Chapter 29: Dragon Ridge Mysterious Cave

As soon as Xiang Qian pushed the door open, his phone rang. It was Sun Li.

"Hello, Sister Sun."

"Xiao Qian!" Sun Li's voice on the other end was unusually excited, "I just received news; the sales of 'Rebirth' and 'Starlight' have already broken double platinum!"

Xiang Qian tossed his keys onto the coffee table: "Expected."

"You..." Sun Li was at a loss between laughter and tears, "By the way, how did the talk with Director Hong and the others go today?"

Xiang Qian poured a glass of water and sat on the sofa: "It's settled. I'll play Qiu Sheng."

"That's great!" Sun Li's voice rose an octave, "I'll handle the salary negotiations; I guarantee I'll fight for you to get first-tier standards!"

Xiang Qian thought for a moment: "While you're at it, see if there's a role suitable for A Min."

The other end of the phone suddenly fell silent for two seconds.

"Xiao Qian..." Sun Li's tone became ambiguous, "You wouldn't happen to..."

"Her acting is good," Xiang Qian interrupted her, "and the movie needs a female role."

Sun Li made a meaningful "Oh": "Understood~ I'll go inquire tomorrow."

"By the way, Sister Sun, my contract is complete," Xiang Qian glanced at the gold record plaque on the wall, "one album exceeded the target."

After hanging up with Sun Li, Xiang Qian immediately dialed Zhou Huimin's number.

"Xiao Qian?" The phone was answered quickly, Zhou Huimin's voice carrying surprise, "Still not resting so late?"

Xiang Qian unconsciously curled the corners of his mouth: "I have some good news to tell you."

"What good news?"

"Director Liu Guanwei invited me to star in 'Mr. Vampire', playing Qiu Sheng."

A scream came from the other end of the phone, followed by Zhou Huimin's excited voice: "That's wonderful! I knew you could do it! When does filming start? Do you need to prepare anything?"

Xiang Qian was infected by her, his tone becoming lighter too: "Makeup test next week. I'll ask Sister Sun to fight for a role for you."

"Really?" Zhou Huimin's voice suddenly grew small, "But... I've never acted before..."

"Didn't you act very well filming the MV?"

"That's different..."

Xiang Qian could imagine her cute appearance biting her lip at that moment: "Believe in yourself; you have more talent than many professional actors."

Just as he hung up, another unfamiliar number called in.

"Hello, is this Mr. Wu?" a middle-aged male voice asked, "I am Lin Zhiming, editor-in-chief of Sing Tao Daily."

Xiang Qian raised an eyebrow: "Hello, Editor-in-Chief Lin."

"Congratulations, Mr. Wu, the serialization of 'Ghost Blows Out the Light: The Lost City of Jingjue' has had unprecedented response!" Lin Zhiming's voice was excited, "We want to buy the serialization rights for the second part, 'Dragon Ridge Mysterious Cave', for one million!"

Xiang Qian walked to the study, looking at the thick stack of manuscripts on the desk: "Come pick up the manuscript tomorrow."

"Wh-what?" Lin Zhiming stammered, "Are you saying... the second part is already finished?"

"Not yet, the first few chapters are done," Xiang Qian opened the first page of the manuscript.

A bout of coughing came from the other end of the phone, obviously startled: "Mr. Wu... you are truly... a genius! I'll send someone to pick it up first thing tomorrow morning!"

Early the next morning, Sun Li burst into Xiang Qian's apartment in a rush.

"Xiao Qian! Good news!" She waved a document, "Liu Guanwei agreed to let A Min play Ren Tingting!"

Xiang Qian was brewing coffee and didn't turn around: "What about the salary?"

"Your salary was negotiated to 150,000," Sun Li said proudly, "A Min's is 50,000; that's very high for a newcomer!"

Xiang Qian handed her a cup of coffee: "You worked hard."

The doorbell rang. Xiang Qian opened the door; Zhou Huimin stood outside, holding breakfast in her hand.

"I heard someone didn't rest well yesterday," she shook the bag, "I specially bought rice noodle rolls and porridge."

Sun Li poked her head out from the study: "Wow! A Min arrived just in time! Come quickly to see Xiao Qian's new character design!"

Zhou Huimin walked over curiously; on Sun Li's computer was the Qiu Sheng character design sketch just sent by Hong Jinbao—a long green robe, holding a peach wood sword, looking heroic and striking.

"So handsome!" Zhou Huimin's eyes sparkled, turning to look at Xiang Qian, "This design suits you perfectly!"

Xiang Qian took the breakfast: "Your Ren Tingting design should be ready too."

Zhou Huimin covered her mouth: "Can I really act? I..."

"Relax," Xiang Qian handed her a cup of soy milk, "Just treat it like filming a longer MV."

After breakfast, the editor from Sing Tao Daily came and took away the manuscript of 'Dragon Ridge Mysterious Cave'.

In the evening, Xiang Qian stood on the balcony, looking at the night view of Victoria Harbour.

Zhou Huimin walked over and handed him a cup of tea: "Tired, right? You haven't rested all day."

Xiang Qian took the teacup: "I'm used to it."

"Xiao Qian..." Zhou Huimin hesitated, "Why... do you do everything so well?"

Xiang Qian gazed at the neon lights in the distance: "Maybe because..." He turned to look at Zhou Huimin, the corners of his mouth slightly lifting, "I hate giving up halfway."

Zhou Huimin's face turned slightly red in the sunset: "Then... don't give up halfway during the movie filming either, okay?"

"Of course," Xiang Qian promised softly, "Especially the scenes with you."

The night breeze blew past, taking away the brief silence between the two. On this ordinary night, the music genius, the new actor, the best-selling author—Xiang Qian's cross-over life had just begun.