Walking the Path of a Workaholic in Cliché Novels (QT) Chapter 123

An Yinong knew that he might have run into a trap, but he just calmly smiled and asked the two to sit down. “Brothers, you’ve come all the way here. Have you eaten yet? Why don’t we order some food first and chat slowly?”

The four of them looked at each other and leisurely sat down.

An Yinong looked down at his watch. His left hand quickly wrote on a small piece of paper. He rolled it up with his fingertips and passed it to Editor Qian under the cover of the table: “Miss Qian, aren’t you going to the bathroom? Can you help us call the waiter on your way out?”

“Okay, okay.” An Yinong’s calmness gave Editor Qian a lot of courage. Her heart was clearly about to jump out of her chest, but she still looked very calm.

Then, An Yinong still calmly received these four “unfriendly” people. Editor Qian walked out, called the waiter, and ran to the bathroom. After checking to make sure there was no one there, she opened the note. Written crookedly on the note were the words: Call He’s mansion and ask someone to come.

“Make a phone call.” Mobile phones had not yet been invented, so the only way to make a phone call was to go to the lobby of the restaurant or go out and find a phone booth.

Editor Qian thought that this was the restaurant booked by the other party, and who knew if they were in the same group, so she slipped out from the back door next to the toilet and looked for a phone booth.

On the other side, An Yinong was holding the menu and ordering food. He was slow and methodical. He first asked about the restaurant’s signature dishes and then asked what these people liked. One of them probably felt annoyed by his dawdling and just recited a list of dishes without even looking at the menu.

“Sure enough,” An Yinong thought, “They are very familiar with this restaurant. Maybe they have a relationship with each other.”

After ordering the dishes, they also had to order drinks. An Yinong took the list and asked them one by one what they liked.

“Hey, kid, you ordered so many things, you don’t want us to treat you, do you?” a gangster with dyed red hair asked him. The man kept moving around and seemed to be not used to wearing a suit.

“How could that be? Of course I’m treating. My father taught that boys should be generous when they are out in public.” An Yinong smiled with his eyes narrowed, full of kindness.

He was young and looks very tender, and when he restrained his aura he looks just like a teenage student, which made people feel unprepared. But they were also a little confused: “Kid, did you draw “The Desert”?”

An Yinong showed a little panic: “Yes, it’s a collaboration. I come up with the ideas and ask people to come and draw.”

Oh~ They looked at each other: So that’s how it was, no wonder, he didn’t look like someone who could draw that kind of comics, if he hired a ghostwriter, that would make sense.

After a while, Editor Qian came back and the food and wine were served.

“Everyone, let’s eat first. I’m still hungry.” An Yinong rubbed his stomach, looking like he was going to have a big meal.

This was very different from the ‘little boss’ that Editor Qian usually saw. She was scared to death, but tried hard to remain calm, attempting to pretend to be ‘smart and capable’. But these people’s attention was not on her at all.

The middle-aged man winked at one of them, and that person took out a printed paper and said, “Our company has taken a fancy to your comics and wants to make a movie out of them. Do you want to see it?”

“Of course I want to see a movie. But do I have to book it today? I need to ask my mom and dad about this first.” An Yinong hesitated, and vividly played the role of the indecisive and naive young master who was raised in a greenhouse.

“Come on, young master, do you think we are here to play house with you?” A gangster approached, slamming the table and scaring An Yinong.

“You, you, you, calm down, what do you want to do?”

“Hey! We are here to discuss business, not to fight.” The middle-aged man pretended to grab the young man, and then he looked at An Yinong, “You sign earlier, we can cooperate earlier, and you can go home earlier, okay?”

An Yinong looked frightened. He picked up the “contract” with trembling hands. Suddenly, his eyes lit up: “The copyright fee is 100,000? Is that true?”

They looked at each other and laughed, “Really? Just sign and the hundred thousand will be deposited into your account immediately.”

As he spoke, he placed a pen in front of An Yinong and said, “Sign it.”

“But I…” He picked up the ‘contract’, “Can I take another look at it? I want to…”

Before he could finish his words, a gun was pointed at An Yinong’s forehead. The red-haired young man with fleas all over his body looked impatient: “I hate people like you who procrastinate the most. Do you want to sign or not?”

Editor Qian’s heart suddenly rose to his throat and almost jumped out.

“Calm down, calm down.” An Yinong’s face was covered with cold sweat, and he looked scared and cowardly. “I’ll sign, is it okay if I sign?”

The muzzle of the gun hit him on the forehead again: “What are you standing there for? Sign.”

An Yinong reached out and was about to take the pen. With a “bang”, the door was kicked open.

The people in the box were stunned for a moment, and before they could react, An Yinong’s hand changed direction, he grabbed the gun against his head and moved it away, twisted his hand and took the gun away. Then he grabbed the edge of the table with both hands and flipped the furniture towards those people. For a moment, soup was flying everywhere.

“Let’s go.” Editor Qian was so frightened that she couldn’t move, and An Yinong grabbed her arm and rushed to the door.

Editor Qian was pushed out the door first, and then An Yinong stepped out himself: “Be careful, they have guns.”

“Okay, young master.” The bodyguards who finally arrived at the door took out their weapons and rushed in while sending An Yinong and the frightened editor Qian out the door.

The bodyguards hired by the He family were all of real ability and they were wearing thick protective clothing. This group of people were taken down at a glance. The bodyguards found three hand guns and some knives on them.

Editor Qian felt a little scared when she looked at these things. Instead, An Yinong took out his handkerchief, looked at the guns, and then put them down.

