Chapter 141: The Little Mermaid
Unfortunately, before these discerning fans, who knew how to selectively listen and fantasize about romantic escapades, could assemble and devise a plan to trap Lei Jun, who had already fallen for their tricks once and was now more vigilant, the legal team hired by Ling Chen had already unearthed a major scandal involving Lei Jun's embezzlement of public funds.
As soon as the news broke, Kaihua's American headquarters immediately sent people to monitor the progress of the incident and, incidentally, investigate the accounts of the Hong Kong branch... Then, the evidence that Lei Jun had secretly embezzled public funds to promote his newly signed artist in order to save face was solidified and there was no way to deny it. All that remained was to wait for the verdict and the sentence.
When Cheng Zouyun, who was involved, learned about this, she was completely dumbfounded: she was not very clear about the details of Lei Jun's betrayal of Ling Chen and his team to switch to Kaihua, but Lei Jun was indeed a very capable top agent. After leaving Ling Chen, he immediately approached her, who had been sidelined by Huasheng because they could not reach an agreement on the renewal terms.
This period of low popularity and lack of exposure was truly difficult for Zou Yun. On top of that, her boyfriend Lu Shi'an was constantly involved in scandalous rumors. All these blows made her feel lost, depressed, and in so much pain that she even considered giving up singing...
It wasn't until Lei Junzhao came over and said he saw her talent and potential, helped her sign a new contract with Kaihua, and then helped her design her image, select songs, and lose weight to become a modern urban slender beauty that Cheng Zouyun gradually recovered and began to secretly work hard to accumulate the power to explode.
Unexpectedly, before she could even reduce her already slender figure to the bony shape that Lei Jun was satisfied with, Lei Jun was already exposed to such a big scandal.
No wonder he was able to access so many resources and publicity funds as soon as he joined Kaihua!
Cheng Zouyun initially thought that this was because Lei Jun was poached from outside by Kaihua, and that he had once trained a superstar like Ling Chen, so Kaihua gave him good bargaining chips from the beginning—but she never expected that these were actually misappropriated by Lei Jun in private!
One of the misappropriated funds was Madonna's promotional budget for her trip to Hong Kong!
Upon hearing this, Cheng Zouyun nearly fainted – partly because she was starving from dieting so hard recently, and partly because she was terrified by Lei Jun's audacity.
After finally calming down and thinking it over carefully, Cheng Zouyun roughly understood the real reason why Lei Jun had taken such a risk: he didn't want to admit that he might not be able to produce another Ling Chen, so he resorted to promoting female artists as a second-best option, and then, in his eagerness for quick success, he poured all the resources he could get his hands on into promoting them, hoping to rely on them again...
To create a "miracle" and turn the tables to wash away the stains of those who betrayed their collaborating artists.
It's fortunate that this matter was uncovered early on; otherwise, such a typical scandal that can't be kept secret forever would have been exposed after she returned to the public eye and used these things to climb the social ladder—not only would she have been condemned by everyone, but she might also have had to go to court with Lei Jun...
Thinking of this, Cheng Zouyun quickly announced to the media that she had only recently started working with Lei Jun and knew nothing about many things. She also said that if the police needed her to assist in the investigation, she would do her best to cooperate with the police and give everyone an explanation.
Cheng Zouyun's righteous and awe-inspiring performance has won the understanding and support of many people, who encourage her to overcome her depression and trials and look forward to the day when she will meet everyone with a brand new look.
The scandal that triggered a crisis of trust between artists and agents in the Hong Kong entertainment industry gradually subsided as the main culprit confessed and public attention grew, and other news began to dominate the pages of newspapers and magazines of all sizes in the city.
During this time, Li Sishi had a rare "vacation" because she was trying to avoid the limelight. So she went to school diligently and discreetly during the day and went to the swimming pool at night to practice swimming and get used to the feeling of being immersed in the water for a long time - because her next new movie was going to be about playing a little mermaid living in the water.
Compared to the current trend of Hong Kong films going from preparation to release in just half a month, this movie, tentatively titled "Mermaid Romance," is one of the films with a relatively long production cycle. There's no way around it; it's a collaboration between film director Yue Yun and music legend Yue Yun. Both of them either don't do anything at all, or they do it to perfection and make it extraordinary.
Because her mentor was also one of the "Le Yun" who funded the film, Li Sishi was involved in the revision and reconstruction of the script and production after being selected as the female lead.
After the final script, which had been revised again and again, was finalized, it was delayed again and again because there were too many difficult aspects to prepare in the early stages. It wasn't until the dreamy blue-purple mermaid costume, which was made in America according to Li Sishi's body measurements, was finally sent back that the crew officially began to be built.
Of course, the most important thing this weekend was to let Li Sishi try on this dreamy blue-purple mermaid dress worth one million Hong Kong dollars.
To keep her costume a secret, Li Sishi consulted her family and borrowed the garden and swimming pool area of the Li family mansion from the production crew so that everyone could try on costumes there.
However, this design took so much effort!
Fearing that Li Sishi might be working at home, she started applying makeup at the crack of dawn and continued until the sun was high in the sky. When she asked her assistant what time it was, it turned out to be more than five hours later.
