Chapter 900 Trip to New York
However, Lu Yanhe truly did not expect that Darren Wilson would not act like a strict father in front of Vanessa, and would not even display the strategic acumen and confidence he usually displays as a top Hollywood agent.
Lu Yanhe also discovered that Vanessa acted so "arbitrarily" in front of Darren Wilson because she knew this very well.
Throughout the dinner, Vanessa kept asking Lu Yanhe about his past film experiences, including the movie "Late Spring," and whether he had developed feelings for Yan Lingyu on set and actually fallen in love with her.
Lu Yanhe was extremely surprised.
No one had ever asked him that question before; Vanessa was the first.
Lu Yanhe was both amused and exasperated, explaining that he hadn't done it.
Vanessa, on the contrary, looked disappointed; she seemed to really want to hear a positive answer from Lu Yanhe.
Lu Yanhe was even prepared for Vanessa to ask him how he and Chen Siqi got together, but Vanessa didn't ask at all until the end of the dinner.
Vanessa said to Lu Yanhe, "You are one of my favorite stars. I never thought I would like a Chinese star so much."
"Thanks."
“Actually, the reason I was initially interested in you was because he focused most of his energy on you.” Vanessa glanced at Darren, who was paying the bill. At that moment, she and Lu Yanhe were standing to the side, waiting for Darren. Vanessa said, “Every time I contacted him, he never refused me, except for one time, when you came to America. He said he had made an appointment with you and couldn’t see me. You know, whenever I wanted to see him, he would cancel his appointments with anyone else.”
"Really?" Lu Yanhe didn't know what to say, so he could only reply like this.
Vanessa suddenly remembered something and asked, "Do you think I could be an actress?"
"Huh?" Lu Yanhe looked at her in surprise.
Vanessa proudly raised her chin. "I'm beautiful, aren't I?"
“Yes, you are very beautiful.” Lu Yanhe nodded in acknowledgment. “However, having a pretty face doesn’t make you an actor. Your father is a professional agent, so you might as well ask him for his opinion.”
“I don’t want him to know,” Vanessa said. “I don’t want my mom to know either.”
"Why?"
“Because my mom really hates actresses.” Vanessa winked at Lu Yanhe. “His current wife is an actress, you know?”
Lu Yanhe: "..."
He said, "I'm not very clear about your father's family situation. In fact, I only found out today that your father was divorced."
“Okay,” Vanessa said. “In short, that actress stole him away, and it made my mom hate Hollywood and actresses ever since.”
Lu Yanhe smiled but remained silent.
Vanessa: "Although I think she should hate my dad the most."
Lu Yanhe remained silent and smiled.
“Why are you always so nervous, like I’m some kind of paparazzi trying to pry into your private life?” Vanessa asked.
Lu Yanhe: "You are very beautiful, and I already have a girlfriend, as you should know. If you are really my fan, under normal circumstances, I shouldn't have had this dinner with you, even though your dad is here too."
Vanessa shrugged. "Are all Chinese men this...conservative?"
Lu Yanhe: "I think this shouldn't be called conservative."
Vanessa: "To be honest, I'm only interested in you in the movies. Having dinner with you in person tonight didn't make me feel that you're more attractive than you are in the movies."
“Of course,” Lu Yanhe smiled. “An actor’s most charming moments should be in movies.”
“If I want to become an actress, is there any way to keep it a secret from them?” Vanessa asked. “I want to try.”
“I have no experience in this area.” Lu Yanhe shook his head. “Besides, Vanessa, if you want to be an actress, hiding it from them is not a good solution. Actors rely on their looks, and you can’t hide it from them forever.”
“But at least we won’t be stopped by them in the first place,” Vanessa said.
At that moment, Darren arrived.
Lu Yanhe breathed a sigh of relief.
Vanessa suddenly said, "Remember what you promised me."
Darren looked at Lu Yanhe with a puzzled expression.
What did you promise her?
Lu Yanhe knew that Vanessa meant she didn't want to tell her parents about it.
Lu Yanhe shrugged and said, "I promised to keep a secret for her."
Darren immediately looked at his daughter, "Hey, baby, you can tell Daddy your secret."
Vanessa rolled her eyes at him.
Darren: "..."
-
The next day, Darren called Lu Yanhe to thank him.
He was even somewhat excited.
He said that Vanessa kissed him on the cheek when she left today.
Unprecedented.
She hasn't done that in eight hundred years.
Darren's gratitude towards Lu Yanhe over the phone gave Lu Yanhe a overwhelming feeling.
That's a bit of an exaggeration.
But it was precisely because of this exaggeration that Lu Yanhe realized the extent to which a father could go for his child.
How big can the difference be between loving and not loving?
Lu Yanhe was incredibly grateful for one thing: before he came into this world, before he became Lu Yanhe, he had an ordinary but happy family. Therefore, whenever he encountered the growing pains brought about by this difference, he wasn't completely defeated.
But perhaps it was precisely because of this that, despite feeling that Darren's actions were somewhat absurd, he also absurdly agreed to Darren's request.
“When you become a father, you’ll understand why I did this.” Darren sighed. “I’ve never been this humble in front of anyone before. Seriously, Lu, you need to learn from my mistake. Chen Siqi is a good girl, you should cherish her.”
"Of course, I will, Darren." Lu Yanhe could hear the regret and remorse in Darren's words.
-
Filming in New York should have meant focusing on being on set.
However, the film crew works a maximum of ten hours a day.
Therefore, Lu Yanhe often has plenty of time to meet and chat with friends here, or even attend parties held by friends.
Lu Yanhe did not object to this.
He is increasingly enjoying these moments.
Sometimes, I chat with old friends I've known before to catch up on what's going on, and sometimes I meet new friends.
His friends already know what kind of person he is, so they won't invite him to parties that are too chaotic.
Lu Yanhe has always believed that to truly understand a city or an industry circle, one must attend such private gatherings to see a more authentic side of it.
Lu Yanhe discovered that when he ate with different friends, they would talk about gossip in the industry, and then the gossip would lead to other things. Sometimes it would turn into a discussion about movies and art, and sometimes it would simply involve some unknown past events.
This is exactly the same as when he was in China.
Darren also often invited him to dinner and introduced him to some veteran Hollywood players.
Darren knew that these connections were very important and useful to Lu Yanhe.
If Lu Yanhe wants Linghe to establish himself in Hollywood, building these connections is essential. The saying "Even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake" applies everywhere.
Anyone who has recently learned about the gossip behind the "Blossoms Shanghai" production team knows that even a top director like Sunglasses, who comes to the north to film a TV series, is seen as "condescending" by us, actually needs to "tolerate" the local screenwriters to some extent.
Besides the dinners organized by Darren, another person who frequently organized dinners for Lu Yanhe was Hua Ruzhen.
When the two of them organize dinner parties, it's usually small-scale, with only two or three people.
Darren typically invites people who are actually involved in the film production process, such as producers, screenwriters, cinematographers, and actors. Hua Ruzhen, on the other hand, often invites people from related industries, such as investors, advertising companies, and media.
For Lu Yanhe, they are all worth getting to know.
In fact, Lu Yanhe often brought Wan Qingqing and Song Jiang along to such dinners.
As Linghe's representatives in Europe and America, Wan Qingqing and Song Jiang are now active in the European and American film and television industry, and knowing these people will be of practical help.
-
I didn't update much yesterday because I drank alcohol in the evening, and the weather suddenly changed. I didn't change the blankets in time, so I slept for twelve hours in a daze and woke up with a runny nose.
I even took the day off this morning; I need to rest.
I wrote a little something at noon and posted it now. More will follow later.
(End of this chapter)
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