A leisurely life starting in a bar after being reborn

"Huh?" Wu Jing was taken aback. "Brother Fu, aren't you going to take a closer look?"

"No need." Fu Yan put the two folders on the table. "Wu Jing, 'Wolf Fang' is worth eight million, I'll invest all of it. Director Liu, 'Start Today' is worth four million, I'll invest all of that too. The legal department will draft the contracts, and the financial auditors will join the team, no discussion on that—Yang Qing's side has the same terms, treating everyone equally."

Wu Jing and Liu Jiang exchanged a glance, their eyes brimming with barely concealed excitement.

"Also," Fu Yan added, "Qin Manni—she's an employee at my bar, a film school student, and a professional actress. I'll give her a role in your film, nothing big, just a cameo."

"No problem!" Wu Jingxian agreed, "Just pick any supporting role for her."

"I can do that too," Liu Jiang nodded. "It's an urban drama with lots of female characters, so it's easy to arrange."

Fu Yan stood up and shook hands with the two men: "Once the money is in, we can start filming. I won't rush the time, but it's best not to drag it out too long. It would be best if it could be released by the end of this year or the beginning of next year, to catch the New Year's holiday season or something."

"We'll definitely make it!" Wu Jing slapped his thigh. "I've basically cast all the actors, we're just waiting for the money to arrive."

"I'm pretty much the same," Liu Jiang said, adjusting his glasses. "The setting is simple, and preparations are quick."

The two left happily, and when they came out of the conference room, Wu Jing even laughed out loud, which was rare for him. This man usually had a tense face, but now that he was relaxed, he looked much more pleasing to the eye than last night.

Cai Yunfei saw the person off at the front desk and returned to refill Fu Yan's glass of water: "President Fu, Mr. Deng Chao and Director Cao Baoping had an appointment for eleven o'clock, and they have arrived now."

"So punctual?" Fu Yan glanced at the time, 10:50. "Let them in."

-

Deng Chao and Cao Baoping came together. The two seemed to have a good relationship. They were chatting when they entered, but stopped talking when they saw Fu Yan.

After a few pleasantries, Deng Chaoxian spoke first. Unlike Wu Jing, he didn't waste words and went straight to presenting the project—

"Brother Fu, Director Cao and I have worked on a project called 'The Equation of Love and Death'."

Fu Yan paused for a moment.

The Conjecture of Love and Death.

The moment those five words were uttered, memories flooded his mind. In his previous life, when he was working in finance in Shanghai, he had seen this film—not in a theater, but in his apartment, using a secondhand laptop.

That winter, Shanghai was extremely cold. He had just started working and had no money for dates or shopping, so he could only stay at home and watch TV and movies all day long. This one left the deepest impression on him.

The story revolves around a female taxi driver who searches for her missing boyfriend for two years, while unbeknownst to her, he lives under a different identity. The plot isn't complex, but the filming style is brilliant—it doesn't follow conventional narrative but presents the story in an almost documentary-like manner, making it so real it's breathtaking.

The actress's performance in that film was absolutely phenomenal, and Deng Chao's performance left a lasting impression on Fu Yan—he played an ordinary person driven to despair by life, and his eyes conveyed a look that wasn't acted out, but rather seemed to emanate from his very bones.

"The script is here," Deng Chao handed it over.

Fu Yan took it and flipped through it, looking at it more carefully than the previous two. It wasn't because he needed more information to make a judgment—he had actually already decided—but because he wanted to see what that great movie he had seen in his previous life looked like in the script stage.

As he watched, he nodded. The foundation was indeed good, the story had a solid framework, and the characters were believable; all that was missing was a good director and a group of good actors to support it—and Cao Baoping and Deng Chao were precisely those two pieces of the puzzle.

"What's your budget?"

"Seven million," Cao Baoping said, his voice seemingly calm but actually trembling slightly, "including publicity."

Fu Yan closed the script.

"Yes, it's on the list, I've submitted it."

Deng Chao opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to say something, but Cao Baoping pressed his hand down. Cao Baoping looked at Fu Yan and confirmed, "President Fu, won't you reconsider?"

"No need to think about it. I'm not a professional in the film and television industry, and I won't figure it out no matter how much I think about it. I might as well just go with my gut feeling." Fu Yan pushed the script back. "The conditions are the same as other production teams: financial auditing is required for joining the team; that's a hard and fast rule. Also, we need to arrange a role for my employee, Qin Manni. The legal department will draft the contract, and we'll start filming once the money is in place."

Cao Baoping nodded, a rare smile appearing on his face: "President Fu is straightforward."

"It's not that I'm quick to agree, it's that your stuff is worth investing in." Fu Yan glanced at Deng Chao. "I have high hopes for this film."

Deng Chao couldn't hold back and jumped up from his chair to bow deeply to Fu Yan: "Brother Fu! You are my benefactor!"

"Alright, alright, stop with all this." Fu Yan waved his hand. "Just focus on filming."

The two of them walked away with much lighter steps than when they came. Cao Baoping glanced back at Fu Yan's office after leaving, said something to Deng Chao, and Deng Chao nodded repeatedly.

After seeing the person off, Cai Yunfei poured Fu Yan another glass of water. She hesitated for a moment, then asked softly, "Mr. Fu, we've already invested nearly 20 million this morning…don't you need to reconsider?"

Fu Yan glanced at her and laughed: "You think I'm just throwing things out randomly?"

"No, I just..." Cai Yunfei lowered her head, "I felt the amount was quite large."

Cai Yunfei majored in management, and theoretical knowledge taught her how to invest. However, she was a little confused when she saw her boss casually flip through a script and project proposal before investing…

"These films, at worst, will break even, not lose much. If they're good, the returns will more than double." Fu Yan picked up his water and took a sip. "When it comes to investing, judging people is more important than judging projects. These people aren't seasoned veterans, so they're reliable for now."

Cai Yunfei nodded and didn't say anything more. But when she refilled Fu Yan's water, her hands were a little steadier than usual—the certainty with which her boss had made the decision just now gave her even more confidence in this job.

……

That evening, Fu Yan sat under the grape trellis in the courtyard and made a phone call to Qin Manni.

"Manny, are you busy?"

"No, Brother Fu, I just finished singing practice." Qin Manni's voice sounded quite relaxed. "What's wrong?"

"I have good news for you. I've invested in two more movies—no, three. Besides 'Nightclub,' which you're already filming, there's Wu Jing's 'Wolf Fang,' Liu Jiang's 'Start Today,' and Cao Baoping's 'The Equation of Love and Death.' I've arranged roles for you in each of them."

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone.

"Brother Fu... are you serious?"

"Really. This time it's not just a cameo; it's a role with lines and screen time. It's not a big one, but I get to act in it from beginning to end."

"I..." Qin Manni's voice began to tremble, "Brother Fu, thank you, thank you so much for helping me..."

"What are you thanking me for? You got the role because of your own merits, not because I gave it to you." Fu Yan interrupted her, "Just act well on set and don't embarrass me."

"Yes, I will definitely try my best!" Qin Manni's voice was already trembling with tears, but she was still smiling. "Brother Fu, thank you, you're a good person!"

"Damn, that's friend zone!"