327: Reba: Xu Lu, you're amazing! You were actually invited by Beijing University to give a lecture?

"Xu Lu, this is just too awesome! You were actually invited by Jingcheng University to attend their lecture—that's amazing!"

On the other end of the line, Reba said in a tone of surprise.

Hearing this, Xu Lu smiled and said,

"It's nothing special, really. It's just because it's Jingcheng University. If anyone else had come to me, I wouldn't necessarily have agreed. After all, I'm considered a big director now, and my status is what it is—I can't just say yes to everyone casually."

"Tch!"

Hearing Xu Lu's self-aggrandizing words, Reba immediately expressed her 'envy, jealousy, and hatred.'

However, she quickly exclaimed, "Oh right, since you're coming to Kyoto, that's great! I'm pretty bored here all by myself. When you arrive, you can keep me company for a few days, and I'll introduce you to my good friend, just like I mentioned before."

"Oh, I forgot that you girl were in Kyoto too. No wonder you called me at this hour!" Xu Lu said, having a 'moment of realization.'

"But I'm going to Kyoto to handle serious business. Where would I find the time to play around with you? Besides, don't you need to be filming variety shows? You spend all day playing around. I suspect that the reason Xia Lifei is going downhill is largely because you artists are slacking off. Who knows, maybe one day you'll play Xia Lifei right into bankruptcy!"

"That would be great if it went bankrupt! Then I could just join your Da Xu Culture. You wouldn't turn me away, would you?" Reba had originally intended to retort, but once she thought about how she would actually be free if Xia Lifei really did go bankrupt, she found herself secretly hoping for it. So, she asked with a glimmer of expectation.

Unfortunately for her, what kind of person is Our CEO Xu? He flatly refused: "No, no, no. Everyone at Da Xu Culture is a hardworking employee. We don't accept slackers, so you'd better look for another job, girl!"

"What?" Hearing this, Reba's voice shot up several octaves. She said indignantly, "Xu Lu, you are so heartless! When I have nowhere else to go, you're actually telling me to look for another job? Aren't you being a bit too cold-blooded and ruthless? And to think I was planning to introduce my best friend to you—she admires you so much! I'll give you some time to reconsider. Think about whether you want to take back what you just said!"

"Uh, about that... is your friend pretty?" Xu Lu chuckled and asked suddenly.

Reba's sense of crisis hit its peak. She quickly replied, "She's definitely pretty, but you better not be getting any ideas about her!"

"Alright, alright. Whether she's pretty or not isn't something you can just claim. I'll know when I get to Kyoto and see for myself." Xu Lu didn't fall for it at all. He added, "Besides, I'm done chatting nonsense with you. You might have nothing to do, but I've got a ton of work to get through. Since I've been invited by Jingcheng University to give a lecture, I at least need to prepare a speech script..."

"Xu Lu, are you sure you can handle this? The students at Jingcheng University are the brightest minds in the humanities in all of Great Xia." Reba unceremoniously poured cold water on him, adding, "Don't go and write a poor speech script, or those high-achieving students are going to laugh at you."

Xu Lu chuckled and retorted, "Hehe, just you wait and see. I'm a distinguished director; do you really think I can't handle a bunch of students? What a joke. Once I finish my lecture, I'm sure they'll be bowing in respect the moment they see me..."

After a few more words, he ended the call with Reba, and Xu Lu began preparing his speech script.

After all, this was an invitation to lecture at Jingcheng University. Just as Reba had said, the students there were of a very high caliber, not to mention the various professors, Expert, and masters who would be present. He couldn't afford to make a fool of himself.

And as Xu Lu himself had said, if anyone else had invited him, he might not have wanted to go—otherwise, he wouldn't have turned down so many invitations to popular programs. But he couldn't refuse an invitation from Jingcheng University; he had a great deal of respect for these prestigious institutions of higher learning in Great Xia.

Furthermore, it was said that he wasn't the only one invited; masters from various other fields had also received invitations. It could be said that while participating in this lecture at Jingcheng University wouldn't bring massive mainstream exposure, the caliber and prestige of the event were exceptionally high.

It was clear that Xu Lu's invitation to the lecture at Jingcheng University had caught the attention of many insiders in the industry. By the afternoon, he received a call from Boss Yang.

"Xu Lu, what's the deal with you? You had such good news and you kept it from us. If I hadn't just happened to see the news, I wouldn't have known you were invited by Jingcheng University." Boss Yang on the other end sounded noticeably surprised.

"Uh, this has already become news? It's just attending a lecture at Jingcheng University; there's no need to make such a big fuss about it, right?" Xu Lu said, feeling a bit puzzled.

Boss Yang immediately replied, "Only you would think that. Everyone else who was invited has already posted about it on the Social Media Platform. Xu Lu, I took a look—it seems you're the only director in the entire film and television industry to receive an invitation. And this is Jingcheng University we're talking about! It's one of the two most prestigious institutions in Great Xia, on par with Shuimu University. Just receiving an invitation like this, if nothing else, will elevate your status significantly..."

It was clear from Boss Yang's chattering that this invitation from Jingcheng University was indeed no small matter. Xu Lu smiled and said, "Thank you, Boss Yang, for enlightening me. I'll have my Little Assistant post about it on the Social Media Platform and on my Moments to celebrate right away."

"You! But you really should post about it!" Boss Yang could easily detect the teasing in Xu Lu's tone. She continued, "Oh, right, I haven't congratulated you yet on the massive success of your mr. spiritual. You've won another round. Everyone in the industry is saying that Da Xu Culture's zombie film is the standard answer—if you want to make money, you just have to copy it."

Xu Lu laughed and said, "That's not really necessary. zombie films don't necessarily have to follow just this one formula. The one that Xia Lifei filmed this time actually had pretty good box office numbers, didn't it? It has a chance to hit one billion."

Boss Yang immediately replied, "Hehe, hearing you say that feels ironic. The film Xia Lifei made is fine compared to others, but compared to your Da Xu Culture's mr. spiritual, it's practically garbage. You should see Xiong Tang—he's become so subdued lately. I think he must have been crushed by you; his confidence has completely vanished."

"Hey, don't say that! I didn't hit anyone this time!" Xu Lu hurriedly tried to distance himself from the responsibility. "Besides, for mr. spiritual, I didn't intervene in anything other than providing the script."

"That's true." Boss Yang nodded, then suddenly asked, "Oh, right, Xu Lu, why have you been such a couch potato lately? What are you planning to film next?"

Xu Lu looked slightly awkward and laughed it off. "Well... let's talk about that after I get back from Jingcheng University. Once I'm done with this lecture, I really can't keep being a couch potato."