Chapter 169: AD Calcium Milk

After some discussion and bargaining, Liu Tianxian agreed to give him face, then Fang Hong gave a hard push, Liu Tianxian stepped back with the motion, and the door closed with a "bang."

"Wow, amazing."

Liu Tianxian added another line to give Fang Hong more face — after all, he was her boyfriend, how embarrassing would it be for him to lose face in public.

Everyone in the office heard it, but no one said a word — it was their private little moment, who would butt in.

Still, those two were pretty funny.

"Knock knock knock!"

Liu Tianxian went to knock on the door again: "Open up."

But there was no response from inside — that bastard Fang Hong, Liu Tianxian knew it would be like this.

"If you don't open the door, I—"

Just as she was about to kick the door, it was pulled open from inside, and she was pulled in by Fang Hong, then the door closed.

Fang Hong wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close, leaning his face near: "Coming back only to get angry — that's not good."

"If you don't provoke me, would I get angry?"

Liu Tianxian pressed close to him without resisting.

It was winter now, and both of them were wearing thick clothes, so nothing much could be felt, but Fang Hong could smell the fragrance on Liu Tianxian.

Liu Tianxian could also smell the masculine scent on Fang Hong, and so it went.

"Did you miss me?" Fang Hong's tone was gentle.

"What do you think!" Liu Tianxian's little girlish voice drew out the words — clearly she had missed him.

Fang Hong looked at her and smiled: "Can I have a kiss?"

"No way." Liu Tianxian turned her face away.

"We haven't seen each other for over a month. You finally come back, and you won't ease my longing a little?" Fang Hong's voice was soft.

"If you missed me, why'd you shut me out the door? Is that how you miss someone?" Liu Tianxian raised an eyebrow.

Fang Hong pouted: "What did I say in the line before?"

"You don't know what you said yourself?" Liu Tianxian countered.

"I forgot for a moment, help me recall it." Fang Hong acted as if his memory was bad.

Liu Tianxian looked at him suspiciously: "You said you missed me."

"The line before that." Fang Hong said.

Liu Tianxian recalled: "Can I have a kiss?"

"Yes!"

With that, Fang Hong leaned in and kissed her cheek.

Liu Tianxian didn't dodge, but pressed her lips together in a smile: "Your tricks are way too cliché!"

"Just learned it from the internet, learning on the fly." Fang Hong laughed.

"Hahaha, you're pretty cute too."

Liu Tianxian laughed until her gums showed, then said: "But speaking of which, how many girls have you tricked with this?"

"Heaven and earth can bear witness — in this whole life I've only ever pursued you." Fang Hong raised his hand as if swearing an oath.

He wasn't lying — in this life he really had only ever pursued Liu Tianxian.

Liu Tianxian had only said it casually, she didn't suspect anything — Fang Hong's background wasn't complicated, one ask and you'd know everything.

Everyone here was a student or classmate from Beijing Film Academy.

"This is for you."

Fang Hong took something out of his pocket and handed it to her.

Liu Tianxian looked down, took it and glanced at it, and couldn't help laughing: "AD Calcium Milk — you think I'm a little girl!"

"Isn't it because you've been working hard out there? I heard you like drinking it, so I specially bought it back for you. I've been holding onto it for a few days, just waiting for you to come over." Fang Hong spoke sincerely.

"I liked drinking it when I was little, around my teens. I don't drink it now, it feels so childish." Liu Tianxian covered her mouth.

Everyone else buys bags, cosmetics and whatnot, but this man bought AD Calcium Milk — still, it was quite touching.

She didn't lack any material thing; small gestures like this moved her even more.

"You're not going to drink it? What a shame." Fang Hong looked disappointed.

Liu Tianxian looked at his expression: "I'll drink it. Where's the straw?"

"You're going to drink it?" Fang Hong seemed to be confirming something.

"Now that I think about it, I do kind of miss it, I want to taste it again." Liu Tianxian's face carried a look of nostalgia.

Fang Hong took out two straws.

"You planned this from the start, didn't you!" Liu Tianxian gave him a smack.

"Yes, be childish with me for once." Fang Hong said it readily.

Liu Tianxian nodded readily too! Having gotten permission, Fang Hong stopped holding her, and instead stuck the two straws into the bottle, one on each side.

In the middle was the AD Calcium Milk, the two of them bit down on the straws together, looked up into each other's eyes, their gazes like stars, reflecting each other.

"Knock knock knock!"

Just as the two were about to sip together, a sudden knock at the door broke this romantic atmosphere.

"Damn, who's that?"

Fang Hong couldn't help cursing, then went to open the door. Seeing this man's good moment ruined, Liu Tianxian laughed uncontrollably.

