Tang Tang was stunned. Yang Yizhou was a top-tier screenwriter, a world apart from someone as insignificant as her. And this industry giant was actually saying he wanted to compete fairly with her; she was so excited she was trembling.
Pei Ran remained calm and smiled, "I am deeply grateful for your kindness. I was just about to discuss this matter with you. I know you proposed the collaboration out of care and support for a junior like myself, which makes me both humbled and grateful. However, I was thinking that if a novice like myself performs poorly, wouldn't that ruin your reputation..."
These words were spoken very sincerely and tactfully, but no matter how sincere and tactful they were, they only conveyed one meaning—rejection.
Yang Yizhou stared wide-eyed in disbelief, then gave Director Xie an accusing look.
Director Xie: "..."
How did he know that his casual remark would actually come true? Is it his fault?
Tang Tang was prepared for Yang Yizhou to get angry and was ready to stand up and apologize at any time.
To everyone's surprise, Yang Yizhou pursed his lips, frowned, and finally asked in a pitiful tone, "Aren't you going to reconsider?"
The other three: "..."
Director Xie's eyes were filled with astonishment.
He knew Yang Yizhou was extremely arrogant. If anyone else had dared to refuse him like that, he would have stormed off on the spot and never worked with them again, perhaps even writing a satirical piece about them in his script. But this time, after being rejected for his eagerness to collaborate, he wasn't angry at all; instead, he played the victim?!
If it weren't for the inappropriate timing, Director Xie would have tested him to see if he was feverish and confused.
Yang Yizhou was also frustrated. He wasn't a masochist, but Pei Ran's personality was just to his liking. He didn't know why, but he felt an instant connection with this underage kid, as if he were under a spell.
He could only console himself that it must be Pei Ran's name that influenced him; after all, which filmmaker of his generation hadn't seen Pei Ran's movies?
Pei Ran hadn't expected Yang Yizhou to lower himself so much, and for a moment she didn't know how to respond.
Director Xie, seeing his old friends in such a pitiful state, felt a pang of sympathy and offered them a suggestion: "Why don't you let Yizhou and Xiao Tang write this script together?" He looked at Yang Yizhou and said, "I already told you to mentor some newcomers, so mentoring one more shouldn't be a big deal."
This was a win-win solution. Tang Tang hadn't expected to be able to work with her respected senior, so she immediately nodded, afraid that if she nodded too slowly she would miss this opportunity.
Pei Ran would naturally not refuse.
Yang Yizhou also came to his senses. He didn't mind co-writing with others, and he had chatted with Tang Tang when they joined the crew. He also admired Tang Tang, this junior colleague.
This makes everyone happy.
Director Xie laughed: "Such a great thing deserves a toast."
So the four of them raised their glasses and gently clinked them together in the air.
After finishing their drinks, Yang Yizhou couldn't wait any longer and said, "Let's talk about the script. What are your thoughts?"
Pei Ran then asked Tang Tang to speak and recount everything the two had discussed that afternoon.
As expected, Yang Yizhou was experienced and pointed out the problem incisively, so the three of them began a heated discussion at the dinner table.
Only Director Xie, an outsider, remained, eating his meal alone. After a long time, with no one paying him any attention, he couldn't help but say, "Yizhou..."
Yang Yizhou turned around blankly and blurted out, "Director Xie, you're still here?"
Director Xie: "..."
Yang Yizhou quickly coughed twice to cover up what he had just blurted out: "No, what I meant was, it's so late, you still have scenes to film tomorrow, you should go back and rest!"
Director Xie glared at Yang Yizhou, his fingers trembling: "You ungrateful bastard..."
Seeing this, Pei Ran quickly smoothed things over: "It is indeed a bit late. Why don't we go back first and talk more tomorrow?"
So the group got up, packed up the remaining food, and walked outside together.
On the way, Yang Yizhou and Pei Ran were still arguing about a plot point, neither of them able to convince the other. Tang Tang stood awkwardly to the side, raising both hands, unsure of what to say.
Just then, a figure suddenly darted past Tang Tang. Tang Tang was startled and, regaining her senses, screamed, "My bag!"
Pei Ran had already noticed the purse snatcher as soon as he approached.
Before the purse snatcher could run even five meters, a packet of soup hit him directly on the back of the head. He staggered, and before he could react, someone grabbed his collar, spun him around, and slammed him to the ground.
The purse snatcher was still dazed and instinctively threw the bag away, trying to escape. Little did he know that Pei Ran had anticipated this move. With a quick pull and tug, the purse snatcher let out a scream as his arm joints were dislocated.
Fortunately, the police station was not far away. After they reported the incident, the police arrived in less than ten minutes and took the person away.
Pei Ran clapped his hands lightly, then, as if remembering something, asked Yang Yizhou, "Teacher Yang, where were we?"
“We were just talking about…” Yang Yizhou swallowed hard, looking at Pei Ran’s smile, he said sincerely, “Oh… we were saying your suggestion was really good!”
☆, Chapter 161
While Shen Huai was still working hard to find a team for Pei Ran, he knew that Pei Ran had already found screenwriters, one of whom was Yang Yizhou, a top figure in the screenwriting world.
Shen Huai: "..."
Shen Huai glanced at the list in his hand and inexplicably felt a little ashamed.
Shen Huai rubbed his forehead. His artist was too amazing; sometimes it was a happy kind of trouble.
However, Shen Huai didn't dwell on it for too long. He scribbled on the list a few times, then took out his phone, pondering whether the addition of Yang Yizhou would allow him to upgrade the list.
When Mingwei suddenly learned of this, she didn't even flinch, after all, the artists under President Shen had already shocked her countless times.
Chu Meibo, a newcomer, beat out a host of top actresses in China to play the lead role in "Red Actress"; Xia Shiyu, who made a comeback and became an overnight sensation, even Mingwei is now following the trend and voting for her in her WeChat Moments; not to mention Ye Cang, the current pillar of Morning Star, who even managed to win over President Shen himself, and now he's getting Yang Yizhou to be his screenwriter, it doesn't seem like... too much.
Mingwei muttered to herself, but on the surface, she presented a smart and capable demeanor as she reported to Shen Huai.
Since the last press conference, Morningstar has been extremely busy, dealing with plans with the Music Association and the mess left by CETV.
Although Huayu Entertainment has cooled down, it's still a force to be reckoned with. Many of its singers have faced huge changes and haven't been able to find satisfactory new agencies. They've openly and secretly criticized Morningstar Entertainment countless times.
The current dire state of Huayu has evoked sympathy from many netizens, who have been swayed by the narrative to whitewash the company, claiming that "a big tree catches the wind and attracts jealousy" and "it's not necessary to drive such a large company to its knees because management is difficult."
As the company that directly opposed CETV Entertainment, Morningstar inevitably faced the most criticism and abuse.
Shen Huai let them run wild, since they wouldn't be able to keep it up for more than a few days anyway.
As he was thinking this, he remembered Xia Shiyu's case and was about to call Old Qi to arrange a meal and ask about the progress of the case.
But just as Shen Huai took out his phone, it rang.
The screen displayed the words "Uncle".