Chapter 405
The Spring Festival Gala holds extraordinary significance for every Chinese person.
For young celebrities like Lu Yanhe, this is an even more coveted stage.
Lu Yanhe really didn't expect that the Spring Festival Gala production team would be willing to let them participate in rehearsals again from the end of January.
Lu Yanhe was well aware of how high the Spring Festival Gala's production team's requirements were for the rehearsals.
Even many celebrities' performances were eliminated during rehearsals.
Of course, the show "Green Apple Paradise" performed by the three of them has already been performed and has had a huge impact. Those who are directly invited by the production team to perform are generally considered "guaranteed admission students" and are unlikely to be eliminated.
Lu Yanhe was naturally excited and thrilled to have the opportunity to return to the Spring Festival Gala stage.
-
After Song Ying finished filming, crew members started joining the production one after another, while others finished filming.
This is, after all, a road movie. You meet one person, then leave, and go to meet the next person. These are the people Karen wanted to see again before she died. Some of them had regrets that she wanted to make up for, while others simply wanted to see her one last time.
As a result, Lu Yanhe made several new actor friends, but none of them appeared again, like Song Ying, with whom he could get along and have a good chat.
Fu Kai's filming schedule is very fast. Although it is an art film, he is using the execution and schedule of a commercial film to arrange the progress of each scene.
The kind of behavior that Liu Bige would occasionally deviate from the plan and drive the coordinator to the brink of collapse, was basically never seen in Fu Kai.
However, this did not make Lu Yanhe feel that Fu Kai's filming was terrible.
Every director has a different working style. It's not that you can only make a masterpiece by being as unrestrained, imaginative, and unconventional as a genius.
Based on the few pieces of footage Lu Yanhe has seen so far, his prediction for the film "Road to Glory" is quite high.
Just as Chen Ziyan had told him before.
A classic film might be too predictable, lacking the surprise and excitement of seeing an innovative film.
However, the style and formula of classic films have their own power.
This style is the most suitable for a story like this.
What surprised him was that he had never felt his performance had that academic, meticulous quality in any of his works, but he saw that quality in the footage shot by Fu Kai.
He may have been influenced by Shang Yongzhou, or perhaps it was because Fu Kai's visual style was like that, so he incorporated it into his work.
Regardless, he looked very fresh on camera.
This sense of novelty filled Lu Yanhe with anticipation for the film.
-
It's probably because he had to move around with the film crew every now and then.
In the past, when Lu Yanhe was filming, he would often have friends visiting the set, but this time not a single one came.
Chen Siqi originally wanted to come, but Lu Yanhe felt that the filming environment was not very comfortable and the accommodation was even more uncomfortable, so he told Chen Siqi not to come.
Unexpectedly, on this day, Zheng Huai-ren and Jiang Zi-xin from Aurora Video arrived at the hotel where Lu Yan-he was staying, waiting for him to return from work.
Lu Yanhe only found out they had arrived on his way back to the hotel.
So sudden and hurried, Lu Yanhe had a premonition that something must have happened.
Upon meeting, as expected, Zheng Huai-ren immediately said, "Yan He, do we need to start the film and television project 'Squid Game' as soon as possible?"
"Hmm?" Lu Yanhe was somewhat surprised. "Start it as soon as possible? What's wrong?"
Zheng Huai-ren said, "Icefield Video has its eye on our subject matter and is already looking for someone to write a script, wanting to film it before us. It's also a story about a group of people getting involved in a death game and then competing against each other, just like the story model of 'Squid Game'."
Stories like "The Squid Game" rely heavily on a sense of novelty and the bizarre.
If a very similar story were to air first, the novelty and strangeness of "The Squid Game" would be severely diminished when it airs.
"The Seventeen Floors" has made this genre a hit, and everyone has seen the market potential for this type of story.
However, "The Seventeenth Floor" is more like an escape room and is fundamentally different from "The Squid Game".
According to Zheng Huai-ren, the Icefield Video was simply trying to "piggyback" on their script and create a similar show.
Lu Yanhe then realized why Zheng Huai Ren was in such a hurry to get the drama started as soon as possible.
