Chapter 10
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"099, do you know exactly how the original owner convinced Li Zhen to accept that script?"
Today was the day Lin Xiaoxiao had arranged to meet Li Zhen. She arrived at the agreed location early and waited, but she still had no clue how to persuade Li Zhen.
The original text only briefly mentioned this matter without going into details. She only knew that Li Zhen eventually accepted the role in that drama, but she didn't know why.
[I don't know] 099 said matter-of-factly, [All the plot that could be transmitted has already been transmitted to the host, so if the host doesn't know, I don't know either.]
099 found Lin Xiaoxiao's question a bit strange. The plot was transmitted to Lin Xiaoxiao by it, so what Lin Xiaoxiao didn't know, it naturally didn't know either.
Lin Xiaoxiao: "..." So, what was wrong with her that she thought this system would be useful? Lin Xiaoxiao muttered to herself.
Lin Xiaoxiao glanced at the time on her watch, poured herself another cup of hot tea, and began to quietly wait for Li Zhen to appear.
One minute before the agreed time, the door to the private room was pushed open.
"Director Li." Lin Xiaoxiao immediately stood up, smiling as she looked at the man who followed the waiter in.
Li Zhen wasn't very old, around thirty-five years old, wearing a well-fitting black suit and silver-rimmed glasses.
He appeared refined and scholarly, exuding an air of intellectual elegance, but the lack of expression on his face somewhat diminished his scholarly aura.
"You are... Lin Xiaoxiao?" Li Zhen asked, his tone uncertain. He had seen photos of Lin Xiaoxiao, the president of the Lin Group, even if he had never met her in person.
But the person in front of him, smiling politely and radiating youthful energy, was someone he simply couldn't connect with the slightly gloomy person in the photos he had seen.
Li Zhen initially thought he had probably mistaken someone for someone else, but Lin Xiaoxiao was the only one in the private room. If Lin Xiaoxiao hadn't come, she would have definitely told him.
"It's me." Lin Xiaoxiao smiled and extended her hand, her gaze falling on the girl following behind Li Zhen, raising an eyebrow in surprise.
She was no stranger to this girl; the original owner had bought the script from her. And this girl was Li Xi, the author of "I Want to Become a Demon".
"Hello, President Lin." Li Xi poked her head out from behind Li Zhen, smiled at Lin Xiaoxiao, and looked at her with a hint of curiosity in her eyes.
"Please sit down." Lin Xiaoxiao, seemingly oblivious to the curiosity in Li Xi's eyes, gestured for the two to sit down and then told the waiter to serve the food.
"I wonder what Director Li has thought about what I mentioned before?" After all the dishes were served and the waiter left, Lin Xiaoxiao got straight to the point.
The original owner had only communicated with Li Zhen by phone before, so they hadn't reached any conclusions.
If Lin Xiaoxiao was previously struggling with how to persuade Li Zhen, she now understands why Li Zhen agreed to take on the role.
It seems that if she can't reach an agreement today, she'll need to work harder on Li Xi.
The novel doesn't provide much detail about Li Zhen; all that's known is that he was a genius director who, after making several incredibly popular films, inexplicably retired from the industry. As for the reason, no one knows.
“Okay, but we have conditions.” Li Zhen’s tone was icy, which was quite out of character for him.
"Of course, feel free to make any requests you have. As long as it's within my capabilities, I will absolutely not refuse." It's good if there are conditions; it would be terrible if there were none.
Li Zhen didn't say anything more, but glanced at Li Xi beside him.
Lin Xiaoxiao immediately understood and turned her gaze to Li Xi, saying with a gentle smile, "Miss Li, please feel free to name your conditions."
Li Xi glanced at Li Zhen, and seeing that he wasn't looking at her, she looked at Lin Xiaoxiao who was looking at her, and gripped the cup in her hand tightly, seemingly a little nervous.
"I hope that the female lead of this drama can be played by Lin Yinghou." After a long pause, Li Xi finally uttered this sentence.
"No, that won't work."
Lin Xiaoxiao refused so quickly that Li Zhen subconsciously glanced at her, a hint of dissatisfaction flashing in his eyes, as if he felt that Lin Xiaoxiao's refusal was completely unreasonable.
The "Actress Lin" that Li Xi mentioned is not an artist under someone else's company, but a signed artist of Lin Xiaoxiao's company.
Therefore, both Li Xi and Li Zhen felt that this request was practically a free gift.
Lin Xiaoxiao bought the copyright to this novel, definitely intending to use it for her company's artists, so initially, they didn't plan to make things difficult for her.
