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

Chapter 349 Proposal

The guests arrived one after another.

There weren't many people who came; they were all mutual friends of Tan Yu and Xu Manxue.

Several artists from Xingyao came, along with a few of Xu Manxue's colleagues from Xingyue Studio, and some crew members.

Lu Ran recognized several faces; they were people he had seen before on the sets of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" and "My Lucky Star".

Everyone greeted each other, and the atmosphere was very relaxed.

Tan Yu's mother also came, wearing a deep red cheongsam and her hair was neatly styled. She looked much younger than when they last met.

As soon as she entered the door, she saw Lu Ran, quickly walked over, and took Lu Ran's hand: "Lu Ran, thank you. Our Tan Yu has come this far thanks to you."

"Auntie, you're too kind." Lu Ran stood up, almost losing her balance with her cane. "Tan Yu is a good person, I just helped out a little."

"It's no small favor." Tan Yu's mother's eyes were a little red. "You have no idea what he used to be like. He was idle all day long. If I said anything to him, he would talk back, which made me so angry that I had a high blood pressure attack. Now it's all good. He has his own career and someone he likes. I can finally rest easy."

Tan Yu happened to walk over and heard his mother say these words. His face immediately turned red: "Mom, don't say these things in front of Brother Lu."

"I'm telling the truth, so what?" Tan Yu's mother glared at him. "Don't you know what you were like before?"

Tan Yu opened his mouth but couldn't say anything, so he turned his head to look elsewhere.

Seeing his embarrassed expression, Lu Ran couldn't help but laugh: "Auntie, don't worry. Tan Yu is different now; he'll only get better and better in the future."

"Thank you for your kind words." Tan Yu's mother shook Lu Ran's hand again, then turned to chat with the other guests.

Tan Yu leaned closer and whispered, "Brother Lu, why is my mom so talkative today?"

"Your mom's happy. What mom wouldn't be happy if her son proposed?"

"But what she said were all my embarrassing moments."

"A dark past is still history. If you can move on from it, it shows you're awesome. If you stay stuck in your dark past, that's shameful."

Tan Yu thought for a moment and nodded: "That makes sense."

With everything ready, Tan Yu took a deep breath, walked to the center of the hall, and stood in the middle of the heart-shaped petal.

Lu Ran put his cane aside, straightened up by holding onto a chair, took out the written wedding vows from his pocket, and looked at them again. There weren't many words, but he was still afraid that he would forget them all in his nervousness.

Shen Yuege stood beside him, reaching out to support his arm, afraid that he might lose his balance.

Tan Yu's friend went to the dressing room to call Xu Manxue.

The hall fell silent as everyone waited.

Lu Ran heard his own heart pounding, making him even more nervous than when he proposed to Lu Ran.

He cursed himself inwardly: It's not like you're proposing, why are you so nervous?

The door opened.

Xu Manxue walked in.

She wore a white dress, her hair was loose over her shoulders, and she wore light makeup.

Her expression was somewhat blank, clearly unaware of what had happened.

Then she saw the flower petals on the ground, the balloons, the group photo, and Tan Yu standing in the middle of the heart shape.

She paused for a moment.

Tan Yu stood in the middle of the petals, holding the ring in his hand, and knelt down on one knee.

"Manxue." His voice trembled slightly, but he enunciated each word clearly. "I used to be an unreliable person and did a lot of unreliable things. But you never looked down on me and always waited for me to grow up."

Xu Manxue stood there, covering her mouth with her hand, her eyes already red.

"I'm not exactly reliable now either," Tan Yu continued, "but I'm much better than before. I'm trying, and I want to become someone worthy of you. Not relying on my family, but truly relying on myself."

He opened the ring box, and the diamond ring sparkled under the light.

"Marry me."

The three words were spoken softly, but everyone heard them.

The hall was so quiet that you could hear the ticking of the clock on the wall.

Xu Manxue stood at the door, tears streaming down her face. She didn't wipe them away; they just flowed.

"Stand up," she said.

Tan Yu was taken aback for a moment: "I won't stand up if you don't agree."

"Doesn't your leg hurt? Kneel on the ground."

"It doesn't hurt. I've practiced."

Xu Manxue was amused by his words. She sniffed, walked over, bent down, and extended her hand.