Because we can't let the ice field video be broadcast first.
Lu Yanhe nodded and said, "No problem. If you want to get started as soon as possible, then let's get started. I've already given you all my scripts. Is there anything else you need me to do?"
Zheng Huai-ren said, "According to our initial communication, the male lead of this drama was to be played by Jiang Jun, and the female lead was to be played by Jiang Yuqian. However, the role of the young policeman was originally intended to be played by Li Zhibai, but he was not available in the first half of this year and had already taken on other roles."
Upon hearing this, Lu Yanhe understood where the problem lay.
"Zhibai can't play the role, right? What about the other actors?"
“We’ve had preliminary discussions, and everything is OK,” Zheng Huai-ren said. “Only Li Zhi-bai has signed on for another project, which is scheduled to start filming in March, so it doesn’t fit with our project at all.”
Lu Yanhe pondered for a moment, took a deep breath, and said, "Most of Zhi Bai's scenes are actually his own, and he's not with the other actors. They can all be filmed separately. Could we wait until the film he signed with is finished before doing reshoots for him?"
Zheng Huai-ren said, "We have also considered this plan. However, as far as we know, the Icefield Video is scheduled to be broadcast this summer. We must finish filming and post-production before that time. Fortunately, this drama does not require much post-production. However, if we have to wait for Zhi Bai, then the time will be very tight."
Upon hearing this, Lu Yanhe nodded and asked, "And what are your opinions?"
“We’ll change the actor,” Zheng Huai-ren said. “If Li Zhi-bai could play the role, that would be perfect, but the current situation is that we have no choice but to change the actor.”
Lu Yanhe asked, "Who do you want to replace?"
Zheng Huai-ren looked at Lu Yan-he and said, "If you can act in it yourself, that would be best. You are most familiar with the script and your appearance is also very suitable for the role."
“I’m not suitable. This role requires a great physique, and I can’t build that up in such a short time.” Lu Yanhe refused directly. “Besides, this role requires a male actor with strong masculine hormones, someone who has the feel of working out, exercising, or even being in the military. I know my limitations; I’m not one of those.”
Zheng Huai-ren and Jiang Zi-xin looked at each other, neither of them expecting Lu Yan-he to refuse so decisively.
Lu Yanhe said, "Go and find out which male actors who fit this image are available during the expected filming period. We'll look at them one by one. Actually, Yan Liang is also very suitable, but he's already in talks for another project recently."
Yan Liang hadn't signed a contract for that drama yet, but after talking with him for the past few days, Lu Yanhe could sense that Yan Liang liked the treasure hunt script he had received. If Lu Yanhe were to call him now and tell him that he couldn't act in "The Squid Game" because of a scheduling conflict with Li Zhibai, Yan Liang would definitely turn down that drama to help him out of loyalty. Lu Yanhe didn't really want Yan Liang to do that.
To be honest, the reason Lu Yanhe initially wanted Li Zhibai to act in "The Squid Game" was because "Friends" hadn't aired yet, and Yan Liang didn't have the popularity and fame he has now. At the time, Jiang Jun was cast as the male lead in "The Squid Game," so to enhance the show's appeal, they thought of casting Li Zhibai. Now that Li Zhibai can't act, Lu Yanhe is approaching Yan Liang again—of course, the situation can be clarified, but Lu Yanhe doesn't want Yan Liang to feel like he sees him as a backup option for Li Zhibai.
Lu Yanhe had never looked at Yan Liang like that before.
Li Zhibai and Yan Liang have very different appearances and temperaments.
The two of them are taking slightly different routes.
Li Zhibai's image and style happen to be more suitable for the roles in the projects that Lu Yanhe is currently presenting.
To Yan Liang—
Currently, there's only one character in Friends who is suitable for Yan Liang, who has the opportunity to shine and perform well.
-
Who would have thought that the role originally intended for Li Zhibai in "The Squid Game" would have to be withdrawn due to scheduling conflicts, and this news spread like wildfire throughout the entertainment industry.
Lu Yanhe's phone suddenly started ringing off the hook.
