Like a thunderclap from the clear sky, Meng Qi’s hand holding the coffee visibly shook and he subconsciously asked, “And then?”
After a pause, Meng Qi asked hesitantly, “Does his family disagree with you two being together?”
“Well, no.” Tao Mu thought about it for a while, and then relayed to Meng Qi the words that Li Xiaoheng had used to comfort him earlier. At the end, he said: “Today, I went to see the new house with Li Xiaoheng. Li Xiaoheng called the designer of Fengxing Group to help us draw the decoration design. The designer said that Chairman Li knew that I was going to decorate the house, and so he specially waived my decoration fee and design fee.”
Meng Qi put the coffee cup on the table, walked over to Tao Mu and sat down, discussing seriously: “It sounds like the Li family at least doesn’t reject the relationship between you two.”
Having said this, Meng Qi smiled again: “But that’s natural. Our Tao Mu is so handsome, young and wealthy. Polled as one of the best diamond bachelors of the year by fashion magazines at just the age of nineteen. And also selected by the financial magazines as the most anticipated business wiz in 2008 and the most valuable business partner. And to a certain extent, you are also considered to have parents who passed away, a car and a house. Simply the perfect son-in-law candidate in the hearts of mother-in-laws.”
“Even if the Li family wants to find a business marriage alliance, they might not even be able to find one with better conditions than yours.”
Thinking of this, Meng Qi instantly calmed down. He didn’t feel that Tao Mu’s personal conditions were not worthy of Li Xiaoheng. After all, Tao Mu and Li Xiaoheng’s earnings in the international financial market were there for all to see. Even if the Fengxing Group had strong capital, it might not be able to earn tens of billions of dollars within a year. What’s more, the projects that Tao Mu and Li Xiaoheng cooperated in had far more than monetary benefits. So even if it was purely for the sake of commercial interests, Meng Qi didn’t think the Li family would object to the two being together.
Meng Qi was just worried about whether the Li family really accepted Tao Mu or not. In addition, he was worried about whether the Li family would accept him and Liu Yao, the two adoptive fathers. Especially him. After all, Meng Qi’s past…..was indeed a little unpresentable.
Meng Qi was a little worried, but was too embarrassed to mention it in front of Tao Mu, so he could only probe tactfully, “What do you think about Li Xiaoheng’s proposal for you to visit the Li family’s house?”
“I don’t really want to go.” Tao Mu frowned. “We’ve only been together for three months. Wouldn’t it be too soon to visit our parents like this?”
Meng Qi was stunned for a moment, and then he realized that Tao Mu and Li Xiaoheng really hadn’t been together officially for long.
“Then wait some more.” Meng Qi looked at Tao Mu hesitatingly but didn’t say anything in the end. He just made up his mind secretly, if the Li family really couldn’t accept his past, it was not a big deal, he would just have less contact with Tao Mu in the future.
Tao Mu didn’t notice Meng Qi’s hesitation and worry. Because in Tao Mu’s heart, Yao Dad and Xiao Qi Dad were the most perfect people in the world.
Tao Mu’s sophistication and socializing skills were taught by Meng Qi, and the sense of security and family that Tao Mu needed most was also given to him by Meng Qi and Liu Yao. In Tao Mu’s heart, the most important family members that he could not give up were Liu Yao, Meng Qi, Mr. Song and Dean Tao; the most important friends were Da Mao and Xiao Pang; and the most important brother was Feng Yuan.
As for Li Xiaoheng, his position in his heart was gradually approaching that of his brother and friends, but if there was a day when Li Xiaoheng and his family needed to be weighed on the scale, Tao Mu’s choice need not be said. So he didn’t notice Meng Qi’s entanglement at all, and he changed the topic and discussed the promotion of “The Great Wall of Flesh and Blood” before its release, as well as the shooting of “Fashion Storm”.
Because it was a weekly drama in which filming occurred alongside broadcasting, the most commonly used filming method in China was obviously not feasible. So Tao Mu was going to prepare several shooting venues before shooting. For example, the headquarters of the website start-up business of the male protagonist and his entrepreneurial partners, and the headquarters of fashion magazines, photo studios, various office buildings, recording studios, and catwalk venues took up a large part of the script.
Because there were too many scenes needed, and most of them were commercial places. He needed to book a shooting time in advance. And because of the script setting, some scenes needed to be reused more than once, and it was very troublesome to go back and forth. Just the transport fare and prop set up would be a headache.
“This is the troublesome aspect of weekly dramas. If you can’t finish the filming in one go, you need to set up various scenes repeatedly. If there is really no choice, I’ll build a film and television city myself.”
This was also Tao Mu’s first time coming into contact with weekly dramas. The idea was very good before, but when he really began preparations, he felt all kinds of headaches: “If there is really no choice, I’ll arrange for our production team to go to South Korea for inspection. I think their weekly drama production system is quite mature.”
Meng Qi smiled and said: “Don’t worry. I have already sent the staff of BulletScreen.com to South Korea for inspection. When I was in Hong Kong to discuss the broadcasting rights of film and television dramas, I found out that the cost of purchasing film and television dramas is actually quite high. We only bought old dramas and already spent so much money. If we want to buy new dramas or new movies, we must at least have to pay tens of millions. Moreover, our website is a new type of platform, and its competitiveness is not comparable to traditional TV stations. Many producers are reluctant to contact us. So I want to have BulletScreen.com set up a production team of our own. Just like the production of “Fashion Storm” this time, we can also produce our own TV series in the future to support newcomer stars. If done well, not only can we attract sponsorships and advertising fees, but we can also sell dramas to TV stations.”
