Chapter 70

In the early part of this century, in a time when variety shows have not yet flooded the airwaves, "Weekend Celebrity Date" is undoubtedly the most popular celebrity interview show today. The show's ratings have consistently stayed above 25, making it KBS's true ace.

The show began, and Lee Jung-hui, who was being interviewed by the "Dong-A Ilbo," had no time to watch. However, his wild fans, his mother Kim Mi-yeon, his grandmother Gao Xiu-zhen, Kim Tae-hee, Jang Dong-gun, and others were already gathered in front of their televisions.

"Wait a moment, I think all the viewers in front of their TVs are just like me," after the initial opening remarks, the host Park Ki-wan smiled and looked at Lee Jung-hui, "How did you manage to study? Did you graduate from elementary school at the age of five, or did you go straight from elementary school to university...?"

"Um, I was pretty normal until I was eight!" Lee Jung-hui's words made everyone laugh, and he continued, "I went to New York when I was five and started school there. After about three years, I found that studying was quite easy. However, at that time, my mother thought I was still too young, so she let me play for two more years in elementary school..."

Amidst the laughter of the audience, he shrugged and smiled, "Actually, I did attend middle school and high school, but I only spent one year in middle school, two years in high school, and two years in university. For my Ph.D., because my internship went quite smoothly, it only took me three years..."

As he spoke, Park Ki-wan counted on his fingers, and after Lee Jung-hui finished, he said with a smile, "So, you're not really that amazing, you just learn faster than everyone else!"

He then looked at Son Ye-jin and Song Seung-hyun, "What do you think? If you learned faster, you could be just like him, right!" He then tapped his forehead and said, "Oh, why didn't I think of that back then!"

"That's because you're stupid!" Son Ye-jin quickly added, which made everyone laugh again, and the atmosphere gradually warmed up.

After a discussion about "Endless Love," Park Ki-wan turned the topic back to Lee Jung-hui.

"You mentioned earlier that you didn't go to CEA or the American Economic Association, but instead entered the entertainment industry, which seems a bit regretful," Park Ki-wan said, pausing slightly, "But from my perspective, you studied economics, which is essentially knowledge for making money, right!"

This guy was indeed very humorous and had excellent improvisation skills, always able to cleverly use words to make people laugh.

Of course, he wasn't just making people laugh; he was also skillfully steering the atmosphere towards a climax. Now, he began.

"Um, since we're talking about making money, it seems you're doing quite well!" Park Ki-wan said, looking at Song Seung-hyun and Son Ye-jin, "I heard that he signed a bet-based contract with the producers of 'The Curse,' so with the current box office of over 2 million viewers, he can earn about 2.8 billion won in pay, right?"

Song Seung-hyun nodded with a smile, "Well, I didn't know at first, and I was quite surprised when I heard it..."

Not only was he surprised, but Kim Mi-yeon and Gao Xiu-zhen were also shocked, as they didn't know about it. The audience in front of their TVs was instantly stunned, and many people gasped.

As for the fans of "My Sassy Girl," they not only gasped but also praised him endlessly.

"Wow, Oppa Jung-hui is so amazing, I'm really jealous of Myung-hee!" Kim Eun-ju wrote, and Lee Su-ah added, "I think I have another reason to love Oppa Jung-hui. He really is an economics major, making so much money. Wow, marrying him would be so happy..."

However, Lee Jianmin replied with a grin under her post, "Long legs, do you love Oppa Jung-hui or money?"

Of course, such a hateful reply was naturally met with the scorn and brutal attacks of almost all the wild female fans, making Lee Jianmin the first to be "bullied" online in the "My Sassy Girl" club, and he became famous for it.

On TV, Park Ki-wan continued to raise the atmosphere, "2.8 billion won, you truly live up to being an economics major," Park Ki-wan praised sincerely, "That's just the pay for one movie, and this number is more than what many superstars like Ahn Sung-ki earn, and even more than the investment cost of many movies..."

"That's just luck," Lee Jung-hui shrugged with a smile, originally he didn't want to bring this up, but not mentioning it would have reduced his attention, all for the game.

"But why did you do it at the time?" Park Ki-wan asked, "According to the contract, if the box office was poor, you might not have earned a single cent!"

"Right, that's why I said it was luck," Lee Jung-hui's face still had a warm smile, "At the time, I was learning, so I didn't care about the money. Of course, not caring doesn't mean I agreed with others' valuation of my efforts.

So, I signed a bet-based contract with Tube Entertainment. Of course, this is a benefit of studying economics, but I must clarify that I don't advocate this method. At the time, I did it with a game-like attitude because the risk of a bet-based contract is too high..."

Park Ki-wan laughed and took the opportunity to shift the topic to "Endless Love," "That's true, but I heard that you and KBS also signed a similar bet-based contract for 'Endless Love'!"

"Ha-ha! That's right," Lee Jung-hui nodded with a chuckle, "The contract was signed around the same time," then he looked at the camera and said, "So, I want to call on the audience to support this drama..."

