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"How about it, have you two thought it through? You know, having a team to support, promote, and manage you is totally different from trying to go solo~"
In a private room at the hotel, Kyle and Mia sat in front of a table full of delicious food.
Sitting across from them were a stylish woman and a guy who wasn't exactly handsome.
After some discussion, Lily and Nick had reached an agreement—to come together to meet Kyle and Mia and make them a fair offer.
Lily wanted to sign them as artists under her own studio. After being in the industry for over a decade, she'd built up some connections and started her own little company.
Though to be fair, Lily wasn't exactly super career-driven.
Lately, her boyfriend Lucas had been thinking about becoming a director, so she figured she could bring in some fresh faces to the studio.
Nick, on the other hand, was representing Happy Maha, a successful comedy team with resources in stage plays, skits, cross-talk, and films.
But out of their whole crew, the only real headliners were Nick and Mali.
Sure, they had a bunch of supporting actors, but those guys were already typecast to the point where trying them in anything new just didn't work.
Because of that, Lily offered them a B-level contract, while Nick gave a C-level one—with the possibility of moving up to B-level after a year.
Mia was all smiles as she looked over the two contracts.
Monthly gigs, guaranteed pay, guaranteed stage time, weekly promotion and publicity—this was everything she'd been working toward. Finally, she was gonna make it. No more stressing about money.
Kyle, though? Cool as ever. Signing with someone else's company had never been in his plans.
I mean, come on. Even a thief knows—getting a job? No way. Never gonna happen!
"We need to think about it~"
"We're gonna pass~!"
Before Mia could even finish, Kyle spoke up.
"Huh? You're turning us down?" Nick looked genuinely surprised.
"Turning down Lily 's offer, I get it—it's just a small studio. But Happy Maha? We're a big name in comedy, with a complete setup—"
"Writers, directors, comedy actors, stage performers, promo assistants—we've got the whole package!"
"We've got spots on all kinds of TV shows, including the Spring Festival Gala, plus steady work in dramas and movies!"
"With that kind of environment, treatment, and opportunities, you're seriously saying no?"
"I really think you should reconsider. I honestly want to work with you two," he added sincerely, eyes full of genuine respect.
"Hey now, don't sell my studio short. We've got tons of chances to get roles and do films and shows too, you know? Kyle, Mia, really, give it some thought~" Lily chimed in, sounding a little thrown off. She thought her studio was pretty competitive.
Mia tugged on Kyle's sleeve, but he calmly replied,
"I know these chances don't come around often. But if we sign with your companies, we'll lose our freedom."
"Happy Maha's got a lot of actors, and some are even born into cross-talk families. The competition's intense."
"And because your system is already industrialized, actors' roles get locked in. Once you're a type, that's it."
"If all we wanted was a stable place to settle down, sure—Happy Maha would be a solid choice."
"But unfortunately—like the ad says—'what's wider than the sky is a man's ambition.'"
Hearing that, both Nick and Lily realized Kyle wasn't lacking in guts or vision.
And really, thinking about it, it made sense. Without ambition, how could he have come up with scripts like The Thief Company or Creative Accounting?
"Hehehe, why's it only men who have ambition, huh?" Mia protested.
"Yes, yes, women too—our Mia's got plenty of ambition!" Kyle quickly added, and Mia let him off the hook.
At first, she'd been leaning toward joining Happy Maha, but after hearing Kyle's perspective, she started to believe her own future could be even bigger.
"I admire your courage, but in showbiz, you can't make it big just by going solo. I really suggest you don't reject this too quickly," Nick said again, clearly trying to help.
"That's actually why I did The Thief Company in the first place," Kyle smiled.
"Happy Maha has 20 million in registered capital, split between three major and eight minor shareholders. The ownership's spread thin. A lot of decisions, even you, Teng-ge, can't make alone."
"Now here's the lucky part—I happen to have 20 million myself. I can't start another Maha, but I can set up my own studio, no problem."
