Chapter 25 No matter how big the hole is, I can fill it
In the banquet hall, people were toasting each other.
The men were dressed in suits and the women were also dressed in evening gowns.
Even in her previous life, Chen Ci had never attended such a cocktail party, but she was not at all nervous. After all, this cocktail party was specially held for investors, and she came here to invest today.
Fortunately, the dress that Gu Lianxing lent her was quite presentable. Even though it was not as ostentatious as other women's, it was not out of place.
"Wife, let me introduce you. This is the Miss Shen I mentioned to you."
As soon as he entered, the first thing Lu Jinzhao did was to introduce Shen Ci to his wife.
“Miss Shen, this is my lover Xiao Man.”
Xiao Man was wearing a pearlescent, dark green dress that made her look particularly elegant. She extended her hand warmly and greeted Shen Ci: "Nice to meet you, Miss Shen. You are indeed as young and beautiful as Old Lu said."
Chen Ci naturally pulled her hand out from Lu Jinzhao's arm and shook hands with Xiao Man with a smile: "Mrs. Lu, you are too kind. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Ms. Shen, how about I take you to meet some new friends first?" Lu Jinzhao said at the right time.
Most of the guests invited to this kind of high-class cocktail party are well-known figures, and many people will take this opportunity to make new friends and expand their network.
Lu Jinzhao's move was obviously well-intentioned.
But Chen Ci had no interest in this. She smiled and said to Lu Jinzhao, "No need, Mr. Lu. I came here today with a purpose. I believe you have been waiting for my reply. Then let's talk about investment?"
Lu Jinzhao's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he subconsciously looked at his wife Xiao Man.
"Miss Shen is such a straightforward person." Lu Jinzhao sighed.
Xiao Man was so excited that she quickly moved aside to invite him: "Miss Shen, let's go to a less crowded place to discuss in detail."
Sitting on a sofa in the corner of the banquet hall, Chen Ci and the couple faced each other. She said straight to the point, "I've read the novel 'Heaven's Fate' in one sitting these past few days. The content is truly fascinating, and I'm very interested in adapting it for film and television."
When Lu Jinzhao heard that there was a chance, he was immediately overjoyed.
"Then Miss Shen has investment intentions?"
Shen Ci nodded without denying it, and did not keep it a secret: "I can invest, but I have one condition."
Lu Jinzhao smiled without surprise. No investor would invest money for no reason. There must be additional conditions.
"Ms. Shen, please speak."
Chen Ci took out her phone, found a photo of her sister, and placed it in front of Lu Jinzhao and Xiao Man: "This is my sister, a freshman at Longcheng Film Academy this year, and she ranked in the top 50 in the national art exam."
"My condition is very simple. My sister must get the role of Hua Xixi."
It is common in the entertainment industry to use investment as a condition to force people in, so Lu Jinzhao was not too surprised when he heard Shen Ci's words.
However, as the filming is about to start, the actors who will play the main roles have basically been finalized and have signed contracts, so it is unlikely that there will be any temporary replacements.
Xiao Man looked at the photo of Chen Li on the phone on the table and nodded in surprise: "Miss Chen's sister is very good, with the bone structure of our Chinese classical beauties."
Lu Jinzhao pursed his lips and fell into deep thought. After a while, he looked up at Shen Ci and asked, "How much money do you plan to invest, Miss Shen?"
Shen Ci raised his lips and smiled: "If you can agree to my conditions, no matter how big the hole Mr. Lu has left, I can fill it for Mr. Lu."
For a project worth 20,000 yuan, how much money can you need?
Shen Ci didn't care about it, but Lu Jinzhao and Xiao Man were stunned when they heard it.
They had never seen an investor who had no upper limit on his asking price.
Xiao Man gently poked Lu Jinzhao's waist and gave him a look that only a husband and wife could understand.
Lu Jinzhao nodded, stood up, and glanced around the banquet. Finally, he waved to Feng Shan, who was in a suit and entertaining guests. "Old Feng, come here."
Feng Shan put down his wine glass and walked over quickly. When he got closer, he noticed the stunning Chen Ci. Then he looked at Lu Jinzhao calmly: "Boss Lu, what's wrong?"
Lu Jinzhao first introduced Feng Shan to Chen Ci, explaining that he was the casting director of the crew.
Then he asked, "Who was cast for the role of Hua Xixi?"
"Um, it's Tian Xiaolu." Feng Shan said with an embarrassed look on his face, "But Mr. Lu, Tian Xiaolu is still negotiating with us about the salary. I guess it's because Gao Fei signed for 850 yuan, and she's a little dissatisfied with only 600 yuan. But Gao Fei plays the second female lead, and the role of "Hua Xixi" is the fourth female lead. They have different roles, so the salary is definitely not the same."
Xiao Man couldn't help but sneer when she heard this: "Although they are competitors who debuted at the same time, Gao Fei just won the Golden Leaf Award for Best Supporting Actress in May. Isn't it reasonable for her salary to increase?"
Tian Xiaolu and Gao Fei are both very popular actresses in the entertainment industry today. They debuted at a similar time, have always made progress together, and their pay has always been at the same level.
It was not until this year that Gao Fei won the Golden Leaf Award for Best Supporting Actress for a period drama, which directly put her apart from other actresses of the same period.
Chen Ci also remembered the actress Tian Xiaolu, who played the role of "Hua Xixi" in her previous life. Later, because this role was so charming, she attracted countless fans, which directly made her popularity explode and she became a top-tier young actress.
It’s a pity that she later made a principled mistake and was banned by the official media, which led to the removal of the entire drama "The Phoenix's Destiny" from all platforms.
The originally bright star path was completely ruined by one wrong step.
"Let's stop arguing with each other. This role has been chosen."
Lu Jinzhao knocked on the table as he spoke, and Feng Shan only then noticed that the phone on the table was showing a photo of Chen Li.
"Eh? Isn't this Chen Li from the Film Academy?" Feng Shan was shocked and stunned.
"Have you seen this little girl?"
Feng Shan nodded and told Lu Jinzhao that he had to replace two new characters because of the 500 yuan investment.
Lu Jinzhao naturally knew about the investment, and he also knew that the roles of the two students were swapped, but he didn't know that the person whose original role was replaced was Miss Shen's biological sister.
“Miss Shen, I’m so sorry. Look at this… I really didn’t know the inside story. I didn’t know that this little girl was your sister.”
Lu Jinzhao was a little panicked. After all, the person sitting opposite him was his major investor, and he had actually caused Miss Shen's sister to suffer such a great injustice without knowing it.
Shen Ci smiled and said nonchalantly, "Ignorance is not a crime. Mr. Lu doesn't need to apologize. Besides, I would never have agreed to my sister playing the maid."
She put away her phone, looked at Lu Jinzhao and asked, "So, have we reached an agreement?"
(End of this chapter)
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