Old Zhou's Preparations Are Not Ideal

Bai Youlou was an experienced rogue, so he was prepared for the possibility of being scammed.

But he never expected that there was such diversity among species.

Take Old Zhou, for example.

Had he underestimated this guy's character? Or misjudged his bottom line?

Neither!

He had overestimated this guy's capabilities!

Old Zhou's preparations weren't going well.

Let alone secretly colluding with someone to swindle Bai Youlou out of his remaining money, this guy had left with a confident swagger, acting like a senior with experience.

Instead, he returned a few days later looking troubled, his face seeming to have lost weight.

Well, okay, it was an illusion, he hadn't lost any weight at all.

"Did you hear what I said?" Old Zhou slapped the table in frustration.

"I heard. So, you've only managed to assemble a temporary crew, one that's going to fall apart before filming starts next month, you haven't found any main actors, and you haven't secured any investment, is that right?"

Hearing Bai Youlou's calm voice, Old Zhou opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to say something to save face, but found himself unable to utter a word.

This was exactly what he deserved.

Bai Youlou felt his rickety table wouldn't last much longer.

Being hit by this bastard again and again...

Oh right, he had moved out of his large house and into a small apartment of just over thirty square meters. The previous house, bought when he was popular and making money, was a spacious flat in a great location, and it sold quickly.

Now, this small apartment was much more modest. It had been vacant for quite some time, and a layer of dust had accumulated. It took a cleaner most of the day to get it sorted after he moved in.

However, after moving in a lot of furniture from the previous house, it didn't feel empty at all. Everything was filled, giving it a rather homey feel.

This was perhaps the only advantage of the small apartment.

Bai Youlou couldn't even remember why he had bought this place in the first place.

Was the only advantage that it was close to the film academy?

What surprised Old Zhou was that Bai Youlou wasn't angry about his failure to deliver.

It was laughable, but he was actually a little afraid of Bai Youlou. Previously, he had been the agent, holding an absolute position of power over the artist, and their symbiotic relationship had always been like that.

Now, it was completely reversed.

It was very strange.

Old Zhou felt it might be because Bai Youlou was now the one paying his salary.

Yes, that's what he thought.

"What do we do now?"

"I'm not in a hurry about the investment. I can use my own money to start filming. It's not a problem to finish the movie. Afterwards, I can show a rough cut to potential investors... The priority now is to quickly find an actor for the second male lead role."

The strength of the movie "Whiplash" primarily lies in the fact that the plot almost entirely focuses on the teacher-student relationship between the male lead and the second male lead.

Bai Youlou's face was still very youthful, so playing the male lead was no issue at all.

At just over twenty, playing a nineteen-year-old boy was perfectly suitable, wasn't it? Middle-aged women in their fifties could play young girls.

If he could secure investment, he would shamelessly give himself a high salary and include it in the production costs.

After all, he was a popular idol.

Don't ask if popularity is good or bad, just ask if you're popular!

It was just a pity that there were no such deep pockets willing to throw money around at the moment; there weren't enough fools in this world.

As for finding a reliable actor for the second male lead role, the "crazy teacher" character had very high demands, and it wasn't something just anyone could play.

On the contrary, for the so-called female lead, any girl with decent looks would suffice. Bai Youlou even thought about hiring someone for two hundred a day to fill the role.

Of course, he could pay a thousand at night.

There weren't no suitable candidates for the second male lead role.

Scanning through the middle-aged, talented actors in this world's entertainment industry, Bai Youlou actually found two or three who fit the character.

He could also find some actors with similar acting styles.

Unfortunately, the least well-known among the actors he could recall was a second-tier celebrity. They would have to be crazy to come and play with him, a "disgraced" idol turned director.

Considering this, he could only look for someone who wasn't doing well in the entertainment industry, or perhaps hadn't even entered it yet.

Without a system, this was truly impossible!

Without any cheats, even with the "cultural heritage" from a parallel world, Bai Youlou couldn't even assemble a film crew smoothly at this moment.

After thinking for a long time, he opened a drawer and took a look.

Inside, there were actually two rather rough scripts, which were more like placeholders, lacking even storyboards.

"Buried," "The Man from Earth."

But after thinking about it, he closed the drawer again. Damn it, whatever. He was going to film "Whiplash."

Bai Youlou, now a unified whole, felt every cell in his body urging him, eager to greet the world.

He liked this feeling of exhilaration.

For the first greeting, he certainly had to go all out!

First, a slap to the face!

The two, continuing to ponder solutions with furrowed brows, walked to the window in perfect sync, pushed it open, and lit cigarettes.

This rundown apartment wasn't well-ventilated, so even the ashtray was placed on the windowsill.

Old Zhou was a heavy smoker, smoking quite frequently, the kind of person who genuinely had a nicotine addiction.

Bai Youlou, however, was more abstract. Once a cigarette was lit, he might only take two puffs.

Most of it would burn away on its own, like an offering.

Old Zhou, having secretly observed and understood this pattern, felt a bit more at ease. He smiled knowingly, no longer bothered by Bai Youlou always bumming cigarettes from him.

He was mainly relieved.

Where were there so many overnight maturities and transformations? He had genuinely thought Bai Youlou, who never smoked before, had instantly become a chain smoker, like someone possessed in a fantasy novel.

Talent might have always been there, just not displayed before, but how could a person's character change so rapidly?

Now it seemed that a young person's transformation also happened gradually.

After experiencing a major upheaval, he hid himself in various ways, like a hedgehog, wrapping his softness in thorns.

Whether it was going crazy at the press conference or suddenly starting to smoke recently.

These were all methods of disguise and self-strengthening.

As long as he acted crazy, he wouldn't be hurt.

Damn, he felt a bit sorry for this kid. A classic tragic male lead.

Bai Youlou: ???

What kind of look is that?! Believe it or not, I'll gouge your eyeballs out!

Is this guy really gay?!

His fists clenched.

His fists hardened.

Bai Youlou mused that if this guy's tastes were truly unusual and he foolishly set his sights on him...

Friends who often kill know that using two tons of water in one night can completely flush a person down the sewer.

The two smoked in silence, their thoughts completely different.

One felt sympathy and commiseration, the other harbored murderous intent.

However, as they both looked into the distance and the sign for the film academy came into view, they both froze for a moment.

The next second, they said in unison:

"Let's go back to school to gather reinforcements!"

If you have trouble, find your alma mater!

Since they both graduated from the film academy, and now they were facing difficulties assembling a film crew, of course, they had to go to their alma mater to mooch off them. No, to ask for help.

Thank you to "Magic Years" for the 1000 reward, thank you to "Tianyi Kongyi Zhiyi Hai" for the 400 reward.

May the boss never die.