Chapter 18

"Hey, you!" Li Jingming walked over and called out softly behind the person.

The girl turned her head, looking at him with a puzzled expression. "What's up?"

Li Jingming suddenly felt a bit dry in his mouth. It wasn't because the other person was too beautiful and he was burning with desire, but because he had mistaken her for someone else, which was quite embarrassing. He had felt awkward at the end of his meal and came back, and now he had mistaken someone again. Fortunately, he wasn't very familiar with the Jessica from this morning, or it would have been even more awkward to casually pat her on the shoulder.

Seeing Li Jingming standing behind her with a flicker in his eyes, the girl thought she had encountered a bad guy.

"You know, no photos are allowed here, right?" After thinking for a long time, Li Jingming could only come up with this line. He really had nothing else to say. What else could he say?

With the advanced camera functions on smartphones nowadays, taking pictures before meals and sharing them was a regular activity, unless there were no women at the table. If photography wasn't allowed in such a literary place, what was the point of making it so literary? Besides, many places that used to prohibit photography have now lifted the ban, so why should this small café be any different?

"Are you trying to hit on me?" The girl with large, clear eyes stared at Li Jingming. Park Hyomin had been to this place more than once. She often took photos here. She was a face-liking person, and to gain popularity, not only did her face have to be good, but the background was also very important. LK was one of her favorite places to take photos, and she had never heard of it not allowing photography.

Park Hyomin was quite popular in school due to her beauty, and she often received small gifts from senior students. Sometimes, when she was out, she would encounter guys trying to hit on her. However, most of the people who came to LK were female customers, and the few men who did come were mostly literary youths who wouldn't approach her directly. They thought they were playing hard to get, but they never managed to catch her attention. This was the first time someone had hit on her at LK. Today, this handsome guy was so good-looking, but why was he using such an old-fashioned way to hit on her? Park Hyomin, who was used to being hit on, had a lot of experience with it.

She was just annoyed by Li Jingming's old-fashioned approach, not by the fact that he was hitting on her. This showed that not only did beautiful women have privileges, but handsome men did too.

"Hit on you?" Li Jingming was now very regretful. If he had known, he would have just said he had mistaken her for someone else. But even if he had said that, she would probably have thought he was hitting on her, what a self-centered woman. Li Jingming smiled. "Do you know what hitting on someone means?"

Park Hyomin looked at the person in front of her, frowning.

Li Jingming's pride kicked in. How could someone as handsome as him need to hit on anyone? If he were to hit on someone, it wouldn't be a girl who was taking pictures of a book and a coffee. Now, he would show her the American way of hitting on someone. Hadn't he studied at Harvard for years?

Li Jingming sat down in the seat next to her, leaning on the table with one hand in a casual pose. He picked up the book on Park Hyomin's table and glanced at the cover. It was the English version of "Pride and Prejudice."

"Reading 'Pride and Prejudice,' so you must be familiar with these two original sins, right?" Li Jingming looked into Park Hyomin's eyes.

Park Hyomin had only skimmed the Korean version. She used the English version just for taking photos. At this moment, she suddenly felt a bit awkward. She wasn't very good at English, and she didn't have a deep understanding of the book.

"Um, I... well..." She stammered, not knowing why he suddenly started discussing the book with her.

"Although I don't want to reveal too much of the plot, I have to say that pride always ends in prejudice." Li Jingming's words were not just about the novel but also a subtle reference to Park Hyomin's accusation that his approach was prideful, and the resulting feeling was prejudice against him.

"I'm just interested, just browsing." Park Hyomin suddenly felt a bit indescribable. The person in front of her seemed more and more familiar, as if she had seen him somewhere before, but it was clearly their first meeting today. Could this feeling be attraction?

Li Jingming gave a charming smile. "So, are you interested in the third original sin?" The third original sin hinted at "the most intimate matters between men and women."

Korea was a country that respected Confucianism and propriety. Although the social atmosphere might be more open than in other places, it was still not open enough for someone to talk about such things right after meeting. Park Hyomin was initially confused, but when she realized what he meant, she was startled. "Bad man" flashed through her mind. How could he suddenly say such impolite things?

Li Jingming didn't pay attention to her shocked expression. He continued with a seductive look. "Oh, maybe you think I'm a wild and dangerous person. Maybe you feel that for safety reasons, you shouldn't reveal your information to me. But perhaps you think I'm an interesting person, and at least you'll tell me your name, which must be as lovely as your face."

Actually, if she had understood his words and didn't tell him to go away, it was already a sign that she was willing to further interact with him.

"Park Hyomin." Park Hyomin didn't know why she so easily told him her name.

Li Jingming's expression suddenly changed, and he smiled genuinely. "See, this is how you hit on someone, beautiful lady. I'm really sorry, I just mistook you for someone else and felt a bit awkward, so I used that as an excuse."

