Liam Liang's Battle Behind the Scenes Chapter 6

The entire meal was filled with jokes.

Ian Lin tried to bring the topic back to The Darkest Decision, but Liam Liang always found a way to change the subject. He was very good at dealing with entertainment reporters, so it was needless to say that Ian Lin was an amateur at using clichés.

But Ethan Cao was not in a hurry to get to the point. He chatted leisurely with Liam Liang about this and that. The two of them went back and forth, neither of them was at a disadvantage, as if they were fighting each other.

Ian Lin was anxious. The emperor was not anxious, but the eunuch was. He never thought that one day this sentence would happen to him.

"What's the use of talking nonsense?" He sent a message to Ethan Cao, then winked, indicating Ethan Cao to look at his phone.

Ethan Cao glanced at the screen of the mobile phone on the table and continued chatting with Liam Liang as usual.

None of the overt and covert hints worked. After a few rounds of Tai Chi, the dinner was about to end and everyone had put down their chopsticks. Ian Lin had no choice but to use a trump card in front of Ethan Cao: "Si Zhe, you don't know yet, but the movie "Darkest Choice" involves a billion-dollar bet agreement."

Liam Liang was really interested when he heard this. He stopped changing the subject and leaned forward: "I heard something about this, so what's going on?"

"Let him speak for himself." Ian Lin turned his head towards Ethan Cao.

"It's just a bet on the company's listing. It can only be said that the box office pressure of this movie is a little greater, but it is not realistic to completely attribute 1 billion to it."

Ethan Cao did not lie.

All the bits and pieces about the "betting agreement" on the Internet are actually far from the truth. The one billion bet agreement is not the film "Darkest Choice" itself, but its largest investor behind the scenes, Luomen Media.

The story dates back to three years ago, when Luomeng was just starting out and ran into capital turnover problems. The company had two options: either raise funds and dilute its shares, or be acquired and enjoy the shade of a big tree. Ethan Cao chose the third, more risky and bolder option, and signed a bet agreement with the Janis Group.

The content of the agreement is that the Janis Group will help Lomon solve all current financial problems. If Lomon is successfully listed at the agreed market value four years later, Janis will become one of Lomon's shareholders with this part of the funds and will not interfere in any internal affairs of Lomon in the future. If the listing fails, Lomon will automatically be managed by the Janis Group.

"Jianis?" Liam Liang raised his eyebrows when he heard these three words, "Your uncle is really merciless to you."

"It's a business matter," Ethan Cao said casually, "He is very kind and righteous."

In a betting agreement, one party will always win.

As a well-known high-end catering group in China, Janis has been thriving in recent years under the iron-fisted management of Ethan Cao's uncle Cao Xiuyan. It achieved great success in the Southeast Asian market three years ago, and last year its hotel entered the North American market with great fanfare.

Cao Xiuyan's ambitions did not stop there. In recent years, he has set his sights on the domestic film market. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that he has been thinking about acquiring Luomen for a long time. At that time, Luomen was in trouble, and the first plan Cao Xiuyan proposed was that Jianis would invest in shares and become the largest shareholder of Luomen. Unfortunately, this plan was rejected by Ethan Cao on the spot.

In fact, being acquired by Janis was not necessarily a bad thing for Luomen Media, either then or now. At that time, Luomen would have sufficient funds in the future and would no longer encounter the problem of capital turnover difficulties. And now, with the help of Janis, Luomen's expansion of theaters in various regions will be quite smooth, and life will be much better, with a wider and smoother road.

It’s just that Ethan Cao didn’t like it.

The reason is simple and sufficient: it is because there is no freedom.

So this time is the same, he will not let Luomen Media fall into Janis's hands easily.

"Actually, you could have come to me at that time," Liam Liang put his fingers on his chin and tapped twice, "Maybe I'm not as generous as your uncle, but the conditions I proposed are much more lenient than his.

Ethan Cao smiled and said, "What conditions are you going to propose?"

Liam Liang leaned forward, lowered his voice, looked into Ethan Cao's eyes and said, "As long as you ask me for help, I won't ask for any conditions."

Ethan Cao sneered: "How do you ask for it?"

Liam Liang smiled, leaned back in his chair, and looked at him with his chin slightly raised: "You have to think of a way yourself, you can't just sit there and do nothing."

Ethan Cao didn't appreciate it: "It's a pity that I have never been able to think of this trick of asking for help."

As the topic was about to turn to "The Darkest Choice", the atmosphere between the two suddenly became oddly tense.

The momentum is not right, Ian Lin thought. He quickly brought the topic back on track: "It's all in the past, what's the point of talking about this? Liam Liang, if you really want to help Ethan Cao, just agree to the film "Darkest Choice". Everything else is just empty talk."

