After The Vicious Cannon Fodder Was Reborn

by Usui Takumii

not mine, theirontreeblooms. Beware BL. Total : 293 Chapters 5 Extras (Completed).

3. 11 to 15

After rejecting Wen Shijin's proposal, Tao Mu changed into his costume in the dressing room, and waited for the stylist to put on his hairpiece—because Tao Mu was the body double for the male protagonist and they won't be showing his face, added to the fact that the quality of the cosmetics used by the crew was not good, so Tao Mu often didn't even put on makeup. The most enviable thing was that he didn't even tan despite having no makeup or sunscreen protection. When the sun was at its hottest, his skin would only become red at most, but even if he got a sunburn it still only looked like an attractive blush. The sweaty and sexy look only made him even more attractive.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e ir on tr ee bl oo ms. c o m )

Yang Mei, who was in charge of styling him, said for the nth time: "Isn't your skin too good? How much sunscreen can be saved this year since you don't get tan no matter what. I think those big-name cosmetics should have you endorse them…"

Tao Mu was silent. Yang Mei suddenly made a fuss and shouted: "Ah, Tao Mu, why is your hand bleeding?"

Tao Mu came back to himself and spread his palms. The palms of his hands seemed to have been pierced by his nails, and a few drops of blood dripped down the fingers, almost staining the costume.

Tao Mu took out a tissue from the tissue box on the dressing table and wiped his palms. His movements were so careless and rough Yang Mei couldn't help frowning, "Does it hurt?"

"It's nothing." Tao Mu raised his eyes and smiled, saying, "I saw Mu Huating just now. I had to resist the urge to beat him and accidentally hurt myself."

As he said this, Tao Mu deliberately lowered his voice. Approaching closer to Yang Mei he blinked playfully: "This is a secret between the two of us, don't tell anyone."

Yang Mei's face turned red at his smile, and she nodded in a dizzy state. Mu Huating slandered and made lies in front of the investor and everyone in the crew yesterday, causing Tao Mu to suffer something he shouldn't have. Everyone talked about this in private. Yang Mei felt that she could understand Tao Mu's mood. If it was her, she would also want to beat Mu Huating up.

"Don't worry, I'll definitely not say anything." Yang Mei thought for a while, and comforted: "Tao Mu, I think you will be popular. And very popular. So you don't need to pay attention to people like Mu Huating."

Tao Mu smiled as he looked at the young woman with a serious look on her face.

When Tao Mu left the dressing room and returned to the set again, everyone in the Shen family had already left.

Shen Yu sat on the prop box next to director Chen, his head tilted as he looked at the monitor with wide smiles. After seeing Tao Mu, his eyes brightened, and he waved at Tao Mu with surprise in his eyes: "Wow, Tao Tao, you are so handsome! Practically another level of handsome!"

The staff on the set also looked at Tao Mu. Hearing Shen Yu's words, they nodded involuntarily.

This statement was not wrong. From a week ago, probably due to having become familiar with the filming routine and ancient costume appearance, the impression Tao Mu gave to others changed day by day. Especially in front of the camera, the positioning was more precise, and the movements were more smooth, appearing both confident and elegant. These series of changes made the character played by Tao Mu appear even more layered when captured by the camera. Several times, when the camera accidentally captured Tao Mu's face, the completely natural aura stunned even director Chen. He really thought that the actor in front of the camera was not just an actor but the main character. He completely forgot the fact that Tao Mu was just a body double.

And to be honest, Tao Mu's interpretation of the role was much better than that of Shen Yu, who also had no experience in acting. Whether in terms of appearance, acting skills, or even saying the lines, Tao Mu was at a much higher level.

All of this caused director Chen to be unable to help sighing privately that Tao Mu was born to eat this bowl of rice. (TN: born to this profession)

Newcomers who joined the entertainment industry every year were as many as the crucian carps crossing the river. But there were not many lucky ones who could really make it. A newcomer like Tao Mu, who had an overly handsome appearance, martial arts that was amazing, and even flawless when speaking lines was very rare.

And don't forget the fact that Tao Mu had already been admitted to the Beijing Film Academy, and would be getting professional training and credentials—if he was lucky, he might even be able to join the Beijing social circle. Thinking about it this way, Chen Yiqian's heart jumped slightly, and his intentions to express goodwill became more obvious.

"Xiao Mu, let's shoot some closeups for the footage from yesterday's scene today. In the afternoon, there will be a fight scene between you and the male number three. When we finish filming you can go back and rest."

From the body double without a name to the familiar Xiao Mu, the entire crew also understood what director Chen wanted to convey. Accordingly, there was a slight change from them as well when dealing with Tao Mu.

As for Tao Mu, he was himself as always. This calm and collected appearance inspired even more goodwill from the crew.

Shen Yu tilted his head and asked: "Tao Tao, your action scenes are so good, can you teach me? I actually want to do all kinds of cool martial arts in front of the camera too." Unfortunately, the Shen family wouldn't let him. Shen Yu grew up pampered and spoiled. The first time he went up in wires both his thighs and back got abrasions. When the Shen family came to visit the set and found that Shen Yu was bruised and swollen, they immediately banned Shen Yu's "self-harming" behavior.

Shen Yu, who hadn't developed a persistent mentality for acting and was also unwilling to worry his family, immediately agreed to the Shen family's request. But while he had promised, young people were young people after all, and they all liked to appear handsome and cool. Tao Mu's performance in front of the camera could even win over Chen Yiqian and those professional martial arts actors, so Shen Yu was no exception.

In the previous life, Shen Yu also yearned for doing martial arts with the wires after Tao Mu performed beautiful action scenes. After Tao Mu encountered Luo Yang's difficulties, in order to make Tao Mu happy, Shen Yu took the initiative to reveal Tao Mu as his body double for action scenes during the interview. After the interview, Shen Yu asked Tao Mu in private to teach him how to make cool moves while hanging on wires.

Tao Mu was very grateful to Shen Yu at that time, so he secretly taught Shen Yu and even showed Shen Yu little but useful tricks. But unexpectedly, there was an accident during their private rehearsal and the two entered the hospital together.

Tao Mu didn't want to mix with the Shen family anymore in this life so he simply refused Shen Yu's request: "I can't teach it. This is probably an inherent talent."

Shen Yu: "…"

The setting up and the lighting of the props were almost ready. Tao Mu got up and entered the set, ready to shoot his scenes.

Regardless of the fantasies of fans and melon eaters outside the entertainment circle, filming was actually a very boring thing. What actors do the most in a day was to wait, wait for makeup, wait for the prop group to complete the set, wait for the camera crew and lighting crew to be in place. The director shouts action and the actors stand in position, if everything went smoothly it would end in ten minutes, and then wait some more for the scene lighting for the next scene to be in place. If it didn't go well, they would continue to grind. The short two or three minutes of footage in a TV series might take several hours or even months to shoot it on the set.

Because a lot of time was spent waiting, celebrities with a little status liked to drive into the crew in an RV. Especially after the advent of smart phones celebrities would wait for their scenes in the RV where they played with their smart phones, scrolling through Weibo, taking selfies, and making nine picture cute edits. But now, the entertainment industry had not yet formed that kind of studio atmosphere of immersing oneself in the smart phone and striving to be the king of head bowing. So when waiting for a scene, the most common thing seen would be a group of actors holding their copy of the script either reciting the lines by themselves or matching lines with each other. As for the group extras, they hid in inconspicuous corners and slack off in twos and threes.

Tao Mu stood in front of the set, and the prop master who was in charge of hanging the wire came over to help put on the wire suit, and the martial arts instructor was also beside him to talk about the movements. Mu Huating, who played the male number three, looked uncertain, probably because he was afraid that Tao Mu would avenge his private wrongs in the afternoon when they acted the confrontation scene. He went over to director Chen to discuss about using a body double for the afternoon scene.

The young master who was sought after by everyone stuck to Tao Mu's side and twittered incessantly. Tao Mu closed his eyes, not wanting to pay attention to him. Shen Yu stood next to Tao Mu and held his phone up to take a sneak shot—the kind where the owner showed half of his face in front of the camera so that it revealed Tao Mu on the wire behind him. Not satisfied with just that, he secretly posted it on Weibo, with the message "The little brother who is my body double, isn't he handsome?"

In 2008, Weibo was still a novelty. Many young and fashionable newbie celebrities would register accounts on Weibo to interact with fans. However, the slightly bigger celebrities were still accustomed to the traditional mysterious route, and they were well versed in the attractiveness of the unattainable and that a beauty appear more desirable from a distance.

As a rich fuerdai who was very good-looking, had a very good personality and also entered the entertainment circle for fun, Shen Yu had already amassed nearly 100,000 followers on Weibo. The most important thing was that these 100,000 fans were all "living people" who were active and keen to socialize. After Shen Yu posted the photo, all kinds of likes and comments came in. Some praised Shen Yu as being more handsome than Tao Mu, some agreed that Tao Mu was really handsome, and some asked for Tao Mu's identity information and Weibo account. If one don't look at the data, the level of activity was no worse than that of the celebrities who have millions of fans and followers in the later years.