The first person to contact Lu Yanhe was Li Yuefeng, who had worked with him on "The Seventeenth Floor," a very popular actor who was a bit scheming but not a bad person at heart.
“Yan He, I can play this role.” He said it directly.
Li Yuefeng's image is indeed very suitable.
In "The Seventeenth Floor", he plays an athlete.
Lu Yanhe, however, had concerns. Jiang Jun had already been cast as the male lead in "Squid Game," and adding Li Yuefeng would make it easy for the audience to get confused between the two shows.
Besides Li Yuefeng, other people also volunteered.
This includes Kong Fan, who co-starred with him in "Late Spring".
Lu Yanhe had never had such a headache before, figuring out how to refuse people one by one.
The key point is that they are all acquaintances I've worked with before, not strangers.
-
What Lu Yanhe didn't expect was that someone had even come to Shang Yongzhou to pull strings.
Knowing that he is currently filming with Shang Yongzhou, I asked Shang Yongzhou to help recommend him.
"You're really popular now," Shang Yongzhou teased Lu Yanhe. "Everyone wants to be in your shows."
Lu Yanhe quickly waved his hand and said, "Senior brother, please stop teasing me like that. It's giving me a headache."
Shang Yongzhou said, "Big head? Why is the head big?"
“You have no idea how many people have come to me wanting to play this role. They all think that the role I left for Li Zhibai is definitely a great role that will make him famous.”
Lu Yanhe felt somewhat helpless. He understood that people would have such thoughts, but that didn't lessen his worries.
Shang Yongzhou asked, "Do you think this role is particularly good and will become a hit?"
Lu Yanhe nodded.
"Otherwise, I wouldn't have given it to Zhi Baiyan. I can't let him down."
"So everyone's reaction wasn't wrong," Shang Yongzhou said. "I'm actually wondering why you didn't cast Yan Liang in the role."
Lu Yanhe did not expect that Shang Yongzhou would bring up Yan Liang on his own initiative.
“Yan Liang?” Lu Yanhe said, “He… he’s already in talks for a new drama, and he really likes it. If I contact him now, he’ll definitely give up that drama.”
Shang Yongzhou: "Someone here has come to me through connections, wanting me to say hello to you. I can't refuse this person who came to me. You can take a look, but whether it's suitable or not is up to you. I won't talk to you about those empty words. I don't know him very well, and I don't know how well he acts."
He took out a resume and handed it to Lu Yanhe.
"Okay." Lu Yanhe nodded and took it. "Is he going to audition? Hmm? Is this Liu Zefan?"
"You know him?" Shang Yongzhou was somewhat surprised.
“I met him at an awards ceremony before, and I still have his contact information. Didn’t he act in ‘Eternal Love’ with He Yunyun?”
“Yes, ‘Eternal Love’ was a big hit, and He Yunyun became an instant star. Liu Zefan did alright, but he didn’t reap as much benefits as He Yunyun. He hasn’t had any memorable roles in the past two years,” Shang Yongzhou said. “I guess that’s why he specifically came to me to say hello. He thought that if I said hello to you, you might take it more seriously?”
Lu Yanhe nodded: "Then we will definitely pay more attention to it, after all, you are my senior brother."
"Now that you mention it, I suddenly feel more pressured," Shang Yongzhou chuckled. "Anyway, since you know him, you must know him better than I do."
Lu Yanhe was puzzled. Liu Zefan must have his contact information; he couldn't have forgotten about it. Why didn't Liu Zefan take the initiative to contact him, but instead had to go through Shang Yongzhou to put in a good word?
-
Casting actors is always the most troublesome thing.
It's a headache when no actors want to take the role, and it's also a headache when too many actors are vying for it.
Zheng Huai-ren wanted to make "The Squid Game" an all-star cast.
The success of "The Seventeenth Floor" has fully demonstrated the market potential of this subject matter. And this was a script written by Lu Yanhe.
However, the actors for the two roles with the most screen time have already been cast: Jiang Jun and Jiang Yuqian.
The latter was alright, but the former was completely unsuitable for carrying a drama in the platform's eyes. However, when Lu Yanhe signed the project with them, he made it very clear that Jiang Jun had to play the male lead. Therefore, to ensure the project's success, Zheng Huai-ren wanted to use well-known actors for the other roles.
