Taking Liu Yifei back to Northeast China for the Chinese New Year has sent the entire internet into

Chen Daoming had just instructed someone to send the written proposal to the inner room.

Fang Yu suddenly turned his head and looked at Shen Weimin.

"Director Shen."

"The Forbidden City is too big. With its red walls and yellow tiles, it's easy for me to get lost if I wander around alone. It also makes me nervous."

He tilted his chin toward Liu Yifei, his tone serious.

"Could you do me the favor and let me bring my muse along too?"

The study fell silent immediately.

Liu Yifei stopped holding the hem of her trench coat, leaving several creases in the fabric.

This is a documentary about the Forbidden City.

A national treasure project of CCTV caliber.

Many top celebrities in the industry are scrambling to get a piece of the pie, but they can't even get a glimpse of it.

Fang Yu just got a special pass by relying on four lines of poetry; this treatment is already outrageous enough.

Now he's actually asking to take her on a "date"?

Liu Yifei was about to speak to smooth things over.

Mr. Fang.

Shen Weimin spoke first.

He had his hands behind his back, his brows furrowed.

"The areas of the Forbidden City that are not open to the public are the core of the national protected sites."

"Regular film crews are required to undergo a headcount review before they can film on location, down to the single digit."

"I granted you special privileges because you were able to write those four lines of poetry."

Shen Weimin's gaze fell on Fang Yu's face.

"Bringing your girlfriend in?"

"If things don't go according to the rules, and something really goes wrong, no one can cover it up."

Zhou Yuanshan laughed out loud.

"Old Shen, keep pretending, keep pretending."

"If you really thought this was hopeless, you should have rejected it outright just now."

"After all that buildup, they still try to intimidate people with rules."

"That's hardly a rejection!"

"You're clearly eyeing that pen in Fang Yu's hand."

He Zheng stroked his stubble and chuckled as well.

With his arms crossed in front of him, he looked like he was waiting to see a good show.

Shen Weimin did not respond to Zhou Yuanshan's words.

He kept a straight face, his gaze fixed on Fang Yu.

"I was originally planning to visit some senior calligraphers at the Calligraphy Association next week to work on the inscription for the opening credits of the documentary 'The Forbidden City'."

Shen Weimin took a step forward, his palm landing on the edge of the solid wood table.

"If you're willing to take care of the documentary title and the inscriptions for several key chapters."

He paused deliberately before revealing his trump card.

"I can go through special procedures and report Ms. Liu as a 'core member of the theme song field research team'."

"Entering the door this way is perfectly proper according to the rules."

Zhou Yuanshan slapped his thigh on the spot, laughing so hard his shoulders shook.

"Good heavens!"

"Old Shen, you've got a real scheme up your sleeve."

"How many procedures are involved in getting those calligraphers from the calligraphy association to write inscriptions? How many favors do you have to do? How much money do you have to spend?"

"Now you take a pass and exchange it for someone else's title calligraphy, chapter calligraphy, and you even pressure them to write songs."

He smiled at Chen Daoming.

"This isn't a director, this is a business school graduate."

Chen Daoming smiled and pointed at him.

"Weimin, you really know how to manage your finances."

"If you close this deal, won't your production team give you a banner of appreciation?"

Standing to the side, Liu Yifei finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She turned to look at Fang Yu.

Fang Yu's face showed no sign of having suffered a loss.

Not only did we not lose money, we actually made a killing.

He had already calculated the score in his mind even more clearly than Shen Weimin.

Taking Liu Yifei to explore unopened areas of the Forbidden City is just the first step.

A major CCTV project of the scale of "The Forbidden City" cannot rely on just one theme song to carry the show.

End credits, insert songs, promotional songs—someone always has to fill in the gaps.

He happened to have a song in his mind that would be perfect for Liu Yifei.

First, we'll send her in legitimately as a "core member of the field research team."

Once the atmosphere is right, then play that song naturally.

At that point, I'm afraid Director Shen won't even be able to say no.

A few calligraphy pieces in exchange for a pass to a CCTV project.

They even paved a golden road for the fairy sister along the way.

In the end, it all seems like he was the one taking advantage of Director Shen.

Fang Yu didn't even bother to haggle.

He took a blank sheet of raw Xuan paper and laid it flat on the long table.

Two paperweights hold down the corners of the paper.

Liu Yifei understood immediately and walked to the inkstone, rolled up her trench coat sleeves, and dripped a little water into the inkstone.

She pushed the pine soot ink stick around in her hand.

The ink settled, becoming a deep, glossy black.

Fang Yu picked up a pen from the pen rack.

The wolf-hair brush, having absorbed the ink thoroughly, lightly scrapes a line along the edge of the inkstone.

Wrist suspended in the air.

Without the slightest hesitation.

The first stroke is pressed into the paper.

This time, Fang Yu neither used the unrestrained style of cursive script nor the sharpness of the thin gold script.

Yan style calligraphy.

Authentic Yan style calligraphy.

The brushstrokes are bold and expansive, the structure is broad and robust, and each stroke is like a stake being driven into the paper.

The landing point was extremely stable, and the ink was so dark it seemed heavy.

A few breaths later, three large characters appeared in the center of the Xuan paper.

—The Forbidden City.

The ink still shimmered with a damp sheen.

But those three words have solidly upheld the weight of six hundred years of history at the foot of the imperial city.

The character "紫" begins with a concealed stroke, like a palace gate slowly being pushed open.

The character “禁” has a tightly closed central part, conveying the inviolable majesty of imperial power.

The horizontal strokes of the character "城" are extended, and the force of the last stroke is like a city wall extending to the sky.

No one spoke in the study.

Chen Daoming, who had been leaning back in his chair, straightened his back now.

He Zheng stopped laughing, his gaze sweeping over those three words several times. His lips moved twice, but he didn't utter a sound.

Zhou Yuanshan stopped playing the Bodhi beads in his hand completely, his thumb resting on the surface of the beads without moving.

Shen Weimin stood in front of the long table.

His brows were still furrowed.

But his eyes lit up.

Fang Yu put the pen back on the pen holder and looked up at him.

"Director Shen."

"Consider these three words as a deposit."

Shen Weimin stared at the words on the table.

The three words "Forbidden City" swirled around in his eyes again and again.

A moment later, his stern face, which had been expressionless all morning, finally relaxed.

The curve of her mouth was small, but the lines at the corners of her eyes smoothed out.

For someone who habitually hides all their emotions in their expression, this is already the highest level of recognition.

"Beautiful characters."

He nodded.

"The remaining chapter inscriptions will be delivered after you finish your research trip to the Forbidden City."

After speaking, Shen Weimin took out his phone and glanced at the time.

"I'll have someone deliver the pass to your company no later than the day after tomorrow morning!"