Chapter 66: Sister Yifei, Just Hear Me Out!

"I said no means no."
"Don't be so narcissistic. I just happen to like acting as a guide."
"If you don't want to, forget it. I'll take someone else out to play. Goodnight."
Fearing that continuing the conversation might cause Zhang Li to genuinely misunderstand, Jing Tian turned around and walked straight into the women's dormitory.
She merely wanted to rack up some favorable impression points, with absolutely no ulterior motives.
Zhang Li gave a meaningful smile: "..."
Ah, woman, your name is stubbornness.

Early the next morning, Zhang Li drove back home.
"So you still remember to bring breakfast back. Not bad, not bad." Liu Yifei walked into the dining room wearing her pajamas.
She still had a headband on, and her hair was visibly a bit greasy, but it didn't detract from her stunning looks in the slightest.
"It's from that soup dumpling place you love." Zhang Li yawned.
After returning to the dormitory last night, he didn't go straight to sleep, choosing instead to work on his script, which resulted in him getting to sleep rather late.
"So thoughtful." Liu Yifei's eyes filled with smiles as she sat down, took a bite of a dumpling, and wore a look of utter contentment.
"You couldn't possibly have done something to feel guilty towards me, and that's why you're trying to butter me up, could you?" Liu Yifei rested her chin in one hand, staring straight at Zhang Li.
"Thwack!"
A hand landed squarely on Liu Yifei's back.
Liu Xiaoli's voice rang out, full of disapproval: "He's your younger brother, A-Li. What on earth could he possibly do to feel guilty towards you?"
"Speak properly to me. You stay cooped up at home all day doing nothing productive, and I can even see you've put on weight."
Liu Yifei: "..."
Sooner or later, she was going to run away from home.
"Mom is right." Zhang Li nodded in complete agreement. After taking a sip of soy milk, he said, "What could I possibly do to feel guilty towards you?"
"Though, I did do something recently to help you get revenge."
Revenge?!
Liu Yifei's dark pupils lit up. Forgetting all about Liu Xiaoli's bias, she asked curiously, "Did you do something to strike a blow against Huayi?"
Speaking of grudges, the target she currently despised the most was naturally Huayi Brothers.
"I wrote a script called *If You Are the One*," Zhang Li replied.
Liu Yifei was stunned, her delicate brows slightly furrowed: "*If You Are the One*, directed by Feng Xiaogang, produced and invested in by Huayi, scheduled for release during the New Year's the theatrical season?"
"That's right," Zhang Li grinned widely. "Aren't I amazing?"
"Amazing, you're just too amazing." Liu Yifei crossed her arms, wearing an expression that was fiercely cute: "Huayi blacklisted me, and you're still handing them a script? You really are a good brother to me."
"How superficial of you." Zhang Li set down his cup and glanced at Liu Yifei. "I'm not handing a script to Huayi; I'm handing a script to Feng Xiaogang."
"What's the difference?" Liu Yifei asked, puzzled.
"He's got some weight behind him now and wants to break away from Huayi. I want to add fuel to the fire," Zhang Li clicked his tongue. "As long as the box office for *If You Are the One* does reasonably well, he'll probably strike out on his own."
"You're certainly no stranger to Wang Jinghua taking people and leaving Huayi three years ago."
Liu Yifei was slightly startled, and then a brilliant smile bloomed across her face: "Really?"
Wang Jinghua's departure had dealt a heavy blow to Huayi.
If so many artists hadn't left Huayi, the role in *The Forbidden Kingdom* might not have fallen to her—though looking at it now, she would have been better off rejecting that film.
By now, Huayi had managed to rise again largely thanks to Feng Xiaogang, who was responsible for at least half of that success. If he were to leave, it would deal yet another crippling blow to Huayi.
By then, wouldn't that count as taking thorough revenge?
"Mhm," Zhang Li rubbed his fingers together. "Externally, *If You Are the One* claims an investment of fifty million, but in reality, it's less than forty million. Feng Xiaogang is investing fifteen million of his own, I'm putting in ten million, Huayi is investing ten million, plus a few smaller investors."
"If this movie succeeds, it will undoubtedly cement Feng Xiaogang's determination to leave. Worst case scenario, I'll give him a helping hand."
When he first wrote *If You Are the One*, he had actually hesitated over whether to let Feng Xiaogang direct it.
Yet the same script, directed by different people or released at a different time, could yield completely different results.
