Chapter 688 A New Year Begins with the Golden Globe Awards (10,000-word update!)

It's a new year again.

New Year.

The judges also went on vacation, so Lu Yanhe finally had a day off from all work.

Although, he still made it a point to watch one of the nominated drama series.

By now, Lu Yanhe has basically watched all the nominated dramas, with only one or two less nominated ones left to watch.

Because of this, Lu Yanhe breathed a sigh of relief. He had almost thought he was going to spout nonsense and not be able to finish watching. Some TV series are really too long, with as many as forty episodes. For these kinds of shows, Lu Yanhe couldn't watch them normally towards the end, and he had to watch many parts at double speed.

Fortunately, this era has speed-up capabilities.

-

Lu Yanhe brewed himself a pot of tea, cleared his mind for a moment, and then started watching the show.

He took notes as he read.

This is so he doesn't forget some of the highlights. Basically, for every show he likes, he writes down a few keywords so that when he reviews and evaluates it, he can recall those highlights by seeing those keywords.

At this point, Lu Yanhe had to admit one thing: at least when it came to awards, films were far more likely to receive fair treatment than television dramas. Generally speaking, the judges would definitely watch every nominated film, but that wasn't necessarily the case for television dramas.

Around 10 a.m., Wang Biao knocked on the door, swiped his card, and came in carrying a salad.

The salad was for Lu Yanhe.

This is Lu Yanhe's lunch.

Wang Biao also brought coffee.

Are you here alone today?

“Yes,” Wang Biao said. “I gave them all a day off. They’ve been working non-stop these past few days, so I let them rest for a day.”

"What about you? Why aren't you resting?" Lu Yanhe said. "There's really nothing here that you need to take care of. I won't go out all day. I'll stay in my room the whole time."

“But you still need someone to stay with you at the hotel,” Wang Biao said. “In case you need anything, you won’t be all alone.”

Lu Yanhe said, "Okay, do you want to watch the show with me?"

"No." Wang Biao refused directly. "I don't want to watch. You can watch yours. I'll look at my phone outside. Call me if you need anything."

Lu Yanhe's room is a suite, so if Wang Biao stays in the outer room, it won't affect Lu Yanhe watching the show inside.

Lu Yanhe nodded.

Wang Biao then told him what Chen Ziyan had told him the night before.

Lu Yanhe immediately sensed something. He nodded and said, "Okay, I understand, thank you."

Wang Biao: "Then I'll go out. Just call me if you need anything."

"Um."

After Wang Biao left, Lu Yanhe fell into deep thought.

Try to avoid contacting or interacting with Yang Zhoujin and Yang Zhouli initially.

Lu Yanhe had known Chen Ziyan for a long time, so he knew very well what Chen Ziyan meant by those words.

There might be a problem.

Did Yang Zhouli direct and act in this himself?

Is it possible?

Lu Yanhe pondered for a moment.

However, without any further clues to ponder, he had no choice but to give up for the time being.

Let's ignore that for now.

Lu Yanhe turned on the drama and started watching.

-

This series was nominated for only two awards: Best Supporting Actor and Best Director.

Although the number of nominated awards is small, they are all prestigious awards.

Lu Yanhe specifically saved this drama for last because it had relatively few episodes and had received good reviews. Watching it later made the pressure less.

Lu Yanhe was looking at it when suddenly a call came in on his phone.

"Hello, teacher, you wanted to see me?" Lu Yanhe received a call from Luo Yuzhong.

"Yes, I was looking for you," Luo Yuzhong said. "Are you available now?"

“It’s alright, I’m alone in my hotel room right now,” Lu Yanhe said. “Is there anything I can help you with, teacher?”

Luo Yuzhong: "I wanted to ask you, do you have the time next year... oh, no, this year, to help me with a cameo role?"

"A cameo role? Of course!" Lu Yanhe said. "As long as it's not a leading role in a film, there shouldn't be any problem."

