Become famous another day.

Li Zhibai sneezed loudly.

He was filming on the set of "Moonlight Symphony" under the scorching sun when he suddenly sneezed, startling the actress standing opposite him.

The latter immediately took a step back.

"Sorry, sorry." Li Zhibai said immediately.

Actress Cheng Siran maintained a forced smile on her face and said reluctantly that it was okay.

She took a tissue from the assistant and wiped her face silently.

Seeing this, the makeup artist hurried forward to touch up the makeup.

Director Li Daoxing asked with a smile: "Zhi Bai, spring has just arrived and the weather is still cold. You should take care of yourself. Why are you sneezing?"

Li Zhibai said: "I don't know, maybe a bug got into my nose just now, and it's a little itchy?"

He was just kidding.

However, this scene obviously reminded the heroine Cheng Siran of some other scenes, and she showed a disgusted expression.

"Moonlight Symphony" is a fantasy romance drama, which is a TV series with only sixteen episodes.

Director Li Daoxing is a veteran in shooting urban romance-themed TV dramas and has many representative works.

However, previous dramas usually started with 30 to 40 episodes, and this is the first time he has filmed a 16-episode series with movie-quality production.

Because Li Zhibai is the lead actor, not only are all parties optimistic about the drama, but many actors who want to become famous have taken the initiative to reduce their pay and are willing to play supporting roles in the drama.

The current market situation is indeed changing a lot.

Li Daoxing once privately lamented to his friends that in the past, there were not many actors willing to reduce their pay just to join a drama starring a big star. At that time, the way TV dramas were played was different from now. In the past, the director carried the drama, but now it has gradually become the actors who carry the drama.

This is a change in the market trend. Only a few veteran directors like Luo Yuzhong who have made a name for themselves are labeled as "carrying a drama" in this industry. However, new directors are emerging, such as Lian Bei, the director of "The Seventeenth Floor". Both his first drama and his second "The Seventeenth Floor" were big hits. Logically, he should have been among the famous directors long ago. However, in everyone's mind, he is still not the core figure who can carry a drama.

In short, if he were to make a drama with all unknown actors, almost no platform would be willing to invest or buy it. Of course, the actors still recognize him, and his projects are definitely not short of first-line actors.

I'm just talking about the ecological problem.

But if a drama has a bad director and a bad script, but if there is an actor of Lu Yanhe's level starring him, then unfortunately, the platform will even directly rate the drama as S-level.

This is an unhealthy film and television ecological environment, but it objectively exists.

Li Zhibai has been a popular idol for many years. After he switched to acting, he produced several representative works and successfully became an actor who can carry a drama in the eyes of investors. His appearance in the drama "Moonlight Symphony" as the leading male star means that the drama must revolve around him.

A senior director like Li Daoxing did not find this situation difficult to accept. This was mainly because Li Zhibai only focused on his role and did not interfere with anything else, nor would he make trouble. For a director, it was enough for a big star to do this.

In fact, because of Li Zhibai's personality, Li Daoxing had a pretty good relationship with him.

In comparison, the heroine Cheng Siran arranged by the investors has more troubles. But it's not a big deal, she is just a little bit pretentious and a little bit princess-like, other than that, there is no big problem.

However, when filming this drama, Li Zhibai often couldn't stand the corny and disgusting lines after saying a certain part, and he couldn't control his expression and broke down.

"Sorry, sorry, give me a break." Li Zhibai often raised his right hand and apologized to everyone, "This line really cost me my life."

He would also look at Cheng Siran sincerely and ask, "Do you girls like men talking to you like this?"

Cheng Siran: "... in certain situations. If he spoke like this normally, I would want to punch him."

Li Zhibai looked at the words in the script with a distorted face, "If one day you really want to leave me, don't tell me, otherwise, I won't let go", and sighed, "I can understand that you girls like this kind of affection, domineering and inexplicable toughness, but if I were this man, what do you mean by don't tell me? Damn, and I won't let go otherwise, do you like it or not? If you like it, you still say so much nonsense, and you can't let go no matter what."

Cheng Siran listened to Li Zhibai's complaints, feeling both amused and helpless, and revealed an indescribable expression.

"This is a pure love story, you should take it seriously." Cheng Siran complained, "You always act out of character, which makes it difficult for me to get into the story."

Li Zhibai sighed, and continued to force himself to get into the state as if he had accepted his fate.

