Proposal

On New Year’s Eve this year, the number of people attending the family dinner at the Su family’s old house was the same as last year, neither increasing nor decreasing. However, the first ones to arrive this year were not Lu Yan and Su Mo, but Su Jue, and they were not even the second ones.

When Lu Yan and Su Mo arrived at the Su family’s old residence, Su Jue was chatting with Su Xi and Su Lang in the hall. To be precise, it was Su Jue and Su Lang who were chatting, with Su Xi sitting beside him with his hands crossed. Su Xi still didn’t like Su Jue and was at loggerheads with him, but he would not be sarcastic or arrogant when they met again. Su Xi didn’t take the initiative to provoke, so Su Jue didn’t bother to pay attention to him. 

When Su Mo and Lu Yan walked in, the three of them stood up and called Su Mo respectfully, “Brother.” Su Mo nodded slightly in response.

Su Jue saw that Lu Yan was also very affectionate and said hello, “Hi, Lu Yan.” Lu Yan also smiled at him naturally and affectionately. The two had become very close since that race. Su Jue was truly convinced of Lu Yan, and since his eldest brother was so devoted to this “brother-in-law”, he, as his younger brother, couldn’t hold him back. As for Lu Yan, he didn’t have any objections to Su Jue. The other party was his “brother-in-law”. Whether he was a monk or a Buddha, he should get along well with him, right?

Su Xi and Su Lang hesitated for a while about Lu Yan. They didn’t know what to call Lu Yan more appropriately. They looked at each other and whispered, “Brother Lu.”

Lu Yan smiled and said, “Just call me by my name.”

In fact, Lu Yan’s current biological age was similar to theirs, or even a little younger, but he looked relatively calm, and had a special relationship with Su Mo. Su Xi and Su Lang inevitably regard themselves as juniors.

Su Mo knew that he was present and they were inevitably a little cautious, so he smiled and said, “You guys talk first, I’ll go see how Aunt Fang is getting ready.”

Lu Yan immediately said, “I’ll go with you.”

“No need.” Su Mo smiled and said softly, “You can play here with them for a while.”

Lu Yan knew that he couldn’t help much if he went, so he stopped insisting, nodded and said with a smile, “That’s fine.”

After Su Mo left, Su Jue and Lu Yan had nothing to do with each other. Su Xi and Su Lang obviously relaxed a lot and became affectionate with Lu Yan. Although Lu Yan had already said to call him by name, they still shouted “Brother Lu”.

The four of them chatted for a while and gradually became familiar with each other. Su Xi modestly apologized for his rude remarks to Lu Yan here last year. Although he had humbled himself under Su Mo’s majesty at that time, he didn’t really mean it. Now he had sincerely surrendered to Lu Yan.

“Brother Lu, you showed your skills last time, and we all admired you. At first, that boy Chen Yue was a little unwilling, but then you donated the car in his name, which earned the Chen family a lot of face. I heard from Chen Yue that their old man praised him very much, saying that he had good taste and was good at making friends. He is now your number one fan. Last time, the guy named Ke said bad things about you, so he led someone to beat him up, not to mention how hard it was. He asked me to ask you if he could repay you the favor. He wanted to treat you once.” Su Xi was still very good at talking if he wanted to, and he could explain things clearly in a few words. Regardless of whether he knew about the grudge between Lu Yan and the Ke family, it was obvious that Ke Yuzhuo didn’t like Lu Yan. He first told Lu Yan about Chen Yue venting his anger for him, and then the invitation to dinner, giving him face.

Lu Yan obviously understood and smiled, “I’m free these days, you can make arrangements.”

“Brother Lu is so nice. Then I’ll tell Chen Yue right away. He will be extremely happy.” Su Xi said and went to the side to make a phone call.

After a while, he came back and asked, “Brother Lu, we will be at the Golden Palace at seven o’clock in the evening on the third day of the Lunar New Year. Is that okay?” The phone in his hand was obviously not hung up yet.

Lu Yan nodded, “No problem.”

Su Xi responded and continued talking on the phone.

Su Jue looked at Lu Yan and said deliberately, “You are so courageous. Aren’t you afraid that people will throw a Hongmen banquet1¹ for you?”

“Ha,” Lu Yan smiled, “They don’t dare, and there is no need. Besides, the place is in the Golden Palace, so I have nothing to be afraid of.”