"Okay, I understand. I'll have my team send a message to your agency later."

"Okay." Lu Yanhe asked, "Teacher, are you going to film a new movie?"

“Yes,” Luo Yuzhong said. “If the company doesn’t start new projects, everyone will be starving.”

Lu Yanhe suddenly realized.

So that's why it was for such a superficial reason.

Lu Yanhe asked, "But didn't you just finish filming 'Chinese Paladin'?"

"The Legend of Sword and Fairy project was a production contract; many people in the company weren't involved, so there was no way to make money from it," Luo Yuzhong said.

Lu Yanhe understood.

To put it bluntly, "Chinese Paladin" was a project of Linghe, and Luo Yuzhong and his team were invited by Lu Yanhe to be the production team for this drama. Many people from Linghe occupied positions in this project, so naturally, many people from Luo Yuzhong's company couldn't participate.

Lu Yanhe realized what was happening and chuckled.

“Teacher, actually, if your company needs projects, you know that Jumping Theater has always been short of production teams,” Lu Yanhe said.

Luo Yuzhong said, "Jumping Theater gives us two or three projects every year. Any more than that would be too much. We can only do so much. Right now, I'm mainly missing my own leading project. So, after preparing for several projects, I quickly found one and am preparing to do it this year."

“Okay,” Lu Yanhe said. “It might be difficult to coordinate a schedule of more than a week, but a cameo role is no problem.”

Luo Yuzhong: "Okay, I'll send you the script later. You can just pick one you want to act in."

"Okay," Lu Yanhe said with a smile.

After hanging up the phone, Lu Yanhe told Chen Ziyan and Wang Biao about it.

They both noted it down in their memos.

-

The movie that Luo Yuzhong is going to film is called "White Thirteen".

A spy drama with only twelve episodes.

After receiving the script, Lu Yanhe immediately thought of "Dingfeng No. 1", which he was going to film with Liu Bige.

The names all sound strange.

However, the latter is the code name for a plan, while White Thirteen refers to the code name for a location.

Luo Yuzhong has always been good at filming serious dramas.

This time, "White Thirteen" happens to be the kind of film that Luo Yuzhong excels at.

The script, which consisted of twelve episodes, with each episode containing just over ten thousand words, was read by Lu Yanhe in about three days.

Lu Yanhe sent a message to Luo Yuzhong: This script is quite well written.

Luo Yuzhong: What do you think?

Lu Yanhe: It's a very well-structured script, but I feel it lacks a bit of thrilling excitement. If it were made into a movie, it might have a certain feel, but as a TV series, I think it's a bit boring.

Luo Yuzhong: The strength of this script lies in the well-developed characters, but its weakness is that the plot design is rather ordinary and bland. I agree with you in this regard. The screenwriter is making revisions, and I have given him some feedback.

Lu Yanhe: Because this drama tells the story of how we obtained intelligence in the extremely dangerous place of White Thirteen, which was occupied by the Japanese, but the whole plot was not developed. At least from the script, each crisis we faced was actually a psychological description, rather than being expressed through visuals and plot development using cinematic language.

Luo Yuzhong: The screenwriter is the original author of the novel. Our company obtained the copyright from the publishing house. I read the novel, and it's actually quite similar to the screenplay, though it does lack some plot arrangement.

-

Lu Yanhe was unaware that the script was based on a novel.

After talking with Luo Yuzhong, he searched for the novel online.

The novel's author is Wen Yun, a young man in his twenties. There's a photo online of him doing a book signing in Jinkou two years ago. In the photo, he appears to be a very handsome and refined man, wearing glasses and looking quite scholarly.

Wen Yun's novels aren't famous, and he himself isn't particularly well-known as a writer. Lu Yanhe was quite surprised; he wondered where Luo Yuzhong's company had discovered the novel "White Thirteen."

Lu Yanhe sent Wang Biao a picture of the novel, asking if they could find it in a bookstore and buy it that day. Ordering it online would take a few days. As it turned out, they called over twenty bookstores, but none had a copy. This clearly showed how unpopular the novel was.

