Chapter 131: Getting on Track

“Hi, ‘Celebrity Interviews’ is a new program. This time, we’ve invited Mr. Xiao Ranxiao, the most popular billionaire these days, to talk about his own story!” This TV celebrity interview program was actually created on a whim after seeing how famous Xiao Ranxiao had become. The host was Zheng Yuling.
“Let’s wish this program greater success!” Fortunately, Xiao Ranxiao had taken some time to learn some etiquette before; otherwise, he might have felt awkward now. In the past, appearing on TV would have made him nervous, but since this wasn’t his first time and he had gone through so much, he remained calm. “However, I hope everyone calls me Director Xiao or Screenwriter Xiao!”
“Why? Isn’t it great to call you a billionaire? That’s a symbol of status!” Dudu’s programs were always a bit funny and entertaining.
Xiao Ranxiao smiled at Dudu and said, “I’ve always seen myself as a filmmaker. You know, money doesn’t always bring satisfaction—unless I like sleeping with piles of cash every day. But being a director or screenwriter is different; it brings real fulfillment, true creativity!”
These words clearly pleased the audience. Dudu clapped her hands and said, “No wonder I always felt that receiving my salary wasn’t as good as seeing my movies shown in theaters. It’s because of this. But Mr. Xiao, everyone wants to know how you achieved your success today!”
Success! Xiao Ranxiao chuckled inwardly, but outwardly he showed a smile befitting a mature man. “Success is a very broad term. Sometimes people consider earning 100 million as success, while others see winning over a woman as success. For me, success means when my films, either as a director or screenwriter, gain recognition from the audience or awards like the Golden Horse or Golden Rooster Awards.”
“You’re sneaky…” Dudu laughed at Xiao Ranxiao’s witty reply and said, “You’re avoiding my question!”
Xiao Ranxiao shrugged. If it weren’t for maintaining good relations with TVB and his relationship with Dudu, he probably wouldn’t have appeared on this program. After thinking for a moment, he took a sip of water before saying, “Can it be kept confidential? But everyone knows I started as a screenwriter, which shows that any career has potential—what matters is whether we’re willing to persevere.”
The audience laughed. They suddenly appreciated Xiao Ranxiao’s honesty. Sister Dudu also smiled. “Then can you talk about your journey from being a screenwriter earning 20 million to becoming ‘God’s Hand’? Everyone is very interested in your experience. You’re the only one who became successful in the film industry in just two years. Of course, except for Mr. Shao.”

“It was a very tough process; it seems boring now.” Xiao Ran didn’t answer the question directly but avoided it instead. “Actually, once I gave a training session for the screenwriting team at Shadow Company in Jinjiang, I said that screenwriters shouldn’t stick to conventions, let alone try to do what others do. I think the same goes for people—we should always try something different! That’s why I chose film, and viewers at home can also choose different things. We all know there are various needs in this world, and where there’s a need, there’s a market—this is eternal.”

It was clearly a wise choice to select Xiao Ran as the guest for the first episode of this program. The viewership soared to three million, setting a record that the talk show held until it was discontinued.

After leaving the studio, Zheng Yuling and Xiao Ran went to the dressing room together. While getting ready, Zheng Yuling suddenly pointed at Xiao Ran in the mirror and asked curiously, “Bro Ran, your beard is really nice. I wanted to ask you before the show why you grow it like this.”

Xiao Ran was a bit embarrassed. Although it was just a beard, being called nice was really… He smiled cheerfully and said, “It’s nothing. I just thought it looked good, so I kept it.”

Zheng Yuling glanced at Xiao Ran strangely. He was very different from the person she used to know—he looked like a mature 30-year-old man, steady and optimistic, definitely attractive.

Thinking about Shadow Company’s strength and the fact that most of their films were award-worthy masterpieces, Du Du couldn’t help but feel tempted. She said to Xiao Ran with a smile, “Bro Ran, when there are roles available, don’t forget to cast me.”

Xiao Ran glanced at Du Du. Zheng Yuling had had a tough time after 1997 because she had starred in many films that smeared the image of the mainland. In fact, not only her but many actors and directors who had done such foolish things were banned for a while after 1997. For Xiao Ran, who appreciated her, it was naturally unpleasant to see such an outcome.

He nodded and agreed readily, “If there’s a suitable role, I’ll definitely have you do auditions!”

Now, Xiao Ran was much more relaxed than before. After testing the abilities of the new manager of the planning department, he delegated some power. However, he still insisted on a high-quality approach; otherwise, he preferred not to make films.

Du Qifeng and Wang Jiawei’s new films had already started shooting, while Wei Jiahui’s new film would start after the New Year. You Haiyi had written a quite refined script. Although Xiao Ran thought it needed some revisions, he believed it could be given to You Zhi in the second half of the year.

Besides these people, Lee Lichi from TVB also joined Shadow Company. Lee Lichi was good at comedies, but everyone knew he relied too much on Stephen Chow—without him, it was hard to produce blockbuster hits. So Xiao Ran didn’t pay much attention to him and instead promoted some newly trained directors.

In just the first quarter of 1988, Shadow Company started shooting seven or eight films. Of course, three of these seven or eight films were experimental works that would hardly be shown in mainstream cinemas.

