Early in the morning, Luo Zheng's residence was unusually quiet.
The three of them sat around the dining table having breakfast, yet the atmosphere was so awkward it almost felt tangible.
Of course, the awkwardness had nothing to do with Luo Zheng.
The real tension was between Ah Sa and Ah Jiao.
Both girls kept their heads lowered, silently eating, each carrying a guilty conscience of her own and carefully avoiding eye contact.
Ah Sa was still embarrassed about what had happened the previous night.
As for Ah Jiao, she genuinely had not expected her best friend to be telling the truth.
The events of last night had left her mind in complete disarray.
She had always believed her own boyfriend was already… more than enough.
But now, comparing the two, she couldn't help but let her thoughts wander in a direction she shouldn't have gone at her age.
Could it be that Edison was actually… lacking?
"Xin Tong? Xin Tong?"
A hand suddenly waved in front of her eyes.
Ah Jiao jolted back to reality and looked up.
"Ah… sorry, Zhuo Yan. I was just spacing out."
Ah Sa forced a small smile.
"It's fine. Brother Zheng is calling you."
Only then did Ah Jiao turn toward Luo Zheng, confusion visible on her face.
"Mr. Luo, did you need something?"
Luo Zheng looked at her and casually corrected her first.
"You can call me Brother Zheng, just like Ah Sa."
Then he continued in a calm voice,
"I've already arranged small roles for both of you in the Infernal Affairs crew. The scenes won't be many, but it'll at least get you some screen time on the big screen first."
The two girls froze for a second before speaking almost at the same time.
"Thank you, Mr. Luo— Brother Zheng."
The synchronized reply made the atmosphere ease slightly.
However, Luo Zheng still noticed that Ah Jiao had hesitated on how to address him.
He glanced at her and smiled faintly.
Still stubborn.
After breakfast, Luo Zheng had the driver send the two girls back to Emperor Entertainment Group.
For now, their contract work with Emperor was not yet fully settled.
This year alone, the Twins duo had already secured a Coca-Cola endorsement deal, bringing a considerable amount of money to the company.
Naturally, Luo Zheng didn't care much about that small sum.
Because today, something far more important had arrived.
The overseas box office revenue share for The Man from Earth had officially been transferred.
Since different regions had different settlement cycles with theaters, Lionsgate and Focus had agreed to split the payment into two rounds.
The first settlement came two weeks after release.
The second would come once the film fully left theaters.
Now that two weeks had passed, the movie had already grossed more than 15 million US dollars.
According to the tiered profit-sharing contract, Luo Zheng's side received 2.25 million US dollars in box office share.
In an instant, he was wealthy again.
Adding the 5 million dollars paid upfront by Lionsgate and Focus, Marvel had already netted 7.25 million dollars from a film that had cost barely 14,000 dollars to make.
The moment the money hit the account, congratulatory calls came one after another.
Kevin called.
Marvel's executives called.
Even several major shareholders personally reached out.
Everyone was excited.
With just one film, Luo Zheng had not only made money—
he had practically brought Marvel Entertainment back from the dead.
The stock price was steadily rising.
Shareholder confidence had returned.
Even company employees were now full of enthusiasm.
Luo Zheng did not indulge in too much celebration.
After a few encouraging words, he immediately shifted the conversation.
"How's Saw progressing?"
The moment the topic changed, Kevin's tone instantly turned serious.
This was the first film project he was personally overseeing since joining Marvel.
Naturally, he took it extremely seriously.
Over the phone, Kevin began giving a detailed report.
In three weeks, under the direction of James Wan, Saw had completed roughly one-third of its filming.
The pace was slightly slower than expected.
The main reason was James Wan's inexperience.
Even with Luo Zheng's highly detailed script and storyboard guidance, being a director was far more than simply pointing a camera.
There were actors to guide.
Departments to coordinate.
Lighting, sound, timing, scheduling.
Every aspect required attention.
Fortunately, Kevin's support as an experienced producer had helped the crew get through the most difficult initial stage.
Now, James Wan was gradually settling into the role.
If everything went smoothly, filming should wrap up in another twenty days.
