Chapter 129: Idiot-Girl Is A Genius!

Chapter 129: Idiot-Girl Is A Genius!

Inside meeting room #2, I am playing on my smartphone and hear the door open.

Lucy walks into the space wearing a sharp grey-pantsuit looking incredibly professional, her dark hair pinned up tightly in a pristine hair-bun. Catching the glimmer of her gold-framed-glasses, I would honestly mistake her for a high-flying, legitimate corporate executive, well if I did not already know her true, terrifying nature.

"Mr Lee, your agent, is here!"

Without waiting for an invitation, she drops her heavy briefcase onto the tabletop right next to my seat and leans down to wrap her arms aggressively around my neck. The sudden movement forcefully buries my face against her chest, completely filling my nose with the sweet scent of fresh strawberries and a lush, soft physical sensation that most normal men would happily die to experience. Even as I enjoy the embrace, a small, panicked voice in the very back of my head is screaming a familiar warning. Remember, she is a Scary Lady!

"Don't forget Rick, I still owe you hugs from the island bodyguard job you did, Ufufu. Oh, and did you like the gift I gave Vicky? Baby found it all for her."

She obviously knows the other meeting participants are about to join us in the room, because she reluctantly releases me from the tight hold and slides into the chair directly next to mine. She tilts her head, her deep blue-eyes practically begging me to ask her more about this new development.

Still trying to clear the potent strawberry fragrance out of my nasal passages, I shake my head to dismiss the distraction. "I assume Baby is not a stripper name, so what do you want to tell me about?"

She leans her body closer to mine, lowering her voice to a quiet, conspiratorial whisper just as the door clicks open to admit our next two guests. "Baby is the temporary name for my web-browsing and espionage Ai program I have been tweaking for years now, wanna see my Baby?"

My professional interest as a Master, Computer Use skill level hacker is instantly piqued by her confession, hitting me with a rush of pure excitement like she just offered me a night of completely guiltless sex. "Really! A working advanced Ai capable of web-surfing? I wanna see your baby very much. I had wanted to make my own for a while, but I have been too busy, sigh."

A massive, proud grin stretches across her face as she witnesses my sheer enthusiasm for our shared underground hobby, looking exactly like a fellow nerd finding a kindred spirit at a Comic-Con event. "Then, after the meeting, I will take you to my office where I can show you under the hood, fufu."

The conversation shifts as Kate and Jean walk into the room, both of them sitting down with practiced professionalism at the far end of the long rectangular table. Kate looks over at us and smiles warmly, having clearly held herself back from speaking the exact moment she entered because she saw the two of us intensely discussing what looked like highly important agent business. Now that she sees my broad smile and notices our quiet chat winding down, she offers a soft greeting. "Good morning, Rick. I am glad to see you again."

I had already completely anticipated her specific look and supportive behavior before arriving today. I can easily tell she has been consciously holding back her presence recently just to avoid bugging me or applying pressure, and I genuinely appreciate the mental space she gave me to think everything over.

Reaching down into my own briefcase, I pull out a dense, bound stack of unopened mail from seven long years ago and slide the yellowed envelopes smoothly across the smooth wood toward Kate. "Those are all the letters I wrote and were returned to me at the end of the two years of our pen-pal correspondence, so they belong to you. I never reopened it, and I have forgotten most of what I wrote in them. Fortunately, I never threw them away."

Jean and Lucy both lean forward, looking deeply intrigued by the fact that I had fastidiously held onto these old papers for so many years. Kate looks down at the stack, her fingers trembling slightly as she holds the old letters, her face caught in a complex wave of emotion, not knowing whether she should cry, be immensely happy, or just look entirely confused before she looks back up at me. "Rick, why do you still have them, unopened?"

"At first it was because I thought something bad happened to you, so I was going to keep them as a reminder." I explain, my voice softening as the childhood memories surface. "But then I thought, maybe the idiot-girl moved and forgot to tell me, then forgot my address. So I kept them in case you came back to Star City at 18 like I told you to do. I was going to open them and burn them when I turned 19 so..."

Jean raises an eyebrow, leaning against the back of her chair as she cuts in with a sharp, logical question. "But you moved, so how would Kate have found you?"

"Kate thought I was dead, so it would not have mattered." I reply, turning my gaze toward her manager to clarify my situation. "As for my address... I lost my family, I had to move, and move on. I half expected to find her in a tree when I was 18 and thus why I kept the letters."