The most important publicity tools were FlyNews.com and BulletScreen.com. They could promote new stars at almost no cost.
Tao Mu looked at his Xiao Qi Dad in surprise. Unexpectedly, Meng Qi learned the advantages of self-made dramas all by himself so early on. As expected of his Xiao Qi Dad.
“This idea is really great.” Tao Mu gave his Xiao Qi Dad a thumbs up in praise. Celebrities who would be very popular in the next ten years were quickly reflected in his mind. If he could sign half of them under the label of BulletScreen.com, that would practically be sitting on a pile of money.
Meng Qi also smiled slightly when he saw his little cub’s enthusiasm and immediately put the matter of the Li family behind. Forget it, no matter what problems arise in the future, they could just leave it for later.
On the other side, when Li Xiaoheng returned to Xiaoheng Capital’s office building in Beijing, he was not surprised to find Chairman Li who was waiting for him in the CEO’s office.
The serious-faced Chairman Li sat crossed legged on the leather sofa. When he saw his eldest son pushing the door in, he nodded very reservedly.
Li Xiaoheng closed the door, ignoring his chairman father, and went to the desk to turn on the computer.
Chairman Li couldn’t hold back any longer, coughed twice and asked, “When you accompanied Mr. Tao to see the house, did the designer say anything?”
Li Xiaoheng was expressionless, and said calmly: “He did. Mr. Tao is particularly grateful for your generosity. And also said to me that he didn’t expect you to be so generous to my business partners. He was deeply moved and promised to definitely work hard in the future, finding better investment projects and investment directions for Xiaoheng Capital.”
Chairman Li couldn’t hide his disappointment with an “oh” and couldn’t help asking, “That’s all?”
“That’s all.” Li Xiaoheng nodded. Long fingers tapped the keyboard.
Chairman Li secretly observed his eldest son. He was also unclear whether the relationship between Li Xiaoheng and Tao Mu was just a business one or a further intimate relationship. If it was only the former, then didn’t that mean their Li family was being too conceited?
Chairman Li rubbed his chin and continued to subtly inquire about Tao Mu’s reaction: “Didn’t I ask you to invite Mr. Tao to have a quick meal at home? What did Mr. Tao say?”
“Mr. Tao didn’t agree.” Li Xiaoheng continued to stare at the computer with a blank expression, continuing with his work with great resentment.
With just this sentence, Chairman Li picked up a certain flavor.
If the two were really innocent and had no ambiguous relationship, then as Li Xiaoheng’s most valued business partner, why would Tao Mu refuse to come to their house for a light meal? Unless Tao Mu had a ghost in his heart——ah no, worries in his heart, and felt that it was inconvenient to come to their door.
Chairman Li’s eyes flickered slightly, and he lifted his eyelids and glanced at his eldest son. He asked slowly: “You didn’t talk to him about our family? You didn’t talk to him about me and your mother, both of whom are very reasonable and enlightened parents?”
Li Xiaoheng’s hand tapping on the keyboard paused slightly, and the clacking sounds stopped abruptly.
“He has some worries in his heart.” Li Xiaoheng revealed this to his father in a very subtle way.
Li Xiaoheng pondered, not knowing how to explain Tao Mu’s reaction to his family.
Unexpectedly, when Chairman Li heard his son’s words, he nodded as a matter of course, and said, “Understandable.”
Li Xiaoheng suddenly looked over. Chairman Li met his son’s sharp eyes and said calmly: “I looked at the information. This Mr. Tao just turned 19 in July. The young man is very handsome, and is so young. And also working in the entertainment industry, an environment where handsome men and beautiful women can be seen everywhere. You say, you are twenty-six years old but dress in stuffy suits and leather shoes every day like an old-fashioned thirty-six year old. You also don’t know how to speak or have fun. Even the money you make depends on his vision and analysis.”
“It’s normal for Mr. Tao to not be attracted to you.”
“So, the reason why he doesn’t want to come to visit is probably because he feels that seeing your parents will give him pressure.” Chairman Li put on an expression that said “I understand him very well”. He shook his head sighing: “After a year and a half, when he thinks you are too boring and want to break up, it will be a little embarrassing if he has already officially met your parents.”
Listening to his old father’s words, Li Xiaoheng felt that every word was like a knife stabbing him into his heart.
After a few words, Mr. Li was practically stabbed with holes all over, no longer able to maintain a blank expression when looking at his father.
Chairman Li straightened his clothes as if nothing had happened, got up and said, “I won’t disturb your work any more. You can work hard now. Anyway, with your temper, it is estimated that you can only treat your work as your wife in this lifetime.”
“Keep an eye on the projects you have collaborated with Mr. Tao. Even if after a year and a half he dumps you, you could at least keep these projects. It’s actually quite a hefty breakup fee.”
“Mr. Tao is truly a generous person.”
“Young, handsome, talented, fun, and generous young people like him are welcome everywhere. He is only nineteen years old this year, and will only be twenty-nine in ten years. Not even thirty and at the age of full bloom. Of course he is not in a hurry.”
Chairman Li picked up his cane and glanced at their eldest son: “How old will you be in ten years. Rounding up, a forty-year-old middle aged man!”
Chairman Li clicked his tongue twice and shook his head meaningfully. Carrying his cane, he walked away swiftly.
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