MAIR – Chapter 160 – Cooperation

Pei Ran and Tang Sugar chatted about the plot for a while. The more excited Tang Sugar became, the more she wrote on her iPad. Before long, she had written a simple outline.

The two discussed this simple outline. Pei Ran had personal experience and had been filming for so many years. He knew that professional things should be done by professionals. Tang  Sugar had a professional background and was well versed in drama.  As long as Pei Ran mentioned something, she would immediately come up with some new ideas. With Pei Ran’s encouragement, she became more and more energetic and inspired.

The two of them talked for hours, and the more they talked, the more excited they became, and before they knew it, it was already evening. 

Tang Sugar covered her growling stomach and looked at Pei Ran awkwardly. 

Pei Ran had just come back to his senses and felt a little guilty. He had always been a very proper person, and seldom made this kind of mistake. Only things related to movies could make him fully immersed in the topic, so that he would completely forget his surroundings.

Although Tang Sugar still had many shortcomings, she was very flexible in her thinking. If some ideas were too wild she would correct them. Moreover, she had a strong learning ability. Many times, as long as Pei Ran put forward the crux of the problem, she would react and immediately correct it, and would never make the same mistake again.

Although Pei Ran had rich experience, he sometimes fell into the stereotype thinking pattern because of his own experience, which was not as novel and interesting as Tang Sugar’s ideas.

Although Pei Ran had his own ideas, he was not this type of person who didn’t listen to other people’s opinions. Both of them were very complementary and their previous awkwardness and hesitation about each other’s ability disappeared after this conversation.

Pei Ran was even a little glad that he had chosen Tang Sugar.

Tang Sugar was no longer confident in this conversation, blushing bright red and covering her stomach with embarrassment. 

Pei Ran thoughtfully pretended not to hear it and said with a smile, “It’s already time to eat at this point. You just came here today and you are not familiar with the surroundings. Let me take you to eat some local specialties.”

Tang Sugar nodded repeatedly. Under the pretext of going to the bathroom, she finally calmed down and came out. 

Pei Ran had already paid the bill and stood at the door waiting for her. One hand was put in his pocket and the other hand was holding a small cake. When Tang Sugar came, he smiled and handed the cake to her. “It’s a little far to the place where we’ll eat. First, you need to eat something to cushion your stomach.”

Tang Sugar covered her face and felt that she was about to blush again. She could only constantly remind herself of Pei Ran’s age and pour cold water on herself in order not to let her imagination go wild.

In fact, Pei Ran’s gesture had no special meaning to him. Thanks to the education he had received since childhood he had formed such a gentlemanly behaviour. In Hong Kong in the last century it was nothing more than a show of good manners, but now his behavior, coupled with his face, multiplied the killing power, so it was no wonder Tang Sugar couldn’t resist.

Pei Ran called a taxi, and they drove to the restaurant. 

This restaurant was very famous and during mealtimes it was very crowded. Their private rooms had been booked a long time ago and they could only sit in the hall to eat.  

Pei Ran’s appearance was outstanding even among stars, not to mention among a group of ordinary people.

Many people secretly looked at them while eating, even the * * ones. They looked at Tang Sugar with envy, jealousy and hate.

Tang Sugar had already prepared psychologically along the way, and now she experienced a series of actions such as Pei Ran helping to pull the stool out for her or pouring water. Although she still felt a little cramped, she was no longer blushing with a fast heartbeat as before. 

Pei Ran was obviously used to being surrounded by people. He did not squint at all and was very calm. Tang Sugar couldn’t help but straighten out and put forward her chest, learning from him how to ignore the eyes around them.

Although she couldn’t see them, her ears still clearly caught a conversation from the other table.

That table was full of young girls that should be college students.

“That little brother is so handsome! It’s a pity that he already has a girlfriend… “

“How do you know it is his girlfriend, maybe a sister?”

“But their faces are not of the same standard at all. This woman is too ugly.”

“Gene mutation…”

“Ha ha ha ha ha…”

Tang Sugar got angry, but they didn’t call her by name, so she could only swallow her anger.

Unexpectedly, Pei Ran suddenly stood up and called for the water. “Hello, can you give us different seats?”

The waiter was stunned for a moment and then said awkwardly, “I’m sorry. Most of our tables are full right now, so you may not be able to change tables ——Well, is there any point where our service is lacking? Just tell me, I’ll change it for you right away.”

