Chapter 214: A Romance of Three Smiles - Let a Pop Singer Perform...
"When you sing like that... are you praising me or yourself?" Li Sishi was amazed by his talent, but also a little annoyed, as she was surprised that he could improvise on the spot with newly composed lyrics so quickly.
As expected of a superstar who has experienced both lows and highs, when he speaks, he is absolutely flawless.
As for why Rong Juezhang could instantly think of praising others while also praising himself, and why he acted the way he did regarding the matter between Li Sishi and Xiao Xie, Li Sishi understood to some extent: after all, her father, Attorney Li, had "entrusted" her to Rong Juezhang.
Therefore, in the entertainment industry where a father's influence is not always readily available, Rong Juezhang can now be considered her half "guardian".
Compared to Xiao Xie, whose youthful innocence was evident on his entire face, Rong Juezhang, as the "guardian," already had a good reputation and a good relationship with Shang Hanyou and Ling Chen, two younger people. Therefore, he naturally did not want to see Li Sishi embark on a path that was beyond the ordinary.
Especially since the other party is a minor whose mind is not yet stable, even if Li Sishi has no such intentions, she still needs to be given a heads-up in advance so that she understands and remembers the proper boundaries in her interactions with Xiao Xie.
Knowing that Rong Juezhang's joke was for her own good, Li Sishi clicked her tongue in amazement after withdrawing her hand: "But you're too sharp, aren't you? Just because he said he wanted me to watch a TV series about a romance between an older woman and a younger man, you were able to guess his true intentions?"
Rong Juezhang swiftly closed his folding fan in his palm, then waved his hand dismissively: "Oh, this is just one of the verifications to confirm whether my guess is correct."
"One of them?" Li Sishi sat down and leaned over, looking eager to hear more.
"To be honest, the first time I thought of this question was when the program 'Hong Kong Chase' interviewed him the night before last," Rong Juezhang said slowly. "The reporter mentioned that he always carried such an adorable plush toy bag, and asked him if he was going to give it to a girl..."
Xiao Xie is a child that almost all the citizens of Hong Kong have watched grow up. Now that he has grown into the tall and handsome fifteen-year-old boy he should be, many people naturally want to pay attention to the inevitable emotional issues of young people.
The problem is that Xiao Xie looks soft and cuddly like a little white rabbit that can be rolled and flattened at will, but in Rong Juezhang's eyes, he is actually more like a little white wolf that is docile on the surface but actually very unruly on the inside.
For example, during the "City Chase" segment the night before last, he was initially able to smile when faced with reporters' persistent questions.
He gave a few perfunctory replies, but eventually got annoyed by the gossips and stopped bothering them. He tossed his bag aside, took off running, and vanished in a flash, leaving the unsuspecting reporters and photographers standing there dumbfounded for a long time...
For teenagers who are very individualistic but not yet settled, it is better to guide than to suppress them. The feelings that arise in youth are always the most unforgettable, and the unstable psychological state gives rise to the greatest emotional fluctuations in their wavering thoughts.
Rong Juezhang knew that he didn't disapprove of the idea that "older woman-younger man relationships should be prevented by feudalistic parenting." His intervention was simply to give Li Sishi and Xiao Xie, these two young people, a little more time to process things.
If Li Sishi is not seduced by those "bees and butterflies" surrounding her in the future, then when she encounters this young man who can persist in his youthful crush, he will no longer keep such a close eye on her.
However, Rong Juezhang was not very optimistic about this situation—the two he was currently considering were both at a very suitable age. If Li Sishi were not still too young and if they didn't each lack sufficiently prestigious awards, there might be another happy event in the entertainment circle in the next few years.
Alas, everyone has their own destiny: all three were Miss Hong Kong winners, yet Shu Ningning pioneered the trend of changing families and marrying into wealth, Chang Baoning won numerous awards and successfully transitioned into the business world, and Yan Yingyi, with perfect timing and circumstances, won Best Actress twice... In fact, even if Li Sishi doesn't need to win any major awards in the music or film industry, her outstanding achievements in four beauty pageants—Miss Hong Kong, Miss Chinese International, Miss World 3rd Runner-up, and Miss Universe 1st Runner-up—have already destined that "Li Sishi's name will inevitably leave a strong mark in Hong Kong."
Especially now that film companies in Hong Kong are not as prosperous as they used to be, the sinking market has brought countless impacts to the entire industry. Li Sishi's current approach of trying to win awards when they are available and carefully selecting films to stabilize box office results when they are not is the best solution under the current circumstances.
"That's why I'm going to sing 'The Three Smiles' with you. If I do a good job, everyone will accept me as the new Qiu Xiang," Li Sishi said with a smile.
Although "The Three Smiles" is a classic Cantonese opera, the only version adapted for the big screen so far is the 1926 film version made by Shanghai Tianri Film Company, the predecessor of Zhao's Film Company. Nearly 70 years later, it is estimated that very few people have seen this original version.
Furthermore, this adaptation of "The New Three Smiles Marriage" is primarily based on Zhou Shengyi's work. While retaining the original main plot, it goes all out, resulting in a storyline that is typically absurd and unconventional.
