Chapter 494 I laughed in anger (10,000-word update!)
She said, "If there are any more cases like Liu Min's in the future, no matter who it is, we will refuse them directly. When we started this company, we set rules that our artists' projects cannot become a part of their business, and any kind of exchange of benefits is absolutely not allowed."
Lu Qingzhen: "I thought Liu Min would be given special treatment by you, after all, she has won the Galaxy Award for Best Actress before."
“That happened twenty years ago,” Chen Ziyan said. “Besides, it has nothing to do with whether she is a Best Actress or not. No matter who comes, this precedent cannot be set.”
Lu Qingzhen nodded, "Okay, I understand."
Chen Ziyan: "She really is...sigh, but it's understandable that she wants to make the audience remember her again and tries every means to make a comeback."
“If only she had known this would happen, she would have retired at the height of her career in her twenties to be a wife and mother. Now she wants to make a comeback, but nobody remembers her,” Lu Qingzhen said. “She couldn’t bring herself to do it, so she started playing small roles.”
“She hasn’t acted in nearly twenty years, and her acting skills have indeed deteriorated a lot. The auditions I arranged for her all said that her acting was just average, which I didn’t expect.” Chen Ziyan shook her head and sighed, “A former Best Actress is now being criticized by some ordinary production teams for her poor acting skills.”
“That’s perfectly normal. Acting is just a skill, after all,” Lu Qingzhen said. “If you don’t use it for too long, you’ll get rusty. I think it’s even harder for washed-up actors to make a comeback. Besides overcoming the lack of fame and attention, they also have to completely step out of their former glory and smooth out their mindset. That’s so difficult.”
Chen Ziyan said, "Don't think about getting her roles to revive her career. Let's get her on some variety shows. With her Galaxy Award for Best Actress title, she should be able to get some program invitations. Once she gains popularity, then we can get her involved in film and television productions."
Lu Qingzhen nodded.
-
"cheers!"
In a private room of an antique-style restaurant, Lu Yanhe met with Chen Siqi, Lin Yu, Chen Qin, Li Pengfei, and Xu Zijun, clinking glasses together in a lively atmosphere.
Only in front of these few people would Lu Yanhe completely forget his identity as a celebrity.
It's not that they stopped talking about the entertainment industry, but that in their presence, Lu Yanhe could rediscover the feeling he had before he became famous and was surrounded by media cameras.
Lu Yanhe was especially happy that they were able to reunite four years after graduating from high school.
The original intention behind founding "Jump Up" magazine has now truly been realized.
Moreover, none of the three couples among them broke up after four years of studying in different places.
It's truly unbelievable.
Lu Yanhe himself knew very well how difficult this was.
It was at this moment that Lu Yanhe suddenly realized that compared to four years ago, the slightly chubby Xu Zijun had lost a lot of weight.
It's not that she became incredibly thin, like a paper doll, undergoing an unbelievable transformation. She gradually lost weight over the past four years, and Lu Yanhe barely noticed it. He only noticed that she slowly started wearing makeup and became much more confident and attractive than before.
If she hadn't been sitting next to Li Pengfei today, which suddenly reminded Lu Yanhe of the scene from back then, Lu Yanhe might still be unable to process it.
"The monthly sales of the print magazine 'Jump Up' have stabilized at around 160,000 to 190,000 copies, with summer and winter special editions reaching around 250,000 copies, but there hasn't been much change." Everyone at the table was involved with "Jump Up," and their conversations mainly revolved around the magazine. Chen Siqi inevitably mentioned the current achievements, "However, new media is indeed a major trend. After we transformed our cultural supplement into an online cultural course app, the number of downloads across all channels has exceeded ten million so far, and the number of registered users has reached 1.27 million."
Chen Siqi turned to Lu Yanhe and smiled, "Your suggestion is indeed very good. We created a special app for our professors and scholars to give lectures in audio format, which attracted a lot of people. Our backend data shows that the peak usage times for this app are the morning peak, the evening peak, and before bedtime."
