Chapter 307: Little Liu: Either I Beat You to Death, or I Make You Die of Beauty

Canada, Vancouver Island Southern Railway.

This was once the filming location for the Warner Bros. classic *Godzilla*.

The film showcased Godzilla chasing a train across the bridges and canyons of Goldstream Provincial Park, passing through the magnificent scenery between Parksville and Duncan.

The temperature in Vancouver in January does not exceed 7 degrees, yet the young director was still wearing his perennial casual suit, walking toward the set with a steady, dashing, and unrestrained gait.

He had dispatched A-Fei to find Sun Wenwen to handle matters related to naturalization; such a task could only be entrusted to him.

The Olympic controversy in the mainland could be considered over, and although everything had calmed down, it was still best for Sun Wenwen to keep a low profile for a period of time.

Vancouver Island had experienced wind and rain the previous night; Lu Kuan walked leisurely along the trail by the island toward the set, stepping on the desolate fallen leaves covering the ground.

Among a crowd of hairy and portly white men, the young director’s elegant and handsome appearance stood out, his gait containing a restrained, subtle brilliance.

If Zhou Xun were here at this moment, she would surely recall the scene from many years ago when she first saw him wearing an indigo Daoist robe.

With a refined, immortal-like bone structure and a crane-feather cloak floating in the void, he possessed an otherworldly aura.

*Aftershock* was currently a hit, and many Chinese people along the way recognized this young director and requested autographs and photos.

In the North American film market, for foreign films like *Aftershock*, the Chinese are always the main audience.

Boss Lu turned a corner and saw a Chinese girl jogging more than ten meters ahead, followed by a sturdy female bodyguard.

"Lan Yue! Lan Yue!"

"Xixi, I love your food show! When are you filming the second episode?"

"Can you make some Cantonese or Fujian dishes? You're so talented, Xixi!"

Liu Yifei was intercepted by a group of Chinese fans; judging by their voices, they were fans developed from *Exotic* and Mytube.

Little Liu smiled and agreed to their many requests, but then she looked up unexpectedly and saw that figure engraved in her soul.

She froze for a brief moment, then immediately turned around with an expressionless face and walked toward the set.

Boss Lu scratched his head helplessly and coughed twice, resolving the small awkwardness himself.

Fortunately, this wasn't filming a movie, and life didn't have that many spectators.

The young director hurried to catch up: "Little Liu!"

Mia raised a hand to stop him from getting closer, looking him up and down: "Stop, sir, please maintain a safe social distance."

The young director was intimidated by her physique and made no overstepping moves, only smiling: "I am the boss of the *Exotic 2* crew, practically her boss."

"Don't you recognize me?"

"No, and it has nothing to do with me; I am only responsible for protecting her."

Mia asked Liu Yifei, who was watching coldly from the side: "Crystal, do you know him?"

"I don't."

"Sorry, sir, please stop."

Boss Lu spread his hands and took out his phone to press a few keys; Mia soon heard the ringtone coming from her employer.

"I wasn't lying, was I?"

Seeing her employer silence the ringtone and continue walking forward, Mia turned around without hesitation.

The young director teased: "Little Liu, why have your legs gotten a bit thicker again?"

Liu Yifei, five meters away, stopped abruptly, gritting her teeth with her back to him, but when she turned around, her face remained indifferent.

However, Mia, who had been accompanying her for morning exercise for so long, could still feel the murderous aura on the young girl.

"Mia, you go in first, I'll be there in a moment."

"You... okay, no problem."

Liu Yifei looked up at the unrestrained and casual Boss Lu, who still wore his signature lazy smile, and her small fists clenched tighter and tighter.

Logically speaking, watching a young beauty walk toward him with a fragrant breeze and graceful steps should be a rather enjoyable thing for a young director.

Especially a femme fatale of Little Liu's level; he could completely analyze and appreciate her from the perspective of an artist admiring beauty.

However...

Looking at the young girl he hadn't seen in four months, what was the meaning of the increasingly fierce expression as she got closer?

And this Grotowski-style tensed back and tiptoed front foot preparation stance.

This was what he taught her; this is for training an actor's explosive power! What are you trying to do?

There is an old Chinese saying: those who understand the times are heroes.

