Huayu Tianxian: This director is such a hypocrite!

2004 1 Month 3 Day.

Chen Zhixi's home in Dongmianhua Hutong.

Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you!

"..."

The living room was pitch black, except for the flickering candlelight that continuously emitted a warm, golden glow.

"Aren't you being a bit of a jerk? I'm celebrating your birthday, and you're acting like you're about to die."

Chen Zhixi's face was a pale yellow in the candlelight. Ye Chong sat on the sofa, wearing a paper crown on his head, his face drooping, showing little interest.

At first, he refused, but the woman had already bought him a cake.

"Thank you, I'm very happy."

"Ah—let's blow out the candles."

"Phew..." As expected, all nineteen candles went out.

"Okay, let's cut the cake!"

Wearing a bright yellow nightgown, Chen Zhixi excitedly got up, turned on the light, and then enthusiastically went to the coffee table, quickly cutting a piece of cake.

"Here—the first piece is for the birthday boy."

"Thank you so much." Ye Chong's hand, which was taking the cake, suddenly paused.

These words inexplicably reminded him of someone.

"Tsk tsk tsk..."

Chen Zhixi was a few years older than him, and he could tell at a glance that the young man was troubled by love.

But it doesn't matter, my purpose is just to find an excuse to eat cake anyway.

On the sofa, Ye Chong took off his crown and took out his phone.

"They shouldn't have any schedules at 8 PM, right?"

[Yifei, I'm sorry, I drank too much that day.]

As soon as he sent the message, Ye Chong's lips twitched.

I wanted to undo it, but that function isn't available now, so I had to start typing again.

[It wasn't that I was drunk, I just had a momentary lapse in judgment.]

Still no response...

[Don't be like that, they're sincerely apologizing!]

Hey hey hey, it's my birthday today, can you do me a favor, old classmate? ]

"Beep beep beep—"

My phone finally beeped with a text message notification.

[Liu Yifei: What does your birthday have to do with me?]

"Is it still gassy?"

After a moment's thought, Ye Chong realized that it was normal for a child to be a little willful.

[Ye Chong: Of course I'd like to receive birthday wishes from my old classmates on my birthday!]

[Liu Yifei: ...]

"Ellipses were already popular in 03?"

Meanwhile, in a villa in the suburbs of Beijing.

Yifei, wearing Doraemon pajamas, lay on her large bed in her bedroom, her long legs swinging back and forth, occasionally kicking the back of her leg, causing it to bounce shakily a few times.

She stared intently at her phone screen, paused, and then, as if struck by a thought, wrinkled her nose in displeasure.

[Liu Yifei: I'm very busy, don't bother me unless it's important, you awful old classmate!]

"Huh?"

Ye Chong was overjoyed; this was promising!

True rejection is often not met with harsh words, but with silence.

Of course, replies like "ate", "slept", or "went to take a shower" don't count.

"Clap clap clap..."

[Ye Chong: Something's wrong, something serious! I was wrong this time, but if I do it again, I'll apologize next time!]

[Liu Yifei: Ugh—]

Although it was text, Ye Chong seemed to be able to see Liu Yifei's coquettish appearance, and he immediately became very interested, his hands turning into afterimages as he typed.

"Tch—childish!"

Chen Zhixi, sitting across from him on the sofa, curled her lip in disdain and picked up a tissue from the table to wipe the cream from the corner of her mouth.

This person is clearly still a kid; they're obviously a complete novice when it comes to love.

Ye Chong was indeed single for over a decade in his previous life. Even when he dated, it was only to make it easier for others to lust after him, and he rarely had a relationship that lasted more than three months.

The room fell silent for a moment, with one person typing away and the other munching on cake.

Half an hour later.

Goodnight, OK!

After clicking send, Ye Chong let out a long sigh of relief.

The fairy sister's attitude improved a lot. She scolded her a couple of times, which made her happy, and she was happy too.

"Finished talking?"

