How did I become famous?

Although Fang Bie was somewhat annoyed that Liu Mang hadn't grasped his central idea, he couldn't say it out loud.

So he decided to give a hint.

"Old Liu, don't rush. After all, we're all novices. Let's treat this movie as practice for everyone. We can't be too ambitious."

Liu Mang clearly didn't understand his hint.

"But that's a seven million investment..."

"I'm the producer, what I say goes." Fang waved his hand. "Let's call it a day. Remember to keep things in order here, pack up all the equipment. I'm going to talk to our investor, Hu..."

Liu Mang asked with some concern, "Isn't our new budget proposal... a bit excessive?"

"Not at all unreasonable." Fang Bie picked up the budget proposal and left. "You guys focus on filming. Remember, this is just practice!"

Watching his figure slowly disappear into the sunset, Liu Mang's eyes reddened once again.

"Qiu Mei, we must make this movie a success! We absolutely cannot let him down!"

What a wonderful person! In order not to put pressure on others, he actually chose to shoulder the pressure himself.

"Yes," Zhao Qiumei responded, her calm tone carrying an undeniable firmness. "Definitely!"

............

Standing at the company entrance, Fang Bie went over the words he had used to fool Su Mulin in his mind once more.

After a long while, he took a deep breath and was about to knock on the door.

The door opened by itself.

Su Mulin's eyes were indifferent: "The food is ready, try the steamed sea bass and see how it tastes."

Fang Bie's hand stopped in mid-air, and he smiled upon hearing this: "Okay."

The two sat facing each other at the dinner table.

Su Mulin was looking through the budget proposal that Fang Bie had brought back, while Fang Bie was poking at the fish on his plate with his chopsticks.

He picked up a piece with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth. He was stunned for a moment, then slowly savored it.

Su Mulin appeared to be looking at the budget proposal, but in reality, her eyes were fixed on Fang Bie.

"How does it taste?"

Her tone was calm, but the crumpled edges of the budget bill betrayed the nervousness inside the rich and beautiful high school student.

"Hmm... how should I put it?"

Fang Bie smacked his lips, seemingly reflecting on the experience: "A little disappointed."

The budget proposal was crumpled into a ball. Fang Bie looked up, only to meet a pair of emotionless eyes.

"Where is the disappointment?"

Fang Bie seemed completely oblivious: "This doesn't quite fit your persona."

Su Mulin frowned slightly: "What do you think I should be like?"

"Hmm... how should I put it?" Fang Bie rested his chin on one hand, smiling broadly. "It's like the kind of weirdly shaped, unpalatable food that a young lady clumsily makes. Although she tries very hard, she's still clumsy. That's the proper character setting for a young lady."

"Oh......"

Miss Su sneered and was about to speak sarcastically when Fang Bie spoke again.

"But your cooking is really delicious. Tsk, if you weren't in the entertainment industry, you could open a restaurant and make it a big success."

"Flattery is useless."

Miss Su tried to appear calm, but the upturned corners of her mouth betrayed her good mood.

She's still just a seventeen-year-old girl.

"Hmm." Fang Bie raised his chin. "How's the budget coming along? Feel free to raise any questions."

Then I'll figure out a way to fool you.

"There are indeed some problems." The young lady put down the budget proposal in her hand.

"You mean boxed lunches?" Fang Bie's smile was flawless. "Actors need to eat well to give a serious performance. If we're going to do this, we should be the best in the industry. And once we have a good reputation, do you think the extras will come to our crew or go to other crews when we want to make another film?"

The young lady, who had only a superficial understanding of the film and television industry, turned her head and thought for a moment: "It seems... that makes sense."

"Right?" Fang Bie pressed on while the iron was hot. "And what about the staff? We'll definitely need our own team in the future. Instead of hiring outsiders, we should train them ourselves. So, giving them better pay is a reasonable and logical thing to do."

Su Mulin was persuaded by his words.

"Is seven million not enough? Or should I scrape together some more money?"

Fang Bie was taken aback: "Where else can you get the money?"

Anyway, the one million yuan that Old Man Su gave him "for buying fruit" will definitely not be used for making movies.

Putting everything else aside, he wouldn't know how to answer even if the young lady raised a question.

Su Mulin's beautiful eyebrows furrowed into a knot. After a long while, she pursed her lips and said, "Sell another car. I'll have Yan Shuangying go to my older brother's place and drive out his Maybach to sell."

Fang took out a cigarette, but seeing the young woman's unfriendly gaze, he shoved it back: "No... are you going to sell it to your second brother at a high price?"

Su Mulin said calmly, "What's the problem?"

"No... you can't just fleece every single sheep."

"Then what do you suggest?" Miss Su crossed her arms and crossed her legs. "Anyone can ask a question, but a qualified member of society should be able to ask a question and also provide a solution."

"You're my boss, why are you saying the same things my company manager said in a meeting?" It seems that's true... Fang Bie subtly withdrew his gaze from the black stockings covering the young lady's long legs.

"Why don't you just get that Bentley back from your second brother and sell it to your eldest brother at a higher price? No... you've completely misled me." Fang Bie slapped his forehead. "I mean, seven million is enough. There's no need to add more money."

After all, they were aiming for the movie to flop, so every penny saved counted.

Are you sure?

Miss Su is certainly not the naive and innocent type.

The reason she offered to pay more and didn't question Fang Bie at all was because she believed in Fang Bie's talent and character.

But the rich and beautiful girl's awkward little thoughts prevented her from saying them directly.

"Of course I'm sure." Fang Bie picked up a piece of fish with his chopsticks and put it in Su Mulin's bowl. "Let's be frank first, what's your expected box office revenue?"

"My bottom line is ten million, but my expectation is one hundred million."

The expectation was 100 million because she had read the script and believed in Fang Bie's talent.

The bottom line is ten million; as long as it's not less than ten million, she can use the remaining money from the cost to continue filming the next project.

Although Su Murin is only half in the film and television industry, she is not a naive person.

This first film had neither big stars nor any impressive marketing; she just wanted good word-of-mouth.

With a good reputation, she could then persuade Fang Bie to make the next film.

Fang paused, and the fish on his chopsticks fell into his bowl.

"A bottom line of ten million? My dear lady, aren't you going to suffer a huge loss?"

Is Fang worried about losing money? Of course not!

His worry is that he won't lose enough money!

What's even more worrying is that Miss Su's expectations are too low!

If Su Mulin had expected a billion or eighty million, but the box office was only a few hundred thousand or a million, wouldn't she have completely lost her composure and obediently go home to inherit her family's billions?

But what if she doesn't break down mentally? Then Fang Bie's mental state should break down.