Chapter 18

The members of the Chi family's second and third branches saw the family's current state and naturally grew deeply dissatisfied with Chi Junrui, who had caused all this trouble. Back when Shen Manyao was still the Shen family's eldest daughter and carrying Chi Junrui's child, they had complaints in their hearts but, mindful of Shen Yingbo's attitude, had not dared say anything. Now, Shen Yingbo had even cast his own daughter out of the family in order to protect himself. They had no relation to Shen Manyao whatsoever, so naturally they did not want to see the Chi family driven to the brink of bankruptcy because of this woman.

Thus, all the Chi family elders went after Chi Junrui, forcing him to abandon Shen Manyao, return to Yao Pingting's side, and beg for her forgiveness—as well as her father's forgiveness.

Chi Junhao was driven to splitting headaches by his family elders, yet he did not want to give up his "true love," Shen Manyao. After all, this innocent, lovable girl had willingly given up her status as the Li family's young mistress for him, and she was carrying his flesh and blood. How could he leave Shen Manyao's side when she was at her most vulnerable and go looking for Yao Pingting?

Yet if he insisted on having his way, he could not bear to watch the Yao family force the Chi family into bankruptcy, leaving his relatives and elders homeless and destitute. For a time, Chi Junrui was caught in an impossible dilemma. Faintly, Chi Junrui began to resent the Yao family for kicking them while they were down. He had always thought Yao Pingting did not possess a shred of femininity, but he had not expected her heart to be so cruel and hard.

Even if she truly no longer loved him, could they not at least part on good terms? Seeing Shen Manyao's pitiful state after being driven from the Shen family, with nowhere to turn but him, Chi Junrui felt as though his heart were breaking.

But at this time, no one sympathized with Chi Junrui's difficulties. Even his tagalong younger brother, who had always regarded him as a hero and idolized him, no longer had the energy to comfort him.

Chi Junhao miserably discovered that life at school was becoming increasingly difficult. This was the territory of the playboys—though the elite children of prominent families, the playboys' natural opposites, also attended this school, those elites clearly had no intention of standing up for a petty villain who had framed their friend and boss. Or rather, in order to preserve the Li family's face and dignity, these elites were happy to kick Chi Junhao while he was down, do the Li family a favor, and conveniently eliminate a threatening contender from the Centennial School Anniversary.

Though Chi Junhao had always acted carefully and disguised himself as utterly harmless, it was hardly a top-secret matter at Diwan High School that he harbored grand ambitions of competing for the title of top student at the Centennial School Anniversary. Everyone had heard some inside information here and there and understood that Chi Junhao's plan could indeed threaten them. So being able to unsettle an opponent and drain his energy without lifting a finger was, to them, another kind of victory.

How did that saying go? School was a miniature society, and parents were usually their children's first teachers, responsible for teaching by word and example. Judging from the choices made by both father and son, that saying was indeed true.

What drove Chi Junhao closest to collapse, however, was the enormous news Li Rongxiu suddenly revealed while he was being tormented to distraction by all those playboys—

He was going to take part in the Centennial School Anniversary, and he had chosen an utterly unbelievable plan!

Chapter 18

At the very beginning of drafting the proposal, Li Rongxiu's ever-devoted older brother had reminded him, "Making a proposal is actually much like doing business. The most important thing is to start with what you know best, so you can maintain complete control throughout its implementation. Even if anything unexpected happens, you'll be able to handle it with ease."

Li Rongxiu, a novice striving for success, decided to heed his brother's advice. So the question was: what were Li Rongxiu—secretly dubbed a "born good-for-nothing" by all of Wancheng's wealthy families in his previous life—and his group of playboy brothers most familiar with?

The answer was obvious: eating, drinking, playing, and having fun.

Thus, the decision began with an aimless conversation.

"...Based on the information we currently have, Chi Junhao's school anniversary campaign proposal is Lin Junrui's financing plan that we mentioned earlier. They have already progressed to... As for the others, Shen Zongming and his supporters chose... Lu Tianlin and his advisory team..."

"...As for school clubs, the Drama Society has decided to invite a professional screenwriter to adapt Autumn of Diwan, then stage repeated performances on the day of the anniversary. The Choir is still going with the utterly unoriginal Anthem of the Empire. The Dance Troupe has decided to adapt the ballet Cinderella..."

Holding a pointer, Zhao Qijun stood before the projector and gestured as he spoke. Finally, he summarized, "...So far, a total of 302 students have registered to participate in the Centennial School Anniversary as individuals. This includes 275 children of prominent families and 27 students from humble backgrounds. Of these 302 contestants, 225 have chosen commercial projects such as finance, venture investment, and financing as their means of competition. According to our investigation and statistics, their projects have been in preparation for anywhere from three months to over half a year. They are now fully on track and have entered the profit-making stage. The remaining contestants have chosen entertainment formats such as singing and dancing to participate in the anniversary program. As for school clubs, they are generally focusing on song-and-dance entertainment celebrations, with a wide variety of formats..."

At this point, Zhao Qijun paused slightly in hesitation. Out of habit, he reached up and adjusted the black-rimmed glasses on his nose, then looked at Li Rongxiu seated in the back row. With a solemn expression, he said, "Young Master Xiu, judging from the current investigation results, if we want to join the anniversary activities at this stage, first, there are not many plans available for us to choose from. Second... if we choose a commercial proposal, I'm afraid our competitiveness will not compare to those contestants who have spent more than half a year preparing."

