Li Jingwei quickly explained, “Auntie, I really didn’t mean that. I didn’t know that person was my brother-in-law…”

Zhang Ma maintained a serious expression, saying, “Miss Li, it’s fine if it’s not your brother-in-law.”

Li Jingwei was getting tangled in her words and hurriedly corrected herself, “No, no, of course, if that person is my brother-in-law, it would be great!”

Zhang Ma grew even more solemn, “Miss Li, I really didn’t know you liked this kind of thing.”

“Like what?” Li Jingwei felt she couldn’t keep circling around this issue. If she kept it up, she would surely be at a disadvantage. So, she said plainly, “I’m here to find an actor. Is my brother-in-law inside? I’d like to discuss something with him.”

Seeing that Zhang Ma was still scrutinizing her, she emphasized, “I’m really here to find my brother-in-law for a film.”

Zhang Ma finally let her guard down and said, “Oh, you’re here to find Mr. Gu for a job. Please, come in!”

Zhang Ma led Li Jingwei into the living room and then went upstairs to call Gu Chen.

Sitting in the living room, Li Jingwei observed her surroundings and found the place even more refined than before. It seemed her brother-in-law’s lifestyle matched her own elegant demeanor—it was truly like something out of an immortal’s world.

When she saw Gu Chen coming downstairs, Li Jingwei’s eyes widened in amazement. She immediately stood up and greeted him, “Brother-in-law, hello.”

The poise! The aura! The grace in every movement! This was exactly the person she had been searching for! How did she not recognize this during their previous dinner at the old house? She must have been blind!

“Hello, Jingwei.”

Gu Chen greeted Li Jingwei as he entered the living room. Today, Li Jingwei was wearing a dark red biker jacket paired with army green cargo pants. Gu Chen recognized her from the old house, but now, he could also identify her from the filming crew he had seen earlier on the hillside.

Gu Chen sat down in the living room and asked, “Were you filming on the mountain just now?”

Li Jingwei was momentarily surprised and replied, “Yes, that’s right.”

How did her brother-in-law recognize her from such a distance? What kind of divine vision was that? She had only managed to capture her brother-in-law’s swordplay with a top-tier camera.

She continued, “While we were filming, we captured some footage of you sword fighting on the mountain. Everyone was amazed. Have you studied swordsmanship? Why did you choose to practice on the mountaintop?”

Gu Chen replied calmly, “To exercise.”

At the same time, Zhang Ma, who was serving tea, added, “To exterminate demons.”

Li Jingwei looked between the two of them, confused, “?”

Gu Chen clarified, “Really, it’s just for exercise.”

Zhang Ma, putting down the tea, enthusiastically explained, “Didn’t you learn swordsmanship in your sect? Last time, you told me you forged seven swords specifically to fight demons…”

Gu Chen sighed, realizing that ordinary logic wouldn’t stop Zhang Ma from making such statements.

So he said, “Didn’t you promise not to mention that last time?”

Zhang Ma quickly covered her mouth and said, “Ah, right. I shouldn’t have mentioned it. Sorry, Mr. Gu. I won’t say anything more.” She then carried the tray away.

Li Jingwei murmured, “Forging seven swords…” She wasn’t sure why someone would do such a thing, but it certainly sounded impressive. Plus, Zhang Ma was sworn to secrecy…

There must be some story behind this… But after thinking for a while and coming up empty, Li Jingwei snapped back to the present and said, “Brother-in-law, the reason I came today is because I saw you sword fighting and was wondering if you’d be interested in making a cameo appearance in our film?”

However, Gu Chen simply replied, “Sorry, I’m not interested. I think you should hire a professional actor.”

Li Jingwei’s eyes lit up even more. Yes! This was the feeling she was looking for! The demeanor of an immortal was just like this—serene yet carrying a hint of aloofness. That cool aura made it seem like he was indifferent to everything, but it was filled with an unspoken authority. Even his soft-spoken words made it feel impossible to refuse or defy him!

But even though she was excited, facing the immortal in person, she seemed truly hesitant to push back… Li Jingwei’s tone softened, and she looked at Gu Chen earnestly, saying, “Brother-in-law, is it really not possible? Acting is actually a lot of fun, really, and it’s just a cameo, so it wouldn’t require much time…”

Gu Chen took a sip of his tea, a faint smile playing at his lips, and said, “It’s really not possible.”