Lu Yanhe could only order it online and wait a few days to read it. Before that, he found the book on an e-novel website and decided to read it first.

After reading the first two chapters, nearly 20,000 words, Lu Yanhe realized something. The novel *White Thirteen* was exceptionally well-written—

The script lacks thrilling plot twists and dramatic action, but in the novel, these two chapters alone excel in immediately drawing the reader into the cramped and oppressive White No. 13. The novel opens by depicting the oppressive environment, both through the prisoners being tortured in their cages and through the implications of each ringing telephone.

The first chapter ends like this: Every time the phone rings shrilly in this oppressive and cramped office, it means a notification that may involve the arrest of his companion. Above the tension and unease, he must keep a straight face so that no one can see the fear and trembling in his heart. Because here, he is also the one making the arrest. If he can't, he will be arrested.

She is indeed a very skilled writer, but she doesn't use cinematic language.

-

This led Lu Yanhe to reflect significantly on his final choice for the Lingyun Award in the drama category.

A drama series might be good enough, but its goodness might stem from the language of the script, the actors' performances, or the smoothness of the editing; it's not a perfect all-rounder. In this case, another drama series stands out because its cinematography is exceptionally good, and while other aspects may not be particularly outstanding, they also have no weaknesses.

At this point, who should we choose?

Lu Yanhe had some disagreements with the other judges on this matter.

In the Best Cinematography category, one judge supported a period drama about a family of winemakers, but Lu Yanhe favored a modern drama.

The fact that Lu Yanhe supported this drama has puzzled many people.

It's not that there's nothing special about it; in fact, many people assume that the Best Cinematography award is practically unattainable for modern dramas. Often, people equate the visual beauty of a film with the quality of its cinematography. Lu Yanhe believes this modern drama is more deserving of the Best Cinematography award because every aspect he considers is spot-on.

This is especially evident in ensemble scenes.

With each character's speech, each camera shot transition, and each shot taken, the smoothness of the camera movement and the capture of every detail made Lu Yanhe feel that, in many ways, the show was truly telling the audience what it was about through the camera, rather than relying on the characters' dialogue.

Lu Yanhe said, "I don't think that cinematographers in film and television are just landscape photographers who can shoot the most beautiful pictures. Whether each shot is effective and whether the information conveyed by the shot is accurate enough are equally important. This reflects a cinematographer's understanding and talent."

-

Among the judging panel was a photographer named Xu Hui.

After listening to their argument, Xu Hui nodded and said, "In the past, when judging photography awards, we did pay more attention to the quality of the images, including some technically advanced shots, such as one-shot shots or the movement between lenses. Aren't there often discussions about those god-level shots online?"

Lu Yanhe nodded, "Actually, that's what I wanted to say. Why are some shots called god-level shots online?"

Just like the much-discussed scene in "Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace" where the concubines meet Consort Xiang, played by Li Qin.

Just like the opening sequence of "War and Beauty".

This is camera movement.

However, such shots are blatant displays of technical skill, making them easily noticeable. In contrast, modern films like Stephen Chow's *King of Comedy* rarely receive praise for their cinematography. This is because the visuals lack conventional beauty; they don't possess the kind of aesthetically pleasing proportions and immediately apparent beauty found in films like *Nirvana in Fire*. However, if you watch *King of Comedy* carefully, examining it with the question of "does this shot have meaning?", you'll discover that not a single shot in this film is wasted. This is because every shot effectively conveys the film's meaning.

For example, the famous scene where he says, "I'll take care of you."

That was truly a play that combined acting, cinematography, editing, camera movement, and music, making it a textbook example of a production.

Establishing shots, close-ups, medium shots, camera movements... every shot complements the two characters' states of mind, the development of the plot, and the dialogue and subtext.