Pei Ran smiled and said softly, “No, it’s just a little noisy.”

When he said that, the people at the next table seemed to choke, and their laughter stopped abruptly.

After the waiter left, Tang Sugar covered her mouth forcefully, to not let her smile leak out. Although she didn’t see the faces at the other table, she could still imagine them. Although it was a bit mean, she really felt good. 

She just didn’t expect that Pei Ran would help her out.

Tang Sugar waited for her smile to disappear, then lowered her hand and whispered to Pei Ran, “Thank you.”

Pei Ran blinked and whispered, “It was really a bit noisy.” 

They both laughed, and with this little episode, their relationship became more harmonious and natural.

However, in the middle of their meal, a waiter came over, bowed and said to Pei Ran, “Hello, Sir. Your bill has been settled. You and your guest are invited to the private room upstairs.”

Pei Ran’s chopsticks froze and he asked, “Who is it?”

The waiter shook his head. “He said, you can guess.”

After the waiter passed these words, he left.

Pei Ran thought for a moment and guessed it, so he stood up and said, “Come on, let’s go and meet this generous friend.” 

Tang Sugar was still at a loss. “Who is it? A friend of yours?”

Pei Ran said with a smile, “I guess it is Director Xie and Mr. Yang.”

Tang Sugar was shocked and then reacted. According to Pei Ran, this restaurant was very famous. It was normal for Director Xie to bring Yang Yizhou to eat here, and this mysterious behavior was very typical of her martial uncle’s temperament.

They came to a room upstairs, knocked on the door, and a voice sounded, “Come in!” It was Director Xie’s voice.

Pei Ran opened the door and, as expected, saw Director Xie and Yang Yizhou sitting together. There was still a table full of unattached dishes in front of them.

Seeing Pei Ran’s calm attitude, Director Xie guessed he obviously wasn’t surprised, and couldn’t help chuckling. “I have told you, he could definitely guess it, and you still had to bet with me!  I’m telling you, I’ve recorded all your words. Don’t try to deny it.”

Yang Yizhou: “Tsk, you are so not cute!”

Pei Ran said with a smile, “If I said I didn’t guess it, you’ll probably think I’m not sincere enough.”

Yang Yizhou was stupefied for a moment, then laughed, “Ha ha ha, I like your character!”

Pei Ran’s attitude was natural, neither humble nor arrogant. This kind of bearing was really different from the other young people at his age. Yang Yizhou couldn’t help wondering what kind of family could raise such a person.

Compared with Pei Ran’s indifference, Tang Sugar felt obviously much more oppressed. The two people in front of her were unreachable big bosses, not to mention one of them wanted to rob her of her cooperation with Pei Ran! 

Director Xie saw Tang Sugar’s uneasiness and said, “Alright, don’t stand around anymore, just sit down.”

Pei Ran and Tang Sugar had already eaten, so they only had some drinks and snacks with them.

In the middle of the meal, Yang Yizhou wiped his mouth with a paper towel and said, “Junior Pei, I’ve thought about it. Let’s make it a fair competition. All of us are here, so let’s talk about it together. Which one do you think is suitable, which one do you want to cooperate with, how about it?”

Tang Sugar froze. Yang Yizhou was the top screenwriter. There is a natural barrier between him and a small newcomer like her. However, such a giant in the industry even said that he wanted to compete fairly with her! She trembled with excitement.

However, Pei Ran was still calm and said with a smile, “Thank you for your kindness. I happen to want to talk to you about this. I know that you are doing it out of love and support for the younger generation, that you are offering a  cooperation, which makes me both scared and grateful. It’s just that I am still only a novice. If I don’t perform well, I might ruin your reputation… “

This remark was very sincere and polite, but no matter how sincere and polite it was, it had one meaning – rejection.

Yang Yizhou opened his eyes wide in disbelief, and then looked at Director Xie with accusation.

Director Xie: “…”

How could he know that what he said casually would come true? Was it his fault?

Tang Sugar was prepared for Yang Yizhou to get angry and was ready to stand up and apologize.

Who would have known that Yang Yizhou would purse his lips and frown, and then finally ask, “Won’t you think about it again?”

The other three : “…”

Director Xie’s eyes were full of wonder.

He knew that Yang Yizhou was very arrogant, and if someone else dared to refuse him, he would walk away on the spot and never cooperate with them again. He might even add some character in the script just to satirize them. This time his cooperation was promptly rejected, and he was not angry but pretended to be pitiful?!

