Chapter 145: Concealing One's Strength and Biding One's Time
This scene is so familiar.
Going back a bit further, before he even "took a liking" to Li Sishi, he had received a request for help from Li Sishi's assistant, asking him to pick up Li Sishi, who was stranded at the entrance of an awards ceremony venue because her van had broken down...
At that time, he drove to find the person, and Li Sishi was talking to Wu Shanluan who was riding a motorcycle.
If it weren't for the fact that Madam Li and Attorney Li happened to be driving over to pick someone up at that time, this scene with an undercurrent of tension might have happened much earlier—back then, it wouldn't even have been a confrontation between suitors, but simply the competitive spirit between men would have been enough for the two young people to compete.
Now, with a handsome guy standing next to the girl he likes, whose relationship seems rather ambiguous, Ling Chen immediately suppressed his smile and deliberately knocked on the window.
Separated by a very soundproof glass window, he certainly couldn't just call out to people with his voice; he had to "call" with his actions.
Hearing the noise, Li Sishi looked up and saw Ling Chen carrying a takeout bag. She immediately gave him a smile, then said something to Wu Shanluan, who was turning to look at the door with her. She then stood up and walked towards the door with him.
"You're here so soon?" Li Sishi poked her head out and then beckoned Wu Shanluan to come outside as well.
She had just sent him a message in the early hours of the morning, so Li Sishi replied with her address and that she wanted to eat a certain dessert shop. She just didn't expect him to come so quickly.
After receiving the late-night dessert and having Wan Jiamei and her assistant Zuo Lili distribute it, Li Sishi and Ling Chen went to the nearby lounge booth to eat their late-night snack and chat.
"My new agent is currently busy handing over work with CY and training new members for the team, so I've had a bit more free time." Ling Chen briefly explained his recent situation, then asked Li Sishi, "How's filming going lately? I heard you're going to be wearing a fishtail weighing dozens of pounds to play a mermaid? Is it tough?"
"It's alright, there was definitely some hard work, but the mermaid costume is really beautiful, I love it." Li Sishi clenched her fist. "This is my first movie where I'm the lead, I have to do my best, I can only succeed, I can't afford to fail!"
"So confident?" Ling Chen smiled.
“You need confidence to have this kind of momentum!” Li Sishi scooped a spoonful of sugar water to her lips, then looked at Ling Chen, “By the way, you specially came to ‘visit the set,’ was it really just… a simple visit to see me on set?”
"Actually, it's not just about visiting the set." As soon as Ling Chen said this, Li Sishi immediately tensed up.
Seeing Li Sishi's reaction, which resembled that of a petrified animal, Ling Chen chuckled and said, "You don't need to be so nervous. I didn't come here because of what you're thinking. I just finished work and found out you hadn't finished yet, so I came to visit you..."
"While I'll definitely give you the 'time,' you can't refuse my attempts to get you extra points while I'm 'waiting,' right?" Lingchen placed his hands on the table, leaning slightly forward, looking like a cat testing the waters. "In this day and age, in this kind of circle, there are just too many temptations surrounding beautiful women..."
"If I don't work hard and pay attention all the time, one day the 'bargain' I've got my eye on might be secretly snapped up by someone else..."
"No wonder you looked at Ah Wu like that just now!" Li Sishi laughed and cried at the same time, and hit him with a spoon. "You're being ridiculous. I'm not some rich young master. Why would you call me a 'baby dish'?"
"The term '笋盘' in colloquial language means a good property that is excellent value for money. Later, it was also used to describe a young and promising unmarried man, which is similar to the meaning of a diamond bachelor."
“There’s no difference. You’re a hidden rich woman too. For male celebrities, you’re definitely a ‘hot commodity’…” Ling Chen laughed as she dodged Li Sishi’s second attack, then quickly waved her hand to stop her. “Okay, okay, I’m not joking with you anymore. There’s another thing I came here for that I want your advice.”
"What's your opinion?" Li Sishi stopped what she was doing.
"My new manager, Joe, recently introduced me to a music collaborator. I think his work is good, but it seems that when we first met, we didn't quite like each other..." In the early morning, he rattled off a lot of things, all of which were complaints and praises about that music producer named Li Zhongde. Li Sishi listened with a hint of amusement in her eyes.
That's probably how guys are. When they meet someone who's compatible with them in many ways but they can't become good friends right away, they can't help but feel a mix of love and hate.
"If you really think he's a good match for you, then you can consider it." Li Sishi was quite surprised that these two, who would later be recognized as close friends in the industry, didn't like each other at first.
However, now that he has a new manager and has met his most compatible musical partner, Li Zhongde, in the early hours of the morning, Lei Jun's betrayal incident has finally brought him to a breaking point.
Then came the stage of establishing oneself.
“In the past, I definitely wouldn’t have been able to continue trying, but now I can try my best.” Ling Chen probably had the idea of continuing to try and reach out for her for a while, and this time she came to talk to Li Sishi specifically to seek recognition and support.
