Huayu 2015, the Artist of Light and Shadow

……

"Xiao Nan, you've really grown up."

"Dad is especially happy today."

Hearing this, Dad was very comforted and took out the bayberry wine he had treasured for five years from the basement, preparing to celebrate properly.

"Dad, I'll drink with you."

As long as Dad is drunk, he'll agree to any condition I ask for.

But her father stopped Zhang Ruonan from "going all out," waving his hand and saying, "A girl shouldn't drink. If you drink too much, something bad will happen one day."

The father poured himself a drink, then looked at Zhang Ruonan with a sense of relief and said, "It wasn't easy for your father to raise you until you were 18. But don't worry, your father is still healthy and can still work. He can support you for another 10 years."

"Just focus on your studies."

"After graduating from university, I'll pursue a master's degree. After that, I'll get a doctorate... and then I'll study abroad to become a scientist."

"As long as you want to study, Dad will support you."

No!

I'm just not cut out for studying!

Zhang Ruonan inwardly groaned, never expecting that her father would have such a huge misunderstanding.

But she was too shy to admit that today's blind date was the most reliable one her parents had ever chosen.

At that moment, she frantically racked her brains.

A moment later, Zhang Ruonan's eyes lit up with a new idea.

"Dad, I feel that I'm all grown up now and I should help ease the family's financial burden."

"Yesterday, my mom and I met that auntie in Hangzhou. She seems to be very good at doing business. I hope to have the opportunity to learn more from her in the future."

Zhang Ruonan thought she was a genius; with such a perfectly legitimate reason, her parents shouldn't object.

really.

My parents exchanged a glance, and their eyes lit up immediately.

"Yes! How come I didn't think of that?"

Dad pondered for a moment, then suddenly slammed his hand on the table and said excitedly, "Xiao Nan, you're such a clever girl. Although we don't yet know the core elements of their business, if you become their apprentice... you'll probably master the secrets of their business in just a few months."

Mmmmmmm!

Dad, please continue!

Zhang Ruonan looked at her father intently, her eyes filled with anticipation.

But after taking a sip of his drink, Dad shook his head again: "It still won't work. Doing it this way is too obvious. Besides, I can't let it interfere with your university studies."

No!

What my university was like, others may not know, but you're my dad, don't you know?

What gold content is there?

Let me contribute something to the family instead.

"Alright, you two, stop talking. You can't even come up with a decision."

After listening for a while, Mom was a little speechless. She then said decisively, "Next week, I'm going to Hangzhou Sijiqing Market to buy goods. Xiaonan, come with me."

"Then, I'll openly and legitimately invite Yunzhou's mother out for a chat and ask her if she'd like to take on an apprentice."

"Xiao Nan is so clever and cute. Yun Zhou's mother is all alone in Hangzhou and needs someone to help her. She should agree."

Mom is awesome!

When it really matters, you still have to rely on your mom!

Zhang Ruonan felt reassured and began to eat her rice silently, reverting to her well-behaved and sensible self.

After discussing the details for a while, Mom and Dad finally asked, "Xiaonan, what do you think? Will it interfere with your studies?"

Zhang Ruonan pretended to think seriously for a while, then shook her head: "Probably not. I heard that the courses in my major are relatively easy. And I'm studying e-commerce, which perfectly integrates learning and practice. The school strongly encourages this kind of behavior."

Upon hearing this, my parents didn't say anything more and started talking about the family's recent business situation.

It has to be said that doing business in Wenzhou is indeed becoming increasingly difficult.

During this time, Zhang Ruonan's parents also considered moving their business to Hangzhou, but they were unwilling to give up the profitable business in their hometown.

Therefore, I have been weighing the pros and cons.

Zhang Ruonan's words were, in her parents' ears, a trial balloon, a way to find a new path for their family.

……

"Hey sis, what are you doing hiding in your room all by yourself? Come out and play cards!"

The third sister, Zhang Qianyi, has finished taking a bath and is starting to invite people to play cards.