Lu Yanhe believes that for photographers, the beauty of the image and the difficulty of the technique are external skills. The real skill lies in whether they can use the lens to point out the unspoken meaning of the characters' dialogue and whether they can add "subtext".

Lu Yanhe realized this after reading the book "White Thirteen".

As a novel, "White Thirteen" is actually quite excellent, but as a TV series script, it is very ordinary, merely neat and well-written.

Every form should have something unique to that form, something that other forms cannot express.

In photography, this means the language of the lens.

Lu Yanhe's reasons made everyone ponder.

Xu Hui said, "Actually, I was pleasantly surprised to hear such a statement from Yan He."

Lu Yanhe looked at Xu Hui.

Xu Hui said, "As cinematographers, we are often asked to take beautiful pictures, but few directors care about the information we are shooting. Directors and actors who understand film will discuss with us the movement of the camera and the different effects of each shot position. Directors and actors who don't understand film will say, 'Some cinematographers take such beautiful pictures, why can't I take some life-affirming shots for them...'"

Lu Yanhe laughed.

Xu Hui shrugged: "A shot should convey information, and not information that's disconnected from the overall story. It's not just about having some seemingly cool or beautiful entrance shots, or a few flashy camera movements that make good cinematography. I understand why Yan He supports 'Libin Hotel.' The cinematography in this show is truly excellent, especially in how accurately it conveys information. Take the scene where the thief steals from the guests, for example. It looks like the scene is composed of different shots spliced ​​together, with the camera constantly switching between the thief and the guests being robbed. But in reality, it's a seamless shot, with excellent camera movement." It's the act of stealing, not the character of the thief. Therefore, when watching this scene, we can clearly see how he steals so many things discreetly and without being noticed in front of so many people. It seems chaotic, but if you pay close attention, you'll see that the camera precisely captures each moment the thief makes a move. It's not necessarily a close-up—many cinematographers emphasize this, and often it's a flat close-up—but it captures the dynamic process, from reaching into the bag to taking it out, to putting it in his pocket right under everyone's noses.

Lu Yanhe nodded.

Liu Teli said, "Then let's take out the scene that Xu Hui mentioned and take a look together. Perfect timing, Ms. Xu, could you also explain the cinematography of this scene to us, specifically what makes it good? We can have a lesson on that too."

Xu Hui nodded.

Next, they actually attended a one-hour photography analysis class.

After the analysis, Jiang Yingxue, who had previously raised objections, nodded and said, "I've learned something."

Xu Hui: "However, I really didn't expect Yan He to notice such details. You're not a photographer, so how could you care about these things?"

Lu Yanhe said, "When I'm writing a script, or reading other people's scripts, I always imagine the scenes that will be filmed. Then, when I compare them with the final cut, I find that some cinematographers handle things better than I imagined, while others just honestly follow the conventional methods. In film and television, all the different roles need to understand the script and reach a consensus so that their efforts can come together. Sometimes, when I'm acting in a scene, I feel that everything in the scene is in my eyes, so I act more subtly and in the details. But the cinematographer shoots me in a medium shot, and the camera basically can't capture what's in my eyes. I feel helpless. Sometimes, I wish the cinematographer understood the script a little better and knew what the script was supposed to do and what it was supposed to express."

Xu Hui laughed.

"This is the director's fault. The cinematographer basically follows the director's orders on set."

“You can blame everything on the director because the director is responsible for the whole production,” Lu Yanhe said. “But if you don’t want your work to be criticized, at least you can do your part well. Even if the director doesn’t say anything, you can still do your part well.”

“Of course you could say that,” Xu Hui said. “A photographer with ambition will definitely figure things out on their own, but there are too many guys in the industry these days who just want to do the bare minimum.”

"So, are we going to decide on the Best Cinematography award today?" Liu Teli asked.

Lu Yanhe shook his head and said, "We're only in the discussion stage right now. Let's decide the final award winners by voting on the last day. We can all think about it again when we get back."

