Chapter 320 - 253: A Toast to You

"Even if it was a case of ’inflict a thousand wounds and suffer eight hundred,’ it felt so good! HAHAHA!"

Ni Bingyan didn’t wrap up filming until midnight, and as her co-star, Xu Bin naturally returned at the same time.

But unlike Ni Bingyan, who was miserable, he was in a fantastic mood!

The sight of Ni Bingyan, fuming all day but not daring to say a word, was just too amusing!

That’s why he could still smile, even after Wu Xi had chewed him out.

Humming a tune, Xu Bin got out of the shower. He cheerfully picked up his phone and saw it was almost one in the morning.

And that was with the hotel being so close to the set, saving a ton of time on the commute back.

Just as he was about to get into bed, he suddenly heard a knock at the door.

Xu Bin walked toward the door, doing up his buttons. "Who is it?"

The hotel didn’t have the best soundproofing, and since he couldn’t be bothered to open the door, he just asked loudly.

"Mr. Xu, it’s me!"

The voice was a little familiar, but he couldn’t quite place it.

The person was speaking Mandarin, however, and the production team had the whole hotel booked. At this hour, it was almost certainly one of their own, so Xu Bin was quite calm.

"What is it?"

’He doesn’t have an assistant,’ he thought, ’so it’s probably a PA from the crew, here to notify me about work.’

’I was late today, so maybe they sent someone to give me my call time for tomorrow. Or perhaps the director is here to apologize for chewing me out so disrespectfully. Both are possibilities.’

"I have something to discuss with you! Would you mind opening the door?"

The visitor was extremely polite and courteous.

Xu Bin didn’t think twice and went to open the door.

Before opening the door, on some strange impulse, he buttoned his pajama shirt all the way to the top.

Apparently, the events of the previous night had left him with considerable trauma.

The door swung open to reveal Wang Biao standing in the doorway with a grin, holding a tray with an elegant cocktail on it.

Xu Bin thought he was actually there for another night of fooling around, and his brow furrowed as he immediately refused:

"I have a shoot tomorrow morning, and I’m about to go to sleep. If you all want to drink, find another place!"

It wasn’t as if he didn’t know how to say no.

The only reason he’d tolerated it last night was because he thought they had videos and photos.

He had tormented Ni Bingyan all day, yet Wang Biao hadn’t retaliated. That told him his assumption had been wrong.

If that was the case, why the hell should he be afraid of him!

You had to admit, as a wily old fox of the entertainment industry, Xu Bin had a whole playbook of petty tricks.

"Ai! You took such good ’care’ of our Xiao Ni today, so I specially ordered a drink for you. Come on, Mr. Xu, this is for you!"

Wang Biao held out the tray with a smile. Besides the cocktail, there was also a cell phone on it.

Everyone was trying to make a living in the same industry. It was better to resolve conflicts than to create them. The most important thing right now was to finish the movie; any personal scores could be settled later.

Wang Biao’s meaning was clear: drink this cocktail, and they would each take a step back. The video in his possession would not be released, and in return, he was asking Xu Bin not to cause any more trouble or continue harassing his artist.

Xu Bin stared at the cocktail, then looked at Wang Biao again and again, his face a mask.

’So if I refuse the toast, I’ll have to drink the forfeit?’

’Heh. A toad yawning—what big talk!’

Noticing the man’s eyes darting repeatedly to the phone, Xu Bin gave a cold laugh and shut the door in his face.

’They played me for a fool yesterday with their act. If they think they can do it again today, they’ve got another thing coming. No way!’

’Besides, he had it all figured out now. Even if Wang Biao and the others really had a video, they wouldn’t dare release it.’

’Never mind the fact that it would drag Ni Bingyan’s reputation down with him—if it jeopardized the movie’s release, the investors would be out for blood! They weren’t to be trifled with.’

’Once this blew over, who would still care about the trivial affairs of a middle-aged actor?’

’Liking to wear fishnet shirts and G-strings in private wasn’t that big of a deal. There are nudists out there who don’t like to wear anything at all!’

