Qi Hao was filming in Thailand, but he wasn't always staying in Thailand.

He went back to attend Deng Zhao and Sun Li's wedding.

These two had actually registered their marriage over half a year ago, and were legally married last year.

Moreover, it was revealed that Sun Li was already pregnant.

After getting married, An Feng, making her first public appearance, was also associated with pregnancy rumors.

Countless media outlets frantically took photos of her belly.

Deng Zhao's wedding invited the media to witness the ceremony but refused to live-stream the event.

Additionally, with the Shen City TV Festival happening at the same time, media from all over the country gathered on site, making it impossible for the wedding to remain low-key even if they wanted.

Qi Hao and An Feng's appearance immediately drew media attention.

However, Qi Hao refused to be interviewed.

Well prepared, dozens of people surrounded and protected them, leaving the media helpless.

The most they could do was take photos of An Feng's belly.

Then they watched Qi Hao holding An Feng in a protective manner, further "confirming" that Qi Hao was shielding An Feng's belly.

As the bride's former rumored boyfriend, Qi Hao didn't want to give journalists the opportunity to ask questions.

Wouldn't that be causing unnecessary trouble for the newlyweds?

Moreover, Sun Li's new TV series was his investment, and he was hoping for a good performance from it.

"Qi Hao is here, Boss Qi!"

Now whenever Qi Hao appears, he almost instantly becomes the center of attention.

It feels very much like a scene from "The Godfather."

Almost every figure in the industry would come over to greet him.

Even someone like Li Jiaxin was no exception.

Xiangjiang... Xiangjiang also can't escape Qi Hao's influence.

Currently, there are rampant rumors across the industry, suggesting that Qi Hao is planning to acquire film companies in Xiangjiang, targeting several of the largest ones.

There are many rumors, some of which are particularly outrageous.

Some even claim that Qi Hao intends to unify the Xiangjiang film industry.

But in fact, Old Tian only went to Xiangjiang for two reasons: one, to inspect the Naughty Ghost Studio, which needed to change its office location due to expansion.

The other reason was to consider and plan for a backdoor listing.

It's unclear how the rumor about Qi Hao wanting to "devour" the entire Xiangjiang film industry spread.

Qi Hao doesn't have such a huge appetite.

On October 26, 2007, o Entertainment, a rapidly rising film and entertainment company from the mainland, successfully acquired 24.78% of Jiahe's shares in Xiangjiang for 202 million Hong Kong dollars, becoming Jiahe's largest shareholder.

Spending a few billion to buy that thing?

There's no need for that.

Across the entire Xiangjiang, only a few dozen films are launched each year, and 90% of them are losing money.

With the market downturn, even the theater chains are not very profitable.

How could Qi Hao possibly abandon such a large mainland market, give up on continuing to expand, and go to Xiangjiang for some unifying stunt?

The old stubborn ones wouldn't agree either.

Actually, the reason why such rumors spread, aside from Qi Hao's rapid development and his significant financial resources as the "Little Buffett," is mainly because the Xiangjiang filmmakers yearn for salvation.

Since the 1990s, over ten years have passed.

The Xiangjiang film industry has not only seen diminishing box office returns but also decreasing production.

No productions mean no work.

No work means no money.

If you're sensible with finances and know how to save when times are good, it's fine, but the majority are into instant gratification.

Many Xiangjiang stars are poorer than ordinary people.

They can hardly afford even low-rent housing.

These people especially hope for salvation.

Last year, the mainland film market had a total box office of over 10 billion, with Qi Hao's company alone contributing several billion.

That's even more than the entire Xiangjiang film market's total box office.

Many of these films were contributed by Qi Hao, after all, his movies were also screened in Xiangjiang.

The grassroots filmmakers don't care about anything; they just want to start filming, have a meal, and continue being stars with dignity.

So they hope even more for Qi Hao to genuinely come to Xiangjiang to set up a presence.

"It's nothing, even if I wanted to, I don't have the capability. If you don't believe me, you can ask director Chen Jia Shang, who is more in the know."

Qi Hao repeatedly denied it.

Deng Zhao has been doing better in the film industry over the past few years than Huang Xiaoming.