Liu Teli was somewhat surprised.

In the current voting situation, the Best Cinematography Award will almost certainly go to "Lai Bin Hotel".

Lu Yanhe refused.

Isn't he afraid that something might happen later?

Lu Yanhe said, "I'm leaving for the Golden Globe Awards the day after tomorrow, so I need to take a few days off. Sorry."

Everyone else already knew about this and had already discussed it.

They nodded.

Lian Bei smiled and said, "I wish you the best of luck in winning the award!"

"Winning any award is difficult," Lu Yanhe shook his head. "Very difficult."

“No one expected me to be nominated for the Golden Globe. You never know what might happen, right?” Lien Pei said. “But if I win, you have to treat me when I get back.”

Lu Yanhe: "Okay, you guys book the place. You can eat whatever you want. It's on me."

Lian Bei: "Look, they said it would be hard to win an award, but now they're letting us choose a location."

"What I mean is, whether I win an award or not, I'll treat everyone to dinner," Lu Yanhe said with a helpless smile.

-

The Golden Globe Awards are, after all, one of the most watched award ceremonies in the world.

This time, with so many popular Chinese actors nominated for the acting awards, fans of all of them have already been celebrating. Now, with the awards ceremony approaching, everyone is naturally even more excited.

Friends will take a four-day break.

On the eve of their departure, Chen Siqi made a last-minute decision to go to the Golden Globe Awards with Lu Yanhe.

Each nominee may bring one person to the awards ceremony.

Lu Yanhe had asked Chen Siqi if she wanted to participate beforehand. Chen Siqi originally didn't want to go, but when she thought about being able to promote "Jump Up" magazine at the Golden Globe Awards, she changed her mind.

Because the English version of the Mook for "Jump Up" has just been published.

Chen Siqi decided to bring it to the red carpet.

Lu Yanhe was speechless when he found out.

“I asked you to come with me, but you didn’t go. But the thought of promoting ‘Jump Up’ makes you willing to go.” Lu Yanhe glanced at him and said, “You keep saying you love me, hate work, want to rest, and want to spend more time with me, but in reality, you love work more.”

Chen Siqi: "We're both equally bad, so neither of us should say anything to the other."

"snort."

After Lu Yanhe took Chen Siqi, Yan Liang took Li Zhibai.

In fact, Zhou Ping'an really wanted to go to the home field with Yan Liang, but Yan Liang refused directly, saying that he had already promised Li Zhibai (even though he hadn't asked Li Zhibai if he was going at that time).

Li Zhibai is also fine with it. After filming "Chinese Paladin", he has a lot of free time now.

As for Zhan Yun, she originally planned to bring Yang Zhoujin along, but no one expected so many things to happen in between, and now they have broken up.

She ultimately decided to bring her mother along.

-

“Me? I’ll go alone,” Chen Bige said. “I won’t win any awards anyway, so it’s pointless to bring anyone.”

Chen Bige, who was nominated for Best Actress in a Drama at the Golden Globe Awards for her role in "Love Letter," felt she had no chance of winning, so she didn't plan to bring anyone along.

Lu Yanhe asked, "Sister Bige, if you really don't plan to bring anyone along, could you bring Zhang Ruozhi instead?"

As another female lead in "Love Letter", Zhang Ruozhi is now a contracted actress with Shi Huo.

When "Love Letter" was participating in the Jose Film Festival, Zhang Ruozhi was preparing for the college entrance examination, so she missed her first appearance on the international stage.

Chen Bige nodded.

"sure."

Lu Yanhe: "Thank you."

Chen Bige asked, "Ruozhi is quite a likable young lady. I haven't heard from her lately. Have you gotten her a role or something?"

“No, she’s in college, so we haven’t arranged any work for her,” Lu Yanhe said. “During her college years, we can probably only let her play some guest roles.”

Chen Bige: "I see. No wonder I rarely hear from her."

