Chapter 779 - 386: Chen Jincheng Was Scammed by Us and Doesn’t Even Know It

Chapter 779: Chapter 386: Chen Jincheng Was Scammed by Us and Doesn’t Even Know It

"Let’s take a look, then!" Chen Jincheng said with a smile. He was curious to see if this show would be the same flop it was in his past life.

Sun Ji stood beside him, watching as well.

After they finished watching, Chen Jincheng smiled. ’The screenwriters and directors of these two shows are just as insane as ever.’ He just couldn’t figure out how they had convinced a Best Actor from the film world and a Best Actor from television to join these productions.

’But considering how capital works, it makes sense. Actors need to make money. Another reason could be that the directors had previously made good shows, which earned the actors’ trust.’

’Come to think of it, wasn’t there a director in his past life who made a movie about the "Investiture of the Gods"? The first installment was truly legendary, but his second film, "The Weirdo," was a pile of dogshit. Yet, many people went to see that dogshit simply because they trusted him after his first masterpiece.’

’He just didn’t know if the director’s second "Investiture" movie would be able to turn the tide.’

’Too bad it hadn’t been released before he’d transmigrated.’

’So, it was perfectly normal for this film star and television star to get duped.’

’The actor playing Sun Honglei’s son was different, though. It wasn’t the same one from his past life.’

’The crucial part is that the buzz for these two shows was high, and the reviews from so-called industry insiders were even higher. These people must have read parts of the scripts. To give such high praise, they were probably paid for it. That, or they’ve just been out of touch with the general public for too long.’

’They still think it’s like the old days when they controlled all the resources. They believe that whatever they deem marketable, the audience will eat up. But they have no idea that times have changed. Today’s viewers won’t fall for it; they’d rather scroll through short-form videos than watch those shows.’

’That’s why several top-tier film and television companies still clinging to old ideas would eventually go bankrupt, one after another.’

Just then, Sun Ji received a call. After taking it outside, he came back in with an awkward expression. "Boss, we don’t need to worry about those two shows anymore. iQiyi and Penguin Film and Television have each acquired one of them."

"This is clearly targeted at us. They let us have *All is Well*, the one they didn’t think highly of, and then decisively snatched up the other two. These are the only three well-known shows on the market right now. I’m afraid they’re going to intentionally schedule them to compete with us."

"I’d love for them to do that." Chen Jincheng smiled. ’Simultaneous competition means they’ll premiere at the same time, or one right after the other. Even though they’re all dramas slated for satellite TV broadcast, they still need the cooperation of the television networks.’

’And television networks are the masters of last-minute premieres and sudden schedule changes.’

’In his past life, networks would often change a perfectly good daily drama into a weekly one to make room for a hotter series. Or they’d cut a two-episode block down to one. They’d even move a primetime show to a different slot to broadcast a ratings-grabber.’

’Networks need ratings even more desperately than streaming sites need view counts. They’re reliant on advertising revenue, so when there’s a popular show, they have to fight for it.’

Sun Ji continued, "Boss, a lot of so-called ’professionals’ online are starting to predict your failure. They’re saying the bet on *Nameless* was just a fluke and that you’re showing your true colors now."

Chen Jincheng was a bit speechless.

’If these industry insiders were really so professional, they wouldn’t have produced so many trashy shows.’

’Case in point: the two shows Penguin Film and Television and iQiyi just bought.’

’If anything, Uku should be thanking him.’

’Because in his past life, the ultimate victim of these two shows was Uku. They’d even gone all-in on them. The back-to-back flops starring a TV Best Actor and a film Best Actor left them crying their eyes out in the bathroom.’

However, with the endorsement of industry insiders, plus the analysis from their own professional teams at iQiyi and Penguin Film and Television, they certainly didn’t believe the two shows were duds.

Inside Penguin Film and Television, Huang Zhen was in his office when he received the news that iQiyi had acquired the rights to *My Biological and Stepfather*.

This made him laugh. "Excellent. Great minds think alike. Chen Jincheng must be dumbfounded now. We didn’t even give him a chance to negotiate for these two shows."

The vice president beside him said, "President Huang, our people are already in talks with the television networks. As long as there’s enough buzz, I’m confident both networks will cooperate with us."

Huang Zhen smiled. "Generating buzz is easy. There’s already buzz, we just need to fan the flames. Spread a rumor. Say that the 520 million for *All is Well* was a trap we and iQiyi set for Second Life Star Film and Television Network."

"The goal was to screw them over, to make them overpay at 520 million. The truth is, the two shows we really wanted were these other ones. They walked right into our trap and don’t even have a clue."

The vice president nodded and immediately went out to make the arrangements.

Before long, the news had spread all over the internet. iQiyi, in a show of tacit agreement, also released the same story.

And so, for the next two days, Chen Jincheng was trending again. And again. And again. This time, it was clearly for all the wrong reasons.

The top headline read: "Chen Jincheng Still Too Green, Swindled Out of 520 Million by Two Major Streaming Giants."

In an instant, industry insiders and other companies in the entertainment circle retracted any feelers they had put out about building a good relationship with Er Shi Xingchen Film and Television.

Their streaming network was now facing a coordinated attack from the two largest platforms in the industry. The situation was obviously perilous.

At a pool party, the Internet Celebrity Young Master and Lin Gou were having a blast with a group of female influencers they’d invited. Lin Gou picked up his phone, glanced at the news, and hurried over to the Internet Celebrity Young Master. "It looks like that Mr. Chen is in trouble. Check out the latest news. It seems he was tricked out of that 520 million by two streaming platforms."

The Internet Celebrity Young Master frowned. He took the phone and read the article, his frown deepening. He knew many so-called industry insiders were unreliable, but it was unlikely that two major streaming platforms would concoct such a lie. This meant they were really scheming against Chen Jincheng.

Lin Gou chose that inopportune moment to chime in, "Wang, does this mean those shows you invested in might be in trouble?"

"I trust President Lei’s judgment!" the Internet Celebrity Young Master said finally. Even if he wasn’t so sure himself, he had to say it to reassure himself.

But online, more and more people were predicting Chen Jincheng’s downfall. Some even tagged Lei Xiaojun, wanting to ask his opinion on the matter, since he was one of Second-Life Star’s shareholders.

The main reason Second-Life Star had its current momentum was Lei Xiaojun’s reputation and the 3 billion in financing he provided. At least, that’s what the public believed.

But just then, Lei Xiaojun himself responded. He posted a single Weibo message with just six words: "Just wait for our show’s release!"

This stunned everyone. ’He still trusts Chen Jincheng? And he even specifically used the word "our."’

The public was truly baffled. Why was Boss Lei so confident in Chen Jincheng? Even if he’d done well with games and Hanfu before, the guy wasn’t omnipotent. It wouldn’t be surprising if he failed in one area.

Besides, his previous ventures in games and Hanfu didn’t have any formidable rivals. In the Hanfu market, Si Rui and Zhou Huapeng had basically self-destructed.

But things were different now. He was facing two giants of the streaming industry.

And these two giants were on a completely different level. Penguin Film and Television, for instance, was a crucial link in the Penguin Group’s pan-entertainment industrial chain.

The fact that iQiyi could compete with Penguin Film and Television on equal footing, and even surpass them by a large margin in daily active users—all without the same level of capital or backing—meant they were anything but simple.

And it was under these circumstances that Chen Jincheng posted a single sentence, drawing all the attention to himself and leaving everyone online who was following the situation completely dumbfounded.