Chapter 697 - Minor Update Today

Of course, Lu Yanhe couldn't let Chen Bige sleep alone in Director Wang Zhong's room.

However, he was also sleepy.

He paced around for a moment, then brought out two quilts from the inner room. He covered Chen Bige with one quilt and himself with the other.

He sat down on another single sofa and closed his eyes.

Wang Zhong used his phone to write, and after about an hour, he finally finished writing down a preliminary idea.

He snapped out of his daze, looked up, and saw the two people fast asleep on the sofa next to him, and was stunned again.

Why are you sleeping here?

If you want to sleep, why don't you go back to sleep?

Wang Chong stood up, stretched, rubbed his tired face, and went into the inner room.

Ah, there's only one bed left, and no blankets at all.

"..."

Wang Chong came out again and looked at the two people in front of him. He really had to hold back and not wake them up.

She came to his place late at night with a bottle of alcohol and went crazy. Now she's taken over his blankets and is sleeping in his room, making it impossible for him to sleep.

Wang Zhong was truly speechless.

But when he thought about the story he had just written down in a sudden burst of inspiration, he felt inexplicably excited.

It was worth it.

I'm very excited.

Since he couldn't sleep anyway, Wang Zhong thought for a moment, took out his laptop, and started writing the script.

Even though it was so late at night, he was very sleepy.

-

At three o'clock in the morning, Chen Bige slipped and fell to the ground, waking herself up.

"Huh?" She sat up, her eyes still blurry as she looked around. "How did I end up here?"

When she drinks too much, her assistant and bodyguards will take her home.

She then realized what was happening.

Chen Bige saw Wang Chong sleeping with one hand propping up his face at the small table by the window.

She glanced at the blanket covering her, then at the blanket covering Lu Yanhe beside her, and then at Wang Zhong, who was only wearing his coat—

That's terrible.

Chen Bige felt a strange sense of guilt.

She stood up, staggered a couple of steps, walked over, and patted Wang Zhong on the shoulder.

Wang Chong woke up with a start, his eyes even bloodshot.

Chen Bige whispered, "You go to sleep, I'm going back to my room."

Wang Chong nodded groggily, stood up, and saw Chen Bige out.

Chen Bige turned around and glanced at Lu Yanhe.

"And him?"

"Let him sleep here," Wang Zhong said. "I'm going to sleep too."

-

The next day, Wang Biao waited a long time for Lu Yanhe to send a message in the group, so he knocked on the door, but there was no response. So he took the room card and swiped it, but when he went in, there was no one there.

Where did they go?

Wang Biao was somewhat surprised.

In a foreign country like this, if Lu Yanhe were to leave the hotel, he would definitely call Zou Dong, or at the very least, he would let them know in the group chat, so they wouldn't search around aimlessly and worry unnecessarily.

He made a phone call to Lu Yanhe.

It took quite a while before someone answered the phone.

"Hello?"

His voice sounded like he was still hungover, and his throat was a bit hoarse.

Wang Biao breathed a sigh of relief.

"Brother Lu, where are you? Why aren't you in your room?" he asked. "The styling team will be here soon."

Lu Yanhe: "Huh?"

He paused for a moment, then asked, "When are they coming?"

"About an hour later," Wang Biao said. "You haven't had breakfast yet."

"I'm not eating anymore. I'm going to sleep a little longer. I'm too tired. Come to the director's room and wake me up in half an hour. I'll be in the director's room." Lu Yanhe said and immediately hung up the phone.

He was barely breathing.

Wang Biao: "..."

If he hadn't known Lu Yanhe well enough, this phone call alone would have been enough to shock him and cause him to have a huge misunderstanding.

-

The result of his drunken outburst the night before was that even when he finally woke up today, he was as if he hadn't woken up at all. He was listless, his eyes were dull, and he was yawning constantly from exhaustion.

Upon seeing Chen Bige, a female celebrity is still a female celebrity. No matter what, once she's about to walk the red carpet, her energy is like she's been injected with chicken blood, showing no signs of fatigue.

Chen Bige asked him how it was going.

He told her that if she wanted to drink with someone at night in the future, she shouldn't ask him.

Chen Bige: "That won't do. It's fine in China, but abroad, how many people can I trust to drink with late at night?"

Lu Yanhe was speechless for a moment after hearing this.

Despite Chen Bige's trust in him, he seemed unable to feel happy or proud about it.

Chen Bige suddenly raised his hand and tapped Lu Yanhe on the head.

"Don't be confused, the premiere of our film 'Raise the Red Lantern' is just around the corner."

Lu Yanhe yawned again unconsciously.

-

In China, Chen Siqi is discussing a collaboration with an illustrator with the editorial department.

"Her style is indeed very suitable for our magazine, and her two previous works have received a lot of positive feedback online."

Lin Yu said, "However, it is very difficult to get her manuscripts. The previous two collaborations were only possible after a lot of effort. In addition, our magazine mainly focuses on novels, and her manuscript fees are very high. If we continue to work together, other illustrators might be unhappy if they find out."

Chen Siqi carefully examined the painter's draft.

"Putting aside these practical issues, do people like her illustrations? Another question I want to ask is, are there any similar styles in China?"

Others chimed in with their opinions, mostly positive.

Chen Siqi nodded and said, "Well, everyone's opinion is basically the same. Her work is good. So, Linyu, go and contact her and see if she's willing to sign with us, not as an illustrator for the magazine, but as an illustrator. We can tailor a career development plan for her, from ordinary illustrations to art exhibitions and collaborations in the art field."

Xu Zijun suddenly raised her hand, "Excuse me, wait a moment, I have a question to ask."

Chen Siqi nodded. "Zijun, you go ahead."

“I also really like this illustrator. What I’m wondering is, even if we go to such great lengths to sign her as our contracted illustrator, what’s the point for us?” Xu Zijun asked.

Chen Siqi said, "Jump Up magazine is positioned as the best literary and artistic magazine in China, bringing together the most core forces in the literary and artistic circles. Our entire Jump Up company, from text to images to film and television, including the writers and self-media bloggers we sign and represent, is building a concentrated base for the literary and artistic circles. Signing this illustrator is a new attempt. I position her as a KOL in the literary and artistic circles and the illustration world. Photographers, illustrators, cartoonists, fashion designers, etc., everything related to aesthetics falls within the broader scope of the literary and artistic circles. This is also a direction for our Jump Up brand to continue to expand its influence."

Xu Zijun suddenly realized.

Chen Siqi added, "This is something no other company in China can do. Think about it: in the comics industry, the first name that comes to mind is Shueisha; in the fashion world, VOGUE occupies the top position; and when it comes to basketball, it's the NBA. In fact, each field has a top-tier gathering place where the best and most talented creators in that field are located. What I want to create is just such a place." (Note)

(Note: I'd like to take this opportunity to mention that this book explicitly states at the beginning that this parallel world's history and culture did not appear out of thin air. The setting of this book is fictional, starting from 1949; everything before 1949 is consistent with our world. Shueisha, VOGUE, and the NBA mentioned above were all established and existed before 1949.)

Lin Yu nodded and said, "The editor-in-chief has a very ambitious vision, which cannot be achieved overnight. However, whether it is the magazine, the self-media matrix, the Jumping Theater, or the continued expansion of the overseas publishing market despite years of losses, it is all for this ideal."

-

I have something to do today, that's all for now.

(End of this chapter)