The Eye of the Storm

Almost all the meal was gag.

Lin Yan tried to bring the topic to "The Darkest Choice", but Liang Sizhe always had a way to change the topic.He is very good at dealing with Yuji, so there is no need for a layman like Lin Yan to say more.

However, Cao Ye was not in a hurry to get to the point, and chatted with Liang Sizhe in a leisurely manner.

Lin Yan was anxious on the sidelines.The emperor was not in a hurry and the eunuchs were in a hurry, he never thought that one day these words would fall on his head.

"It's easy to use." He sent a message to Cao Ye, and then gave Cao Ye a wink, signaling Cao Ye to look at his phone.

Cao Ye glanced at the phone screen on the table, chatting with Liang Sizhe as usual.

Overt and secret hints didn't work. After several rounds of Tai Chi, the meal was about to end, and several people had already put down their chopsticks.Lin Yan had no choice but to use a trump card in front of Cao Ye: "Sizhe, you don't know yet, the movie "Darkest Choice" involves a billion-dollar gambling agreement."

When Liang Sizhe heard it, he really became interested, and instead of changing the topic, he bowed: "I heard something, so what's going on?"

"Let him speak for himself." Lin Yan turned his face towards Cao Ye.

"The company's listing agreement is just a gambling agreement. It can only be said that the box office pressure of this film is a little bit higher, but it is not realistic to completely count one billion on it."

Cao Ye didn't lie.

All the fragments of the "VAM agreement" on the Internet are actually far from the truth when put together.It is not the film "The Darkest Choice" that is burdened with a billion-dollar gambling agreement, but the largest investor behind it, Lomon Media.

The story goes back three years, when Lomon was just getting started and had cash flow problems.There are two paths before the company: either to raise funds and dilute the company's shares, or to be acquired and lean against a big tree to enjoy the shade.Cao Ye chose the riskier and bolder third path, signing a VAM agreement with the Ganesh Group.

The content of the agreement is that Ganesh Group will help Lomon to solve all the current financial problems. If, four years later, Lomon is successfully listed with the signed market value, then Ganisi will use this part of the funds to become one of the shareholders of Lomon and will not intervene in the future. Any internal affairs of Lomon, if the listing fails, Lomon will automatically be included in the management of the Cannes Group.

"Giannis?" Liang Sizhe raised his brows when he heard these three words, "Your uncle... is really not soft-hearted to you at all."

"Business matters," Cao Ye said in a casual tone, "he is also benevolent."

In a gambling agreement, there is always one party who is sure to make a profit without losing money.

As a well-known high-end catering group in China, under the iron-fisted management of Cao Ye's uncle Cao Xiuyan, the business has become more and more prosperous these years. Three years ago, it was successful in the Southeast Asian market. Last year, the hotel has entered the North American market with great fanfare.

Cao Xiuyan's ambitions have not stopped, and he has set his sights on the domestic film market in recent years.Anyone with a discerning eye can see that his intention to acquire Lomon has been around for a long time.At that time, Luomeng was in trouble, and the first plan proposed by Cao Xiuyan was to invest in Ganisi and become the largest shareholder of Luomeng.Unfortunately, this plan was rejected by Cao Ye on the spot.

In fact, being acquired by Garnis is not necessarily a bad thing for Lomon Media at that time or at this time.At that time, Lomon had plenty of funds in the future and would never face the problem of cash flow difficulties. But now, with the help of Giannis, the expansion of Lomon’s theaters in various regions will be quite smooth. It will be much easier, the road will be wider and smoother.

It's just that Cao Ye doesn't like it.

The reason is simple and sufficient, because there is no freedom.

So it's the same this time, he won't let Lomon Media fall into Ganis' pocket easily.

"Actually, you could also find me at that time." Liang Sizhe put his finger on his chin and tapped twice, "Maybe not as generous as your uncle, but the conditions I put forward will be much more lenient than him.

Cao Ye had a half-smile, "What conditions are you going to raise?"

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

Cao Ye sneered: "How do you seek the law?"

Liang Sizhe smiled, leaned back in the chair, raised his chin slightly to look at him: "Zhaoer, you have to think for yourself, you can't just keep your mind still."

Cao Ye didn't appreciate it: "It's a pity that I have never thought of this trick of asking for help."

Seeing that the topic was about to turn to "The Darkest Choice", the atmosphere between the two suddenly became strangely tense.

The momentum is wrong, Lin Yan thought.He quickly brought the topic back to the right track: "It's all in the past, what's the point of talking about it? If you really want to help Cao Ye, Sizhe, you should quickly approve the film "The Darkest Choice". What else, what are you talking about?" It's all false."

Cao Ye frowned and said, "Lin Yan." His tone was displeased, with a hint of warning.

Liang Sizhe thought for a few seconds, then tapped a few times quickly on the table with bent fingers: "So now I'm the only one who can save this scene, right?"

"Only you." Lin Yan said ahead of Cao Ye.