As an app with only around one million daily active users, it's far from being a commercial success. However, its influence and cultural value are unique. Moreover, it's a successful spin-off product of "Jump Up".
Lu Yanhe asked, "Is there a second season planned for the program 'China in Culture'?"
“Yes,” Chen Siqi said. “We’ve contacted twelve scholars, and each scholar will present a three-part, forty-minute program on a single topic. Ziju is currently in charge of coordinating with Sister Zixing and the Northern Lights Video team for this program.”
Xu Zijun nodded and said, "We went to great lengths to invite these twelve scholars, all of whom are among the top scholars in our country."
Lu Yanhe asked with some curiosity, "Isn't anyone else trying to imitate or replicate similar programs?"
This type of program has extremely low production costs and is rarely copied.
Chen Siqi said, "Lighthouse Video tried to replicate it, but it flopped terribly. Each episode didn't even get 50,000 views, so everyone gave up. Programs without celebrities or stars are too easy to become niche. Oh, by the way, many TV stations contacted us many times afterward, asking if we planned to make a sequel and wanting to buy the rights. They wanted to make a second season. After they found out that we were going to do it ourselves, they wanted to buy the rights."
Lu Yanhe said, "So what did you say? Did you give it to them?"
“The Northern Lights wouldn’t allow it,” Chen Siqi said. “They insisted on having exclusive rights to broadcast it.”
Lu Yanhe said, "Selling this type of program to TV stations for co-broadcasting is not a loss for us. I don't think it will affect the online broadcast data, and it may even boost it. After all, the middle-aged and elderly are the main audience of TV stations, but not the main audience of video platforms."
Chen Siqi spread her hands and said helplessly, "Aurora Video would rather raise the purchase price than broadcast it together with the TV station."
Upon hearing this, Lu Yanhe couldn't help but sigh.
He understands the approach taken by the Northern Lights video platform.
For video platforms, they all share a very similar concept: the significance of exclusive broadcasting for the platform.
It seems that only exclusive broadcasts can attract more viewers to this platform.
This is due to the different profit models.
For video platforms, the more users they have and the larger the scale of paying users, the greater the economic benefits they generate, not just a simple "1+1=2", but an exponential growth.
In the online world, the relationship between user numbers and value is not one of addition and subtraction, but rather one of multiplication and division.
-
After dinner and some drinks, they were all a little tipsy.
They moved on to another venue and went to a karaoke bar, making quite a ruckus.
When young people go to karaoke, they really just sing.
One after another, no one was trying to sing well; most of the time, everyone was just singing all sorts of funny songs together.
Then, some people started to get tired and couldn't sing anymore, so they lay down on the sofa.
At this point, the karaoke bar will begin its special session for love songs and ballads.
The girls took control of the microphone.
Lu Yanhe, Li Pengfei, and Chen Qin withdrew from this world, left the private room, and went to buy food and drinks for them.
Li Pengfei hooked his arm around Lu Yanhe's neck and said, "While we were eating just now, I heard you guys talking about 'Jump Up' the whole time. It suddenly felt like a real shame. If I had done 'Jump Up' with you guys back then, even though it wasn't something I was personally interested in, it would have been quite fun playing with you guys."
“I told you a long time ago, but you didn’t believe me then,” Lu Yanhe said. “It’s not too late for you to join now.”
"Forget it, joining now." Li Pengfei shook his head, looking quite dejected. "But I really haven't figured out what I'll do after graduation."
Lu Yanhe: "Have you really not thought clearly about what you want to do in the future?"
"Really? Didn't I tell you already? I really never thought I'd be working a 9-to-5 job in the future." Li Pengfei clicked his tongue. "But now that I think about it, that's not really right."
Lu Yanhe: "That's not right?"
Li Pengfei said, "If I don't find a job, it's really boring to just sit around all day. I often feel bored now."
"Do you know how much hatred your words are provoking?" Lu Yanhe retorted.
Chen Qin muttered to himself, "If I had a sack right now, I would definitely put it over his head."
Lu Yanhe: "Look."
