The next day, Bai Baihe walked out of Zhou You's room.
The entertainment industry was indeed chaotic, but the skills were incomparable—smooth and practiced. It was fine for a one-time fling, but not for a long-term arrangement. Still, people in this circle were smart enough not to cling on.
In the future, Bai Baihe would become the new darling of cinema, and Zhou You might invest a bit too—at least he wouldn't lose out. It would also establish a reputation: Old Man Zhou was a man of principles.
He never would have dared to think like this before. From now on, he needed to take care of his health; the future looked bright.
As for other women? Of course, the thought crossed his mind. But this kind of thing required mutual consent. Deception was boring and left lingering consequences. People were different, and not everyone was driven by money.
Just as Zhou You was about to get up, his phone rang. It was Baoqiang.
"Hey, Baoqiang, what's up?"
"Brother You, I heard you're in the capital. Why didn't you tell me? Let me treat you to a welcome dinner!" Wang Baoqiang's loud voice came through the phone.
Zhou You chuckled. "You can treat me to dinner, but skip the welcome party. Someone's already taken care of that. What, you want to invite me to eat?"
"Hehe, it's not me. Xu Zheng wants to treat you to a meal," Wang Baoqiang said, scratching his head as he glanced at Xu Zheng beside him, unsure if Zhou You would agree.
"Alright, name the place. I'll head over at noon. I've got things to do in the evening and need to get back." Zhou You had a pretty good idea what this was about—they were looking for investment. As long as it was something he hadn't heard of, he definitely wouldn't invest.
He quickly washed up, went downstairs for breakfast, said a quick goodbye to Director Teng, and left. He figured he'd have fewer investment contacts from now on. Who would have thought a film debut could peak right out of the gate?
Later, a certain "Fortress" would sink hard, losing everything.
Without greeting the other actors, Zhou You strolled leisurely down the street. That was his nature—he loved a relaxed pace of life.
Spotting a park nearby, he wandered in. It was shaded by green trees, with some fitness equipment and a few elderly men exercising. There were almost no young people. He remembered watching a documentary once, where a curious director followed and filmed a group of elderly people chatting on the streets for nearly a year, just to see what they talked about.
Sometimes life was that interesting—interesting people meeting interesting things, capturing life as it was.
By noon, Zhou You arrived at the restaurant.
Xu Zheng and Wang Baoqiang were already there. A bald head came into view, impossible to miss.
Wang Baoqiang grinned. "Brother You, my movie's about to hit theaters. Guess the box office?"
Zhou You shot him a sideways glance and ignored him. "What box office? You're aiming for awards, not audiences. Who are you making it for? My money's just going down the drain."
"Come on, Brother You, don't say that. Now's your chance to make money. This is Xu Zheng, a big director!" Wang Baoqiang was shamelessly stretching the truth.
Xu Zheng extended his hand. "Hello, President Zhou. Sorry for the intrusion. I asked Baoqiang to set this up."
"No worries. I'm just bored and wanted to get out. Mainly to see if this half-hometown buddy of mine is going to screw me over," Zhou You joked.
Wang Baoqiang's face turned red, and he wished he could crawl into a hole.
Zhou You walked inside as he spoke, with Xu Zheng and the others following.
Once they were in the private room, Zhou You got straight to the point. "Spit it out. What's this about? We'll talk while we eat."
Wang Baoqiang hesitated, then sat by the door. Xu Zheng sat close to Zhou You. It was just the three of them.
"President Zhou, here's the deal. I'm preparing a new film, a comedy starring Baoqiang and Huang Bo. It's my first time directing. I wanted to see if you're interested," Xu Zheng said briefly.
Zhou You figured it out. This must be *Lost in Thailand*. He hadn't expected it to start now—he thought it would be next year. Good thing Baoqiang had reached out, or he might have missed it.
"With the three of you drawing the crowd, shouldn't it be fine?" Zhou You asked curiously.
"People would invest, sure, but there are a lot of conditions. Since it's my first time directing, I'm worried about messing it up. I want to shoot it my way, at least to keep the story intact. Baoqiang said you're different from other investors—you basically don't interfere with the production."
Zhou You laughed. "Come on, don't sugarcoat it. You're just saying I'm rich and dumb."
"No, no, absolutely not! Brother You, don't listen to that—don't jump to conclusions!" Wang Baoqiang panicked, frantically trying to explain.
"Give me the rundown so I know what I'm getting into," Zhou You said to Xu Zheng.
"It's a comedy. Basically, it's about a small invention and a series of funny events on the way to Thailand. Everything's built around the humor. I'll send you the script later so you can take a look."
"What's your total budget? How much do you need?"
"Total budget is around 30 million. I'm putting some in, and others have chipped in too. There's about 5 to 10 million left. I might find a few more investors to boost the profile."
"When do you need the funds? I've got a lot of projects tied up right now. Pulling out that much cash at once might be tough."
"No rush. We're still in the prep phase. Shooting should start around March or April next year, wrap up by July or August, and hit theaters around year-end."
Hearing that, Zhou You relaxed. By year-end, he'd have at least two payoffs: *Love Is Not Blind* and some stock he could cash out. This film had a short investment cycle and quick returns—almost 20 times the profit.
"Here's the deal. Don't bother with anyone else. I'll cover the rest. But the money won't come through until you start shooting next year. I'll release it based on your production schedule. Sound good?"
Wang Baoqiang was stunned. Xu Zheng was a bit dazed too. That was it?
"No wonder Baoqiang said you're generous and easygoing, President Zhou. Seeing it in person, it's true. Cheers to that—I'll down this, you do as you please." Xu Zheng showered him with praise, then grabbed the baijiu on the table and chugged it.
Zhou You, though not a heavy drinker, stood up and downed half a glass.
Wang Baoqiang couldn't help but say, "Brother, don't do it for my sake. Make the call based on your own situation." He was afraid Zhou You might go broke and hold a grudge later.
Zhou You shot him a fierce look. "I'm investing because of you. Do a good job on this film. If it flops and I go bankrupt, I'm eating at your place."
For now, it was just an investment intent. Once everything was settled, they'd draft the investment agreement and send it to him.
In the film investment world, Zhou You had built a reputation: loaded, hands-off, and easygoing.
But you couldn't judge things by appearances. As they say in investment circles:
The wool comes from the pig, and the dog pays the bill.
What does that mean?
Information asymmetry!