The Berlin Film Festival Best Actor's emotional transition was very natural, his face full of admiration: "Little Liu! You are so beautiful even without makeup? Truly incredible."

"Look at this excellent bone structure, high nose bridge, and oval face; do you know, in *The History of Venus Art*, this is called facial symmetry and a sense of the divine."

The young girl stopped in front of him, interrupting this hypocritical, rambling talk.

"What did you just say? What got thicker?"

Boss Lu spread his hands: "Nothing, I said..."

When a scholar meets a soldier, reason is hard to explain.

Little Liu could never control her emotions in front of him; she glared fiercely at the young director, old grudges and new hatreds surging in her heart.

She bit her lower lip and, without hesitation, swung her fist into his chest with a heavy blow, then drifted away gracefully, looking like a gentle and quiet young lady once again.

"Hiss..."

"Whew..."

The interjections sounded like he had downed four taels of liquor in one breath while socializing.

But the truth was that Boss Lu was clutching his left chest, unable to catch his breath for a moment.

Why does this little girl hit so hard now!

If she were to unleash a combo of a "swallow returning to the forest" plus a coquettish punch, wouldn't she beat a man into a second-degree disability and myasthenia gravis?

I let you play Lan Yue in *Exotic 2*, why are you playing Lucy from *Lucy*?

The young director regretted it, thinking what danger could there be in strolling around the set today, so he sent A-Fei away to handle things for Sun Wenwen.

Damn it, before the normalization of relations between the two countries, encountering her requires Level 1 combat readiness!

A-Fei: I am not responsible for domestic violence.

This punch hurt him physically, but felt good to her.

If she were a cultivator, the power of this single punch would already be enough to break through a realm.

"Xixi, what are you giggling about? Where is Little Lu?"

Liu Xiaoli walked over; hearing from Mia that her daughter was talking to a young Asian man outside the studio, she came over specifically to check.

Liu Yifei barely suppressed the corners of her mouth and returned to her youthful, lively self: "I don't know, I'm going to get my makeup done."

"Liu Ayi?"

Liu Xiaoli turned back to see a handsome young man walking in while clutching his chest; his movements didn't look like the "Xi Shi clutching her heart," but rather like he had been struck by a Black Tiger's heart-piercing blow.

"Little Lu, I'm really sorry about that day; Xixi said she felt dizzy after filming an action scene, so we couldn't make it."

Little Liu's mother didn't have any ill feelings toward him; she had suffered the pains of love herself and knew how it was.

Sometimes, when she woke from a dream at midnight and recalled the scene at the birthday banquet, she would just spit out a curse about "ill-fated karma" and leave it at that.

For Liu Xiaoli, the bottom line was protecting her daughter from being taken advantage of.

It was just as well that she hadn't seen that scene just now, otherwise, someone else would need protecting.

Lu Kuan smiled: "It's fine, are you getting used to life here during this time?"

"Very well, very well, especially this Mia, she's really good."

Liu Xiaoli walked inside with him: "Chicago is indeed quite chaotic; it's safer to have a bodyguard."

"I heard from Lin Yi that the movie will wrap up this week? Are you and Little Liu going back to the country for the New Year?"

The 29th of the solar calendar is the Lunar New Year, with twenty-some days left.

"Zhang Chunru said she invited us to Champaign to spend the New Year together, so we won't be going back this year; Xixi still has school."

"Good, I'll go see her in a while too."

Having not seen each other for months, Liu Xiaoli chatted with Lu Kuan for a long time, until Lin Yi came over with a smile to greet him and asked him to guide the camera and lighting.

Looking at the young director's handsome and upright back, the mother felt that sigh arise in her heart for the countless time.

Little Lu is a good kid in every way, it's just that...

At nine in the morning, the filming of *Exotic 2* officially began; Lin Yi asked Boss Lu to take charge of the monitor, but was refused.

"This is your movie, film it with confidence."

He pulled up a director's chair and sat on the sidelines, wearing sunglasses while watching Liu Yifei and the others on set.

Little Liu had just finished her makeup and styling, dressed in cotton armor and a gauze skirt, with a black hairband simply tying up a high ponytail; her waterfall-like raven hair swayed slightly as she moved, like a piece of refined black silk.

