Chapter 50: You Are Not Yet Qualified to Be Seduced!

In the overly heated living room, Ji Yu felt as though his face was about to crack.

Beijing was far too dry, and the indoor air became even drier once the heating was turned on. Ji Yu felt as if a nosebleed was about to burst out of him at any moment.

It was definitely not because of the two beauties flanking him on his left and right.

Le Jiatong was lying on the sofa with her legs propped up on Ji Yu’s lap, dangling her bare feet as she said, "This apartment of yours is pretty nice. How much is the rent? I'm coming to Beijing next year too."

"Just move in with him directly," Fan Bingbing teased from the side.

Le Jiatong snorted and said, "I'm not going to let him get off that cheap."

Seeing Le Jiatong's legs resting on Ji Yu, Fan Bingbing couldn't help but curl her lips in disdain. *You clearly want to, yet you don't have the guts to admit it! You didn't dare ask him if he has a girlfriend when you wanted to. Afraid that if he does, you won't be able to hang out like this anymore, right? Such a humble little simp!*

While muttering inwardly, Fan Bingbing forgot that she was also leaning against Ji Yu with zero regard for her posture.

Ji Yu had a headache as well; damn it, they really had turned him into their token gay best friend. Oh well, as long as the three of them could live harmoniously, that was better than anything else.

Watching Le Jiatong's dangling feet, Ji Yu reached out, gave one of them a playful scratch, and asked, "When are you leaving?"

"Why?"

"Once you're gone, I can have some alone time with Bingbing."

"Get lost, keep dreaming!"

Le Jiatong kicked him, and as she pulled her foot back, she shoved it right into his clothes, narrowing her eyes with a look of blissful comfort. "So warm."

"Aren't your feet stinky shoving them into my clothes like that?"

"Go on, take a sniff!" Le Jiatong thrust her foot right in front of Ji Yu's nose.

Ji Yu grabbed it instantly, bending her toes back as he shouted, "I'm going to snap these off today!"

"Bingbing, help!"

Fan Bingbing immediately pounced on Ji Yu to beat him up. The three of them tumbled into a ball on the sofa, and the room filled with peals of laughter and joy.

The next morning, Ji Yu woke up in a hazy daze. Seeing the two women curled up and sleeping in each other's arms beside him, he couldn't help but sigh. How come nobody was holding him?

Without waking them, Ji Yu simply washed up, grabbed his car keys, and headed out. He still had things to attend to today and no time to play around with them.

Old Cai had arrived in Beijing, and someone needed to pick her up.

At the airport parking lot, Ji Yu waited for half an hour before finally spotting Old Cai.

"Sister! Over here!" Ji Yu waved at her from a distance.

A youthful Old Cai was wearing dark sunglasses, looking just like a major celebrity.

She walked over to Ji Yu, glanced at his car, and asked, "You and Qingqing must be pretty close. She even let you drive her car."

Ji Yu smiled and said, "I borrowed it. She said the car doesn't belong to her anyway, and told me to return it in a few days."

"Given by Qiong Yao," Old Cai said as she got into the car. "She was afraid Qingqing would break her contract, so she bought her a car, but registered it under the company's name. So stingy."

Ji Yu had no idea there was such a backstory, and couldn't help nodding in agreement. It really was quite petty.

Starting the engine, Ji Yu asked, "Where to?"

"The hotel," Old Cai said, rubbing her neck. "Traveling all the way here bright and early is exhausting."

After chatting with her for a few moments, Ji Yu fell silent. By the time they reached the hotel, Old Cai had already fallen asleep.

After waking her up and getting her upstairs, she regained a bit of energy and said, "Accompany me to meet the people from Beijing Television tonight."

"The acquisitions department?"

"Right."

"Male or female?"

"Female."

"I don't have to sleep with her, do I?" Ji Yu asked cautiously. He definitely didn't want to sleep with some elderly aunt!

Old Cai glared at him and said, "You wish. In your dreams."

Ji Yu scratched his head and said, "Isn't that what everyone in the industry says?"

Old Cai was utterly speechless. It was indeed the truth, but sleeping around wouldn't be his turn anyway. What was he even thinking? He wasn't even qualified to be propositioned; did he think Li Yapeng was just for decoration?

That evening, at the Kunlun Hotel, Old Cai brought Ji Yu along to meet the representative from Beijing Television.

After brief pleasantries, the person from Beijing Television said, "We've watched the footage and it's not bad, but the station doesn't have many slots left, and we receive a massive number of submissions."

