After rebirth, I became a great master

Chapter 519 Must Be Snatched

This trip to the capital didn't go too smoothly; Haiyan wasn't persuaded.

This means that Dong Lan failed to complete the task assigned to her by the Red Star TV Arts Center, and she will have to bear the responsibility for losing a major client.

Fortunately, she's not someone to be trifled with.

Evidence has been collected regarding another deputy director, Duan Tao, abusing his power to force actresses to drink with him, which led to the loss of the project.

With Zhou Haoran as his backer.

Then we have nothing to fear!

Let's fight them!
After returning to the harbor, Dong Lan wanted to invite Zhou Haoran to dinner alone.

Surprisingly, it's a rather stylish Western restaurant.

It's already the end of April.

The weather is getting warmer.

Dong Lan, dressed in a long black dress, sat by the floor-to-ceiling window. Her soft oval face was adorned with two almond-shaped eyes, and her eyelashes cast delicate shadows in the warm light... At just over thirty years old, she perfectly embodied the charm of a young woman.

"Editor-in-Chief Dong, you look so beautiful tonight?"

Zhou Haoran had become familiar with her and offered his sincere praise.

Dong Lan tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and pursed her lips, saying, "How about it? Still charming, right?"

"Yes!" Zhou Haoran gave her a thumbs up, then glanced at her chest. "Top-notch!"

Dong Lan rolled her eyes at him, "You pervert!"

Honesty is one of my strengths.

Zhou Haoran had even changed into a shirt specifically for this upscale restaurant and sat down opposite her.

Dong Lan seemed to chuckle to herself as she whispered, "You surprised me quite a bit on this business trip."

"Am I capable?"

Zhou Haoran laughed heartily.

“I knew you were capable and had many friends.” Dong Lan lowered her voice, afraid that the people at the next table would hear. “That’s not what I meant.”

Zhou Haoran asked, "What is that?"

"You are a true gentleman."

Dong Lan winked at him playfully.

Zhou Haoran was a little confused. "What?"

Dong Lan gave him a reproachful glance, "I've prepared for this business trip, and I've even come up with the worst-case scenario in mind."

"What worst-case scenario?" Zhou Haoran was completely confused. "Editor-in-Chief Dong, what are you talking about?"

"You!"

"I?"

“I was away on a business trip for four days, and we were both out of town. I thought you…” Dong Lan’s expression was a mix of teasing and joking. “I thought you would stay with me or come to my room in the middle of the night.”

"Huh?" Zhou Haoran was amused by her question. "What would I do in your room?"

"What did you say you were doing?"

Dong Lan's eyes widened.

Zhou Haoran waved his hand and said, "You're overthinking it. You're a respectable young woman; I can't possibly ruin your reputation."

Dong Lan pursed her lips and said, "That's why I said you're a gentleman. You may be a bit lecherous, but you have principles and a bottom line, which I quite like. You're different from those hypocrites in the workplace who are only interested in taking advantage of others."

"That is!"

Zhou Haoran was very pleased with himself.

"Didn't you ever think about sneaking into my room in the middle of the night?"

Dong Lan gave a half-smile.

Zhou Haoran frankly admitted, "I have thought about it. I think about it every night. Sometimes I even dream about making love with you."

"You!" Dong Lan was both annoyed and amused. "Couldn't you have been a little more tactful?"

Zhou Haoran said dismissively, "We're all good friends. There's no point in beating around the bush. Just say what you mean, and it's easy to get along. There's enough backstabbing at work. Why bother with all that scheming between friends? Isn't that exhausting?"

Dong Lan nodded slightly, "It's mainly because you're on a higher level, while I'm just an ordinary woman. You wouldn't stoop to playing tricks on me and bullying me."

"Hmm?" Zhou Haoran was surprised by her keen insight. "How did you know I'm at a higher level?"

"You're so popular with women... Putting aside everything else, just look at our program team. If you were interested, you could ask every single woman in the group, and I reckon half of the young women would be willing to... have sex with you."

Dong Lan was, after all, a woman, and could only focus on this kind of thing.

Zhou Haoran asked in a low voice, "And you?"

"Me too."

Dong Lan's face turned red.

"Really?" Zhou Haoran questioned. "You're married now, so let's not play games with that. Let's just say what we mean and be honest with each other."

"Really." Dong Lan's face flushed even more. She was a little embarrassed, but also frank. "During these days of business trips, I took a shower every night and didn't go to bed until midnight. I was just afraid that if you came to knock on the door, I would be asleep and it would disturb me."

"Seriously? Are you in heat?"

"A little bit."

"You're even more lecherous than me!"

Zhou Haoran laughed.

Dong Lan had already talked it out with him, saying she didn't care anymore, and scoffed, "You're young, you don't understand women. Girls your age don't have many needs, but when it comes to someone like me, over thirty and with a child, my desires become strong." Zhou Haoran, with far more experience than her, immediately understood, "Oh, so you've had a child, and your relationship with your husband is strained, right? Do you and your husband sleep in separate beds? You don't have sex anymore, do you usually sleep in the same bed with your child?"

"how do you know?"

Dong Lan's eyes widened.

