Rebirth 02, the Celestial Being Told Me to Stop Pretending

Thank you to the big shots "墨斗爱笑笑" and "听我不对" for the monthly tickets.

-

2004 was a window of opportunity for visionaries, but that window won't stay open forever.

He had to get there before anyone else and claim all the spots that were rightfully his.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

A pretty figure suddenly appeared in my mind, and my fatigue dissipated considerably.

The meeting room was quiet, with only the faint sound of the air conditioning vents.

Even as evening approached, Lu Chen remained alone in his office, contemplating the upcoming filming of the Coordinate System Director Matrix and the company's industrial layout.

Netflix in the US stock market was also a great investment opportunity in 2004.

Founder Reed Hastings himself sold about 300,000 shares at a high price, cashing out $9.3 million. With the CEO voting with his feet, retail investors will inevitably follow suit and sell.

Founder Mark Randolph resigned from the board in 2004, which meant a loosening of the old guard.

In 2004, Blockbuster launched Blockbuster Online, directly competing with Netflix. Netflix's stock price plummeted by 57 percent due to the competition with Blockbuster.

The market panicked and net profit margins were squeezed, but Lu Chen knew that online rental was a winner-takes-all game. As long as he burned money and won, his monopoly position would bring exponential returns.

This is the best time to harvest.

Just as Lu Chen was lost in thought, his phone suddenly rang, the sound somewhat jarring in the quiet environment.

He glanced at the screen, which displayed Liu Yifei.

He held the phone for a moment before answering.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

Are you still at the company?

"exist."

There was a lot of background noise coming from the other end of the phone, like someone singing and laughing.

"I'm at a karaoke bar with my classmates, do you want to come over?"

Lu Chen rubbed his temples.

"Now?"

"Hmm. You said you were busy when I asked you to come out last time, you can't refuse again this time, can you?" Liu Yifei's voice had a hint of coquetry.

"It was a gathering organized by my classmates; they all wanted to meet you."

Lu Chen was indeed tired, but Liu Yifei took the initiative to ask him out, which was quite unusual.

"Where?"

"Chaoyangmen Melody KTV (I made that up). Call me when you get there, and I'll come out to meet you."

"it is good."

After hanging up the phone, Lu Chen got up and stretched his stiff neck, looking out the window at the traffic flowing like a luminous river, with scattered lights on in the office buildings in the distance.

He picked up his coat and walked out of the office.

Lu Chen drove for less than half an hour to reach the KTV, and after parking his car, he sent Liu Yifei a text message.

Less than two minutes later, she ran out of the elevator.

She changed her clothes.

Wearing a white short-sleeved T-shirt, light blue jeans, and her hair down over her shoulders, she was also wearing a large baseball cap, but no sunglasses or mask.

He was completely different from the dignified and proper General Manager Liu who had just been sitting in the conference room.

"You've come!" She had a bright smile on her face and her eyes sparkled.

"Please stop scratching your teeth, I'm scared."

"Aren't you annoying?" Liu Yifei said, giving him a light punch in annoyance. After punching him, she pulled him by the sleeve and led him inside. "Let's go, they're all inside."

"Aren't you afraid of being recognized if you show up like this? Oh, fairy sister?"

"It's already dark, who would recognize me? Don't worry."

Lu Chen looked at the girl leading the way beside him, and the corners of her mouth turned up even more than before.

Liu Yifei led him through a dimly lit corridor, with various singing voices coming from the private rooms on both sides.

She pushed open the door to the innermost large private room. There were seven or eight people sitting in the room, all of them students from the 2002 performance class of Beijing Film Academy, both male and female.

On the coffee table were a fruit platter, popcorn, and several bottles of beer, and a girl was singing into a microphone.

"Come on, let me introduce you to everyone." Liu Yifei pulled Lu Chen to the center of the private room, her voice tinged with a hint of smugness.

"This is Lu Chen, Boss Lu," she added, "and he's also the director of my next film." There was something in her tone that was hard to define.

The private room was quiet for a moment, then erupted into chaos.

Holy crap!

"Yifei, you're amazing! You even got Director Lu to come!"

Lu Chen nodded, which was his way of greeting him.

Liu Yifei introduced them to him one by one.

"This is Zhou Yang, my classmate and roommate." A girl with short hair waved at him with a bright smile.

"This is Lu Fangsheng, from our class." A boy wearing glasses stood up and shook hands with him respectfully.

"This is Luo Jin." A refined-looking boy sitting on the sofa nodded to him.

He was wearing a light gray shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms. He had regular features and a scholarly air about him.

"This is Zhu Yanwen." A tall boy stood up and extended his hand.

He was wearing a black, tight-fitting T-shirt, with broad shoulders and visible muscle definition in his arms even through the fabric.

His skin was a healthy wheat color, and he had a bit of stubble on his chin, giving him a rugged, tough-guy vibe.

"Director Lu, I've heard so much about you." Zhu Yanwen's voice was deep and slightly hoarse.

"Hello there."

"This is Jiang Yiyan, my good friend." Liu Yifei pointed to a girl sitting in the middle of the sofa.

Jiang Yiyan stood up and bowed slightly.

She wore a beige dress, her hair was loosely tied in a bun, and a few stray hairs hung down beside her ears.

She has delicate features, fair skin, and her eyes curve into crescents when she smiles, giving her a gentle and harmless appearance.

"Hello, Director Lu." Her voice was soft, with a slight southern accent. "I often hear Yifei mention you."

Lu Chen glanced at her and nodded.

I thought to myself, isn't this the architect from Jiangnan University? I'm very familiar with him.

After the introductions were finished, Liu Yifei pulled Lu Chen to sit down in the middle of the sofa.

She naturally sat down next to him, picked up a bottle of mineral water from the coffee table, and handed it to him.

"Didn't you have anything to drink?" Lu Chen glanced at the beer on the coffee table.

"I didn't dare to drink earlier, but I can have a drink with Young Master Lu now."

"Do I have that much influence?"

Zhou Yang chimed in from the side, "Qianqian, your boss is here, aren't you going to sing a song?"

"What should we sing?"

"Red Bean, didn't you practice it for a long time?"

Liu Yifei hesitated for a moment, then glanced at Lu Chen again.

Lu Chen leaned back on the sofa with the wine bottle in his hand and gestured with his chin towards her.

"Hey, fairy sister, wanna have one?"

Liu Yifei was not intimidated and took the microphone from Zhou Yang.

"I haven't even had a chance to properly experience the weather when the snowflakes are blooming..."

Her voice is nice, but her technique isn't professional.

It's alright. In my previous life, I would sign a contract with Sony next year and go to Japan to develop my career.

Well, how should I put it, it's pretty useless.

Another terrible move. I'm talking to you, Chen Jinfei.

As Lu Chen watched Liu Yifei singing Wang Tianhou's "Red Bean" in front of him, he was thinking of Xu Hongdou, who had captivated a lot of people back then.

Of course, Lu Chen was among these people.

After the song ended, enthusiastic applause erupted in the private room.

Liu Yifei blushed and sat back down next to Lu Chen, asking softly, "How was it?"

Lu Chen clapped his hands so hard they were almost broken.

"As expected of you, I suggest you debut right now. I'll have the company release an album for you tomorrow."

Liu Yifei was both annoyed and amused, and couldn't help but give him a push.

"Get lost, you're just kidding me."