Chapter 37: Don

Night fell, lights flickered on, and the southern town began its nightlife.

The entire crew went out to dinner together, including actors and behind-the-scenes staff.

Of course, this “entire crew” definitely didn’t include ordinary crew members.

To join the table, behind-the-scenes staff needed at least to be the director, screenwriter, cinematographer, or art director.

A few people squeezed into Qi Hao’s car too.

No choice—they had to save a few vehicles for those handling the wrap-up work, so they could return to the hotel easily.

One, two, three—that’s enough, enough, full!

A seven-seater minivan, Yang Liu driving, plus Qi Hao and Zhang Nan, and four more… women piled in.

Yang Mi was completely unapologetic.

She knew Qi Hao best here; filming *The Legend of the Condor Heroes* wasn’t just a day or two, and they had tons of scenes together.

Liu Shishi was helpless.

Cai Yinong had urged her to get closer to Qi Hao, seemingly convinced by the legend of the “lucky wife” fortune.

And according to Cai Yinong’s own words, whether we believe it or not doesn’t matter—capital only cares if someone believes it, and they’ll favor female stars linked to Qi Hao in gossip.

Tang Yan’s attitude was more casual.

She’d accepted her agent’s warning and admitted she was a love-struck fool, so she had no intention of getting involved with Qi Hao.

But there was a condition.

That no one else could get too close to him either.

He was her on-screen love interest.

If you two spread rumors with him, where does that leave me?

Another was He Yanni, who played the Holy Maiden in the drama.

She got in the car because she was just curious.

Like a stupid roe deer—you hit it with a stick and it runs off, but then it comes back a while later to see why you hit it.

He Yanni wanted to see what was so special about this car that so many lead actors were cramming into it.

Yeah, she was just plain curious.

Once the car was full, they set off for the restaurant.

Qi Hao sat in the second row—he dared not squeeze into the back row with two women.

Good fortune?

Please.

These women are all sharper than knives—if you really think you can play with them like easy girls, you’ll end up ruined.

After ten years of the dog system, Qi Hao got here entirely on his own!

He cherished everything he had more than anyone else.

Back then, he and Lao Tian had seriously discussed a similar issue, and their conclusion was: don’t pick wildflowers by the roadside; only by controlling your lower half can you go further.

When there are too many women in a car, they chatter nonstop.

Isn’t there a Western saying: one woman equals five hundred ducks?

Now there are five women in the car—even if you don’t count Yang Liu, that’s two thousand ducks.

We could open a slaughterhouse.

These women have some competition, but also cooperation.

So once they got a little familiar, they could chat happily, especially when hitting topics everyone cared about.

All Qi Hao had to do was smile the whole time.

I’m your cold, aloof god—just look your fill.

When they got out at the restaurant, Qi Hao naturally became the most envied man in the entire crew.

Luckily, they’d driven straight here without stopping—if they’d paused, these LSPs would’ve fantasized gigabytes worth of scenarios.

The dinner wasn’t all at one table.

Everyone had private rooms, especially those at the main table—no one would disturb them.

Entertainment industry dinners have their own rules, usually split into “plain” and “dirty.”

Plain ones are groups chatting, eating, trading resources, discussing collaborations—just like today.

As long as no one drank too much, everyone acted extremely proper.

The other kind is the “dirty” dinner—much more intense.

First, someone steps forward to organize it—the so-called “organizer.” If people say someone’s the “old boss” of the entertainment circle, they’re probably in this business.

The organizer gathers powerful figures and artists who have needs.

It could be a restaurant, KTV, bar, nightclub, hotel—any private venue.

During it, they play strip dance, deep-sea bombs, animal games, Russian roulette, and more.

Nothing’s impossible—only things no one thought of.

In this guanxi society, it’s essentially a giant marketplace—every resource can be traded.

Over the years, Qi Hao received many invitations to dirty dinners, but as a wall, he had wall-like pride, so he’d never actually experienced one.

What he loved most was drinking parties.

A group of real liquor-loving men competing in drinking—he’d gotten several good resources exactly this way.

Precisely because they knew he could drink, the heaviest drinkers among the capital always thought to drag him along.

These people only drank.

After all, once you reach that level, who the hell could still stand up?

Today’s plain dinner focused on Tang Ren trying to win hearts—the main table included Tang Ren’s production team’s big names and their own artists.

Hu Ge, Liu Shishi, Yuan Hong, Guo Xiaoting, and others.

Qi Hao, Yang Mi, Tang Yan, and other leads were naturally invited to sit at the main table.

“I saw Teacher Qi Hao reading a book on set today—Teacher Qi Hao is truly studious,” screenwriter Deng Zishan praised with a smile.

“Miss Deng, you’re too kind—just call me Qi Hao,” Qi Hao replied calmly: “I didn’t get much schooling—I dropped out after junior high and went out into the world. My head’s empty. If I don’t read books to fill it, when trouble comes, I’ll just be left in despair.”

If you don’t want others to look down on you, better to look down on yourself first.