The first scene of the morning was an action sequence of Lan Yue fighting a mysterious organization alone.

The camera gave a close-up of Liu Yifei's face before the fight; her skin was whiter than snow, elegant and serene.

Within her beauty, there was a heroic spirit; she was truly as beautiful as plum blossoms blooming in snow, and her spirit like autumn orchids draped in frost.

Only the thin silver sword in her hand had a chilling gleam, making Boss Lu unable to help but reach out to soothe his injured left chest again.

Liu Yifei's styling in *Exotic 2* was more orientalized compared to the previous installment.

In the previous film, her martial arts styling was more modern, with conventional tight leather suits and special agent uniforms, mainly considering the international market and audience.

But with the fans accumulated from *Exotic*, the crew had made improvements in the character styling and scene layout for the sequel with an oriental stylistic flair.

For example, in this fight scene today, Western directors like Quentin would usually arrange a Lucy Liu-style makeup.

The makeup style emphasizes the eye area, using exaggerated eyeliner and thick eyelashes to make the eyes more three-dimensional and mysterious.

They would even deliberately borrow elements from oriental opera makeup, elongating the eye shape to add an exotic flair.

But for the several outfits of Liu Yifei in *Exotic 2*, under Lu Kuan's requirements, they abandoned the conventional design of oriental faces with Western makeup.

Based on the features of Liu Yifei’s face and bone structure, a simple hairstyle with a high ponytail and a bun was adopted, giving a sense of capability.

At the same time, it can highlight the elegant lines of her neck, adding a touch of feminine softness and resilience.

The color contrast was emphasized slightly; for instance, in this sword dance scene amidst the red sands, the strong color coordination has a greater visual impact, fitting the Hollywood film industry's pursuit of visual effects.

There are many types of directors; a director with a high level of artistic attainment who has the ability to fully examine works and characters is capable of maximizing the prominence of an actor's features in front of the lens.

This is the same principle as painting.

Lin Yi watched the dashing and heroic posture of the sword-dancing woman on set and praised: "Director Lu, Yifei should have no rivals on this acting path anymore."

"The sets of looks you formulated and the action choreography designed by Director Yuan are simply too perfect for her."

Lu Kuan laughed: "I also found the inspiration from the feedback on her Mytube account."

"Nowadays, the faces of female action stars in Hollywood are all cookie-cutter sexy and cold agents, lacking any distinctiveness."

"North American audiences do not resist this kind of exotic styling; compared to the monotonous, glamorous, and seductive look, this kind of subtle charm is the most moving."

On the monitor, a stunt double lunged from the side, the cold light of the dagger in their hand flashing; Liu Yifei’s willow-leaf eyebrows arched, her beautiful eyes widened, and a flash of determination crossed her gaze.

She tapped her feet lightly, her body drifting backward with agility to dodge the fierce strike; the moment she arched her back, the leather armor on her slender waist tightened—this was a shot full of flexibility and the beauty of strength.

The handheld camera followed; Liu Yifei immediately spun again, closing in on the thug like a whirlwind, her right fist clenched, striking swiftly with the force of the "Heart-Piercing Elbow" from Baji Quan, and the stunt double fell to the ground in response.

Lin Yi raised his walkie-talkie: "Cut! That's a wrap."

The atmosphere on set was great, and the fight was indeed beautiful; everyone did not hesitate to offer their applause.

Lu Kuan had a mind to tease Liu Yifei, so he thought of an excuse to instruct the Chinese-American director: "Do you want to know how I designed her look and styling route?"

"Call Liu Yifei over; I’ll teach you how to film her."

Lin Yi’s eyes lit up, and without doubting him, he thought it was another opportunity to learn a skill!

"Crystal, come take a look at the performance just now; it was great."

Liu Yifei walked over with a calm expression, treating Lu Kuan, who was standing to the side with his arms crossed, as if he were invisible.

She watched the two-minute scene just now and smiled at Lin Yi: "It could feel even better; the sand under my feet was a bit slippery when I arched my back, and the movement stalled."

"It was already very good." Lin Yi gave a thumbs-up, then immediately looked at the young director: "Director Lu, could you please trouble yourself to explain the filming method for a few of Yifei’s shots?"