"come on."

Zhou Ping'an must have chosen this role for him on purpose to make him feel uncomfortable!
-
Zhou Ping'an handed the script to Ma Zhiyuan.

Ma Zhiyuan refused to answer.

"I won't play a supporting role." Ma Zhiyuan said with a straight face, "It's fine if you let me act, but you let me play a supporting role. When will I be reduced to playing a supporting role for Liu Zefan? His popularity is not even as high as mine."

"His popularity is not as high as yours, that's because you are an idol, his fans are not as keen as yours to vote for you and collect data." Zhou Pingan glared at him, "His 'Eternal' is the most popular fairy tale drama in the past five years. His base is much larger than yours. This time he also PKed out several other first-line male actors and got the role in 'Squid Game'. You are the most suitable choice for him to play a supporting role at the moment."

Ma Zhiyuan said: "I just don't believe there is no drama with a male lead."

"Yes, but they are all rubbish. If you want to act in an S+ level drama, you can only start as a supporting actor." Zhou Pingan said bluntly, "Are you willing?"

Ma Zhiyuan pursed his lips.

Zhou Ping'an also curled his lips.

"Don't expect to become fat in one go."

Ma Zhiyuan said: "Li Zhibai has already started playing the leading role. Is he the first in his new drama?"

Zhou Pingan: "Don't forget, Li Zhibai's first play was also a supporting actor."

Ma Zhiyuan frowned.

Zhou Pingan: "You should trust the play I picked for you."

Ma Zhiyuan: "I am not a newcomer. I have made it this far. If you ask me to play a supporting role, I cannot convince myself."

He was very stubborn and refused to play the supporting role.

Zhou Ping'an was very angry.

"I believe in your vision in choosing plays for me, but I will only play the leading role," Ma Zhiyuan said firmly.
-
"The second male lead in 'Mountain Top'?" Yan Liang was a little surprised and asked, "Is this role suitable for me?"

"Suitable." Zhou Ping'an said on the phone, "After the filming of The Gold Rush is finished, you will have a two-month break, so you can join the crew directly."

Yan Liang hesitated for a moment and said, "Okay, since you think it's suitable for me, Brother Ping An, then I'll play it."

"Yeah." Zhou Ping'an smiled slightly, "Believe me, although this role is the second male lead, it is as outstanding as the male lead. Moreover, you are the lead actor, so it will definitely be a hit."

"I'm just a little surprised that there would be a web drama about fraud. I've never seen it before."

"Now more and more themes are emerging." Zhou Pingan said, "It's a good phenomenon. The quality of the scripts is getting higher and higher. If you look at the scripts that are being found now, many of them are small-scale dramas with only about ten episodes. Compared with the past, it is much easier and the efficiency of filming is much higher."

Yan Liang hummed.

“How was the filming of The Gold Rush?”

This drama was filmed in Southeast Asia, not in China. Yan Liang was filming in a mountain with the crew, and it was difficult to contact them.

"The conditions were quite difficult. I was always bitten by insects, and rashes would appear on my body for no apparent reason," said Yan Liang.

Zhou Pingan asked, "Did the doctor prescribe medicine for you? We can't be careless about this. No one knows what kind of poisonous insects they are."

Yan Liang said, "I've checked it out. The crew has a doctor accompanying them. It shouldn't be a big problem."

"You have always been able to endure hardship."

"When filming this kind of treasure hunting drama, you have to go deep into the mountains and forests. I have already prepared myself mentally," said Yan Liang.

Zhou Pingan: "The subject of 'The Gold Rush' is indeed good and rare in China. It should attract considerable attention when it is broadcast."

"Yeah." Yan Liang responded.

Zhou Ping'an hung up the phone and breathed a sigh of relief.

The role of the second male lead in "The Mountain Top" is really good, but Ma Zhiyuan refused to play it, and Zhou Pingan didn't want to waste it, so he gave it to Yan Liang.

Actually, since Yan Liang became famous with "Friends", many dramas have come to him. However, he is rarely the protagonist. In the better dramas, he is usually a supporting role. It's not that Zhou Ping'an is unwilling to let Yan Liang take a supporting role, but Yan Liang's image is not suitable for mainstream dramas.

