Reborn in the Hong Kong entertainment industry in the 1980s

"Will you make another ugly costume?" Hu Xiaoxiao praised, "Mr. Philip, you are a truly loving philanthropist, spending an exorbitant fee just to have me travel thousands of miles to play an ugly woman. Actually, you don't need to do that at all. You only need to take a fraction of my exorbitant fee, and I believe many actors would be willing to play this role."

Philip sensed Hu Xiaoxiao's sarcasm and said sincerely, "I swear to God, I didn't mean to deliberately make Miss Xiaoxiao look bad. It's possible that the designer misunderstood something, which led to today's misunderstanding. Miss Xiaoxiao, please believe in our determination to make a good film called 'The Magic Contract,' and please believe in our sincere invitation to you. As for the costumes, please rest assured, we will give Miss Xiaoxiao a satisfactory answer."

“Mr. Philip, when you invited me here, you were much more sincere, even waiting for me for more than a year and fulfilling all my requests. But today’s actions show no sincerity at all, and I have no optimistic idea about future cooperation.”

"Miss Xiaoxiao, can you trust me one more time?"

"Trust requires sincerity, and I haven't seen any sincerity from you. Mr. Philip, I'm sorry, I'm already packing my bags and preparing my flight back to Baogang. You can discuss the contract-related matters with my legal counsel later."

Hu Xiaoxiao leaned back on the sofa, casually flipping through the documents with her fingers, her attitude assertive and her tone irrefutable.

Philip then became truly anxious. Seeing that he couldn't reach an agreement with Hu Xiaoxiao, he quickly called Dong Peiyu, hoping that Dong Peiyu could mediate. After all, the two had communicated the longest and were quite familiar with each other.

After seeing the incoming call, Dong Peiyu exchanged a glance with Hu Xiaoxiao before answering the call.

On the other end of the phone, Philip first expressed his apologies, and then earnestly asked Dong Peiyu to help mediate.

Dong Peiyu sighed, "Mr. Philip, you've put me in a very difficult position. Miss Xiaoxiao never wanted to come to Hollywood. It was only because I couldn't resist your repeated requests and saw your sincerity that this collaboration came about. However, what you've done is so underhanded. All the characters' looks are beautiful and fashionable, but Miss Xiaoxiao's look is both tacky and strange, quite unconventional. In our terms, isn't this just giving Miss Xiaoxiao a hard time from the start? This isn't the attitude of a friend; it's clearly an attempt to make an enemy."

“Ms. Dong, this is just a misunderstanding between cultures. That was not our intention. You and Ms. Xiaoxiao have misunderstood. Ms. Xiaoxiao should give us a chance to explain instead of immediately refusing to perform. We should communicate…” Philip said helplessly on the other end of the phone.

This film has been delayed for over a year. If Hu Xiaoxiao refuses to act, where will they find a suitable actor? Moreover, he's received information that a competing film company is also interested in expanding into the Asian market, preparing a special effects film with Eastern elements, and has already greenlit the project, inviting a famous Japanese actor to join. If *The Magic Contract* continues to be delayed, their competitor's film will be released, opening up the market ahead of them, and they don't know when *The Magic Contract* will be finished.

Hollywood movies, especially those with popular themes, are all about efficiency in their production. Hamlet's production company has already severely delayed the project, and if it continues, the project will be scrapped.

The cancellation of major projects, the company's annual report at the end of the year, and market skepticism will create significant obstacles for the company's future fundraising efforts.

Hamlet Company is a publicly listed company. When Hu Xiaoxiao agreed to star in "The Magic Contract," they began releasing information to the market, conveying various optimistic messages about the Asian market. After the official signing, they even released this news directly, boosting shareholders' confidence in Hamlet Company.

If Hu Xiaoxiao refuses to perform, it will be very unfavorable for Hamlet Company in the stock market. If it is further affected by negative publicity from rival companies, the situation will become even more difficult to manage.

Even if Hu Xiaoxiao were to withdraw from the company, let alone have a contract to support her decision, and even if she were willing to pay a penalty for breach of contract, it would not be enough to undo the losses suffered by Hamlet Company.

Therefore, when Philip heard that Hu Xiaoxiao was already packing her bags, how could he not be anxious? "If we weren't sincere, how could we agree to pay Miss Xiaoxiao a higher salary than the male lead? Just as Miss Xiaoxiao said, even if she only gets a fraction of the salary, there would be a bunch of actors in Hollywood vying for the role."

Philip repeated what he had just said to Hu Xiaoxiao in detail, "Although the contract gives Ms. Xiaoxiao a veto right, it's only on the condition that we don't change the costumes and styling. Now that we've agreed to change the costumes and styling, Ms. Xiaoxiao has no reason to refuse to perform; otherwise, the law wouldn't support her. Ms. Dong, you don't want to sue our company, do you? The penalty for breach of contract is several times the film's salary!"

Dong Peiyu was not intimidated. She and Hu Xiaoxiao had made all the necessary preparations before coming to Hollywood, otherwise they would not have hired several legal advisors.

Dong Peiyu calmly said, "Mr. Philip, I must correct you on one point. Miss Xiaoxiao is not short of money. Her initial reason for accepting this film was because she was moved by your company's sincerity, which is why she traveled all the way to Hollywood. Now that Miss Xiaoxiao has discovered that your sincerity was fake, she is very sad and upset, feeling that you have betrayed her friendship. Therefore, it is understandable that Miss Xiaoxiao wants to refuse to act. As for your suggestion of taking legal action..."

Dong Peiyu exchanged a glance with Hu Xiaoxiao and continued, "Even without a contract, let's say our Miss Xiaoxiao isn't short of money. Even if the court orders us to pay damages, Miss Xiaoxiao can easily afford it. However, your Hamlet Company will be in a precarious situation. Given Miss Xiaoxiao's influence in Asia, if you do something so dishonest, once this news breaks, do you still want to expand into the Asian market? You know how many of Miss Xiaoxiao's fans are in Asia. You're willing to pay exorbitant fees precisely because you value her huge fan base. Do you want them to boycott you? Furthermore, I understand that lawsuits don't happen overnight. We're not short of money; we can hire the best lawyers to fight you for a year, two years, three years. Miss Xiaoxiao is the owner of Shengshi Company; she has the ability to fight you for ten or twenty years. As for the negative impact the lawsuit has on your Hamlet Company, that's none of our business."

Clearly, Dong Peiyu was very aware of Hamlet Company's situation in the stock market.

On the other end of the phone, Philip finally felt the immense pressure.

He rubbed his aching temples. Dong Peiyu's words made a lot of sense. If anyone was to blame, it was Hamlet Company for giving too many preferential treatments when signing the contract.

But these preferential treatments cannot be withheld; if Hu Xiaoxiao is not given satisfactory terms, she will not sign the contract at all.

The initiative has always been in Hu Xiaoxiao's hands, because it is Hamlet Company that needs Hu Xiaoxiao, not the other way around.