Chapter 58.1 - Fool

After Li Bufan won the Best Newcomer Award, it didn't take long for Qi Jin to take the initiative to contact Hao Ritian. Right after President Du approached Li Bufan about his contract renewal, Qi Jin called to let him find some time to take Li Bufan to the company to discuss the contract. He could just notify him before arriving.

After the call ended, Hao Ritian appreciated Qi Jin's attitude of keeping his word, and said directly to Li Bufan, "President Qi called to ask us to go to Qingfeng sometime to talk about the contract."

Although he had already mentally prepared himself, Li Bufan still couldn't control his excitement at this moment. He tugged his collar, before finally asking the question that he had been holding in since they came out of President Du's office, "You told President Du earlier that we would sign an A-level contract with Qingfeng and that we could audition for the male lead in Cheng Xian. Are they really true?"

Hao Ritian looked at him with amusement, "How can that be fake? Even if it was fake, we have to make it real."

Li Bufan naturally heard some news about this immortal drama, Cheng Xian. It was a big production prepared by Qingfeng to boost its own artists. All the main actors were selected from within the company. If other companies wanted to insert their actors, they can only grab some roles that were not particularly important; even so, it was still being fought over.

This was going to be the first domestic TV show in China to spend over one hundred million. Not to mention TV shows, this was still a big investment even for movies. You can imagine how much resources Qingfeng had placed into this drama. As long as they were not dumb, they would understand how much promotion they could obtain by participating in this drama. In addition, they could also learn by acting with other big artists. Such opportunities were rare, and everyone wanted to get a piece of the pie.

And he obtained such a good opportunity just by signing a contract with Qingfeng, Li Bufan felt a little dizzy.

"Don't make any announcements beforehand and finish the rest of your work. Your fame is currently on the rise. You have to let me take a look at what jobs you're planning to take in the future. Works that are too mainstream cannot be considered, the audition for Cheng Xian will be our main focus. The competition for this audition will be fierce, so you have to put all your efforts to figure out the image of the character. After Cheng Xian is on the right track, I will help you choose suitable work to consolidate your reputation. " Hao Ritian slowly stated his plan.

Cheng Xian was precisely known due to its excellent production. Even if the filming was completed at the fastest speed, it would take half a year or even a year. This also includes the actors themselves not delaying the shooting, plus the post-production, special effects, publicity, and other odds jobs. Adding it all together, one year was not a lot of time. But Li Bufan was hot at the moment, he couldn't be idle for a year. The impact would be too great.

Li Bufan can only nod his head. Now his career plans were basically handed over to Hao Ritian. Who would want to act in a bad movie when he could act in a good one? He preferred to concentrate more on acting than to be on some variety shows or commercials.

After temporarily solving the problem on Li Bufan's side, Hao Ritian missed Mu Shaohua a little. After leaving the club box that day, Mu Shaohua did call him from time to time and visited him when he was free. In comparison, he seemed to be always too busy to spare time, but when you think about the two of them, one was the chairman of Fenghua Investment, while the other one was a celebrity assistant. It was pretty clear who was busier.

Hao Ritian obviously knew that Mu Shaohua was just accommodating him. But when Li Bufan's work was on the right track, he would be completely free. Anyway, he would not bring other artists aside from Li Bufan. He couldn't stay in the mission world for too long, so how can he waste his time on meaningless things?

On Xia Xin's side, he knew that it wasn't over yet, but she couldn't make any waves. There was also that man who caused his death whom he hadn't met yet. The other party also had a hand in Cheng Xian's investment.  It was only a matter of time before he encountered him.

Three years. He could only stay in this world for around three years. At that time, Li Bufan will definitely become a superstar as he imagined, and the two scumbags that killed Xia Lou will be dealt with. It was hard to find him in every world. Although he didn't know what his identity was, Hao Ritian firmly believes that he would cross that bridge when he reached it and he will know everything he should know when the mission was completed.

At the same time, Xia Xin was gnashing her teeth while staring at Li Bufan's Weibo, which was full of fans celebrating Li Bufan's award. She hated Li Bufan to the bone, while her hatred for Xia Luo was only behind Li Bufan.

From Xia Xin's point of view, because of the relationship between those two, she was approached by the school leaders to talk but was eventually expelled. The film school still greatly values its ​​reputation and more importantly, the overall opinion of ​​other people about the school. She made the headlines and was considered by the leaders to be of bad character. She had a bad impact on the school, and could no longer be retained after multiple considerations.

The surrounding students also showed great approval for her expulsion that they almost applauded and celebrated, which made Xia Xin feel embarrassed and humiliated. If the situation allowed it, she really wanted to beat up all those who laughed at her.

In fact, even if she was not expelled from the school, she would drop out sooner or later. She couldn't even pay for the huge tuition fees, let alone other expenses that she simply couldn't afford.

Only at this point did she realize what Xia Lou had given her. He did not merely provide her financial support but also the confidence to support her recklessness. After realizing this, instead of reflecting on herself, she hated Xia Lou even more.  He was obviously her own older brother. Why did he do that to her? Everything was Xia Lou's fault.

