Chapter 240: Two Flowers Bloom, Each with its Own Story...
This advertisement, titled "My One True Love," is expected to be officially released before the Lunar New Year. Therefore, in the coming period, apart from her usual daily practice, Li Sishi's main task will be the movie promotion activities jointly arranged by Lu Yiting and "Best Partner" film company.
No one expected that such a fast-paced movie with virtually no big-name stars could achieve such great results. Yet, amidst everyone's complex gaze, "The Gangster" saw its theaters packed to capacity and its box office soar, leading to a continuous cycle of additional screenings, more packed theaters, and more additional screenings.
Furthermore, since most of the audience was young, they watched the movie multiple times with their friends and even demanded a DVD release. The soundtrack spread like wildfire, and within just a few days, the entire city of Hong Kong was filled with the soundtrack of "The Gangster's Tale"...
Of course, the official soundtrack was still in production, but the hot-blooded young men and the swift pirates had already formed a "cooperation" and then used all sorts of pirated music to wreak havoc on Hong Kong. The background music for this movie was already mostly catchy and rhythmic, and with their actions, it immediately created an early phenomenon of addictive songs. From the moment Li Sishi left home until she returned, she didn't hear many other songs...
Even the albums of top-selling and popular artists in recent years pale in comparison to this feast of revelry from the grassroots.
The costumes of the main characters in the film have sparked a trend of imitation among many young viewers.
From searching for movie-inspired items and replicas to calling himself "Brother He Nan from a certain district," regardless of whether he actually has the talent or looks, he just feels that adding this title makes him seem as handsome as the male lead He Nan in the movie...
With the box office revenue exceeding 10 million in the first week, this citywide frenzy has accelerated and intensified—most young people only see the thrill and coolness in it, and then desperately follow the trend, afraid of falling behind the times.
The gangsters regarded this movie as their bible, while the students, whose minds were not yet mature, began to take pride in joining the gangs, while the female students began to dream of a romantic relationship with a domineering and handsome boss like in the movie.
If it weren't for the fact that it's currently winter break and students are only having small gatherings with friends in tea restaurants, ice cream parlors, arcades, and karaoke bars, small-scale riots that are showing clear signs of expansion would probably have already started to appear in the corresponding schools.
Even so, many insightful people have begun to foresee the chaos that will ensue after schools reopen, and have started to criticize the film "The Gangster" for teaching children a bad lesson.
For adults—but for students who are at their most rebellious age—this criticism and opposition is undoubtedly a prelude to a united front of greater oppression leading to greater resistance.
Upon discovering this problem, Zhuang Menghua immediately issued instructions to Lu Yiting to arrange for her daughter, Li Sishi, to stay out of the limelight again, so as not to cause excessive damage to her previously wholesome image.
In contrast, the three clever guys at the "Best Partners" film company were busy running around fighting against opposition while also stepping up their publicity efforts. Although they were a little dissatisfied with Li Sishi, the female lead, avoiding the limelight, Lu Yiting paid more television publicity resources in exchange, so they didn't say anything more. Instead, they promoted Wan Jiamei, whose role was just a minor one in this film, and had her attend events with the main cast.
Then these three clever guys can still find time to prepare for the first sequel, anticipating striking while the iron is hot and making as much money as possible...
At this moment, in Zhuang Menghua's office, she rarely showed a hint of trouble: "I didn't expect the aftermath of this movie to reach such a point..."
Who would have thought that these young people would treat such a movie as a "bible" of idol dramas about upgrading and overcoming adversity? The main theme of the plot is to confront the helpless choices of young people at the bottom of society and their involuntary actions after joining a gang, but they just can't see the darkness and instead take the lights at night as the guiding star in the sky.
“But Miss Zhuang, for the first sequel, they are still willing to pay the same profit-sharing price as before…” Lu Yiting handed over a draft contract, looking troubled.
Fatty Huang Zheng is someone who can both earn and spend money. He knows that although this movie has made Cheng Erjian and other main characters famous, in order to maintain this high level of popularity, Li Sishi, the female lead handpicked by the original author and with a very high level of completion, must not be abandoned.
Furthermore, Li Sishi has Zhuang Menghua, the top leader of TBL, backing her up. "Ren Zai Jianghu" is currently being heavily criticized and needs a powerful backer to protect its rear from being banned. Therefore, even though Fatty Huang Zheng was heartbroken about the salary, he gritted his teeth and added an additional profit-sharing figure to Li Sishi's salary in the contract.
