Abstract Art Award Winner

"Le'er, where have you been lately?"

Zhou Le had just had dinner with Yu Hewei the day before, and early the next morning, he received a call from Deng Chao.

"I'm in Beijing now, what's up, bro?"

"You're in Beijing? Come to Shanghai for a get-together, and invite Qi Ling too."

When Zhou Le heard that this was a variety show recording, he realized that Guo Qiling and the others didn't have much contact in private. If it were just a simple gathering, there would be no need to invite Guo Qiling, unless Deng Chao also wanted to enter the short video or short drama industry.

"Okay, but has the time been set yet? When?"

"How about in a couple of days, the day after tomorrow or the day after that is fine."

"How about the day after tomorrow? What's the procedure here? Do we need to have a meeting beforehand to review the script?"

"I don't need a script. I don't know much about it. I only know that we'll be having dinner in the evening. That's all I know. But I'll still have to act it out."

"That works too. It's more interesting without a script. It all depends on the individual's performance. I like variety shows with no script."

"Then it's settled. We'll have dinner the day after tomorrow. Can you get here tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow should be about right. I'm having dinner with Director Zhang tonight, and I think I can catch an early morning flight tomorrow."

“Okay, Xiao Lu too. You can contact each other at that time to see if you can travel separately or on the same flight.”

"it is good."

After hanging up, Zhou Le called Lu Han again, who was at the gym at the time.

"Hey Lu, what's the flight schedule for Shanghai tomorrow morning?"

“I also booked for tomorrow morning. Could you send me the ID number and name of the person on your end? I’ll just book it for you too.”

"Oh, I'm so sorry, there are two of us here."

"Two people is nothing. I'll be bringing at least three or four. Send them over, and we can sit together once we've made the reservation."

These kinds of things are minor matters for Lu Han.

"Okay, then I guess Brother Chao will make the arrangements for tomorrow noon. I'll make the arrangements for tonight."

Although Zhou Le enjoys freeloading meals, he doesn't want to do anything in this kind of situation.

"We'll see later. If you're free today, how about we grab a bite together?"

"Okay."

So Zhou Le got up, washed up, and drove to the company in the morning. Although working from home is encouraged now, there are still some things that need to be handled at the company.

After watching it, Zhou Le waited at the company. Not long after, Lu Han arrived at the company building in a Bentley.

"Sure, I've never seen you drive this car before, and it's even the Leopard model?"

"The car is brand new, and the license plate number was specially arranged by someone. We need to make a show of it when we come to pick you up, otherwise outsiders will laugh at us."

Zhou Le did not get into the car immediately, but instead drove around the Bentley.

"That's really nice, this Bentley looks really luxurious."

"It looks so-so from the outside, but it's comfortable inside."

Sitting inside the car, Zhou Le felt it was indeed very comfortable: "Not bad, not bad. I'll get one too, for daily commuting."

"Hey, what else do you want to buy? I'll send you one later. I happen to have a friend who sells these."

"You're too kind to me. You just gave me a car worth millions like that?"

"Look at what you're saying. Isn't the point of making money to spend on friends? We've known each other for so long and I haven't given you any gifts. It's my fault as your older brother."

"Brother, it's money, but this car is too expensive. The whole set will probably cost five or six million, right?"

"Pretty much. If you include the brand, the price might be a bit higher. Do you have a preferred price range?"

"I don't have a preference for numbers, but this is too expensive."

"Oh, you think this price is too expensive? I remember your POLO was pretty expensive too, wasn't it? I think it would cost at least five hundred to modify?"

"That's different. I shamelessly asked Han Han for it after the movie was finished."

"It's okay, I'll contact them for you later and see when the car can be delivered. If the license plate doesn't have the numbers you want, I can help you choose one."

"It'll work, thanks, Brother Lu."

"No need to thank me, we're brothers."

They went out for lunch at a private restaurant and had a few drinks. During the meal, they talked about Deng Chao's injury during the filming of Running Man.

