ning opened the breakfast and handed it to Lu Qingyu, who then looked at the proposals.

"These projects are all good, but I see your plan says you want to film an S+ level one. Although Qingcheng Entertainment isn't short on money, this is your first time doing this. It's best to find an experienced company to collaborate with."

Hearing the word "collaborate," Wang Ning's eyes dimmed. Lu Qingyu's thoughts were the same as his, but thinking of the faces of those companies yesterday, the anger he had just suppressed flared up again. However, this was his job, and he had to solve difficulties. He could find better partners: "Alright, Boss. I'll put this on the agenda immediately."

Seeing Wang Ning's state, Lu Qingyu was even more convinced he was hiding something: "Did something happen?"

Wang Ning didn't want to say anything at first. He was a grown man running a company; saying it would make it seem like he was complaining.

But he really couldn't help himself and ended up telling Lu Qingyu about the situation at the banquet.

Lu Qingyu laughed after hearing everything. This scene was actually within his expectations. He had realized this problem when he told Wang Ning to expand the market quickly. These old-timers couldn't keep up with the times and would eventually be phased out.

Since they looked down on novel adaptations, he would give them a shock with one.

"Show me the list of those novels."

Wang Ning opened his tablet and showed Lu Qingyu the catalog of novels he had bought.

Lu Qingyu looked at these projects, searching for one that could make Qingcheng Entertainment an overnight sensation. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed.

Damn! Zhu Xian!

Is it the Zhu Xian I know?

Lu Qingyu opened the synopsis of Zhu Xian and skimmed it. After reading it, he really wanted to say "wow." It really was the Zhu Xian from his previous life.

See, here's the opportunity. They look down on novel adaptations and Qingcheng Entertainment, so let a xianxia idol drama give them a little shock.

Lu Qingyu immediately decided: "This is the one. We'll choose this for our first S+ drama."

Not many xianxia idol dramas were filmed in this world because production costs were high and filming was hard on the actors, who had to fly around all day. It also required expensive special effects. Actors didn't want to do them, and producers didn't like making them, so period dramas were mostly set in palaces.

Among the projects Wang Ning selected last night, there were suspense, urban, and palace dramas, but no xianxia.

He hadn't heard of the novel Zhu Xian, but Wang Ning trusted Lu Qingyu's eye.

Since the boss said Zhu Xian, then Zhu Xian it was.

Zhu Xian was officially launched, and Wang Ning began to assemble the production team.