Chapter 282: An Unexpected Encounter with an Old Friend The reason you mentioned…
Who would have thought that Li Sishi, who once won the Best Actress award at the Asia Pacific Film Festival for a film with an unconventional award-winning subject and was ridiculed by some media as a "fake Best Actress," would become the first Chinese actress to win the Cannes Film Festival Best Actress award just two months later?
This extremely sensational news, after being relayed back by reporters who were stationed at the Cannes Film Festival, immediately stirred up a huge wave in the port city.
In an instant, the photo of Li Sishi smiling at the camera while holding a small gold leaf on stage became an unforgettable memory for the citizens of Hong Kong, thanks to the overwhelming coverage in countless newspapers and magazines.
This sense of honor and pride made them feel as if they had returned to the two years when Li Sishi participated in the Miss World and Miss Universe pageants. As the representative of the Hong Kong region who truly broke all the rules and unspoken rules of these two international beauty pageants, Li Sishi's two "firsts" back then were enough to make her remember her in the memory and history of the people of Hong Kong.
But to everyone's surprise, after changing career paths, Li Sishi, who went from beauty pageant contestant to acting, also won another "first" and official "first" in the entertainment industry at the age of 20, breaking the record for Chinese actresses to win awards at the three major European film festivals and becoming the first Chinese Cannes Film Festival Best Actress!
Most importantly, when Li Sishi won this Best Actress award, it wasn't simply because of an art film that is most likely to be favored by the judges, but because of a film that is rumored to be about women.
Moreover, Li Sishi's reputation as another "commercial star" after Huang Qianyan has always been more well-known than her acting skills. It is precisely because Li Sishi's commercial box office performance is quite outstanding that the title of "fake actress" has gradually spread in Hong Kong, Taiwan and other places in people's traditional perception.
Because they are likely to "hinder" the careers of other artists in the same period, the one who is most prominent among artists in the same period often has the most fabricated and unfounded negative news.
After all, in most people's traditional thinking, box office and acting skills are two incompatible labels. Not to mention Li Sishi, a rising star who has risen too fast and always attracts gossip, even male artists with strength, popularity and box office appeal, such as Zhou Shengyi and Hou Beihua, have mostly been runners-up in award ceremonies in Hong Kong and Taiwan year after year because of this stereotype.
Even within the industry, many people outwardly admire the box office success of commercially successful artists, but inwardly look down on them. In short, they feel that those who are popular with the public...
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That would only belong to the lowbrow tastes of the common people, completely forgetting that there is a term in this world called "appreciation by both the refined and the popular."
Therefore, Li Sishi's victory at Cannes not only washed away the "fake Best Actress" label that she had carried for a long time, but also served as a slap in the face to those who claim to have high taste and those who look down on female artists taking on leading roles.
Hearing Lu Yiting's good news over the overseas phone call, Zhuang Menghua was overjoyed. Over the years, she had only taken a liking to and signed two female artists, investing a great deal of effort in their development and facing a lot of criticism along the way. Now, it proved that her judgment was absolutely correct; both of them were incredibly promising talents!
Huang Qianyan became one of the top commercial actresses during the golden age of Hong Kong cinema, while Li Sishi surpassed her predecessor. Not only was she able to seize every opportunity to establish commercial success at the tail end of the golden age, but she was also particularly good at choosing scripts and diligently studying her acting skills, ultimately becoming the first Chinese actress to win the Cannes Film Festival Best Actress award!
Such a female artist, with both commercial and award achievements and a relatively young age, would have been outstanding even in the 1960s and 70s, a time when Zhao's films were full of beautiful actresses.
In this era where Hong Kong cinema is dominated by male actors, Li Sishi is a new generation of actresses who can compete with male artists on the same stage. After winning the "Cannes Film Festival Best Actress" award, Li Sishi has distanced herself from all her peers and contemporaries in various aspects and has joined the ranks of senior actresses such as Shao Fenfen, Shang Lanyu, and Kong Wei.
How could Zhuang Menghua not be happy and excited about this?
If Li Sishi hadn't had to make a last-minute detour to the United States for a promotional event, she would have already started preparing for the press conference and celebration banquet.
But it doesn't matter. These few days are a good opportunity to let this buzz continue to grow. At the same time, she can secretly deal with those people and things who have always envied, been jealous of, and hated Li Sishi. She can also properly deal with the thorns and demons on the road.
When Li Sishi returns to Hong Kong, she will naturally receive the glory and treatment befitting the "first Chinese Cannes Film Festival Best Actress".
In Hong Kong, Zhuang Menghua began to make sweeping changes, while in Citibank, Li Sishi and Rong Juezhang returned to their booked hotel restaurant, exhausted, after completing a round of promotional activities.