She had already called out her second sister and younger brother, but when she turned around, her eldest sister was nowhere to be seen.

Zhang Qianyi, familiar with the place, pushed open the door and entered Zhang Ruonan's room, where he saw his eldest sister reading ancient poems on the computer.

She glanced at it and immediately began to recite: "The moon shines like a flying mirror in the sky, clouds rise and form a tower on the sea. Still I cherish the waters of my hometown, which carry my boat for ten thousand miles... Sister, what time is it? You're looking up Li Bai's poems on the computer?"

"Didn't you finish your college entrance exam? You're only starting to think about studying now... You've been acting strange ever since you came back from Hangzhou. Are you possessed?"

My eldest sister, who has never liked studying, actually looked up ancient poems online.

If this isn't possession by a ghost, what is it?

"You're the one possessed! Just wait and see how I deal with you!"

Zhang Ruonan shut down the computer, pushed his sister out of the room, and prepared to once again display the might of the God of Gamblers and dominate the battlefield.

"Sailing like clouds, what a wonderful name."

However, Zhang Ruonan was completely out of sorts while playing cards tonight, losing several hands in a row, and constantly muttering Lu Yunzhou's name in her mind.

Compare Lu Yunzhou's poetic name with the names of your own siblings.

Leaving aside the others, look at this most mischievous third sister, whose name is actually "Qianyi" (meaning "hundred billion")!

My dad really has the word "making money" written into the family's genes.

……

Magic City.

World Expo Center.

Today is August 9th, the Huading Awards ceremony.

This award had nothing to do with Lu Yunzhou, but Tang Yan and Ji Rujing insisted on including him.

Ji Rujing made a staff member badge for Lu Yunzhou, allowing him to attend the awards ceremony as Tang Yan's personal photographer.

To make it look more presentable, Lu Yunzhou carried his recently acquired Sony A7R II full-frame mirrorless camera, paired with a G Master series lens.

He looks no different from most photographers.

The only difference is that the other photographers, like hunting dogs, dart around the female star.

Tang Yan, on the other hand, let Lu Yunzhou stay by her side, so she didn't have to pretend like that.

She lifted her skirt, occasionally whispering to Lu Yunzhou, "Yunzhou, what do you think of my black strapless dress today? Isn't it the most beautiful one there?"

"When I go on stage later, remember to take a lot of nice photos of me from below. When we get back, we'll release a press release saying I'll outshine my best friend."

"I believe in your skills!"

Although the essence of photography lies in post-processing, sometimes, the photographer's technique is also very important.

Lu Yunzhou's mastery of light and shadow is the best Tang Yan has ever seen.

Most importantly, Tang Yan will win a big prize tonight.

She already knew in advance.

She hoped that Lu Yunzhou could be there to witness her reaching the summit.

In addition, the web series "The Day Is Coming" that Lu Yunzhou wants to film requires many talented actors, and Tang Yan plans to have Lu Yunzhou conduct an on-site audition.

If she took a liking to someone, she would personally go and invite them on Lu Yunzhou's behalf.

Although her reputation has been poor this year, her online traffic is incredibly high, and she's been trending on social media all year.

Normally, if she sincerely invites someone, everyone will give her face and make a cameo appearance.

Consider it doing her a favor.

……

"By the way, Yunzhou, I heard you went home for blind dates? How did it go? Did you find any girls you liked?"

After walking the red carpet, Tang Yan rested backstage to touch up her makeup and prepare for the upcoming formal awards ceremony.

She casually inquired about Lu Yunzhou's blind date story.

"I don't have time to think about this right now. The script is giving me a huge headache."

Lu Yunzhou casually made up an excuse and skipped over the topic.

Tang Yan didn't ask any more questions and nodded gently: "Don't worry about the script. Sister Ji has already contacted more than a dozen top screenwriters. At most, she can get this part done in a month."

Once the script is finalized in September, Tang Yan will take the script and the list of key creative personnel to Kiwi Fruit executives to discuss cooperation.

Once the negotiations are complete, she will try to get the drama started filming in October.