Lu Kuan unhurriedly took off his sunglasses: "Sure."

"Yi, you have to remember, filming actresses is the hardest; it’s just like painting. You have to know the strengths and weaknesses of her face to play to her strengths and avoid her weaknesses."

He leaned in close to Liu Yifei, using the pretext of serious directorial instruction, and looked down at her tense, pretty face.

"For example..."

Liu Yifei watched Lu Kuan’s unscrupulous gaze wandering over her face, suppressed the urge to punch him, and felt secret resentment in her heart.

She knew he was going to be sharp-tongued again, nitpicking at her face!

Lu Kuan changed the subject: "Take Zhang Manyu for example; she isn't a traditional beauty. How was she filmed in *In the Mood for Love*?"

"Through the use of light, shadow, and color, they highlighted her cheekbone lines, emphasized makeup with high-saturation colors and rhythmic lines, and had her wear various unique, out-of-print cheongsams, magnifying her femininity and revealing a unique charm."

"And Wang Fei in *Chungking Express*."

"Her own round, big eyes, small and short nose, and smooth, firm, fleshy cheeks possess a unique sense of childishness. Wang Jiawei filmed this character with distinctiveness through unconventional makeup combinations, short hair, and bright colors."

Lu Kuan’s professional critique not only made Lin Yi listen intently, but even Liu Yifei herself felt a faint sense of anticipation.

How would he film her?

He couldn't possibly go against his conscience and say her face was completely worthless!

"Mr. Lu!"

Two Chinese-American faces walked onto the set and greeted Lu Kuan from afar; they were Chen Shijun and Huang Anna.

It seemed the negotiations with Google had reached a result.

The young director unhurriedly put on his sunglasses and told Lin Yi he was going to listen to the battle report, when suddenly his sleeve was tugged by the expressionless Liu Yifei.

"Why stop halfway through? Finish what you were saying before you go."

"Ouch, no, it hurts, it hurts." Lu Kuan pretended to clutch his left chest: "Liu Yifei, I have business to attend to; invite me to dinner tonight, and we can discuss it in detail then!"

"Hmph!"

Liu Yifei rolled her eyes at him and turned to leave, looking indignant.

Having rediscovered the long-lost joy of teasing Liu Yifei, Lu Kuan walked to the side with a pleasant mood to talk with Chen Shijun and Huang Anna.

"Mr. Lu, Deng Wendi and MySpace have raised the price to 2 billion; what do you think?"

"No need to pay attention to it. Deng Wendi has called several times, and I haven't answered; just reply with a refusal according to standard procedure."

Huang Anna smiled bitterly: "Deng Wendi is very persistent; she is probably already on a plane. She insists on seeing you."

"Let her be."

The set was crowded with people, so Lu Kuan called the team together to an office at the Vancouver Island management center.

This place had been rented by the *Elysium 2* crew to be used as a makeup room and prop room.

Chen Shijun reported the final negotiation results: "Schmidt, representing Google, finally agreed to the acquisition price of 2.3 billion, proposing to use all Google stock, or a combination of cash and stock not exceeding 1.2 billion USD."

"The details regarding our request for shares in the Android company are still being discussed; there shouldn't be any major problems."

To be honest, neither Chen Shijun nor Huang Anna quite understood his persistence regarding having a say in the Android system.

But for Lu Kuan, this deal with Google was of great significance.

The infiltration into the future hegemon of the mobile internet era's operating system was naturally one aspect.

The timing of receiving this huge sum of 1.2 billion USD was also just right.

Time had entered 2006, and the US subprime mortgage crisis had already begun to emerge.

In later generations, John Paulson raised less than 200 million USD in July 2006 to build positions for the first fund used to short CDOs (Collateralized Debt Obligations), designing a fund operating model that simultaneously shorted dangerous CDOs while acquiring cheap CDS (Credit Default Swaps).

By the end of 2006, this fund had already appreciated by 20%.

During the entire subprime mortgage crisis from 2007 to 2008, the short-selling funds Paulson gathered from various sources profited about 20 billion USD, with his personal income reaching nearly 6 billion USD.

Not to mention the continued outbreak of the Great Crisis in 2008, where he continued to open his bloody maw in the subprime market to seize huge profits.

