728 The Coming Storm

The backbone of the firm was young, but had many films to his credit. His three shining European awards and American surfboard were the base of his self-confidence. Qin Guan could be considered a prolific actor.

Most good actors didn't even finish one film a year, so his staff were satisfied with him. Or weren't they?

Qin Guan's private phone and Sister Xue's work phone started ringing in the quiet office.

The two of them exchanged a look. Qin Guan walked to the meeting hall outside to answer the call privately. He stood by the shelf that held his awards.

"Boss Qin, this is Chen Kang. The application is completed. You are a permanent member of China Club now. I have emailed you the club regulations. The contract has been sent to your firm by post."

"Got it. I'll call you if I need anything."

"Will I get paid separately for each job?"

That explains why Chen Kang was so eager to fill in the application, even though that would normally have been an assistant's job. And he said that he was just being professional. I like his methods though...

"No problem, Counselor Chen. Based on our contract, we can consider this a private service. You drafted the contract yourself after all."

He said yes!

"Business is business. I'll treat you to dinner sometime. Deal! Call me if you need me. I'm available 24 hours/day."

His delighted voice cheered Qin Guan up. He returned to the office with a smile, only to find Sister Xue waiting for him with a grimace on her face.

"What's the matter?" Qin Guan sat down on the couch leisurely as he waited for her response.

"I just received two conflicting calls. Guess who it was."

"Wang Jingcao and the Huayi Brothers."

"How did you know?"

"It's simple. As soon as I returned to China, I received a short message from Wang Jingcao, expressing her wish to have a talk with me. I ignored it though."

Sister Xue was shocked. Qin Guan had never mentioned Wang to her. Meanwhile, Qin Guan was playing with the Tiffany cardholder on the couch.

"Why didn't you discuss it with me? Maybe Wang wanted to make us a good offer!"

Qin Guan shook his head. "Do you remember the Beijing Stamp we shot last year? Who contacted us about that?"

"The Brothers. Wang didn't show up."

"That's interesting. Why should I meet her in secret now? Doesn't she work for Huayi anyway? If there was an important offer, the Brothers would have called you. We cooperated with each other for Ke Ke Xi Li after all."

"So?"

"So something must have happened while I was abroad. That's why I ignored her message. If I contacted her privately, I'd get in trouble if she was in a sort of conflict with the Brothers."

"Plus, I didn't even tell my friends about my return. Why would I make an exception for a benefit-oriented partner? She is no different than the Brothers to me. I only care about getting a good salary and a good script."

Sister Xue approved of Qin Guan's analysis. "You have a point. One must use their IQ when dealing with these two parties."

Qin Guan shivered at her praise. He had spent a lot of time thinking about the Chinese entertainment circle, which was famous for its complexity all over the world.

Qin Guan had just returned from abroad, so he didn't want to get in any trouble. When Sister Xue told him about the two calls, he fell into deep thought.

Wang's call had been pretty straightforward. She had just wanted to find out when Qin Guan would be returning to China, and if he would like to work on some films, unrelated to Huayi, for her sake.

The Brothers' call was more intriguing. They had talked about the release of Qin Guan's two previous films and said that they were looking forward to Qin Guan's future cooperation with their company, which was very powerful in the entertainment circle.

They were hoping that Qin Guan would cooperate with them when he returned home. They also wanted to share some profits with him, which were only reserved for the company's VIPs.

Actually, at the time, everyone was trying their best to get into a big company. Qin Guan was the eccentric one. All the insiders of the Chinese entertainment circle were fighting over territory like crazy. No one wanted to share any resources with anyone else.

Of course, Qin Guan had his own plan, but he seemed overconfident about it.