Huayu: I'm reborn, but you still force me to be a scumbag?

Chapter 117: Taking advantage and still acting nice

"Xiao Chen, Xiao Chen."

Ms. Liu's gentle voice woke Chen Nuo from his sleep. When he opened his eyes, he saw the pretty face of a middle-aged woman who still had charm, smiling at him.

In fact, Liu Xiaoli is very angry now.

She found that many things had changed since Xixi met the boy. On New Year's Day, just because she took her cell phone, she didn't eat for a day and a night out of anger, and ignored her for three days.

This was impossible in the past. At that time, as long as I comforted my child, everything would be fine.

What now?
The key is this Chen Nuo.

Whenever it comes to something related to him, Xixi never behaves obediently.

However, no matter how angry she was, she had to hold it in in front of this boy.

Berlin Film Award winner, Wang Jiawei's new film actor, these titles are not something she can easily offend. This does not even include his current popularity in the Mainland, Hong Kong, and even Southeast Asia.

Fortunately, this person, like his agent, is stubborn and doesn't know how to hype himself up. Otherwise, if he had taken advantage of the favorable conditions after the release of If Love, and shown himself everywhere and bought some headlines, he would have definitely soared to the sky.

However, she never expected that Liu Yifei would date this boy alone and get drunk right after arriving in the United States. What if... then what should she do!
Liu Xiaoli was furious, but she still had a friendly smile on her face. Seeing Chen Nuo wake up, she asked gently, "Xiao Chen, how did you meet Xixi? She drank so much. Look, I have to trouble you to take care of her. This is not good."

In short, Chen Nuo was indeed a little embarrassed. No matter what, Liu Yifei did get drunk with him. But he couldn't explain it.

Chen Nuo had no choice but to take the blame: "Aunt Liu, Liu Yifei and I haven't seen each other for a long time. We are friends, and it's rare for us to meet in a foreign country, so we opened a bottle of red wine to celebrate, but I accidentally lost control. This is my fault. I'm really sorry."

Liu Xiaoli sighed and said, "Don't do this next time..."

At this time, Liu Yifei, who was standing by, suddenly stood up and said drunkenly, "Mom, it has nothing to do with him."

Liu Xiaoli hurried over to help her up, "Xixi, are you awake? Come on, mom will take you home."

Liu Yifei didn't wake up. After she said this, she completely collapsed and was extremely drunk. Liu Xiaoli alone could not carry such a big person who was over 160 cm tall.

Chen Nuo looked at it and felt that it would be inappropriate to remain silent, so he asked cautiously, "Do you want me to help?"

Liu Xiaoli hesitated for a moment, and chose between the burly foreign waiters and Chen Nuo. Finally, she nodded to Chao Nuo, "Thank you for your help, Xiao Chen. Please help me get her to the parking lot. My car is there. I have already paid for the bill. Let's go now."

Well, at first the two of them were arguing over it, but in the end no one paid.

Chen Nuo had no choice but to put in some effort. He walked to Liu Yifei, put her arm around her neck, then held her waist and lifted her up in one go.

Liu Xiaoli watched Chen Nuo's somewhat rough movements from the side, and felt like a stone was blocking her heart, as if the treasure she had cherished all her life was suddenly being taken in someone else's hands and played with.

She couldn't help but said, "Xiao Chen, be gentler."

"Okay, Auntie." Chen Nuo was very obedient and immediately loosened his grip on Liu Yifei's waist. As a result, she slid down all of a sudden. Chen Nuo quickly turned around and hugged her.

Not to mention, although Liu Yifei looks very slim, she is actually not light in weight. Her body feels full of flesh and you can hardly feel her bones. Hugging her is like holding a doll.

Not only was her body soft and comfortable to hug, but Chen Nuo also smelled a faint scent of milk and alcohol from her, which smelled quite good.

Liu Xiaoli saw Chen Nuo's actions clearly.

When Liu Yifei slid down, she was startled and almost screamed. Then she saw Chen Nuo hugging Liu Yifei tightly and taking a deep breath. She almost broke her heart.

She walked over quickly: "Xiao Chen, come, let me help you, just hold her arms up, and I'll support her waist."

Chen Nuo explained: "Auntie, I'm sorry, I was afraid she would fall to the ground."

You still say that! Bastard, you took advantage of her and still acted like a good kid. Liu Xiaoli bit her back teeth and tried to maintain a smile: "It's okay, come on, lift her arm and let's go."

