Chapter 623 Go, Mom!

Regarding the Golden Tripod Award, Lu Yanhe won the Best Supporting Actor award for his role in "The Golden Era".

To be honest, this is Lu Yanhe's first award, which is of great significance.

Therefore, although the Golden Tripod Awards did not "favor" Lu Yanhe's films later on, neither "Friends" nor "Squid Game" were nominated, which caused some controversy at the time, Lu Yanhe never said anything negative.

Whenever he is invited to an event, he will attend if he is available.

"So far, the Golden Tripod Awards haven't actually done anything to you. Strictly speaking, it's all hearsay, so don't show anything on your face," Chen Ziyan instructed Lu Yanhe. "Although Huang Lian is the current chairman of the executive committee, he definitely doesn't have the final say on the entire committee. He can't control everything. If someone like you were to be targeted under such circumstances, it's beyond our control right now."

Lu Yanhe understood what Chen Ziyan meant.

“There’s not much I can do,” he said. “I don’t know who selected this year’s nominees, or who I’m working with. So be it, let them do what they want. I’ve told my mentor that I don’t care whether Friends gets nominated for the Golden Tripod Awards. This year, my goal for Friends is the Golden Globe and the Emmy Awards.”

The popularity of "Friends" on overseas streaming platforms has already earned the show a nomination ticket. Whether it can successfully enter the nomination list depends on Maxine's public relations skills.

This was a promise Maxine made to Lu Yanhe when they discussed continuing their collaboration on "Friends".

However, Lu Yanhe was unaware that while he didn't care about Friends' performance at the Golden Tripod Awards, others did.

Yuehu TV is a traditional television station, while Aurora Video is a leading video platform that is gradually gaining dominance. As a TV series co-produced by these two platforms, "Friends" is a top-rated drama. In addition to its commercial success, its awards are equally important.

Xu Senjin knew that someone was pushing Lu Yanhe and his "Friends" to "disappear" from this year's nomination list, and he was furious.

Without any hesitation, he made a phone call to Huang Lian and asked him directly if such a thing had happened.

Faced with questioning from a top-tier TV station director, Huang Lian dared not be arrogant and vehemently denied it, saying that there was absolutely no such thing.

Xu Senjin wasn't really there to confirm the truth of the matter.

He bared his fangs and threatened, "The last time we had a meeting at the bureau, we clearly stated that the award selection should further consider works that audiences truly enjoy, and works that promote Chinese films and television dramas overseas. We shouldn't be complacent or prejudiced against any particular type of work. Chairman Huang, 'Friends' is a key project registered with the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television. If you interfere with this year's Golden Tripod Awards selection because of personal prejudice and grudges, then you'd better think about how you're going to explain it to the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television."

Huang Lian was so angry he felt like vomiting blood.

You, the head of a top-tier TV station, are actually calling to threaten me?

However, although this approach is simple and crude, it is effective.

Huang Lian still had some reservations, and dared not openly hold those kinds of rallies anymore.

-

"Zhang Ruozhi's college entrance exam scores are out!"

On the phone, Chen Ziyan sounded a little surprised.

"How was it? What was the score?" Lu Yanhe put down the knife in his hand and asked.

"672 points, which ranks in the top 300 in their province," Chen Ziyan said excitedly. "She's a top student just like you."

Lu Yanhe smiled and breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's good. What I was most worried about was that filming 'Love Letter' would affect her college entrance exam."

“I’m about to announce some good news,” Chen Ziyan said. “Now that her college entrance exam is over, I don’t have to worry about any public opinion putting pressure on her and affecting her exam. 'Love Letter' is also about to enter its intensive promotion period, so I can put her in the spotlight.”

Lu Yanhe thought about it and agreed. Zhang Ruozhi had already filmed a lot of promotional materials for the later stages of "Love Letter" with the crew, but she had not yet been officially introduced to the public as one of the female leads of "Love Letter".

To date, the public only knows that there is only one female lead in "Love Letter," and that is Chen Bige.

Soon after, Shi Huo posted a message: Congratulations to Zhang Ruozhi, a contracted actress of the company and the lead actress of the movie "Love Letter", for scoring 672 points in this year's college entrance examination.

