Chapter 82: What Is Sincerity? Money Is the Greatest Sincerity!

The next day.

Su Mu and Qian Jida left the hotel early, ready to report to the production team.

By coincidence, they ran into Zhang Hua'an and the others in the elevator, who were also heading to the set. Perhaps assuming they'd all take the business car arranged by the show, Zhang Hua'an sneered inwardly—so much for VIP treatment.

But as soon as they walked out of the hotel, a Mercedes S600 pulled up. The driver stepped out courteously, introducing himself as the chauffeur for Zhao Zhouming, the director of Petrol Depot. He had been specially assigned to handle Su Mu’s transportation for the next few days.

Hearing this, Zhang Hua'an’s face turned a shade greener. He had been full of words, planning to spar with Qian Jida in the car, but now everything he wanted to say was swallowed back. Even his internal organs seemed to ache—a classic case of internal injury.

…

At the set, they met the director Xu Yang and two other celebrity mentors. After introductions, everyone walked through the program’s flow together.

The street dance variety show’s format wasn’t complicated. The mentors would conduct initial selections, then the advancing dancers would choose which mentor’s team to join. After that, the teams would battle, eliminating contestants until the final four vied for the championship.

They were now waiting for the recruited street dancers to arrive. Once everyone was present, filming could officially begin.

Afterward, Su Mu was about to leave, but director Xu Yang stopped him and took him straight to the Petrol Depot office’s reception lounge.

Inside, Zhou Wanming was waiting.

Seeing Su Mu and Qian Jida enter, Zhou Wanming greeted them enthusiastically.

“Su Mu, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you. I’ve heard so much about you. This year, our Petrol Depot’s film and TV division was completely toppled by several of your period dramas.”

Su Mu smiled. “Oh, President Zhou, you’re too kind. I’m just an actor—I hardly have that kind of power. The real credit goes to directors like Zhang Huaimou and his team.”

Though it wasn’t entirely fair to pass the credit to Zhang Huaimou, Zhou Wanming motioned for Su Mu and Qian Jida to sit down and continued, “I’ve wanted to meet you for a long time, but never had the chance. This variety show gave me the opportunity. I wonder if we might have a chance to work together next year?”

Su Mu feigned surprise, acting delighted. “Ah! President Zhou wants to collaborate with me?”

[Expression proficiency +1]
[Emotion proficiency +1]
[Skill points +0.01+…]

Zhou Wanming nodded. “Of course! You’ve dominated the screen all year; you’re in high demand. Naturally, we hope to work with you too. I also heard you wrote the scripts for ‘The Son-in-law,’ ‘Canglan Decision,’ and ‘Joy of Life’?”

Su Mu replied, “It’s just a hobby of mine. I write scripts in my spare time. Actually, I just sent two new ones to President Yu at Penguin yesterday, but we haven’t talked about price yet.”

Zhou Wanming was taken aback. “What? You sent them to Yu Hong? Oh, Su Mu, why didn’t you show them to me first?”

Su Mu replied, “President Zhou, you want to see them? No problem—let’s add each other on WeChat and I’ll send them right over.”

Zhou Wanming said, “Great, let’s do it right now.”

After adding each other, Su Mu glanced around, then said seriously, “President Zhou, actually, I’d like to speak to you frankly about whether we might collaborate in the future… You see, what is the core competitiveness of domestic video platforms? It’s good content and IP, isn’t it? I know you spend large sums each year buying foreign copyrights, and I know you have no choice—otherwise, you’d lose users! Competing head-on with Western film industry projects, we still lag behind in both technology and substance, but looking at it another way, that means we have even more room to grow! So, investing in strong content and scripts is the real direction for the future of film and television!”

[Speech proficiency +1]
[Dialogue proficiency +1]
[Skill points +0.01]

Zhao Zhouming’s eyes lit up in surprise. He hadn’t expected Su Mu to speak so insightfully. It was exactly what he’d been thinking himself! Was this really just an actor? This was the kind of strategic thinking fit for a director.

