Chapter 348: Album

"A major earthquake? What does that have to do with you guys in the director circle?" Luo Mo listened to Guan Fei's words and couldn't help but ask.

"What do you mean 'you guys in the director circle'? Aren't you a director now too?" Guan Fei retorted first.

"I just started, and besides, there's a group of people who don't acknowledge me, so at best I count as half a director," Luo Mo said.

"Heh! That's a bold thing to say, yet it's exactly you, this 'half a director,' who accomplished what other directors can't do in a lifetime," Guan Fei laughed.

"Are you talking about that group from the National Theatre of China, the National Team?" Luo Mo asked.

"Yeah, what else could it be?" Guan Fei said over the phone, "When you were a kid eating snacks like crispy noodles, did you ever collect cards?"

"I did," Luo Mo said.

"For many directors, casting is just like collecting cards."

"This group from the National Theatre of China is who many directors dream of working with; they are their dream cards!" Guan Fei said loudly, as if he were one of them himself.

Yes, he also envied Luo Mo.

Back when he was filming *Cat Demon*, if he could have had a lineup like this, many shortcomings could have been directly compensated for!

"What dream cards, you're giving me goosebumps," Luo Mo said, acting coy after getting the upper hand.

He knew very well that it was only because he was a new-generation director that he attracted such widespread envy.

If Zheng Guofeng were filming a drama, the lineup would be strong enough, and everyone would think it was normal.

But for this scene to happen to Luo Mo, it was not normal.

As everyone knows, this group of masters is very hard to invite.

Even with big productions and big investments, it doesn't work.

The reason is simple: many big productions mean big capital standing behind them, and then it becomes easy to be held hostage by that capital.

【Bringing capital into the crew】, 【changing scripts on the spot】, 【capital forcing people in】... these are just child's play.

Directors can't even resist, they're just puppets, let alone the actors.

Acting in such a crew is frustrating and stifling.

These people aren't young anymore, so why would they go and get bullied for no reason?

Are they tired of living and want to shorten their lives?

And from another perspective, they really don't need big productions or big investments to act.

After all... we aren't expensive!

The ones with high pay are that group of people; we are cheap.

Therefore, they pay more attention to other things. As long as other aspects are in place, small productions and small investments are better than those crews.

At the same time, a director is the highest authority in a crew.

Simply put, you have to know how to manage people.

Some actors are not meant to be managed by ordinary directors.

Admittedly, the current environment is such that many good actors have no roles to play because the people supported by capital aren't worthy of their acting.

However, this doesn't mean that directors don't yearn to work with them; everyone is just yielding to reality.

Luo Mo was able to attract them, apart from *Classic China* and the human connections and friendships accumulated during the stage play tours, also because the script and performance tension of *Nirvana in Fire* attracted them.

This drama has many famous scenes where they can show off their acting skills, allowing this group to fully display their talents.

Who doesn't like making money while having a great time working?

Luo Mo heard the endless envy in Guan Fei's tone and said with a smile, "How about it? Do you want to come back and be the 【Producer】?"

"For the sake of our past friendship, shall I keep this position for you?"

Hearing this, Guan Fei's heart started racing uncontrollably.

Yes, he was tempted.

"I'll consider it," he said, holding back.

It wasn't that Guan Fei was putting on airs, but because this was a favor; Luo Mo was bringing him into his own circle of connections.

At the same time, he also knew very well that his role as 【Producer】 was actually dispensable for the current Luo Mo.

If he still needed a 【Producer】 now, it would be best if it were a big shot of Zheng Guofeng's level.

And not him, Guan Fei.

Guan Fei smiled and said, "Now that you mention it, I actually remembered something."

"What?" Luo Mo asked.

"Earlier, didn't many people insist on saying that *Chinese Paladin* was filmed by me, and you just had your name attached?" Guan Fei said.

"Yeah! That really was a bargain for you. I did all the director's work, but you got half the credit," Luo Mo joked.

"I couldn't help it, I explained it more than ten times, it was useless!" Guan Fei said helplessly.

He continued, "But it's fine now. I want to see which blind person dares to question you, and which small director dares to talk behind your back!"

If Luo Mo really didn't have the skills, would the people from the National Theatre of China be willing to come?

Even if their private relationship was good, they wouldn't ruin the reputation of the National Theatre of China for personal reasons.

Luo Mo no longer needs other methods to prove himself, although he never thought about proving anything either.

The recognition of these veteran actors is the greatest proof.

It is a solid slap, delivered directly to the faces of those monsters and demons.

At the end of the call, Guan Fei expressed concern, saying, "The pressure is huge, right?"

Others only saw the brilliance of the current cast of *Nirvana in Fire*, and wouldn't care if Luo Mo was under filming pressure.

"No, not at all," Luo Mo said stubbornly.

"Follow me, and I'll take you to the top," he just said to Guan Fei.

……..

The initial preparations for *Nirvana in Fire* were proceeding in an orderly fashion; the efficiency was not particularly high, and it was even a bit sluggish.