This is the first time Shi Huo has publicly promoted Zhang Ruozhi.

Recently, Shi Huo announced the signing of several new actors, from Thai actress Cai Na to Malaysian Chinese boy Huang Feng, and now Zhang Ruozhi.

Cai Na already has her own fame and popularity, Huang Feng was reported by many official media outlets because of his Chinese heritage, and when it came to Zhang Ruozhi, the media focused on the words "lead actress of Love Letter".

Before this, Zhang Ruozhi hadn't revealed a single clue.

There was not a single word about Zhang Ruozhi, not even during the Jose Film Festival.

Following Shi Huo's announcement, several Chinese media reporters and film critics who had attended the Jose Film Festival and watched "Love Letter," and who were on good terms with Chen Ziyan, immediately came to help promote the film.

Entertainment critic Guan Suchen posted: Finally, we can openly discuss Zhang Ruozhi. As another female lead in "Love Letter," she was chosen by Lu Yanhe to participate in the film as a high school student. She delivered a completely natural and likable performance. However, because the young lady is taking the college entrance examination this year, in order to protect her from being affected, the crew asked everyone not to mention her so that she could have a quiet environment to successfully complete the exam. Congratulations to Ruozhi, another academically gifted artist has emerged!

Chen Miao, the lead writer of "Dream Back to Qing Dynasty," also posted: "I can predict that after 'Love Letter' is released, Lu Yanhe will become every girl's 'boyfriend,' and Zhang Ruozhi will become every boy's 'girlfriend.' —On a side note: Lu Yanhe practically gave all his screen time to the two female leads, essentially playing a male decorative vase. But he knows exactly how to make himself a rare gem. All actors should learn from this: the quality and classic status of a character doesn't depend solely on the amount of screen time, but rather on their significance within the story. By giving all his screen time to the two female leads, the more screen time they have, the more secure his position becomes in the film. I'm truly fed up with the recent dramas; they're all filled with meaningless screen time."

...

Zhang Ruozhi's score of 672 points is linked to "Love Letter," and its newsworthiness and topicality are like water meeting liquid nitrogen, resulting in a spectacular explosion.

The entire internet is filled with curiosity about who this Zhang Ruozhi really is.

When the famous paparazzi Zhou Shuchun saw this news online, for a moment, the scene of the two high school girls he saw when he was following Lu Yanhe in Jiangzhi flashed through his mind.

The radar in his head immediately started spinning.

Really?

He immediately searched for photos of Zhang Ruozhi online.

Indeed, in this era, it is very easy to search for information about a person.

A classmate posted some photos of her taken at school online.

Zhou Shuchun opened the photo, zoomed in, and his vision went black.

exclusive!

He got this exclusive shot a year ago!

At this moment, Zhou Shuchun could hardly control the distortion of his expression and the roar deep within his heart.

-

Zhang Ruozhi became famous overnight.

However, when everyone wanted to contact Zhang Ruozhi and learn more about her, she remained completely hidden and refused to show her face.

Moreover, her teachers and classmates had all given prior notice that she would not give any interviews to reporters about Zhang Ruozhi before the film's release.

The same is true for schools.

This was partly because Zhang Ruozhi was well-liked and her classmates were willing to protect her, and partly because He Yunlan and others had put in a good word for her with the government and the school.

Chen Ziyan has already brought Zhang Ruozhi to Yuming and privately arranged for someone to help her train in advance on how to deal with the media and how to answer questions. At the same time, she also found a stylist to design her look for the movie promotion.

In the entertainment industry, it's difficult for newcomers to make it big, but audiences are also most interested in them.

Newcomers are unknown, they are blank slates. Once they truly enter the public eye, everyone will take a second look at fresh blood.

The first trending search term associated with Zhang Ruozhi was: "The second artist in the Chinese entertainment industry to replicate Lu Yanhe's path to fame has emerged."

Lu Yanhe first gained widespread recognition and public attention when his college entrance examination results were released.

The National College Entrance Examination (Gaokao) is something that receives nationwide attention without requiring any marketing efforts.

The college entrance examination scores of celebrities are a natural topic of discussion.

Those with poor grades are ridiculed by the crowd.

Those who get good grades will be praised to no end.

