MTL - 22

Rebellious phase has arrived. I don’t want to deal with Tang Yu and want to do everything that makes me happy and him unhappy.

But, thinking about it, he probably doesn’t care, which makes me feel a bit self-destructive.

— The Diary of a Little Rich Girl

The air froze for an instant.

Tang Xin was stunned, never expecting Lu Zhixing to joke with her so naturally.

Lu Zhixing was thirty this year, five or six years older than Tang Xin. Seeing the surprised expression on the young girl’s face, he feared he might have gone too far and startled her, so he quickly cleared his throat: “Just a joke, don’t mind it.”

Coming back to her senses, Tang Xin smiled sweetly at him: “I don’t mind. So, is Lu Dad sure about collaborating with me?”

Lu Zhixing: “...”

He looked at the sweet-smiling girl in front of him, unexpectedly amused, then returned to his lazy demeanor and nodded slightly: “Of course.” His phone kept flashing, leaving him no choice but to pick it up. Apologetically smiling at her, he said, “Let me handle something first. You order the dishes, and when they arrive, we can talk properly?”

Understandingly, Tang Xin replied: “Alright, you go ahead, I’ll order the dishes.”

She called the waiter in and suddenly remembered something, glancing at Lu Zhixing again.

Surprisingly, Lu Zhixing understood her glance and smirked slightly: “No dietary restrictions, if possible, order two spicy dishes for me.”

Tang Xin smiled: “Okay.”

She quickly placed the orders.

Lu Zhixing stepped out to make a call and by the time he returned, all the dishes were already served. He sat back down lazily in his chair, nodded towards her, picked up his chopsticks, grabbed a piece of boiled beef, and casually started talking: “A while ago, I was shooting a film in the desert. One of the makeup artists in the crew was reading your book, Making a Dream for You . The title caught my attention. The book was just sitting on the table, so I flipped through it. She told me a lot about how great the book was, how imaginative it was, and praised it highly. Later, I took the book back and skimmed through it when I had time.”

Tang Xin listened attentively, barely touching her chopsticks.

She looked at him expectantly.

Lu Zhixing gazed at her, chuckling softly: “It’s indeed quite special.”

At the beginning of last year, Lu Zhixing met Tang Xin. At that time, he had a potential collaboration with Shiguang Pictures and saw Tang Xin with Ming Zhu. They were both beautiful, making them easy to remember. After reading the book, he felt that the girl who wrote this story must have a very lovable personality. Now, seeing her in person, she was indeed interesting.

Tang Xin felt delighted inside and curiously asked: “But you usually don’t direct this kind of light fantasy films, right?”

“True, but you should know that the film I directed last year didn’t perform as well in terms of reputation and box office compared to before. Though it might seem acceptable to others,” Lu Zhixing spoke somewhat indifferently, “but doing the same type of films repeatedly gets tiring.”

“The movie Not Waiting , right? I watched it, it was really good,” Tang Xin sincerely said.

“I want to try something new.” Lu Zhixing poured himself a glass of water, sipped it, put down the glass, and gave a self-deprecating smile, “Rebellion phase has arrived.”

Tang Xin couldn’t help but laugh. She knew he was referring to a career rebellion phase, where stagnation would cause fear and lack of progress. Just like... after secretly loving Tang Yu for four years, getting rejected after confessing led to a burst of emotions, making it impossible to return to the previous state. Right now, she felt very much like being in a rebellious phase.

She thought about it and realized she hadn’t rebelled much during her teenage years.

So, could this be considered a delayed rebellious phase?

Lu Zhixing looked at her and got back to the topic: “What price do you have in mind?”

Tang Xin quoted a number, the initial offer given by Manager Du.

This price was lower than what Lu Zhixing expected, surprising him: “Are you sure?”

Tang Xin blinked: “Or... should I add a bit more?”

Lu Zhixing didn’t answer directly but leaned back in his chair and smiled: “Alright, I’ll draft a contract for you to look over. Once it expires, if you find it suitable, we can sign. What I can guarantee is that filming will definitely start next year.”

Setting up the project team and adapting the screenplay would take time; starting next year was already fast. Hearing Lu Zhixing’s assurance, Tang Xin’s heart was filled with uncontrollable excitement and exhilaration, as if she could already see herself breaking through from obscurity into the top three lines of the industry.

