Chapter 18

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

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

Chi Junhao had been hounded by his family elders until his head was splitting, yet he did not want to give up his "true love," Shen Manyao. After all, this innocent, lovable girl had been willing to give up her status as the Li family's young madam 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?

But if he insisted on his own way, he could not bear to watch the Yao family force the Chi family into bankruptcy and closure, leaving his relatives and elders homeless and destitute. For a time, Chi Junrui was caught in an impossible dilemma. Faintly, he began to resent the Yao family for kicking them while they were down. He had always felt that Yao Pingting did not have even a trace of femininity, but he had never expected her heart to be so cruel and so hard.

Even if she truly did not love him anymore, could they not at least part on good terms? Seeing Shen Manyao's pitiful state after being driven out of the Shen family, with nowhere else to turn but him, Chi Junrui felt as if his heart were breaking.

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

Chi Junhao miserably discovered that life at school was becoming increasingly difficult. This was the turf of the playboys—though the elite children of aristocratic and wealthy families, the playboys' opposites, also attended this school, those elites clearly had no intention of standing up for someone who had framed their friend and boss. Or rather, to preserve the Li family's face and dignity, these elites were more than happy to kick Chi Junhao while he was down, do the Li family a favor, and conveniently eliminate someone who posed a threat at the Centennial School Anniversary.

After all, although Chi Junhao had always acted cautiously and disguised himself as completely harmless, his ambitious attempt to compete for the title of top student at the Centennial School Anniversary was no great secret at Diwan High School. Everyone had heard bits and pieces of insider information from others and understood that Chi Junhao's plan could indeed threaten them. So, being able to disrupt an opponent's focus and drain their energy without lifting a finger was another kind of victory for them.

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 fathers and sons, the saying was indeed true.

What drove Chi Junhao to the brink of collapse, however, was the huge piece of news Li Rongxiu suddenly released while he was being tormented into a frazzled mess by the many playboys—

He was going to participate in the Centennial School Anniversary, and he had chosen such an unbelievable plan!

Chapter 18

At the beginning of the planning process, Li Rongxiu's exemplary older brother had once reminded him, "Making a plan is much like doing business. The most important thing is to start with what you know best, ensuring that you can fully control it during implementation. Even if something unexpected happens, you'll be able to handle it with ease."

As a newcomer to striving, Li Rongxiu decided to follow his brother's advice. So the question was: what were Li Rongxiu, whom the wealthy families of Wancheng secretly called a "born good-for-nothing" in the future, and his group of playboy brothers most familiar with?

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

So the initial decision arose from a casual, aimless conversation.

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

"...Among the school clubs, the Drama Society has decided to hire a professional screenwriter to adapt Autumn of Diwan, then hold repeated performances on the day of the school anniversary; the Choir is still doing the utterly unoriginal Anthem of the Empire; and the Dance Troupe has decided to adapt the ballet Cinderella..."

Holding a pointer, Zhao Qijun stood before the projector and gestured at the display. He finally summarized, "...So far, a total of 302 students have registered for the Centennial School Anniversary as individuals, including 275 children from prominent families and 27 students from humble backgrounds. Of these 302 competitors, 225 have chosen business projects such as finance, venture capital, and financing as their means of competition. Our investigation and statistics show that their projects have been in preparation for anywhere from three months to more than half a year. They have now fully entered their stride and begun turning profits. The remaining competitors have chosen entertainment formats such as singing and dancing to participate in the school anniversary. The school clubs, meanwhile, are generally focused on celebratory song-and-dance entertainment, with a wide variety of forms..."

At that point, Zhao Qijun paused slightly in his explanation. Out of habit, he reached up to adjust the black-framed glasses resting on his nose, then looked toward Li Rongxiu, seated in the back row, and said solemnly, "Young Master Xiu, judging from the current investigation, there aren't many plans available for us to choose from at this stage. And if we choose a business plan... I'm afraid our competitiveness won't measure up to those competitors who have spent over half a year preparing."

