Lu Qingjia nodded in appreciation at the lewd player, signaling his approval.
The horror game was at a loss for words, not knowing where to begin with the complaints.
This was truly someone who dared to speak and dared to act.
The player portraying the lewd character was well-known to the horror game.
Although he looked a bit sleazy, he had been through several dungeons and had faced numerous extreme threats and challenges to human nature, enough for the game to grasp his true nature.
He was an average talent, neither outstanding nor dull, but with decent character; even when faced with temptation and threats, he could barely hold onto his last line of defense, which meant his usual moral standards were relatively high.
What a pity, such a good man, and after just a couple of days with Lu Qingjia, he had completely gone astray, becoming utterly perverted.
The other male players, upon hearing the director’s accusations, looked at the lewd player with a hint of wariness in their eyes.
“Bro, bro, you’re not interested in us, right?”
“When you asked me to pick up the soap while showering last night, it was just to help, right? You weren’t trying to measure angles or anything, right?”
In this apartment, each floor had a laundry room, and the washing basin had a strong water flow. The hot water heaters in the rooms of several male players had issues to varying degrees, and since it was best not to be alone in a haunted building, they decided to wash together using the quickly heated water.
The lewd player was still feeling proud of having tricked the director when he turned to the player who asked the question.
He disdainfully replied, “What’s so interesting about a stick wedged with a toothpick?”
“Today, the two big brothers I filmed peeing had more impressive angles than you.”
That was insulting, but at this moment, the male players didn’t dare to argue with the lewd player too much, fearing they might hear something better left unknown.
After venting his anger at the introducer, the director declared he would replace the lewd player.
Lu Qingjia didn’t plead for him, only saying, “Sorry, his performance today was unexpected for me.”
“How about this, let’s give him a warning first, let him cool off. If it doesn’t work out later, we can replace him. Let’s film the others’ scenes tomorrow.”
Director An thought for a moment; it wasn’t easy to find someone else. He himself was broke, so he couldn’t afford to replace anyone immediately. He still had to rely on the pretty boy’s money, and his words couldn’t be ignored. Thus, he could only glare at the lewd player with a warning and grumbled back to his room.
Out of frustration, Director An didn’t even eat dinner. The female lead brought him a boxed meal, and after that, she didn’t come out again.
However, in the evening, during a time when the building was empty, the director’s assistant found Lu Qingjia and, under the pretense of greeting him, stealthily handed him something.
Lu Qingjia smiled, “Thank you, you’ll have to work hard for the next few days.”
Saying this, he handed a bundle wrapped in newspapers to him. The assistant quickly took it, returned to his room, and opened it to find two bundles of pink bills secured with rubber bands, his face lighting up with joy.
Lu Qingjia returned to his room, and Xiao Yu and the others crawled out from the wall.
“Jiajia, did you ask the assistant to buy the recordings from the past few days? Aren’t they all failures? Director An said they need to be reshot.”
Lu Qingjia replied, “To him, they are failures, but to our movie script, they are brilliant segments.”
As he spoke, he patted the head of the cheap son who had come along, “Make him a warm cup of milk, and after he drinks it, he can go to sleep.”
The next morning, while Director An was pondering who to film today, Lu Qingjia raised his hand, “Let’s film me today.”
“I’ve already built a good relationship with those two old men.”
He pointed at the thief player, “His filming can be postponed for a few days. I gave him a bit of money these past two days, and he has barely managed to blend into the nearby circle.”
“He even found out a bit about good underground goods, but those people are still a bit wary of him. Today, let him go and say some good words, get some money to pave the way, and by tomorrow or the day after, you should be able to follow and film.”
Director An had been furious with the lewd player yesterday and didn’t expect Lu Qingjia to have prepared so well behind the scenes.
To be honest, he hadn’t figured out how to push the player portraying the addict to take the final step. After all, this involved illegal goods, which was completely different from petty theft or flirting with women outside; getting caught would mean the end.
Unexpectedly, the pretty boy had already arranged everything.
Director An exclaimed, “How did he agree to listen to you?”
Lu Qingjia smiled, “I offered ten times the pay; his family is in need of money right now.”
Director An knew this; if it weren’t for the struggles of the lower class, he wouldn’t even look at this makeshift crew.
However, he felt a bit regretful for the pretty boy. If it weren’t for the special circumstances, he would have been happy to work with someone so knowledgeable and savvy.
The director carried the repaired camera and left the room with Lu Qingjia.
He asked uncertainly again, “What’s your plan for today? You know I’m not satisfied with just filming a couple of clips of peanut blocks and sausage.”
