Chapter 4: Unreliable, Impossible
Despite Li Ge’s carefree and unreliable demeanor, when it came to business, he had successfully established Gewu Media within just two years, although the initial capital came from his father, and his cousin had helped facilitate many collaborations.
In the entire company, no one left work earlier than the CEO.
Yu Rui had complaints he couldn’t voice, his boss’s fickleness constantly surprising him.
When flirting with the little star, he had affectionately praised his plastic surgery face, but after less than a month, he became disgusted, as if wanting to kick him to outer space.
Fearing that his boss would be harassed again, Yu Rui spent the entire afternoon busy outside.
Although the movie was invested in by his boss personally, he couldn’t be careless. He first met with the little star alone, then invited the manager of the investment department to meet with Director Liu, and finally returned to the company on time at five o’clock.
Because five o’clock was his boss’s off-work time.
Yu Rui consciously avoided sensitive topics, following Li Ge into the elevator, only reporting on his meeting with the director, and not mentioning the little star at all.
“The cast can be finalized next week. I’ve asked Director Liu to keep the second male lead role open. If the person we’re putting in is a good actor, give him the third male lead.”
Li Ge nodded in satisfaction, “Okay, let’s get off work.”
“Huh?” Yu Rui was a bit confused, following Li Ge out of the elevator, “Mr. Li, aren’t you going to the He family for the Lantern Festival dinner? I’ll take you there first.”
“Not in the mood to eat.” As soon as Li Ge finished speaking, his phone rang in his pocket.
He had just sent a message to his aunt half an hour ago. He thought it was some kind of harassment, but the caller ID showed “He Yan,” which was no different from harassment.
“Give me the car keys, you take the spare car, get off work.”
Facing his boss’s sullen face, Yu Rui quickly handed over the car keys and slipped away.
Li Ge answered the phone and spoke first, “I have a last-minute appointment tonight, I don’t have time to go over, please send my regards to Uncle for me, brother.”
“Where are you planning to go wild? Are you upset that the blind date didn’t work out?”
“…” Li Ge avoided the topic, “No, I really have an appointment.”
“You have an appointment as soon as you get back, are you busier than me?” He Yan scolded his cousin, “It’s up to you whether you celebrate the festival or not, but what’s the meaning of dragging Qiao An along? Doesn’t his family celebrate?”
Li Ge subconsciously cursed, “Fuck.”
“What are you cursing for? Behave yourself recently, don’t cause trouble and upset your mother. Cancel your appointment and come pick me up.”
The call ended abruptly, and Li Ge lost all his remaining good mood.
It was all because of that blind date on the fifth. After discovering that the woman didn’t mind his messy hair and the smell of cigarettes on him, he pretended to have phlegm stuck in his throat in front of her and spat into the flower bed at the entrance of the western restaurant, scaring her away on the spot.
When he returned home that evening, Li Ge learned from his mother that the woman had fallen in love with him at first sight after seeing his photo, but was greatly disappointed after meeting him in person, disgusted by his lack of manners.
Ms. Min pinched his ear in frustration, “Such a good girl, you had to spit, didn’t you? Uncivilized and unpresentable, where do you put my face?”
What made Li Ge speechless was that his mother, while complaining about losing face, immediately shared the story in her WeChat group called “Loving Family,” without any regard for her son’s image.
He was the one who truly lost face.
Driving to Hengxin Group, Li, the temporary chauffeur, smoked three cigarettes in a row in the car, getting impatient, and directly barged into the CEO’s office.
“What are you doing, why aren’t you done yet?”
Seeing his cousin’s sullen demeanor, He Yan didn’t indulge him. After closing the proposal, he said, “Who are you showing that face to? You’re not paying attention to your image, embarrassing the family.”
“…” Li Ge could retort anyone, but he didn’t dare to retort his cousin.
He put away his temper, slumped onto the sofa on the other side, and said in a defeated tone, “This is just how I am. I don’t live for others, why do I need an image?”
He Yan: “Then don’t wear clothes, go out and streak, make the entertainment news again.”
Reminded of the streaking incident years ago, Li Ge couldn’t stay slumped anymore. He jumped up and accused his cousin, “Sometimes I really want to sew your mouth shut, you just have to make fun of me.”
“Now you want image and face?” He Yan stood up and put on his suit, seriously reminding his cousin, “Your mother will call tonight, you think I want to manage you.”
“I know, I’ll go downstairs and drive, alright?” Li Ge sighed helplessly. He could only be obedient recently and focus on work.
The private elevator went directly to the parking lot. Sensing his cousin’s negativity, He Yan said, “A meal won’t take up too much of your time.”
“It’s not about the meal.” Li Ge sighed again, “I’m just annoyed. You’re the one who’s happy, you came out and your uncle and aunt didn’t turn against you.”
Just ten minutes ago, He Yan had received a Lantern Festival greeting from Lin Yuzhi using an unknown number, filled with love and sexual innuendo.
He wasn’t happy at all and casually asked his cousin, “How’s that movie thing going?”
“The audition is next week, I left it to my assistant.” Speaking of this, Li Ge seized the opportunity and continued talking before getting into the car.
“See how much I’m looking out for you, big brother? I’m afraid that person will bother you again, so I thought about it day and night and arranged a supporting role with a lot of scenes for him. I’m investing in that bad movie to make money, you think it’s easy to just put someone in? Just do me a favor, and I’ll personally apologize to Aunt during Mid-Autumn Festival.”