Liang Sizhe looked at Cao Ye.

Cao Ye was noncommittal.

Liang Sizhe noticed that his eyes fell on his left hand, so he quickly spread his bent fingers and placed them flat on the table.Only then did Cao Ye turn his gaze to his face.

"It seems that Mr. Cao doesn't quite agree with it." Liang Sizhe said, "Can you answer a few questions for me?"

Cao Ye raised his chin towards him, signaling him to ask casually.

Liang Sizhe pondered for a moment, then raised his head and asked, "So the current situation is that according to the agreement, next year will be the last year for the signing between Lomon and Giannis, isn't it?"

Cao Ye nodded: "Yes."

"If nothing happened to the movie, you'd expect it to hit a billion at the box office, wouldn't you?"

"This is the most ideal situation," Cao Ye said carefully, and answered not perfunctorily, "In fact, I don't think that this film alone can carry such a large box office volume, but if we consider the schedule and early stage The publicity effect, the medium-term distribution scale, the later word-of-mouth fermentation, and the performance of the film market in the same period, it is not impossible for a billion box office."

"Understood." Liang Sizhe nodded clearly, "If you think about it, Luomeng won't only hold this card, after all, there is still more than a year. Let me guess, although Luomeng holds several cards in his hand, he can share the burden. The pressure of the gambling agreement, but "The Darkest Choice" is mainly cast by Lomon, and the production and announcement are mainly controlled by you, obviously before the accident, this is the card you value the most."

Cao Ye smiled: "You guessed it right."

"That is to say, I am the only one who can save this field now. At least this sentence should not be considered wrong in the current situation?"

Cao Ye said frankly, "You can say that."

"Then that's the case..." Liang Sizhe smiled at him, with a meaningful smile, "Please."

Cao Ye didn't speak for a moment, and the two looked at each other. Although Liang Sizhe was smiling all the time, he obviously had no intention of giving in. The eyes of the two looked at each other for no reason, adding a sense of confrontation.

Lin Yan, who was watching by the side, twitched his temples, afraid that Cao Ye would say "Will you come if you love me?" Just when he was about to propose "I beg you instead", Cao Ye suddenly laughed : "Liang Sizhe, is this how you plan to repay your favor?"

Liang Sizhe looked at him for a few seconds, then smiled, and said, "You're kidding. I said I wanted to repay the favor, so I will seriously consider this appointment."

After the back-and-forth conversation, Lin Yan, who was on the sidelines, finally saw it: these two people, one was playing hard to get, and the other was trying to resist, so this seemingly three-person dinner actually had nothing to do with him .

No wonder Cao Ye always kept a calm look. It turned out that Liang Sizhe had been certain that Liang Sizhe would accept the film contract.Fortunately, I still wanted to be a peacemaker at the beginning.

That being the case, he no longer forcibly shifted the topic to "The Darkest Choice".

He didn't enjoy the drink, so he called the driver and had a drink with Cao Ye, chatted for a while, and then withdrew after a while.

After this meal, Lin Yan's impression of Liang Sizhe was really not very good.It hasn't been long since he took over the film and television business of the family business, only two years in total, and he hasn't had any in-depth cooperation with Liang Sizhe yet.

Met before at other banquet occasions, at best, it was just a nodding acquaintance.At that time, I had a good impression of him, but I didn't understand why people always said that Liang Sizhe was not liked by the management.

Now it can be regarded as understanding that in an ordinary dinner, the actors have to apologize to the management, but in front of Liang Sizhe, the status of the two parties has dropped. To be honest, Lin Yan has never attended such an aggrieved dinner.

It's just that every circle pays attention to irreplaceability.This is especially true of the circle they are in.

Today's Chinese film industry is full of rich and powerful capitalists, but Liang Sizhe is indispensable anyway.

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

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

There is another sentence that is also widely circulated: "For an actor to do what Liang Sizhe does, it is God who rewards him with food."

Liang Sizhe naturally has his own set of contacts and rules of doing things.Otherwise, the circle would not tolerate him being so ignorant.

Take an incident the year before last as an example. A film and television company paid a high price to invite a senior and respected screenwriter to come out. The first request made by this well-known thorny screenwriter in the industry was that Liang Sizhe should play the leading role. Otherwise, this matter is not negotiable.

However, Liang Sizhe only accepted at most two film contracts within a year, so the project has not yet started.

Probably because the screenwriter He Chen and actor Liang Sizhe's partner are too attractive, so the producer waited willingly.

Lin Yan got up and said that he wanted to leave, but the other two had no intention of continuing.

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

Cao Ye's capacity for drinking is not very good. After a few glasses of red wine, he was already a little drunk. He waved Lin Yan away: "Who knows where you will throw me." Drunk, Lin Yan said that he would take him home, but he went to have a good time halfway, and threw him in his gay bar.When Cao Ye woke up, he opened his eyes and saw a man with heavy make-up who was staring at him closely, almost dropping his jaw.After that time, Cao Ye never dared to ask Lin Yan to send him back.

