Extracting skills from movies

Just as Du Sheng turned to leave, Zhang Baizhi chased after him and asked with concern:

"Ah Sheng, what's wrong? Why are you in such a hurry?"

Du Sheng had no need to hide anything from his own people:
"Xiao Yezi is about to give birth, I have to rush back."

Zhang Baizhi was taken aback for a moment, then smiled:

"Then you should go quickly, we'll take care of things here."

Du Sheng gently touched her slightly protruding belly and said in a soft tone:
"Now that you're pregnant, let's postpone any publicity or promotional activities if possible."

Besides, the sequel to *The Man from Nowhere* already had built-in hype, so there was no need for much promotion.

Zhang Baizhi looked down and muttered to herself:

"It's okay, it's not obvious yet."

Du Sheng smiled at her and gently patted her shoulder.

"Listen to me, don't overwork yourself, rest when you need to."

Cecilia Cheung smiled sweetly:
"Okay, go ahead, don't keep Sister Jingzhi waiting."

Du Sheng gave a few more instructions before hurriedly leaving with Wang Yaoyang and his bodyguards. Once in the car, he asked:

"Didn't they say there were still 10 days left? How come it's so much earlier?"

Wang Yaoyang handed over the phone while explaining:
"Around 10:30 p.m. tonight, Ms. Ye suddenly started having abdominal pain, and her caregivers and bodyguards immediately took her to the family hospital."

"Let's try contacting them."

Du Sheng took the phone and dialed the number of the hospital in Shenzhen.

I don't know if it's a problem with the local cell tower, but the signal was intermittent at times.

After finally getting through, the voice of Ye Jingzhi's family caregiver came from the other end of the line:
"Mr. Du, hello, I am Xiaoli, the caregiver responsible for taking care of Mr. Ye."

How is Xiaoyezi doing now?

Du Sheng sounded anxious.

"I've been in the delivery room for half an hour now, and the process is a bit difficult."

The other party paused:
"The doctor recommended a cesarean section, but Mr. Ye insisted on a vaginal delivery."

Du Sheng frowned:

"Will it endanger his life?"

"It seems fine for now, but if nothing unexpected happens..."

Du Sheng interrupted her:
What do you mean by "should be fine"?

Xiaoli, the caregiver, spoke in a trembling voice:

"Mr. Du, well... after all, it's production, there are always risks, and we can't guarantee anything."

Du Sheng sighed, knowing there was no point in asking any more questions, so he could only give a few more instructions and then hang up the phone.

He sat in the car, his thoughts drifting, his state somewhat unsettled.

Seeing this, Wang Yaoyang quickly ran to the cockpit and urged the driver to speed up.

Du Sheng didn't know how much time had passed, but it felt like several hours.

Finally, after entering the country and returning to the mainland, as soon as the car landed, he pushed the driver aside, jumped into the driver's seat, and slammed on the gas.

With few vehicles on the streets in the early morning, Du Sheng sped along, covering several kilometers in less than 3 minutes, leaving the car at the hospital entrance and then rushing into the building.

It wasn't until she stepped into the elevator that Du Sheng calmed down, realizing that her behavior tonight was somewhat unusual.

He always felt that becoming a father before the age of 25 was a bit too early.

But reality is just that surreal.

The women around me are all getting on in years, and I can't keep dragging this on...

Walking down the hospital corridor, Du Sheng deliberately slowed her pace, as if taking a stroll, while organizing her thoughts.

As Ye Jingzhi passed by the entrance of the delivery room, her family members, including a female bodyguard, came up to greet her.

The caregiver, Xiaoli, said with a smile:

"Mr. Du, the doctor just said that Ms. Ye's delivery went smoothly and the baby is already halfway out."

Du Sheng nodded, took a deep breath, and lowered his voice to say:

"Ask the doctor if I can go in."

"I'll go and communicate with them right away."

Xiaoli turned around and went to find the doctor to coordinate.

A few minutes later, Du Sheng put on a white sterile gown and walked into the delivery room, looking like she was in a dream.

I had barely entered and hadn't even seen clearly when I heard a loud cry coming from inside:

"Wow--"

That shout was crisp and powerful, as if it woke up the whole world.

As soon as Du Sheng entered the room, his gaze was drawn to the wrinkled little thing.

To be honest, the first thing that came to his mind when he saw the baby was a joke:
'No wonder female fans keep saying they want to have my babies; the newborn does look a bit like him.'

Its skin was red, and its face was a little bluish. Its features were squeezed together, and it really looked just like a baby monkey that had just been fished out of the water.

But strangely, he couldn't look away.

It was a feeling that was hard to describe.

It was as if an invisible thread connected him and this "little monkey".

He wanted to say something, but found his throat dry. He opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a word.