“Schooling doesn’t guarantee you learn anything—these days, formal training isn’t rare. If you’re willing to learn, does it even matter if you’re from a formal program?”

This screenwriter wasn’t formally trained either—she’d been forged in TVB.

Her script for *Chinese Paladin 1* was torn apart by game fans and labeled “Thunder Mother.”

This adaptation of *Chinese Paladin 3* would inevitably face criticism too.

If a lead actor as influential as Qi Hao spoke a few good words for her, maybe the online backlash wouldn’t be one-sided.

She just didn’t notice she’d just insulted half the table.

“Thank you, Miss Deng, for the praise… I’ll drink to you!”

Without hesitation, Qi Hao downed it in one go.

That’s what Lao Tian taught him: no matter what trap someone sets, just drink it all down.

If she’s not satisfied, drink again.

Soon after, the topic shifted to others.

Qi Hao mostly just smiled quietly, listening, and accepted every drink offered to him.

But once Cai Yinong joined in, the conversation quickly turned back to him.

“If Tang Ren plans to produce *The Smiling, Proud Wanderer*, would you be willing to play the lead?”

Plain dinners often involve resource deals.

Just like now—Qi Hao attends this dinner, and someone throws him an olive branch.

If both sides are interested, the deal’s done.

Many resources are born at dinner tables, whether plain or dirty.

The line between plain and dirty isn’t that clear.

If Cai Yinong invites Qi Hao to her room later to chat, this plain dinner suddenly turns dirty.

“Me?” Qi Hao looked genuinely surprised, laughing: “Since I played *The Legend of the Condor Heroes*, I don’t plan to take on any more Jin Yong wuxia dramas anytime soon.”

There are only so many of these stories, endlessly remade.

*The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber*, *The Legend of the Condor Heroes*, *The Return of the Condor Heroes*, *The Smiling, Proud Wanderer*—these are the most popular.

Tang Ren already made *The Book and the Sword* and *The Legend of the Condor Heroes*, and now they’re eyeing *The Smiling, Proud Wanderer* too.

But if they approached me, who would I play?

They can’t possibly want me as Lin Pingzhi.

Not Dongfang Bubai either… right?

Cut three inches below the belt, combat power soars; no girls in heart, blade draws faster than a demon.

But with my status, I’d only play the male leads.

If Qi Hao played Linghu Chong, would they make Hu Ge play Lin Pingzhi?

Would Liu Shishi play Xiao Qimei or Ren Yingying?

This mess? Qi Hao didn’t want to wade into it at all.

Plus, while many people love Linghu Chong, Qi Hao had no particular attachment to the character.

The story of *The Smiling, Proud Wanderer* is a castration contest.

“That’s really a shame,” Cai Yinong sighed.

Qi Hao was truly impervious to persuasion—he had refused to spread rumors with Shi Shi before, and now he bluntly turned down the new project.

It seems there truly won’t be any chance for collaboration in the future.

“Let Hu Ge play it. ‘The Smiling, Proud Wanderer’ can greatly boost national recognition, and the role of Fenghu Chong suits him perfectly.”

Qi Hao turned to praise Hu Ge.

Hu Ge was deeply moved, stood up, and raised his wine cup to toast Qi Hao.

Qi Hao’s effortless, relaxed demeanor on set today had completely won over Hu Ge.

Before the drama began filming, Hu Ge had studied the character Xu Zhangqing.

He proudly believed that, had he not been in the accident, he could have played the role—and done just as well as Qi Hao.

But when he finally saw Qi Hao’s costume, he realized he was wrong.

Even if he hadn’t been in the accident, he could never have outperformed Qi Hao.

The same outfit, worn by two different people, carried ten thousand miles of difference in aura.

Thinking of Qi Hao’s ability to play ‘The Heavenly Dog’ further deepened his awe—so much so that even while drinking, he had to bow his butt in reverence.

The meal was nearly over, and everyone dispersed.

The production team entered a frantic shooting phase, filming from morning till night; if Qi Hao had scenes, he went to set, if not, he went to record.

After half a month of filming, he hadn’t shot much of his own material, but he had finished recording ‘Iron Man’ and earned the client’s approval.

Task completed, Qi Hao quickly settled accounts.

A Santana 2000 must be arranged—he saw the lingering scars on Hu Ge’s face and desperately needed some sense of security.

【Task 8 completed. Reward: +10 lines of dialogue, script ‘The Great Han Emperor’, Santana 2000 (System Edition)】

【Task completed. Training opportunity granted】

【Choose one training NPC: Tang Yan / Yang Mi / Liu Shishi】

【New task now being released】

【Task 9: With the system’s help, the host has now firmly established a foothold in the entertainment industry. It’s time to improve your acting skills—hire an acting coach for lessons. Task difficulty: 3 stars, deadline: 60 days】

【Task completion reward: Acting +10, script ‘The Lost Gun’】

【Task failure penalty: Three electric shocks】

Tang Yan / Yang Mi / Liu Shishi?

Qi Hao found the system hilarious.

Could Xu Jingjiang and Cao Chali please make a comeback?