Therefore, there is absolutely no need to worry about the madness of Zhou's comedy style being compared to it.
However, in order to increase public acceptance and recognition of Li Sishi's new version of Qiu Xiang, Zhuang Menghua also made a promise in advance that Li Sishi and Rong Juezhang would change into ancient costumes to go on stage. Although it was inconvenient to directly copy the Cantonese opera character's look, Qi Yunhui, the TBL makeup director who once designed the "Cloud Cliff Fairy" look for Li Sishi, still had first-class design concepts and styling skills.
Upon learning that he would once again have the opportunity to style Li Sishi, known for her "beauty," and Rong Juezhang, famous for her unparalleled elegance, and that the stage would be the year-end "Joyful Celebration at Guanghua Charity Event," Qi Yunhui, after obtaining special permission from Zhuang Menghua through Lu Yiting, immediately led a group of his apprentices and followers into the TBL props department and began to make a big splash...
After working overtime to produce two new costumes that were derived from the style, color scheme, and form of Cantonese opera characters, but were closer to the current simple style and modern aesthetic thinking, Li Sishi and Rong Juezhang took the time to try them on and both agreed that a lot of thought had been put into the new costumes and new looks.
"I still owe it to you; otherwise, I probably wouldn't have received this treatment," Rong Juezhang casually teased Li Sishi while trying on her new costume.
TBL's frugal culture was already well-known by Rong Juezhang's time. Unless absolutely necessary, they would always patch things up. For another three years, Rong Juezhang thought that this time he would be like Shang Hanyou, who sang "The Dragon and the Phoenix" last year, wearing a three-piece suit and carrying a folding fan as a token gesture...
Unexpectedly, Li Sishi, as Zhuang Menghua's new favorite and "Uncle Hui" Qi Yunhui's muse, was able to rush to make two brand-new costumes for her to use in such a short time.
Although creating a period costume look is far more troublesome than simply wearing one's own clothes, everyone has a desire to look beautiful, especially someone like Rong Juezhang who strives for perfection as much as possible.
Squeezing in some time for period costume styling is possible—back when he was filming a TV series for TBL, TBL's camera equipment hadn't been updated yet, and he had a "healthy skin tone" that made him invisible when the lights dimmed, so the images that were left were basically dark and couldn't be salvaged even with post-production color grading...
Now that the equipment has been upgraded and his temperament has matured, returning to period costumes and stepping onto the stage at the best time of his life can more or less make up for some of his past regrets.
The memories seemed as vivid as if they were just yesterday, but Li Sishi, who was already styled, gently nudged him with her elbow as a reminder. Standing on the stairs between the backstage and the stage, Rong Juezhang suddenly realized: so much had already passed.
Year.
"We're ready. After Sister Kang and Uncle Xiu finish speaking, it'll be our turn to go on stage," Li Sishi whispered.
Rong Jue nodded almost imperceptibly, indicating that he understood.
Meanwhile, on the sofa in the host's talk area, the male and female hosts, along with two veteran artists, Sister Kang and Grandpa Fu Xiu, were laying the groundwork for the upcoming segment of singing ancient songs in a new style.
"Having pop singers sing Cantonese opera is a combination of tradition and modernity—what we now call a crossover," Sister Kang explained.
"So it already existed a long time ago?" the male host remarked.
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“That’s right. Crossover was pioneered by our show ‘Happy Tonight.’ We led this trend.” Grandpa Fu Xiu added.
Artists of his and Sister Kang's generation have almost all appeared on "Enjoy Yourself Tonight"—in fact, they were both mainstays of the show for a period of time.
It can be said that the programs "Joyful Tonight" and "Joyful in Kwong Wah" have not only accompanied generations of viewers in Hong Kong as they grow up, but have also witnessed the growth of generations of artists in Hong Kong.
"Moreover, crossover performances like this allow the audience to hear both Cantonese opera and pop songs at the same time, so it's understandable that many people enjoy revisiting them." The female host continued, following up on what Mr. Fu Xiu had said.
"That's right, so for the rest of tonight, we've arranged 'The Three Smiles of Marriage: Seeking Divine Interpretation,' a duet by Rong Sheng and Mei Li, whom we all adore. Many thanks to Chairman Ye of Guanghua Hospital for donating one million to support them. Thank you so much!" After the male host announced the upcoming program and the donation, the camera immediately shifted from the sofa in the host's talk area to the very center of the newly cleaned stage.
As the lights gradually came on, accompanied by the deep, resonant sound of a wooden fish drum, "Tang Bohu," dressed in a pale yellow robe and wearing a black Ming-style scholar's cap, spoke with feigned seriousness: "Miss, are you worshipping the gods?"
The person being questioned had an exquisitely styled bun on her head, wrapped with a light blue ribbon matching her clothes. The remaining half of her black hair was tied loosely in front of her chest with a hair tie. Even from behind, her delicate and graceful figure was evident.
Zhou Shengyi, who made a special trip to watch this "new rendition of an ancient song" performance, was already nodding to himself: Very good, his "Qiu Xiang" will be just like this, and she will definitely be the most dazzling and stunning flower in the Hua family's procession in the play!
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