Helping out with a cameo in Li Mi's Conjecture, Qi Hao didn't take any payment, not even travel expenses.
Since he chose to do a favor, he didn't want to be halfway about it.
Cao Baoping was very touched by this, he held onto Qi Hao and insisted that he didn't leave, arranged a hotel room for him, and even treated him to a Yunnan mushroom feast that night.
After dinner, they returned to the hotel.
Qi Hao locked the door after freshening up, and then closed his eyes as the system instructed.
Before officially entering, there were some options.
For instance, choosing a script— as long as he had seen the film, it could be used as training material.
He could also choose film scenes.
Qi Hao randomly chose Suzhou River.
It's a film with a very distinct style, one of Lou Ye's signature works, somewhat like Yan Jingjun, but more raw.
Qi Hao had auditioned for Suzhou River, back then he didn't want to miss any chance, however slight.
Of course, he got cut in the first round, the director thought he was too green.
Unexpectedly, he could now reenact classic scenes from it in his dream.
"Hey, Haozi!"
Switching into the scene, Qi Hao opened the door, and in came the rain-soaked Zhou Xun.
He originally thought this training mode would be like a computer program, everything set by the system, just following the film shots would be enough.
However, the younger Zhou Xun surprisingly called his real name right away.
"Are you Zhou Xun?"
Qi Hao only felt his scalp tingle.
Did I eat too many mushrooms and start hallucinating?
If the setting wasn't wrong, if this were in the hotel, he might've even suspected Zhou Xun of sneaking into his room with ill intentions.
"I'm Zhou Xun, I play both Peony and Mei Mei," Zhou Xun said with a grin.
"This isn't right, did you really come into my dream?"
Qi Hao began to call for the system, if Zhou Xun remembered entering his dream after waking up tomorrow, he really couldn't explain it.
"What are you afraid of, I'm just an NPC, here to help with your training."
No need for the system to say anything, Zhou Xun explained on her own, evidently aware she was an NPC despite having intelligence.
"Then what's your relation to the real Zhou Xun?" Qi Hao doubted the system had issues again.
You could've just set the training to fixed procedures, right?
Why make it so "smart"?
"Rest assured, I'm fake, she's real, I have nothing to do with her," Zhou Xun approached Qi Hao, her rain-drenched hand resting on Qi Hao's chest as she smiled and said, "If you want to ask about her secrets, I know nothing, but here I'll listen to you no matter what you want me to do..."
"Damn!" Qi Hao jumped back a step, dropping straight onto the sofa.
This is really challenging my moral limits!
"The training lasts eight hours, after it's over, I won't exist, even if you want to do something now, it won't affect the training later, there's even a sofa here... Don't be afraid, just think of it as having a spring dream... you wouldn't be unable, right!"
The voice of NPC Zhou Peony Mei Mei Xun was filled with allure.
"Hold it! From now on, start the training, I command you to act like a robot, only doing things related to helping me train."
Qi Hao wiped his face.
He wasn't interested in Zhou Xun, even if he was, he would pursue her openly.
Rather than...
He couldn't even figure out what this counted as now.
Fortunately, Qi Hao's words in the training space were like an imperial decree, the "Zhou Xun" who heard this straightened up her wayward demeanor and immediately went into "Peony" role mode.
Suzhou River was Zhou Xun's first film in a lead role, earning her the Best Actress award at the 15th Paris International Film Festival.
It was also the film where she first completely showcased her acting skills.
Although her performance stood out the most, her co-actor Jia Hongsheng actually did well too.
Qi Hao was training in Jia Hongsheng's parts.
This was a performance style Qi Hao seldom had contact with.
He could explore and comprehend on his own during the training or use Jia Hongsheng as a comparison on spot.
The system had a very user-friendly scoring system.
Even "Zhou Xun" who acted with him, would give him some pointers during their scenes.
Of course, Zhou Xun herself was a non-academic, talent-type player, so she didn't have much to coach Qi Hao.
Her cooperation was already benefiting Qi Hao immensely...
Having "tossed about" with Zhou Xun all night, Qi Hao woke up the next day physically and mentally exhausted.
The hotel provided buffet breakfast, he and Old Tian went to the restaurant to eat something before leaving Kunming.
"Now I understand why people like eating mushrooms so much, yesterday was truly satisfying, I was even worried about getting stiff," Old Tian said as he filled his tray.
He was a manager, not a star.
So he didn't need to control his diet, eating heartily every day.
"If you gain more weight, don't count on finding a girlfriend, you're almost forty, hurry up and find a partner, otherwise, you'll have to find someone with a pension later,"
Qi Hao was cool and distant in public, but privately he loved to roast people.
"I'm only thirty-one, how am I almost forty, dammit..." Old Tian was furious.
"Hey, Mr. Zhou, here for breakfast too." Qi Hao saw Zhou Xun coming down with an assistant and got a bit nervous.
Recalling the things Zhou Xun said in the training space last night, he was too embarrassed to look her in the eye.
Some people are just born to belong in the movie industry.
Whether pure or seductive, they handle it all effortlessly.
"Yeah, gotta eat something, otherwise, I won't have the energy to shoot."
Zhou Xun had no idea what Qi Hao was thinking.