“Well, I forgot. Last time you single-handedly beat up the boy named Ke in the Golden Palace. So, you and Young master He have a very good relationship. He can support you like this.” Su Jue said.

“Not bad.” Lu Yan smiled lightly.

Su Jue praised, “Lu Yan, I really admire you more and more. There are not many people who can make Young master He look right at him. Apart from the eldest brother, I haven’t heard of anyone else who has a good relationship with him.” 

“Really? I think he is easy to get along with.” Lu Yan raised his eyebrows.

“Hey, hey, that’s not kind of you. It’s easy for you to get it and act like a good boy.” Su Jue protested.

Lu Yan laughed softly.

On the evening of the third day of the lunar month, Lu Yan arrived at the Golden Palace on time at the agreed time, and Su Jue also came with him. It was inconvenient for Su Mo to appear on such an occasion. If he came, those rich kids would inevitably be cautious. Anyway, the Golden Palace was He Ming’s territory. No one dared to find trouble with Lu Yan here. With Su Jue following him, there was nothing to worry about.

Lu Yan and the others arrived on time, and the others had already been waiting. In addition to Chen Yue, Su Xi, and Su Lang, there were five or six young people in the private room, almost all of whom they had met that night. They didn’t call some young ladies and young gentlemen to accompany them for drinks. The relationship between Lu Yan and Su Mo was no longer a secret among this group of people. Even if they wanted to please Lu Yan, they would not dare to make any mistakes in this regard. Even thinking about cuckolding Director Su was terrifying. Besides, Lu Yan didn’t look like a person who liked this, so it would be self-defeating.

Sure enough, Lu Yan was very satisfied with such a quiet arrangement. After the round of drinking, Lu Yan’s good drinking capacity gave everyone another reason to admire him.

Men all admire strength, especially those from rich families who come from extraordinary families but have no power. The reason why they admired Su Mo was because at such a young age, Su Mo was able to protect his position in the midst of thorns, create a broader world for the Su family, and show his ability as a man, and not just because he was the head of the Su family and the dictator of the Su Group.

Therefore, after Lu Yan knocked down Ke Yuzhuo with one punch and showed his physical strength, showed his skills and courage while racing, and showed his magnanimity and grace with a frank and candid attitude at the charity auction,it was not difficult to understand that he would become the new idol in the hearts of these young people.

Chen Yue came over with a wine glass, “Brother Lu, let me toast you. Thank you for making me famous last time. I owe you a favor.”

Lu Yan clinked glasses with him and said with a smile, “It’s not that serious. I’m just telling the truth.”

Chen Yue said seriously, “Brother Lu, it may be insignificant to you, but it is very important to me. I was about to be imprisoned by my father and brother, but you rescued me. And it was still the first time I heard my dad praise me like that, it’s all thanks to you, Brother Lu.”

Lu Yan knew that if he tried to shirk it, he would be looking down on the other party, so he simply accepted the other party’s gratitude.

After three rounds of drinking, everyone started to drink more and more, and gradually began to express their feelings.

“Chen Yue, your old man even praised you, but my old man has despaired for me. The old man was still yelling at me the day before yesterday. As long as I don’t take drugs, I can do whatever I want, and I won’t be able to interfere with the company anymore. Isn’t it just that I messed up a project? What a big deal! Am I not his biological son anymore? How can he say that to me? “

“Hehe, you just messed up a project. What a way to say. Xu Bing, I heard that you lost tens of millions on that project. You are really rich. It’s your family that was the loser. If you were the one in my family, I could kick you out in a minute. “

“Come on, don’t make a fool of yourself. Your situation is not much better than mine. You also have a capable brother above you. I see, in your family, you have no hope of getting ahead, hum.”

The complaints of the two people soon aroused the resonance of others. They began to complain that it was not that they did not seek to improve, but that they really did not know what to do and could not do anything well, so they had to be a playboy.

Lu Yan listened on the sidelines and felt pitiful and lamentable. These young men really didn’t know the sufferings of the people. Most of them were still fighting for survival and dreams, but they were troubled by boredom.

Lu Yan thought for a while and said, “Actually, if you really want to do something, you still have many choices.”

Chen Yue, who was sitting closest, was the first to hear and react, “Brother Lu, do you have any good projects?”

The others also became quiet after hearing Chen Yue’s words.

“There are no projects, just some suggestions.” Lu Yan said.

