studiobondurri Chapter 162 "The Shepherd's Star"
Chapter 162 "The Shepherd's Star"
Underground Parking Lot.
Li Mo took out a cigarette and offered it to Lu Ran: "Want one?"
Lu Ran waved his hand: "I've given it up."
"Good that you quit." Li Mo lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and said, "You really dared to say that in the meeting room just now. 'It's all garbage,' haha, in my twenty years in the industry, this is the first time I've heard someone swear like that in a management meeting."
"Just telling the truth." Lu Ran opened the car door. "Brother Li, I'll need you to mentor me more in the future. The title of executive director sounds impressive, but I know in my heart that in terms of seniority and experience, I'm still far behind you veterans."
These words were spoken sincerely, and Li Mo felt pleased: "You know when to be arrogant and when to be humble. You're a smart guy."
"But you don't need to flatter me. I'm just a few years older than you."
Li Mo flicked his cigarette ash. "Let's go. I'll treat you to dinner tonight to celebrate your promotion."
"Let's do it another day." Lu Ran got into the driver's seat. "Yue Ge is cooking for me tonight, I have to go back and support her."
"Oh, Yuege even cooked herself?" Li Mo teased. "You're really reaping the rewards of both your career and love life."
Lu Ran smiled and started the car: "Let's go, Brother Li."
On his way home, while waiting at a red light, Lu Ran checked his phone.
On Weibo's trending topics, "Meteor Garden" occupied three spots again, but this time it wasn't because of the drama itself, but because of the actors:
#F4 Airport Surrounded#
#Taomyoji's original form, Tan Yu#
#Shancai Xu Manxue's Live Stream#
The first topic I clicked on was a video of Tan Yu and his friends being surrounded by fans at the airport this morning.
In the video, Tan Yu, Liu Jun, Zhao Dapeng, and Sun Tianyu were surrounded by layers of people, signing autographs until their hands were sore.
Even Tan Yu's sunglasses were knocked off, but he still had to keep smiling.
The screams from the fans almost lifted the roof off:
"Tan Yu! Look here!"
"Domyouji! I love you!"
"Ximen! Ximen, look at me!"
The comments section was filled with laughter:
"Hahaha, Young Master Tan has probably never been surrounded like this in his life!"
"Zhao Dapeng's face was stiff from smiling so much. He used to be the one blocking other people's way, right?"
"Liu Jun is actually a little shy? That doesn't fit his playboy persona at all!"
"Sun Tianyu has been protecting Tan Yu the whole time; F4 now has a strong team spirit!"
Lu Ran was also amused by what he saw. Just then, the light turned green, and he put down his phone and drove off.
As soon as I got home and parked my car, Tan Yu called.
"Brother Lu! Help!" Tan Yu's voice was trembling with tears. "I'm too scared to go out now! I just went to buy a coffee, and they recognized me; the shop almost collapsed from the crowd!"
Lu Ran suppressed a laugh: "Isn't this the celebrity treatment you've always dreamed of?"
"How was I supposed to know it was this terrifying!" Tan Yu wailed. "And that kid Liu Jun, he's so cocky now, looking in the mirror every day and saying he was born to be a star. Zhao Dapeng is even more outrageous, he's already starting to figure out how to act like a diva!"
"And you?" Lu Ran asked, "How are you feeling right now?"
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, then Tan Yu's voice suddenly became serious: "To be honest, Brother Lu... it's quite strange. Before, people looked at me because I was the eldest son of the Tan family. Now, people look at me because I am Tan Yu, Dao Ming Si."
"I like this feeling," he said. "The feeling of being recognized for my own abilities."
Lu Ran smiled with satisfaction: "Keep this mindset, and you'll go even further."
"By the way, Brother Lu!" Tan Yu reverted to his cheeky tone, "Meteor Garden is almost over, what should we film for our next drama? I think we've made the right choice by going down the idol drama path!"
"What, Minister Tan already has a plan?" Lu Ran teased.