Park Ki-wan laughed, "You're really cunning, but if the ratings are high, you'll be the one who benefits!"

Lee Jung-hui nodded with a smile, "Yes, that's true, but this drama is really good, and I believe everyone will be satisfied. Of course, since we mentioned high ratings, I'll get more pay, so I want to say here that no matter how high the ratings are, as long as I get the pay, I will donate half to charity for those in need..."

Upon hearing this, Park Ki-wan clapped appropriately and praised sincerely, "Clap, clap, everyone clap!" In fact, without his encouragement, many people at the scene and in front of their TVs were already clapping, and some even decided to watch the drama to support charity.

This undoubtedly had a positive effect on the ratings of "Endless Love," a point that KBS's Park Dong-jean, Yoon Seok-ho, and others watching TV understood.

Park Dong-jean was particularly moved by Lee Jung-hui's kindness. This donation was proposed by Lee Jung-hui himself, and because of this, the KBS vice president in charge quickly decided on a series of promotional strategies.

The atmosphere gradually warmed up, and its influence was slowly fermenting. As the "Weekend Celebrity Date" show progressed, the most explosive news of the day was finally revealed.

"Now, we all know you're a great writer and a promising actor, but many people at the scene and in front of their TVs probably don't know you have another mysterious identity!"

At this point, Park Ki-wan deliberately paused, then smiled and looked at Son Ye-jin and Song Seung-hyun, and finally at the camera, "What is it? To be honest, I was surprised when I saw this, but thinking about it, since Jung-hui is an economics major and a genius, I think it's understandable..."

After building up everyone's curiosity, he finally turned to Lee Jung-hui, made a serious bow, and greeted him, "Welcome, Mr. Lee Jung-hui, President of Empire Entertainment..."

The audience at the scene and in front of their TVs were stunned, while Park Ki-wan waved his hand towards the camera and loudly said, "That's right, Jung-hui is the boss behind Empire Entertainment. He truly is a genius and an economics major. He started investing as soon as he made money. He founded Empire Entertainment, which now has six artists, and the company's first movie, 'Friend,' is already in production. Another well-known web novel, 'My Sassy Girl,' is also in preparation... Please give our president another round of applause!"

This was the ultimate bombshell. Even Song Seung-hyun was taken aback; it was the first time he heard about it. Kim Tae-hee, watching TV, was almost grinding her teeth in anger and resentment, but she also felt proud that he had his own company, which was quite impressive.

As for Lee Jung-hui's mother, Kim Mi-yeon, her face turned cold. If it were any other company, it would be different, but this was an entertainment company.

Gao Xiu-zhen, however, was very happy that her grandson had made it on TV. Of course, she also understood her daughter's thoughts, so she suddenly said, "There's nothing wrong with it. He kept it from you because he was afraid you'd oppose it, but he's grown up. If you keep controlling him, you'll just hold him back. In the end, he might get tired of you..."

Kim Mi-yeon was taken aback. In the past, she would have had more worries, but in the last half year, Lee Jung-hui seemed to have matured and become more filial to her and Gao Xiu-zhen.

Of course, he hadn't done anything wrong; it was just that the path he chose wasn't what she had hoped for. However, she didn't have the right to demand that Lee Jung-hui do what she wanted, especially since she had lived in America for many years and understood the importance of respecting a child's freedom.

So, she sat there for a while, her expression softening, but she didn't say anything.

The impact of today's biggest news was not limited to Lee Jung-hui's grandmother's house. The "My Sassy Girl" webpage was already in a frenzy, and Seo-ri's words almost represented everyone's feelings, "Wow, our Oppa is the president of a company, so cool!"

Of course, there were also those who were unhappy, such as Won Bin's agent, Ha Ji-won's former assistant, and even Wellmade's representative Park Jae-bum, who was stunned when he saw the news and quickly picked up his phone to make a call.

After the call was connected, he said to the person on the other end, "Tell them not to move for now... Don't ask me why, just remember my words, or you'll have to jump into the Han River yourself!"

Being a writer and actor can't compare to being the boss of a company. If this boss holds so many positions, appears on TV, has a mansion in Cheongnyangni, and his father is a high-ranking person in New York, these factors combined are enough to make people hesitate to act rashly.

Even Tube Entertainment's representative Kim Sung-gwang was now serious. He had previously thought about threatening Lee Jung-hui, but now it seemed that his decision was a bit hasty. After some thought, he also called Gao Zuo-dong...

Another old acquaintance of Lee Jung-hui, Kim Byung-chung, was also watching TV. When he heard that Lee Jung-hui was the boss of Empire Entertainment, he grinned, showing his big yellow teeth, and muttered, "I thought there was some big shot behind Empire Entertainment, but it turns out this little brat is the boss. Empire Entertainment, hehe..."

PS: Morning recommendation, you must have one, hehe!

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