Kate gasps softly, her cheeks flushing as she shakes her head in a panic, desperate to clear her name. "Rick, my mother lied, I would never have stopped writing..."

I gently raise my right hand to cut off her explanation, offering a warm smile to the flustered superstar idol to calm her down. "You were 12 and your mother probably blamed me for your behavior, so she killed me off, like in one of those soap operas. Now I am just back from the dead. I ran when we met, because I could not put together the girl I wrote to and the idol whose movies, shows, and music I like. I just find it a bit unreal. Fans kill for your autograph, and here I am with a stack of old idiot-girl letters."

The heavy double doors swing open once more, cutting the nostalgia short as Pam and Sam Sun walk into the room, their expressions stiff as they march over to take their designated places directly opposite me and Lucy. Pam looks like she is actively forcing herself to eat shit as she humbles herself before me, clearing her throat to deliver her statement. "Mr Tang, I humbly apologize, it seems my son was a bit bitter with your meeting the other week, and was pulling a harmless prank, sorry."

Lucy immediately speaks up on my behalf, stepping into her role as an aggressive advocate or simply wanting to seize the corporate spotlight for herself. The incredibly hilarious part about this interaction is that this hacker woman is actually a far better actress than even Kate when she wants to perform. "My client is fine with Sam's jokes falling Flat so let us not waste even more time."

Pam swallows her irritation at the sharp retort, gesturing toward the center of the room to steer the topic back to the contract. "Here is our issue, Kate and SEG are working on a re-signing of her contract, and for the direction of our movie, The Vampire I fell for 2, Once bitten, twice shy."

She reaches out and presses a glossy button on the control console, causing a sleek digital screen to descend from a hidden sliding panel in the ceiling.

Every head around the table turns toward the display, eager to see exactly what kind of corporate trick she is trying to pull next.

What flashes onto the screen is a brief, organized list detailing some of the main characters planned for the upcoming feature film, accompanied by a slim, high-level overview of the narrative direction. I am not allowed to see the actual, full script for obvious privacy reasons, since I have not signed a formal nondisclosure agreement yet.

The data reveals that Kate is locked in as the primary main and lead actress portraying the immortal vampire princess, while the secondary main character is a hardened bodyguard who operates as a vampire hunter. Ana is listed as the rival vampire, having apparently survived the events of the first film instead of being completely destroyed as the previous ending suggested.

Due to Sam desperately wanting a prominent role in the second production, he had used his family leverage at the very last minute to force the writers to kill off the original main male lead in a dramatic love sacrifice, leaving the princess entirely heartbroken at the conclusion of the first movie. It sounds incredibly lame on paper, but the character had actually gone out like an absolute champ in a blaze of glory to save his true love, making it an undeniably manly sacrifice. The main male lead's intense actions had deeply touched me when I watched it, mostly because it mirrored the exact way my own father had died in the line of duty, though I have never shared that painful fact with a single living soul, not even Mary.

Though Sam's petty actions in forcefully altering the original ending were entirely selfish and dumb, the unique narrative tragedy he accidentally created is the exact element that made that first movie skyrocket to the absolute peak of mainstream popularity for being so edgy.

As I continue reading the brief explanation of the new sequel's plot, my mouth hangs wide open in absolute, staggering disbelief. Why? Because the storyline of this next movie explicitly takes place twenty-five years after the death of the vampire princess's true love, revealing that he has just been actively reincarnated into the physical body of a lethal bodyguard who belongs to the sworn enemy faction of all vampires. Yet, the princess instantly recognizes this new bodyguard as her old, lost love.

It is actually an incredible plot concept, since immortal vampires do not age and can easily accommodate a heavy time-skip scenario without breaking continuity, meaning Kate, Ana, and the other vampire characters can remain entirely unchanged. But the sheer irony of this cosmic joke is almost too much to handle—I am an actual, literal reincarnator sitting in this room!

Pam notices the sharp, stunned reaction on my face and beams with pride, fully convinced that ordinary fans are going to absolutely love this cinematic direction. Kate, knowing full well that I am a massive fan of the franchise, turns to me with an excited sparkle in her eyes. "Rick, so what do you think of the movie, I told you it is perfect for you, right?"

Lucy and I both turn our heads to look at the smiling idol, the exact same realization hitting both of our brains simultaneously. This idiot-Girl is a fucking genius, having somehow managed to randomly nail my exact life situation completely by accident without knowing a damn thing!