“Tell me and listen.”

Lu Yan said slowly, “As you know, I am an actor, so I am relatively familiar with film matters. In fact, every year some very talented young directors reluctantly give up their filming plans because they cannot find investment. There may be some very exciting stories in this. Usually the investment required for this type of movie is not too large. With your financial resources, there is no problem at all. If you operate it well, you can basically guarantee that you will not lose money, or not lose too much. If one or two of them become hits, they will gain both fame and fortune. You can do this in the name of supporting the future of Chinese-language films, so no matter what the final profit is, it will definitely be good in terms of reputation. “

Lu Yan paused here, waiting for them to digest it. He also understood that for these rich kids, money was not a problem. What they wanted most was to be recognized by others, especially their own family.

After a moment of silence, the group of people looked at each other. They were all obviously interested. Chen Yue hesitated and asked, “But Brother Lu, we don’t know much about this either. We don’t know what kind of movies are worth our investment.” 

Lu Yan smiled. He knew they would be moved. “Why are you worried about this? There is a ready-made expert here.”

Everyone turned their attention to Su Jue, who was sitting aside and seemed to have nothing to do with him.

Su Jue came to his senses in the eyes of everyone and said to Lu Yan, “Are you asking me to poach from my own family? I’m not great enough to cultivate competitors for myself.”

Lu Yan said with a smile, “Come on, Starry sky is doing big business, so why would you like such a small investment? There must be a lot of young directors who come to Starry sky every year to seek investment. You just need to check a little bit and make sure you think it’s worth it. It’s good to introduce it to them if it’s worth it.”

Su Jue did not refute this statement, but just narrowed his eyes and said, “Why should I do such a thankless thing? I am already busy with Starry Sky’s affairs. Where can I have time to take care of these things?”

Lu Yan exposed it, “President Su is joking again. As long as you explain it, you don’t need to do it yourself.”

Su Jue still insisted, “Why should I agree?”

“Because it is both interesting and meaningful.” Lu Yan said slowly.

The two of them sang together, and those who were still a little hesitant at first were moved and felt that this was feasible.

Lu Yan added to the fire, “It all depends on people. You can set up a small investment company. As long as you find professionals to operate it, you don’t need to spend much time. However, it is very attractive to have your own business without relying on the strength of the family, isn’t it? Of course, I am just suggesting, it is up to you whether you do it or not. “

“I want to do it. I think it’s feasible. I also want to know if I can do anything else after leaving Su’s family.” The first person to express his stance was actually not Chen Yue, but Su Xi. In fact, he had neither an important nor insignificant position in the Su Group, but he knew very well that that was not what he wanted. He also wanted to have his own career outside of the Su Group like Su Jue. Although doing this thing, he still couldn’t escape the shadow of Su Jue, but so what, this was an opportunity.

Chen Yue also made up his mind, “I agree too. I want the old man and eldest brother to know that I am not just a second-generation ancestor who just sits there and does nothing.” 

Finally, except for one or two who were still hesitant, everyone decided to participate and even started to discuss it.

Lu Yan smiled slightly. He knew that things were not that simple. If these gentlemen were asked to do something specific, they would probably die before they even started. Fortunately, they were not short of money, and as long as they had money, they could hire professionals to serve them.

Lu Yan didn’t know why he suddenly wanted to encourage them to do this. He just suddenly thought of what happened before his rebirth, and the many people he had met who had dreams of making movies but were severely beaten by reality. Even if it could help one person not lose their dream, it was worth it.

Years later, this small company, established by a few children from rich families and dedicated to investing in unknown young directors, not only invested in several excellent films, but also cultivated many outstanding directors for the Chinese film industry. All this stemmed from Lu Yan’s small suggestion at this moment.

After it was over, Lu Yan and Su Jue went to the door to wait. Both of them were drunk and unfit to drive. Su Jue had called the driver in advance to pick them up.

As soon as they left the door, there was a person waiting there. When he saw the two people appearing, he came over and said, “Lu Yan, can you give me a moment to speak.”

Notes

1. Hongmen Yan was a banquet that took place in 206 BC. In short, a rebel leader called Xiang Yu tried to have his rival Liu Bang killed at a feast. Now the phrase has come to mean a ruse intended to trap a guest. If a rival or someone you don’t like or trust invites you out to dinner, for example, you could joke, “Is this a Hongmen Banquet?” ↩︎