January 22nd, Saturday.

Pei Qian was in a good mood last night, and after having some drinks with Cui Geng at the Mingfu family banquet, he slept very well.

He woke up naturally at nine-thirty this morning.

After waking up, he glanced at his phone. The reminder note read: Go to Universal Street Mall to check on the shared phone booth situation.

Pei Qian strolled downstairs, planning to have breakfast at the steamed bun shop before heading over.

Just as the steamed buns were served, he received a new message.

Huang Sibo: “Mr. Pei, the rough cut of the film is ready. Would you like to come take a look?”

Hmm? The rough cut?

When the crew had their farewell dinner at Mingyun Private Kitchen, Director Zhu Xiaocai had indeed mentioned this matter.

The so-called rough cut was simply the product of basic editing of the filmed materials, without meticulous editing or special effects. Many elements would have to be imagined.

However, it was still a complete film and could give a general idea of how things would look.

Pei Qian considered for a moment and thought this seemed more important. He could check the phone booths in the afternoon, so he replied: “Sure, I’ll be there shortly.”

He was about to put away his phone when he suddenly realized something was off.

“It’s Saturday today. Are you working overtime?”

Huang Sibo quickly replied: “Uh, Mr. Pei, we’re getting paid for the overtime.”

Pei Qian’s attitude was firm: “Even with overtime pay, you shouldn’t be working overtime so righteously! Don’t let this happen again, try to avoid it in the future!”

Huang Sibo: “Yes, Mr. Pei.”

Fei Huang Studio was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tenda, not just a department, so Pei Qian couldn’t be too strict about overtime work. He could only reprimand Huang Sibo a bit and urge him to be more mindful.

Although Pei Qian hadn’t been paying much attention to Fei Huang Studio, since the rough cut of the film was already out, he needed to go check it out, just to reassure himself.

…

Meanwhile, at Slackin’ Internet Café, Handong University Branch.

Lin Chang sipped a cup of hot coffee to warm his hands, still looking somewhat travel-worn.

He had come straight from the airport and had barely sat down.

After arriving in Jingzhou, he immediately went to the Slackin’ Internet Café near Handong University, hoping to meet with Mr. Pei to discuss the progress of their previous plan.

Unfortunately, after sending a message, he learned that Mr. Pei was currently at Fei Huang Studio, watching the newly edited rough cut.

Watching the film plus travel time would take nearly three hours.

Moreover, Mr. Pei said he had another long-delayed matter to handle in the afternoon, which might take another hour or more.

Lin Chang calculated that he probably wouldn’t be able to see Mr. Pei until three or four in the afternoon.

This was a bit awkward.

Lin Chang understood that Mr. Pei was busy and fully respected that, but he didn’t plan to just wait around.

He decided to invite Lin Wan out first and observe her progress a bit.

Previously, Lin Chang and Mr. Pei had conspired together, arranging for Lin Wan to be responsible for both the horror game project at Shangyang Games and the mobile phone business.

With numerous and complex affairs on both sides, the probability of Lin Wan’s projects failing would greatly increase.

Originally, they had even planned a backup strategy.

To better sabotage the mobile phone business, they had considered waiting until a phone was released here, then having Lin Yu’s Shenhua Mobile Phone Department release a competing phone that was slightly better in quality, slightly lower in price, and slightly better in marketing.

This confrontation would eliminate the threat in its infancy, ensuring their position.

However, halfway through the phone’s development, Mr. Pei sent Lin Chang a message: the backup plan wouldn’t be necessary.

This phone was being priced at 8,000 yuan, and Shenhua’s flagship phone already met the requirements of “slightly better quality, slightly lower price, slightly better marketing,” so there was no need to develop another targeted phone.

Thus, this backup plan was naturally abandoned.

Just as he was thinking about this, Lin Wan arrived.

She sat down across from Lin Chang, also ordered a coffee, then frowned and asked: “Brother, why are you here again?”

Lin Chang’s mouth twitched: “What do you mean ‘again’? Can’t I come to see my sister?”

Lin Wan looked unconvinced: “I just feel like you’ve been coming here very frequently lately. Do you have some ulterior motive?”

“How could that be! I simply fell in love with Jingzhou’s livable environment!” Lin Chang laughed rather unconvincingly. “Besides, I need to come check on you regularly. How’s work going lately?”

Lin Wan swirled her coffee cup: “It’s okay, so-so.”

Seeing Lin Wan’s lack of enthusiasm, Lin Chang secretly rejoiced.

This looked promising!

If the two projects were progressing well, given Lin Wan’s personality, she would be bragging to him by now.

Since Lin Wan wasn’t bragging, it meant neither of the current projects was going particularly well!

Though pleased inside, he couldn’t show it on his face.

Lin Chang looked concerned: “What’s wrong? Are you encountering difficulties? Is there anything your brother can help with? Just ask!”

Lin Wan gave him a sideways glance: “Come on, my current projects are a horror game and a mobile phone. Which one could you possibly help with?”

