Chapter 37: Jealous Feng Dapao

A moment later, Wang Jinhua looked up at Fan Shuangbing and asked, "Bingbing, do you think you can compete with Li Shuangbing?"

Hearing this, Fan Shuangbing immediately fell into deep thought.

She was a smart woman and understood exactly what Wang Jinhua meant.

The company was only so large; if she wanted resources, she had to fight for them, which meant engaging in bitter disputes with other female stars.

She and Li Shuangbing were both favorites of the company, but she understood that her excellence within the company did not match that of Li Shuangbing.

In the year 2000, Li Shuangbing became widely known after starring in *Young Justice Bao*. Subsequently, she won the Best Actress award at the 13th Singapore International Film Festival for the movie *Going Home for the New Year*.

Shortly after, Li Shuangbing landed an advertisement for Vaseline, earning 260,000 yuan from a single deal—a feat that left the company's other artists green with envy.

It was also in the year 2000 that the 19-year-old Fan Shuangbing had just debuted with her role as "Jin Suo" in *My Fair Princess*, earning her the nickname "The Most Beautiful Maid" among the public.

However, Fan Shuangbing detested this title. Originally, the "Qiong Lady" Liu Xuehua had recommended her to Qiong Yao to play Ziwei, but she ultimately ended up playing a maid.

To go from a female lead to a supporting character—it was only natural that Fan Shuangbing was furious.

Perhaps fueled by this resentment, she had frequently tried to steal scenes in her performances, wanting to prove she was no inferior to the two protagonists. However, this also displeased the two leads and caused resentment from Qiong Yao.

Qiong Yao had even remarked, "In my eyes, Fan Shuangbing will always be a maid."

Back then, as an unknown, she naturally did not dare to talk back to Qiong Yao. Although her character was highly popular, her salary was many times lower than the leads, receiving only about 10,000 yuan.

Because of this, she had spent the past few years using every means possible to climb the ladder, desperate to prove that she was not a maid and was not inferior to certain "Zhao"s or "Ru"s.

After joining Huayi, her struggle for resources and the position of "Number One Actress" led to massive conflicts with Li Shuangbing, causing their once-friendly relationship to deteriorate.

Consequently, the two became rivals within the company.

Not long ago, Huayi prepared to begin filming *A World Without Thieves*, which had been in preparation for three years. The leads were Andy Lau and "Milk Tea" Liu. Another role, the "glamorous female thief," was highly contested, including by both her and Li Shuangbing.

Ultimately, the role of the "female thief" fell into Li Shuangbing's hands, which left her feeling extremely indignant.

It wasn't that she had lost to Li Shuangbing, but rather to Li Shuangbing's sister, because the producer of *A World Without Thieves* was Li Xue's boyfriend.

This made her loathe Li Xue intensely; on certain occasions, she would even call her a "bitch" to her face.

As a result, her relationship with Li Shuangbing grew increasingly strained, and the two were nearly at blows while fighting for resources within the company.

Unfortunately, the company's resources were limited, and she constantly lost to Li Shuangbing.

She also understood why she lost to Li Shuangbing: it was because the relationship between Li Shuangbing and Wang Zhongjun was not simple.

On several occasions when she went to see President Wang, she saw Li Shuangbing in his office, and the two of them were playing quite "wildly" together.

"Sister Hua, I can't compete with that slut. It's because she knows how to please President Wang; she's much more 'fun' than I am," Fan Shuangbing mocked.

Wang Jinhua was also somewhat aware of the relationship between the young President Wang and the female artists in the company. After all, this young master had bedded almost every female star in Huayi; his "harem" was vast.

"I plan to leave Huayi when my contract ends next year. Bingbing, you are the first to know. Do you want to leave with me? If you do, I will push you to be even more famous than Li Shuangbing. I will do my best to help you with Director Cheng Sheng," Wang Jinhua said in a heavy voice.

Fan Shuangbing was not surprised by Wang Jinhua's intention to leave Huayi. Anyone with eyes could see the conflict between Wang Jinhua and the Wang brothers, and combined with the fact that Wang Jinhua had not renewed her contract, it was clear she wouldn't stay.

However, leaving the company with Wang Jinhua was something Fan Shuangbing needed to consider seriously.

After all, she had to weigh the pros and cons.

Staying at Huayi offered stability, but following Wang Jinhua was a gamble with an uncertain future.

On the other hand, staying at Huayi meant constantly fighting Li Shuangbing for resources. Leaving with Sister Hua offered a chance to become the company's top priority under her wing, but it also carried the risk of being suppressed by Huayi.

After a long silence, Fan Shuangbing gritted her teeth and said, "If Sister Hua can help me land the female lead in Director Cheng's second film, I will go with you."

Hearing this, Wang Jinhua smiled and said, "I will do my best with Director Cheng, but I cannot guarantee success. However, I can guarantee you this: if you leave with me, you will have at least one female lead role in a movie every year."

Fan Shuangbing felt a bit disappointed, but it was within her expectations.

What she actually wanted was a guarantee from Wang Jinhua.

A female lead role in one movie every year was what she truly desired.

As for Cheng Sheng's movie, she wanted it too.

However, she didn't want Wang Jinhua to help her with that; she wanted to go to Cheng Sheng herself.

She refused to believe that a young man like Cheng Sheng could escape her grasp.

***

[Young Director Cheng Sheng returns to China.]

[Can the youngest Golden Lion winner in history carry the mantle as the leading figure of the Sixth Generation directors?]

[The relationship between Scarlett and Cheng Sheng! Are they truly just friends, or...]

[Looking forward to the release of *The Great Tang Dynasty: Origins*.]

[Shocking: Overseas rights sell for a staggering $26.5 million; Cheng Sheng earns over 200 million RMB.]

The entertainment sections of major web portals used the most eye-catching headlines for their front pages.

In particular, the news that Cheng Sheng's overseas distribution rights had sold for over 200 million yuan had practically stunned the entire entertainment industry.

It had to be said that some media professionals were incredibly resourceful; not long after Cheng Sheng's return, they had unearthed the news of him selling his overseas distribution rights in Venice.

In an instant, Cheng Sheng once again became the focus of public attention.

On the set of *A World Without Thieves*.

Feng Dapao stared at the news on his computer, his hands trembling, his heart consumed by intense jealousy.

He had thought that Cheng Sheng winning the award was the limit, but he never expected him to make so much money.

Two hundred million!

How did that brat do it?

He worked so hard to make movies, yet none of his box office returns had ever reached 200 million.

"Damn it, why is he so outstanding?" Feng Dapao clenched his fists, roaring inwardly.

No, he couldn't admit defeat.

It was a historical film, wasn't it?

He didn't believe that if Cheng Sheng could film it, he couldn't.

"Young people these days are truly impressive. Two hundred million! I've been making movies for so many years, and not a single one of mine can compare."

The only person who dared to speak like that on Feng Dapao's set was Andy Lau.

Others might be wary of Feng Dapao, but he was not.

Furthermore, he personally held Cheng Sheng in high regard. He used to think Cheng Sheng was reckless, but after seeing him win the Golden Lion, his perception of him had changed significantly.

Although he hadn't seen any of Cheng Sheng's films yet, he believed they must be excellent; otherwise, distributors wouldn't be foolish enough to spend so much money on the overseas rights.

In his heart, he secretly hoped to meet Cheng Sheng to see if there were any opportunities for collaboration.

Beside him, "Milk Tea" Liu's eyes were glowing; the news of the 200 million hit her right in the heart.

(End of Chapter)