A perfect life begins with changing the timeline.

Chapter 175 Winning First Doesn't Mean Winning Later

Although Chu Jiwei's phone call unexpectedly led the two to Hong Kong, it didn't stop Li Mu from being utterly defeated by his girlfriend.

There's nothing we can do; this woman has gone mad.

All their tenderness turned into biting, leaving Old Li riddled with holes.

The situation collapsed in the middle of the game.

Of course, the biggest reason was that Li Mu needed to play chess while communicating with Hai Ge about tomorrow's itinerary, and also find an airline to book tickets.

It's not because there's a thousand-year-old ghost living inside her.

After finishing the second game, the two of them went to bed together.

Her flight is at 6:50 tomorrow morning, so she has to get up early.

But... plans can't keep up with changes.

"Why are you sleeping on your side, always crowding around here?"

I want to snuggle up to you.

"...What are you doing? Where are you putting your hand?"

Hehe~

After a few playful laughs, Li Mu looked down at his girlfriend, whose hair was disheveled, and sighed helplessly.

"Sigh... I have to get up early tomorrow."

"Shhh."

A disheveled figure leaned down and covered his mouth with a paste.

The next second, a Hitchcockian transition.

The two mountains merged together.

……

"Brother Hai, I'm in a hurry to get to work; today is our company's annual party."

"Okay, you go ahead, I'll take good care of Bingbing."

"OK, see you in Hong Kong this afternoon."

A little after six o'clock, at the airport, Li Mu waved to his girlfriend and Hai Ge and then quickly left.

Although Fan Bingbing and Wang Hai were not exactly close, they had at least met before.

They walked into the airport together, chatting and laughing.

Li Mu returned to the city, had breakfast, and then went to the company early.

To be honest, today is his last half-day of work before the New Year.

Unlike Sui Kuan, who was unlucky enough to be assigned to duty, he was able to happily spend the New Year at home and return to duty on the third day of the Lunar New Year.

The matter of being on duty during the Spring Festival is truly a mixed bag of joy and sorrow.

But looking at the sighing and groaning Fatty Sui, Li Mu knew that people's joys and sorrows were not the same.

The work in the morning is actually quite easy.

The team organized and archived all the data from the year, and after the duty team finalized their duty schedule, they headed to the conference venue.

I arrived at the venue at 10 o'clock.

Even so, both he and Sui Kuan arrived late; the elderly people who weren't on duty had arrived at the venue around 9 a.m. By the time Li Mu arrived, they had already played one round of games.

There's no way around it; this kind of work is inherently for newcomers.

Even if Li Mu doesn't have to be on duty, he still has to do all the work that needs to be done.

Around 10 a.m., Chief Executive Officer Cheng Yizhong, General Manager Liu Xiaofeng, and other key figures from "Southern Metropolis Daily" arrived.

The annual meeting proceeded in a similar manner to yesterday, but with a more relaxed atmosphere.

The first thing to do was the awards ceremony.

Li Mu, who won the group's top prize, needed no introduction; the company's top prize and a 10,000 yuan bonus were already arranged for him. However, the Best Newcomer Award went to Fatty Sui…

And... the news of Fatty Sui winning the lottery was the same lottery headline he posted with Li Mu.

Li Mu couldn't help but burst into laughter when he saw him holding the newcomer award medal and three thousand yuan in cash, grinning foolishly on stage.

Row.

My buddy and I are both satisfied.

The awards ceremony ends and the annual banquet begins. For the newcomers, it's only half a year, but for the veterans, it's a busy and lively whole year.

All the hard work and toil of the year was contained in that glass of wine.

"Li Mu, I'll drink this glass! Thank you!"

During the meal, Sui Kuan poured himself a full glass of baijiu and clinked glasses with Li Mu.

The two brothers were speaking in private, and Li Mu understood what he meant.

He raised his glass with a smile:

"Let's do this! We'll be even better next year!"

"Yes! It will definitely get better!"

……

"Brother Bie, shall I come see you tomorrow?"

"Get lost! Why aren't you home? What are you doing here?"

Bie Yan, who hadn't been drinking, rolled her eyes and patted Li Mu on the shoulder:

"Go home early, you'll be back on duty on the third day of the Lunar New Year."

"I also bought you something. I need to deliver it to you~"

"Then deliver it now and put it in my car."

"Uh...no, I have to go to Hong Kong now..."

"?"

Seeing Li Mu's slightly flushed face and absent-minded demeanor, Bie Yan was taken aback, then lowered her voice:

"Is Bingbing here?"

"Hehe...in Hong Kong."

"...Get out of here."

Before the disciple, who had drunk more than half a jin of liquor, could continue his rambling, Bie Yan simply waved his hand.

So Li Mu didn't delay any longer.

I took a taxi straight to the airport.

Then, feeling slightly tipsy, I arrived in Hong Kong around 3 p.m.

Guangfa has a bank in Hong Kong, which opened this year... no, strictly speaking, it should be said that the Hong Kong branch was just completed in April 2001.

Therefore, Li Mu only needs to sign some formalities and open an account at Chu Jiwei's previous securities company.

Fan Bingbing had already gone through the procedures once that morning and was very familiar with them. Furthermore, as a major client of Guangfa Bank, Li Mu handled the entire process very conveniently.

The formalities were completed shortly after five o'clock.

In the future, if Li Mu wants to buy US stocks, he only needs to pay a transaction fee of 500 yuan per transaction to directly contact this company to buy and sell.

