You were supposed to have a fake marriage with the diva, so how did you become her father?

Chapter 60 The Purple-Faced Minister and the Bald Minister

The atmosphere inside the large conference room of Star Glory Entertainment was quite somber.

The long conference table was filled with heads of various departments.

Li Mo, the executive director, also had a serious expression on his face at this moment.

The large screen behind him displayed screenshots of trending topics on Weibo:

#Starlight Entertainment's martial arts blockbuster "Sword's Roar Across the World" officially announced#, #StarHua Media's historical political drama "The Court's Turmoil" scheduled for release#.

At this critical juncture, the two old rivals have coincidentally released such important projects, and both have set the broadcast time for the summer season three months from now, clearly intending to provoke Xingyao Entertainment, which is also a leading company in the industry.

And with such a tight schedule, they clearly don't intend to give Xingyao any time to react.

"As everyone has seen, Xingguang and Xinghua have really gone all out this time," Li Mo said, tapping the table.

"As far as I know, Starlight has hired Chen Kai, a famous director of martial arts films, and the lead actor is the popular young actor Raymond Lam; Star China has a top screenwriter for historical dramas and a cast of veteran actors."

"There are already some negative comments about us online, asking us what works Xingyao will be releasing this summer."

He glanced down at the crowd: "The company's upper management means that we must respond, and we must produce something of substance."

"Time is tight and the task is heavy. So I'd like to see if anyone has any ideas."

The audience fell silent, and all the department heads remained quiet.

Lu Ran certainly wouldn't be the one to stick his neck out. Although he was confident in his work, there was no need for him to take on this task.

The principle of working at the company is that you should never do anything that is not your responsibility. Once you do it the first time, the job will be yours from now on.

Seeing that no one in the audience spoke, Li Mo pointed to the person in charge of the long-running drama series and said, "Bai Jing, your department's project this year, 'Urban Romance,' is progressing the fastest. Is it possible to adjust the schedule and move it to the summer season?"

Bai Jing, the person in charge of the long-running drama series, scratched his balding head, which wasn't exactly white, and said with a bitter face, "President Li, 'Urban Romance' is a modern workplace romance drama, which is completely different from their historical drama! Besides, our lead actors' schedules are booked until the fall. If we force it to be brought forward, I'm afraid we can't guarantee the quality!"

"I know there are difficulties!" Li Mo interrupted him, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Now is not the time to talk about difficulties. If there are difficulties, we should overcome them. This task will be assigned to your team, and the company will allocate all resources to support you."

Seeing that Li Mo had put it this way, Bai Jing could only nod: "Mr. Li, I understand, I will do my best."

"Your other departments also need to work hard and try to finish the project as soon as possible." Li Mo glanced around.

The heads of the other departments only dared to nod silently. At this moment, none of them dared to make a sound, for fear of being called out by Li Mo.

Historical dramas have long production cycles and large investments. However, if they are well-made, the effects are also the most obvious.

Since the two companies dared to provoke us, they must have been absolutely confident.

Just as Li Mo was preparing to arrange for other departments to jointly support the department, two voices suddenly came from below.

"President Li, I have a suitable candidate to recommend." Wang Wei, the head of the Sixth Department, stood up, though his face was still covered in bruises, making him look somewhat comical. "As far as I know, the Eighth Department of Long-Running Drama happens to be making martial arts dramas. I think it would be very suitable for Minister Lu's Eighth Department to take on this challenge together."

Zhang Dehai, the head of the Seventh Department, chimed in, "That's right. Minister Lu just happened to have thwarted Starlight Entertainment before, so this is a good opportunity to thwart them again."

The two had taken the grievances they had just received to heart, and now that they had a chance to put down Lu Ran's Eight Divisions, they naturally didn't want to miss it.

The two's back-and-forth banter drew the attention of many in the conference room to Lu Ran, who was sitting in the back row, idly twirling a pen.

Upon hearing the two mention himself and the Eight Divisions, Lu Ran paused, put down his pen, and looked at them with a half-smile.

However, before Lu Ran could respond, Li Mo's expression turned cold.

"Sixth and Seventh Departments! This isn't the time to settle personal scores; we're discussing the project. Lu Ran's Eighth Department is producing a long-running drama for the first time, and you're asking them to take on this challenge? Isn't that ridiculous?"

Li Mo's intention to protect them was obvious. He had also heard about the unpleasant incident that occurred during the recruitment process that afternoon.

The reason we didn't publicly reprimand the two is because now is the time when we need internal unity to stand together against external forces.

He also didn't want to create more internal conflicts.

But it was clear that the two were determined to confront Lu Ran this time. Even after Li Mo's warning, they still spoke up: "President Li, we're also thinking about the company. After all, Minister Lu is experienced, capable, and young. He might actually be able to pull off a surprise victory!"

"Yes, young people are quick-witted, unlike us old folks whose thinking is rigid and can't compare to Minister Lu's creativity."

Seeing the two of them constantly making sarcastic remarks about him, Lu Ran put down his pen.

Since you've come to me of your own accord, don't blame me for being impolite.

"What were these two ministers again? I can't remember. Let's start by teaching you about the purple-faced minister and the bald minister."

"Since the two ministers say they have rigid thinking and lack creativity, it just so happens that Xingyao doesn't tolerate idlers."

"Aren't you two getting out of here?"

As soon as Lu Ran spoke, the people from the other departments below burst into laughter.

Zhang Dehai and Wang Wei were furious.

What is a purple-faced minister? What is a bald minister?

Don't you understand the principle of not hitting someone in the face? Don't you know there's a name in front of your seat?

What's with the "get out yet" thing? We've been working at this company for almost twenty years, and you're just a kid? How dare you call me that?

But before the two could react, Lu Ran continued, "I am truly flattered that the two ministers think so highly of me."

"However," Lu Ran's tone shifted, his gaze sharpening, "I don't like being used as a pawn, nor do I like being provoked for no reason. If neither of you is willing to resign voluntarily, how about we make a bet?"

The heads of the Sixth and Seventh Departments exchanged a glance, a sense of vigilance rising in their hearts. Their intuition told them that making this bet with Lu Ran would definitely not be a good thing, but they did not want to lose face in front of their colleagues.

"What are we betting on?"

Lu Ran's smile deepened, and he said, word by word, "Let's bet on how we deal with the challenges from Starlight and StarHua this time. If our eight productions can beat either Starlight or StarHua in terms of summer ratings and reviews..."

He paused, staring at the two of them:

"Both of your departments will be disbanded, and the staff will be reassigned by the company. As for you two..."

"Get out of here!"

"Are you willing to bet?"

...