Xie Guan hadn't expected that, before he could send his words of comfort to Director Bai, he would be contacted by Bai Luzhou first.

That afternoon, after finishing his scheduled appearances and returning home, he received a call from Bai Luzhou before he even had time to change his shoes. Once Director Bai had gotten familiar with him, she even skipped the pleasantries and got straight to the point: "Xie Guan, do you know a President Huo from Xuandu Pictures?"

Xie Guan now tensed up instinctively at the mention of the surname Huo. "President Huo... I do know one, but he's not in the film and television industry."

"Let me check the business card... Huo Zhirong," Bai Luzhou said. "Is that him?"

Xie Guan recalled the boss of Lanyue Club who called Huo Mingjun 'Big Bro'. The last time, he'd heard President Nie say his name was "Huo Zhikuan." Huo Zhikuan, Huo Zhirong—hearing the two names together, it was obvious they were brothers. No doubt about it.

His heart gave a lurch as he thought, "It can't be, can it?"

When Bai Luzhou didn't get a reply, she didn't press him and continued, "You heard about Qing Lan's drunk driving incident last night, right? That bunch of bastards got carried away during the New Year, street racing in their supercars in the middle of the night. I heard it even alerted the SWAT team. He's the male lead of our film, and with such a major scandal, Herun went to Xinghui Entertainment overnight demanding an explanation. And guess what? Xinghui Entertainment demanded to shove another one of their people in, or else they'd join forces with Siyue Media and pull their funding."

Xie Guan swore under his breath, "So shameless."

"Tell me about it," Bai Luzhou sighed leisurely. "Originally, I was thinking that with two 'daddies' like them saddled onto the film, who knows what other trouble they would stir up down the line, so it would be better to just abort the project. But then, this morning, the company told me they'd contacted a new investor, Xuandu Pictures. They parachuted right in and kicked both Siyue and Xinghui Entertainment out, hahaha."

Bai Luzhou made no attempt to hide her schadenfreude, but Xie Guan couldn't laugh at all. He asked dryly, "What about the male lead?"

"He's been replaced with Ji Feng," Director Bai said. "He just terminated his contract with Huayu this year and opened his own studio. He has a cooperative relationship with Xuandu Pictures, so they recommended him directly to me."

The breath Xie Guan had been holding eased slightly. "What's the story with Xuandu Pictures? I've never heard of them before."

"Don't ask me," Bai Luzhou laughed teasingly. "I was about to ask you."

Xie Guan: "I'm innocent here."

Bai Luzhou: "Xuandu Pictures could have come at any time, so why did they just happen to descend from the heavens at the perfect moment, as if it was all predicted, and kick out those two idiots? Do you think they're acting heroically for a just cause, or carrying out heaven's will?"

I think their brain is broken...

Xie Guan took a deep breath and said, "Maybe they're the reinforcements sent by the monkeys."

Bai Luzhou: "Young man, watch your mouth. Who are you calling a monkey? I take it you don't want to work on this set anymore."

Director Bai's expression turned serious. "Anyone would have their doubts about this. At first, I thought Xuandu Pictures was the big financial backer behind Ji Feng, but I asked the higher-ups about it later. They didn't go into detail, but reading between the lines, I'd say there's an eighty-percent chance Xuandu Pictures is here to back you up."

With things spelled out so plainly, what was there left for Xie Guan not to understand? Huo Mingjun was absolutely capable of doing something like throwing money around to promote someone. He had repeatedly said, "Leave it to me to handle," but in the end, it was still the same old crude method of a tycoon boosting a minor celebrity.

No, it wasn't completely "crude." At least Huo Mingjun knew to find a proxy and pull in a decent actor as cover, instead of directly making Xie Guan the male lead. For that alone, Xie Guan had to thank him for showing mercy.

"I think I understand what's going on now..." Xie Guan said awkwardly. "I'm sorry, Director Bai. We didn't communicate about this beforehand. For this to happen so suddenly and disrupt your original plans, I'm truly sorry."

Bai Luzhou was gently but distinctly touched by his preemptive apology. Having been a director for so many years, she was used to seeing actors with backers who threw their weight around, were unprofessional, and demanded special treatment. It seemed that film crews big and small had become accustomed to the notion that "bringing funding to the set comes with privileges," and the actors themselves were a cut above ordinary actors in arrogance. But logically, everyone was part of the same crew, so what made them superior? By what right did these people feel that just because they had invested some money (money that wasn't even their own), they were the kings of the set?

In all her years in the industry, Xie Guan was the first actor Bai Luzhou had ever met who apologized to her for such a thing.

