The banquet had begun.
Right in the center of the banquet hall stood a nine-tier cake. Beside it was a wine mountain built from champagne glasses stacked to the brim, looking like a miniature peak.
Jiang Wen stood in front of the wine mountain and the cake, cleared his throat, and said with a completely straight face, "We start filming in a couple of days. Tonight, I have only three things to say: enjoy yourselves, enjoy yourselves, and fucking enjoy yourselves!"
Deafening laughter erupted through the venue.
Make, the producer, and the investor from Emperor Entertainment delivered their speeches in turn. Once they finished, the banquet officially began.
Dressed in a formal suit, Li Mu was led by Third Brother over to Zhang Mo.
Zhang Mo was talking with Liao Fan and a few others. Seeing Li Mu and Ma San approach, he didn't even lift an eyelid, continuing his conversation with Liao Fan as if they weren't there.
A wave of displeasure washed over Li Mu.
*Damn it, who the hell do you think you're acting all high and mighty for in front of me?*
Ma San was well-used to cozying up to cold shoulders, so he didn't feel offended. He first greeted Liao Fan and the others with a smile, then turned his gaze to Zhang Mo: "Mo Ge, my brother here doesn't know any better. If he did anything to offend you, I'll apologize to you on his behalf."
Zhang Mo sneered, "His business? What kind of qualification do you have to apologize for him?!"
Li Mu flashed a row of white teeth, raised the glass in his hand, bent forward with both hands holding the cup toward Zhang Mo, and forced a smile. "Mo Ge, about what happened on the road yesterday, I think I was a bit too impulsive."
It barely passed for an apology.
Even so, the moment the words left his mouth, Li Mu almost felt sick to his stomach. *Damn it, if it weren't for Second Uncle and Third Brother, I would never say this to this asshole.*
Surrounding guests cast unanimous glances, sizing up Li Mu and Zhang Mo.
Li Mu was a fresh face, but most of them recognized Zhang Mo—he was Zhang Guoli's son, who had starred in *The Tale of Liu Luoguo* earlier in his career. His fame in the industry was no small matter.
Judging by Li Mu's tone, was there bad blood between the two of them? And what on earth had happened to Zhang Mo's face?
Everyone stopped what they were doing, some eager to eat melons and gossip, others simply watching the show.
Over on Zhang Mo's side, he didn't budge an inch. A sarcastic smile hung on his face as he leaned against the side of the dining table like a hoodlum.
Li Mu remained bent over, frozen in that exact posture. The surrounding gazes made his cheeks burn hot and red.
Three seconds.
Five seconds.
Ten seconds.
Zhang Mo still didn't make a move, acting as if he hadn't heard Li Mu speak at all.
Third Brother's face darkened instantly. He clenched his fists tightly. *Damn it, I'm giving you face and you refuse to take it? Do you really think I'm a pushover? Push me too far, and I'll air all your dirty laundry out in the open.*
Jiang Wen and Uncle Ge also furrowed their brows, intensely disliking Zhang Mo's petty behavior of basking in unearned arrogance.
Another ten seconds passed.
Li Mu stayed frozen in that bent-over position as shame, anger, and various other emotions welled up in his chest. He felt his blood gradually boiling, his vision turning completely crimson.
*Endure... endure. Don't bicker with this bastard in a place like this. Don't in this sort of...*
Li Mu bit his lip in humiliation, repeatedly reminding himself in his heart.
And so, another ten seconds ticked by.
Zhang Mo still showed no reaction whatsoever.
Those thirty seconds felt exceptionally long to Li Mu—so long that it felt as though he had lived through an entire lifetime. He let out a helpless sigh, then slowly raised his head to stare straight into Zhang Mo's mocking face.
Paradoxically, Li Mu felt completely calm now.
He stared at Zhang Mo, then suddenly let out a relieved laugh. "I was wrong. I was truly wrong."
