Going Into Battle Naked (2)

Pei Sefei wore a melancholic look with her chin resting on the back of her hand as she sat beside the window. A pot of her favorite lilac flower was set on the windowsill. The soft sunlight carefully sneaked in through the window, unwilling to disrupt this moody young girl who was like a flower.

"Xiaofei." A gentle call came from behind. An old man with snow-white hair stood at the door with a cane.

Pei Sefei turned around and forced a smile. "Grandpa."

The old man slowly walked over and stroked his granddaughter's hair tenderly. "Liu has told me everything, sigh…"

"Grandpa!" Pei Sefei hugged the old man's broad figure and could not help but start sobbing.

Both the grandparent and the grandchild did not speak. Except for the sunlight, there was only Pei Sefei's broken sobbing in the room. After a long time, Pei Sefei finally stopped crying. After venting in her grandfather's arms, Pei Sefei's mood lightened significantly. She wiped her face with a hand and said with a smile, "I'm fine now, Grandpa. You're so busy, yet you still have to worry about my affairs; I'm sorry…"

The old man waved his hand. "You are my granddaughter. No matter how high-ranking Grandpa is as an official, I am also an old man. The happiness of an old man is being looked after by my descendants and enjoying time with my family in my old age. Unfortunately, Grandpa cannot be with you every day. If someone has to apologize, it should be Grandpa apologizing to you. If it wasn't because of Grandpa, you wouldn't have to be wary of whether one has other aims each time you meet an outstanding boy. Sigh!"

The old man sighed heavily again. Several decades of hardships seemed to pile all on his face in that second. Pei Sefei hugged the old man tight and grinned. "Xiaofei won't blame Grandpa. Grandpa is the big hero in Xiaofei's heart!"

The old man smiled affectionately and hesitated for a moment before he began, "Xiaofei…"

Pei Sefei knew what the old man wanted to say upon seeing his expression. She immediately covered her ears and said coyly, "I'm not listening, I'm not listening. Grandpa wants to lock Xiaofei at home again; Xiaofei cannot hear what Grandpa is saying now!"

The old man helplessly wore a bitter smile for a moment. "You lass… You've been stubborn since a young age. Even after suffering, you refuse to repent. Sigh, since you're willing to be in this profession, I don't want to interfere. Only, the incident this time is just a start. The circle of wealth and fame is where living beings in all forms is most pervasive. Are you prepared to bear all of these?"

Pei Sefei said firmly. "Don't worry, Grandpa. Since I've made my choice, I will persevere on my own path."

The old man nodded sadly and didn't say anything more.

After he left, Pei Sefei's resolute expression vanished right away. In its place were bleakness and melancholy. She stretched out her hand and gently lifted a flower bud, the shadow of a person emerging in her mind. "Sigh, I thought you were special. It turns out you were just like those who got close to me with ulterior motives…" She revealed a bitter but practiced smile.

…

<Star World> was the biggest entertainment newspaper within City X. As the leading player of City X's fashion scene, <Star World> had its own pride. They did not bother reporting about the average small celebrities and totally disdained to interview the generic small companies. Yet, some small companies—who had no idea about the relative importance of things—would always send them invitations. The majority of these invitations entered the shredding machine.

Xiaoying was the new editor of Star World magazine. She'd graduated from a prestigious university and defeated more than 30 competitors with her own outstanding qualifications before she clinched this job.

As a newcomer, all the daily miscellaneous tasks of the editorial department were done by her. That included dealing with these lame invitations.

The majority of the invitations were made to be extremely gorgeous, in hopes that they would catch the editorial department's attention. Although Xiaoying had only been here for ten-odd days, she'd seen too many of such invitations. Today, like the past ten-odd days, she ended a day's work, tidied up the discarded papers, and prepared to stuff them into the shredding machine. Amongst them was a thick stack of invitations.

The shredding machine hummed as it worked. What entered were complete sheets of waste paper, and what came out were shreds that resembled little fishes. Everyone else in the editorial department had already knocked off. Xiaoying, who was utterly bored, casually flipped through that pile of papers. A unique invitation jumped into her sight.

The reason why this invitation was unique was because of its plainness. In a pile of splendid invitations, this invitation printed on white paper was like a crane standing out in a crowd of chickens. Xiaoying could resist picking it out. Opening it, she was greatly surprised!

"Roche Films Company will be holding a press conference at Grand City Hotel, 7:30 PM tonight. On this occasion, we will be announcing our company's collaborative project with Golden Lion Awards Best Director, Mr. Voslot. Your presence is cordially requested!"

Golden Lion Awards Best Director, Voslot. If this news is true, it would absolutely be worth doing an interview! Xiaoying held the invitation in her hand. The editorial department was empty without a single person around. Should she go to the editor-in-chief? What if it was fake? After all, she'd never heard of this Roche Films before.