Lin Yan said with a smile: "Don't worry, you will be sent home safe and sound this time."

Just as Cao Ye was about to say something, the phone on the table buzzed and vibrated, and a call came in.

Lin Yan glanced at the word "Lin Huan" on the screen, and smiled meaningfully: "Yo, it seems that I really don't need to send it off, so I'm leaving, happy spring night." After speaking, he didn't forget to say hello to Liang Sizhe, "Sizhe, I'm waiting for your news."

Liang Sizhe was holding a water glass to drink water, when he heard this, he raised the glass to him, probably meaning "relax".

Cao Ye picked up his cell phone and connected the call. He didn't seem to want to avoid Liang Sizhe.

Lin Huan's voice came from the phone, a little flattering and soft: "Cao Ye, are you eating in Susa?"

"how do you know?"

"It so happened that I was there too. I was just about to leave. Su Tang told me." Su Tang is the proprietress of this private restaurant. Almost all the big and small coffees who come to eat here have some friendship with her. Lin Huan continued, "You are here Which private room, shall I find you for a drink?"

"You really want to come?" Cao Ye leaned back in the chair, and glanced at Liang Sizhe from the corner of his eyes, "Su Tang didn't tell you that Liang Sizhe was here, right?"

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

Cao Ye said indifferently, "I didn't say that, you can come whenever you want."

"Forget it, I'm afraid you will be unhappy," Lin Huan changed the subject, "Any other appointments tonight?"

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

"What do you think?" The end sound is upturned, and the provocative meaning is self-evident.

The words hinted at this point, and if Cao Ye didn't respond, it was equivalent to a direct showdown with Lin Huan.But he didn't have any plans yet, so he thought for a while and said, "Then you wait for me, I can't drive after drinking, so go back to your car."

"Okay~ I'll wait for you." After Lin Huan finished speaking, he hung up the phone.

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

"It's Lin Huan?" Liang Sizhe looked at him with great interest and asked, "Does she want to come?"

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

Liang Sizhe touched his chin: "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 disulfiram?" Cao Ye asked.

"I would risk my life to accompany you." Liang Sizhe looked at him and smiled.

"Really?" Cao Ye raised his eyebrows and said, "It's a pity, she won't come."

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

Liang Sizhe took his coat and wanted to go out, holding the doorknob and pulling the door open, Cao Ye suddenly called out from behind, "Liang Sizhe."

Liang Sizhe paused, turned his face to look at Cao Ye: "Huh?"

"That appointment, in fact, it doesn't matter if you don't accept it."

"How to say?"

"I just want to remind you that Cao Xiuyuan may not be able to appreciate your gratitude to me."

Liang Sizhe laughed as soon as he heard it, and when he spoke again, his voice seemed to be a few deeper than before: "What about you, Cao Ye, will you appreciate it?" After speaking, before Cao Ye had any reaction, he opened the door strode out.

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

As soon as he came out, the paparazzi squatting on the side of the parking lot heard the news and raised their cameras to him, and a silent and detailed flash flashed quickly above the lens.

Seeing Liang Sizhe walking towards the Maybach, several people quickly trot towards the van behind them, preparing to follow the car for a while.

"Hello." Liang Sizhe suddenly turned around and called them back.

A few people were not panicked when they were found to be secretly filming, but turned around and greeted him—a few of them have been filming Liang Sizhe for many years, and they can be described as experienced. At this time, there were smirks on their faces, and their voices were broken, and they sounded a little rascal: " Mr. Liang, did the nightlife end so early tonight?"

"Yeah," Liang Sizhe's tone was not angry, but as usual as talking to an old friend, "Stop following me, there won't be any news tonight, go to bed early."

After speaking, he turned around and continued walking towards the parking lot, raised one arm, and waved twice at the paparazzi with his back turned.

The few paparazzi who were standing there looked at each other, and someone growled: "Follow me, what are you doing standing there?!" The rest of the people reacted immediately and ran towards the van quickly.

At the moment when they opened the car door to get in the car, the Maybach drove smoothly with a dull throttle, and after a tail flick, it disappeared in an instant, leaving only the pungent car exhaust in the air.

The author says:

Interview Record:

Reporter: Mr. Liang, there is news on the Internet that you recently drove a Maybach. Do you really have the legendary A1 driver's license?

Liang Sizhe: Yes.

Reporter: Uh... did you take the test yourself?

Liang Sizhe: Otherwise?

Reporter: Why did you think of taking the A1 driver's license test?

Liang Sizhe: Because I want to drive a Maybach~

Reporter (stunned): Oh... so...

Liang Sizhe (laughs): Do you really believe it?The truth is that Best Actor Liang has acted as a truck driver, and there will be some scenes behind this film... Therefore, Actor Liang will not be taken away by the traffic police, he is an actor with an A1 driver's license!