He is not that talented in acting, and does not have the "star aura" of Li Zhibai and Ma Zhiyuan. He can act well, but not brilliantly. Therefore, when Zhou Ping'an takes on roles for Yan Liang, he prefers those with more complex characters and more tense plot lines, so as to make Yan Liang more attractive with the colors of the script and characters.

"The Gold Rush" and "The Mountain Top" both belong to this category of dramas.

The former has a special subject matter and the story itself is attractive. Any character that appears in this story will be endowed with charm by this story, which is itself a bit legendary.

The latter has a purely excellent character setting, just like the neurotic rich second generation played by Li Zhibai in "To the End of the World".

Yan Liang's advantage in acting is that he has all the basic skills, no matter what role he plays, he will not look too bad or out of place, so Zhou Ping'an dares to let him take on roles with more extreme personalities.
-
Yan Liang and Li Zhi were not in Yuming, so there were fewer people at Luyan River and Huiziyuan Bridge.

He is not in the crew yet and has few public schedules, so he doesn't have to leave early and come back late.

For example, this week, Lu Yanhe only had one public schedule, which was to attend the Red River Awards.

Being nominated for "The Seventeenth Floor" was already a surprise, but there was no chance of winning the award, so Lu Yanhe was very relaxed.

At this year's Red River Awards, the winner of Best Actor was the talented actor Wen Ding, and the winner of Best Actress was Lu Sui.

Lu Sui was so excited that she burst into tears on the stage.

Lu Yanhe recalled that about two years ago, also at the Red River Awards, Xu Yiren won the Best Actress award. Lu Sui was also nominated that year, but was defeated. She didn't have time to hide her ugly face, and was caught on camera, and everyone saw it.

Now it can be considered that I got what I wanted.

Lu Yanhe attended the award ceremony with a relaxed mind and returned to school.

There are not as many classes this semester as last semester, so he doesn't have to rush to catch up on classes, homework, and papers every day.

Writing a paper is actually a physical job, because you have to look up a lot of literature and information. Although Zhenhua does not require them to publish papers, the requirements for papers are strictly in accordance with the publication requirements.

Many university course assignments are usually written and handed in, and the teachers give a grade and keep it on file. When calculating the overall grade of the course, it is used as part of the regular grade. However, at Zhenhua, it is not as simple as handing in a homework and having the teacher give a grade.

After reading your homework, many teachers at Zhenhua will most likely send you an email and make an appointment with you to go to their office to communicate and discuss, and may even ask you to rewrite and revise your homework.

Lu Yanhe also often receives such emails.

The teachers did not lower their expectations of him because of his celebrity status.

When he returned to school this time, he found an email from Professor Zhao Dezhong in his mailbox.

Ever since he fainted at home and was spotted by Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi and sent to the hospital, Professor Zhao Dezhong has been recuperating and has even asked for leave from the college. He has no classes scheduled for this semester.

Lu Yanhe visited Professor Zhao several times later, especially after he agreed to write a column for the special volume of "Jump Up", Chen Siqi also visited him frequently.

Lu Yanhe was still confused as to why Professor Zhao Dezhong suddenly sent him an email when he didn't have any classes this semester.

After opening the email, Lu Yanhe was surprised to find that it was him who sent him a list of books.

Zhao Dezhong suddenly gave him a list of books, and Lu Yanhe was stunned.

ha?
Zhao Dezhong said: Last time you told me that you didn't want to pursue a master's degree because of your actual work considerations, and that you didn't want to pursue an academic career, but just liked reading. This is a list of books I gave you. You can take a look at them when you have time. They are all introductory books to our ancient literary works. Perhaps you will be interested.

Lu Yanhe was flattered and replied with a "thank you".

Lu Yanhe couldn't figure out why Zhao Dezhong did this.

However, since it was a carefully prepared book list for him, Lu Yanhe thought about it and decided to place an order for all the books on the list online as soon as possible.

He thought about it, opened the "Xueyou" app again, logged into his account, and posted a new update:
My school teacher gave me a list of eight books. They are not course assignments, but I just read them out of interest. I thought about it and often saw people say that they can't read books, and they often finish reading on their phones, which makes them feel like they are wasting their time. Although I don't quite agree with this statement, after all, I always think that people should live in a way that makes them happy, even if others think it is a way of wasting their time. But if you are interested, you can participate in my sudden reading plan. Let's read these eight books together, share reading progress, share excerpts, and share reading feelings. It's just reading. Don't finish every book. Just find the one you like and read it.

