The year 2000 came in no time. Irene's life seemed to have been put on fast-forward, with so many things happening at once that she could barely keep up.
The most pressing matter was the formal negotiation with Fox Searchlight Pictures over the Stealing the Heavens and Changing the Day project. This time, the budget had climbed to $60 million, and Irene had a clear goal: she wanted to continue the previous arrangement and secure a one-third share for herself. However, faced with such a huge investment, Fox was rather hesitant, and the negotiations had become a tug-of-war.
Meanwhile, Chen Shiyu's team had identified several promising investment targets in the internet sector. He was enthusiastic, sending over several proposals and hoping Irene would personally join him in evaluating them and making decisions.
On the home front, family matters were also demanding attention. Her older sister Sophia's film, The Virgin Suicides, was about to head to the Sundance Film Festival for promotion, and her father, Francis, wanted Irene to attend and support her sister.
Her sister's film was easy enough to deal with; all Irene had to do was show up. There was nothing she needed to worry about. But the other two matters—investing in a film and expanding into the internet—directly competed for her resources. If she tried to meet the funding needs of both, she probably wouldn't have enough cash on hand.
What troubled her even more was that the internet companies Chen Shiyu currently had his eye on seemed like empty shells to her. The best online platform in her mind hadn't even begun to take shape, while these overvalued companies with uncertain prospects would, in her foresight, soon vanish along with the internet bubble. Investing in them now would be no different from throwing money away.
But