Chapter 81: Zhang Ruoyun Learns the Craft

"Director Lu, a pleasure to meet you. We meet again."

Liu Liu Yifei took the initiative to reach out, greeting him with great courtesy.

Lu Kuan set aside the misgivings in his heart; he would simply meet each move with a counter-move.

He very gentlemanly and lightly brushed his fingers against the middle-aged beauty's hand: "Liu Laoshi, are you here to visit the set?"

In her younger years, Liu Liu Yifei had also been a spirited girl from Beiping. She stated her purpose in a straightforward manner: "Director Lu, could I borrow a few minutes of your time?"

Lu Kuan gestured for her to continue. He hadn't expected Liu Liu Yifei to say something so startling: "Director Lu, I've come at the behest of my husband to find you. We wanted to see if this child might be able to get a role from you."

This was not said very politely. The *Whiplash* crew had already been working for nearly two weeks.

Even if you wanted to pull strings to stuff someone into the crew, no one would show up this long after filming had started, right?

Moreover, the interaction between people shouldn't have been so abrupt. The two of them had only met once at the Mengzhou Club; how could she really have the nerve to come straight to his door and make such a request?

Lu Kuan had the temper of a mule; he could change in an instant.

Whether Zhang Zhang Tianshuo was a big shot or not, if Boss Lu said he had a disaster coming this year, he wouldn't wait until next year!

Seeing that Liu Liu Yifei was so disregardful of the rules, his expression turned cold: "Liu Laoshi, the filming schedule is tight. You can wait here for a while first."

After saying this, he turned and walked away, not leaving a shred of face.

The chubby assistant to the side looked at Lu Kuan in surprise. She had heard some strange anecdotes about this young director, but she hadn't expected him to be this impolite.

She had just been admitted to the Communication University of China this year and served as the student union president of the School of Film and Television Arts. She had recommended herself to intern here with the illustrious Wang Wang Jinhua. (Note 1)

"Liu Laoshi, this..."

The chubby assistant wore short hair, and her eyeglass lenses were so thick they almost obscured her eyes.

Liu Liu Yifei laughed: "Yang Siwei, it's fine. Your boss is right; this person isn't very old, but his arrogance is truly not low."

Zhang Ruoyun looked at his stepmother, seemingly understanding yet not quite, and said with some anger: "You're too impolite! How can you talk like that? If it were me, I wouldn't be happy either."

Damn! He hadn't even spoken a word to his idol yet, and now he watched as his stepmother had offended the man. What kind of situation was this!

Liu Liu Yifei glanced at her stepson, who was only in his first year of high school but already taller than her, and said irritably: "What do you know? Isn't this trip all for you, you unlucky kid."

"Liu Laoshi, are we going back?"

Yang Yang Siwei had been sent by her superior, Wang Wang Jinhua, to help out today. She was a first-year student just starting her internship, but she was sharp, observant, and knew the industry.

This matter wasn't official business, so it wasn't suitable for others to tag along, which is why she had been specifically sent to follow Liu Liu Yifei and offer ideas.

Liu Liu Yifei laughed: "Go back? Why go back? We're going to stick with him today."

Having said that, she took her son and the assistant out of the building to the cafe at the Central Conservatory of Music, where they sat down and waited patiently.

The morning shoot went very smoothly. Lu Kuan was in a good mood. After eating a boxed lunch with Zhou Zhou Jielun and Feng Feng Yuanzheng, he finished his scenes and prepared to nap for a while. Just as he stepped out of the building, he saw the three people from the morning waiting for him at the entrance of the corridor.

Liu Liu Yifei acted as if the morning's friction hadn't existed, still smiling kindly: "Director Lu, I've been waiting for you for a long time. I've booked a table at a nearby restaurant. Shall we go eat something together?"

Lu Kuan was actually somewhat impressed by her ability to swallow her pride. His own face had been dragged through the dirt, yet she was still acting as if she were a virtuous person seeking talent, and was even clinging to him?

Fan Xian, with acne on his face, looked at him eagerly, and the chubby female assistant also seemed somewhat familiar. Lu Kuan knew in his heart that he wouldn't be able to dodge this today.

"Let's go!"

The place Liu Liu Yifei had booked was the Bo Run Hotel, which was outsourced by the Central Conservatory of Music.

It belonged to that type of place found in every university—slightly upscale but not particularly great. If you wanted to host someone and didn't want to go far, it was the only type of place available.