Shen Yu immersed himself in social media, while Tao Mu was called up to go before the camera.

The crew of "Purple Cloud" was actually very willing to film Tao Mu's scenes, especially in the past week. The young man seemed to have a cheat sheet in hand, none of the NGs were because of his own reasons. It directly led to the smooth and rapid shooting progress of the whole drama. The original plan was to shoot two and a half months of action scenes. But according to the current progress, it was estimated that the filming would be completed in less than two months.

During the lunch break, Ye Yao's agent and Mu Huating's agent found him again. In order to win Tao Mu over, Mu Huating's agent offered to give Tao Mu an audition opportunity even before signing the contract with Summer Star—the audition was for a modern school idol drama that was about to start filming at H Studio City. Tao Mu could play the male number four in it.

"I wanted to help you get the male number two. Unfortunately, you are not an artist of the company, so my hands were tied." Mu Huating's agent still did not forget to lobby Tao Mu: "But then, if you are willing to join the company, don't even mention just a male number two, even if it is the male number one lead, I can help you fight for it."

Tao Mu emphasized again: "Thank you brother Zhao for your kindness. But I have already said that I have been admitted to the Beijing Film Academy. The school stipulates that filming is not allowed before the junior year." It was now mid July and he would have to report to school on the 26th of August. If Tao Mu took over the role introduced by Zhao Keping, it was likely that he would not be able to report in time because of the schedule conflict. This was not in line with Tao Mu's future plans.

"It's not that strict." Zhao Keping said, "Our company has also signed a student of Beijing Film. If you are interested in joining the company, we can discuss the shooting schedule with the school."

Tao Mu: "But I think the school's regulations are quite good. Freshmen and sophomores can concentrate on studying at school to lay their foundation. I don't want to violate the school's regulations."

This was a bit too stubborn.

Zhao Keping's smile sank, and he felt that Tao Mu was really ignorant of favors handed to him: "Young people think simple, you have to know that many opportunities are not always available. As the saying goes, you have to get famous early, and this is true in the entertainment industry. Think about it, if you really follow the school rules, you will be in your twenties when you can finally take acting jobs. How can you guarantee that you will be popular?"

Tao Mu remained silent but smiling.

Zhao Keping was really full of anger. But looking at Tao Mu's face, he really couldn't bear to let such a potential star go, so he could only retreat: "If you insist on this, it's not impossible. The company can negotiate with the school to arrange notices and scripts for you during the winter and summer vacations. The best of both worlds."

Zhao Keping was really optimistic about Tao Mu, and his sincerity was quite obvious. Even if Tao Mu had made up his mind and did not want to join a management company, he still felt a tiny bit of guilt refusing Zhao Keping's kindness at this moment. He could only say tactfully: "Then I will think about it again." If a refusal came even after careful consideration, he imagine Zhao Keping would likely no longer continue to insist.

Hearing Tao Mu's underlying refusal, Zhao Keping frowned. He didn't understand why Tao Mu resisted so much: "Is it because of Mu Huating?"

Mu Huating, who was caught off guard from suddenly being brought up, felt his chest squeeze and he looked at Tao Mu expressionlessly.

Although Tao Mu was sick of Mu Huating's methods, he did not have him take the blame. He shook his head: "It's not because of him. I am not ready to sign on to a company myself."

After a pause, Tao Mu explained: "I don't really want to be an idol." I just want to be my own boss.

Then that meant he wanted to be an actor? Zhao Keping suddenly came to a realization. He had seen so many newcomers with lofty ambitions. Tao Mu was not the first, nor the last.

"Summer Star Entertainment's Yi Ge and Yi Jie are both award winning actor and actress (TN: literally number 1 brother and number 1 sister, terms to refer to the leaders among the artists within a talent agency that gets the most resources and have the most senior standing). Let me tell you, even if you want to be an actor, you can't just do pure acting. For things like competing for the best actor awards, you need help from the company to do public relations. It's a good thing that you have ambitions, but you can't do it alone. Think of it this way, after you sign to the company, the company will help you screen the script and arrange the scheduling. You only need to analyze the script and work hard to play a good role. I'll take care of the rest. Isn't it better this way?"

Zhao Keping skillfully drew a big pie, if Tao Mu was really a fledgling newcomer, he really wouldn't be able to hold up against him.

Wan Meihong, who was a step late, became anxious and hurried up to disrupt the situation: "Although Summar Star Entertainment has a film king and a film queen, but it is precisely because their Yi Ge and Yi Jie are both so in demand now, the company's best resources must be given to them first, and only the rest that's picked over would be given to you. But that also does not mean that you can get the remaining resources. In fact, there are many A-list and B-list male stars who signed with Summer Star. The agents of these people must also help their artists fight for resources. You are a newcomer who has no background or fan base. It is easy to be buried in this kind of company. So it is better to join Qin Dynasty Entertainment. At least at Qin Dynasty Entertainment there is only a Yi Jie, not a Yi Ge. If you are willing to join Qin Dynasty, with your conditions, I can certainly persuade the company to make you into the Yi Ge."

Zhao Keping sneered when he heard this: "Who doesn't know that your TV dramas produced by Qin Dynasty Entertainment are all major heroine centric dramas. Why did Wang Miao leave Qin Dyansty Entertainment? Wasn't it because of the lack of opportunities to further his career? And now you want to pull Tao Mu under the water, you simply don't have any consideration for newcomers' futures."

With a headache, Tao Mu looked at the two agents who were currently battling it out fiercely and slipped away under the guise of needing to pee.

"Tao Mu, wait, I have something to tell you."

Tao Mu paused and looked at Ye Yao who had followed him to the restroom. He raised an eyebrow and motioned for a certain someone to speak quickly.

Ye Yao blushed: "Do you…do you like me?"

Tao Mu: "…?"

Ye Yao was feeling both shy and delighted: "I just knew it, yesterday you were willing to stand up to Luo Yang for me. You must like me. Although you don't say it with your mouth—"

"Stop! Stop!" Tao Mu hurriedly interrupted a certain someone's words: "I say, can't you wish me some good for once?"

Ye Yao could not accept this: "How can you say this. Is it a bad thing to like me?"

"What do you think?" Tao Mu snorted and waved his hand impatiently to shoo her away: "Don't make trouble for me, go back to Luo Yang. If you keep on fighting, the two of you will really break up." You would suffer a lot if no one was there to protect you, and then you would be pushed into revealing your dark side.

"So what if we break up!" Ye Yao said with bravado, "I wanted to break up with him a long time ago. Listen to what he said yesterday. I treat him as a boyfriend, but he treats me as a kept little plaything. If I continue to like this kind of person, then wouldn't that make me someone with poor eyesight?"

Tao Mu thought privately, you don't just have poor eyesight. The men you become interested in were either a scumbag or a gay, just how visually impaired could you be!

"Okay, okay, okay, I don't have the energy to care about who you like. But, just don't like me."

Tao Mu had a headache and a stomachache, and thought to himself that this little episode hadn't happened in his previous life. However, even Tao Mu did not expect the differences to come from a different playing out of events. In his previous life, Tao Mu did not handle his performance well under the water hose, ending up being thrown on the set like a dead dog. Afterwards, he became the object of everyone's ridicule. Ye Yao was a young girl experiencing her first crush. Seeing that Tao Mu was so inadequate, she would be too busy feeling embarrassed, let alone admit that she liked him.

But Shen Yu, unable to watch it any longer, stood up for him. As a result, after their birth situation was exposed, and Tao Mu insisted on forcing Shen Yu to leave the Shen family, the Shen family never accepted him because of this matter. Thinking about it carefully, some of his behaviors in his last life were really inexplicable and possessed.

Sure enough, in this life, the best idea would be to stay far away from them. They were a nice, happy family together, and an outsider like him had no business sticking his nose in!

Tao Mu's afternoon scene was a scene where the male protagonist sneaked into the demonic sect with a mask hiding his identity, but was discovered by Mu Huating, who played the leader of the demonic sect, and the two preceded to fight each other. Because the face of the male number three was to be photographed in this scene, in order to strive for the best shooting effect, the crew's intention was to have Mu Huating personally fight him.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e ir on tr ee bl oo ms. c o m )

Mu Huating argued all morning but failed to get director Chen to agree to his request for a stand-in. When wearing the wire suit, his expression looked ugly, as if he had constipation. He looked at Tao Mu nervously, for fear that he would use the scene to beat him up and take revenge for earlier.

As a result, during the filming, whenever Tao Mu made a piercing action with a sword, Mu Huating would definitely scurry backwards like a rabbit, and even the camera could only manage to capture an afterimage at the speed he moved. There was none of the proud arrogance and intimidating presence that the demonic sect leader should have.

—Being timid to this extent, how could this scene be filmed?

Chen Yiqian couldn't endure it anymore. After yelling "cut" eight times in a row, he held a loudspeaker and shouted, "Mu Huating, are you here to make a comedy drama?"

Mu Huating was both fearful and aggrieved, yelling: "Don't blame me. Tao Mu deliberately scared me."

