Chapter Sixty-One: You Have All Underestimated Me Far Too Much!

Chapter Sixty-Two

Chen Boshi was feeling lost and deeply wronged.

As a child weighing barely eighty pounds, she couldn’t understand why, after just a trip to the restroom, that wretched old man who had dragged her from heaven to hell had suddenly, and inexplicably, gained a new god-grandfather!

Chen Antang was also bewildered and aggrieved.

He didn’t understand how, after saying and doing nothing, he had somehow, for no apparent reason, acquired a godfather!

In front of the hotel entrance.

The thought that from now on, in this home of hers—a home that, though incomplete, was still warm—a fourth person would exist, one as terrifying as a great demon king, filled her with utter despair.

Sniff.

Chen Boshi wiped her nose and glanced at Chen Antang beside her. “Chen Antang, can you be a bit more mindful? Take care of your mother! If this continues, our family will fall apart!”

Chen Antang looked at his daughter, who was scolding him with the gravitas of an old soul, and finally couldn’t hold back. “Me, be mindful? I hardly ever come home, you’re always with your grandmother, and she’s become like this—can you honestly say you bear no responsibility? What was your grandmother like before? She was the kind of person who, aside from the news and the weather forecast, would never even watch a primetime drama! I just don’t believe that, without any idol-chasing influences around her, she could have changed like this!”

Chen Boshi was plunged into new depths of despair.

The enemy was already pushing down the final tower, and this useless teammate was still stirring up internal strife!

Like a deflated balloon, Chen Boshi let out a deep sigh.

It’s pointless to plan with fools.

So be it.

So be it, then!

Through the shimmering light refracted by her tears, she looked at her grandmother, who had now wholly transformed into a lovesick, brainless fan, and her gaze grew determined.

As a competent assassin, one must show off when the going is easy, but when the wind turns against you, that’s when true skill is revealed!

As a high-IQ academic star, as someone with two and a half years of experience leading fan groups, and as a vice leader well-versed in the intricate rules of idol fandom...

Recalling the table conversation among the adults just now, Chen Boshi clenched her tiny fists.

It was time to display her true tower-stealing techniques!

Li Shixin smiled as he posed for photos with a group of fans, watching as Wu Ming excitedly posted the pictures to his social media and fan WeChat groups. Right after, Zhang Shuo, who had received his call, drove over to the hotel entrance.

Seeing Zhang Shuo’s large head emerge from the car, Li Shixin chuckled and waved. “Shuo, come here. Let me introduce you.”

With that, he led him over to Chen Antang.

“This is Chen Antang—my newly adopted godson! Antang, this is Zhang Shuo, whom I adopted as my godson two weeks ago. Come, get to know each other. It’ll be good for you to keep in touch in the future.”

As soon as Zhang Shuo and Chen Antang met, they both froze.

Although Zhang Shuo wasn’t thrilled about Li Shixin throwing his weight around in his home, hearing that the old man had adopted another godson, and that this new godbrother was an experienced agent, he couldn’t help but feel...

Tsk.

A sudden bitterness, as if he had been forced into a relationship only to be replaced by a new favorite.

...

During the morning audition, Li Shixin had exerted himself greatly, even mimicking a stuttering crawl across the floor that left him sore all over.

After bidding farewell to Wu Ming’s family and the fans, he returned home and retreated to his room.

He’d planned to take a good nap, but at one-thirty in the afternoon, he received a call from Jiao Chendong.

He was told his role had been finalized, and he needed to bring his bank card, ID, and actor’s certificate to the company at once to sign the contract.

This news delighted Li Shixin.

He hadn’t expected the contract to come through so quickly.

Ignoring his aching body and numb old back, he got up and made his way back to Tianmeng Entertainment.

Upon arrival, he met with Jiao Chendong alone and finally learned the reason for the contract’s urgency.

“Riding the Wind” was an art-house film, with little guarantee of box office success. So, when the company approved the project, they set two guidelines: first, to attract as many investors as possible to share the risk—that’s opening up new sources; second, to compress the shooting schedule and cut costs—that’s keeping expenditures down.

That’s why the company’s efficiency was so high.

As for Jiao Chendong’s concern that the fast-paced shoot might be too much for Li Shixin’s health and stamina, Li Shixin was unfazed.

The sooner the film wrapped and premiered, the better. His old life was still banking on a few more works to keep the applause and income coming in!

Seeing Li Shixin’s confidence, Jiao Chendong said no more and took him straight to Wang Hai.