Li Pengfei: "I'm muting my microphone."
Lu Yanhe: "However, I'm serious, Fei-ge. If you still haven't figured out what you want to do, just find something you don't dislike and do it. Don't just wait and wait until the end of time."
“I didn’t want to either. I know some friends who are quite wealthy, and they’ve never worked a day in their lives. They do nothing but eat, drink, and have fun.” Li Pengfei clicked his tongue. “Actually, I could have found happiness in that kind of life.”
“Then why can’t you be happy now? Are you in Versailles? I’m really jealous,” Chen Qin said.
Li Pengfei: "It's because you all have your own careers that I feel like I'm a stupid and shallow rich kid if I don't find a job properly. If it weren't for the stimulation from you guys, I wouldn't care about the value or meaning of life. Oh my god."
He slapped himself on the forehead.
Lu Yanhe and Chen Qin were both taken aback by Li Pengfei's sudden "selfie".
"What's wrong with you?" Lu Yanhe asked, looking at him with surprise.
Li Pengfei muttered, "I don't know if I should lament that I met the wrong person or that I met the right person."
Lu Yanhe: "..."
It's still the same Li Pengfei, still the same scoundrel.
Chen Qin couldn't hold back any longer and laughed uncontrollably.
"I'm truly convinced," Chen Qin said.
Lu Yanhe originally wanted to say something, but when he heard Chen Qin say those words with a smile, he smiled for a moment and was too lazy to say anything.
Li Pengfei muttered to himself, letting him do as he pleased.
He has that same foul mouth, he's been like that since high school.
-
"Hey—Lu Yanhe—"
A surprised voice suddenly rang out.
Lu Yanhe subconsciously thought he had encountered a fan.
In the small shop in the KTV, Lu Yanhe turned his head in surprise, and then was even more surprised to find that life is full of unexpected encounters.
It turned out to be their high school classmate, Mei Ping.
"Mei Ping!" Lu Yanhe looked at her with surprise and almost didn't recognize her.
"Oh my gosh, Li Pengfei! Chen Qin!" Mei Ping exclaimed with an incredulous and delighted smile, patting the three of them hard on the shoulders. "What are you three having a party about here!"
"This is our last winter break, can't we even get together?" Li Pengfei looked at Mei Ping and snorted twice. "You have the nerve to say that? I heard you're getting married soon?"
Mei Ping, still as fiery as ever, immediately widened her eyes in shock as she looked at Li Pengfei and asked, "How did you know?"
Li Pengfei: "How come I didn't know? Is it possible for this news to get out? When are you getting married? Why didn't you send us any invitations?"
Mei Ping smiled and said, "I'm not having my wedding in Yuming, so how could I possibly send you invitations? It would make it seem like I'm asking you for money as a wedding gift."
Where are you having your wedding?
“Jiangjin,” Mei Ping said. “My boyfriend is from Jiangjin.”
"Is your boyfriend your classmate?" Li Pengfei asked.
“Yes, my college classmate.” Mei Ping nodded. “I’ll probably just have a simple wedding ceremony here in Yuming, with a small group of relatives and family members. So I was thinking of not telling you all. It’s July, and everyone has just graduated and started working, so we’re all busy.”
Li Pengfei: "You're so considerate."
His sarcastic and unsettling tone was practically overflowing.
Mei Ping clenched her fist as a gesture, indicating that if Li Pengfei continued to whine, she would take action.
Lu Yanhe looked at Mei Ping with a smile and said, "Congratulations, you're the first one in our class to get married."
Mei Ping wore a happy smile.
“The main reason is that he’s going abroad to study in September, and I don’t want to wait for him like an idiot, so I told him that he either has to give me an explanation or we should break up,” Mei Ping said. “He’s going abroad to study for two or three years, and I don’t want to wait for him like a statue waiting for her husband.”
"Oh my god, are you going with him or what?" Li Pengfei asked. "So, we'll be living apart now, right?"
Mei Ping said, "I'm not going with him. I'm someone who wants to focus on my career."
