Actor: Thank you.

Upon hearing Zhang Yuan tell them to "kneel down and speak," Zhang Zinan, known for his fiery temper, glared fiercely.

He looked like he was about to get angry.

But her younger sister immediately reached out and stopped him.

Why is my sister a superstar while he can't succeed at anything?
If you can't even be a decent human being, what kind of achievements can you possibly have?

"Hehehe..." Seeing this, Zhang Yuan smiled and chuckled.

"Kidding."

"All who come are guests."

"Brother Zhang, why are you so easily amused?"

Zhang Zinan gritted his teeth. "Are you kidding me?"
This is clearly just to amuse me!
Seeing his sister gripping his arm tightly, the guy took a deep breath.

I almost forgot why I came here today.

"Zhang Yuan, we..."

"Shh, don't speak yet," Zhang Yuan interrupted again.

He took out the remote control, pressed the play button, and listened to the sound effects after the position was adjusted.

There's a saying in the HiFi world: hydroelectricity is gentler, thermal power is smoother, and nuclear power is more powerful.

This has even led to more humorous claims, such as the sound of coal-fired power plants being warmer and the sound of anthracite coal having fewer impurities than that of lignite.

The intention was to mock people who are into Hi-Fi who always get caught up in useless details.

These are just jokes, but the placement and angle of the speakers really can affect the sound.

This is especially true for people like Zhang Yuan who have sensitive hearing.

The classic background music from "The Godfather" plays again, melodious, profound, and tinged with a touch of inexplicable sadness.

Especially when paired with a vinyl player and vinyl records, it delivers a completely different sound compared to CDs or digital music.

Because vinyl records have a unique "distortion" smell.

The languid, dim atmosphere, along with the occasional soft popping sounds, perfectly matched the theme songs of Hollywood's golden age.

However, for popular music, especially music with electronic sounds, vinyl records are not so suitable.

Zhang Yuan listened to "The Godfather" because he also needed to immerse himself in the emotions.

And this time he was smarter; he didn't ask his assistant to catch the cat, so he wouldn't get scratched again.

The music ended after a full three minutes.

The piece is called "Softly Confessing," just like the attitude of Zhang Yuan and the two people who stood there with him listening to the piece.

"Is it better than before?" He glanced sideways at Zhang Ziyi.

"Seems to be."

"Actually, you didn't hear the difference at all, did you?"

Zhang Ziyi laughed awkwardly.

“But I can hear it,” Zhang Yuan said slowly, propping his head up with one hand.

"The placement of the speakers will affect the final result."

"Therefore, finding the right position is the most important thing."

"Unfortunately, I know where it should be placed."

"But you don't know where to place yourself, and you keep pretending to know."

Zhang Ziyi's smile froze; she knew the other party was implying something.

“This sound system,” Zhang Yuan pointed to the two taller speakers, “is Focal’s flagship model from France.”

"The price is close to two million."

Upon hearing the price, both the brother and sister gasped.

It's not even that expensive to buy a car.

That's why people say playing with Hi-Fi is expensive.

Despite Zhang Yuan's calm demeanor, he didn't dare tell Cheng Hao exactly how much he spent, otherwise he would surely face complaints.

"The voice is very nice."

"Furthermore, Focal has a unique feature: the diaphragm of their speakers uses a special material."

"beryllium!"

"This material is extremely light and can produce captivating high frequencies in speakers."

"However, beryllium is a highly toxic material."

In fact, the prototype of Kryptonite, the superhero buster, is beryl.

French chemist Vauquer discovered beryllium in beryl.

"It is evident that even highly toxic substances, if properly controlled, can become an important component of the finest audio equipment."

"In addition, although this sound system worth 200 million is already top-of-the-line, it is not the best or the most expensive."

"There are always people better than you, and there are always things beyond your understanding. There are also many top-of-the-line audio systems that cost millions or even tens of millions of dollars."

"Alright." Zhang Yuan temporarily stopped talking about the sound system and turned to look at the two somewhat bewildered people.

Tell me your reasons for wanting to meet.

Zhang Ziyi and her brother exchanged glances.

Don't you know why we came?
But since they wanted to pretend, they had no choice but to cooperate.