At the end, attached is the list of books that Professor Zhao Dezhong gave him.
-
As the spokesperson for the "Xueyou" APP, Lu Yanhe has recommended some of the books he has read and TV dramas he has watched on this APP from time to time over the past three years.

This is mainly an APP that focuses on the concept of "learning online community". It is mainly used by students, and younger white-collar workers also form a small number of customers.

But there are still very few people who initiate reading plans on the APP, because Lu Yanhe is not the kind of person who likes to drag others to read together——

Not everyone likes reading. For some people, it is a great pleasure, but for others, it is just boring. Apart from the must-read books and necessary knowledge, there is no need to force yourself to love reading.

But now Lu Yanhe's idea has another good thing. Reading is a good thing after all. If it is a good thing, then no matter what method is used, it is also a good thing to be able to read more books in the end. Anyway, no one is locked up in a small dark room to read, tied up and forced to read. If he really can't read, no one will really force him.
-
When Lu Yanhe released this reading plan, the person in charge of the "Xueyou" APP was stunned.

Lu Yanhe did not inform them of this event in advance, nor was it an event they actively planned. This event suddenly popped up, and many users only saw it after they signed up to participate.

"The top student Lu Yanhe is back again."

"He started this reading program, how many people do you think will join?"

"It would be great if tens of thousands of people signed up. Of course, the number of people who can actually finish reading these eight books with him is probably one in a hundred, or even one in a thousand."

"Why did Lu Yanhe suddenly come up with such a study plan?"

"It is probably related to their subsequent actions of Jump Up. I saw a message from Jump Up saying that they will attach a special volume to the next six issues and invite authoritative scholars in various fields in China to write columns."

"What is this special volume?"

"I don't know about other things, but the name of the special volume is 'China in Culture', and one of the people who has a column in the special volume is Professor Zhao Dezhong from Zhenhua University."
-
China in culture?

Lu Yanhe was a little shocked. He didn't expect Chen Siqi to make such a big name for this special album.

Chen Siqi said, "I want to be a headline-grabber. I want to make this special edition known to everyone, so the name has to be loud. Our special edition is also about literature, philosophy, history, economics, law... How can it not be about China in culture? It's all about our own culture."

Lu Yanhe exclaimed in amazement, "Awesome."

Chen Siqi: "On the contrary, you suddenly organized some kind of reading activity on the Xueyou APP, making others think that you were trying to build momentum for our special volume."

"It's pure coincidence." Lu Yanhe smiled.

Chen Siqi: "Whether it's a coincidence or not, people have already said so anyway, it doesn't matter. It has indeed created hype for us. You are the editor-in-chief of Jump Up anyway, so it's normal for you to create hype for us."

Lu Yanhe raised the corner of his mouth.

"Siqi, I actually have another idea about your special book."

"What's your idea?" Chen Siqi asked.

Lu Yanhe said: "For this special edition, we invited six experts and scholars to write six columns on six topics. This is in the form of text. Have you ever considered making it into a video?"

"video?"

"It's actually a program, a cultural program." Lu Yanhe said, "Each episode has a manuscript of about three to four thousand words. When they appear on camera, it takes about twenty minutes to speak, which is neither too long nor too short. As you said before, it is also convenient for office workers to watch an episode on the subway."

"The separate volume is called 'China in Culture', which is a big name, but if it is made into a whole series, each teacher will record six issues on one theme, ranging from astronomy and geography to literature, history and economics." Lu Yanhe said, "Producing these contents in multiple forms such as text, audio, video, etc. can quickly capture all potential people who are interested in these contents."

Chen Siqi took a deep breath.

"It's really amazing."

"What do you mean?" Lu Yanhe was stunned.

Chen Siqi said: "Sister Zixing just called me an hour ago and said almost exactly the same thing to you. She also said that this column could be made into a video program at the same time." Lu Yanhe looked surprised.

He didn't expect that Xin Zixing had thought of this first.

Lu Yanhe thought of this after experiencing a series of cultural programs from "Lecture Room" to knowledge payment.

Xin Zixiong, however, relied on her own sharpness and brought it up earlier than Lu Yanhe.
-
"You mean, Lu Yanhe wants to make a cultural program?"

Zheng Huairen looked at Jiang Zixin in some surprise.

Jiang Zixin nodded and said, "To be precise, it was Chen Siqi and Xin Zixing who did it together, but Lu Yanhe also came up with the same idea."

