Elder brother's garrison

Page 1690

In the last row of the conference room, Xiaobai was sitting in the middle seat, surrounded by members of the ship girl idol group. These "ship girls" were chatting quietly about things like what to eat tonight, seemingly oblivious to what everyone else was talking about, living a carefree life.

Compared to the dashing ship girls around him, Xiaobai, who had just done something wrong, lowered her head timidly, her hands folded on her thighs, looking pitiful and waiting to be punished.

"..." The celebrities looked at Xiaobai with deep gazes.

Xie Ying's agency does have some connections, and if possible, the celebrities present didn't want to get involved in any trouble.

But the words came back again.

This ship girl idol event is a special event authorized by the military. If we're really comparing backgrounds, even if Xie Ying's agency has all the connections in the world, it can't possibly be bigger than the Admiral's Guild...

This opportunity to choose sides is a once-in-a-century opportunity.

"I agree." Inside the meeting room, someone raised their hand first.

"I agree."

"I agree."

"agree……"

"From a personal perspective, I completely agree with Director Chen's statement."

"Director Chen is right..."

The beginning is always the hardest. After the first person raised their hand, the celebrities present followed suit, and soon almost all the celebrity guests in the conference room had raised their hands.

"Thank you everyone, I understand your thoughts." Director Chen looked at the room full of people with satisfaction, his gaze finally landing on the two celebrities who hadn't raised their hands. "Ms. Lu Ming, Mr. Guo Li, what are your thoughts?"

After hearing Director Chen's question, Lu Ming thought for a while with a flicker in her eyes, as if she had something to say, but in the end she didn't open her mouth and just nodded slightly with a hint of regret.

The other Mr. Guo Li was the leading actor on stage before. He was a contemporary of Xie Ying and can be considered a person of the same era.

When asked by Director Chen, the award-winning actor simply shook his head and sighed.

"Director Chen, I know what you mean. I have no objection to whatever you want to do, but... after all, Xie Ying and I are of the same generation. I don't want to make others feel too disheartened."

“Yes, I understand.” Director Chen smiled at the movie star. “I believe everyone can understand Mr. Guo Li’s difficulties.”

"I'm sorry." The movie star stood up, cupped his hands in greeting to everyone, and then walked out of the conference room, gently closing the door behind him.

Director Chen looked into the conference room.

"What a noble character." Director Chen sighed as he looked at the closed conference room doors, then turned to everyone. "So, everyone here should agree with my decision to cut Xie Ying's scenes, right?"

The meeting room was silent.

Director Chen smiled at everyone.

"Okay, that's all for now. I won't keep you all any longer. Today's shoot was a very valuable collaborative experience, and I hope we can all work together more in the future!"

The meeting is over.

Director Chen stood at the door, smiling and bidding farewell to the departing celebrities and hosts. Before they parted, he took out a roll call and had the celebrities sign their names.

The celebrities left the conference room, and soon only Director Chen, Lu Ming, Xiao Bai, and the Deans of Shenhai remained in the large conference room.

Upon seeing that only his own people remained, Director Chen finally breathed a sigh of relief, and the pretentious look on his face vanished instantly.

"Finally over, ouch..."

Director Chen casually tossed the autograph book aside, pulled up a chair, sat down, and began wiping the sweat from his face.

"Director Chen, I'm sorry." Xiao Bai walked slowly to Director Chen, unsure of how to react, and just smiled awkwardly, "Um... it's all my fault..."

"Sigh, boss, this matter has little to do with you." Director Chen waved his hand as soon as he heard Xiao Bai's words. "Xie Ying's performance on the show clearly shows that she had suffered some kind of blow early on. As for your comment about 'auntie' having such a big impact, it was just a small trigger."

"Actually, I saw her bullying Sister Luming, so I wanted to call her 'Auntie' to make her angry. I didn't expect to go a bit too far."

"Isn't that her own fault?" Director Chen laughed twice after hearing Xiao Bai's words. "Forget it, let's not talk about that spoilsport woman. Let's talk about something more cheerful, like, Boss, how did it feel to be on the show today?"

"Ah, this... I feel... quite nostalgic."

"Nostalgia? Boss, you used to film TV shows?"

"Yes."

"Ah? There's this thing too."

"It was a military interview, but I only did it once, and I don't think many people remember me now," Xiaobai answered honestly.

"Hmm... wait a minute, someone as good-looking, of noble birth, and with such a unique aura as you, if you've been on TV before, shouldn't be remembered by everyone?" Director Chen wondered.