Her eyes sparkled: “Alright, no problem.”

Their conversation went smoothly. When Lu Zhixing put down his chopsticks, he couldn’t help but ask curiously: “I heard Shiguang intended to renew the contract. If they wanted to renew, they probably also intended to film it. Why didn’t you renew?”

Tang Xin was slowly scooping pudding with a small spoon. Hearing this, she paused, looked up, and smiled: “Because Director Lu found this book interesting and genuinely wants to film it. Somehow, it feels better to entrust it to someone who truly likes it. After all, it’s been sitting at Shiguang for four years without being filmed. Who knows when it will happen in the future?” Finishing her words, she flattered Lu Zhixing, “And, Lu Dad’s legs are strong enough. Wouldn’t it be foolish not to hold on to them?”

Lu Zhixing laughed and chuckled: “So, am I considered a talent scout now?”

Tang Xin nodded: “Yes.”

They chatted happily and settled the bill around eight o’clock before leaving the private room.

Tang Xin walked with Lu Zhixing to the restaurant entrance. With car keys in hand, Lu Zhixing glanced at her: “Did you drive here?”

“Ah, yes.”

Tang Xin’s car was parked on the left, and she pointed to it.

Lu Zhixing glanced at it and smiled: “Then, that’s all for today?”

“Alright, bye-bye.”

She waved, her sweet dimples and sparkling eyes shining under the streetlights, looking particularly lively and vibrant.

Tang Yu walked out from the restaurant entrance, standing on the steps, witnessing such a scene. He paused, his gaze falling on the shallow dimple on her cheek, then shifted to the man who had turned away gracefully.

His previously emotionless eyes suddenly turned cold, and a sudden surge of irritation hit him...

He felt an urge to poke her dimple to stop her from smiling.

Gao Heng stood behind him, almost instantly sensing the atmosphere turning cold. A quick glance showed Tang Miss waving cheerfully to Lu Zhixing. He nervously glanced at the person beside him, unsure why Tang Zong’s mood seemed to worsen every time he encountered Tang Miss recently.

As a result, he instinctively tensed up whenever he saw Tang Miss, ready to respond at any moment.

Tang Xin watched Lu Zhixing leave, turned around lightly, and was about to walk towards her car when she suddenly stopped, turning her head towards the steps.

The man wearing a white shirt and black trousers stood above, the shirt meticulously buttoned to the top, tall and upright, noble yet cold. His deep black eyes stared at her face, slightly squinting, making his gaze even more intense, almost itching to bite.

... Was he going to bore a hole into her?

Tang Xin was momentarily stunned, then raised a smiling face and waved in greeting: “President Tang, Assistant Gao, what a coincidence.”

Look, she could coincidentally meet Tang Yu at a restaurant suitable for business discussions.

She was there for business discussions too.

Thinking about it, she felt her mood improving.

Tang Yu tightened his lips, slightly narrowed his eyes, and remained silent.

Gao Heng silently wiped sweat.

Until Director Liu stepped forward, looked around, and chuckled: “President Tang, why did you stop?”

Tang Yu indifferently retracted his gaze, turned to Director Liu, and faintly curved his lips: “Nothing, then I’ll trouble Director Liu to keep the schedule available.”

Director Liu laughed heartily: “Of course!”

A few people walked down the steps, and Tang Yu’s gaze indifferently swept over Tang Xin, still standing in place. Tonight, he had met with Director Liu to discuss the script and cooperation for the new project.

He didn’t expect to run into her meeting with Lu Zhixing.

He didn’t need to think to guess their meeting was for business discussion.

... Really, saying goodbye and leaving immediately, flying off.

How did he not know before that her style was so free-spirited?

Was it only regarding emotions?

Tang Xin waited for a response, feeling a bit embarrassed, her expression slightly stiffened, lifting her chin with a hum: “Assistant Gao, goodbye.”

She didn’t want to deal with Tang Yu anymore.

Assistant Gao: “...Goodbye.”

Tang Xin, with her bag, walked briskly towards her car. Tang Yu’s peripheral vision swept over her slender back, furrowing his brows, and called out lowly: “Tang Xin.”

Tang Xin paused, pretending not to hear, continuing to walk briskly forward.

