-40- Preparation
"November 2nd, Blue Star Iron Mouth, first draft of the script." Hu Mingyuan opened the document, his mouse moving steadily downward, his thoughts roaming wildly. The past month or two had probably been the most agonizing time of Hu Mingyuan's life, the most confused about what he was doing and what he was thinking. Zhao Jinghuan's silent breakup during his junior year was indeed a rare humiliation in Hu Mingyuan's otherwise smooth life. But he always believed he had exacted his revenge. He became a successful trendy toy designer, while Zhao Jinghuan, after graduation, faced a series of setbacks, even relegated to delivering food. During that time, Hu Mingyuan often dreamed of Zhao Jinghuan weeping bitterly, vexing her foolish decision. He even occasionally asked their mutual classmates to check Zhao Jinghuan's WeChat and take screenshots of her empty Moments, lamenting. "Look, she's too embarrassed to even speak out. That's how she feels regret." But Hu Mingyuan always felt a sense of regret, regretting that he never got to hear Zhao Jinghuan's regret and self-reproach in person. So, when he discovered Zhao Jinghuan had found a new job as a member of a trendy toy studio and needed his help, he knew his chance had come. When they met years later, Hu Mingyuan had been willing to give up his HEC spot. But what he needed wasn't Zhao Jinghuan's false courtesy, nor her grovelling apologies, like old friends and classmates. Even if Zhao Jinghuan pointed at his nose and cursed him, he just wanted to see a hint of regret in her eyes. Just a little bit would be fine. Of course, it would be even better if she could tentatively ask if she wanted to get back together, and then give him a chance to reject it with disdain. However, what Zhao Jinghuan showed that day was disdain for his success. It wasn't jealousy, it was disdain, it was nothing to do with her, it was that she didn't care. To Hu Mingyuan, this was the ultimate insult: "I'm so successful, and you don't care? Then wouldn't my success have been for nothing?" So he kept Zhao Jinghuan. Although this decision, made out of spite, seemed a bit childish in retrospect, at that moment, Hu Mingyuan truly thought: "I'd rather pay you than let you see up close just how successful I am." As for the outcome of this grand plan... Hu Mingyuan had been feeling a bit high lately. Zhao Jinghuan, forced to appear at his company, constantly displayed her passion for her previous job, and in Hu Mingyuan's eyes, the trendy toys that barely made the grade...
"November 2, Blue Star Iron Mouth, first draft of the script."
Hu Mingyuan opened the document and dragged the mouse steadily downwards, but his thoughts couldn't help but wander left and right.
The past one or two months have probably been the most confusing time in Hu Mingyuan's life, when he was most confused about what he was doing and what he was thinking.
Zhao Jinghuan's silent breakup with him during their junior year was indeed a rare humiliation in Hu Mingyuan's otherwise smooth life. But he always thought he had exacted his revenge.
He became a successful trendy toy designer at a young age, while Zhao Jinghuan failed all the way after graduation and even fell into delivering takeout.
During that time, Hu Mingyuan often dreamed of Zhao Jinghuan weeping bitterly, deeply regretting her foolish decision. He even occasionally asked their mutual classmates to check Zhao Jinghuan's WeChat and take screenshots of her empty Moments.
"Look, she's too embarrassed to even speak out on WeChat Moments. This is a sign of her regret."
But Hu Mingyuan always felt a little regretful, regretting that he couldn't hear Zhao Jinghuan's regret and self-blame with his own ears.
So, when he found out that Zhao Jinghuan had found a new job, became a new member of a trendy toy studio, and needed his help, he knew that his opportunity had come.
When they met years later, Hu Mingyuan had been willing to give up his HEC spot. But what he needed wasn't Zhao Jinghuan's false politeness, nor her grovelling apologies, her old friends, her old classmates. Even if Zhao Jinghuan pointed her finger at him and cursed him, he just wanted to see a hint of regret in her eyes.
Just a little bit would be fine. Of course, it would be even better if she could tentatively ask him if he wanted to get back together, and then give him a chance to reject it with disdain.
However, what Zhao Jinghuan showed that day was disdain for his success.
It wasn't jealousy, it was disdain. It had nothing to do with her, she didn't care. To Hu Mingyuan, this was the greatest insult:
"I'm so successful, and you don't care? Then my success is for nothing, right?"
So he kept Zhao Jinghuan. Although this decision made out of spite seemed a bit silly in retrospect, Hu Mingyuan was indeed thinking this at that moment:
"I'd rather pay you a salary than let you see up close how successful I am."
As for the outcome of this great plan...Hu Mingyuan always felt that his blood pressure seemed a little high recently.
Zhao Jinghuan, forced to appear at his company, constantly expressed her love for her previous job. Meanwhile, the trendy toy "Little Sparrow," considered by Hu Mingyuan to be barely a thing, unexpectedly gained popularity thanks to Lu Kai's clownish behavior. Zhao Jinghuan even believed that Little Sparrow's sales would surpass hers within a year.
Hu Mingyuan tried to convince himself that Zhao Jinghuan was crazy, stupid, or just trying to piss him off, and he shouldn't bother with her.
But he still couldn't help it and reported all the bloggers on his phone who recommended or even mentioned Freckles.
I couldn't help but make a bet with Zhao Jinghuan.
