Chapter 105

Chapter 105

Bai Xingshu looked at Shen Geng's expression and let out a loud laugh, patting his shoulder.

He immediately realized that Shen Geng had misunderstood.

But thinking that he wanted to give Cheng Yunxi a gift on the day *Starry Eternal Love* was released or whatever...

"You're such a romantic!" Bai Xingshu felt like he could never have come up with that himself.

After saying it, Bai Xingshu even felt a little envious himself.

If he could think on Shen Geng's level, wouldn't chasing some elite Alpha be easy as pie?

"Don't worry, after *Starry Eternal Love* is released, I'll get another bonus payout based on its performance." Bai Xingshu had easily slipped into the crew's group chat earlier and had already seen mentions of the bonuses.

Word was the amount wasn't small—basically, everyone could get around 20-30K StarCoins.

—Mainly because Cheng Yunxi's films always had strong track records.

Bai Xingshu estimated he’d probably get even more than that.

Previously, when Bai Xingshu worked as an action director, it was only part-time, with short hours and few sessions, so his final salary was just a little over three thousand StarCoins.

This definitely wasn’t commensurate with the status of someone like Bai Xingshu, whom Cheng Yunxi personally called Director Liu to request.

He was there to network, not to actually provide labor.

Back then, when the assistant handed Bai Xingshu his paycheck, they subtly suggested that the big payoff would come later.

Bai Xingshu guessed that after the film’s release, Cheng Yunxi would bring along fans’ praise for the action sequences and put in a good word for him with Director Liu.

He’d give Director Liu a reasonable referral fee, then hand Bai Xingshu a hefty paycheck.

Making it seem like he was indebted to Director Liu while actually paying him—these kinds of social maneuvers were effortless for Cheng Yunxi.

As for whether anyone would actually praise the film…

No need to worry about that.

Cheng Yunxi’s movies always had fans singing their praises.

Doing some quick math, Bai Xingshu doubled the amount—sixty thousand StarCoins—but that still left him… seventy thousand short.

At this thought, he couldn’t help but shoot a wistful look at Shen Geng.

This guy used such high-end and fancy things that anything suitable for him had to be this expensive.

But…

For Bai Xingshu, this shortfall wasn’t a dealbreaker.

Originally, he hadn’t been in a hurry to buy it—it wasn’t some limited-edition item anyway. For him, there were always ways to make money, so he could just get it whenever he saved enough.

Watching the funds slowly reach the target was half the fun.

But Shen Geng’s words just now had given him an idea.

Maybe he could make it a gift for the new semester.

Look how skilled he is—with just a hint from Shen Geng, he's learned it all!

Bai Xingshu stood tall.

As for whether there really wouldn’t be any major cases or other opportunities to earn Star Coins...

"I'll get there eventually! Worst case, I'll just do some livestreams," Bai Xingshu declared confidently, laying out his backup plan.

Worst case, he’d just get scolded again or be punished with writing reflection papers.

That didn't bother him.

After submitting over fifty reflection papers, both Wu Jigao and Director Liu had nothing left to say after reading them.

He was practically a pro at writing those.

If needed, he’d just write a few more.

Watching Bai Xingshu’s overconfident attitude, Shen Geng dryly noted one fact.

"There’s no livestreaming in the intermediate arena." The mecha combat platform streams were all built-in with no monetization, so there were no streaming events—and thus no bonuses.

The beginner arena was meant to encourage the public to learn mecha piloting and spot civilian talent.

The intermediate arena, on the other hand, was for professionals who had confidentiality requirements. Everyone stayed under the radar, and there were no incentive activities.

Mostly, it was like the previous team matches—focused on improving comprehensive and cooperative abilities.

Lin Li’s situation was a different case.

And generally, after entering the intermediate arena, people became even more low-key to avoid being studied by rivals (i.e., other academies).

After all, they still had inter-school tournaments to compete in during their junior year.

Completely unaware that the intermediate arena had no livestreaming, Bai Xingshu was thunderstruck.

"Then there’s only one way left," Bai Xingshu said, picking up the police scanner assigned to him and pulling up the information on various wanted criminals.

Every one of them was a dangerous felon.

Some bounties could reach up to millions of Star Coins.

Shen Geng stared blankly.

"You can find them?" Shen Geng was stunned.

"Of course..." He blurted out before, as the system blared warnings, backpedaling hard. "I can’t."

Since these fugitives were on the wanted list, all search systems would be looking for them.

The system’s capabilities also relied on this world’s various information devices.

These guys had gone completely off-grid—if the people of this world couldn’t find them, neither could the system.

Hearing Bai Xingshu’s answer and seeing his visibly frustrated state, Shen Geng let out a relieved breath.

Bai Xingshu hadn’t demonstrated any superhuman intel sources, but if he really had the means to track down these wanted criminals, Shen Geng would have had to seriously consider whether he should have a deeper conversation with him.

So there were still limits after all.

Glad to hear it.

But...

"Is my money really that hard for you to accept?" Shen Geng grumbled.

Bai Xingshu seriously corrected, "It's just not good to use your money to buy things."

With that one sentence, he cut off Shen Geng’s words.

He didn’t dare speak up again.

Why was it so bad to use his money to buy a gift for Cheng Yunxi? Was it because his intentions were too obvious? Was it truly impolite to use a suitor’s money to buy something for the person he was pursuing?

Shen Geng’s mind raced with thoughts, but they remained just that—thoughts.

A few seconds later, he brushed off all those wild guesses.

Though his reasoning was perfectly logical...

Bai Xingshu wouldn’t even think that way.

Just as Shen Geng was about to ask if Bai Xingshu had any other solutions for the money issue, he noticed a little girl tugging at Bai Xingshu’s pant leg.

The two of them had only been chatting because Wu Jigao was busy taking photos of the fraudster for documentation, giving them a quick break. Now that something had come up, they naturally knew what took priority.

Bai Xingshu crouched down, grinning at the little girl, his voice overly sweet. "Keke, did you get lost again today?"

"Did you memorize Mom and Dad’s phone numbers like I told you last time?"

Hearing this, the little girl’s face scrunched up, looking completely upset as she shouted back at Bai Xingshu, "I came out with Dad! It’s Dad who got lost, not me!"

Her childish words made both of them laugh.

"Want us to help find your dad?" Shen Geng crouched beside Bai Xingshu.

The little girl looked at Shen Geng and firmly refused, "No! Dad’s a big boy. He can find his way home himself."

Shen Geng couldn’t help but chuckle. "Then what about you, Keke?"

"I want to play with you!" The little girl announced firmly. Then, she shook her tightly clenched fist at Bai Xingshu, signaling for him to take whatever was inside.

No one could refuse a child’s command. Bai Xingshu obligingly held out his hand.

A crumpled 5-unit bill appeared in his palm.