But it must be said that the effect of such slow and meticulous work is indeed good. Li Sishi carefully cast her gaze into the full-length mirror brought over by the staff. She saw that the person in the mirror really seemed to have no "human" legs from the waist down. Starting from the star-like sequins on both sides of the waist, a fish tail that reflected infinite brilliance in the sunlight meandered down.
Unless you get very close and examine it carefully, it's almost impossible to tell that she's wearing makeup!
These days, computer special effects technology in Hong Kong is not very advanced, and the prices are quite high. Hiring foreign special effects teams is even more expensive and troublesome, so unless necessary, most of the time models and makeup are used to solve the problem.
As for certain high-difficulty and dangerous stunts, most of them rely on actors and stunt doubles risking their lives.
However, the advantage of using models and makeup is that, as long as the pre-production effects are done well, the near-realistic images will definitely be more realistic than computer-generated special effects.
Limited by the constraints of the mermaid costume, Li Sishi was overly cautious when she first tried to move around and go into the water. It took her almost half an hour to get used to the poolside, which was only a dozen steps away from the rest area, before she could even try to move her fish tail towards the surface of the water.
"Don't worry too much. The material of this mermaid costume is very waterproof. Relatively speaking, it will restrict your movement more than the previous rubber fishtail. Go ahead and swim. We'll all be right here!" Master Le Yun and Director Le Yun exchanged a glance, and then took the initiative to lead the male lead actor of this film, Cheng Erjian, to the poolside along with several staff members.
Although everyone knew that Li Sishi, her little apprentice, was a superb swimmer who didn't need a stunt double and had recently intensified her swimming training, there was still a difference between wearing a swimsuit that allowed for easy movement and wearing a mermaid suit that restricted movement. With them by her side at all times, everyone felt more at ease.
Especially the old lady in the Li family mansion is not someone to be trifled with. Although she didn't end up supervising the scene because of Li Sishi's "explanation," the old lady, worried about her beloved granddaughter, still stayed in the room on the second floor directly opposite the swimming pool. Li Jinhao and Zhou Jiaxian, the couple who had specially taken time to come back and watch their beloved daughter filming, were also there...
Just that calm, condescending gaze is enough to send chills down your spine.
It seems the legal team that uncovered Lei Jun's embezzlement scandal is the same group of lawyers who work with Li Jinhao... Well, oh well.
There's a saying in the city that you can offend anyone but a lawyer, and the focus of this costume fitting and photoshoot is on the super darling Li Sishi.
"Okay, I'll start trying to get in the water now." Li Sishi was a little amused by the looks she received from the people around her, who seemed to be watching a baby practice swimming for the first time. After a final touch-up with the help of the stylist and makeup artist, she didn't deliberately do a diving leap to cause any concern. Instead, she obediently moved her dreamy blue-purple fishtail and dipped it into the water.
Beneath the surface of the water, which was warmed by the sun, the water at the bottom was still a little cool. After getting used to it for a while, Li Sishi began to swim in the water, dragging the fish's tail, according to the pre-designed movements.
After gradually becoming more proficient, Li Sishi boldly began to try some swimming strokes with more graceful postures and greater difficulty, and then slowly swam towards the center of the pool.
Director Le Yun quickly signaled the camera to follow and film the scene of Li Sishi, the little mermaid, emerging from the water.
From her slender, graceful back to the elegant profile revealed by her lightly brushing her damp hair, and then to the mermaid's shimmering yet innocent and clear eyes as she turned her head, this legendary, magical, and beautiful creature touched the human world right before our eyes in the shimmering blue waves.
Such beauty was like a dream, making one hold their breath, afraid that the mundane world might inadvertently shatter this rare and beautiful dream.
"Great, that's absolutely perfect!" Master Le Yun was the first to come to his senses and immediately clapped with a big smile, signaling Li Sishi to come back to the edge of the pool and try some more difficult moves like a fish dive.
Li Sishi swam back slowly, glancing at the people by the poolside as she went, before swimming towards her cheap senior brother Cheng Erjian: "Carry me up."
When asking for help, one should have the right attitude. Li Sishi tilted her head back, opened her arms, and softened her voice, which even had a hint of a little girl's coquettishness.
Normally, she could climb up using only her arms without the aid of her legs, but now, with such a large, heavy, waterlogged fish tail dragging down her waist, she had no choice but to ask someone for help to pull her up or carry her.
Anyway, he's both the male lead and the senior brother, young, muscular, and well-known, so Li Sishi naturally chose him as her first choice as a tool.
However, Cheng Erjian, true to his reputation as an "honest" gamer who left many who worried he would rely on his looks speechless, nodded earnestly at the beautiful scenery and "lucky charm" before him, and then opened his arms and bent down.
With a pull, a tug, a jerk, and a bit of effort, he hoisted the little mermaid onto his shoulder as if carrying a sack of potatoes...
Seeing such an oblivious and clueless man, Madam Li and Zhou Jiaxian exchanged a glance in the room on the second floor, both of them able to suppress a smile.
Li Jinhao, who was initially wary of yet another brat getting close to his precious daughter, was temporarily relieved upon seeing this: judging from the way Li Sishi was dragged up soaking wet and then dumbfoundedly carried like a sack, this clueless and ridiculously stupid young man certainly had no "hope" for the future.
That's great, our precious daughter is still our own; no matter how many wolves and tigers are out there, they can't take her away for now...
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