Of course, while the percentage of revenue sharing remains the same, the initial fixed salary has increased from 300,000 for the first film to 500,000 now.
Hearing Lu Yiting's reply, Zhuang Menghua felt even more troubled: this film had a negative impact on Li Sishi's wholesome image, but it would greatly help her earn more money for future roles. If she continued to receive a share of the profits from every film she made, she would become Li's...
The usual practice for Si Shi's film and television fees.
Moreover, this movie... or rather, this movie series, has a bright future and great financial prospects. As long as it remains stable and isn't banned, such a high return on investment will attract the attention of all investors—combined with the previous salary increase, this will greatly enhance Li Sishi's commercial value.
If the sequels don't flop, Li Sishi will definitely be able to surpass her current position where her popularity and fame are close to the bottom of the first tier, but in reality, she can only be considered a top-tier actress, and step into the ranks of first-tier actresses in commercial films.
Yes, that's right. Strictly speaking, Li Sishi's current position in the entertainment industry...
To this day, the media's assessment of her as "the tail end of a first-tier city" remains largely unchanged.
Her basic popularity and fame come from being a two-time beauty pageant winner and a top-three finisher in two beauty pageants. As for the depth of her works and achievements, they have been affected by the resources available at the time and have not yet officially entered the ranks of true A-list artists—even though this is an unparalleled speed of advancement for female artists in Hong Kong.
But Zhuang Menghua was not entirely resigned to this: her Ah May was flawless in every way and even made up for Huang Qianyan's lack of singing voice. It was a real loss that she had not yet officially entered the ranks of the top-tier film stars.
However, there was nothing that could be done about it. The Zhao family's films were no longer as glorious as before, and their focus had shifted to the television industry. Without their own resources to support them, coupled with the impact of foreign films on local Hong Kong films, Li Sishi was able to seize those fleeting opportunities at the tail end of this golden age to climb to her current position. They had all done their best.
Thinking of this, Zhuang Menghua let out a long sigh and looked at Li Sishi, who was sitting obediently on the sofa next to her: "Ah May, do you still want to continue filming?"
“Miss Zhuang, I still think it’s true—opportunities like this are so rare these days.” Li Sishi looked up and said very seriously, “Actually, my image problem is the same as the problem with movies. What we need to do in this situation is to guide, not to avoid it because of worry and fear.”
"As the old saying goes, fortune favors the bold, and I was already mentally prepared for that when I decided to take on this role." Although Zhuang Menghua and Lu Yiting did not expect the film to have such a huge impact, Li Sishi had already prepared herself mentally for the subsequent controversies.
After all, if she wants to be a leading actress in powerful films, she can't always stick to the pure and innocent image like idol actress Wen Huihui. Taking advantage of this role, which is at the intersection of innocence and complexity, is a good opportunity for her to start her transformation.
Moreover, the "Young and Dangerous" film series was practically the last glorious chapter of the local Hong Kong films she could participate in.
Once this film series enters the mainland through underground channels, it will unleash an unprecedented and powerful influence, covering the youth of this generation.
Therefore, she couldn't miss this unconventional "classic".
After a long talk in the office in the afternoon, Li Sishi, who had just gotten her wish, reappeared at the promotional event on the first day.
Another busy day has passed. After finally getting home to rest, Li Sishi washed up and then called her family to let them know she was safe while checking her work schedule for the day ahead.
I also wanted to check on my little cousin Zhou Huichang's apprenticeship—although she didn't get to formally study under the retired sage, Mr. Huang, Zhou Huichang still earned his recognition thanks to her exceptional talent.
"Cousin, I've been helping Professor design Qizhi's away jerseys lately!" Zhou Huichang said excitedly.
After Qizhi came from behind to win the championship in the promotion round, in order to reward the players who had worked hard all year, the owner of Qizhi not only increased the amount of investment in Qizhi, but also specially asked for favors to contact the designer who designed the new jerseys for last year's Jia-A League champion team, Nanfang. This was to design two brand new jerseys for them to return to the Jia-A League.
And this designer is none other than Professor Huang, whom Zhou Huichang is currently working under.
Because of the tight schedule, Professor Huang took on the design of Qizhi's home team uniform himself, and then gave Zhou Huichang a general design direction, asking her to help design Qizhi's away team uniform. Similarly, Professor Huang also handed over the design of the away team uniform in the south to his nephew and beloved student Huang Jiaze.
However, Huang Jiaze was given the task because he was already a junior and had reached a certain level of skill, but lacked the opportunity to showcase his talent; while Zhou Huichang was given the task because she was really too busy, so she was asked to help out.