He absolutely could not let Little Freckles' sales surpass his own, because he called Zhao Jinghuan here not to let her see his failure.
Hu Mingyuan angrily turned off Lan Xing Tie Zui's script.
He decided to make a phone call.
…………
Over in Waikiki, the internet celebrities downstairs had been waiting for more than ten days to see Lu Kai, but they didn't see him. After the heat gradually faded, they stopped coming to cause trouble.
Lu Kai was able to return to work, his spirits rising again. Every day, he worked with Sister Zou to adjust the script and memorize the lines, striving to prepare for the November 2nd live broadcast to perfection. His dedication made Fanqie wonder, "Has Lu Kai been possessed by something?"
November 2nd arrived in a flash. Blue Star's live broadcast that night started at 5 o'clock and ended in the early morning. It was divided into two halves, the upper and lower halves, with a guest in each half. The guest in the first half basically served to warm up the audience, from 5 o'clock to 7 o'clock. As the finale of the night, Lu Kai entered at 7:30 and stayed until the end of the live broadcast.
The entrance was at 7:30 pm, but Lu Kai and his team arrived at 4:30 pm, which shows how much they valued it. Sister Zou brought Zhao Jinghuan with her, and didn't let Tomato and Wanfeng come to disrupt the event.
The live broadcast base was converted from a huge, dilapidated factory building. In addition to Blue Star Iron Mouth, it was shared by several other internet celebrity teams. When Lu Kai and his team arrived at the base, each team was making final preparations before the live broadcast. The entire factory was bustling with people coming and going, with shouting and cursing, as if some legion war was about to begin.
The Blue Star staff brought Lu Kai and the others into the dressing room. The partition built at the back was surprisingly soundproof. Once the door was closed, the room became quiet, completely isolated from the chaotic world outside.
Sister Zou went upstairs to do the final check with the Blue Star staff. Apart from the makeup artist, only Zhao Jinghuan and Lu Kai were left in the room.
Lu Kai read a hint of worry on Zhao Jinghuan's face. He made faces at her in the makeup mirror and said to her, "Don't worry. I have no intention of dying together with anyone."
Zhao Jinghuan forced a smile, apparently not reassuring enough from Lu Kai's words. The makeup artist finished styling Lu Kai's eyebrows and went out to meet someone. Not wanting to worry Zhao Jinghuan too much, Lu Kai hesitated for a moment before finally saying, "It's because of the evening breeze."
Zhao Jinghuan didn't understand what he meant and asked him what was wrong with Wanfeng?
Lu Kai said: "I want to say that the reason I am willing to do the live broadcast is actually because of the evening breeze."
He said, "That day, I got into a fight downstairs with some internet celebrity looking for trouble. Wan Feng dragged me back to the studio. When he went to get me some water, I accidentally knocked over my computer and it started flashing. I saw the files on the desktop and realized that in addition to the fifty or so sketches he'd created for Eddie, he'd also secretly created a number of toy designs for himself."
Lu Kai said: "But he never showed it to me."
"Huh?" Zhao Jinghuan was a little surprised. "Why?"
Lu Kai shrugged. "If you ask Wan Feng, he'll definitely say he has no confidence in himself. But...actually, I know he's also afraid that I'll lose money and that it'll be hard for me to do my job."
Lu Kai said, "We're all starting a business together, so we shouldn't really distinguish between close and distant relatives. But Wanfeng was my best friend back when we were in school. He's always like that, always thinking about others and never really striving for anything himself. I pulled him into this business because I was worried that with his personality, he'd suffer a huge loss in society. But... I never really considered that maybe he'd be the one suffering the most by being with me."
Lu Kai said, "I used to think that just because my studio had a toy like Little Freckles that could sell well and keep running, I was much better than most independent studios on the market. I never thought that this was actually far from enough.
"If our studio can only maintain such a fragile balance, how can we afford trial and error? Tomato's trendy toys were tried once, but the effect was not good, so they were almost shelved forever. Evening Breeze didn't even have a chance to take off. I always felt at ease, thinking that Tomato was just messing around and Evening Breeze was not ready.
"But how dare the evening breeze be ready?"
Lu Kai took a deep breath. "I always feel that we are still young and have many opportunities in the future. Wanfeng always says that he is not in a hurry. We are only 27 or 28 years old, but I can still remember the look on Wanfeng's face when I first met him in my freshman year. These ten years have passed in a flash, and I am afraid the next ten will be the same."
"Is it possible that at 38, Wanfeng is still just helping Xiaoquewan with his work, without any work of his own?" Lu Kai asked. "Furthermore, if I haven't been able to help Wanfeng release his work, can he really persist until he's 38, 35, or even 30?"
"So don't worry." Lu Kai turned his head and gave Zhao Jinghuan a thumbs up: "I will perform well. I won't let this opportunity slip away in vain."
The door behind them suddenly opened, and the noise that had been isolated outside suddenly rushed in. Lu Kai and Zhao Jinghuan turned around and saw the makeup teacher bringing Hu Mingyuan in.
The door closed and the room returned to silence, but Lu Kai and Zhao Jinghuan were both stunned.
Hu Mingyuan, who was standing at the door, looked at the two people with surprised faces and said, "Wow, you guys are here really early.
"What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Oh, right. You didn't know that yet, did you?" Hu Mingyuan said with a smile, "I'm the guest for the first half of today's show."
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