Pei Qian was pacing furiously in his office.
Something was wrong—very wrong!
He knew full well that Unexpectedness and Zhu Yidan's Boring Life were both top-tier short video series, they both are huge successes!
And now, Zhu Xiaoce wanted to film President Pei's Daily Life, which at its core was very similar to those two. Most likely, it was going to be a hit as well!
What should he do?
"System, I want to pull my investment! I don't want to give that one million to Huang Sibo anymore, okay?"
A line of text appeared on the system's interface:
[A valid reason is required for withdrawing investment. Otherwise, it will be deemed a violation.]
Pei Qian: "…"
A valid reason?
He didn't have one!
He couldn't exactly say he wanted to pull out because he thought the project might make money, could he?
Other reasons?
Huang Sibo embezzled funds? Didn't take his work seriously? I don't like Zhu Xiaoce's face, he's too ugly? No reason, I just don't feel like investing anymore?
None of those counted as valid reasons!
Pei Qian racked his brains.
No use!
He couldn't convince the system!
He had to think of something else.
'Calm down. There must be another way besides pulling the investment.'
'What if I don't act? Can I quit?'
'I won't play the lead anymore! Let them find someone else!'
'At the very least, that might reduce how much the project earns…'
Pei Qian made up his mind. He would use being busy with work as an excuse to turn down the role!
Then Zhu Xiaoce and the others would have to find another actor, and it would be hard for them to capture the same feeling. Even if they did find someone, it would delay production and push back the video's release!
With a different lead, maybe it won't go viral?
Decision made, Pei Qian prepared to refuse the role.
Although he was a bit reluctant to give up the 30,000 yuan appearance fee, he felt that he couldn't lose sight of the bigger picture!
As long as he achieved a loss in the final settlement, losing 600,000 or 700,000 yuan would be totally fine. That measly 30,000—no need to nitpick over that.
He was about to call Huang Sibo and decline the job.
But just as he picked up his phone, he suddenly realized another problem.
He'd already signed the contract!
The contract stated that the penalty for breach was three times the appearance fee!
90,000 yuan!
Pei Qian's hand trembled as he realized how bad this situation was.
"System, can I pay the breach penalty with system funds?"
[The contract was personally signed by the host, with all proceeds belonging solely to the host. The breach penalty must also be paid by the host personally.]
Thud
Pei Qian's phone dropped onto the desk.
It's over!
Where the hell am I supposed to get 90,000 yuan to pay the penalty?!
He couldn't pull the investment. He couldn't back out of the role either!
Pei Qian felt his heart sink.
No choice! He had to go through with it!
After sitting in a daze for five minutes, Pei Qian finally began to pull himself together.
'Stay calm, look on the bright side. Short videos shouldn't be able to make that much money…'
'Yeah… let's just go with that…'
Pei Qian felt a little light-headed.
At this point, all he could do was comfort himself that it wouldn't be so bad.
Low-budget videos, even if they go viral, and land some sponsored ads, would still struggle to recover a million-yuan investment.
Even if they broke even, they probably wouldn't earn that much profit.
When the time came, as long as his game project and physical store lost enough money, the final balance could still end in the red!
'Phew, thank goodness I had three backup plans.'
'That was almost a disaster again!'
'I'd better go talk to Lu Mingliang and ask him to ramp up the sarcasm in the game's narrator lines—roast the players a little more!'
. . . . . . . .
The Next Day
Zhu Xiaoce returned.
"President Pei! The footage from yesterday is just about done. We're still deciding when to release it online."
"Since we want to partner with a video platform and try to get better promotion slots, it might cost some money, so we'll have to negotiate the terms."
"But don't worry—I have a senior from college who works at Sweet Potato Video. We should be able to get some decent promotional resources!"
"Let's keep the momentum going—let's shoot another episode today. It'll be a bit busier before the New Year, but that way, we can release videos steadily over the holiday period. The higher the output, the more attention we'll get."
"President Pei, you don't look too well. Is work wearing you out?"
Pei Qian's face did look a bit dark.
But it wasn't because of overwork!
School was already out for the holidays. These days, all he did was roll around on the sofa or play games in his office. Other people handled all the actual work. There was no such thing as "tired."
He was just mentally exhausted!
"It's fine. Let's shoot," Pei Qian replied listlessly.
He couldn't withdraw funding, nor could he break the contract. That meant he had to obediently shoot all thirty episodes.
Of course, Pei Qian wasn't giving up just yet.
He was still brainstorming alternatives.
Soon, everyone was in position.
The theme of episode two: "Awarding Nine Bonuses to a Hardworking Employee."
Just seeing that title made Pei Qian even more disheartened.
So last time's script wasn't a fluke!
This Zhu Xiaoce really had talent—a director with real skill!
If things went as expected, this episode would easily hit over a million views again.
If he could, Pei Qian would've loved to fire him on the spot!
Now what?
Pei Qian was starting to panic.
At this pace—releasing a new episode every two days—what would happen by the end of the third season?!
This couldn't go on. He had to salvage the situation!
Suddenly, a brilliant idea struck him.
He would start slacking off on purpose!
He'd use godawful acting to ruin the short video's reputation!
The moment this genius idea popped into his head, it was as if the spirits of all those expressionless pretty-boy actors had possessed him!
Pei Qian tried to recall all the worst acting techniques he'd ever seen:
Wide-eyed overacting, exaggerated pouting, emotionless deadpan, creepy-smile-that-looks-like-crying, self-hype internal monologues, and the classic "what-am-I-doing" method…
Yes! He would tank the quality of this short video series with his acting!
Even if it was destined to earn money, he'd at least make it earn less.
Pei Qian summoned every nerve in his face, ready to thoroughly disappoint Director Zhu Xiaoce!
After all, he wasn't a professional actor. If he performed terribly, Zhu Xiaoce couldn't blame him too harshly, right?
Perfect plan!
Zhu Xiaoce had the DSLR set up and began filming.
Pei Qian was ready.
He waited for the right moment to unleash the worst acting ever committed to video!
Unaware of any of this, Zhu Xiaoce was directing the shoot just like the day before.
"Okay, President Pei, give me a blank expression."
"Another one with a blank expression."
"Blank expression with just a hint of a smile—or no smile at all is fine."
"Blank expression, but with a touch of confusion."
"Pat him on the shoulder with a blank expression."
"Hand him a business card—still with a blank expression."
"Now just keep the blank expression…"
The shoot finished in record time—one take, no reshoots.
Pei Qian was still gearing up to unleash his "idol-tier" bad acting… but the scene was already done.
While packing up the equipment, Zhu Xiaoce gave him a big thumbs-up.
"President Pei, your acting was incredible! A true natural!"
"Compared to yesterday, you've already made major strides!"
"The way you portrayed that calm exterior hiding complex inner emotion was totally beyond my expectations!"
"It's like every single pore on your face was acting!"
"Anyway, I'll be off now. Tomorrow we'll film the last episode before the holiday!"
"With your superb acting, this video series is guaranteed to blow up!"
Zhu Xiaoce left beaming with joy, thanking Pei Qian profusely on his way out.
Pei Qian was left alone, staring into the void, contemplating life.
Did I… actually act just now?
Why does it feel… like something's gone terribly wrong?
<+>
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