Chapter 41: Teacher Zhou never tells fortunes for free, and a fortune told for free by Teacher Zhou is no fortune at all.

"Zhou Le is here, come, come, sit over here."

Lu Wei beckoned to Zhou Le.

Lu Wei was the vice president of Daylight Entertainment and also the director of its planning department, concurrently overseeing the artist management division.

Zhou Le walked over and took a seat.

He found that among the people at this table, he only recognized two. One was Lü Liangwei, because the man had often appeared in Hong Kong films in the past, and the other was Shao Bin. Zhou Le knew the actor had starred in numerous television dramas and films, but his most memorable impression was the classic line: "Brother, you understand me; if it were me, the one slumped over the table would be her husband."

Apart from them, although he knew the names of Li Yitong, Guo Jingyu, and others, he couldn't quite match them to their faces yet.

After Lu Wei's introductions, Zhou Le finally memorized that the youngest-looking girl was Meng Ziyi, the one who looked slightly more mature was Li Yitong, and the most mature and alluring woman was Zeng Li.

The rest of the table included producer Guo Jingyu, director Jiang Jiayun, and actors Yang Xuwen and Fu Tianjiao, among others.

As for the people at the other tables, they were mostly supporting cast members.

"Zhou Le is a rising newcomer our company has been vigorously promoting recently. Since he happened to be in Suzhou today, I called him over to join us for dinner and show his face in front of Director Guo and Director Jiang. Who knows, maybe an opportunity for collaboration will come up in the future?"

Seeing this, Zhou Le knew it was his time to perform.

He stood up, placed his hand on the decanter, and just as he was about to pour himself a full glass, Meng Ziyi, sitting right beside him, quickly picked up the wine bottle and said, "Brother, let me pour it for you."

Zhou Le couldn't help giving her an extra glance.

He realized the young girl wasn't just pretty; she was also quite interesting, exceptionally attractive, and somewhat generous.

(Little Meng)

"Thank you."

"You're welcome," Meng Ziyi replied.

Immediately following that, Zhou Le downed the entire two-liang serving from the decanter in one go.

"Hiss—Director Guo, this wine is fantastic."

"Haha, this is thirty-year-old Feitian Maotai, you know."

"Director Guo is certainly generous." Zhou Le praised with a smile. Actually, he had tasted this wine before; after the filming of Wolf Warriors, Wu Jing had also brought out bottles of this.

"I'd say Teacher Zhou is the generous one here, knocking back two liangs of liquor without blinking."

Zhou Le smiled. "Well, I am toasting my seniors after all. I just hope Director Guo and Director Jiang don't think I'm being wasteful. Also, please don't call me 'Teacher,' just call me Little Zhou, or as some like to call me, Le'er."

"Not wasteful at all, not wasteful. Come, sit down, let's sit and chat."

Just like that, Zhou Le started chatting away. During the conversation, Lu Wei took some time to pitch Zhou Le a bit more, and Zhou Le himself rose to the occasion, quickly blending in with the group after a few drinks.

However, the female artists at the table couldn't escape either. No matter what they were usually like, in this kind of setting, drinking was mandatory.

After all, producers and directors were absolute heavyweights.

Yet, after three rounds of drinks, Zhou Le noticed Meng Ziyi's face was flushed red and she was signaling that she truly couldn't drink any more. Director Jiang Jiayun insisted that the wine in her glass had to go down, though she could find someone to substitute for her.

Without a second thought, Zhou Le said, "Then I'll take it. Besides, I was hoping to share another drink with Director Jiang anyway."

This made Yang Xuwen, who had just opened his mouth to speak, quietly swallow his words back and pull his hand back from his wine glass.

After finishing that drink, Jiang Jiayun turned his attention to Li Yitong.

"How about it, Yitong? Are you holding up okay? Can you manage another round?"

Just at this moment, Zhou Le refilled his glass again. "I'll take it, Sister Yitong."

"Cheers, Director Jiang," Zhou Le said.

Jiang Jiayun looked at Li Yitong, and Li Yitong gracefully chimed in, "Then I'll have to thank younger brother Zhou Le."

With things phrased this way, Jiang Jiayun found it hard to say anything further.

Thus, he drank another cup with Zhou Le.

However, Jiang Jiayun then turned his sights on Zeng Li for a third time.

"And how about Teacher Zeng?"

Zhou Le knew these actresses had already consumed quite a bit and figured that since they were already this far gone, a little more wouldn't hurt.

Just then, however, Lu Wei pressed down on Zhou Le's thigh under the table.

Moments later, Zeng Li proactively raised her glass and finished the drink herself.

Zhou Le wasn't quite sure why Lu Wei hadn't stopped him the first two times, but had given him a secret signal this time around.