“Smooth talker.” He Yan urged, “Get in the car.”
“…”
The planned gathering was canceled, but Li Ge still didn’t want to go to the He family. He just wanted to find a place to unwind by himself.
He opened the car door, and his phone rang coincidentally. Stalling for time, he saw that it was Director Liu calling.
They were considered business partners after all. Li Ge was a businessman, and it would be great if the low-budget bad movie he invested in could generate income for him. Besides, he was quite satisfied with the script.
However, he didn’t expect Director Liu’s call wasn’t about the project, but about getting someone into the production for a cameo role. It wasn’t even to ask for his opinion, just to inform him.
“It’s settled then, Mr. Li.”
Hearing the drunken and rather smug tone on the phone, Li Ge’s suppressed anger finally found an outlet. He immediately started ranting, “Did I invest in a garbage dump? Can any random trash be shoved my way?”
“Oh, Mr. Li, what are you saying? Hahaha…”
Director Liu on the other end seemed to have sobered up a bit. After a few dry laughs, he tried to backpedal, “Our art film will definitely be good, it’s just that I have a junior—”
“Does that have anything to do with me?” Li Ge interrupted and questioned, “Can you still make this movie? If not, get lost!”
“Mr. Li, listen to me, it’s like this.”
“I don’t fucking care what the situation is, if you say anything more, the project will be terminated immediately.” As Li Ge was about to hang up, he saw his cousin sitting still in the car, and a thought suddenly occurred to him.
So he raised his voice and scolded, “Do you know how much I value this movie? You came to me with the script, I invested ten million in the five million budget, giving you enough space to work, and now you’re saying you don’t want to make it anymore, what do you mean?!”
“Ah, of course I want to make it! Mr. Li, don’t worry, I also value this movie very much!” Director Liu smiled apologetically and invited, “Why don’t you do me the honor of coming over for a drink, I’m at Jinling Xuan.”
“Jinling Xuan, right? I’ll be right there.” Li Ge hung up the phone with a serious expression, went around to the other side of the car, opened the passenger door, and practically forced He Yan out of the car.
“Brother, what a coincidence, there’s a problem with the movie project, I have to go deal with it immediately, you go back first, I’ll see how it goes, if it’s early, I’ll come over.”
The surroundings were quiet. He Yan had roughly heard the conversation in the car and didn’t expose his cousin’s trick. He watched him hurriedly get into the car and drive away.
On the Lantern Festival, the bright moon hung high in the sky. In the bustling city of Beicheng, some were happy, and some were worried.
Chen Shuo’s entire day’s itinerary was planned.
For example, he would spend two days surveying gyms around his apartment, within a seven-kilometer radius. The roads couldn’t be too congested during peak hours, parking had to be convenient, and it had to be possible to stop by the supermarket to buy groceries.
In short, everything had to be within his control.
Today, he would choose a gym and sign up for a membership, then go to Gewu Media to retrieve Lin Yuzhi’s personal information. The afternoon would be spent visiting the small director.
It would be best if the director had time, but if not, it wouldn’t be a wasted effort, he could go to the gym and get used to the new environment.
Perhaps it was the good luck he had wished for during Spring Festival, everything went smoothly. The director not only had time, but also introduced him to another director who specialized in art films, Liu Dasen.
Liu Dasen happened to be preparing an art film and could do him a favor. If Lin Yuzhi met Director Liu’s requirements, giving him a cameo role wouldn’t be a problem.
Chen Shuo knew very well that these two unknown directors were willing to come to Jinling Xuan for the appointment purely because he was CEO He’s personal assistant.
However, he didn’t expect that after having a few drinks with them, he went to the restroom, and when he returned to the private room, both directors had changed their minds.
“Assistant Chen, I’m really sorry, there’s been a sudden problem with my film project, I have to do some more preparation.” Liu Dasen shook his head and tossed his shoulder-length hair.
Chen Shuo fell silent, looking at the dishes on the table that had been touched and the empty wine bottles. After a few seconds, he asked, “Just a cameo, is that okay? I’ll pay.”
“Oh, I’ve already said we need to do more preparation.” The small director helped his senior smooth things over, “Director Liu and I have other appointments, thank you for the treat today.”
Chen Shuo fell silent again.
The frustrated small director, having eaten and drunk at Chen Shuo’s expense, had a bit of conscience and said helplessly, “My senior has no choice, it’s the investor’s decision. If we really help you, the movie will be canceled.”
Liu Dasen had also been struggling for many years. He finally secured funding to make the movie he wanted. He originally intended to show off in front of his junior, but ended up messing things up and losing face.
“I’m really sorry,” the small director said, “I wanted to help you.”
They were all at the mercy of the capitalists. Liu Dasen felt sympathetic and added, “How about this, Mr. Li will be here soon, I’ll introduce you, and we can plead with him together.”
Chen Shuo was slightly taken aback.
Liu Dasen: “By the way, didn’t Mr. Li’s media company make commercials for Hengxin Group? Just invoke CEO He’s name and ask him for help.”
The small director: “Right, why didn’t I think of that?”
Hengxin Group and Gewu Media were only business partners.
The two CEOs hadn’t publicly announced their cousin relationship, so it wasn’t widely known, but Chen Shuo knew it very well.
After wasting time and money, going in a big circle, he still couldn’t avoid that unreliable person.
Asking Li Ge for help? Impossible.