Why is Lu Yanhe's image so positive? His inspiring academic achievements and his status as a student at Zhenhua University are the biggest foundations for his popularity and goodwill among the general public.

Those who say he's too perfect to be liked will always remain a minority opinion. In mainstream media, as long as Lu Yanhe doesn't self-destruct, he will always be the top-tier idol.

In particular, Lu Yanhe studied literature at Zhenhua University, and he is now also a screenwriter, so he hasn't abandoned his profession. In fact, his achievements as a screenwriter are even better than his achievements as an actor—

This also led Zhenhua University to consistently support and protect Lu Yanhe. Whether before or after graduation, whenever Lu Yanhe needed help, Zhenhua University officials always stood behind him and gave him their full support.

Because Lu Yanhe is a Chinese literature major who was properly trained by Zhenhua University.

This time, Lu Yanhe was organizing the International Film Critics Festival and needed a venue. Zhenhua University immediately coordinated and arranged everything perfectly.

There are reasons behind this.

It's not unusual for a university to produce a few artists, but to produce one with impeccable political integrity who directly testifies to the high quality of the school's student training—over the years, Lu Yanhe has been the only one like that.

It was pure luck.

Needless to say, Zhenhua University, as a top university in China, is now in a stage where it needs to further enhance its reputation worldwide and compete with the world's top universities.

While academic pursuits are important, social influence and reputation are equally crucial metrics.

Lu Yanhe's achievements in the international film industry are also beneficial to Zhenhua University's international plans.

Looking at the world, any top university relies on the students they cultivate and the reputation built by generations of their alumni.

Many people believe that Lu Yanhe's path to fame is unlikely to be replicated by anyone in the short term.

As a result, a girl named Zhang Ruozhi appeared very quickly.

Although, five years have passed.

672 points.

With this score, she could get into Zhenhua and Yuming schools in her province, or at least other prestigious schools besides those two.

Universities across the country mobilized their admissions teams, hoping to recruit Zhang Ruozhi to their schools.

Zhang Ruozhi found it difficult to adapt to her sudden surge in online fame.

Fortunately, at this time, Chen Ziyan arranged for someone to stay by Zhang Ruozhi's side to help her adapt to these things that had never appeared in her world before.

Zhang Ruozhi's mother was at work; otherwise, she would have really wanted to come along.

While hesitating about which university to attend, Chen Ziyan made a special trip to Jiangzhi to analyze with her mother the attractive conditions offered by various universities.

Zhang Ruozhi's mother hoped that she could attend a university closer to home.

Chen Ziyan came to persuade Zhang Ruozhi to attend university at Yuming University.

"Her performance in Love Letter was highly praised. In fact, other directors have already sent her scripts and want her to act in their films."

Zhang Ruozhi's mother said, "Yu Ming is too far away from Jiang Zhi."

Chen Ziyan asked, "Sister, have you considered changing jobs?"

Zhang's mother looked somewhat puzzled.

“In the future, besides studying, Ruozhi will also have a lot of acting work, so she will definitely need a team to manage her affairs,” Chen Ziyan said. “We can handle the professional matters, but Ruozhi is still a young girl. Before this, she has always stayed in Jiangzhi. She will suddenly have to face such a big world, and she must be a little nervous and uneasy. If you are willing, we are willing to pay you a salary to be Ruozhi’s assistant. That way, you can also accompany her.”

Mother Zhang looked at Chen Ziyan with surprise and asked, "Is this alright?"

Chen Ziyan nodded: "Of course. Ruozhi doesn't have much work right now, but she'll probably get busy after the movie is released. Right now, our company has only assigned her an executive agent. The other staff members are temporary and not permanent."

"Why can't we assign her a permanent staff member?" Zhang's mother asked.

Chen Ziyan: "Because Ruozhi can't afford to support this team right now. Of course, the most important thing is that she doesn't need such a fixed team to serve her now. We can add more people when she really reaches that level. She will be starting university in September. During her studies, even if she has work, it will only be some small and short-term shoots, and the amount won't be large. So, her team won't have anything to do, so will it just be idle? There's no need for that."

Zhang's mother was somewhat dissatisfied and said, "I thought that if Ruozhi signed with your company, she would receive very good treatment."