Completely reinventing himself, the "Gunman Fund," which had already designed complex cross-shareholdings through offshore companies, would be led by Falina and Huang Anna, representing his will to join Paulson’s "Big Short." This huge profit was the key "living water" for Wenjie to continue implementing its macro film industry chain both domestically and abroad in the future.

Such as the development of national cinema chains and even cinema real estate;

The acquisition of film companies in the North American market;

The investment and acquisition of streaming media companies like Netflix and Blockbuster;

The future development of Wenjie film cities, theme parks, and supporting real estate projects.

These heavy-asset operation projects could not be achieved without a foundation of huge cash and a reasonably scaled debt.

"That's fine; you and Mike Suoluomen can take the cash, just swap the shares to me."

At the beginning of MyTube’s startup, Chen Shijun and Mike Suoluomen each held 5% of the original shares, and more than two hundred key technical personnel in the team shared 10% to incentivize the employees' passion for startup struggles.

This "fast-track" internet startup and sell-off, which lasted less than two years, turned Chen Shijun and the others into billionaires overnight, strengthening their loyalty to Lu Kuan.

As for Huang Anna, she was the management talent responsible for coordinating the Gunman Fund and Wenjie (USA), and would be deeply tied to the interests through other shareholding models.

"By the way, how is the team sounding out going?"

Chen Shijun laughed: "Everyone is very willing to continue following the company to do new internet products, they just don't know what they are."

A few months before preparing to sell to Google, Lu Kuan had instructed Chen Shijun, Huang Anna, and others to try their best to keep the people, and also asked the former to poach more talent from American blog sites.

After the memorandum of understanding was signed, the internal startup team at MyTube was very excited; such a rise and payout in such a short time could be considered a small miracle even in the United States.

As for the new owner, Google, Larry Page and Schmidt always conducted secondary interviews for acquired companies, and the compensation issues were unclear.

Under these circumstances, according to Lu Kuan’s plan, pulling the core team to start something new was a logical next step.

Since the situation was already clear, Lu Kuan didn't mind revealing it to them in advance to establish the next goal.

"Knock knock!"

Liu Xiaoli knocked and entered, followed by a few crew members.

"Lunchtime is here; shall everyone take a break?"

"I still have some cured goods brought from home; you all can just try them together."

Liu Xiaoli was originally from the Northeast and later lived in Wuhan; both places had the habit of curing meat in winter.

Everyone’s appetite was whetted as they looked at the soy-sauce duck, cured meat, and other foods laid out on the table.

Huang Anna laughed: "Last time Steven said he had a big meal at Ms. Liu’s house; it seems he wasn't lying to me."

"Hehe, that was made by that girl Xixi; in the end, there wasn't enough to eat, so the hospitality was lacking."

Chen Shijun’s expression was exaggerated: "If I were lucky enough to taste it again, that would be great. I now regret my grandfather’s decision to immigrate to North America in the last century."

Everyone burst into laughter. Liu Xiaoli was not considered an outsider, so Lu Kuan continued to discuss the topic of the next internet product while eating with the team.

"If we can reach an agreement this week, we can first bring the team to Vancouver for a vacation and chat together."

Chen Shijun really couldn't suppress the curiosity in his heart: "Mr. Lu, what exactly are you planning to do?"

"Microblog." Lu Kuan chewed a piece of cured meat carefully and nonchalantly; it was a pity there was no rice.

"Micro... blog?"

Chen Shijun savored the word; clearly, the meaning of this product was as simple and clear as the literal translation.

Lu Kuan explained briefly: "Most of the social software in North America now consists of social networking sites, mainly MySpace, and the niche ones are Facebook and Flickr."

"We still have to take a different path like we did with MyTube, find a new track, build a social platform, and break the model of acquaintance-based social networking."

Huang Anna frowned in thought, as if she felt the Weibo he described was somewhat... familiar?

"So-called acquaintance-based social networking sites are like MySpace and Facebook, where people who know each other communicate and interact in a community."

"Blogs are open social platforms, but they are too long and cumbersome, not suitable for convenient, fragmented internet social modes."

