MTL - 21

Does Tang Yu think I rejected him because of the price? What an idiot.

It’s still a day where I feel like beating him up.

— The Diary of a Little Rich Girl

After seeing Tang Xin’s social media post, Tang Dingding couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something strange about her brother’s relationship with Tang Xin. Especially after he made comments like “let her take advantage of me” and “I owe her.”

No matter how she thought about it, it didn’t sit right.

When she saw the trending topic that evening, she realized only after reading the comments that the “Tang Dad” everyone was referring to online was actually her brother, Tang Yu.

Tang Xin’s pen name was easy to recognize—it was just a homophone. After confirming with Huo Chendong, she knew that Tang Xin was actually Tangxin. Now that Tang Xin wasn’t planning to renew her copyright agreement with Shiguang, when she asked Huo Chendong why, he wouldn’t tell her.

She guessed it might be due to the copyright fee.

Or perhaps her brother had promised something but didn’t follow through, which led to Tang Xin leaving in anger and turning to Lu Dad’s embrace.

Weibo was flooded with sympathy for Tang Dad. Her brother had lost face, and watching it made her heart ache. She wanted to do something to restore his dignity…

… She remembered the last couple of times Tang Xin took advantage of her, smiling so smugly. Wasn’t there anything that couldn’t be resolved by letting her have her way?

After she said that, she waited for a while but didn’t get any response.

Tang Yu stared at the Macan moving ahead of him, stepped on the gas, and followed it from a few meters away. In a somewhat cold tone, he said, “No, it’s not about money.”

Tang Dingding immediately asked, “Then why?”

Because…

He had rejected being her producer.

And he had also rejected her confession.

Of course, Tang Yu would never say those things to Tang Dingding.

The two cars drove out of the garage one after another. Tang Xin’s car left first. Suddenly, Tang Yu recalled how she had lied before, saying her car was being serviced just to ride in the same car with him. To avoid suspicion, she even bought breakfast to bribe Gao Heng.

Now, she was refusing to renew the copyright agreement and calling someone else “Lu Dad.”

The more Tang Yu thought about it, the colder his expression became: “Never mind, hang up.”

After saying that, he hung up directly.

As he looked up again, Tang Xin’s car had already turned at the intersection, heading in the opposite direction, quickly disappearing into the traffic flow.

Tang Yu leaned back against the seat and suddenly felt the air inside the car suffocating. He lowered the window slightly, letting the wind rush in, which made him feel a bit better.

He didn’t know whether Tang Xin’s refusal to renew the contract was out of anger or serious.

Tang Xin drove her car to a horribly congested road. Stuck in the middle, she slapped the steering wheel in frustration. It was all Tang Yu’s fault. If he hadn’t been following her, she wouldn’t have turned around.

Now she was stuck here, unable to move.

A trip that should have taken about twenty minutes ended up taking her an hour to get home.

Fortunately, she had put enough cat food out in the morning, otherwise, Juanhua would have torn the house apart. But Juanhua probably hadn’t eaten enough. As soon as she came home, he ran over, rubbing against her feet and meowing pitifully. Tang Xin threw her bag onto the sofa, picked up Juanhua, petted him, and reassured him, “Shh, don’t fuss. I’ll give you some little fish treats.”

She found a can of little fish treats, ordered takeout, and sat on the couch feeding Juanhua. When he was full and sprawled on the sofa letting her scratch his belly, she took a photo and posted it on her social media.

She also replied to some messages she hadn’t had time to respond to on WeChat.

Little Rich Girl: Making a Dream for You is currently in the negotiation stage. If everything goes smoothly, maybe by the end of next year, we can invite everyone to watch the movie! [Image]

When Tang Dingding saw this post, she first envied Juanhua and then commented: Are you really not considering Tang Dad anymore? Why not?

When Tang Xin saw this...

She didn’t expect even Tang Dingding to join in the fun. It wasn’t that she wasn’t considering it; it was that Tang Dad had never considered her type. She replied to Tang Dingding: Tang Dad doesn’t like this subject. Director Lu approached me first. If the negotiations go well, we will collaborate.

Tang Dingding hadn’t read Tang Xin’s books, so she was momentarily speechless and could only reply: Okay.