"The new plot makes the bad ending of the last movie really nice," I comment, keeping my composure as I praise the setup. "I think it can be even more successful transforming the main male lead into two characters, and it avoids the whole, Why did the Princess just move on to a new dude trope. Plus the two lovers being adversaries at the start makes the drama better. The whole movie screams full contact action."

Pam chuckles happily upon hearing me openly praise the core concept, immediately assuming the credit belongs entirely to her lineage as she boasts. "This is why Sam is here, he came up with this wonderful plot idea halfway through filming, and showed his brilliance in knowing what the young viewers are craving. This is why having him play the new hero is the right call. He imagined it after-all. Plus the romance in this one will be double the last movie with more graphic love scenes, since the audience is growing up and maturing. So having a main lead with charisma is important for this fact."

Lucy's expression instantly darkens at Pam's haughty tone and her pointed comment regarding looks and charisma. She reaches out and points a slender finger directly at my chest, firing back without a shred of corporate hesitation. "Rick here has 7 wives, 3 lovers, and 7 children due, so charisma cannot be calculated on looks alone, how many wives and children does Sam Sun have again?"

Lucy was accurately sending invisible arrows into the bodies of Pam and Sam, knowing the real truth about their financial downfalls and public scandals. Because her comments were made to seem entirely innocent to the casual observer, she really was delivering earthshaking knockout blows across the table.

I was completely unaware of how vicious her underground schemes actually were at this time. She had already been fastidiously setting up the board for major, systematic blackmail on the Sun family's assets.

Kate tilted her chin up, looking over her shoulder to pile on the pressure. "That is right. Sam probably does not know how to even hold a gun or fight well. I doubt he can do his own stunts, plus there are bad rumors going around about Sam and Ana."

Sam immediately leaned forward to defend his fragile ego, his face reddening under his makeup. "I know how to use a gun on screen for the fans, as far as stunts go, that is why we have stuntmen. Kate, do you even do your own stunts? And the rumors of me and Ana are just Nay-Sayers, we dated a bit is all, and she has never once complained so you are throwing shade on my reputation. Plus I am formally trained in acting, humph."

I simply pointed a finger toward Sam as he sat there desperately defending his honor, looking over at Kate with a blunt expression. "Sam is right, Ana dates a looooot of men, so he was just one of maaaaaaany in her dating revolving-door, that is why I never dated her, ew."

Everyone sitting in the corporate room instantly adopted vastly different expressions upon hearing my unhinged comment. I let out a dry cough to clarify my stance before they could misinterpret the statement.

"I have personally seen her in town many times, and she was always out with a Playboy, so I am not spreading rumors here."

Jean Jia, clearly seeing that the young ones were heading straight for a petty, unprofessional argument, raised her hand to command the room. "Mrs Sun, what exactly are you countering with here? Our demands are simple and direct."

Pam shifted her sharp gaze entirely away from her son, looking over at me before she addressed Jean with a practical tone. "Rick Lee has had no formal training in acting. Making him a major star because he is good at martial arts is ludicrous. Can he even read a script? Can he know where the marks are for placements? Does he know anything about how to face the camera? Does Mr Lee even want to be a star? All I see is Kate wanting her childhood friend to play in her movie."

Every occupant in the room went completely quiet for a moment, silently thinking about her words. It honestly made perfect sense if you were looking at the situation from a practical, real-world perspective, since nobody here knew a single thing about my hidden, high-level system cheats.

I decided to speak up right then, using the opportunity to aggressively advocate for my hidden wife's corporate interests. "What do I want? Simply, I want Kate Kong to sign with Star Entertainment Group. So, what does Sam Sun want?"

Sam puffed his chest out, a look of desperate ambition crossing his features. "I want to be a star, and make this company the best it can be. I have dreamed of getting to be the star of this movie."

Lucy made a highly performative show of checking her designer watch before letting out a loud, dramatic yawn. She tapped her polished fingernails against her folder as she asked. "I have other more important places to be, so can you just get to your plot, so my client and I can work on other projects?"

A sudden grin flashed across my face because I knew exactly what she meant; she was just dying to leave this boring meeting so we could go play on the computers together.

Pam's left eyebrow began twitching violently against her skin as she held back her temper. "Jean Jia, we at SEG will offer this lush 5 year deal with Kate, if you accept one small condition regarding the male lead."

The entire room hung in a dense, heavy silence, waiting for the trap to drop.

