The sweetest in the entertainment industry

As soon as the two entered the guesthouse, they saw director Wang Sheng waiting for them with a smile.

Wang Sheng is also a veteran director at Hunan TV. He was in charge of a wildly popular variety show that had been running for over 20 years until the show was canceled and he got older, at which point he switched to a slower-paced emotional program.

A few years ago, dating reality shows were popular, and he started directing "Heartbeat Guest," but it couldn't compete with Jiangsu TV's "Holding Hands with You," and the ratings were dismal, so it was canceled.

After travel variety shows became popular, he rallied and, together with his old partner, created "Walking with Love".

The first season of this variety show has already filmed four episodes, but the ratings have remained lukewarm.

If things don't improve, there might not be a second season after this one.

Unexpectedly, the producer was so helpful that he managed to find Lan Ting and her husband to work with him.

Lu Nanting is alright. As long as the appearance fee is right, all the conditions are met, and he has the availability, it's relatively easy to invite him.

The difficulty lies in inviting Gu Lanxi.

Gu Lanxi debuted earlier than Lu Nanting, but she never participates in variety shows.

When they appear in public, it's either for movie releases and promotions or to receive awards and walk the red carpet.

Besides this, fans also want to see her, either by watching the news, reading newspapers, or by studying hard to get into A University so they can be her juniors, preferably in her direct lineage.

Because she returns to her alma mater to give a speech almost every year.

Wang Sheng and the producer are not only long-time partners but also good friends in private, so he knows how they managed to get the people involved this time.

Ma Hongfei has been in the industry for many years. To be able to work with someone as picky as Gu Lanxi and star in her first romance film, he must have both star power and awards, as well as powerful connections.

While it was said that there were several candidates for that role, in fact, Ma Hongfei had already been chosen, and it was just a matter of official announcement.

Hunan TV faced a lot of pressure when they replaced him.

Putting everything else aside, the owner of the other party's agency called back in less than ten minutes.

But there was no other way; Gu Lanxi was too difficult to invite. The only solution was to make her owe a favor and exchange it with that favor.

When the producer received the call, he didn't beat around the bush and said it was Gu Lanxi's idea.

Then the person hung up the phone without saying a word.

Later, he managed to get Gu Lanxi's private phone number through various connections. When he called, Gu Lanxi only said one sentence, and he was speechless.

"Mr. Ma is such a busy man, it's really not easy to get a call from you. I waited all day yesterday."

When their own artists step on others to climb to the top, they pretend not to see it, but when it's time to cut their flesh, they realize how painful it is.

Wang Sheng thought that inviting this couple would be very effective, since they were the kind of people who could make headlines just by catching a flight together.

Unexpectedly, it was so popular that the live stream crashed and it dominated the trending topics list!

It was also a stroke of luck that allowed him to have this opportunity to usher in a second spring in his career.

In this situation, the director would not only personally come to the door to greet you, but would also treat you like a little princess!

Lu Nanting had attended Hunan TV's New Year's Eve Gala and knew Wang Sheng. Upon seeing this, he quickly pulled Gu Lanxi forward to greet him.

Gu Lanxi didn't recognize him. After exchanging a few pleasantries, she stopped talking.

I thought he would just say hello and leave, but I didn't expect him to stop and chat with them:

"Hey, what did you buy?"

Seeing that his eyes were fixed on the plastic bag in his hand, Lu Nanting picked it up and showed it to him:

"I bought some meat and plan to borrow the kitchen to braise it for tomorrow."

After saying that, he opened the bag of fruit again: "There's more fruit, Director Wang, take as much as you like!"

"Thank you, but no need. During filming, you two are not allowed to accept any food, and we won't take anything from you either. That's the rule."

Wang Sheng, like a wandering NPC, revealed a piece of news to the two of them with a smile before leaving:
"The kitchen is free to use. Any couple who buys groceries and plans to cook for themselves can enjoy this hidden perk."

The film crew booked the entire guesthouse today, and all the ingredients in the kitchen were specially prepared for the guests—brand new and unopened.

After all, audiences love watching celebrities cook.

If you get the benefits through your own abilities, no one can say anything about it.

Gu Lanxi finally couldn't hold back and asked, "Including all the seasonings?"