Tao Mu stood in place with no expression on his face.

The whole crew had their arms crossed, eyes rolling in exasperation. Did he take them all for the blind? Tao Mu obviously didn't do anything. It could be seen that Mu Huating not only had a bad character, but also had a terrible habit of pushing blame onto others.

Mu Huating, who was questioned by the entire crew, felt quite aggrieved. He insisted that Tao Mu had malicious intentions, and would definitely take the chance to beat him up while filming. If he hadn't run fast every time, he would have already been beaten to the ground by Tao Mu at this moment.

Chen Yiqian could no longer put up with Mu Huating's wild fantasies. In order not to delay the shooting process, he finally pinched his nose and agreed to Mu Huating's request to use a stand-in.

Mu Huating breathed a sigh of relief and took off his wire suit as quickly as possible. He stared at Tao Mu and raised his chin to demonstrate. His face was full of arrogance, as if to say "what can you do to me now?"

Da Mao and Xiao Pang, who were playing the roles of demonic sect cannon fodders, were so angry they itched to pull a sackcloth over Mu Huating in a small alley and beat him up immediately.

Tao Mu stood with a sword in hand and without any expression on his face. He didn't even spare Mu Huating a look.

The body double who became Mu Huating's stand-in was a martial artist actor from Gou Rixin's team, named Da Luo. They even had a drink together last night. After seeing Tao Mu, he lowered his voice and voiced his outrage on behalf of Tao Mu: "…You are too honest. If it was me, I would have definitely taken this opportunity to beat him severely. Let's see if he'll splash dirty water on others again…"

"It's not necessary." Tao Mu replied mildly. When a person was bitten by a dog, it wasn't as if he could bite back. If he really did that, then how different was he from the idiot Mu Huating? Besides, there were so many people watching on the set, even if he wanted to secretly land some hits, how much could he even injure Mu Huating?

Since he was too lazy to even bother pulling a sackcloth over the other's head, naturally he wouldn't do something that would leave a weakness in the sight of others—he just casually amped up his film emperor-level acting skills against Mu Huating during the scene, substituting the emotions of the perverted murderers he played in his previous life into the emotions he displayed during the scene. The feeling it gave when his eyes stared at Mu Huating was like that of a butcher looking at a slab of pork on a cutting board. Sure enough, Mu Huating couldn't help but become frightened, scaring himself into a neurotic person.

However, yaxi was quite mysterious and difficult to put into words (TN: refers to disparity in the acting skills between two actors with the more skilled actor using their acting skills to crush their co-actor). Except for the person involved, it was hard to say whether other people have this keen sense of what was going on as well. But it didn't matter if they could see it—he relied on his better acting skills to psychologically suppress Mu Huating, and Mu Huating could only blame himself for not having the skills to match up against Tao Mu.

Da Luo looked at Tao Mu and said, "That's true. I heard that Zhao Keping introduced to you an audition opportunity for a male number 3 role. If you really pass, the wrongs you suffered will not be in vain."

Tao Mu didn't say a word.

With the cooperation of Da Luo, the filming of this scene went smoothly.

After the end of the filming, Tao Mu approached director Chen and wanted a copy of the action scene video shot yesterday: "For my resume, it might count as field work credit later."

Since Chen Yiqian wanted to express goodwill towards Tao Mu, he would naturally not refuse this little thing. After all, Tao Mu did not sign a confidentiality agreement in this life. Just before giving the video, he still habitually warned: "Before the TV series is broadcast, don't pass the video out. It will affect the normal shooting of the crew."

After a pause, he added: "It won't be too long. There will be a promotional video posted by the crew in two days, and it is estimated that there will be this section. You can judge when to show it yourself."

Tao Mu nodded.

Seeing that Tao Mu had finished discussing business with director Chen, Shen Yu walked up with a smile, holding an Apple mobile phone box in his hand: "Tao Tao, happy birthday."

Tao Mu glanced at the gift Shen Yu prepared, and politely refused: "I already have it, it was given by Xiao Pang. And I didn't prepare your gift."

In other words, you don't have to give me a birthday present.

The distant attitude and refusal was clear.

Shen Yu didn't care: "Then tell me the phone number and I will save it."

Tao Mu: "I haven't registered it yet."

Shen Yu: "Do you have a Weibo? Let's follow each other? Fans on my Weibo want to know your information."

Before Tao Mu could speak, Shen Yu said again: "It's useless if you refuse. I have already exchange follows with Wang Ye and Pang Yue. Even if you don't tell me, I can go back and look through their friends list, and sooner or later I'll find your Weibo."

Tao Mu glanced at Shen Yu and did not refuse anymore.

Shen Yu searched for Tao Mu's Weibo with a grin, and saw that his Weibo nickname that was both elegant and not at all affected. He couldn't help but glance at Tao Mu in surprise.

Tao Mu had no expression on his face: "What?"

"Nothing." Shen Yu said with a smile: "I think your name is quite imteresting. I heard Wang Ye and Pang Yue say that you gave them their Weibo nicknames, how about you make one for me too?"

Tao Mu did not say a word, obviously unwilling.

Shen Yu smiled and didn't press on. He thought Tao Mu was very interesting. He looked fierce and unreasonable, but actually had a warm and caring side. As long as you treat him nicely and smile brightly at him, even if he was seriously annoyed at you, he won't turn away from you. He was just like the large cats with beautiful fur that he had seen on the African grasslands. One needed to approach cautiously, please gradually, and carefully smooth the fur before one could actually pet it.

But he didn't know Tao Mu's actions were a result of his worry that a bad attitude towards Shen Yu would receive a backlash from the plot power.

These days in his second life, Tao Mu had carefully analyzed it based on his previous life experience and the [Book Reviews] that appeared from time to time in his head: So long as it was someone Shen Yu liked or someone who really liked Shen Yu, then this person's luck and ending were usually not too bad; but if a person did not like Shen Yu, especially those who maliciously targeted Shen Yu, always had bad luck and a worse ending. As for those who had little communication with Shen Yu, or those who Shen Yu didn't pay much attention to, the [Book Reviews] didn't disclose much information about them.

In summary, Tao Mu concluded that Shen Yu's protagonist halo also had a limited scope. The closer people were to Shen Yu, the more they must restrain their dislike of Shen Yu. Otherwise, it would result in inexplicable bad luck.

Tao Mu was destined not to like Shen Yu because of his birth situation and previous life experience. Due to the strong power of the plot, Tao Mu couldn't be as hostile to him as he was in his previous life. After thinking about it, Tao Mu felt that the only thing he could do was to restrain his emotions towards Shen Yu. It was best to be able to stay away completely, but even if he couldn't, he should still try to keep a distance.

After getting off work, Tao Mu waited for Da Mao and Xiao Pang for a bit, and the three of them went home together. The two young people who were committed to being melon eater big V went straight to the computer when they got home, just like a teenager with a serious internet addiction.

"Aiyo, I'm so happy that I got three thousand fans in one day." Da Mao and Xiao Pang stared at the Weibo page with silly grins on their faces: "He's worthy of being called a celebrity. Just exchanging follows with him brings so many benefits."

Having said that, he didn't forget to ask Tao Mu: "Didn't you also exchange follows with the little prince? How many fans have you gained?"

"I don't know." Tao Mu replied boredly. In his heart he thought, who cared about a group of fans who turn their faces faster than the pages in a book. (TN: turn face=to fall out, to be hostile with somebody)

"Ai, where are you going!" Da Mao and Xiao Pang looked at Tao Mu, who was getting ready to go out after picking up his wallet.

"Go buy chicken feet." Tao Mu said: "Didn't I say I'll be roasting chicken feet for you guys on Saturday."

The two teenagers with a severe internet addiction immediately got up from having their butts stuck to the computer chair: "We'll go too."

In the end, Tao Mu didn't go to the market, but went to sister Ping's restaurant downstairs to ask about the supply channel: "Can I order ten catties of chicken feet? I'm not familiar with the place here, and I don't know who has better quality."

The lady boss made a gesture: "No problem. Do you want it tomorrow morning?"

"It's best tonight. So I can make it at noon tomorrow."

The lady boss didn't say anything more and immediately called to order.

Half an hour later, fresh chicken feet were delivered to the door. The boss, brother Feng, specially alerted Tao Mu: "The shop will be closed at nine today. When the time comes, brother will give you the kitchen, so make yourself at home."

Tao Mu: "…"

Brother Feng was particularly enthusiastic: "Do you need this brother to help you?"

"No need." Tao Mu particularly hated others helping when he cooked. Because it would disrupt his rhythm and it was more like a hindrance than helping.

Brother Feng smiled, and he didn't know if Tao Mu really didn't need help, or he was afraid of outsiders stealing his secret recipe.

However, brother Feng still kept his promise and handed over the kitchen to Tao Mu at nine o'clock. He and sister Ping waited for him while watching TV and eating melon seeds.

At nine o'clock in the evening, the nightlife outside had just begun. But in the corner of the back kitchen, it was quiet as if everything had fallen asleep.

