Chapter 206: Coincidentally, it's possible that something similar will happen this time...
Unexpectedly, her Nine Linked Rings move had caused him such a deep psychological trauma. Li Sishi immediately put on a consoling face and planned to pat him on the shoulder to comfort him...
"What kind of expression is that!" Rong Juezhang made a disgusted face and pushed her hand away, continuing to hold a grudge.
"If you keep doing this, I'll just win the hand against you next time," Li Sishi said casually.
"Where have you found the time to play cards lately..." she muttered, but Rong Juezhang still obediently leaned his shoulder back, winking and giving her a clear hint that he was ready to let her do as she pleased.
"I can't be bothered with you!" Li Sishi gave him a light push, both amused and annoyed. She then turned around, raised her small wine glass, and stood up, her gaze fixed on the south-facing balcony behind the floor-to-ceiling windows at the far end of the hall.
The November night breeze carried a slight chill, but it was precisely this subtle chill that allowed the mind, hazy from the effects of the alcohol, to gradually clear and return to its senses.
As she turned around, Li Sishi, who was standing on the balcony enjoying the breeze, gave a slight smile to the people who seemed to be heading her way. The people then stopped what they were doing and returned her a smile.
A year has passed, and it seems that everyone has "grown" a lot. The restraint and subtlety that belong to adults seem to be revealed in such a smile.
Considering she had an early class the next day, Li Sishi didn't stay too late. When it was almost time, she went back and whispered an explanation to Pei Yansang, and then quietly left the party under her understanding gaze.
Hong Kong is not a big city. Stepping into the university campus and shielding yourself from all the outside world's interference, it's as if you've stepped out of the entertainment industry's big dye vat and returned to the life of a normal female college student in this era. But in fact, as long as you spend a little time stepping out and looking at the flashing lights that are occasionally hidden in the secret corners of the streets and alleys, you can instantly return to the entertainment industry that is interdependent with this city.
"The Voice of Dreams" is scheduled to premiere on November 23, Thanksgiving Day. It's a release date that's neither too early nor too late, with no major commercial films clashing with it before or after. However, it manages to capture the spirit of Thanksgiving, a minor holiday that doesn't really have much presence in Hong Kong. Even in a film release window that's mostly quiet and lackluster, it at least adds a bit of "joy" to the movie.
Despite the names Shang Hanyou and Li Sishi appearing on the movie poster, audiences drawn by the second collaboration between a seasoned veteran and a rising star are likely to recoup their investment. However, filmmaking in Hong Kong is a rather unique "business"—they certainly don't want to lose money and aim to make as much as possible.
They definitely want to earn more.
The premiere was scheduled for 9:30 p.m. After finishing her afternoon classes at school, Li Sishi hurriedly washed and dressed up for the premiere and got into her van. When she arrived at the movie theater, Shang Hanyou had already arrived.
He poured more effort and emotion into this film than ever before, and it was another all-out effort after failing to win the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor with "The New Two-Faced Man".
Therefore, even though he was extremely busy with his concert tour, he still managed to squeeze out time from his schedule to arrive at the premiere early, hoping to give his best, and perhaps his last, effort.
When Li Sishi rushed outside, he was already standing side by side with You Jiating, the actress who played the second female lead and an old friend, posing for photos with reporters and answering their questions.
"Ah May is here." You Jiating is said to be the second female lead in this drama, but her role is not that big. She accepted the role invitation partly out of personal favor and partly for business reasons, purely to increase the number of roles in her acting career. Therefore, most of the reporters' questions were directed at Shang Hanyou, which made her happy to be free.
However, Yu Jiating has a pretty relaxed attitude towards this – she came from the mainland to Hong Kong to make a living, and to be able to maintain her position at the bottom of the first tier and the top of the second tier in the current Hong Kong entertainment circle, she must have an excellent mindset.
She took things one step at a time, steadily and surely, and never complained about playing supporting roles to popular younger actors. As a result, she was a "very useful" actress that many directors remembered, and she was the first person they would think of for any suitable role.
Unlike Pei Yansang, who is a native of the area and takes a "versatile" approach, You Jiating is able to carve out her own unique "versatile" path among many roles precisely because of her shrewd and adaptable mindset and methods.
Although Li Sishi is currently being heavily promoted and has always played leading roles or one of the main characters in ensemble films, she can only be considered a popular young actress at best, and has not yet fully entered the ranks of "big actresses". Of course, the most crucial reason is not that she does not have enough awards or box office results, but that her excessively young age has limited her in Hong Kong's entertainment circle, which is particularly focused on seniority.
Female artists who won't truly turn 20 until after next year's Lantern Festival birthday have very limited choices in this era where Hong Kong films are becoming increasingly formulaic, commercialized, and prone to following trends and lacking innovation.
Miss Zhuang and Li Sishi probably understood this issue as well, which is why they arranged this main theme for her.