Filming will be completed before the end of the year.

After all, this is a modern drama, so costumes and props don't need to be specially prepared, and the locations are all ready-made, so there's no need for special construction.

The preparation work is relatively simple.

In December, her period drama "The Princess Weiyoung" will begin filming.

She only has two months!

Lu Yunzhou was aware of this, so he had no time to think about anything else and was currently working frantically on the script.

Just then, Ji Rujing came in from outside.

Seeing Tang Yan dressed like a black rose today, Ji Rujing smiled slightly: "Tangtang, your outfit today exudes a very mature and sophisticated aura. I've already prepared my 'outshining you' press release!"

Looking in the mirror, Tang Yan realized that although she was 32 years old, her face was still stunning and her figure was flawless.

She looked in the mirror, raised her eyebrows slightly, deliberately stretched her long, swan-like neck, and smiled faintly.

At 32, I am indeed stunning.

My friend just gave birth, so she definitely doesn't have enough to fight herself.

After admiring her own beauty for a moment, Tang Yan suddenly remembered something: "Sis, I wasn't paying attention just now. Did you see Lao Mi? And that Dilraba who outshone me, is she here yet?"

Tang Yan felt that she was in excellent condition today, and no one could outshine her.

If Yang Mi and Dilraba dare to come... they'll only be humiliating themselves!

After all, people are in high spirits when they have good news.

Since Lu Yunzhou appeared, she has been sleeping incredibly well these past few days, and her skin has improved a lot.

It gives you a feeling of being young again.

"no."

Ji Rujing checked the list again, shook her head and laughed: "Yang Mi is very smart in this regard. Knowing she can't win an award, she simply didn't come."

After a while, Ji Rujing also said with emotion, "These domestic awards are just like this now. The results are leaked before the awards are announced. The artists who don't win don't even come. It's just the fans arguing about the awards. There's not much credibility to them."

"But it's okay, the results from the Busan International Film Festival will be the real deal!"

Sometimes, they don't want to engage in things like worshipping foreign things... but at A-list international film festivals, once they win an award, fans can certainly raise their voices when arguing with the opposing side.

Because once you win an award, many brand endorsements will immediately follow.

Awards, in a sense, are equivalent to income!

"It's good that she didn't come, so she won't write another press release to put me down."

Tang Yan was actually a little annoyed by Yang Mi.

Whenever any of Yang Mi's artists appear, there will inevitably be articles criticizing and belittling them.

"Yunzhou, are you nervous?"

Tang Yan saw Lu Yunzhou fiddling with his camera with his head down and assumed that Lu Yunzhou was a little nervous about such a big event, so she smiled and asked him a question.

"Well enough."

Lu Yunzhou didn't really like crowded places, but he wasn't nervous at all.

After all, he had participated in many piano solo competitions since he was a child, and there were many people watching him.

Tang Yan nodded slightly, then had the makeup artist fix her eyebrows. Looking at Lu Yunzhou in the mirror, she said softly, "The Busan International Film Festival in October will definitely be much bigger than here. Consider today a rehearsal. When we get to Busan, I'll take you on the red carpet."

"This year, I'm very popular. If you walk the red carpet with me, the whole country will be curious about who you are."

Tang Yan was very unhappy that Yang Mi wanted to put her down and use her popularity to promote Dilraba, an artist from Jaywalk Studio.

However, Tang Yan would be very happy to use her own popularity to help Lu Yunzhou rise to the top.

She even had a bit of a question: what would be the reaction of movie fans across the country when they discovered that the young director who won an award at an A-list international film festival was a handsome young man with a unique charisma?

She had even planned for Lu Yunzhou's fans to shout loudly online—

"The King of Boats, the King of Boats, unparalleled in the world!"

Then, these fan groups would display light sticks and probably refer to themselves as "a family of congee and rice enthusiasts".

Haha!

Given Lu Yunzhou's aloof personality, who knows how embarrassed he'll be then.

She almost burst out laughing when she thought of this scene.