Chapter 906

Chen Ziyan also hadn't expected that Lu Yanhe intended to be responsible for the costs of holding the concert by himself.

"You should know you don't have to do this, right?"

"I know."

"Even if you really don't collect ticket fees at the venue and only collect broadcast copyright fees, you could still cover your costs, you know that, right?"

"I know."

"Then what are you thinking by choosing not only to not sell tickets to the public but also to livestream it for free on video platforms?"

"I hope it will be a pure concert without any commercial nature; I hope it will be a very pure day," Lu Yanhe said bluntly.

Chen Ziyan: "I know you have a high income now, but I still think you're messing around."

Lu Yanhe: "I'm absolutely not doing this because my income is high. In fact, I am a firm supporter of the idea that if you do work, you should be paid. Look at when I have ever made a free cameo in any production?"

Chen Ziyan's eyes rolled around for a moment.

She realized it.

"You want to propose at the concert?"

Lu Yanhe shook his head, "No."

Chen Ziyan's brow furrowed even tighter.

"Don't tell me you purely want to repay your fans together with Li Zhibai and Yan Liang."

"It's after the concert."

"What?"

"The proposal."

Chen Ziyan: "..."

"It's not to repay the fans either," Lu Yanhe said, "It's to commemorate it together with Li Zhibai and Yan Liang."

In a place no one knew about, a place Lu Yanhe hadn't even told Li Zhibai and Yan Liang, there was another key reason why Lu Yanhe wanted to hold this concert this year, because this year was a very critical node.

This year was the tenth year since he came to this world.

This year was the tenth year since he, as himself, met Li Zhibai and Yan Liang.

Chen Ziyan didn't understand that the commemoration Lu Yanhe spoke of referred to this special point in time. She knew it was a commemoration of past youthful years by several successful people.

"Alright then."

Hou Jun never expected that Lu Yanhe would find him to be the director of this concert.

Lu Yanhe said with a smile: "Because the first song I wrote was performed on your show, this has a special meaning for me."

Hou Jun nodded.

"Okay." He agreed readily, "Then what is the production budget for this concert? Which company is the production unit?"

Lu Yanhe shook his head and said: "There is no production unit; the entire production team needs you to help me build it. As for the production budget... anyway, I am responsible for all the preparations for this concert, and I hope it won't compromise in any aspect. So, Director, how about you help me find the best venue in Yuming, use the best people and equipment, and do the best stage design?"

Hou Jun's expression changed: "... What did you say?"

Subsequently, Lu Yanhe introduced Xing Lecheng to Hou Jun.

"If you need to make payments or foot the bill, find him," Lu Yanhe said.

Xing Lecheng had previously been Lu Yanhe's assistant and later took on other responsibilities in his team.

After two years of work experience, he could be considered quite tempered.

Of course, Lu Yanhe wouldn't be generous enough to sign a blank check for Hou Jun.

His approach was actually the same as how investors in every film crew arrange their own people as producers and financial officers to guard against the crew acting in bad faith or reporting false accounts.

But for Hou Jun, this really left him dumbfounded.

For so many years, he had done countless shows, concerts, and galas, big and small...

This kind of "big spender" was truly the first he had ever seen.

If he hadn't known Lu Yanhe for so long and known what kind of person Lu Yanhe was, he would have really thought the other party was just a "foolish nouveau riche," and that he would be doing a disservice to the other party's "country bumpkin big spender" temperament if he didn't fleece him hard.

Lu Yanhe smiled slightly at him.

"No problem, right?"

Hou Jun gave a bitter laugh.

"It's the first time I've had such an abundant budget that I don't even know how to proceed."

"Right, there are a few more songs that need you to help me find someone to record the demos," Lu Yanhe said, "I plan to include these new songs in this concert as well. I'll send you the setlist for this concert later."

Hou Jun nodded and said that was fine.

At this very moment, the look he gave Lu Yanhe had changed drastically.

After all the matters were arranged, Lu Yanhe breathed a sigh of relief.

Finally, this matter was put on the agenda.

Just then, Yin Xincheng heard he was back and called him to ask if he had time to have a meal together.

Lu Yanhe was free anyway, and knowing Yin Xincheng had been in a terrible mood lately, he agreed.

In fact, up until now, Yin Xincheng still hadn't made the news of his divorce from Huang Yunlan public.

He planned to wait until the day he officially received the divorce certificate with Huang Yunlan to announce it.

Lu Yanhe felt that, at least up to this point, no one knew about Huang Yunlan being pregnant and having a child.

If they had announced this at the same time they made their marriage public, it wouldn't be so easy to clean up now.

A newlywed wife is pregnant, yet the two are getting a divorce.

For Yin Xincheng, this would be a more serious blow to his image.

If it were really that situation, Yin Xincheng wouldn't have to choose to pay hush money and swallow his pride for fear of damaging his image.

The label of a "cuckold" still sounds a bit better than the label of someone who abandons his wife and child.

Even so, when Lu Yanhe saw Yin Xincheng, he was still shocked by his state.

"You are..." Lu Yanhe looked at Yin Xincheng with deep concern.

Yin Xincheng was so thin he looked like a skeleton, and both his eyes were bruised.