Ideally, they should all be A-list actors, A-list actors who can play leading roles in other films and television dramas.
After much deliberation, the final list included five male actors with good reputations and images: Li Yuefeng, Liu Zefan, and Kong Fan.
Looking at the list, Lu Yanhe said, "I think it would be better to organize a round of auditions. Actually, they are all about the same in all aspects, it just depends on how well they fit the roles."
Zheng Huai-ren also thought that auditions were a good idea, so he organized auditions.
However, upon hearing that he would be auditioning, Li Yuefeng immediately refused.
Lu Yanhe was stunned.
"Didn't he want to play this role?"
“It’s quite common. People at their level generally don’t participate in auditions easily. If they don’t get the role and it gets out, it will affect their image,” Zheng Huai-ren said.
Lu Yanhe wanted to say something, but didn't know what to say.
However, Li Yuefeng was not Lu Yanhe's first choice, so it was alright.
Li Yuefeng did not contact Lu Yanhe again.
-
The other roles were basically decided by Aurora Video; Lu Yanhe didn't get involved.
There are quite a few main characters in this drama.
To Lu Yanhe's surprise, the Northern Lights team actually cast Wang Jing, who had worked with him on "Late Spring," for the role of the crazy girl.
When Lu Yanhe filmed "Late Spring" with her, he felt that Wang Jing had the strongest explosive power among the girls. Unexpectedly, they are working together again in this drama.
It was only at this time that Lu Yanhe learned that Wang Jing had signed with Aurora Video and become a contracted actress with Aurora.
When Wang Jing was filming "Late Spring," several companies approached her to sign contracts. She even consulted him for his opinion. He advised against rushing into signing, saying things would improve after "Late Spring" was released. Following his advice, after the film's release, she and several others became highly sought-after by agencies, receiving very attractive offers.
Lu Yanhe was very happy to see them have a good future.
Besides Wang Jing, there is another middle-aged female character in the original work named Han Meinu. Aurora Studios cast Lu Sui to play this role.
He was also someone Lu Yanhe knew.
I'd crossed paths with her before at the Honghe Awards. Xu Yiren won Best Actress, and Lu Sui didn't even flinch. But because Lu Sui had a good relationship with Jiang Yuqian, Lu Yanhe also had a pleasant chat with her.
On the male side, for the role of the old man, we invited He Dahong, a veteran actor who just won the Best Actor award at the China Television Directors Association Awards.
The other middle-aged man was Li Songfan, who had won the Honghe Award.
All of them are actors who have been in the spotlight of mainstream awards in recent years.
It's a truly golden lineup.
-
Lu Yanhe then stopped paying attention to what happened afterward.
He doesn't have the energy or the ability.
As long as the Northern Lights don't mess things up and the filming is done seriously according to the script, with this production team and level of attention, this drama won't be bad.
Lu Yanhe devoted all his energy to filming "The Road to Glory".
On the day that filming wrapped up for "The Road to Glory", both Lu Yanhe and Shang Yongzhou were a little emotional.
The main reason is that this movie was made with such heart.
In this film, Lu Yanhe completely entrusted his performance to the set and to Shang Yongzhou, reacting entirely to the stimuli Shang Yongzhou provided.
It was also a novel experience.
Needless to say, Shang Yongzhou was also involved.
"This will be a very unforgettable filming experience for me," Shang Yongzhou said with a wry smile.
It would probably be the same no matter who it was.
A hanging body was discovered during filming.
This could be a lifelong shadow.
-
After filming wrapped up for "The Road to Glory," Lu Yanhe prepared a small gift for everyone before embarking on his journey home.
It's almost Chinese New Year.
People carrying large and small bags can be seen everywhere on the street; they are all going home.
Upon seeing this situation, Lu Yanhe immediately thought of the movie "Lost in Thailand".
Filming for this movie has been underway for some time now.
Lu Yanhe had originally planned to visit the set during the winter break, but he didn't make it.
Things happened one after another.
However, since Li Zhibai and Yan Liang were both going to make cameo appearances in the movie, Lu Yanhe decided to go with them.