It was just a matter of a phone call.

When Wang Hai met with Chu Jiwei in the afternoon, Chu Jiwei said that Chu Jiwei had called in the morning, and the meaning was very simple.

Sun Dedi's original words: "If nothing unexpected happens, the hearing will be held on January 26th and 27th. All the arrangements have been made."

After completing these tasks, the three of them returned to Guangzhou together.

Wang Hai had originally planned to invite everyone to have a meal together, since it was Chinese New Year.

But Li Mu refused.

He preferred spending time alone with his girlfriend to having dinner with Hai Ge.

So, after the two men exchanged a knowing wink, Hai Ge tacitly escorted them back to the city center and then left.

As the two were strolling home in the night, Li Mu's phone suddenly rang.

Upon seeing the caller ID, he answered and asked:

"What's wrong?"

Sui Kuan's voice rang out from the other side:

Why is your phone off? I've been trying to call you since 5 PM, what have you been doing?

"Uh... the battery died. I was exercising just now. What's up? Why are you contacting me instead of doing your shift?"

"I have some news for you. Your salary next month will probably be quite high again."

Holding his girlfriend's hand, Li Mu was somewhat puzzled. Under Fan Bingbing's equally questioning gaze, he asked:

"What do you mean?"

"It means exactly what it says. This afternoon, the editor on duty gave you four reprint notices. He told me to tell you to sign all of these notices after the New Year and file them. Then I went out this afternoon to help Li Wei and the others organize materials, and I didn't get back until after 5 p.m. Hey, guess how many reprint notices you have on your desk right now?"

The "reprint notification" that Sui Kuan mentioned is a form that other newspapers would contact when they wanted to reprint Li Mu's articles. Usually, the editorial department would receive the request, approve it, and then issue it to Li Mu.

All Li Mu had to do was sign and archive the document; the reprint fee would be settled along with his next month's salary.

He signed it during 9/11.

"How many?"

"There are seventeen copies so far, all reprinting your article 'The Four Little Actresses'! Holy crap! You're famous again! 'Yanjing Youth Daily,' 'West China City Daily,' 'Dahe Daily'... these are all top-tier media outlets similar to ours. I was just having dinner with Li Wei and the others, and we were saying that your article... is already national news! Do you know what that means?! It means that... Zhao Wei and the others might really become the 'Four Little Actresses'! Holy crap! This thing you created has been recognized by everyone... won't you be able to do whatever you want in the entertainment industry from now on?!"

"Well……"

Now, let alone Li Mu, who kept swearing on the other end of the phone.

Even Fan Bingbing had a "See, I told you so" expression on her face.

"Seventeen so far?"

"Yes. It's hard to say whether there will be any tomorrow, since it's a holiday... But anyway, the fact that so many media outlets want to repost it means that everyone definitely approves of this news! Shouldn't Zhao Wei thank your ancestors for eight generations?"

"..."

Li Muxin said, "If you can talk, then talk more."

He said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry:

"This wasn't something I did alone; you all made efforts too."

"...The problem is we had no idea you were making such a big deal out of this, bro! You just gave us a list and asked a few questions...who knew you'd quietly pull off something this huge! I've really lost out! Bro, you could at least give me the verification work! Let me get some fame too! I'm totally ripped off!!!"

The two were the best of friends at work, so Sui Kuan was complaining a lot right now.

Li Mu apologized repeatedly and promised to treat him to a meal when he returned on the third day of the Lunar New Year.

It took a lot of persuasion to finally quell his resentment.

And after the call ended...

"Tsk, I regret it."

Although she had foreseen this possibility yesterday, she still couldn't help feeling somewhat disappointed when she learned of the market's reaction.

"If I had known... I would have been more shameless."

As someone in the industry, she actually knows better than her boyfriend just how important it is for an actress to have a title reprinted by so many media outlets, and the "recognition" behind those reprints.

In the entertainment industry, the hardest thing is to make people remember you.

In its simplest sense, this title is like a form of insurance.

Make sure others don't forget you.

Even if you're no longer popular.

Take these four people, for example.

If Zhao Wei becomes less popular one day, but Zhang Ziyi remains very popular.

People say: Zhang Ziyi is one of the "Four Little Actresses." Who are the "Four Little Actresses" again? Zhao Wei, Zhang Ziyi…

See, that's the idea.

Moreover... this is only the simplest function.

Extend it a little further down.

Could the "Four Little Actresses" possibly serve as an important reference for raising their status and earning them higher ratings?

After that...

"Then... I'll change it?"

"Don't."

Seeing her boyfriend's serious eyes that seemed to say, "At worst, I'll just eat the book," Fan Bingbing's first reaction was to stop him.

Then... she suddenly revealed a pursed-lip expression that gave off a "I don't care" vibe.

"I don't need you to change it. I can survive without the title of 'Four Little Actresses'... After all, you said in your article that this is not the end, but the beginning, isn't it?"

As she spoke, she suddenly took her boyfriend's hand and pulled him along as they continued walking home.

"The one who starts first doesn't win, right? Since this is the starting line... I also want to see, five years from now, ten years from now, whether the four little actresses are more powerful, or I am stronger!"

Her tone was firm and persistent.

With an intense confidence and an absolute determination not to admit defeat, it rushed into Li Mu's heart.

Career ambition...

For some reason, looking at the myriad lights of homes ahead, Li Mu sighed inwardly.

The guy with the furrowed brows was right.

Absolutely right.