"Um?"

Ye Chong turned his head and saw that only half of the cake was left on the table. Chen Zhixi was curled up on the sofa, playing on her phone and eating an apple.

"You can really eat!"

"You're so rude."

After a pause, Chen Zhixi looked up at that handsome face.

"I've applied for the studio arrangement, but we need to go together in a week. Have you finished editing your film yet?"

"About two more weeks, since we've been editing for several weeks now."

Ye Chong picked up the cake on the table and chatted with her while eating it.

"Can't I just register a company directly?"

"You need to come up with the registered capital, fifty yuan. What, trying to get something for nothing again?"

Ye Chong coughed twice, almost choking on her words.

"Let's not talk about that. Our first drama series is settled."

"drama?"

Chen Zhixi rolled over and sat up, her captivating gaze fixed on him.

"Didn't you promise me a movie?"

"No, no, don't get excited, it's a movie, a TV series, a film!"

Although Ye Chong only worked as a director for two months, he shouldn't have only saved up 3,500 Gentlemen's Coins.

I've already spent 3,000 Gentlemen's Coins to buy a classic: "Bright Sword"!

However, since "Bright Sword" was already a pre-established project, the system ultimately gave him a different reward: a share of the "Bright Sword" investment (up to 30%), the directorship, and 1200 Gentleman's Coins.

The system's store does have some degree of scientific rigor. If a movie has already been approved for production, the system will offer a different reward. If it hasn't been approved, then it's entirely Ye Chong's copyright.

That's why Ye Chong was anxious. Even after buying a large number of Moutai shares, he was still very anxious because it wasn't about money: in June 2006, Paramount was about to launch the "Interstellar" project, and he wanted to snatch it away!

And then there's "Kung Fu Panda." Even if it can't be made domestically in the short term, he doesn't want to see Disney come here to disgust Chinese people during the year of the Beijing Olympics.

"A TV series, a movie?"

"right!"

Ye Chong took out his phone, showed her a text message, and handed it to her.

"Hairun Pictures?"

Chen Zhixi was somewhat surprised that this kid had quietly established contact with Chairman Liu of Hairun Pictures.

"I'll be directing this show. Come with me in a couple of days, and we'll go secure the investment share."

"Are there still investment opportunities available?"

Chen Zhixi was even more surprised!

When someone makes a film, they're practically trying to have it all to themselves; why would they leave you a share?

"Don't worry about it!" Ye Chong snatched the phone back from her hand, crossed his legs, and adopted a boss-like demeanor.

"The filming of 'Bright Sword' should be at the end of this year, but I will probably join the crew in September."

"What about the other one?"

Ye Chong pursed his lips and took out his phone again.

"Come here, look, this is the script and storyboard I wrote."

Chen Zhixi reluctantly took the phone, thinking to herself that she should have bought a laptop a long time ago, as it was inconvenient to look at things on her phone.

"The Nameless"?

"Yes!"

"Movie?"

"Bingo!"

Chen Zhixi breathed a sigh of relief, feeling even more that his adopted younger brother was somewhat extraordinary!

"The company's establishment date will have to be postponed."

Why?

Chen Zhixi glanced at him.

"Don't you provide endorsements when you run a film company? There's dividend tax and corporate income tax. If the profits are too high, the taxes deducted could be enough to invest in a low-budget film."

"Oh, I see."

Ye Chong really doesn't understand!

In his past life, he was a complete failure. He didn't even have a company, let alone his own paycheck!

"Beep beep beep—"

Suddenly, his phone rang. Ye Chong sat up abruptly and reached out to grab the phone.

"What are you doing!"

Chen Zhixi dodged him and stepped onto the sofa.

"Give me!"

"I still need to read the script!"

"I'll see later."

Why are you so agitated?

Chen Zhixi took out her phone and glanced at it, but Ye Chong snatched it back in the next moment.

"Hey, happy birthday, old friend, tsk tsk tsk..."