The private room is traditionally decorated, yet exquisitely refined and full of antiquity.
Several scrolls of deep and meaningful landscape paintings hang on the walls, with flowing ink, undulating mountains, and gurgling streams, providing a sense of tranquility and secluded vastness. Below the paintings, elegant vases are placed, with a few vibrant flowers inserted, adding a touch of vitality and vigor to the entire space.
The windows are made of carved wooden lattice. Through the semi-transparent gauze curtains, the beautiful city scenery outside can be seen. A gentle breeze blows, causing the curtains to sway softly, giving a dreamlike feeling.
According to Wei Jia, Wen Lan recommended this restaurant. Li Jing glanced at Wen Lan, who was dressed simply, guessing that she should be a woman who likes literature and tradition.
Initially, it was Wei Jia who actively started the conversation at the dinner, livening up the atmosphere.
However, compared with those with bold and enthusiastic personalities, Wei Jia’s way of enlivening the atmosphere was completely different.
She just sat in her seat, neither deliberately joking nor intentionally raising her voice. She simply sat between the two, smiling faintly and bringing up topics that interested both of them.
She seemed like a host, with Li Jing and Wen Lan as her guests.
She controlled the rhythm of the conversation and grasped the content, with the aim of letting Li Jing and Wen Lan gradually become familiar with each other.
During this period, Wei Jia always found a suitable topic in a timely and accurate manner, allowing both Li Jing and Wen Lan to participate and express their opinions and views.
Within just over ten minutes, under Wei Jia’s intentional guidance, Li Jing and Wen Lan not only gradually eliminated the sense of unfamiliarity between them but also gained a lot of understanding of each other.
"President Li, are you staying in a hotel suite recently?"
Wei Jia joked with Li Jing: "With your daily expenses of tens of thousands, if you saved them, it would be enough to buy a house, right?"
Li Jing shrugged: "There’s no choice, I bought a house but it’s got to air out for a while, so I can’t move in just yet. I have to stay at a hotel."
Hearing that Li Jing had bought a house, Wei Jia raised her eyebrows, a little surprised: "Where is President Li’s luxury house located? The real estate industry has cooled down recently; it’s indeed a good time to buy a house."
"That house of mine..."
Because it had been a long time and the name of the housing complex was quite a tongue-twister, Li Jing thought for a while before remembering: "It’s called Imperial Wave Celestial Palace, yes, the new house at Imperial Wave Celestial Palace."
"Imperial Wave Celestial Palace?"
Wei Jia was not familiar with the Tianhai real estate market and did not react much, but Wen Lan’s face showed a flash of astonishment, and she couldn’t help but speak up:
"Imperial Wave Celestial Palace is a luxury project, a media company owner I know visited there, and the average price is about fifteen or sixteen thousand, right?"
Li Jing waited for the waiter to refill his teacup and then nodded: "Right, I remember it was about seventeen thousand when I bought it."
"Seventeen thousand?" Wei Jia couldn’t help but express a hint of surprise: "The total would be twenty or thirty million if paid in full; even with a loan, you’d have to pay a lot of interest to the bank."
"So, no loan, paid it all in full." Li Jing’s tone was very calm: "Spent over forty million, should be able to move in in a month or two."
Full payment of over forty million?
As soon as he finished speaking, Wei Jia instinctively exchanged a glance with Wen Lan, both seeing the astonishment in the other’s eyes.
You should know, even Wei Jia’s estate villa in the Linshui Suburb did not reach this price.
At this moment, Wen Lan also finally understood Li Jing’s true financial strength.
She knew some people with the ability to come up with over forty million at once to buy a house, but definitely not many.
At least, among the young people like Li Jing that she knows, he was the first one.
Although Wen Lan wasn’t considered materialistic, upon learning of Li Jing’s financial strength, she couldn’t help but subtly change her attitude towards him.
Even Wei Jia, who had interacted with Li Jing multiple times, silently adjusted her perception of him.
Money seemed to possess a magical power to change a person’s position in social relations imperceptibly.
Even if the person did nothing but simply tell others he was wealthy.
A moment later, the dishes were served.
The dishes were dazzling and varied, with elements from both land and sea.
However, Wei Jia’s mind was not on eating. She glanced at Wen Lan beside her and couldn’t help but shake her head helplessly.
By the time Wen Lan took the initiative to bring up the movie, it would probably be too late.
So Wei Jia decided to give her best friend another push. She turned her gaze to Li Jing and smiled: "President Li, I remember you also like reading books, right?"
Li Jing picked up a piece of what looked like well-braised red-cooked pork and nodded in response: "It’s average, I used to read a lot, but now my interest in reading has gradually diminished."
"President Li is being modest. I remember President Li graduated from a prestigious school, and even my brother says your level is not low."
Wei Jia smiled with her ruby lips, then curiously asked: "I wonder if President Li has read Mr. Wang’s ’Mortal’?"
Wen Lan’s chopsticks slightly paused, knowing that Wei Jia was beginning to steer into the main topic for her, while also secretly astonished that Li Jing had actually met Wei Jia’s brother.
This was the first time Wen Lan met a man who had met a member of Wei Jia’s family.
She couldn’t help but glance at the strong woman beside her, silently thinking: Could Wei Jia really have different feelings for this Li Jing, even introducing him to her brother?
Li Jing raised an eyebrow, swallowed the red-braised pork in his mouth, showing satisfaction, and then nodded: "I have indeed read that one."
"President Li, what is your opinion on this book?"
With Wei Jia’s opening, Wen Lan no longer hesitated and actively joined the conversation.
Li Jing glanced at her, thought about it for a moment, and then said: "I read it quite a while ago, don’t remember too well. However, this book is considered one of the classics of contemporary Chinese literature, and quite a few people should have read it, right?"
Seeing both women’s eyes focused on him, Li Jing stopped picking up food and continued to recall: "I remember this book not only depicts the suffering and confusion of ordinary people but also boldly portrays the romantic and sexual desires without taboo. It uses sex as an expression of human nature and a pursuit of freedom, contrasting sharply with the oppressive social environment."
In fact, Li Jing also remembered that one of his high school classmates had found it daringly written and considered it a pornographic book, leaving a deep impression on him.
Hearing Li Jing’s reply, Wen Lan’s eyes lit up, and a hint of agreement appeared on her originally calm face: "I feel the same as you, and what I love most is how the book uses black humor to describe heavy life events, narrating serious historical and human themes in a seemingly light-hearted, teasing tone.
It’s precisely because I love this book so much that I’ve prepared for so long to decide to make this movie."
"Mm, indeed... wait a minute."
Li Jing was about to nod in agreement but immediately realized the issue, looking up in confusion, he asked: "You’re going to make ’Mortal’?"
Having touched on a key point, Wen Lan put down her chopsticks, sat up slightly straighter, and replied more seriously: "Yes, our team has done a lot of preliminary work, the script is complete, and now we’re just missing the final investment."
"Still need investment?"
Hearing this, Li Jing nodded, but then slightly furrowed his brow, suddenly realizing the reason why Wei Jia invited him to meet Wen Lan.
Realizing this, Li Jing couldn’t help but feel a little uncomfortable being used, showing a hint of displeasure on his face, and turned to Wei Jia:
"So, President Wei, you invited me here not for a friendly meeting, but to have me invest in Director Wen’s movie?"