Chapter 22

The moon hung high, casting a gentle glow.

A man and a woman were alone in the room, both in their pajamas, the dim light adding to the intimacy.

Liu Tao, who had just taken a shower, the scent of fresh bath and the fragrance of a young girl mingled in the air, and Mai Xiaoyu could smell the refreshing aroma even from the windowsill.

It smelled wonderful, and his adrenaline was starting to rise.

"Mai Boss, everyone in the company got a lot of Dove chocolates and Snickers bars, why didn't I get any?" Liu Tao asked, her tone slightly coquettish.

"You should eat less of that stuff. Eating too much can make you gain weight. You want to be a star, you need to maintain a good figure."

"But I want to try it sometimes!"

"If you want to eat, just come to me. I have plenty."

"Okay, I understand." Liu Tao smiled happily, her eyes narrowing into crescent moons.

Mai Xiaoyu noticed the atmosphere was getting a bit too cozy and cleared his throat. "Yesterday, I sent a box of Dove chocolates and Snickers bars, along with an advertisement DVD, to your family. It should arrive in the next day or two."

Thoughtfulness was one of the things Liu Tao appreciated most about Mai Xiaoyu. From the very beginning, when he treated her to her hometown cuisine, she had felt this warmth, which had only grown stronger over time.

However, the main reason she came to see Mai Xiaoyu tonight was to confirm something that had been bothering her for days.

"On the night of the ad premiere, I got drunk. Thank you for sending me back to my room."

"It's nothing. Just drink less in the future. It's dangerous for a girl to get drunk."

"If I'm in danger, will you protect me like you did before?"

"Of course. You're the company's future cash cow. If anyone touches a single hair on your head, I'll uproot them!"

There it was again!

Liu Tao felt a bit discouraged, took a deep breath, and asked, "That night, when you sent me back to my room, did we... did we..."

She blushed before she could finish her sentence.

"After I sent you back to your room, I came back."

"Nothing else happened?"

"Yes, you snored."

"Liar, I don't snore!" Liu Tao glared at him, "I remember someone tucking me in, and then, and then..."

"I did tuck you in, and then I left. It didn't take more than a minute. Were you dreaming?"

Was it a dream?

Liu Tao wasn't sure.

That night, she had been so excited that she drank until she blacked out. The next morning, she woke up with a headache and couldn't remember much. The vague memories in her mind told her that something seemed to have happened between her and Mai Xiaoyu on the bed.

But her clothes were intact, though a bit disheveled, and definitely not put on by someone else. Her body felt no different, and more importantly, she was still a virgin, and there was no blood on the bed.

All signs pointed to nothing happening between them, but the vague memory of a passionate kiss with Mai Xiaoyu kept appearing in her mind.

Did we kiss?

If we didn't, why do I keep thinking about that moment?

If we did kiss, why didn't anything else happen?

Was it really a dream?

A naughty dream?

Without getting the truth, her doubts only grew, and Liu Tao left in a daze.

She wouldn't get any answers from Mai Xiaoyu tonight. Aside from the eighth rule of the Mai family's fraud code, Mai Xiaoyu was most concerned about how to cover the shortfall for Aunt Song's surgery. He had no time to think about romantic matters.

Last night, he learned from Wu Guodong that Aunt Song's condition had suddenly worsened two months ago. Fortunately, the greedy and evil United States lived up to its medical standards, and after several rounds of emergency treatment, Aunt Song was out of danger.

Currently, Aunt Song still needed surgery, and the estimated cost, including post-surgery medication, was around $200,000. Considering future medical expenses, Wu Guodong decided to sell the bar.

The entertainment industry is full of people with more money than sense. $200,000, or 1.2 million RMB, should be easy, right?

Mai Xiaoyu thought to himself.

The next day, he came to the company and immediately contacted Gu Hongzhou to ask if there were any big deals recently.

How big?

Of course, something like the ad for Aifen, willing to spend a million on a brilliant ad idea.

No.

Gu Hongzhou calmly poured cold water on Mai Xiaoyu.

Large and medium-sized advertising companies usually have fixed partners, built on years of trust and preferred for ad shoots.

Small and medium-sized advertising companies wouldn't even consider a deal for $200,000, let alone a million. Why should they pay so much just for an ad? Wouldn't it be better to save the money for promotion?

After hanging up, Mai Xiaoyu called Aifen to ask when the new Snickers ad would be shot, but received another bucket of cold water.

His ad idea for Snickers was useless unless Aifen decided to shoot it.

Unfortunately, Aifen had no plans to make ads in the first half of the year.

After getting two buckets of cold water in the morning, Mai Xiaoyu lit a cigarette and recalled the strange dream, searching for a quick and easy way to make money.

Film reviews?

To get rich, you need fans first. The number of fans determines your income. How many fans did Mai Xiaoyu have?

Novels?

His bright eyes dimmed. There were no web novels in this world, and the royalties for new authors in print were low, with payments spread out over time. It was impossible to get a lump sum, so that was out.

Screenplays?

They weren't worth much in China. Ghostwriters were underpaid, and new screenwriters faced years of low pay and delayed payments. Only top screenwriters could make a decent living, so that was out too.

Songwriting?

A few thousand RMB was considered a high price. Singers and record companies made a fortune, but songwriters still earned peanuts. How many cabbages would he have to sell to raise Aunt Song's medical fees?

Manga?

A few hundred RMB per page, about twenty pages per chapter, and drawing a hundred or so chapters at once... clearly impossible. Would a manga magazine even pay a new artist for a hundred or so chapters upfront?

There might be other ways.

Mai Xiaoyu thought for a moment, opened his computer, and searched online for contests for novels, screenplays, songwriting, and manga, focusing on the prize amounts.

A novel writing contest, with a grand prize of 200,000 RMB.

A film script contest, with an excellent script prize of 100,000 RMB before tax.

A record company was offering 15,000 RMB for a song, which they called a high price!

Wait a minute?

The third "Manga Love" original manga new talent contest?

One gold prize of 1,000,000 RMB!

One silver prize of 500,000 RMB!

So generous?

You're the one!

Deciding on this, Mai Xiaoyu drove his silver Volvo to the China Art Museum.

To do a job well, one must first sharpen one's tools. As a professional con artist, preparation was essential, a quality Mai Xiaoyu had developed over three years of fraud.

Across from the art museum was a street of art supplies. He bought a large amount of manga-specific items like paper, pens, erasers, and rulers, filling half a box, and drove back to the company.

"Chao, I'm going to be in seclusion for the next few days. Pause the new hires, and take care of the company. Also, if Director Wang and Teacher Zhang come back, tell them not to disturb me unless it's important."

After briefing Deng Chao, Mai Xiaoyu locked himself in his office, ready to... not make money, but to draw manga.