Chapter 11: The One Million Hong Kong Dollar Penalty for Breach of Contract

“Sorry!”

“I just fell asleep and didn’t realize my head was resting on your shoulder!”

Chen Hao woke up to find his head leaning against Lizhi’s shoulder. Embarrassed, he quickly apologized.

What Chen Hao didn’t know was that it was Lizhi who had gently moved his head onto her shoulder.

“It’s alright!”

Lizhi shook her head slightly and said, “We’ve arrived.”

With that, she paid the taxi fare and got out.

Chen Hao followed her out of the cab.

They walked together into the residential area where Lizhi had brought Chen Hao before.

Soon, they arrived at the home of one of Lizhi’s friends.

Her friend’s family had all emigrated to Australia, leaving the house vacant. Not wanting to sell it, Lizhi’s friend entrusted her to look after the place.

So, Lizhi arranged for Chen Hao to stay here temporarily.

“Chen Hao!”

“You probably haven’t rested well yet.”

“Go rest for a while.”

“I’ll bring you some dinner later.”

Lizhi said kindly to Chen Hao.

“That’s too much trouble!”

Chen Hao hadn’t expected Lizhi to be so considerate toward him.

“I’m worried you’ll be too tired and hungry to help me make money!”

Lizhi smiled.

With that, she turned and left the house.

“Yeah, right!”

Chen Hao laughed, watching her retreating figure.

“Believe it or not!”

Lizhi called over her shoulder, disappearing from his sight.

“She’s letting me stay in her place again!”

“Wants to buy me a cellphone too!”

“She’s being so nice to me—could she actually like me?”

Chen Hao indulged in a bit of self-flattery.

“No way!”

“She’s the Miss Asia champion, the dream girl of countless men!”

“And I’m just a penniless illegal immigrant!”

“How could she possibly like me?”

Chen Hao shook his head, realizing how vain his thoughts were.

At that moment, his head still felt groggy.

He hadn’t slept enough in the taxi earlier.

So, he went straight to the master bedroom, collapsing onto the bed without even taking off his clothes or shoes.

He soon fell asleep.

…

Around 8 p.m., Lizhi arrived at Chen Hao’s temporary residence carrying a bag of food.

She had an extra set of keys.

Using them, she let herself in.

Noticing the living room light was off, she guessed Chen Hao was still asleep.

She switched on the living room light and placed the food bag on the coffee table, then tiptoed into the bedroom.

She saw that Chen Hao had gone to bed wearing his clothes and shoes, and without a blanket covering him.

However, May’s temperature on Hong Kong Island was already quite warm, so even without a blanket, it wouldn’t usually cause a cold.

Fortunately, Chen Hao hadn’t turned on the air conditioning, or he definitely would have caught a chill.

Going to bed fully dressed and shoed like that showed just how exhausted Chen Hao was today.

Lizhi wanted him to rest a bit longer.

So, she quietly approached the bed, intending to take off his shoes.

Before she could move, Chen Hao woke up.

“You’re awake!”

“Did I wake you up?”

Lizhi asked.

“No.”

“I woke up on my own.”

Chen Hao said, then turned to get off the bed.

Embarrassed, he admitted, “I was so tired today that I forgot to take off my shoes before lying down.”

“It’s alright. Just remember next time.”

“I brought some food for you.”

“Since you’re awake, come out and eat.”

Lizhi said, heading toward the living room.

“Thank you!”

Chen Hao followed her out.

Lizhi sat on the sofa and opened the bag on the coffee table.

She took out two lunch boxes.

Opening one, it was wonton noodles.

The other contained sago dessert.

In addition to these two dishes, there were several pineapple buns.

“I didn’t know what you liked.”

“So, I bought one portion of wonton noodles and one of sago dessert.”

“Plus some pineapple buns.”

“You pick whatever you want.”

Lizhi smiled at Chen Hao.

“I like wonton noodles!”

Chen Hao pointed to the noodles.

Then he asked, “Have you eaten dinner yet?”

“Not yet.”

Lizhi shook her head gently.

“Then let’s eat together!”

“By the way, will the sago dessert be enough to fill you up?”

Chen Hao asked.

“There are pineapple buns too!”

Lizhi pointed to the buns, smiling.

Soon, they sat on the sofa and began their dinner.

“Chen Hao, I won’t be able to go to the stock exchange with you tomorrow.”

Lizhi suddenly said.

“Why?”

Chen Hao was momentarily surprised.

“I have to shoot a film!”

“If I didn’t happen to have no scenes today, I wouldn’t have had time to join you in trading stocks.”

Lizhi explained.

“Are you still filming ‘Tiger on Patrol’?”

Chen Hao thought for a moment and asked.

“Yes.”

Lizhi nodded.

“Do you still want to go back and get beaten up by Zhou Runfa?”

Chen Hao frowned slightly.

Lizhi had once been filming ‘Tiger on Patrol’ with Zhou Runfa, who had taken the acting too far and beaten her until she was hospitalized.

“There aren’t many fight scenes left.”

Lizhi said.

“But even if there aren’t any fight scenes, can you endure the ridicule and prejudice from Zhou Runfa and the others?”

Chen Hao looked at Lizhi and asked.

Lizhi fell silent.

She knew Chen Hao spoke the truth.

Since entering the Hong Kong entertainment industry, she had felt the mockery and prejudice from local Hong Kong artists.

To make her mark in the industry, she had no choice but to silently endure these jeers and biases.

“The filming isn’t finished yet.”

“If I don’t complete it, I’ll be in breach of contract.”

Lizhi said.

“How much is the penalty?”

Chen Hao asked.

“According to the contract I signed with New Star City, if I break it, I have to pay a penalty of one million Hong Kong dollars.”

“I don’t have that kind of money!”

Lizhi said.

“One million Hong Kong dollars?”

“That’s quite a sum!”

“But if you trust me, that penalty won’t be a problem.”

Chen Hao thought for a moment.

“You want to help me raise one million Hong Kong dollars through stock trading?”

Lizhi looked at Chen Hao and asked.

“Exactly.”

“You saw my trading skills today.”

“Using the 370,000 Hong Kong dollars you gave me, I made 380,000 in a single day.”

“Now, our account has 750,000 Hong Kong dollars.”

“I’m confident our funds will double tomorrow.”

“It won’t take long before I can help you gather the one million for the penalty.”

Chen Hao said to Lizhi with great confidence.