Chapter 619 - 318: Weeping with Gratitude, I Want to Call You Godfather!

Chapter 619: Chapter 318: Weeping with Gratitude, I Want to Call You Godfather!

"Fuck, don’t go blaming the innocent," Chen Jincheng said righteously. "Sister Hehe’s the one with the problem. She acted on her own; it has nothing to do with me."

But Li Muchen ignored his defense. "So, do you want to sleep with Sister Ai or not?"

"Am I that kind of person? Don’t insult your boss’s character." Chen Jincheng was a little speechless. ’Why are all these girls like this? Do they really think I’m some kind of scumbag who wants to sleep with every woman he sees?’

Li Muchen just kept smiling. "Offer Sister Ai the lead role in a drama, and I’ll go sound her out for you."

"Ahem... ahem!" Chen Jincheng choked, stunned by her words. ’Does she have to be so direct?’

’Or is the entertainment industry really this blunt?’

’Damn, this is kind of mind-blowing, isn’t it?’

"I get it now," Li Muchen said with a delicate laugh.

"???" Chen Jincheng was even more speechless. ’What does she get now?’

’Did I even say anything just now?’

...

In a car, Guo Fan hung up the phone and looked at Wu Jing, who had come with him, his face etched with worry. "Sigh, I really don’t know how to tell President Chen."

Wu Jing sighed. "If we’d known this would happen, I would have stopped you from telling them the truth about the special effects production. Then we wouldn’t have this problem."

"Who would have thought they’d have so little faith? Didn’t you see how much confidence President Chen has in us? You really can’t compare people," Guo Fan couldn’t help but sigh.

Chen Jincheng had agreed to invest 210 million for his special effects. He was all set to restart the "perfect special effects" plan and go all out.

But who knew that three more investors would suddenly want to pull out, with a total investment amount as high as 100 million.

They couldn’t accept the film’s budget rising to 650 million.

They had no confidence in a film that needed to gross 2 billion to break even.

So now they were at a stalemate. Option one: give up on the "perfect special effects," convince the investors not to withdraw their funding, and turn down Chen Jincheng’s additional 150 million special effects investment, keeping only his initial 60 million.

Option two: let them withdraw their funding. But then, even with Chen Jincheng’s extra 150 million, they still wouldn’t have enough for the perfect special effects. Plus, the entire investment burden would fall on President Chen, which felt wrong.

"Forget it. It looks like we really can’t do the perfect special effects," Guo Fan finally sighed. "We’ll tell President Chen we don’t need the 150 million investment and convince the other three parties not to pull out."

Wu Jing nodded. "The risk-to-reward for this film is too high. We really can’t push all the investment costs onto President Chen."

The two of them talked it over and made their decision.

Before long, they arrived at the hotel and gave Chen Jincheng a call. Soon after, they saw Chen Jincheng coming downstairs, accompanied by two young women.

When Guo Fan and Wu Jing came over, they had done some research on the women at Second-Life Star. They knew these two were "Miss Cheng" girls who specialized in filming short, story-driven videos for social media.

What impressed them most was that these two women could actually act, unlike the other internet celebrities at Second-Life Star.

Chen Jincheng also helped the two check into the hotel, then quickly called over Sister Hong, Sun Ji, and Zhao Lei.

Since they were treating these two to lunch, it was only natural for people from the Second-Life Star Film and Television department to attend.

The subsequent contract signing would be handled by Sun Ji and Zhao Lei with Guo Fan.

After brief introductions were made, they all headed to the restaurant together.

Wu Jing was surprised when he saw the restaurant. "I’ve heard of this private kitchen. It’s almost impossible for ordinary people to get a reservation. I was in Beijing for a while before and never got to try it. I didn’t expect to have the chance today, all thanks to President Chen."

Chen Jincheng smiled and said, "It’s all because of President Lei. He’s had a private room reserved here for a while."

This made Guo Fan and Wu Jing sigh with emotion. ’That’s right. Although President Chen is already very impressive to them, he has an even more powerful tycoon backing him.’

’Honestly, they were really envious of him for that.’

After all, not just anyone could get the support of a tycoon like that.

The dishes were served quickly.

But Chen Jincheng noticed that the atmosphere was a bit off.

After they sat down, Guo Fan and Wu Jing had subconsciously exchanged glances several times. It would be strange if nothing was wrong.