Have you settled on a job yet?
"It's settled, Jiangjin Bank," Mei Ping said. "They'll help me gather some deposits so I can complete my task."
Li Pengfei clicked his tongue several times.
"Oh, right, Lin Yu, Zi Jun, and Bai Yu are here too," Lu Yanhe said. "Did you come with friends tonight? Go and meet them."
Mei Ping was overjoyed. "Really? Send me the room number, I'll be right there. I've been out for a while, I need to go back and say hello first. I didn't come with friends, tonight it's a party organized by the Yu Ming people from our university."
Lu Yanhe and the others nodded.
-
When old classmates reunite after a long separation, even if they weren't particularly close back then, the feeling is still different.
About half an hour later, Mei Ping arrived.
Lu Yanhe always felt an indescribable sense of awe towards the scenes of girls meeting.
He was curious to know why they could chatter away as soon as they met, talking about everything under the sun without any awkwardness or distance from each other after so long, as if they had just been sitting together having dinner and chatting the night before.
Oh, no, Li Pengfei has that ability too.
Lu Yanhe said to Chen Qin, "Only you and I are socially awkward."
Chen Qin stared at him in shock and asked, "Huh?"
Lu Yanhe asked, "Don't you have social anxiety?"
"I won't mention whether I'm socially anxious or not, but what makes you say you are?" Chen Qin questioned. "No wonder Lin Yu said that you sometimes don't have a very accurate self-assessment."
Lu Yanhe: "...Where is it inaccurate?"
Chen Qin: "Unfairly belittling oneself."
Wow, isn't this the same lyrics that Chen Ziyan said about him?
Lu Yanhe: "..."
I don't know what the girl said, but a little while later, when Mei Ping left, she said "It's settled then" with a big smile on her face.
"What did we agree on?" Lu Yanhe asked Chen Siqi.
Because she wasn't in their class, Chen Siqi was the only girl among them who didn't join in the conversation as enthusiastically.
Chen Siqi said, "They said they would organize a reunion for the whole class during the Chinese New Year."
Lu Yanhe: "Oh, Li Pengfei said the same thing."
“Your class has a great atmosphere, much better than ours.” Chen Siqi smiled. “We haven’t had a get-together since graduation.”
Lu Yanhe: "Then you should integrate into our class. Anyway, you're already familiar with everyone in our group."
Chen Siqi: "Then that's the only way."
-
They finished at one in the morning and were staggering as they prepared to leave.
"Zijun, don't go back tonight, sleep with me," Chen Siqi said.
Xu Zijun lives far away, and it will take her more than an hour to get back.
Li Pengfei would definitely see him off, and if they went there and back, it would be even further away.
Xu Zijun nodded. "Okay."
Lu Yanhe and Li Pengfei escorted the two of them back to their hotel and said goodbye to the others at the entrance of the KTV.
Chen Qin suddenly pointed across the street and reminded Lu Yanhe, "There seem to be paparazzi over there, someone with a camera."
Lu Yanhe looked over and saw two somewhat familiar faces, which must be paparazzi.
He raised his hand and gave them a thumbs-up.
"Ignore them, let's go."
Everyone dispersed.
"Hey—" Li Pengfei suddenly shouted at the two paparazzi across the street, "If you also took pictures of us, Photoshop them for us!"
Lu Yanhe and the others were taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter.
The paparazzi across the street looked at each other, speechless for a long time.
Finally, one of them complained to the person next to him, "What the hell is this?!"
-
"A super relaxed celebrity."
"I've never seen a celebrity who doesn't consider himself a star as much as him."
"A relaxed feeling that only top stars have."
...
A video of Lu Yanhe making a V-sign at paparazzi cameras after leaving a karaoke bar with his classmates has gone viral online, charming his fans.
That's the word they used.
"The show 'Squid Game' is still airing, and the main cast and crew are busy promoting it, but he's the only one who still has time to meet up with his classmates," someone complained.
