Chapter 162: You're a Bit Twisted in the Head

After a long and grueling standoff with his fans, Chen Fang finally made his way to the main entrance of Future Stardom.

Only after Chen Fang stepped inside the building did the onlookers gradually disperse.

Chen Fang was exceptionally bewildered.

It seemed he had quite a considerable following.

At the very least, judging by the reactions of the pedestrians on the street, his fan base was by no means small.

No sooner had Chen Fang entered the lobby than he crossed paths with an eternal iceberg—a world-weary face paired with a pair of disdainful, azure-blue eyes that could easily ignite a man's desire for conquest in a matter of minutes.

Yet, who could blame her? Le Mi had a wonderful grandfather, after all.

With Le Gusi backing her, any man harboring thoughts about Le Mi had better think twice and weigh his own worth first.

"Good morning."

Chen Fang greeted her with a smile.

After all, they belonged to the same company, and they would soon be collaborating on a film.

Le Mi wore an indifferent expression, her red lips parting slightly. "I heard you finished filming half a month ago. Why didn't you return to the company immediately?"

Chen Fang was momentarily stunned.

*Are you my boss?*

*Do I need to report to you?*

Even if reports were in order, they should go to Qian Youlai.

Chen Fang stared at Le Mi with a peculiar look in his eyes until her gaze faltered and began to drift, unable to withstand his scrutiny. Only then did he speak. "I filmed for two months, so I wanted to go out, travel, and relax. People need to strike a balance between work and rest."

Le Mi looked back at him once more.

Her gaze was inscrutable, shifting between light and shadow.

*This girl... has quite a strong need for control.*

Fortunately, she wasn't the owner of Future Stardom; otherwise, Chen Fang would have to report his whereabouts everywhere he went, which would be utterly exhausting.

"Our movie is about to start shooting," Le Mi said.

Chen Fang nodded. "I know."

"Over the past two months, quite a few actors have recommended themselves, hoping to play the male lead in my film."

"If you have a better choice, I can step down."

He meant this sincerely.

Chen Fang did not believe his acting skills had reached an unrivaled level of excellence. The entertainment industry in Huaguo was vast, and there were plenty of male actors with solid acting chops; Chen Fang had merely benefited from the convenience of his acting skill cards.

If Le Mi wanted to replace the male lead, Chen Fang certainly wouldn't have any objections.

Besides, Chen Fang recently intended to write a few more new songs.

Out of the three songs he had previously promised An Tinghan, two were still pending. Although An Tinghan hadn't urged him, Chen Fang wanted to be proactive and avoid dragging it out indefinitely.

Le Mi narrowed her eyes, the chill in them intensifying.

She said nothing further.

She simply stared at Chen Fang.

Finding her behavior a bit baffling and unwilling to play psychological games with such a young woman, Chen Fang said, "I need to head over to Xi Yuanyuan's office first. You go ahead and be busy."

With that, Chen Fang walked toward the elevator.

The elevator doors slowly closed.

Suddenly, a fair hand blocked the doors.

Le Mi stepped into the elevator in her high heels and stood right beside Chen Fang.

Seeing this, Chen Fang ignored her.

Only the two of them were inside the elevator.

As the car ascended steadily, Le Mi spoke in a flat tone, "You seem to care nothing at all about my movie. Is my film really that dispensable to you?"

"I simply feel that among male actors, my acting skills are not particularly outstanding, and your film is a mystery thriller that heavily tests one's acting abilities. Therefore, finding a male lead with superior acting skills would undoubtedly benefit the movie much more," Chen Fang's gentle voice echoed in the elevator. In truth, whether he starred in this film or not made little difference to him; his losses would be minimal.

Since the movie was a production of their own company, his compensation would certainly not be high, restricted merely to a friendly, discounted rate.

Money was one aspect.

On the other hand, there was the television series *Three Lives, Three Worlds*.

Although Chen Fang wasn't particularly fond of such fantasy romance dramas, truth be told, these series were massive crowd-pullers.

Furthermore, they attracted a predominantly young fan base.

In addition, the series enjoyed the backing of the National Film and Television Bureau, meaning Chen Fang didn't need to worry about broadcast reach at all. Its influence would far surpass that of Le Mi's film.

"You're remarkably modest. I watched the auditions for *Starlight Road*, and you certainly didn't look like this back then," Le Mi said softly.

Chen Fang shrugged without offering an explanation.

To put it bluntly, Chen Fang possessed a businessman's mindset.

His original intention behind doing anything was always rooted in what benefited him most. All his actions on *Starlight Road* ultimately revolved around this principle.

*Ding~*

The elevator doors opened.

Chen Fang walked out first.

Le Mi did not follow him out; her azure eyes flickered a few times. "Come to the Film Department this afternoon. I'll introduce you to some new colleagues."

Chen Fang waved a hand and walked away.

Le Mi watched his figure disappear around the corner, a hint of amusement flashing in her eyes.

A man like this was actually interesting.

Moreover, Le Mi truly liked Chen Fang's eyes.

Bright and brilliant.

When he looked at her, there was not a shred of desire in his gaze.

A woman like Le Mi was a walking contradiction. She longed to meet a man capable of conquering her, yet she detested men who displayed an aggressive desire to conquer right from the start.

This was probably why she had never been in a relationship while abroad.

There were plenty of exceptional men out there.

In fact, the number of men superior to Chen Fang could not be counted on two hands.

Yet the desire in those men's eyes was far too obvious.

They wanted nothing more than to see this cold, aloof expression of hers flushed with the flush of a little woman, or even hear her begging and moaning in bed.

That was what so-called conquest boiled down to.

Chen Fang was different.

He genuinely seemed uninterested in her.

Through their few encounters thus far, Chen Fang had not shown the slightest inclination to get close to her.

To be frank, had Chen Fang known what was going on in Le Mi's mind, he would have scoffed dismissively. He was just like most men and possessed a desire for conquest as well; otherwise, back on Earth, he wouldn't have engaged in such intimate, skin-to-skin interactions with so many female artists whose public personas were predominantly aloof, ascetic, and pure.

Sleeping with such female celebrities brought the ultimate sense of achievement.

The reason Chen Fang wasn't interested in Le Mi was partly due to her grandfather, Le Gusi, and partly because Le Mi's figure was rather average.

Chen Fang had already outgrown the age where he judged solely by a pretty face.

Body shape was the ultimate king.

If Chen Fang truly cared only about faces, then let alone Le Mi, even An Tinghan was someone he had previously had opportunities to score with.

To take a step back, wasn't Wang Situ delightful?

Wang Situ was a sensible girl who even knew how to book hotel rooms herself.

Compared to these women, Le Mi didn't hold any particularly distinct advantage in Chen Fang's heart.

"You don't care whether you play the male lead in my movie or not? Well, I'm going to make you play it anyway. Not only that, but I'll also use the pretext of being the director to invite you to discuss the script late at night," a glimmer of anticipation flashed in Le Mi's eyes. It had to be said that this woman harbored a somewhat subversive streak; once they actually ended up in bed, the contrast would likely be even more intense.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Chen Fang arrived at Xi Yuanyuan's office.

Xi Yuanyuan showed no surprise upon seeing him.

"You Nianwei tipped you off?"

Chen Fang phrased it as a question, but his tone was certain.

Judging by Xi Yuanyuan's demeanor, someone had definitely leaked the information in advance.

And the only possible culprit was You Nianwei.

"Your timing is impeccable. I said you could rest for half a month at most, and sure enough, you take exactly half a month, not a single day early," Xi Yuanyuan shot Chen Fang a sidelong glance.

"You've come at just the right time. There's something I need to discuss with you."