Chapter 19

After everyone chipped in here and there, they barely scraped together 2.5 million. Zhao Qijun's little stash was surprisingly the largest—he actually contributed 500,000. Seriously... so rich →_→

Noticing the amazed looks from the young masters and misses, Zhao Qijun rubbed his nose somewhat sheepishly.

The spoiled heirs, whose combined net worth might well exceed a billion, sat in a circle and stared at the pitiful amount of savings on the table. Feeling rather embarrassed, they said, "With this little money, we probably can't even hire a second-rate celebrity. Isn't this way too unreliable?"

Xin Mengmeng, always blunt and straightforward, could not help letting out a long sigh. Shaking her head, she said, "Seriously... even a penny can stump a hero!"

Chapter 19

The competition plan they had finally settled on with great difficulty came to an abrupt halt during the preparation stage because of insufficient funds. Looking at the harsh reality and their meager savings, Zhou Ruixin gave a convincing sigh, shrugged, and shook his head. "Sure enough, building a career is full of circumstances and challenges."

The young playboys: "..."

Li Rongxiu had no interest in sitting around and trading quips with everyone. This was the first competition plan he had ever come up with in both his past and present lives. Though the plan was still immature and unreliable in many ways, that did not mean Li Rongxiu would let it die before it was even put into action.

Li Rongxiu, who could be rather stubborn about such things, got up and walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window in the conference room. From high above, he looked down at the bustling crowd and traffic below, like ants. At the end of the stretching highway, he could see a swath of azure sea blending into an equally blue sky, while the last rays of the setting sun poured down with all their might, trying to stain the blue sea and sky red.

Li Rongxiu suddenly felt his restless mood calm down. He stood there silently for a while, considering who could help solve his current predicament. After some time, he took out his phone and dialed a number.

After three beeps, the call connected. The uproar that instantly pierced his eardrums, along with the deafening rock music, revealed the sort of place the other person was in. Li Rongxiu frowned and had to raise his voice. "Second Brother, can you find somewhere quieter? I have something to ask you."

Li Rongjia raised his brows in surprise. He lowered his head and glanced at the Patek Philippe watch on his wrist. The hands beneath its sapphire crystal face told Li Rongjia the exact time. He could not help calculating in his mind. He had no idea why his younger cousin would call at this hour. Could he be tired of staying at home and want to come out and relax?

At that thought, Li Rongjia could not help recalling his tragic experience last time. It had been the day after Li Rongxiu's sixteenth birthday. Out of kindness, he had taken Li Rongxiu out to "see the world," even spending lavishly to invite several young celebrities Li Rongxiu liked. Yet by sheer bad luck, Li Rongyu, who had been discussing business with a client, caught them red-handed. As a result, Li Rongjia had to kneel in the ancestral hall all night when he got home. For more than a month afterward, he had to endure Li Rongyu's face, which had already been expressionless to begin with and was now utterly black with displeasure.

Yet Li Rongxiu behaved as though he had nothing to do with it. He went to class when it was time for class, took breaks when it was time for breaks, and even received a luxury new sports car as a birthday gift.

That was what it meant when comparisons killed people with rage!

Beside him, Su Xue, a newly debuted idol with a soft, sweet voice, rubbed her full, firm chest against Li Rongjia's arm and asked coquettishly, "Who's calling? Why do you look so awful, Young Master Jia? Don't tell me it's your wife calling to check up on you and catch you in the act?"

The moment Li Rongjia heard the phrase "caught in the act," his head began to ache. He waved his hand, signaling everyone to turn down the sound system and leave him some peace and quiet. The young celebrities, including Su Xue, pouted in dissatisfaction, but seeing the serious expression on Li Rongjia's face, they tensed up and hurried out.

At last, the lavish VIP room fell quiet. Only then did Li Rongjia ask, "What's wrong? Don't tell me you're bored and want me to take you out to have fun. Let me make this clear first: if you're bored, I can find someone to chat and drink with you, but that's all. I don't want to anger Big Brother and that black face of his again."

Li Rongxiu ignored Li Rongjia's string of complaints completely. He organized his thoughts and considered his wording before saying, "Second Brother, if your company wanted to make a movie but didn't have enough money, what would you do?"

Li Rongjia immediately laughed when he heard that. In an immensely proud, unquestionable tone, he said, "What kind of movie would require an investment so large even Li Meihua couldn't swallow it? A 5D version of A Romantic History of a Shipwreck?"

Li Rongxiu chuckled and turned around, resting his shoulder against the huge floor-to-ceiling window and his head against the cool glass. His voice relaxed along with him. "I'm just asking casually. Could you explain your company's normal process to me?"

Li Rongjia's heart stirred at those words. After pondering for a moment, he asked, "Big Brother said you've been busy getting involved with the Centennial School Anniversary lately. Don't tell me you're planning to make a movie for the anniversary?"

What else could one say? They were brothers, after all. Li Rongxiu smiled and continued, "You know what I'm like, Second Brother. If the plan gets too complicated, I don't understand it, and I'm not interested anyway. So I discussed it with Alan and the others and came up with this plan. Unfortunately, we don't have enough money, so we got stopped at the very first step."

Li Rongjia stretched out his whole body and relaxed against the soft back of the sofa. He casually swirled the whiskey in his hand, raised a brow, and asked, "How much is it? What kind of amount has managed to stump our little Xiu?"

