"The audience is willing to pay not because of our acting skills, but because it's satisfying and fun. For example, if I've already stolen your wife and you still swallow your pride like a coward, then what kind of protagonist are you? Sorry, that's just a metaphor—not targeting you."
"So, we need to amplify the satisfying moments. The characters' personalities should be exaggerated and unmistakable. The audience should instantly recognize what kind of person you are. In short, just go all out."
Lin Ran's words exploded like a bombshell in the villa.
Isn't the protagonist's restraint the usual approach? Why is the boss going against the norm?
Would anyone really watch such brainless, substance-lacking plots?
But hey, Lin Ran is the boss. If he says shoot it this way, then we shoot it this way. If the sky falls, he’ll be the one holding it up anyway.
So, the production team accepted Lin Ran's suggestion without hesitation.
But as filming progressed, they realized something was off.
The female lead had turned into a "slap warrior," taking down opponents with one slap—way too over-the-top.
The female antagonist might as well have "green tea bitch" written on her forehead—could she be any more obvious?
The male protagonist lashed out at everyone, leaving no room for the villains—where was the suspense?
Would anyone actually watch this?
What kind of ridiculous nonsense were they even filming?
Lin Ran, however, wasn’t worried.
Life is already bitter enough—why not add some sweetness?
In his past life, short dramas had their moment around this time, but no one expected them to dominate half the video revenue market in the future.
Those seemingly silly, nonsensical plots? Turns out, they were exactly what people loved most.
What does that prove? It proves no one wants to suffer even more in their entertainment, right?
Soon, the day’s filming wrapped up. As the crew was packing up, Luo Yao returned.
The villa doors swung open, and Luo Yao strode in dressed in her CEO attire. Everyone’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
They’d all suspected Lin Ran might be Luo Yao’s kept man, but seeing it confirmed in person still made their hearts skip a beat.
Luo Yao’s icy gaze swept across the room before she walked straight to Lin Ran and, without a care for the audience, raised her arms for a hug.
The blatantly affectionate gesture hit everyone like a truck—the younger staff members were force-fed premium-grade dog food on the spot.
Luo Yao’s message was simple: she wanted everyone to know this man was hers. Keep your eyes in check.
Lin Ran spun her around 360 degrees before setting her down.
"You’re back early?"
"Mhm. Missed you. Didn’t you tell me to come home sooner?"
Lin Ran noticed all the staff had suddenly found something very interesting on the floor to stare at.
Staff’s inner thoughts: This is too painful.
Your own misery is one thing, but witnessing someone else’s peak happiness is pure torture.
The men envied Lin Ran. The women envied Luo Yao.
Right then, Chen Qingtian sidled up to Luo Yao.
"Sis-in-law, your estate is insanely luxurious. How do you make so much money? Teach me! I wanna earn enough to keep a few eight-pack hunks for myself too."
The moment those words left her mouth, everyone’s jaws dropped again.
Chen Qingtian’s manager, a bespectacled moe girl named Pei Qianqian, sprinted over at record speed and clamped a hand over her mouth.
"Sis, you’re a top-tier celebrity! Do you have any idea what nonsense you’re spouting?!"
"I just wanna earn more—mmph?!"
Luo Yao shot Lin Ran a look that screamed, "See? These women are all playgirls."
Lin Ran could only laugh helplessly.
"Let her go. I guarantee nothing said here will leak."
After a brief hesitation, Pei Qianqian released Chen Qingtian, who gasped for air.
"Pei Qianqian, I swear I’ll fire you!"
The manager shrugged. "Whatever. Working for you is suffering anyway."
"You—!"
Lin Ran decided to leave Chen Qingtian to her drama. Taking Luo Yao’s hand, he headed upstairs, tossing over his shoulder,
"Alright, cousin, focus on becoming rich first. I’ve got a wife to attend to."
Chen Qingtian clutched her chest in mock devastation, muttering, "One day, I’ll have ten obedient toy boys, and I’ll—mmph?!"
Pei Qianqian’s hand was back in action.
Lin Ran’s parting words sent another shockwave through the room.
"What did the boss just call Chen Qingtian?"
"Pretty sure it was… ‘cousin’?"
Chen Qingtian is Lin Ran’s cousin?!
The revelation hit like an earthquake. Now it all made sense.
No wonder a superstar like Chen Qingtian was working at Nuan Yao Media. They were family.
"Wait, I just realized something—now I know why our company’s called Nuan Yao," a starry-eyed girl gushed, her envy palpable.
"Me too."
"So, the ‘Yao’ in Nuan Yao is Luo Yao’s ‘Yao’? The boss is seriously next-level. He’s so whipped for his wife."
"And Nuan Yao Real Estate must mean the same thing."
It was as if a veil had been lifted.
Luo Yao, halfway up the stairs, froze. Why had she never noticed this before?
Her world revolved entirely around Lin Ran—whether he was happy, whether he’d leave her. Everything else had blurred into the background.
Most girls would’ve caught onto this detail immediately.
A flutter of emotion—something like "heart palpitations"—stirred in Luo Yao’s chest.
Did those people just call her "the boss’s wife"?
She loved that title. Any label that tied her to Lin Ran was perfection.
"Ran… is the ‘Yao’ in Nuan Yao… me?"
"Of course it’s you. Was that even a question?"
Luo Yao’s lips curved upward—until another round of whispers drifted up from below.
"Hey, do you think the boss might just be putting on an act? Like, he’s only pretending to be devoted to Luo Yao to boost his career?"
"Damn… that’s possible!"
"The boss is too much. I’m crying. He’s sacrificing so much just to give us jobs?"
Luo Yao’s smile vanished. Her dagger-like gaze pinned Lin Ran in place, demanding an answer.
The temperature in the villa plummeted instantly.
"Babe, don’t listen to them. They’re talking nonsense."
"Are you pretending?" Luo Yao’s voice was devoid of warmth.
"Pretending to love you? If loving you is an act, then I’ll act for a lifetime."
Is Ran… saying sweet nothings to me?
Luo Yao’s anger dissolved. In fact, she was almost grateful to the gossipers.
Without their chatter, would she have gotten this confession?
Fine. They could live.
"Pfft—!" Wu Zhishang choked on his water.
"You lot! Stop yapping and pack up. No gossiping about the boss."
"Director Wu, we’re not gossiping behind their backs. We’re saying this right in front of you and Chairman Lin."
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!
+【Epic Battles!】 "Your Highness, they say Linxi Temple is miraculous. Won’t you make a wish?" "A wish? It should be making wishes to me." "That may be so, but since you’re already here..." "..." "Fine. Then grant this princess a consort to play with." "He must be obedient, devoted, and utterly infatuated with my body—so much so that he’d kneel and kiss my feet." "Your Highness, that’s not a consort. That’s a dog." "Then add clever, witty, heroic, ambitious yet pragmatic..." "Hmm, that’s enough for now. I’ll add more later." After tossing out these words half in jest, Princess Anle departed the temple—only to catch a fleeting glimpse of the Bodhisattva statue smiling at her. Meanwhile, Yang An, fresh out of university, was having a very bad day. Good news: He’d transmigrated into another world with a cheat granting tenfold combat power. Bad news: He’d immediately fallen into the clutches of a certain villainess. Good news: Said villainess possessed peerless beauty and royal status. Bad news: She was absolutely monstrous!!! In the frozen wilderness, Yang An knelt beneath Qin Guo’er’s feet, drenched in sweat despite the cold. Desperately clutching her porcelain-perfect foot—the very one poised to crush his throat—he could only think: How do I survive this?! Need answers NOW!