At night, Tang Yu habitually scrolled through Tang Xin’s social media feed before bed. Seeing her conversation with Tang Dingding, he stared at it for a long time, frowned, and turned off his phone.

Due to the trending topic, many people suddenly became interested in Tang Xin’s book. Most were fans of Lu Zhixing. Many went to buy Making a Dream for You , and the already limited stock sold out overnight.

Early the next morning, Tang Xin received a call from her editor who excitedly informed her, “The book sold out again! You’re amazing! The printing plant is rushing to reprint it today!”

Tang Xin wasn’t surprised, but she was still happy: “What about the reprint?”

The editor excitedly said, “Actually, the cover is ready. We originally planned to start pre-orders in a few days, but even pre-orders take time. Sales are still booming, so let’s sell the old version first. Do you want to add anything? Hurry up and send the manuscript over!”

“Alright.”

When Tang Xin arrived at the company, the new project had already started. It was a Republican-era drama with two main screenwriters, both experienced veterans in their forties. Tang Xin tagged along to learn a few things but couldn’t contribute much.

In her free time, she organized the reprint draft and sent it over in the afternoon.

Just a couple of days later, she received another call from her editor, saying the book was selling exceptionally well. They would expedite the reprint process and asked her to prepare to sign some title pages.

Tang Xin logged into Weibo and checked. Her number of followers had risen to over two million, many of them CP fans. She scrolled through the comments, feeling a bit embarrassed, but fortunately, the hype was slowly cooling down.

Since the fallout with Tang Yu, he hadn’t contacted her again.

Tang Xin checked the date. It was already the 14th, and she was scheduled to meet Lu Zhixing on the 15th, which happened to be Saturday.

...

In the afternoon, when Gao Heng walked into the CEO’s office to deliver documents, Tang Yu signed them and handed them back without much emotion, asking, “Has Manager Du contacted Tang Xin again?”

Gao Heng replied, “I don’t think so.”

Tang Yu leaned back, tapping his pen impatiently on the desk, and said in a low voice, “Talk to her again, raise the price, and see... see if she agrees.”

Gao Heng was startled and quickly responded, “Alright.”

He left with the order.

Tang Yu rubbed his temples, feeling tense. He closed his eyes and relaxed in his chair, but his mind was filled with thoughts—would Tang Xin reject him again?

After hearing Gao Heng’s words, Manager Du was shocked: “Why? Does Mr. Tang want to make the movie?”

Gao Heng adjusted his glasses and said indifferently, “If he says he wants to buy it, then naturally he has that intention.”

After Gao Heng left, Manager Du snapped out of his shock and immediately called Tang Xin. She was surprised when Manager Du said the price could be negotiated and asked her to propose a figure.

Tang Xin paused, realizing it was probably Tang Yu’s idea.

She frowned. What did he want to do?

Was he trying to make amends? Or did he feel humiliated by the Weibo incident and wanted to buy back the rights to save face?

Either way, she found it hard to accept.

“No need,” Tang Xin politely replied, “I’ve already scheduled a meeting with Director Lu to discuss cooperation. It wouldn’t be good to back out now.” She continued, “Manager Du, didn’t you say that keeping it here would just mean it’s sitting idle? So I won’t suggest a price. It’s not every day a renowned director approaches me. It would be foolish to pass up such a great opportunity, wouldn’t it?”

Manager Du was at a loss for words but remembered Mr. Tang’s instructions. He could only say, “But if Shiguang decides to film it, the production quality won’t be lacking. You understand, right?”

Tang Xin smiled, “I know, but I’ve already decided. Thank you, Manager Du.”

With that, Manager Du couldn’t say anything further.

Near the end of the workday, Tang Yu listened to Gao Heng’s report, stared at the computer screen silently for a moment, and emotionlessly said, “There’s nothing more. You can leave.”

His voice betrayed no emotion, and Gao Heng couldn’t quite figure it out. Mr. Tang had been acting a bit unusual these past few days. His relationship with Miss Tang was ambiguous. Did he reject her? But he still wanted to keep her copyright and even considered starting a project for her.

Did he like her, or not?