Although Zhao's film business ceased operations in the 1980s and shifted its focus to television, its cinema chains still remained. The cinemas in Hong Kong were subsequently leased to other film companies, while collaborations with some Chinatowns overseas continued.
They disconnect completely, but occasionally they collaborate to screen some new and old movies from the port city.
Firstly, it would allow Hong Kong artists to gain exposure and build popularity, making it easier for them to hold concerts and tours in the future. Secondly, Sir Zhao was still somewhat reluctant to give up his family's traditional film business, wanting to leave a spark and hoping that Eastern films could one day be revived.
The film "Mermaid Romance" had been in talks with partners in the US for some time, but because Li Sishi is a newcomer with low popularity abroad and a female artist whose box office appeal is not as strong as kung fu superstars like Brother Long Sheng, and the film's subject matter is not a kung fu movie that is easily accepted in the United States, even though Li Sishi has the gimmick of being the "youngest Asia-Pacific Best Actress", the box office revenue sharing negotiations have been going on for several months without being finalized.
It wasn't until the news spread that Li Sishi was crowned the first Chinese actress to win the Cannes Film Festival Best Actress award that the partners who had previously been arguing about the profit-sharing ratio quickly struck while the iron was hot and negotiated the overseas broadcasting cooperation for "Mermaid Romance" and "Beauty on the High Platform".
Incidentally, they also added a condition that Li Sishi come to the United States to do some promotional activities and generate buzz for the two movies.
Although both films were initially shown in Chinatown cinemas and some smaller theaters in the United States, it was worthwhile to make a good start if they could open up a market. Therefore, after Lu Yiting reported this additional condition to Zhuang Menghua and received his approval, she arranged for Li Sishi to go to the United States first, complete the promotion there, and then return to Hong Kong.
As for Rong Juezhang, he was the one who "hitched a ride": he played the male lead, a scumbag with a wolf in sheep's clothing, in "Beauty on the High Platform". Li Sishi's visit for the movie promotion was actually optional, but he was probably worried that Li Sishi would not be able to handle things well on her first visit to Citibank, so he simply came along to see if she needed any help.
Anyway, he has held many concerts at Citibank before, and he will probably continue to do so in the future. His appearance now is also to tell Citibank's fans something—after retiring from the music scene for many years, he finally couldn't bear to part with his fans, so he made a comeback.
Feeling sorry for Li Sishi, who was so young and already burdened with so much glory, Lu Yiting naturally wouldn't refuse to have him as a shield and protector. That's why she arranged consecutive hotel rooms for the two of them, her main idea and approach being to "use" him to the fullest extent...
“Zhen Gu Wu Dao Hotel…” Li Sishi looked up at the hotel plaque and read it softly.
"I heard this hotel was once frequented by a couple who came to Citibank years ago."
It's run by an elderly Chinese couple, and strictly speaking, it might even have some connection to our family... Rong Juezhang explained with a smile, "We'll see if we have a chance to run into any 'acquaintances' here..."
"If you encounter this, what do you plan to do?" Li Sishi looked at her with amusement.
"If we happen to run into them, of course we'll have to sweet-talk the elders and ask them to give us a discount." Rong Juezhang winked mischievously at Li Sishi, making her almost burst out laughing.
"Are you kidding me? Do you really need this little bit of money?" Li Sishi glanced at him speechlessly as she walked toward the reserved dining table.
"This isn't about money, it's about personal connections," Rong Juezhang lectured earnestly.
Li Sishi shook her head: "Never mind, although I don't know if you'll run into any 'acquaintances,' I have run into some..."
"Which one? Do you still recognize anyone from Citibank? Is she one of your former beauty pageant contestants? A pretty girl?" Rong Juezhang's eyes lit up as he spoke.
"Uh—not a pretty girl, but a handsome guy." Li Sishi glanced up at Wu Wenzu, who was standing next to a blond, blue-eyed foreigner, holding a large notebook and taking notes. Those funny and frustrating memories from the past instantly flooded her mind.
When Rong Juezhang recounted the two embarrassing incidents, he almost burst out laughing and collapsed onto the table: "No wonder you didn't want to greet him. It turns out that this handsome guy is 'useless' in every other way except for being good-looking!"
"You don't have to say that about him. At least he's good-looking and smart, and he's also very skilled. I heard he's the president of some martial arts association in college..." Before Li Sishi could finish explaining, Wu Wenzu had already seen her.
"Hi, long time no see." Wu Wenzu ran over and greeted him.
"What are you doing here?" Li Sishi waved at him, her gaze falling on the large notebook in his hand.
