novelinnhs Chapter 19 The Black Swan of the Rich and Handsome Man
Chapter 19 The Black Swan of the Rich and Handsome Man
The message came from an internal company email – "Notification Regarding Adjustments to Senior Management Positions within the Group".
The content is quite long, but the gist is that the group's COO, Gong Yu, resigned for personal reasons and officially left on September 30.
During this period, the business he was in charge of was gradually transferred to the general managers of each department, who reported directly to President Zhang Chaoyang, so that each department could make good handover and cooperation.
The email ended with a detailed handover checklist, with the innovation project team prominently listed.
Ren Pingsheng closed the email and leaned back in his chair.
What's meant to come will come.
He knew Gong Yu would leave before his rebirth, but he didn't expect it to happen at this time.
The notice was issued at the end of August, and the power was handed over at the end of September, which is a full month.
What can you do in a month?
The innovation team has made such smooth progress during this period because Gong Yu is the only one in charge.
The Spark Program was initiated by Gong Yu, who attached great importance to it and gave it a high degree of freedom. Ren Pingsheng basically had the final say on the budget, personnel, and content direction.
Alex has disliked him for a long time, so why hasn't he made a move yet?
It's not that I don't want to, it's that I can't.
Gong Yu is the COO and the second-in-command of Sohu. He can keep Deng Ye in check, and naturally he can also keep Alex, who works under Deng Ye, in check.
But once Gong Yu left, this layer of protection was gone.
The innovation team, which he had just built up into a lucrative business, might be swallowed up by Alex under the guise of "resource integration."
A sense of crisis is ever-present.
Ren Pingsheng switched to his browser and glanced at the current public opinion feed.
The TV series "Dwelling Narrowness" has sparked a nationwide viewing frenzy, and terms like "Haizao," "Song Siming," and "mortgage slave" have become hot topics of conversation.
The toxic video he posted using the "Life Story" account pushed this class anxiety and gender antagonism to its peak.
The term "diaosi" has completely broken out of its niche.
The word he coined in the video no longer needs explanation.
On Tianya, Mop, Tieba, and QQ Space, people everywhere call themselves "losers," mocking themselves as "losers" and using "loser" to define their unchangeable life situation.
Moreover, "iPartment" also premiered in early August. Although the reviews were highly polarized, with some criticizing it for plagiarism and others saying it was funny, the discussion volume never dropped.
As a result, the market for sitcoms has grown even larger.
All the trends are blowing in the direction of "Diaosi Men".
The window of opportunity is closing, we must speed things up.
Ren Pingsheng closed the webpage and secretly made his plans.
Before Gong Yu left, "Men's Diary" had to be filmed and the online release plan had to be implemented.
As for things further ahead, he has thought about them, but not now.
The film crew resumed work as usual the next day.
"Cut, passed."
Dapeng sprang up from the folding chair, ripped the tissue stained with prop blood off his neck, and threw it on the ground. "It's sticky and disgusting."
Qiao San climbed up from under the wall, dusted off his backside, and said, "Brother Peng, was my prone position okay? Director Ren didn't even yell 'cut'."
"Do you need acting skills to lie on the ground?"
"Yes, it's necessary," Qiao San said seriously. "I've done the research; lying at a 15-degree angle makes it more comfortable for the audience to watch."
"roll!"
……
Ren Pingsheng rearranged the shooting order, moving Bai Ke and Yang Ying's scenes to the back and focusing on shooting Da Peng, Qiao San, and other supporting actors' scenes first.
The chemistry between these two didn't need any adjustment period; it just came naturally as they filmed. Occasionally, a few lines that weren't in the script would pop out, and the effect was even better.
The scenes involving several supporting characters were also wrapped up; the roles of A, B, C, and D in the office were not particularly challenging.
During lunch break.
Ren Pingsheng, holding a boxed lunch, looked at Bai Ke, who was squatting in the corner, struggling to make an expression in front of the mirror, and felt a headache coming on.