Ethan Cao frowned and said, "Ian Lin." His tone was unpleasant and contained a hint of warning.

Liam Liang thought for a few seconds, then he tapped the table with his bent fingers: "So now I am the only one who can save this situation, right?"

"Only you." Ian Lin said before Ethan Cao.

Liam Liang looked at Ethan Cao.

Ethan Cao did not comment.

Liam Liang noticed that his eyes fell on his left hand, so he quickly spread out his bent fingers and placed them flat on the table. Ethan Cao then turned his gaze to his face.

"It seems that Mr. Cao doesn't quite agree with it." Liam Liang said, "Would you please do me the honor of answering a few questions?"

Ethan Cao raised his chin towards him, indicating that he could ask anything he wanted.

Liam Liang pondered for a moment, looked up and asked: "So the current situation is that according to the agreement, next year will be the last year of the contract signed between Luo Meng and Janis, right?"

Ethan Cao nodded: "Yes."

"If nothing had happened to this movie, you'd expect it to make a billion, right?"

"This is the most ideal situation," Ethan Cao said, choosing his words carefully. "In fact, I don't think this movie alone can generate such a large box office revenue, but if we consider the schedule, the publicity effect in the early stage, the scale of distribution in the middle stage, the word-of-mouth fermentation in the later stage, and the performance of the film market in the same period, a billion box office is not impossible."

"I understand," Liam Liang nodded knowingly, "I think Luo Meng will not only hold this card, after all, there is still more than a year. Let me guess, although Luo Meng holds several cards in his hand, which can share the pressure of the gambling agreement, "Darkest Choice" is invested by Luo Meng, and the production and publicity are mainly controlled by you. Obviously, before the incident, this is the card you value most."

Ethan Cao smiled and said, "You guessed right."

"That is to say, I am the only one who can save this situation. At least, this statement is not wrong at the moment, right?"

Ethan Cao said frankly: "You can say that."

"In that case..." Liam Liang smiled at him, a smile that was somewhat meaningful, "Beg me."

Ethan Cao didn't say anything for a while, and the two of them looked at each other. Although Liam Liang had a smile on his face the whole time, he obviously had no intention of giving in. The gazes they stared at each other inexplicably added a sense of confrontation.

Ian Lin, who was watching from the side, felt his temples jump, fearing that Ethan Cao would say "Come if you want" in the next second. Just when he was about to suggest "I'll beg you instead", Ethan Cao suddenly laughed: "Liam Liang, is this how you plan to repay your kindness?"

Liam Liang looked at him for a few seconds, then laughed and said, "I was just kidding. I did say I wanted to repay you, so I will consider this contract carefully."

After this back-and-forth conversation, Ian Lin, who was watching from the sidelines, finally realized: one of these two people was playing hard to get, while the other was playing hard to get, so this seemingly three-person dinner had nothing to do with him at all.

No wonder Ethan Cao remained calm, it turned out that he had long been sure that Liam Liang would take the contract. It was a pity that he wanted to be a peacemaker at the beginning.

In this case, he no longer forced the topic to be shifted to "The Darkest Choice".

He was not very satisfied with the drinking, so he called the driver and had two drinks with Ethan Cao. They chatted for a while and left soon after.

After this dinner, Ian Lin's impression of Liam Liang was not very good. He had only taken over the family business's film and television business for a short time, only two years in total, and had not yet had any in-depth cooperation with Liam Liang.

I had met him at other banquets before, and we were just nodding acquaintances at best. I had a good impression of him at that time, and I didn't understand why people always said that Liam Liang was not liked by investors.

Now he finally understood that at ordinary dinner parties, actors had to apologize to the investors, but in front of Liam Liang, the status of both parties was reversed. To be honest, Ian Lin had never attended such an absurd dinner party.

It’s just that irreplaceability is important in every circle, and this is especially true in the circle they are in.

There is no shortage of wealthy investors in the Chinese-language film industry today, but Liam Liang is indispensable anyway.

The audience will not agree, and the directors will not agree even more.

What Cao Xiuyuan said eight years ago still works today - "He is the dream of all directors and the gift from the Creator to the screen."

There is also a widely circulated saying: "For an actor to achieve Liam Liang's level, it is God's gift to him."

Liam Liang naturally has his own set of connections and rules of conduct. Otherwise, this circle would not tolerate his ignorance.

Take an incident that happened two years ago, for example. A film and television company paid a high price to hire a senior and respected screenwriter. The first requirement put forward by this well-known troublemaker in the industry was that the leading role must be played by Liam Liang, otherwise there was no room for negotiation.