Zou Dong escorted Lu Yanhe to Ziyuan Bridge.
"Dong-ge, you guys can rest for the next two days. You don't need to keep me company. I'll also rest for a couple of days. I'll trouble you again when I go to the 'Lost in Thailand' film crew with Zhibai Yanliang and the others," Lu Yanhe said.
Zou Dong nodded and said okay.
Lu Yanhe: "I'll have to trouble you all for New Year's Eve. I'll most likely be on the Spring Festival Gala this year. We'll have a holiday on the first day of the Lunar New Year. Siqi and I are going on a trip abroad. You all should take a good rest. This year has been too hard. We've been constantly on the go and haven't had a break."
Zou Dong said, "It's what I should do."
-
Over the course of the year, Lu Yanhe was very grateful to both Zou Dong and Wang Biao.
Without the two of them, he absolutely could not have finished so many things working non-stop.
Moreover, what Zou Dong did went far beyond the duties of a bodyguard.
Lu Yanhe thought that in addition to giving them both a generous bonus at the end of the year, he would also give them a raise.
He opened the door and was surprised to find the lights were on inside.
There is someone.
Um?
Before Lu Yanhe returned, he clearly asked Li Zhibai and Yan Liang if they were there, and they both said they had work and would be back later.
Did you forget to turn off the lights before leaving the house?
Lu Yanhe called out, "Is anyone there?"
A person poked their head out from the living room.
It turned out to be Zhou Ping'an.
“Ping An… Brother? What are you doing here?” Lu Yanhe stood at the door, hesitating for a moment, and did not go in.
Zou Dong was about to enter the elevator when he suddenly heard Lu Yanhe ask that question. He knew there must be something strange about it for Lu Yanhe to ask that question, so he came back.
He returned to Lu Yanhe's side, looked at Zhou Ping'an together, and asked in a low voice, "Is there a problem?"
"It's nothing." Lu Yanhe shook his head. "Brother Dong, would you like to come inside with me for a bit longer?"
Zou Dong nodded and took the suitcase from Lu Yanhe.
-
“Li Zhibai isn’t here; he has work to do,” Lu Yanhe told Zhou Pingan after he came in.
“I know.” Zhou Ping’an pinched the bridge of his nose wearily, looking at Lu Yanhe with an inscrutable expression. “I’ll wait for him here.”
Lu Yanhe nodded and asked, "Does he know you're waiting for him?"
“I sent him a message,” Zhou Pingan said.
However, what he didn't say was that Li Zhibai hadn't replied to his messages or answered his calls for several days.
Lu Yanhe put his things down and said to Zou Dong, "Brother Dong, I'm all set here. You can go back and rest now."
He felt that Zhou Ping'an was in good condition, and guessed that he had just come to talk to Li Zhibai about changing agents.
Zou Dong asked, "Shouldn't I stay here with you and wait for Li Zhibai and the others to return?"
Lu Yanhe: "No need, it's fine."
Zou Dong glanced at Zhou Ping'an and said, "I think I'll stay here a little longer. Anyway, I don't have anything else to do when I go back."
Zou Dong knew that Lu Yanhe and Zhou Ping'an had a lot of unpleasant experiences in the past.
Although the possibility of Zhou Ping'an wanting to harm Lu Yanhe is very low, it's not impossible.
The main problem was that Zhou Ping'an was waiting in the room alone without saying hello, which was a bit strange and even made people wonder.
Lu Yanhe poured a glass of water for both Zhou Ping'an and Zou Dong.
"Brother Dong, you must be hungry too, right? I'm about to get something to eat, would you like to have some with me?"
They just ate a little something on the plane.
Zou Dong agreed.
Lu Yanhe asked Zhou Pingan, "Brother Pingan, what about you?"
Zhou Pingan: "I don't need it."
He said again, "Thank you."
Lu Yanhe smiled and said, "You're welcome."
He went into the kitchen, rummaged through the refrigerator, and found frozen dumplings and salted egg yolk shumai.
After thinking about it, I was too lazy to do anything, so I boiled water and steamed some dumplings and shumai.
