6: Holy crap, it's Wang Baoqiang!

Inside a luxuriously decorated, high-end five-star hotel.

Dressed in casual clothes, Yang Mi stepped out of a business van.

Behind her, two more identical black business vans arrived.

Two exquisite and beautiful women stepped out of the vehicles.

These two were Liu Shisi and Tang Yan, who, along with Yang Mi, were known as the "Three Beauties of Chinese Paladin."

Seeing Yang Mi, the two immediately walked over to her side with smiles.

"Mi Mi, Shishi, long time no see." Tang Yan gave a sweet smile and greeted the two women.

"Long time no see, Yan Yan. How have you both been lately?" Yang Mi also greeted them with a smile.

"I've been way too busy lately. So many ads and invitations, I can barely keep up," Tang Yan said with a look of mock grievance.

Since "chinese paladin 3" became a massive hit, the main cast members had exploded in popularity. With a steady stream of commercials, endorsements, and show invitations, everyone was extremely busy.

"Me too." Liu Shisi's face, still holding a bit of baby fat, showed some exhaustion. She had also been very busy recently and had only managed to squeeze out some time to come today.

"I'm the same as you guys, but I recently finished filming a new movie." As Yang Mi spoke, she thought of "nightclub," which she had just finished. She felt she could tell Tang Yan and Liu Shisi about it so they could show their support and help with promotion.

"A new movie? Mi Mi, are you working that hard? How long has it even been, and you've already filmed another movie?" Tang Yan was very surprised by Yang Mi's words.

"Yeah, Mi Mi, don't you need to rest? You filmed another movie right after 'chinese paladin 3' finished?" Liu Shisi was also shocked, feeling that Yang Mi was pushing herself too hard.

Filming a movie takes quite a bit of time, and Yang Mi had not only taken on ads, endorsements, and variety shows but also filmed a movie. How much time had actually passed?

"I had some rest. The new movie finished filming in just over twenty days."

"That fast?" The two women were somewhat surprised.

"Yes, it wasn't a big production. A friend of mine directed it," Yang Mi nodded.

"A friend? What kind of friend?"

"Male or female?"

Tang Yan immediately became curious.

"Male. His name is Chen Le. He was the top student in the directing major of my year at the Beijing Film Academy."

"Chen Le? Mi Mi, you seem quite concerned about him."

Tang Yan's gossiping heart flared up, and she looked at Yang Mi with a playful expression.

"No way. I'm his investor; I have a stake in this movie too." Yang Mi rolled her eyes, but she didn't reveal her relationship with Chen Le.

There were other people around now; if a paparazzi overheard, she and Chen Le would be on the trending headlines today.

Although she didn't mind, it wouldn't be good if it affected Chen Le.

"I see," Liu Shisi nodded.

"Then when the movie is released, I'll have to see how it is and show up to support you," Tang Yan said with a smile.

"You're welcome to come. This is my first time investing in a movie."

Yang Mi chatted with the two of them, smiling.

Meanwhile, on the other side, after Chen Le submitted the movie for review...

Night fell.

Chen Le checked the time and called Gang Zi.

"Gang Zi, the movie's been submitted. Come out for a stroll. Let's find a place to grab some barbecue and drinks."

"Alright, I'm coming right now." Hearing Chen Le invite him for barbecue, Gang Zi immediately ran out happily.

The place Gang Zi rented wasn't far from Chen Le's; it took him about half an hour by taxi to get there.

Meeting Gang Zi, Chen Le gave a grand wave and led him to a nearby food street.

"Let's go, Gang Zi. We'll head to that barbecue place we tried last time; the taste was good."

"Okay! Whatever you say, Old Chen!"

Afterward, the two arrived at an outdoor food stall.

They ordered some barbecue and a dozen beers.

Sitting at a table along the street, they chatted while eating barbecue and drinking beer.

"Old Chen, now that it's submitted, can our movie be released?" Gang Zi asked after taking a bite of barbecue.

"Yes. We'll start promoting it first, and then it can be released at a suitable time. I've asked Dean Wang to help resolve the cinema circuit issues."

"You're still the best, Old Chen. If it were me, I really wouldn't know what to do about these problems."

Chen Le smiled at Gang Zi's words but said nothing, continuing to eat.

Suddenly, Chen Le saw a very familiar figure walking over.

The person followed a few others and found a spot to sit down next to him.

"Wang Baoqiang?" Chen Le rubbed his eyes, thinking he had seen wrong.

But when he looked again, he realized it really was Wang Baoqiang.

Holy crap!

Chen Le was pleasantly surprised. He hadn't expected to run into Wang Baoqiang while out for barbecue!

Who was Wang Baoqiang? In his past life, almost everyone knew that name; his movies were massive hits across the country.

However, he hadn't found any mention of Wang Baoqiang in this world. Logically, Wang Baoqiang should have debuted several years ago and acted in many movies by now.

But not only could he not find Wang Baoqiang, even the movies he had acted in didn't exist here.

And now, he had actually run into Wang Baoqiang here. Wasn't this a godsend?

At this moment, Gang Zi suddenly noticed Chen Le seemed to be looking at someone.

"Old Chen? Old Chen?" Gang Zi called out twice, but found Chen Le was still in a daze.

"Old Chen, what are you looking at?"

Gang Zi couldn't help but tap Chen Le.

Only then did Chen Le snap out of it. "What's up, Gang Zi?"

"What do you mean 'what's up'? I called you several times just now, and you ignored me," Gang Zi said, somewhat speechless.

"Oh, oh, sorry, Gang Zi. I was just zoning out for a second." Chen Le quickly apologized.

"Zoning out? Who were you looking at so intently that it made you zone out?" Gang Zi asked curiously.

"I just saw wrong. I thought it was someone I knew."

Chen Le brushed it off with an excuse, while thinking about how to establish a connection with Wang Baoqiang. Since Wang Baoqiang was right next to him, if he missed this chance, it would be hard to find him again.

Meanwhile, beside them...

Wang Baoqiang and his roommates finished ordering and started drinking.

They had been working as extras all day and were exhausted. To relax, Wang Baoqiang had come out with his roommates for barbecue and some drinks to relieve the pressure.

He'd had better luck during the day, landing an extra role with a few lines, which paid a bit more.

Unlike his roommates, who were drinking to drown their sorrows out of frustration, he was in a good mood because he'd earned a bit extra. For him, drinking was a celebration of taking another step forward on his acting path.

Wang Baoqiang took a sip of beer. Since they were splitting the bill equally, he had to eat more to get his money's worth.

Just as he set down his glass and was about to pour another, he thought he heard someone calling his name from behind!

"Wang Baoqiang!"