Lots of Money

Lu Yuan used to have a sense of inferiority.

He was born into a family in the countryside and from a single-parent family. Ever since he was young, because of various circumstances, he was looked down upon and ostracised.

Could he not feel inferior?

But humans were simply such strange creatures, and this also caused a 'contradiction' within them.

The more inferior he felt, the more arrogant he became.

Lu Yuan was simply someone with a 'contradiction' like this.

After a moment of silence in Meeting You, echoes of applause surrounded the café.

No one cheered for Lu Yuan, as the atmosphere that Für Elise caused still lingered around, and no one wanted to break the serenity.

Lu Yuan took a piece of napkin on the table next to him and wiped the sweat off his forehead and hands. He then carefully threw the napkin into the dustbin before bowing in an elegance manner, or so he thought, to the crowd.

Perhaps it was because of the piece that Lu Yuan had just played, in Wang Jinxue's eyes, the normal looking Lu Yuan was glowing radiantly.

Even Wang Jinxue applauded for Lu Yuan.

The music that Lu Yuan had just performed deserved her applause.

Lu Yuan was pleased with his performance, so much that he felt like he was ascending to heaven.

But he also knew that he couldn't be too complacent and not only that, he had to act that he was extremely holy and sincere.

He had to keep a low profile and be humble as if he had just done something that wasn't worth any attention.

The only flaw in all of Lu Yuan's act was that he wasn't wearing a tuxedo, his dressing was a little lacking.

And Lu Yuan regretted his decision too.

He had found a tuxedo in the secondhand shop where he had bought the suit he was wearing. Even if the tuxedo was a little old, it was still stylish enough.

And yet, he chose to buy the suit in the end.

As for why it was because the suit was 100 dollars cheaper than the tuxedo.

And it was because of the 100 dollars that made Lu Yuan regret his choice.

But he had no choice. For him, there was another problem that persisted over every other.

He did not have a lot of money.

"Encore!"

"Another one!"

"Encore!"

The applause slowly died down as the guests began to ask Lu Yuan to play another piece.

Even the teenage girl who played the piano before Lu Yuan was staring at him affectionately, hoping that he would sit back down.

Among the crowd was Wang Jinxue too.

Lu Yuan looked at everyone and shook his head.

"I'm sorry, but I still have some matters to attend to," Lu Yuan laughed wryly. "I'm not that good either…"

Lu Yuan believed that telling everyone the truth wouldn't hurt his act. It might even help him.

As soon as Wang Jinxue heard Lu Yuan mention that he wasn't good at playing the piano, she almost took off her heels and hit Lu Yuan on his face.

Not that good? Are you insulting me? Are you saying that I'm even worse?

Wang Jinxue suddenly felt that Lu Yuan's countenance looked repulsive, the radiant aura which she saw in him earlier also disappeared suddenly, causing him to become extremely ugly.

"You really aren't good?" Wang Jinxue asked.

"I only dabbled a little…"

"Then, what are you good at?"

"Writing scripts and directing."

Wang Jinxue's stare was so intense that Lu Yuan almost took a step back.

But…

He couldn't do so.

If he took a step back under the gazes of the public, his aura from posturing so long earlier, would be gone!

He wasn't going to let that happen.

His pride made him stare back at Wang Jinxue.

Could Lu Yuan play another song?

Of course, he could.

He could play another two songs if he wanted to.

But that was all he could do since he only knew how to play three different pieces.

But there was no way Lu Yuan was going to show all of his cards right away.

Gaining attention wasn't his intention, either. What he wanted was to sell his script at a good price.

The script came first before everything else.

"Well said! Let's talk about the details of the contract!" Wang Jinxue retracted her gaze and turned towards the second floor.

"Fine!" Lu Yuan followed closely behind as the guests looked at him with disappointment.

After Lu Yuan and Wang Jinxue had left, the teenage girl realized that the first floor became quiet again. Without giving another thought, she sat back down in front of the piano. As she began to play The Girl by the Neil River, she realized that all she could think of was the rhythm of Für Elise.

It was as if Lu Yuan had washed her mind as she could not focus anymore.

Without focus, the music she played was out of tune.

Yet, Lu Yuan did not notice it as he was sitting on the second floor.

He wouldn't care even if he heard it.

He was excited.

He would finally sell his script to some rich person, and cash-in his first scammed money.

Lu Yuan quickly told himself to calm down.

"How much will the cost be for this movie?" Wang Jinxue asked.

"As much as possible. You won't be disappointed."

"Are you sure that the movie will be a hit? Or at least profitable?"

"Yes, I am."

"Then, let me warn you first. The movie industry is not as easy as you think. More than 80% of the films end up losing money."

"But I'm not them."

"You sure are confident." Wang Jinxue felt that radiant aura slowly coming back to Lu Yuan.

"Yes."

Confidence was never one of Lu Yuan's traits.

Because Lu Yuan was never good at directing or creating. Even an amateur would be better than him.

But Lu Yuan did not care about it.

The only thing he wanted, was the money.

As long as he could get the money, he didn't care about other things.

Even if the movie would be a failure, Lu Yuan couldn't care less.

He just had to act like he was confident enough for the film to succeed and trick Wang Jinxue.

Wang Jinxue only stared at Lu Yuan as he stared back.

"One million. I will be investing one million dollars," Wang Jinxue finally said.

"One… one million?"

"Yes. That's all I can take out now," Wang Jinxue said, thinking that Lu Yuan must have thought that one million dollars weren't enough.

It shouldn't be since one million would not even suffice for a mini film.

Other than the cost of shooting, the movie needed to be advertised too.

One million was definitely not enough to produce a good film.

"Fine." Lu Yuan smiled as he tried to hide his trembling hands.

He only thought that he could scam at most 300 thousand dollars from Wang Jinxue, and yet, he got a million from her.

It was out of his expectations.

He thought of the time when he had to run under the sun when he'd wasted his youth trying to earn a living.

With the million, he could drive a sports car and not worry about his financial situation.

That was the success that Lu Yuan was looking for.

"So, can you do it?" Wang Jinxue asked. "I can borrow some money if you need more."

"… Do you believe in raw talent?" Lu Yuan asked while staring at Wang Jinxue.

"?" Wang Jinxue was stunned by Lu Yuan's sudden question.

"One million plus my talent is enough for this movie to shine. This is my bank account number," Lu Yuan smiled as he showed Wang Jinxue his bank card.

The humble man was now lying without even blinking twice.

He was destined to change.

The piano was still being played on the first floor.

The customers were still listening to music quietly.

And Lu Yuan had a broad smile on his face.

He thought that his smile made him look good.

But the piece of vegetable that was stuck between his teeth had betrayed him.

"Where's the contract?" Wang Jinxue asked.

"Contract?"

"Don't tell me you came looking for a sponsor without a contract?"

"No, of course not. It's in my office," Lu Yuan quickly explained. "How about you give me your number? I'll bring the contract to you tomorrow."

"That's too troublesome. I'll come to your office with you."

"What? But…"

"As a sponsor, don't you think I have the right to visit the company that I'm sponsoring?"

Wang Jinxue looked at Lu Yuan as he piqued her interest even more.

"…"

Lu Yuan got anxious.

Office? How could I, a person who can't even afford a meal, get an office?

Lu Yuan turned to look outside the window.

The sunlight outside reminded him again of the time that he had to run under it.

And the youth that he'd lost.

No! That's not going to happen! What should I do?