"Yes! They have a wide variety of spices too."

Wang Sheng glanced meaningfully at the braised meat ingredients that Lu Nanting was carrying.

Lu Nanting couldn't hold back any longer: "Why didn't you say so earlier! This little bit cost us eight yuan and eighty cents!"

"I already told you, this is a hidden perk! Only serious, home-loving couples can unlock it. Plus, 8.8 yuan is a lucky number!"

After saying that, Wang Sheng left.

I thought Gu Lanxi would regret wasting the money, but as soon as he stepped out of the camera's view, he saw the couple pull a staff member aside, ask for directions, and head straight for the kitchen!
I followed slowly, stood at the door, and peeked out. I realized that in just a few minutes, Gu Lanxi had gathered all the ingredients and was cracking eggs into the kneading basin.

She didn't use a kitchen scale; she added each ingredient one by one.

High-gluten flour, eggs, milk, cranberries, corn oil, yeast...

Lu Nanting had never seen her bake bread before, and he was a little worried that she would mess it up.

But he only glanced at it worriedly and didn't say anything.

By the time Gu Lanxi had finished kneading the dough, Lu Nanting had already cut and cleaned the beef shank.

"I've never done this before."

"It's okay, I'll do it. You go and wash that stainless steel pot."

Gu Lanxi took out scallions, ginger, and cooking wine, and put the beef into a pot of cold water. When she saw him come back after washing the pot, she taught him: "You can't put it in hot water. When you blanch it, you have to skim off the blood foam. After that, just take it out. Don't wash it, or the meat will become tough."

"Yeah, I remember."

Seeing him nod, Gu Lanxi took the pot over and added ingredients.

After adding water and kneading the dough until it was almost ready, she added some butter and let it continue kneading.

After the meat was blanched and put into the pot, water was added and it was put on the stove. The kneading was also finished, so Gu Lanxi went to add dried cranberries.

"Bring the sauce to a boil, skim off the foam, then simmer over medium-low heat for an hour. You don't need to do anything with the dough as it's fermenting. It's almost eight o'clock, I need to wash my hair, I'll go first, you can turn up the heat before you go."

Lu Nanting gave an OK sign.

"There are hair drying caps in the suitcase."

Gu Lanxi hummed in agreement and left.

Taking a bath is something that can't be filmed, of course.

The staff remained in the kitchen, helping Lu Nanting wait for the braising liquid to boil.

Gu Lanxi took a short break and checked her phone while the bodyguards inspected her accommodations.

First, open the office system, approve the documents, and check whether each unit has made progress on the work plan on time and in the required quantity today.

Then check the missed calls again.

Some close relatives, knowing she was back, invited her to dinner. She called them one by one, set a time, and then called Mrs. Lu to arrange a dinner gathering at her maternal grandfather's house the day after tomorrow.

Next, open WeChat. Reply to unimportant messages in the group chat, give brief replies to important ones, and only reply to important and crucial messages in detail.

I logged into Weibo last.

It's the latest model phone, less than a month old, and it took me ages to finally unlock it.

There are just too many private messages; I can't possibly read them all.

Putting aside the insults, the private messages, aside from praising them and wishing them a long and happy life together, were mostly filled with tantrums, crying, and begging her to appear on more variety shows, especially those featuring couples.

Clicking on the trending topics list revealed a variety of sensational issues, which even prompted her, the person involved, to click and see what was going on.

This is only the effect of the live broadcast. Gu Lanxi doesn't even dare to imagine what it will be like when the edited version comes out and the part on the plane is added.

"Boss, the inspection is complete, there are no problems."

After the bodyguards left with the various machines, Gu Lanxi locked the door, did a quick check, and then went to find a change of clothes.

Lu Nanting had prepared all these outfits for her, and she only needed to take them out and wear them.

After taking off the hair drying cap, I was about to go to the bathroom when I remembered that I had given Fei Yunxiao a new task.

Please analyze my commercial value and propose three development paths to maximize my profits for my consideration.

She didn't want to over-commercialize herself, but since things have come to this point, and she can easily make a lot of money, she doesn't need to waste this resource.

That's how life is; you have to adapt to the circumstances.

It's good to be flexible and adaptable. (End of Chapter)