After offending capital, my songs became more and more popular.

Chapter 257 "Grandma"

As autumn arrives, the weather is like a child's face; one second it's all smiles, and the next it's practically bursting into tears...

Like today, when Shen Ming'en went up to pick someone up, the sky was clear and sunny, but on the way back, it started to rain.

It started as a sun shower, but then for some reason, dark clouds drifted in and covered the entire area...

Autumn is here~

Chen Guangrong, sitting in the back seat, couldn't help but sigh. People say, "One autumn rain brings one chill." You can't even imagine how you feel after it's over. The wind blowing in through the car window as soon as the rain started carrying a lot of chill.

"Chichi..."

Shen Ming'en thoughtfully rolled up all the rear windows using the driver's side window controller. Seeing this, Teacher Chen Guangrong chuckled and couldn't help but ask:

"What are you holding back, kid? Just let it out already, or we'll be at our destination."

After Yao Changyu and Chen Guangrong returned, they needed to go back to report for duty, just like the other actors. After reporting, they could go home. They were almost there, but all they talked about was the recent controversy surrounding Shen Ming'en's "Spark Chapter". They didn't say a word about anything important.

Chen Guangrong knew Shen Ming'en's "nothing happens without a reason" nature...

"What you're saying..." Shen Ming'en rolled his eyes upon hearing this, thinking to himself, "You're supposed to be a veteran artist, can't you at least have some manners when you speak?"
"Can't I come and show my respect to you two?" he said.

"Forget it," Chen Guangrong said, "What good intentions can you have when a weasel offers New Year's greetings to a chicken?"

Shen Ming'en chuckled: "Ber, Teacher Chen, who would call themselves a prostitute?"

"Hey you……"

Old Chen's face darkened immediately. He thought to himself that if Shen Ming'en hadn't been driving, he would have taught that kid a lesson.

Yao Changyu, who was standing to the side, was amused by the two clowns. Although he didn't say anything, Chen Guangrong next to him could clearly feel that after learning that Shen Mingen was going to "donate" all the proceeds from his "Spark Chapter", Yao Changyu's gaze towards Shen Mingen in the front seat softened, and a smile appeared on his usually serious face.

This is quite normal. After all, given Shen Ming'en's actions, no matter what age group or Chinese person, wouldn't they all say "Sir, you are very righteous"?

"Fine, if you don't want to say it, then don't. We'll be there soon anyway!" Chen Guangrong said stubbornly.

"Hey, no, no..." Shen Ming'en quickly waved his hand when he saw this.

Perhaps knowing that if he continued to dawdle, he would lose his chance to speak, so Shen Ming'en directly stated the "purpose" of his trip.

Actually, he came today mainly for two things. One is that he wants to prepare for the filming of "Bright Sword," but he doesn't know the "standards" from the official side. After all, it's a "national team," and they're all from the Beijing circle. He felt that Yao Ming'en might have some connections during the Olympics, so Shen Ming'en wanted to ask him about it. The other thing was...

Hehe, let's see if Uncle Yao can loosen the "limits" for me.

The first one was essentially asking for a favor, but the second one definitely wasn't. The second one was mainly about where the "Silk Road Blossoms" theater troupe was headed next, so he could prepare his performance in advance…

"You're going to make a movie???"

When they heard about this, both Yao Changyu and Chen Guangrong were somewhat surprised, because they felt that Shen Mingen had "stepped out of his comfort zone." He was really living quite comfortably in his comfort zone, with plenty of food and drink every day...

However, although it was unexpected, these two were seniors after all, so it was really not as simple as Feng Yucan being rejected by Shen Mingen so easily.

Yao Changyu nodded, a rare occurrence for him, and said, "It's a good thing that young people dare to try..."

Master Yao is a typical example of someone who is ruthless but doesn't talk much. If he nods and is willing to praise, it's equivalent to affirming Shen Ming'en, and he's also likely willing to provide some assistance.

But there's always a "but"...

Is this not?

Immediately afterwards, Master Yao said:
"But you can't just shoot anything, especially those kinds of films."

Shen Ming'en just said he's going to film an anti-Japanese war drama, which fits his persona, but this kind of drama...

If filmed well, it's like "Attack the county town, save your sister-in-law!"; if filmed poorly, it's like someone standing on a cannon, smoking a cigar, and shouting "Fire!"
It's so awkward...

The worst-case scenario is that all the "audience appeal" he's built up in the music industry could be ruined by one film. That would be a complete disaster, a loss that wouldn't outweigh the gains.

Therefore, interpreting Yao Changyu's words in this way makes things very clear...

We're all on the same side, and given our relationship, I can offer you some help, just as a way of making up for not being able to help you much in the past.
But as I said before, the opportunity is given to you; whether you can seize it is up to you.