Mia stared at him, stunned. "Kyle, quit bluffing! When did you become a millionaire? I never knew!"
"I ain't bluffing! Look, here's my account balance." He pulled out his phone and showed her: **.31 Dollar.
"Whoa… seriously? You're really a millionaire?" Mia was shocked. She'd known Kyle was a little better off than her—but she thought that just meant he didn't live in a basement and had a studio apartment or something.
"Well, if that's the case, maybe someday we can work together and see what kind of sparks we can make," Nick said, giving up on convincing them and just enjoying the meal with the group.
Lily was bummed too, but hey, what can you say? The guy's clearly a low-key rich kid just messing around for fun.
After dinner, Mia's tone had noticeably changed—more respectful now. She pouted and then said softly:
"Boss~"
Kyle grinned. "Mmm, I hear you, Little Mia. Let's head home."
"Pfft! You really just accepted that?! Spill it—what's really going on?" Mia grabbed his wrist, not letting him off the hook.
"No funny business! That's my hard-earned cash. I was thinking we could start our own studio. We'll be co-founders!"
"Find a packaging team, and then boom—make it big in the entertainment world!" Kyle explained quickly.
"You want me to be a co-founder? I've got no money though."
"Then I'll lend you some. Or you can invest your skills instead. Either way, you have to be a shareholder. Otherwise, you'll end up like Teng-ge, getting bossed around."
"You'd really do that?"
"C'mon, we've been partners forever. I know you inside out. I'll get a lawyer to draft up a contract and we'll build this thing from the ground up."
"But… what if we lose money?"
"Well, even if we do, it's not like things could get worse, right? We're already scraping the bottom—can't go any lower!"
"Huh… that's true!"
They chatted as they walked. It was rare to have a day to just relax.
Night had fallen. Neon lights glowed, traffic buzzed, the streets were full of people—the city was alive.
"Hi… are you Kyle and Mia?"
A girl with glasses approached nervously.
"Yes, that's us. And you are…?" Mia asked, a little smug—back in the day, no one recognized her while walking around.
"Hi! I'm a fan! I watched your Creative Accounting the other day, and it actually helped me uncover some dodgy stuff at work—thank you so much!"
Xie Ya, a junior accountant, had just started at her company and noticed the finances were kinda messy.
The receipts themselves seemed fine, but something didn't sit right. And in accounting, if something shady goes down, guess who ends up in jail first? That's right—the accountant.
After watching Creative Accounting, she had a breakthrough: the reason behind the invoices was the issue.
"Our show helped with that?" Mia couldn't believe it, but she was beaming. Comedy that made people laugh and actually helped them? That was incredible.
And if you're shameless enough, comedy can even teach people life lessons and make them feel grateful.
"Yes! It was hilarious and helpful. Can I take a picture with you guys?"
"Of course~"
So she snapped a photo with Kyle and Mia and posted it on her socials.
And once that first photo got taken, passersby started to realize who they were. Suddenly people were cheering:
"It's the leaders!"
"The colon!"
"It's the pickpocket duo!"
"I'm gonna go steal at the Olympics!"
"Whoa, Mia looks even better in person!"
"She's got two little dimples!"
"So that's what Kyle looks like. Kinda ruggedly handsome!"
"Thanks to you two, I stopped letting my boss dangle promotions in front of me like a donkey and actually started standing up for myself!"
"Real workplace wisdom!"
"If your work had come out sooner, maybe I wouldn't have stayed clueless for so long…"
Even some down-to-earth dudes in the crowd were looking grateful, if a bit sheepish.
After years of school, no one ever taught them how to survive workplace traps.
Kyle and Mia's shows had finally pulled the curtain back.
"Thanks everyone~ But it's getting late, we should get going~"
One night out: free dinner, made two big-name contacts, and got recognized by fans.
A perfect day.
"....."