Chapter 57

Tonight, when Malan Hua came to the school, it would be a good opportunity for Zhang Tan to talk to her about his plan to take Xiaobai out to play.

However, he hadn't figured out how to dispel her doubts and decided to talk to her the next day.

The next morning, Zhang Tan was jogging in the courtyard, drenched in sweat, when a woman in a light apricot-colored dress rushed out of the building.

She stood on the steps of the building, curiously looking around, her gaze falling on the Xichang'an Street outside the school. Seeing the row of bars across the street, she recalled what had happened last night.

Yes, she had gotten drunk, so drunk that she couldn't find her way home. If it weren't for the kindness of a stranger, she couldn't imagine what might have happened to her.

Her face turned pale and then red as she thought about what had happened in the bar last night, gradually coming to her senses.

She had been tricked.

People's hearts are hard to fathom; who would have thought that her best friend would conspire with others against her.

She wasn't sure if someone had drugged her drink, but her state last night couldn't be explained by her low tolerance for alcohol.

She did drink, and she had a good capacity for it. Last night, because there were strangers, she drank less and tried to control herself, but in the end, she got completely drunk, which was very unusual.

Her phone in her bag had a lot of missed calls and unread messages. Just as she was about to browse them, she heard footsteps from the small grove on the right side of the courtyard. Then she saw a man in a white sports outfit running out, panting heavily.

As she noticed him, he also noticed her.

She was taken aback and quickly covered half of her face with her hand. After getting up, she hadn't washed her face or brushed her teeth, and her face was greasy and her makeup was smudged, making her look terrible.

Zhang Tan stopped jogging and greeted her, "Hello~ How are you feeling?"

"Still, still okay, thank you all."

She was about 165 cm tall, slender, with long legs and a well-endowed chest.

Her exposed eye curiously examined Zhang Tan. She said her name was Li Jia, thanked Zhang Tan and the others, and asked if she could open the gate to let her out.

Her condition wasn't good; her makeup was smudged, and her face was puffy, making her look very unattractive. Moreover, a strong smell of sweat wafted to her nose, which she couldn't even bear herself.

At that moment, all she wanted was to leave as soon as possible, freshen up, and come back in the afternoon to thank them properly.

Then she thought about the embarrassing state she must have been in after getting drunk last night, which must have been seen by everyone. Sigh, thinking about it, her face turned red, and she couldn't look Zhang Tan in the eye.

Zhang Tan considerately said, "Wait for me here."

He hurried upstairs to avoid embarrassing her, found the school's key in his room, opened the school gate for Li Jia, and saw her off.

"Thank you, thank you all. I'll come back in the afternoon, thank you."

Li Jia was extremely grateful, thanked them repeatedly, and took a taxi, leaving in a hurry.

Zhang Tan returned home, washed up, and went downstairs to work. In the hallway, he met Xiaomi, who had just woken up.

This little girl was wearing a pink pajama that reached her calves, making her look particularly small. She was bouncing and singing softly in the corridor.

It seemed she was in a very good mood today, having had a fragrant night.

Zhang Tan knew she was shy, so he planned to go upstairs quietly without disturbing her. However, the little girl noticed him, and her soft singing stopped abruptly. Her face turned red, and she felt very embarrassed, but she still greeted him.

"Good morning, Uncle~"

Xiaomi was taken care of by the police station during the day and was arranged to stay at a nearby kindergarten. In the evening, she was brought to the school.

"Good morning, Xiaomi. Your little pajama is really cute," Zhang Tan praised.

Xiaomi looked down at herself, like a shy flower, and her face broke into a big smile.

Zhang Tan thought, should he take Xiaomi along tomorrow? This little girl was pitiful, being alone in Pujiang, and her mother still hadn't been found. Taking her along would give Xiaobai a companion, and her aunt would probably feel more at ease.

If there were two children, they would need another person. Xiao Liu, the teacher?

Xiao Liu was a good choice. Malan Hua was familiar with her, and if she joined, it would definitely make her feel more at ease. Moreover, Xiao Liu and Xiaomi got along well, and she could take care of her.

The more Zhang Tan thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. Since there wasn't enough time in the morning, he decided to discuss it with Xiao Liu, Xiaomi, and the police officer in the evening.

The traffic was very congested today, and Zhang Tan's car was stuck on Yong'an Street, moving forward step by step. He could already see the production company building, but it was only 4/50 meters away, and it looked like it would take at least half an hour to get through.