To put it bluntly, it's the same as during the Olympics. Yao Changyu can help Shen Mingen win the bid, and even give him the green light all the way, but the problem is that his own work and hard skills have to be solid, otherwise it's all in vain.

"Definitely, definitely..."

Shen Ming'en nodded repeatedly, expressing his agreement in a very good manner.

But for some reason, the more he acted this way, the more disdainful Yao Changyu's expression became...

Shen Ming'en always felt that there might be some misunderstanding between them. Why did Lao Yao always give him that look?

Just because I took his daughter riding a ghost fire?

Not so much...

Your daughter will eventually ride the will-o'-the-wisp, you can't blame me for that.

Their family is a family of opera performers, so I'm not some nobody anymore...

If you say he looks down on Shen Mingen, he often helps Shen Mingen; if you say he likes Shen Mingen, he always has that indifferent attitude.

So, are all these dads with daughters such good at "pretending"?

Shen Ming'en thought to himself that if his daughter ever got a boyfriend, he definitely couldn't be with Yao Changyu... Wait, my daughter gets a boyfriend?! I'd rather die than not pursue him!

Cough, I've gone off on a tangent. Let's just say we're on the same page.

Getting back to the point, Shen Ming'en couldn't control Lao Yao's attitude. Anyway, judging from his tone, he had agreed. Since the goal had been achieved, Shen Ming'en naturally wouldn't say anything. Why make a fool of himself?
But just then, Chen Guangrong, who had been listening to Shen Ming'en and Yao Changyu's conversation, suddenly asked Shen Ming'en a question out of curiosity:
"Didn't you donate all the money you made from your shows? How are you going to make a movie?"

In fact, in general, celebrities don't need to "pay out of their own pockets" when making movies. Most of them rely on their "celebrity effect" and "appeal" to attract investment.

As for the investors, if they see a good cast, they'll invest as long as they don't lose money.

But Shen Ming'en is clearly different...

He's primarily in the music industry and has no connections in film and television. Secondly, those investors probably wouldn't be optimistic about him. To put it bluntly, even if he were to act, there's no doubt he wouldn't get any investment.

What should I do?
I'll have to pay for it myself.

Don't let Teacher Chen's seemingly naive and unserious demeanor fool you. He's actually quite shrewd. He knows very well that if Shen Ming'en secures investment, he won't need to ask Yao Changyu to "smooth things over." The investors themselves can handle that for him.

So he must have paid for it himself.

But the problem is...

Didn't this kid donate all his money?
If I remember correctly, all he has now are some song copyright fees and such...

Those millions or tens of millions seem like a lot, but it's far from enough to make one movie. When making anti-Japanese war dramas, you need to hire hundreds or thousands of extras. What can he do with that little bit of money?

"Ha, well..." Shen Ming'en felt a little embarrassed upon hearing this. He cautiously glanced at Yao Changyu in the back through the rearview mirror between the driver and passenger seats. The latter happened to be looking at him as well. Their eyes met in mid-air, and Shen Ming'en immediately looked away guiltily, saying directly:
"I just... invited a few friends along..."

Shen Ming'en is probably used to being "upright and honest" all his life, so he is not used to lying. When he does lie, it gives people a very obvious feeling that he is "insecure".

Yao Changyu, sitting in the back seat, frowned slightly and then asked, "Who did you look for?"

"It's just... a friend..." Shen Ming'en replied. As he said this, he was practically begging Teacher Chen Guangrong to cover for him, but Old Chen didn't seem to notice anything amiss and even joined Yao Changyu in pressing him for answers, saying:

"So you're treating us like outsiders? We can't even say this?"

As he spoke, he patted Yao Changyu on the shoulder and said, "Old Yao, I don't think he's that sincere. I think we can help him or not..."

Shen Ming'en: "(╬￣ Pan￣)"

I fucking...you...Old Chen, you!
Hajime almost ground his back teeth to powder!
That's fucking disgusting!

"Aren't you going to tell me yet?" Chen Guangrong asked Shen Ming'en with a grin, relentlessly pressing and questioning this old man!

You forced me to do this… Shen Ming'en thought to himself.

Then, he smiled slightly, and in a very casual tone, said, "Actually... Ah Li helped me a lot..."

As soon as he said that...

"..."

Yao Changyu, who had been frowning with curiosity in the back seat, was suddenly stunned.

Teacher Chen Guangrong must have lost his mind, because he didn't understand and even asked Shen Ming'en, "I'm asking who you found to pay for the film, why are you talking about Ah Li? You..."

As he spoke...

It seems that, finally, I've realized something's not quite right.

moment……

"What the hell?!"

