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Yan Donglin wailed tearfully, his accusations wildly exaggerated. Wenren Yan could not tell whether Yan Donglin was telling the truth. He had been admitted to Stanford at sixteen and had spent all his time in the United States studying and building businesses, focusing solely on finance and the IT industry. China's entertainment industry truly lay outside his field of knowledge. But—

"What male lead could possibly be worth a hundred million in pay?" Wenren Yan was extremely curious. "James Bond?"

Yan Donglin nearly choked on Wenren Yan's remark. "Ao Qingyuan!"

Yan Donglin howled at Wenren Yan, so agitated he could scarcely contain himself. Enunciating every word, he said, "That international superstar Ao Qingyuan! The one who won WOD at sixteen, caught the eye of a Hollywood director, and was invited to play the second male lead in the youth musical Dance of Youth! His movie came out when he was seventeen and became a global hit, then he went on a worldwide concert tour with the lead cast, becoming even more popular than the main stars! At eighteen, he released his first album, Eighteen, and its title track, Eighteen, topped the United States Billboard Hot 100 for five consecutive weeks! That same year, he won the title of world's best-selling and most popular artist!"

Yan Donglin was so busy singing the praises of the male lead he had personally chosen that he completely failed to notice the slight pause in Wenren Yan's hand as he held his coffee upon hearing that name.

"You studied and started businesses in the United States, so you must have heard of him too!" Whenever Yan Donglin mentioned Ao Qingyuan, he felt both proud and heartsick. Even the accent he usually tried so hard to suppress slipped out. "You have no idea how much effort it took me to sign him as the male lead. Do you know why his pay is 112.2 million? Because his birthday is November 22!"

Wenren Yan's expression turned faintly dazed. Hearing Yan Donglin's words, however, he immediately came back to himself and smiled. "Then you should be grateful he wasn't born on September 9?"

"Don't look at me like I'm some wasteful fool with more money than sense!" Misunderstanding Wenren Yan's expression, Yan Donglin waved a hand and sighed. "Let me tell you, I absolutely wasn't acting on impulse this time. I had the company's think tank run big-data analyses! Right now, Ao Qingyuan is a major figure the whole world is chasing after. He has the highest popularity on YouTube! The most discussion! And his public attention and favorability in China are also extremely high! You haven't seen how the media hype him up—calling him an international superstar bringing glory to the country, the first Chinese man after the Twin Dragons to conquer the international big screen. They even say that whoever can get him to film a movie comes with a built-in global audience base! I figured that if we were inviting such a godlike figure down to earth, of course we had to spend heavily. Let me put it this way: his pay really isn't exaggerated. Even at this price, I only barely beat the competition. Other companies offered as much as 130 million. I only managed to secure him by throwing in a reality show and a sponsored advertisement deal."

Ao Qingyuan's excessively handsome face appeared in Wenren Yan's mind. Without giving anything away, he raised an eyebrow. "He's worth it."

"Right?" It was rare for Yan Donglin to receive Wenren Yan's agreement. Amid his emotion, he could not help shedding a bitter tear. "I'm telling you, you can't blame me for being a sucker. This is just how the market is now. Every celebrity is ridiculously overpriced. Especially these young pretty-boy idols who bloom inside the walls but smell sweeter outside. They're obviously local products, but after wandering abroad for a bit, it's like they've been infused with some exotic overseas glamour. Every one of them asks for absurdly high prices. They casually demand tens of millions, and the key is that there are actually idiots willing to pay."

Speaking of this, Yan Donglin could not help recalling how he had kept raising his offers and benefits while competing with several other production companies for Ao Qingyuan. He complained furiously, "...Their market value is fucking inflated by the investors themselves. You have nowhere to air your grievances. Let me tell you, if there ever comes a day when film crews cannot start production because they cannot afford celebrity salaries, not a single idiot financier will be innocent."

Wenren Yan looked at the indignant Yan Donglin and thought he was right.

"What kind of look is that?" Yan Donglin keenly sensed the secret criticism lurking deep in his nephew's heart and abruptly raised his voice in explanation. "Did my sister tell you again about how I lost money investing in movies? How many times have I said it? That really wasn't my fault. I never expected that movie to lose that much money! Who the fuck could have expected Liang Jurao's extramarital affair scandal to break before the movie premiered? It made everyone boycott the film. I was the unlucky one, okay? I was set up and schemed against! But don't worry, I won't let those bastards off. Just wait for me to redeem myself this time. I'm telling you, I learned my lesson. This time, with Ao Qingyuan, I specifically sent a private investigator to look into him. He absolutely has no scandals, and his popularity and traffic are the real deal..."

The more Yan Donglin spoke, the more he felt that spending 112.2 million to sign Ao Qingyuan had been especially worth every cent. Thus, he became increasingly righteous as he asked Wenren Yan for investment. "So you can rest assured. If you invest in my new movie, you definitely won't lose money. We've already planned it out: as soon as filming wraps, we'll sell the overseas rights. So, will you consider—"

Before Yan Donglin could finish, he was interrupted by a suddenly ringing phone.

Wenren Yan frowned at the caller ID. Seeing Wenren Yan's slightly darkened expression, Yan Donglin, who had been speaking nonstop, immediately fell silent.

Author's note:

My new novel, Rebirth: Accepting My Fate, is now open—

Everyone knew that Gu Chen was a shameless lackey who worshipped wealth, chased profit, sucked up to others, and clung to powerful thighs everywhere. For the tiniest bit of benefit, he was willing to come when summoned and leave when dismissed, without a shred of backbone. He was the complete opposite of his younger brother, Gu Xiu.

Gu Chen could not understand it. He had only wanted to live a slightly better life, so why had he ended up ridiculed and tormented by everyone, finally breaking down and taking his own life? Only after death did Gu Chen learn that he had merely been a supporting character in a novel centered around a universal heartthrob. Gu Xiu was the protagonist. He was merely a green leaf meant to set off the red flower.

When he opened his eyes again, Gu Chen had returned to ten years earlier. He and Gu Xiu had just come out of the mountains and entered university. This time, he would stay farther away from those plot-driven characters.

He was not as lovable as Gu Xiu. He accepted his fate.

He would no longer fawn over or please anyone. He would simply keep his head down and work himself to the bone, forging himself into the thickest thigh of all.