Gao Heng wasn’t in the habit of gossiping about Mr. Tang, so he could only guess.

Just as he turned to leave, Tang Yu suddenly looked up and asked, “Didn’t she have another book?”

Initially, two books were signed: Making a Dream for You and A Dream Through Three Lifetimes . They weren’t signed simultaneously; the contracts were about three months apart.

The one expiring at the end of the month was Making a Dream for You.

Gao Heng was startled and quickly said, “I don’t think that one was discussed. It seems Lu Zhixing is only interested in one book. Should I ask Manager Du to negotiate?”

Tang Yu hesitated, half-closing his eyes and scanning the Weibo homepage of Tangxin. The comments were filled with fans from Lu Zhixing’s side. He furrowed his brows slightly: “Let’s forget it for today. We’ll talk about it another time.”

Just having been rejected, going to negotiate now would likely yield the same result.

Assistant Assistant nodded and added, “This year’s Beijing Film Festival is from the 18th to the 23rd, with the award ceremony on the evening of the 23rd. The schedule has already been cleared.”

Various awards would be presented at the film festival, such as Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Actress, Best Screenplay, and more.

Last year, Shiguang Pictures had two films nominated. As the CEO and producer of Shiguang Pictures, Tang Yu would definitely attend, and it was highly likely that they would win several awards.

Without much emotion, Tang Yu nodded slightly, suddenly remembering that Lu Zhixing’s film was also nominated.

They were from the same circle, and Tang Yu knew Lu Zhixing. They had almost collaborated once before, but it fell through in the end.

Tang Yu nodded indifferently: “Mm.”

...

That evening, Tang Xin received a message from Lu Zhixing.

He sent three restaurant addresses and asked, “I’m not sure which one suits your taste better. Can you choose one? Or do you have a restaurant in mind?”

The restaurants Lu Zhixing chose were all quiet and suitable for discussing cooperation. Tang Xin had been to all of them, several times with Tang Yu. She randomly selected one nearby, and they agreed to meet at six o’clock.

On Saturday evening, Tang Xin changed her clothes, applied a meticulous makeup, and left half an hour early. By the time she arrived, it was not yet six. She found the private room number and walked in, only to find someone already there.

She was a bit surprised.

Lu Zhixing was wearing a black casual outfit, lounging lazily against the chair, looking down at his phone and replying to messages. Hearing the door open, he glanced up and saw her, raising an eyebrow slightly: “So early?”

Tang Xin smiled faintly: “Not as early as Director Lu.”

She walked over, adjusted her skirt, and sat down across from him.

Lu Zhixing curved his lips and placed the menu in front of her, saying, “You choose the dishes first?”

Tang Xin didn’t hesitate, taking the menu and starting to flip through it. She was a bit nervous, not because of Lu Zhixing, but because she was uncertain whether he truly intended to film Making a Dream for You.

The copyright had been sold for so long without any movement. She had been anxious and doubted whether it was really unsuitable for filming or whether the outcome wouldn’t be good enough.

But because it involved Tang Yu, she hadn’t pressured him.

Now, with someone actively showing interest, she suddenly felt that her work had become valuable.

Who doesn’t have dreams?

She also wanted to make a movie of her own.

Flipping through the menu, she looked up at Lu Zhixing across from her.

“Director Lu.”

“Hmm?” Lu Zhixing was lounging lazily against the chair, his phone on his lap, fingers typing quickly. Hearing Tang Xin’s serious tone, he paused, put his phone on the table, looked at her, and curved his lips slightly, “Sorry, I had some things to handle. What do you want to say?”

Tang Xin looked at him and blinked: “Are you really planning to film Making a Dream for You ? I just want to confirm.”

Lu Zhixing glanced at his phone lighting up again but didn’t touch it. Looking at Tang Xin, he raised an eyebrow lazily: “You’ve already called me Lu Dad. How can you back out now?”

Tang Xin: “...”

Author’s note: Lu Dad: Little Tangxin, come here. Lu Dad loves you.

Little Rich Girl: Lu Dad is going to take me flying, torturing Tang Dad.

Tang·Other Man·Yu: ...Come back. Tang Dad loves you more.