Lu Kuan guided them step by step: "Let me give you an example: today I came to the *Elysium 2* set to visit, and I saw Crystal and Leo, and I want to share it with netizens."

"If it were MySpace or Facebook, only my friends could see it, and it would have to be operated on a computer."

"Although blogs belong to the category of social networking with strangers, most of the top-tier accounts on blogs are held by people with a certain level of knowledge, and there is a sense of boundary between them and the general public."

"But what if it were Weibo? I could publish updates with a single text message, and perhaps in the future, I might even be able to snap a photo and upload it to the website to share."

The young director spoke eloquently while cutting his steak, possessing a certain smoothness as if he were sitting and discussing the Dao.

This was the confidence given to him by the 2.3 billion dollar buyout price of YouTube, allowing him to throw himself into the next internet trend with his capital and team without hesitation.

It’s just that...

When he looked up again, he saw Liu Yifei and Chen Shijun both looking at him with complex expressions, their brows tightly furrowed.

"What's wrong?"

"Mr. Lu... what you mentioned, it seems it already exists on the market," Chen Shijun said awkwardly.

Liu Yifei added: "It’s been online for almost three months... it’s developing quite well, and I’m a user too."

The young director put down his knife and fork in confusion; this not-so-optimistic news seemed to make the mellow cured meat in his mouth taste a bit salty.

"Twitter?"

Chen Shijun nodded: "Yes! Have you been following it too, Mr. Lu?"

Mr. Lu’s brows furrowed even deeper.

It didn’t surprise him that it was Twitter, nor did it surprise him that Twitter was born a few months early; with the different circumstances of all things, it was normal for there to be some differences in details between the two lives.

But in the later generations, Twitter was software used by a few entrepreneurs within Odeo; how did it become accessible to the entire web right from the start in this life?

"Mr. Lu?" Liu Yifei interrupted his deep thought.

Lu Kuan came back to his senses: "Oh, yes, I’ve heard of it, I suppose."

"Twitter... how is it developing now?"

If it were in the initial, arduous stage of development, there would be no need to worry about it; he could just start a new stove, using the big stick of money combined with targeted marketing strategies to crush it directly.

But if it had already reached a certain scale, discussing an acquisition would obviously be more cost-effective.

Liu Yifei introduced: "Nearly 300,000 registered users, but the compound growth over these past few months has been very fast."

"Like Mytube, they also utilized topic marketing for *Twilight*; this book has occupied the top spot on the bestseller list for eight consecutive weeks."

"Oh, right! Crystal and Leonardo also helped promote it, but this company doesn't seem to have more celebrity resources, otherwise, it would likely have grown even more rapidly."

Liu Yifei and Chen Shijun were both considered industry insiders, so they naturally noticed this up-and-coming star that had previously been unknown.

It’s just that, firstly, they naturally didn’t know the significance of Weibo as a future trend;

Secondly, for these past two months, the entire Mytube had been focused on negotiations with various acquirers and how to continue growing the user count to increase their buyout capital.

There were too many entrepreneurs across America performing one after another every day, week, and month; it was not strange that they hadn't focused on it.

Lu Kuan felt suspicious in his heart; how did this matter get tangled up with Liu Yifei again?

He came back to his senses: "What is the boss's name? Get in touch and let's have a chat about an acquisition."

"Lily."

"Lily? The boss is a woman?"

The leadership team of Mytube was focused on their discussion, and no one noticed the expression on Liu Xiao’s face in the conference room as if she had seen a ghost...

Mr. Lu also felt like he had seen a ghost; the founders of Twitter had all sorts of palace intrigues in the later generations, and he remembered the names of a few of them roughly.

Where did this Lily pop out from?

Is the world line of this life a bit too chaotic?

The atmosphere in the office was dull, and everyone remained silent as they watched their Chinese boss lost in thought.

Liu Xiao silently packed up the lunch box she had brought; the old mother’s mind was spinning rapidly, as this was also her first time encountering such an absurd thing under heaven!

What kind of thing is that girl Xixi tinkering with?

Why does it sound... like she copied Lu Kuan’s own path?

Liu Yifei went out to make a call and returned shortly after: "It’s set, we’ll talk in detail at the Rosewood Hotel in Vancouver tonight."