Zhang Mo grew even more smug. *What's the use of knowing you're wrong? You have no power and no backing; I don't even need to lift a finger to crush you. A broke-ass floor manager dares to hit me? If I don't ruin your reputation completely, my last name isn't Zhang.*
Just as Zhang Mo was reveling in his triumph, Li Mu uttered words that gave everyone a massive jolt:
"I shouldn't have compromised with a maggot and garbage like you. I shouldn't have held back back then, leaving you with the strength to flap your jaws here!"
"I can't afford to play games with you—I'm just quitting this damn game!"
"Fuck your mother!"
The angrier Li Mu got, the more furious his tone became. He raised the drink in his hand and splashed it right across Zhang Mo's face.
The moment the cold, stinging liquid hit Zhang Mo's face, he let out an exaggerated shriek.
"You're out of your fucking mind!" Zhang Mo cursed.
Third Brother was also startled out of his wits by Li Mu's move; this was a complete and utter falling out.
The guests in the hall were dumbfounded.
"I'm not doing this anymore!" Li Mu ripped off his work badge, slapped it into Third Brother's hand, pointed right at Zhang Mo's nose, and cursed, "I can't afford to play with garbage like this, I'm just done!"
Zhang Mo's face alternated between red and green, dripping with wet liquid. He wanted to throw punches, but the thought of Li Mu's combat prowess ultimately made him choose to back down. "Are you sick in the head? I don't even know what you're rambling about. So we had a minor rear-end collision on the road, is there any need to hold a grudge and refuse to let go?"
Seeing him turn black into white, Li Mu laughed out of pure anger. *Rear-end your mother!*
Just as Li Mu looked ready to go completely berserk, Uncle Ge suddenly burst into hearty laughter.
Everyone's attention was instantly drawn over.
Uncle Ge strode forward, walked right up between Li Mu and Zhang Mo, grabbed both of their hands, and smiled broadly. "This was an arrangement between Director Jiang and me. Aren't we starting production in a couple of days? I just had Xiao Mu and Zhang Mo run through a scene beforehand. What do you think, convincing enough?"
"Running through a scene?"
"Hahaha, and here I thought it was real."
"You have to admit, Li Mu's acting talent is actually pretty good. He really scared me just now."
"It's honestly a bit of a waste for a young man like him to work as a floor manager."
The guests at the scene sighed in collective relief, then broke into a flurry of murmurs and discussions.
Li Mu's brain spun at lightning speed. He beamed and played along with Uncle Ge: "How was it, Uncle Ge? My acting passed muster, didn't it? I didn't disgrace an elder like you, right?"
Uncle Ge gave Li Mu a thumbs-up. "Not bad, you hit all the right notes."
With that, he leaned in close to Zhang Mo's ear and lowered his voice to advise him: "Whatever stunt you pulled, the dashcam captured the whole thing. If you tear down the last shred of pretense now, it won't do either of you any good."
Zhang Mo's face turned green. How could he have forgotten about that detail?
He quickly adjusted his emotions, forced a smile, and extended a hand to shake Li Mu's. "Your performance just now was quite impressive. If you put more effort into practicing, you could definitely become an actor in the future—much more promising than being a floor manager."
Hearing the heavy sarcasm dripping from his words, Li Mu fired right back: "I think I'm still a student, so my studies should come first. Everything else is secondary. If my grades slip and the school expels me, that would be a truly humiliating way to lose face."
As soon as those words dropped, every guest in the room felt their eyelids twitch.
*Hiss.*
This guy was driving needles straight into someone's heart.
Who didn't know that Zhang Mo had been expelled from the Central Academy of Drama?
Sure enough, Li Mu's words pushed Zhang Mo's blood pressure straight into the red zone. He looked ready to devour Li Mu alive.
Uncle Ge hurriedly stepped in to mediate: "Alright, stop acting out scenes. Little Zhang, your clothes are dirty, head back to your room and change. Xiao Mu, go to my room and fetch my hat for me."
Hearing this, Li Mu smiled and nodded, walking toward the hotel elevator amidst the envious gazes of the crowd.