My Wife is a Big Star

Chapter 7 - Do Men Have Menopause?

Chen Ran didn't pay attention to how Zhang Fanzhi's blind date turned out. After work, he didn't go even though Director Zhang warmly invited him; he just went home by himself.

He wasn't a local; he lived in a rented apartment, and it wasn't close to the TV station.

There was no way around it; the rent around the TV station was too expensive. After paying rent with his monthly salary, let alone sending money home, he had to be penny-pinching even with his own spending.

Being far away didn't matter as long as the price was right.

This was an old-style residential building, divided into small suites by the landlord for rent.

He didn't have many requirements for the environment. Anyway, Chen Ran just slept here and didn't even eat here, so he hadn't thought about moving.

Entering the room, he turned on the light and threw himself onto the bed. Chen Ran took a deep breath, feeling extremely refreshed.

After resting for a while, he slowly crawled back up, opened his laptop, and prepared to work.

Just as the computer finished booting up, a news window popped up.

[Zhang Xiyun vs. Lin Hanyun, the battle for the new Top Sister of Stars.]

Normally, Chen Ran would just close this kind of news and even look for a way to get rid of the pop-up window.

But the three characters "Zhang Xiyun" made him stop his hand.

Wasn't this Zhang Fanzhi?

Speaking of which, his understanding of Zhang Fanzhi—aside from Director Zhang’s introduction—consisted only of those two songs.

Chen Ran casually clicked into the news and looked at the content.

[Stars Music has many well-known singers under its banner. Lin Hanyun has been debuted for many years and has always been the face of Stars Music. But this year, Zhang Xiyun has risen suddenly, holding major music awards…]

The news was a bit clickbaity; in reality, it didn't explicitly say anything about a battle for Top Sister.

It talked about the distribution of resources at Stars Music. It mentioned how Lin Hanyun and Zhang Xiyun both wanted to prepare new songs at the same time a while ago; in the end, Lin Hanyun's new song was released smoothly, while Zhang Xiyun's was delayed.

This was used to illustrate that Lin Hanyun's position as the face of Stars was unshakable, and that Zhang Xiyun, as a rising star, was still a bit green.

The company's strategic focus was on Lin Hanyun, and resources were relatively tilted toward her. While Zhang Xiyun had won major music awards, her popularity was unstable and needed time to settle...

After Chen Ran finished reading the news, he looked at the timing mentioned within it. Wasn't this exactly when Zhang Xiyun went home a few days ago?

"No wonder they said she was in a bad mood. It turns out things weren't going well at work," Chen Ran muttered a couple of sentences.

Work wasn't going well, yet she was being constantly nagged by her family to go on blind dates.

What a miserable woman.

Chen Ran looked for a bit, then with a clack, he closed the webpage, opened the computer manager, and spent a long time killing this pop-up ad along with everything related to it. Only then did he comfortably start writing the proposal.

The program was in preparation, so naturally, the earlier the proposal came out, the better.

No way around it; time to work overtime.

"With me working this hard, it would be unjust if Uncle Zhang didn't give me a bit of extra bonus!"

……

The next day, when Chen Ran arrived at the station, he happened to run into Director Zhang.

The old gentleman's complexion wasn't very good, and the way he looked at Chen Ran was also strange.

"Uncle, did you not rest well last night?" Chen Ran asked out of concern.

Director Zhang said, "Rest my ass. I'm in a bad mood, can't sleep."

"Is it because of Sister Zhizhi's matters?" Chen Ran understood instantly; he guessed Zhang Fanzhi's blind date had fallen through again.

He said, "I saw the news yesterday saying that Sister Zhizhi's work isn't going well. I think her mood is bad right now, so no matter how many people you introduce, it'll be in vain."

Director Zhang suddenly said, "Chen Ran, are you actually quite happy in your heart seeing my daughter fail her blind date?"

Chen Ran asked with a face full of confusion, "What would I be happy about?"