Chen Ziyan looked at Zhang's mother quietly for two seconds before saying, "No company is a charity. If you want to fight for better treatment for Ruozhi, then OK, you can. But in that case, Ruozhi won't be able to study properly and enjoy her school days. Companies don't support idle people. You're not a housewife, you should understand the reasoning behind this, right?"

Zhang's mother's expression changed.

Chen Ziyan: "Back then, you didn't want Ruozhi to make movies because you were afraid it would affect her college entrance exam. You're definitely not a short-sighted person. At this stage, you definitely know better than me what's best for Ruozhi. If you want something in return, you have to give something in return. How do you measure the middle ground? I'm trying to make arrangements from the perspective of minimizing her sacrifices. If you think it needs to be changed, I'll talk to Ruozhi, and we can make an open and honest decision. We can do it professionally."

After Chen Ziyan finished speaking, Zhang's mother hesitated several times, wanting to interject, but Chen Ziyan didn't give her a chance to speak.

After finishing speaking, Chen Ziyan paused slightly, indicating that Zhang's mother could speak freely and say whatever she wanted.

But at this moment, Zhang's mother didn't know what to say.

-

"Your agent is too amazing. I'm really afraid you'll be stripped bare by this company." Zhang's mother couldn't help but complain while talking to Zhang Ruozhi on the phone.

Zhang Ruozhi was slightly taken aback.

"Mom, Sister Ziyan is very good to me. Everything is taken care of for me here," she said on the phone. "She cares about me a lot and asks me how I am every day."

Zhang's mother: "Then why didn't they arrange a fixed management team for you? I saw online that artists' teams have more than a dozen people to serve you from beginning to end."

“Those are all established big stars. Even Lu Yanhe only has two people by his side all year round: an assistant and a bodyguard,” Zhang Ruozhi said. “I think that’s how it is with the artists in our company. They don’t have a huge entourage wherever they go. On the contrary, when some celebrities from outside come to our company for cooperation, they make a big fuss, as if they bring a whole team with them.”

Mrs. Zhang said, "That's just showing off, don't you understand? The more the company values ​​you, the bigger your entourage can be. As you are now, you don't even have any permanent staff around you, and people will laugh at you when you go out."

Zhang Ruozhi: "..."

"Mom, that's not how it is." It seemed like someone was calling her from the other end. "Mom, my filming is about to start, I have to hang up."

"Okay, we'll talk about it later," said Mrs. Zhang. "You need to be assertive. Don't let anyone bully you when you're out there alone, okay?"

“No one is bullying me, so don’t worry,” Zhang Ruozhi said. “Everyone is taking good care of me.”

-

"Zhang Ruozhi's work must not be interfered with by her mother."

Upon returning to Yuming, Chen Ziyan rolled her eyes at Lu Qingzhen as soon as they met and said...

Lu Qingzhen smiled and asked, "What's wrong? Did your trip not go smoothly?"

“The school arrangements have been settled, but this meeting with her mother really angered me. She has no idea what the entertainment industry is all about, and she kept saying that she was worried we were mistreating her daughter,” Chen Ziyan said. “At most, she can be a personal assistant. We can’t let her get involved in any work-related matters. She’s just not thinking straight.”

Lu Qingzhen smiled and reassured her, "Then let's just keep her out of Zhang Ruozhi's management team. It sounds like a big problem."

“It may be troublesome, but let’s involve her mother in the early stages. Zhang Ruozhi is just a young girl who has just graduated from high school. Neither you nor I can keep an eye on her all the time. I’m afraid she’ll be fooled or misled. With her troublesome mother around, at least she won’t suffer a big loss,” Chen Ziyan said.

Lu Qingzhen: "You really worry your mother to death."

"Shut up," Chen Ziyan said. "Alright, I'm not talking to you anymore. I have to go see Lu Yanhe."

"You just got back and then went to see him again. Is something wrong?"

“A script came from Hollywood,” Chen Ziyan said. “I have to tell him in person, otherwise I’m afraid he’ll refuse.”

Lu Qingzhen nodded.

"Alright, good luck, Mom!"

Chen Ziyan glared at her.

Lu Qingzhen laughed loudly.

-

There will be another update tonight! (Proud expression!)

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(End of this chapter)