“…”

“Could it be that our friendship can be measured by money?!”

“You’ve hurt me so much!”

Lu Xuan looked heartbroken.

As he spoke, a snot bubble even popped out.

*Boing*—

But Li Hao didn't fall for it at all. He leaned back in disgust, still gripping Lu Xuan tightly. “Alright, stop acting!”

“It’s just two thousand yuan, is it worth it!”

Lu Xuan immediately stopped acting, embarrassedly sniffed, and chuckled awkwardly, “It’s just that I’m a little short on cash lately…”

“When I'm flush, I'll pay you back tenfold!”

Li Hao let go, sneering, “Tenfold?”

“Looking at your broke ass, you probably have to owe for a bowl of egg fried rice!”

“Alright, alright, you don't need to pay me back. So, what did you come to me for this time?”

“Just so you know, my pockets are cleaner than my face right now.”

Li Hao picked up the wok and waved it around, dispelling Lu Xuan's evil intentions.

“That won't happen!”

Getting down to business, Lu Xuan became serious, “I’ve come to find you because I’m planning something big!”

“As long as we pull it off, we’ll have everything we want. We'll even be able to add two eggs to our jianbing guozi (savory crepe)!”

“Add two eggs?”

Li Hao chuckled, “Now that’s what I call luxury!”

Lu Xuan waved his hand and sat down to the side, “Stop yapping, first get me a bowl of egg fried rice, and we'll talk while we eat.”

“Damn, you’re here to freeload again, aren’t you?”

Li Hao shook his head, turning around to cook the rice.

“There are drinks over there, help yourself.”

Lu Xuan had already twisted open the cap of his Leibi (knock-off coke), taking a refreshing gulp.

“Ah!”

After dispelling some of the heat, Lu Xuan looked at Li Hao’s busy figure, the way he flipped the wok actually looked pretty good.

He shouted with a smile, “Brother Gun’er, is it almost ready? I’m starving!”

“??”

Li Hao didn’t even turn his head, “What are you barking about!”

Lu Xuan laughed, enjoying the carefree feeling.

Li Hao was his roommate from university, the third oldest, while Lu Xuan was the fourth.

Because he was very tall but skinny, Lu Xuan always called Li Hao 'Brother Gun’er' (Stick).

The two of them were tight, the kind who would really be there for each other.

Although they were both majoring in directing, Li Hao’s talent was completely off in a different direction compared to Lu Xuan.

Apart from creating, it seemed like he could do anything.

His social skills were maxed out, what people commonly called a social butterfly.

After graduation, Lu Xuan and Li Hao collaborated on a web series called *Diaosi Men*.

Looking at the script, apart from Lu Xuan being the chief director, everything else was Li Hao!

As for the actors…

They were all junior students that Li Hao had conned into participating for free!

It could be said that Lu Xuan guaranteed the quality of the script, while Li Hao guaranteed the filming of the script.

Both were indispensable!

Under such a combination, *Diaosi Men* became an instant hit, exploding on the internet with the force of a mudslide!

Lu Xuan's name also rose to prominence along with *Diaosi Men*.

The subsequent second, third, and fourth seasons established Lu Xuan's reputation as a 'genius director'.

As for the subsequent lack of staying power, it was truly a test of fate.

This time, Lu Xuan had come to find Li Hao in order to bring back his former best assistant director.

“Alright, what exactly is it?”

*Clang*—

After placing a bowl of golden fried rice in front of Lu Xuan, Li Hao sat down opposite him.

Lu Xuan immediately shoveled in a mouthful, and an aroma instantly filled his mouth.

He narrowed his eyes in enjoyment, “If I said I came to ask you to cooperate on opening a fried rice restaurant, would you believe me?”

“With your cooking skills, shouldn't you open a shop and make a name for yourself, instead of being a small stall owner here?!”

“…”

Li Hao’s eyes twitched, the wok in his hand itching for action.

Lu Xuan sensed the danger to his life, and instantly became serious, “Actually, I came to ask you to cooperate on filming a movie!”

Li Hao put down the wok, “Really?”

“Really!”

Lu Xuan’s eyes were sincere, emphasizing the emotional appeal.

“I thought of a very good script, as long as you’re willing to come out and help me, we can make a name for ourselves again and return to our peak!”

“Not going.”

Before Lu Xuan could start painting a rosy picture, Li Hao directly refused.

Then he advised earnestly, “Xuan’er, you need to face reality, you’ve already run out of inspiration!”

“So, can you please stop thinking about those weird scripts?”

“Wouldn’t it be better to find a factory job and work steadily!”

It wasn’t that he didn’t believe in Lu Xuan, it was that he didn’t dare to believe anymore.

The previous string of failures had already exhausted Li Hao’s enthusiasm, he really couldn’t do it anymore.

“Don’t be like that, Brother Gun’er!”

Lu Xuan wasn’t discouraged, he had a lot of confidence in this script.

“Just believe in me one more time!”

“Have you forgotten the bet with the old man? Don’t you want to prove it to him?”

“…”

Mentioning the old man, Li Hao was silent for a moment.

“Who said so, if it wasn’t for the bet, I wouldn’t be selling fried rice here!”

“That’s right!”

Lu Xuan followed up while the iron was hot, “But how much money can you make selling fried rice? Why not just take a big gamble with me? If we fail, I’ll sell fried rice with you!”

In the end, Li Hao sighed deeply.

“I’m really giving in to you!”

“Alright, what’s the budget this time?”

He still chose to believe in Lu Xuan.

Lu Xuan was overjoyed, then held up three fingers.

“Thirty million?”

Li Hao stroked his chin and nodded, “Not a lot, but barely enough to use.”

“No, no, no.” Lu Xuan shook his head, “It’s three million.”

“…”

Li Hao’s voice rose, “How much?!”

“Three million!”

“Damn it, where’s my knife! No… where’s my wok!”

After hearing Lu Xuan’s budget, Li Hao could no longer restrain his inner strength, preparing to perform a live stir-fry of his good brother.

“Hey, hey, hey, Brother Gun’er, listen to me first.”

Lu Xuan quickly pressed him down, then took out the script he had prepared long ago.

“Take a look at the script first, if it’s not good, I’ll stir-fry myself!”

“You said it!”

Holding onto the last bit of trust, Li Hao took the script.

*Goodbye Mr. Loser*

“This title… is a little interesting.”

The name successfully piqued Li Hao's interest.

He opened the script and continued reading.

“Comedy romance?”

“A story about the protagonist making a scene at his first love’s wedding, accidentally returning to his youth, and ultimately understanding life and finding true love?”

“Hey! When did you learn how to write romance dramas, kid?”

Lu Xuan touched his nose, “A little understanding, a little understanding, keep reading, keep reading.”

From Li Hao's expression, he could tell that the other party was already interested.

This meant that convincing the other party to come out of retirement was already half successful!

Thinking of the power after their combined forces, Lu Xuan couldn't help but feel excited.

The future was bright!