This was not just a matter of casting; the 【Costume, Makeup, and Props】 were also very time-consuming.

The custom-making of costumes alone could not be completed in a single day, and one had to be willing to spend a large sum of money.

At the same time, the creation, decoration, and layout of many scenes were also time-consuming, costly, and labor-intensive.

Fortunately, the team under Luo Mo now tended to be mature, so he was not in a state of panic.

He himself happened to use this period of time to finish producing his second solo album.

"I can sing Naicha Lun's songs, but I cannot learn his habit of 'pigeon-ing' (delaying)," he thought with high awareness.

He had to have the same super-high awareness as web novel authors: "How can readers live without my updates!"

"How can life even go on!"

While busy, he would occasionally go online to look at some of the netizens' comments about *Nirvana in Fire*.

Nowadays, *Nirvana in Fire* could be described as being at the height of its popularity; it hadn't even started filming yet, but it was already red-hot.

On major platforms, the usage and reading volume of the entry for the three words *Nirvana in Fire* were terrifyingly high.

Every day, a large number of netizens were heatedly discussing this drama.

What Luo Mo found most interesting was that many people were calling out to him from afar, saying that he certainly wouldn't bear to write Xu Chujing to death, or perhaps he didn't dare to write Xu Chujing to death.

"Heh! You group of people really are..."

"——Brilliant!"

You bunch of silly girls, if I can't kill her with my blade, can't I kill myself?

I'll kill myself to liven things up for everyone.

……

……

On the other side, Cilong Entertainment.

Cilong's top Singer, Chen Luo, had already finished the production of his new album.

Many Singers, the more famous they become, the higher their status, and the more hit songs they have under their belt, the more they will reduce the frequency of releasing albums.

It might have been one a year in the past, but now it might be a few every several years.

It's not that I'm making excuses for Naicha Lun; at least Naicha Lun is always shouting empty words and knows to 'pigeon' a bit, while many Singers just silently forget about the whole business of releasing albums.

Chen Luo currently maintains a frequency of one album every 2-3 years, occasionally releasing singles.

After walking out of the recording studio, he only felt light and incomparably refreshed.

"This album won't be bad," he had an intuition.

His primary job was done; the next step was to discuss with the boss of Cilong and the Music Director Yuan Hewen when to release this album, and... how to release it!

In fact, the key here lies in: whether or not to go and clash with Luo Mo.

Wu Yuefeng was made to lose all face by Luo Mo and his status dropped; should he, as the company's top Singer, help him win back the ground?

The most important thing was that Xinyu was expanding too quickly in the music scene.

Chen Luo also held shares in Cilong, and a significant amount at that.

Among the four major companies, Cilong's main field was the music scene, and it had always been the Boss of the music scene.

The momentum of Xinyu and Luo Mo Studio was too fierce; if they didn't suppress them now, it would be very troublesome once they gained more of a foothold.

After Chen Luo left the recording studio, he took the elevator to a small conference room on the 19th floor.

The senior management of Cilong needed to hold a small meeting to finalize things.

The final result discussed was not to take the initiative to attack.

If they waited until Luo Mo Studio announced the release date of the new album and Chen Luo then took the initiative to challenge them, wouldn't that be Raising the Status of Luo Mo, putting him in the same position as a top Heavenly King and making him a formidable enemy in the eyes of a top Heavenly King?

It would be best to wait until Luo Mo Studio announced that the "album has been produced," and then they would estimate a time, try their luck, and be the first to finalize the release date and publicize it.

They must not let them determine the time first, otherwise they would be very passive.

In this way, if the release dates clashed, it would look like they were incidentally teaching Luo Mo a lesson.

Now, the Shuji Dang was approaching, which was naturally the most popular period, so the probability of a clash was high.

If they didn't clash, they could still have marketing accounts release articles saying that Luo Mo was afraid of the battle and delayed his album plan, and that he still held awe for Chen Luo.

——Subduing the enemy without fighting is the best strategy.

Two weeks later, Luo Mo Studio, as Cilong expected, announced to the public that Luo Mo's second solo album was basically finished.

It was very obvious that they were aiming for the summer period!

Chen Luo took the lead in determining the release date for his new album, setting it for July 19th.

"Everything is going according to plan."

On Luo Mo's side, he was currently having a meal with Xu Chujing.

Xu Chujing could roughly guess the tactics of Cilong and told Luo Mo about both scenarios.

She had competed against Cilong no fewer than five times; she was very familiar with them.

Upon hearing this, Luo Mo nodded and then suddenly said, "If I remember correctly, your last album lost to Chen Luo?"

"Yes, that was a few years ago," Xu Chujing said.

She hadn't released a new album for a long time, though she had been releasing singles one after another.

Xu Chujing glanced at Luo Mo and saw a smile appear on this man's face, looking at her with burning eyes as he said, "Then how about... I give it a try?"

(ps: Second update, asking for double monthly tickets.)

(End of chapter)