Chapter 20: Falling in Love

Jiang Qinqin kept her pretty face stiff and said nothing; her financial situation was even worse than Zhou Xun’s.

As everyone knows, Aunt Qiong Yao and the comedy genius Zhou Xingchi have similar personalities, both being people who value talent and profit equally; the artists under her are generally exploited quite heavily.

After Jiang Qinqin became the cover girl for *Popular Cinema* for her role in *Xi Shi*, Qiong Yao had her daughter-in-law He Xiuqiong sign her to her agency.

She began to stand out starting with *Tears in Heaven*, and even the character Ziwei in *My Fair Princess* was written based on her, yet she was always kept on a very tight leash regarding her pay.

Just like Zhao Wei during the same period, after *My Fair Princess* became a huge hit, she received at most 100,000 per episode for other dramas, but for Qiong Yao’s dramas, she only dared to accept around 12,000, otherwise, she would be criticized by the former for being ungrateful.

Isn’t Fan Bingbing the best example of this?

Because she was willing to go bankrupt to terminate her contract, she was mocked by Qiong Yao, who said she would only ever be able to play a maid for the rest of her life.

"Xiao Lu, you are too reckless. I already warned you that underground films are very risky; if you can’t sell the copyright abroad, it’s basically a total loss."

She was so worried she could barely eat; even though Lu Kuan had shown accurate foresight several times, this was professional film investment, and Jiang Qinqin hadn’t yet become so superstitious about him to that extent.

"My own 500,000, plus 500,000 borrowed from my senior brother—the contract is already signed and the money has been transferred."

The young Daoist explained the source of the funds with a calm smile, but seeing the reactions of the two actresses, the matter of borrowing money was not easy to bring up again.

"Don't worry. Have you forgotten what I do? I wouldn't say this is a sure thing, but I have some confidence in it."

The comforting words had no effect; this kind of prophetic ability far exceeded what people of the time could imagine. The awkward meal ended, and the three of them returned to their respective hotel rooms.

Lu Kuan was burning the midnight oil "creating" a script; this was a helpless necessity during the initial stage of capital accumulation, as there were too few ways to make money other than continuing to swindle and bluff.

A person is the sum of their social relationships; if one always presents oneself as a charlatan, the labels the public attaches to one will be biased.

Just like in the villa at Liu Yifei’s home, Cheng Jing, Liu Xiaoli, and others were quite surprised by the acting ability he displayed, while Feng Yuan, who had just met him, found it quite ordinary—this was the contrast stemming from his identity as a Daoist.

Therefore, he could not just rely on the advantage of being a prophet to take shortcuts; he had to establish himself and interact with others through the display of other talents.

The script Lu Kuan was creating was *Lurk*. In this era, the main broadcasting units for television dramas were the various satellite channels, and the subject matter was nothing more than family, crime, espionage, period dramas, and so on.

Espionage dramas encompass all commercial elements, combined with a delicate and rigorous logical core, making them a type of work favored by all satellite channels, which is conducive to the monetization of the script.

A "knock, knock, knock" sound rang out. The young Daoist closed his laptop in confusion; this was someone coming to sponge off Zhuang Xu.

Who would be knocking on Yin Zhiping’s door so late? He wasn't a director or a producer.

"Who..."

Before he could finish his sentence, he felt a fragrant breeze hit his face, and Jiang Qinqin flashed inside quickly with a flushed face.

"Close the door, you dummy!"

Lu Kuan put on a startled look: "Sister Jiang, I’m not feeling well today; I’ve got 'Auntie's' visit."

"Get lost!"

Jiang Qinqin spat out a soft curse, pressed her ear against the door like a thief to listen, and only then pulled Lu Kuan to sit down.

She took the jewelry box she had just received at the restaurant out of her cotton jacket pocket: "Xiao Lu, take this and return it."

Lu Kuan was stunned, then laughed: "What is this for?"

"How much more money do you need?"

Jiang Qinqin seemed to have been acting strangely since the Western restaurant; she stubbornly didn't answer, just asking the question on her own.

It was one thing for Lu Kuan to borrow money from her and Zhou Xun, but it was another thing entirely for Sister Jiang to take the initiative to offer it like this.

The iron rule of the entertainment industry is equivalent exchange; he asked himself that with the strength and resources he had shown so far, he hadn't reached the point where he could make a popular actress both undress and ruin her family to help him.

The intimacy of that night was nothing more than a passing show; everyone was an adult, and it wasn't worth dwelling on or reminiscing about too much.

Unless... she had fallen for him?

Then he dared not take this money even more; once tainted by karma, even a strong man fears a persistent woman! Especially one with such peerless beauty as Jiang Qinqin.

No matter how thick-skinned a PR company boss is, he wouldn't package himself as a gigolo to go and take whatever he wanted from a famous actress; it would be more like the other way around!

Lu Kuan especially wanted to say to Sister Jiang, who was sitting on the bed with her bright, beautiful eyes, "I'm sorry, you deserve better!"

"But not the best, like me!"

"I..." Lu Kuan just wanted to brush her off with a few words, but was interrupted by Jiang Qinqin’s raised finger as she answered a phone call.

"Hello? What? Okay! Send me the address!"

"Xiao Lu, take me there; my friend was seriously injured and is in the hospital!"

Lu Kuan put on his coat, got the keys from the stage manager, and the two headed straight for the Wuxi No. 1 People’s Hospital on Qingyang Road.

The spring chill was biting, and a layer of white mist quickly formed inside the car. Lu Kuan turned on the defogger and glanced at the rosy pink cheeks of Jiang Qinqin in the passenger seat.

"What are you looking at?"

Without Zhou Xun present, in the environment of being alone, she was somewhat shy yet coquettish, and psychologically, she felt closer to the young Daoist.

Lu Kuan laughed secretly to himself; he wouldn't be naive enough to take Sister Jiang’s favoritism as a true outpouring of affection in the entertainment industry, but he wouldn't refuse to enjoy this warmth either—only a fool wouldn't take advantage of a bargain.

"Jiang Qinqin’s mom opens the door for Jiang Qinqin."

"What?"

"You’re beautiful to the core!"

"Go to hell! You only know how to sweet-talk."

Lu Kuan looked innocent: "I also know how to put it into action; it was someone who said 'not to be repeated,' what can I do!"

Jiang Qinqin knew she was no match for the young Daoist in a battle of wits, so she simply stayed silent with a blushing face.

After a long while, she explained: "It’s Zhao Wenzhuo who got hurt; his eye was pierced by a sword tip. His manager knew I was in Wuxi and specifically called to ask me to cooperate..."

"Cooperate with the hype, right?"

Jiang Qinqin looked at him in surprise: "How did you know? Did you calculate that too?"

In June 2002, *Wind and Cloud* was about to premiere. It was only natural that Jiang Qinqin and Zhao Wenzhuo, the screen couple who had worked together all the way from *Qing He Jue Lian*, the drama version of *Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon*, and *The Hero Zheng Chenggong*, were asked to cooperate with the hype.

In later years, when Jiang Qinqin was interviewed, she said: "He and I have a tacit understanding."

This is the typical "neither confirming nor denying," leaving room for reporters and the production team to hype it up.

"Then will I be in your way if I go?" Lu Kuan had the self-awareness of a tool person.

Jiang Qinqin looked at the hurried pedestrians outside the window and gave an answer that didn't match the question: "I don't want to either, but in this line of work, how many things can we actually decide for ourselves?"

Lu Kuan didn't know if she was explaining this to him, and he didn't answer, steadily parking the car in front of the emergency building.

(End of chapter)