"Absolutely!" Tan Yu exclaimed excitedly. "I'm the head of the eighth drama department now, so I have to be responsible for it! Let's focus on youth idol dramas and build Xingyao's idol drama brand! Brother Lu, could you write a few more scripts?"
Lu Ran thought for a moment: "I actually have a notebook here."
"What notebook?!" Tan Yu's voice became excited when he heard that Lu Ran really had one.
He truly loves acting now. He can be both a director and an actor, and he's in charge of everything. Plus, with a top-notch script like Lu Ran's, it couldn't be more enjoyable.
"The Starry Night of Herding Sheep"
"The Shepherd... Star?" Tan Yu was taken aback. "Brother Lu, I don't quite understand this name. What's it about?"
"A love story between a wealthy heiress in the jewelry industry and a con artist," Lu Ran summarized simply. "There's racing, jewelry, business battles, and a tragic romance. The female lead is a resilient and stubborn girl, while the male lead is a scoundrel in the beginning but becomes a domineering CEO later on."
"Holy crap! That sounds amazing!" Tan Yu exclaimed excitedly. "Brother Lu, hurry up and write it! Once you're done, I'll approve the project immediately! I'll be the male lead!"
"What's the rush?" Lu Ran laughed. "You should finish what you're doing first. Meteor Garden still has more than ten episodes left before the finale, so the promotional work can't be neglected during this time. Also, we need to maintain F4's popularity. I've asked the music department to prepare a new song for you, and we'll record it next week."
"A new song? What song?"
"Marshmallow," Lu Ran said, "the title track from Star F4's first EP."
Cheers came from the other end of the phone, followed by shouts from Liu Jun and his friends:
"Brother Lu is awesome!"
"We're releasing an album!"
"I want to be a singer-dancer! I want to learn rap!"
"Are you going to learn to play basketball?"
...
Lu Ran hung up the phone with a smile, parked the car, and went into the villa.
The door was ajar, and the aroma of braised fish wafted out, along with the sound of Shen Yuege humming a song.
He pushed open the door and went in. Shen Yuege, wearing an apron, poked her head out from the kitchen: "You're back?"
"Okay." Lu Ran skillfully tied on her apron and quickly started helping Shen Yuege.
It has to be said that Shen Yuege's cooking skills have improved rapidly during her time at home recently.
It seems I misunderstood her before. Shen Yuege can't cook; she was just too busy before.
Although I've been busy lately, at least I have my own time in the evenings.
With Lu Ran's help, the four dishes and one soup were quickly prepared.
"How did the meeting go today?" Shen Yuege served him rice.
"Successfully." Lu Ran picked up a piece of fish. "There were a few old guys who were unconvinced, but I gave them a good talking-to. You weren't there, so it was really satisfying. I just wonder if those old guys will retaliate."
Shen Yuege laughed: "You're afraid of that?"
"I'm not afraid, I just find it troublesome," Lu Ran said. "It would be better to spend that time on scheming and plotting in a few more notebooks."
"Didn't President Li protect you?"
"I protected him." Lu Ran recalled Li Deming's last words, "President Li looks serious, but he's actually quite interesting. He deliberately kept Wang Hai here today, I guess it was a warning to him."
Shen Yuege nodded: "Uncle Li is indeed a wise man. He has made great contributions to Xingyao's development to where it is today."
She paused, then suddenly remembered something: "Oh right, my dad called today to ask about your script."
"You're already pushing for the manuscript?" Lu Ran smiled wryly. "I just got promoted, I have a ton of things to do."
"I told him to take it easy," Shen Yuege said, putting some food on his plate. "But judging from his expression, he's really anxious. Director Chen Ke's 'The Return of the Condor Heroes' has already started casting, and the media is reporting on it every day. My dad may not say it, but he's definitely worried."
Lu Ran fully understood what Shen Yuege meant.
They are all veteran directors; who wouldn't want to leave behind a masterpiece before retiring?
...