Chapter 52

Li Xiaoli looked up at Xia Hou Shang and was momentarily stunned. She recognized Xia Hou Shang, having often encountered him at various social gatherings, though they had never interacted. However, she had heard others mention him before. Although Xia Hou Shang was just the president of a branch company, his influence was far from ordinary. Whether in South Korea's business or political circles, he was well-connected.

So, he is Xia Hou Zhongying's father? Li Xiaoli silently scolded herself for being so slow. The surname Xia Hou was so rare, and she had just met Xia Hou Shang at the party. How could she not have thought of him? She had even mentioned wanting to ask him about how he raised his son in front of him, which made her feel a bit awkward.

Just as Li Xiaoli was about to apologize, before she could even open her mouth, someone else spoke up.

"Min-jung, Xiaoli, there you are. I thought you had already left when I couldn't find you. What were you talking about with President Xia Hou? I saw you chatting happily from a distance. Tell me, let me be happy too?" A female voice interjected and asked.

"Mom." Park Min-jung called out with a smile when she saw the person.

The person who arrived was none other than the chairman of E-Land Group, Park Min-jung's mother, Park Seong-kyung. She had been nearby and overheard their conversation, worried that Li Xiaoli might offend Xia Hou Shang, so she hurried over to smooth things over.

"Hello, Auntie." Li Xiaoli quickly greeted Park Seong-kyung.

"Chairman Park, I was just curious and came over to eavesdrop. I saw Miss Xiaoli and your daughter chatting happily with my son, so I came over to find out what was going on." Xia Hou Shang greeted Park Seong-kyung with a chuckle.

"Oh, is this your son? He truly is a fine young man." Park Seong-kyung formally praised Xia Hou Zhongying.

"Yes, this is my son, Zhongying. Zhongying, this is the chairman of E-Land Group. Hurry up and greet her." Xia Hou Shang smiled and scolded his son.

"Hello, Chairman Park." Xia Hou Zhongying, surprised that the chairman of E-Land Group was a woman, quickly greeted her after a moment's hesitation.

"Good, good. Since you know my daughter, just call me Auntie. Calling me Chairman Park is too formal." Park Seong-kyung smiled and said, "Min-jung, I didn't know you knew Xia Hou Zhongying. Why have you never mentioned him before?"

"Hehe, Mom, we just met today." Park Min-jung explained.

"Really? I thought you had known each other for a long time from how you were chatting." Park Seong-kyung said with interest, "Tell me, what did you talk about that made you so happy?"

"Mom, I found a good script and decided to sponsor Zhongying to make a movie." Park Min-jung said with a smile.

"Hey, kid, I didn't expect you to come here to seek sponsorship. Aren't you embarrassed?" Xia Hou Shang laughed and lightly patted his son's head.

"Dad, stop hitting my head. You're going to make me stupid. I didn't come here to seek sponsorship. It was this Min-jung sister who saw my script and offered to sponsor it." Xia Hou Zhongying said to his father, feeling frustrated.

"Really? Xia Hou Zhongying, you're going to make a movie yourself?" Park Seong-kyung's face turned strange as she looked at Xia Hou Zhongying, seemingly remembering something.

"Hehe, Auntie, just call me Zhongying." Xia Hou Zhongying nodded awkwardly. It wasn't until today that he realized how bad his reputation was in South Korea's fashion industry. He had become a laughingstock, and almost no one didn't know him. Seeing the strange expression on Park Seong-kyung's face, he knew she must have heard about him, making his face flush with embarrassment.

Park Seong-kyung's expression became even stranger, wanting to laugh but not daring to. She looked at Xia Hou Zhongying and then at Xia Hou Shang, feeling a mix of amusement and exasperation.

"Mom, by the way, Xiaoli is also going to act in the movie." Park Min-jung dropped another bomb, almost knocking Park Seong-kyung and Xia Hou Shang off their feet.

"Are you kidding me?" Park Seong-kyung felt a sense of absurdity. This news made her think her daughter and Li Xiaoli were being too reckless.

Xia Hou Shang was also stunned, looking at his son with a strange expression. He was becoming more and more puzzled by Xia Hou Zhongying, who had not only secured sponsorship from E-Land Group but also brought Li Xiaoli into his movie.

"Hehe, no, we're not kidding." Park Min-jung said with a smile, "Zhongying's script is really good. We both read it and decided to join."

Park Seong-kyung was speechless for a moment, then looked at Xia Hou Zhongying again. Since her daughter could say this, it must have been a well-thought-out decision, not a spur-of-the-moment idea. Moreover, there was Li Xiaoli involved, who knew better than to joke about such matters. Park Seong-kyung began to take Xia Hou Zhongying's abilities more seriously.

"Ah, so the script must be really good. Since you decided to sponsor it, I won't say more." Park Seong-kyung smiled and said.