His expression froze for a moment, then his lips began to twitch uncontrollably. He looked at Shen Ming'en, then at Yao Changyu...

He didn't know what Shen Ming'en's expression was, but Yao Changyu's expression clearly turned a bit... ashen!
What are you doing?

Do you even know what the hell this is?!
Do you know what kind of situation this is?!

Oh, so, when Hajime was making a movie, he got paid through Yao Shuli, and Yao Changyu helped him smooth things over. This kid really is taking advantage of her parents, trying to feed off her entire family!

At this moment, Chen Guangrong finally understood why Shen Mingen hadn't mentioned who he had cast in the film earlier...

This blond guy is fucking outrageous!
"..."

The atmosphere in the car suddenly became very awkward.

"Ha... well..."

Perhaps sensing this, Shen Mingen quickly tried to "change the subject" to liven up the atmosphere.

Then he said something:
"Who's changed the director of our troupe? Uncle Yao?"

To be honest, Shen Ming'en thought he was pretty good at handling things. Wasn't the previous director of the "Silk Road Blossoms" troupe Zhao Qu? With so many things happening to that group, he would have a hard time keeping his current position, let alone keeping his position as director!
They'll definitely have to take it down!

Chen Guangrong had previously mentioned that Yao Changyu was likely to take office.

So, Shen Mingen brought this up now to congratulate Yao Changyu and ease the tense atmosphere in the car, right?
To Shen Ming'en's surprise...

"..."

After he finished speaking, there was not a sound from the back seat.

Looking back through the rearview mirror, Shen Ming'en noticed that neither Yao Changyu nor Chen Guangrong were smiling. Chen Guangrong's lips were twitching, and Yao Changyu had black lines appearing on his forehead.

Coincidentally, just as the car arrived at its destination, Shen Ming'en had barely parked when Yao Changyu opened the door, got out, glared resentfully at Shen Ming'en and Chen Guangrong, and said:
"You two are really birds of a feather."

After saying that, he went to the trunk, took his things, and left.

"Ber... what's wrong?" After Yao Changyu left, Shen Ming'en looked at Chen Guangrong strangely.

"...What the hell can I do?!" Chen Guangrong hurriedly got out of the car and chased after them, grabbing his things while giving Shen Ming'en his reply: "The troupe leader will be assigning someone new, not your Ang Kou Yao!"

"Huh???" Shen Ming'en scratched his head: "I don't know either..."

"That's why I say you have no sense of propriety!" Chen Guangrong complained.

"...Don't talk about me, Teacher Chen. You're acting like you had good judgment just now!" Shen Ming'en thought to himself, if you had any sense at all, I wouldn't have brought up such a sensitive topic just to lighten the mood!

“Hey you little brat, you have no conscience…” Chen Guangrong gritted his teeth.

“We’re evenly matched!” Shen Ming’en retorted without backing down.

"Hey you blondie..."

"You old man, you byd*&%￥#@..."

The two of them have been arguing for ages, they're really a pair of clowns. Luckily there aren't many media outlets around, otherwise these two would be laughed at by netizens all over the place!

……

After seeing Yao Changyu and Chen Guangrong off, Shen Ming'en made a phone call to Yao Shuli, briefly explaining what had happened. Yao Shuli almost burst out laughing on the other end of the line...

"Don't worry," Yao Shuli said, "My dad will help you."

She does understand her own father.

"That's good..." Shen Ming'en finally breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

After a brief chat with Yao Shuli, who seemed busy with work, Shen Ming'en quickly hung up. He had barely hung up, intending to drive home, when his phone rang again...

Upon picking it up, I saw it was Gou Ride Feng Yucan.

"Gaha!"

Shen Ming'en has been incredibly annoyed with Feng Yucan lately. Damn it, if that kid had any guts and invested a little money, would he have needed to live off Yao Shuli? Would Yao Changyu have minded him?!

"...Are you out of your mind?" Feng Yucan thought to himself that he hadn't offended Shen Ming'en.

"Spit it out if you have a problem!" Shen Ming'en vented all his anger on his brother.

Feng Yucan ignored all that and bluntly asked, "The production team asked me what topic to sing for the next episode?"

"Can't you think of what to sing yourself? You only know how to ask me? Will the show stop without me?!" Shen Ming'en transformed into a wicked little devil, frantically searching for a badger!
"Hey you..." What he said to Feng Yucan was completely baffling.

After venting for a while, Shen Ming'en finally said:
"Next issue..."

Let's come up with a topic related to "family members".

From the perspective of family members, it is quite appropriate to focus on the war of that time or to praise the "motherland".

And Shen Ming'en happens to have a song called "Grandma" that addresses this theme of "family".

……

(End of this chapter)