308: Investment and Introduction

The next day, the matter of Zhao Chenlin going to Yazhi to make trouble appeared in the newspaper. They also published a shameful photo of Zhao Chenlin sitting at the gates of Yazhi. Most viewers of the newspaper couldn't believe that a grandson of the Zhou family would act so disgracefully. When Zhou Lin saw the newspaper, she became so angry that she tore it in half. She had clearly contacted this newspaper yesterday and told them not to report what had happened. The other party had promised affirmatively at the time, but it turned out that they dared to lie to her?

Zhou Lin called the other party to ask about this matter. The editor of the newspaper told her that this story was ordered to be publicized by the president himself. The editor had already set a different headliner for the day, but since the president suddenly asked him to publish this story, he had no choice. Zhou Lin didn't know if her father had seen the newspaper that day yet. In order to prevent that from happening, she called Zhao Chenlin and asked him to go back to the Zhou house for dinner in the evening. Now as her father's impression of Zhou Cheng worsened, it was time for them to brush up on their goodwill.

Zhao Chenlin and Wei Wei had made an appointment to go to The Concubine to play in the evening, so Zhao Chenlin was a little reluctant when he heard this. He’d been enjoying his freedom outside recently, and was much happier than he had been back at the Zhou house. If he rejoined the Zhou family, he would have to go back to his miserable life of being home by ten o'clock at night every day. However, he didn't dare to voice his complaints, otherwise, his mother would definitely scold him to death.

Wang Cheng knew that the matter of his photos was related to Zhou Lin or her family, but he didn't expect Wei Wei to also be involved. However, when he told Zheng Jingen about his involvement, he said he’d already known.

[T/N: Remember Wei Wei's maternal family is the Zheng family]

On the surface, their family seemed to be the type that didn’t make many moves, but in fact, they were extremely strong when they took action.

Wang Cheng being removed from his post by Zhou Shichang was definitely not a trivial matter for the Zheng family. Right now, the Zhou family supported the Zheng family. However, if the person in charge of the Zhou family changed to Zhou Lin, she would no longer support the Zheng family. Therefore, the heir of the Zhou Group was also related to the future of the Zheng family. Wei Wei simply had no idea that he was about to face a grand disaster.

Since he did not need to go to the main company anymore, Wang Cheng went to Yazhi whenever he had time to personally arrange opportunities for the company's artists, and actively participate in planning events. His recent presence also served to reassure some anxious artists. As for the artists who sucked up to Zhao Chenlin when he had come over to flaunt his power? They soon found themselves with fewer and fewer on-screen appearances, and couldn’t help but regret their past actions.

Pan Zhihai knocked on the door and walked in, placing the document in his hand on Wang Cheng's desk. "Zhou Shao, this is the application for funds we submitted to the higher-ups the day before yesterday. The funds from Zhou Group invested in some TV dramas some time ago, causing the funds to be almost used up."

"Then apply, what's the problem?" Wang Cheng said as he picked up the document.

"It was rejected."

Wang Cheng raised his eyebrows and flipped the document open. The approval section at the bottom of the application was indeed empty. "Why was it rejected? Who rejected it?"

"I heard that it was Manager Zhou, since these are part of her duties. She was probably trying to deliberately make things difficult for us because of what happened last time."

After Pan Zhihai finished speaking, he carefully observed Wang Cheng's expression. "Someone also passed on what Manager Zhou said to them: apparently, since Yazhi is Zhou Shao's personal property, it has nothing to do with the Zhou Group. Manager Zhou also said that the last few TV and movie script investments will be withdrawn. Among those movies is He Zihuan's masterpiece that is ready to enter the film industry."

"It's only been a few days and she thinks the Zhou Group is hers?" Wang Cheng laughed out loud. He suddenly felt that Zhao Chenlin's stupidity might not have been nurtured, but perhaps might have been inherited from birth.

"Young Master Zhou, what do you think we should do now? There is a rumor that Yazhi has no support from the Zhou Group and is no longer capable, causing the company’s artists to become a little anxious." Pan Zhihai said worriedly. Once something went wrong with Yazhi, the more well-known artists would definitely choose to jump ships in the future.

"You don't have to worry about the money." Wang Cheng said, "Even if we don’t receive investments from the Zhou Group, there are still other companies." What he didn't say was that he had his own Dongwang Group. Although he had borrowed a considerable amount of money from his eldest brother to set the Group up, he could still get some money to make a movie. And no matter how bad things were, he could always pull Chu Yifeng to invest.

The Zhou Group had invested in quite a few projects. The withdrawal of funds just served to confirm the news that Wang Cheng was kicked out of the Zhou family. Everyone predicted that Yazhi was over. However, they soon realized that although the Zhou Group had withdrawn their investment funds, the filming hadn’t stopped at all. New funds soon made up for the lost investments.

Since the name of the new investor had not been disclosed, no one knew the details of this matter. The Yazhi artists’ schedules remained the same: dramas, movies, and recordings were shot as usual. They were not even slightly affected by this.

This situation surprised Zhou Lin, who was waiting for Yazhi to meet a disaster. How could Wang Cheng stabilize such a big leak?

However, Zhao Jiansheng reminded her that she shouldn’t forget the existence of Eimer. Chu Yifeng was Wang Cheng's lover, how could he sit back and ignore this matter? Regardless, the strategy of withdrawing investments to make Wang Cheng suffer was not very effective. On the contrary, it damaged the Zhou Group’s interests. It wouldn’t be good if it got out that they were misusing their power for personal gain.