They didn't ask Lin Xiaoxiao to replace the female lead with an artist from another company, but who would have thought that what seemed like a free offer would be rejected?
"President Lin, you don't even have this much sincerity in cooperating." Li Zhen was somewhat dissatisfied. The reason he agreed to talk to Lin Xiaoxiao was not because of Lin Xiaoxiao's face, but because of Li Xi's face.
In Li Zhen's view, Li Xi's request was nothing short of giving Lin Xiaoxiao a free gift. If it weren't for Li Xi, he wouldn't be sitting here today.
"I've come here today with 100% sincerity." Lin Xiaoxiao acted as if she hadn't noticed Li Zhen's dissatisfaction.
He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said unhurriedly, "Logically speaking, I should agree to Miss Li's conditions. After all, the person Miss Li chose is an artist from my company, which can only benefit me and not harm me, but..."
Lin Xiaoxiao looked at Li Xi, her tone becoming increasingly gentle, "The reason I bought the copyright to this novel is for someone, and that person is the female protagonist in my heart."
If Miss Li wants another role, I have no objection, but the female lead? No way.
Li Zhen frowned, "President Lin..."
“Director Li, I don’t lack money.” Lin Xiaoxiao looked at Li Zhen with a smile. “I bought the copyright to this novel not to make money.”
As Lin Xiaoxiao spoke, she was secretly pleased. She felt like she was throwing money at someone's pride, and the feeling was indescribable.
Li Zhen was speechless. Lin Xiaoxiao's words really left him speechless. The Lin Group was a giant in the industry. If she said that she spent a huge sum of money to buy the copyright of this novel not to make money, he really had nothing to say.
"Is Miss Li a fan of Lin Yinghou?" Seeing that Li Zhen was speechless after being rebuked, Lin Xiaoxiao looked at Li Xi with a kind expression.
“No.” Li Xi shook her head. “I just feel that Lin Yinghou’s temperament matches the heroine I write about.”
At this point, Li Xi seemed a little embarrassed. "I know it's not good for me to say this now. When we sold the rights, we didn't talk about casting. It's really too much to make such a request now. I'm sorry."
Lin Xiaoxiao stroked her chin. "I understand. After all, this novel is Miss Li's hard work, and she hopes to present it in the best possible way. I understand, and I also understand that Miss Li wants to choose actors who fit the roles, but..."
Lin Xiaoxiao's tone became more serious, "I can give up other roles, and I can follow Miss Li's standards, but the female lead, no way."
"How about this?" Seeing that Li Zhen was about to speak, Lin Xiaoxiao quickened her pace, "You two should come with me to see the female lead I've chosen. If neither of you is satisfied, then we don't have to film this script."
Lin Xiaoxiao's tone was very firm. She wanted to give Tang Xue the best possible starting point. If this script wasn't directed by Li Zhen, then finding someone else to direct it would be meaningless.
Lin Xiaoxiao's resolute tone startled the two of them. They thought Lin Xiaoxiao would say that if they were not satisfied, they would find someone else to film, but they never expected that Lin Xiaoxiao's next sentence would be that she would not film anymore.
"Gentlemen, as I just said, this script was prepared for one person. It is also the best Xianxia novel I have seen so far. If it were not Director Li who directed it, I do not think anyone else could have brought out the highlights of this script."
Therefore, if it's ultimately impossible to collaborate with either of you, I don't plan to film this script. So, Ms. Li, you don't need to worry about me ruining it.
"President Lin, you really have great courage," Li Zhen said, without any intention of mocking Lin Xiaoxiao.
"Because I'm not short of money," Lin Xiaoxiao said with a bright smile.
Li Zhen: "......" I suspect you're showing off your wealth, and I have plenty of evidence.
Chapter 11
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Although the cooperation did not go well, the three of them got along quite well afterwards and had a pleasant lunch together.
After finishing their meal, and after consulting with the two of them, Lin Xiaoxiao prepared to take them back to the Lin Group so that they could meet Tang Xue.
"Who was that guy just now? He's so handsome! Is he one of our company's newest signed artists?"
"I think so. This is the first time I've seen it today."
"Please wait a moment, everyone." The group of people who were still discussing noticed with sharp eyes that the person they had been talking about, who appeared to be a newly signed artist of the company, had taken the two people behind her directly to the president's private elevator.
At this moment, they were no longer in the mood to discuss whether the other person was handsome or not. They quickly stopped the group and asked, "Do you all have an appointment?" This was their CEO's private elevator, and they dared not let anyone else ride it.
