Chapter 77: Could You Please Leave My Brothers a Way Out?

All the way back, Qian Jida still couldn’t make sense of it.

Why was Liu Qiangxi always so quick to agree whenever Sumu asked him to raise the price?

Yes, five million was truly nothing to him. Any international brand seeking to break into the Chinese market would have operating costs counted in the billions. So, this five million was just a little extra scraped off the top.

But from the perspective of a variety show appearance fee, it was a huge sum. Add in the fifteen million from the production team, and that made twenty million for an entire season—already a premium price.

Is it even imaginable? Just a month’s work, and twenty million in hand.

Honestly, if you didn’t put on an outstanding performance, anyone would feel guilty.

Qian Jida asked, “Sumu, be honest, does Liu Qiangxi have some dirt on you? Why does he always agree to pay more so easily?”

Sumu smiled, “Not at all, it’s not that he’s happy to pay more because I ask. It’s that if he wants to be happy, he has to pay me more. Do you understand? If I go on the variety show and all I do is a set of plaza dancing, what if I become popular among the elderly? Their young and trendy brand image will go off track, and they’ll lose the youth market.”

Qian Jida: “!!!”

Orange: “!!!”

Master Zhu: “……”

Once those words were spoken, the car fell silent.

There are plenty of people in the entertainment industry who can make money. Most bend over, some kneel, others lie down, stick their butts out—even if you’re doing splits on horseback, you still have to bend a little. Those who earn money standing tall exist, but are rare as phoenix feathers.

But Sumu… earning money by pressing down on others. This is truly the first time.

He’s not even human!

Sumu continued helplessly, “Don’t look at me like that. It’s not that I’m greedy—mainly, I’m about to terminate my contract and start my own studio. If I don’t earn a bit more, how will I manage? Don’t you all need to eat?”

He wasn’t lying.

He only had a little over sixty million on hand. Once he opened the studio, all the employees would be relying on him for their livelihoods. There were also various operating costs and expenses to consider.

And the three hundred million earned this year all went into Giant Elephant Media’s account—he didn’t get a penny of it.

It simply wouldn’t do to work for over a month and get nothing in return.

So Liu Qiangxi’s five million was his only real profit.

Though it wasn’t a huge amount, it covered the studio rent and the expenses for the next year.

After all, he was about to become a boss.

Sumu had thought all of this through long ago.

No matter how small, a mosquito is still meat; a few million, however little, is still money.

Thinking this, Sumu suddenly declared, “Music, Meow Thief Krypton!”

Orange was startled, “Oh no, he’s about to start practicing his full-body spasms again!”

Sumu: “What do you know, kid? This is popping—worth five million!”

Driver Zhu: “Understood.”

Qian Jida: “……”

Orange: “……”

…

…

Sumu worked hard all the way home.

After returning to his residence, he didn’t rest. He prepared to continue practicing by following videos of foreign popping masters.

In this business, you have to have a sense of honor. If you take the money, you must deliver a dazzling performance.

Although Fendi could provide him with some basic instruction, Fendi’s specialization was in MV choreography. For deeper popping techniques, he still needed to learn from the masters online.

This variety show had invited most of the domestic street dance circle, and even foreign masters as judges, making it highly professional.

If he were called to perform and couldn’t showcase something solid, he wouldn’t satisfy the audience.

Sumu searched for several videos—all featuring the currently renowned masters.

In the popping world, personal style was highly segmented. Anyone who made a name for themselves had their own distinct approach.

He picked a style he liked and prepared to imitate it.

Yet, after following along several times, he realized his proficiency wasn’t increasing.

Street dance seemed different from acting in terms of skill progression. After reaching LV3, he could clearly feel it was becoming strenuous—he couldn’t grind anymore.

Sumu guessed the issue was his basic attributes.

[Male Artist Panel Notice: To further accelerate popping proficiency, strength, speed, flexibility, and endurance must all reach at least ‘25’.]

Strength: 16.1

Speed: 6.1

Vocal Range: 5.1

Cardio: 5.1

Flexibility: 0.01

Endurance: 26.1

Brain Computing Power: 16.1

Skill Points: 65.4

As expected.

Looking at the parameters and the prompt on his panel, Sumu knew his guess was right.

Popping, though it didn’t require the extreme strength and floor skills of Breaking, still demanded a certain physical foundation.

Otherwise, many advanced moves couldn’t be executed.

At present, only his endurance met the standard.

The other three needed to reach 25 or higher. That would require a total of 53 skill points.

“Add them.”

Sumu didn’t hesitate. He added them directly.

There was nothing to be stingy about. Basic attributes were different from random boxes.

Strengthening his foundation would allow him to adapt to more proficiency levels in the future.

Besides, many roles he might play would require robust physical traits, so this was an investment that would pay off permanently.

[Notice: 53 skill points deducted]

[Remaining: 12.4]

Strength: 25.1

Speed: 25.1

Flexibility: 25.01

(Note: Increasing basic attribute points is additive, not multiplicative; it is simply added to the host’s original physical functions. The cellular structure calculations are too complex, so the panel does not detail the parameters or conversions.)

Once the attributes were added, Sumu entered that familiar itching state.

His body seemed to be evolving bit by bit.

He only adapted after the itching ended.

He moved around, doing some jumping and stretching on the spot.

Both explosive power and stretching range were significantly improved.

Striking while the iron was hot, he quickly tried out the street dance moves from the video.

[Popping proficiency +1]

[Skill points +0.01]

This time, he leveled up proficiency with ease.

Sumu was very satisfied. He could keep grinding.

…

…

…

A few days passed quickly.

While grinding proficiency, Sumu also participated in two promotional events for “Joy of Life.”

Then, the premiere on Penguin Platform arrived!

Originally, a rival had tried to stir things up, claiming that Sumu’s previous three dramas started strong but ended weak.

They said the content of Nirvana in Fire was dazzling, but then My Heroic Husband and Love Between Fairy and Devil seemed thin.

But before that topic could take off, the premiere of Joy of Life shut them all up completely.

This wasn’t a strong start and a weak finish—it was strong all the way through!

The market was once again swept up in a wave of excitement.

[Comments:

Whoa, honestly, Sumu’s dramas have completely refreshed my view of historical romance!

Nirvana in Fire was already stunning, and I never expected Joy of Life to be so exciting!

Sumu acts well, but now I really want to know who wrote this story?

Ahhh! So many plot holes! This author is incredible!

What kind of world is this, anyway? I saw sniper rifles in the behind-the-scenes clips!

Such wild imagination—this is what a good script should be! This is what historical romance ought to look like!

Right? All they do is fall in love, even in fantasy dramas it’s just romance, either chasing the female lead or on the way to chase her—is this xianxia? No, it’s just matchmaking!

I just want to say, this script is amazing! Sumu picks scripts brilliantly too!

He’s dominated the screens for a whole year!

Please, could you leave a little room for our NNQT boys?]

…

At this moment, in the office of Star Media,

Zhang Hua’an was wearing a wide grin, chatting on the phone.