"What is he trying to do now? I've already given him the money, and I still have the termination agreement."
Li Shishi said, "He wanted me to make a comeback and continue filming that movie."
I jumped up and said, "What was he thinking? Did he deserve to be slapped?"
Li Shishi said with some puzzlement, "This time it's not a pornographic film, it's the same old script, except that the investment has been increased tenfold, it's exactly the same as the first contract."
I said, "Is this bastard trying to trick us again?"
Li Shishi said, "I've read the contract carefully, and there are no problems. But I still haven't dared to sign it. I know you're not rich either, cousin, haha." And let me tell you, I've recently spent a lot of money out of my own pocket; this month at the bar has been a complete waste of my income.
I said, "I already offended him terribly last time, so we have to be very careful around him!"
Li Shishi pretended to be indifferent and said, "I've completely given up on that play. I saved some money from modeling recently, and I want to travel all over the country."
Where do you want to go?
"I want to go to Luoyang to see the peonies first."
I said, "It's already this late in the month, let's go see peonies. Why don't we stay a few more days and go see chrysanthemums instead?"
Li Shishi shook her head and said, "I don't like chrysanthemums."
I said, "My cousin doesn't like it either, so there are some bars I never go to."
As I was rambling, my phone rang. When I answered, a very familiar voice said in a pretentious tone, "Mr. Xiao, can we talk at Hua Ran Xiao Zhu Teahouse tonight at 9 pm?"
"Who are you? What do you want to talk about?"
The other party sneered: "You've forgotten me so quickly? I am Jin Shaoyan!"
"Hey, what can we talk about?" I deliberately exaggerated, "You didn't forget the money I gave you last time, did you?"
When Li Shishi heard what I said, her expression changed; she already knew who it was.
As expected, Jin Shaoyan remained silent for a while before saying, "Let's talk about cooperation again."
"You want me to be your nude body double?"
"...Whether you come or not, I'll wait for you until 9:30." Jin Shaoyan suddenly said coldly, "If you don't come, I'll come looking for you again later!" Then he hung up the phone before I could reply.
I roared in fury, "Damn it, how dare you threaten me!"
Li Shishi asked with concern, "What did he say?"
I waved my hand: "Never mind that. Do you think I'm the kind of person who's afraid of threats? I really do have to go and meet him!"
Li Shishi seemed relieved, covering her mouth and laughing, "Cousin, weren't you unafraid of threats?"
I said, "These are two different things. I want to hear what he's talking about." I'm not afraid of threats from someone like Jin Shaoyan, because I know that even if someone like him hates you, he won't cross the line. That's probably what they call a gentleman.
Li Shishi laughed and said, "You went out of your way to listen to someone fart, cousin. You have quite the refined taste."
"...If you keep putting me down, I'm really not going."
Li Shishi immediately showed a hint of panic: "What does it have to do with me if you don't go?"
...
Li Shishi and I are both smart (just like Hua Rong and I are both handsome guys). We both understand that her so-called "giving up" is just an excuse and a sign of helplessness. As long as there's a glimmer of hope, she'll throw herself into it wholeheartedly. Now, Jin Shaoyan has thrown that glimmer of hope at us again, but he definitely has his conditions attached. At this point, it's best for me to go and sound him out. I suspect that after losing face last time, Jin Shaoyan is now trying to buy back his reputation with money, just like when we were betting on horses, he hoped to get me to compromise with a sports car.
Of course, I also have my bottom line. My bottom line is: I'm fine with being a body double or showing my face, but I absolutely cannot show my face and then have a body double film the scene...
I arrived at the place he had mentioned as promised, and right on time, led by a servant, I found Jin Shaoyan in the private room. I was dressed neatly, because I had heard from Jin 2 that Jin 1 hated people who were sloppily dressed and late. Now that we had gone through so much, it would be pointless to play any tricks during a serious conversation. Of course, it was precisely because I was dressed like this that my leather bag wasn't so conspicuous; inside, of course, was an eternal—ah, a brick!
Chapter Seventy-Eight: The Renaissance
After I sat down, Jin Shaoyan looked at me with his usual amused gaze, and extended his hand to me, saying, "Mr. Xiao, we meet again."
I patted his hand as a handshake, and got straight to the point: "What brings you here?"
Jin Shaoyan pointed to the tea menu on the table and said, "No rush, let's order something to drink first."
I flipped through a few pages of the tea menu, which was full of expensive and well-known famous teas. I impatiently closed the menu and told the waiter, "Anything is fine."
Jin Shaoyan tentatively asked me, "How about we have some wine?"
I still said, "Whatever."
The waiter bent down and asked Jin Shaoyan, "Sir, may we bring that bottle of wine now?"
It seems this guy had already ordered everything, and he even pretended to let me order. But this guy is acting a bit strange today. First of all, someone like him shouldn't be ordering drinks in a teahouse, and secondly, our relationship doesn't seem suitable for drinking.
I was extra careful and exchanged a few innocuous words with him. The wine arrived quickly—a bottle of red wine with everything written in a foreign language. It had been chilled, and the carefully crafted bottle gleamed with a chilling sheen. A waiter wearing white gloves used a cork opener to uncork the wine and poured it into a stemmed glass. The dark red liquid had a very strong texture, swirling in the glass like a piece of supple jelly.
Jin Shaoyan tilted the glass, observing the wine's cling to the sides, then inhaled deeply, saying, "Try it. I brought it back from Burgundy myself. I went through a lot of trouble at the airport to get it." He then slowly sipped it.
I cursed under my breath, calling him a "show-off," and without thinking twice, gulped down a large mouthful. As I swallowed, I felt a slight burning sensation in my throat, followed by a wave of discomfort in my mouth, astringent as if I had chewed a mouthful of grape stems. But all of that vanished immediately, replaced by a refreshing fragrance that spread from my heart to my nostrils and a sweet aftertaste that made me feel so close to nature—and now my burps didn't taste like instant noodles anymore.
I downed the wine in my glass in one gulp, and Jin Shaoyan smiled and poured me another: "It seems Mr. Xiao does know how to appreciate wine."
I was annoyed by his behavior and said, "Just say what you want to say."
“Oh, it’s like this,” Jin Shaoyan said, shifting his posture. “After our company’s research, we believe that the movie ‘The Legend of Li Shishi’ still has great potential. So we would like to invite Ms. Wang to participate in the filming again.”
I laughed and said, "Don't the people in your company have anything else to do but study this play every day?"