The noisy kitchen had quiet down, and Tao Mu was the only one in the kitchen. He stood standing in front of the faucet wearing an apron, washing the chicken feet over and over again. Tao Mu used running water, the rushing water pouring over the chicken feet and thoroughly washing them clean. At the same time, the cold water also made the chicken skin more crisp. After washing the ingredients, Tao Mu put the chicken feet in a large iron pan and stir-fryed them for two minutes, then rinsed them with cold water again. This would remove the smell and excess greasy fat.

Immediately afterwards was making the luwei. This step needed to use the fesh meat oil from good pork belly. Then add special spices and seasonings into the oil to stir fry. Tao Mu learned the exclusive secret recipe from Old Song Tou, which he taught to him when he was very young. The old man once said that a cook should be calm and steady when he was cooking, so that he could carefully judge the heat levels and be worthy of the ingredients themselves.

It's a pity that Tao Mu was never calm and steady when he was cooking in his previous life. Because the dishes he cooked in his previous life were either to please the Shen family or to win over business partners. As a man he was utilitarian so his cooking lacked a purity and spark.

Many people said that he had too many distractions when cooking, and the dishes he made were not as pure as Shen Yu's.

Although Tao Mu himself didn't know what karmic connection there was between what he was thinking when cooking and the taste of the dishes.

A tempting fragrance gradually spread in the kitchen. It was a bit like braised pork, but the taste was fresher and the aroma was stronger.

The diners sitting in the front hall couldn't help but sniff their noses. Old Feng said in awe, "Tao Mu's skills, not bad!"

"Of course." Da Mao and Xiao Pang said proudly: "My brother Mu is amazing!"

"It's so damn fragrant." The old diners who spend every evening watching TV in the restaurant while enjoying the air-conditioning touched their bellies. They were once again hungry even after having dinner just now.

Brother Feng couldn't bear it, and motioned to Da Mao and Xiao Pang to go in and ask: "Can we have some to try first?"

"It's not done yet!" Da Mao and Xiao Pang were also struck with craving, and sneaked to the kitchen door secretly: "Brother Mu, can you give us a few mouthfuls first?"

"I haven't finished it yet!" Tao Mu rebuffed: "You help me ask brother Feng, is there Shaoxing yellow wine in the kitchen?"

"Yes—" Before Da Mao and Xiao Pang could speak, brother Feng stood up immediately: "On the shelf above the sink, there is a black jar with a piece of red paper pasted on it."

"I see it." Tao Mu replied and spilled half the jar of Shaoxing yellow wine. The iron pan sizzled audibly and the rich aroma spread with the steam. The scent rushed to the front hall, and the saliva of the old diners flowed all over the floor.

"No, I can't take it anymore." Someone rushed out the door and went to the skewers shop next door to order 30 yuan worth of skewers.

Tao Mu was still making the luwei sauce patiently. After half an hour, Tao Mu threw the stir-fryed chicken feet into the iron pan and simmered it over a small fire.

The simmering would take half an hour. After that, the simmered bones and meat of the chicken feet would become tender, the skin soft and chewy.

A large number of old diners in the front hall have all been KO-ed by the delicious scent by now.

Brother Feng looked at Tao Mu with bright eyes: "What shall we do next? Xiao Mu, please give me any instructions, and this brother will help you."

What would happen next?

Tao Mu casually threw the simmered chicken feet into the newly made luwei to marinade and soak: "…In fact, there is nothing else but to let it soak in the flavor."

"Do you need to use any special technique to massage the chicken feet during the soaking period?" Brother Feng's imagination went wild. From the secret recipes passed down by the palace chefs to the secret techniques passed down by the folk people, at this moment he was preparing to feast his eyes and widen his horizons.

But Tao Mu said with an exasperated expression on his face: "No."

Brother Feng: "…"

Flames of excitement instantly became extinguished by a basin of cold water. Brother Feng gave Tao Mu a pensive look, "Then you can go upstairs and rest."

Brother Feng looked at Tao Mu and wanted to inquire about the luwei recipe, but after thinking about it, he still didn't say anything in the end. Just after the restaurant closed, he dragged sister Ping into the back kitchen to examine the ingredients, wondering how many seasonings and spices Tao Mu used—

But in the end they didn't find anything at all.

The next morning, Tao Mu was awakened by brother Feng slamming on the door.

"It's been soaking for a whole night. What should we do next?" With wide bloodshot eyes, brother Feng looked at Tao Mu with extreme excitement. That appearance was of a man who hadn't slept all night.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e ir on tr ee bl oo ms. c o m )

"Next, don't do anything." After finally falling asleep only to be woken up, Tao Mu said with a stern face: "Let it be marinated in the pot. When it's noon, I'll roast the chicken feet. I'll need cumin, white sesame and chili flour. Do you have them in the store?"

Brother Feng nodded fiercely: "We have all the condiments. Only, there is no oven. I'll go to the skewers shop next door to borrow one later. Their shop will not open until four o'clock in the evening."

Tao Mu left these small details to the other.

Approaching noon, Tao Mu, Da Mao and Xiao Pang went downstairs after sleeping well. The small restaurant was noisy and almost all the tables were full.

Tao Mu directly went into the back kitchen and opened the big iron pot simmering chicken feet, and found that the marinated chicken feet in it were reduced by more than half.

Tao Mu turned to look at brother Feng. Brother Feng scratched his face embarrassedly, and grinned stupidly: "Aha, it was so fragrant, I couldn't hold myself back, so I gnawed on a few."

After speaking, he even suggested to Tao Mu: "Eating rice mixed with that marinade sauce is very delicious. You should try it too."

Tao Mu: "…"

With the help of brother Feng, Tao Mu moved the remaining half of his chicken feet to the entrance of the restaurant. Sister Ping specially borrowed the skewers stove next door and set it up outside the restaurant. Brother Feng rolled up his sleeves and burned charcoal to make a fire, fanning the rising smoke away with a big fan.

Tao Mu returned to the back kitchen to prepare barbecue ingredients. Sister Ping and brother Feng helped to string the remaining chicken feet on bamboo sticks.

The chicken feet had soaked in the secret marinade sauce for a whole night and by itself it exuded a strong fragrance. When it was put over the fire and the meaty braised chicken feet were gradually licked by the flames, an even more attractive barbecue fragrance bursted out instantly. Then sprinkle it with cumin, sesame and chili flour. When the dripping hot oil fell down the bamboo skewers, the fire in the stove leaped up, and the white smoke filled the whole street with a strong aroma. The entire street was permeated with the aroma of grilled chicken feet.

Luo Yang, who insisted on pulling his childhood friend to visit the film set, sniffed his nose and turned the steering wheel, following the smell to find the entrance of the small restaurant. At a glance, he saw Tao Mu, who was standing in front of the skewers stove as a chef.

"Hey, I didn't expect you to have this craft." Luo Yang opened the door and got out of the car. Looking at Tao Mu's skillful movements, and smelling the rich smell of meat from the skewers stove, it made him more and more curious. He approached Tao Mu and asked with a smiling face, "How much is one stick, give me a hundred yuan worth for now."

"We eat it ourselves, it's not for sale." Tao Mu said concisely, staring at the chicken feet on the grill attentively. He grabbed a handful of spices to sprinkle on it occassionally while also maintaining control of the heat.

Unwilling to give up, Luo Yang continued to dawdle: "Then give me two sticks. Everyone is a friend here and talking about money does hurt feelings."

"I say, why are you so thick-skinned!" Da Mao couldn't bear it anymore, and he opened his mouth, "And you even dare to mention the word 'friends'. Have you forgotten that time you used the fire hose against our brother Mu."

"Don't mention it anymore, I also regret this thing very much. Aren't I here to make amends? You have to give me a chance to show my apologies at least."

As Luo Yang spoke, his eyes fell on the grilled golden chicken feet and he frantically hinted: "How about we forget our grudges with two chicken feet?" (TN: play on expression to forget our grudges with a smile)

"Pei!" Da Mao almost laughed in anger: "You have average looks but you dream beautiful dreams. Even saying to forget grudges with two chicken feet. Have you forgotten that you were the one who wronged our brother Mu? Now you want to cheat us of two chicken feet. You must take us as fools!"

"You want to eat chicken feet, right? Okay then. If you bark twice like a dog, we'll give you two chicken feet."

This was a bit too much. Sister Ping and brother Feng, who had been standing by to help with the chicken feet, frowned. They looked at Luo Yang dressed in brand name clothes from head to toe, with just a look one could guess he was from an extraordinary background. They then looked at the luxury car parked at the door with a value of at least tens of millions and their faces changed. Just as they were about to mediate, they saw Luo Yang touching his chin and asking thoughtfully: "Two dog barks are two chicken feet. Does this mean that a dozen dog barks would be a dozen chicken feet?"

"Of course." Da Mao crossed his arms and sneered. He had long wanted to make up for Tao Mu's face. It was Tao Mu who stopped him and said it was unnecessary. But now it was not him who went to find trouble but Luo Yang himself who came looking for trouble himself. Even if he couldn't pull a sackcloth over his head, he could at least humiliate Luo Yang a bit.

