Chapter 792: Chapter 783: Open and Secret Struggles (5) Chapter 792: Chapter 783: Open and Secret Struggles (5) She had lived a life of abundance since childhood, never oppressed by money. What had struck her the hardest were those self-proclaimed societal norms of the upper class. It was because of these ridiculous views on money and face that her mother suffered. She refused to be shackled by money!

“Thank you. You negotiated these terms for me, didn’t you?”

Xia Siyu held the letter of intent in her hands as Qin Baizhou nodded, “Yes.” He paused and then added, “I know what you hate, be it the roles in TV series or promotional duties. I’ll try my best to keep those to a minimum so that they don’t interfere with your pursuit of your dreams. You want to act well, then hire the best teachers, get top directors to guide you through the scenes. The more you work with top directors, the more insight you gain, the more you learn, the more likely you’ll produce great works that will go down in history! And once you have the financial means, all those rumors of you depending on wealth or dating men for money will be instantly dispelled. Why not go for it?”

“You make a good point. And most people would probably see no reason to refuse.”

For some reason, Xia Siyu’s certainty surprised Qin Baizhou, almost as if he could sense the forthcoming “but.” And he feared that “but.”

As expected, Xia Siyu said, “But, I think I would rather not.”

Having said that, she placed the letter of intent back where it originally was.

Qin Baizhou felt a burst of excitement, unable to believe someone would actually push away such a vast fortune! Even billionaires, given the chance to make a few hundred million easily in a deal, who wouldn’t want money just handed to them? Isn’t rejecting it just foolish? He tried to reason further, “Don’t reject it so quickly. The specific terms are still negotiable. After all, this isn’t an all-or-nothing deal.”

Qin Baizhou was actually quite confident this time; he knew that other companies were approaching Xia Siyu, but she hadn’t accepted any. Given her current situation, her choice was either to rely on a major film company, maybe with access to famous directors, or to go independent and set up her own studio. Yet Xia Siyu hadn’t chosen either path, and if she sought out other large companies, they might not offer her particularly good resources, or perhaps, she was still basically satisfied with Huixing.

With the contract renewal deadline approaching, if she had other intentions, she would have started making arrangements already. It was clear she hadn’t considered other options, so why wouldn’t she accept the money being offered to her?

“I could consider bringing in newcomers, but I can’t accept doing TV series just for the sake of it, and I can’t adhere to the company’s line to the letter,” she said resolutely as she pushed the letter of intent back.

She had her own principles when it came to acting. Previously, she was just lazy and didn’t want to engage in networking. But now, time was tight, and she didn’t have long before her thirty-year-old deadline with Shang Feifei. She didn’t want to be restricted by meaningless capital.

“But…”

Qin Baizhou wanted to explain further, but Xia Siyu immediately shook her head, “Brother Qin, it’s not that I don’t want to renew the contract. I still stand by the same condition–if you provide me with good resources for the roles I like, I can forgo the rest of the money. As for promotion, I’ll do what’s necessary, but being in continual alignment with the company’s stance, that I can’t do. Amend these two points, and there’s no issue with anything else. You also know that I haven’t approached other companies, and I’m not interested in being my own boss. I just want to focus on acting; the rest is inconsequential.”