As soon as the woman said this, Li Xi and Li Zhen's expressions instantly turned strange, and their gazes toward Lin Xiaoxiao also became somewhat odd, as if they didn't understand why their own employees would treat her, the company's president, as an outsider.
Lin Xiaoxiao's lips twitched as she looked at the polite woman blocking her way, feeling somewhat speechless.
She just changed her clothes and cut her hair short, and her own employees don't recognize her anymore. "Has Tang Xue come to the company?"
"You're here." The woman paused for a moment, but still subconsciously answered the other person's question. Only after answering did she realize that the voice she had just heard sounded familiar.
He looked up at Lin Xiaoxiao for a moment, his eyes widened suddenly, and he quickly lowered his head, calling out "President Lin" in a flustered manner.
"Mm." Lin Xiaoxiao nodded and patted the woman's shoulder. "I just got a haircut and changed my style of dress, don't make a fuss."
Although it was a little awkward to be treated like an outsider by her own company's employees, Lin Xiaoxiao didn't care at all.
He ignored the strange looks from the two people behind him, called Bai Bing to ask where Tang Xue was, and then took the two of them to find Tang Xue.
As for why she didn't call Tang Xue directly, the reason is simple: she didn't have it, and she didn't dare to ask Tang Xue for her contact information.
Although Tang Xue's information included her contact details, Lin Xiaoxiao pretended not to know them. She figured she would ask for them after they became more familiar and closer.
She took the two of them directly to the gym. Standing outside the door, Lin Xiaoxiao pointed to Tang Xue, who had just finished running and was resting inside, and said, "Her name is Tang Xue. She is my choice for the female lead. I have also read the script, and I think her temperament is quite suitable for the female lead."
Leng Xinyu, the female protagonist in Li Xi's novel, is a useless person who cannot cultivate. She possesses what others call a useless spiritual root in this cultivation world that reveres martial arts.
Being unable to cultivate means you can only live at the bottom of society. At first, the female protagonist didn't care about this, and she didn't find it unacceptable that she couldn't cultivate.
Because she had a happy and fulfilling family, but this happiness did not last long. A battle between immortals turned their entire village into victims.
Only Leng Xinyu survived. From that moment on, Leng Xinyu was filled with hatred for the entire cultivation world. She wanted to take revenge, but she had no strength. She had a useless spiritual root and could not cultivate. She had no ability to take revenge.
Even so, Leng Xinyu did not give up the opportunity to seek immortality. Whenever a sect opened its gates to accept disciples, Leng Xinyu would go.
But time and time again, she was turned away because no sect would accept a disciple with only a useless spiritual root, and Leng Xinyu didn't even qualify to be an outer disciple.
When the Xuanming Sect, the number one sect in the world, opened its doors to accept disciples, Leng Xinyu went there with only a tiny, non-existent hope.
But this time, she was blessed by the heavens. She was accepted as an inner disciple by the sect leader of the Xuanming Sect. It was at that time that Leng Xinyu found out.
She doesn't possess a useless spiritual root, but rather a rare lightning spiritual root. The reason those people call her a useless spiritual root is because they simply don't have any cultivation techniques suitable for lightning spiritual roots.
Very few people knew that the sect leader of the Xuanming Sect was a person with a thunderous spiritual root. With a master and cultivation techniques, Leng Xinyu began to cultivate day and night.
Because she always remembered the deep-seated hatred she still carried, this matter became Leng Xinyu's inner demon.
She hated the cultivators who destroyed their village, and those cultivators who caused her to lose her loved ones.
She has a secret she has never told anyone: she wants to overthrow the entire cultivation world.
Leng Xinyu, a character created by Li Xi, is lively and adorable in the early stages, but her temperament becomes aloof and cold later on. She possesses both a down-to-earth quality and an ethereal, otherworldly aura.
She was aloof but not cold-hearted. After reading the script, Lin Xiaoxiao felt that the character was practically based on Tang Xue.
"Her temperament is such a good match for Xinyu's." Li Xi's murmur brought Lin Xiaoxiao back from her wandering thoughts, and her gaze subconsciously turned to Tang Xue.
Because of her workout, Tang Xue was wearing loose-fitting sportswear, her long black hair was tied back, and a white towel was draped around her neck.
Her lips were slightly pursed, and the lines of her profile were taut, giving off a cold yet slightly gentle feeling. It was contradictory, yet it felt incredibly harmonious, as if such an aura was perfectly natural to be present on her.