Aside from Lei Jun changing his original intentions for personal gain, Ling Chen asked himself if his judgment of people was still pretty good; the people he cared about generally shared his thoughts.
And tonight's visit did indeed give him the answer he wanted.
With the support of those he cares about, he becomes more determined to take a different musical path than before. He is no longer the new singer who relied on film and television and popularity to sell his music. To go further on the path of music, he must find a new path that suits him.
Instead of striving in the wave of commercialization and then becoming a pawn or discarded piece for companies to make money.
Competition in Hong Kong's music scene is getting fiercer. This year, PolyGram Music seems to be planning to use him, the "second-in-command" who had an accident, to release albums at the same time as other popular companies and singers to compete with them and thus maintain Shang Hanyou's position as the "number one" artist...
He was undeniably annoyed, but he also understood that it was unavoidable in the face of such fierce competition between powerful forces.
Sacrificing a pawn to save the king is an inevitable tactic for any record company. Before they can become the most important "king," they will inevitably be sacrificed one day.
First, use less popular singers to weaken the enemy's strength, and then place your top-tier singers, whom you have high hopes for, in the best slots with relatively less competition—that's how everyone gets to where they are.
Despite being the one being protected, Shang Hanyou's pressure was no less than his, and might even be greater and more arduous.
Of course, it would be an overstatement to say that this is all disadvantages and no advantages: in this state of being "abandoned," he has more freedom to develop and has more room to hope for a period of quiet preparation and gradual accumulation of strength.
"It's rare to see someone who's been famous for so many years telling me to keep a low profile tonight..." Li Sishi teased him.
"I'm really looking forward to your long-awaited breakthrough after all this time." Knowing that Li Sishi has another classic martial arts drama remake, another movie with the absolute female lead, and another brand new music album, Ling Chen vaguely saw another version of himself and Hou Beihua.
They initially relied on film and television resources to promote products, gradually establishing themselves as successful singers after excelling in acting.
The most prestigious positions in the forum.
Currently, among the top female singers, those who deserve the Most Popular Female Singer award have already received it, making it a good time for newcomers to rise.
If Li Sishi executes this combination of moves well, she might just become a shining new star at the major music award ceremonies early next year.
They could see the meaning in his eyes, and they smiled at each other, everything understood without words.
At this moment, Wan Jiamei, who was picking at the sweet red beans in her late-night dessert soup in another booth, tilted her head and saw Li Sishi and Ling Chen smiling at each other. She was overjoyed: looking at them exchanging glances, was the CP she was shipping going to become a reality?
"He's clearly not in a position yet. A man who's in a position wouldn't act like this," Wu Shanluan said in a low voice, sitting opposite him.
"Oh, really! Can't I even fantasize a little?" Wan Jiamei said irritably, reaching out to push him. Wu Shanluan, who was very careful with his food, quickly protected his small plastic bowl to prevent the sugar water inside from spilling.
"I'm just telling the truth..." Wu Shanluan weakly retorted after protecting the small plastic bowl in front of him.
He was socially awkward but not oblivious, so he could naturally sense the subtle hostility between the two men during their interactions.
But what does this have to do with him, a composer who only wanted to use Li Sishi as a source of inspiration?
It can only be said that men who are obsessed with love are too aggressive towards other men, making it seem like they've done a lot even though they haven't done anything...
If it were someone with a short temper, they would probably be so angered by such unfounded hostility that they would deliberately do something malicious.
After all, one of them is close to the other day and night, while the other can only visit the set occasionally. It's incredibly convenient to cause trouble for him.
However, considering that Lingchen had also studied music with his teacher, Mr. Dai, and could be considered half a senior, he couldn't very well hold a grudge over such a small matter. Besides, he was indebted to him...
Wu Shanluan glanced at the small plastic bowl he had ate clean and thought to himself.
Unaware that she had temporarily bribed the second male and female leads with a late-night dessert, she chatted with Li Sishi for a while in the early morning. Before leaving, she secretly glanced at Wu Shanluan's back.
Opinions may vary on appearance, and there is a difference in status, but when it comes to matters of the heart, there is no such thing as first come, first served, or comparison of conditions. If you have time in the future, try to visit the set more often.
Sigh, it's just a good thing that Cheng Erjian, who's always been very protective of Li Sishi, wasn't here, otherwise he wouldn't have had to witness such a disheartening scene tonight...
As for Cheng Erjian, he's a handsome guy, and he's currently filming with Li Sishi as the male and female leads, giving them a significant advantage. Having spent many late nights with Cheng Erjian at the TV station, I'm quite at ease—given Cheng Erjian's playful nature—he'd drag me to the TV station late at night to ride electric skateboards until the whole group was caught by security and had their work ID numbers noted for increased surveillance—there's absolutely no way he could have any feelings for Li Sishi!
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