Regardless, after Zhou Le's chivalrous intervention, both Meng Ziyi and Li Yitong cast appreciative glances at Zhou Le from time to time.

Before long, while the older, more established figures gathered together to chat, Zhou Le ended up conversing freely with Meng Ziyi and Li Yitong, with Yang Xuwen having switched to his left side.

Upon learning that Zhou Le knew how to tell fortunes, Meng Ziyi eagerly extended her small hand for him to read.

As Zhou Le pinched her hand, he found it felt boneless, soft, and yielding.

"Your career line has quite a few twists and turns in the early stages, but by the mid-stage—look right here—it becomes extremely thick and smooth. This means you're going to shoot to fame very soon, or at least be scouted for a major, high-profile production with an incredible role."

Meng Ziyi listened with her mouth wide open in an O-shape.

"Huh? Are you really a divine fortune-teller?"

Zhou Le was feeling a bit buzzed by this point, though he hadn't lost his cognitive faculties.

He felt a sliver of inward smugness, thinking to himself: Isn't this just applying a universal formula?

It works on absolutely anyone.

Even if you factored in her previous role in God of War Zhao Yun, the Three สามก๊ก (Three Kingdoms) was always a major intellectual property, right? Contemporary directors loved adapting big IPs.

Besides, although her character in God of War Zhao Yun hadn't amounted to much, she had already landed the female second lead role in this version of The Legend of the Condor Heroes; an actor's career trajectory naturally wouldn't regress with every project.

Even if she didn't end up landing a stellar role down the line, there were plenty of ready-made excuses.

For instance, blaming it on the wrong shade of nail polish.

"It's nothing, really. I just dabble a bit," Zhou Le said with feigned modesty.

"That's amazing! I haven't told a single soul that I'm going to film Nightfall, not even Sister Yitong. I never expected Teacher Zhou could calculate that out."

Zhou Le: "???"

There was actually such a thing?

Zhou Le knew about Nightfall; back when he was an overworked drone, web novels were his favorite pastime. Still, compared to Nightfall, he actually preferred Joy of Life and Jiang Ye (Path to Immortality).

Right then, however, Zhou Le struck an even more profound, master-like pose.

"Furthermore, your constitution is still a bit weak, and you probably suffer from severe dysmenorrhea often, right?"

"You know about that too?!"

Zhou Le couldn't recall the specifics of medical theories anymore, but looking at someone as slender as her, she was bound to be frail. Plus, given how female celebrities dressed, how many of them didn't suffer from menstrual cramps?

Zhou Le stroked and examined Meng Ziyi's hand repeatedly.

This sight made Yang Xuwen's eyes pop straight out of his head.

"You can even tell that?!"

In that instant, he seriously considered taking Zhou Le on as his master.

Knowing a practical skill like this was just too awesome!

Then, he watched with his own eyes as Zhou Le grabbed Li Yitong's hand next.

"Sister, this hand of yours is wonderful."

Li Yitong chuckled lightly. "What's so wonderful about it?"

"Well, for one, it's fair, slender, and long..."

This remark once again set the two young women into a fit of giggles. Since his first fortune had hit the mark, neither of them mistook Zhou Le's behavior for frivolity.

Much like no one would view a male OB-GYN with suspicion.

After all, it was all part of the profession.

"Alright, just joking. Sister, joking aside, you really need to take better care of your health and stress out a little less."

Li Yitong had indeed been under immense stress lately. Playing the female lead in a major production brought crushing pressure every day; she had even started losing hair and had to apply hairline powder before going out.

"Then can Teacher Zhou write me a prescription to help?"

Hearing this, Zhou Le shook his head on the spot.

"I only diagnose, I don't treat. After all, I'm not a licensed doctor, and practicing medicine without a license is illegal. I am a law-abiding citizen, you know."

"Then just write me a private prescription where nobody else knows."

"Still won't do. I have my principles."

Zhou Le gently refused once again.

At this moment, Yang Xuwen, sitting nearby, grew intensely envious. "Teacher Zhou, take a look at my future too. I always feel like my career has been stuck in limbo all these years."

Zhou Le sighed, feeling as though he had exhausted his brain cells for the day.

He thought to himself, "Male actors are always such high-maintenance pains."

"I reckon that when you finally break out, it'll definitely be in a costume drama, but probably not right now."

"Why? I think my performance in this Condor Heroes is pretty good, though."

"You won't be able to surpass Teacher Li Yapeng. Do you know why?"

"Of course I can't compare to Teacher Li Yapeng."

"Wrong. Whether you can surpass someone depends on the era and on raw capability, but the reason you won't surpass him is because..." Leaning in close, Zhou Le whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear: "Because you look smarter than him."