This reminded him a bit of Shen Yuan.

Ah! Watching Gu Chen’s gestures and expressions, Li Jingwei felt that there could be no one more fitting than him! That faint smile made her feel like he was indeed the immortal. Though powerful, he was not imposing or deliberately intimidating to juniors. There was a gentle ease about him, as if his aura was a natural result of his long-standing strength.

She never expected that the graceful demeanor and composure she had been emphasizing with Yu Miao, which Yu Miao had struggled to capture, could be so effortlessly displayed by her brother-in-law just by drinking tea! She felt a pang of regret for not noticing this before. Her brother-in-law must be a celestial being! It must have been because her brother-in-law wore a suit at the old house banquet, which made her aura so similar to her brother’s!

But… why did her brother-in-law have to use the exact same expression as the immortal while rejecting her? It was really painful to be so close to her ideal character and yet not be able to have it…

Li Jingwei could only say, “Alright… Sorry for the disturbance, brother-in-law.”

Sigh, even if she got her brother-in-law to act, dealing with Yu Miao’s contract was still an issue.

Gu Chen nodded and said, “It’s no trouble. It’s getting late, so stay for dinner.”

“Okay, thank you, brother-in-law.”

Li Jingwei finally had a moment to pull out her phone, which she had kept on silent, and saw a slew of missed calls from various sources.

Wu’s message was there too, saying: [Xiao Li, your attitude towards communication is wrong. If you don’t return my calls, I’ll withdraw the investment.]

Li Jingwei, feeling exasperated, redialed Wu’s number and said, “Mr. Wu, what are you thinking? Since you hired me as the director, you should trust my decisions. If our opinions are truly irreconcilable, I can invest in this project myself.”

But she inwardly calculated her available funds and realized that coming up with tens of millions on short notice was quite difficult.

Wu, considering Li Jingwei’s status as the eldest daughter of the Li family, decided to explain things plainly: “The reasoning is simple. Yu Miao’s fans are coming for Yu Miao. If they see his minimal screen time in the premiere, they won’t bother coming back the next day. Do you really think the original fans can generate significant revenue? And the original is just an online novel—how much depth can it have? You’re using an online novelist as the scriptwriter. Respecting the original doesn’t amount to much.”

Li Jingwei replied, “The original has a light and entertaining tone; it doesn’t need to be overly deepened.”

Of course, these people wouldn’t understand that since they hadn’t read it.

Wu continued, “Xiao Li, I’m much older than you, and many people are hesitant to tell you the truth because of your family background. But I must remind you that everyone involved in this project is here to make money, not to play around.”

“Now, Yu Miao’s script team is willing to work for free, and Yu Miao himself is willing to take on more screen time. Why not accept such a good deal? You know how high Yu Miao’s fees are. The proposal from Ms. Liang’s side is supported by us investors. We’re just waiting for your decision.”

It’s not that the investors and Yu Miao’s studio are deliberately opposing Li Jingwei or that they don’t fear offending the eldest daughter. It’s that one side is here to make money, and the other is here to perform a classic role. Each has its own interests and cannot use its own funds just to indulge the eldest daughter.

From their perspective, they might even think that the eldest daughter’s reasoning is flawed and that communication is impossible.

After hearing Mr. Wu’s words, Li Jingwei had to admit that he made a valid point. She also understood why many IP movies and TV series end up deviating from the original work—because everyone believes that this approach will be more profitable. But does it have to be this way?

Li Jingwei said, “Alright, Mr. Wu, I understand and can appreciate your concerns. If you’re not confident in this project, then please withdraw your investment. I’ll handle the funding myself.”

Mr. Wu was momentarily taken aback by Li Jingwei’s directness, then seemed to relax a bit, saying, “Alright then, we can arrange a time to handle this matter.”

Mr. Wu lightened the mood with a joke, “Since it’s going to be your project, I won’t be interfering.”

“Okay, I’ll have someone get in touch in a timely manner.” Li Jingwei ended the call.

She was well aware that Mr. Wu’s comments had some truth to them—many in the team were indeed skeptical about the project.

