Chapter 331: Backstage Operation
Lu Yiming's question was so direct that Xin Yongsheng was caught off guard. He stood there at a loss as to what to do.
For a moment, the word "internal appointment" popped up from the depths of his mind, filling his thoughts and making him nervous and excited.
Who in this world hates behind-the-scenes manipulation the most?
Those who didn't benefit from it!
All those who stand on the moral high ground and point fingers are those who have not had their interests satisfied.
Before Lu Yiming said this, Xin Yongsheng hated behind-the-scenes manipulation. He felt that it was unfair to other competitors.
But now it's different.
There is no absolute fairness in this world.
Under Lu Yiming's gaze, Xin Yongsheng nodded vigorously without hesitation, and answered decisively: "I want to."
With this one million, he could directly achieve a class leap. At that time, he could systematically learn painting according to his own wishes, then marry Zhao Yutong, open a studio or do something else, and buy a big house...
With this one million, Xin Yongsheng felt as if he owned the whole world.
How could he not think about it?
Lu Yiming admired his straightforwardness: "That's fine. I'm just afraid that you are selfless. But I think you should also know that many of the people who come to participate in the competition are professional painters."
Xin Yongsheng nodded slightly, because he met one on the road. Although she was not married yet, she had at least studied painting professionally.
Not to mention compared with those who make a living by painting.
It is obviously unrealistic to challenge other people's jobs with your hobbies.
Thinking of this, Xin Yongsheng suddenly became nervous, because according to this, there was no way he would win the championship no matter what.
"Then why did Mr. Lu ask me to come here?"
Xin Yongsheng was confused.
Since he is not the best among them, why did Lu Yiming ask him to come here?
Lu Yiming did not answer Xin Yongsheng's question, but continued to ask: "What is your family background like? Where did you learn to paint?"
Although Xin Yongsheng didn't understand what Lu Yiming wanted to do, he still told him his experience truthfully.
After listening to it, Lu Yiming did not sigh as Xin Yongsheng expected. Instead, he clapped his hands excitedly and said, "Good, very good, a wonderful story! If you want to win the championship, then you have to do as I say. First of all, you need a story that can move people. It doesn't have to be fictional, but you can make it up based on facts. Learn how to play the victim."
"Playing the victim?"
Xin Yongsheng was at a loss for words and couldn't understand what the connection was between being a champion and being pitiful.
Seeing his puzzled expression, Lu Yiming smiled and explained for him: "Just talk about how hard it was for you to learn painting, how much your family didn't support you, and how much you suffered for your dream."
Xin Yongsheng then nodded blankly.
He seemed to understand something, but he didn't quite understand.
The reason why Lu Yiming called Xin Yongsheng over and said these things, besides because he really appreciated Xin Yongsheng's painting style, was naturally to "create a star", to make Xin Yongsheng an "idol", and to package his personal image with vivid stories.
For a company, people themselves can also be a product.
Just at this moment, Yang Li came in with a Coke in his hand.
"Here it comes. I got it on the first floor. Mr. Lu, is this the brand?"
Lu Yiming was casual: "Any brand is fine, bring it over."
After taking a sip of ice cola, Lu Yiming felt relaxed all over. He said to Xin Yongsheng, "Do you understand what I just said to you?"
Xin Yongsheng nodded somewhat bewilderedly, but his tone was somewhat uncertain: "I think I understand."
Lu Yiming knew that this matter had to be done slowly, so he was not in a hurry: "That's good."
Regardless of whether Xin Yongsheng really understood it or not, Lu Yiming was already helping him cheat. If he couldn't handle this, then it could only be said that Xin Yongsheng really wasn't that lucky.
"Okay, go do whatever you need to do. The competition is coming up soon, so prepare well."
Watching Xin Yongsheng leave, Yang Li asked curiously, "Boss Lu, what did you say? Did you give this guy some special treatment? Will others have any objections?"
Lu Yiming smiled and said, "Anyway, this is a painting competition, and the ranking is based on the popularity of the works. His painting skills won't improve if I say a few words to him."
Yang Li listened and felt that it made some sense: "That's right."
Lu Yiming went on to say, "I watched the first batch of samples and I felt they were pretty good. The guy who messed up the show contributed a lot of material to us. I also included his work here so you can pay more attention to him. I think that's a good idea."
