Chapter Ninety-Five: Internal Coordination (Part Four)

Liu Zichen recalled that the founding of Global Media must have been more than a decade ago. Back then, two or three million was truly an astronomical sum—and that was an annual figure.

"So, how did Big Wang discover he was being cuckolded?"

Guna smiled and said, "With that blockhead of a brain, he certainly couldn't have found out on his own. Naturally, someone tipped him off. You know, by that time the company was already making a lot of money, so some people naturally felt a sense of imbalance in their hearts. Besides, for someone like him who just buried his head in writing scripts to take such a high percentage..."

Liu Zichen understood and said, "It seems there were discordant voices within the board of directors."

"Right." Guna sighed. "There are many people who can share hardships, but truly rare are those who can share in wealth. Although the shareholder team consisted almost entirely of former classmates, it was inevitable that someone felt Big Wang was taking advantage, so they plotted to stir up trouble and hypocritically whispered about his wife's affair behind his back."

"I heard that the day Big Wang found out, he spat three liters of blood on the spot," Guna exaggerated.

A trace of sympathy flickered across Liu Zichen's face. This truly was a pitiable man. While marketing might indeed determine the fate of a film, without a good script, everything was merely castles in the air. Yet those who played with capital and chased the market never saw it that way.

"After Big Wang found out about this, how did he handle it?" she asked curiously.

Guna gave a bitter smile. "What else could he do? ...Don't let Big Wang's status as a mere scriptwriter fool you; his temper is quite stubborn. The very next day, he went on strike and walked out of the company with his wife without even looking back."

"Really?" This action by Big Wang genuinely surprised Liu Zichen. Wasn't he supposed to be an honest, simple man?

Guna clearly perceived her confusion; as a storyteller, this was precisely the effect she wanted.

"The story isn't over yet. You know what? Right after that, another shocking thing happened."

"What happened?"

"Big Wang's wife actually came back all by herself! Talk about a slap in the face, right?"

Liu Zichen asked in surprise, "And what about Big Wang?"

"Who knows? He vanished." Guna shrugged and blew out another straight stream of smoke.

"Big Wang didn't show up at the company for over a month. Soon, rumors started spreading that he had been murdered by his wife, though those were just wild tales. Everyone was just waiting to watch a joke," Guna sighed.

Liu Zichen suddenly understood. "I see. Big Wang must have been heartbroken to the extreme, so he abandoned himself to despair."

"Exactly. The company side acted utterly indifferent. They figured that after years of development, finding a few screenwriters was as easy as pie. Someone quickly stepped in to take over Big Wang's work, and the company remained calm, as if nothing had happened at all."

Liu Zichen nodded. This was indeed extremely realistic; a large corporation would never halt its operations simply because one or two people left in a huff.

Guna glanced at her and said, with somewhat abnormal emotion, "However, the board of directors rejoiced too soon. They thought squeezing Big Wang out would let them keep a larger share of the money, but reality turned out quite differently."

"Big Wang's departure directly impacted the company's previously thriving and prosperous atmosphere. Mutual suspicion replaced sincere cooperation. Although those screenwriters could also produce works that were not inferior to Big Wang's, they could no longer capture that seemingly ordinary yet genuinely brilliant quality of the past."

"About a year later, the company's performance plummeted, and competitors emerged. Another film and television company suddenly rose to prominence, dealing Global Media a fierce slap in the face. This caused Global Media's reputation to plummet to rock bottom, never to recover. Haunted by the shadow of those events, the shareholders successively withdrew one by one, and the company never regained its former glory."

Guna smiled slightly and said, "That rising company is none other than Dynasty Pictures today!"

"Ah?!" Liu Zichen was genuinely startled this time. She had never imagined that Dynasty Pictures had once enjoyed such blistering momentum. Yet why had Dynasty ended up affiliated with Global Media now? It seemed there were many hidden stories buried underneath.

She realized in a flash: "Dynasty Pictures was backed and fostered by Big Wang?"

"You're truly smart." Guna gave her a thumbs-up. "Precisely. So you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Big Wang's scriptwriting at Global Media was an act of voluntary sacrifice and selfless dedication. In truth, his own capabilities were formidable, and being driven to the wall like that completely ignited his fighting spirit."

"The current chairman, Shi Yu, took over Global Media under precisely those circumstances."

"At the time, Global Media was just an emaciated camel still larger than a horse—a hollowed-out shell struggling desperately to survive, having long lost its former splendor. Shi Yu's arrival provided the original chairman with a graceful exit. That fellow couldn't wait to transfer all his shares to Shi Yu at a rock-bottom price, letting him pick up a massive bargain for free."

Liu Zichen remained puzzled. "That still doesn't make sense. No matter how cheap a烂摊子—a ruined mess—might be, taking it over should still make it hard to sustain, right?"

Guna smiled. "Though I generally despise Shi Yu's hypocritical demeanor, I have to admire his methods. Before taking over, he had already devised a strategy. Amid a chorus of skepticism, this fellow actually pulled off the impossible."

"The impossible?" Liu Zichen truly couldn't imagine what method could revive Global Media, especially with Dynasty Pictures actively trying to tear it down.

"You'd never guess what method he adopted," Guna said mysteriously.

Liu Zichen's thoughts raced. The matter was indeed peculiar, but—it didn't seem entirely without solutions. For instance:

She returned the smile and said, "I think I can roughly guess."

Guna asked in surprise, "No way?"

Liu Zichen analyzed, "I'm really just speaking with hindsight, working backward from the result."

"Once I remembered that Big Wang is my manager, and that he still works for Global Media, and that Dynasty Pictures is currently practically joined at the hip with Global Media, it all became crystal clear."

"Boting truly lives up to its reputation," Guna said sincerely. "Here I am rambling blindly, while you've been thinking the whole time. You're right—Shi Yu simply poached Big Wang back."

"Can you also guess what method Shi Yu used to bring Big Wang back?" Guna asked, full of hope. This time, she looked at Liu Zichen with a renewed sense of respect.

Liu Zichen thought for a moment and said, "I'm not entirely certain, but I think we can analyze it from a few angles."

"First is Big Wang's objective. What he wanted to overthrow was those people on the original board of directors, not genuinely destroy Global Media. Therefore, once the plan succeeded, all his grievances would dissipate."

"Second is the Big Wang I know. My first impression of him was an amiable and passionate elder, and subsequent facts proved that true. Such a person is actually quite typical: they have dreams, live purely for their dreams, and once they set their mind on something, not even ten teams of oxen could pull them back."

"Third, although Dynasty Pictures managed to rise abruptly, it was still a medium-small company, far lacking the abundant resources of Global Media. If his wife was still at Global Media, Big Wang's return would naturally follow a logical course."

"So, I reckon Shi Yu didn't have to expend much effort to get Big Wang back to the company."

Guna couldn't help clapping in admiration. "Spot on! Except for one thing."

"What thing?" Liu Zichen asked, puzzled.