"Le'er, putting everything else aside, if any of your family members are sick, or if you want to take care of yourself, you can come to me. I have quite a few resources in this area."

"no problem."

"Should we leave together with Guo Qiling tomorrow morning? There's no one else?"

"Yeah, it's just the three of us, no one else."

After finishing their meal, Lu Han called her driver to take Zhou Le home first before returning home herself.

After arriving home, Zhou Le immediately called Guo Qiling.

"Qi Ling, we have to go to Shanghai tomorrow. Wu Ha's preparations are almost complete. We'll be there to record a variety show for two or three days."

"Okay, then I can leave today after I've finished arranging my work."

"Then let's meet tomorrow?"

"See you tomorrow."

People get very busy when they get busy. Guo Qiling felt that as long as he talked to those business ideas he had in mind, he could make money easily.

After making three phone calls that morning, Zhou Le felt quite tired, but having a business invitation was better than nothing.

"And the most important thing is to stick to the theme. After all, it's a very lighthearted variety show. Although I haven't worked with you before, I feel that your style matches ours very well." "If I meet a girl I like while eating, whether she's in or out of the industry, I should still look for her. At worst, I can find a girlfriend first."

"It's definitely out of the question to have a girlfriend. Having a relationship is like having a constraint, and how can you be carefree if you have a constraint?"

“You’re absolutely right, but relationships are something we need to think about carefully. My career is going pretty well right now.”

However, despite the long conversation, the main point was the same: this trip to Shanghai was for recording a program.

The night before, Zhou Le and Yu Hewei had made a special trip to meet with Zhang Yi.

They only revealed their purpose after entering the private room.

"Director Zhang, we invited you this time partly to thank you for giving us this opportunity to play a role." Zhou Le was the one who said the nice things. Some of the things he said came out so naturally that they sounded like clichés, but they came out of his mouth like heartfelt thanks.

Yu Hewei followed behind and explained their purpose: they had indeed agreed, but due to various reasons, they couldn't set a time to go, and they were just looking to see if they could adjust the schedule a little.

In fact, Zhang Yimou was well aware of the importance of a TV series like "The Age of Awakening," so he finally agreed.

"However, let me make this clear upfront: I can only wait for you for a maximum of half a month."

"Perfect! Director Zhang is truly generous!"

Because he did have things to do these past few days.

Zhang Yi nodded this time: "But are you sure you can come back at the earliest in October?"

"no problem."

Zhang Yi was indeed extremely pleased. Since that's how it is, he didn't say much more, only indicating that they would have to follow along with the publicity later.

After they finished talking, they went home.

Zhou Le went back and started packing his things. The next morning, he took a car driven by Guo Qiling's company driver and headed to the airport.

Once seated in the VIP lounge, Zhou Le took off his hat and mask.

"Brother Lu, do you know how they're going to film this time? Why don't you give me a heads-up, is there a script or not? Don't let it end up with everyone else having a role while I'm the only one who has to improvise."

"Really, no." Lu Han spread her palms to indicate her innocence. "I don't even know. Anyway, the only thing Brother Chao told me to pay attention to was to smile as much as possible on the show, and to smile heartily."

Guo Qiling quickly struck up a conversation with Lu Han, after all, a social butterfly naturally has some tricks up his sleeve.

After they arrived at the Shanghai airport by plane, they soon received a WeChat message from Deng Chao, which was more like an address than a WeChat message.

"Brother Chao is in the parking lot right now, let's go find him."

Deng Chao even got permission from his wife to come out today. Anyway, no matter how long he stays out here, he definitely won't be going home tonight.

Zhou Le had originally planned to make his own arrangements for the afternoon or evening after they finished filming at noon, so he wouldn't end up getting a free ride. However, Deng Chao had already planned the entire itinerary: first, book a hotel in the morning and rest; then have lunch nearby; after lunch, go back and take a nap; in the afternoon, find a place to have tea and chat; in the evening, continue eating and drinking, and then go straight to karaoke; after karaoke, go back to sleep and sleep until the next morning.