Immediately someone said, "He's a screenwriter. He's done his job by writing an excellent script. What are you fussing about? Yan He is here to promote the show? If he's doing the promotion, then what about your brother Zefan's exposure? When you come to criticize someone, remember to hide your own identity first, so you don't embarrass yourself."
"The person above is a habitual hater of Zefan. Sisters, don't get into a fight. We Zefan fans are very grateful to Yan He for choosing him to star in 'Squid Game'. May the haters' whole families die!"
...
Just like this colorful world, even if the online world is just the same old three things over and over again, it will still not make some people lose interest in it.
Lu Yanhe scrolled through these uninteresting messages and became increasingly indifferent to them.
It was basically impossible to stir any emotion in him.
This kind of meditative state of mind, like an old monk in deep meditation, is truly cultivated over time.
When "The Squid Game" aired its sixth episode on Aurora Video, it had already surpassed 32 million views, breaking the record for the fastest show to reach 30 million views.
However, unlike many of Lu Yanhe's previous highly acclaimed dramas, "Squid Game" has attracted a lot of criticism this time.
Many people say that although the production of "The Squid Game" is excellent, the script is actually very simple and boring, and the story lacks originality. They argue that without such a production team, the show wouldn't have become so popular.
There are quite a few people who agree with this view.
However, these comments were all within Lu Yanhe's expectations. The original version itself wasn't a particularly well-received or praised drama.
Fire is enough.
Jiang Jun, Jiang Yuqian, and Liu Zefan reaped the biggest profits from this drama.
Jiang Jun, in particular, became famous almost overnight.
He played a down-on-his-luck middle-aged man in the drama, and his performance was praised as "so convincing it didn't seem fake."
To be praised for one's acting skills in this type of drama means that one has truly performed exceptionally well.
Chen Ziyan said, "With such a popular drama, basically whoever plays it becomes famous. Did you ever think that this role would become so popular today when you insisted on giving it to Jiang Jun?"
“Yes, otherwise I wouldn’t have asked Teacher Jiang Jun to act in it.” Lu Yanhe laughed. “It’s great that he also played Officer Xing in our ‘My Own Swordsman’. Now ‘My Own Swordsman’ has an all-star cast.”
Chen Ziyan: "With your current appeal, you can basically put together an all-star cast for every drama you make."
Lu Yanhe: "Several people have asked me if there are any suitable roles for them in the second season of 'Squid Game'."
Indeed, judging from the first season, apart from the male lead, the old villain behind the scenes, and the male police officer played by Liu Zefan, everyone else in the main group died.
There will definitely be a lot of new characters in the second season.
Chen Ziyan asked, "What are your thoughts?"
"I don't have any ideas yet, and I haven't even written the script," Lu Yanhe said. "However, I definitely want to make the second season into a level-challenge format, and we do need a new batch of contestants."
Chen Ziyan: "Then there will definitely be some new roles. If you organize auditions, the entire entertainment industry will probably be fighting tooth and nail for them."
Lu Yanhe: "Let's write the script first. We can talk about other things after the script is finished."
Chen Ziyan: "If Jiang Jun and Liu Zefan's characters are going to return, what about Jiang Yuqian? Her character is dead."
Lu Yanhe: "Let me think about it. I don't want to keep Yuqian in the second season with a twin plot. That would be too melodramatic."
"That's true." Chen Ziyan nodded.
“There’s no need to force any particular character to stay,” Lu Yanhe said. “I’ll focus on how to make the story engaging and interesting, and I won’t consider anything else for now.”
“That’s the right way,” Chen Ziyan nodded in agreement.
Chen Ziyan: "The production company of 'Angry Crows' contacted me. They said that Erlangxia was very interested in the story of 'Squid Game' and asked if it was possible to obtain a license. They wanted to develop an original animated story in this world view."
Lu Yanhe was somewhat surprised upon hearing this.
“Really? Sure, of course.” Lu Yanhe nodded.
Chen Ziyan: "Yes, I also think this is a great collaboration. Their animation production capabilities are second to none in China."
Lu Yanhe: "I really like the animation 'Angry Raven.' Do they want to develop it into an animated film or an animated series?"
