The old lady gathered her white hair and said with an air of authority, "I'll figure something out. You don't need to worry about it."
Then I chatted with the Empress Dowager for a while, from distinguishing real from fake cigarettes by examining cigarette packs to the old-fashioned lighter. I noticed that the old lady particularly loved talking about trivial family matters, and of course, so did I. These past few months, I'd been surrounded by emperors and heroes, and it had been a long time since I'd sat down and had such a pleasant chat with someone. It wasn't until the old lady instructed me to prepare dinner that I realized it was getting late, and I hurriedly took my leave. Seeing that I couldn't persuade her to stay, the old lady said somewhat displeased, "You've come all this way, and you won't even come inside?"
I laughed and said, "You said it yourself, this kind of house isn't very good. I'll invite you over when my new house is occupied. It'll definitely look like a big brick house."
The old lady led me to the car, squeezed my arm and said, "Young man, come visit your grandma often, do you hear me?" The old woman suddenly said emotionally, "Now I'll have two more grandsons."
I quickly dusted off my sleeves, bowed, and said, "I will obey Your Majesty's decree."
As my car slowly drove away from the Jin family villa, I could still see the old woman standing there in the rearview mirror. Aside from living in this magnificent building, she was, in reality, a lonely old woman…
The reason I didn't stay for lunch was because I noticed the traffic on the highway was starting to pick up, which was a rare opportunity, as there are usually never many cars here. Living in a villa doesn't truly mean being isolated from the world; I saw many people on the road sent by various famous Chinese restaurants. I thought that if I followed them, there was a good chance I could find the current owner of the Eight Heavenly Kings.
As soon as I turned the car around, I received a call from Li Shishi. She was so excited that she almost screamed in a low voice, "Cousin, Jin Shaoyan suddenly wants to continue filming that movie."
"Ah? So fast." I didn't expect the Empress Dowager to be so impatient; she issued an ultimatum in less than 10 minutes.
Li Shishi said, "He just asked to see us."
"us?"
"It's just you and me."
I said, "If he wants to take pictures, he can take pictures. Why does he need to see me?" My friendship with Grandma Jin is one thing, but I don't want to deal with Jin Yi anymore. He feels awkward when he sees me, and I feel uncomfortable when I see him.
Li Shishi said, "Do you think he might have remembered something?"
I said confidently, "No—where did you meet?" I didn't want to disappoint Li Shishi again, and I was also quite curious about what Jin 1 was going to say to me.
They arranged to meet at a prestigious tea house. Following Li Shishi's instructions, I parked the car far across the street. I didn't want to do something like what happened at Caesar's Gate again. My previous recklessness was due to Kim Jong-un; doing the same thing now would seem insincere. I even thought that if this meeting succeeded, I could still be friends with Kim Jong-un; after all, he and Kim Jong-un were just the same person from two different periods, and he wasn't inherently bad.
After entering, I was led by the waiter to the private room where Jin Shaoyan and Li Shishi were sitting. From a distance, they still looked like a handsome man and a beautiful woman, but the two of them seemed a bit awkward. Jin Shaoyan was leisurely sipping his tea, while Li Shishi was idly moving the coasters with her index fingers.
When I walked up to them, Jin Shaoyan looked up, glanced at me indifferently, and then suddenly revealed a playful smile.
I knew today's conversation wouldn't end the way I wanted. The smile on Jin Shaoyan's lips was clearly mocking and contemptuous, like someone seeing a mangy dog that had bitten them before. Although I, Xiao Qiang, now have a certain status in public, owning my own bar, managing a school, and some industry insiders even know I'm the Sanda King... all of this is meaningless in the eyes of the wealthy young master Jin. Xiao Qiang will always be Xiao Qiang, that street thug.
But he still stood up, shook my hand with a fake smile, and even made a joke that he thought was very magnanimous: "What's wrong, Brother Qiang? Don't you know how to address me? You can call me Mr. Jin like everyone else, but I hope you can call me Shao Yan."
