Reborn in Hollywood

Upon seeing this, Li Rui couldn't help but laugh.

"Philip, you're starting to look more and more like a successful person."

Philip glanced at him.

"That's right, after all, I'm in charge of a company with assets of over 100 million."

Li Rui raised an eyebrow.

"Just over a hundred million? Nine figures?"

"nonsense."

Philip walked over and said, "You earn a lot, but it can't keep up with how fast you spend it."

Li Rui leaned back in his chair.

"So you're not going to thank me?"

Philip glared at him.

"Thank you for what? Thank you for making me work overtime every day? Thank you for making me clean up your messes?"

Li Rui burst into laughter.

"How dare you speak like that?"

Philip smiled too.

"Alright, let's get down to business."

He sat up straight. "You've come at the perfect time. There's something I need to tell you."

Li Rui slumped on the sofa and asked lazily.

"What is it?"

Philip took a document out of the drawer and handed it to him.

"Take a look at this first."

Li Rui took it and opened it.

The first page contains a detailed list of assets of the Raphael Lee Charitable Foundation.

Amazon stock: $6644 million.

Li Rui raised an eyebrow.

"It's gone up again?"

Philip nodded. "It was 3500 million when it was donated, and now it's almost doubled."

Li Rui hummed in agreement and continued scrolling down.

The second page shows the company's account statements.

Total revenue: 13.8 billion (World Cup revenue) + 1000 million (original cash in company account)

Expenditure: $4.8 million (Marvel acquisition) + $1000 million (Marvel headquarters renovation)

Balance: 9 billion

Li Rui looked at the number and was in a good mood.

He continued scrolling down.

The third page contains a strange expense.

Expenditure: 1.67 million

Recipient: Private Fund (NFF-8723)

Note: Liquidation of underlying debt

Li Rui's fingers paused.

He looked up at Philip.

"This money..."

Philip looked a little bewildered.

"I don't know what happened. When we were reconciling the accounts last month, we suddenly discovered that 1.67 million was missing."

He rubbed his temples. "Strangely enough, I actually find this to be normal, as if it's how it's supposed to be."

He looked at Li Rui.

"Rafi, do you know what's going on?"

Li Rui remained silent.

He knew, of course, that it was a debt of the system.

$167,000,000, not a penny more, not a penny less.

He closed the document and handed it to Philip.

"No need to investigate, I have other uses for that money."

Philip stared at him for a long time, then sighed.

"Okay, I won't ask."

Li Rui patted him on the shoulder.

"Keep scrolling down, there's more to come."

Philip turned to the last page.

Remaining funds: 7.3045 million

Li Rui looked at the number and silently did some calculations in his mind.

13.8+0.1=13.9

13.9-4.8-0.1-1.67=7.33

After deducting some miscellaneous expenses, it's about 7.3045 million.

Li Rui nodded in satisfaction.

Philip looked at him.

"Raphael, there's something else."

"What is it?"

"Rafi, Ali's contract with you is about to expire."

Li Rui turned to look at him.

"When?"

"Next month," Philip said. "The original contract was for two years with a 5% commission. It's about to expire, so we have to renew it."

Li Rui thought about it.

"You should transfer last year's commission first. It'll be calculated at 10%."

Philip paused for a moment.

"10%? Are you sure?"

Li Rui nodded.

"Sure."

Philip opened his mouth as if to say something, but then swallowed it back.

Li Rui smiled when he saw his expression.

"What are you trying to say?"

Philip carefully considered his words before speaking.

"Hollywood agents typically take a 10% cut, but that applies to ordinary artists. With your current status, you can easily get it down to 7% or even 5%."

Li Rui shook his head.

"No need. Ali has been with me for two years, ever since I was a nobody. Back then, he could have easily led others and made more money, but he didn't leave."

At this point, Li Rui sighed.

"Now that I'm famous, I can't afford to mistreat him."

Philip's lips curled up.

"Okay, whatever you say."

Li Rui leaned back on the sofa, looking at Philip.

"There's one more thing."

"What?"

"I've set an annual salary for you."

Philip paused for a moment.

"What?"

Annual salary.

Li Rui looked at him and said, "Let's say 1000 million."

Philip's pen fell onto the table.

"What did you say?"

Li Rui repeated it.

"Annual salary of 1000 million! I'll say it again and again, it's still that amount."

Philip took a deep breath.

"Rafael, I know you're rich now, but a $1000 million annual salary, do you know what that means? No manager in Hollywood can earn that much, not even the star's biological father!"

Li Rui nodded.

"I know."

"Then why don't you—"

"Let me finish."

Li Rui interrupted him, "This money isn't all your salary. Part of it is a legal transfer of assets."

Philip paused for a moment.

"Transferring assets?"

"right."

Li Rui looked at him and said, "If I ever go bankrupt and become destitute, at least you'll be there to help me out."

Philip opened his mouth as if to say something, but didn't.

After all, Hollywood is a place where... no one can guarantee they'll be famous forever, so what Li Rui said makes some sense.

Li Rui continued.

"Two years ago, you gave up a promising future to become my manager. For more than a year, you had almost no income and relied entirely on your savings. This money is what you deserve."