“They haven’t decided yet,” Chen Ziyan said. “I hope they can develop it into an animated film. I think this story is actually very suitable for developing into a film series.”
“Maybe one day someone will want to develop it into a movie, but definitely not now,” Lu Yanhe said with a smile. “It’s great. A story, someone wants to adapt it into a comic, someone wants to adapt it into an animation, someone wants to do other developments. These collaborations can extend the life of the story and allow it to be seen by more people.”
Chen Ziyan: "Your works are indeed very popular in this regard. However, I understand why 'The Squid Game' is so popular. The subject matter itself is destined to make it popular. I really didn't expect that 'Rouge,' a somewhat artistic love story, would also be so popular. Even Thailand wants to remake it."
"Huh?" Lu Yanhe looked surprised.
"You didn't expect that, did you? I didn't expect it either." Chen Ziyan shrugged. "I was very surprised when Xu Tianming and Chen Yin brought back this news."
Lu Yanhe: "Is it the story's unique charm, or the influence of the Jose Film Festival's Audience Choice Award that's so great? It makes me want to send all my films to the Jose Film Festival."
“If you send a film like ‘Road to Glory’ to the Jose Film Festival, it’ll just be cannon fodder,” Chen Ziyan laughed. “The Jose Film Festival dislikes films that are a bit dull and have a slow pace.”
Different film festivals truly nurture different films.
Chen Ziyan: "But you know what, the Jose Film Festival has been asking me about the progress of your 'Love Letter'. They still want to bring 'Love Letter' to their premiere."
Lu Yanhe wasn't surprised at all that the Jose Film Festival was paying close attention to "Love Letter".
The Jose Film Festival itself is positioned to feature films that appeal to the general public, and a subject like "Love Letter," along with such a creative team, seems tailor-made for the Jose Film Festival.
Besides that, there is another very important reason.
"Love Letter" is Lu Yanhe's directorial debut.
In fact, the first film produced by actors who transition to directing, as long as it is not a commercial blockbuster, is generally very popular at top international film festivals.
Many people haven't noticed this, but if you look at the works of some famous actors who made their directorial debut and examine their resumes, you'll find out.
Lu Yanhe knew that a film with a theme and core like "Love Letter" would have almost no chance of winning an award even if it were to force its way into a film festival like the Ciudad de la Cité. Only the Jose Film Festival could find its largest audience.
Lu Yanhe said, "Love Letter was originally intended for the Jose Film Festival."
Lu Yanhe was naturally pleased that the Jose Film Festival was interested in this film.
Chen Ziyan said, "However, it's strange. With your resume at international film festivals, you should be on their radar by now. Why haven't any film festivals invited you to be a judge yet?"
Lu Yanhe: "Me? A judge? I'm so young, who would invite me to be a judge?"
Chen Ziyan: "Then don't underestimate yourself. You're young, but you have a lot of work to show for it."
She took a deep breath, pondered for a moment with some doubt, and then offered her guess: "Could it be that they don't have your contact information and can't reach you?"
Lu Yanhe doesn't have a management company overseas, so it's really going to be tough for those people overseas to contact him.
Chen Ziyan's idea is not unfounded.
"Don't even think about it. Even if they asked me to be a judge now, I might not have the time. Look at my schedule for next year; it feels like it's going to be my busiest year yet," Lu Yanhe said.
“It’s okay. You used to be able to film four movies a year while studying. Now that you don’t have to go to class, you have even more free time,” Chen Ziyan said. “I’ll arrange your schedule.”
Lu Yanhe: "Sister Ziyan, you're not going to assign me any more work on top of what I'm already doing, are you?"
“There’s no such plan at the moment, but it’s not out of the question,” Chen Ziyan said. “I have my eye on a project and I want to get it for you, but I don’t know if I can manage to get it.”
Lu Yanhe was somewhat surprised.
It's not just him bragging, but what projects in China are there that he needs to snatch up? Almost every movie script on the market, if it has a suitable lead actor, will go through him. Every film company has him on their top-tier list of potential collaborators.
