Huayu: Starting from retirement, sweeping across the domestic entertainment industry

At 2 PM, Li Ran and Hu Lianxin walked into the Wajijiwa headquarters building together.

As the elevator ascended, Hu Lianxin's body tensed up.

Li Ran glanced at her and asked, "Nervous?"

Hu Lianxin nodded, then shook her head: "There is one thing, it's my first time meeting President Long."

She wasn't sure if it was because she was meeting her boss or her parents.

Li Ran smiled but didn't say anything.

The elevator doors opened, and he stepped out first. Hu Lianxin took a deep breath and followed behind him.

Li Ran pushed open the door and walked in casually, then went straight to the sofa area next to him and sat down.

Hu Lianxin walked respectfully to the desk and bowed slightly: "Hello, President Long."

Long Danni nodded, her tone indifferent: "Sit down, not everyone has arrived yet."

Hu Lianxin responded and sat down on the sofa next to Li Ran, her posture as upright as a student in class.

She placed her bag on her lap, clasped her hands together, and stared at the potted plant on the coffee table, not daring to move.

Long Danni looked at this scene, then at Li Ran, who was sprawled on the sofa next to her, scrolling through his phone. She smiled, but said nothing.

In the office, the only sounds were the occasional rustling of Long Danni flipping through documents and the faint strains of short videos playing on Li Ran's phone.

Hu Lianxin glanced at Li Ran discreetly.

He was relaxed, unlike me, who felt uncomfortable sitting here.

Hu Lianxin withdrew her gaze and continued to stare at the potted plant.

……

A knock came at the door.

Zhai Xiaowen pushed open the door and entered. He first walked to Long Danni's desk and bowed slightly: "President Long."

Long Danni nodded.

Zhai Xiaowen then turned to the sofa area and smiled at Li Ran, saying, "Hello, Brother Ran."

Li Ran nodded: "Hello! Please have a seat."

Zhai Xiaowen responded and nodded to Hu Lianxin as a greeting before sitting down on the sofa on the other side.

He sat more relaxed than Hu Lianxin, but not as casually as Li Ran.

Long Danni closed the document in her hand, leaned back in her chair, and glanced at the three people:

"Alright, tell me what happened."

Li Ran didn't say anything and continued scrolling through his phone, as if the matter had nothing to do with him.

Long Danni glanced at him but didn't say anything, instead turning her gaze to Zhai Xiaowen.

Zhai Xiaowen cleared his throat and began to speak.

He started from the first day of the script reading, talking about the absurd settings in the script. He spoke in great detail, trying to remain objective, but when he talked about the parts where he argued with the screenwriter, his voice unconsciously rose a little.

"I really explained to the screenwriter that professional players would never intentionally throw a match. It's a matter of principle, a red line that can't be crossed."

"The screenwriter said it was a sacrifice for love, necessary for the plot's tension. I said we couldn't have the character do something like that; that's not tension, that's ruining the character. And then we started arguing."

He paused for a moment, then explained, "Besides, Li Ran is an e-sports champion. I'm worried that it would have a bad influence if we, artists from the same company, were to star in a drama that denigrates e-sports..."

As Long Danni listened, her brows furrowed even more deeply.

All she knew was that it was a drama about e-sports. When Li Ran refused to act in it, she thought it was because he disliked the melodramatic plot of "the male and female leads falling in love during a competition".

Now, after hearing Zhai Xiaowen's account, she realized that the problem was much more serious than she had imagined.

Clearly, she hadn't read the complete script.

Li Ran finally put down her phone and asked, "Auntie, which platform is producing this show?"

Long Danni said, "It's the company that produced 'The Untamed,' Xinbang Media. Tencent and Youku have invested in it."

Li Ran smiled and said knowingly, "Then we probably don't have much control anymore."

Long Danni nodded.

If Li Ran had accepted this role back then, given his status and resources, he could indeed have fought for control and even modified the script according to his own ideas. But now…

"Then let's withdraw," Li Ran said calmly. "If our company's artists participate, I feel Wajijiwa will really be criticized to the point of bankruptcy."

Long Danni did not respond immediately.

She understood what Li Ran meant.

He himself is a world champion from an e-sports background, and his fan base includes a large number of e-sports fans, who have extremely low tolerance for dramas that insult e-sports.

If artists from Wajijiwa Entertainment participate in the show, their e-sports fans will be the first to object. They are already the main force behind the "Wajijiwa goes bankrupt" meme, and it might turn into "Wajijiwa must die".

"Withdrawal is certain."

Long Danni said, then looked at Zhai Xiaowen and Hu Lianxin, "You two should take a break for a while. The company will find you other resources."

Zhai Xiaowen nodded, his face expressionless, but there was a hint of relief in his eyes.

Hu Lianxin nodded and softly said, "Thank you, President Long."

Long Danni waved her hand: "Alright, you can all go out now. Li Ran, stay."

The door closed.

Only Li Ran and Long Danni remained in the office.

Li Ran leaned back on the sofa, her posture more relaxed than before: "Auntie, is there anything else?"

Long Danni did not speak immediately.

She stood up, walked around the desk, went to the sofa area, and sat down opposite Li Ran.

Long Danni looked at him, remained silent for a few seconds, and then slowly asked, "What is your relationship with this Hu Lianxin?"

Li Ran paused for a moment, then smiled. This time he didn't hide anything: "Oh, my girlfriend."

Anyway, my mom already knows about Zhou Ye and Tian Xiwei, so one more won't make a difference.

He was unaware that his assistant, Xiao Chen, had already betrayed him.

Long Danni frowned slightly: "What about Zhou Ye? And Tian Xiwei?"

"They're all the same."

Long Danni paused for two seconds, then asked, "What about your junior? Zhang Jingyi from Dong Shen?"

"We're friends for now."

Long Danni stared at him for a full five seconds.

She remembered what her older sister, Li Ran's mother, had said on the phone before: "Let him interact with girls more, instead of just playing games all day."

But this kid actually exceeded the target.

"I told you to find someone," Long Danni began, her tone indescribably complex, "How many are you planning to date?"

Li Ran chuckled awkwardly, saying innocently, "Wasn't this what my mother asked me to do?"

Long Danni choked for a moment.

"Did your mom tell you to find so many people right away?" she said irritably.

"No, not at all," Li Ran answered honestly.

Long Danni sighed.

She leaned back on the sofa, rubbed her temples, and after a while spoke again: "Forget it, I can't be bothered with you. But there's one thing you need to remember."

She looked at Li Ran, her gaze turning serious: "If anything happens, let me know in advance. Don't let it become a trending topic and your PR team have no idea what happened."

Li Ran dropped his nonchalant expression and nodded seriously: "Understood."

Long Danni waved her hand: "Alright, get lost! Call Zhai Xiaowen here."

Watching Li Ran leave, Long Danni suddenly chuckled softly.

This kid is really something...

She shook her head, picked up her phone, and sent a message to the head of the resources department: Keep an eye out for suitable resources from Hu Lianxin.

……

Li Ran walked out of the office and saw Hu Lianxin and Zhai Xiaowen chatting at the end of the corridor.

The two heard footsteps and turned around at the same time.

Li Ran walked over and chatted casually with Zhai Xiaowen for a few minutes.

"Alright, we can talk again another time. My aunt wants you to come over."

Zhai Xiaowen nodded slightly, "Then let's talk next time, Ran-ge."

……