I was so hungry; the moment that aroma wafted out, my stomach started growling.
Lu Yanhe took three plates out.
“Is Wang Biao still waiting for you in the car? I’ll give him a call and ask him to come up and have something to eat with us,” Lu Yanhe said.
Five minutes later, Zhou Ping'an sat on the living room sofa, watching Lu Yanhe and the other two sitting at the dining table eating dumplings and shumai, enjoying their meal immensely.
"..."
They actually got to eat it.
Zhou Pingan took a deep breath and couldn't help but let out a cold laugh.
"Brother Ping An, are you really not going to eat any? The salted egg yolk shumai they bought is actually quite good," Lu Yanhe asked again.
Zhou Pingan: "No need."
He clenched his fists.
-
Lu Yanhe sent Li Zhibai a message, telling him that Zhou Ping'an was lying in wait for him to return.
Li Zhibai: He told me that I had finished here and was on my way back, and it would take about forty minutes to get there.
Lu Yanhe: Okay, drive carefully on the road.
After he finished eating, he picked up his water glass and sat down in the living room.
“Brother Ping’an, is there something urgent you need to talk to Zhi Bai about? I rarely see you sitting here waiting for him like this,” Lu Yanhe said. “You’re so busy with work, and you’re also taking care of Ma Zhiyuan and the others.”
Zhou Pingan glanced at Lu Yanhe, took a deep breath, and said, "Aren't you feeling pretty smug right now? Knowing that Li Zhibai is going to change agents, do you feel like you've gotten your revenge back then?"
“I’ve already vented my anger myself; I don’t need Zhibai to help me,” Lu Yanhe said. “Brother Ping’an, it’s just that seeing you here waiting for him makes me feel a little sad. Why is it that people only think of making an effort when they’re about to lose something?”
Zhou Pingan remained silent.
After a while, he said, "What do you know?"
“I don’t understand your manager’s affairs, but I understand what artists need from their managers,” Lu Yanhe said. “I believe you have a million reasons to explain your actions, but no matter how many reasons you have, in the end, it’s about actions, not intentions. Li Zhibai is an artist you’ve mentored. In other people’s eyes, he may have a bad temper and be a rich second-generation who’s always talking back, but you should know that he’s actually a very kind person. You’ve been taking advantage of his tough exterior and soft heart. He’s always been a master of empty talk, but his heart isn’t really hard, so you’ve always made him compromise, compromise again and again. Now that he’s finally decided to leave, you’re stunned. You thought he would compromise again like before, but he didn’t this time.”
Zhou Ping'an clenched his teeth, and the outline of his masseter muscles was visible in his lower jaw as he clenched his teeth.
"You're coming to him now, trying to persuade him to change his mind? To be honest, Brother Ping An, it's all a waste of time. You've already let him down." Lu Yanhe was merciless, and the more he spoke, the more turbulent his own emotions became, inevitably carrying a bit of his personal feelings. "Actually, I've long since stopped understanding you. You already have Li Zhibai, so why do you still want to keep Ma Zhiyuan with you as well?"
Zhou Pingan said, "Which agent would refuse to represent both of them at the same time?"
“Sister Ziyan will refuse.” Lu Yanhe said bluntly, “You are a manager, of course you want as many popular artists as possible under your management, but don’t forget, Brother Ping’an, if artists can’t get trust and security from their managers, then they really don’t have many people they can trust. You really don’t understand what artists want from their managers, especially artists like Li Zhibai who are already very popular.”
Zhou Ping'an was somewhat annoyed and said, "If you hadn't been stirring up trouble behind my back, even if Li Zhibai had a problem with me, he wouldn't have gone to Lin Suyang's place. He's just being stubborn with me!"
“If we had been sowing discord behind your back, Li Zhibai wouldn’t have waited until now to leave you.” Lu Yanhe took a deep breath. “Whatever. I’ve said what I wanted to say. Even if you completely neglected your duties as a manager, at least you were responsible to Li Zhibai and Yan Liang. You consistently had a very positive impact on their careers, until you started managing Ma Zhiyuan as well. If you never realize this and still try to appease Li Zhibai with gentle persuasion, then Li Zhibai’s departure is just the beginning.”