"Overseas projects?" Lu Yanhe asked.
That was all he could think.
“No, it’s a domestic project,” Chen Ziyan said. “But they have a powerful background, and even if you were in the project, you might not be their first priority.”
Lu Yanhe asked, "What kind of project is it?"
"This is a new film by director Gong Jiang, who has won Best Director awards at the Sittor International Film Festival and the Venice International Film Festival," said Chen Ziyan.
The moment Chen Ziyan uttered the name, Lu Yanhe immediately understood why she valued this film project so much, and why she said even he needed to compete for it.
To put it simply, every country probably has one or two world-renowned directors who, even before they die, are already recognized as deserving of a place in world film history.
Gong Jiang is such a director.
He has only directed seven films in total. Among them, he has won the top prize at the four major international film festivals once, the Best Director award twice, and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film once.
Such a legendary director, he is the only one of his kind in the country.
As Chen Ziyan said, even the top movie stars can't guarantee they'll be able to act in his new movie.
Not to mention Lu Yanhe, a young actor who has only been in the industry for a few years and whose achievements are nothing compared to Gong Jiang's.
Few of the world's universally recognized classic films actually feature grand narratives. Gong Jiang is the kind of director who strongly dislikes grand narratives and focuses instead on profound themes like life and destiny.
“A director like him doesn’t care about a director’s box office appeal or fame when choosing actors,” Chen Ziyan said. “Almost no one can influence his decisions; everything depends on his own ideas.”
Lu Yanhe asked, "What kind of movie is he planning to make? Has there been any news yet?"
“Absolutely not.” Chen Ziyan shook her head. “Shang Yongzhou told me this news. He received a call from the assistant director who has been working with Gong Jiang for many years, saying that Gong Jiang wanted to meet with him and mentioned the new project.”
Upon hearing this, Lu Yanhe hesitated for a moment, then said, "In this situation, should we take the initiative to try and get the role? Since he hasn't held a public audition—"
“Of course, we’re not going to just walk up to them and say we want to get involved.” Chen Ziyan waved her hand. “Just leave this to yourselves for now. I’ll follow up on this and let you know when I have any news.”
Lu Yanhe: "You suddenly dropped a bomb on me like this. I'll keep thinking about it."
“Nonsense, any actor would be hung up on this if they knew,” Chen Ziyan said. “That’s Gong Jiang!”
Lu Yanhe: "I've been in this industry for so long, and I've never met him before."
"He lives a secluded life, and most people can't see him."
-
If given the opportunity to act in a film directed by Gong Jiang, Lu Yanhe would truly put aside everything else and dedicate himself fully to the role.
Lu Yanhe realized that he still had some biases when it came to the great director.
"How vulgar," he muttered to himself.
But that's just how it is for actors.
He thought to himself that if he had been an actor in that original timeline, he would also have a biased view of directors like Wong Kar-wai and Park Chan-wook.
He admitted that he was a bit of a "literary youth" type.
When they get into trouble, even a box office of 5 billion can't compare to the impact of a single film on their acting career.
-
"The Squid Game" airs episode after episode.
Snow fell one snowfall after another.
Perhaps because of director Gong Jiang's new film, Lu Yanhe was quite excited that night and couldn't sleep, so he got out of bed at one o'clock in the morning and started writing the script.
He ignored the unfinished scripts from before and instead wrote "Dragon Inn".
The version of "Dragon Inn" starring Tony Leung Ka-fai, Brigitte Lin, and Maggie Cheung is one of the best martial arts films in Lu Yanhe's opinion. In his mind, it's even better than "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is good, but it is not the pure Chinese martial arts novel he envisioned.
"Dragon Inn" is the Chinese martial arts novel that Lu Yanhe envisions as rooted in traditional Chinese culture.
As I was writing late into the night, Yan Liang suddenly knocked on the door.
Lu Yanhe seemed to wake from a dream and turned to look at him.