In his future memories, the film's box office exceeded three hundred million, and the investors could split at least one hundred million. Tripling an investment of ten million would be a walk in the park.
For the sake of making money, he ultimately chose to let Feng Xiaogang direct. Huayi would no longer be the primary investor, serving instead as a co-investor while still handling distribution and promotion.
What he couldn't tell Liu Yifei was that he had written this script ahead of Feng Xiaogang. If he hadn't made his move early, he might have ended up with nothing, leaving Huayi to rake in even more.
Instead, by riding the wave to make a profit and adding a successful investment case to his portfolio, he could also use the copyright of *If You Are the One* to stir up trouble in the relationship between Feng Xiaogang and Huayi—accomplishing multiple goals with a single stroke.
"Brilliant, my good brother!" Liu Yifei gave a thumbs-up, smiling so broadly she couldn't hide her gums.
Then, a second thought struck her, and she asked doubtfully, "Where on earth did you get ten million to invest? I remember your money was all tied up in investing in *The Legend of the Condor Heroes* and *Chinese Paladin 3*, and you even borrowed a bit from me."
"Well, as for that... I earned it," Zhang Li answered honestly.
"Earned it?!" Both Liu Yifei and Liu Xiaoli were astonished.
They knew Zhang Li had roughly inherited ten million, which he was originally supposed to receive upon reaching adulthood.
However, because of his good relationship with his adoptive father, he had inherited a portion of it early last year to invest in *The Legend of the Condor Heroes*, and that money hadn't been recouped yet.
In other words, in a very short span of time, he had taken a few million and turned it into tens of millions?!
"Actually, *CJ7* was also written by me," Zhang Li didn't hide it.
Liu Xiaoli and Liu Yifei: ?
"Hiss, are you really my younger brother Zhang Li?" Liu Yifei felt as though it were all somewhat surreal.
That was *CJ7*, which had raked in two hundred million at the box office earlier that year!
"Imitation is impossible," Zhang Li shrugged. "Some things hadn't succeeded yet, so I didn't want to tell you and make you worry alongside me. But once they succeeded, I wasn't quite sure how to bring it up."
"Today the timing is right, so I thought I'd share it with you."
Liu Yifei desperately wanted to say something, but Liu Xiaoli suddenly spoke up: "I believe it. *CJ7* is the kind of story only A-Li could write."
Liu Yifei: "..."
Recalling the plot of that film:
The father dies while working, and the young protagonist finally comes to understand his father's hardships, wishing he could bring him back to life.
This was probably... Zhang Li's yearning for his biological parents ever since he turned ten.
At this thought, a profound sense of pity and tenderness for Zhang Li swelled up in the hearts of both mother and daughter.
At that moment, Zhang Li continued, "Sister, the revenge I helped you get goes far beyond just that."
Liu Yifei slammed her hand on the table and slid over to sit right beside Zhang Li, leaning in close to ask, "What else did you do?"
Zhang Li tactically took a sip of soy milk: "I secured the role of the third male lead, Bai Xiaonian, in *The Message*."
Liu Yifei's smile froze, and three question marks appeared above her head: "You call acting in a Huayi production helping me get revenge?"
"How superficial of you again," Zhang Li chuckled softly, countering with a question, "Am I some wildly famous celebrity?"
Liu Yifei shook her head.
"Am I some critically acclaimed actor with god-tier acting skills?"
Liu Yifei shook her head again.
"If I go act in this film, will it bring Huayi an investment, or bring them attention?"
Liu Yifei shook her head yet again.
"Don't you get it yet?" Zhang Li clicked his tongue. "You're so slow."
Liu Yifei: ?
"Hey, are you putting on airs right in front of me now? I'm going to bite you!" Liu Yifei grabbed Zhang Li's arm and made a show of sinking her teeth into it.
Zhang Li played along with her performance, dodging to the side.
As a result, the leg of the stool slipped, and he suddenly lost his balance.
The two of them tumbled together onto the floor.
Zhang Li reacted swiftly, bracing one hand against the floor and pulling Liu Yifei into his arms.
Liu Yifei's head bumped directly into Zhang Li's chest, leaving her feeling somewhat dizzy.
When she raised her head, she locked eyes with Zhang Li's amused, half-smiling gaze.
Hardening her resolve, she leaned in closer.
Zhang Li: ?
Liu Xiaoli, who had hurriedly rushed over to look: "..."
I'm still right here!