"While you can still study, you should study hard. There will be plenty of time and opportunities to work later, but once you miss the chance to study, you can never get it back," Lu Yanhe said.

“The newcomers you discover are so lucky. They don’t have to worry about missing out on opportunities or becoming less famous,” Chen Bige said. “When I became famous, I didn’t dare to stop. I was afraid of fading into obscurity and didn’t dare to miss any opportunity.”

"Huh?" Lu Yanhe looked at Chen Bige suspiciously. "Sister Ziyan clearly told me that you were very rebellious back then, didn't work properly, and always caused trouble for her."

Chen Bige: "..."

Lu Yanhe added, "Sister Ziyan also said that back then, most of her job was cleaning up your messes."

"Alright, alright," Chen Bige quickly called for a halt.

Lu Yanhe smiled.

Chen Bige: "Sister Ziyan is really something, why is she telling you about something like this?"

Lu Yanhe: "Because every time I feel self-deprecating, Sister Ziyan will use you as an example and tell me that I have already done very well."

Chen Bige almost rolled her eyes so hard she practically flew to Chen Ziyan's house.

-

Lu Yanhe arrived in Los Angeles in the afternoon.

The temperature is very low.

Lu Yanhe was wearing a down jacket and gloves, but he was still cold.

If he were alone, he would just stay in the hotel.

However, since Chen Siqi said she wanted to go out for a walk, Lu Yanhe had no choice but to accompany her.

Chen Siqi brought the English version of the Mook for "Jump Up" and asked Lu Yanhe to take promotional photos for her on the streets of Los Angeles.

After Chen Siqi finished her photoshoot, she asked Lu Yanhe to be the model.

Lu Yanhe: "..."

The two of them strolled around in the bleak, cold wind for two hours, taking countless photos of themselves as models for the "Jump Up" pose.

It wasn't until almost evening that Chen Siqi said, "Let's find a place to get something to eat first."

Lu Yanhe nodded vigorously, "Go quickly."

They went into a fast food restaurant.

As a result, Lu Yanhe was recognized shortly after he went inside.

More than one person recognized him and came up to ask him for a photo.

In order to have a proper dinner later, he cooperated by taking photos with everyone.

After filming was finished, Chen Siqi said, "Are you this famous in the US now? How come people recognize you whenever we walk into a restaurant?"

“Los Angeles might be more well-known in big cities, but if you go to a less modern and urbanized city, you basically won’t be,” Lu Yanhe said. “In the past two years, I have often been active in public in Los Angeles, not only acting in movies, but also appearing on several TV programs and in newspapers.”

Chen Siqi: "I didn't know you had so much exposure here in the United States."

"Anyway, it hasn't really stopped," Lu Yanhe said. "Especially the TV shows I've been on have a lot of viewers. Every time I'm on a TV show here, it goes on the trending topics on Twitter."

"That means quite a few Americans are interested in you too."

Lu Yanhe said with a smile, "It's mainly because he's handsome."

Chen Siqi: "...Can you please stop being so Li Zhi-esque?"

Lu Yanhe touched his nose.

"Was there any promotional event held here for the English version of the 'Jump Up' Mook this time?" Lu Yanhe asked.

Chen Siqi said, "It's too expensive, why bother holding it? We can only use the Golden Globe Awards red carpet for publicity."

"..." Lu Yanhe said, "Should I start a Twitter account?"

"Forget it." Chen Siqi shook her head. "You didn't open it before, so there's no need to open it now just to promote 'Jump Up.' It's fine, just do it normally. If the English version really doesn't take off, you can only do it temporarily."

Lu Yanhe asked, "What do the publishing houses here say?"

“They said that there haven’t been many successful cases of this kind of Mook book before,” Chen Siqi said. “So far, the only overseas Mooks that have actually launched a few issues and have some influence are the Korean and Japanese versions. They haven’t really made a name for themselves in Europe and America. However, they are still willing to give it a try, so this time we reached a cooperation agreement.”