Lu Qingjia replied, “Since we’re going for excitement, let’s go all the way. I can let the thief find the underground selling group, and I’m willing to take risks too. Just keep quiet and watch.”
This bold declaration startled Director An, but to be honest, while he admired Lu Qingjia’s dedication, he didn’t have much confidence in the outcome.
After all, real scams weren’t just about tricking people for a little benefit; they required true professional skills and long-term immersion, at least a training process in a group model, right?
With doubts, they arrived at the old couple’s home.
The elderly couple was very happy to see Lu Qingjia and hurriedly welcomed him in, offering fruit platters and snacks.
They asked about his well-being and if he had eaten: “Your grandma steamed some buns today; do you want to have a couple?”
Lu Qingjia waved his hand, “Let’s do it at noon. I already ate when I arrived. Please steam a couple for me at noon; I definitely want to taste grandma’s cooking.”
He was completely at ease, almost as if he were at home.
His good rapport made even the director a bit envious.
Lu Qingjia pointed at him and the camera, “I mentioned this before, right? This is our crew’s director, and today it’s my turn to be filmed. But don’t mind him; we’re doing a semi-documentary, just pretend he doesn’t exist.”
The two elderly people didn’t understand this, so they asked, “Oh, does that mean we’ll be on TV? Should we change our clothes? This is a bit shabby.”
Lu Qingjia waved his hand, “No need, no need. Just be comfortable; we want the most authentic feeling.”
At first, the two were a bit uneasy, but under Lu Qingjia’s guidance, they gradually ignored the camera and went about their business.
Lu Qingjia ate some fruit and, not knowing where he got it from, pulled out a bucket of putty, calling the assistant to help him move the sofa and lay down a cover to start working.
The elderly couple chatted with him from a distance, “Hey, we’ve gotten used to living here; why bother with all this?”
“They all said it wasn’t necessary, but you brought everything directly.”
Though they said this, their faces were warm and joyful.
Lu Qingjia tore off a large piece of moldy wallpaper, “It’s no trouble. Actually, a lot of the repairs look like a big project, but in reality, it’s quite simple. Just do a bit each day, and it’s like doing housework.”
“This wallpaper is moldy and rotten; looking at it every day doesn’t help the mood. Living life requires a sense of happiness; a clean and new home gives you energy every day, right?”
He skillfully scraped the moldy wall several times. Due to the age of the house, the putty behind the wallpaper was largely moldy and rotten, needing to be leveled.
After leveling it, Lu Qingjia began to apply the mixed putty. It was unclear where he got the strength and stamina.
For such a large wall, even professional renovation workers would take a day to finish the coating, but he and the elderly couple chatted while quickly leveling it.
The work was done quickly and beautifully, with no rough details.
Finally, he tossed the tools into a bucket, “This layer needs to dry first, but the weather is dry lately, so it should be ready in a day or two. I’ll come back to sand it down, and you can still put up wallpaper. The base layer isn’t too troublesome; once it’s sanded, you can stick it up, so it won’t delay things too much.”
“But for the next couple of days, try not to stay in the living room; after eating, go sit in the yard.”
The elderly couple was doing quite well in this area, living in an independent bungalow. Although the decor inside was old, they had all the modern appliances.
It was said that their son and daughter had good jobs, and they had some savings, but they hadn’t moved in with their children.
After all, this place was originally a relocation house, and most of the neighbors were from the same village, so they knew many of the elderly people.
They had lived with their children before, but since the neighbors didn’t greet each other, the elderly couple was even less willing to leave.
However, their children were busy with work and rarely had time to come back, leaving the old couple inevitably lonely.
After finishing up, it was lunchtime. Out of concern for Lu Qingjia’s hard work, grandma prepared a large table of delicious food, and grandpa even opened a bottle of good wine that his eldest son had gifted him for his birthday.
They moved the table to the yard, and the director and assistant also joined in, receiving a warm welcome.
Director An, sipping some wine, thought to himself that these two old fools didn’t realize that someone unrelated could be so nice to them, just like those two who died in the apartment.
So he hinted to Lu Qingjia that he could start.
Lu Qingjia seemed to have a tacit understanding with him, and as they spoke, the topic quietly shifted to work.
The elderly couple was curious, “Jiajia, do you only film movies? When can we see it? Where can we watch it? We should invite the old brothers and sisters around to see you.”
Lu Qingjia replied, “I don’t know if it will be released, but fortunately, there are online channels now, so at least I won’t have to worry about no one seeing the hard work, and it won’t be in vain.”
The elderly couple immediately became anxious, “Ah? Isn’t that a loss? I remember you said you were paying for this movie?”
