Living in a county town, starting as a stock market maker...

In the office, Shen An'an looked at the rapidly increasing data on her phone. She put her phone away, pulled up a chair and sat down next to Gu Ming, asking softly:

"What's next? What do we do?"

……

a few days later.

Lin Feifei, a socialite from Beijing's elite circle, updated her WeChat Moments with a set of photos from her vacation on a private island in the Maldives, captioned:

"Sunshine, beach, and newly arrived fine jewelry—a perfect day."

Meanwhile, in a luxury mansion in HG City, Shen An'an lay on a leather sofa, complaining into the phone.

"Gu Ming, your video of the money shape went viral, but then what? Nothing more?"

"It's been several days already, why haven't they started filming yet? My rival is showing off her new jewelry on social media again, I'm so bored."

On the other end of the phone, Gu Ming's voice was very calm.

"Miss Shen, don't worry."

"It's a complex shoot, and the pre-production preparation takes a long time. That's what we're doing now."

Shen An'an only half understood what he was saying, and urged:

"How long are you going to take to set this up? I'm getting moldy."

"Soon."

Gu Ming said, "If you're really bored, you can come to the company. Our battle plan has been updated."

Half an hour later, the white Porsche stopped again in front of Xingchen Media.

Shen An'an pushed open the door and found that the plan on the office whiteboard had been transformed into a densely packed battle map.

The document was marked with technical terms and process steps that she couldn't understand, using pens of different colors.

"Secondary approval of airspace for flight routes", "Visa processing for individual members of S-level photography teams", "72-hour weather forecast", "Contingency plan for ground support team coordination"...

Gu Ming didn't explain the diagram; he knew that these procedures were meaningless to Shen An'an.

He simply pointed to his computer screen, gesturing for her to come and look.

"Here's a purchase contract for some props."

The screen displayed a PDF file entirely in English, with the header of a foreign company she didn't recognize.

"This is the core stabilization equipment we will be using for this aerial photography project: a gyroscope-stabilized gimbal, brand Shotover F1."

Gu Ming pointed to the equipment picture on the contract with his mouse.

"In order to perfectly match the weight and interface of the Phase One camera we rented, we also need to have a custom interface made from the original manufacturer. This is the rental contract we just signed with their Asia-Pacific distributor."

He scrolled down the page and directly to the price section.

"The prepayment alone amounts to this amount."

On the screen, the deposit figure was a clear seven-figure sum, enough to buy a large apartment in downtown HG.

Shen An'an looked at the English contract full of technical jargon and the long string of numbers, and her eyes lit up.

She wasn't scared off by the price; on the contrary, she found it quite interesting.

"this one?"

She pressed, her eyes gleaming, "Is that enough?"

"My rival, Lin Feifei, spent her birthday party last time by chartering an entire luxury yacht. We can't afford to lose to her in terms of scale."

She leaned closer to Gu Ming and lowered her voice, as if they were discussing a secret.

"If that's not enough, we can increase the budget. Money isn't an issue; I can't let her outdo me."

Gu Ming looked at her cheeks, which were slightly flushed with excitement, and felt like laughing.

He finally understood.

For a rich second-generation like Shen An'an, spending money is a form of entertainment.

His current job is to design an expensive and unique entertainment project for her.

The final product of this project, that performance art video, was merely a souvenir given away after the entertainment ended.

The real core issue is this money-burning process.

He thought to himself:

"In this contract, my service fee is 20% of the total project cost. However, to soothe the boredom that a top-tier rich second-generation might have at any time, this emotional management service should be charged separately by the hour."

"Let's call it 'Boring Companionship Fee' and 'Cognitive Compatibility Fee'."

……

Just as Gu Ming successfully provided his benefactor with a high amount of emotional value.

At the home of teacher Zhao Na on the other side of the city.

She imitated a dance video that contrasted sharply with the image of a "young, rebellious girl," which resulted in a complaint from a student's parent to the school, and she was severely reprimanded by the school administration.

I deleted the video feeling dejected, but then I saw that the trailer for "The Shape of Money" was still going viral.

She also wanted to imitate that sense of sophistication.

I went to a very expensive local Western restaurant, where the average cost per person was nearly a thousand yuan.

But I didn't order any food; I just asked the waiter for a menu and took a picture of the beautifully designed menu.

He then posted the photo on his social media account with the caption:

"I'm carefully planning and preparing for my next big project."

After posting the message, she eagerly awaited the amazement and curiosity of others.

However, the post remained unread for several hours after it was published.

Finally, two comments appeared in the comment section, both from her students.

One of them reads:

"Wow, teacher, this restaurant is so expensive! My parents took me there once."

The other one reads:

"Teacher, what kind of video are you filming this time?"

This imitation seems somewhat laughable compared to the multi-million dollar video about the shape of money.

……

Star Media Office.

Just as Shen An'an was still enthusiastically asking about the next steps, Gu Ming's phone, which was on the table, suddenly dinged.

A new email notification popped up.

Gu Ming opened the email, and in the sender's field, he saw a name he had been waiting for—Phase One A/S, Denmark.

Denmark, Phase One camera company headquarters.

The email subject is:

[Shipping Notice: Your customized IQ4 drone system has been shipped via FedEx (air freight) and is expected to arrive within 72 hours.]

What he was waiting for had arrived.

Gu Ming turned his phone screen towards Shen An'an so she could clearly see the contents of the email.

Then, he turned to the three sisters beside him, who were holding their breath after seeing the contents of the email, and said:

"Wang Min, Liu Liu, Zhang Hong."

"Yes, boss!"

The three of them instinctively straightened up.

"Immediately contact a professional security company with a high level of security and the ability to provide warehousing services in a constant temperature and humidity environment. Tell them that we need to store a very valuable and precision optical instrument."

Gu Ming looked at them and said, word by word:

"Our first work of art is more valuable than the building we stand in. Now, it's on its way."

"From now on, we're playing with fire."

The three sisters stared at the camera render on Gu Ming's phone, and at the email attachment containing a huge insurance policy in euros—a sum so high they couldn't comprehend it.

What was once just a number, a budget of tens of millions, has now become a tangible, expensive, and fragile reality.

The three of them nervously swallowed hard in unison.