So taking advantage of this opportunity, Xiao He successfully drew the [Economic Manipulation] skill he had planned to draw earlier.
[Economic Manipulation: An invisible hand manipulates economic lifelines, the path to wealth lies entirely within your grasp.]
—To put it plainly, this skill is mainly for playing the stock market.
Things like economic lifelines sound exaggerated, as if you could control wind and rain, but in reality, without money to make things happen, the government would suppress you first.
A nation's economy isn't something you can shake just by having a skill. First, you need money, and then you need people backing you up, otherwise you'll end up singing "Tears Behind Bars" face-to-face with the economic "big shots" in Tilanqiao Prison.
Of course, Xiao He had no intention of courting death. He simply wanted to use this skill to look at the studio's financial reports.
The studio had now stabilized and was beginning to make external investments. Meanwhile, both Liu Rulan and he were increasing their personal investment efforts, preparing to expand the studio and increase its scale.
Although they currently had no plans to turn the studio into some major corporation, as their own development progressed, the studio needed to advance along with them. Otherwise, it would eventually become a drag on their progress, which simply wouldn't do.
As these matters gradually increased, Xiao He still needed to shoulder his responsibilities as a boss, following along to understand and handle things slightly. Even if Liu Rulan later found specialized personnel to manage the studio's investments, he still needed to have a clear understanding of the situation.
If other economic criminals knew that Xiao He had drawn such a powerful criminal skill just to look at financial reports and dabble in some minor stock trading, they would probably vomit three liters of blood.
With this skill, instead of using it domestically, you could go abroad to control wind and rain! And you're using it to manage such a small amount of money?
What a waste! Such a terrible misuse of talent!
But there was no helping it. Who told Xiao He now had points to be willful? He even planned to save up later to see if he could reach a million points and draw once from the highest prize pool!
-
When the final broadcast results came out, Director Wang Xingyuan directly video-called Xiao He, crying his eyes out with snot and tears.
Xiao He had originally been preparing to sleep, but seeing the director crying so pathetically, he felt too embarrassed to lie down. He could only sit up again to comfort Wang Xingyuan: "Director Wang, aren't these results already quite good? You should be happy instead of crying. You're going to be very busy next."
—So you should go to sleep early.
However, Wang Xingyuan didn't catch Xiao He's hint. Instead, he pulled Xiao He into pouring out his troubles while recounting his bittersweet emotional journey.
"Xiao Xiao, I really need to thank you. If it weren't for that day when your portrayal of Mu Ze helped me rediscover the dreams of my youth, I'd probably still be just a director who only knows how to shoot brainless idol dramas."
"I originally thought that would be my life from then on—shooting some idol dramas without caring about their quality or effect, just making some easy money and getting by. That would be my entire life."
"But your Mu Ze truly made me recapture that feeling from back in the day. Your eyes ignited the longing within my heart. At that time in 'Heart of Embers,' your Mu Ze character became somewhat popular, which was also netizens' indirect affirmation of me, giving me the courage to stick to my own ideas."
"Xiao Xiao, you're truly my benefactor! And you've helped me twice!"
"Without you, I wouldn't have had a character like Mu Ze, and my ambition and longing wouldn't have been ignited. Without you, I also wouldn't have been able to find another Mo Tun who fits so perfectly and keep the production team's filming going smoothly... You, you—sob sob, I'm really so grateful to you—"
Xiao He: ...
Wait, hold on, why does this sentence sound familiar, as if I've heard it from someone before?
Xiao He thought back for a moment, then his mouth twitched.
Uh, it seems the last person who said something like this to him was Ma Qianyou, the producer of 'Starry Radiance.'
Xiao He: ...
Hey, did you two plan this in advance? Or are people in this industry somewhat superstitious?
Speaking of which, recently when their studio was preparing investment projects, this Ma Qianyou actually caught wind of it and came running over, insisting on joining their studio in making investments...
And now, I've heard that the female lead for the production team hasn't been found due to various problems, causing the project to be continuously delayed. This made Xiao He somewhat superstitious too, wondering if Ma Qianyou's "special" constitution was working its magic again.
Xiao He pulled back his wandering thoughts and very calmly accepted Director Wang's gratitude and praise, then began returning the compliments to Director Wang.
"This is all part of my job. It's still Director Wang who has the discernment to recognize talent. Without Director Wang, I probably wouldn't have been able to let more people see me through the Mu Ze role, nor would I have had more opportunities. I sincerely thank Director Wang for your cultivation..."
Finally, the two spent the whole night complimenting each other. When Liu Rulan came to get Xiao He early the next morning, she was nearly frightened by him: "You didn't sleep last night?"
"Di-Director Wang, he just wouldn't stop talking..."
Xiao He had huge dark circles under his eyes, his body swayed unsteadily, and his breathing was faint. He waved his hand, "I don't have any filming tasks today, do I? Let me sleep a bit more..."
Liu Rulan: "You indeed don't have any filming tasks, but I came to tell you that the audition time for 'No Bait' has been announced—it's next Saturday."
The previously half-dead Xiao He immediately sat up: "So soon?"
Liu Rulan nodded: "Yes, so you need to mentally prepare yourself. I estimate you'll have many competitors at that time."
Xiao He lay back down: "Forget it, if I pass then I pass, if I don't then it doesn't matter. I'm really so tired right now, we can talk about this later—"
"So, I asked Teacher Gao for an opportunity to audit classes at Beijing Drama Academy. Do you want to go?"
Xiao He immediately sat up again: "Beijing Drama Academy auditing?"
"Exactly, it's Teacher Gao's small class. Some other experienced senior colleagues will also be there—it's essentially a small internal lecture. Going to listen might bring unexpected gains." Liu Rulan said, "And didn't you say before that you wanted to visit Teacher Zhuo? He'll be there too."
"When is it?"
"This afternoon at one o'clock."
Xiao He looked at the current time—9:41.
"Don't worry, there's still time." Liu Rulan said, crossing her arms.
"Ahhh—"
Xiao He painfully grabbed his hair, then could only crawl out of bed.
There was no helping it—it took over an hour to get to Beijing Drama Academy from here, and that didn't include noon rush hour traffic jams. So he needed to get up now to get ready, eat breakfast, and leave.
After all, as an external auditor, just having Teacher Gao give them an opportunity to attend was generous enough. Xiao He didn't dare to arrive exactly on time or be late.
"No choice, just endure it."
Liu Rulan turned and instructed Xiao Chen: "Go downstairs and buy an iced Americano to bring up."
"Okay."
Xiao Chen quickly nodded.
After Xiao He finished breakfast and getting ready, he repeatedly "checked" himself in the mirror, and only then did he finally follow Liu Rulan to Beijing Drama Academy, full of energy.