My mouth moves faster than my brain; I went viral on Running Man and the whole internet is laughing.

Chapter 3, No Ten Thousand

After the plane landed, the production crew's car was already waiting outside the airport.

Xu Yan and Reba arrived at the hotel and, before they could even put down their luggage, were taken by staff to Lu Hao's temporary meeting room.

The meeting room was not large.

There were two contracts and several recordings on the table.

Director Lu Hao, seated in the main seat, saw the two enter together. He first glanced at Xu Yan, then at Dilraba, and stood up with a smile.

"You're here?"

Dilraba greeted them familiarly:

"Director Lu."

Xu Yan nodded in agreement:

"Director Lu."

Lu Hao looked at him, his tone slightly gentler than on the phone:

"Xu Yan, we've finally met."

Xu Yan glanced at Lu Hao, his tone very sincere:

"Director Lu, more than meeting you, I'd like to thank you for the two thousand yuan."

Lu Hao waved his hand generously: "Alright, enough with the formalities, let's look at the contract first."

Xu Yan sat down, picked up the contract, and began to flip through it.

Everything was normal up to that point.

Recording time, confidentiality clauses, image rights authorization, and program team guidelines.

Xu Yan suddenly stopped when she flipped to the section on appearance fees.

He stared at that line of text for several seconds, his expression gradually becoming complicated.

Lu Hao noticed his reaction, but he wasn't surprised at all.

Dilraba was looking down at her supplementary agreement when she noticed Xu Yan's sudden silence. She turned her head and asked:

"What's wrong?"

Xu Yan slowly raised her head and looked at Lu Hao:

"Director Lu."

Lu Hao: "Hmm?"

Xu Yan pushed the contract forward a little, her tone carrying a hint of uncertainty:

"Is my appearance fee... a bit too low?"

"Only 500 for the first phase?"

Upon hearing this, Dilraba suddenly looked up:

"What?!"

"Five million!!!"

She looked at Xu Yan in disbelief: "You still think this is too little? My first phase is only three million."

The meeting room fell silent for a second.

Xu Yan slowly turned his head to look at Reba, his lips twitching even more noticeably.

Dilraba also sensed something was wrong and blinked:

"Not five million?"

Xu Yan took a deep breath: "Thank you for hurting me."

Dilraba: "Huh?"

Xu Yan pushed the contract in front of her and said, word by word:

"It's five hundred, not ten thousand."

"..."

Reba was stunned.

next second.

"puff!"

"Ha ha ha ha!"

She laughed so hard she bent over.

Lu Hao originally wanted to maintain the seriousness of a director, but he obviously couldn't keep it up.

Xu Yan looked at Dilraba, whose shoulders were shaking with laughter, and said with a helpless expression:

"Teacher Reba, you can laugh a little louder."

Dilraba raised her hand to cover her mouth, trying hard to suppress her laughter:

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

Xu Yan looked at her eyes, which were still clearly smiling: "Your apology is less sincere than my 500 yuan appearance fee."

Dilraba couldn't hold back any longer and burst out laughing again.

Lu Hao coughed, bringing the topic back on track:

"Xu Yan, I won't mince words with you. You really don't have much popularity right now."

Xu Yan looked at him.

Lu Hao's tone was very direct:

"You had some popularity back then, but you weren't exactly a top star. You gained fame mainly because of your 'Xu Dui Dui' persona. After being sidelined for a few years, the internet has evolved so quickly that many viewers have basically forgotten about you."

Upon hearing this, Xu Yan slowly nodded his chin.

It may not be the most pleasant thing to say, but it is the truth.

Lu Hao continued:

"The production team is willing to let you on the show because you have the potential to create a good effect, not because of your current value. The first three episodes are considered a trial period, and the price is 500 yuan per episode, which is also a trial fee."

Xu Yan glanced down at the contract, then at Lu Hao:

"Director Lu, that hurts."

Dilraba finally stopped laughing and gave Xu Yan a disgruntled look: "Director Lu is just telling the truth."

Xu Yan turned to look at her: "Dilraba, you don't need to stab me in the heart."

Lu Hao also smiled:

"Don't worry, as long as the first three episodes are well-received, I will revise my offer."

Xu Yan's spirits lifted: "Guarantee to satisfy me?"

Lu Hao nodded: "I guarantee you'll be satisfied."

Xu Yan finally breathed a slight sigh of relief.

The next second, as if he suddenly remembered something, he looked down and did some calculations again.

Three trial periods, 500 per period, totaling 1,500.

It's not enough to pay back the two thousand that Lu Hao borrowed from him yesterday...

Xu Yan paused for two seconds, then her expression became complicated again:

"Director Lu."

Lu Hao: "What is it now?"

Xu Yan said seriously, "I suddenly realized that after recording these three episodes, I still owe you five hundred."

The meeting room fell silent for a moment.

The next second, Dilraba laughed so hard she almost slammed the contract on the table.

Lu Hao couldn't help but chuckle, looking down and saying, "Then you'd better perform well and try to raise the price starting in the fourth phase."

Xu Yan sighed:

"My goal for appearing on a national variety show for the first time is not to become a sensation, but to pay off my debts."

Dilraba smiled at him and said, "Your goal is quite simple."

Xu Yan: "There's no way around it. With a fee of five hundred yuan for the appearance, it's hard not to be frugal."

Lu Hao watched the two of them talking back and forth, his eyes flickering slightly.

Xu Yan and Dilraba's interaction felt quite natural.

One dared to joke, and the other dared to respond; they could turn an awkward situation into a laugh with just a few words.

A thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

In the first season of Running Man, Zheng Kai and Yang Beibi's weekend couple dynamic was quite successful. If the second season can create another new variety show pairing, it might be a highlight.

Of course, this matter cannot be rushed.

"Let's put the money aside for now. Xu Yan, I have a few things to make clear beforehand." Lu Hao suddenly looked serious.

Xu Yan sat up a little straighter.

Lu Hao looked at him, his tone becoming more serious:

"Running Man requires on-the-spot wit and humor. But I don't want you to make random jabs at people after you're on the show. You can joke around and react, but don't hurt people maliciously or touch on the guests' sore spots."

Upon hearing this, Dilraba instinctively wanted to say something on Xu Yan's behalf.

She knew that Xu Yan wasn't the kind of person described online.

But before she could even open her mouth and say anything, Xu Yan nodded and said, "Director Lu, I understand everything you're saying."

Lu Hao was about to nod in satisfaction.

Xu Yan glanced at Dilraba again: "But I think you can remind Dilraba again."

Dilraba was taken aback: "Me?"

Xu Yan said seriously, "This girl is much more fierce than you think. She looks quite well-behaved in front of the camera, but she actually drives incredibly fast."

"Xu Yan!"

Dilraba's face turned red instantly.

She stomped her foot and raised her hand to slap Xu Yan's arm.

Xu Yan dodged to the side: "Director Lu, look, his violent tendencies are quite obvious."

Lu Hao almost lost his composure again.

He looked at the scene before him, his interest becoming even more pronounced.

These two don't need any arrangements; they react on their own.

This is much more natural than a forced attempt to generate revenue.

Lu Hao coughed, suppressing his laughter:

"Alright. If you two really want to hurt each other, save it for in front of the camera."

Dilraba snorted, but a slight smile appeared on her lips.

……