Chapter 363: Conscientious Producer
"Ah!?" Xu Xuejiao felt utterly baffled. "Are you insane?"
Lu Chengwen said, "Big sister, I'm in a hurry! Hurry up! Weren't you quick to get into the mood before? Let's make this fast…"
Xu Xuejiao was completely dumbfounded.
Who treats a girl like this for the first time?
"But… I haven't saved up enough money yet!"
Lu Chengwen urgently lifted Xu Xuejiao's skirt. "You can owe me first and pay me back later."
"What… What are you doing?"
Xu Xuejiao was furious. She turned around. "What is wrong with you?"
"I'm in a rush! Turn around, turn around! Stick your butt out—higher! You're not cooperating like this…"
Xu Xuejiao placed both hands against the wall. "What do you take me for?"
"A beautiful woman."
Lu Chengwen tugged at Xu Xuejiao's shorts while unbuckling his belt.
Xu Xuejiao started crying.
She pouted, feeling extremely wronged. "Lu Chengwen! You're such a bastard! Who takes a girl's first time like this? Do you even realize how humiliating this is for me?"
Lu Chengwen was stunned. "Then what do you want?"
"At the very least, you should sweet-talk me a little, coax and trick me… Make me willingly give in to you!"
Lu Chengwen wanted to die.
[She flirts with me all the time, seducing me non-stop. If my self-control weren't strong, something would've happened ages ago.]
[Now that I'm in a hurry, with important things to do, you suddenly decide to act reserved?]
Lu Chengwen grabbed Xu Xuejiao, looked at her, and said, "I! Love! You! There, now turn around, quickly."
"Hey! That was way too perfunctory!"
Just then, a few people walked out from the opposite end of the corridor.
Lu Chengwen quickly pressed Xu Xuejiao into the shadows.
Xu Xuejiao winced from the pain and let out a small cry, pushing Lu Chengwen away.
Lu Chengwen stumbled backward, stepping into the corridor.
The three people across from him were instantly frozen in place.
The goddess-like Cangyang Yiduo, her agent, and her top assistant—three people, all rooted to the spot.
Lu Chengwen stood there in the corridor, his belt undone, exposing his shorts.
Cangyang Yiduo quickly turned away, her face filled with anger. She had a pretty good guess about what Lu Chengwen was up to.
Xu Xuejiao stood inside, covering her mouth as she laughed, looking at Lu Chengwen's embarrassed and miserable expression with great satisfaction.
"Uh…"
Lu Chengwen quickly tucked his shirt back into his pants and buckled his belt. "What a coincidence."
The agent wasn't going to let this opportunity slip away.
He immediately snapped out of it and stepped forward. "Oh my! President Lu! President Lu, hello! Running into you here must be fate!"
[Fate, my ass! Why aren't you big-shot celebrities inside at the banquet? What are you doing in this godforsaken place!?]
[I have serious business to take care of! My future and the survival of the entire world depend on this!]
Cangyang Yiduo was beyond frustrated, thinking:
There it is again. This guy's inner thoughts are so bizarre!
The agent enthusiastically grabbed Lu Chengwen's hands.
"President Lu! President Lu! I never expected to meet you here! This is truly an honor, a once-in-a-lifetime honor!"
[Bro, just leave already.]
Lu Chengwen forced a smile. "What a coincidence, what a coincidence. Why aren't you at the banquet?"
"Ah, some rich fools kept insisting our Yiduo go out for a late-night snack. You know how those guys are—just because they have money, they think celebrities have no bottom line! But everyone in the entertainment industry knows about Yiduo's reputation. She genuinely pursues art and maintains her integrity! I told them Yiduo didn't have time and that I could go in her place, but they told me to get lost as far as possible…"
Lu Chengwen stood there, his hand still being tightly held, his face frozen in a stiff smile.
[I wish I could tell you to get lost as far as possible too!]
"Uh… I have something to do. You guys go ahead, I…"
"Wait! President Lu, I have a huge business opportunity to discuss with you!"
"Huh? Right now?"
"Yes!" The agent said. "It'll only take a few sentences."
"Alright, alright, but make it quick. I'm really in a hurry."
The agent started rambling: "I know President Lu is a cultured businessman, someone with great artistic taste. Unlike those rich fools, you truly understand and respect art—"
Lu Chengwen was about to explode. "I'm just a rich fool. I don't know anything about art."
"No, no, no! You're different! You have depth! You're a modern intellectual pioneer! If you wrote a book, it would take the nation by storm! People would see you not only as a successful businessman but also as a remarkable artist—"
"Uh… Sir, sorry, I don't know your name. Doesn't matter! I really am just a rich fool. I don't understand art. Let's not beat around the bush. Just say what you want—I'm seriously pressed for time."
"Alright, alright!" The agent quickly signaled his assistant, who pulled a thick stack of scripts from a bag.
"This is an adaptation of a novel by the famous contemporary writer 'Angry.' It's deeply moving, highly artistic, and incredibly—"
Lu Chengwen glanced at it sideways. Xu Xuejiao had already pulled up her pants and adjusted her skirt, watching Lu Chengwen smugly.
Lu Chengwen was growing more anxious. "What exactly do you want? Just get to the point."
