HuaYu: A Great Director Starting with Dream of the Red Chamber

Naza, her face flushed red, rushed to the bathroom like a rabbit.

Zhang Qiang also swayed as he pushed open the office door.

"Hey... what's wrong with that girl? She's acting like she's being chased by wolves."

Zhang Qiang touched his bald head, looked suspiciously at Nazha's somewhat flustered back, then turned to look at Li Yan, who was about to slump back onto the sofa:

"Did you bully her again?"

"What do you mean 'again'? Do you think I'm that kind of person?!"

Li Yan rolled her eyes, grabbed the book "The Grammar of Film Language" from earlier, and covered her face with it, trying to hide her embarrassment.

"But you, you didn't even knock before coming in. Don't you have any manners?"

"Hey, doesn't this look like my office?"

Zhang Qiang was amused and pointed to the four large characters "General Manager's Office" on the door sign:

"You still dare to be unreasonable? You have no manners towards your master, no respect for the law?!"

"So what?"

Li Yan stated confidently at the bottom of the book:

"Once Xiaoxiao comes back from Cannes, we'll divide up this office. I want the south-facing one! It gets so much sunlight!"

"Hehe... Why is your face so big? And you're facing south, I might as well give it all to you."

Zhang Qiang plopped down in the executive chair, too lazy to argue with him, and casually picked up the cigarette pack on the table and flicked out a cigarette.

"Alright, let's get serious. Have you heard anything from Xiaoxiao yet? It's so late, they should have their results by now."

At this year's GG Festival, Zhang Qiang was busy with the registration of "The Tuner" and couldn't get away, while Li Yan was too lazy to do anything, and most importantly, he didn't have the money...

Therefore, the important task of going to Cannes to receive the award naturally fell to Ding Xiaoxiao and Wang Hao.

This girl is a real tiger. She only speaks broken French with the words "Bonjour" and "Merci"... Yes, French, but her English is fluent! ... She dragged two big suitcases and charged over.

Wang Hao has the air of a returned overseas student, but unfortunately he's a quiet type. Li Yan always felt that in crucial moments, they would have to rely on Ding Xiaoxiao, this social butterfly.

"No, I'm waiting too... Oh, my phone."

Before Li Yan could finish speaking, his phone, which was lying on the coffee table, vibrated.

"Hurry up and answer it!"

Zhang Qiang was more impatient than him. He stubbed out his cigarette after taking two puffs and craned his neck to urge him on.

Li Yan slowly picked up her phone, deliberately waving it in front of Zhang Qiang's eyes so he could clearly see the three bright words "Ding Xiaoxiao," before leisurely pressing the answer button.

Zhang Qiang couldn't wait any longer. He pounced over, grabbed Li Yan's shoulder, and rudely brought his bald head close to the phone.

Li Yan pushed his big face away in disgust and pressed the speakerphone button.

"Hey, Xiaoxiao, what's wrong...?"

"Director! We won an award! We won an award!!!"

On the other end of the line, Ding Xiaoxiao's voice was practically shouting.

In the background, there were noisy cheers and congratulatory shouts from some unknown country. I could even faintly hear Wang Hao crying tears of joy… I don't know if I heard it correctly…

"It's a Silver Lion! The Silver Lion for Best Film/GG Award, it really is a Silver Lion! It's right here in my arms!!!"

"Great, that's wonderful!"

Zhang Qiang was so excited that he kept slamming his fist on the coffee table, making so much noise that Li Yan was afraid he would break the glass tabletop.

"Xiaoxiao, well done! When you get back, the boss will give you a big bonus, a really big one!"

After a burst of joy, he muttered something with a hint of sourness:

"That brat, she didn't even bother to call me first... I'm the boss, I'm the one who pays the salaries..."

Ding Xiaoxiao, who had very sharp ears, replied immediately on the other end of the phone: "That girl is so clever!"

"Hey boss, isn't this the director's phone number? It's easy to remember! Besides, roaming fees are ridiculously expensive. It doesn't matter who I call, the thought is what counts, right, boss?!"

"I'll bring you a gift when I get back—a genuine Louis Vuitton belt, a limited edition! It's guaranteed to suit your big boss image!"

Zhang Qiang, thoroughly pleased with himself, chuckled and scolded, "You're a girl with a conscience after all!"