The moment Old Cai heard this, she knew what it meant. It was time to show some sincerity.

At that moment, Ji Yu was extremely nervous, terrified that Old Cai might offer him up. If she really did that, he would definitely flip out!

Fortunately, Old Cai's next sentence dispelled all his worries.

"Sister Zhang, don't worry, I know the rules!"

Sister Zhang smiled faintly, glanced at Ji Yu, and then told Old Cai, "Let's eat first, we can talk while we dine."

Old Cai frowned slightly but immediately recovered her smile. "Alright. Ji Yu, go tell the waiter to serve the dishes, and order a few more."

Ji Yu obediently scampered out, leaving behind a listening device in the room before stepping outside. He was genuinely worried that older woman might want to sleep with him, and equally worried that Old Cai might readily agree.

Once outside the private dining room, he stood by the door, listening to the commotion inside.

Inside the room, Old Cai said with a smile, "Sister Zhang, same old rules, the rebate this time will definitely not fall short."

"Sigh... it's not that I don't want to help you, but there are simply too many good shows out there. It's really hard for me to choose."

"I'll add two more points on top of the original rate."

Playing the emotional card, Old Cai added, "We've known each other for several years now, and you know my character. I'm never ambiguous about these things, you can rest assured."

Sister Zhang picked up her teacup, took a sip, and said flatly, "Add two more points."

After a brief hesitation, Old Cai immediately agreed.

Rebates had to be given if necessary; without them, not a single penny could be earned.

Hearing that the deal had been struck inside, Ji Yu finally went to find the waiter to order additional dishes.

Selling television dramas these days was truly difficult. Tens of thousands of episodes were filmed every year, and a large majority of them never saw the light of day after production wrapped.

Li Xiaoran had told him yesterday that she had made cameo appearances in over a hundred episodes of various dramas just last year. Who knew how many of those would actually end up airing.

The number of television stations was far too limited. Not to mention national satellite broadcasting, even if every local station was factored in, they still couldn't digest that many dramas.

As for the bit parts Ji Yu had played, probably ninety percent of them would never see the light of day.

The film and television industry was a tough world to survive in. Perhaps someone could film seven or eight dramas over the course of a whole year, only for not a single one to air, wasting an entire year of hard work.

If they encountered the unspoken rules on top of that, it would be equivalent to being used for free for a whole year. In the end, aside from being exploited, they would get absolutely nothing. How pitiful.

This was precisely where the advantage of rebirth truly manifested itself.

Ji Yu would never accept those obscure television dramas he had never even heard of. What was the point of acting in them if they couldn't even air? Taking on minor background roles to grind for system tasks was fine, and there was no shame in that.

*Detective Ke Lan* had now been secured by both Beijing Television and Shanghai Television. Having two stations broadcast it already put it ahead of the vast majority of dramas.

If the ratings turned out well, other local stations would naturally come forward to purchase it as well. Previously broadcast dramas came with a guarantee, after all; television stations didn't want to take risks broadcasting random, messy shows.

After the dinner concluded, Old Cai rubbed her temples and said, "It premieres in Shanghai on January 3rd, and Beijing TV will air it three days later. You guys will need to run some promotional events over the next few days."

Ji Yu readily agreed. This was a fantastic exposure opportunity; he would even do it for free!

Looking at Ji Yu, Old Cai remarked, "The company feels that this show has a good chance of becoming a minor hit, and your role is the most striking one. Make sure you seize this opportunity."

After saying that, she brought up Ji Yu's desire to sing, advising him not to be in such a hurry to achieve fame. With zero name recognition right now, signing with a record label wouldn't get him any attention. It was better to wait until the drama aired; once he had some fame, things would be much easier to negotiate.

Ji Yu understood the logic, but he was worried that the songs he had in mind might be written and released by someone else first. There was only a little over a year left before those songs were originally released; if he dragged his feet any longer, his chosen tracks would become useless.

Still, he wasn't too worried—his mind was a treasure trove of songs, so missing out on just a few wouldn't be a major issue.

Opening her eyes to look at him, Old Cai said, "Don't worry, I won't treat you unfairly. I'll hook you up with a major gig next spring!"

Ji Yu immediately pressed, "What kind of gig?"

"A Jin Yong drama!"

"Producer Zhang's *The Legend of the Condor Heroes*?"

"Uh... Director Li is going to film *Sword Stained with Royal Blood*."

"......"