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During this time, Wei Linxuan, who had quite the head for business, happened to be discussing a partnership with a designer to establish a clothing brand.

The designer, who had spent his entire life making custom formalwear, said excitedly, "This time, we'll become leaders of Fashion."

"You'll definitely become a Fashion master who shocks the world." Wei Linxuan smiled as he flattered him, casually putting away the preliminary letter of intent they had signed.

"...You really do squeeze every last drop out of the ground and pluck every feather from a passing goose!" On the way back, Lu Heng sighed after learning that Wei Linxuan had closed another deal.

"That phrase has always been used to describe corrupt officials. How can you apply it to me?" Wei Linxuan glanced at Lu Heng with an air of magnanimous tolerance. "But considering your academic performance, I forgive your poor choice of words and limited vocabulary."

Lu Heng gave a dry laugh. "Well, thank you so much!"

"No need to be polite." Wei Linxuan raised a brow as he sized Lu Heng up, then suddenly grinned in a thoroughly shameless way. "But how should I put this? You really do have the knack for bringing luck to your boss. Ever since I signed you on behalf of Huaxia Imperial Entertainment, my luck has been especially good. Everything goes smoothly, and even taking you shopping can land me a business deal. I think I need to raise your breach-of-contract penalty another tenfold. Keeping you at the company to stabilize our feng shui wouldn't be bad either."

Was that even a thing?

Lu Heng glanced at Wei Linxuan. He really could spout nonsense with a straight face.

On February 20, the main cast and crew of Autumn Dew White gathered at Beijing Airport. The actors attending the Oscar ceremony this time were male lead Yue Sennan, female lead Zhou Jingxiao, second male lead Rong Xiu, third male lead Liu Jiawei, veteran actor Gu Daihong, who played the head of the opera troupe, and guest actors Zhao Miao and Lu Heng.

They had not seen one another for more than half a year, and it was their first meeting after the New Year. Sitting in the VIP waiting lounge, they exchanged New Year's greetings. Liu Jiawei even teased Lu Heng with a smile. "How's the character biography coming along? Director Mai said he'll check your homework when filming starts."

"I've written half of it, but I still have a lot of questions." Lu Heng sat beside Liu Jiawei and was just about to discuss the script with him when Rong Xiu, seated on Liu Jiawei's other side, leaned over and said, "I heard about Xiao Heng going to Hong Kong for an audition too. It's a shame I hadn't wrapped up filming then. When your production starts, Brother Rong will come visit the set."

Rong Xiu paused, then added with a smile, "I'll bring delicious food to see you."

Everyone burst into laughter at Rong Xiu's addition. Lu Heng's foodie nature had clearly become deeply ingrained in everyone's minds. Zhao Miao was even more exaggerated, immediately pulling out two bags of chips from his suitcase and waving them around. "I'll feed you~"

Yue Sennan sat in the row of chairs opposite them, coldly watching the lively, laughing conversation. He could not help saying, "Speaking of which, Xiao Heng really has had good luck. His debut Film received an Oscar Best Foreign Language Film nomination, and the second Film he acted in is Director Mai Chengliang's major production. I don't think ninety-nine percent of artists in the industry have your kind of luck."

Zhao Miao smiled faintly and said casually, "Luck is also part of strength. Besides, luck is not something you can envy your way into. Just like how some people scheme desperately to climb the ranks, only to lack that little bit of luck."

The moment those words left his mouth, the atmosphere became somewhat awkward.

After Autumn Dew White wrapped filming, Star Entertainment heavily promoted Yue Sennan and invited a well-known domestic director to tailor a Lunar New Year comedy specifically for him. Unfortunately, after its release, neither the box office nor the reviews were satisfactory. Its forty-five-million investment did not even recoup its costs. Yue Sennan's ambitious plans to rise to the top had completely fallen through.

Zhao Miao smiled at Yue Sennan and said, "There have always been rumors in the industry that Mr. Yue is a ratings king but box-office poison. Because the Films you starred in performed so poorly at the box office, even your old employer, Huaxia Imperial Entertainment, was unwilling to promote you in Films, so you jumped ship to Star Entertainment. But now it seems even Star Entertainment's resources could not save Mr. Yue's big-screen prospects. Sure enough, a person's fortune is not something others can envy."

Being slapped in the face so directly, Yue Sennan's expression immediately darkened. He took a deep breath, seemingly suppressing his anger, and gave an exceptionally helpless bitter smile. "It seems Xiao Miao has a great deal of resentment toward me. I've already said that the company's willingness to invest forty-five million in making a Film for me was a decision by the board of directors. It wasn't up to me. You really don't have to reject me so strongly. No matter what, we're colleagues, aren't we?"

Zhao Miao sneered at that and said without restraint, "Stop pretending to be innocent in front of me. Don't think I don't know anything. But as your senior, let me give you a word of advice: Films and television dramas are very different. Even if you used to be the ratings champion, that doesn't mean your fans are willing to spend money to see you in a cinema. Don't get too impatient just because you're getting older, or the company will be the one losing money. Wen Nailing may be willing to spend forty-five million promoting you, but that doesn't mean she can afford to lose twenty million. If you really burn through every bit of her assets, her days as your financial backer will be over."

"Since we're in the same company, all I can do is offer a reminder: you can't kill the chicken to get the eggs!"

That sentence contained far too much information. Not only Yue Sennan, but even the other actors in the VIP waiting lounge changed expression somewhat.

Zhao Miao seemed completely unaware of it. Raising a brow in feigned puzzlement, he said, "Actually, I've always found it strange. I could never understand why you abandoned your old employer and jumped to Star Entertainment. No matter what, Huaxia Imperial Entertainment was the one that promoted you, and the first Film you appeared in made money for the company. The later Films did poorly at the box office, but that was just bad timing. Huaxia Imperial Entertainment never said they were giving up on you. They merely had you take television roles while attending artist training classes to polish your acting skills, and they never restricted you from accepting outside Film roles. So why did you choose to betray Huaxia Imperial Entertainment?"

Yue Sennan looked extremely displeased. He stared coldly at Zhao Miao and sneered. "It seems you think highly of Huaxia Imperial Entertainment!"

"No one would believe such low-grade instigation. Do you really think anyone would believe what you whispered into that woman Wen Nailing's ear—that I had privately contacted Huaxia Imperial Entertainment and would leave the company once my contract ended? No one here is stupid. At most, they're using your existence to keep me in check. They think my temper is too big and I'm hard to control, but they can't bear to let go of a cash cow like me. Of course they need someone to play the villain and someone else to play the good guy to coax me along!" Zhao Miao sneered back. "Otherwise, why do you think the company executives would pass over my Film for someone like you? Do you really think it's because you're good at sweet-talking people? But things like that probably won't happen again in the future. After all, no one is stupid enough to turn against money."