Rebirth 02, the Celestial Being Told Me to Stop Pretending

The next afternoon, Huayi Brothers.

Mr. Wang sat in his office, twirling a pen in his hand.

He had just heard from his subordinates that Lu Chen was going to start several projects.

"Mr. Wang, should we invest some too?"

"Invest. Of course, invest. China Film Group is practically throwing money at it, so the project must be pretty good. Call Lu Chen."

Ten minutes later, his subordinate returned.

"Mr. Wang, they said over there...they don't lack investment."

Wang Zhonglei frowned.

"Did you tell him about the resources Huayi can provide?"

"He said...we don't lack investment, we don't lack theaters, and we don't lack artists."

Wang Zhonglei suddenly stood up and smashed the teacup in his hand on the ground.

Splash! Tea splashed all over the floor, and tea leaves were scattered on the carpet.

"Lu Chen is going too far! Is that really how he replied to you?" Then, seeing her subordinate stammering and hesitant, she became even angrier.

"Spit it out, did someone in your family die?"

"Mr. Wang... Mr. Wang, we couldn't reach Lu Chen. It was Vice President Wang Yan who answered the phone just now."

"Wang Yan? Damn it, isn't he just Lu Chen's dog? How dare he talk to me like that!"

The subordinate shrank back, not daring to say a word.

Wang Zhonglei paced back and forth in the office three times, his leather shoes crunching on the broken porcelain shards.

"Okay." He paused.

"Lu Chen, you're awesome. No one has ever dared to refuse Huayi Brothers time and time again. I'll teach you a lesson. Go, contact Wanda, contact Jinyi, contact all the cinema chains we have connections with. When the Coordinates film is released next year, give me the lowest possible number of screenings."

"But Mr. Wang... China Film Group has already invested in it..."

"What's wrong with China Film Group? Can China Film Group control what every cinema shows? Han Shangping isn't the bureau chief." Wang Zhonglei sneered, "Go and do it."

As for Lu Chen, after signaling Wang Yan to refuse Huayi, he didn't interfere anymore.

Although Wang Yan didn't know why his boss kept rejecting Huayi, he understood that Lu Chen really didn't like Huayi.

From Wang Yan's perspective, where there are no successors, Huayi is quite wronged; they were practically throwing money away, but nobody wanted it.

In the evening, Lu Chen's phone rang again.

"Mr. Lu, I'm Fatty Yu."

Lu Chen's heart skipped a beat.

Fatty Yu is too shrewd.

The last time we collaborated on "Stone" was only because we had no other choice. Now, we can't shake it off.

But Lu Chen remained very polite.

"Oh, Mr. Yu, hello, hello! It's been so long! What made you think of calling your brother?"

"Brother Lu, stop pretending to be ignorant. I heard that China Film Group and Guangxian have both invested in your project, and I want to get a share of the profits too."

Lu Chen stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the construction site not far away.

"Oh dear, brother, look at this mess. It's all my fault as the younger brother. I forgot about my older brother, and now we've lost our investment share."

"Not a single drop can be squeezed out?"

"You wouldn't even consider the meager offers you, brother. Next time, next time there's a good project, I'll definitely call you first, brother."

Fatty Yu wasn't in a hurry. "What's your next film? I'll be the first to invest."

"I'll definitely do it next time."

Fatty Yu understood the implied meaning.

"Alright, Brother Lu, let's cooperate again in the future."

I hung up the phone.

Lu Chen picked up his teacup, about to take a sip, when his phone rang.

It was an unfamiliar number.

"Director Lu, I'm Fan Xiaopang."

Fan Xiaopang? Lu Chen was taken aback.

"What's up?"

Fan Xiaopang's voice was very low, like he was doing something wrong.

"Young Master Wang is contacting theater chains, preparing to dictate the film's release schedule. Be careful."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome." The phone call ended.