When Zhou Le woke up again, he felt a little dazed. He had spent the whole day in a daze, but he had to admit that those restaurants were really good. He secretly memorized the names of those restaurants, planning to come back and eat there with other people in the future.

"We don't have much of a script, except for Qi Ling, of course. Qi Ling's script is actually quite simple. He just appears as a guide. When the time comes, Qi Ling, you will need to go and coordinate with the director. The rest is up to the director to arrange. Anyway, I haven't seen the script. I've just talked to the director and know the general process."

"Hey Chao, how many days will this shoot take?"

"Three days, but we can still edit out two or three thousand minutes of content in those three days, so we can treat it as a paid trip."

They all listened with great confidence. After all, it was easy to improvise and create some entertainment value on the spot. The main thing was that they could get together and appear on the show together.

"In short, I was thinking that if we can build up the hype for this show in the early stages, we can keep making it, season two, season two, and even season four, five, and six. As long as we can make it, we'll keep making it. We're all busy with work anyway, so we can treat this show as a small get-together."

Deng Chao certainly has the air of an elder brother, and he's the kind of person who would take the initiative to organize gatherings among a group of acquaintances.

In the afternoon, they started getting their makeup and hair done, while Guo Qiling went directly to the director's side to follow instructions.

"Qi Ling, what's the situation on your end?"

"It's hard to say, it's just a TV show recording anyway." Guo Qiling didn't say it explicitly, and everyone felt that it might not be as interesting if he said it.

They continued like this until evening, when they each took a car to the Huangpu River.

"Are we eating here? Brother Chao, how much sponsorship did you get?"

"It's not much, just enough for us to have a meal on the river."

"Eating on the river again? Is it really that luxurious?"

"Absolutely. When we're filming a show, the main focus is definitely on luxury. We'll do whatever makes it as relaxing and comfortable as possible."

Zhou Le believed it, but he soon realized he had believed it too soon.

It was indeed a yacht dinner, but as soon as they boarded the boat, pretending not to know they were going to be filmed that day, and after acting for a while, as the boat started moving, Zhou Le suddenly felt that they were going further and further away. Normally, shouldn't they just be looking around near this river? How come the tall buildings on both sides are gradually disappearing?

But now the show has already started filming, and according to Deng Chao, they will try their best not to cut anything in post-production to avoid a bad broadcast effect. So although they all have some investment, it is actually very little.

After all, this kind of program, although it brings together Lu Han, Guo Qiling and others, what the investors care about is the data. As long as the data is good, their investment will not be a problem. On the contrary, if it is a production team that looks very poor and needs to try to gain popularity and traffic everywhere, then the investors will naturally have to think carefully.

After sitting for a while, several dishes were served in the restaurant, and they started chatting. The meal was indeed filled with laughter and joy. After the meal, it was time to rest.

Once we reached the bottom of the yacht, we found it to be equally luxurious, with a living room, a bedroom, and a private bathroom.

But Zhou Le soon discovered a very serious problem.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute, why are all these things priced?" When Zhou Le first came down to the living room, he was a little confused, but he quickly realized something was wrong.

"Yeah, do we have to pay for these things? But we don't have much money right now."

After Deng Chao finished speaking, Zhou Le went to pull on the doors of each room, and even the toilet was locked.

"Isn't this a bit too cruel, locking up even the toilet?"

"Forget it, if I really need to use the restroom, I might as well just go to the ocean outside."

But at that moment, Guo Qiling came out with the director.

"Hello everyone, from now on, I will be your guide."

At first, Zhou Le thought this was just a simple pre-shooting exercise, but now he felt the production team was starting to put pressure on them. Guo Qiling immediately greeted them with "May you have good fortune," and then began frantically trying to sell them all sorts of snacks and treats. (End of Chapter)