"Has it been born yet? Is it a boy or a girl?"

Ye Jingzhi asked weakly.

Her voice was soft, but it carried an indescribable maternal tenderness.

She was soaked in sweat, her hair was plastered to her forehead, and her face was pale, but her eyes were surprisingly bright.

Du Sheng then came to his senses, quickly walked to the bedside, took her hand, and said in a complicated tone:

"Little Leaf, you've worked hard."

Ye Jingzhi smiled gently, saying nothing more, but looking at the child with the eyes of someone looking at the most precious treasure in the world.

A moment later, the nurse came over carrying the cleaned baby and gently placed it in her arms.

"Congratulations, it's a healthy baby boy, weighing 6.2 pounds, and all his indicators are normal."

Ye Jingzhi took the child, her smile so gentle it could melt hearts.

She gently stroked the baby's face, her eyes filled with maternal love:

“Ah Sheng, look, his eyes and nose are exactly like yours.”

Du Sheng took a closer look and indeed found that although the child's eyes were still closed, the outline of his eyebrows and eyes did resemble his own.

He couldn't help but laugh:
"He can't even open his eyes yet, how can you tell that?"

Ye Jingzhi was in a good mood and blinked, saying:

"Is it wrong to do things like you do in bed?"

The two of them rarely joked around in such a setting, which lightened the atmosphere considerably.

……

Outside the delivery room, a nurse stood by, listening to their conversation, and couldn't help but gossip.

This is a major news figure in the country!
However, this is a hospital under the Ye family's control, and the confidentiality system is very strict.

Ye Jingzhi had signed a confidentiality agreement during her pregnancy. If the hospital leaked the information, it would be no joke; the penalty for breach of contract would start at hundreds of millions.

As soon as Du Sheng left the delivery room, she called Wang Yaoyang over and whispered a few instructions. Wang Yaoyang nodded in agreement, then turned and ran to make a phone call to arrange for someone to deliver cash.

Traditionally, people give red envelopes (cash gifts) to medical staff and caregivers when they have a baby, as a way to express their gratitude.

The nurse quickly took the baby away for further examination, and Ye Jingzhi was also moved to a VIP ward to rest.

Du Sheng stood alone in the hospital corridor, staring at the ceiling, feeling both empty and heavy inside.

"I'm a dad now..."

He suddenly felt like he was in another world, and before he knew it, he had become a father.

What surprised him even more was that this feeling wasn't unpleasant; instead, it gave him a sense of peace he had never felt before.

He suddenly remembered something—

Zhong Zhen, Jia Jingwen, Zhou Huimin, Liu Tao, Gao Yuanyuan... their due dates are also very similar.

"Looks like I'm going to be busy in the days to come."

As expected, Du Sheng had to reduce his personal affairs and publicity for a period of time, and spend more time with the girls.

Fortunately, they are quite open-minded, and for the sake of privacy, they are recuperating in villas in Shenzhen and Hong Kong, which makes it relatively easy for them to move around.

After having our first baby, we were able to take things in stride and have a very happy time together.

However, during this period, Du Sheng still needs to take some time to attend events.

At the end of November, he finished his promotional tour in Japan and boarded a flight back to Beijing with Yang Mi, Keiko Kitagawa, and Cecilia Cheung.

This journey is not easy; the girls each have their own tasks:

Yang Mi returned to Beijing this time to have a final rehearsal with her Girls' Generation sisters.

They're having a concert at the end of the year, and their schedule is even tighter than the college entrance exam schedule.

Keiko Kitagawa, on the other hand, got stuck because she was learning Chinese.

She said she had reached a "bottleneck" and that books alone were not enough; she needed to immerse herself in a Chinese-speaking environment to break through.

I happened to be free of filming recently, so I came along.

As for Cecilia Cheung, as one of the leading actresses in "Taken", she naturally had to take on the main role when Du Sheng reduced the publicity.

Fortunately, her popularity has consistently remained among the top ten Asian female stars.
With Yang Mi making occasional appearances to maintain her presence, and Du Sheng frequently interacting online, the film's popularity remained consistently high.

Even though Huayi Brothers heavily promoted "Assembly," despite investing a lot of resources, it didn't gain any advantage over this one.

After getting off the plane, the group went their separate ways to attend to their own business, while Du Sheng went to the Beijing branch office alone.

As soon as I entered, I saw Liu Xiaoli sitting in her office, engrossed in processing documents, looking very efficient and decisive.

Upon seeing him enter, Liu Xiaoli looked up and smiled, but her tone carried a hint of teasing:
"Since becoming a father, he's been coming to the company less and less. Looks like he's living a pretty comfortable life outside."

Du Sheng chuckled and whispered in her ear:

"No matter how comfortable it is, it's not as exciting as taking a drive around the villa with you."

