“Believe it, why wouldn’t I? Such superb acting, even a prodigy wouldn’t be able to achieve it without years of meticulous practice.”
Dong Rui chuckled, “Uncle, you really have clout, actually inviting such a remarkable person to film.”
Dong Haisheng managed a wry smile, “What clout? It was bought with a fortune. Do you know how expensive it was to hire her? Fifteen million, a full fifteen million, just for these five seconds of screen time. Thinking about it makes my heart ache, it’s still bleeding.”
“That expensive?”
Dong Rui was also shocked by the salary.
“Outrageously expensive,” Dong Haisheng gritted his teeth.
“But there’s a reason for the price. In this chaotic market, which star isn’t expensive? Instead of spending ten million to hire someone else, why not add another five million for her?”
“Indeed, although Jiang Ling is expensive, this few seconds of turning and looking back is absolutely worth every penny, far better than hiring those wooden young idols or popular new actresses with terrible acting skills.”
Dong Haisheng, pained by the fifteen million expenditure, consoled himself that Jiang Ling’s acting was worth the money.
In fact, it turned out as he expected. The fifteen million spent today would yield at least tenfold returns tomorrow.
Years later, when audiences recalled Dong Haisheng’s works, the first thing that came to mind would be *Huan Kong*.
The mention of *Huan Kong* inevitably brought up Jiang Ling’s classic turn and look back, a moment that spanned millennia.
Whenever people discussed this scene, Dong Haisheng couldn’t help but proudly say, “Impressive gaze, right? I directed that!”
The film *Huan Kong* cemented Dong Haisheng’s unshakeable position as a master director in the industry.
And this brief five-second turn and look back served as the film’s bedrock, its stabilizing force.
Without this segment, the classic status of *Huan Kong* would have been halved, at least.
…
It must be said that Jiang Ling was born for the entertainment industry; her instincts were sharp.
Sensing that someone might exploit the fifteen million salary for drama, she preemptively donated it, nipping the risk in the bud.
Shortly after she left the *Huan Kong* crew, someone secretly leaked the information about her salary.
Immediately, all sorts of media outlets and unscrupulous marketing accounts went into overdrive, as if injected with adrenaline.
After all, Jiang Ling was the hottest and most talked-about actress currently. Any news related to her often generated immense traffic and attention.
The media were always looking to piggyback on her popularity to attract viewers. Now that they had her exorbitant salary as a topic, they naturally had to hype it up extensively.
Huohua Media and An Qiuyan, upon learning of this, were happy to pour salt on the wound.
They immediately paid for online trolls, doing their utmost to distort and denigrate her, as if they wouldn’t rest until Jiang Ling was thoroughly blacklisted.
Consequently, the topic #ForFiveSeconds,HeSpentFifteenMillionOnMe# exploded on the trending list.
Onlookers, upon seeing this title, were initially taken aback, then wore strange smiles.
Five seconds?
Fifteen million?
Could this title imply that some woman knew a certain magnate was inadequate in that regard, only lasting five seconds, and used this as leverage to force the magnate to pay her fifteen million as hush money?
Such a perverse and tempting title was hard not to make one’s imagination run wild.
Driven by curiosity, netizens clicked into the topic.
At that moment, they were particularly eager to know which magnate was so underperforming that he could only last five seconds.
However, upon clicking, they discovered it was not at all what they imagined, but rather negative news about Jiang Ling.