Chapter 28: He Chenguang, Whose Aim Drifts Left, and Zhou Le, the Exemplary Recruit (Seeking Recommendation Votes and Monthly Tickets~)

When Zhou Le was in university, he considered himself a dark horse—graduating from a prestigious school with top-tier grades. Who would have thought that after graduation, he would end up in construction, instantly reduced to a beast of burden.

After becoming an extra, although the pay was meager, he was at least happy. As he joined the crew of a major production as the third male lead, it felt like life was finally looking up. But in the end, he was still a beast of burden.

Back at Yu Qian’s house that night, Zhou Le held his phone and called Tan Siyun again.

"Hey, I have a home now."

The sound of splashing water on Tan Siyun’s end ceased abruptly.

"Huh? You got married? To a rich woman?"

Zhou Le sighed helplessly: "What rich woman? I found a godfather."

Tan Siyun felt the situation had become even more serious. "A godfather? Zhou Le, don't scare me. At worst, we can just quit the entertainment industry. You can't lose your self-respect just because you tasted a bit of success. Even if you were going to find a rich woman, that would be one thing... there are a lot of young people doing that now..."

Zhou Le explained, caught between laughter and tears: "What are you even talking about? You know Yu Qian, the crosstalk comedian, right? He’s been very good to me. I just officially became his godson today. It was only today that I realized how bright the world looks once you have connections—everyone gives me a smiling face."

Tan Siyun finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, congratulations then. At least no one will dare to bully you anymore."

Zhou Le was filled with emotion. Back in their small rental apartment in Tiantongyuan, the two would often come home to drink beer and eat side dishes, cursing the directors who looked down on them and the "little fresh meat" celebrities who threw temper tantrums.

"Do you still want to return to the entertainment industry?" Zhou Le asked.

Tan Siyun refused without a second thought. "No. I’ve realized that sometimes it’s fine to settle for less. In that industry, I was definitely not the prettiest, but in the steamed bun business, I think I’m the best-looking one there is. Honestly, doing business is quite good. Even if you become a star, you’ll have to do business eventually. I just saved myself years of taking the long way around."

Hearing this, Zhou Le didn't say much more.

"Alright, enough talk. I’m in the middle of a shower. You should get some rest; don't go throwing up after drinking so much."

"Right, goodnight."

"Goodnight."

With that, Zhou Le put down his phone and fell into a deep sleep. But the next morning at the crack of dawn, he heard knocking at the door. It was Wu Jing’s voice.

"Stop sleeping, get up! The flight is going to be delayed."

Zhou Le jolted awake, quickly got dressed, and stepped out of the bedroom.

"Brother Jing, how come you’re here?"

"I was afraid you guys might flake on me, so I came to grab you myself. Breakfast is ready. Go wash up—I’ll give you ten minutes total, including time for the toilet."

Since graduation, apart from the grueling thirty-day stint at the construction site, this was the first time Zhou Le felt what a military-style operation was like. He rushed through the bathroom, threw on his clothes, grabbed only his phone, charger, and wallet, and hurried out to the car. Outside, the sky was still pitch black.

"What time is our flight?"

"Nine-thirty."

Zhou Le checked the time: 5:30 AM.

"Don't look at the time. Getting there early is better than being delayed. We'll eat breakfast at the airport," Wu Jing said.

Zhou Le sighed. Before he went to sleep yesterday, he had forgiven the world for everything, but now, he found himself holding a grudge all over again—even if the opportunity was rare.

At the airport, the three of them each had a bowl of beef noodles. Zhou Le insisted on paying. At 58 yuan a bowl, it cost him 174 yuan. Seeing that price, all Zhou Le could say was, "That's intense."

Afterward, they entered the VIP lounge.

"Are we flying first class?" This was Zhou Le’s first time in such a place.

Wu Jing laughed: "Yeah. Even though we’re short on funds, we aren't saving money on this. Besides, with Brother Qian here, it has to be first class."

Once they boarded, Zhou Le saw that the first-class cabin even had private suites. There were televisions, unlimited red wine, and even a private bar. If it were the old Zhou Le, he wouldn't even dare to decorate his own home like this if he ever bought one.

"What do you think of the Qatar Airways standards?"

Zhou Le sighed from the bottom of his heart: "Incredible."

He used to think that rich people must live very happy lives, but now he felt that the lives of the wealthy were beyond anything an ordinary person could imagine; there were just too many things that exceeded his understanding.

"Don't envy them. You'll be able to sit in cabins like this whenever you travel in the future. To be honest, I’m considered poor in this circle," Wu Jing said with a smile. "Not to sound bitter, but look at me—I became famous early, but those 'little fresh meat' idols make more in two years than I have in over a decade."

Later, Zhou Le saw the flight attendants. They were unbelievably beautiful. Every detail, from their appearance to their stature, looked top-tier, whether they were domestic or foreign. They were also incredibly tall.

"I really want to become a wicked rich person too," Zhou Le mused to himself.

As the plane took off, Zhou Le began chatting with Wu Jing and Yu Qian. The conversation was mostly Wu Jing discussing the upcoming shoot.

"We’re going to Kenya first. There’s still a portion of the film to shoot there. We’ll film Brother Qian’s scenes first, then yours. You have quite a few scenes, so you’ll need to learn a lot on the fly. Also, make sure you know the script inside and out. We need to cut production costs as much as possible. And one more thing: don't go out unless it's absolutely necessary. It’s chaotic over there."

Zhou Le was curious: "How chaotic?"

Wu Jing smiled: "Let’s put it this way: we’re the lucky ones, we hired a local armed group as bodyguards. But most other Chinese people over there have had an AK-47 pointed at their heads, and everything of value they had was stolen."

Listening to Wu Jing, Zhou Le gained a deeper understanding of the chaos there. Later, Wu Jing asked curiously how Zhou Le was so familiar with guns and where he had learned those street-fighting techniques.

Zhou Le had to start bullshitting: "I liked guns, so I studied them. Later, I was lucky enough to get a part-time job at a shooting range, so I got familiar with them. As for fighting? Back in the day, there were a lot of thugs collecting protection money in our neighborhood. At first, we paid, but then I couldn't take it anymore, so we fought back. Over time, I just practiced these dirty, underhanded tactics."

Wu Jing was deeply impressed. "Those are certainly dirty enough."

After saying this, Zhou Le felt his experience points rise a little. Wu Jing didn't doubt him; instead, he thought Zhou Le’s character was excellent—someone who acts when he needs to, a real man.

"You might not know this, but I originally intended for Kris Wu to play your role. I offered him a higher price three times, but he looked down on it. Eventually, I thought, 'To hell with it, I don't think much of you either.' It was only later that Brother Qian introduced me to you."

Zhou Le had actually known about this for a long time, but he feigned ignorance and asked: "Is that the one who was exposed by an influencer in the first half of the year...?"

"Yes, that's him."

Zhou Le sighed: "For a film like ours, we should look for actors with a solid, upright background. Otherwise, you never know when those people might 'collapse'—or worse, end up in prison. There’d be nowhere to cry then."

Wu Jing looked at the young actor in front of him: "And by 'solid, upright background,' you mean...?"

"Me, of course. Three generations of my family were teachers, and I come from the great working class. Isn't that upright enough?"

Wu Jing laughed: "The seedling is certainly red, but whether the roots are straight, I wouldn't know."

As soon as he said this, Wu Jing and Yu Qian burst into hearty laughter.

Zhou Le stood up and started unbuckling his belt: "Now that’s a serious accusation. You’ll have to see for yourself. You need to know that I, Zhou Le, am not like He Chenguang with his left-leaning trajectory!"