Sister Li's Thoughts

After eating with Huang Bai, Wei Jin returned to 501 and checked the place. Hmm, the clothes were still there, so it wasn't a big problem.

He then took out his phone and called Zeng Li. It took a long time for her to pick up.

Silence stretched between them, neither speaking.

"Sister Li, shouldn't we have a proper talk?"

Wei Jin was the first to break the silence.

"Yes, we should."

Zeng Li's tone was somewhat cold.

"I'm at 501 now. Are you coming over?"

Wei Jin asked.

"I don't want to go there. Come to my place instead."

With that, Zeng Li hung up.

Wei Jin took a deep breath and stepped out the door.

"Pear, are you serious about this?"

Hu Jing sat on the sofa eating snacks, talking to Zeng Li as she watched TV.

"What do you mean, am I serious? I just want an explanation. It's been so many days already."

Zeng Li sat cross-legged on the sofa, her arms folded, sounding a little indignant.

"You need the stolen goods to catch a thief. Don't go jumping at shadows all day."

Hu Jing tried to reassure her. "Maybe you're just overthinking it."

"Impossible. I found that woman's hair on the sofa."

Zeng Li bristled at the mention of it.

"Pear, do you want him to succeed?"

Hu Jing asked slowly.

"Of course. He's so talented, of course I want him to succeed. I also believe he definitely will."

Zeng Li answered without hesitation.

"Then think about it. A successful director who's this handsome—will he face any shortage of temptation in the future?"

The entertainment industry was a marketplace of fame and fortune. Once you entered, you had no choice but to accept its rules. Zeng Li and Hu Jing had both been in the industry for years and had heard and seen plenty.

A lot of the time, it wasn't even a question of what the director wanted to do. Actresses chasing fame and fortune in the industry threw themselves at him of their own accord. It couldn't be avoided.

Thinking of this, Zeng Li couldn't help saying dejectedly:

"Then am I just supposed to ignore it? Degrade myself like that?"

"Then do you love him? Can you bear to leave him?"

Zeng Li thought back on the days since she had met Wei Jin. She had been so happy. His gentleness and thoughtfulness, his talent, his body—they were all captivating.

"I love him, and I can't bear to leave him."

"Then that settles it. If you really run into something like this in the future, you just need to do this... and this..."

Hu Jing fully played her part as a good best friend, passing on her teachings to Zeng Li.

This was Wei Jin's first visit to Zeng Li's home. It was a very old residential complex, but at least it was quiet.

After winding his way through a series of turns, Wei Jin found the apartment building and climbed the stairs.

"Knock, knock, knock."

Hu Jing opened the door. Wei Jin nodded and glanced inside. Zeng Li was still sitting on the sofa.

Hu Jing was quick to read the room. She quietly made an encouraging gesture to Wei Jin.

"Pear, I'll head home first. Let's get together another time."

With that, she slipped past Wei Jin and left, closing the door behind her.

Wei Jin walked over and sat down beside Zeng Li. Suddenly, he pulled her into his arms and whispered in her ear:

"Sister Li, I missed you."

Zeng Li, who had still been struggling a little, froze at his words.

"Do you know I haven't slept well for half a month?"

"I missed your scent. I missed opening my eyes every morning and seeing you."

Although Wei Jin didn't know what had happened, she was a woman, after all. A little coaxing would do the trick. Sweet nothings flowed readily from his lips, and the key was that every damn word was true.

After Hu Jing's advice, Zeng Li, who hadn't had much resentment to begin with, was merely putting on a show.

Listening to the man's sweet words, she no longer intended to continue the cold war.

"Do you have another woman?"

Zeng Li voiced the suspicion in her heart.

"How could you think that of me, Sister Li?"

"Then whose hair was on the sofa at home? You two certainly got adventurous, taking your games all the way to the sofa."

The mention of it made Zeng Li angry.

Hearing this, Wei Jin finally understood where the problem lay, and slowly told her what had happened that night.