Feeling dejected, she turned to Gu Chen and said, “Brother-in-law, are you really not going to take on a role? Now that I have to invest myself, I’ll have to cover the actor’s fees too. Thinking about Yu Miao’s high fees, it’s just so painful…”

Seeing her distress, Gu Chen suggested, “How about I invest a bit?”

Li Jingwei’s eyes lit up slightly. “How much are you thinking of investing?”

Gu Chen replied, “Five million?”

Li Jingwei’s expression dimmed again as she shook her head. “That won’t be enough. The special effects for this movie are quite expensive. If I’m the one investing, I need to start with at least fifty million. I’ll have to see if I can reallocate some funds from other projects…”

Gu Chen thought for a moment and said, “Then I’ll ask your brother for some extra pocket money.”

Li Jingwei shook her head again, saying, “Brother-in-law, thank you so much, but it’s really too much to ask you to talk to my brother about money… Pocket money? Even if you add a few hundred thousand, it’s just a drop in the bucket.”

Gu Chen remained composed, shaking his head slightly. “It’s fine. Let’s have dinner first. I’ll call your brother later.”

Although Chef Xu, who was newly hired, prepared excellent dishes, Li Jingwei found it hard to enjoy the meal as she was preoccupied with the issue at hand.

After dinner, around 7 PM, Gu Chen went up to the balcony and dialed Li Tingqin’s number. “Good evening, Mr. Li. Have you just gotten up?”

He wondered if Mr. Li was already working out. Having been in this world for a while now, he felt that working out alone was somewhat dull.

Li Tingqin replied, “Good evening, Ah Chen. I’ve been up for a while.”

Having visited a couple of times before, Gu Chen felt more at ease this time and joked, “Mr. Li, I’m running out of pocket money again. How about… increasing it to fifty million?”

Li Tingqin responded, “Alright.”

Gu Chen’s smile deepened. “You don’t want to ask what I need it for?”

Li Tingqin replied, “Ah Chen, you’re my partner. I trust you.”

Gu Chen then dropped the pretense and said, “Actually, I want to invest in your sister’s movie. Just have Assistant Chen transfer the funds directly to her account to avoid extra transaction fees.”

Li Tingqin paused for a moment before saying seriously, “Ah Chen… When will you start thinking about yourself? You don’t need to worry about Jingwei; she’s an adult, and she’s even a few years older than you. You should spend money on yourself and try things that interest you…”

Gu Chen replied, “…” Mr. Li, I’m genuinely thinking of myself here.

However, he couldn’t really find anything he was interested in anymore. His enthusiasm for such things had long faded…

Li Tingqin suddenly suggested, “Why don’t you come to Country A? We could live together. I have many positions here that would suit you…”

Gu Chen snapped out of his wandering thoughts and immediately replied, “No, Mr. Li, the flight to Country A is really long, and I don’t want to start working just yet.”

Li Tingqin sighed, “Alright, Ah Chen, I respect your decision.”

After hanging up, he told Secretary Xu, who was reporting on his schedule, “Reschedule the next two weeks. I’ll go back to the country for a while.”

He had a strong feeling that Ah Chen genuinely needed companionship.

Back on Li Jingwei’s end, she soon received a notification of a 50 million transfer and was stunned, exclaiming, “Who suddenly transferred 50 million to me?!”

Gu Chen calmly said, “It should be from Assistant Chen.”

Li Jingwei’s eyes widened in disbelief as she looked at Gu Chen, realizing something. She asked, “Brother-in-law, this isn’t… your pocket money, is it?!”

Gu Chen nodded, “Yes, it’s for your investment.”

Li Jingwei, even though she was usually mature and composed, exclaimed in shock, “Brother-in-law! How can your pocket money be 50 million!”

She hadn’t received allowance from her brother since graduating from college, and even when she was with Jiashu, they only had tens of thousands a month. This was the first time she had seen such a large amount.

Was her brother really this crazy after getting married?

Li Jingwei clasped her hands together and said, “Alright, brother-in-law, now you’re the biggest investor. Do you really want to invest a tenth of it for Yu Miao to film three scenes?”

“And sister-in-law, you can save 5 million with a discount.”