Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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After returning from his vacation, Jing Xuan also got busy.
It’s almost the end of the year, and he had a lot of different meetings to attend. Sometimes he even needed to fly to other places to discuss work.
After all, Ninglu Media was currently ranked around tenth among entertainment companies, while Jing Xuan’s Xuanyuan Video was the third-ranked video website. It was fair to say that Xuanyuan, along with the other two video websites, was one of the most downloaded video apps on people’s phones and computers.
Moreover, Xuanyuan Video’s traffic had surged this year, almost overshadowing the second-largest video website. With such a large resource platform, besides attending conferences, Jing Xuan was also frequently invited out for drinks by various people in the industry, mainly to discuss business.
Five upcoming web dramas and three online variety shows were all in talks with streaming platforms. The web drama producers were naturally communicating with the top five video websites to see if they could choose a suitable platform.
Because each company offered different levels of exposure. The best spots on the homepage of video websites and apps naturally had the highest exposure, along with small prompts in the comments, pagination positions, and so on… Even a difference of just a thumb’s distance on a mobile phone could result in different levels of exposure.
Jiang Shining’s variety show became a huge hit not only because of its high quality, but also largely because Xuanyuan Video consistently promoted it with the best homepage position, not to mention the various advertisements.
Jing Xuan was being dragged to various banquets and parties by industry insiders, all in the hopes that he would give his variety show/web drama a good spot out of courtesy, or that he would focus solely on promoting his own variety show for the entire quarter.
He hated this kind of thing the most, but there was no way around it when it came to social obligations. Even if he didn’t cooperate, he couldn’t refuse to give these people face.
That day, Chu Jingxuan had just finished a meeting in Q City and had to attend a business dinner. The other party’s boss parked the driver and car downstairs where he was holding the meeting, and the driver took him to the best hotel in the area— the Grand Hotel.
The hotel lived up to its name, with a glittering and opulent atmosphere everywhere. When Jing Xuan walked in, the CEO’s secretary was waiting for him at the entrance.
“Good evening, Mr. Wang. Our private room is upstairs. Please follow me.” The secretary said with a smile as she led the way. “Our boss and several other business owners have been waiting for you. Mr. Wang, have you been very busy lately?”
Jing Xuan responded politely but distantly.
After taking the elevator upstairs, they found the entire corridor covered with a long red carpet with gold trim. When they reached one of the rooms, the secretary knocked on the door and then opened it.
Inside was a huge round table, where six or seven men and two women were seated. Jing Xuan recognized most of these people; some were owners of companies that specialized in producing web dramas, and the others were people with whom they had vested interests.
Jing Xuan recognized both women. One was Bai Xi, a second-tier actress in web dramas who occasionally played minor roles in movies and TV series. She was the lead actress in the web drama the other party was discussing. The other was a newcomer, having recently entered the industry, and a university student at a performing arts academy, likely not yet graduated. She played the third female lead in the drama.
There were far too many banquets like this, all in the same format, and Chu Jingxuan knew exactly what they wanted to say. But there was no way around it; the formalities had to be put on.
“Brother Wang Muze, it’s been a long time.” The boss with the highest status among them stood up and smiled. “You’re a big shot now, it’s not easy to get you to come out.”
Jing Xuan nodded slightly. “Sorry, I have been quite busy lately.”
Everyone shook hands, but when they met the two actresses, they parted ways. Bai Xi, who had debuted long ago, smiled at Jing Xuan and said, “President Wang, it’s been a long time.”
The new actress, who hadn’t graduated from university, seemed much more shy and reserved.
Only then did they sit down and wait for the food to be served.
Even though everyone knew the purpose of the banquet, no one immediately started discussing business, so there was just a round of polite formalities. Jing Xuan wasn’t usually very outspoken, so at these kinds of banquets, he would just smile and agree without ever initiating a conversation. So, the others seemed to be having a good time chatting. One of the business owners told a story about an actor’s embarrassing moment, and everyone burst into loud laughter.
The waiters were quick and brought out all the drinks. One of the owners unscrewed the cap and said, “Xiao Bai, Xiao Xu, pour drinks for the bosses.”
Bai Xi smiled and picked up the wine bottle, weaving through the crowd. Before long, she arrived at Jing Xuan’s side.
Originally, the people sitting next to Jing Xuan were all bosses, but when they saw her coming, the boss next to him stood up.
“Come sit down, Xiao Bai. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Boss Wang. Let’s chat with him.”
Bai Xi sat down and said with a gentle smile, “Mr. Wang, the last time we met was at that little gathering. Do you remember me?”
Jing Xuan didn’t answer her question. Seeing Bai Xi reach for the cup, he stepped in first and knocked it down.