Philip opened his mouth, but in the end it all turned into a sigh.

He suddenly stood up from his office chair, lunged at Li Rui who was lying on the sofa, and hugged his younger brother tightly with all his might.

"Rafi, you're taking care of me."

Li Rui pushed him away with a look of disgust.

"Please, you're my brother! Even Brother Ni knows how to take care of his own people, am I some kind of cold-blooded animal?"

Philip's eyes were red, and he sniffed twice.

"Okay, I'll take the money. If you ever need anything in the future, don't forget to let me know..."

Li Rui immediately interrupted him, "Shut up! Say 'peipeipei'!"

Philip was stunned and couldn't react.

Li Rui could only tell him, "What you just said was really unlucky. Things like that often come true, so you need to use an Eastern exorcism method. Quickly learn from me—peipeipei!"

Philip had no choice but to spit a few times in response.

"Okay, I'll take the money."

Li Rui nodded.

"That's more like it."

Philip looked at him.

"Is there anything else?"

Li Rui thought about it.

"Help me find a house in Los Angeles."

Philip raised an eyebrow.

"Looking for a place to live? Isn't the building you're living in now pretty good?"

"That belongs to Jessica."

Li Rui said, "I want to buy one myself."

Philip thought for a moment.

Are there any requirements?

"Large enough, discreet enough, budget under 50 million."

Philip paused for a moment.

"Fifty million? Are you sure?"

"Um."

Philip opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end he nodded.

"Okay. I'll keep an eye out for you."

Li Rui looked at him and immediately guessed what his older brother was thinking.

"Do you think I spend too much money?"

Philip nodded slightly.

"A little."

Li Rui smiled.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

Philip suddenly remembered something.

"Oh, right, what about Mom..."

Philip sighed.

"Don't even mention it. I talked to her about moving two weeks ago, and she refused on the spot."

Li Rui raised an eyebrow.

"Still the same thing?"

"Um."

Philip nodded. "She said that now that she's a senior executive at Ernst & Young, she wouldn't take advantage of her two sons. She'll wait until she's too old to move around."

Li Rui laughed heartily.

"In her style, a tribute to Her Majesty Queen Madeleine!"

"To Her Majesty the Queen!"

Philip laughed along with him.

-----------------

After dealing with the trivial matters, the two brothers did not delay and went straight to Universal Studios with their lawyer.

The signing ceremony was more grand than I had imagined.

Global prepared a small ceremony, with a long table covered with a dark blue velvet cloth and several contracts neatly arranged on it.

Mark Pratt had already arrived and was chatting with Ron Mel. When he saw Li Rui come in, he smiled and waved.

"Raphael, over here."

Li Rui walked over and shook hands with Mark.

Are you nervous?

Mark smiled.

"What's there to be nervous about? Everything that needed to be discussed has been discussed; all that's left is to sign the papers."

He lowered his voice, "Fifty million, you take thirty million, I'll take twenty million. We'll make a killing on this deal."

Li Rui nodded.

"Did Universal lower the price again?"

Don't even think about it!

Mark glanced at Ron Meyer not far away. "They're even more anxious than we are. This film has received such good reviews; they can easily recoup their costs by selling the sequel, DVDs, and TV rights. The rest is pure profit."

Lang Mayer walked over with a glass of champagne.

"Mark is right."

He handed Li Rui a glass of wine. "Raphael, congratulations. After this film, you'll truly be a top-tier actor who can carry the box office."

Li Rui took the wine glass and clinked it with his, but just smiled and didn't say anything.

I doubt even Lang Meier himself believes what he just said.

You're trying to fool me!

Both parties were seated, and the lawyers began to review the contract.

Philip sat next to Li Rui, carefully checking each page one by one.

Li Rui leaned back in his chair, looking at the densely packed clauses, too lazy to read a single word.

Half an hour later, Philip nodded at him.

Li Rui picked up the pen and signed his name on the last page.

Lang Mayer also signed, and then extended his hand.

"It's a pleasure working with you."

Li Rui grasped his hand.

"It's a pleasure working with you."

Mark watched this scene from the side, unable to hide his smile.

As we left Universal Studios, the sun was already setting.

Mark patted Li Rui on the shoulder.

"Raphael, remember to call me again if there's anything like this next time."

Li Rui smiled.

"Okay. I'll come to you again next time."

In fact, both sides are well aware that the reason why low-budget box office miracles are called miracles is because they are difficult to replicate.

Throughout Hollywood's history, such a good thing rarely happens more than once a year.

Therefore, their collaboration can basically be said to have come to an end.

Afterwards, the two got into their respective cars and went their separate ways.

Two days later, the company's account had an extra 30 million US dollars.

Philip looked at the numbers on the screen and sighed with emotion.

"Zero investment, and a return of 30 million in less than a year—this deal was worthwhile."

Li Rui sat opposite him, legs crossed.

"Alright, the money's in the account, it's time to get back to work."

Philip's eyes widened.

"What work are you doing? What are you up to now?"

Li Rui took a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to him.

Philip took it and saw three names written on it:

Apple 1500 million

Nvidia 1000 million

Monster Drinks 500 million