Anger flashed in Zhou Ping'an's eyes. "What do you mean?"
"Yan Liang finally became famous, and then what? What are his plans? He became famous at the beginning of last year with 'Friends,' but has he been able to access any good resources since then? He's currently busy with commercials, recording shows, and participating in all sorts of events every day. What about 'Idol Era'? Have you found him people, resources, and a good stage? And acting? He can't just keep filming 'Friends' for the rest of his life, can he?"
Lu Yanhe looked at him coldly.
"You want to manage two, three, or even seven or eight top-tier artists at the same time, that's fine, provided you can arrange each one properly and ensure that no one messes up. The question is, can you do that?" Lu Yanhe's eyes were as cold as ice. "Do you know why I'm telling you this? Because Li Zhibai and Yan Liang are clearly at their best these past two years, but under your management, all I see is the phrase 'living off past glories'."
Zhou Ping'an was so angry that his cheeks twitched.
However, at this moment, facing the aggressive Lu Yanhe, he was speechless.
It's clear that what Lu Yanhe said wasn't objective and was full of loopholes. It's clear that the dramas that Li Zhibai has been very popular in the past two years were all ones that Lu Yanhe forced Li Zhibai to take on, yet Lu Yanhe completely negated all of Li Zhibai's efforts and achievements.
Normally, Zhou Ping'an would definitely have retorted.
But Zhou Pingan didn't say a word tonight.
Lu Yanhe's words were like a barrage of arrows piercing his heart.
Zhou Ping'an wasn't unaware of these things; he simply had subconsciously ignored them in the past. Now, Lu Yanhe had brought them up, forcing Zhou Ping'an to confront them directly.
-
Li Zhibai arrived downstairs but did not go up.
He called Zhou Ping'an and said, "I've arrived. Come down. We don't need to talk about our business in front of Yan He."
Zhou Pingan agreed.
Zhou Ping'an then went downstairs.
Lu Yanhe didn't know what Li Zhibai said to Zhou Ping'an that night, nor did he know what the two of them talked about.
After Li Zhibai returned, Lu Yanhe wanted to talk to him about the matter, but Li Zhibai said he was very tired, said nothing, and went back to his room to rest.
Lu Yanhe did not pursue the matter further.
Li Zhibai is a very sentimental person. Even towards someone like Zhou Ping'an.
If Li Zhibai really disliked Zhou Ping'an as much as he claimed, they would have broken up long ago. How could they have cooperated for so long?
Yan Liangcai returned at one o'clock in the morning.
He looked exhausted.
Lu Yanhe was jolted awake by the sound of doors opening and closing outside, realizing it was already past midnight.
He closed the novel in his hand, belatedly yawned, and said, "That's all for today's live stream, bye-bye."
He turned off the live stream, got up, and went outside.
"You're still not asleep?" Yan Liang looked at Lu Yanhe with some surprise.
"I was reading a novel and got so engrossed that I lost track of time," Lu Yanhe said. "Why are you so late today?"
"There was a slight mishap during filming, which caused us to finish two hours later than scheduled," Yan Liang said. "I have to catch a flight very early tomorrow morning."
Are there any other jobs?
"Yes, there's a company's annual party performance tomorrow night."
Why would Zhou Ping'an still get you gigs like the annual party performance?
"Oh, it's not a regular annual meeting, it's the annual meeting of the brand I endorse. They sent me an invitation, and they're a big spender, paying generously, so I have no choice but to go."
“You’re already running around doing gigs every day, and you’re taking on this kind of work too,” Lu Yanhe said with a hint of helplessness.
Yan Liang: "Of course, we should take on as much work as possible when there is an opportunity to make money, because opportunities to make money don't come all the time."
Lu Yanhe never expected Yan Liang to say that now.
Since Friends became a hit last year, his salary should have increased significantly.
Logically speaking, given Yan Liang's spending habits, he should have earned more than enough money.
Yan Liang said, "It's getting late, you should go to sleep too. Oh, by the way, didn't you say Zhou Ping'an came? How did their chat go today?"