The film caters to young people and families, featuring collaborations with a group of superstars in ensemble films for the Lunar New Year, and romantic comedies with young actors in lighthearted and pure love stories. The only collaboration with a box office star is with Zhou Shengyi, who has just begun to take control of most of the production authority and wants to subtly incorporate deeper meaning into his comedies.
Collaborating with Zhou Shengyi will allow Li Sishi to not only solidify her box office performance but also gain recognition from some film critics for her acting skills and character portrayal.
As for working with another "Zhou" surnamed superstar of the same level as Zhou Shengyi and Brother Long Sheng, it's because both of them are standard male-centric films, and the investors behind them decide their roles based on the amount of screen time they get. So even if I manage to get roles in their films, I won't be able to get the same amount of screen time as I did with Zhou Shengyi, who seemed unapproachable but could get more screen time if I could just impress him.
In particular, Long Sheng's recent attempt to break into Hollywood ended in failure once again—but the blame for this double failure in box office and critical reception should be mostly borne by Yan Yingyi, who co-starred with him. He, as a box office star, should not be held responsible for this, lest he fall from his pedestal.
With this sacrifice of a pawn to save the king, Yan Yingyi, who had just won the Best Actress award for the second consecutive time, suddenly lost much of her star power.
With this example in mind, Li Sishi now has even fewer options.
So Miss Zhuang and Lu Yiting simply let Li Sishi take this opportunity to give full play to her acting skills and improve her reputation. As for the box office performance, they would just make some arrangements to ride on the coattails of commercial blockbusters during the summer and Lunar New Year seasons.
Undoubtedly, not only Li Sishi understood this approach, but also the shrewd You Jiating, who had some knowledge of these inside stories.
She beckoned Li Sishi to come over to her side and had the female lead stand next to the male lead, Shang Hanyou. You Jiating then went to the other side and posed for photos with the second male lead, Li Dewen.
"Did you have a hard time getting here?" Shang Hanyou asked quietly, seeing Li Sishi looking travel-worn.
While speaking, he also helped her tidy up a stray strand of hair by her temple. His manner was intimate yet not ambiguous, leaving some paparazzi who wanted to find an angle to take pictures and then use their pens to write something helpless.
"It's nothing, I just had a lot of classes today and some traffic on the way, so I'm a little late." Li Sishi answered his question quietly, then straightened up and flashed a perfect business smile, facing the countless flashes of light in front of her.
Knowing that Li Sishi, though young, was quite cunning, and given that the reporters had been largely bribed beforehand, there was no repeat of the incident from earlier this year.
An unexpected scene unfolded as a reporter, a brainwashed fan of Wen Huihui, deliberately misled and smeared her.
With no one causing trouble, Li Sishi nestled peacefully beside Shang Hanyou. After being surrounded by reporters who took photos and asked some trivial questions, she subtly glanced at her watch out of the corner of her eye.
"What's wrong? Do you want to go in early and rest for a bit?" Seeing this, Shang Hanyou thought she was too tired recently, so he asked in a lower voice again.
Li Sishi shook her head, and just as she was about to speak, someone suddenly called out from somewhere, "Alan!"
Seeing Lun Yongnan walk in with a group of reporters, instantly attracting the attention of most of the reporters present, Li Sishi was a little surprised: "Why is Lun here?"
(1)
But she didn't need to think too much. The next moment, when she saw Lun Yongnan walk over and give Li Dewen, who was taking photos, a warm hug, Li Sishi immediately understood what was going on: it turned out that Li Dewen had called his idol and good partner to help him out!
"Isn't it great that Alan can come to the premiere tonight?" Shang Hanyou asked, somewhat puzzled.
Normally, the more stars a premiere has, the better, especially with a legendary figure like Lun Yongnan, a top-tier singer. He's a perfect match for a film about pursuing dreams through music, and his presence would be both a privilege and a source of pride.
Seeing Shang Hanyou's puzzled expression, Li Sishi made a face and whispered in his ear, "I also invited my 'Oh dear cousin' over—"
After saying that, Li Sishi immediately added righteously, "Strictly speaking, it wasn't that I invited him on purpose. He just knew I had a new movie premiere tonight, and he had just finished recording and was free, so he came over..."
Upon hearing this, Shang Hanyou instantly understood the real reason why Li Sishi had such a bitter expression: Well, this time it wasn't that the two male and female leads had something to do, but rather that they hadn't communicated with others beforehand about the guest list for the premiere, which might lead to another "battle of the two kings" at this premiere...
As one of the audience members who had witnessed the fierce battle between these two fan groups escalate to the point of a live showdown, Shang Hanyou hadn't even had time to figure out how to handle the situation when he suddenly heard a long, in unison scream from outside the door—a scream he knew all too well at every awards ceremony, yet one that always gave him a headache: "Leo!!! ——————"
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