Director Zhang snorted, "You kid are still acting with me. I also won't say anything about you, but I have another friend whose son just returned from abroad. He's also more handsome than you. He'll be brought over tomorrow night to meet with Zhizhi."

Chen Ran still didn't quite understand. Meet then, what does it have to do with me?

And what on earth is "more handsome than me"? Even among these celebrities, I can't find many more handsome than me; you can actually find one?

"Right, how is the proposal coming along?" Director Zhang got down to business.

"More than half is written. It can definitely come out tomorrow," Chen Ran said.

Director Zhang pondered for a moment and said, “Don’t wait until tomorrow. Come to my office in a bit and write it there. Get it done within today.”

“So rushed?” Chen Ran didn’t understand; wasn’t it agreed that it would be done within two days?

Director Zhang gave a hehe and said, “Originally it wasn’t rushed, but now it suddenly is.”

Chen Ran: “...”

No, Uncle Zhang, there’s a hidden meaning in your words.

Are you messing with me on purpose?

It’s not my fault Zhang Fanzhi’s blind date was a failure!

Director Zhang glanced at Chen Ran. This kid wasn’t being honest.

A few days ago, he had asked Chen Ran if he was in contact with Zhizhi, and Chen Ran had denied it.

Yet, during these past few blind dates, Zhang Fanzhi had said the same thing over and over: this person isn't as good as Chen Ran.

What, has Chen Ran become a benchmark now?

As a father, he knew Zhang Fanzhi’s personality; if they weren’t talking, there was no way she would keep mentioning Chen Ran.

But this guy wouldn’t admit it.

Not only would he not admit it, but he also remained unmoved while letting Zhang Fanzhi go on blind dates. He hadn’t realized before that this kid was so wicked!

Anyway, there would be another one tomorrow. If it still didn't work out, it was definitely because Chen Ran was causing trouble in the background. Bringing this kid back with him was surely the right move.

Meanwhile, Chen Ran had no idea what was going on behind the scenes. He was still wondering if Uncle Zhang had reached menopause.

By the way, do middle-aged men have menopause?

Maybe?

Just in case...

……

Today, Chen Ran wasn’t with the production crew; he had been called to the Director’s office.

Director Zhang was busy at times, but he didn’t have a lot to do. Most of the time, it was just Chen Ran writing while he watched.

Seeing Chen Ran buried in hard work, Director Zhang was slightly surprised. Was this kid’s inspiration flowing like a burst bladder? How was it that he didn’t spend much time thinking and was writing the whole time!

Chen Ran hadn’t made a news program before, but he had seen many in his previous life and could draw on those ideas. He had been thinking about how to write it while in bed last night, so the writing naturally went fast now.

Of course, when he encountered something uncertain, he would still stop to consult with Director Zhang.

After all, he was a veteran in the field; Director Zhang’s grasp of programs was certainly much better than his.

While his creativity was better, Director Zhang had solid experience and provided many constructive suggestions.

It wasn’t until the afternoon that Chen Ran finally finished writing the proposal.

Director Zhang studied it for a long while and then looked at Chen Ran. This kid really didn’t seem like a newcomer.

He kept reviewing the proposal; compared to before, the difference was huge.

No one would know the actual results until it was produced, but Chen Ran had written a lot of analysis that seemed very well-organized, well-reasoned, and convincing.

Once the proposal was out, a meeting had to be called for discussion.

The people in the production crew found it strange. The program was in the middle of preparation; why did the Director suddenly want to hold a meeting? What was he planning to do?

“It’s like this. Regarding the program, I’ve had some discussions with Chen Ran and came up with some ideas. Now, I’d like everyone to discuss them together...”

Director Zhang didn’t waste any time and handed out a copy of the proposal to everyone.

Was this... a last-minute change to the program?

A discussion? With Chen Ran?

Among the production crew, some were scratching their heads while others were frowning. They didn’t understand what the Director was playing at.

Their program had already been settled...

Director Zhang gestured for them to settle down.

“Take a look first. We’ll talk after you’ve looked!”