Da Mao judged others from his own perspective, thinking that Luo Yang would definitely not be able to swallow this down. When the time came, whether it turned into a group fight or a one-on-one, then that was another matter.

Luo Yang ignored Da Mao and looked at Tao Mu, who had not spoken the whole time: "You think so too?"

Tao Mu glanced at Luo Yang but his hands kept moving: "There are so many restaurants on this street, and there is also a five-star hotel five kilometers east of this street. You can eat wherever. So don't make a scene here." Tao Mu expected that with the background of Luo Yang and his childhood friend, they would not eat this kind of street stall snack.

"That won't work. I said that I want to eat chicken feet, and I must eat them today." Luo Yang looked at Tao Mu, then squinted at the chicken feet. After being silent for a while, suddenly: "Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof!

Tao Mu's hand shook slightly and he looked at Luo Yang in surprise.

Luo Yang 'woof'-ed on his own for a while and then said: "So? How many barks were there? Are your chicken feet enough for me to eat?"

Tao Mu: "…"

Li Xiaoheng, who was sitting in the car the whole time, wiped his face speechlessly. Did he have to go this far just for a bite!

Tao Mu glanced at Da Mao. Wang Ye didn't expect Luo Yang to be so shameless, and his whole body stiffened.

Xiao Pang collapsed with a wail: "We can't give him all! What would we eat if we give him all of it! Both brother Feng and sister Ping did not eat either!"

No, they had already eaten half the pot. Tao Mu thought dryly and wondered how to solve this 'debt problem' for Da Mao. He then heard a swiping sound. Li Xiaohang, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, had lowered the window of the car and persuaded with exasperation, "Stop making trouble. Who makes amends this way."

"The matter has progressed to this point, and it has nothing to do with making amends anymore." Luo Yang said with a serious expression: "It is me using my skills (dog barking) to earn the chicken feet, now they shamelessly don't want to hand over the chicken feet!"

On the dignity of a foodie, Luo Yang did not plan to fool around, "I want my chicken feet."

In order to express his dissatisfaction, Luo Yang specially added emphasis on 'my'.

Tao Mu separated two chicken feet in his hand and handed it to Luo Yang. Then he glanced expressionlessly at classmate Da Mao who tried to steal a chicken only to end up losing the rice used to lure it—although Da Mao caused the trouble, but obviously Tao Mu had to solve it himself. (TN: to try to gain an advantage only to end up worse off)

Tao Mu's solution was also very simple—

"Just now Da Mao promised you that, not me." Tao Mu said, "If you still want to eat, then let Da Mao make the chicken feet for you."

"Brother Mu—" A miserable cry echoed across the sky. Da Mao looked at Tao Mu miserably: "I don't know how to grill chicken feet!"

Tao Mu didn't say a word.

Luo Yang, who finally got his two chicken feet, held the fruits of his labor and knocked on the window frame with a smile: "Don't be so uptight. I have something delicious, this brother will share one with you."

Li Xiaoheng, who was sitting in the passenger seat, sighed helplessly. Throwing the laptop into the rear seat, he opened the door and got out of the car.

Luo Yang handed the chicken feet over, muttering under his breath: "What is that expression on your face. If you were anyone else, I wouldn't share it with you at all." This was the chicken feet he had used his dignity to exchange for.

Li Xiaoheng sighed again. He was not a foodie, and naturally he couldn't understand the logic of his childhood friend, making such a fuss for chicken feet. Perhaps, with a cold look over at Tao Mu, Li Xiaoheng speculated in his heart that Luo Yang, this kid, might being trying to ingratiate himself with the beauty in a roundabout way.

Tao Mu also noticed the inexplicable man wearing a three-piece suit on such a hot summer day but he didn't care much. Because in the previous life, Li Xiaoheng was not a plot character. Tao Mu only knew that this person was the eldest son of the Li family. He founded his own financial investment company while studying abroad and rarely returned to China.

Li Xiaoheng keenly detected Tao Mu's glance. For some reason, Li Xiaohang, who almost never ate at roadside stalls, took the chicken foot and under Tao Mu's gaze he took a bite—suddenly, the only thing he could feel was a strong aroma of meat permeating his mouth. The skin was soft and sticky but also had a crispy texture. The chicken tendons and meat was tender and chewy. And even the chicken bones were soft and edible. With just a bite, the marinade sauce that had soaked down to the bone marrow bursted in his mouth. The aroma of grilled chicken, the aroma of marinated meat over an entire night, and the aroma of cumin, sesame, and chili flour all perfectly combined. Among all the flavors, the rich and mellow taste of the Shaoxing yellow wine perfectly harmonized all of the flavors. It caused the chicken foot to exude a faint fragrance of wine from the bone marrow so when one ate it there was no greasy feeling at all.

It was delicious, it was so delicious.

Luo Yang felt that he had barely tasted it thoroughly when the chicken foot was eaten up, from the meat down to the bones, leaving only a mouthful of lingering fragrance. His mouth was so sticky that he almost couldn't open it, and the aroma was so strong that it could practically raise his skullcap.

"This is too delicious. How did you make it?" Luo Yang felt that he had never eaten such delicious grilled chicken feet even in a five-star restaurant before. Not only did this little body double look good, he even cooked so deliciously. This was talent!

Li Xiaoheng, who followed after his childhood friend in mooching on food and drink, couldn't help but look at Tao Mu as well. He just felt that the boy in front of him gave him too many delightful surprises.

Tao Mu was too lazy to pay any heed to these two freeloaders, and handed the roasted chicken feet to brother Feng, who was waiting for a long time, and then went to the back to wash his hands. Da Mao and Xiao Pang rushed to brother Feng to divide up the culinary delicacies. All the tormented diners also looked anxiously at the plate of chicken feet that still exuded a strong fragrance, the situation that of many monks and not much gruel (TN: not enough to go around).

"I say Xiao Tao Mu~" With an extremely thick face, Luo Yang tagged behind: "You have such good craftsmanship, why do you want to enter the entertainment circle? Just open a barbecue shop to sell chicken feet, and then partner with someone to open a snack processing factory. Just like selling spicy gluten, your company can be floated on the stock market in minutes. How about we three cooperate?"

Tao Mu picked up a clean white towel and wiped his hands seriously, turning a deaf ear to Luo Yang's words.

A person like Luo Yang, towards beautiful people, always had a strong tolerance and patience regardless of gender. Seeing Tao Mu being cold and indifferent, he didn't feel bothered at all, finding a topic and blabbering away by himself. Seeing the noon news being broadcasted on TV, he striked up a new conversation with a smile: "Hey, this international oil has broken through 148m a barrel. This brother will give you a suggestion, you can just buy some oil. This thing is rising very well, and if you buy in now, in just two years, don't even mention being an actor, you can have the riches to even be an investor."

Tao Mu felt a headache coming on from Luo Yang's incessant pestering and he couldn't help but say: "If you aren't afraid of going bankrupt and then forced to jump off a building, go right ahead. The price of oil now is obviously a result of people behind the scenes acting together to push it up and find a scraps-picking hero to…what kind of look is that." No wonder in the last life he was driven out of the house by the eldest miss of the Luo family and bullied to the extent he couldn't even stay in the country. It would seem he didn't know anything except picking up girls. (TN: scraps-picking hero is a person who buy stocks at high prices, or literally means the large stocks accepter and later came to represent the person who is cheated and takes over some awful/horrible mess or some troublesome things unwittingly)

No, that's not completely accurate. Tao Mu thought of Luo Yang's affairs with both women and men in his previous life, as well as the foolishness of coming out of the closet for Shen Yu and angering father Luo to death…Basically, it could be concluded that this guy not only knew how to pick up girls, but also pick up men!

"Excuse me—" Li Xiaoheng, who hadn't said anything the whole time, suddenly spoke up. Looking at Tao Mu with scorching eyes he said: "How did you see that there are international capitalists manipulating the market, and how did you conclude that international oil futures prices will fall in the short term?"

Tao Mu casually refrenced some financial news. Although everyone was still in the stage of being unable to see clearly due to being closely involved, but ten years later international experts and scholars have thoroughly studied the global financial crisis of now. Many information that was absolutely confidential at the time of the incident were also repeatedly disclosed by the news media.

Therefore, for Tao Mu, answering this kind of question was like already knowing the answer to a riddle. Using the known results to deduce the course of events, naturally he could point out the shortcomings of the contemporary problems and provide an analysis with substance.

With just a few words, Tao Mu thoroughly expressed his thoughts. In order to keep his secrets, all the evidence he cited was already reported by the financial media at this time.

But in the eyes of Li Xiaoheng, it was as if a high school student who had not yet gone to college was able deduce the clues from news reports and was able to skillfully analyze the game being played among the international capital markets. Moreover, from his words he could even speculate on the direction of the world economic situation, though deemphasized but still containing much substance and not at all shallow talk. What was even more frightening was that Li Xiaoheng actually agreed with Tao Mu's words from the bottom of his heart.