She was expelled from school and her rental room was also taken back by Hao Ritian. She couldn't stay in school and had nowhere to go. She didn't have much money on her body, since she always spend as much money as she wanted from Xia Lou. She always thought that she could just ask for more if she had nothing left. In the end, she really had no way to deal with this desperate situation.

In the end, she sold some of her valuables to get some money, but it was just a drop in the bucket for her who was used to spending freely. She didn't have any skills and although she majored in acting, she had not graduated yet and had never acted before, so she couldn’t make any money at all.

Now, she was trying to rack her head on how to get more money; otherwise, she would have to sleep on the streets.

.......

Compared with Xia Xin, Hao Ritian's side was like heaven to earth. Compared with the original fate trajectory, their situation had been completely reversed.

Today, Hao Ritian took Li Bufan to the company building where Qingfeng Entertainment was located and made an appointment with Qi Jin to discuss the contract. Qingfeng's company building was in a prime location in the city. From the eighth to the eighteenth floor, the entire ten floors belong to Qingfeng and each floor had a distinct business.  Qingfeng was not only involved in the acting circle, but also in the music circle. It can only be described as wealthy and powerful. It was not an exaggeration to say that it was a big company at the top of the entertainment industry.

When Hao Ritian and Li Bufan mentioned at the front desk that they were here to see President Qi, the lady at the front desk smiled politely and said, "The two of you can take the president's exclusive elevator. President Qi has already instructed that you can directly go to the eighteenth floor to find him."

When the receptionist said this, many people who were still waiting for the elevator looked over. Those who could enter and leave this place were either celebrities or company staff, as well as some business personnel, so it was not surprising that they encountered people from Qingfeng.

People in the entertainment industry pay close attention to the news in the industry in real-time. Even if Li Bufan was merely a familiar face before, he was getting a lot more attention now that he won the Best Newcomer Award. It was a surprise to see him appear in the building where Qingfeng was located.

The majority of those who mingled in the entertainment industry were experienced. From Li Bufan's appearance in Qingfeng, they can guess what and even imagine a big drama, especially when the relationship between the company's internal personnel was relatively tense. It was hard not to be vigilant when an outsider suddenly intruded.

Under their eyes that were either scrutinizing, curious or guarded, Hao Ritian thanked the receptionist and took Li Bufan into the president's exclusive elevator. Watching the elevator door closing, Li Bufan visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

"How do you feel?" Hao Ritian asked with a smile.

Li Bufan, "I feel very depressed."

"When you enter Qingfeng, you must be mentally prepared. After all, although artists in the same company sometimes help each other, they were more often in a competitive relationship. There is definitely a lot of private competition for resources. You signed with Qingfeng at this time, so the pressure you will experience will be greater than usual." Hao Ritian analyzed the facts.

Li Bufan nodded, "I know, don't worry. If I can't even bear this little pressure, how can I even talk about going further, No matter what I'm not a newcomer anymore, it's already clear to me."

Hao Ritian encouraged, "That's it. You have to believe that you are not inferior to anyone else. You just lack the opportunity, and now the opportunity is in front of you."

The fire in Li Bufan's eyes was rekindled. He clenched his hands lightly into fists, and replied with a firm expression, "En."

The elevator dinged as they arrived on the eighteenth floor.

At this time, Li Bufan was not nervous at all, and he didn't know whether Hao Ritian's encouragement had worked or he had figured it out himself, but Hao Ritian actually preferred this state.

When the elevator door opened, there was actually an elite-looking man waiting at the entrance of the elevator. After seeing the two of them, he pushed back his glasses, "Mr. Xia, Mr. Li, I am Hei Wu, the president's private assistant. The president asked me to take you to his office. This way, please."

Hao Ritian raised his eyebrows and followed him with Li Bufan.

Unexpectedly, there were no company artists present on this floor. Those who work here were all important people in the company, including some top executives of the company. It had a rigorous atmosphere. The sound of phone calls and the typings on the keyboard created a distinct feeling.

When Hao Ritian and Li Bufan appeared, no one paid special attention to them unlike earlier, which made them feel more relaxed.

Hei Wu brought the two to the president's office and opened the door for them, "Please."

When they entered, he turned around and left. Without the president's instructions, no one would enter to disturb him under normal circumstances.

"You guys are here. Sit down." Seeing the two come in, Qi Jin who was sitting behind the table gestured for them to sit down. While taking the prepared contract, he smiled and said, "Congratulations on winning the Best Newcomer Award, Mr. Li. I have seen Mr. Xia's iron-clad judgment firsthand. Could it be that you can calculate it?"

Aside from the three of them, there was also a frivolous-looking man in the office. As Hao Ritian and Li Bufan sat down on the reception sofa as instructed, Hao Ritian clearly felt the man's gaze. He frowned when the man's eyes filled with stickiness and interest fell on him.

Qi Jin came over with the contract and sat across from them, then said to the extra person sitting on the side, "Cao Yu, hurry up and leave. I have a business to discuss."

The disgust in his voice was not hidden at all.

Hao Ritian's pupils slightly shrank, Cao Yu?

Translator's Note:

I'm sorry I disappeared for a while. I've been busy with school and irl events T^T

Also, feel free to point out if there are any mistakes or problems. Your comments are greatly appreciated.

Happy Holidays, everyone! ๑(◕‿◕)๑