"What are you talking about? They provided timely help, we couldn't be happier," she said, snapping out of her daze after a few seconds. She teased, "You're basically our film crew's lucky star. Just for the fact that Xuandu Pictures kicked out those two rotten apples, Xinghui and Siyue, I ought to send them a commendatory banner."

"Could you please not encourage such improper trends," Xie Guan said with a helpless smile. "I'll hang up for now, then. I'm going to make a call and ask about the situation."

Bai Luzhou silently hung up. She sat in her empty studio, lost in thought for a moment, before casually clicking open the unedited raw footage she had copied from Director He.

Neither Xie Guan, nor the unseen benefactor behind him, was someone to be underestimated. Xie Guan had such character and aptitude, plus a powerful backer supporting him. Even if he was still an unknown actor now, his future accomplishments would never be limited to just being a "pretty boy with good acting skills."

Xihua had already produced "One Emperor, Two Empresses," and its momentum was now at its zenith. It was entirely possible that they would achieve the idion that "good things come in pairs" within the next few years.

Would this prize, which had not been claimed for years, fall upon Xie Guan?

Xie Guan tried calling Huo Mingjun's cell phone, but the line was busy. He had no choice but to put the matter aside to wash his hands and cook. Ever since moving out of the dorms, Xie Guan had been living by himself and had picked up the bad habit of looking at his phone while eating. As he ate his congee, he Baidu-ed Xuandu Pictures and discovered that last November, Hengrui Investment Group had indeed issued an announcement about acquiring all shares of the former Roman Century Pictures, renaming it Xuandu Pictures, and making it a wholly-owned subsidiary of the group.

Only then did Xie Guan remember that when they had first met, Huo Mingjun had indeed mentioned that his group was preparing a film and television investment company, but he hadn't paid it any mind back then. The subsequent acquisition announcement hadn't made much of a splash because at the same time, Hengrui Group was making other, bigger news: the business deal Huo Mingjun had gone to Hong Kong to negotiate had finally been settled. They had invested nearly 20 billion to purchase a real estate project from Hong Kong's Longfeng Group, which included an entire office building and several commercial properties in the central district.

This event was far more eye-catching than the creation of a small film company, which was why when Xuandu Pictures parachuted aggressively into The Rising Tides of the Azure Sea project, the relevant parties couldn't immediately figure out who this new major benefactor was.

Huo Mingjun was not idle at this moment. His phone was lying flat on his desk, still on a call, with Huo Zhikuan's nagging drifting out of the speaker. Huo Mingjun flipped through company documents, occasionally grunting "Mm" to pretend he was listening, which would immediately prompt Huo Zhikuan on the other end to launch into another ten-minute tirade as if he were unstoppable.

"Bro, you're my dear brother," Huo Zhikuan nagged. "I know you want to back up that little friend of yours, but can you at least think about Rongrong for a second? He's an innocent, unmarried young man, barely sixteen, and the moment he takes the job you have him acting like some brain-dead, overbearing CEO, throwing money at a celebrity—a male celebrity, at that! If word of this gets out, how is Rongrong ever going to find a girlfriend?"

Huo Zhikuan and Huo Zhirong were the sons of Huo Mingjun's third uncle. Although the two brothers had different mothers, Huo Zhirong had been raised by his older brother, making them as close as could be. Huo Zhikuan was sociable and diplomatic, and he ran the Lanyue Club, which was independent of Hengrui Group. Huo Zhirong had just returned from studying abroad and had worked as a management assistant at Hengrui for some time before being snatched up by Huo Mingjun before the New Year to take the helm at Xuandu Pictures.

The brothers' biological father, Huo Mingjun's third uncle Huo Zhongting, had a romantic history that was a journey of constantly eating pills of regret. He and Huo Zhirong's mother were first loves, but he later married Huo Zhikuan's mother under an arrangement by the family elders. At thirty-five, unable to forget his first love, this man decided to become a "progressive middle-aged man breaking free from the shackles of feudal arranged marriage to pursue the freedom of love," so he resolutely divorced his first wife and married his first love.

But after Huo Zhirong was born, he suddenly had another change of heart, deciding that his ex-wife was his one true love. Thus, he reinvented himself with a "prodigal son returns" persona, divorced his second wife, and embarked on the "long and arduous" path of trying to remarry his first.

Stuck with such an unreliable father, the two brothers had to depend on each other, so it would have been strange if they weren't close.

Outwardly, Huo Zhikuan was dapper and carefree as the wind, but in reality, he had a terminal case of a brother complex. He hadn't been happy when Huo Zhirong was set to go to Xuandu Pictures, whining and complaining that the work was too tiring, the industry was too frivolous, and there were too many people with ill intentions—as if his precious little brother weren't going to be a CEO, but a pure white lotus falling into a dye vat. Later, forced by Huo Mingjun's tyranny and Huo Zhirong's pestering—but mostly because he couldn't bear to see his little brother disappointed—he had reluctantly given in.

