Both of the movies Chen Hao mentioned were far from being bad, so no matter which one the young girl chose, she couldn't go wrong.
After listening to Chen Hao's explanation, the young girl greedily said, "Uncle, both of these movies are fantastic! Why choose? Let's just make both!"
"We can make both, but we have to pick one to trade with Huayi Brothers for their original shares." Chen Hao actually had a plan in mind, but he wanted the young girl to make the choice herself.
As a time-traveler with an informational advantage, he naturally occupied the throne of the "correct answer." Under normal circumstances, partnering with him meant the young girl should simply follow orders.
Yet, interacting that way would lead to problems; given time, the young girl would just become his attachment. But she was a big star—what would happen if she made enough money and no longer wanted to be a mere attachment?
She knew his secret, so he couldn't treat her as an accessory; she had to be a true partner. This was precisely why he wanted to go into business with her in the first place.
Besides, by presenting two correct options for her to choose from on certain matters, her sense of participation would be stronger, and their relationship would grow closer.
"Uncle, why is it that one of these movies has a super complex plot while the other has a super simple one?" When the young girl said earlier that both movies were great, it was really because she knew anything Chen Hao brought out was guaranteed to be successful, even if she lacked the discernment to judge them herself.
And there she went, giving herself away!
"Did you waste all those years in college or what? The difference between these two films is the classic contrast of a script carrying the actors versus actors carrying the script. One is an ensemble piece with a massive budget, relying on stellar performances from a large cast to drive the narrative. The other has a simple plot, but the sheer satisfaction of the female lead single-handedly taking down an entire gang at the end is thrilling. Plus, the protagonist is an expressionless, apathetic girl—it suits you to a T." Letting her choose was one thing, but Chen Hao didn't hold back on the teasing when it was due.
"Let's use The Thieves for the trade. It has a bigger budget and a huge cast, so we can let Huayi share some of the pressure, and it will be easier for them to squeeze in their own people." Guided by Chen Hao, the young girl made the right choice.
"Okay, I'll listen to you!" Chen Hao agreed with a beaming smile.
The young girl's eyebrows curved into happy crescents as well. She wasn't actually all that foolish; she knew uncle had deliberately let her make the decision. Though she hadn't thought as deeply as Chen Hao, she truly appreciated the attitude with which he cared for her feelings.
"Now there's one more problem: how do you plan to introduce me to 'our mom'?"
Chen Hao had practically been Liu Xiaoli's "daughter" for half a year, so calling her mom was entirely appropriate.
"Huh?"
"Right now, I'm just a penniless freshman. What right do I have to be the male lead in your new movie?"
"Huh?"
"Stop just going 'huh'. Mom is still your manager; she has to look out for you. When she asks about me, what are you going to say?"
"I'll just say you wrote the script. Is that okay?"
"How much is a script worth, especially since I'm a newcomer? They'd brush me off with tens of thousands of yuan. What gives me the right to star in a big-budget movie?"
"I can insist on having you. It's my movie, I still have the final say."
"And how do we explain our company? You lent me money to start it, but you're only taking a minor stake—do you think mom will be happy with that?"
"How about we just say you're my boyfriend?" The young girl started coming up with terrible ideas.
"Get out of here! Sure, my skin is fair, but you can't seriously paint me as a kept toy boy, can you? How could I ever hold my head up in front of your mother?"
"That's true too!" The young girl understood that much. Uncle was a time-traveler and the chosen son of destiny; he didn't need to bow his head to her mother.
"Then what do you suggest we do?" The young girl was out of ideas.
"When you used to write songs back then, how did your mom react?" Chen Hao had an idea, but it was a rather bold one, so he needed to scout the situation first.
"My mom never believed I wrote those songs. She was convinced I bought them from someone else and put my name on them. After all, she knows me too well; she knows my level—there's no way I could have written those songs."
The young girl found it a bit funny recalling this; those songs truly weren't written by her, yet she couldn't tell her mother the truth.
"Alright, that makes things easy. We'll just tell your mom that I wrote those songs, and that I was the one who picked out Wanted for you. We'll build up a persona for me as a genius youth, and—since we made the news back then—we'll say I've been a longtime fan of yours for years."
Chen Hao blushed slightly; this persona was utterly shameless. But he didn't have a better plan, and only by doing this could he seize the upper hand in dealing with Mama Liu.
The young girl's eyes lit up. This was a brilliant idea—it would explain so many things.
"I'll tell mom that after that commercial event all those years ago, we exchanged contact information and stayed in touch ever since. And since the songs and scripts you wrote for me made me money, it's only natural that I lent you money in return."
Talking over each other excitedly, the two of them hammered out the script for how they would fool Mama Liu together.
After lunch, the young girl drove Chen Hao to buy a car. Chen Hao picked out a Jeep Wrangler; a real man belongs in an off-road vehicle.
The young girl originally wanted to accompany Chen Hao to the shopping mall to buy daily necessities for his courtyard house, but Chen Hao flatly refused. This girl cared nothing about her own popularity; she had barely stepped into the 4S dealership before people swarmed her for autographs—having her tag along to a shopping mall was a disaster waiting to happen.
"Hmph, you're not even glad to have a great beauty like me accompany you to the mall? Sooner or later, I'll turn you into my bag-carrier." Driving home, the young girl grumbled all the way behind the wheel.
Chen Hao drove his new car to the shopping mall for a massive shopping spree. The funds for this spree came from the allowance card the young girl had given him—he really did feel a bit like a kept man now.
As for the twenty-million-yuan loan, they would have to wait until the young girl talked things over with her mother first.
The young girl spent the entire drive rehearsing her lines, pondering how to fool her mother upon arrival. But the moment she stepped through her front door, her mother's opening remark struck her dumb.
"Are you in a relationship? Who is that guy?" The young girl had barely made it home and hadn't even caught her breath when Mama Liu eagerly fired away with questions.
"What relationship?" The young girl didn't process it for a second.
"Who were you just with? You guys got snapped by the paparazzi! Eating out together, and even going to a 4S dealership to buy a car together?"
Liu Xiaoli hauled her laptop over, opened up a web portal's entertainment news page, and made her daughter look.
The two of them had been brazenly going about together without a care in the world, so naturally, they were inevitably snapped by the paparazzi. Online media moved lightning fast these days; the photos had barely been taken before they were posted online.
The young girl's eyes rolled around—wasn't this the perfect opportunity to spin a tall tale for her mom?
She chuckled mischievously, "Mom, you actually know this guy."
"I know him too? Who is it?" Liu Xiaoli looked at the news photos again, confirming she didn't recognize him.
"Mom, do you remember back in 2005 when we went to Chongqing for a commercial event?"
Liu Xiaoli certainly remembered; something had happened back then that left a lasting impression on her.
She squinted at the pictures again, widened her eyes, and asked, "Wait, is this that little boy who fainted from excitement just because you gave him a hug?"