The agent said, "We want to do a co-production! The budget is only three to four billion yuan to kick off filming! Wan Bin will play the male lead—he's the hottest star right now! Our goddess here will be the female lead! It's guaranteed to be a blockbuster! Our estimates suggest the box office will start at twenty billion! At least twenty billion!"
Lu Chengwen understood—this was about getting him to invest in the film industry.
"I don't understand art. If you're making movies, find someone else. I don't have time."
Then, he angrily pointed at Xu Xuejiao, as if to say: Why are you dressed again!? I just went through all that trouble to take it off!
At that moment, Cangyang Yiduo walked over. "Zhang Jingji, Mr. Lu has no interest in the film industry. I think we shouldn't disturb him…"
Zhang Jingji completely ignored Cangyang Yiduo and instead apologized to Lu Chengwen:
"Artists have personality. You're a big shot, you won't mind, right?"
"I don't mind, but right now... just... you—"
Zhang Jingji kept talking non-stop:
"Your business is already so huge. What you're lacking is a cultural brand! I heard that you need to select a spokesperson for the Chengwen District project! Our big sister is perfect! The ones your team previously considered—do any of them match our big sister's image and status? President Lu, you really can't rush something like this. You need to make the right choice…"
Just then, Hua Xuening appeared. "Master, how's it going?"
Lu Chengwen was delighted the moment he saw Hua Xuening. "It's fine, it's fine. Keep watching over things over there."
"Oh."
Zhang Jingji immediately grabbed Hua Xuening's hand. "Wow! This little sister is so beautiful! President Lu, she's your…"
"I… my… my…"
"Oh, oh, oh, I see, I see, I see!"
Lu Chengwen thought to himself:
[See my ass! No, wait… does he actually get it?]
Zhang Jingji held onto Hua Xuening's hand. "Little sister, do you want to be a star?"
Hua Xuening shook her head. "No."
Zhang Jingji was stunned. He had never met a girl who didn't want to be a star.
"You could act in movies, be on TV! Let everyone see how beautiful you are. Wouldn't that be amazing? So many people would love you!"
Hua Xuening looked confused. "Why would I need so many people to love me? As long as Master loves me, that's enough."
"Oh, Mas… Master, huh? Aiya, President Lu's life… ordinary people can't even imagine. President Lu, we can help make her famous! She could play the third female lead—no! The second female lead! Lots of lines, and she'd be at the center of many major scenes."
Lu Chengwen was about to explode.
"Enough! I'm investing in this film!"
"Huh?! Really?!"
"Really!" Lu Chengwen said. "And no joint production. Tomorrow, go to Dasheng Group and find Li Meiqin. We'll produce it exclusively!"
Zhang Jingji hadn't expected things to progress so smoothly. "President Lu! You really are… wow! Magnanimous and bold! The Chinese arts scene needs someone like you, someone who combines financial power with artistic taste—"
Lu Chengwen grabbed him by the collar and pointed at Xu Xuejiao. "I'm busy here, can't you see?"
"Oh, right, right, right…"
Xu Xuejiao was laughing so hard she could barely stand.
"I'm funding the movie. Now get lost. I need to continue."
"Oh, oh, oh! Alright, alright." Zhang Jingji asked, "Do you have any creative guidance for this film? Anything you'd like to express? Any—"
Lu Chengwen was about to explode again.
"A movie is just a movie. I'm a businessman—I don't know anything about art. I have no opinions, no message, and I'm not inserting any ads. I just have one request: Get a reliable director, reliable actors, reliable screenwriters… Just make a good film. That's it."
Zhang Jingji was shocked. "President Lu!"
He was nearly in tears. "You really are… we have a deal, right?"
Lu Chengwen looked at him. "I think you are a truly admirable agent. To have made Ms. Yiduo famous—a woman who keeps herself clean and continuously pursues artistic excellence—you must have endured a lot of hardship and struggles."
"Yes, yes, yes…"
"I know a lot of big bosses. Some want to make their mistresses famous. Some interfere in the creative process, pretending to be cultured. Some just want to sleep with actresses on set… But I don't have any of that! I'm giving you absolute creative freedom. You just need to fully showcase your artistic talent! Alright?"
The agent was actually crying. He took off his glasses and wiped his eyes. "Such integrity! President Lu! Do you have any last words?"
Lu Chengwen looked at him.
"Get lost."
"Understood!" The agent walked away, crying as he went. "In this day and age, to meet such a wealthy man… he's really a good person. Even the way he said 'get lost' was so honest and sincere…"
Cangyang Yiduo glanced at Lu Chengwen and gave him a slight nod—a tiny gesture of gratitude—before following the agent out.
…
Xu Xuejiao was laughing so hard she could barely stand.
"Hey, you're really investing in a movie?"
Lu Chengwen let out a long breath and quickly said, "Don't relax, keep going, keep up the passion from before!"
"I don't have any passion left."
"Then make some passion!"
"It's not safe here." Xu Xuejiao leaned against the wall, turning her head away, clearly unwilling.
Lu Chengwen bit his lip. "Fine, let's change places."
Lu Chengwen dragged Xu Xuejiao to another spot. Just as they were about to start, they suddenly heard a woman's heavy breathing coming from the room next door.
"Bin-ge, you're amazing!"
Lu Chengwen slammed his palm against the door and cursed in his mind:
[Damn it! Even here, I run into this kind of situation!?]
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