Chapter 57: Boundless Glory

Ning Hao is a talented individual, and Cheng Sheng wants to recruit him into his own studio.

Of course, what Cheng Sheng wants most is Xing Aina.

He had been worrying about who to find to manage his studio, but upon seeing Xing Aina, an idea occurred to him: he would have Xing Aina manage it.

Ning Hao's success was, in fact, inseparable from Xing Aina's help.

Before becoming famous, Ning Hao and Xing Aina lived a life of poverty. Yet, even in such an environment, Xing Aina continued to support Ning Hao in pursuing his dreams, never complaining or grumbling, quietly staying by his side to support him.

Before filming his first movie, *Incense*, they had 150,000 yuan in savings, but Ning Hao poured the entire amount into the film production.

As a devoted wife, Xing Aina naturally supported her husband's dream. During their poorest times, she managed the household as always, without a single word of resentment.

Furthermore, the early films Ning Hao directed were written by Xing Aina, such as *Incense*, *Green Grassland*, *Go Straight to the End of Love*, and so on.

In particular, the film that made Ning Hao famous overnight and turned him into a major director, *Crazy Stone*, was also written by Xing Aina.

Later, the two high-grossing films *The Golden Heist* and *The Heart* were also written by her.

It could be said that Xing Aina deserved half the credit for Ning Hao's success.

Moreover, Xing Aina was not just skilled at screenwriting; in the future, she would become the legal representative of six companies and hold executive positions in ten others.

She directly controlled five companies, including Dongyang Hengdian Xing Aina Film and Television Studio (100% ownership) and Horgos Niannian Huan Yi Film and Media Co., Ltd. (70% ownership), and held indirect stakes in 21 companies across fields such as film, television, culture, and corporate management.

For such a versatile talent, managing a personal studio would undoubtedly be very simple.

Most importantly, Xing Aina's character was trustworthy, making Cheng Sheng feel at ease about leaving his personal studio in her hands.

Of course, he wouldn't invite her immediately; he would wait until he gave Ning Hao a surprise before proactively inviting her to join his studio.

As the guests arrived one after another, they were led by the reception staff to their respective tables.

Cheng Sheng naturally sat at one of the main seats. To his right was Third Master Han, and moving clockwise, everyone else was a big figure in the industry.

Yu Dong, the "Big Wang" executives, Principal Xu Xiaozhong, several heads of entertainment companies, and top-tier stars like Liu Dehua.

The remaining tables were occupied by top celebrities and the main creative crew from Cheng Sheng's films.

At tonight's celebration banquet, it looked as though at least half of the entertainment industry was present.

This demonstrated the immense influence of China Film; it was a call that received immediate responses, with even those currently filming movies making time to rush over.

"Director Cheng, let me toast you. Congratulations on the massive box office success of your film," an entertainment company CEO said, standing up and raising his glass respectfully.

"You're too kind."

Cheng Sheng quickly stood up, clinked glasses with him, and drained the drink in one gulp.

"Director Cheng, what a capacity! I also wish you massive box office success," President Wang added, standing up as well.

Cheng Sheng looked distressed. If everyone toasted him one by one, he would collapse no matter how much he could drink.

However, having just drunk with the previous person, if he refused President Wang, others might think he was looking down on him.

Cheng Sheng had no choice but to clink glasses with President Wang again and finish another drink.

"One by one like this, even if Little Cheng were immune to alcohol, he'd end up with a gastric hemorrhage. Why don't we all take a drink together? We can skip the individual toasts later. Here's to the box office breaking one billion!"

Xu Xiaozhong, still looking out for his student, saw someone else about to toast Cheng Sheng and quickly stood up to interrupt.

"Alright!"

The crowd merely wanted to build a relationship with Cheng Sheng; they didn't actually intend to get him drunk.

Cheng Sheng breathed a sigh of relief, gave the Principal a grateful look, and then joined everyone in a collective toast.

"Director Cheng, are there any techniques for filming historical dramas? Why don't you share some with us so we can learn?" an entertainment company CEO asked with a smile.

Most entertainment companies were already working on historical projects, but everyone was afraid of messing them up and wanted to seek advice from Cheng Sheng.

"Haha, CEOs, you all know more about filmmaking than I do. I won't make a fool of myself by lecturing you."

Cheng Sheng shook his head. He was well aware of the current trends blowing through the internet.

He detested "trend-following" movies, but he couldn't stop them.

However, in his view, these people blindly following the trend to film historical themes would likely lose everything they owned.

After all, historical dramas are not something an ordinary director can handle.

If he didn't have the simulation panel to help him, he wouldn't dare touch this genre either.

Now, the massive success of *The Great Tang Dynasty: Origins* had blinded those driven by greed; they only saw the huge profits and failed to see the risks involved in filming historical dramas.

If they invested recklessly, failure was a certainty.

He didn't want to voice his opinion; if these people lost money later and came looking for trouble, it would be incredibly annoying.

Seeing Cheng Sheng's refusal, several entertainment company CEOs felt somewhat displeased, but with Third Master Han present, they didn't dare lose their tempers.

Not far from Cheng Sheng's main table sat the creative crew of *The Great Tang Dynasty: Origins*.

"I really envy Director Cheng, being able to chat and laugh with so many big shots. If only I could be like that one day," Zheng Guolin said, taking a sip of wine and looking toward Cheng Sheng's table with envy.

Su Chang rolled her eyes at Zheng Guolin and said, "Brother Lin, you envy Director Cheng, but others envy you! I heard you landed the global ambassadorship for Patek Philippe."

Hearing this, Zheng Guolin let out a silly giggle.

Patek Philippe was a world-renowned luxury watch brand. No artist in China had ever secured its representation. He hadn't expected that shortly after returning from Venice, the Patek Philippe company would find him and sign him as a global ambassador.

Three million USD a year.

It had left him completely dazed.

One must realize that the highest-paid endorser in China currently was Fan Shuangbing, with an endorsement fee of 20 million RMB.

His fee was 3 million USD, which, when converted to RMB, was about 2 million more than Fan Shuangbing's.

In an instant, he had jumped from an 18th-tier minor celebrity to a top-tier star, breaking endorsement records.

It could be said that Zheng Guolin had been riding high lately.

Not only had his endorsement fees broken records, but he had also received several scripts.

However, they were all for him to play Li Shimin, which disappointed him somewhat. Having played Li Shimin in Director Cheng Sheng's film, he felt a certain resistance to playing the same character in other productions.

(End of Chapter)