Zhang Tan looked at his wristwatch; it was 7:40 AM. Usually, he arrived at the company at this time, and the traffic was usually smooth. He didn't understand why it was so congested today.

It wasn't until 10 minutes past 8 that Zhang Tan finally reached the company. He hurried through the lobby and waited for the elevator. When it arrived, someone joined him.

Zhang Tan pressed the 9th floor and asked the person, "Which floor?"

"5th floor, thank you," a clear male voice replied.

Zhang Tan looked at the person and found him familiar. When they got off the elevator, a light bulb went off in his head, and he finally recognized who it was.

Isn't this Wang Yifan?

The lead actor of a web series produced by the production company's real-person film and television department, the series was called "Director Jin."

Yesterday, Jiang Rong had just mentioned that the third season of "Director Jin" was in preparation. The reason it was being gossiped about was that as one of the few popular TV series produced by the company, the director was being replaced. The previous director, who had directed the first two seasons, was said to have had a disagreement with the lead actor and was replaced. It wasn't clear who would take over yet.

Zhang Tan returned to the office, where everyone was waiting for him. After greeting them, he hurried to the "Unlucky Bear" project meeting.

As soon as the meeting ended, Zhang Tan was walking and chatting with the director when a staff member outside the door said to him, "Mr. Zhang, please wait a moment."

The director left first, and Zhang Tan stayed behind. He had a vague impression of this person, who seemed to be from the "Lantern Bearer" project.

"Yesterday, the first episode of 'Lantern Bearer' was broadcast. There's an analysis meeting at 9:30. The director asked if you could attend."

Zhang Tan then remembered that "Lantern Bearer" was released on the company's video website, Langchao Video, last night, and the results should be out this morning.

"Of course, which meeting room?" Zhang Tan asked.

Although he was no longer directly involved in the "Lantern Bearer" project, he was still technically part of the project team as a screenwriter. His role had ended, so he could focus on other tasks.

"It's in the first meeting room on the 8th floor."

The two took the elevator to the 8th floor, pushed open the meeting room door, and the first person he saw was the director, followed by a pair of bright eyes looking at him.

It was Song Wen, the author of "Lantern Bearer," a cute little beauty.

"Zhang Tan is here, sit here," the director said, gesturing for him to sit on his left.

"Sorry, sorry, I kept everyone waiting," Zhang Tan said as he sat down, smiling at Song Wen. "Long time no see."

Since he left the project team, they hadn't seen each other.

Song Wen's face glowed with joy.

"Indeed."

Zhang Tan smiled. "Seeing you, I guess the broadcast results must be pretty good."

Everyone looked at the director.

The director cleared his throat and said, "Everyone is here, so let's start the meeting. Last night at 7 PM, the first episode of 'Lantern Bearer' was officially broadcast. The results are now in..."

"Lantern Bearer" was broadcast weekly, and the project team had already completed the third episode, airing as they produced.

The "Lantern Bearer" comic had finished its first season and was very popular, but Zhang Tan wasn't sure about the specifics. Fortunately, the director mentioned it.

"The 'Lantern Bearer' comic has been published online for exactly 80 days, and the cumulative readership has reached 1 billion."

Everyone congratulated Song Wen. This was a remarkable achievement, and it was no wonder the production company had paid a high price to adapt it into an animated series.

While accepting everyone's congratulations, Song Wen frequently glanced at Zhang Tan, who, of course, also congratulated her.

"Thank you. Although the readership is good, there's still a big gap compared to other excellent works."

The director then said, "Currently, 'Lantern Bearer' ranks 40th among all online comics."

From this, it was clear there was still a lot of room for improvement. The top-ranked comic had already surpassed 1 billion and was heading towards 2 billion.

After that, the director talked about the animated series' performance.

"The single-day viewership of our first episode was 1.8 million, ranking 25th overall."

Zhang Tan thought this was a good result, but it was a bit low compared to the production company's expectations.

Seeing that the director and Song Wen's expressions didn't change, he patiently listened to the director continue.

"The overall online heat is 20."

The overall online heat refers to the search heat, with a full score of 100. A score of 20 wasn't good, and to enter the top ten, it would need to be at least 50.

The director clearly knew this issue and explained, "An overall online heat of 20 isn't good, but don't forget that we're currently only broadcasting on our own website. The heat hasn't picked up yet. At noon today, the first episode will be released on other video websites, and the heat and viewership will naturally improve."

It seemed they saw the potential and decided to increase the distribution.

Someone laughed, "Let's work together and aim for the top ten!"