After saying that, he winked at Li Yan, the meaning of which was very clear: You see, it's still me, the boss, who has the most face.

Li Yan was too lazy to deal with this childish brat. After the two of them finished their fuss, he instructed Xiao Xiao:

"Little one, as long as you're happy, please be careful!"

"It's very chaotic in Europe, especially when organizing events. If the trophy gets stolen, my senior brother will really sit on the ground and cry in front of you."

Even with so many security detailing, Kim Kardashian was robbed of millions of dollars at Paris Fashion Week; things aren't much better in Cannes right now.

He felt it was necessary to give this outspoken girl a heads-up.

"Don't worry, Boss, the trophy is right here in my arms. I'd rather lose myself than lose it! Bye, bye, I'm off to the party to see if there are any handsome French guys~ Bye-bye!"

"Okay, be careful!"

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Qiang rubbed his hands together, muttering with a hint of regret, "If only it were Golden Lion..."

Then, he turned to look at Li Yan, who was about to lie back down, and couldn't help but complain:

"No, junior brother, isn't your reaction a little too calm?! It makes me look like a country bumpkin who's never seen the world..."

He said, "I wish it were a Golden Lion," but everyone knows that for a local company, winning a Silver Lion at the Oscars of the Game Awards is already quite an achievement.

Li Yan shrugged and picked up the book "The Grammar of Film Language" again:

"It was alright, I didn't embarrass myself..."

"Don't get too excited, senior. Even if the Cannes Film Festival is a little better than our GG Festival, it's still just a matter of dividing up the spoils. Our company is so small, winning a Silver Lion is already the best we can do."

"If you want to win the Golden Lion or the Grand Prix, you need to have strong enough connections and a swayed enough ego. If you could get a squinty-eyed female lead, you might be able to dream of something better. Now, are you satisfied?"

"Oh, by the way, remember to make a few more copies when you get back, put them in the reception area, offices, meeting rooms, etc., so we can raise prices when customers come over..."

Zhang Qiang opened his mouth, but in the end he could only shake his head helplessly and give him a thumbs up.

Well, they're here to make movies. People who come to Venice have a different perspective.

Before Li Yan could adjust his posture and take another nap, his phone vibrated again.

Yang Mi's sweet, childlike voice rang out excitedly:

"Li Yan, congratulations! Cannes Silver Lions! It was just pushed out in the news, you're amazing!!"

You're really well-informed!

She's the female lead in this award, and now that she's won it, her commercial value will definitely skyrocket, and her endorsement fees will probably increase significantly.

Li Yan chuckled and teased:

"Congratulations! Boss Yang has finally gone international! He'll surpass 'International Zhang' in no time! Don't forget your poor friends then!"

"Don't be poor!"

Yang Mi gave a light snort, then changed the subject:

"You must be getting a lot of congratulations by now... Has your 'good sister' messaged you yet?"

Li Yan paused for a moment, then subconsciously glanced at his phone. Sure enough, Jing Tian's text message had arrived.

Before she could speak, Yang Mi said domineeringly in her sweet, affected voice:

"I'm the female lead in 'GG', so I have to be the first to celebrate your success!"

"When I get back to Yanjing, I'll cancel all my evening gigs and make time to 'repay' you."

"You choose the place... okay?"

The last line was so beautiful it made Li Yan's bones melt.

He quickly held up his phone and walked to the window.

I don't know what happened, ever since that "bestie get-together" with Jing Tian in "The Tuner".

Yang Mi's way of speaking to her was noticeably different.

She used to be a little arrogant, but now she's much more direct and extremely aggressive.

Is it really true, as Jing Tian said, that women automatically trigger a mature, sophisticated "older sister" buff when they reach twenty-five?

Unable to understand, Li Yan could only smile and reply:

"Then I'll have to think about it carefully. Even a big star like Yang is willing to turn down appearances for me, so I definitely can't just give up easily."

"Hmph, who's afraid of who? I'm hanging up now, I still need to put on makeup."

After hanging up Yang Mi's call, he opened Jing Tian's text message.

"Wow! Li Yan, you're amazing! The Gossip Girls Festival is Cannes, no wonder you're my little brother! (smug.jpg)"

Then another one:

"Um... you've won awards, you must be in a good mood, right? So, shouldn't I start writing my script? I can't put it off any longer! (cleaver.jpg)"