As they spoke, they looked at the director—
Director An naturally wouldn’t spoil the mood, nodding, “Yes, he’s the producer and invested five million.”
The two elderly people were immediately alarmed, “So much money? I thought you were just playing around with a small budget. Why are you so reckless, throwing money away?”
Lu Qingjia comforted them with a smile, “It’s just a small amount; if I lose here, I can make it back elsewhere. I really like Director An’s script; it’s an investment for my passion.”
“Otherwise, why would I be here in this hot weather?”
He thought they were about done with this topic, as it was taboo to get too deep too quickly.
However, the elderly couple genuinely liked Lu Qingjia, so they cautiously asked, “Jiajia, don’t mind us asking, what do you do? Five million is not a small amount. If you have any difficulties, don’t be too proud—ah.”
Lu Qingjia showed a touched expression, “Don’t worry, while I’m not extremely wealthy, I do have a good eye for investments. Some project losses were anticipated from the start. The reason I’m here isn’t because I have high hopes for the movie; I just want to try and successfully produce a work.”
“To put it simply, if your grandson suddenly wants to take a pottery class and makes his first cup, I don’t care if it has value; I just enjoy the process of making it and the joy it brings.”
The elderly couple found this hard to understand, while Director An, as an observer, felt a bit restless.
Because on the surface, this makeshift crew only had him who knew how much he had invested in the movie and how much he expected from it.
The brilliance within, when it finally premiered and caused a social uproar, would surely be unprecedented in film history, and he would become another director who gained fame and fortune from a small investment.
Hearing Lu Qingjia’s somewhat dismissive evaluation, he naturally felt unconvinced.
So he scoffed, “Oh, our Boss Lu is quite generous, spending five million on a mere pottery cup. It sounds like you casually throw away five hundred bucks for fun, as if you have billions in assets and nine-digit bank savings.”
“Hahaha, you’re making me blush,” Lu Qingjia said shyly.
Director An was momentarily taken aback, realizing two seconds later that this pretty boy was implying something.
He knew he shouldn’t undermine the other party at this moment, but his mouth had already spoken too soon: “Dude, you’re blowing your own horn a bit too much, aren’t you?”
Lu Qingjia smiled, “Looks like our director isn’t very confident in the crew’s financial backing. No wonder I’ve transferred money to the crew’s account, and you’re still being stingy everywhere. Turns out you’re worried about the follow-up funds not keeping up.”
“Alright, to ease your mind and for the quality of the movie in the end.”
Saying this, he opened his phone’s Taobao app and casually bought something, and immediately received a notification of the bank deduction.
The last message showed a balance of 349,530,065.00.
Director An was completely stunned, staring blankly at Lu Qingjia. This was—
Wasn’t this pretty boy saying the investment money was a coal boss’s breakup fee? Even if it wasn’t all, it should be more than half, right? It turned out to be just a drop in the bucket? Are coal bosses this generous nowadays?
It made him want to sell his own backside.
Director An stammered, “This, this, didn’t you say it was that—”
Lu Qingjia nodded matter-of-factly, “Right, the compensation was around a thousand or so, but I can’t rely on that little money for a lifetime, can I? I’m still young; I need to learn how to make money work for me.”
“But, but you—”
“Haha, just lucky, just lucky. Every industry has its lucky talents; maybe I’m just meant to be in this line of work.”
Not only was Director An shocked, but the elderly couple was also bewildered.
To be honest, they liked Jiajia, but when their children mentioned him, they were reminded to be cautious of bad people.
However, they were lonely, and Jiajia’s thoughtfulness and warmth compared to their children’s reluctance made the scales tip in his favor. Moreover, parents often have a stubbornness in front of their children, unwilling to be lectured, and would stubbornly hold onto their views to prove they still have judgment.
Jiajia seemed like a good kid from a decent family, and his demeanor didn’t suggest he was short on money. As for scamming them?
They just didn’t expect this kid to be so wealthy.
The elderly couple couldn’t help but ask, “What kind of investment is this that makes so much money?”
Lu Qingjia replied, “Mainly financial investments, some physical projects I’m interested in. You might not understand the details.”
“Then why don’t you explain it to us, Grandma and Grandpa?”
Lu Qingjia clearly didn’t want to elaborate, smilingly declining, “Grandma, are you interested? But I wouldn’t recommend you to invest in these. If you have extra money, you might consider more stable real estate. Although it won’t earn much, it also carries no risk.”
“You can consult your children for specifics. Nowadays, older people are not very sensitive to policy updates and social trends. Just remember, before spending money, consult the younger ones at home or hire a professional lawyer for long-term advice; you can’t go wrong with that.”
