ECG -Chapter 183 Guan Yuchi and Zhang Chuanying

Lin Hao also smiled inwardly. These two brothers really were shrewd. They had kept both his and Qin Ruoyun’s shares at 20% each, while the two brothers’ 15 million yuan investment gave them control over 60% of the shares.

This allocation looked reasonable on the surface, but Lin Hao knew very well how the film and television industry would develop in the future.

The film industry was a high-investment, high-return business. Because it required a large amount of capital as leverage in the early stages, investors would inevitably be brought in. And once capital entered, it would naturally dilute everyone’s shares.

In about ten years, the model of capital partnerships would replace employment contracts. At that time, big-name directors and top-tier celebrities with huge fan bases would also come in and dilute the already limited shares they held.

Qin Ruoyun glanced at Lin Hao and giggled. “I don’t understand any of the things you’re talking about. I’ll listen to my little brother!”

Tan Gang was secretly surprised. Even until now, he still couldn’t figure out why Qin Ruoyun trusted this young man in front of him so much. Moreover, judging from the way the two of them talked and behaved, it didn’t seem like there was any romantic relationship between them. It really was a strange thing.

Lin Hao no longer held back, especially at a time like this. If he was even a little soft-hearted, in the future he might be eaten alive until not even his bones were left.

“How about this? The total investment of 25 million yuan remains unchanged. My sister and I will each invest five million. We have no objections to that.”

The Tan brothers looked at Lin Hao seriously.

“But I don’t think holding 20% of the shares each is appropriate.”

Tan Gang and Tan Qiang exchanged glances. Their eyes were full of surprise. They felt this distribution was already very reasonable, because they would need to rely heavily on Qin Ruoyun’s influence in the future. They truly had no intention of taking advantage of her.

They didn’t understand why Lin Hao would say this. Could it be that he wanted to ask for an even bigger share? That would be a bit too much.

Seeing the slight dissatisfaction in their eyes, Lin Hao laughed.

“How about this, brothers? My sister and I will keep our investment the same, but each of us will only take 10% of the shares!”

“What?”

The two brothers were shocked. They didn’t understand what Lin Hao meant. Was he crazy? He had actually taken the initiative to cut his own shares in half!

“Brother, I don’t understand. What exactly do you mean?” Tan Gang asked.

Lin Hao smiled warmly. “Two reasons. First, although we are investing money, we won’t be participating in management. If we hold too many shares, honestly, we wouldn’t feel right about it.”

Qin Ruoyun secretly laughed. This kid really knew how to pick nice-sounding words.

“Second, we’ll reduce our shares to 10%, but this 10% will be non-dilutable shares.”

After saying that, Lin Hao lit a cigarette and waited to see their reaction.

The Tan brothers looked at each other. They had only heard of this so-called “non-dilutable shares” before, but they had never really studied what it meant.

“Brother, could you explain to us properly what non-dilutable shares are?” Tan Qiang asked.

Lin Hao gave them a detailed explanation. After listening, the two brothers fell into deep thought.

They understood now. Although it seemed that Lin Hao and Qin Ruoyun had each lost 10% of their shares and appeared to be suffering a loss, in the future, each of their 10% shares would be like two nails firmly driven into the company. No matter how the winds and storms came, their shares would never change!

Tan Gang coughed lightly.

“How about this? This matter isn’t something we need to decide so quickly. My brother and I will go back and study it some more…”

Lin Hao had never expected them to settle it so hastily. Going back and thinking it over carefully was fine. Whether this deal succeeded or not, he honestly didn’t care that much. The main reason was that he still wasn’t familiar enough with these two brothers.

However, he could already tell that as long as the two brothers didn’t want to give up on Qin Ruoyun’s support, and nothing unexpected happened, there was a high chance they would eventually agree.

The brothers stayed for a while longer before taking their leave. Qin Ruoyun also gave them a lot of advice about the preparations a film company should make in its early stages. Before leaving, they arranged a time to meet again.

When Lin Hao saw them off, he kept apologizing, saying that he wouldn’t be able to attend the next meeting because he had to go back to school and so on.

The two men stopped Lin Hao and Qin Ruoyun from going downstairs, so the two of them simply stood there and watched as they left in high spirits.

On the way back, Qin Ruoyun told him to go back first because she needed to make two phone calls. Lin Hao understood that she was making preparations to embarrass Qian Xiaoqiang that night, so he smiled and returned to the private room first.

Five or six minutes later, Qin Ruoyun came back. Lin Hao didn’t ask much; what he cared about most was still the story between his teacher Guan Yuchi and Zhang Chuanying.

