Starting from a Bar to Sign Internet Celebrities

Since Lei Xiaojun said he wanted to invest in Second-Life Star, he had done his research on the MCN industry and had an approximate valuation in mind.

He was prepared for the fact that, because of Mr. Chen's involvement, Second-Life Star's valuation would be higher than a typical MCN of the same level.

But when he saw Mr. Chen's financing proposal for Second-Life Star, he was a little dumbfounded.

He had thought it would be an investment of a few hundred million at most, but what was he seeing now?

3 billion for a 20% stake?

That put the valuation at 15 billion.

He subconsciously felt it was absurd.

But as he examined the proposal's contents more closely, he grew increasingly surprised, finding it almost incredible.

It wasn't because of the price, but because there was nothing wrong with any of the proposed projects.

He hadn't expected an MCN company to be capable of so many different ventures.

The typical revenue streams like celebrity livestreams, advertising campaigns, and shoppable videos were to be expected. Those were common knowledge.

But then there was the gaming division, an official website with 10 million registered users, and plans for future games.

He accepted the valuation for these points.

That game, *Oh No, I'm Surrounded by Beauties!*, was sure to be a hit. The hype it had already generated proved as much.

Then there was the Hanfu industry. The proposal had convinced him on that point as well.

Looking at them one by one, he found himself convinced by all of Mr. Chen's valuation points. There was just one thing that surprised him.

That was the short-form drama industry. The 10 million registered users on the official website were also meant to prepare for a short-form drama platform.

This project was projected to tap into a ten-billion-USD market.

If that was true, then his 3 billion investment would surely yield massive returns in the future.

But it seemed the short-form drama industry didn't even exist yet.

Yet Mr. Chen had specifically emphasized this point, claiming that short-form dramas would be a future trend, evolving from videos on story-focused channels and having the advantage of tighter editing compared to traditional film and television.

If Mr. Chen's description was accurate, these short-form dramas would indeed become wildly popular.

Crucially, the plans he described were all very reasonable.

It was just that this "thing" didn't exist yet.

He couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Chen, there's one thing I'm puzzled about—the short-form dramas. How are you so certain they will emerge?"

Chen Jincheng knew he would ask this question.

But it was a difficult question to answer. After all, this was a trend from another world.

However, he had researched some information before coming to Beijing that he could use to build his case. "President Lei, this is my prediction, but I believe they will appear very soon. First, there's market demand. The emergence of videos from story-focused channels has already impacted the film and television industry."

"Guangding Headquarters had already taken notice of this. In fact, just half a month ago, they criticized certain phenomena related to videos from these story-focused channels."

"Since they're already paying attention, they certainly wouldn't mind expanding their regulatory scope to include another sector."

Lei Xiaojun agreed with this point. It was indeed true.

After all, Guangdian was notorious for its meddling. They were largely to "thank" for the current state of the domestic television drama ecosystem.

With all the "you can't film this" and "you can't film that" restrictions, many film and television companies were left with few options.

So, given their love for meddling, how could they possibly resist regulating these story-focused videos?

'In that case, no matter what regulations are issued, Mr. Chen will likely start producing short-form dramas.'

'Given the characteristics he described, like being 'satisfying' and 'mindless,' many people dealing with growing societal pressure would probably be happy to turn off their brains and just have some fun.'

Chen Jincheng said nothing more.

The rest was up to President Lei's decision.

"Mr. Chen, I'll go back and review this before making a decision. Don't worry, it won't take too long," Lei Xiaojun said after a moment of thought.

After all, a 3 billion deal couldn't be decided so hastily.

Besides, he planned to use his connections to ask about this short-form drama business.

If Guangdian was already looking into it, there would surely be draft documents by now.

After all, issuing a new regulation took time. A minor policy change would take over six months, but something like this, which added an entire new sector, was a major policy change. That kind of process would take over a year.

Chen Jincheng nodded and left Lei Xiaojun's office.

Lei Xiaojun picked up his phone, found a number, and made a call. As soon as it connected, he spoke politely, "Mr. Lin, I'd like to ask you a favor. Could you help me find out if Guangdian is working on any regulations related to story-focused short videos? ... Yes... Yes, I appreciate it!"

…

Chen Jincheng found Sister Feiye and Sun Yifan and had Wei Yuan take them to their hotel.

'We'll check in first and figure out the rest later.'

'If Second-Life Star's financing falls through, I'll just have to talk to Boss Lei about investing in Soda instead.'

Chen Jincheng and Sister Feiye went to the hotel's front desk to check in. Sun Yifan immediately pulled out her ID card and said, "Book a room for me. I want it next to theirs."

After they finished checking in, Wei Yuan smiled and said, "Mr. Chen, I've arranged for the same car as last time. It's on standby at the hotel, so whenever you'd like to go out, just have the driver take you."

"Alright, President Wei," Chen Jincheng nodded.

His last trip to Beijing had been too rushed; he had only managed to accompany Sister Feiye for a brief stroll through Taigu Village.

This time, since he had some free time, he planned on visiting the Great Wall.

Sister Feiye, of course, was going with him.

And Sun Yifan tagged along again.

Sister Feiye was extremely annoyed. 'It was a rare moment for just the two of them, and this interloper had to butt in.'

'Doesn't this Sun Yifan have any self-awareness at all?'

'But her boss had a job for the woman, so she could only grit her teeth and bear it.'

When Chen Jincheng arrived at the Great Wall, he was truly struck by the visual spectacle. A great dragon snaked through the towering mountains and lofty peaks, stretching on endlessly, its end nowhere in sight.