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

Chapter 59 One person gangs up on four others

Hearing that it was the answer she wanted, Xu Manxue was secretly delighted.

"I've made up my mind, I'm going to choose Team Leader Lu's Eighth Division!"

"Are you sure?" Zhang Dehai's face instantly darkened. "Xiao Xu, I advise you to reconsider. This is the first time our Eighth Group has filmed a long drama series, and they are extremely inexperienced."

"Thank you for the reminder, Team Leader Zhang," Xu Manxue replied politely. "But after reading the outline, I really like the story and characters of 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes'."

"I think the most important thing in acting is to find a good script and a suitable role. As for experience," Xu Manxue looked at Lu Ran and continued, "I have faith in Team Leader Lu and all the teachers in Team Eight."

Zhang Dehai and Wang Wei both looked extremely grim.

They never expected that they would lose to a new team leader who came from a background in making short dramas.

"Hmph, I hope you don't regret it." Wang Zhangdehai said this and turned to leave.

Wang Wei added sarcastically, "Some people really think that if they become popular with short dramas, they can make long dramas? How naive."

Tan Yu jumped to his feet, grabbing Wang Wei by the collar: "Hey Wang, what do you mean by this?"

"Don't you understand what I mean?" Wang Wei sneered. "Short dramas and long dramas are two different concepts. Don't think that you can succeed every time just because you got lucky once."

"Team Leader Liu," Lu Ran said, pulling Tan Yu's hand away. "Whether our Eighth Team does a good job or not is our own business. We'll see when the show airs."

"By saying this, you are clearly disrespecting our Group 8 brothers and our new beautiful female teammates. Now, I demand that you apologize to us."

"Apologize? What if I don't apologize?" Wang Wei saw that Lu Ran was speaking more politely, but he still stubbornly refused to apologize.

"Oh, not going to apologize?" Lu Ran grinned and waved behind him.

Tan Yu and his three companions had long been unable to restrain themselves. The "Starry F4" rushed over and began punching and kicking Wang Wei.

What should have been a proper audition turned into a fighting arena.

However, the fighting rules were group fights: Wang Wei ganged up on Tan Yu and three others.

One second Wang Wei was still being defiant, the next he was being humiliated and beaten to a pulp.

Wang Wei never expected that Tan Yu and his group would actually dare to make a move, but at this point, it was no longer the time to be stubborn.

"Ouch, I apologize. Ouch, please stop hitting me." Wang Wei held his head and kept begging for mercy.

Seeing that Tan Yu and the others were actually making a move, Xu Manxue had a feeling that she might have made the wrong choice.

However, the team leader standing to the side, Mr. Lu, seems quite protective of his own, so he should be easy to get along with.

After Wang Wei got up and apologized to Lu Ran's department, he also slunk away.

This leaves six groups for recruitment.

Tan Yu and his group were originally crammed together at one table, which was a bit crowded. Since Groups Six and Seven had left, they simply sat down there.

At this moment, Xu Manxue also came over, confirming that she had officially joined.

"Manxue, right? Come and sit down," Lu Ran said, pointing to the empty seat next to him.

"Those two groups were really annoying just now, did they scare you?" Lu Ran asked with a smile.

Xu Manxue shook her head. She was indeed startled at first, but considering that the other party was in the wrong first, Xu Manxue felt that the other party deserved what they got.

"We have eight long-form dramas, and before that we were in the short-form drama department. Because we achieved good results, they were jealous, so they couldn't wait to embarrass us this time."

"But Manxue, I have to be honest with you. The script for 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes' is indeed a good script, but this is the first time our team has filmed a long-running drama, and we may encounter many difficulties. Are you really sure about this?"

Xu Manxue nodded earnestly: "Team Leader Lu, I trust my judgment. I've actually seen your film 'The Return of the God of War' before. Although the themes are different, I think your control over the pacing of the story and the character development is amazing."

She smiled and said, "Besides, when I was reading the script just now, your name was on it. I believe that someone who can write an outline like 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes' can definitely make a good drama."

Lu Ran was surprised to find a fan of his short drama here, and said with a smile, "Then let's work hard together."

While the subsequent cast members weren't as outstanding as Xu Manxue, Lu Ran managed to recruit a few decent extras who could play minor supporting roles.

After the selection process ended that day, Lu Ran began the mobilization meeting for "The Legend of the Condor Heroes".

Of course, there can't be just these few actors; many more need to be selected from the company's existing actor pool.

If Tan Yu and the others intend to play a few roles, they can participate in the internal actor selection process.

Just when all the groups in Xingyao were putting in their best effort and preparing for a big battle.

New information has emerged from within the industry.

On Weibo, Starlight Entertainment and StarHua Entertainment almost simultaneously released their October drama series plans:

@StarlightEntertainmentV: [Breaking News! Starlight Entertainment's highly anticipated martial arts epic, "Swordsman's Journey," has officially launched! With a total investment of 80 million, it's directed by a top Hong Kong martial arts director and features a first-rate cast! See you in the martial arts world this October!]

@Xinghua Entertainment V: [Official Announcement! Xinghua Entertainment's historical drama "The Rise of Phoenixes" is set to premiere in October! Palace intrigue, love and hate, top-tier production team, and upgraded visual effects! Stay tuned!]

The two Weibo posts were published one after the other, less than five minutes apart, clearly indicating that they were pre-arranged.

Everyone knows that the three giants of the entertainment industry are Star Shine, Star Glory, and Star Brilliance.

The two companies launched their products together, but ignored the third company. Everyone could see the tension between them.

What's even more ingenious is that the most upvoted comments in the comment sections of both Weibo accounts mentioned Xingyao Entertainment:

"Isn't the entertainment industry supposed to be dominated by three giants? How come there are only two now? Is the third one afraid of competing with them?" This is a highly-rated comment under Starlight Entertainment's official Weibo account, which the account also liked.

"A good short drama doesn't necessarily mean a good long drama; some things still require a certain level of skill." A similar sentiment can be found within Star Entertainment.

There was a strong smell of gunpowder; you could smell it even through the internet cable.

Tan Yu, scrolling through Weibo, slammed his fist on the table in anger: "Those two bastards! They're obviously after us! Brother Lu, how do we retaliate?"

Lu Ran smiled faintly: "Calm down, they were talking about the entire Xingyao, not our department. Our short drama department was only changed to long drama department a few days ago. If the sky falls, let the tall ones hold it up."

"But the short drama achievements they mentioned, aren't those the ones we made?" Tan Yu said, somewhat unwilling.

"Isn't that people praising you?" Lu Ran said with a smile.

The content on this Weibo post is basically saying that your short drama department is so great, but your long drama department is no good.

As soon as Lu Ran finished speaking, there was a knock on the door outside the department.

"Minister Lu, President Li wants you to attend a meeting."

...