“The current state of these two projects can only be described as so-so. There’s some progress, but I’m still not confident.”

“For the horror game project, the main framework is fine, but there are still many small details that need modification. And even after all these details are fixed, it’s hard to be sure whether players will accept this new type of horror game. So, I’m a bit worried.”

“Fortunately, we have an amazing art master who’s been helping us adjust the game’s art style and enrich the details. It finally looks somewhat presentable recently.”

“As for the phone… honestly, I really can’t manage it all.”

“I’m already overwhelmed with just the horror game. I’ve barely managed the phone side. Last time I visited, they gave me a prototype that was as heavy as a brick. I immediately felt there were major problems, but since the prototype was already made and I hadn’t been involved in the phone’s development, I couldn’t possibly tell them to start over.”

“All I can do is wait until the phone is made, then ask for some benefits from other Tenda departments, trying to make some contribution.”

“But even so, I think this phone project will probably fail.”

Lin Wan had always had a good relationship with Lin Chang. This time, she didn’t think much of it and shared all her recent frustrations and worries.

Lin Chang outwardly appeared deeply worried, furrowing his brow as if concerned for Lin Wan, but inwardly, he was delighted.

“Well done, Mr. Pei, this plan is indeed flawless!”

“Wan still hasn’t noticed anything.”

“If we maintain the current situation, when both the horror game and the phone fail, the blow to Wan will be substantial!”

Thinking of this, Lin Chang became somewhat carried away and muttered quietly: “It seems I need to find a way to properly thank Mr. Pei.”

Lin Wan frowned: “Hmm? What did you say? Why do you need to thank Mr. Pei?”

Lin Chang was startled—you heard my quiet mumbling?

Seeing Lin Wan’s gaze containing a hint of wariness, Lin Chang hastily said: “I mean, Mr. Pei trusts you so much and has entrusted you with such important responsibilities. As your brother, of course, I should find an opportunity to properly thank Mr. Pei!”

Lin Wan’s expression eased slightly: “That’s true.”

Lin Chang thought for a moment: “But Mr. Pei doesn’t seem to lack anything.”

“Should I have Second Brother give him free rent again?”

“Or should I go support the business at Slackin’ Internet Café?”

Lin Wan shook her head: “Those don’t seem sincere enough. Mr. Pei wouldn’t care about that small amount of money.”

Lin Chang strongly agreed: “Yes, that’s right. These small favors aren’t enough to repay Mr. Pei’s sincerity. So… is there anything Mr. Pei urgently needs? Preferably something I can help with.”

Lin Wan frowned, thinking for two minutes.

“I’ve got it!”

“You know that Fei Huang Studio has been preparing to shoot a movie, and it’s already wrapped, right?”

Lin Chang thought for a moment. Mr. Pei had indeed mentioned earlier that he was going to see the rough cut of the film, so he nodded.

Lin Wan continued: “This movie was Mr. Pei’s creation, including the entire story outline written by him. He must value this film greatly because it contains his heart and soul.”

Lin Chang was a bit confused: “So? If you had told me earlier, I could have helped find a good director or some A-list actors, but hasn’t the film already wrapped?”

He paused, then realized: “Oh, I understand! You want me to help with distribution and theater arrangements?”

Lin Wan nodded: “Yes, this is simple for you, but for Mr. Pei, it’s something he urgently needs.”

Even the finest wine needs promotion.

Lin Chang thought about it and realized this was indeed the case.

Although Mr. Pei’s Tenda Group was large and powerful, this was the first time his Fei Huang Studio was officially entering the film industry, so they probably didn’t have similar resources and connections.

But Lin Chang was different. He was in charge of Shenhua Group’s entertainment and film media business and controlled numerous resources.

“Sure, no problem!”

“I’ll tell Mr. Pei right away!” Lin Chang was pleased, feeling that this gift would certainly be considered quite sincere.

Lin Wan waved a hand: “Um… I don’t think it’s necessary to tell Mr. Pei.”

“Mr. Pei is busy with official business lately, and bothering him with such small matters seems inappropriate. Besides, when giving someone a gift, what’s the point of notifying them in advance? They would decline.”

“I’ll just give you the phone number of the person in charge at Fei Huang Studio, and you can contact them directly.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to give Mr. Pei a surprise when the film is released?”

Lin Chang thought about it and realized she had a point.

Mr. Pei had to visit at least three places today and had a long-delayed task to handle, showing how packed his schedule was.

Thinking about it, matters like finding distributors and negotiating with theaters would certainly be handled by Fei Huang Studio staff. Surely Mr. Pei wouldn’t need to personally manage such small details?

That being the case, it would be better to directly negotiate with Fei Huang Studio, handle this matter properly, and give Mr. Pei a pleasant surprise when he attends the premiere. Wouldn’t that be an even more elegant solution?

With this in mind, Lin Chang nodded: “Alright, give me the contact information for the person in charge at Fei Huang Studio, and I’ll talk to them.”