After Xiao Ran promoted a creative director, the authority to decide which films to produce or not was gradually delegated. The company also gradually got on track and could function normally even without Xiao Ran—exactly the effect he had intended. Guan Xin became the company’s honorary advisor, handling advisory matters on the mainland. The several martial arts experts suggested by Guan Xin arrived late, but they eventually showed up. After several challenges from local martial arts schools, more and more students were recruited, and everything went very smoothly. Under pressure from Old Shao, DeBao had to abandon its plan to collaborate with the other three major theater chains to counter Xiao Ran (since DeBao’s theaters were rented). Moreover, even if they joined forces, it would be difficult to exert much pressure on Shadow Company’s theaters during off-peak times. As a result, the box offices of “The Legend of the Ghostly Beauty” and another film easily surpassed 20 million. Tianlai Studios also gradually got on track, bringing Liu Hua and Zhang Guorong under its umbrella. Xiao Ran hummed to Tianlai’s composers the songs that were most memorable to him, and soon, through rapid popularity, several singers became famous. Thus, from February to April 1988, it was the most relaxed period for Xiao Ran since founding Shadow Company. Fa Ge followed Xiao Ran’s advice, avoiding taking on too many projects and choosing them carefully, often consulting Xiao Ran directly rather than agents. During this time, Xiao Ran bought a yacht and often went out to sea to relax. Occasionally, he even traveled abroad to Europe for a few days. He spent most of his time with Lin Qingxia, knowing that when he was working, she always had someone to support her, and now that he had time, he wanted to make up for it. At this point, Xiao Ran couldn’t help but marvel at his luck—there were no paparazzi, so few people knew about his relationship with Lin Qingxia. If this had happened in the mid-1990s, the paparazzi would have dug up everything about his family. A few days before the Golden Horse Awards, even Wei Dongling found time to go out to sea. Seeing Xiao Ran’s large yacht, he was furious. It wasn’t jealousy; he was angry that Xiao Ran had abandoned his work to enjoy himself with Lin Qingxia. To vent his frustration, Wei Dongling blackmailed Xiao Ran into treating him to a meal. Many people went out to sea that day: Zhang Guorong, Liu Hua who became popular after singing “Secretly Infatuated,” Fa Ge, and Zhong Chuhong. Zhong Chuhong was now free and not contracted to any company. Of course, given their relationship with Xiao Ran, it was impossible for them to act for New Art City at that time. It should be noted that although few people knew about the feud between Xiao Ran and Fang Ruohai—or rather, the Fang family—those in the industry were somewhat aware of it. Currently, Fang Ruohai had little popularity in the industry due to his sister’s reasons and could only rely on substantial funds to influence people.

Xiao Ran’s advantage lies in his extensive network—by far the widest in the industry, with connections to almost everyone. This is closely related to his usual approach of being very approachable toward those of lower status. As for Fang Ruohai, he’s somewhat like Fang Ruoxin: polite on the surface but with an underlying sense of disdain, a common trait among members of wealthy families.

However, Xiao Ran’s advantages aren’t that significant. Those who side with him are those who have a particularly close relationship with him and possess strength. The others, though slightly aligned with the alliance due to the partnership among the four major companies, still feel somewhat dissatisfied.

The 7th Hong Kong Film Awards were even more dazzling than the previous one, not only because real superstars began to emerge in Hong Kong cinema but also because last year’s broadcasting rights fetched a good price, securing sufficient funds for the event. It was the Awards that gradually demonstrated authority and fairness that Xiao Ran wanted. This time, Shadow Company received a considerable number of nominations. “The God of Gambling” got 11 nominations, while “A Fairy Tale in Autumn” and “Prison Storm” each received seven.

With such results, even if they didn’t win any awards, it would still be an extremely impressive achievement. After all, the other four major companies combined only had that many nominations. In fact, Carrefour has never had high hopes in the Golden Horse Awards—films produced by independent companies focusing on quick, high-impact projects are more likely to win awards.

At 7 p.m., Xiao Ran and Lin Qingxia smiled at each other inside the car driven by Yang Guang. This time, Xiao Ran decided not to avoid the media’s attention but to enter together with Lin Qingxia. He believed that if he could appear often with her, it would make it easier for people to accept the news when it was announced later.

Three minutes after 7 p.m., Xiao Ran and Lin Qingxia appeared on the red carpet. The man exuded a strong sense of masculinity, and his sideburns added to his mature, thoughtful appearance. The woman was breathtakingly beautiful, her beauty unchanged from before, though her demeanor had shifted from innocent to mature.

Holding hands, they appeared to the journalists as a perfect couple. As soon as the journalists thought of this, they were stunned. After a brief pause, they rushed forward to take photos. Xiao Ran gave Lin Qingxia a glance, released her hand, and they went their separate ways.

After walking a few steps, Xiao Ran saw a familiar figure ahead—it was Mei Yanfang. Looking at this familiar figure, he felt a hint of melancholy. He never expected to be able to see her in person, even though she had passed away.

Xiao Ran had seen Mei Yanfang before, but back then he was just a junior screenwriter. Later, busy with film work, he skipped as many parties as possible, losing another chance to get to know her.

Now was the time, he thought. He quickly stepped forward and said with a smile, “Sister Fang, do you still remember me?”

Mei Yanfang turned around, her eyes filled with indescribable joy. “It’s you! The famous diamond bachelor. If the journalists see you like this, they might think you’re trying to win me over!”

Xiao Ran and the reporters all chuckled. Everyone in the industry knew Mei Yanfang was straightforward, but few realized she was also delicate. That single sentence brought her closer to Xiao Ran. Xiao Ran smiled at the cameras of the reporters, took her hand, and said, “I think they’d really like more news like this.”
“What an interesting situation!” After taking a photo, while the reporters were changing films, Mei Yanfang studied Xiao Ran carefully, inwardly praising him as very manly, yet she couldn’t help but compare him to another person: “When we met the year before last, you were still a screenwriter. Now you’re the boss of a film company and even the top bachelor in Hong Kong. Impressive!”
Xiao Ran laughed. He liked talking to such straightforward people. “I’m still a screenwriter now. If you don’t believe me, the Golden Horse Awards will surely prove it for me later!”