Chapter 56: Ning Hao, I have a surprise for you!

Having reached the pinnacle of others' lives in his twenties, he was truly curious about Cheng Sheng.

If given the chance, he also hoped to collaborate with such a miraculous director.

"Brother Hua," Cheng Sheng called out.

"Director Chen..."

"Just call me Ah Sheng."

"Ah Sheng, I am incredibly envious of Fu Dalong and Zheng Guolin. When are you going to take me to Venice? I want to win a Best Actor award too," Liu Dehua joked.

"If there's an opportunity, I'll definitely look for you, Brother Hua, when a suitable role comes up next time," Cheng Sheng said with a smile.

Cheng Sheng admired actors like Liu Dehua; if a truly suitable role appeared, he wouldn't mind collaborating with him.

"Haha, then I'll take that as a promise."

After another round of pleasantries, Cheng Sheng bid him farewell and turned toward Han Sanye.

"Mr. Yu, let me introduce you. This is tonight's protagonist, Director Cheng Sheng."

"Xiao Cheng, this is Mr. Yu Dong from Bona Film Group."

"Hello, Mr. Yu."

"A young talent! Your *Great Tang Dynasty: Origins* was truly excellent. It's a pity Bona missed a great opportunity to invest," Yu Dong praised.

"You're too kind, I just got lucky," Cheng Sheng said modestly.

"Do you have plans for a new film? Do you need investment?" Yu Dong asked with a smile.

Cheng Sheng looked toward Han Sanye.

He had only mentioned the new film to Han Sanye in passing; how did Yu Dong know?

Han Sanye smiled and said, "Xiao Cheng, Mr. Yu is one of our own. Feel free to speak your mind; it's fine."

Hearing Han Sanye say this, Cheng Sheng's heart stirred. Could it be that China Film Group wanted Bona to participate in his film investment?

It was normal for a film to have many investors, but as the domestic leader in the film and television industry, China Film Group had no necessity to share profits with Bona.

However, judging by Han Sanye's tone, he hoped Bona could participate in his new film.

"Regarding the new film, once the script is finished, if Mr. Yu is still interested, then investment won't be a problem."

In the entertainment industry, one cannot keep all the meat for oneself; Cheng Sheng understood this. Moreover, since it would share the investment risk, he certainly wouldn't oppose Bona investing.

Hearing Cheng Sheng's response, Yu Dong was very happy.

In the past, he had looked down on historical films and had no desire to throw money away on them, but after seeing the box office performance of Cheng Sheng's films, he realized he had misjudged!

It turned out historical films could make a fortune.

Therefore, through Han Sanye, he hoped to invest in Cheng Sheng's new film.

Han Sanye had initially disagreed, but Yu Dong was no ordinary man. After half a day of discussion and yielding some interests, Han Sanye finally agreed to let Yu Dong participate.

However, Han Sanye still had to consider Cheng Sheng's opinion. He had invited Yu Dong to this celebration banquet so he could ask Cheng Sheng personally.

Seeing Cheng Sheng's agreement, both sides were delighted.

"Congratulations, Director Cheng, on your massive box office success."

At that moment, the two Wangs approached and cupped their hands toward Cheng Sheng.

"Thank you, Presidents Wang, for honoring me with your presence," Cheng Sheng quickly returned the gesture.

"You all look so happy. What are you discussing?"

The elder Mr. Wang glanced at Yu Dong and Han Sanye and asked tentatively.

"What, are you curious, Mr. Wang?" Yu Dong said, glancing indifferently at him.

"Of course. I wonder if Mr. Yu could enlighten us," Mr. Wang replied.

Cheng Sheng remained silent, stealing glances at Mr. Wang and Yu Dong.

There were very few secrets in the entertainment industry.

Both Mr. Wang and Yu Dong were founders. Because the businesses of Bona and Huayi overlapped significantly and their artist positioning was similar, the two companies were rivals, constantly competing for the best resources.

Over time, friction had developed between the two companies.

Of course, no news of "discord" had leaked publicly; in certain settings, Mr. Wang and Yu Dong would even exchange a few words.

But those with insight could see clearly that while both Bona and Huayi were private enterprises, and Huayi was hailed as the leader of private firms, Bona did not agree. Bona intended to climb over Huayi to reach the top.

Who wouldn't want to be number one?

Thus, the two companies competed fiercely for market share and resources behind the scenes.

"President Han, President Wang, President Yu, someone is calling me over there. I'll take my leave first."

Watching the "friendly" conversation between Yu Dong and Mr. Wang, Cheng Sheng felt the atmosphere was far too oppressive and quickly found an excuse to leave.

"Director Cheng, please, feel free," Yu Dong said with a smile.

Mr. Wang gave Yu Dong a light "huff," but he did not stop Cheng Sheng from leaving.

Originally, he had wanted to try and recruit Cheng Sheng to Huayi, or if that failed, probe into Cheng Sheng's new film to see if Huayi could get a piece of the action.

But since the rapport had been disrupted by Yu Dong, he could only look for another opportunity.

His resentment toward Yu Dong grew deeper.

Cheng Sheng hurried away.

"Director Cheng, over here!"

Suddenly, someone called out to him.

Cheng Sheng looked up to see Ning Hao walking toward him, arm-in-arm with Xing Aina, waving.

Cheng Sheng walked over and asked, "What are you guys doing here?"

He was surprised. After he had given the investment money to Ning Hao, hadn't Ning Hao gone back to the grasslands to film?

"We wrapped filming yesterday and just got back this morning. We heard Director Cheng was holding a celebration banquet here, so we came to crash the meal," Ning Hao said with a laugh.

"Director Cheng, don't listen to his nonsense. He wants to take *Green Grassland* abroad to test the waters; he just doesn't know which film festival would be best," Xing Aina said, patting Ning Hao's arm.

Hearing this, Cheng Sheng fell into thought. From his other set of memories, he knew that Ning Hao's *Green Grassland* had won many awards abroad.

It won the "Golden Swan" at the Moscow International Film Festival for Children and Youth.

It won the GJ Entertainment Selection Award at the Busan International Film Festival.

It won Best Director at the Spanish International Film Festival.

Additionally, *Green Grassland* was nominated for the 8th Shanghai International Film Festival in the Asian New Talent Unit and won the Most Popular Film Among University Students award.

It had to be said that Ning Hao was truly talented to win so many awards with a single film.

"You could go to the Moscow International Film Festival for Children and Youth, the Busan International Film Festival, and the Spanish International Film Festival," Cheng Sheng said, listing the festivals where Ning Hao's film had succeeded.

"Three! How do we choose?" Ning Hao looked distressed.

"Among the three, the Moscow International Film Festival for Children and Youth has the most influence. Why not go there?" Xing Aina suggested after thinking it over.

"Why not attend all three!" Cheng Sheng said with a smile.

"That's right!" Ning Hao's eyes lit up. He said gratefully to Cheng Sheng, "Thank you for the reminder, Director Cheng. As soon as the film is finished, I'll get moving immediately."

Cheng Sheng patted Ning Hao on the shoulder and said, "When you win the award, I have a surprise for you."

"What surprise?" Ning Hao asked, stunned.

"Since it's a surprise, I certainly can't tell you now," Cheng Sheng said with a mysterious smile.