The few of them sat down in a private room. Liu Liu Yifei, very adept at handling things, handed the menu to Lu Kuan: "Director Lu, you order. We're fine with anything."

Arrogant at first and humble later—there must be a motive here.

You can't hit a smiling face. Lu Kuan's expression softened slightly: "Liu Nushi, you order. I've already eaten with the crew."

He placed the menu on the table and turned it toward her. Crossing his arms, he said bluntly: "Liu Nushi, just say what you have to say."

Liu Liu Yifei sighed inwardly. She hadn't intentionally looked down on this young director; she was just habitually relying on the influence of Zhang Cui Jian and the Beijing circle to probe, so as not to reveal her bottom line too early.

"Director Lu, I know your Wenjie Culture is looking for the adaptation rights from Yongyule."

Liu Liu Yifei spoke the truth directly.

Through the front desk, she knew that the trip to the club that day had been made using Tian Tian Zhuangzhuang's membership.

He had met with Tian Tian Zhuangzhuang and Zhang Cui Jian the first time he arrived at the venue, and his reaction that day didn't seem like someone who didn't know about her relationship with Zhang Cui Jian.

If she could probe Lu Kuan's true strength with a single sentence, making him understand the hidden meaning and take the initiative to lean toward her and the Beijing circle crowd behind her, she wouldn't need to spend so much effort, nor would she need to bring out Yongyule as a bargaining chip.

These old foxes who were used to mixing in circles, using influence to suppress others, and bluffing, had hearts that were too dirty.

How could she know that Boss Lu's heart was much dirtier than theirs, and that their methods of playing people—one by one, piece by piece—were all known to him like the back of his hand.

Wang Wang Jinhua's eyes were indeed very sharp; before coming, she had warned Liu Liu Yifei that this young director was not someone easy to deal with.

Although Lu Kuan hadn't had much contact with people in the mainstream entertainment circle, rumors about him were already rampant in the world.

This was mainly thanks to Emperor Group's "special favor" and Zhang Zhang Tianshuo's "self-sacrifice."

As well as the phenomenal traffic of the blog, which made the exchange of public opinion information at this time in 2002 even more rapid.

Lu Kuan was startled. He had instructed Sun Wenwen to inquire about the adaptation rights a few days ago, and it was only this morning that he received her report and learned of Yongyule's existence.

Was Liu Liu Yifei's information so well-informed? Or had she been watching him all along?

Liu Liu Yifei was such a worldly-wise person; since she had confirmed that Lu Kuan was someone not to be trifled with, she didn't want to bury a nail between the two of them.

"Director Lu, it's not that we are investigating you; this matter is just a coincidence."

"The boss of this Yongyule company is named Wang Yongle, and he's a gambler. He previously borrowed money from our Old Zhang and has been constantly pressed for repayment."

"Originally, he was going to mortgage his villa in Changping and other company assets to Old Zhang, but he's been stalling for the past two days."

Liu Liu Yifei laughed: "Isn't it a coincidence? Only after asking around did I find out it was your Wenjie Culture."

"Director Lu, look, how about this? I'll make the decision for the child's father. Don't worry about this adaptation right for now. I'll have Old Zhang take it at a low price, and I'll give it to you for whatever amount it offsets. We won't add a single cent of difference."

Lu Kuan understood. If it was put this way, everything made sense.

In later generations, this Yongyule had bought the adaptation rights in 2000 but never took any action, which was why they later reached a cooperation with Tangren.

It turned out to be the old cliché of a gambler whose family was ruined.

He glanced at Zhang Ruoyun, who was sitting upright to the side, picked up his teacup, took a sip of plain water, and asked leisurely: "Talk about your conditions."

Liu Liu Yifei was somewhat surprised. In her understanding, directors generally didn't talk like this.

The likes of Chen Kaige, whom she had been in contact with, were always high-minded; how could they talk about such vulgar things, and even discuss a deal directly, face-to-face?

Shouldn't a normal director brush his sleeves and walk out the door, ending with a line like: "Talk to my assistant."

Liu Liu Yifei recalled Wang Wang Jinhua's evaluation of Lu Kuan: not old, but with great ambition; he didn't have the background of a local tyrant, but he had the courage of a dragon crossing the river!

Note 1: Studying in the first year of high school at the Communication University of China in 2002. The reality is that she recommended herself to join Wang Wang Jinhua's team in her third year of university. Here, it is magically altered to her interning in her first year.

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(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 82 =====