And the worst part was... Chi Junhao's competition plan had already been prepared for a full eight months. Before that, the plan's creator, Lin Junrui, had spent a year and a half continuously enriching and refining this financing plan. In other words, Lin Junrui had been actively preparing this Centennial School Anniversary competition plan almost from the day he enrolled. Given Lin Junrui's talent and ability, Zhao Qijun could only regretfully say something blunt—judging solely by the financing plan itself, unless they used cheats, it would be difficult for them 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 help.

In other words, if Li Rongxiu wanted to participate in the Centennial School Anniversary, first, he could not ask the adults of the Li family for advice—though this rule was practically meaningless, because ordinary parents would not refuse if students sought help through casual conversations at home. Nor could anyone use that as evidence to prove a student had cheated. Put simply, being able to obtain answers from adults was also an ability—the ability to be born into the right family. Second, he could not pay investment management companies in society to buy investment proposals for his own use. Third, he could not plagiarize other students' plans—though reaching an agreement with suitable terms and having the other party willingly hand over their plan did not count...

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

Zhao Qijun's analysis and conclusion chilled the hearts of the playboys present by more than half. After a long silence, Xin Mengmeng, the only woman among them, could not help complaining, "So that means we have no chance either. A business plan won't do us any favors, and an entertainment plan... Which one of you can sing or dance?"

"Maybe we don't need to make it so complicated. Since the business route won't work, and the entertainment route isn't easy either... why don't we combine the two?" As Li Rongxiu spoke, 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 centered on Diwan High School's Centennial School Anniversary?"

"What? You want to make a movie?" The playboys all stared at the wildly imaginative Li Rongxiu before exchanging baffled looks.

"What's wrong? Don't you think that'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 hearts, and actors had no honor. Since ancient times, acting and opera had always been considered beneath the dignity of wealthy and aristocratic families.

"None of us knows how to trade stocks, none of us understands finance or venture capital, and we know even less about how to run an actual business—besides, the school anniversary is only a little over four months away. If we start a real business now, we probably won't even recoup our investment. So if we imitate those elites and pull out a financing proposal... whether it's reliable or not aside, everyone's plans are broadly similar, so it'll be hard for us to stand out. Since that's the case, why not throw away what we're unfamiliar with and pick up what we know?"

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

"But we've all dated female celebrities!" Li Rongxiu said this time with complete 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 throughout Wancheng and has a cinema chain across the Empire. If we choose to make a movie, then at least the production crew, pre- and post-production publicity channels, and release 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 film crew, then pick a few handsome men and beautiful women. That's easier than putting together some financing plan, isn't it?"

"And we all know that enrollment season is coming soon. Diwan High School has a great reputation in Wancheng, but across the Empire, whether in terms of teaching staff 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 that can be shown on the big screen is far more reliable than the mass choruses, operas, and plays chosen by the school clubs. And the box-office revenue after release is also a form of business activity. That way, our plan naturally combines entertainment value and commercial value. If audiences like the movie after it is released, the box office will naturally rise along with it. When that happens... perhaps our returns will be even more substantial than their small-scale business investments."

Li Rongxiu's words were simple and straightforward. It was obvious the idea had come to him on a whim and had not been carefully thought through. Yet to the equally idle playboys, it sounded rather reliable.

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

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

Though they all came from prominent families and never lacked money for luxury brands and expensive cars, not lacking money for clothes and food was not the same thing as being able to casually take out tens of millions.

Take Li Rongxiu, for instance. He was sixteen this year and still in high school. As a direct descendant of the Li family, Li Rongxiu had been spoiled by his parents and doted on by his older brother since childhood, so his food, clothing, housing, and transportation were naturally of the highest standard. Yet he only received around one hundred thousand yuan in pocket money each month. To put it bluntly, if carefully calculated, that money might not even be enough for one night at a bar or a single bottle of alcohol. But the key was that he never had to pay for going to bars, buying drinks, shopping, or even maintaining his sports cars himself. He usually 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 every 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. The children had naturally been raised together, and the reason they got along so well was that their environments and circumstances were similar. Put simply, the pocket money Allen and the others received each month was also limited.