I got goosebumps. The old Jin Shaoyan would show his disdain on his face, he wouldn't fake it. The fact that he could call me "Brother Qiang" so easily means this guy is even worse than Jin Yi!
I said coldly, "Please sit down, Mr. Jin."
Jin Shaoyan's smile froze for a moment; he probably hadn't expected me to put on airs instead.
But he quickly regained his composure, and after we sat down, he got straight to the point: "We almost had a chance to work together before, and the reason I invited you two here today is still about the contract. I've decided to continue filming 'The Legend of Li Shishi'."
I said casually, "That's a good thing."
Li Shishi quietly tugged at me, then placed the 150,000 yuan check in front of Jin Shaoyan.
Chapter Sixty-Seven: Wu Song
Jin Shaoyan glanced at the check and asked Li Shishi, "This is...?"
"This is the penalty for breach of contract. Since you're going to turn it on again, I'll return the money to you."
Jin Shaoyan did not take it back, but changed the subject. He said, "Speaking of this 'Legend of Li Shishi,' my vice president told me that I specifically signed the document in June and had someone start processing it, but strangely, I have no recollection of it at all."
Li Shishi and I exchanged a glance, then shook our heads and smiled wryly. It seemed Jin 2 hadn't changed his rascal nature. Whether you called him being proactive or simply clinging to his wicked intentions, he had actually used his position to leave clues to remind me to find Li Shishi. How he did it was simple: he just needed to sneak into the office building when Jin 1 wasn't there, or even just make a phone call to the secretary.
Jin Shaoyan said, "I just reviewed the script and expert opinions for this film again. It's a film that's bound to lose money. It has no selling points whatsoever and is practically like a black-and-white story film from the 1980s."
Li Shishi couldn't help but ask, "Then why did you change your mind?"
Jin Shaoyan gave me a meaningful look and said, "Because my grandmother just called me and said she wanted to watch a movie called 'The Legend of Li Shishi.' It's really strange, she never used to watch movies or even use the phone."
Jin Shaoyan suddenly turned to me and said, "Mr. Xiao, whatever grudges we had in the past, that's between you and me. I don't want you to bother her anymore."
Looking into his intense gaze, I could only smile wryly. After all, it was rare for this kid to be so filial even without knowing the facts, so I could only nod.
"As for this..." Jin Shaoyan pushed the check back in front of us and said, "We can sign a separate contract. Consider this money as my grandmother's way of thanking you both."
His actions completely enraged me. His meaning was clear: he saw us as opportunistic scoundrels, and now that he saw I had gotten close to Old Lady Jin, he wanted to pay me off and get rid of me like a beggar.
I silently picked up the check, then put a cigarette in my mouth, and, amidst Jin Shaoyan's victorious smile, burned a corner of it. Then I used the burning check to light the cigarette...
Jin Shaoyan was stunned and his expression changed. He stood up abruptly, gave a cold smile, said to Li Shishi, "I will contact you again," and walked out without looking back.
Li Shishi stared blankly at his retreating figure for a long time before turning around and asking in surprise, "Cousin, why are you crying?"
I wiped away my tears and said, "Lighting a cigarette with a check is too stinging to my eyes!"
Li Shishi glared at me, looking somewhat lost, and said, "He really is different from before."
I said, "Yes. He used to stare at you with a sour look, but now he just leers at your chest. He still wants to sleep with you, but it's completely different now."
Li Shishi had long since become immune to my words. She said dejectedly, "When will you ever act like a gentleman?"
I held the cup with my delicate fingers raised, and said slowly and deliberately, "What makes a gentleman?"
Li Shishi smiled and said, "Although it's not exactly like you, it's at least somewhat similar."
I continued in my affected manner, "Did that grandson pay for the tea?"
Li Shishi: "..."
I stopped joking and said, "Are you still planning to film that movie?"