"Soon the classes change in Star University, and I want him to take Drama Club to train his acting skills." Pam explained, her voice gaining a confident edge. "We will start filming as soon as the University lets out, and if he can beat and outperform Sam in that time, he can have the lead. But if Sam outperforms him, you must still make the movie with Sam. This way, we get the best male lead for our movie."

Kate and Jean instantly huddled together, whispering rapid legal strategies to each other while Kate kept throwing me a series of highly amusing, funny looks over her shoulder. Once Kate finally offered a solid nod of agreement, Jean turned her head back to face Pam.

"Sam has many advantages that are not offered to Rick, so as a counter offer, Kate will become Rick's acting coach during this time." Jean stated firmly, setting the new boundaries. "The Dean of Star University has already accepted Kate's request to learn in the Drama Club during this 6 month period, as well as pick up some other courses to help her acting career. So Kate can do her SEG work in the evenings, after her University classes."

This sudden, incredibly specific counter-strategy told me everything I needed to know. They had already known every single detail about Pam's hidden plan long before we walked in here, and my solid guess was that Lucy had leaked the inside data to them in advance so they could be fully prepared.

Realistically, my other guess was that Vicky had probably warned them about Pam's usual executive nonsense from the start. Pam looked a bit taken aback, her eyes widening slightly as she realized she had been completely seen through and seamlessly planned against by our side.

"Mom, it is not fair to let Kate coach him!" Sam yelled out, his face turning an unappealing shade of red as he protested the arrangement.

Lucy leaned back in her chair, delivering a savage dig that cut straight through his loud complaints. "Your acting must suck ass, if you are worried about some teaching to help Rick catch up to the great you, huh?!"

"Who do you think you are?!" Sam snarled, slamming his hands flat against the polished tabletop. "My acting skills have been working and polished for 10 years now!"

Lucy didn't even flinch, instead raising her hand to point her finger directly at the tip of his nose. "So your great acting skills cry, 'not fair', for an amateur actor? Rick, we don't have to listen to the Sun's shit anymore, we can go play."

I shrugged my shoulders under my long coat, happily playing along with Lucy's tactical exit strategy. The two of us simultaneously stood up from our chairs, grabbing our folders as if we were going to walk out the door right then and leave the contract completely unsigned.

Pam threw a lethal, absolute glare at her incredibly stupid son, forcing him to shut his mouth before she looked back at us. "No, SEG will agree to those simple terms, not like it will make a difference in a mere 6 months. We will allow Kate to do variety and talk shows in the evenings, so she can attend part-time University and coach Rick Lee-Tang. So, Mrs Shen, what do you say?"

Lucy made a highly animated show of pulling me close, leaning her head in so we could whisper and pretend to be deeply deliberating over the corporate terms. But the moment her lips reached my ear, the only thing she actually whispered was a completely separate thought.

"Do you want to eat at Big Burger after this, and pick up something for Vicky for lunch?"

I just offered a solid nod of my head, keeping my expression deadpan so it looked like I was giving her serious, heavy consideration regarding the movie role. Lucy's lips curled into a faint smile before her face instantly shifted back into a cold, professional mask as she turned to face the executives.

"My client will sign up for Drama Club the second half of the year, and prove he is no limp-noodle!"

For some bizarre reason, Sam's face grew incredibly gloomy and pale the exact second Lucy uttered that common, everyday phrase.

"Then Kate Kong, will you re-sign with us with this new modified agreement?" Pam asked, sliding the digital document console forward.

Jean adjusted her posture, nodding toward the device. "My client Kate Kong is very happy with the terms. Let us sign."

The absolute millisecond I saw both corporate parties finalize their signatures on the electronic pad, I threw my right fist straight up into the air, looking significantly happier than Pam, Sam, Jean, or even Kate combined!

"Mission Successful my wife, brouhaha!" I shouted, a massive wave of pure relief washing over my chest.

Even the brilliant Lucy looked entirely unsure of what I actually meant by that sudden outburst, her blue eyes blinking in confusion. I just beamed a massive smile at every single person around the table, gathering my phone off the wood.

"Ah, my wife has a surprise for me tomorrow, and I just remembered it, cough." I lied smoothly, clearing my throat to cover up the slip.

My big ass smile simply could not be hidden no matter how hard I tried to suppress it. I turned my head, looking over at Sam while basking in a very fucking good mood.

"Sam, make sure to be at the New Years Eve Bash, I will show you who the best actors are, ha-ha! Let's go Mrs Shen, I want to see your Baby!"