"We pooled our money and only got 2.5 million."

"Federal credits?"

"Imperial currency!"

Li Rongjia's lips curved slightly as the number amused him. He gave a light cough and said seriously, "Actually, film and television companies in the industry rarely fund movies entirely on their own these days. They either look for investors or seek sponsorships. Rongxiu, your advantage lies in your identity, so whether you're seeking investment or sponsorship, neither should be a problem..."

As he spoke, Li Rongjia raised his hand to glance at his watch again, then asked directly, "This can't be explained in just a few words over the phone. Where are you now? Do you have time?"

Li Rongxiu immediately countered, "Where are you? I'll bring Alan and the others to find you."

"Then come to my company. I'll drive back now. We'll meet in my office in about an hour."

After Li Rongxiu hung up, he turned around and found the young playboys around the conference table all busy making calls. They held pens and scribbled in notebooks while solemnly discussing with their elders the possibility and necessity of their family businesses becoming sponsors for the movie.

Even Zhao Qijun had tucked himself into a corner, speaking quietly into his phone. "...From the perspective of commercial publicity, modern businesses generally favor advertising. But an advertisement only airs for a few minutes at most, and its effect... However, if it can appear in a movie... Dad, the movie we're making this time is to promote Diwan High School's Centennial School Anniversary, so first of all, our target audience is determined by that... Most Diwan students come from Wancheng's prominent families, and their grandparents' and parents' social circles are the same. Meanwhile, the people our club is aimed at..."

Li Rongxiu quietly watched his spoiled friends busy on their phones, unable to describe how he felt.

At first, he had joined the Centennial School Anniversary solely to disrupt Chi Junhao's plans. But he had never expected that, step by step, they would also learn to gather information, conduct market research, and draft project proposals like everyone else. While putting in hard work and effort, they were slowly changing their ideas and the way they handled matters as well—

If this had happened in the past, their only thought upon encountering such a problem would probably have been to quit halfway. "Do whatever you want. This young master isn't playing with you anymore." Or they would have called their parents or older brothers directly, then shamelessly demanded money, people, and privileges.

But now, everyone was trying to use proper business negotiation methods with their families—though they were still asking for money and people ==!

Still, how should he put it? He suddenly felt that life was fulfilling!

Li Rongxiu stood to one side and patiently waited for everyone to finish their calls. Then he clapped his hands and said, "I've arranged to meet my second brother at his company to discuss the specifics of making our movie. It's about time. Let's head over."

The young playboys nodded. Xin Mengmeng waved the phone in her hand and said, "I just called my mom. She's very interested in becoming a sponsor for our movie. But she wants me to prepare a detailed proposal so she can bring it to the company and discuss the feasibility of this plan with the other management staff... So, who knows how to write a proposal?"

The young playboys looked at one another. After a brief silence, they all expressed the same question: "I was wondering that too. Who knows how to write something like that?"

Then everyone turned bright, sparkling eyes toward Zhao Qijun. There was no helping it—among all of them, Zhao Qijun was the only one used to doing the hard work ╮(╯▽╰)╭

Under everyone's gaze, Zhao Qijun took two steps back under the pressure and said weakly, "...Actually, I have the same problem. I just called my dad, and he also told me to prepare a proposal for him..."

In other words, he was already stretched too thin and truly had no energy left to help anyone else.

Li Rongxiu gave a light cough and waved his hand. "We'll discuss that later. The urgent matter now is getting to my brother's film company."

First, they needed to discuss it with professionals, settle the specific implementation details of the plan they needed, and then deal with these minor issues.

As for the sponsors—Li Rongxiu was secretly calculating how to write a proposal that could persuade Father Li and Big Brother Li...

If all else failed, he would have to "sell himself"!

Chapter 20

In the end, Li Rongxiu did not have to sink to the tragic state of "selling himself," because after a technically skilled, detailed, and exceptionally precise "pre-match tutoring session" from Li Rongjia and his company's professional team, they saved him once again—or, more accurately, they saved a whole group of young playboys.

Using the archived company documents brought by Li Rongjia's beautiful secretary as a template, Li Rongxiu copied the format and drafted a proposal of his own. After reviewing it several times, he pressed the print button in great satisfaction. Two minutes later, a proposal that was not particularly professional but was barely usable came fresh out of the printer.

After organizing the entire plan, Li Rongxiu straightened up from his desk and trudged to the floor-to-ceiling window, stretching lazily. Outside, the night was deep. A half moon hung from the treetops, while the night wind gently brushed past, making the layers of tree shadows rustle softly.

This was the first time he had spent so long in the Li family's study, and also the first time he had tried writing a proposal himself. Although professionals might think what he had written was not even worth waste paper, Li Rongxiu still felt he had something to show off.

Holding the document folder, Li Rongxiu strode out of the study. He walked around the vast corridors of the Li residence and discovered that the entire mansion was silent and still. Only then did he suddenly realize the time as he glanced at his watch—it was already past two in the morning. No wonder the house seemed so quiet.

Li Rongxiu let out a disappointed breath, feeling the regret of having worked hard but being unable to show off immediately. Then, out of habit, his heart tightened. His gaze deliberately skipped over the shadows at the end of the corridor. He intentionally coughed twice to announce his presence and was just about to turn back to his room to rest when, with a creak, the door to the nursery at the end of the second floor—a room with excellent lighting that the Li brothers had long abandoned as they grew older—suddenly opened.