"What are you afraid of? I've already thought of excuses, I won’t leave a handle on myself." Zhou Lin had been suffering because of Wang Cheng. She also wanted Wang Cheng to feel the taste of defeat. However, she didn’t expect him to be so fortunate that even without the Zhou Group, he had Eimer standing behind him.

"Anyway, be careful." Zhao Jiansheng felt that things were not so simple. When Wang Cheng calmed down, he would very likely still want to inherit the Zhou Group.

At noon, Wang Cheng received a call from Wang Ning'an, who invited him to go to the Gu family's ancestral house for dinner in the evening. Although Wang Cheng was not Gu Shouzhuo's grandson, he was still family with Papa and Mama Wang and had helped them cut ties with the Wang family. So Wang Ning'an wanted to introduce him to Gu Shouzhuo, only after Gu Shouzhuo approved, of course. Wang Cheng was a little curious about this Old Man Gu, because, technically speaking, his elder brother’s situation was quite similar to his own. He wanted to know if Old Man Gu was treating his parents, elder brother, and sister sincerely, and if his elder brother would be successful in the Gu family, so he agreed.

"By the way, elder brother, would you mind adding a pair of chopsticks?"

Wang Ning'an felt a little helpless when he heard this. "Even when everyone in the Imperial Capital is paying attention to you, you still dare to brazenly walk together?"

"It's better if we’re exposed, everyone knows already, anyway. It’s a problem that people think I should keep it a secret in the first place." Wang Cheng didn’t think much about it.

"Then it's up to you."

Since he agreed, Wang Cheng happily informed Chu Yifeng of the good news.

However, there were quite a few reporters following Wang Cheng recently. Everyone wanted to dig out some more explosive news from him. When they saw that he’d left with the other person involved in the scandal, they instinctively felt, as reporters, that there must be something going on. So, the reporters followed them. When they arrived at the classic, ancient Gu house, reporters with better eyesight recognized that it was the home of the master of the Gu family. Their brain holes suddenly expanded, and they thought that the Gu family master was the new investor that Wang Cheng had found. Despite their curiosity, they could not get in the ancestral house, and could only wait outside for them to come out. However, some reporters had already sent the news back to their newspapers, who began to edit the story according to their own imagination. Since it involved the Gu family, it would definitely be the headline tomorrow.

Gu Shouzhuo, like Zhou Shichang, looked like a kind and amiable old man. The only difference was that Zhou Shichang exuded a sense of authority, while Gu Shouzhuo was like an ordinary old man with a soft gaze and obvious wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. He seemed to have laughed very often recently, and never once made a wooden face*.

[T/N: *stiff, stern expression]

"You are Ning’an's younger brother? You are also a talented person."

Gu Shouzhuo seemed to be unaware, or uncaring of the rumors surrounding Wang Cheng and Chu Yifeng. He looked at Wang Cheng with eyes full of love.

Wang Cheng smiled and said, "Grandpa Gu has given too much praise."

Gu Shouzhuo smiled: "No need to be humble, this old man really thinks you are very good, much better than most young people. It is a blessing for Old Zhou to have a grandson like you. Of course, it is also a blessing for me to have a grandson like Ning’an." There seemed to be a bit of pride in his words.

Wang Cheng was relieved when he heard that his eldest brother was taken seriously.

"And you are Old Man Chu’s eldest grandson. Right, when I meet Old Man Chu, I often hear him mention you. Very accomplished at a very young age." Gu Shouzhuo had met with Old Man Chu many times when his company became involved with the state. Every time, he’d hear him brag about how powerful his eldest grandson was. It was his first time actually seeing him today, and he was indeed outstanding.

Chu Yifeng smiled lightly, "Old Man Gu has given too much praise. My grandfather often mentions you as well, and says that you have contributed many achievements to the country. Let us learn from you."

His words sounded like flattery, but Gu Shouzhuo was still very happy.

The dinner was well received by the host and guests. Only afterwards did Wang Ning'an talk business with Wang Cheng. He’d heard about Yazhi's situation, so he wanted to pay back part of what he’d borrowed from Wang Cheng. This money was not what he’d earned recently, but what Gu Shouzhuo lent to him.

Wang Cheng didn't want it. "Big brother, I'm really not short of money now. I've resolved the situation I had with Yazhi. Even if the Zhou Group doesn't invest in our films, I still have the Dongwang Group and Eimer."

"You really don’t need it?" Wang Ning'an stared at him, afraid that refused to take it out of politeness.

"If you don't believe me, ask Boss Chu. He already invested in a movie and TV series for me." Wang Cheng immediately pulled Chu Yifeng into the water.

Wang Ning’an didn't need to ask Chu Yifeng, he believed in Wang Cheng.

"That's fine, but if you want to pull in more investments, you can come to me at any time." Wang Ning'an said.

Wang Cheng nodded. "I won't forget. We’re leaving, then."

Wang Ningan escorted them out before returning to the gates of the ancestral house. This scene was photographed by reporters who had been squatting outside. Wang Ning’an had never been on entertainment news before, so the reporters did not know him and decided to report back to their agencies to check his identity. Wang Ning’an looked back once more in the direction of the car, then went inside.

***

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