"Using the column content in their special edition of Jump Up?"

"Yes." Jiang Zixin nodded again, "Ask us if we are interested."

Zheng Huairen asked: "What do you think of their idea for this program?"

Jiang Zixin took a deep breath and said, "To be honest, I can't judge. Judging from the content and format of this program, I think that inviting some experts and scholars to talk about things in their professional fields will not have a large audience. After all, CCTV has produced many similar programs, talking about popular science, humanities and history, but not many people watch them. However, this time their format seems to be different. From the few topics they mentioned to me, I actually really want to see what they are talking about."

Zheng Huairen: "What's the topic?"

"For example, Professor Zhao Dezhong of Zhenhua University is going to do a talk titled 'Unveiling the past and present lives of the five masters and apprentices in Journey to the West.' It's very similar to the titles that marketing accounts come up with to deliberately create sensational stories. Chinese people basically know the story of Journey to the West, so when they see this title, they will be more or less interested," said Jiang Zixin.

"Yes, it's true." Zheng Huairen nodded.

Seeing that Zheng Huairen's attitude was quite positive, Jiang Zixin continued, "Besides, this program, like 'High Platform Confession', has a relatively low production cost."

Zheng Huairen nodded and said, "Let's set a time and sit down together to discuss it."
-
"Each expert or scholar chooses a topic, prepares five to eight episodes of 20 minutes each, and records them in one to two days."

Soon, Xin Zixiong sat in the conference room and introduced her ideas about the program to everyone.

"The filming team can be assigned to us or your own team at Northern Lights Video, but the program recording site and the audience will be the responsibility of our team," Xin Zixing said. "We will work with the Youth Association of Zhenhua University to create a lecture format and invite students from various universities to create an academic lecture atmosphere, but it will definitely be more relaxed than a real academic lecture."

"For our program, the requirements and difficulty in other aspects are not high, and a basic filming team is enough to make it happen." Xin Zixing said, "At the same time, the special edition of "Jump Up" will also promote this program at the same time."

Zheng Huairen said: "It is difficult for a show like this, without any celebrity participation, to attract people's attention."

Lu Yanhe said: "It's not that this program is hard to attract people's attention, but our program production industry doesn't really know how to promote this kind of program."

Chen Siqi smiled at Zheng Huairen: "Mr. Zheng, we are a professional team in publicity and promotion now."

Zheng Huairen really couldn't refute it at once.

After all, the people in front of him were the ones who had made things that others thought were impossible to do many times.

"We can cooperate in two ways. The first is that we produce the program by ourselves, and you are responsible for purchasing the copyright and broadcasting it exclusively on your platform. The second is that we work together and develop it together." Xin Zixing said, "In fact, if our team is not too small and we don't have enough manpower, we can do this kind of program by ourselves. Yan He said that he has a cooperation with you, so we came to you first because of the lack of manpower. If you are not optimistic about the prospects of this program, it doesn't matter, we can talk to other platforms."

Zheng Huairen immediately made a "stop" gesture.

What a joke! When asked about the high production costs and risks of this program, he hesitated. For a program with such low production costs like this, he would take risks easily. How could he be willing to let Lu Yanhe talk to other platforms?

"I was just wondering what kind of effect this program can achieve." Zheng Huairen smiled.

Lu Yanhe looked at Zheng Huairen and said, "It might be a big hit, President Zheng."

Zheng Huairen looked at Lu Yanhe in confusion, and didn't react for a moment. Was Lu Yanhe joking or did he really think so?

Lu Yanhe didn’t know whether this program could become a hit, but he knew that there was definitely an audience market for this program.

So, Lu Yanhe thought that he should just do it well. Let's try it first. Xin Zixing and Chen Siqi, they are both capable of getting things done.
-
"If we want to record it simultaneously as a program, then the serialization method of our special volume content will have to be changed."

After talking with the people from Northern Lights Video, Chen Siqi said, "Before, we thought that six teachers would open six columns at the same time, and publish one article in each special issue. But now, our program definitely cannot be updated to the first issue. We will wait a month and then update the second issue. I have to discuss with the editorial team how to deal with the content of this special issue."

"In fact, it's all fine according to your original plan." Xin Zixing said, "From recording to post-production, and then to online release, this program will definitely take some time, including submitting it for review and advertising and investment, which have not been done yet. There's no need to rush. If you take your time, the program will be of higher quality."