"My senior brother and I took on a job, and we're currently inspecting and recording the situation at this hotel..." Wu Wenzu briefly explained why he was here, then looked at Rong Juezhang and asked, "Who is he?"
“My cousin.” Li Sishi explained Rong Juezhang’s identity simply as well.
"Hey handsome, how about coming back to Hong Kong to film a movie?" Remembering that Li Sishi had previously mentioned wanting to recruit this handsome guy for a cameo role in a movie but had never been able to, Rong Juezhang carefully looked at Wu Wenzu and immediately made a joking remark with a smile.
Wu Wenzu thought about it seriously and replied, "I should go back to Hong Kong during the summer vacation. If I have the opportunity then, I can give it a try. I have to talk to you guys now, my senior brother is calling me. Let's chat again next time."
Li Sishi followed his movements and looked over. She saw that the blond, blue-eyed foreign senior was looking at them with a strange and puzzled look in his eyes. It was as if he had accidentally met a familiar person he hadn't seen in a long time but couldn't remember him, so he was trying hard to recognize him by looking at him and recalling what he had seen.
"Do I know you?" Li Sishi asked in a low voice.
“If so, I wouldn’t mind giving him my autograph.” Rong Juezhang glanced over there. “On the condition that he dares to come over and ask me for it.”
He has seen many introverted fans who suddenly encounter a celebrity in person, then freeze in place, never daring to go up and say hello or ask for an autograph.
"Hey, aren't you Rongzai?" Just as Li Sishi and Rong Juezhang were discussing this, a middle-aged man in a suit and tie passed by and tapped him on the shoulder. "Do you remember me?"
"Oh, Uncle Gu? Long time no see! You still look as tall and handsome as ever!" Rong Juezhang glanced at the middle-aged man and immediately struck up a cheerful and friendly conversation with him.
"No, it's still you, the big star and handsome guy..." The man called Uncle Gu chuckled and returned Rong Juezhang's compliment.
Li Sishi quietly watched the two of them from the side. In just a few words, she learned from Rong Juezhang that this Uncle Gu was the son of the elderly Chinese couple who founded the hotel.
Unexpectedly, Rong Juezhang actually bumped into the hotel owner... Upon hearing that Uncle Gu's parents had passed away and that he was now the owner of this hotel, and that he was offering Rong Juezhang, his nephew, a 50% discount, Li Sishi chuckled inwardly.
"This is my cousin, May. She came here with me these past few days to promote the movie..." Rong Juezhang chatted and laughed with Uncle Gu for a while before introducing Li Sishi to him.
What was unexpected was that when Uncle Gu saw Li Sishi's appearance clearly, his expression showed a moment of shock: "You, is your mother's name Zhou Jiaxian?!"
"You know my mommy?" Li Sishi was taken aback.
"Oh...we've all heard a little about your mother's story back then..." Uncle Gu chuckled awkwardly, then quickly urged the two to eat. "It's all old news, not worth mentioning again..."
The modern Cinderella story of her stepfather and mother was a well-known topic in the wealthy circles of Hong Kong, and Li Si...
Shi nodded, and just as she picked up a small cake, Wu Wenzu, who had already walked away, rushed back and slipped her a note: "My contact information at Citibank, I forgot to give it to you earlier..."
Seeing Wu Wenzu hurriedly run back to his senior brother to continue working, Li Sishi turned around and noticed that Uncle Gu's face was very unpleasant.
"What's wrong with you?" Li Sishi asked curiously.
"Those are...those are people sent by the acquiring company to survey the hotel's situation..." Uncle Gu explained with an extremely grim expression as his hotel had recently been poorly managed and was likely to face liquidation and closure.
"Is it difficult?" Rong Juezhang asked tentatively. "Can I help?"
"You mean well, but there's nothing you can do to help..." Uncle Gu gave a wry smile, then his gaze turned to Li Sishi, revealing a strange glint in his eyes.
Li Sishi was startled, and before she could dodge, he suddenly grabbed her wrist: "By the way, you can help me! I know your biological father, and your biological father has lots and lots of money..."
“My biological father passed away a long time ago!” Li Sishi cried out in pain in her wrist, quickly explaining, “A few years ago, he failed in business twice and suffered a heart attack…”
"Uncle Gu, don't rush, let her go and talk slowly!" Seeing that Uncle Gu's mental state was not quite right, Rong Juezhang quickly stepped forward to try to separate the two.
No matter how much Rong Juezhang pulled, Uncle Gu still stared intently at Li Sishi as if grasping at a lifeline: "Really, believe me, I know your biological father, he has so much money! No, no, the one you said died of a heart attack, he wasn't actually your biological father..." Please remember: Lily, website mobile version, Lily free fastest updates without anti-theft measures.
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