"Well..." Xiao Bai smiled at Director Chen, but didn't explain much.

Xiao Bai's current appearance is quite different from before.

This is very different. It doesn't just refer to the white-haired, black-eyed version of the character. Even the white-haired version that had just acquired ship equipment and evolved into a white-haired state is quite different from the one we see now.

The difference lies in temperament.

A person's demeanor can indeed significantly alter their image.

Now, Xiaobai's body houses two souls: the Will of the Deep Sea and White Plus Black. Its Deep Sea land-based ship equipment has also evolved into a transcendent form, developing two world-leading high-lethal weapons: laser cannons and ship-slaying swords. It can't even fit a wedding ship's ring on one hand. Even if Xiaobai doesn't speak, it has undergone a complete transformation compared to the super newbie who had just stepped into the admiral's field.

However, these are things that you definitely can't tell an ordinary person like Director Chen.

Director Chen wasn't one to pry, and seeing that Xiao Bai was unwilling to explain further, he didn't press the matter.

Chapter 2304 The Harem is on Fire

A few minutes later, there was a knock on the conference room door.

Director Chen opened the door, and there stood a burly man in a suit. The man's mountain-like body blocked out almost all the light, casting a huge shadow on Director Chen.

This is Lu Ming's muscle manager.

"Hello, Director Chen." The man in the suit bowed slightly to Director Chen as he opened the door, greeting him politely. "We've come to pick up Lu Ming and take him home."

"Huh, you guys?" Director Chen stared in surprise at the man in front of him who was as big as a small mountain.

Before Director Chen could react, a group of stylists emerged from behind the man in the suit in front of him, as if playing hide-and-seek.

"Director Chen! We're here!" The stylists greeted Director Chen and rushed into the conference room. They ran to Lu Ming, who was wrapped in a blanket, grabbed her hands, and said happily, "Little Lu Ming! Hehe! Well done! You did a great job on today's show!"

Lu Ming's stylist team consists of young, beautiful human girls who are kind-hearted and optimistic.

As soon as they entered the conference room, it was as if a garden had poured in, instantly filling the room with youth and vitality.

"Ah, little sister is here too!" The stylists quickly spotted Xiaobai and waved happily at her as well. "We saw your performance too, little sister! You did so well for your first time on a show! You'll definitely become a big star someday! We're rooting for you!"

"Haha..." Xiaobai smiled sheepishly at the stylist.

The sight of Xiaobai getting along well with a group of human girls alerted the Deep Sea Deans nearby.

"Xiaobai? Who are they? How do you know them?" Shenhai Yamato quickly hugged Xiaobai, looking at Luming's stylists warily like a kitten guarding its food.

"They are Sister Luming's work partners. We met in the dressing room."

"While we were rehearsing so hard, were you busy flirting with other human girls, Master?" Loki asked.

"No, no, there isn't any..."

"Why do you always seem to meet young girls, Xiaobai?!"

……

The atmosphere inside the meeting room resembled a palace on the verge of collapse.

At the door.

Looking at the lively scene in the conference room, the two composed adult men felt somewhat out of place and exchanged a glance.

"I'm sorry to have troubled you." Lu Ming's muscle manager bowed slightly to Director Chen.

"It's alright, it's alright. Rather, we're the ones who feel really bad for failing to protect Miss Luming," Director Chen said apologetically to Luming's agent.

Director Chen was referring to the incident where Xie Ying splashed makeup on Lu Ming on the show. When Director Chen went to punish the employee involved after the show's recording ended, Lu Ming's agent was also present.

“That’s how the entertainment industry is. Lu Ming should be used to it by now.” The agent paused for a moment and then said, “The entertainment industry is very complicated. Lu Ming has just entered this world and has long been mentally prepared to encounter these kinds of things. Besides, the nature of this matter is not that serious for Lu Ming. It’s just fortunate that it was makeup remover and not something else.”

"Indeed..." Director Chen nodded sincerely, a look of lingering fear on his face.

For Lu Ming, being splashed in the face with a bottle of makeup remover was essentially no different from being splashed with water. Her natural face was already beautiful and flawless enough. But what if what was splashed on her face wasn't makeup remover, but a highly corrosive or scorching chemical like sulfuric acid?

Thinking about this, Director Chen couldn't help but feel a chill of fear.

Fortunately, Xie Ying still had some humanity amidst her madness. Even when she caused trouble, she didn't aim to completely ruin Lu Ming's life. Director Chen was quite grateful to her for that.