"Really?" Chen Siqi heard, "I thought you would be able to produce this program next month or the month after next."

Xin Zixing: "Of course we can speed it up, but the teachers probably haven't finished writing their scripts yet. Even if we want to speed it up, we still have to wait until we have the scripts before we can shoot."

Lu Yanhe said: "That's right."

Xin Zixing said: "Also, the news that Sister Ziyan's company is preparing to customize programs for out-of-date artists has spread, and many people are asking about these things."

Lu Yanhe nodded and said, "Let's see what kind of clients sign contracts with us first, then we can discuss what kind of program to make."

"Yeah." Xin Zixing looked at Lu Yanhe jealously.

"What? Sister Zixing, why are you looking at me like that?"

"I just want to know why you have so many ideas in your head." Xin Zixing said, "and every idea is so interesting."

"It's actually not bad." Lu Yanhe said, "Didn't you also think of the program "China in Culture"? "

"I think we can make the best use of it. The experts you found are all well-known people in the industry, and they write columns in the way they write magazines, which means that the content of this column is understandable and interesting to most ordinary people. If we take such good content and make it into a cultural program, won't it attract more people to watch?" Xin Zixing said.

Her tone was full of matter-of-factness, as if being able to think of these things was no big deal.

Lu Yanhe smiled.

True geniuses don't seem to realize that they are geniuses.

But in the field of program production, nothing is more important than a keen heart.

Creativity is the most valuable. This creativity does not mean that you have to come up with something that no one has come up with before. If you have a pair of eyes that can keenly discover that there is a market demand and there is no corresponding product on the market, then you can also make a creative program.

It is a commonplace lecture on university campuses. When it appears on television, it becomes Lecture Room, the first cultural program to take the lead.

A meaning.
-
"What? China in Culture?"

After Xu Bin heard about Lu Yanhe's recent move from Hu Siwei, he showed an incredible expression, "Why is he doing a show again? Is he going to become a producer?"

Hu Siwei smiled and said, "In fact, he has already made several programs, such as the "City Travel Notes" of Yemai.com. Although he is not the nominal producer, the production of this program is inseparable from him. Last summer, wasn't there a "High Platform Confessions" that was very popular? Later, Northern Lights Video also made it into a program, and it has been broadcasting all the time."

Xu Bin said: "These are just some very ordinary programs, right? They are not very popular."

“It’s true that they can’t compare with those S+ hit variety shows, but their returns even exceed many hit variety shows.” Hu Siwei said, “Moreover, the theme of this “China in Culture” is very suitable for our positioning in Beijing and Taiwan. Didn’t they invite us to a meeting some time ago to create a program centered on increasing cultural influence?”

Xu Bin said, "I just heard you say that their program is actually just inviting a few university professors to the studio to give lectures. There is nothing new about it. And how many viewers would like to listen to this kind of content? Lu Yanhe himself is a university student. He thinks that everyone likes to listen to this kind of thing. But if you go to the streets and see how many people are reading books now?"

After listening to Xu Bin's words, Hu Siwei didn't know what to say for a moment.

He hesitated for a moment and said, "Taiwanese President Xu, I think this program will definitely have an audience and can accomplish the mission of the station. If we can buy it and broadcast it on TV, it may have unexpected effects."

"Besides, it can also ease the relationship between us and Lu Yanhe."

"How can we ease the situation? He has already started hanging out with Jiang Lan, and he refuses to come back to continue acting in Friends."

"But we can work with him on new projects," said Hu Siwei.

Xu Bin frowned, thought about it, and waved his hand.

"What kind of cooperation? We have spoken nicely to him and apologized to him several times before, but he just ignored us. Do we have to have him? Without him in the entertainment industry, everyone else will die, right?" Xu Bin said, "He has such a bad temper. Who knows if he will cause any trouble in the future."

Hu Siwei's heart felt icy cold, as if it had been blown by the winter wind.

The passion was extinguished.

He didn't expect that Xu Bin didn't want to cooperate with Lu Yanhe anymore.

Xu Bin suddenly remembered something. "Before, he brought Tom White here and asked you to have dinner with him. Did he tell you something? Does he want to return to Friends?"

"No, he has already told the media that he will never come back. How could he come back?" Hu Siwei sighed in his heart.

