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

Chapter 72 I'd be a pig if I weren't!

Seeing that Director Chen Ke had directly selected four people, Lu Ran felt very gratified.

From Lu Ran's perspective, he never looked down on the group; on the contrary, he thought they were all promising talents.

"Director Chen, don't you think they're related by connections now?" Lu Ran asked Director Chen Ke with a smile.

"I never consider whether someone is a relative or not," Chen Ke said seriously. "I only choose actors based on whether they can handle the role."

"But let me make this clear from the start," Chen Ke said, glancing at the genuinely delighted Tan Yu and the others. "Once you're in my group, there's no distinction of rank or status. I don't care who you were before; if you don't act well, I'll still criticize you. If you delay the progress, I'll replace you!"

"Can you guys do it?"

"Yes," the four said in unison, their eyes filled with confidence.

As the audition concluded, the staff began cleaning up the venue.

Tan Yu lingered, his eyes glancing at Xu Manxue every now and then.

Xu Manxue is talking with the costume designer, seemingly discussing issues related to the upcoming costumes.

Having successfully auditioned for the role of Mu Nianci, Xu Manxue plans to start getting into character from today onwards.

Tan Yu took a deep breath and mustered his courage to walk over.

"That... Manxue."

Xu Manxue, who was speaking, heard someone call her, turned around, and saw that it was Tan Yu. She smiled and said, "Teacher Tan, it was very pleasant working together just now. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"I told you, don't call me teacher..." Tan Yu scratched the back of his head, took out his phone from his pocket. The screen was already unlocked, but he didn't know how to start the conversation.

Xu Manxue, however, understood the situation and took the initiative to say to Tan Yu, "Teacher Tan, would you like to add me on WeChat? I'll add you so it'll be easier to communicate and rehearse together in the future."

"Yes, yes, yes!" Tan Yu felt like he had been granted a pardon and quickly pulled up the QR code and handed it over. "I didn't mean anything else, that's exactly what I meant."

Xu Manxue scanned the QR code and sent a friend notification.

After Tan Yu quickly agreed, a new profile picture appeared in his WeChat contact list.

I clicked on it and saw a casual photo of Xu Manxue.

Unlike her demeanor while acting, her everyday photos reveal a more innocent and approachable girl-next-door charm.

He was staring at the profile picture and grinning foolishly when someone suddenly tapped him on the shoulder.

"Wow, Young Master Tan, you're so quick! You've already got the WeChat account?" Liu Jun leaned over with a wicked grin.

Zhao Dapeng and Sun Tianyu also gathered around, while Lu Ran stood by with his hands in his pockets, watching the commotion.

Tan Yu's face flushed: "Go away, go away, this is just normal work communication, what are you thinking?"

"We were just thinking about work communication, but who would look at their phone and smile so lewdly during work communication?" Liu Jun persisted. "During the audition just now, I don't remember there being that line 'Tell me your name,' so why did some people add it at the last minute?"

"Exactly, exactly," Zhao Dapeng chimed in. "I need to add them as friends for work too."

"Go away, what are you doing here? You're just an old rascal. What are you doing here?" Tan Yu said to Zhao Dapeng with a universally recognized gesture of contempt.

"So that means I can add it?" Sun Tianyu, who hadn't spoken until now, added with a smile, "Ouyang Ke and Mu Nianci also have quite a few scenes together."

"You're joining in the fun too?" Tan Yu was so annoyed by the few people around him that he lost his temper.

Xu Manxue, who had been listening to their conversation, couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Since you teachers want to add me on WeChat, I'll scan your QR codes." Xu Manxue spoke with grace and without any affectation.

"Huh? Oh! Okay." Liu Jun and the others quickly took out their phones as well.

After all, she might become my sister-in-law or brother's wife in the future, so adding her as a friend isn't a big deal.

"Teacher Lu, let's add each other on WeChat," Xu Manxue said to Lu Ran. "Thank you for choosing me in the last audition and for giving me this valuable opportunity."

