NOVPUB"Fine, then you arrange it, we’ll just grab something easy."
Wu Bin said they’d grab something easy, but he knew Zhu Ling’s picky taste well, simple dishes would definitely not satisfy her.
Knowing Li Xuan as he did, he wouldn’t just arrange anything casually, he would surely take them to a more upscale restaurant.
What was different this time was that only Li Xuan was taking Wu Bin and the others to eat.
Wu Bin felt somewhat uncomfortable without Zhu Hong accompanying them.
After all, Li Xuan was Zhu Hong’s agent, and it seemed a bit inappropriate for him to leave Zhu Hong alone and go out to eat by himself.
But Li Xuan didn’t care about that at all, and unlike before, this time he took them through several turns, past quite a few film sets, and arrived at a small shop that didn’t look particularly well-decorated.
Seeing the decor, Zhu Ling was very disappointed.
"Why is it this kind of small place? Bro, I want to eat a feast, I don’t want to eat this kind."
Seeing Zhu Ling’s dissatisfaction even before entering, Wu Bin was also in a bit of a predicament.
After all, it was Li Xuan who had generously brought them, and now you didn’t even want to enter the place, it was a bit too disrespectful.
Seeing Zhu Ling’s discontent with the small shop, Li Xuan said with a laugh, "Miss Zhu, don’t be in a hurry. You might not be impressed by the decor here, but this place’s flavors and dishes are the best and most up-to-date."
"How about this, we go inside and order a few dishes, if you don’t find them delicious, we can leave at any time and switch to another restaurant, how does that sound?"
Zhu Ling was about to speak when Wu Bin promptly put his hand over her mouth.
Li Xuan was being reasonable, and if you were still disrespectful, that would be out of line.
Without a second thought, Wu Bin said, "I think you’re making sense, we can only know if it’s good after we try, let’s go inside and have a taste."
After saying that, the group directly entered the small shop.
The small shop was already filled with other crew members from nearby sets, who, seeing Wu Bin and the others entering followed by a cameraman, instinctively avoided the camera out of professional habit.
The owner, however, recognized Li Xuan, so as soon as they walked in, he came over proactively.
"Li, haven’t seen you for a while, how come you have time to come to my little shop for food today, are you guys shooting a film?"
Ling Xuan responded with a smile while pulling out a napkin to wipe down the table, "Yeah, we’re just shooting a movie here in the film city, Old Tong, these guys are my honored guests; they are tough critics, so serve up all your signature dishes."
Hearing this, Tong Huan immediately became interested.
For a chef, the most enjoyable customers are the critical ones.
It’s like doing math problems; the ones that are too simple don’t pose any challenge for you, and even if you solve them, it won’t bring you much satisfaction.
But if you’re capable of tackling those problems that everyone thinks are hard, the sense of achievement you get is naturally special.
Tong Huan rubbed his hands together, extremely excited, and said, "Great, great, I love critics for customers, just wait here for a while, I’ll go and start cooking right away."
Seeing Tong Huan actually putting on an apron and volunteering to stir-fry, the others nearby couldn’t help but ask, "Who are these people? Haven’t seen them before, and they even got boss Tong to cook himself."
"You don’t recognize Li Xuan? The gold-medal agent, and an old friend of boss Tong. I’ve heard that the money boss Tong used to start the restaurant was borrowed from Li Xuan. Their relationship is incredibly close."
"No wonder boss Tong is so excited. So it’s an old friend visiting, but I do envy boss Tong. To be able to make friends in this circle..."
The voices of the people discussing around were actually very low, but unfortunately, Wu Bin and his friends had good hearing, so they heard everything they said.
Wu Bin couldn’t help but take a few more glances at Li Xuan.
"Didn’t expect you to be quite famous around these parts."
Li Xuan waved his hand with a smile and said, "Hey, it’s all just a façade."
"The entertainment industry is filled with all sorts of people, and it involves too many interests. The old ones want to remain evergreen while the newcomers strive to stand out. The open rivalry and clandestine struggles are almost like a daily palace drama."
"I, too, was once a newcomer, so I understand that if newcomers want to make it in this industry, they need to put in a lot of effort and navigate many pitfalls. Luck and talent are both indispensable."
"In order to help more newcomers find their footing in this industry, and to make some more money for myself — no way around it — I just have to make a wide network of good connections."
Li Xuan’s speech sparked a flurry of discussion among the netizens in the live stream.
"This Li Xuan seems like a pretty decent person. If I ever get into the entertainment industry, I’ll look him up too."
"Buddy, don’t joke. Do you really think he takes on just anyone? If you don’t have some talent and popularity, do you believe you’ll ever get to eat the meal he’s hosting in your lifetime?"
"That’s actually true. My uncle also knows such well-rounded individuals. He told me that for someone who wants to get by in society, they can’t afford to make friends carelessly. Making the wrong friends is literally a loss for them."
"What you’re saying is that we’re adults, not kids anymore. Surely, you don’t make friends based solely on whether you click with them at this age? If that’s really your approach, then it’s no wonder you’ll stay poor your whole life."
The truths that netizens could understand, Wu Bin, having lived twice as a person, naturally understood them too.
In this world, there is no such thing as unconditioned kindness, even for someone as handsome as Wu Bin.
Therefore, there could only be one truth: Li Xuan must have needed his help with something.
Wu Bin picked up the tea on the table, took a sip, and said, "If you have something to say, just say it. I’ll help with whatever I can."
Seeing Wu Bin’s straightforwardness, Li Xuan didn’t beat around the bush and got straight to the point, "Wu Bin, here’s the thing: Director Wang was very satisfied with your performance on set today. But the movie you’re currently shooting has too few scenes for you. Adding more scenes at this point won’t work as it won’t fit the script."
"However, Director Wang mentioned that he has another movie in which he hopes you could participate. Although the other movie doesn’t have as robust a funding, the cast is quite impressive, and the script is good too."
"The most important part is that your scenes are neither too many nor too few, and you can finish shooting in just these next few days."
Wu Bin understood, Wang He was planning to take advantage of his online popularity to the fullest.
After considering for a moment, Wu Bin said, "I can do the movie, but I have to see the script first."
Li Xuan nodded again and again.
"Of course, the script is right here."