If it was any other time, Director Xie might have checked if he had fever and become confused.

Yang Yizhou was also depressed, but he was not some trembling M. Yet Pei Ran’s temperament was really to his liking. He didn’t know why, but when he saw this young child before, his whole person was almost like possessed.

He could only comfort himself that it must be Pei Ran’s name that had affected him. After all, which one of his generation of filmmakers had not seen one of Pei Ran’s movies? 

Pei Ran did not expect Yang Yizhou to set his conditions so low, so he didn’t know how to respond for a while.

But Director Xie, looking at his old friend being so pitiful, also got a little impatient and gave them an idea, “Why don’t you let Yizhou and Junior Tang write this screenplay together?” He looked at Yang Yizhou and said, “I’ve told you to involve more newcomers. It’s nothing to bring one more.”

This was a way to make the best of both worlds. Tang Sugar didn’t expect to cooperate with such a respected predecessor and she nodded immediately for fear that she would miss the chance if she nodded slowly.

Naturally, Pei Ran would not refuse either.

Yang Yizhou also woke up. He did not mind writing with others, and when he walked into the crew with Tang Sugar, he chatted with her for a while and appreciated Tang Sugar as a junior.

Everyone was happy. 

Director Xie laughed, “Such a good thing is worth a toast.”

So all four of them raised their glasses and touched them gently in the air.

When the toast was over, Yang Yizhou could not wait and said, “Let’s talk about the script. What are your ideas?”

Pei Ran nodded to Tang Sugar to open her mouth, and she shared what they had discussed this afternoon.

Yang Yizhou was really experienced and pointed out some problems hitting the nail on the head, so the three of them started a heated discussion at the dinner table.

As the only outsider, Director Xie ate alone. After a long time, no one paid attention to him, so he couldn’t help saying, “Yang…”

Yang Yizhou looked back blankly and opened his mouth to say, “Director Xie, are you still here?”

Director Xie: “…”

Yang Yizhou quickly coughed twice to cover up what he had just blurted out. “No, I mean, it’s so late. You still have a shooting tomorrow. Go back and have a rest!” 

Director Xie glared at Yang Yizhou and shook his fingers. “After crossing the river you tear down the bridge behind you….. “

Pei Ran saw this and hurriedly made a proposal, “It’s really a little late. Why don’t we go back first and talk about it slowly tomorrow?” 

So they got up, packed the rest of the food and went out together.

On the way, Yang Yizhou was still arguing with Pei Ran about a certain point of the plot. Neither of them could convince the other. Tang Sugar felt awkward beside them. She raised her hands up and didn’t know how to persuade them.

Just then, a figure suddenly ran past Tang Sugar. Tang Sugar, who was bumped from behind, turned around and screamed, “My bag!”

Pei Ran had noticed it as soon as the bag snatcher approached. 

So before the bag snatcher could run five meters away, he was directly hit by a bag of watery soup in the back of his head. He immediately stumbled, and before he could react, he was caught by the collar, spined around and smashed to the ground. 

The bag snatcher was still dizzy and threw the bag away in a conditional reflex, trying to take advantage of the opportunity to escape. But Pei Ran was already on guard against him. He pulled his two hands together and the bag snatcher let out a scream. His arm joints had been dislocated.

Fortunately, the police station was not far away. When they called the police, they arrived within ten minutes, and the policemen took the bag snatcher away.

Pei Ran clapped his hands casually, thinking of what they were just talking about and asked Yang Yizhou, “Teacher Yang, what did you just say?”

“We were just talking about…” Yang Yizhou swallowed a mouthful of saliva and looked at Pei Ran’s smile. He said sincerely, “Oh… I just said your suggestion was very good, really!”

 

Hi,

I am looking for new Editor / Proofreader.

If you have some free time and you are interested contact me – lajnaa72@gmail.com

 

Edited by: LuLu

Proofreader: Taalia

Support translation:

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This Post Has 3 Comments

  1. Avis

    Omg hahahahah Pei Ran is the best XD Thanks for the chapter!

  2. Aeli

    Many thanks for the update!

    Haha, should I say “Good timing, bag snatcher”? The plot argument got resolved peacefully~

    1. acertainpasserby

      This is a very good example of if words doesn’t get through then you need to show them with your fist hahaha XD

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