Lu Ran was watching the show from the sidelines when Xu Manxue suddenly thanked him, so he politely took out his phone as well.

"That's because you have a good image and temperament, which meets our requirements." Lu Ran did not take credit.

"You're too modest. Someone as talented as you, who can write songs like 'The World,' 'Rice Fragrance,' and 'The Wind Rises,' is surprisingly approachable," Xu Manxue continued.

"Manxue, you're mistaken. 'The Wind Rises' wasn't written by Lu Ran; the other two were. 'The Wind Rises' was written by someone named Mingri," Liu Jun explained as he heard Xu Manxue's words.

As a fellow singer on the new song chart, he knows all too well who wrote and sang the songs on the chart.

"I know." As a former genius trainee, although she can no longer sing due to her voice, her ability to listen to music is still second to none.

When she first heard Shen Yuege's song "The Summer Breeze," she immediately recognized that the voice belonged to Lu Ran, who sang "Rice Fragrance."

Although the singing style and even the vocal techniques of the two songs are different, it doesn't hide anything from her.

Lu Ran looked at Xu Manxue meaningfully; this girl was quite interesting.

I could actually tell from their voices that they were the same person.

It should be noted that, apart from Shen Yuege herself, no one else knows that the two are the same person.

Since Xu Manxue could recognize it, it proves that she must also have some talent in music.

Such an outstanding girl is really a good match for Tan Yu.

"Alright, alright, stop fooling around." Lu Ran intervened at the right moment. "Since Director Chen has chosen you, the training schedule for the next two months will definitely be very demanding. Tan Yu, especially you, Yang Kang has a lot of action scenes and is the second male lead, so you'll have to put up with some hardship beforehand."

Tan Yu immediately became serious: "Brother Lu, don't worry, I definitely won't let you down."

As he said this, his gaze unconsciously drifted towards Xu Manxue.

Xu Manxue was oblivious to Tan Yu's gaze, looking down at her phone. Her gentle profile captivated Tan Yu.

Noticing Tan Yu's expression, Lu Ran shook his head: "This kid is probably beyond saving."

...

That evening, Lu Ran got home at almost seven o'clock. Today, because of Tan Yu and the others, he had worked overtime for nearly twenty minutes, which was unprecedented for him.

As soon as I entered the door, I received a call from Shen Yuege.

"Feed?" Lu Ran answered the phone while changing his shoes.

A tired voice came from the other end of the phone: "Just finished work and got back to the hotel. I'm exhausted today."

"Really? Then you should get some rest." Lu Ran glanced at the time. "By the way, have you eaten? Don't skip meals again."

"I ate, I had a boxed lunch, but it wasn't as good as yours." Shen Yuege's voice carried a hint of coquettishness that she herself didn't realize. "I've been away on business these past few days, and I've really been missing your cooking."

"That's easy. When you get back, I'll make it for you. Whether it's steamed lamb, steamed bear's paw, steamed deer tail, roast duck, roast chicken, roast goose, braised pork, braised duck, soy sauce chicken, cured pork, preserved eggs, small sausages, dried meat, sausages, assorted cold dishes, smoked chicken belly, steamed eight-treasure pork..."

Lu Ran immediately started performing a rapid-fire monologue for Shen Yuege.

"Stop, stop, stop! How can I possibly eat all this? I'm not a pig." Shen Yuege was amused by Lu Ran's antics.

"You're not a pig, you're a pig for sure," Lu Ran replied.

"I'm not a pig, that's for sure." Although Shen Yuege didn't understand what "I'm not a pig" meant, she instinctively felt that it must be something bad, so it was right for her to object.

"Fine, then you'd be a pig if you didn't," Lu Ran replied with a laugh.

After a few seconds, Shen Yuege seemed to understand what it meant.

"Lu Ran!!! You just wait, I'm going to deduct the remaining payment from your account!"

...