Chapter 80: “gotta Charge Extra”
“Me? Acting guidance?”
In the tavern, hearing Yoona’s proposal that sounded like something out of Arabian Nights, Xiuyuan pointed at himself, looking incredulous, “Yoona xi, are you crazy? Asking me for acting guidance, to teach you how to act like a man?”
At these words, Sunny burst out laughing on the spot.
If it was really this lesson, the person in front of her probably did have some qualifications.
Facing Xiuyuan’s astonishment, Yoona very naturally pulled Jung Soo Yeon out as a shield, “Sulli unnie said it, she said you had a way to help me out.”
“Her again.”
Taking a deep breath, Xiuyuan felt a bit of a headache, “Yoona xi, what if I kick her out of membership, would that make this none of my business?”
Yoona didn’t respond, just stared at him for a few moments with her lively deer eyes, then pursed her lips and said nothing.
This little expression of hers left Xiuyuan speechless, so he simply stood up and took out his mobile phone, “You two sit for a bit, I’ll go chat with Jung Soo Yeon.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he walked straight out of the tavern and dialed the phone outside the door.
The door slowly closed, and only then did Sunny have the mood and time to properly take in the tavern’s decor.
This place wasn’t large, but the soft furnishings were quite exquisite, with a great atmosphere—clearly a lot of care had gone into it.
So she sighed, “This place is nice, Yoona. We can come sit here sometime when we’re free—no one to disturb us, it’s great.”
“Unnie, you’re really thinking ahead. Didn’t you hear what that one just said? He’s going to kick Sulli unnie out of membership.”
At this point, Yoona smirked, “This is a membership system tavern—without a member to bring you, you basically can’t get in. Did you see the lock at the main entrance? Iris plus fingerprint recognition, full of tech vibe.”
Sunny was stunned hearing this, and couldn’t help shrinking her neck, “Ah, he won’t really kick Sulli out, will he?”
“Probably not.” Yoona said.
Then both of them turned their gazes to the doorway, wanting to know how the chat between Xiuyuan and Jung Soo Yeon was going.
At the same time, they were mobilizing their own connections, preparing to check who exactly owned the script for The Heirs, to see if Xiuyuan was deceiving them.
At this moment, under the streetlight outside, Xiuyuan leaned against a utility pole with his mobile phone to his ear.
“Hey, Jung Soo Yeon, are you crazy? How am I supposed to give Yoona acting guidance? Do you have bubbles in your brain?”
On the other end of the phone, Jung Soo Yeon didn’t care what he said at all, just latched onto one point fiercely.
Namely, “Why are you yelling so loud? Do you want to yell at me?”
Xiuyuan was dumbfounded: ???
These words left Xiuyuan completely stunned.
He swore, swore on his own dick, that he absolutely hadn’t spoken loudly just now, let alone yelled at her.
His tone was just a bit emphatic, only a little bit, and even carried a hint of amusement.
This was clearly teasing, not yelling.
“Why aren’t you speaking? Know you were wrong, huh?”
Jung Soo Yeon’s voice continued, even humming a few times, before slowly addressing the main issue, “I did tell Yoona you had ‘acting guidance’ courses, but I didn’t say it had to be you teaching.”
“Then who besides me.” Xiuyuan didn’t react for a moment.
“Besides you, there’s Krystal too.”
At these words, Xiuyuan was stunned for a few seconds.
After his mind turned it over, staring at the passing pedestrians, he fell into brief silence.
After a while, he finally replied, “Ah, I get it. You’re a clever one, Jung Soo Yeon. Even this idea occurred to you. But I have one more question: are you sure Lin Dajun can teach it?”
This last sentence was a double entendre, but Jung Soo Yeon understood the implication.
“It’s not like shooting some movie, just an idol drama—should be enough. Whatever, I’ll come find you tonight and we’ll talk. Don’t run around today, got it?”
“OKOK, see you later.”
After hanging up, Xiuyuan stood there pondering for a long time.
On one hand thinking about the suggestion Jung Soo Yeon had just made, on the other recalling the ‘Blue Dragon Film Empress’ he’d seen just last night.
Then looking toward the tavern doorway at Yoona inside, comparing her to the ‘Film Empress’, and imagining a scene of the two doing “remote teaching”—he couldn’t help laughing out loud.
So the question was, meeting in person was impossible, but how to do the teaching without meeting?
As he thought, Xiuyuan slipped next door to a snack shop, bought a grilled sausage, got two to go, and pondered while eating.
So when he returned to the tavern, the sight that greeted Yoona and Sunny was him with a grilled sausage in his mouth—they were both stunned for a moment.
“Ah, weren’t you going to call unnie?”
Asked by Yoona, Xiuyuan nodded, “Yeah, finished the call and grabbed a grilled sausage on the way. Oh, got some for you two too.”
He said, placing the bag on the coffee table, then sat down.
