Chapter 35: A man only needs to be three parts drunk to make you weep with his performance—curtain up!

"What kind of profit-sharing split were they offering you before?"

"Seventy-thirty."

"Seventy-thirty is actually not bad, because the split can increase; everything depends on your commercial value," Yang Mi said on the other end. "Besides, there's another benefit to joining us: we can provide you with a lot of resources—so many that you won't even be able to handle all the acting roles."

Zhou Le thought for a moment. "Is that for movies or television dramas?"

"We mostly handle TV dramas here. You should know our company well enough; both Reba and I built our careers through TV dramas. Since we're acquaintances, I'll be honest with you. Also, because I have a valuation adjustment mechanism (VAM) agreement, my goal is to make money, and you want to become famous—we're just fulfilling each other's needs."

At first glance, it did sound quite good to Zhou Le.

However, Jaywalk Studio was a partnership between Yang Mi and others, and she didn't actually hold a majority stake.

If he really went there, wouldn't he just be exploited to the bone? Zhou Le even felt that the reason Yang Mi was working so hard right now was because of that VAM agreement. If she couldn't make enough money, even Boss Yang herself would likely have to run for the hills.

"Sister, let me think about it some more. After all, this is a major life decision."

Upon hearing this, Yang Mi knew she couldn't force it, so she planned to have someone arrange a face-to-face meeting with Zhou Le if things didn't work out later.

"Alright, but rest assured, what we can offer you is definitely more than anyone else."

"Okay, thank you, sister."

After hanging up, Zhou Le began to weigh his options.

Although Jaywalk appeared to offer the best terms on the surface, after these two calls, Zhou Le felt it wasn't the most suitable place for him.

Since it was a ten-year contract anyway, it was better to find the best possible option rather than settling for this.

He also recalled that Nazha had mentioned Jaywalk's fashion resources were poor. Zhou Le hadn't paid much attention at the time, but thinking about it now, fashion resources were a reflection of an actor's status.

Furthermore, Yang Mi herself took on both good and bad projects, so it went without saying what would happen to those under her.

The next day arrived.

Zhou Le received another call from Daylight Entertainment.

This time, the other party's tone was much better than before, and the first thing they did was invite him to dinner.

Zhou Le agreed immediately.

That evening, in a private hotel room, Zhou Le faced two staff members from Daylight Entertainment.

"Mr. Zhou, have many companies been contacting you recently?" the other party asked, getting straight to the point.

Zhou Le nodded. "Yes, large and small, they've all been in touch."

"I wonder if Mr. Zhou has any preferred talent agency? Of course, we're just talking privately now, as we're all just working for our bosses."

Zhou Le didn't believe a single word of it.

Wasn't this just another way to try and poach him?

Since everyone was playing their own game, Zhou Le pretended not to notice and said, "Sigh, it's not easy to do anything these days. I'm currently considering between Daylight Entertainment, H&R Century, and Jaywalk. I had a brief acquaintance with Boss Yang; she wanted to pull me into Jaywalk from the start and offered the best terms. I've also asked friends, and H&R is indeed good at promoting people, but Daylight's strength is the strongest..."

The other party smiled but didn't immediately offer a new price. Instead, they steered the conversation toward other topics.

Soon, the dishes were served, and they began eating, drinking, and chatting.

Zhou Le realized that this director was the one in charge of negotiations, claiming he had a bad cold and couldn't drink much, while the other person was clearly there just to drink.

Three gulps per glass, no hesitation at all.

However, Zhou Le knew his limits best. As long as his brain was still sharp, drinking could actually help him perform better, and when his brain started to fog up, he would simply stop talking.

He would never give anyone a chance to trap him.

As they drank, they acted even more intensely. Zhou Le watched his experience points climb rapidly, the growth rate even catching up to that time Zhao Lusi had treated him to a meal.

It wasn't until the dinner was halfway through that the other party finally brought up new terms.

"Mr. Zhou, to be honest, I came with sincerity this time. H&R might be okay, but in my eyes, they're lacking. Two or three years ago, I would have admitted they were good, but now several people are planning to leave and are in legal disputes with the company. Even look at their works—what are those? And their artists are hard to comment on; what kind of future could they have?"

"As for Jaywalk, it goes without saying. If you go there, you're just a laborer. Now that you have some popularity, they will definitely exploit you to death. And what can they give you? A male lead in a third-rate project? No one will watch that. Besides, their internal infighting is even worse, and who among them can you say is truly 'great' right now? They're all mediocre!"

Zhou Le, emboldened by the alcohol, threw his arm around the man's neck. "Brother, this company is no good, that artist is no good—so tell me, who is actually good?"

"Only Daylight Entertainment and you. In my view, your potential is far greater than those guys like Wu Yifan, Li Yifeng, or Yang Yang."

The next moment, Zhou Le's hand slipped, and his chopsticks fell to the floor.

"Sorry, sorry," Zhou Le apologized while bending down to pick them up.

"Brother, you're giving me too much credit. Who are those people? Can I compare to them? They are the absolute top-tier. If their fans found out about this, I bet my ID number, phone number, and home address would be posted online by tomorrow."

"Hahaha, Mr. Zhou is being too self-deprecating. But I'm only saying this because I've had a bit to drink; don't go spreading this around."

"That goes without saying. As a man, one must know how to keep his mouth shut."

In reality, Zhou Le's comment was a way of establishing his own stance.

He didn't want to end up having to "experience the philosophy of a steel wool ball" or "grasp the survival logic of a geoduck." If it really came to that, he'd rather go back to the construction site and mix cement.

"Hahaha, Mr. Zhou is truly sharp."

"But brother, let me be bold for a moment. Following what you said, how am I supposed to compare to them in the future? To those top-tier stars?"

"Simple, we just get you to star in a blockbuster hit, right?"

Zhou Le perked up; he had finally waited all night for this moment.

"Which one?"

The man gave a mysterious smile. "Do you know Xu Zheng?"

"I do."

"You know Ning Hao, right?"

"I do."

"And Wen Muye?"

"I know him too."

"They are preparing a new film. We are very optimistic about it, and everyone is fighting for roles in it right now. But most of our artists don't have the schedule for it. As long as you join us, we can definitely get you in."

Zhou Le was somewhat skeptical. "But in their films, can I play a main role? The lead would surely be Xu Zheng himself, right?"

"Of course, that goes without saying."

"But you need to think about it—who hasn't become a hit after working with them? Wang Baoqiang, Huang Bo, even those two 'postgrad' brothers—they all hit it big. As long as you have the ability, why worry about anything else?"

"That makes sense. But if I join, what rank of a role would I get?"

"At most, the third lead. But as long as you have the ability, we guarantee we can get you an award. And after that, our company has other TV dramas. We are different from the others; every drama we produce is a boutique work. As long as you can show your ability in their film, giving you a male lead in a new drama is no problem at all."

"And that third lead role should be secure. They are currently in talks with Wang Chuanjun, but you know this guy—he's offended quite a few people. But you have us, so just think about it."

Zhou Le knew that Xu Zheng, Wen Muye, and Ning Hao were each absolute box-office guarantees.

Although *Lost in Hong Kong* was a disaster, the probability of the three of them collaborating and failing again was extremely low.

So, Zhou Le asked one final question.

"Can all of this be written into the contract?"

"Yes."