Tan Yu stared at the hand for two seconds, then hurriedly took the ring out of the box and slipped it onto her ring finger.

The ring fits perfectly, not too big or too small.

Tan Yu stood up and hugged Xu Manxue tightly.

Xu Manxue cried in his arms, her shoulders shaking.

Tan Yu patted her back, repeatedly saying, "Thank you, thank you, thank you."

Lu Ran stood to the side, and seeing this scene, her throat tightened a little.

He turned to look at Shen Yuege, whose eyes were also red.

"Official!" Tan Yu released Xu Manxue, turned to look at Lu Ran, and said, "It's your turn to speak!"

Lu Ran cleared his throat and walked up to the two people, leaning on his cane.

He took the paper out of his pocket, unfolded it, glanced at it, then folded it up and put it back.

"I'm not watching," he said. "I'll say it live."

He looked at Tan Yu: "The first time I saw Tan Yu, he was driving a red sports car, wearing sunglasses, and his hair was combed like a rooster's comb. I didn't know who he was at the time."

Tan Yu's face flushed red, and Xu Manxue laughed.

"Later, when he joined my team in the short drama department, I found out that this kid was a rich second-generation, and the kind who was good for nothing."

Everyone burst out laughing.

"I didn't have much confidence in him at first, but I later realized I was wrong. Although he's not a great actor, he learns quickly. His first performance was terrible, but the second was much better, and the third was watchable. By 'The Starry Night,' he was already capable of carrying a show. He's not a genius, but he's talented. The kind of talent that comes from hard work."

He looked at Xu Manxue: "Manxue, Tan Yu has a bad memory. If you ask him to buy something, he'll probably forget. He's also bad with words; if you're angry, he won't be able to say anything nice to coax you. He also has a bit of ADHD; he can't sit still. During meetings, his chair can spin 180 times."

Xu Manxue glanced at Tan Yu with a smile, and Tan Yu wished he could disappear into a crack in the ground.

"But he has one good point: he doesn't give up. If he doesn't do a good job filming, he'll keep filming until he does. If he can't win you over, he'll keep pursuing you until he does. That kind of person would be a reliable husband."

Lu Ran paused for a moment, then said, "Today I'm entrusting this imperfect Tan Yu to you. You two have a long road ahead of you. You'll argue and have conflicts, but as long as neither of you gives up, there's no obstacle you can't overcome."

He took a step back, steadying himself with his cane: "I wish you happiness."

The applause lasted for a long time.

Xu Manxue's makeup was ruined from crying, and Tan Yu wasn't much better off, his eyes were red, and he was trying hard not to let the tears fall.

Shen Yuege walked over and helped Lu Ran up, whispering, "Well said."

"I'm so nervous," Lu Ran whispered. "Even more nervous than at the last recruitment presentation."

"If you mess up your presentation, no one will remember you; but if you mess up your wedding speech, Tan Yu will remember you for a lifetime."

"So I didn't dare look at the script, afraid I'd misread it."

The two stood at the back of the crowd, watching Tan Yu and Xu Manxue surrounded by their friends. Some people were urging them to kiss, some were taking photos and videos with their phones, and some were already asking when the wedding would be held.

Seeing Tan Yu laughing heartily with Xu Manxue in his arms, Lu Ran suddenly said, "Yuege."

"Um?"

"Once things are settled with EA and Sakura Games, we'll have our wedding."

"You've said it many times."

"This time it's for real. I'm serious."

Shen Yuege looked at him and smiled. Then she took his arm: "Alright, I believe you. Let's settle things at the company first, then we can talk about the wedding. There's no rush."

"You're not in a hurry, but I am."

"What's your hurry?"

"I'm eager for everyone to know that you're my wife."

Shen Yuege didn't reply, but the hand holding his arm tightened a little.

After the proposal ceremony, Tan Yu treated everyone to a meal.

Tan Yu drank quite a bit of alcohol at the dinner table, his face turning as red as Guan Yu's, and he put his arm around Lu Ran's shoulder and talked nonsense.

"Brother Lu, you're like my own brother. From now on, I'll listen to whatever you say. If you tell me to go east, I'll never go west; if you tell me to beat a dog, I'll never chase a chicken."