"I will increase the protective measures in this regard in the future," Director Chen said to Lu Ming's agent.

“Me too.” Lu Ming’s agent nodded. “We still have work to do, so we won’t be staying any longer.”

At this point, Lu Ming's agent called out to Lu Ming and his stylist team in the conference room.

"Luming, it's time to go."

"Mm." Lu Ming nodded in the conference room.

Lu Ming and Xiao Bai said their goodbyes seriously and bowed to everyone.

"Little sister, looking forward to working together again!" The stylist ladies, having had a great time, blew kisses to Xiaobai in the conference room before leaving amidst happy laughter.

"Hehehe, there won't be a next time! Stay away from my Shiro, you stinky human!" Deep Sea Yamato tightly protected Shiro, sticking out his tongue at the conference room door and making all sorts of provocative gestures.

Lu Ming and her agency staff left the meeting room.

For a moment, only Xiaobai and Director Chen remained in the meeting room, along with a group of Deans from the Deep Sea Institute.

"It's been a truly meaningful day," Xiaobai said to Director Chen with a smile.

"I was terrified all day, though." Director Chen sighed, scratching his head. Looking at the smiling Xiaobai, the regret on his face slowly turned into excitement. "But! Boss! Although there were some minor hiccups during filming this episode, the quality is really good! Once we finish editing and the show officially airs, it's sure to create a new wave of online buzz! You absolutely have to watch it!"

"Ah... I think I'll just skip it." Xiaobai scratched his head and smiled.

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"It would be so embarrassing to see myself on TV," Xiaobai said, putting her hand down. "Speaking of which, when is the official broadcast?"

"According to the normal production process, the show is usually filmed one to two months in advance. However, this episode is a bit special. If we spend some money to have the editors work overtime, we can confirm that it will premiere next week."

"This episode must have cost a lot of money, right?"

"It's alright. Most of the celebrities participate voluntarily, and their appearance fees are just a matter of personal favors. It's not that outrageous," Director Chen said after thinking for a while. "As for the budget, the venue cost takes up a lot. The venue setup and special effects lighting for this episode were all top-notch products purchased from professional companies on an emergency basis. They're all concert-level. I haven't asked the finance department about the venue expenses yet, but it should be several thousand."

"Only a few thousand?"

"The unit is ten thousand."

"Oh haha."

Xiao Bai gave a wry smile.

"So, in the time leading up to the show's premiere, is there anything else our idol group needs to do?"

"It's about time to start further training," Director Chen nodded and said. "Right now, your ship girls can only perform one dance, right? As a professional idol team, you can't rely on just one trick. We've hired world-class choreographers and songwriters to teach the ship girls to sing and dance a variety of songs and dances that can fill an entire concert without repeating a single act. Besides, I've also learned from the performance teachers that some of the ship girls have a high level of acting talent. I feel it's time to find them some cameo roles in film and television to practice their skills. Also, we've received feedback from Director Zhang's film, and the single production with the record company has been finalized..."

Director Chen lowered his head and started counting on his fingers, beginning to plan his next move.

Simply put, it means that things will be very busy from now on.

"That was really fulfilling," Xiaobai said to Director Chen.

"Haha, yes." Director Chen laughed. "Boss, you should take more rest during this period. After this episode airs, not only your ship girl team, but you yourself may also develop a large fan base. At that time, you may not even be able to go out."

“…Is it really that exaggerated?”

"That's how exaggerated it is." Director Chen nodded sincerely. "It's probably to the point where going out to drink a cup of milk tea without a mask would get you trending on more than a dozen online platforms."

"..."

The scenery described by Director Chen truly left Xiaobai with mixed feelings.

However, upon closer reflection, Lu Ming seemed to be in the same situation, so Xiao Bai didn't dwell on it for too long.

It's getting late, it's about time to go home.

After calming down the deep-sea deans who wanted to go home for dinner, Xiaobai said goodbye to Director Chen.

"Well, Director Chen, thank you for today. We're going home now."

"Have a safe trip, boss!" Director Chen leaned on the table and chair, giving Xiaobai a simple and honest smile. "I still need to go to the production team to give some guidance on the editing, so I'll stay here for a while."

"Well, bye... oh." Xiao Bai was about to raise her hand to wave at Director Chen when she suddenly seemed to remember something and asked, "Speaking of which... there's something I want to ask you."

"Hmm? What's up, boss?"

"Before the show started filming, didn't you go to Sister Luming's studio to find me?"