“I’m sorry, I’m allergic to alcohol,” he said. “I don’t drink.”
“Yes, yes, Mr. Wang likes to drink tea,” a man said. “You see, we haven’t been able to take good care of him.”
“I also know a bit about tea, Mr. Wang. This is for you.” Bai Xi pulled a tin box of tea leaves from her bag. Jing Xuan glanced at the label and knew that the tea leaves were from a famous tea brand and were quite valuable.
“No need, I don’t drink this kind of tea, thank you,” Jing Xuan said politely. But his refusal was quite clear.
“Old Wang…” Bai Xi was about to speak again, but the off-shoulder top she was wearing made Jing Xuan’s head ache.
He gestured to stop Bai Xi. Then he looked at the girl surnamed Xu, who had just poured the wine and was sitting awkwardly in her seat with her head down.
Are you a college student?
Xiao Xu looked up, startled. She met Jing Xuan’s eyes, then looked away and nodded gently.
“Come sit down.” Jing Xuan gestured with his chin towards Bai Xi’s seat.
Bai Xi’s expression froze for a few seconds, then she quickly recovered and said with a coquettish smile, “I’ll move aside, Mr. Wang… I’ll move aside if you take a selfie with me. Okay?”
Chu Jingxuan’s patience had finally worn thin. He looked at the highest-ranking boss and frowned, “Mr. Zhou, are you treating everyone to dinner?”
Mr. Zhou understood what he meant and touched his nose somewhat awkwardly.
“Don’t be angry, Mr. Wang. It’s normal for a young lady to be a little spoiled and like to act cute,” someone said, trying to smooth things over. “Come on, Xiao Bai, sit here. How about I take a picture with you?”
Of the two companies that came this time, one owner held the rights to a variety show, and the other held the rights to a web series. Mr. Zhou’s company was involved in web series, while the person smoothing things over was the owner of the variety show company.
Bai Xi glanced at Jing Xuan several times and seeing that he really didn’t intend to keep her, she pursed her lips and got up. After a while, Xiao Xu slowly walked over, sat down next to him, lowered her head, and her ears were red.
The matter was treated as a minor incident and the group continued chatting happily. Little was touched of the food on the table, but a lot of wine was consumed.
Jing Xuan realized that these people weren’t getting to the point at all. He glanced at the time again; it was almost 7:30 p.m. If it got any later, he would be late getting back to P City.
“Gentlemen, I’m in a hurry later, so I’ll offer you a toast with tea instead of wine first.” Jing Xuan picked up the hotel’s teacup, raised it to them, and then drank it all in one gulp.
They understood what Jing Xuan meant; he was urging them to get to the point.
The room gradually quieted down. The boss coughed twice and then spoke up, “Mr. Wang, did you receive the sample footage of our variety show? What did you think of it?”
Jing Xuan had naturally watched it; he personally reviewed all the variety shows that he wanted to promote. To be honest, he didn’t like this show; it lacked any exciting elements, and the format was too ordinary.
“I’ve looked at it, it’s alright,” Jing Xuan said, “but…”
“If you’re willing to feature our variety show as the top choice for the next three months, we’re willing to grant you exclusive rights, and the copyright fee can be less than what’s required in the contract.” The boss gestured with his fingers.
Jing Xuan curled the corners of his lips. “Sorry, we have a new variety show to promote in two months, so three months is not realistic.”
The variety show that would be launched two months later was naturally the celebrity dating show that Jiang Shining would be on.
“Well…” the boss said, making up his mind, “How about we promote it primarily for a month first, and then move it to a page-based promotion afterwards?”
Jing Xuan couldn’t help but sigh, “Boss Wang… you understand that we have a set procedure for our work. You should have received the email reply yesterday. Our suggestions in that email were decided in our meeting. Even if I were the boss, I couldn’t make decisions on my own.”
“Mr. Wang, you and Mr. Wang have never worked together before, so a good start is very important, right?” Mr. Zhou smoothed things over. “I think he’s already lowered the copyright price for each episode so much…”
“President Zhou.” Jing Xuan turned to look at him and said calmly, “I’ve watched about two episodes of your web series sample. It should be fine for it to be featured on the homepage, but we need to discuss the timeframe and advertising budget you requested.”
“Okay, okay!” Boss Zhou was very happy and forgot to help others. He said, “Let’s set a time next week so we can meet again and talk about the specific contract.”
Jing Xuan nodded, stood up, straightened his suit, and said, “Then let’s get together again next time. I’m really in a hurry this time.”
After another round of polite exchanges, Jing Xuan declined the offers to see him off. He looked down at the girl.
“College student, could you give me a ride?”
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