Chapter 190: Chapter 190

An Yan took it and read through it quickly, offering a few opinions of her own. "Once it’s revised, we can start shooting right away! We can just use people from our team for the actors."

"Alright, for the female lead, if Miss An Yan is acting, then for the male lead, you would prefer..." Director Fang Bie didn’t dare to assume that Li Tianyao would act alongside Miss An Yan! But if Li Tianyao decided not to act, which male actor could Miss An Yan possibly co-star with? Although he felt it was inappropriate, deep down he really wanted to know.

"Who said I was going to act?" An Yan exclaimed in surprise.

Fang Bie blinked in confusion, "You’re not acting?"

"Of course not. Haven’t you seen the characters of the male and female leads in there? They’re total scumbags."

"Should we hold an open casting call then?" This was a standard practice for Emperor Entertainment. Typically, as soon as Emperor Entertainment issued a casting call, droves of handsome men and beautiful women would practically break down the doors to get in.

An Yan quickly intercepted his thought, "There’s no need for that hassle. Second Brother, you take the male lead role. And doesn’t your team have a few female actors?"

An open casting call would take at least half a month. She was so eager that she wanted to release the finished film on her Weibo the same night it was shot.

An Duxuan gave her a complicated look; he had just heard the male lead described as a scumbag! He took the script Fang Bie handed him and read it. Heh, this scumbag character is truly detestable, he thought, then glared at An Yan. "So you don’t want to play despicable characters, but you think your second brother does?"

"Why not? Aren’t you aspiring to be an actor? Actors can’t be picky about roles. If you play a villain well, you can still amass countless fans, Second Brother."

"Are you kidding me? I seem to recall the actress who played Consort Yu saying that people still come to smash her windows," he retorted. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel•fire.net

The director chuckled. "Mr. An, you’re out of the loop, aren’t you? There are netizens who say that as youths they despised Consort Yu, but as they grew up, they realized they’d hated the wrong person. Under her needle, no innocent souls perished; she only pricked those who deserved it!"

An Duxuan said, "Director, I may not watch many dramas, but basing our hopes on the off-chance that our co-stars will mess up seems a bit wrong, doesn’t it?"

Fang Bie chuckled awkwardly. "Those were just jokes. What I mean is, although the characters in this short video are quite bizarre, the stranger the character, the easier it is to showcase one’s acting ability! Mr. An, don’t underestimate the intelligence of audiences nowadays; they can distinguish between the role and the person!"

An Duxuan was still hesitating. On one hand, I feel obliged to help my sister, he thought. On the other, considering my current status, if my brothers found out I played such a villainous role, they’d laugh their heads off!

"Ten million!" Li Tianyao, who had been staring at his computer the entire time, suddenly spoke up. "An acting fee of ten million!"

The director gasped. Just for a short video, Li Tianyao is offering this newcomer a fee of ten million? The total production cost, including all expenses, probably won’t even exceed one million!

An Duxuan shot Li Tianyao a disdainful look. So what if he’s rich! He was just about to proudly declare he wasn’t the type to compromise his principles for a bit of money when he suddenly remembered what An Yan had said about the ’change fee’! Dad mentioned Yanyan’s wedding is set for six months from now. In six months, who knows if Director Lai Hao’s film will even be finished shooting. Before a film wraps, it’s just a constant drain of money. I can’t possibly give a red envelope at my sister’s wedding and still have to ask Dad and Eldest Brother for money, can I?

"Bring the contract! The money’s not important; what matters is helping my sister out!"

An Yan held back a laugh. "Then, I really appreciate it, Second Brother!" After speaking, she turned to Li Tianyao, "I’ll pay that ten million myself..."

"Stop!" An Duxuan interrupted. "Why are you paying? He set the price, so shouldn’t he be the one to pay?"

"Second Brother, I’m the one who wants to shoot this video! It’s going to be posted on my Weibo anyway." Besides, I have money now! Just for those ten Qingling Pills yesterday, Li Tianyao gave me one billion! Not to mention the Feidi mine. Because I did a divination saying it was a blessing in disguise, Li Tianyao promised Firths he’d give me ten percent of the profits. That ten percent is over another billion! Right now, some of that money has been used to buy medicinal ingredients, and the rest to buy stocks! The daily income is quite substantial! But An Duxuan still thinks I’m poor, no matter what.

Although unhappy, An Duxuan still said, "Well, if you’re paying, Yanyan, then Second Brother won’t take any money." She’s my own little sister! Even if I’m broke, I have to spoil her!

"Really not going to take it?" Li Tianyao asked.

An Duxuan glared at him again. "If you’re paying, then I’ll take it!"

An Yan was at her wit’s end with her second brother. "I have money!"

"Your money is yours; keep it safe. Let him pay. As a girl, you must learn to plan for yourself. Don’t let yourself get so love-struck that you end up investing everything you have! Look at those short clips online; how many girls give their all and end up with regrets? A girl needs to have money in her hands to feel secure. Listen to me."

"He’s right. You should keep your money," Li Tianyao agreed. With a flick of his hand, Lu Feng quickly placed a signed check into his palm. Li Tianyao took it and casually passed the check to An Yan.

An Yan figured if both men thought her money shouldn’t be used, then she wouldn’t pay. Her movement was smooth and fluid as she handed the check to An Duxuan.

Li Tianyao’s brows furrowed. Just as An Duxuan was saying that girls needed to plan for themselves, Li Tianyao suddenly remembered something. Many years ago, I had a subordinate. Someone owed him money but couldn’t pay it back, so he married off his daughter to my subordinate to settle the debt. The very next day after the wedding, the new bride went back to her parents’ home to demand money: ’Why haven’t you paid back the money you owe my husband?’ The conclusion was clear: the moment a woman gets married, her loyalty shifts away from her own family.

Applying that to the current situation... The little girl didn’t even hesitate before giving An Duxuan the money she got from me. Does this mean she doesn’t consider me one of her own at all? Li Tianyao instantly felt a pang of discomfort.

Feeling uncomfortable, he saw his car approaching and didn’t wait for Lu Feng to open the door; he got in himself. "Let’s go!"

Lu Feng, holding the car door, was taken aback and softly reminded him, "Sir, Miss An Yan is going to the hospital today. Aren’t you going to see her off?"

"No!" Li Tianyao glanced out of the car. Wen Ya opened the back door, and An Yan got in, without once glancing his way from beginning to end. "She’s just an outsider, after all!"

Lu Feng was speechless. What’s going on here? He didn’t dare to ask and obediently closed the car door for Li Tianyao, then got into the passenger seat. He also didn’t dare to actually tell the driver to leave immediately; after all, if Ninth Master went to work in a foul mood, who knew how many people would suffer the consequences.

Lu Feng shot a look at the driver, who understood his intent. The car started, but its speed was almost zero.