Volume Two: Shadows of the Past Chapter Ninety-Two: Li Zijie Wakes Up

Upon hearing Chen Jing say that his movie could gross 1.5 billion at the box office, Wang Youxuan gasped in astonishment and cried out, "Wow! 1.5 billion in box office revenue? If it really hits 1.5 billion, how much would brother get in box office dividends?" With that, she looked at Chen Jing with an innocent expression.

Chen Jing thought for a moment and said, "Let me think. As for the box office dividends, it seems the Film Development Fund takes 5%, business tax accounts for 3.3%, and then there's the share for the theaters. Since this is our first film, the share given to the theaters is relatively high, probably around 60%. Whatever remains after all that is basically ours.

So, if *SPL: Sha Po Lang* manages to gross 1.5 billion, we should get around 30% of the box office revenue in dividends, which is roughly 450 million."

Standing nearby, Wang Menglan looked at the casual-looking Chen Jing with radiant eyes, feeling deeply gratified in her heart.

450 million! In less than two months, he had earned an amount that ordinary people could never make in a lifetime. How many people could pull that off?

When everyone else was pessimistic about Chen Jing, he had accomplished it with such ease.

Of course, she had always believed that he could do it.

Hearing that Chen Jing would receive 450 million in box office dividends, Wang Youxuan immediately grew excited. "450 million, wow! If I had that much money, I wouldn't have to work for the rest of my life. I could just lie in bed every day and figure out how to spend it."

Wang Menglan rolled her eyes at her daughter. "It's not even money you earned, what daydreams are you having? Tell me about your lazy-bones dream the day you manage to earn that much yourself."

Wang Youxuan said with a confident expression, "Humph, when I grow up and start making money, I'll definitely earn a few hundred million for you, Mom. Besides, even though I didn't earn the money, it's my brother who earned it! Can't I spend my brother's money too? Hehe, right, brother?" With that, she flashed a sweet smile at Chen Jing.

Chen Jing chuckled despite himself and said to the mother and daughter, "A portion of that money actually belongs to you two. Out of the 450 million in box office dividends, after deducting personal income tax and the film's production investment costs, there should still be over 300 million left. Your share of the dividends by then will probably amount to several tens of millions."

"Huh?" Wang Youxuan looked at Chen Jing in bewilderment. "Why would Mom and I have dividends too?"

Chen Jing looked at Wang Menglan and asked in confusion, "Sister Menglan, didn't you tell Youxuan about investing in my movie?"

Wang Menglan smiled, shook her head, and said nothing.

Hearing that her mother had also invested in his movie, Wang Youxuan was overjoyed. "Aha! Mom, you are so visionary! I never expected you to actually invest in brother's movie in advance. That is simply amazing."

Wang Menglan paid no attention to her daughter's excited exclamations, but instead looked at Chen Jing with concern and said, "Ah-Jing, you should keep those dividends for now. Aren't you going to direct another movie next? Consider my share as an investment for your next film. I don't lack money right now anyway; even if you give it to me, I wouldn't know what to do with it."

What Wang Menglan said was the truth. Although the 50 million she had given Chen Jing previously had practically emptied her savings, if that money stayed in her hands, other than putting it in the bank, she honestly had no idea what else to do with it. Moreover, Wang Menglan genuinely wanted to give that money to Chen Jing, so whether she got it back or not didn't matter to her.

Chen Jing thought for a moment and answered honestly, "Actually, I've already figured out what my next movie will be about. It'll probably just be another film with an investment of several tens of millions, so the funding is already sufficient." Pausing here for a moment, Chen Jing looked at Wang Youxuan and continued, "However, I do need money right now to handle a few other things. So let's leave Sister Menglan's money with me for the time being. I'll see if I can double it, consider it preparing a future dowry for Youxuan."

Wang Menglan nodded, looking at Chen Jing with tender, watery eyes as she said, "Well, I don't mind. Just take it and use it as you wish."

"Heehee, is brother going to prepare a dowry for me? But I don't want to get married to someone else in the future carrying a dowry prepared by my brother. If I have the money brother prepares for me, then I won't need to marry anyone at all."

Wang Menglan reproached her daughter playfully, "What kind of silly nonsense are you talking about? Which girl doesn't get married?"

Wang Youxuan replied as a matter of course, "Me. Besides, if I don't get married and just stay by Mom's side to keep her company forever, wouldn't that be wonderful?"

Seeing the sincere and earnest look on her daughter's face, Wang Menglan felt a slight warmth in her heart and refrained from scolding her daughter's whimsical talk any further.

Chen Jing looked at the harmoniously interacting mother and daughter, the corners of his mouth curving upward slightly. The reason he kept Wang Menglan's investment dividends in his hands was not only because he genuinely needed a large amount of capital recently, but more importantly, because he wanted to earn enough money for the two of them to spend for the rest of their lives. That way, even if he were no longer around, he could at least guarantee that they would live a life free from worries about food and clothing in the future.

After finishing the meal, Chen Jing did not return to his apartment right away. Taking advantage of his free time today, he began tutoring Wang Youxuan in her studies and addressing her music-related issues.