This was the first time Zhou Huichang had received such a significant task. Although she had put in a lot of effort to design it, she still lacked confidence. So, she took the draft to Old Huang's place to get some advice from the expert.
After receiving praise from Mr. Huang for its "novel and ingenious design," Zhou Huichang finally felt at ease and went home to refine her navy collar, white and blue away jersey.
Just then, Li Sishi called. It was during the time she was rushing to refine the design drawings, preparing to finish them overnight and submit them first thing the next morning.
"Then I won't bother you any longer. By the way, the observatory forecasts heavy thunderstorms tonight, so please be careful," Li Sishi reminded her.
“
"I'm not afraid of thunder anymore, cousin!" Zhou Huichang mumbled, but her body betrayed her as she walked to the window to close it.
A sudden clap of thunder illuminated the dim night sky. Zhou Huichang shuddered in surprise, but was also awestruck by the sight of golden lightning flashing across the night—she used to be afraid of thunder and lightning and dared not look closely.
Now, upon encountering it by chance, I am deeply captivated by the wonders of nature...
Inspiration is a thing that comes suddenly and then flows like a torrent. By the time Zhou Huichang came to her senses, a black and gold jersey had already taken shape in her hands.
Looking at the design, Zhou Huichang rested her chin on her hands, her little face puffed out: according to her previous research, the main colors of Hong Kong's jerseys at this time were mostly red, blue, white and black, which were difficult to control and were extremely rare and quite unpopular.
Moreover, Professor Huang's design for her was mainly blue and white – which is to say, both the Qizhi and Nanfang jerseys are mainly blue and white. So, Professor Huang took on the Qizhi's invitation at the last minute, and the deadline was tight. In fact, he had taken the spare draft for Nanfang's home jersey and modified and improved it.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have let a newbie like her take on the design of Qizhi's away jersey.
Therefore, her black and gold jersey design was a complete waste of time and even took away from the time she spent refining the navy collar design...
"Ahhh, it's so late, I can't afford to get distracted anymore. I need to finish drawing my naval collar design quickly. I need to take it to the school and hand it to the professor first thing tomorrow morning..." Zhou Huichang ruffled her short hair into a bird's nest and quickly picked up her pen again to work hard.
After staying up late into the night, Zhou Huichang fell asleep at her desk. When she was woken up by her alarm clock, she hurriedly stuffed the naval design drawings she was supposed to submit into her bag and went to the living room to pick up her thermos and prepare to leave.
Her younger brother, Zhou Huiguang, lives in a walled village where there isn't much nourishing soup. She usually brings it with her when she visits him. Today is the weekend, and there's only one bus that goes there. If it's any slower, she won't be able to catch another bus after submitting her manuscript!
With a sketchbook in one hand, a thermos in the other, and a shoulder bag on her back, Zhou Huichang rushed to the station and nearly hit someone when she braked suddenly.
"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry... Hey? Senior brother?" Zhou Huichang quickly apologized after realizing that the person she almost bumped into was her senior brother Huang Jiaze, and seeing that he was holding the same folder as her.
Then I looked up and was startled: Why did the bus to the village arrive before the bus to the school today?!
"What's going on? What happened?"
Seeing Zhou Huichang's bewildered expression, Huang Jiaze asked in confusion.
Zhou Huichang, with a pained expression, explained her predicament to Huang Jiaze, who chuckled softly, "I'm also going to school to submit my manuscript, I can take it with me."
"Really?! Thank you, senior brother! I'll treat you to egg tarts next time! Thank you so much!" Zhou Huichang handed over the black folder in her hand and happily jumped onto the bus heading to the walled village.
Watching the bouncy figure disappear into the distance with the bus, Huang Jiaze sighed, feeling both annoyed and amused. Just as he was about to stack the folder with his own, he was suddenly bumped from behind.
"Sorry, I'm in a hurry!"
The man, carrying a briefcase, waved and, without waiting for Huang Jiaze's response, hurriedly got into his car and drove away.
Huang Jiaze shook his head helplessly. Just as he bent down to pick up the two folders that had fallen to the ground, a design drawing of a jersey with a sailor collar and blue and white tones, which looked very stylish and full of spirit, suddenly appeared in front of him without warning.
The same blue and white tones, but in the clear yet cruel contrast of the morning sunlight, my painstaking work, which took more than a month to complete, was rendered as mediocre and vulgar.
The eyes, which were originally slightly bloodshot but still retained some clarity, began to darken at this moment.
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