Qin Ruoyun lit a cigarette, leaned over the table, and silently looked out the window. Only after a long while did she begin telling the story.

“Back then, Sister Chuanying was 21, and Teacher Guan was 37.”

“At that time, Teacher Guan was at Beijing Film Studio. He was a National First-Class Actor. It wasn’t like now—back then, even a National First-Class Actor didn’t have agents or assistants.”

“No one would have expected that Sister Chuanying, who graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University, would give up becoming a future diplomat and instead run to Beijing Film Studio to do odd jobs.”

“Because of that, Uncle Zhang, who was in the Middle East, flew into a rage. But he was far away, and because of work he couldn’t possibly return to the country anytime he wanted. So there was no one who could stop Sister Chuanying!”

“Teacher Guan spent years filming outside, and his stomach wasn’t very good. Sister Chuanying paid special attention to him. Whether it was preparing meals or getting a hot water bottle ready, she took care of him meticulously.”

“Because he got used to having her around, later whenever Teacher Guan went out to film, he always liked bringing her with him. People are like that—there’s a saying that feelings grow with time. Sister Chuanying was gentle and considerate, while Teacher Guan was mature and steady. Slowly, the two of them got together.”

“As the saying goes, there are no walls without leaks. At that time, this was still considered a moral conduct issue. On top of that, Teacher Guan was upright by nature and didn’t like flattering people, so he didn’t get along well with the leaders at Beijing Film Studio. The relevant leaders used this opportunity to make things difficult for him, and in anger, Teacher Guan resigned!”

“Who would have thought that a misfortune would turn into a blessing? After Teacher Guan became independent, film offers came one after another. Sister Chuanying also resigned afterward and became his agent!”

“A few years later, Teacher Guan wanted a divorce, but even after two years they still couldn’t get divorced. His wife cried, made a scene, and even threatened suicide. It became a huge commotion. Not long after, his wife became ill—depression!”

“The divorce exhausted both of them physically and mentally, and Teacher Guan’s acting career almost came to an end because of it!”

“Sister Chuanying didn’t cry or make a scene. She just silently waited for him. On her 26th birthday, his wife attempted suicide and was hospitalized. Teacher Guan left Sister Chuanying and the birthday cake that hadn’t even been cut yet, and returned to Xuecheng. At the time, he said that after he comforted his wife, he would come back.”

“But who would have thought that after leaving, he wouldn’t return to Beijing until half a year later? And when he came back, he proposed breaking up. He said that if things continued like this, his wife would die, and he couldn’t bear to hurt her anymore. He had already decided to stay at Long Province Art College to teach!”

“He wouldn’t hurt his wife anymore, but he deeply hurt Sister Chuanying’s heart. Sister Chuanying has never married to this day. This relationship became a lifelong pain in her heart…”

The room fell silent.

Lin Hao never expected that there had actually been such an emotional entanglement between the two of them.

“Sis, do you think my teacher’s character had a problem?” Lin Hao asked Qin Ruoyun.

Qin Ruoyun smiled bitterly and shook her head.

“Teacher Guan is a very upright person. If he were the kind of man who chased after one woman today and another tomorrow, then over all those years he wouldn’t have only been with Sister Chuanying. You have to know, Sister Chuanying wasn’t exactly a great beauty.”

“Teacher Guan was an absolutely top-tier actor. Back then, he wasn’t just a little famous—he was extremely popular! If he had been that kind of person, there would have been countless women around him!”

“He and his wife spent more time apart than together, and they didn’t have children, so their feelings had grown very weak. I believe that what he and Sister Chuanying had was true love. But true love ultimately couldn’t defeat a man’s responsibility toward his family. That relationship could only end like this…”

Lin Hao had seen Guan Yuchi’s wife more than once, and he really hadn’t noticed that she looked like she had any illness. Perhaps at that time she had also used some tricks and managed to keep his teacher in Xuecheng.

He couldn’t say that, though. After all, the matter was already in the past. Who was right and who was wrong? He wasn’t a person involved, so it wasn’t appropriate for him to judge recklessly.

Besides, Zhang Chuanying couldn’t be completely blamed for this either. As a man, once someone has a family, he has to take responsibility for that family. That is also a man’s duty. If he couldn’t do it, then he shouldn’t have gotten married in the first place.

Qin Ruoyun glanced at the watch on her wrist.

“Oh, it’s six o’clock. We need to leave quickly. Otherwise, we might be late!”