Chapter 1156: Who Else Is There?
Looking at the current situation, there was no other variety show that could rival Classic X Files.
Hence, Lu Man had temporarily ended her collaboration with Classic X Files.
Hence, when Lu Dongliu called this time, Lu Man was really a little surprised.
“Haha, Lu Man, did you forget? I told you before that you must come for the finale episode of Classic X Files,” Lu Dongliu said. “The norm for our finale episode is to invite the most outstanding and popular artiste at the moment to come and attend our show.”
“So many episodes have aired this season, but you’re definitely the most popular artiste at the moment, there is no doubt about that. You’re the first person I called to invite, you must definitely attend,” Lu Dongliu said.
Lu Man thought about it and felt that she could attend, given her good working relationship with Lu Dongliu and Classic X Files’s current popularity.
It was just perfect as she could use this to boost her selection chances at the Fei Yue Film Festival.
“Sure. When do I go for the recording?” Lu Man readily agreed.
Lu Dongliu was a little afraid that Lu Man would not agree.
It was because Lu Man was really too special.
She was focused on acting and seemed not to care about all those publicity and celebrity gossips.
The netizens always said that Lu Man liked to stir up her popularity, but upon thinking about it carefully again, he realized she was actually the one stirring up the popularity of others.
She helped Du Lin, Greedy Wolf Operation, Red Tiger, and Classic X Files. However, not once in all these cases did she stir up her own popularity.
She helped so many people and programs, but she simply focused on acting quietly on her own.
Hence, Lu Dongliu was really worried that Lu Man did not want to participate in too many of these programs.
He did not expect Lu Man to agree to him so readily. Lu Dongliu relaxed quite a bit as well. “Alright, then, that’s settled. I will ask someone to send you a contract later on.”
After ending the call, Lu Dongliu started to contact other people.
As it was the finale episode, he regarded it highly. The people he contacted were all important figures; hence, he personally contacted them.
For the last person, Lu Dongliu dialed Liang Chengbing’s number and said, “Hello, Director Liang. I am Lu Dongliu, the Director of Classic X Files.”
“Hello, nice to hear from you,” Liang Chengbing replied politely.
Lu Dongliu thought of Liang Chengbing because Liang Chengbing had once shot a classic film and had a good reputation.
Furthermore, he had just finished shooting a new movie, which would be aired soon. Liang Chengbing definitely needed much exposure to publicize his new movie.
Classic X Files was thus a good choice.
Indeed, Liang Chengbing’s attitude towards Lu Dongliu was very polite.
“It’s like this, our show is about to record its finale episode. Hence, I want to invite Director Liang to come and participate in the recording of our finale episode. May I know if Director Liang has the time to attend?” Lu Dongliu asked and also informed him of the dates of the recording.
Liang Chengbing did not agree immediately and asked pretentiously, “Who are the other guests that will be attending?”
Lu Dongliu did not mind this. He knew that Liang Chengbing wanted to confirm how famous the other guests were so that he would not end up attending the show with some unknown celebrities that would lower his status and reputation.
These things were not uncommon, and Lu Dongliu was very experienced with such situations, so he told him the names of the confirmed guests.
Liang Chengbing was very satisfied with all the other guests.
However, when Lu Dongliu mentioned Lu Man, Liang Chengbing suddenly interjected, “Hang on! Who else is there?”
Chapter 1157: There Can Only Be Me Without Her
“Lu Man,” Lu Dongliu repeated himself.
Liang Chengbing’s face immediately hardened. “You think a C-list celebrity like Lu Man is fit to be on the same show as me? Director Lu, the guests that you mentioned previously were all not bad, but Lu Man? Her celebrity status is obviously not high enough for her to be on the same show as us. Won’t it be too strange to bring her on the show?”
They were all A-listers. Even the lowest-ranking ones were the best of the B-list celebrities or directors. The sudden addition of Lu Man skewed the whole picture.
Lu Dongliu understood the implication behind Liang Chengbing’s words. Lu Man’s celebrity status might not be the only thing he was disdainful of.
“It’s like this, Lu Man attended our show previously and the rankings for that episode did quite well. The audience loved her very much. Inviting the most popular guests back for our finale episode is the norm for our show. We invited Lu Man based on her popularity,” Lu Dongliu explained. “Although Lu Man’s celebrity status is not very high, she is very well-liked by the public.”
“That still won’t do. A small-time celebrity is a small-time celebrity. If she wants to be on the same show as me, she can wait until her ranking rises,” Liang Chengbing insisted stubbornly.
Lu Dongliu frowned as he asked, “Director Liang, you’re saying that if I want to invite you, I can’t invite Lu Man?”
“That’s right.” Liang Chengbing did not disguise his words and continued, “I won’t be in the same show as Lu Man, be it for this program or for others. There can only be me without her. If you want me to be on your show, remove Lu Man from the list.”
Liang Chengbing’s words were very harsh.
Lu Dongliu frowned. Liang Chengbing’s actions were effectively out to ban Lu Man!
Be it for this show or for other events, as long as he, Liang Chengbing, was to attend, Lu Man would not be allowed to attend.
Liang Chengbing had said this rather confidently as well. When he said it, he even smiled afterward.
He felt that anyone with brains would know which choice to make.
He was an A-list director. A C-list actress like Lu Man was obviously not comparable to his caliber.
Take that episode that Lu Man participated in, for example. Actually, Lu Man’s appearance did not really help much. It was because Sun Yiwu and Ji Cheng were around that hot topics were created and viewership ratings were raised.
Even if Lu Man were not there and was replaced by another person, the effect would have been the same.
Lu Man’s presence was negligible. Credit for the ratings of that episode should in fact go to Sun Yiwu and Ji Cheng.
It showed how much influence A-list directors like them could have on the show’s viewership ratings and audience.
He believed that with him in the finale episode, the same result could be achieved.
As for the hot topics and popularity that Lu Dongliu attributed to Lu Man, those were all illusions.
Lu Man merely got some exposure because of Sun Yiwu and Ji Cheng.
Hence, it did not matter whether Lu Man appeared on the show or not.
It was the same this time around. Without Lu Man around but with him around, the viewership ratings for the finale episode would still be equally high and popular!
Liang Chengbing believed that Lu Dongliu knew which choice to make.
Lu Dongliu frowned and only said, “I understand. Let me think about it.”
Liang Chengbing got angry the moment he heard it. It was clearly obvious who Lu Dongliu should choose in such a situation. Why did he still need to consider it?
He was slighting him!
Liang Chengbing’s voice stiffened as he replied, “Okay.”
He actually needed to think about choosing between him and Lu Man!
After Lu Dongliu ended the call, he pressed the space between his eyebrows and thought for a while before he called Lu Man again.
“Director Lu?” Lu Man asked curiously.
“Lu Man, did you offend Liang Chengbing?” Lu Dongliu asked.
Lu Man was shocked and could not recall anything immediately. “Why do you say so?”