Chen Nuo and Liu Xiaoli worked together to help Liu Yifei out of the restaurant and stuffed her into the back seat of a Land Rover Discovery in the parking lot. Chen Nuo didn't expect that Liu Xiaoli, a woman, would actually drive such a car.

He stuffed Liu Yifei into the back seat, stood up, and let out a breath: "Oh, Aunt Liu, that's enough, then you guys go quickly, drive slowly on the way back."

Seeing Chen Nuo stuffing Liu Yifei in her pocket, Liu Xiaoli felt so distressed that she wished Chen Nuo would leave immediately. However, according to her habit, she still said politely, "It's okay. There's no need to rush. Xiao Chen, which hotel are you staying in? How about I take you there?"

As soon as Liu Xiaoli finished speaking, she saw Chen Nuo open the passenger door, stepped directly on the pedal, turned around and said the name of the hotel, and said with a smile: "Thank you, Auntie."

Liu Xiaoli was so angry that she almost vomited blood. She forced a smile and said, "Why are you being polite? We are all so familiar with each other. Let's get in the car."

Chen Nuo was thick-skinned because he was still dizzy and didn't want to go to the roadside in America to hail a taxi alone in this state.

After the car started, he dozed off in the passenger seat, but Liu Xiaoli recovered and couldn't hold back her curiosity, so she took the initiative to ask, "Xiao Chen, why are you in LA? Didn't I hear that you were in New York filming a new movie directed by Wang Jiawei?"

“Oh, it’s finished.”

"Ah?" Liu Xiaoli asked in surprise, "How long has it been? Two weeks?"

"Yes, 15 days."

So short?
Liu Xiaoli was silent for a moment. Who doesn't know Wang Jiawei's style? What role only takes 15 days to shoot? It definitely can't be the male lead, at most it's a minor supporting role. It seems that the domestic media are also talking nonsense.

Yes, I found it a bit strange in the first place. How did this person suddenly climb up to Wang Jiawei's high branch? Haha, it turns out that he was just going to play a minor role in a play.

Liu Xiaoli smiled secretly in her heart, but said on the surface: "It was shot so quickly, it seems that the filming went smoothly."

Chen Nuo hummed, recalling that his later scenes with Emma Stone were almost all shot in one take, and admitted, "It was indeed quite smooth."

Haha, you are still pretending to be nice to me. Liu Xiaoli's lips curled up slightly, "Xiao Chen, if you become famous in the future, you must help Xixi more."

"I don't dare." Chen Nuo was drunk and started calling her by her nickname. "Xixi is better than me and earns more than me. It's you aunties who should support me."

You are smart enough to know who is superior and who is inferior. But you called her Xixi too? Could it be that Xixi and this guy really have something going on? Liu Xiaoli pretended to be casual and said, "You and Xixi have such a good relationship, you should help each other in the future. As friends, more friends mean more paths, don't you think so, Xiao Chen?"

"Yes..." Chen Nuo was agreeing when suddenly the phone in his pocket rang.

It was almost 4 o'clock in the afternoon. When Chen Nuo saw the name of the caller, Qi Yuntian, his heart skipped a beat, knowing that the negotiation must have come to a conclusion.

"Auntie, I need to take a call."

"okay."

Chen Nuo picked up the phone and said hello.

Qi Yuntian spoke in Chinese and sounded calm, but Chen Nuo knew him too well and could tell from his voice that he was trying hard to suppress his excitement.

"Michael Slan wants to talk to you on the phone. As soon as I got tough this afternoon, they softened. Now we have negotiated to 50 plus %. As long as you hold on, I think we can negotiate a little higher. But I didn't expect this old fox to personally negotiate such a small contract. Also, I think Warner is very strange this time. They would rather agree to our profit-sharing request than agree to more cash. Chen Nuo, you have to think clearly, is there any problem here?"

There seems to be a problem.

Thinking about this, Chen Nuo suddenly remembered something, shuddered, and sobered up a lot.

Yes, it’s not my problem, it’s Warner’s problem.

After Heath Ledger committed suicide, the American media reported on his inheritance. I read in the newspaper at that time that Heath Ledger's final profit from Batman 2 exceeded 2000 million US dollars.

According to Heath Ledger's current status, although he is definitely better than him, he is still a long way from being a superstar, and it is impossible for him to squeeze into the 2000 million club. According to Chen Nuo's guess, his salary is only several times more than his, at most 1000 million.

So where did the remaining 1000 million in profits come from?

Apparently, there is only one source.

Warner also gave Heath Ledger a share of the box office revenue and was fleeced.