Lu Yanhe: "If we can't push it forward no matter what, we might as well try a different approach."

"ah?"

“Look at those fashion magazines, like Vogue, which has dozens of language versions, and each language version is localized,” Lu Yanhe said. “Why don’t you also learn from this approach and develop magazines in other languages, and localize them?”

"Is there a market for literary magazines doing this?" Chen Siqi shook her head, feeling it was unlikely.

“I don’t know about that. But if we’re talking about magazines going to be multilingual, I’ve only seen fashion magazines as a successful example,” Lu Yanhe said. “Magazines that don’t do localization rarely succeed. Look at how successful Japanese manga magazines are, but they haven’t really gone international.”

“Maybe my decision to push the magazine overseas was unreliable,” Chen Siqi laughed. “Based on my experience dealing with so many overseas publishing houses, they are more interested in our domestic best-selling authors and works than in the magazine itself. Even if the magazine’s sales consistently reach over 300,000 copies, they are still not interested, and making it a Mook won’t work.”

Lu Yanhe said, "Indeed, there are no successful precedents."

Chen Siqi: "But let's give it a try. At worst, we'll just have to pay tuition. At least we'll get to know publishing houses all over the world, make dealing with them, and become familiar with them. It will also make it easier for us to promote the novels of domestic writers with them."

Lu Yanhe asked, "What is the current publishing situation for novels by Chinese authors overseas?"

“The suspense, crime and mystery genre is quite popular, while the others are just so-so,” Chen Siqi said. “Among the authors we have signed and represent for overseas publication, the more attention-grabbing ones are Liu Jiazhen, who is popular in Europe, America and Japan, and Mingyin, who is popular in Asia. They have published one book in Europe and America, but the sales are very poor. Apart from those two, the others have only published one or two books, and none of them have sold very well, so it’s hard to tell what they are like.”

Lu Yanhe was somewhat surprised.

Chen Siqi said, "On the one hand, our overseas publicity channels are very limited, and the publishing institutions we cooperate with don't provide much publicity and promotion resources, so they basically have no publicity or exposure. On the other hand, foreign readers don't actually have the habit of reading Chinese literature. Modern Chinese literary works don't really have much influence overseas. The ones with high popularity are still those traditional classic works, like 'Journey to the West'."

"It really takes years to develop the market and cultivate readers," Lu Yanhe said. "Cultural influence is really just that. Why can works from Europe, America, Japan, and South Korea become popular in China? At least one reason is that they have gradually cultivated a readership that can read the literature of these countries. Japan has animation, and America has movies. Because of these popular works, their culture has slowly become familiar to us. But Chinese culture is still too 'profound' and has a high threshold for foreigners."

Chen Siqi nodded and said, "Yes, I think so too. I've dealt with many foreign publishing houses, and after a few conversations, I can tell that they are actually very unfamiliar with the publishing situation in China. They only know a few of the most famous ones. Moreover, because there are no successful bestselling authors, they don't believe that Chinese novels can be bestsellers. But because there are some particularly popular foreign authors in China, there are always publishers working with new foreign authors, and they can release relatively popular bestsellers every year."

She smiled and said, "That's why I decided to come to the Golden Globes with you. One reason is that I need to build my personal brand and promote my books on various social media platforms, which is only natural. Another reason is that I feel I can't be aloof. I can't forget how 'Jump Up' became a success. It's obvious that I can use the star and celebrity effect. Why shouldn't I use it? I need to network with these circles and ask them to help promote my books."

Lu Yanhe nodded.

"That is indeed one way."

A shortcut.

The two ate and chatted.

After dinner, we took a walk back to the hotel together.

Under the cover of night, Los Angeles doesn't look much different from cities in China at first glance.

These modern cities are all pretty much the same.

However, being in a foreign country is not as comfortable as being at home.

Several bodyguards were on guard around the area.

Even though they weren't standing right next to them, the sheer number of people still prevented Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi from completely relaxing.

