Love Variety Show: The despised me exploded in popularity

But this man was born with a lazy streak, too lazy to bother with it.

These are not even considered obscure ways to make money anymore, let's not mention popular blockbuster movies. Even if it's an art film, making a quick shot won't end in a loss.

Movies are for people with aspirations; their profit model is random, not a stable good business. Making a good movie takes a long time and costs a lot.

Compared to movies, Xu Qingyan prefers TV dramas.

TV dramas can make stars, a popular national drama can propel an eighteenth-tier actress straight to national sweetheart status, which is a replicable good business.

Others may plunge in headfirst, but he won't. Quality aside, quick and easy is what he's after, an episode every three days, wrap up in two or three months and then rake in the money.

Even if you write good songs, you're still just a teacher, but once you get into media, you're the boss.

He ended his daydream, glanced at the direction of the office door corridor, and heard no sound. He wondered to himself if Pei Muchan was really pumped up, ready to soak in the recording studio?

It was already... Xu Qingyan glanced down at his phone; it was five thirty.

After waiting for about twenty minutes, Pei Muchan finally emerged from the composition room. She came into the office, grabbed a bag, and suddenly became serious again, stealing a glance at him.

"Let's go."

"Oh," Xu Qingyan got up, took his keys, and walked out, "Let's eat local cuisine by the river today. I booked a spot this afternoon. I've heard couples get an 80% discount."

Hearing the word "couple," Pei Muchan stiffened slightly.

"We... aren't one."

As they were descending the stairs, Xu Qingyan, who was leading, turned back and snapped his fingers with a smile.

"No worries, the discount's made up. Single dogs and couples are treated equally. But as it happens, the owner of that restaurant is a friend of Lin Chuan, so, eighty percent off."

Pei: "...."

Xu Qingyan got into the car, buckled his seatbelt, and continued chatting.

"Lin Chuan seems to be on a pretty famous music program lately. His songwriting is just so-so. His fame has grown again, and he's incredibly busy."

"I'm not as good as him; he indeed has solid foundations." Pei Muchan sat in the passenger seat, looking down at her phone.

"That's not what I mean. Lin Chuan has his own goals," he said, turning the steering wheel slowly as he drove out of the park, "He's quite enduring, not everyone is suited for that."

He glanced at the security guard at the gate and greeted him.

After driving out, he returned to the topic they were discussing before.

"Working too hard isn't good either, especially for female stars. I've heard that crow's feet after twenty-six are irreversible, the more tired you get, the faster you age."

Pei Muchan put down her phone, turned to look at him, and said in a deep voice.

"No overtime then."

"Sure, I wasn't stopping you from working overtime," Xu Qingyan said, focused on driving without turning his head, "It's good to strive, but you should also take care of your health."

Pei Muchan was speechless, turned to look out the window as the Audi merged into the traffic. Summer nights were short, and it was already past seven in the evening, with darkness enveloping the outside.

The air inside the car grew warm with their breaths, relaxed scents mingling together.

"Got it," she said.

Sometimes, Pei Muchan would unconsciously overlook the age difference between her and Xu Qingyan. Their usual interactions were bland, with emotions intricately intertwined. Experience more content on My Virtual Library Empire

To be honest, he could be quite annoying. Full of flawed logic and shady theories, his moral baseline was flexible. But he was genuinely good to the people around him, caring for them in both significant and mundane matters.

You don't notice it normally, but once apart, you find that life's details are filled with his continuous chatter.

Some things she couldn't figure out herself, and before her emotions even arose, he would have already detected it and managed to twist them back into place with just a few words, incredibly effective.

So much so that now she had learned to, instead of doubting herself, question others.

The car pulled up to a restaurant by the beach, surrounded by lush green trees at the entrance.

From a distance, they could faintly hear the sound of ships, and the city on the other side was brightly lit. Joyfully for him, the restaurant had a free parking area, and napkins were refundable.

The two chose a private room far inside, avoiding the window seat, as the river view wasn't worth seeing. Pei Muchan could see the full panoramic view just from the upper floors of her residential complex and was already tired of it.

As half of the dishes were served, the two started talking about company matters.

Pei Muchan took a sip of hot tea, looked up at Xu Qingyan, and asked.

"Are you really going to start a company?"

"Yeah, the waters are a bit deep, I'll test the waters first," he nodded, picking up his food with chopsticks, "I'm not talking about setting up some shell company and then signing performance-based agreements to scam money. I'm talking about a real business."

"For now, the goal is not high, just to gather some money and produce some real stuff."

She watched Xu Qingyan's excited expression, couldn't help but purse her lips, and laughed.

"That's the rationale, but where's it so easy to pull in investment for betting?"

"That's exactly the challenge; I'll think of something later," he scratched his face, "Money isn't the biggest issue; it's the problems that money can't solve that are the problem."

"Do you want me to invest a bit?" she ventured.

"Of course, but I wouldn't recommend investing too much," Xu Qingyan replied without hesitation, "I can't say for sure if it'll make a loss or a profit; we'll talk about it when the time comes."

Hearing this, Pei Muchan puffed her cheeks and lowered her head to continue eating.

"By the way, what do your parents do?" he abruptly asked, setting his chopsticks on the elbow joint and startling Pei Muchan across from him.

"My father works at a company, my mother is in the neighborhood office," she replied cautiously, her mind racing with thoughts, "Why do you... ask this all of a sudden?"

"Oh, just asking," he replied casually.

There was no follow-up to his question, and she didn't pursue it.

After calming herself with a sip of tea, Pei Muchan thought it was too early to discuss these things, considering how they met was still a matter of record.