Chapter 107: Not Quite Smooth Sailing

Upon entering the private room, he had expected others to be there, perhaps some of her other beautiful friends. But there was no one else.

Feng Chenchen looked particularly pleased today, radiating joy.

She was, after all, a once-wild enchantress now tamed. Seeing her so happy gave Xiao Ma a sense of accomplishment. He asked, “What’s got you so cheerful? Are you in a hurry to see me?”

She stood up and approached him, pressing her chest against his back. “It’s confirmed—Theron is joining my film.”

“?” Xiao Ma was clueless, not understanding what was so exciting about that.

“Impressive, right?” Feng Chenchen chuckled. “This is my transition into the lead female role. Such a big production, it’s got plenty of hype.”

Xiao Ma grew curious. “You’re not seriously planning to cut out the male lead and just have Theron star as the female lead from a female perspective, are you?”

Feng Chenchen replied, “After much consideration, I don’t have a suitable young male star in mind right now. So yes, I’m planning to shift to a female perspective. But Theron won’t be the lead; she’ll play the main villain in the CIA faction, which was Michael Travis’s suggestion. Plus, this film has a big budget. The East Asian box office alone can’t cover the costs, so to appeal to the North American market, we need Theron on board, and Michael Travis’s support as well. Those are the conditions.”

Xiao Ma sighed, “Why does it always come back to the CIA?”

Feng Chenchen shook her head weakly. “I don’t know either. That’s Michael’s condition. The script needs changes, too. There’s a segment based on the Poseidon incident where Theron’s character is introduced. Other than that, no special demands.”

“Also, Theron’s fee is $30 million, making her the highest-paid ‘supporting actress’ in film history. But we’ve already agreed that’s just a title; she’ll return half of it,” Feng Chenchen added.

“Thirty million for a supporting role? What about the lead?” Xiao Ma was baffled.

“With the plot’s appeal, the hype, and multiple parties involved, plus Theron carrying the performance, it’s not a big problem. For the lead, I plan to cast an unknown third-tier actor. I’ll interview her later. The fee is only 800,000 yuan in cash, but officially reported as 10 million yuan—that’s Jiang Yaowen’s requirement. The financial supervisor sent by Jiang will handle her tax. The rest is basically up to me,” Feng Chenchen said proudly.

Xiao Ma was speechless. Others registered companies in the Western Regions to evade taxes, while these people were going out of their way to pay taxes openly. No wonder Big Jiang bragged about being a taxpayer all day long.

Overall, neither group was particularly good, though no one would admit it. But that was none of Xiao Ma’s concern; that was his aunt Elsa’s problem, and he had no interest in confronting her.

“Alright, I got it. Anything else?” The food here was decent, and Xiao Ma took another couple of bites.

Feng Chenchen rested again against his back. “What’s your attitude? I’m not telling you anything secret, just that things are going well, and I wanted to share my happiness with you.”

Xiao Ma grew cocky, reaching behind to place his hand on her ample rear.

Feng Chenchen expertly controlled the moment, gently pulling his hand away with a teasing air, then sat down awkwardly. “Young Master Jiang wants to see you. He wants to invite you somewhere the night after tomorrow. Let me get your opinion first?”

Xiao Ma pouted. “Do you think I have that much free time?”

“There are lots of perks,” Feng Chenchen tried to persuade him, not wanting to mess up Jiang Yaowen’s business.

“Do I look like someone who needs perks?” Xiao Ma joked nervously.

She clung to him again with a sly smile. “True, with me around, you don’t need anything else.”

But then she pleaded pitifully, “But he really is important. My career depends on him. For me, you have to make some effort.”

Indeed, Jiang Yaowen was useful. The overlord didn’t need him, but Xiao Ma was a weakling who did.

Still, the enchantress sitting beside him deserved a bit of protection, so Xiao Ma said, “Alright, I’ll go see what’s up.”

Feng Chenchen’s smile stretched crookedly, basking in the attention, and teased, “How do you plan to thank me?”

Xiao Ma, a lecherous and sleazy shut-in, immediately thought in the wrong direction.

He sensed that normally his body resisted Feng Chenchen, but now the overlord seemed asleep, or perhaps sealed by a primordial force, his energy field not yet activated, incapable even of quantum entanglement.

Opportunity.

Xiao Ma placed Feng Chenchen on the dining table, lifting one of her legs.

Damn it, no tissues prepared, when suddenly a phone call interrupted him.

In his mind, a tiny, immature alpaca ran past, stopped to glance at Ma Weimin, nibbled some grass, then trotted away.

It was Yu Chengmin calling. She said over the phone, “Still not done? When did you get so slow? Hurry back, there’s an emergency. No messing around.”

Then the call ended.

This rebirth was really something; every time it seemed like there was a perk, some primordial force messed things up.

“You’re pinning me on the table just to daydream? What’s next?” Feng Chenchen was slightly frustrated.

“I just thought you looked a bit thin from being so busy, wanted you to lie down and rest a bit. By the way, I have to leave early,” Xiao Ma said as he got up.

Frustrated and distracted, Feng Chenchen took off her expensive high heels and threw them toward the room’s door.

Still, she called the Land Rover driver: “Follow him for now. Keep an eye on him, don’t let him fall or catch a cold. If he tries anything with any girl, let me know—I’ll stop him. Other enchantresses can start fires, but I, Feng Chenchen, can’t even light a lamp, right?”

“Uh, okay,” the driver agreed.

When Xiao Ma came downstairs, the Land Rover was already started. The driver stood by the door. “She said to drive you around, so that’s your car.”

Well, that was fine.

Xiao Ma eagerly said, “I can drive. Let me take the wheel.”

“That won’t do. She said you’re not always clear-headed and can’t be allowed to drive. Everything else is fine, but not that,” the driver quickly shook his head.

“Well, that makes sense,” Xiao Ma thought as he got in and headed back to the company.