As a professional in finance, Li Xiaoheng trusted his judgment very much. His firm belief stemmed from his solid knowledge and keen financial insight. But the question was, where did Tao Mu's confidence come from?

"Hello!" Li Xiaoheng's heart jumped slightly, and he became curious about Tao Mu. He took out a personal business card and handed it to Tao Mu: "I am Li Xiaoheng, the founder and CEO of Xiaoheng Capital. I am very interested in the analysis of the international oil futures market that you just said. If you are also interested, I think we can find a quiet place to have a good chat."

Ai? Ai ai? Ai ai ai!

with a bewildered expression, Luo Yang looked at his childhood friend and then looked at Tao Mu. Right now, 10,000 grass mud horses seemed to be whizzing past in his heart! What the—just where was this direction being taken in?!

"Weren't you studying acting, Tao Mu? When did you learn finance?" Knowing that his childhood friend was not a person who would strike up a conversation out of the blue, Luo Yang looked at Tao Mu with a dazed expression. He felt that the world was truly mysterious.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e ir on tr ee bl oo ms. c o m )

Tao Mu was silent. He certainly could not say that he studied finance in his previous life.

Speaking of which, Tao Mu had to thank Shen Yu for him transferring from acting to finance in his previous life. At that time, he had just returned to the Shen family's house and madly and inexplicably hated Shen Yu. He deliberately transferred to Shen Yu's university, and specially applied for the finance major. At the beginning, the reason for doing this was to prove that he was not lacking when compared with Shen Yu.

As for why he didn't choose the literature major that Shen Yu applied for, it was more to please the Shen family. After all, the Shen family had been in business for generations. Tao Mu believed that by studying finance himself, he could have more common language with the Shen family. Unfortunately, in the eyes of others, this approach was undoubtedly an ironclad proof of his greed and eagerness for instant benefit. Therefore, Shen Yan completely rejected him, treating him with cynicism and sarcasm, believing that he didn't know his place and had delusions of fighting for the position of heir that belonged to Shen Chen.

Though, the events that happened afterwards proved that Shen Yan overestimated his IQ!

But having said that, Tao Mu gave up his theater major at Beijing Film University and plunged straight into the financial field that he was not familiar with. At first, he couldn't even understand the algorithm formula. Every day, he only knew to memorize all of these things that he clearly wasn't even interested in. In the eyes of others this was basically useless and ineffective with no practical use. He was ridiculed by fellow students and the news media as a modern two-legged bookcase…Unexpectedly, however, these materials became his most important asset in this new life. (TN: two-legged bookcase, or walking encyclopedia, someone who have read alot of books but cannot apply the knowledge to practical use)

Sure enough, as the old saying goes, the books that a person had read and the hardships he had experienced would all eventually be useful. Although this day might have come a little late for him, it being a lifetime and all.

"…Just speaking casually." Tao Mu came back to himself and answered Luo Yang in a perfunctory manner.

Luo Yang snorted and didn't believe Tao Mu's words at all. Just talking casually would not cause Li Xiaoheng, a capitalist who wouldn't act without incentive, to hand over his business card. This kid probably didn't know how rare Li Xiaoheng's business cards were.

"Just now we ate the chicken feet that Mr. Tao personally grilled. To return this politeness, I would like to invite Mr. Tao to have a casual meal." When faced with talents, Li Xiaoheng, who always liked to take the initiative, smiled gently. It was practically as gentle as a spring breeze: "I wonder if Mr. Tao can give me this face?"

Tao Mu frowned slightly but before he could even open his mouth, Li Xiaoheng said again: "I see that Mr. Tao you have your own thoughts on oil futures. To be honest, I am also paying attention to the international financial market recently, and I have many questions about futures. Hearing what you said today, I felt that many of my questions have been cleared up. I hope that Mr. Tao could give me some more advice."

Being reborn to this point in time, it would be false to say that Tao Mu had no thoughts about this financial turmoil. Anyone who was familiar with financial history and got a chance to return to this era would very likely want to stir up a storm. However, Tao Mu's pockets were rather empty. He may have valuable knowledge and enviable outlook but unfortunately no capital, and was powerless in the end.

Now that Li Xiaoheng actively invited him, Tao Mu felt that it wouldn't hurt to discuss a little further. Even if after this conversation he wouldn't get any real benefits. So long as he could form a good relationship with Li Xiaoheng, this connection might prove useful in the future—for example, finding an investor for a movie or something.

Thinking about it this way, Tao Mu no longer hesitated and immediately accepted Li Xiaohang's invitation. Li Xiaohang showed his gentlemanly demeanor, a disguise he had learned during the years of studying abroad, and personally opened the door for Tao Mu. Looking at his gentle and attentive manner, Luo Yang couldn't help snorting repeatedly, his eyeballs nearly rolling backwards into his head.

He put his hands in his pockets and raised his eyes to look up at the sky. He was about to get into the car, when he came face to face with his expressionless childhood friend: "Aren't you going to visit the crew?"

Luo Yang: "…I haven't eaten yet!"

"Go to the crew to eat. Didn't you say that you lost your temper some time ago and offended the entire crew? You can take advantage of the opportunity to visit the crew today to send some delicious food to bribe the people's hearts. Having the crew full of complaints and discontent won't do you good either after all."

Luo Yang once again couldn't hold back and rolled his eyes a 108th time: This remark sure was high-sounding and righteous, as if he didn't know the other wanted to get rid of him and go on a date with the little beauty alone.

Thinking of this, Luo Yang suddenly squinted his eyes and looked at Li Xiaoheng suspiciously, wondering if this old-fashioned bachelor since birth had finally become enlightened.

Unfortunately, since childhood, Li Xiaoheng had always been able to hide his emotions and thoughts, possessing a deep self-restraint. Luo Yang examined him several times, but he still couldn't make out what Li Xiaoheng was thinking.

Li Xiaoheng's thoughts were actually very simple. He was worried that Luo Yang would involuntarily change the topic when he was at the dinner table with them. After many years of friendship, Li Xiaoheng was quite aware of his childhood friend's habit of 'not engaging in proper business'.

Da Mao and Xiao Pang, aftering grabbing and eating several chicken feet, both quickly stood behind Tao Mu, showing their determination to be Tao Mu's entourage.

Li Xiaoheng didn't mind. Driving the car he brought everyone to a nearby five-star hotel.

"Don't know what Mr. Tao likes to eat?" In the exquisitely decorated small private room, Li Xiaoheng handed the menu to Tao Mu and smiled softly.

Regarding the trend of the international oil futures market, Li Xiaoheng had been thinking a lot about it in recent months. He could faintly perceive the movements of international capital behind the scenes, as well as the increasingly severe economic situation. However, Li Xiaoheng was limited by the current situation and could not determine the extent to which this storm would evolve. And as a result he was unable to make up his mind. Hearing Tao Mu's remarks today, Li Xiaoheng might not have received a sudden flash of insight, but some things did become clearer.

So he was perfectly happy and sincere about treating the other to this meal. Even if Tao Mu couldn't say anything tangible in the dudation of this meal, just the words he had already spoken was worth his time eating this meal with the other.

Tao Mu unceremoniously ordered a few dishes that he loved. He was good at cooking and his taste buds were also picky. All the dishes he ordered were signature dishes that were both time-consuming and fire-consuming. These dishes had extremely high requirements for both ingredients and the chef's craftsmanship.

Then, Li Xiaoheng politely handed the menu to Da Mao and Xiao Pang, and the two ordered two dishes. The menu once again went back to Li Xiaoheng's hands.

Li Xiaoheng was not a foodie, and because of the professional self-cultivation of seizing every minute and second that financial professionals all had, he always preferred to eat simply and quickly. But just now after gnawing on Tao Mu's grilled chicken feet, his taste buds were greatly stimulated. So now he even ordered some local dishes that would suit his appetite at Tao Mu's suggestion.

If Luo Yang saw this, he would definitely be surprised.

Soon, the waiter had put away the menus and served up the tea and appetizers ordered by Li Xiaoheng.

Li Xiaoheng personally poured a cup of tea for Tao Mu, and smiled softly: "Don't know if Mr. Tao likes tea or coffee. I have been studying abroad for many years, so I should be used to drinking coffee. But I love tea very much. Especially Pu'er tea."

Tao Mu wasn't picky on what he drank. In fact, he prefered to drink carbonated drinks. Milk tea was also good.

Da Mao and Xiao Pang both had bitter faces, staring at the pot of Pu'er anxiously. Li Xiaoheng smiled slightly: "I was negligent. Children your age tend not to like coffee or tea."

It's just that Tao Mu's previous speech and behavior appeared rather mature and it gave Li Xiaoheng the illusion that he was communicating with a peer.

Li Xiaoheng criticized himself for his carelessness and then called the waiter over again, re-ordering a pot of freshly squeezed juice and three bottles of carbonated drinks.

As a result, Da Mao and Xiao Pang thought that Mr. Li was really a very good person.

The very good Mr. Li turned his head sideways, exchanged a few words with Tao Mu, and quietly shifted the topic to the current economic situation.