Finally, Guo Fan couldn’t hold back any longer. He began, embarrassed, "President Chen, I’m truly sorry. We’ve run into some more problems with the film project. So, coming here today... I’m really ashamed to face you."

Hearing this, Chen Jincheng subconsciously asked, "Did some investors pull out?"

’In my past life, aside from funding issues, I never heard about any other problems with *Wandering Earth*.’

’Now that the funding is sufficient, there shouldn’t be any other problems.’

’Then it must be the problem President Lei was worried about.’

Guo Fan was stunned when he heard this. "President Chen, you already guessed?"

Wu Jing also stared at Chen Jincheng, his face full of astonishment. Right now, only the two of them knew about this issue. Fearing it would cause a panic among the other investors, they hadn’t told a single soul.

’For Chen Jincheng to guess it out of thin air... that’s just too amazing, isn’t it?’

Chen Jincheng didn’t take credit for it. "President Lei mentioned it after I finished my stream yesterday."

"Ah!" Guo Fan was even more surprised. He knew that at that time, they hadn’t even received the news that three investors wanted to pull out. President Lei had somehow predicted it.

’But for a tycoon like him, they felt it was normal. After all, without that kind of ability, how could someone reach that position and become such a big shot?’

Then, Guo Fan said awkwardly, "President Chen, so... I’m really sorry, but we have to refuse your kind offer. We’re planning to give up on your 150 million investment and proceed with the original plan. You only need to invest 60 million."

Chen Jincheng was a bit dumbfounded by this news. ’Damn it, after all the effort I put into reeling in Director Guo like a prize fish and getting him to accept an extra 150 million, I was about to enjoy a huge piece of the cake. And now they want to snatch that cake right out of my mouth?’

’This is going too far.’

So, he asked Guo Fan, "Director Guo, even if you compromise this way, are you sure 60 million will be enough in the end? And isn’t this film like your child? Do you really want it to be released to the world in an imperfect state? It could be so much more perfect."

Guo Fan’s heart ached when he heard this; Chen Jincheng had hit the nail on the head. But sometimes, reality is impossible to fight. He could only sigh and say, "President Chen, sometimes you have to bow to reality. If we don’t resolve the withdrawal of those three investors, we’ll be facing a 100-million-yuan shortfall."

Hearing this, Chen Jincheng’s eyes lit up. He said eagerly, "I can cover that for you, Director Guo. We at Second-Life Star will put up that 100 million."

"Ah??" Guo Fan was floored. He had wondered if there was a way to get President Chen to cover the shortfall, but he had been too embarrassed to ask. After all, for someone to agree to invest 210 million in a single film, and then add another 100 million on top of that... no one in the domestic capital market did business like that.

’If there really was an investor like that, directors like them who burn through cash would kneel before him. Seriously, it’d be like, ’My benefactor, my godfather!’’

That’s why they were too embarrassed to push all the costs onto him. Who would have thought he’d proactively offer to invest even more?

Chen Jincheng’s face was indeed full of joy. ’When something this good happens, you have to keep it going! Add another 100 million, and his stake would be 310 million, almost half the total investment. He could make over a billion from the box office split alone, not to mention the revenue from merchandise, overseas rights, and online streaming rights.’

But clearly, Guo Fan and Wu Jing had no idea what a sensation this film would become in the future. They were simply stunned by Chen Jincheng’s decisiveness.

Seeing their shock, Chen Jincheng spoke with righteous conviction, "Director Guo, really. I deeply admire your dedication to filmmaking and your pioneering spirit. Likewise, I also love this film, *Wandering Blue Star*. I hope it can be presented perfectly, proving to everyone that we can make hard sci-fi. I want us to be able to proudly tell the whole world, ’This is our movie.’ As an investor in this film, I would be incredibly proud."

Honestly, Guo Fan was at a loss for words.

President Chen’s words made his heart surge, his blood boil with excitement. He could already imagine what that moment would be like.

When the time came, he would definitely repeat what President Chen said today in interviews, letting everyone know about the president’s contribution to the film.

People said he was an industry outsider, an internet celebrity, but his attitude toward cinema was something no insider could match.

In the end, all his overflowing excitement was distilled into a single sentence: "President Chen, is Second-Life Star hiring? My contract with Walker ends after this film. I want to make my next sequel with Second-Life Star."