After hearing the report, Luo Zheng felt fairly satisfied.
Some time had indeed been lost.
But more importantly, James Wan was growing.
This kind of growth was worth more than money.
After all, in the future, Marvel would continue relying on him to produce horror films as a major cash engine.
If he wanted to truly bind this kind of talent to the company, contracts and salary alone would never be enough.
They had to grow together.
That was how loyalty was built.
Before ending the call, Luo Zheng added one final instruction.
"Take care of the actor sent over by Emperor."
That actor was Nicholas Tse.
In the end, Albert Yeung had still chosen to give the precious Hollywood exposure opportunity to Emperor's top male star.
Recently, Nicholas Tse's public image had been badly damaged due to a hit-and-run scandal exposed by the media.
On top of that, the explosive love triangle involving Faye Wong and Cecilia Cheung had dominated Hong Kong entertainment headlines.
But none of that was fatal.
Emperor had poured enormous resources into cultivating him.
There was no way Albert Yeung would casually give up such a profitable star.
His intention was obvious—
use Hollywood exposure to rebuild Nicholas Tse's reputation and push him to an even higher level.
But because there was only one slot, someone else naturally became unhappy.
Edison Chen.
He had originally believed that after Nicholas Tse's scandal, the company would finally shift resources toward him.
Instead, he was still being left in the corner.
And when he learned that this opportunity had effectively come from trading Ah Jiao and Ah Sa for business benefits—
his anger completely exploded.
Inside a rental apartment.
"Edison, it's not what you think."
Ah Jiao's voice trembled.
"Mr. Luo and I are innocent. Zhuo Yan is his girlfriend. I was only included because we're a duo."
Slap!
The sound rang sharply through the room.
Ah Jiao staggered backward and collapsed onto the floor.
One hand covered her burning cheek.
Large tears instantly rolled down her face.
Edison Chen stood there, face dark with rage.
"Zhong Xintong, you're still lying to me?"
His voice was cold.
The slap had shattered something inside her.
All the explanations she had desperately wanted to give suddenly disappeared.
At that moment, the gentle and considerate boyfriend she once knew seemed to vanish completely.
Bang!
The door slammed shut.
The apartment fell silent.
Ah Jiao remained sitting on the floor, staring blankly at the empty room.
Her eyes were hollow.
After a long and busy day, Luo Zheng was preparing to head back when his phone suddenly rang inside the car.
The caller was Ah Sa.
The moment he answered, her anxious voice came through.
"Brother Zheng, something happened to Ah Jiao! Come quickly!"
Luo Zheng's expression instantly changed.
"What happened? Where are you?"
"56 Hennessy Road, Wan Chai."
"I'm coming now."
The car immediately changed direction.
By the time he arrived, Ah Jiao was already sitting on the sofa inside the apartment.
Her face looked pale and exhausted.
Seeing that no one was seriously injured, Luo Zheng raised a hand and signaled the bodyguards behind him to remain outside.
Then he turned toward Ah Sa.
Her eyes were red from crying.
"What happened?"
Ah Sa bit her lip.
"Edison misunderstood Xin Tong… he wants to break up with her."
"Already broke up."
Ah Jiao suddenly interrupted.
Her voice was hoarse and emotionless.
Only then did Luo Zheng notice the swollen red handprint on her cheek.
His expression instantly darkened.
"He hit you?"
Ah Jiao lowered her head.
Then slowly nodded.
The room temperature seemed to drop.
Ah Sa immediately spoke, panic visible on her face.
"Brother Zheng, could you please—"
Luo Zheng raised a hand and stopped her.
He took out his phone directly.
His eyes had already turned cold.
From the moment the dinner agreement was finalized, Ah Jiao was already considered part of his Blue Whale Entertainment side.
Even if her artist contract had not yet fully transferred, in practical terms, she was already under his protection.
Now Edison had laid hands on someone under him.
This was no longer just a relationship dispute.
This was a direct slap to his face.
Without hesitation, Luo Zheng dialed Albert Yeung.
This matter—
Emperor had to give him an explanation.
Otherwise…
he truly wouldn't mind handling it personally.