Lu Yanhe said, "When I used to work abroad, it was quite comfortable because I didn't know many people. I could wander around by myself. I never thought it would be like this so soon."

Chen Siqi: "In the future, when we travel, will we only be able to go to places with fewer people?"

Lu Yanhe smiled and nodded, saying, "If you don't mind being bothered all the time, it's fine to go to popular places, anywhere, even within the country. As long as you wear sunglasses and a mask, you won't be recognized so easily most of the time."

"We haven't gone out together in a long time. Are you free during the Chinese New Year this year?"

"I'll be free after the Spring Festival Gala," Lu Yanhe said. "Although I'll be very busy this year, with four dramas to film, plus the one where I'll be a guest teacher, that makes five dramas in total, I'll be free during the Spring Festival period."

“Then let’s go out together,” Chen Siqi said. “I also want to take my grandparents out for a trip. I’m too busy with work and don’t have time to spend with them. When I do go back, it’s just for a meal and then I have to leave.”

"Sure," Lu Yanhe asked. "Is there anything I can arrange?"

"You're too busy right now, so let's skip it," Chen Siqi shook her head. "I'll make the arrangements."

"OK."

-

The next day, I was extremely busy from early morning, with something to do every hour.

Lu Yanhe had two interviews to do from the moment he started getting his hair and makeup done.

Anyway, every time he came over, Darren Wilson wouldn't let him sit idle.

To be a qualified artist, one must master one principle:

If your agent helps you get work that is beneficial to your career, cooperate as much as you can. Don't take the work that others have arranged for you for granted just because you are a big star or famous.

In the realm of acting, you are an artist, and you can uphold your own principles. In the world of entertainment, every achievement you make is inseparable from the support of your team. If you rely on your fame and complain about how tiring or less prestigious/troublesome the work is, you're not only diminishing your work enthusiasm, but also jeopardizing the sustainability of your career.

Of course, it was precisely because Lu Yanhe had such thoughts that Chen Ziyan said that Lu Yanhe is actually a very cooperative artist.

It is precisely because of this that the entire industry has a truly high reputation for Lu Yanhe's cooperation.

After the interview, Lu Yanhe, as arranged by Wang Biao and the others, had to take a picture of the departure.

Afterwards, we ate something quick to fill our stomachs, and then it was time to get ready to leave.

Attending an awards ceremony is relatively kind for a male actor; at least he doesn't have to go hungry and avoid eating anything just to fit into a suit.

However, Lu Yanhe also has his own set of problems.

For example, the issue of "recognizing people." Darren Wilson won't be by his side tonight; for him, his most important client today is Edward Hodgson, who is vying for the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

Therefore, without anyone whispering in his ear to remind him "who the other person is," it would be terrible if Lu Yanhe didn't recognize the person who greeted him and whom he had previously met.

An awkward scene will then occur.

As Lu Yanhe was getting into his car, he was very focused on reviewing the Golden Globe Awards attendees that evening on his tablet, looking at photos one by one, checking names, and noting their representative works.

Lu Yanhe had never imagined that he would have to do this kind of thing again, even though he had done it many times before.

Chen Siqi was surprised to see this.

“Seriously, I’m impressed. If you don’t succeed, who will?” Chen Siqi said. “Even I, who’s involved in social activities every day, am as exaggerated as you.”

Lu Yanhe: "There's no other way. In this situation, to avoid embarrassment, I have to do this."

Chen Siqi suddenly exclaimed "Eh!"

"What's wrong?" Lu Yanhe asked.

Chen Siqi: "My phone pushed a news item to me saying that Shijin Group is negotiating with Yemai.com to acquire it, and Yang Zhouli is in charge of the negotiations."

-

Tomorrow there will be a bonus chapter for monthly votes, a minimum of 5,000 words, and an additional 1,000 words for every 100 monthly votes. There are currently 2,173 words.

I'll continue writing in the live stream; feel free to watch.

(End of this chapter)