Zhou Haoran said, "Many couples are like this. Love is exclusive, but the arrival of a child is seen as an infidelity. Children are the crystallization of love, but they are also often poison to love. The stronger the love, the more educated the couple, the more they are affected."

"Are not you afraid?"

Dong Lan also felt that she was part of the tragedy of her marriage, and wondered if this was due to the influence of her workplace environment.

"Me?" Zhou Haoran really didn't have any worries about that. "I'll get married when I turn 22 and it's legal. I don't have a fear of marriage."

"So how will you handle family relationships in the future?"

Dong Lan asked for advice very seriously.

Zhou Haoran laughed and said, "I'm different from you. Someone like you obviously married for love. I'm not. My fiancée is Qiao Suiqing. We don't have any unforgettable love. We're childhood sweethearts. She's my older sister. We're siblings. It's a marriage between equals."

"This..." Dong Lan widened her eyes again and asked curiously, "You have a very flirtatious lifestyle, does she know that?"

"I know."

"She doesn't care?"

"That's why we have to say our ancestors were wise; marriages should be arranged by parents and matchmakers." Zhou Haoran's knowledge in this area was far superior to hers. "There are so many divorces in society now, and the vast majority of those who divorced were married through free choice. Those who got married through family introductions and were well-matched actually have more stable families."

Dong Lan gave a soft "hmm".

Zhou Haoran said calmly, "The union of men and women is about each getting what they need. The union based on love is the biggest excuse that modern civilization has found for the release of primal desires between men and women."

Dong Lan covered her mouth and chuckled, "If you want to release your desires on me, just say so. Why beat around the bush?"

Zhou Haoran's eyes moved from her face to her figure, and he swallowed. "It would be good to try it."

Dong Lan brushed a stray hair behind her ear and lowered her eyes. "I'm fine with anything, it's up to you."

"How about tonight?"

Zhou Haoran winked.

"Tonight?" Dong Lan was startled. "How can we do that tonight? I have to go home. What if we get caught?"

Zhou Haoran laughed heartily, "Just kidding!"

Dong Lan thought for a moment and whispered, "If you really want to, you can ask me out at noon. If noon is too busy, we can stay at the film and television base at night when the program is being recorded. You can come to my room at night... No, I only have a standard room. You can book a room, and then I'll come to you at night. You can do whatever you want for the whole night."

"It's so tempting!"

Zhou Haoran sighed deeply.

Dong Lan pursed her lips and said provocatively, "Let's see how long you can hold out!"

Zhou Haoran felt that Editor-in-Chief Dong Lan had really gotten to know him well, and had even abandoned all pretense of propriety, so he changed the subject, "By the way, I remember you used to be the associate producer of the 'Tonight's Stars' program on the general channel?"

"Okay." Dong Lan nodded. "I'm in charge of contacting those artists in Hong Kong and Taiwan."

"Tonight's Stars" is a magical program.

Although it's just a local channel, it has invited many big-name Hong Kong and Taiwan artists.

In this process, it is natural to deal with many brokerage and entertainment companies in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

"That's settled then!" Zhou Haoran felt that this task was truly hers to do. "Don't be discouraged if the Haiyan drama failed. Next, you go and contact Qiong Yao!"

"Who?"

Dong Lan was taken aback.

Zhou Haoran said, "The Haiyan dramas that originally belonged to Red Star TV were taken away. There's no need to be discouraged. Just take back the Qiong Yao dramas. Haiyan dramas are good, but how can they compare to Qiong Yao dramas?"

"The partner of Qiong Yao dramas is Volcano TV."

Dong Lan knew the inside story.

"Then just take it!" Zhou Haoran looked at her. "If you manage to get this done, it'll be a natural progression to put you in charge of Red Star TV's film and television business, right?"

"Qiong Yao dramas..." Dong Lan actually has connections with them. She even invited the Little Tigers to her show "Tonight's Stars". "I know they have a drama now, but the reviews are not very good."

Zhou Haoran was surprised, "Bad reputation?"

Dong Lan said, "It's a Qing Dynasty drama, filmed in mainland China, and it cast many mainland actors. I've heard some rumors, and the industry doesn't have a good impression of it. The production cost was very low, it used a bunch of new actors, and it was very ridiculous and lacked any historical sense... It's much worse than historical dramas produced in mainland China."

Zhou Haoran blinked and asked, "What's your name?"

"Adapted from Qiong Yao's novel, 'Princess Pearl'."

As an educated woman, Dong Lan was also a fan of Qiong Yao's novels ten years ago, and read every single one of them.

"Princess Pearl..." Zhou Haoran took a deep breath, "You're saying this is a terrible show?"

Dong Lan said, "It's not my opinion, it's the consensus in the industry, said by some industry insiders who have participated in the production and filming."

"Good thing!"

Zhou Haoran felt relieved.

"what?"

Dong Lan didn't understand.

Zhou Haoran laughed and said, "Bad reputation, bad impression—that's the perfect opportunity to buy at rock-bottom prices! If it were a high-quality drama competing with Volcano TV for the rights to 'Princess Pearl,' who knows how much it would cost. A bad drama is much easier to snatch!"

"Are you really going to rob us?"

Dong Lan couldn't hold on.

Zhou Haoran said solemnly, "We must seize it!"

(End of this chapter)