You were supposed to have a fake marriage with the diva, so how did you become her father?

Chapter 124 Eliminating the Traitor

As night deepened, the hot pot restaurant remained bustling.

But no one noticed that across the street, a telephoto lens was pointed at them and quietly pressed the shutter.

In the photo, Lu Ran is smiling as he serves food to Shen Yuege, while Liu Siqi watches them with a smile.

The angle was cleverly chosen, making it look like an ambiguous scene of three people together.

The paparazzi put away their cameras and smiled with satisfaction.

"This time, we should be able to get a good price."

The last photo, taken alone, wasn't very intimidating, but adding this one gives us something to make up.

After all, news is just a matter of taking a few unsubstantiated photos, embellishing them, and writing a story about them.

Since it has been confirmed that there will be no duet segment in the program, Lu Ran plans to return to the company first.

After all, Li Mo had called him countless times in the past two days.

Lu Ran also stated that he would be available whenever needed.

...

The day after returning to Shanghai, Lu Ran sensed something was off as soon as he stepped into the Xingyao Building.

Lu Ran was still a little confused. He hadn't been gone for more than a few days, so why did everyone seem to see him as a completely different person?

The employees in the corridor looked at him with noticeably more reverence, and occasionally, hushed whispers could be heard.

"Have you heard? The company is setting up an animation department..."

"Lu Ran might be promoted to director, directly managing a brand new department!"

"Really? He's only been here a short time..."

"They're really capable. The 'Legend of the Condor Heroes' stats are off the charts. If you're so good, why don't you try it?"

Lu Ran smiled and understood what had happened.

Although his position as director was chosen by a group of department heads to take the blame, the employees below were unaware of this.

For them, the position of director was already an unattainable leadership level.

Many people work at Star Glory their whole lives and may not be able to climb to this position.

Especially the original colleagues in the editorial department, now look at Lu Ran with even more complicated eyes.

They used to always mock Lu Ran, but in just a few months, he has become someone they can't even reach.

Lu Ran was in a good mood, so even after hearing so many whispered compliments, he still went straight to the director's office without changing his expression.

Li Mo was waiting for him there.

"You're back?" Li Mo looked up from his documents, pointed to the chair opposite him, and said, "Sit down."

Lu Ran sat down, waiting for the other party to speak.

Li Mo didn't beat around the bush: "The company has decided to officially establish an animation division. As you know, the domestic animation industry is booming recently, with policy support from above and audiences craving good works." He paused, looking sharply at Lu Ran, "The board of directors unanimously agreed that you would take on the position of director of this division."

Lu Ran raised an eyebrow: "The board of directors unanimously agreed?"

Lu Ran was somewhat surprised by this, as he had originally thought it was just a scapegoat position.

However, the fact that the board of directors unanimously agreed indicates that the higher-ups also have high hopes for Lu Ran.

Otherwise, given Lu Ran's father-in-law's connections, the higher-ups wouldn't have easily made things difficult for him.

Li Mo smiled: "The higher-ups have a lot of confidence in you. Do you yourself have the confidence to make this department successful?"

"I'm a very confident person," Lu Ran replied with a smile.

"Great!" Li Mo made the decision. "Then the animation department will be officially established starting today. The office will be on the entire 16th floor, and the staffing and budget will be handled separately. You can choose whoever you need, or transfer people from other departments. I will fully support you."

Lu Ran nodded, then suddenly remembered something: "The eight-part long-running drama..."

"Tan Yu has been doing quite well lately; the filming of 'Meteor Garden' is really going well," Li Mo said. "Let him temporarily serve as the head of the Eighth Department, with Sun Tianyu assisting him. You focus on animation. What do you think of this arrangement?"

Lu Ran nodded.

Even if Li Mo hadn't mentioned it, he still intended to arrange it this way.

It seems that Li Mo had already done the research and made arrangements for him so that he could focus on his work.

Just as he was about to get up to leave, Li Mo called him back: "By the way, there's something you need to take care of."

"What is it?"

"Wang Wei, the head of the Sixth Department." Li Mo's face turned cold. "The company discovered that he had been in private contact with Starlight Entertainment and leaked a lot of internal information. Although it hasn't caused any substantial losses yet, Starlight cannot keep someone like him who betrays the company."

Lu Ran's eyes lit up: "So, what does President Li mean...?"

"You'll handle this as the director of the animation department," Li Mo said meaningfully, looking at him. "A new broom sweeps clean; where you set your sights on first is up to you."

Lu Ran smiled: "I understand."

Li Mo is helping him establish his authority.

Although he knew he could still establish his authority on his own, he accepted Li Mo's favor nonetheless.

...

Half an hour later, in the office of the sixth department of the long-running drama.

Wang Wei was slowly packing his personal belongings.

Several boxes of expensive tea were on the table, the group photo that had been hanging on the wall had been taken down, and a stack of documents was piled up on the corner of the table. These were all internal documents that he planned to take with him.

He was in a good mood and even hummed a little tune.

Yesterday morning, Zhou Ran from Starlight Entertainment called him and said that the job change had been finalized. He would be the deputy director of production and his salary would double.

Thinking of this, Wang Wei couldn't help but smile.

All I need to do next is to inform Li Mo of my resignation.

"Lu Ran, Lu Ran, you think you can swagger around at Xingyao just because you won one drama?" he sneered. "Wait till I get to Xingguang, and see how I handle that..."

Before he could finish speaking, the office door was pushed open.

Lu Ran walked in, followed by the director of the human resources department and two security personnel.

Wang Wei's expression changed, but he forced himself to remain calm: "Minister Lu, is something the matter?"

"Minister Wang." Lu Ran sat down on the sofa, crossed his legs, "Oh no, I should call you Wang Wei now, or..."

"Director Wang?"

Wang Wei's heart skipped a beat, a sense of foreboding washing over him, but he forced himself to remain calm and said, "Minister Lu, what do you mean? I don't understand."

"Oh? Don't you understand?" Lu Ran looked like he understood and waved his hand behind him.

The HR director stepped forward and handed over a document with a blank expression.

"Mr. Wang Wei, according to the company's investigation, you have repeatedly had private contact with competitor companies during your tenure, which is suspected of leaking company business information and seriously violating the employee handbook and confidentiality agreement."

"You are hereby formally notified that you have been dismissed. Furthermore, the company is initiating legal proceedings against you for your breach of confidentiality and for the damage your actions have caused to the company's interests."

"What?!" As if realizing something, Wang Wei suddenly stood up, his face full of anger. "Do you have any evidence? This is a frame-up! I want to see General Manager Li!"

In his view, this must be a play put on by Lu Ran and the HR director.

"You want proof?" Lu Ran looked surprised yet amused, tossing him a phone. "How about this?"

...