"Then did Gao Yuanyuan forgive that scumbag?"

Zeng Li looked curious.

"I don't know. It has nothing to do with me."

Wei Jin distanced himself from the matter. "Hey, Sister Li, don't try to change the subject. Now we should talk about how you wrongly accused me."

"Mmm, it was my fault. I shouldn't have doubted you. Don't be mad at me, okay? Pretty please?"

Zeng Li unleashed her coquettish charms, hoping to bluff her way through.

"That won't do. You've sullied my good name out of thin air. How could this old man let you get away with it?"

Wei Jin asserted his authority as a husband, and Zeng Li was forced to sign a series of unequal treaties.

That night, the sofa in Zeng Li's home suffered terribly.

Time passed, and it was early December.

As for the film, Buried Alive had completed all its post-production, and the finished product looked excellent.

Howard, the Berlin International Film Festival's selector for Asia, had already seen it at the Beijing Film Academy three days earlier. He believed it would have no trouble making the shortlist and even stood a considerable chance of winning an award.

As for the novel, after more than three months on sale, the first three volumes of Snowstrider had sold over a million copies in total.

The fourth volume was also being distributed, and so far the novel had brought Wei Jin more than 1.9 million in earnings.

As for the ringback tone, it had been available for two months and had accumulated over eight million downloads, generating more than 16 million yuan in revenue. Under his profit-sharing agreement with the operating company, Wei Jin would receive over 5.6 million.

Seeing that figure, Wei Jin no longer felt like striving.

It seemed Huang Bai's new album needed to be released as soon as possible. Every day of delay was an insult to money.

Then there were Huang Bai's commercial performances, from which Wei Jin received an 800,000 share. As for the physical sales offline, Wei Jin couldn't be bothered with them.

By his rough calculation, Wei Jin's savings were already approaching eight million.

"What are you thinking about? You're so absorbed."

Zeng Li came over carrying fruit.

"I'm calculating my earnings from the past two months. More than eight million. Sister Li, I'll soon be worth ten million."

Wei Jin enjoyed being fed by the beauty.

"Really? How could it be so much?"

Wei Jin hadn't hidden his career from Zeng Li, but she had never imagined there would be so much. After all, even the industry's top big shots were only paid 100,000 per episode. A production took two or three months, and they earned far less than Wei Jin.

"It's mainly because the ringback tone was such a hit. But I still suffered from not having any backing. Otherwise, I could have gotten a bigger share of the profits from the operating company."

Wei Jin explained, somewhat regretfully.

"Don't dwell on it. You started from scratch, and it's only been a few months. You've already done wonderfully."

Zeng Li knew her boyfriend was outstanding, but she hadn't known he was outstanding to this extent. She was already feeling a little admiration for him.

"I'm so wonderful. Aren't you going to reward me, Sister Li?"

Wei Jin smiled at the beauty and pointed to his mouth.

"I really can't do anything with you."

Zeng Li sat down on Wei Jin's thigh and offered her fragrant lips.

After a bout of intimacy, Wei Jin suddenly said:

"Sister Li, how about I support you?"

Wei Jin really did intend for Zeng Li to stay at home full-time. After all, she was just a nobody at the moment, with hardly any invitations from production crews. But as a good man of the new century, Wei Jin still had to respect the beauty's opinion.

"No. I have career aspirations too, you know."

Zeng Li was a little unhappy. Did men become such chauvinists as soon as they had money?

"Then, Sister Li, can you tell me about your dream?"

Wei Jin began to assume the role of a life coach.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you like acting?"

"I do..."

"Then what is your greatest aspiration on the path of acting?"

Zeng Li thought of her four years at university, her teachers' guidance, and the glory of the school's wall of honor.

"I want to become a great artist."

Looking at the longing on Zeng Li's face, Wei Jin made up his mind at that moment to put Sister Li on a pedestal.

"Sister Li, I'll support you with everything I have. Believe me, you'll definitely become a great actor."

Zeng Li looked at the man before her, her heart full of emotion.