The worst part was... Chi Junhao's competitive proposal had already been in preparation for a full eight months. Before that, the plan's creator, Lin Junrui, had spent a year and a half continuously expanding and refining this financing proposal. In other words, Lin Junrui had been actively preparing this Centennial School Anniversary proposal almost from the day he enrolled. Given Lin Junrui's talent and ability, Zhao Qijun could only regretfully say something unpleasant—judging solely by the financing proposal itself, unless they used some kind of cheat, it would be difficult to defeat it head-on and fair and square.

But as everyone knew, Diwan High School's rules explicitly prohibited students from using any means beyond their personal capabilities to engage in unfair competition. Students were even less permitted to use improper methods to bring in outside assistance.

In other words, if Li Rongxiu wanted to take part in the Centennial School Anniversary, first, he could not ask the Li family elders for advice—though this rule was basically meaningless, since ordinary parents would not refuse if students sought help through casual conversations at home. Nor could anyone use that as evidence that a student had cheated. Put simply, being able to get answers from adults was also a kind of ability—the ability to be born into the right family. Second, he could not spend money to buy investment proposals from social investment management companies and claim them as his own. Third, he could not plagiarize other students' proposals—though reaching an agreement with suitable terms and having the other party voluntarily hand over their proposal did not count...

In short, Li Rongxiu's current competitiveness was simply far too weak.

Zhao Qijun's analysis and summary left the playboys present feeling chilled to the bone. After a long silence, Xin Mengmeng, the only woman among them, could not help complaining, "So that means we don't stand a chance either. A commercial proposal won't work, and an entertainment proposal... Which one of you knows how to sing or dance?"

"Maybe we don't need to make things so complicated. Since the commercial route won't work, and the entertainment route isn't easy either... why don't we combine the two?" Li Rongxiu said. He straightened his back with great seriousness, tapped the table with his fingertips, and said thoughtfully, "What do you think... about making a musical film with Diwan High School's Centennial School Anniversary as the theme?"

"What? You want to make a movie?" The playboys stared at Li Rongxiu, who had come up with such a wild idea, and could not help exchanging looks.

"What's wrong? Don't you think it's a great suggestion?" Li Rongxiu looked at everyone with an innocent expression. Of course, he knew why they were so shocked. There was an old saying in the Empire: prostitutes had no feelings, actors had no honor. Since ancient times, professions such as acting and opera had always been considered beneath the dignity of wealthy, prestigious families.

"None of us knows how to trade stocks, none of us understands finance or venture investment, and we know even less about running an actual business. Besides, there are only a little over four months left until the anniversary. If we start a real business now, we probably won't even recoup our capital. So if we imitate those elites and casually produce some financing proposal... never mind whether it's reliable or not, with everyone's proposals more or less the same, it'll be hard for us to stand out. Since that's the case, why not toss aside what we don't know and pick up what we do?"

"But we've never made a movie before," Allen Yaksa could not help saying.

"But we've all dated female stars!" Li Rongxiu declared with perfect confidence. "As the saying goes, even if you haven't eaten pork, you've seen pigs run. My second uncle has a fairly sizable film and television company under him. He also owns 108 cinemas in Wancheng and has a theater chain across the Empire. If we choose to make a movie, at least the production staff, pre- and post-release promotional channels, and screening channels are all already established, so we won't need to worry too much about them. All we need to do is act as investors, choose a reliable producer and crew, then pick a few handsome men and beautiful women. That's much easier than putting together some financing proposal, isn't it?"

"And we all know enrollment season is coming soon. Diwan High School has a great reputation within Wancheng, but across the Empire, whether in terms of faculty or influence, it cannot compare to the Royal Academy in the capital. By choosing to make a movie, we would also be promoting Diwan High School to some extent. After all, when it comes to name recognition and publicity, a film shown on the big screen is far more reliable than the mass choir, opera, or stage play formats chosen by school clubs. And the box-office revenue after release is also a commercial undertaking. That way, our plan naturally combines entertainment and business value. If the film is well received after release, the box office will naturally rise with the tide. By then... perhaps our earnings will be even more substantial than their little commercial investments."

Li Rongxiu's words were simple and plain. At a glance, it was clear the idea had come to him on a whim and had not been deeply thought through. But to the equally idle playboys, it actually sounded fairly reliable.

Making a movie... it did sound pretty fun.

The somewhat tempted playboys exchanged glances. Zhou Ruixin could not help asking, "But if we're making a movie... it'll probably take tens of millions at least. What about the initial investment?"

Though they were all born into prominent families and never lacked money for designer goods or luxury cars, that kind of "not lacking money" was not the same as being able to casually produce tens of millions.

Take Li Rongxiu, for example. He was sixteen this year and still in high school. As a direct descendant of the Li family, he had been spoiled by his parents and doted on by his older brother since childhood. Naturally, his food, clothing, housing, and transportation were all of the highest standard. Yet the pocket money he actually received each month was only around one hundred thousand. To put it bluntly, if carefully calculated, that money might not even cover one night of clubbing or one bottle of alcohol. But the key was that he did not need to spend his own money on clubbing, buying drinks, shopping, or even maintaining his sports car. Usually, he just walked into a store, showed his face, took whatever caught his eye, and the shop would send the bill to the Li family at the end of each month—where Father Li, Mother Li, or Big Brother Li would pay it.

Allen Yaksa and the others had grown up with Li Rongxiu, and their elders were old family friends. Naturally, the children had grown up together. The reason they got along so well was that their family circumstances were all more or less alike. Put simply, the monthly pocket money Allen and the others received was also limited.