With global currency devaluation, I'll wear these back and take my whole family flying!

In the banquet hall, people were toasting each other.

The men were dressed in suits and ties, and the women were also dressed in evening gowns.

Even in her previous life, Shen Ci had never attended a party like this before, but she was not intimidated at all. After all, this party was specifically for investors, and she was there to invest.

Fortunately, the dress Gu Lianxing lent her was presentable enough; even though it wasn't as extravagant as other women's dresses, it wasn't out of place either.

"Honey, let me introduce you. This is Ms. Shen, whom I mentioned to you."

Upon entering, Lu Jinzhao's first action was to introduce Shen Ci to his wife.

"Miss Shen, this is my lover, Xiao Man."

Xiao Man, dressed in a pearlescent, dark green gown, looked exceptionally elegant. She warmly extended her hand to greet Shen Ci, saying, "Miss Shen, it's a pleasure to meet you. You are indeed as young and beautiful as Old Lu said."

Shen Ci naturally withdrew her hand from Lu Jinzhao's arm, and shook hands with Xiao Man with a smile: "Mrs. Lu, you flatter me. It's a pleasure to meet you."

“Miss Shen, how about I introduce you to some new friends first?” Lu Jinzhao said at the opportune moment.

These high-society parties are frequented by prominent figures, and many people use this opportunity to make new friends and expand their networks.

Lu Jinzhao's actions were clearly well-intentioned.

Shen Ci, however, was not interested in this. She smiled and said to Lu Jinzhao, "No need, Mr. Lu. I came here today with a purpose. I'm sure you've been waiting for my answer. So let's talk about investment."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jinzhao's eyes lit up, and he subconsciously exchanged a glance with his wife, Xiao Man.

"Miss Shen is truly a straightforward person," Lu Jinzhao sighed.

Xiao Man was thrilled and quickly stepped aside to invite, "Miss Shen, let's go to a less crowded place inside to talk in detail."

Sitting on a sofa in the corner of the banquet hall, Shen Ci faced the couple. She got straight to the point: "I finished reading the novel 'Destined to Be a Phoenix' in one go these past few days. The content is indeed very captivating, and I'm very interested in its adaptation into a film or television series."

Upon hearing that there was hope, Lu Jinzhao was overjoyed.

"So, Miss Shen has investment intentions?"

Shen Ci nodded without denying it, and didn't keep them in suspense: "I can invest, but I have one condition."

Lu Jinzhao smiled, unsurprised. No investor would hand over their money for no reason; there must be conditions attached.

"Please go ahead, Miss Shen."

Shen Ci took out his phone, found a photo of his younger sister, and placed it in front of Lu Jinzhao and Xiao Man: "This is my younger sister, a freshman at Longcheng Film Academy this year, and one of the top fifty in the national art exams."

"My condition is simple: my sister has to get the role of 'Hua Xixi'."

Using investment as a condition to get people in is common practice in the entertainment industry, so Lu Jinzhao wasn't too surprised by Shen Ci's words.

However, with filming approaching, the actors for the main roles have already been cast and contracts have been signed, so it's unlikely that there will be any last-minute changes.

Xiao Man looked at the photo of Shen Li on her phone on the table and nodded with a hint of amazement: "Miss Shen's sister is very beautiful. She has the bone structure of a classical Chinese beauty."

Lu Jinzhao pursed his lips and fell into deep thought. After a while, he looked up at Shen Ci and asked, "Miss Shen, how much money do you plan to invest?"

Shen Ci smiled and said, "If you can agree to my conditions, I can fill any gaps in Mr. Lu's finances."

How much money can a project costing 20,000 yuan really be short of?

Shen Ci didn't take it seriously, but Lu Jinzhao and Xiao Man were stunned when they heard it.

They had never seen an investor who had no limits when it came to asking questions.

Xiao Man gently poked Lu Jinzhao's waist and gave him a knowing look that only a husband and wife could understand.

Lu Jinzhao nodded, stood up, glanced around the banquet hall, and finally waved to Feng Shan, who was dressed in a suit and socializing, "Old Feng, come here for a moment."

Feng Shan put down his wine glass and strode over. Upon getting closer, he immediately noticed the stunningly beautiful Shen Ci, then turned to Lu Jinzhao without saying a word: "President Lu, what's wrong?"

Lu Jinzhao first introduced Feng Shan to Shen Ci, explaining that he was the casting director for the film crew.

Then he asked, "Who has been cast as 'Hua Xixi'?"

"Uh, it's Tian Xiaolu." Feng Shan said with a troubled expression, "But Mr. Lu, Tian Xiaolu is still negotiating with us about her salary. I guess she's a little unhappy because Gao Fei signed for 850 yuan, while she only got 600 yuan. But Gao Fei is playing the second female lead, while 'Hua Xixi' is the fourth female lead. Their roles are different, so their salaries definitely can't be the same."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Man couldn't help but sneer: "Although they are competitors who debuted at the same time, Gao Fei just won the Golden Leaf Award for Best Supporting Actress in May. Isn't it reasonable for her salary to increase?"

Tian Xiaolu and Gao Fei are both actresses with considerable popularity in the entertainment industry. They debuted around the same time and have always progressed at the same pace, with their salaries consistently in the same range.

Until this year, Gao Fei won the Best Supporting Actress award at the Golden Leaf Awards for a period drama, which immediately set her apart from other actresses of the same period.

Shen Ci also remembered the actress Tian Xiaolu. In her previous life, she played the role of "Hua Xixi". She gained countless fans because of the charm of the role, which made her popular and she became a top star.

Unfortunately, she later made a fundamental mistake and was publicly criticized and banned by state media, which led to the entire drama "The Phoenix" being removed from all platforms.

A promising career was completely ruined by one wrong step.

"We're not going to argue with them anymore; someone has already been chosen for this role."

As Lu Jinzhao spoke, he tapped the table, and Feng Shan then noticed that the phone on the table was displaying a photo of Shen Li.

"Huh? Isn't this Shen Li from the Film Academy?" Feng Shan was surprised and completely dumbfounded.

Have you seen this little girl before?

Feng Shan nodded and told Lu Jinzhao about how he had to change two new roles because of the 500 yuan investment.

Lu Jinzhao naturally knew about securing investment and that the two students had switched roles, but he didn't know that the person whose original role was replaced was Miss Shen's younger sister.

"Miss Shen, I'm so sorry, you see... I really didn't know the details, I didn't know this young lady was your sister."

Lu Jinzhao was somewhat apprehensive, after all, the person sitting opposite him was his major investor, and he had unknowingly caused Miss Shen's sister to suffer such a great injustice.

Shen Ci smiled and said nonchalantly, "Ignorance is no excuse, Mr. Lu, there's no need to apologize. Besides, I would never have agreed to my sister playing this maid in the first place."

As she spoke, she put her phone away, looked at Lu Jinzhao, and asked, "So, we've reached an agreement?"