Xu Bin: "He and Northern Lights poached Bai Jingnian, and I haven't settled accounts with him yet. Don't get involved with him again in the future, or I'll be blamed again."

Hu Siwei was silent.

He was silent because he felt uncomfortable. When Lu Yanhe and he were working on the project "Seventeenth Floor", he was the one who invited Lu Yanhe to "Friends". This drama could have become a good story of "distinguishing a pearl with wisdom" in their acting careers, but now it has become something that cannot be mentioned and needs to be avoided.

Hu Siwei sincerely hopes to reconcile with Lu Yanhe. Even if they can't continue to work together on "Friends", they can still collaborate on other projects together.

However, things backfired.

It seems that not everyone has the same idea as him.
-
That evening, at 8:30, Hu Siwei drove out from Beijing-Taiwan, avoiding the evening rush hour and arriving at the "Baifan Bistro" with no traffic jams.

Bai Jingnian was already waiting for him in the cubicle.

"Oh, you're finally here." Bai Jingnian stood up, hugged him, and patted his shoulder. "Why did you get off work so late today? The show has already finished airing."

"I was discussing the script with the screenwriter. The meeting lasted until 8:20." Hu Siwei sighed, "Now that you've run away, this mess is left to me."

Bai Jingnian smiled and waved his hand.

"Looking back now, it was the right decision to leave." He shook his head in disinterest. "As for the Red River Award, I can only say two words: heartbroken."

Hu Siwei remained silent because he really didn't know what to say.

Regarding Bai Jingnian's departure and the Red River Award, he was caught in the middle as Xu Bin's direct subordinate and Bai Jingnian's long-time friend. It was actually very difficult and uncomfortable for him.

Hu Siwei certainly tried to resolve the matter properly, but in the end, there was no way.

Even though he knew that Bai Jingnian's ability and talent as a director were in the top tier, the leaders in the station just didn't agree, and no matter what he said, it was useless.

People's judgments about themselves are often as deep-rooted and stubborn as old conventions and customs.

"If he really had the ability, why did he have to wait until Friends to finally have a movie with a good reputation? Just look at the movies he had filmed before."

Hu Siwei felt sorry for Bai Jingnian. What kind of drama was this? Aren't those all the bad dramas you forced on him? Everyone can give orders, but all the important roles are arranged by the leaders. Advertising slogans can be forcefully inserted into the plot and dialogue. How can such a drama not be bad? What can he, a director without any background or voice, do?
However, Bai Jingnian did not say these words himself, and Hu Siwei did not have the courage to speak for him. Bai Jingnian left resolutely, and Hu Siwei could only wish him well in his heart.

"Northern Light Video was willing to sign me with such favorable conditions, in addition to the success of Friends, it was mainly because of the drama Swordsman, and they wanted to find a suitable director to direct it. It was Yan He who told them that he had approached me but was rejected by Beijing and Taiwan, so Northern Lights had the idea." Bai Jingnian smiled, "It's a good thing. I've been in Beijing and Taiwan for more than 20 years, and now I'm finally out. I can see a new world and new scenery."

Hu Siwei: "I envy you."

Bai Jingnian smiled and said, "What's there to be envious of? There are risks as well."

"With your ability, Lu Yanhe's script, and Northern Lights' investment, 'Wulin Waijia' won't be bad. It won't be like 'Friends', damn it—" After Hu Siwei cursed like that, he was stunned and then laughed out of anger.

"I heard that Zhang Lan will be given a leading role in the third season?"

"Yes." Hu Siwei nodded and sighed at the same time. "I am happy to see Zhang Lan replace Chen Ziliang as the lead actor in the third season. Chen Ziliang's acting is really terrible. Even the post-production editing is not good. However, Zhang Lan is too self-centered. He has already made comments on the script twice and is not satisfied. He refuses to sign the contract."

"Why do you have to find her to play the role?" Bai Jingnian asked, "Can't Yan Liang and the others who were there in the first season continue this story?"

"What's there to ask? Why did they insist on adding a new character like Chen Ziliang in the first place? Why are they still doing the same thing now?"

"Haven't you learned your lesson from bringing in Chen Ziliang to star in the second season?"

"Yes, they did. They thought they had found the wrong person, so they found Zhang Lan. They thought Zhang Lan had the best luck among the actresses in recent years." Hu Siwei shook his head. "Zhang Lan's luck can bless the third season of Friends."