Tao Mu had intentions of making friends with Li Xiaoheng, and naturally wanted to display his talents in front of future benefactors. Although he didn't dare to spill everything, but every word he spoke were like pearls and hit right at the heart of the matter. With just a few remarks, Li Xiaoheng's original vague ideas and thoughts became clearer.

Only Da Mao and Xiao Pang remained completely bewildered, holding their drinks and sitting as quiet as pheasants.

"…Now the international situation remain changing and inconsistent, like the dark surging tides in the ocean. According to my own thoughts, I originally wanted to wait and see some more. However, Mr. Tao has such a deep understanding of the economic situation at such a young age." Li Xiaoheng did not ask Tao Mu how he came about his insights. In his opinion, everyone could have their own secrets. What's more, in such a big world, strange people and bizarre things were never lacking. When he was studying in country M, he had also seen a teenage genius who played the stock market so well he practically ran circles around everyone, wildly seizing billions of dollars. With just his strength alone he was able to stir up the global capital pool.

Although Tao Mu's analysis of the international financial market was rather radical and sharp-edged, it was not just empty talk. There were still reasoning behind his remarks and clues to follow from. It could only be said that Tao Mu had unique insights and talents in the financial field. Thinking about it this way, Li Xiaoheng felt that it was a pity Tao Mu had such an obsession with being an actor.

"Don't know if Mr. Tao—"

"Mr. Li can just call me Tao Mu directly." Tao Mu calmly took a sip of tea. Living a lifetime again, and having been surrounded with Da Mao, Xiao Pang and the young people on the set for such a long time, he really wasn't used to the serious style of Li Xiaoheng.

Li Xiaoheng smiled and said, "Then don't call me Mr. Li. Just call me Li dage." (TN: dage=big brother, will be using the Chinese pronunciation as it's shorter and sounds better)

"Li dage." Tao Mu readily followed the other's suggestion. As soon as he called the other this, it made the communication between the two people appear even more rigid.

Looking at Tao Mu's expression, Li Xiaoheng, for some reason, suddenly said, "I am only twenty-five years old this year."

Tao Mu: "…"

Li Xiaoheng came back to his senses, and explained with some embarrassment: "I mean…we are considered close in age and I don't feel any generation gap between us."

Privately, Tao Mu thought that of course there was no generation gap. He was twenty-eight when he died in his last life!

But Tao Mu cleverly did not speak further on the subject. Although he didn't know why, Tao Mu still faintly detected that Li Xiaoheng seemed to slightly mind his own age.

Li Xiaoheng didn't know what came over him. After pausing for a moment and finally sorting out his thoughts, he continued: "I just wanted to say, Xiao Mu, do you want to switch to finance? I think you are very talented in this area. If you don't, it would be quite a pity." He also warmly suggested that if Tao Mu was really interested in finance, he could serve as an investment consultant in his Xiaoheng Capital.

Tao Mu looked at Li Xiaoheng with a little wonder: "As far as I know, the financial industry has always had high requirements for practitioners. I do not have any experience, nor am I a high-achieving student who graduated from a key university—"

"The ancients also knew that one must seek talents. I am not a fool. When I see a genius like Xiao Mu, I naturally have to try my best to win you over." Li Xiaoheng smiled and picked up the shared chopsticks and added a piece of sweet-scented osmanthus duck to Tao Mu's plate: "Just don't know if Xiao Mu would give me this opportunity."

"Thank you, Li dage, for your kindness, but I still like acting." After rebirth, Tao Mu had already made plans for the future. Naturally, he wouldn't make changes just because of a few words from Li Xiaoheng.

Li Xiaoheng didn't quite understand why Tao Mu was obsessed with being an actor, but he didn't comment on Tao Mu's ambitions. He just smiled and said: "I see that you have your own insights and analysis on the international market. It can be seen that even if you want to act, you would not be opposed to doing some part-time jobs in this field. Then, can I take the liberty of inviting Xiao Mu to come and act as my personal investment adviser? You only need to be responsible to me. How about it?"

Tao Mu's original purpose for eating this meal was to develop this connection with Li Xiaoheng. Now that Li Xiaoheng took the initiative to make friends, he certainly wouldn't refuse. It's just that before accepting the invitation, he had to humbly and politely say: "…My insights and views are all theoretical, and I have no actual practical experience. Li dage asking me to be an investment consultant is taking a big risk."

"It just so happens that I do financial investment, and what I do best is to control risks." Li Xiaoheng smiled and stretched out his hand: "Then, may we have a pleasant cooperation."

"May we have a pleasant cooperation."

Two hands shook in mid-air. Li Xiaohang keenly noticed that Tao Mu had many thin calluses on his hand, and it was not as smooth and flawless as it looked on the surface. However, this hand was slender and strong, and the palm was dry and warm. Like its owner, the more one had contact with him, the more at ease one felt.

Li Xiaoheng did not mention to Tao Mu the salary for being his personal consultant. It was not that Li Xiaoheng was stingy, but before the global economic situation became more clear, Li Xiaoheng felt that any price offered would be treating Tao Mu irreverently. Not quite suitable. And he also needed more time to observe Tao Mu's personality—whether he was someone who he could cooperate for a long time with, or whether it would be a one time thing.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e ir on tr ee bl oo ms. c o m )

Tao Mu himself did not ask either. The main purpose of his friendship with Li Xiaoheng was not how much extra money he could make every month. In fact, Tao Mu only made friends with Li Xiaoheng because he regarded this person as a possible investor who could be fooled in the future. After being reborn, Tao Mu was fully aware of the concept of throwing a long line to catch a big fish and so was not in a hurry.

From a certain perspective, the thinking of the two seem to coincide.

At the end of the meal, Li Xiaoheng offered to send Tao Mu home but was declined by Tao Mu. Da Mao and Xiao Pang, who finally freed themselves from the boring meal, fully demonstrated the outspokenness of young people who were overly 2B (TN: SB or 2B is short for shabi, a slang meaning stupid or idiot). The words came out of their mouths without making it up to their brains: "…No need, no need, it's not as if it's the end of a date and about to send a girl home. There are so many of us, Li dage don't need to worry."

With Luo Yang's stupid track record in front, an originally polite courtesy now seemed ambiguous when Da Mao and Xiao Pang made this comparison.

Li Xiaoheng looked at Tao Mu subtly, and he was relieved to find that the other didn't care at all. Tao Mu was a very talented young man in the financial field. It could be seen from just this short conversation that the two have similar temperaments. Li Xiaoheng didn't want to make Tao Mu feel offended because of these trivial matters.

Noticing Li Xiaoheng's glance, Tao Mu said with a warm smile: "Li dage, don't mind them, they are always this loud-mouthed."

"No." Li Xiaoheng smiled and explained: "They are very lively and very good friends."

The most important thing when making friends with people was to never evaluate each other's friends when they were not yet familiar. The so-called social taboo of having a deep conversation with a conparative stranger.

Only after Li Xiaoheng drove away did Da Mao and Xiao Pang let out a few large sighs: "Aiya, I almost suffocated to death. This Li dage is pretty good everywhere, just too stern."

That's right, even though Li Xiaoheng was polite and courteous, the picture of a gentleman throughout the meal, but in the eyes of Da Mao and Xiao Pang, two prospective college students who had just left high school, Li Xiaoheng's speech and behavior were still too mature and reserved. His whole person exuded the same imposing aura belonging to their parents.

Tao Mu smiled slightly: "Let's go, go to the lottery booth with me and have a look."

Da Mao and Xiao Pang were instantly bewildered: "You want to buy a lottery ticket?"

Tao Mu: "I just want to go see."

After being reborn, Tao Mu had been troubled over how to make his first start-up capital. Because he was familiar with financial history, Tao Mu originally set his sights on both stocks and futures. However, his capital was too small, the market was too turbulent, and short selling was not allowed in the country. So no matter how he used his money on the stock market, it would still just be making pocket change.

Even though the saying goes that no matter how small mosquitoes were they were still meat, but for Tao Mu, he didn't want to waste even a little time in his new life. After all, his 'vision and wisdom' only had a ten-year shelf life. In order to live up to his memory of these ten years, Tao Mu searched his brain and checked the information online every day to find possible opportunities. But he did not expect that when he saw news reports about the Olympics, several [Book Reviews] suddenly flashed in his mind once again.

It was these [Book Reviews] that gave Tao Mu the inspiration on where to find his start-up capital.

—The 2008 Olympic Games were held in Beijing. At this point in the previous life, Tao Mu, like all Chinese people, had also paid attention to this nationally celebrated event. After a lapse of ten years, although some memories were blurred, Tao Mu still vividly remembered the ownership of the more important medals during the Olympic Games. And he was reborn at this node before the opening of the Olympic Games and some things could indeed be open for manipulation.

—Unexpectedly, those inexplicable book reviews would actually be useful one day. Thinking about it this way, Tao Mu suddenly felt that these inexplicable comments that popped up in his head from time to time was slightly more acceptable.