Now in her second year of high school, Wang Youxuan had officially been sorted into her specialized tracks, having chosen the arts class. Although arts classes had lower requirements for academic subjects, Chen Jing believed that since she had the ability, there was no reason to give up on her core academics. Therefore, he still insisted that Wang Youxuan must not fall behind in her regular studies.

Wang Youxuan had never intended to neglect her academics just because she chose the arts track; she had always studied hard. Consequently, her academic grades at school were not only among the top tier of arts students, but she also ranked near the very top of the humanities classes as well.

"For this problem, you should solve it this way and it will be much simpler. First of all..." Chen Jing was in the middle of guiding Wang Youxuan through a problem when his phone suddenly rang.

Chen Jing gestured for Wang Youxuan to wait a moment, then took out his phone to check the caller ID. His eyes narrowed instantly.

Without hesitation, Chen Jing said to Wang Youxuan, "I'm going outside to take a call. You go ahead and work on the other problems," before stepping out of the room.

"Hello, Yuanshan? What's wrong? Why are you calling me at this hour?"

The call was from Xie Yuanshan. For her to call Chen Jing at a time like this, something important must have happened.

"Brother, Zijie has woken up!"

Xie Yuanshan's surprised and joyous voice came through the phone, causing Chen Jing to pause for a moment before he let out a gratified smile.

"It's good that he's awake. Any lingering side effects?"

At the mention of side effects, the laughter from Xie Yuanshan on the other end abruptly ceased. After a moment of silence, she said in a dejected tone, "Zijie's physical body is fine, and his mental state is all right too. It's just that his seventh brain domain, which was damaged by the psychic-type esper before, means he probably won't be able to use abilities ever again."

Hearing this news, Chen Jing fell silent. In fact, back when they first learned that Li Zijie's seventh brain domain had been damaged, Chen Jing and the others already knew this would be the outcome. After all, even with the aid of Molly's ability to heal the trauma in the seventh brain domain, it certainly couldn't be restored to its original condition.

The seventh brain domain was much like human internal organs; once diseased or damaged, it was impossible for it to recover to the exact state it was in before.

Chen Jing sighed and offered words of comfort, "As long as he's alive, that's what matters. Let him recuperate properly."

Only then did Xie Yuanshan's spirits lift as she laughed again. "Yeah, yeah. Actually, it's not too bad. That guy Li Zijie is quite open-minded; as soon as he woke up, he was wandering around all cheerful and didn't take the matter to heart at all."

What doesn't show on the surface doesn't mean he has truly let it go. As someone who had been through it, Chen Jing knew the agony of losing one's abilities.

Chen Jing shook his head and said, "I'll give him a call later when I have time. I'll chat with him then and see how he plans to arrange things moving forward."

Without his abilities, Li Zijie certainly couldn't remain in the Dragon Group anymore, and it was even uncertain whether he could stay at Dynasty.

"Mm-hmm. Or maybe I'll talk to him later and have him call you, Brother." Xie Yuanshan agreed, nodding, before shifting the topic to inquire about Chen Jing's recent situation. "Brother, how have you been doing lately...?"

The next day, Chen Jing arrived at the company early and reviewed the specific details regarding how Xie Shuxia had previously been frozen out and shelved by Jingrun.

"Have you gone to see Xie Shuxia?" Lin Xi asked casually from the side as she glanced at Chen Jing.

Chen Jing nodded. "I saw her. I went to see her yesterday."

Lin Xi raised an eyebrow. "Did she agree to act in your movie?"

Chen Jing shook his head and smiled. "No, she hasn't agreed yet, but I believe she eventually will. So I'm getting things ready in advance and figuring out how to resolve the issue of Jingrun freezing her out."

Lin Xi was rather curious as to why Chen Jing was so certain that Xie Shuxia would ultimately agree, but she didn't press the matter. Instead, she said indifferently, "Is an issue like that even difficult? Just leave it to me, as long as Xie Shuxia genuinely wants to come out and act."

Chen Jing wasn't surprised at all by Lin Xi's assertion that she could handle the matter; instead, he followed up with a question: "By the way, which high-ranking executive at Jingrun was it who said they wanted to blacklist Xie Shuxia?"

Lin Xi glanced at Chen Jing, hesitated for a brief moment, and then said softly, "Who else could it be? It's the chairman's son, of course."

Chen Jing looked at Lin Xi in surprise, then understanding dawned on him. So that was it. Chen Jing had thought it was some other shareholder at Jingrun; he never expected it to be Lin Xi's own cousin.

Speaking of Jingrun's chairman, Lin Xi looked at Chen Jing with a hint of hesitation. "Ah-Jing, you know about me and Jingrun..." Stopping there, Lin Xi trailed off. After a brief internal struggle, she finally asked, "Ah-Jing, you already know about my relationship with Jingrun, don't you?"

Chen Jing knew what Lin Xi wanted to say, and rather than playing dumb, he answered directly, "I know. The largest shareholder of Jingrun is the Lin family. And you, Sister Xi, you're a member of the Lin family, right?"

Lin Xi looked startled. "You knew all along?"

"I knew the general picture. I just knew clearly that Sister Xi is a member of the Lin family." Chen Jing smiled, withholding the full extent of what he had learned from Xu Ce. Because if he brought all of that up, it might make the way he and Lin Xi interacted rather awkward.