Yang Li also watched the sample film of the first episode, and said with emotion: "I was confused before. You said that with that person and that painting, it was unfair to let him enter the finals. Now that you said that, Mr. Lu, I understand his position in the program. Don't worry, Mr. Lu, we will definitely pay more attention to him. After all, he is the president of the Calligraphers and Painters Association. Isn't it reasonable for him to get attention?"
Lu Yiming smiled and said, "Oh, by the way, what you said reminds me that you should find out the identities of these people. Then you can put their professional identities behind their names. How cool it will be."
Seeing Lu Yiming's cunning smile, Yang Li said helplessly: "Boss Lu, you are just looking for trouble. He is the president of the Calligraphers and Painters Association after all. If he is bullied by others one after another, aren't you afraid that he will be pissed off to death?"
Lu Yiming snorted lightly, his expression contemptuous: "With his level, he can become the president of the Calligraphers and Painters Association. What's wrong with me letting him become famous? There are too many such fake associations in our country. Bad money drives out good money. The reputation of many serious associations has been damaged by them. Our program can also expose their hypocrisy by the way, how great."
Yang Li gave a thumbs up and said, "I can only say that Mr. Lu is awesome!"
Lu Yiming smiled and said, "Okay, don't be afraid of offending people. This program respects facts and principles, and there are no taboos. Just watch it."
Yang Li said excitedly: "Okay."
From the conversation just now, Yang Li had roughly guessed Lu Yiming's thoughts. Lu Yiming's words were like giving Yang Li a golden ticket of immunity from death. As long as Yang Li did not make mistakes of principle, he could do whatever he wanted in this program and attract attention in any way.
After drinking the fat otaku happy water, Lu Yiming got up and left the Marriott Hotel, planning to rush home for dinner.
As soon as Lu Yiming entered the house, the sharp-eyed Duan Letian spotted him, ran over, hugged his thighs and started to complain loudly: "Cousin, my sister bullied me!"
Lu Yiming looked up and found that Duan Letian's sister Duan Hongxin was glaring at Duan Letian with bulging eyes. The girl had just entered high school, and the school was a boarding school. It was a rare holiday for her to go home, so she followed Duan Letian here.
The little girl who used to hold on to the corner of her clothes has now grown into a beautiful young lady.
Lu Yiming stroked Duan Tianle's little head and said with a smile: "How could my sister bully you? It must be you, the little troublemaker, who made my sister unhappy again."
Duan Hongxin almost beat Duan Letian's butt just now , but she stopped when she saw Lu Yiming coming into the room. After hearing what Lu Yiming said, her expression softened a lot, and she timidly stepped forward and called out, "Cousin."
Lu Yiming no longer had much impression of the cousin in front of him. He only remembered that his cousin had good academic performance, was admitted to a university, went to a school far away, and later stayed there to work and live.
Looking at it now, his cousin still looks like a girl, childish and full of youthful vitality, which makes Lu Yiming feel very emotional.
Although he felt that time was ruthless, Lu Yiming had a happy smile on his face and said jokingly, "Naughty boy, tell me how your sister bullied you? I will help you get justice."
Duan Tianle seemed to have found someone to back him up. He became much bolder and immediately began to accuse his sister of her "crimes": "Let me tell you, my sister is so overbearing. She won't let me watch TV until I finish my homework! She won't even let me watch "Big Windmill"! And she won't let me drink Coke. I just took a sip..."
Duan Letian became sadder and sadder as he spoke, and he even cried out loud at the end.
Not being able to watch cartoons or drink fat otaku happy water, what kind of suffering is this in the world?
Lu Yiming rubbed Duan Letian's chubby cheeks with a mischievous expression on his face: "I don't let you watch TV so that you can study hard. I don't let you drink Coke because you are too fat! Look at you, you are still in elementary school, and you already weigh 100 pounds, right?"
Duan Letian's face was rubbed out of shape by Lu Yiming, and he became even more upset when he found out that Lu Yiming didn't help him. He shouted loudly: "You two are in cahoots with each other, birds of a feather, snakes and rats from the same nest..."
Unexpectedly, after listening to it, Lu Yiming rubbed it even harder: "Oh, you even learned to use idioms."
Duan Hongxin was still glaring at Duan Letian angrily. Duan Letian spoke more and more quietly, and then he simply sulked on the sofa.
