CHAPTER 142: CHAPTER 142: LITTLE ANCESTOR, CAN YOUR HEAD STOP BEING SO HARD?

Lai Shenyan narrowed his eyes and brazenly scrutinized Wu Shi, asking in a rather irritating tone, "Did you disfigure your face?"

"That’s none of your business."

"I just came to join forces with Fu Ying, so of course, I have to get acquainted with the people around her. With a face as ugly as yours, how can Fu Ying stand you?"

A short knife slipped from Wu Shi’s hand and shot straight towards Lai Shenyan’s face.

Lai Shenyan dodged nonchalantly, letting out a greatly exaggerated scream.

"Are you jealous of my face? Always going for my face. How about you discuss it with Fu Ying and let her pay for your plastic surgery? You’re tall and big, and if you got your face fixed, you could be handsome too."

Wu Shi ignored him and walked over to pull the knife that had embedded itself in the tree trunk.

Lai Shenyan cleared his throat with a light cough and continued to provoke.

"Was it you who sent the Specters to save me and my sister, or was it Fu Ying’s doing?"

"You talk too much."

"Is that question also inconvenient to answer? Then let’s move on to the next one."

Wu Shi’s response was to lock him out of the door.

Lai Shenyan jumped up and down outside, cursing loudly for quite a while before stopping resentfully.

Aunt Ning and Uncle He frowned. "Lai Shenyan seems more interested in Wu Shi than in Xiaobing," Aunt Ning said. "I always feel like there’s a problem."

Uncle He asked directly, "Are you suspecting Wu Shi or Lai Shenyan?"

"I can’t really say. We hired him to protect Xiaobing; we should trust him. But he disappears from time to time, and he has Specters at his command. If one day his path diverges from Xiaobing’s, given Xiaobing’s trust in him, the hurt she’ll suffer could be no less than the year she went to jail."

After thinking it over back and forth, Uncle He said, "We don’t have to be so pessimistic. Xiaobing will always need people to protect her. If it’s not Wu Shi, there will be others. It’s better to thoroughly convert an old acquaintance into someone completely trustworthy rather than embrace someone new. So far, the protection Wu Shi has provided for Xiaobing can’t be faulted. As for his occasional disappearances, he mentioned them even before he came. There’s nothing to criticize about that."

Aunt Ning thought about it and agreed, "Maybe I’m just being too suspicious."

"We shouldn’t make decisions over Xiaobing’s head. She has a good measure of situations, seeing things clearer than we do."

「」

After soaking in a medicinal bath, Fu Bing called Lai Shenyan and Fen Du to the study.

"First of all, I’m very grateful to esteemed actor Lai for choosing me when I was besieged from all sides and for opening up new opportunities for me. Based on our potential for long-term collaboration, let’s talk openly and honestly."

"Right now, the resources I can offer you are temporarily incomparable to what you previously had, and your film remuneration will also shrink quite a bit."

"But what I can guarantee is that you can pick any scripts and teams under my banner at will. If your former partners pursue a breach of contract fee, I can also take responsibility to pay off part of it. I won’t let your choice to join me go unrewarded."

Fu Bing always liked to put things openly on the table. "You can discuss your terms and profit-sharing ratios, the number of film contracts per year, and your demands for ads and appearances. Lastly, there’s annual vacation time. The more specific we are, the better."

Lai Shenyan said, "Getting to act with Fu Ying is worth everything."

Fu Bing smiled and said, "Thanks for the high praise, esteemed actor Lai, but to collaborate with me, you didn’t need to provoke half the entertainment industry; my film paycheck isn’t that high. Given my current health situation, I’m temporarily not taking on major roles. If you’re interested, we can work together on some short web series. They’re quick and easy, with low investment, and with our professional level, we could shoot four short series in a month, which would be perfect to put directly onto the Douyu Platform. For the profit-sharing part, I can guarantee to offer you the highest ratio in the industry."

Lai Shenyan raised an eyebrow. "It looks like you’ve had a plan all along."

"Not really, I just thought of it now. Since you and Mr. Fen came over, I have to promptly show some sincerity; letting you quickly make money is the most straightforward sincerity. Having small-time actors act alongside you would be laughable to others in the industry. If I act with you, and we get Director Su to film it, I think nobody would have anything to say about that combination."

The mocking look in Lai Shenyan’s eyes gradually subsided; Fu Bing wasn’t just giving him lip service.

"Can your body handle filming right now?"

"There are always more solutions than difficulties. You and Mr. Fen can discuss it thoroughly before getting back to me. If you need any legal support from me, just say so. Our legal team is on standby at all times."

Over the years, Fen Du had wrangled and negotiated with all sorts of companies, where even a simple matter could be met with endless shirking and buck-passing.

Now, seeing how straightforward and forceful Fu Bing was in handling matters, he actually found it quite unusual.

"Sister Bing, things have happened so suddenly. Mr. Lai and I haven’t properly discussed the details yet. How about this: let your legal department draft a contract, and we can discuss the terms after reviewing it."

A look of approval flashed in Fu Bing’s eyes. Fen Du’s method was indeed beyond reproach.

Her main purpose in talking to them today was to give them an understanding of the situation, rather than to negotiate specific terms and make decisions.

"I’ll ask the legal department to draft the contract, which should take about two days. You can also take that time to consider."

"Alright."

Lai Shenyan looked directly at Fu Bing. "Do you know that Qin Jinhai is dead?"

Fu Bing’s brow twitched, but her expression remained unchanged as she said, "His mother told me herself."

"Do you believe it?"

Fu Bing countered, "Don’t you?"

"I don’t. He wouldn’t die so easily; he must be hiding somewhere, watching you," Lai Shenyan said meaningfully.

"Are you talking about Wu Shi?" Fu Bing’s face lost its smile. "Sowing discord is not the act of a gentleman."

"I’m not sowing discord; I’m seriously raising my doubts. Six years ago, Qin Jinhai saved me and my sister from a suicide attempt. Wu Shi also trained those people who attempted suicide into ghost-like Specters. Don’t you think there’s something in common between these two?"

"The commonality you perceive is as mundane as them both being men. Actor Lai, you can leave now. If you want to use the car, just tell Xiaomei and the others. We’ll talk again in two days."

Fu Bing’s command to leave was very clear.

Lai Shenyan had thick skin and didn’t feel ashamed in the least.

Fen Du, however, was sweating bullets and followed Lai Shenyan downstairs.

It wasn’t until they were out of the yard that Fen Du whispered, "Young Ancestor, you start sowing discord the moment you arrive. Must you be so headstrong?"

"Do I look that stupid?"

He’s utterly foolish! Fen Du screamed inwardly.

But he dared not show it.

He said, "We’ve just arrived, and you’re already targeting her closest bodyguard. Aren’t you afraid she’ll get rid of you? You’ve just offended more than half of the entertainment industry, and now you want to completely offend Sister Bing too? Or is it that you’ve long since given up on the industry and are deliberately trying to drag me down with you?"

"Am I that kind of person?"

"You are!" Fen Du responded immediately, giving him a look of anguish.

Lai Shenyan touched his nose. "I have my thoughts; you wouldn’t understand. Fu Bing won’t hold a grudge against me because of what I just said. Right now, both of us are in a difficult situation, and we both need each other very much."