“Thanks, but no need, we’re not used to eating this.”
As soon as Yoona finished speaking, Sunny eyed the grilled sausages in the bag with some regret.
She really wanted to eat one, but out and about, safety first.
“Mm, no problem, I wasn’t full anyway.”
Xiuyuan took another one, took a bite, then looked at Yoona, “That ‘acting guidance’ you mentioned, I can indeed arrange it, but I need to explain a few things clearly first.”
“What things?” Yoona asked.
“The guidance teacher might not be able to show their face, and you can list out your acting weaknesses or issues, I’ll pass them on, then have them record an online course video for you to watch and learn from.”
As Xiuyuan finished, while Yoona was thinking about these issues, she suddenly noticed someone tugging at her clothes.
Turning her head, she saw Sunny nodding slightly, signaling she could agree.
Because in Sunny’s view, with Jung Soo Yeon’s guarantee, this basically wouldn’t be a scam—the rest was just about whether to go for it.
Since it wasn’t a scam, why not try?
No matter how pure the guidance quality was, secure it first and see.
So with Sunny’s support, Yoona nodded, “Okay.”
“Oh, forgot one more thing: this online course can only be watched here, can’t take it out of the tavern.”
Feeling it wasn’t quite right, Xiuyuan added another condition.
Safety first, safety first.
This made Yoona hesitate slightly, but she still nodded in agreement, “That’s fine too, as you say.”
By now, Xiuyuan had finished the second grilled sausage, tossed the stick, and was about to take the last one.
But a small hand snatched it faster.
Looking up, he saw Sunny couldn’t stand watching him eat so enjoyably anymore, so she grabbed it.
Seeing this, Xiuyuan didn’t say anything, just said again, “Then there’s only one last issue left.”
At this, Yoona’s forehead inexplicably sprouted a few veins, her right hand under the table already clenched into a fist, “Mr. Lin, can you state all the requirements at once?”
“Last one.” Xiuyuan smiled.
“Go ahead.”
“Gotta add money.”
These three words hadn’t even made Yoona laugh in anger yet, when Sunny beside her jolted, looking down at the grilled sausage in her hand.
Thinking: It can’t be because I snatched one of his grilled sausages that he wants to add money, right?
Fortunately, Xiuyuan’s follow-up explanation came quickly, “Meaning, if you need this extra after-sales service, then yes, add money.”
True enough, ten million to bring out the future ‘Blue Dragon Film Empress’—ten million did seem stingy.
Had to add at least a bit more, at minimum cover the equipment and manpower for recording the online course—make the Yoona in front of him bear it.
Across from him, Yoona, who had been clenching her little fist, slowly relaxed her hand, staring at Xiuyuan for a few seconds.
Seeing his calm expression and even tone, as if there was nothing wrong with the request, she ultimately chose trust.
“All good. How much to add?”
“By class hour, one million per session. After the first one, if no effect, full refund, no need to pay for further ones.”
This sounded like he’d planned it all along, pricing straightforward.
So Yoona didn’t hesitate, nodding, “Alright, that’s twenty million total then, right? How to pay?”
“Credit card or online banking, whichever’s convenient.”
Just like that, a few minutes later, seeing the twenty million hit his account, Xiuyuan stood up and went to the bar counter, fetching paper and pen for Yoona, handing them over, “Here, you can write your issues, then wait for my notice.”
“Could you give a little clue about this script?”
At this point, having finished her grilled sausage, Sunny spoke up.
She wasn’t just making conversation— she’d just contacted a circle of TV stations, none had heard of any filing for this drama, so naturally curious.
Xiuyuan glanced at her faintly, casually dropping a name in a light tone, “Kim Eun Sook.”
At the mention of this top screenwriter’s name, Yoona and Sunny immediately exchanged a look, shock and surprise flashing in their eyes.
Kim Eun Sook—the creator of Paris Lover, Prague Lover, Secret Garden, the Korean drama hit machine.
A script from her hand, even untitled, was basically a double guarantee of ratings and buzz.
So now the key question became: Could Yoona snag that role?
Realizing this, Yoona quickly finished writing her issues, stood up, pulled Sunny along, and solemnly bowed to Xiuyuan, thanked him, then hurriedly left the tavern.
Her rushing to leave was naturally to get back to the company as soon as possible, find her agent, and discuss with the higher-ups.
Having been in entertainment for so many years, Yoona knew very well the rules of the role-snatching game—it all came down to being ‘fast’.
Best if the script wasn’t even finalized and the role was already set.
Otherwise, once the script was out, not even scraps would be left.
As for Xiuyuan left in the tavern, looking at the twenty million in his account, plus the ten million earned that morning—thirty million total.
Roughly equivalent to 150,000 soft sister currency.
He counted on his fingers while sinking into thought.
At this money-making pace, wasn’t this basically a “Godhaoo novel protagonist” start?
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