Upon hearing this, Liu Xiaoli's lips curled slightly, a hint of attraction flashing in her eyes, but she still shook her head:
"Stop messing around, I have a ton of things to do right now."

"Taken" is about to be released, and I also have to help Yifei and the others with their concert arrangements. Plus, there are year-end summaries and a ton of meetings; I simply can't find the time."

Du Sheng knew she was telling the truth.

During this period, Zhong Zhen and Ye Jingzhi were both in the postpartum recovery phase, and some of the work that they were originally responsible for was transferred to Liu Xiaoli.

Only because she has good physical fitness and abundant energy can she withstand such a high-intensity pace.

Liu Xiaoli has now completely transformed from someone "hidden behind the scenes" into a "right-hand woman".

She found a sense of accomplishment in her career, and her overall demeanor became more and more confident, even her tone of voice became more composed.

Du Sheng didn't force her. His gaze swept across her desk and he noticed an invitation with a red cover.

He picked it up, looked at it, and asked with a smile:
"Lin Jianyue is quite good at dealing with people, isn't he?"

Did you receive an invitation to the premiere of "Assembly"? Did you go?

Liu Xiaoli shook her head:

"Of course I didn't go."

Lin Jianyue not only sent out invitations, but also called us to ask us to be lenient and stop arguing.

She paused and continued:
"Hong Kong's Universal Pictures invested 30% in the film 'Assembly,' so we haven't decided on the competition yet. We'll wait for you to come back and make the final decision."

Du Sheng chuckled:
"Not long ago, Feng Xiaogang accused me of 'worshipping foreign things and fawning on foreigners,' but Lin Jianyue didn't stand up and say a word."

Now that we're preparing to fight back, he's trying to persuade us? This is a delicate matter of self-interest.

Liu Xiaoli nodded:
He said that Feng Xiaogang was just acting impulsively and that he had already persuaded him to apologize.

Du Sheng flipped through the other documents and said calmly:

Whether or not I apologize doesn't matter, it's too late to say anything anyway.

As per my previous plan, I will write what needs to be written and publish what needs to be published.

"Assembly" insisted on being released at the same time as "Taken," so a direct competition was inevitable.

One possible reason is that Feng Xiaogang is still resentful about losing "The Banquet" to "Wanted" last year, and he keeps making sarcastic remarks.

This time, they chose to confront them head-on again.

Du Sheng naturally wouldn't indulge him.

Following the mainland premiere of "Taken," Feng Xiaogang launched a wave of public attacks.
The StarCraft team had also prepared a "surprise" for the premiere of "Assembly".

Sure enough, after the premiere, the internet was quickly flooded with promotional material from the "Assembly" production team:

The epic war film "Assembly" premiered with spectacular scenes comparable to Black Hawk Down!

"Audience Moved to Tears: This is a New Height for Chinese Cinema!"

Feng Xiaogang boldly declares: "We're aiming for the Oscars and Asian Film Awards!"

Film critics rave: You need to watch this movie at least five times to truly understand it!

These reports have lauded "Assembly" to the skies, and many viewers have indeed become interested and are preparing to go to the cinema to see it for themselves.

However, not long after, YY's portal website suddenly released several major articles in succession:
"Billed to have an investment of 100 million yuan, the actors' salaries in 'Assembly' were only one million yuan? Where did the money go?"

The female lead in "Assembly" was replaced halfway through filming; was it related to shady practices?

North American distribution rights returned; has Feng Xiaogang's overseas reputation collapsed?

Dutch film critic Caspi bluntly stated: "Assembly" has yet to gain acceptance from mainstream European cinemas, and a European release this year is virtually impossible.

"Global release? Actually, it's only being shown in three Asian countries, largely thanks to Universal Pictures' connections in Southeast Asia."

With overseas distribution lukewarm, obstacles in Europe, and no plans for North America, how much longer can Feng Xiaogang keep boasting?

The plot is illogical, and the balance between dialogue and action scenes is severely imbalanced, leaving viewers bewildered.

This move directly poured cold water on "Assembly".

The online sentiment began to shift, with many viewers starting to question the film's actual quality.

Du Sheng, meanwhile, stood behind the scenes, sipping tea and watching the public opinion battle gradually unfold.

He knew that the film market was never simply a place to compete on quality; whoever had the loudest voice and the most ruthless methods would win.

Since the other party is still unwilling to give up and wants to continue, then let them continue.

These reports were immediately and widely reposted on various platforms.

Although it was just a normal business competition tactic, this move still made Feng Xiaogang furious and even a little envious.

After all, compared to the overwhelming media resources of Interstellar Media, which cover all online and offline channels,

Huayi, on the other hand, seemed to be in a bit of a bind.

…(End of this chapter)