Chapter 153: The First Warrior

(Adding yesterday’s missing Chapter, and another before midnight, at least 4 Chapters today!)

Back at the company on Monday, Li Yan was in good spirits. Zhang Yurong had arrived in Jiang Xueyin’s car, which he didn’t mind.

Li Yan skimmed through and realized he wouldn’t be implicated no matter what. There were no clues showing they could catch Lao Shi’s people, nor capture Sonia. At most, they might catch a few of those Sonia hired, but even if they did, the masterminds Sonia and Victoria would remain unscathed, without any links.

As he was relaxing, someone opened the door and walked in. Without even looking, he knew it must be Jiang Xueyin; only she would come in without knocking.

"What’s up?"

Jiang Xueyin came over and tossed some prepared documents onto his desk. "There’s a meeting later, check these out first!"

"Oh." Li Yan took them and casually flipped through, preparing for the upcoming meeting.

Originally responsible for finance, Jiang Xueyin now seemed to act as his secretary, so her attitude wasn’t great, but Li Yan didn’t mind.

"Hey! How did it go last night? Was it a heated situation?" Jiang Xueyin couldn’t resist her gossiping.

"What do you mean?" Li Yan feigned ignorance, "Didn’t I just go home to sleep last night?"

Jiang Xueyin was taken aback, then cursed, "Screw you! Dirty-minded! I meant you and Liu Yuyang, did you two get into a fight afterward?"

"You should have said so earlier! That Liu Yuyang really wanted to mess with me. He talked to me, offered me 5 million to leave Yurong, claiming that being with Yurong would only yield limited benefits, but with him, she’d gain a thousand, ten thousand times more." Li Yan spoke honestly.

Jiang Xueyin’s anger faded as she continued asking, "Did you accept?" Despite her good family background, 5 million was still a substantial amount.

"No way! How could I agree? I told him I’d give him 5 million to get lost and never harass Yurong again." Li Yan lit a cigarette.

Jiang Xueyin shook her head after hearing this, "Why are you so dumb? If Liu Yuyang wants to offer money, why not take it? In such matters, would he even ask you for a receipt? You take the money and continue being with your cousin, gaining benefits while infuriating your rival."

Li Yan chuckled, "Ah, Xueyin, I didn’t realize you’re quite smart. Why didn’t I think of that?"

Jiang Xueyin scoffed, "You didn’t think of it because your male pride got in the way. As soon as someone makes a move on your wife, you can’t stay calm. Look at what you said, offering 5 million for him to leave, clearly battling his strengths with your weaknesses. Where would you find that much money? Even if you had it, why be so petulant? It’s an emotional quarrel, doing no actual harm to the other person."

Li Yan laughed, "Why don’t I urge him to pursue you, and you can extort some money from him?"

"Oh please... that’s your love rival, I have no interest in getting involved." Jiang Xueyin said as she walked out.

Mentioning Liu Yuyang reminded Li Yan of his reaction last night, making him ponder...

...

At the Monday meeting, everyone summarized weekly tasks and discussed the upcoming goals. Jiang Xueyin had sorted the information for Li Yan to review, allowing him to prepare and handle various suggestions and opinions.

The main focus at this stage was the movie "Springtime Leaked," along with negotiating, reviewing new script projects, and securing product placements.

For all matters, Li Yan listened to the reports and made decisions. But one task needed his personal attention. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"Qiao Pan mentioned a scene that requires a large crowd of extras, asking if our company can help out with some people. But... we only have a few people here, and the head office wouldn’t lend us enough staff to shoot the movie."

Li Yan saw no issue, "Even though it’s not like Hengdian with a large pool of extras readily available, it’s not hard to find, right? Just post a temporary actor recruitment ad."

Jiang Xueyin immediately addressed his question, "Producer Qiao is trying to save money! We don’t have established studios or professional extras here, and temporary recruits might not have the necessary quality. Handling a large crowd is difficult, plus arranging interviews. The main issue is that even if it’s 80 to 100 a day plus meals, hundreds of people would still cost thousands. Qiao Pan probably wants to save funds for important aspects."

Li Yan squinted, thinking for a moment, "Okay, let him know I’ll take care of it."

"Sure!"

Everyone found it strange; no department at headquarters would have a substantial number of idle workers, and during work hours, nobody would have time to act as an extra, let alone during vacation. They wondered if Li Yan was going to tap into factory staff below.

After the meeting, Li Yan first called Qiao Pan to inquire about the exact number of people needed, shooting duration, and an overview of the scene.

Once confirmed, he packed up and left the company. He always did this, so people were used to it, feeling less pressure without his direct supervision.