Fan Xiaopang and Lu Chen are the same age, and it's no exaggeration to say that Fan Xiaopang is the pinnacle of the Chinese entertainment industry.

But no matter how beautiful she was, Lu Chen had absolutely no good feelings towards this woman, regardless of his past or present life.

But kindness is priceless; Fan Xiaopang provided information several times, which is a debt of gratitude.

"Li Lu, go and contact Fan Xiaopang."

"Fan Xiaopang from Huayi Brothers? Didn't we just reject Huayi Brothers...?"

"Huayi is Huayi, and Fan Xiaopang is Fan Xiaopang. Of these four films, she can choose any of the others except for the one with the female lead already decided."

"it is good."

The next morning, Li Lu pushed open the door and came in, holding a stack of documents in her hand.

"Mr. Lu, I have a few things to report."

"explain."

"The legal departments of China Film Group, Shanghai Film Group, and Guangxian have already reviewed the investment contracts, and there are no problems."

"The second thing is about the glamorous CEO Wang..."

"What's wrong with him now?"

"Mr. Wang would like to mention the investment share."

"He's dreaming. It's good enough that we're including him. Just tell him to stick to what we agreed on last time, or withdraw his investment if he doesn't want to talk."

"Okay, Mr. Lu. I'll go talk to him in a bit."

Lu Chen nodded. "What about Jiang Zhiqiang?"

"President Jiang only wants the overseas distribution rights for 'Black Coal, Thin Ice,' not an investment share. The contract has already been signed."

"Okay. Anything else?"

Li Lu paused for a moment, her expression becoming somewhat subtle.

"...We've contacted Fan Bingbing."

Lu Chen raised his head.

"What did you say?"

"I told you to choose any of the four films. The female leads for 'Black Coal, Thin Ice' and 'Love is Not Blind' have already been cast, so you can choose any of the other roles."

Li Lu paused here, "She asked which film you were directing, and I said 'Black Coal, Thin Ice'."

"and then?"

"Then she chose 'Black Coal, Thin Ice'."

Lu Chen was stunned for a moment.

"She didn't want the female lead role, and chose 'Black Coal, Thin Ice' instead?"

"Yes. She said the role can be chosen anywhere, you can arrange it as you see fit."

Lu Chen fell silent.

Damn, that vixen is really hard to deal with.

"Go and call Wang Yan over. I want to ask him about the casting."

A short while later, Wang Yan and Li Lu opened the door together and returned to Lu Chen's office.

"Brother Lu, were you looking for me?"

How's the casting for "Black Coal, Thin Ice" going?

"As you instructed, the female lead Liu Yifei and the male lead Liao Fan have been cast, and the roles of Wang Jingchun and Deng Chao are almost finalized."

Lu Chen nodded.

"Let's give the role of Zhang Zili's wife to Fan Xiaopang."

Wang Yan had already heard the whole story from Li Lu on his way here.

"Isn't my screen time a bit too little?"

"Besides the female lead, what other roles are there for her to play? I can't just change Wang Jingchun's role and have her play a woman, can I?"

Wang Yan thought for a moment, then said softly, "I don't think it's impossible..."

Lu Chen slammed his fist on the table, annoyed. "The role is already decided. Now, if we're going to replace him, are you going to negotiate, or should I?"

Wang Yan shrank back and stopped talking; his words implied that his task was complete.

Zhang Zili's wife, Su Lijuan, has a small but significant role in the film, despite not having many scenes.

She witnessed Zhang Zili's marital breakdown after his retirement, representing the normal life Zhang Zili lost.

Fan Bingbing playing this role... okay.

"And that's it, she refused to change anyone else."

"Okay." Wang Yan wrote it down. "What about the payment?"

"Follow the market price."

"Understood." Wang Yan closed his notebook, preparing to leave, then paused.

"Mr. Lu, how did she know we were going to film 'Black Coal, Thin Ice'?"

Lu Chen did not answer.

Wang Yan didn't ask any more questions and turned to leave.