Many film industry professionals from Xiangjiang who moved north have come today, all of whom have cooperated with or are interested in working with Deng Zhao.

Chen Jia Shang worked with Deng Zhao and Sun Li on a film called "Painted Wall," so he was naturally invited to the wedding.

He is originally a renowned director in the Xiangjiang film industry, having directed "Fight Back to School," "Martial Arts Champion Su Qie'Er," "The Bodyguard from Beijing," "Martial Arts Hero," "Thunderbolt."

In 2008, he self-directed and scripted a period love fantasy film "Painted Skin," based on stories from "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio," which was both a box office and critical success.

He belongs to the category of people who have done quite well after moving north to film.

In 2006, Chen Jia Shang succeeded Ann Hui as the president of the Hong Kong Directors' Guild. In 2007, he was the chairman of the 26th Golden Image Awards in Xiangjiang.

If it weren't for Qi Hao's other identities, Chen Jia Shang would definitely be the biggest star present today.

Another big star almost came, and that was Zhao Benshan.

Zhao Benshan was rumored to attend, but had to cancel due to some last-minute issue.

Nevertheless, he sent Liu Hui, the vice president of Benshan Media, to bring over a calligraphy piece he wrote that said "A Hundred Years of Harmony."

Chen Jia Shang, after hearing Qi Hao's words, laughed and said:

"Actually, the Xiangjiang film industry very much welcomes Qi Hao. That co-produced film 'Uncle' from before was especially good."

There's a little episode to this as well.

Chen Jia Shang once strongly advocated for the Golden Image Awards to shower 'Uncle' with heavy awards.

Best Action Direction, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress…

They gave it all to encourage co-productions being made in Xiangjiang, which could bring many jobs to the industry.

However, the same co-productions...

There's still a difference between co-productions led by Xiangjiang people and those led by mainlanders.

The Golden Image Awards is more willing to give awards to films dominated by Xiangjiang filmmakers.

Thus, "Gallants" won Best Picture, Xu Ke won Best Director for "Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame," Xie Tingfeng won Best Actor for "Informer," and Liu Jialin won Best Actress for "Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame."

From nominations to awards, all were films dominated by Xiangjiang filmmakers.

The voters were making a statement with this stance, telling everyone: The Golden Image Awards are for Xiangjiang! The Golden Image Awards are regional! The Golden Image Awards aren't for all Chinese-language films!

The result being, Qi Hao didn't even bother to attend.

"Let's talk about it in the future."

Qi Hao doesn't reject the idea, but in reality, the chances of filming in Xiangjiang might only get smaller.

Shooting locations there are costly and troublesome.

Lodging and labor are also extremely expensive.

He might as well pick a place in the mainland and do some set construction instead, which would save money.

As for the fate of Xiangjiang filmmakers, it's really not his concern.

"Miss An Feng, are you interested in collaborating?"

After chatting with Qi Hao for a bit, Chen Jia Shang turned to An Feng with an invitation.

He knows it's unrealistic to ask Qi Hao to film.

Xu Ke invited Qi Hao for a film 'Dragon Gate Armor', and that took years to accomplish.

Also, given Qi Hao's current status, he definitely won't play supporting roles any longer.

"Ah, my status has risen now, but the number of scripts offered to me hasn't increased."

The reason is probably two-fold.

One, she is very picky about scripts and dares not accept anything she has no confidence in.

Another is that An Feng is the lady of Zhonghao Entertainment now.

With such resources, there's truly no reason for her to take on roles outside of her own company.

If she's interested in a project, she can simply adapt a story and start production herself.

Why would she need to suffer through someone else's project?

"Yes, this project is adapted from Wen Rui'an's story 'Four Great Constables' for which I plan to invite you for a role…"

Chen Jia Shang wasn't extending an offer on a whim.

This project had been in planning for a while, and the lead female role had yet to be decided.

Previously, they had considered Sun Li as the female lead, but she was pregnant and wrapped up the new TV series with Deng Zhao, making it impractical to take on "Four Great Constables."

So the project kept getting delayed.

Seeing An Feng today, a light bulb suddenly went off in Chen Jia Shang's head.

An Feng was just perfect for the role.

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