Chapter 254: A Loss?

Chen Mo had been watching intently ever since Luo Xiao walked in.

After all, this was his first time meeting a film director.

He’d expected some over-the-top bragging and posturing, but seeing the slightly awkward expression on Luo Xiao’s face, he couldn’t help feeling a bit puzzled.

Still, Chen Mo didn’t dwell on it. He just assumed Luo Xiao wasn’t used to being the center of attention.

Maybe he was just a low-key kind of director.

Inside the private room, once Luo Xiao took his seat, the gathering was officially underway.

People started calling over the waiter to order food.

As the guest of honor, Luo Xiao was naturally the first to order.

He took the menu, casually picked two dishes, then passed it along.

“Order whatever you like,” he said.

With the food ordered, the room grew lively again as they waited.

Most of the conversation revolved around Luo Xiao.

“Brother Xiao, that movie you made—I’ll totally go see it in theaters!” one classmate said enthusiastically.

Luo Xiao paused for a moment at the question, then replied nonchalantly, “The film I just finished hasn’t been released yet. If you want to see it, you’ll have to wait a bit.”

“Ah, that’s a shame. When it hits theaters, be sure to let us know in the group chat. I’ll definitely go support you!”

“Absolutely,” Luo Xiao nodded.

“Come on, let’s raise a glass. It’s not easy for all of us classmates to get together after so many years,” someone said, standing up with a drink in hand. The others quickly followed suit.

Chen Mo poured himself a glass of soda and stood up as well.

“Chen Mo, you don’t drink?” Wang Bin, sitting beside him, asked with a puzzled look.

“I can’t handle alcohol,” Chen Mo replied with a slight shake of his head. He knew his own limits. Judging by how his classmates were going at it, if he drank with them, he’d probably wake up in the ICU.

The others tried to coax him into drinking.

“Just a little, one bottle won’t hurt.”

“Yeah, we don’t get to hang out often. Just one glass.”

“Come on…”

But Chen Mo politely declined them all.

It wasn’t just about his low tolerance—he still had to drive later, so drinking was out of the question.

Seeing that he wouldn’t budge, the others gave up. But during the rest of the evening, they subtly started excluding him from the conversation.

Chen Mo didn’t say anything. It was a class reunion, after all—this kind of thing wasn’t unusual.

Boring.

After a few rounds of drinks and dishes, the group headed off to a KTV in the county. It wouldn’t be a class reunion without some karaoke after dinner.

The karaoke bar was just over a hundred meters from the restaurant—barely a few minutes’ walk.

As soon as they entered the private room, two waiters brought in four cases of beer. No one knew who ordered them.

Time ticked by.

By the time they wrapped up, it was already past midnight.

After paying his share of the bill, Chen Mo left right away. A few classmates wanted to go for a late-night soak, but he turned them down flat.

It’s the middle of the night—what could be better than going home and sleeping?

He headed toward the parking lot.

On the way, he spotted Wang Bin and Luo Xiao hugging a tree and vomiting, while two female classmates stood nearby, helpless and flustered. One of them clutched her phone, looking panicked.

“What’s going on?” Chen Mo asked as he approached.

“They drank too much. We don’t know how to get them home,” one of the girls replied.

They’d been fine when they left the KTV. Who knew that just a few minutes later, they’d end up like this?

Not only were they puking all over the tree, they were completely unmovable.

“Do you know where they live? Maybe call a cab and send them home?” Chen Mo suggested after glancing at the two collapsed guys.

The girls gave a bitter smile.

“It’s past midnight—there aren’t any taxis around.”

Chen Mo thought about it. True, this was a small town, not a big city. After midnight, good luck finding a ride.

After a moment, he said, “My car’s just ahead in the parking lot. I’ll drive them back. Do you know their addresses?”

It was a classmate reunion, after all. If he could help, he would.

But before the girls could answer, the two drunk guys suddenly spoke up.

“Go home? No way! I still wanna drink!”

“Cheers!”

They raised their fists and clinked them together, then brought them to their mouths.

Were they pretending their fists were wine glasses?

Chen Mo stared at them, a vein twitching on his forehead. He looked at the two girls.

“Help me out—each of you take one.”

With that, he grabbed Wang Bin and started dragging him toward the parking lot.

The two girls took charge of Luo Xiao.

“Chen Mo… I… I’m not going home. I still need to discuss the script with Brother Xiao…” Wang Bin mumbled as Chen Mo pulled him away from the tree.

“Right! For the next movie, I’ll cast you as the male lead!” Luo Xiao shouted, still clinging to the tree, raising a finger solemnly.

Chen Mo rolled his eyes and ignored them, dragging Wang Bin along.

After a few steps, he heard a rustling sound behind him. Curious, he turned around.

What he saw made the corner of his mouth twitch.

Luo Xiao was lying flat on the ground, while the two girls each held one of his arms, dragging him across the pavement.

Well then…

The girls saw Chen Mo looking and gave him an embarrassed smile. One of them explained, “He’s too heavy, and he keeps struggling. We couldn’t hold him up, so this was the only way.”

Chen Mo looked at Luo Xiao, then at the girls, and calmly walked on ahead.

Drag him if you must. It had snowed a few days ago, so the ground was cold but smooth—shouldn’t be too bad.

After much effort, they finally got both Luo Xiao and Wang Bin into the car.

“Luo Xiao doesn’t live in the county. If we take him home, it’ll take forever. Let’s just drop him at a hotel,” one of the girls suggested once they were inside.

“Sure,” Chen Mo nodded. The hotel wasn’t far, and it’d be much easier. No reason to say no.

“Brother Xiao, when’s your next movie? Don’t forget to cast me!” Wang Bin grinned foolishly at Luo Xiao beside him.

“The next movie… the next…”

Luo Xiao raised his hand, but suddenly stopped halfway, his expression visibly agitated.

“There’s not going to be a next one! All the money’s gone—how could there possibly be a sequel?”

“I invested 35 million in that film, and it only ran in theaters for seven days before getting pulled. In the end, it only made 5 million at the box office.”

“I lost a full 30 million. It completely wiped me out. Where would I even get the money to shoot a second movie?”