Director An had woken up to the situation, frequently frowning at Lu Qingjia’s words.
Was this guy forgetting what he was here for? The old folks were already falling for it, and he was still pushing them away? Did he think these two didn’t have enough sense?
Director An couldn’t help but want to kick Lu Qingjia under the table.
But he could only watch as the two elderly people became more convinced the more he reminded them, and the more Lu Qingjia avoided the topic, the more they clung to it.
Finally, they took out a card from the house: “Jiajia, we have a bit of spare money. It’s just sitting there, and things are getting more expensive every year. Since you’re buying gold tonight, why not take Grandma along to buy some?”
Lu Qingjia quickly pushed it back, “Please don’t do this. What did I just say? Spending money must be discussed with your children.”
“Hey! They hardly come back twice a year, and when they do, they just eat and leave. What’s the use of raising a few children?”
“Grandchildren too; if we tell them we’re buying tablets or game consoles, they won’t even come over.”
“Grandma knows you’re capable; this little money is nothing to you. Just take it as a ride along with Grandma.”
They even insisted on not calling their children, fearing that their family would ‘overthink’ and suspect someone was delaying their chance to make money.
In the end, Lu Qingjia felt like he was being forced into a corner and reluctantly nodded in agreement.
He added, “Alright, just this once. There won’t be a next time. I’ll write you a receipt.”
Seeing this, the elderly couple felt even more that the young man was at a loss, and they kept serving him food.
When they left the elderly couple’s home, the director looked at Lu Qingjia with a newfound respect.
He couldn’t help but say, “Bro, what a clever move to retreat and advance. Those two old folks couldn’t pull back at all; it’s a shame you’re not a con artist.”
“Who says I’m not?” Lu Qingjia replied with a meaningful tone.
The director thought he was going to take the elderly couple’s tens of thousands, and while he was also envious, he wouldn’t do something that would cost him more than it was worth. Director An could only suppress his jealousy.
Feeling a bit sour, he said, “Now that you’re so rich, why would you care about these tens of thousands?”
Lu Qingjia laughed, “Do you really believe I have billions?”
The director was taken aback, “Then you—”
“It’s just a fake text message, sent as a reminder before buying something. Naturally, someone would send it at a clever timing.”
“But isn’t that XX Bank when you look up?”
“Fake, just a matter of changing a contact name and avatar.”
Director An: “…”
While shocked that this guy had pulled off such a big score, Director An was even more excited.
The pretty boy’s line was settled, and unexpectedly, it had gone smoother than ever.
In the next two days, Director An was busy gradually guiding the more difficult-to-handle perverted player and the addict thief player.
Especially with the thief player, it was said that they were still considering it, as their group had only just arrived a few days ago and hadn’t earned the trust of the nearby gangs.
When that side finally loosened up, Director An happily carried the camera and was ready to head out with the thief player.
However, the elderly couple who had given Lu Qingjia money came knocking.
Director An thought it was bad; the two old folks must have realized they were scammed when they talked to their family about this.
Although he didn’t want the pretty boy to get free money, the old folks had lived here for decades. What would happen if they caused a scene and got the crew kicked out?
Just as he was preparing to figure out how to handle it without making a big fuss, he saw the two elderly people’s faces beaming like chrysanthemums.
When they saw Lu Qingjia come downstairs, they hurriedly said, “Jiajia, you’re really capable! You deserve to make money; the gold price has skyrocketed just in these past few days.”
Director An was stunned, “What’s going on?”
The assistant, who had witnessed the whole thing, quickly pulled out his phone to check the news, and indeed, the top trending topic was the price of gold.
Due to various recent economic and political reasons, the gold price had suddenly surged, just as Lu Qingjia had mentioned a few days ago about buying gold.
The elderly couple, having their retirement funds tied up in this, naturally paid attention to gold prices. They couldn’t help but come over after seeing the good news this morning.
Director An was sweating profusely, feeling embarrassed. The pretty boy had stumbled upon a windfall, but how did they manage to generate such a large profit?
But it was good; since they had made money, keeping the two old folks calm wouldn’t be a problem.
Unexpectedly, after a brief conversation with the two elderly people, Lu Qingjia took out a card: “I already sold it at the highest price, and indeed made a profit, but remember, this is just a one-time deal.”
The elderly couple was still somewhat reluctant to take the money back, but then Lu Qingjia added, “By the way, I’ve already called your family. The risks involved are quite significant. I’m worried that you might easily trust people again like today and mistakenly think that this money is easy to earn, so I told them to keep a close eye on you in the future.”
