My capital is quite large.

Chapter 239 Chinese-style Parents

In the blink of an eye, another year is coming to an end.

The annual Haofeng Weibo Night and Top Celebrity Coronation Ceremony was held as scheduled at the Jinling Olympic Sports Center.

When the spotlight shone on the center of the stage and the host loudly announced the name of the new "Weibo King", the screams from the audience were deafening.

"Let's congratulate—LuHa!!"

Accompanied by a dynamic background music with a strong Korean wave style, Luhan, whose face is so exquisite that it is impeccable, walked onto the stage amidst the attention of everyone and accepted the pure gold trophy inlaid with genuine South African diamonds.

The heads of major entertainment companies in the front row of the inner area couldn't help but sigh as they looked at the glamorous returning top star on stage.

too fast!

The frenzy that this kind of "export-to-domestic" idol training program has stirred up in the domestic fandom is undoubtedly overwhelming!

What's even more chilling is the dominance that Haofeng Films has demonstrated in this idol-making campaign.

Just as Lu Ha lifted the trophy, the director's camera meaningfully swept across a corner of the audience.

There sat Han Geng, the first generation of top influencer who held the Weibo King throne for three consecutive years.

At this moment, Han Geng sat on the edge of the room, his smile appearing extremely stiff and bitter.

It has only been a year since he went solo after his short-term contract with Haofeng expired!

Without Haofeng's full-matrix traffic support, and without the strong promotion from iQiyi and Weibo's trending topics, he watched helplessly as his business empire and fan base were gradually eroded away by his junior on stage, who was also a returnee from South Korea!

He fell from the clouds into the mud so fast that he didn't even have time to react.

"The era of Han Geng is over."

Sitting in the second row, Huo Jianhua couldn't help but shudder as he looked at the contrast between the stage and the audience.

Huo Jianhua also signed a five-year short-term contract, which is about to expire in a few years.

He had been relying on the fact that he had filmed several hit period dramas with Haofeng over the past few years, and his mind started to wander. He wondered if he should follow Han Geng's example and start his own business.

But seeing Han Geng's almost non-existent state today, Huo Jianhua's ambition was quickly extinguished.

"To hell with going solo! Going solo is a dead end!"

Before the party was even over, he couldn't wait to take out his phone and send a text message to Lao Han, the director of the film and television department:

[Mr. Han, my contract is about to expire. I've thought it through, and I'm willing to renew for another five years, even if the profit-sharing percentage is lower!]

There is an old Chinese saying: "Those who understand the times are heroes."

It's better to stay in a cage and be a koi carp, enjoying a life of luxury, than to go out and be a wild dog that might die of thirst at any moment.

……

The changing of the guard among male stars is often brutal, but the crowning of the Weibo Queen among female stars is even more unexpected.

"The winner of this year's Weibo Queen is—Liu Shishi!!"

When her name resounded throughout the venue, it signified that Liu Shishi had broken the long-standing monopoly of Yang Mi and Liu Yifei, becoming the third member of the Haofeng Group to reach the top spot.

Amidst deafening applause, Liu Shishi, carrying a haute couture trailing gown, gracefully walked onto the stage.

Liu Shishi, who is known for her Buddhist-like aloofness, unexpectedly teared up the moment she received the real diamond throne trophy.

She gripped the trophy tightly, tears streaming down her face like a broken string of pearls, her hand holding the microphone trembling violently.

This unusual scene left the fans in the live stream completely bewildered.

"Holy crap? What happened to Shishi? Why is she crying so hard?"

"Is it really necessary? Even though it's her first time winning Queen, given Shi Shi's calm personality, she shouldn't be this excited, right?"

"It doesn't feel like she's crying because she won the trophy; it's more like she's venting some kind of emotion..."

The fans didn't understand, but Tang Yan, sitting in the audience, looked at Liu Shishi on stage, who was sobbing uncontrollably, and her eyes also reddened.

Others thought Liu Shishi was crying because of the five million trophy.

Only Tang Yan knew that Liu Shishi's tears were because of the seed in her belly that had finally taken root safely!

That crazy plan succeeded!

Liu Shishi was incredibly lucky; her first IVF embryo transfer was miraculously successful!

And she, Tang Yan…

Tang Yan subconsciously touched her flat stomach, a deep sense of bitterness and helplessness welling up in her heart.

She was four years older than Liu Shishi. Once a woman is over thirty, even with the most advanced medical techniques, the success rate drops significantly.

She has failed twice in a row! Only she knows the despair she felt after each failure.

"But the doctor said there's nothing wrong with my health, and next time... next time I'll definitely be able to do it!"

Tang Yan silently comforted herself in her heart.

On stage, Liu Shishi composed herself and began her acceptance speech with tears in her eyes.

"Thank you to the company, and thank you to General Manager Li for your guidance and support..."

After delivering a series of official expressions of gratitude, Liu Shishi's gaze swept across the crowd and landed on Tang Yan.

"The person I want to thank most today is my best friend—Tang Yan!"

Liu Shishi's voice was choked with emotion, but utterly sincere. "Thank you for pulling me out of my most confused and difficult time. Without your encouragement and support, I definitely wouldn't be where I am today!"

To unsuspecting netizens, these words sounded like a deeply touching story of "divine sisterhood."

But to Tang Yan, this was undoubtedly Liu Shishi making a promise to her: as long as Liu Shishi was around, she would never forget Tang Yan's original plans and kindness!

Tang Yan looked at her best friend on the stage, smiled, wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, and nodded vigorously.

……

Just as the Weibo Night in Nanjing was in full swing.

In Hong Kong, thousands of miles away, in Happy Valley, inside the 12-story King Tower.