"Oh, it's okay." Park Hyomin was still a bit dazed, just staring at Li Jingming. She didn't realize that she was pouting her lower lip again.

"Are you really interested in getting to know me?" Li Jingming was a bit speechless. He had thought Park Hyomin was self-centered, but now she seemed to be acting like a fan. It was already nine o'clock, and he had to make a call to the U.S. to check on the situation there. He waved and left his seat.

Park Hyomin watched Li Jingming's departing back and whispered weakly, "Sigh, a bit."

"Ah!" Park Hyomin suddenly remembered who this person was. Wasn't he the main character in that photo on the wall? No wonder he seemed familiar. She quickly walked to the photo and looked at it carefully. It was indeed the same person. So, she would have a chance to meet him again if she came here in the future.

After Li Jingming went upstairs, he started thinking about whether he should open a passage from his residence to the outside of the store. It was really inconvenient to always walk through the store, and he couldn't do that once he started his career as an artist. He still had two years before his military service, so he could ask his mother to take care of the renovation during that time, saving him both money and effort.

Lying on the sofa, Li Jingming connected with An Hanjian in the U.S. He didn't rush to ask about the movie but focused on the progress of Koby's album. According to the information from An Hanjian, the album was almost recorded. The songs were ready, and the people were brought in by Old Carey, so they were basically using the place as a recording studio. The quality of the album was not a problem, but how well it would do as LKM's first release was uncertain.

Although LKM was a new company, the album would still bear the LKM label. Li Jingming had already arranged the publicity, and the first batch of physical CDs would be 50,000 copies. The number was based on his experience. He didn't have many physical distribution channels, but he had Bai Keqian's help. The Chicago Consortium was no joke, and although Sears and Kmart were declining, they were still retail giants with many stores that could help. Other chain music stores had also agreed to stock the album, so selling a portion was not a problem.

He wasn't worried about online sales. With his backing, Koby's album had to be a hit. He had mobilized all the resources he could. It wasn't just for Koby but to show a strong stance. Even if he couldn't monopolize the online market, he wanted to create a home-field advantage. He couldn't compete with established record companies in the traditional market, but he wanted to be dominant in the online market, making everyone recognize their advantage. Once the idea that the four major record companies controlled physical releases and LKM controlled online releases was deeply rooted, he would have his own home-field market, giving him the capital to challenge the old gods.

The online sales market was growing at a crazy rate, expanding visibly every day. As the first responsible person for Apple's online sales platform, although he no longer participated in the specific operations, he still grasped the big picture. He had gained the trust of Apple's shareholders with his foresight, which he had demonstrated through his rebirth. Americans valued experience, but talent was even more respected. It seemed that Harvard graduates were blessed by the gods, with so many leaders coming from Harvard. Even if they treated him as a mascot, they would give him a chance.

Li Jingming also wanted to get involved in the smart phone project, but everyone was not foolish. After a fierce battle, with the intervention of the Li family and the Situ family, the shareholders finally agreed to let him take charge of the independent app project. When the iPhone was released, everyone saw the foresight. Six million app sales in a month, a million dollars in profit per day. Although the dividends were shared, Li Jingming's influence in the company undoubtedly increased.

In his previous life, he only knew about the expansion of online sales, but now, with the reports regularly sent to him via the internet, he was the most shocked. He knew it was profitable, but he didn't know it was this profitable. It wouldn't be long before he became a billionaire. There was no doubt that Mark Zuckerberg reached a net worth of $23 billion in 2012, and a significant portion of that wealth was now in Li Jingming's hands. With Google and Apple already giants, Li Jingming's wealth, if calculated, would only increase.

After making a few calls, Li Jingming felt his ears were a bit uncomfortable.

Things were on track in the U.S., and he had the home-field advantage in Korea. If he failed, he would be laughed at by An Hanjian. After being back for just a day and a night, Li Jingming already felt a bit overwhelmed. He hadn't done much, but his brain was working hard. Tomorrow, he had to work on the MV, and he didn't even have a script yet.

A narrative MV script wasn't as detailed as a movie or TV script, but this one didn't even have a shadow of a script. After dinner, Li Jingming planned to discuss the plot with Jin C and finish the script that night. However, Jin C insisted on doing it alone, thinking Li Jingming would interfere with his thinking. Fine, if the expert said so, Li Jingming couldn't interfere. He would have to go over the script early in the morning and start shooting soon. What a busy life.

The worst part was that Jin C suddenly called again, saying the song needed to be re-recorded and asking if he could make improvements.

Thinking about tomorrow and the future, Li Jingming's eyelids grew heavier, and he fell asleep on the sofa.

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