“A honey trap? Want to play house with me?” He looked at the middle-aged man with a smile.

Although he was still smiling, his expression was completely different from before. If this was the smile the middle-aged man had seen before, he would never have taken it lightly and was dragged down by a table of food and wine for more than ten minutes before being caught red-handed.

“Who are you?” asked the middle-aged man. He wanted to die with a clear mind.

“Boss of the magazine publishing house, don’t you know?” An Yinong spread his hands, “I heard that someone was interested in the movie copyright of our resident cartoonist, so I came to take a look.”

“Who are you from?” The middle-aged man finally figured it out. “Are you trying to trick me?”

“Tricking you? If you really wanted to discuss copyright, I would have treated you sincerely. It’s a pity that you didn’t seize the opportunity.”

An Yinong sat on a clean stool, holding the ‘contract’: “One hundred thousand? I’m afraid that in the end I will get less than ten thousand. No, judging from your behavior, I guess you are not prepared to pay at all. But, when reporting income and expenditure, report it based on the expenditure of one hundred thousand. Is that right?”

The middle-aged man said nothing, but his expression said it all: Yes, that’s what they thought and did.

This was also the basic routine used by these gangsters to make money from movies. They pointed guns at contributors, screenwriters, famous actors, directors, etc., forcing them to work for free, but they also write a huge amount of salary in the contract.

In the end, it was basically a zero-budget movie, and most of the box office revenue was pocketed by the filmmaker. In addition, they also laundered money through the box office, exaggerating the box office of 500,000 to 1 million, so that 500,000 of black money was laundered cleanly and could be used.

Wonderful, it was really wonderful.

“There are quite a few new comic books published recently. Although Heroes of the Desert has received good reviews, it is only a new comic after all, and the readership is not large enough. If we consider the film and television adaptation, it is of course more appropriate to choose an old comic that others have at least heard of. So, who told you to buy the copyright for this book?” An Yinong asked again.

The middle-aged man just looked at him with contempt, as if to say: No matter what you ask, I am a man of steel and will not betray the organization.

“Okay, if you don’t say anything, then the boss behind you will be blamed. As for you, if you want to eat in the jail cell so much, then go eat in the jail cell.”

An Yinong was too lazy to say more. He stood up and said, “Illegal possession of a gun, extortion, threats… Call the police.”

Soon, these people were escorted away. Editor Qian looked ashamed and said, “It’s all because I didn’t investigate it clearly.” In the end, it was the young boss, who was five or six years younger than her, who stepped forward to settle the matter.

“It’s not your fault. I’ll have someone take you home first. Go back and have a cup of hot tea and a good sleep, and it will be over. I’ll take care of the rest. Don’t worry, these people can’t get away.”

It was not until she got in the car that Editor Qian realized that the boss’ words were to comfort her, telling her not to worry about these people harassing her. Moreover, he had pushed her out of the door the first time.

“Hmm…” She covered her heart: What should I do? Even though the young boss has grown so much smaller, she still thought he was so handsome, so safe, and so considerate.

With so many bodyguards deployed and the police called in, it was impossible for An Yinong to conceal such a big thing. As soon as he got home, he met the original owner’s mother who was in tears and the original owner’s father who was so nervous that he kept turning around.

“Atong, are you okay?” Li Yufeng ran over, pulled him around, and after confirming that he was fine, she wiped her tears and said, “You scared Mommy to death.”

He Chengjue also ran over: “I heard it’s about the publishing house, what’s it about?”

“A group of people wanted to set up a trap, but I discovered it. To prevent them from doing anything desperate, I sent bodyguards over. Actually, it’s nothing. If something really happened, do you think I would still be so calm?” That’s right, An Yinong looked like nothing happened, better than anyone else.

“Dad, you didn’t tell grandpa and the others, did you? I’m really fine, don’t scare grandpa.”

He Chengjue shook his head: “I came here directly after hearing the news. I haven’t told your grandfather yet. Don’t mess around next time. Bring bodyguards with you when you go out. The people outside are very bad.”

“Okay, got it.”

“It’s a trap, but the most important thing is to ensure your own safety.” Li Yufeng hugged her son, “If he wants money, give him money. Don’t gamble with your own safety. Think about your father and me, okay?”

“Got it, Mommy.” The usually thick-skinned An Yinong felt a little helpless. He was not used to such closeness from his elders, but he also liked it indescribably – so this was how it felt to have parents care about him.

Because of this minor incident, the original owner’s parents, who were already fed up with each other, stayed and lived in his small villa for two days. After confirming that An Yinong had no problems, Li Yufeng left first because of work, and He Chengjue stayed.

He was totally distraught.

“You wanted to get a divorce yourself.” An Yinong reminded him.

“I know, but your mommy is the only person for whom a playboy like me has worked hard in my entire life. You don’t understand.” He Chengjue ran off to drink in a depressed mood.

An Yinong spread his hands helplessly: He didn’t understand the mood of the Sea King.

“Oh, there’s one more thing.” He Chengjue ran back, “When are you coming back to live here? Your mom and I are divorced now, and the tabloids have stopped reporting on it. I’m worried about you living here alone.”

An Yinong was a little surprised: “Are you uncomfortable living there alone?”

“Not really.” He Chengjue thought about it. It was just a large villa community, but there were only a few people living there. It was creepy.

“I’m fine here, let’s talk about it later.” An Yinong refused. He lived well here, why would he go back? Admire the navy style decoration style in the room?