Fang Hong opened the door and saw Meng Jun standing at the doorway. Irritated, he said: "What are you here for?" Meng Jun looked completely bewildered, saw General Manager Fang looking very angry, then glanced into the office and saw Liu Tianxian holding the AD Calcium Milk, seemingly laughing.

He hadn't ruined something between those two, had he!

"General Manager Fang, didn't you call me here?" he said.

Fang Hong really wanted to say, Why didn't you come earlier, why not later, but why now? Still, he held his tongue.

He gestured for him to come in—work was important.

Fang Hong turned and saw Liu Tianxian sipping an AD Calcium Milk, winking at him playfully.

As if to say: I'm enjoying this all by myself—none for you.

Fang Hong sighed. He could've shared it, but now it was missed.

While they discussed business, Liu Tianxian waited in the sofa area; they were flying out that afternoon.

Besides, the Golden Horse Awards didn't start until evening.

Fang Hong asked directly: "How much money does the company have now?"

"We're broke—we're actually in debt, paying over ten million in interest a year," Meng Jun said, bewildered.

How did you spend the money? Don't you have any sense?

Fang Hong fell silent. Indeed, he'd spent too wildly this past year—there was no capital left to absorb risk.

If one direction collapsed, everything would collapse.

"I called you here about the U. S. tax issue," he said.

Meng Jun said nothing, listening to him.

Liu Tianxian over there could hear too, but she usually didn't interfere in Fang Hong's business matters.

"I don't want to pay taxes. Can we legally avoid them?"

Fang Hong added: "Only legally avoid them in the U. S. —we'll pay taxes normally in China."

It was already November, and December was coming fast; he'd registered the company in the U. S. in March this year.

That meant it would be a year soon—the tax issue needed to be resolved ahead of time.

"Ah, this!"

Meng Jun thought for a moment: "We'd need to set up another company in Bermuda or the Cayman Islands—both are tax-free zones.

That company would serve as a subsidiary of U. S. Jade Rabbit. When reporting revenue, we'd report it through this subsidiary, saving a lot in taxes, and we could also use R&D tax credits."

"My company can do R&D?" Fang Hong asked, surprised.

"Why not? Nike makes clothes and shoes—they do R&D too, and they use this exact method to offset taxes. Movies are more advanced than that stuff!" Meng Jun explained.

"I see."

Fang Hong paused, then asked: "Could we get caught?"

That's what he worried about.

"Everyone plays this game anyway. We're not even the biggest player—we're a small business. They're not going to target us." Meng Jun didn't dare guarantee they wouldn't be caught.

If someone investigates you, they'll definitely find problems. But if they don't investigate—or investigate only slightly—there's no big issue.

All the receipts and evidence will be in order.

"If we sever the connection between domestic Jade Rabbit and U. S. Jade Rabbit, will it affect your cash flow?" Fang Hong asked.

"No effect—it's best to cut it. Make a purely local enterprise," Meng Jun said.

U. S. dollars circulate globally—they don't have to return home. Just show the bank at the port, and they'll naturally give you a domestic loan, then you pay it off abroad.

This is the simplest method, though it requires handling fees and involves operational tricks, since it touches on the issue of unclear fund sources.

You take out a loan—but who pays it back?

If you only show borrowing but no repayment, the debt disappears—and people will grow suspicious.

Normally, Jade Rabbit would just buy equipment and tools if needed; it wouldn't resort to such operations unless absolutely necessary.

After hearing his explanation, Fang Hong held up two fingers: "Two things—sever the connection and avoid taxes. Arrange them for me."

It was a mistake he'd made from poor foresight; now the company was growing larger and more visible—it was only a matter of time before someone uncovered the cross-border equity links.

Even if the names were the same, as long as there was no formal connection, there'd be no link.

What outsiders thought? Let them think whatever they wanted.

"Alright, I'll handle it," Meng Jun nodded.

After they finished talking and Meng Jun left, Liu Tianxian came over and asked: "Are you really this broke?"

She'd heard everything—now they were not just in debt, but had to devise ways to avoid taxes.

In her mind, Fang Hong should've made a fortune, had piles of money—his movies never flopped, always sold massively.

"Yeah, you'll have to support me from now on—I'm dead broke," Fang Hong said, spreading his hands.

"Pfft. Who's going to support you?"

Liu Tianxian rolled her eyes and turned to walk away.

Fang Gouzi, so dog-like! Fang Hong chased after her and grabbed her in a hug: "You drank my AD Calcium Milk—now you think you can run?"

"I'm running, and I want you to chase me!"

Liu Tianxian's laughter echoed through the room.

(End of Chapter)