The "Zhou Xun" in the training space had nothing to do with her.
"Keep it up, this movie will definitely win you another Best Actress award."
Seeing no unusual signs in Zhou Xun, Qi Hao finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He didn't dare act recklessly yesterday, partly due to his own principles, but also fearing that the real Zhou Xun might sense something.
He even deleted the kissing scene from "Suzhou River" last night.
Removing the kissing scene from such a banned film really dulled its impact quite a bit.
Just imagine, being able to choose different female celebrities as sparring NPCs.
And being able to do whatever you want in the training space.
This is an absolute holy grail for homebodies.
He's a decent person. If those not-so-decent types had such a training space, they'd surely be lost in indulgence, wasting away over time...
Yeah, they'd die young too.
After eating, Qi Hao left with his agent Old Tian.
Upon hearing this news, Deng Zhao finally breathed a sigh of relief, always fearing that Qi Hao staying would mean there's a day he might replace him.
He was also worried he might not be able to resist getting rid of Qi Hao.
In the future, when he marries Sun Li, there's no way he's inviting Qi Hao to the wedding.
Meanwhile in the VIP departure lounge, Old Tian was complaining nonstop.
"Do you know, leaving the lead role just to do a cameo, now everyone online says you've gone crazy. Are you really feeling guilty about Sun Li and giving way to Deng Zhao?"
"What do I have with Sun Li that you would even question it like that?"
Qi Hao can tolerate most people's doubts about him, but when his well-informed agent joins in, it's too hurtful.
"How would I know, with your knack for attracting gossip, I'm exhausted managing these rumors for you. Can you ever just have a break?"
"For this cameo, just say the schedule couldn't be arranged. I'm busy with the publicity for 'Oath of Allegiance', no time to join the crew."
Qi Hao couldn't be bothered with Old Tian's complaints.
They're paying Old Tian such a high salary naturally to make him work hard.
"I get it, explain to the industry it's about networking with Cao Baoping's side; to the public, say you're true to yourself, treating both lead and supporting roles seriously. Then get the production team to release some filming photos, saying you didn't use a stunt double for the rooftop scene and lost your wig being hit by Deng Zhao's car..."
As an agent, Old Tian's working ability is beyond question.
For Qi Hao to become one of the top four stars and a Best Actor, besides his own talent and effort, he couldn't have done it without Old Tian's support over the years.
"Just handle it as you see fit, and then... I need you to do one more thing for me."
Qi Hao didn't dare look at Old Tian's expression, he could already imagine it. If Old Tian found out he was going to endorse spicy strips...
That expression would definitely be more colorful than actually eating spicy strips.
"Why be so polite, I've noticed you've changed." Old Tian laughed and patted Qi Hao on the back.
"Help me contact someone for a spicy strips endorsement."
Qi Hao swallowed nervously.
"You... what did you just say?"
Old Tian doubted his own hearing.
Or maybe it was Qi Hao's speech ability that was the issue.
Anyway, one of them must be nuts.
"Spicy strips, I want to endorse spicy strips!" Qi Hao, realizing he was paying Old Tian, suddenly felt justified.
"Why?" Old Tian asked, panting.
"Why not? I just want to endorse them, can't I?" Qi Hao couldn't come up with a reason either.
"They paying a lot?" Old Tian speculated, asking, "Is this another trick from Ziwen?"
With the contract nearing expiration and Ziwen wanting to renew it, but Qi Hao had no intention of doing so.
After all, these years, Ziwen hadn't brought Qi Hao any good projects.
Most projects Qi Hao secured through his talent, ten years of connections in the entertainment industry, and Old Tian's networking skills.
A certain "The Return of the Condor Heroes" from Ziwen, Qi Hao had to beat Huang Xiaoming and Nie Yuan to get it.
In short, Ziwen had been freeloading off Qi Hao for years.
A significant portion of Qi Hao's earnings went into Ziwen's pocket.
Because Qi Hao refused to renew, Ziwen played a dirty trick.
They sold Qi Hao to Sugarman and signed him for a TV series where he'd be supporting Hu Ge.
Hu Ge got some fame from "Chinese Paladin 1", "New Strange Tales", "Celestial Immortal", and even grabbed a "The Legend of the Condor Heroes".
But he still couldn't compare to Qi Hao.
This time, Sugarman was preparing "Chinese Paladin 3", with Hu Ge as the lead and Qi Hao as the second lead.
Qi Hao basically lowered himself to elevate Hu Ge.
Sugarman didn't want to make it too ugly, so they called it a joint lead, saying Hu Ge and Qi Hao were both leads.
This trick seemed copied from "King of Kung Fu".
This film is in the promotion phase, with Fang Long and Li Lianjie both listed as leads.
Furthermore, Hu Ge's pay per episode was 40,000, whereas Qi Hao's was 120,000, three times Hu Ge's.
It was simply too much to pass up.
Getting over 100,000 per episode made Qi Hao not really mind.
But this forced tactic was something Old Tian couldn't let go of.
"It's got nothing to do with Ziwen, I just purely like spicy strips. Find a sanitary brand, Old Tian, I know you're capable and can get it done."
"You might like spicy girls more than spicy strips, you're fooling no one."