“They didn’t talk inside the house, they talked downstairs. I don’t know what they talked about, but Li Zhibai seemed a bit down after he came back. He went back to his room to rest without saying anything,” Lu Yanhe said. “I didn’t ask him any further. I guess he was in a bad mood, so I let him rest for a couple of days.”
“Hmm,” Yan Liang said. “On my way back just now, I received a call from Zhou Ping’an. He asked how the show was going and said he wanted to have dinner together when I got back. It startled me. He seemed like a completely different person. He was acting strangely and suddenly started showing me all this concern.”
Lu Yanhe smiled when he heard Yan Liang say this, and said, "Isn't this good?"
"I'm used to his capitalist side, and I can't stand his sudden change of image," Yan Liangzhi said.
Lu Yanhe: "Get used to it. I think he'll be facing you like this for a long time to come."
Yan Liang smiled sarcastically.
He certainly knew why Lu Yanhe would say that.
It's precisely because I know this that I find it all the more ironic.
-
Lu Yanhe woke up at nine o'clock the next morning, only after hearing the alarm clock.
The healthy biological clock I had cultivated before has been slowly disrupted without me even realizing it.
Yan Liang has already left; he's already on the plane.
He walked out of the room with sleepy eyes, and as he was about to brush his teeth and wash his face, he suddenly saw that Li Zhibai had laid out a yoga mat in the living room and was doing a plank.
This scene startled Lu Yanhe awake.
What?!
This scene is like suddenly seeing a sloth doing pull-ups while gripping a tree branch with both hands.
That's utterly absurd.
Li Zhi's laziness has become a stereotype.
This person is practicing dance in the rehearsal room, and basically spends most of the time lying on the floor.
"What... happened to you?"
“That bastard Zhou Ping’an said that I’m lazy, have a bad temper, and am arrogant and disdainful of others. He said that if I were to change managers and they stopped managing me, my image would collapse within three months because my true colors would be revealed.” Li Zhibai said angrily, “I’m going to make him open his dog eyes and see if I can become even more popular without him.”
Lu Yanhe: "...Although what he said is problematic, doesn't your reaction mean you think he's right? Are you deliberately using planking to prove you're not lazy?"
Li Zhibai: "The key point is that I can be more self-disciplined without him."
Lu Yanhe: "...I really don't know what to say."
"If you don't know what to say, then don't say anything." Li Zhibai was as energetic as if he had been injected with chicken blood, and the veins on his neck were bulging.
Lu Yanhe: "Whatever, good luck. I'm going to brush my teeth."
After brushing his teeth and washing his face, Lu Yanhe opened the refrigerator and looked around, thinking about what to eat for breakfast.
Hungry, very hungry.
But I already ate dumplings and shumai last night, and I don't want to eat them again.
Lu Yanhe decided to go out for a bite to eat.
He asked Li Zhibai if he wanted to come along.
Li Zhi, panting heavily and covered in sweat, got up and said, "Let's go."
Lu Yanhe was astonished to see the sweat on Li Zhibai's body.
"Are you serious?"
Li Zhibai: "You think I'm joking with you?"
Lu Yanhe: "Fine, let's see how many days you can hold out."
Li Zhibai gave him the middle finger.
In the dead of winter, the wind howls as soon as you step outside.
Li Zhibai, wrapped in a down jacket, asked, "Why don't we order takeout?"
"I'm too hungry, I can't wait that long," Lu Yanhe said.
They went to a nearby breakfast shop and each ate a bowl of noodles.
After finishing their noodles, on the way back, Li Zhibai suddenly said, "I need to go to the company tomorrow to finalize the change of my agent. Starting tomorrow, Lin Suyang will officially be my agent."
Lu Yanhe nodded.
Seeing that Lu Yanhe only nodded without any other reaction, Li Zhibai immediately asked, "Aren't you worried that I'll change my mind and stay with Zhou Ping'an again?"
“I wasn’t worried,” Lu Yanhe said. “In this matter, you will only choose to back out under one circumstance and stay with Zhou Ping’an.”
"What's going on?"
"Zhou Ping'an will no longer take Ma Zhiyuan with him."
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