"What's wrong with you?"

Yin Xincheng opened his mouth and said: "I'm not on drugs, don't misunderstand."

Lu Yanhe: "..."

With Yin Xincheng looking like this, it was really quite easy for people to misunderstand that he was on drugs.

Lu Yanhe: "Then what is going on with you?"

"I can't eat, I can't sleep," Yin Xincheng said very painfully, "As soon as I close my eyes, I can see everyone pointing at my nose and mocking me. I feel like my life is ruined."

"Ruined?" Lu Yanhe looked at Yin Xincheng in disbelief, "Isn't everything still within a controllable range now? She also signed a confidentiality agreement and agreed to divorce you; everything is resolved."

Yin Xincheng, however, shook his head.

"She is like a bomb, constantly reminding me that my life will explode."

Lu Yanhe: "... To be honest, Xincheng, aren't you being a bit too exaggerated? In my view, the most serious consequence of this matter is that the truth is discovered. But you didn't do anything wrong; you were also deceived, even to the extent of being defrauded. What do you have to worry about that keeps you from sleeping?"

Yin Xincheng: "I brought this on myself."

Lu Yanhe: "You can say you brought it on yourself, but you are still a long way from your life being ruined—there's no need to think that way."

"You say, if one day Huang Yunlan ignores the confidentiality agreement and chooses to tell the truth about this matter, to tell the truth about her marriage to me, what will everyone think of me? Will they think I'm just a foolish idiot?"

"When that time comes, does it matter what others think of you?" Lu Yanhe asked back, "Do you think you are a foolish idiot?"

Yin Xincheng nodded without hesitation and said yes.

Lu Yanhe was speechless for a moment.

It was true; Yin Xincheng choosing to pay Huang Yunlan a breakup fee and making her sign a confidentiality agreement already showed how much he cared about what others thought of him.

Lu Yanhe could only say: "If such a thing really happens, you can only face it; you must face it."

Yin Xincheng: "When that time comes, will my fans still like me?"

"You are an actor. As long as you act seriously and continue to have good works, you might not necessarily have fans, but you will definitely have an audience," Lu Yanhe said, "And I think you've misunderstood one thing. You've overestimated the negative impact of this matter on a man in this era, and you've underestimated the values and judgment of right and wrong of everyone in this era. Xincheng, I can guarantee you that when the things you worry about really happen, you will definitely see that there are absolutely more people supporting you than mocking you."

Only then did Yin Xincheng's somewhat fragile and sensitive eyes warm up a little.

"Really?"

"Really."

Lu Yanhe also had a headache.

To be fair, he didn't want to get involved in Yin Xincheng's messy affairs.

However, Yin Xincheng seemed to show an unexpected level of trust in them.

Not just him, but for the few people from "Friends," it was the same.

Yin Xincheng took the initiative to ask everyone to meet and have a meal in the group chat of the six people from "Friends."

Generally speaking, the few of them rarely organized large private gatherings during the times other than filming each season.

If they were to meet, it was usually because there was something going on, a small gathering between a few people.

It was almost impossible to get all six of them together except at the end of each year, so everyone had previously been tactful and no one brought up the large gathering.

With Yin Xincheng making such an invitation, everyone actually popped up one after another, and once they checked their schedules, they rarely managed to find a free evening.

Yan Liang even said: Did Yin Xincheng do his homework in advance? Did he only ask after knowing everyone had time? That's not right, he didn't know I was wrapping up and coming back soon either.

Yin Xincheng said: I did some mental calculations and felt you were all free.

Bai Jin:...

Wen Minglan: It really is a coincidence of timing. I just finished filming a movie in France and am only returning to the country this Friday. If you had asked earlier, I wouldn't have been able to make it.

Lu Yanhe asked: Is it that French romantic comedy movie?

Wen Minglan: No, that one is "The Elegant Hedgehog," which was already finished last year. The one I just filmed is the director's new work, "Melancholy Portrait."

Lu Yanhe: "The Elegant Hedgehog" has already been released?

He thought to himself, how come he hadn't seen any news about it.

Wen Minglan: Not yet, it will be released in France this summer.

Lu Yanhe: Then he is quite productive, filming one last year and another one this year.

Wen Minglan: He also films movies very quickly. For these two movies of mine, one only took 17 days to film, and one only took 24 days. Most French films don't have large budgets and aren't the kind of productions with large-scale coordination; they are mainly dialogue-driven.

Bai Jin asked: Will they be released in China?

Wen Minglan said: "The Elegant Hedgehog" already has a Chinese film company that has bought the Chinese distribution rights, but "Melancholy Portrait" hasn't yet. The domestic attention for French films isn't high, especially for theatrical releases. In the past, it seems not many French films have been released in theaters, and even if they were, the box office was just average.

Zhan Yun said: After "The Elegant Hedgehog" is released, we'll book the theater to support you!

Wen Minglan: Haha, no need, it's fine. How much box office it can get is its own ability. It's enough for me to do my own job well. Sister Ziyan helping me take on French films was originally intended to let me accumulate more filming experience in different countries and improve myself.

Zhan Yun: That won't do, we should support it if we should.

Bai Jin: Exactly, how can we not support it at a time like this.