Perhaps the rebellious phase had arrived?

Ignoring him like this actually made her feel pleased, with a hidden and self-destructive sense of satisfaction.

Tang Yu stood in place for a few seconds, turned around with a dark expression, and walked away. His car was parked on the other side, heading in a different direction.

It seemed that ever since he rejected Tang Xin, they had always been walking in opposite directions.

This realization made him feel hard to accept.

After driving out, the interior of the car was slightly dim.

Tang Yu leaned back against the seat, his long legs loosely spread apart, head slightly reclined, gazing out the window, watching the passing lights indifferently, feeling a little depressed.

Had he become too accustomed to her presence?

Now that she suddenly changed paths and no longer bounced in front of him, he felt something was off?

Suddenly, his phone rang. Coming back to his senses, he glanced forward.

It was the driver’s phone.

The driver hesitated to answer but was about to hang up when he heard Tang Yu indifferently say: “Answer it.”

The driver responded: “Alright, thank you, President Tang.”

...

On the morning of the opening day of the Beijing Film Festival, Tang Xin received a message from the editor: “The cover, promotional images, and promotional methods are all here. Take a look and post a Weibo advertisement.”

Making a Dream for You was still selling hotly. The new edition cover was especially evocative, much better than the old one. Even non-fans of the book wanted to buy it just for the pretty cover.

Tang Xin fell in love with the cover image when she first saw it and replied to the editor: “OK.”

She opened Weibo, slowly edited for a while, ensuring there were no mistakes, then posted the tweet.

Since it was an advertisement, the Weibo post was pretty long, followed by various store purchase links and the stores’ promotional giveaway activities.

Her Weibo popularity was excellent these days, as if all the zombie fans had come alive. As soon as the post was published, it instantly received many retweets and comments—

Fan No. 1: “Ahhhhh, the new edition! I’ve waited so long! This book has had three covers, and I collect each one! Definitely won’t miss this, buying ten copies!”

Fan No. 2: “The cover is super beautiful! Buy, buy, buy! Must buy! Supporting Tangxin!”

Fan No. 3: “Already ordered, showing [picture]”

Fan No. 4: “Come, retweet this Weibo, drawing 10 people to give away books!”

…

Tang Xin suddenly felt Lu Zhixing was amazing. If the movie becomes a hit in the future, she might be able to buy a bag every month just from publishing royalties.

After a while—

The editor suddenly messaged her frantically: “Quick, go check. One of your wealthy fans is giving away a thousand books in a draw. Such generosity, hurry up and retweet to thank them.”

Tang Xin: ????

Wealthy fan?

The editor immediately sent a screenshot.

Tang Xin focused and realized the fan’s ID was “Rich but Not Stupid,” not “Stupid and Rich.” This fan “Rich but Not Stupid” retweeted her advertisement Weibo, boldly stating: Retweet this Weibo, draw 1000 readers to win books and all merchandise on the activity page, everything included!

Tang Xin: “...”

She was shocked by “Rich but Not Stupid’s” boldness. Each set of books was priced at 55 RMB, discounted to over 30 RMB. Adding in merchandise like pillows and bookmarks, one set was over 40 RMB.

In total, one set of books plus merchandise cost over 70 RMB. For 1000 sets, it amounted to seventy to eighty thousand RMB. Such extravagance surely meant this was a super fan.

Deeply moved, she couldn’t believe she had such loyal wealthy fans. Before retweeting the Weibo, she opened a private message page and sent a private message to this crazy fan: “Um... Moneybags Sister? I feel a bit uneasy about this.”

After a while.

Her WeChat beeped.

Tang Dingding: “Don’t be polite!”

Author’s note: Tang Little Sister: Brother isn’t giving enough, let me spoil the future sister-in-law!

Little Tang Boss: Isn’t the money mine anyway?

Tang·Rebellious Phase·Little Rich Girl: Not interested in your money.

——”Rich but Not Stupid” Dingding, really not stupid, really!

There are quite a few male leads like Lu Dad. I think I’ve written similar ones before, but Tang Dad’s type is new to me, slightly challenging. I like writing characters I haven’t written before, haha!

Everyone continue to support Little Rich Girl, maybe tomorrow there will be double updates! Double updates bring happiness!