Although the “Riding the Wind” crew was mostly made up of Jiao’s previous team, the production hadn’t fully come together yet. Since they’d hoped to secure investment through casting, so far, Li Shixin was the only confirmed actor.

But even that was complicated.

Not only would he be playing both the lead and third male roles, but he was also taking on the job of props supervisor.

That meant three separate contracts.

When he met Li Shixin, Wang Hai’s demeanor wasn’t as friendly as it had been during the morning’s audition.

“Oh, the old master is here? Please, have a seat.”

Once Li Shixin was seated, Wang Hai sat up straight and clasped his hands together.

“Sir, Director Jiao has already briefed you on the general situation, right?”

“Yes,” Li Shixin nodded with a smile. “As soon as Director Jiao called, I came right over.”

“Mm.” Wang Hai glanced at Jiao Chendong, raised an eyebrow, then picked up his office phone, dialed an extension, and gave a few instructions before turning his gaze back to Li Shixin.

“Well then, let’s sign the contracts today.”

Li Shixin was about to agree when Wang Hai raised a hand to stop him. “But before we sign, I need to make a couple of things clear.”

Seeing the seriousness on Wang Hai’s face, Li Shixin hesitated briefly. “President Wang, if there’s anything you need to say, please do.”

“Very well. Sir, though we’re not a major company, Tianmeng Entertainment is a well-known name in the industry. I have to tell you, taking on an inexperienced newcomer like yourself for a film like ‘Riding the Wind’ represents a huge risk for the company!”

Li Shixin had thought Wang Hai was about to say something important.

But from the first word out of Wang Hai’s mouth, Li Shixin understood.

What risk? Cut the nonsense—just say you want to drive the price down!

“President Wang!” At that moment, someone knocked on the office door, and several employees with legal department badges came in.

They placed three contracts on Wang Hai’s desk and stood respectfully to the side.

Rubbing the three contracts in his hands, Wang Hai looked deeply at Li Shixin. “Moreover, sir, given your health and age, we have serious concerns. I don’t know if Director Jiao mentioned it, but we’re planning to shoot ‘Riding the Wind’ in just two months, and it’ll be very intense. By giving you both the lead and third male roles, we’re taking a significant risk with our shooting schedule...”

“Alright,” Li Shixin said as soon as Wang Hai finished, picking up the three contracts from the desk. He gave the props supervisor contract a cursory glance and tossed it aside.

He pulled out his reading glasses and quickly scanned the two performance contracts.

“Come, legal team—are you here just to watch the excitement? Go over the important points of the contract for the master!” Wang Hai quickly prompted the employees.

“No need, I can read it myself,” Li Shixin replied, waving him off.

The contracts themselves were standard performance agreements, nothing unusual. Even the phrasing was almost identical to those Li Shixin had signed in his previous life.

As for compensation, the total for all three contracts was two hundred sixty thousand.

One hundred fifty thousand for the lead, seventy thousand for the third male, and forty thousand for the props supervisor position.

Generally, there are three common forms of compensation: a fixed fee, a percentage of box office earnings, or a guaranteed minimum plus a share of box office profits.

But the latter two are so-called star contracts, and Li Shixin wasn’t at that level yet. So these two contracts in front of him were both fixed-fee agreements.

Not much, and paid in installments. A quarter as a deposit upon signing, the second payment when shooting begins, then after the halfway mark and upon completion, the third and fourth payments.

The pay level for the two roles was strictly entry-level.

As for the forty thousand yuan props supervisor fee, it was just so-so.

Li Shixin gave the contracts a quick glance, then grabbed the pen from the desk.

“Sir, are you sure you’ve reviewed the contracts and have no questions?” Wang Hai asked, surprised by Li Shixin’s decisiveness.

In fact, after seeing how tricky Li Shixin could be during the morning’s audition, Wang Hai had left himself a margin of seventy or eighty thousand on the budget.

Facing Wang Hai’s inquiry, Li Shixin simply smiled and shook his head.

In the surprised eyes of Wang Hai and Jiao Chendong, he swiftly signed his name on the contracts!

Pushing the still-wet documents over to Wang Hai, Li Shixin calmly capped the pen and rose from his seat.

“During the morning audition, I threw my old bones around, shamelessly playing the elder, I admit that.”

He looked deeply at Wang Hai and the legal department staff standing beside the desk, smiling. “But, President Wang, if you think I did all that just for a sum not even fit to wipe with, then you...”

He turned and left a final remark.

“You really underestimate me!”

Beep!

Just as Li Shixin turned, a clear chime rang out in his mind.

You have received an applause value of 1,121 points imbued with intense admiration!