Ning Xuehua, who had just been busy in the kitchen for a while, came out and saw that the two siblings were at loggerheads. She quickly came to sit next to Duan Letian, hugged Duan Letian lovingly and coaxed him, "Xiaotian, what's wrong with you? Why are you so unhappy?"
Luo Rujun said helplessly: "Didn't Mingzhu TV station launch a new program these days? The "Millionaire Painter" also opened up telephone voting. Both of them wanted to vote for their own contestants, but one phone could only cast one vote per day, so the two of them fought over the phone every day. In the end, it was always because Ah Xin was stronger that she got the phone..."
Lu Yiming was suddenly speechless. Duan Letian had just made so many accusations, but he had never expected that the culprit that caused the quarrel between the siblings was actually "Millionaire Painter".
"Millionaire Painter" is broadcast every Saturday at 8pm in the prime time. The first episode was broadcast last night, and at the same time, the voting channel was fully opened.
This brand-new format of reality show opened the eyes of audiences who were tired of the monotony and soon sparked heated discussions.
The slogan "You decide the champion" made the audience excited, as if they had the power to distribute the million-dollar prize money, and their enthusiasm for voting increased. They seemed to have forgotten the fact that it costs two yuan to make a voting call.
He asked curiously: "Xiaotian, who are you going to vote for?"
Duan Letian raised his hands and said loudly: "I want to vote for Xin Yongsheng! His comics are very interesting."
Lu Yiming smiled and did not comment on it, then turned around and asked his cousin Duan Hongxin: "Xinxin, what about you? Who are you going to vote for?"
Facing Lu Yiming, the cousin whom she hadn't seen for many years, Duan Hongxin, who was "domineering and barbaric" in front of her brother, was actually a little shy: "I... I want to vote for He Zizhe!"
Lu Yiming had no idea who He Zizhe was, and naturally didn't remember He Zizhe's paintings, so he was a little surprised: "Why did you vote for He Zizhe?"
Duan Hongxin said without hesitation: "Because he is handsome!"
When Ning Xuehua heard that the two siblings were arguing over the show "Millionaire Painter", she immediately looked at Lu Yiming and said, "By the way, Mingzi, didn't you say before that this show was sponsored by your Shijinji?"
Lu Yiming couldn't help scratching his head, looking puzzled: "Oh, yes, what's the matter?"
"You paid for it?"
Luo Rujun looked at Lu Yiming and was quite surprised.
This program has become such a big sensation, and the prize money is as high as one million, and this program is actually organized by my nephew?
Luo Rujun felt it was unreal. She couldn't help but ask curiously, "Who is the champion?"
Lu Yiming didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and said, "The competition has just started, how would I know? The champion is determined by audience voting."
When Duan Hongxin heard that this competition was organized by Lu Yiming, she immediately said, "Cousin, you can manipulate it behind the scenes and let He Zizhe win the prize."
Duan Letian was immediately displeased when he heard this, and immediately pulled Lu Yiming's arm and acted like a spoiled child: "No, no, Xin Yongsheng must win the championship!"
Duan Hongxin glared at Duan Letian fiercely and shouted, "He Zizhe!"
Duan Letian had Lu Yiming's support, and he shouted loudly, "Xin Yongsheng!"
"He Zizhe!"
"Xin Yongsheng!"
Seeing that the two siblings were arguing again, Lu Yiming immediately stood in between them: "Alright, alright, didn't I just say it? The champion is determined by voting, how can I manipulate it behind the scenes? Who can win the championship depends on their own popularity."
Seeing that his goal had not been achieved, Duan Letian curled his lips and shouted again: "I want to learn how to draw. It's so fun to draw a little rabbit with a naughty expression in just a few strokes."
Who would have thought that after hearing this, Luo Rujun would scold him with a dark face: "Study hard, you bastard! Otherwise, I will let you eat all you can of bamboo shoots and fried meat!"
Duan Hongxin saw Duan Letian being suppressed by Luo Rujun, and immediately gloated over his misfortune, then hugged Lu Yiming's arm and said coquettishly: "Cousin, I want to take a photo with He Zizhe for an autograph. He is so handsome, and many girls in the class voted for him."
Lu Yiming was speechless after hearing this. How come a good show like "Millionaire Painter" was turned into something like a selection of young handsome men?
Are there people who vote just because they are good-looking?
This He Zizhe is something.