In other words, within Warner Bros., the box office of Batman 2 is actually greatly underestimated. Otherwise, it would not be so easy to get a share of the box office from it. It was impossible for Heath Ledger in the previous life, and it is impossible for me in this life.

Otherwise, why didn't anyone get a share of the box office from the Harry Potter series or the Superman series from Warner?

Because of this, compared to cash flow, they don't really care about the box office share of Batman 2, which is why they would rather agree to Qi Yuntian's share request than give in on cash.

Then, by taking advantage of this, perhaps I can continue to negotiate the profit sharing?

In a flash, stimulated by the golden US dollars, Chen Nuo's mind became clear enough to become a mathematician.

"Got it, give him the phone number."

"Okay." A few seconds later, a deep male voice sounded: "Hello, Chen, I'm Michael Slan."

"Hello, Mr. Slan."

"Chen, you know, it's been a long time since any artist dared to temporarily increase the price during the negotiation process with us. If I remember correctly, you are the first one in six years."

Chen Nuo smirked and said, "Really? You think too highly of me, Mr. Silan."

Michael Slan's voice sounded very serious. "Do you know who was the last person to temporarily increase the offer to Warner?"

He raised his voice, as if he wanted to shock Chen Nuo with his name: "It's Tom Hanks. Chen, Tom Hanks, before filming Cast Away, he raised the price temporarily during the contract negotiation with me and asked for a higher salary. But you know, in the end he still didn't succeed with me and finished the movie at the original price."

Haha, you are still a little naive to put pressure on me. Chen Nuo was now slightly drunk and said carelessly, "Then he definitely didn't just ask for a small increase in pay. Michael, I had lunch with my friend at noon. She is a Chinese star. When she learned that the salary for the contract I was negotiating was only 50, she laughed at me loudly and said that my Berlin Best Actor award was just a false title."

"Michael, I was so embarrassed in front of my friends that I looked like a beggar, so I asked my agent to raise my offer. No, not an offer, that was my bottom line. I would rather return to China with nothing than have my reputation spread like a beggar in our circle."

Michael Slan's tone was incredible: "$50 plus a % commission, that's at least over a million dollars. Do your Chinese celebrities think this is beggars? How rich are they?"

"Haha, Michael, there's a Chinese female star named Zheng who filmed a rubbish movie for 77 days and got paid 1.6 million RMB. What do you think? She's nothing, at most a TV actress."

Michael Stein was skeptical and said, "It sounds like a fairy tale. Well, Chen, let's be serious. You are not a star in Hollywood. You are just a completely unknown newcomer. You can't ask for millions of dollars and a share of the box office like Jacky Chen."

Chen Nuo laughed and said, "Michael, please, how can I compare my little money with Jacky Chen? I just want to get what I deserve. I don't want to be a beggar, I just want to keep a little more self-respect in front of my friends, that's all."

Damn self-esteem, damn Chinese face.

Michael Slan started thinking, if this is the case, how can he fight for the interests of Warner?
He began to calculate that the first film "The Dark Knight" had a global box office of 3.7 million. The company optimistically estimated that the second film would take around 5 million, so one thousandth of that would be 50 US dollars.

Therefore, if calculated based on the other party's request of US$100 million plus a commission of 200, the budget department would believe that Chen Nuo's final salary would be around US$ million.

But Michael Slan doesn't think so.

Because he was not optimistic about the box office performance of this Batman movie.

The reason is not only that Heath Ledger was replaced by Chen Nuo, but also because the consecutive release of two Batman movies will definitely cause fatigue among the original comic fans, thus reducing their desire to pay for tickets.

This is almost a certainty.

Unless, a miracle happens.

That is, this sequel had huge traffic and word of mouth, and it became a phenomenal movie.

But...the villains have all turned into Chinese boys, so is it still possible to explode?

impossible.

So when Michael Slan heard Chen Nuo and the others asking for a share of the box office profits that morning, he agreed easily.

He believes that this film's box office will not only fail to reach the expected 5 million, but may even be lower than the 3.7 million of the first film. It's just a small share of the box office, so he'll give it.

Anyway, Warner and this Chinese boy will probably only collaborate once in their lives, so it's no big deal.

……

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a long time. Chen Nuo thought the other party had hung up the phone, and couldn't help but look at the phone screen, but it turned out that the other party hadn't hung up.

Michael Slan's voice followed closely: "One million in cash is definitely not enough. Five hundred thousand plus 100% of the box office commission. This is my final offer. We have already made a lot of concessions, Chen."