However, he was still worried. At the slightest sign of trouble at Xuandu Pictures, before the involved party could even react, he was the first to become antsy, hunting Huo Mingjun down with a phone call.

Huo Mingjun turned over a printed page and said slowly, "Be clear. Who is the 'brain-dead, overbearing CEO'?"

"Oh, so you were listening," Huo Zhikuan said. "It's easy for you to order him around since he's not your kid to feel heartache for! How could you make Rongrong do something like this?!"

Huo Mingjun was about to tell him that was his brother, not his son, when the call-waiting notification started flashing on his screen, showing an incoming call. On Huo Zhikuan's end, someone else took the phone. A clear, young male voice cut off Huo Zhikuan's nagging, "Alright, you're like a chattering mynah bird. Aren't you thirsty? Have some water."

He said to Huo Mingjun, "Big Bro, you go ahead and get back to your work. I'll talk to my brother over here."

"Alright," Huo Mingjun said, knowing his reinforcements had arrived. "I'm hanging up then."

He checked his missed calls. Two of them. It was Xie Guan, as expected.

Huo Mingjun called back. Xie Guan picked up quickly, his voice sounding normal. "Were you busy? I called twice but the line was busy. Did I disturb you?"

"It's fine, I'm not busy now," Huo Mingjun said, putting down the documents in his hand to focus on the call. "What did you need?"

Xie Guan had spent a long time trying to find the right words in his head, but when he spoke, all that came out was a sigh. "Why did you have to go to such great lengths to invest in The Rising Tides of the Azure Sea?"

Huo Mingjun's tone was one of feigned confusion. "I'm not the one managing Xuandu Pictures. How would I know which projects they decide to invest in?"

"Did I say it was Xuandu Pictures?" Xie Guan retorted. "Are you still playing dumb with me, Chairman Huo?"

Caught, Huo Mingjun gave a low chuckle. "Don't overthink it, and don't feel burdened. Just focus on your acting. You don't need to trouble yourself with these things."

Xie Guan: "I wish I could—the director already called me about it. How can I pretend like nothing's happened, like you?"

Huo Mingjun didn't argue, letting him get a few digs in. Xie Guan suddenly thought of something and asked doubtfully, "Your timing was so perfect this time. Don't tell me Qing Lan's incident was also part of your scheme?"

"With his tiny brain capacity, he doesn't deserve a word as sophisticated as 'scheme'," Huo Mingjun said indifferently. "The drunk driving and firearm possession were his own doing. It has nothing to do with me."

Xie Guan inexplicably detected a murderous aura in his tone and asked with a tremor of fear, "Then what did you do?"

Huo Mingjun said slowly, "Doesn't he like to drink? I just let him drink to his heart's content for once."

Huo Mingjun indeed didn't need to go to the trouble of designing a plot. With a lifestyle as full of holes as Qing Lan's, all he needed to do was give things a little push.

Xie Guan quickly understood the other meaning in his sentence and said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, "No way, you even knew about that?"

He was referring to how Qing Lan had targeted him at the drinking party. He hadn't expected Huo Mingjun to have avenged him for that too. On top of the surprise, his heart couldn't help but soften.

Huo Mingjun had no intention of taking credit and just hummed in acknowledgment. Xie Guan's tone softened as well, and he joked, "Getting revenge, investing, and even finding Ji Feng to be a protective umbrella... you went around in such a huge circle. With all that spare effort, why not just invest the money directly and make me the male lead?"

"You're different," Huo Mingjun, who always spoke to him in an unhurried, leisurely manner, suddenly grew serious. "Xie Guan, your path is one you must walk one step at a time. I will help you clear away the obstacles and let you walk it without interference, but I will absolutely not allow these methods to become a disgraceful stain on your achievements. Understand?"

"You..."

Xie Guan covered his face with his hand, trying to hide the sudden welling of tears in his eyes. He blinked, struggling to swallow the lump in his throat, and forced an unsteady laugh. "President Huo, let's make a deal. Can you stop using the same lines you'd use to coax a little girl on me? When you overbearing CEOs launch a sudden attack like this, a normal person like me can't take it."

Huo Mingjun heard the change in his tone but knowingly chose not to point it out. He said lightly, "It was never meant for a little girl to begin with. But I did, in fact, want to coax you..."

Xie Guan clutched his cheek as if he had a toothache. "That's enough! Stop! Are you ever going to finish?!"

"Hmm," Huo Mingjun pretended to ponder this seriously before saying with a straight face, "When you're properly coaxed, that's when I'll be finished."