Lu Ran almost lost her balance from his embrace, and her cane tilted to one side: "Let go of me. You've had too much to drink, don't hug me like that. My leg isn't fully healed yet, if you fall, it's your fault."

"It's on me, it's on me." Tan Yu let go of him, then picked up his glass again. "Brother Lu, let me toast you again."

"I'm not drinking anymore. If you drink any more, you'll be lying here."

"I'll lie here if I want, I'm happy to."

Xu Manxue walked over and took the wine glass from Tan Yu's hand: "Stop drinking. What will you do about tomorrow's schedule if you drink any more?"

Tan Yu looked at Xu Manxue, his eyes immediately becoming obedient: "I won't drink anymore. My wife says I won't drink, so I won't drink."

Xu Manxue blushed when he called her "wife," glared at him, and turned to leave.

Lu Ran couldn't help but laugh as he watched this scene.

This kid used to be fearless, but now he's afraid of his wife.

good thing.

It was almost 10 o'clock when the dinner ended.

Lu Ran walked out of the restaurant with his cane. The night wind blew by, carrying the chill of early winter.

He shrank his neck and pulled his jacket zipper up a bit.

Shen Yuege went to get the car, leaving him to wait at the door.

He stood alone under the streetlight, watching the sparse pedestrians and vehicles on the street, his mind starting to wander to tomorrow.

EA's new game will be released tomorrow.

It's not a product of the same caliber as Sakura Games' "Samurai Warriors," it's a truly big-budget production.

It's a semi-open world with a large map and a high degree of freedom. Players can do many things in the game—hunting, fishing, building houses, farming, and dating NPCs.

Each of these items is not particularly novel on its own, but when put together, they create a chemical reaction.

Lu Ran had played similar games in his previous life and knew the power of this type of game.

It's not the kind of game you get tired of after playing it for two days; it's the kind you can play for hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of hours.

Players will build houses, farm, and raise animals in the game, keeping their virtual homes in perfect order, and then take screenshots and post them on forums to show off.

This type of game has a very high user engagement.

It's not about retaining people through competition, but through immersion.

You get so engrossed in playing that you lose track of time. You look up and it's dawn, then you look up again and it's dark again.

Shen Yuege drove up, stopped in front of him, and opened the door for him from the inside.

"What are you thinking about? Standing here in a daze."

"Think about tomorrow." Lu Ran got into the car, put away his cane, closed the door, and said, "EA's new game will be released tomorrow."

Shen Yuege started the car and drove onto the main road: "Are you nervous?"

"A little. But not the kind of intense tension, just knowing there's a tough battle ahead, being prepared, but not being able to completely relax."

"You always say that."

"Because it's always about the same."

Shen Yuege didn't reply, focusing on driving. The car sped along the elevated highway, neon lights flashing past the window one after another.

Lu Ran leaned back in his seat, closed his eyes, and began to think about the information about that EA game.

He had watched the beta test videos; the graphics were indeed exquisite, the map was indeed large, and the degree of freedom was indeed high.

Comparing Sakura Games' "Samurai Warriors" to it is like putting a primary school student's essay on the same level as a university student's thesis—they're not even in the same league.

It's not that Samurai Warriors is bad, it's that EA made it too good.

Asian companies cannot catch up with the experience and expertise that Western companies have accumulated in open-world games in a short period of time.

It's not that my skills are lacking, it's that I lack experience.

They've been doing this for over a decade, encountered countless pitfalls, and developed a complete methodology.

It's unrealistic for a newbie like you to try and compete with others right from the start.

But Lu Ran wasn't afraid.

Because he has cards in his hand.

Any one of those great games from my past life would be a game-changer.

The problem isn't whether there are cards, but when to play them.

We're not going out now because we don't have enough manpower.

Tutu Technology currently has over a hundred employees, which seems like a lot, but it's already stretched thin trying to operate "League of Legends," "Three Kingdoms Kill," and TUTU simultaneously.

We don't have the manpower to start another big project.

Once the Chengdu branch is up and running, once the new recruits have grown up and there are enough people, he can start working on those big projects.

Lu Ran opened his eyes, looking at the city night view rushing past the car window, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

EA, you guys run first.

Running fast doesn't mean you've won; running far means you've won.

...