Several training plans flashed through his mind.
Want to wash your feet?
Want to go to karaoke?
Or simply...
Just as Ren Pingsheng was getting more and more carried away by the absurdity of the situation, a discordant voice rang out at the door.
"Hey, Director Ren, eating?"
Alex, dressed in a custom-made suit and carrying a Starbucks, sauntered in.
He glanced around at the rather rudimentary film crew. "This is quite a large production. I heard it's for another game company?"
Ren Pingsheng looked up. "What is it?"
"Can't you come visit if there's nothing wrong?" Alex chuckled. "Just checking in on an old colleague, after all, your big boss is leaving soon, and who knows who will protect you in the future."
The words "big backer" were emphasized.
Ren Pingsheng remained expressionless. "Thank you for your concern."
"You're welcome," Alex said, taking a half-step back and spreading his hands. "I'm just reminding you that young people who take too big a step are prone to tearing their balls."
He wasn't satisfied and added another sentence.
"Once the innovation team is assigned to a different group, I'll still keep the material editing position for you."
After speaking, he walked away.
Kobayashi watched Alex's retreating figure, her expression as if she'd swallowed a fly. "What's with the act? He's just relying on having a good older sister, isn't he?"
Ren Pingsheng didn't reply, and took a sip of water.
Bai Ke, who was moving props nearby, stopped what he was doing, looked at Xiao Lin, and then at the direction where Alex had disappeared.
"Brother Pingsheng".
"Um."
Bai Ke put down the foam board in his hand, moved closer to Ren Pingsheng, and looked somewhat serious.
"The 'tall, rich, and handsome' guy you're talking about, should he be like him? Can I act like him?"
"Learn from him?"
Before Ren Pingsheng could even speak, Da Peng, who was eating his lunchbox next to him, sneered and almost spat out his food.
"Give me a break! What kind of rich and handsome guy is he? At most, he's just a high-level wage earner, a nouveau riche pretending to be one."
Da Peng put the lunchbox on the table, took out his phone, scrolled through it a couple of times, and then shoved it right in front of the two of them.
"Look at this! This is a real second-generation rich kid!"
The screen displays a post from Tianya.
[Wanda Group CEO Wang Jianlin declares: He will give his son, who has returned from studying abroad, 500 million yuan as start-up capital. He will allow him to fail twice, and on the third attempt, he will obediently return to work at Wanda!]
The post included a slightly blurry photo.
The photo shows a young man wearing an ordinary T-shirt, whose hair doesn't look well-groomed.
The caption said that this kid had just graduated from UCL in the UK and returned to China, and his father gave him 500 million to do whatever he wanted.
The comments section was filled with sour grapes.
Saying things like "being born into the right family is a skill" or "someone else's pocket money is more than I could earn in eight lifetimes."
But Ren Pingsheng's attention was not on the comments.
He stared at the photo, his pupils suddenly contracting.
Principal Wang!
Shred the onion!
He always felt that something was missing from the "tall, rich, and handsome" character, and now everything fits in.
Who says that a rich, handsome, and successful man has to wear a suit and tie?
Who says rich people can't eat at roadside stalls, swear, and act like losers?
"Men's Diary" is a comedy with a nonsensical style. Since Bai Ke can't play a "real rich and handsome man", let him play a "rich and handsome man in the eyes of a loser".
"Baike!"
Ren Pingsheng grabbed Bai Ke's shoulder, his eyes flashing with an alarming light.
"Ping...Brother Pingsheng, what's wrong?"
Bai Ke was startled.
"I'm not wearing Armani next time!"
"what?"
"I'm telling you, next time we're filming, you'd better wear your usual shorts and t-shirt from home, and mess up your hair, the sloppier the better!"
Ren Pingsheng pointed to Wang Sicong's photo on his phone, his voice excited.
"You don't need to play a pretentious guy like Alex! Just play yourself, a poor loser wearing a twenty-dollar T-shirt!"
"Leave the rest to me!"