Mr. Lu nodded slowly, wanting to say something but holding it back for the moment, signaling for them to go ahead and busy themselves with the Google acquisition.

A strange and absurd feeling welled up in his heart; no matter how he thought about it, it felt wrong.

Re-combing through the various clues from the beginning, it was difficult to find the loose thread to break the situation among the thousands of tangled ones.

"The one who started it, does he have no descendants?"

Perhaps in this life, many of those whose fortunes were snatched away by him felt the same way.

It’s just that times have changed, and through a twist of fate, he was being outmaneuvered by little Liu, whom he had cultivated with his own hands.

Things seemed to be developing in a very interesting direction.

"Little Lu, actually, I..."

Mr. Lu came back to his senses, only then realizing that Liu Xiao was still in the conference room.

The young director smiled: "Auntie Liu, thank you for the extra food, it was delicious."

Seeing his tightly furrowed brows, Liu Xiao wanted to tell the truth, but when the words reached her lips, she didn't know how to say them.

"Then I’ll head back first; if you want to eat, I’ll bring you more. Xixi’s aunt sent it from back home."

Mr. Lu stood up: "Oh, okay, then I won't see you out."

"No need, no need, you go about your business." Liu Xiao felt very awkward inside, waved at him, and walked out the door.

Lu Kuan had no heart to continue watching little Liu film; he returned to the Rosewood Hotel in the city and opened his computer to search for Twitter.

It was the familiar interface from his past life, only various UI and detailed functions were not yet fully perfected.

How come there are forwarding, liking, and image functions?

These are all functions of domestic blog sites!

This is truly strange!

Just as the young director was puzzled, the phone rang; it was a call from Han Han.

"Mr. Han?"

"Little Lu, there’s something I need to tell you immediately."

Old Han’s tone was serious: "Recently, Chen Kaige and Lu Chuan, father and son, have been colluding intensely, intending to make a joint statement in the industry; I’m afraid it’s unfavorable for you."

Mr. Lu asked curiously with a smile: "What could they possibly say about me?"

"That Hu Ge from *The Steamed Bun* accepted an interview and told the truth; he doesn't know who instigated it at all, so this dirty water can't be splashed on me."

"As for his *The Promise* being returned, I can consider myself a vested interest, so let them say whatever they want."

The commotion this group of people made was so large that industry insiders, from directors to actors, had long since been alerted, and someone had already tipped him off.

It’s just that Mr. Lu knew there was a Japanese right-winger behind it, and he wanted to see what other tricks they could pull.

Hearing his calm and composed tone, Old Han knew this person had everything under control; thinking about it, it was indeed true, but he still cautioned him out of concern.

"Right now, the leaders are considering candidates for various positions in the Olympic creative group; you should continue to keep a low profile like you did a while ago."

"Don't give the leaders the impression that you are arrogant and conceited."

This was Old Han’s prudent advice for the state, and Mr. Lu gladly followed it.

In this matter, Chen Kaige was stupid out of desperation, but with Lu Chuan and his father getting involved, it was a bit malicious with a cause, wasn't it?

He had sufficient reason to suspect it was related to Gexi Xiong; the latter could also be considered a person with an eye for talent, picking the right one with a biased stance.

——

The next day, at the Fairmont Hotel in downtown Vancouver, this was where Liu Xiao and her daughter were staying during their filming.

Since finishing her scenes at five o'clock, little Liu had been sitting in front of the vanity mirror drawing her eyebrows and eyes, an unprecedented occurrence, even using a curling iron.

"Xixi, are you really going to negotiate with Little Lu?"

"Yes, why not?"

The young girl held the Tom Ford No. 16 matte red lipstick, gently bringing it close to her lips, starting from the corners and applying it meticulously, bit by bit.

"Mom, help me draw my eyebrows."

Liu Xiao was speechless: "How should I draw them?"

Little Liu raised her brows: "Draw them thicker, a style with strong aggression!"

Good heavens, not enough confidence, so make up for it with makeup.

Except for filming and public appearances, Liu Yifei, who had been makeup-free for over half a year, seemed to want to finish a lifetime’s worth of makeup in one go today.

She opened her eyeshadow palette, dipped her fingertip into a bit of light beige eyeshadow, and gently applied it to her eyelids as a base.

