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

Chapter 61 Bet

"Whoosh—!"

The conference room erupted in uproar.

Everyone stared at Lu Ran in shock, never expecting him to go so far and be so ruthless!

At first, I thought Lu Ran was just joking, but I didn't expect him to actually treat leaving as a bet.

Disband the department, fire the person in charge! This gamble is absolutely suicidal!

The heads of the Sixth and Seventh Departments instantly turned extremely ugly, both shocked and furious.

They just wanted to trip up Lu Ran, but they didn't expect him to turn the tables and force them to the edge of a cliff!

Although they felt that Lu Ran's chances of winning were very small, almost nonexistent, they didn't want to gamble.

They worked so hard to climb to the position of head of the Star Glory Department. If they leave now, they'll be nothing outside.

The two looked at Li Mo, hoping he could act as a peacemaker and mediate between them.

But Li Mo seemed not to notice the two of them, pretending to be organizing documents.

"Lu Ran!" Zhang Dehai, from the Seventh Department, slammed his fist on the table, his chubby face flushed red. "Who do you think you are? Do you think you can decide whether a department is disbanded or its head stays or leaves?"

"So it's a gamble," Lu Ran said slowly, leaning back and picking up the pen again, twirling it between his fingers. "If you don't dare, then keep a low profile from now on and don't be so shameless."

He looked at the two of them, his eyes filled with undisguised mockery and provocation:

"Let's sign this agreement in front of General Manager Li and all our colleagues. If I lose, I, Lu Ran, will resign voluntarily, and Department Eight will be merged into another department. If you lose, then it will be done as we just discussed. Do you dare?"

Zhang Dehai frowned deeply; he hadn't expected Lu Ran to be so disrespectful.

The stakes are too high; even if he has only a small chance of losing, he doesn't want to take that risk.

Just as he was about to admit defeat, he heard Wang Wei's voice in his ear.

"Alright! Lu Ran, you're arrogant! We'll bet with you! I don't believe that someone who started out making short dramas can really create a long-running series that beats Starlight Entertainment in just three months! President Li, all the colleagues are witnesses! It's a deal!"

Lu Ran looked at Zhang Dehai and asked, "And what about you?"

Looking at Lu Ran's calm eyes, Zhang Dehai always felt that Lu Ran was somewhat unfathomable.

He can't quit his job; he has a family that needs money, two children who need tutoring, a wife who needs cosmetics, and he has to pay his mortgage and car loan every month.

Although Zhang Dehai really wanted to crush Lu Ran under his feet, at this moment, he backed down.

"Minister Lu, I...I'm sorry, I was being presumptuous just now."

Under Wang Wei's surprised gaze, Zhang Dehai apologized to Lu Ran and then sat back down in his seat.

"Zhang Dehai, you coward! You're actually afraid of Lu Ran!" Wang Wei was furious when he saw Zhang Dehai suddenly change his mind.

But he couldn't let it go with Lu Ran like that. He still held a grudge about being beaten up that afternoon, and he was determined to get his revenge.

Seeing Zhang Dehai apologize, Lu Ran was somewhat surprised, and at the same time, he looked at him with newfound respect.

Seeing the scene before him, Li Mo knew there was no turning back.

"In that case, let's settle on that. All departments, go back and prepare. Lu Ran, you eight departments, go back and prepare well too. I'm waiting for your miracle!"

"Meeting adjourned!"

As soon as Li Mo uttered the words "Meeting adjourned," the people in the meeting gradually left.

Wang Wei glared fiercely at Lu Ran, who was beaming with pride, then turned to Zhang Dehai and asked, "Zhang Dehai, what do you mean? We agreed to work together against Lu Ran, why did you suddenly change your mind?"

Knowing he was in the wrong, Zhang Dehai could only lower his head and say, "You know my family situation; I can't leave this job."

"You also think that kid can win?" Wang Wei said irritably.

"I don't think he can win, but I don't dare to bet. That kid's a bit strange, you'd better be careful." Zhang Dehai left these words and turned to leave.

"I don't believe he can cause any big trouble." Wang Wei said with a disdainful look, then rubbed his slightly swollen face.

Lu Ran went out, glanced at the time, and realized it was already time to get off work.

As a responsible worker, adhering to the principle of never working overtime, Lu Ran didn't forget the eight turns of the long drama and instead clocked out directly.

Back home, the villa was filled with the familiar aroma of food.

Lu Ran changed his shoes and walked into the restaurant, only to see Shen Yuege wearing an apron, carefully killing a fish.

The fish kept jumping around, and Shen Yuege couldn't hold it down at all.

Lu Ran strode over, took the knife and fish from Shen Yue, and skillfully butchered the Qingjiang fish.

"Why didn't you have them clean and gut the fish for you when you bought it?" Lu Ran asked while cooking.

To be honest, this was the first time he had seen Shen Yuege cook in the few months since he had known her, although now it seemed that her skills could not be called cooking.

"I was just afraid the fish wouldn't be fresh when it got back," Shen Yuege pouted. "I read a guide online that said killing fish is pretty simple, so why can't I hold it down?"

"Hey senior, you think singing is easy? How come other people can't sing like that?" Lu Ran said, somewhat speechless. "Don't you know what it means to specialize in something?"

"Then how come you can do everything?" Shen Yuege retorted, unconvinced.

"It's alright, I only know a little bit of everything." Lu Ran replied without any politeness.

A dozen minutes later, a fragrant bowl of pickled fish was served.

Shen Yuege picked up her chopsticks and took a bite.

Mmm, it tastes great, not too sweet, not too salty, not too oily, and not too spicy.

At the dinner table, Lu Ran asked while eating, "Senior, how's the preparation for the new album going? Is it all finished?"

Mentioning the album, Shen Yuege perked up: "Yes, the album is all finished, and I plan to release one song a day for the next few days. But the last song you sent me was a love song duet, and I'd like to include it in the new album as well."

When Shen Yuege mentioned this new song, Lu Ran felt like slapping himself.

Why did I have such a brain fart and give her a duet love song? Wasn't that just pushing my wife into a fire pit?

Although the two are a contractual couple, it always feels like they've put a colored hat on themselves.

"Do you have a suitable chorus partner yet?" Lu Ran asked nervously.

"Not yet. I don't know many male singers in the industry. Most of them are too old and can't sing with that youthful feeling," Shen Yuege said seriously, unaware of Lu Ran's attitude.

"Oh, I see. If there really isn't a suitable person, I can fill in." Lu Ran breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that Shen Yuege didn't have a suitable candidate.

Shen Yuege was stunned. Huh? It does seem to work.

Shen Yuege had heard Lu Ran sing "Rice Fragrance" before, and his singing skills were no less than her own. Singing a duet with Lu Ran would definitely make the performance even more perfect.

But what does Lu Ran's sudden initiative mean? Does he have some other intentions?

...