"Weird. Why is everyone calling me to talk about collaborations all of a sudden?"
After hanging up on New Moon, Deviant took calls from several other film companies. Without exception, they all wanted to collaborate with Idelos, even going so far as to say he could set his own terms.
"Looks like your last apology worked," Deviant said, looking at Idelos.
Ever since Idelos came out against virtual females, his reputation had plummeted. It was so bad he’d practically get beaten up just walking down the street. Forget collaboration offers from film companies—he even had a ton of advertising and brand deals pulled. The only offers that trickled in were from small companies trying to take advantage and get a bargain.
Yet the collaboration calls coming in now were all from top-ten film companies.
Still, he felt like something wasn’t right.
Idelos’s popularity was high, but most of it came from people who hated him. His "Silver Moonlight" title was just a marketing creation to help him maintain his established image. That way, even if he was reviled, he could still get a steady stream of scripts involving females. The money was secondary. The main point was that he had built up his fame, become a representative for the Fox Clan, and even secured a place in the Beast Alliance’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
But after his boycott of virtual females, few companies dared to work with them, even after he apologized.
That was why Deviant had wanted to secure the rights to Yuanbao. Yuanbao was the hottest virtual female at the moment; with Yuanbao, those companies would come knocking on their door.
But he hadn’t secured Yuanbao’s rights yet, had he?
’Did someone leak the news?’
Deviant had been in this business for so many years; he was at least that sharp.
"What good would an apology do?" Idelos casually picked up a book from the table to flip through it. "If you keep waiting, you can forget about licensing this virtual female."
When Deviant heard that, his mind raced, and he instantly understood what was happening.
Just then, a "paw-print" system message popped up on his terminal. It was from Gu Demiao Ning:
If you want to collaborate, then let’s have a proper talk. (Comm Code: xxxx—)
This offer won’t last.
"This guy." Deviant saw the message, which was identical to the one he had sent, and couldn’t help but laugh in exasperation. "He’s certainly got some tricks up his sleeve. Pulling a stunt like this on me... He’s telling me that they can choose other companies if we don’t cooperate."
Idelos turned a page. "Don’t drag me into this."
"Neither of you is getting out of this. He has you roped in now," Deviant said. "He still wants to cooperate with us. He probably just wants to add a few more conditions."
As he spoke, Deviant jotted down the comm code, composed himself, and stepped aside to call Gu Demiao Ning.
.
"We’ll talk about other conditions later." Barto leaned lazily against the sofa, propping his head up with a hand as he repeated the line for what felt like the tenth time. "First, have Idelos come forward and vouch for you."
With that said, Barto deftly hung up the call.
Gu Ning passed him a slip of paper: [Will this work?]
The little fox had called over a dozen companies, and in every call, he had specifically requested Idelos by name.
Although she had no experience with negotiations, she was well aware that Idelos was an actor contracted with Feixing. Taking this approach was equivalent to telling other companies they would have to poach Idelos if they wanted to collaborate.
Idelos wasn’t some unknown actor. Plus, the fact that he’d dared to publicly denounce virtual females showed he was a very arrogant beastman. He definitely wasn’t someone who could be poached easily, especially not for a virtual female.
The companies had agreed readily enough, but she guessed they were probably wondering why she was so insistent on having Idelos.
"Of course it’ll work," Barto said, looking all mature and experienced. "That fox will be coming to us begging soon enough. We’ll be able to set whatever terms we want."
Gu Ning felt uneasy, but there was also a little thrill, like she was getting into mischief with Barto.
Idelos and Deviant were probably being hounded to death by all these companies, but she understood that Barto was doing this so they could seize the initiative.
If they didn’t get the jump on Deviant, he would be the one to get the jump on them.
[Can we really ask for anything?] she wrote.
Seeing her look of both fear and excitement, Barto said with an amused laugh, "Don’t tell me you’re actually scared of that white fox?"
Gu Ning wrote: [It’s not that I’m scared. It’s just that he spoke up for me, so it doesn’t feel right to take advantage of him like this.]
"What’s that got to do with anything?" Barto said. "It’s his honor to work with you." ’That lucky bastard.’
"So what conditions did you want to set for that white fox?" Barto asked, circling back to her question.
"Umm..." Gu Ning lowered her head to think. Since the little fox had said so, she decided to be bold and propose her condition.
She looked up and said, "Beast form. Petting."
Barto asked, "Petting?"
Gu Ning handed him a slip of paper.
Barto pinched the note between his fingers and read it aloud, "Have him change back into his beast form for me to pet..."
He froze for a moment, then the corners of his mouth slowly curled up. Finally, he couldn’t help but let out a "PFFT!" of laughter. He laughed so hard he collapsed onto the sofa, rolling around until he tumbled into Gu Ning’s lap.
Gu Ning, completely baffled, held the little fox who was shaking with laughter.
Seeing Barto rolling around in Gu Ning’s lap, Cook came over and nudged his way in too.
"Go on, get out of here."
After a moment, Barto finally stopped laughing. He pushed Cook’s large head away, sat up while clutching his stomach, and said to Gu Ning, "Okay, we’re doing it just like that."
Gu Ning patted Cook’s head and looked at Barto in confusion. "Just like that?"
Barto snatched the notebook from her hands, flipped to a blank page, and wrote down the condition she wanted to propose. "What other conditions do you want to set for them? Quick, quick, give me some more interesting ones."
Gu Ning was speechless. ’Why does his laugh sound so mischievous?’
She scribbled on a piece of paper: Are you just messing with me?
Barto said, "I’m not messing with you. Propose whatever conditions you want, don’t feel bad about it. Yes, he spoke up for you, but his real goal wasn’t to help you; it was to salvage his own reputation. He’s a sly one, that fox. Don’t go trusting them over one small favor, especially not that fox named Deviant."
Gu Ning asked, "Deviant? You know him well?"
"We have to negotiate a collaboration with him, so of course we have to understand him. He’s a total shark," Barto said. "...You’re too honest, you’re not suited for business. Looks like I’ll have to be the one to handle this stuff."
Seeing the little fox’s "what would you ever do without me?" expression, Gu Ning smiled and wrote: I can’t think of any other conditions at the moment.
She had once seen an arctic fox, a big, fluffy ball that looked so very pettable, and she wondered if Idelos’s beast form would be the same.
’At any rate, it couldn’t be an upright form like the little fox’s.’
Just as Barto was about to say something more, a call came in.
Seeing the avatar on the call notification, he waved his wrist at Gu Ning. "He’s here."
Gu Ning immediately perked up, all ears, and leaned in close to his terminal.
Barto’s finger paused over the accept button for a moment before he pressed it.
"Hello, Mr. Gu Demiao Ning." A polite and gentle voice came from the terminal.