Then she chose a touch of light brown eyeshadow and slowly blended it out along the corners of her eyes.

Watching her daughter tirelessly pick up the mascara and start brushing her lashes with her eyes half-closed, Liu Xiao thought to herself, is this what you call going to negotiate?

This isn't strong aggression; you’re walking right into the tiger’s den!

"Xixi, should Mom go with you?"

"Okay."

Liu Xiao felt slightly relieved, but she didn't think for a second that her daughter could gain any advantage in this negotiation.

The gap in strength between the two sides was simply too vast.

Facing Lu Kuan, with her daughter’s current comprehensive strength, she would either have to use force to kill him or use this face to make him die of beauty...

In terms of other skills, Xixi really had no chance of survival in this battle!

At 6:15 in the evening, the temperature in Vancouver in the Northern Hemisphere was only a few degrees; Liu Xiao and her daughter arrived at the Rosewood Hotel in the city by car.

The young girl took off her coat and handed it to Liu Xiao: "Mom, I’ll go in alone later; you wait for me outside."

"Mm, have a good talk, Xixi, don't throw a temper tantrum."

Little Liu hugged her arm: "The one who might throw a tantrum isn't necessarily me, you know."

Various past events flooded her mind, and Liu Yifei gritted her teeth: "Today, even if I have to go all out, I’m going to make someone else throw a tantrum and lose their composure for once!"

The ideal is beautiful, but it is unknown whether reality will go as she wishes.

The man who is making the young lady gnash her teeth in hatred is sitting in the hotel's high-end reception hall drinking coffee, with a research report on Twitter in his hands.

He checked the time on his phone, preparing to settle things quickly.

Deng Wendi is still on her way; although he has already decided to sell himself to Google, this persistent she-wolf still needs to be properly dealt with.

"Knock, knock!"

Before he could say "come in," he looked up and saw a Chinese girl push the door open and enter, without the slightest intention of being polite.

She wore a semi-formal black slim-fit women's suit with a white shirt underneath, the collar slightly open, revealing a small patch of skin like congealed fat.

Seemingly wanting to counter his comment from the morning about her thick legs, the crease of Liu Yifei's suit trousers extended from her waist all the way to her ankles, making her thighs look well-proportioned and her calves slender and straight.

Her well-trained figure was capable and dashing, and the flaming red lipstick on her pretty face had a great effect of making her look more mature.

Lu Kuan was stunned by the gorgeously dressed Liu Yifei for a moment, a thought flashing through his mind that she might be Lily, but he felt the guess was absurd.

The young director was as calm as ever: "Little Liu, why did you come over?"

"I asked you to have dinner with me yesterday, but you broke your promise, didn't you?"

Looking at his lazy expression, it was hard for Liu Yifei not to associate it with the birthday banquet and everything that had happened over these past few years.

He always had this indifferent expression, as if he had everything under control.

The young lady really wanted to see him lose his composure once: "Who paid attention to you yesterday? As long as you don't break your promise today, that's fine; there's a good show to watch today."

Lu Kuan's expression paused, and he asked suspiciously: "Are you Lily?"

Liu Yifei smiled: "Of course not."

He let out a long sigh of relief.

"My mom is Lily."

Visibly, the expression of the young director sitting opposite her froze.

Liu Xiaoli, Lily...

What the hell!

Liu Yifei rested her chin on her hands, her phoenix eyes unscrupulously admiring his suddenly changing expression.

Her eyelashes, specially lengthened and curled today, fluttered like butterfly wings, as she didn't want to miss a single frame of his surprise or furrowed brows.

Although it hadn't reached the point of him losing his composure or poise as she had imagined, it was enough for her to secretly enjoy for a long time.

Lu Kuan's brain was of the type that found endless joy in fighting with people; recalling Liu Xiaoli's strange expression in the office at noon, he instantly understood everything.

"Hiss..."

"Whew..."

Seeing the little Mulan opposite him looking at him with a playful expression, it was clear that today would be a negotiation mixed with personal feelings that would be impossible to untangle.

He unconsciously touched his left chest.

He only felt the muscle that had been bruised purple by Liu Yifei yesterday throbbing with pain.

(End of chapter)