Unfortunately, Liam Liang only accepts two film contracts at most in a year, so this project has not yet started.

Perhaps it was because the pairing of screenwriter He Chen and actor Liam Liang was too tempting, so the producers were willing to wait.

Ian Lin stood up and said he was leaving, and the other two had no intention of continuing the party.

"Have you called the driver?" Ian Lin stood up and looked at Ethan Cao and asked, "Why don't you come with me and call the driver to drive the car back tomorrow."

Ethan Cao's alcohol tolerance was not very good. After a few glasses of red wine, he was already a little drunk. He waved his hand to send Ian Lin away: "Who knows where you will leave me." This matter has a precedent. Once he was drunk, Ian Lin said he would take him home, but he went out to have fun halfway and left him in his own gay bar. When Ethan Cao sobered up, he opened his eyes and looked into the eyes of a heavily made-up man who was staring at him, and he almost dropped his jaw. Since that time, Ethan Cao never dared to let Ian Lin take him home again.

Ian Lin smiled and said, "Don't worry, I will definitely send you home safely this time."

Ethan Cao was about to say something when the cell phone on the table vibrated and a call came in.

Ian Lin glanced at the words "Lin Huan" on the screen and smiled meaningfully: "Oh, it seems that you really don't need me to see you off. I'm leaving now. Have a nice night." After saying that, he did not forget to greet Liam Liang, "Liam Liang, I'll wait for your news."

Liam Liang was drinking water from his cup. Upon hearing this, he raised the cup towards him, probably to mean "relax".

Ethan Cao picked up the phone and answered the call. He didn't seem to have any intention of avoiding Liam Liang.

Lin Huan's voice came from the phone, a little charming and a little gentle: "Ethan Cao, are you having dinner in Su San?"

"how do you know?"

"I happened to be here too. I was just about to leave when Sue Su told me." Sue Su is the proprietress of this private restaurant. Almost all the celebrities who come here to eat have some kind of friendship with her. Lin Huan continued, "Which private room are you in? I'll go and have a drink with you."

"Are you really coming?" Ethan Cao leaned back in his chair and glanced at Liam Liang. "Sue Su didn't tell you that Liam Liang is here too, did he?"

Lin Huan laughed a few times on the phone: "Okay, I knew you wouldn't want me to go over there."

Ethan Cao said indifferently: "I didn't say that, come if you want."

"Forget it, I'm afraid you'll be unhappy," Lin Huan changed the subject, "Do you have any other appointments tonight?"

"No," Ethan Cao fiddled with the cup in his hand and asked knowingly, "What's wrong?"

"What do you think?" The ending tone is upturned, and the teasing meaning is self-evident.

If Ethan Cao didn't respond to this hint, it would be like a showdown with Lin Huan. But he didn't plan to do so for the time being. After thinking for a while, he said, "Then you wait for me. I can't drive after drinking. I'll go back with your car."

"Okay~ I'll wait for you." Lin Huan said and hung up the phone.

Ethan Cao put his phone back on the table and drank the remaining half glass of red wine.

"Is it Lin Huan?" Liam Liang looked at him with interest and asked, "Does she want to come?"

"Do you want her to come?" Ethan Cao asked back.

Liam Liang touched his chin and said, "It would be nice to sit down and have a drink. We haven't seen each other for a long time."

"Didn't you take Antivenom?" Ethan Cao asked.

"I'd risk my life to accompany you." Liam Liang looked at him and smiled.

"Really?" Ethan Cao raised his eyebrows and said, "It's a pity that she didn't want to come."

"That's a pity," Liam Liang said, but there was no trace of regret in his tone. He smiled and stood up, "I'm leaving too. I wish you a happy night."

Liam Liang took his coat and was about to go out. He held the door handle and opened it. Suddenly, Ethan Cao spoke from behind and called him, "Liam Liang."

Liam Liang paused and turned his head to look at Ethan Cao: "Hmm?"

"It doesn't matter if you don't accept the film contract."

"How to say?"

"I just want to remind you that if you repay me, Cao Xiuyuan may not appreciate it."

Liam Liang laughed when he heard it, and when he spoke again, his voice seemed a few tones deeper than before: "What about you, Ethan Cao, will you appreciate it?" After saying that, without waiting for Ethan Cao's reaction, he opened the door and strode out.

A few steps away from the hotel, Liam Liang put on his coat and pulled up the hood of his hoodie to cover most of his face.

As soon as he came out, the paparazzi who were waiting at the edge of the parking lot smelled the news and raised their cameras towards him, with silent and dense flashes quickly lighting up above the lenses.

Seeing Liam Liang walking towards the Maybach, several people quickly crouched and trotted towards the van behind them, preparing to follow the car later.