It was a pity that only after Tao Mu entered the lottery station did he realize that knowing who won the Olympic medals in advance did not help much in buying sports lottery—it went by number selection. It seemed that he might have to go abroad to find those legal gambling platforms, and think of ways from the outside.

…

After the conversation with Li Xiaoheng, Tao Mu continued his routine as a stand-in body double. On Monday morning, while there was no scenes to be filmed, he sneaked out of the crew and went to a nearby securities company to open an account. According to the memory of the previous life, he bought a few stocks that would rise soon. He had limited funds, and the market was extremely unstable due to the impact of the global financial crisis. So the best way was to continuously speculate short-term.

Tao Mu's memory was getting better and better. He remembered the financial information he had memorized in his previous life, and he still remembered the dark horses that broke through the overall decline of the stock market prices during the 2008 financial crisis and soared instead. Although occasionally there would be losses due to memory deviation and operating errors, but in general, his earnings were still very impressive.

Da Mao and Xiao Pang watched Tao Mu's funds snowball in the stock market, and both immediately felt their blood rushing in excitement. The two smiled ingratiatingly and brought their private money in front of Tao Mu, asking Tao Mu to help them speculate. The three of them were brothers for two lifetimes, Tao Mu of course would not refuse. But before accepting, he forced them to write a three thousand word essay of praise each. It was to avenge his deep hatred when the two of them 'cursed' Tao Mu by saying he would lose all of his hard-earned savings when he first opened his account.

Just when the three of them were addicted to stock trading, Tao Mu received a call from Zhao Keping to tell him of the audition—not the campus idol drama he had mentioned before but a supporting role in another martial arts drama.

"I know you are very stubborn. If you say you don't want to violate the school rules of Beijing Film, you really would have the heart to refuse the invitation of a male No. 4 audition. I think Beijing Film really should give you a certificate of 'the most obedient student'." Zhao Keping didn't hide his grievances. He had been in the industry for so many years, and he had never met such a stubborn little guy. Sure enough, the one who was more eager to seal a deal was at the disadvantage.

Zhao Keping snorted to himself and continued: "This time the situation is different. Although "The Legend of Heroes" is also a project invested by Summer Star, this film has been filming in Hengdian for more than a month. The actor who plays the male number three was foisted onto the crew by another investor. During filming, he sneaked out to audition for another movie. After the audition was successful, he kicked "The Legend of Heroes" to the curb. The crew was temporarily unable to find anyone, and the director also happened to be my old classmate so I felt that this was a good opportunity and I reported your name. It happened that Zhao Xin had also heard about you."

The circling of news in the entertainment industry had always been fast. The gossip about Tao Mu's amazing outbreak when the crew of "Purple Cloud" encountered trouble had been spread all over the industry. Basically, the directors and action stars who were filming in H Town knew that there was such a person. In addition, Chen Yiqian also had intentions to help Tao Mu out so when the director of "The Legend of Heroes" called him to verify, he spoke alot of nice things about Tao Mu. So on both fronts, the audition was settled without Tao Mu even knowing it.

"…At two o'clock this afternoon, you just go directly to the audition on the set of "The Legend of Heroes"…forget it, you'd better wait for me in the crew. I'll drive you there." Zhao Keping said very decisively: "I asked around for you already. The role is not too heavy. It is estimated that the filming will be completed in half a month, and it will definitely not delay your reporting to Beijing Film. Don't have any pressure. This role is solely for the purpose of apologizing for the idiot Mu Huating. It has nothing to do with our cooperation."

Before Tao Mu could speak, Zhao Keping threatened: "I have already worked around your scheduling problem very clearly. If you still want to refuse, then I can unilaterally think that you don't want to forgive Mu Huating at all, and prepare to find a chance to do something shady against us?"

Was there ever such a forceful foisting of an audition on someone?!

Tao Mu had nothing to say to this and could only accept and thank him.

Zhao Keping hung up the phone quite proudly. In his opinion, Tao Mu's situation was like some fledgling young actors. In the beginning, he stuck to his high moral pedestal and refused to accept the rules of the game in the circle. When one met this kind of person, one must first find a way to open up his appetite, give him some desserts to let him taste the sweetness, and then cut off the resources for a blow. After he felt the disparity in treatment before and after it was then relatively easy to persuade and train him patiently.

Of course, there were also the kind who simply had hard bones and would not bow their heads no matter what, refusing to compromise at all. But Zhao Keping believed that Tao Mu was not that kind of person.

After hanging up the phone, Chen Yiqian also called Tao Mu over to give some advice: "Don't be nervous when auditioning. I know that old Zhao is a bit temperamental, but he likes to support newcomers very much. I also chose some scenes of your performance in "Purple Cloud", to send to him in a video. He knows your skills. The character you will be auditioning for is a ruthless killer. Originially the role doesn't have much lines either so I guess you will mainly be considered for your appearance in ancient costume and your martial arts skills. Have you read the novel "The Legend of Heroes"? I remember it said in the book that this killer's weapon was a p jian…" (TN: Chinese double edged sword)

Director Chen went on a long-winded speech. The central idea was only one—with Tao Mu's appearance and martial arts skills, there was no need to worry about whether he could pass the audition and that he shouldn't be afraid at all.

Of course Tao Mu was not nervous. But he could feel Chen Yiqian's kindness and naturally appreciated it.

The news that Tao Mu was about to audition for a supporting actor role in "The Legend of Heroes" spread through the crew somehow. Everyone ran over to cheer him on, and even Mu Huating, that idiot, came over and said: "You have taken the role that brother Zhao introduced to you, and the matter between us will now be even. Can you speak to young master Luo and have him stop making difficulties for me?"

After the meal that day, Li Xiaoheng acted decisively and directly bought a ticket and flew back to country M to preside over the operation of Xiaoheng Capital in the international market. It was estimated that he also wanted to take advantage of the situation and make a fortune. Luo Yang stayed in H Town by himself and with no one to restrain him and no one to look after him—like a husky who broke free of its leash, he became more and more lawless.

Because of Mu Huating's instigation, Luo Yang was so angry that he scattered all the fire on Tao Mu. Knowing afterwards that he was being used by others, of course with Luo Yang's character he would not swallow his anger. So besides shamelessly apologizing to Tao Mu, he began to make trouble for Mu Huating. It had Mu Huating grumbling and complaining endlessly. The key was that Zhao Keping also deliberately wanted to teach Mu Huating a lesson, and he actually watched it all on the sidelines, too lazy to mediate. Mu Huating faced so much difficulty that he couldn't help but run over and bow his head to Tao Mu.

It was just that his way of bowing his head was not very clever.

Tao Mu was not a person who repaid grievances with virtue. The most important thing was that he was in no position to ask Luo Yang to let Mu Huating go.

It was Shen Yu who sympathized with Mu Huating's recent tragic experience, and gave him an idea: "How about you speak honestly to Luo Yang and see how he can let you go. If it doesn't work, you should jump off the building in front of him. Of course, don't forget to update your Weibo and make the whole thing clear before jumping off the building. Maybe your fans will help you out of sympathy and will help you scold surnamed Luo."

Mu Huating: "…" Was this guy helping him come up with an idea or just eager to watch some more excitement?

Shen Yu chuckled and winked at Tao Mu: "You yourself can't even go to extremes to help yourself, then don't come and pester our Tao Tao. It is not our Tao Tao who instigated Luo Yang to teach you a lesson. You should look for Ye Yao instead of Tao Tao. "

After all, the two of them were official boyfriend and girlfriend. Although, they had been going back and forth on splitting up recently, their personal drama dazzling the eyes of all outsiders.

After Shen Yu's words, Mu Huating was completely speechless.

After Mu Huating left, Shen Yu said to Tao Mu: "Don't pay attention to this kind of person. He is an example of one who picks the softer persimmon." (TN: expression for taking advantage of the more easy target)

Tao Mu didn't say a word.

Shen Yu stared at Tao Mu's slender but not skinny shoulders, and his arm suddenly felt an itch to move—in truth he truly wanted to throw his arm over Tao Mu's shoulders and have a brotherly relationship with Tao Mu. But for some reason, Tao Mu seemed to be a little rejecting of him.

Fortunately, Shen Yu was originally quite good at finding amusement on his own and was also an enthisiastic and considerate person. Even if he kept getting rejected, he didn't feel discouraged—don't know why but if someone else dared to treat him so coldly, the little prince would definitely have a temper. But when it was Tao Mu, Shen Yu felt an inexplicable sense of indebtedness, like if he didn't make Tao Mu happy his whole body would feel uncomfortable. The kind where even when sleeping at night he wouldn't be free from anxiety.

"By the way, when do you have time, I would like to ask you to teach me how to pose. There will be a few wire scenes in a few days, and I want to personally—"

"No!" Tao Mu's reflexively refused. When he came back to his senses, he casually said: "Hanging on the wires is very hard and dangerous. A young master like you should just act in speaking scenes."

Shen Yu looked at Tao Mu with bright eyes, acting like a baby cat looking for cuddles, "Are you worried about me?"

Tao Mu responded with a black face followed by stomping away angrily.