"You're still not asleep?" Yan Liang got up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night and saw light still leaking through the crack in Lu Yanhe's door, so he knocked on the door, still half asleep.
"I'm excited," Lu Yanhe said. "Writing the script."
Yan Liang nodded, didn't ask any more questions, yawned, and said, "I'm going back to sleep."
Lu Yanhe nodded.
It was only after Yan Liang's reminder that he realized how late it was, and how quiet the world was, with the snowflakes falling softly.
Lu Yanhe shook his head, stretched, and continued to concentrate on the screen and type on the keyboard.
Fingers dance across the keyboard.
When Lu Yanhe finally wrote the line, "They galloped forward, dust rising with the sound of their hooves, and in the blur, their figures disappeared into the vast and boundless desert," he slumped back in his chair with a sigh of relief.
It was already 6:10 in the morning.
It was still dark.
Lu Yanhe rubbed his wrist, turned his neck, and heard a crisp "click".
I've wanted to write the script for "Dragon Inn" for a long time, but I haven't gotten around to it. Unexpectedly, tonight I suddenly felt like I was on steroids and finished writing it all in one go.
Lu Yanhe felt his eyes were very dry, but he wasn't sleepy at all.
On the contrary, he was excited.
He felt an urge to share this story with someone immediately.
He got up and went out to wash his face.
Cold water specifically for washing.
The water was bone-chillingly cold.
But the water splashed on his face gave him a feeling of extraordinary comfort.
Yan Liang also got up.
He has a habit of jogging in the morning, but he can't run today because of the snow.
"You didn't sleep all night, did you?" Yan Liang asked, looking at Lu Yanhe who was sitting in the living room eating an apple.
Lu Yanhe ate the apple with a loud crunching sound.
He nodded: "You're not asleep. Shall we go get some noodles?"
Yan Liang nodded.
He looked at Lu Yanhe in disbelief. "I'm so impressed. You didn't sleep all night, but you look more energetic than me."
Lu Yanhe laughed.
"Yan Liang, I've written an incredibly awesome script."
Yan Liang looked at him with some surprise, "What script?"
Lu Yanhe said, "Let me print it out. I should install a printer in my room."
Yan Liang nodded, "I also want to get a treadmill."
Lu Yanhe's eyes lit up, and he said with great interest, "Then let's go buy it after we finish breakfast."
Yan Liang said, "In this freezing weather, people might not open their doors this early."
Lu Yanhe pursed his lips, seemingly a little disappointed.
Have you brushed your teeth?
"I...didn't sleep again."
"You don't need to brush your teeth if you haven't slept?" Yan Liang looked at Lu Yanhe in surprise.
Lu Yanhe: "Oh, right, we need to swipe."
Yan Liang: "...You just gave me the feeling that you are Li Zhibai."
"I must have caught it from him; my brain isn't working properly anymore," Lu Yanhe said, unceremoniously shifting the blame.
Yan Liang: "Come back and catch up on your sleep as soon as you finish breakfast."
"I'm not sleepy at all."
"Do you believe that you'll fall asleep within a minute of lying down?"
"Impossible!" Lu Yanhe shouted.
Yan Liang: "Go inside and lie down now. If you can't fall asleep within a minute, I'll change my surname to yours."
"Fine, Lu Liang, you can wait and see if you can change your surname." Lu Yanhe said and left without hesitation.
A minute later, Yan Liang stood at the door of his room, looking at Lu Yanhe lying on the bed.
The latter had his eyes closed and was already fast asleep.
Seeing this, Yan Liang was so angry he laughed.
He took out his phone, snapped a picture of Lu Yanhe fast asleep in bed, and posted it on Weibo, saying: "This guy didn't sleep all night. He wrote a script and was so excited that his eyes were wide open, saying he was full of energy and couldn't sleep. He even said he wanted to go downstairs with me to eat noodles. I bet him he'd fall asleep in less than a minute with his head on the pillow. He stared wide-eyed, wide awake, and said it was impossible. Now that the minute is up, what can I say? Facts speak louder than words."
(End of this chapter)
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