’If they dared post any of it online, he’d sue them for invasion of privacy, guaranteed.’

’After all, he was wearing it in the privacy of his own room.’

’Taking videos and photos without permission was not something law-abiding citizens do.’

You had to hand it to him: the older the ginger, the hotter the spice.

Having recovered from his panic the night before, his brain was back online.

Wang Biao felt a stress-induced headache coming on.

He suddenly understood Ni Bingyan’s frustration.

Faced with a shameless old rogue—a dead pig unafraid of boiling water, as they say—she, the female lead, could only endure it for the sake of the production.

He carried the cocktail back to Ni Bingyan’s room. She was still awake, with Duanmu Li keeping her company.

When Wang Biao came in, Ni Bingyan couldn’t help but ask, "How did it go? Is he willing to call a truce?"

Wang Biao sighed helplessly. "Well, the drink is still here."

On the way back, he’d pretty much figured out why Xu Bin was playing hardball.

When he explained it to Ni Bingyan, she understood, too.

"Sigh! It’s such terrible luck to run into such a treacherous piece of trash! Forget it. Brother Biao, Sister Li, you two should go get some rest. I’ll pay attention to my blocking during tomorrow’s shoot and just make sure he doesn’t have a chance to get his back to everyone."

No matter what stunts he pulls, he wouldn’t dare let anyone see.

Insidious tricks can’t be brought into the sunlight.

"Should we try to record him while he’s up to his tricks?"

Duanmu Li had barely finished speaking when she realized her idea wasn’t feasible.

For one, there was no telling if he’d even pull the same stunt tomorrow.

When filming, all the props they carried were accounted for. If he really decided to pull something behind everyone’s backs, Ni Bingyan wouldn’t have any way to record him.

The three of them talked for a long time before Ni Bingyan sighed, "I really thought that video would make him back down."

Wang Biao explained awkwardly, "I couldn’t be too explicit. Otherwise, he’d definitely sue us for blackmail, extortion, invasion of privacy, things like that..."

"Why doesn’t heaven just strike him dead with a bolt of lightning!"

After muttering a few helpless curses, Duanmu Li grabbed her bag and went back to her room. Wang Biao also sighed and left.

"I’ll keep a closer watch tomorrow. Don’t worry."

Ni Bingyan saw the two of them out, closed the door, and refusing to overthink it, went straight to bed.

While the three of them were tearing their hair out in frustration, they had no idea that Xu Bin was in deep trouble himself.

"Tax evasion? How is that possible? How could I make such a rookie mistake?! How do you people handle things?"

He hadn’t been asleep for long when he received a call from back home.

His own career wasn’t exactly thriving, and although his parents were veteran, award-winning actors, they hadn’t saved much money.

It wasn’t nearly as easy for entertainers to rake in money back in their day.

The reason he was so wealthy and spent money like water was simply that his grandparents had left him a huge inheritance.

The inheritance was quite large and difficult to manage, so he had hired a team of professional managers. Things like taxes were all handled by dedicated staff. For a problem to suddenly arise, he was naturally going to hold them accountable.

"Well, this issue is... rather complex. It’s a matter of aggressive tax avoidance. Sometimes it’s legal, but if someone really wants to dig into it, it’s not."

Xu Bin finally caught the subtext. "Is someone targeting me?"

The person on the other end of the phone was about to burst into tears.

If his boss hadn’t offended someone, why else would he be making this call?

If it could have been resolved through normal means, he would have handled it himself!

Xiao Xiao Zhao was very well-behaved tonight. He fell asleep after ten o’clock and hadn’t made a peep. Lying in bed with his wife in his arms, Xiao Zhao was nearly moved to tears of joy.

Just then, the phone rang.

"WAAAH!!"

His son started to cry.

Xiao Zhao quickly picked him up to comfort him, answering the phone at the same time.

"Go on! What is it?"

"President Zhao, that business for the lady has been taken care of!"

"WAAAH!!!"

Good news had arrived, and Xiao Zhao should have been pleased, but seeing his dad ignoring him, Xiao Xiao Zhao began to wail even louder!