Xiaoying's heart pounded. She gripped the invitation in her hand, knowing that she'd grabbed an opportunity.

…

Grand City Hotel.

Luo Qian had rented a conference room, preparing to hold the press conference. The conference room was costly; Luo Qian's heart was aching from the money he'd spent the past two days. But fortunately, these were his assets in the Human Realm. They were disposable assets. Even if he had to abandon all of it, he wouldn't care either. Most exasperating of all was that little lass Pei Sefei; she actually didn't trust him.

Luo Qian shook his head; he felt really tempted to throw his hands up and quit. However, this was not his style. Finishing what was started was his principle. Alright, after I'm done handling this matter, I will cease contact with her, Luo Qian thought to himself.

One after another, some reporters had already made it. Roche Films wasn't famous; if it wasn't for Voslot's fame, probably no one would come. Of course, it wasn't famous; this company had been registered at the last minute before Luo Qian signed the contract.

When Xiaoying arrived, the press conference was about to begin. Hearing that she was an editor of <Star World>, the hotel staff specially arranged a seat in the first row for her. An interview pass hung from Xiaoying's neck as she sat in her seat restlessly.

It was time.

A young man walked out from backstage. He stood on the stage and smiled confidently. "Hello, everyone. I am Roche Films's press spokesperson, Luo Qian. Thank you for your presence tonight. Due to certain reasons, Mr. Voslot is unable to attend tonight's press conference, but I can tell everyone that in our partnership with Mr. Voslot, the contract sum has reached a height of two billion yuan!"

"Wah…." Everyone one exploded under the stage.

Big news, definitely big news!

All of the big and small newspapers' reporters felt that they'd made the right choice by coming today. At once, the flashes and clicks were ceaseless; the reporters threw out questions like hand grenades.

Luo Qian pressed down the air with both hands. "Quiet, everyone. Quiet, please! I am definitely not speaking nonsense. Our funds have been transferred to Mr. Voslot's account according to the demands of the contract. We've prepared a photocopy of the contract; everyone can take a look."

Hearing that they were actually publishing a confidential contract's details, the crowd became even more agitated. The hotel staff distributed the photocopied document that they'd prepared in advance into the hands of every reporter. Xiaoying sharply sensed that there was more to this matter! Why was he publishing a contract that should have been confidential? Instead of surrounding the person on stage and throwing out questions like the other reporters, Xiaoying started studying the contract's details carefully.

She read through page by page; there didn't seem to be anything amiss.

Have I guessed wrong? Xiaoying was very confident in her intellect; she didn't give up and continued reading.

As expected! Xiaoying found what she'd wanted. While feeling rather pleased with herself, she was also deeply shocked by the contract's contents. Scandal, definitely an international scandal!

Xiaoying raised the contract and stood up. She shouted loudly, "Mr. Luo, are you really hiring a director who won the Golden Lion Awards to film a pornographic film?"

"…" All the reporters were stunned; they hadn't had the time to read the contract's details carefully. Nobody noticed that the contract actually stipulated that Voslot had to film a pornographic film that was to be broadcast on the paid channels in Europe and America! The venue fell into perfect silence at once; everyone was shocked by this news. A dignified Golden Lion Award Director filming a pornographic film!

Not erotic, but pornographic! Plain and naked pornograpy!

The boundless nine states1, the vast China finally produced an international class scandal.

Luo Qian tidied his bow tie and said with a smile, "This lady is very observant. That is right, we've talked with Mr. Voslot. He will be using our invested 300 million USD to create a superb pornography kingdom that stretches across Asia, America, and Europe!"

"And!" Just as everyone was still immersed in such shock, Luo Qian threw out another heavy-weight bomb. "Mr. Voslot has already decided that his maiden pornographic film shall be written, directed, and acted by him. The script will draw from Mr. Voslot's true stories with numerous female stars. These details have been stated in the contract. Want to see the Golden Lion Awards Best Director coming on naked? Want to appreciate the erotic performance of a world -lass director? <The Must-tell Stories of the Golden Lion Director and Rumored Female Stars>, exclusively by Roche Films, is coming soon!"

"Alright, today's press conference will be ending here. We have prepared a sumptuous dinner for everyone…"

What dinner? Such weighty news, they ought to rush throughout the night to publish it; it would certainly shock the world!

…

"Impossible, this is impossible!" Voslot, who was far away in Africa preparing for his literary film, looked at the contract in his hand and roared in disbelief.

"What could be impossible about this? It's not the first time I've manifested as an Immortal; amending a contract is nothing…" Luo Qian was smug as he strolled on the street. An advertisement by Li Ning2 was currently playing on the mall's large screen beside him—Li Ning, anything is possible!