Zhao Zhouming slapped his thigh. “Well said, Su Mu! I didn’t expect you to have such a perspective. To be honest, our Petrol Depot’s future strategy is focused precisely on core content production! Like you said, we still have gaps compared to foreign companies, but that gap is exactly where the biggest future market lies!”

Su Mu smiled, silently grateful to Yu Hong: ‘Little Hong never lets me down.’

“President Zhou, so what I want to say is, success often comes from seizing opportunities. Think about it—if you lose a star in a game, you can always earn it back; if you lose a partner, you can find another. But if you miss out on a good script, it’s truly gone forever. Think about it.”

Zhou Wanming: “!!!”
Xu Yang: “……”
Qian Jida: “……”

…

The conversation with Zhou Wanming went smoothly. However, throughout the entire discussion, Su Mu never once brought up money. The art of negotiation lies in one’s attitude—if you’re not in a hurry, someone else will be.

It was already noon when Su Mu and Qian Jida returned to the hotel. Back in the room, Su Mu ordered room service: several steaks and fried rice.

While eating, Qian Jida spoke, somewhat excited, “Judging by President Zhou’s attitude today, he genuinely wants to work with you—including buying your scripts. Looks like next year’s projects are secure. Petrol Depot is much better than the other crews I’ve met before.”

Su Mu shook his head. “It’s still early—not necessarily Petrol Depot.”

Qian Jida was surprised. “What? After all that sincerity, it’s still not certain?”

Su Mu replied, “What is sincerity?”

Qian Jida answered, “Honesty and reliability?”

Su Mu said, “No—money is the greatest sincerity! Did he give me any money? If he handed me a ten-million check on the spot, I’d help his company boom next year. But where’s the money?”

Qian Jida was speechless.

Su Mu continued, “President Qian, do you think I can’t afford a presidential suite and a Mercedes S600? That’s just for show.”

Qian Jida was stunned, then understood.

“I see what you mean. Actually, Kiwi reached out to me earlier. Their investment director, Zheng Quan, wants to talk to you. I haven’t replied yet. Should I send him your details now?”

Su Mu made a gesture as if to tidy things up. “OJBK!”

…

Kiwi headquarters, office.

Zheng Quan looked at his phone with delight. Just now, Qian Jida had proactively contacted him and sent Su Mu’s WeChat details his way. Zheng Quan hastily added Su Mu.

He sent a greeting emoji, but five or six minutes passed with no reply. Zheng Quan guessed Su Mu must be busy—after all, celebrities are always swamped with trivial matters. Understandable.

With nothing better to do, he browsed Su Mu’s social media feed. To his surprise, just a minute ago, Su Mu had posted an update:

[Picture: Two script covers/jpg
Caption: Feeling a bit conflicted. Who should I sell these to? The offers are all high. I’ve known Old Yu for years, but Old Zhou is very sincere. Ahhh, what a headache…]

Damn?

Seeing this, Zheng Quan could no longer sit still. So Yu Hong and Zhou Wanming had gotten there first. Su Mu’s influence this year couldn’t be ignored. If it carried into next year, whoever secured Su Mu would dominate.

He grew anxious. After much thought, he sent Su Mu another message.

[Zheng Quan: Su Mu, this is Director Zheng from Kiwi. I’ve contacted your agent before, and I really hope to talk with you. We at Kiwi have always prided ourselves on carefully crafting every piece of content. We’re preparing lots of projects for next year’s film and television slate. If possible, I think we should choose each other! I also have a great script I’d like you to consider. And if you’re interested in selling those two scripts, Kiwi is ready to buy. As investment director, I’ll guarantee a minimum offer—if you’re open to working with us, I can start negotiations at ten million for those two scripts, and we can discuss further. That’s my sincerity!]

…

In the hotel room, Su Mu looked at WeChat and quietly deleted the ‘Visible to Zheng Quan only’ social media post. He then edited another post, this time including the ten million base price offer.

Afterward, he replied to Zheng Quan.

Su Mu: Director Zheng, absolutely! Let’s find a time to discuss everything in detail.

Immediately, before he could even put his phone down, two new messages popped up.

Zhou Wanming: Su Mu! We can also offer ten million!
Yu Hong: Su Mu! Just name your price! Whatever Kiwi offers, we can match!