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

Chapter 237 The Joining of Myth Entertainment

Two days later, at a private restaurant near Jing'an Temple.

When Lu Ran and Shen Yuege arrived, Xu Manlin was already waiting in the private room.

Without an assistant or agent, she sat alone by the window, holding a cup of tea, gazing blankly at the sycamore trees outside.

"Sister Manlin," Shen Yuege spoke first, her tone very friendly.

After all, Xu Manlin was Shen Yuege's senior, and the two had worked together at Legend Entertainment, but they later fell out for some reason.

Looking back now, it was all a misunderstanding.

Xu Manlin snapped out of her daze, stood up, and looked at the couple in front of her, suddenly feeling somewhat disoriented.

A year ago, they were fierce rivals.

To prove her sister right, she led the entire company in declaring war on Shen Yuege, and it was with this man that Shen Yuege turned the tables.

A year later, Shen Yuege had her own studio and "Super Girl," and her husband was still the same enchanting Lu Ran.

Xu Manlin had just finished studying abroad for half a year, which made her even more aware of how extraordinary Lu Ran was.

This is also why she doesn't want to be enemies with Lu Ran.

A woman's intuition told her that Lu Ran's achievements would not be limited to this, and that Shen Yuege would also rise to a higher level.

Although she had no intention of riding on Lu Ran's coattails, she at least didn't want to be his enemy.

"Please have a seat," Xu Manlin said with a smile as she greeted the two of them. "Don't stand."

The three sat down, the waiter brought tea, and then quietly left, closing the door behind him.

Lu Ran broke the silence first: "Sister Manlin, Manxue has been talking about you every day these past few days. She says you haven't spent much time with her since you came back, you've been too busy with work."

Xu Manlin laughed: "That girl is much busier than me now. She called yesterday to say she was still filming, and today she said she has to record some interview. I can hardly even get a date with her."

"That's all thanks to her own hard work," Shen Yuege continued. "She's really going all out now, and nobody can stop her."

Xu Manlin nodded, looking at Shen Yuege with a hint of gratitude in her eyes.

After all, her sister's achievements are inseparable from Shen Yuege and her husband.

"Yuege, to be honest, I was quite jealous of you before," Xu Manlin said with some emotion.

Shen Yuege was stunned for a moment, then looked at Xu Manlin without saying a word.

Xu Manlin continued, "You have talent, you have luck, and you have a husband like Lu Ran. I wanted to pursue you, and I did for a year, but you kept drifting further and further away. Later I realized that it wasn't that I wasn't trying hard enough, it was that my perspective was too narrow."

She paused, then said seriously, "This time I've come back, I want to change my way of life."

Shen Yuege looked at her without saying anything, but her eyes showed more understanding.

Xu Manlin's change of mind was mainly influenced by Lu Ran.

Lately, the name Lu Ran has been generating a buzz.

Even Xingyao, the gatekeeper with the same name as Lu Ran, received a 1,000 yuan raise.

After listening to Xu Manlin's words, Lu Ran asked at the opportune moment, "Sister Manlin, Manxue said you have something you want to talk to us about?"

"Yes." Xu Manlin nodded and said seriously, "Myth Entertainment rejected Tencent's acquisition offer."

Lu Ran raised an eyebrow: "You refused?"

"We refused," Xu Manlin said. "Sixty million, 10%, no interference in operations—the terms were indeed very good. But we still refused."

Why?

"Because we don't want to be cannon fodder." Xu Manlin looked at him. "President Lu, you've been fighting with WeChat for so long, you should understand better than me. What Tencent wants isn't Myth Entertainment, but a pawn that can help them fight against TUTU. If they win, they reap the rewards; if they lose, we take the blame."

Lu Ran nodded in agreement.

In fact, Tencent's intentions are as clear as day.

Many companies can also see that the final outcome of siding with Tencent will not be as they imagine, where they can benefit from a powerful patron.

However, most companies are indeed starting to struggle to operate, and they can only resort to adding fuel to the fire.

Xu Manlin continued, "Moreover, during my six months abroad, I've come to understand one thing: going against you will not end well."

Lu Ran nearly choked on her tea: "Sister Manlin, what you're saying... sounds like an insult?"

"I'm not insulting you, I'm speaking from the heart," Xu Manlin said earnestly. "I've seen what you've done in the past six months. Writing songs, writing scripts, making animations, starting a company, building a social media platform—everything you've accomplished has been successful. There's luck involved, but it's definitely mostly due to your ability. I'm no match for you, and I don't want to be your match anymore."

She took a deep breath and revealed the true purpose of her trip:

"Therefore, I would like to join your alliance on behalf of Shinhwa Entertainment."

As soon as Xu Manlin finished speaking, Lu Ran's eyes widened.

Should they abandon Tencent and join their own company?

Lu Ran doubted his ears, wondering if he had misheard.

After all, most companies avoided Samsung like the plague after Tencent made its move, so this was the first one to join in voluntarily.

But Lu Ran had to admire that Myth Entertainment had a good eye for talent, knowing who would win in the end.

Lu Ran and Shen Yuege exchanged a glance, then smiled at the same time.

"Sister Manlin," Shen Yuege began, "Are you really sure you want to join us? Is your opinion your own, or your company's?"

"The purpose of this meeting is actually to represent the company and discuss cooperation with you." Xu Manlin also took out the prepared contract. "The company was originally wavering, but at the meeting a couple of days ago, I persuaded those old fogies on the board of directors and secured the opportunity to cooperate with you."

"You guys aren't going to refuse, are you?"

"How could that be?" Lu Ran quickly denied. "Your arrival is like adding wings to a tiger; of course we're happy."

Xu Manlin knew that Lu Ran's words contained a hint of flattery.

The addition of Myth Entertainment will not have a significant impact on their overall operations.

However, Lu Ran's opinion was different.

Firstly, for Samsung, this is a signal from a company indicating that Tencent is not the only dominant player.

Secondly, Myth Entertainment's strength is not too bad. The reason it is considered weak is because it is compared with top entertainment companies such as Starry Night Entertainment. Compared with the dozen or so companies acquired by Tencent, Myth Entertainment's strength is still relatively high.

"In that case, let's take the contract and go back to Xingyao Entertainment," Lu Ran continued.

Xingyao Entertainment's legal department needs to review the contract again and finalize some details.

The addition of Myth this time is relatively simple, because it is not an acquisition, but rather a statement, similar to a defensive alliance and resource sharing.

After thinking it over, Lu Ran realized that his side was actually quite strong as well.

First of all, the three stars, Xingyao, Xingguang, and Xinghua, are jokingly referred to online as "Sanxingdui".

Secondly, there's Lu Ran's Rabbit and Shen Yuege's Star Moon Studio.

In addition, there's Baidu and the soon-to-be-entering Myth Entertainment.

Lu Ran felt even more confident.

...