Bai Jingnian fell into a state of speechlessness.

"Fortune? Blessing?"

"Well, you heard it right, they are even starting to care about these things now."

Hu Siwei did not realize that his seemingly speechless expression concealed a quiet disappointment that he himself was not aware of.

Bai Jingnian smiled sarcastically, "What a fucking bullshit, luckily I left."
-
"'Wulin Wai Zhuan' will start filming in May. Please remember to reserve time for me so that you two can make a cameo appearance."

Lu Yanhe gave instructions during the video call with Li Zhibai and Yan Liang.

"Okay." Both of them made an OK gesture.

Li Zhibai: "It's rare that we are both filming outside, but you haven't joined the crew. You have been resting for two months, right? I'm so envious."

"What do you mean you're taking a break? You've been busy." Lu Yanhe said speechlessly, "Very busy."

"Are you two on the set?" Lu Yanhe asked again.

Yan Liang shook his head: "I'm in the hotel. There is definitely no signal on the set. Today is a rare day off, and there are no scenes for me."

Lu Yanhe asked: "How is the filming of your play going? When will it be finished?"

"There is still more than a month left. It is estimated that it will be completed by the end of April. If it is delayed further, it may not be completed until May." Yan Liang said, "The director must shoot on location. When shooting in a foreign country, there are always problems. Many problems cannot be solved in a short time, which always wastes time."

"You'd better be careful. I heard that it's very chaotic over there. Some people are even bold enough to kidnap others," said Li Zhibai.

"Not really, not really. The crew is still reliable." Yan Liang said, "We have bodyguards accompanying us whenever we travel."

Lu Yanhe: "You have to be more careful when filming in the mountains. It's deep in the mountains and forests. If something happens, you won't be able to get to the hospital right away."

"Yeah." Yan Liang nodded, "Don't worry, I'm fine."

"What about you? Li Zhibai, you're filming Moonlight Echo, but why haven't I heard you talk about the crew?"

"There's nothing much to say. I just filmed normally, called it a day, and occasionally had dinner and a drink with the other guys in the crew." Li Zhibai said, "But after changing my agent, I feel that my ears are much more relaxed. Finally, no one is nagging me every now and then. He has a special liking for that silly Ma Zhiyuan. I heard that he wanted to give Ma Zhiyuan a role in a play before, but Ma Zhiyuan refused to act because he was the second male lead in that play. Zhou Ping'an was so angry that his face turned green."

"Huh?" Yan Liang was stunned. "He recently got me a role in a play, a play where I play the second male lead. Could it be this one?"

"What the hell?" Li Zhibai's eyes widened immediately. "He gave you the role that Ma Zhiyuan refused to play? What a shameless bastard!"

Yan Liang: "It's not necessarily the same play."

"Based on my understanding of Zhou Ping'an, it is most likely the same play." Li Zhibai said, "What a shameless person."

Seeing Yan Liang's unhappy expression, Lu Yanhe immediately said, "In fact, if the role is good and the script is good, it would be Ma Zhiyuan's loss if he doesn't act. As long as Yan Liang plays the role well, Ma Zhiyuan will have the opportunity to regret it later. Didn't you also say that Zhou Ping'an is very discerning in choosing roles?"

Yan Liang's expression eased a little, nodded, and said, "Old Lu is right. As long as the script is good and the role is good, it doesn't matter if Ma Zhiyuan doesn't want it. He will suffer a loss."

Li Zhibai nodded, "Yan Liang, you should be more careful and don't let them trick you, especially Zhou Ping'an. His partiality comes from his genes and is ingrained in his bones. You must not let him give the opportunity that originally belonged to you to Ma Zhiyuan. If this really happens, tell us and we will help you scold him to death."

Yan Liang smiled.

Lu Yanhe: "At worst, I can just fire at him on Weibo. Li Zhibai and I don't owe him anything anyway."

"Owe him? I owe him a favor from the immortals. I have done my best for him." Li Zhibai snorted.

"Alas, you two have not been in Yuming for the past two months. I basically stayed at school and didn't go back to Ziyuan Bridge."

"You won't lose sleep because you miss us so much after you lose sight of us, right?" Li Zhibai laughed.

"You are so disgusting." Lu Yanhe immediately said with disgust.

Li Zhibai: "Tsk tsk, you say one thing and mean another." (End of this chapter)