Here, there is none of the glitz and clamor of the outside world, only a warm and cozy atmosphere filled with the warmth of everyday life.

A huge circular dining table was laden with a sumptuous New Year's Eve dinner.

Li Feng, unusually dressed in loose-fitting home clothes, sat in the main seat.

On the left are my parents, Lao Li and Zhang Xiulan.

To his right was Liu Yifei, who was holding his one-year-old son, Li Maozhen.

Over the past six months, the elderly couple has gradually adapted to their affluent life in Hong Kong.

From their initial nervousness, where they were afraid of being scammed even when going out to buy groceries, they have gradually developed a sense of confidence befitting elders of wealthy families.

"Come on, grandson, have a piece of meat!"

Old Li, holding a pair of special serving chopsticks, cheerfully put food into Li Maozhen's bowl.

Although he still can't shake off his heavy northern Jiangsu accent, Old Li now stands incredibly straight when talking to others.

"Dad, he's only a little over a year old, he can't chew such a big piece of meat yet." Li Feng stopped him helplessly.

"What do you know! My eldest grandson takes after me; his teeth are excellent!"

Old Li glared at him, silencing Li Feng from saying the rest of his words.

Li Feng shook his head with a wry smile, having no choice but to give up.

Looking at his parents, he felt quite emotional.

The tragedy and contradictions of Chinese parents are vividly embodied in Lao Li.

They hope their sons will become successful, but when their sons actually become successful, as parents, they inevitably feel a sense of loss and embarrassment at losing their authority.

In order not to embarrass his son who had connections and influence.

The elderly couple even enrolled in a senior university in Hong Kong recently.

Every day, she learns flower arranging, tea tasting, and even English pronunciation from a group of retired wealthy ladies and old businessmen.

When Li Feng first learned about this, he advised them, "Dad, Mom. We have more money than we could spend in ten lifetimes. You can lie at home counting money all day, no need to go to classes and torment yourselves. Who would dare say a word against you?"

As a result, Old Li slammed his pipe on the table:

"You little brat, what do you know! I'm your father!"

"You're a big boss who's been on CCTV now, a capable person who manufactures chips for the country! If your mother and I can't even say a few polite words, how will we take my grandson out in public? It's okay if people laugh at us behind our backs, calling us country bumpkins, but we absolutely cannot let them laugh at your parents, Li Feng, for being ill-mannered!"

These words silenced Li Feng, and he never tried to stop him again.

However, Li Feng also set a bottom line for his father:

Money can be spent freely; whatever kind of prestige you want, you can buy helicopters and yachts.

However! There are three red lines that you absolutely must not cross!

First, it is absolutely forbidden to use Haofeng's name to engage in any entrepreneurial or investment activities!

Second, it is absolutely forbidden to have a half-brother or half-sister behind his back!

Third, as long as I'm alive, I absolutely will not allow anyone to keep any random women outside!

As long as these three bottom lines are upheld, Li Feng can let them do whatever they want with the rest.

"Xiao Feng, eat more fish. You've gotten thinner these days, running around like this."

Mother Zhang Xiulan will always be the best mediator in this family.

As she served food to her son, she smiled contentedly at Liu Yifei and her grandson.

On the surface, the New Year's Eve dinner was a joyful affair.

But sitting at this dining table filled with the atmosphere of a traditional family, Li Feng always felt a sense of constraint that he couldn't quite put his finger on.

He wasn't used to this atmosphere where elders were watching him and he needed to constantly consider family ethics.

The label of "father" and "son" was too heavy for him.

......

As 2014 arrived, the landscape of China's internet had silently undergone a new round of division.

January 5th.

Panoramic conference room on the top floor of Haofeng Group headquarters building, Xianlin Science and Technology City, Nanjing.

The 2013 annual summary meeting of Haofeng Group was held as scheduled.

In front of the huge oval solid wood conference table, the regional officials from various departments sat upright, even deliberately slowing their breathing.

Li Feng, sitting in the main seat, was unusually attentive today and listened very carefully.

In fact, now that he's in his position, the daily trivial matters have long been handled by his chief secretary Zhang Yuxi and the senior executives below him. The only thing that truly requires him to take a comprehensive view throughout the year is this year-end summary.

"Mr. Li, let's have the games department give their report first."

Technical Director Lao Chen stood up. Even though he was a seasoned veteran, his hand holding the report trembled slightly.

"In 2013, after we spun off and sold our initial casual mobile game portfolio, the one who undoubtedly carried the banner for Haofeng Games was League of Legends!"

Old Chen's voice echoed in the conference room: "With the explosive popularity of the LPL league and its absolute dominance in internet cafes, LOL's global net profit reached $6.5 million last year!"

"That's nearly four billion RMB! Mr. Li! This one game alone accounts for more than 80% of the net profit of our entire game division!"

"Compared to LOL, mobile games like Red Tide and Three Kingdoms Online, while profitable, are significantly less so. As for the PC game Three Kingdoms Kill Online, although its daily active users are stable, its annual net profit is only around 200 million yuan, which is hardly impressive."

Li Feng nodded slightly, not surprised by the data.

Once a closed-loop ecosystem is formed in PC esports, it will naturally generate huge profits.

"But Mr. Li, please rest assured!"

Old Chen then changed the subject, saying, "Hearthstone has already obtained its game license and can be launched for public beta at any time! The game's test data is very impressive, and it will definitely significantly improve our revenue share in the casual card game sector!"

"As for those hardcore mobile games..."

In front of all the senior executives, Old Chen made a solemn pledge: "We guarantee that 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms,' 'Clash Royale,' and that MOBA mobile game codenamed 'Honor of Kings' will all be launched on time and delivered with high quality by the end of 2015!"