After that, Park Seong-kyung didn't say much more and started chatting with Xia Hou Shang. She trusted her daughter's judgment and believed that Xia Hou Zhongying must have something special to catch her eye. As the chairman of E-Land Group, making a movie was a minor matter for Park Seong-kyung, not worth her attention. However, building a relationship with Xia Hou Zhongying, the son of Xia Hou Shang, was more important than making a movie. His family's state-owned background could be beneficial for E-Land Group's expansion into the Chinese market.

Since her daughter wanted to join in, she would let her have her way. Even if she had to cover the entire cost of the movie, she wouldn't mind. E-Land Group spent a lot on advertising every year, so a little more wouldn't matter. Regardless of the movie's outcome, strengthening ties with the Xia Hou family would be the biggest gain.

After chatting for a while, Xia Hou Shang and Park Seong-kyung excused themselves and went to sit down to chat. Xia Hou Zhongying and the two girls found a place to sit and continue their conversation. They agreed to meet the next day and then dispersed.

The next morning, Li Xiaoli informed her company, DSP Entertainment, that she would be starring in Xia Hou Zhongying's movie "Green Apple Paradise." As a company artist, she had to inform them, even though her fame gave her considerable autonomy. However, she couldn't make such a decision without the company's approval, especially since this role was unpaid. If the company strongly opposed, she would have no choice.

DSP Entertainment was stunned when they heard Li Xiaoli's news. This was too reckless. Out of all the scripts, she chose a movie directed by a young boy, and it was going to be released online. This was a serious disregard for her reputation.

The news almost made DSP's CEO, Lee Ho-young, faint. No matter how Li Xiaoli tried to explain, he refused to agree. The entire management team and her agent strongly opposed the idea.

Fortunately, Li Xiaoli was prepared. After explaining the situation to Xia Hou Zhongying the previous night, she obtained the script from him and submitted it to the company for review.

After reviewing the script, DSP Entertainment gave Xia Hou Zhongying's script high praise. After a meeting, the management, considering Li Xiaoli's status in the company and her light schedule, reluctantly agreed to her request.

Although Lee Ho-young reluctantly agreed, he wasn't without conditions. Li Xiaoli was DSP's star, and he didn't want her reputation to be tarnished. Therefore, he added several conditions. First, he insisted on assigning a director to lead the production, with Xia Hou Zhongying as the assistant director. The reason was that they didn't trust a young boy who hadn't taken many directing courses. If Xia Hou Zhongying refused, they would not allow Li Xiaoli to participate.

Li Xiaoli had anticipated strong resistance from the company but didn't expect such a strong reaction. Reluctantly, she called Xia Hou Zhongying to discuss the matter.

After listening to Li Xiaoli's explanation, Xia Hou Zhongying thought for a moment and agreed. He knew his own limitations, and having a director from DSP would only benefit the movie. He didn't care about the title of director; his goal was to help the girls gain recognition.

Lee Ho-young breathed a sigh of relief upon receiving Xia Hou Zhongying's response. He had been worried that Xia Hou Zhongying might be stubborn and insist on his way, in which case he would have had to refuse Li Xiaoli's participation.

With Xia Hou Zhongying agreeing to be the assistant director, Lee Ho-young was less concerned. After confirming that Li Xiaoli was determined to participate, he reluctantly instructed his staff to make copies of the script and start looking for a director.

The person assigned to this task was almost in tears. How did such a difficult job fall to me? However, with the CEO's order, they couldn't refuse and prepared for rejection as they contacted directors with whom the company had good relations.

As expected, many directors immediately refused upon hearing it was an online movie, without even reading the script. They found it too demeaning to direct a short film, even with Li Xiaoli's participation. They even mocked DSP for making such a ridiculous decision, embarrassing the DSP staff.

With no top-tier directors willing to take the job, DSP had to turn to second- and third-tier directors. They couldn't offer a salary, and the company regretted not considering this earlier.

After much persuasion, a few directors read the script and gave it some praise but still refused to take the job, leaving the DSP staff frustrated.

Given the unexpected turn of events, Li Xiaoli called Xia Hou Zhongying and Park Min-jung to postpone the meeting with the ZX Studio team by two days until a director was confirmed.

Two days later, a third-tier director was moved by the script and saw an opportunity to improve his relationship with DSP and gain recognition through a public service film. He agreed to direct "Green Apple Paradise."

Having a director finally agree to take the job was a relief for DSP. However, they still had a lot of work to do in public relations to prepare for the upcoming storm.

Li Xiaoli's decision to participate in "Green Apple Paradise" for free was like a bomb in the Korean entertainment industry, and the aftermath would be challenging to manage.

Lee Ho-young now deeply regretted his decision to allow Li Xiaoli to participate. He couldn't believe he had agreed to such a ridiculous idea. The news had already spread, and it was too late to retract it. He instructed the PR department to prepare for an emergency response to control the situation and steer it in a positive direction.