“If all goes well, they should be back in about an hour.”
The old man and woman were dumbfounded: “Hey, Jia Jia! You can’t say that! We’re not fools; we’re not just believing you, are we?”
Lu Qingjia smiled: “It’s too late. You should be grateful that I’m not a bad person; otherwise, you would be standing in front of an empty building right now.”
After saying that, he sent the bewildered elderly couple out.
What awaited him upon his return was Director An’s bewildered gaze: “What are you doing?”
Lu Qingjia shrugged: “I’ve finished filming my material; the props need to be returned to their rightful owner, right?”
“At least for such expensive props, shouldn’t there be some rental fee?”
He suddenly remembered: “Oh right, I wasn’t joking when I said I was buying gold. I bought some myself and made a decent profit.”
At this point, not only the assistant director An but even the players who understood the situation were left speechless.
They whispered to each other: “Damn, that’s right! This place is several months behind the real world. If the general direction is the same, it’s like we’ve opened a heavenly eye, and there are opportunities to pick up money waiting for us!”
“I was wondering why he had been so keen on researching non-main quest-related materials these past few days; turns out he was here to make some extra cash.”
However, what the players didn’t know was that someone was even more confused than they were.
The horror game: “You… you want me to exchange all my points for currency? It turns out it’s not just for show?”
Previously, when he told Director An that the text message was fake, he was lying. In reality, Lu Qingjia only had that much money, and he had temporarily exchanged points from the game.
After hearing this, Lu Qingjia laughed: “Hahaha, you’re so adorably foolish. How much of your fortune have you been scammed out of over the years?”
The horror game: “…”
It didn’t want to talk.
Director An left with a frustrated heart, being led through the dilapidated, narrow alleys by the thief player.
They finally stopped in a dark, deserted corner at the end of a turn, where a few people were already waiting.
Seeing their unrefined attire and their vigilant glances around, one of them whispered when he saw the thief player bringing Director An: “You weren’t followed, were you?”
“No, I’ve been paying attention to my surroundings,” the thief player replied.
He pointed at Director An: “Look at him, he’s checking out the equipment in his hands. I wasn’t lying, was I?”
“I’m not trying to make things difficult for you guys; it’s just that work demands it.”
A few thugs waved their hands: “Cut the crap. You know the market; these goods shouldn’t be sold to outsiders. If it weren’t for the fact that you’re still somewhat loyal and willing to pay, we wouldn’t take this risk.”
“Thank you, thank you, brother. I appreciate it. Don’t worry, the price will definitely be doubled. Now, shall we get started?”
Director An didn’t expect to shoot explosive scenes right away, so he quickly added: “Don’t worry, I won’t film your faces, and I’ll blur any identifying features to avoid causing you trouble.”
Hearing this, the thugs suddenly looked confused: “What’s wrong? Do we have faces that can’t be seen? Why can’t you film us?”
“The ones who should be thrown away have already been dealt with; what’s the big deal with you guys?”
“Yeah, if you’re not embarrassed, why should we be?”
A string of remarks left the director a bit dazed.
Then he saw one of the thugs, wearing a loose trench coat, reluctantly open his coat, seemingly about to pull out the goods.
Excitement lit up the director’s face as the coat slowly opened, and the camera focused on it.
Suddenly, voices came from outside the alley—
“Don’t move! Everyone squat down and put your hands on your heads.”
Everyone was startled and turned to see several police officers.
The thugs glared at Director An, cursing: “Damn it, you said no one was following us!”
“Cut the crap!” In no time, both transaction teams were pinned down.
Director An’s face turned pale. Although he was skilled at encouraging actors to break the law, he started to panic when it was his turn.
Drug trafficking was no small matter; if he got caught, what would happen to the movie?
As fear gripped him, he heard one of the thugs hurriedly say: “Take it easy, take it easy. The stuff we’re selling is at most substandard; it’s not illegal, right?”
Director An was taken aback and turned around to see countless X-rated toys falling out of the opened trench coat.
Most of them were heavy-duty props from the BDSM community, including quite a few sizable leather women’s outfits.
The thug pointed at Director An: “It’s not my fault, officer. I’m just a guy reselling some small goods.”
“It’s this guy; he wants to shoot a movie and said the props were hard to find. There’s nothing satisfactory on the market, and he insisted I help him get the goods.”
“I’ve been laughed at by my brothers for this batch of stuff, you know?”
The police’s attention shifted to Director An. With these props, plus the so-called movie shoot, things were likely not simple.
Director An felt a chill run down his spine as he heard the police say: “Take him back to the station first.”
The author has something to say:
Director An: MMP