Damn it, I'm sleepy and you brought me a pillow. The word "deal" came out immediately.

Suddenly, a sharp police alarm sounded, and in the rearview mirror, a police car with sirens blaring caught up with us.

Liu Xiaoli, who was in the driver's seat, said in a hurry: "Oh no, I'm speeding! Xiao Chen, what should I do? I, I just got out in a hurry, and I didn't bring anything except money!"

Hmm? Then you have to stop the car too.

Chen Nuo was shocked when he saw that she had no intention of stopping the car.

In the United States, if you exceed the speed limit without a driver's license, the most you will get is a fine, a warning, and points deduction. But if you dare to run? Haha.

But he was not sure whether Liu Xiaoli really didn't understand, or whether there was something in the car that the police couldn't find. If this woman had something, wouldn't he be implicated? His face suddenly changed, and he even forgot about Michael Slan on the phone.

"Aunt Liu, is there anything in your car that you don't want to see?"

Liu Xiaoli was stunned for a moment and asked, "What do you mean?"

Chen Nuo asked directly: "Guns, drugs, body parts, a bloody dagger with your fingerprints, and a large amount of cash, do you have anything like these?"

Liu Xiaoli was startled and shook her head, "No, no, how could there be those things?"

Without you, there's nothing to run for. Chen Nuo breathed a sigh of relief and quickly said, "Auntie, don't be afraid, just pull over."

Liu Xiaoli was really depressed at this time.

Just now, Chen Nuo was on the phone beside her, speaking in English and Chinese, and she heard something about box office share and JACKY Chen. She suddenly became curious and focused all her attention on Chen Nuo. There were not many cars on the road at that time, so she drove a lot faster than the speed limit. Unexpectedly, she was spotted by the police.

When Liu Xiaoli heard Chen Nuo yelling at her to stop the car, she hesitated and said, "But I didn't bring my driver's license and I was speeding. If things get out of hand, will it spread back to China and affect Xixi?"

Chen Nuo was getting a little anxious at this time because the police car behind him started to lecture him using the loudspeaker.

There was no time to explain at this time, so he said again: "Aunt Liu, it's nothing, just pull over."

"Yes, but..."

The police car in the rearview mirror began to speed up and chase. In a hurry, Chen Nuo did not care about Liu Xiaoli's identity and shouted directly: "Stop! Can't you hear me? Stop!"

Liu Xiaoli was startled and subconsciously stepped on the brakes, then pulled the car to the side of the road and stopped.

The police car behind them stopped right next to theirs, and two fat white policemen got out of the car, both holding guns. One went left, the other went right, and they approached cautiously, one in front and one behind.

Seeing this scene, Liu Xiaoli was so frightened that her face turned pale. "Xiao Chen, if anything happens to me, you have to help me take care of Xixi."

I'm not even taking care of you, your IQ is really too low. Chen Nuo rolled his eyes at her in annoyance. If this woman hadn't stopped the car at the first moment, how could she have considered you a dangerous person?
What should he do now? Based on Chen Nuo's understanding of the LAPD, since neither of them brought any identification documents and they dared to flee by car, they would most likely take him and Liu Xiaoli back to the police station. If the news was really captured by some media and reported back to China, who knows how it would be reported.

"Chen, are you still there? Did something happen?"

Chen Nuo suddenly heard Michael Slan's voice coming from the receiver of the mobile phone. It turned out that he hadn't hung up yet.

He couldn't help but ask tentatively: "Michael, I was in my friend's car and was stopped for speeding. Do you have any solution?"

Michael Slan's voice sounded very calm, and he even seemed to be smiling as he asked, "Which district are you in now?"

“West Hollywood.”

"What do you have in the car?"

"Nothing at all."

Michael Slan said calmly: "When the police officer comes over, give him your phone."

Later, Chen Nuo heard him say, "Mitch, our Chinese boy was stopped for speeding in the West Hollywood area. Didn't you play golf with the chief of their area last week?"

A male voice said in a serious tone, "Yes, Mr. Slan."

"Then you go and tell the police officer over there to let the Chinese boy go if there's nothing else. We haven't finished talking about our business yet."

"Okay, Mr. Slan."

　Thank you for subscribing and voting for me.

　　I don’t know which kind soul who is a hundred years old anonymously helped me get a recommendation ticket red envelope or something, and the first order increased by dozens of dollars because of it. I really~ah~I have a thousand words to say, but I can only say thank you.

(End of this chapter)