"I'm very sorry, my brother was out of his mind when he called you last year. He was very insulting and spoke very badly to you."

"Therefore, we have come to apologize in person today."

"Hurry up..." Zhang Ziyi said, and then quietly urged her older brother.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that."

"I'm just stubborn, so please just ignore me."

Surrounded by the luxury mansion and the sound system that could buy a house, this person's eyes became much clearer.

"Why didn't you come to me from the beginning?"

Instead of giving a direct answer, the two cut straight to the point.

"Tell us what you want us to do."

"The question isn't what I want, but what you want," Zhang Yuan threw the question back at him.

"I want to restore my reputation and no longer be bothered by all kinds of scandals," Zhang Ziyi replied cautiously.

But Zhang Yuan shook his head: "I can't do that, at least not under the current circumstances."

“I’m willing to pay any price!” Zhang Ziyi replied resolutely.

She's now on the verge of career collapse, and she's fearless.

I thought at most he would do something to me that I couldn't bring myself to say.

If Zhang Yuan had known he thought that way, he would have spat at her.

Drink up!

Who wants to mess with you?

"This is the first time you've come to see me."

"But I can't remember when was the last time you treated me to dinner?"

"Even though we were friends and colleagues."

“But when I asked you about Tang Wei, you refused me.”

Zhang Ziyi tried to recall, but she couldn't even remember the incident.

"And now, you've come to my house, on my housewarming day."

“He told me that he wanted to restore his reputation and that he wanted to be free of scandals.”

"To be honest, you don't respect me at all, and you don't treat me as a friend."

"Can we still be friends again?" Zhang Ziyi, being the shrewd person she is, immediately interjected.

"Too late!" But Zhang Yuan's resolute tone completely shattered her hopes.

"So what do we do now?"

Tell me!

In just one year, the pressure from the three gates completely defeated her.

But she never imagined that she was the one who caused all of this.

When he was at the height of his popularity, he offended quite a few people, and his methods of hype were not exactly ethical.

However, they have now encountered several ruthless individuals.

Zhang Ziyi could sense that Zhang Yuan's ruthlessness was no less than that of Deng Wendi and the one in Shanghai.

His destructive power even surpasses those two, because he knows an artist's weaknesses all too well.

Fame brings profit; without fame, you have nothing.

Zhang Yuan remained calm and gentle: "Last time on the set of 'The Grandmaster,' I already stated my conditions in front of you and Wang Jiawei."

"do you remember?"

"Is there no other way?"

"Don't answer questions with questions; that's basic politeness." Zhang Yuan's voice became slightly more serious.

"My question is, do you remember what I said back then?"

"I remember," Zhang Ziyi said, her voice trembling.

Please repeat it.

"You're saying you want to replace Gong Er with someone else." "But I've prepared so much for this role, and I've put in so much effort."

"I can't bear to part with it, I don't want to give up."

She came today for this reason.

We can't afford to lose her livelihood, because this is her last "lifeline"!
Wong Ka-wai's films are, after all, blockbusters, directed by a famous director.

As long as we finish filming well, there's still a chance to turn things around.

If we lose this film, we don't even know where the next opportunity will come from, or if it will ever come again!

No, you're mistaken.

Zhang Yuan shook his head and said, "That's not what I said originally."

"That's exactly what I said."

"The actor for this role must be one of my artists."

When listening to others, you must listen attentively and not misinterpret their words.

"Is there... a difference?" Zhang Ziyi felt that the other party was just playing with her.

Could it be that you summoned me here today just to humiliate me?

Want to vent your anger?

If that's the case, and venting your anger solves the problem, then it's acceptable.

However, she always felt that Zhang Yuan wouldn't act impulsively like those greasy middle-aged bosses.

Otherwise, how could he have felt that he was a terrifying figure, just like Deng Wendi?

Just as she thought, Zhang Yuan's next sentence opened up a path she had never imagined.

"I want to emphasize again that the actor chosen for this role must be one of my artists."

"You still don't understand what this means."

"Because...you can be my artist too!"

Zhang Ziyi's ears were ringing!
She wasn't attracted to me as a person, but rather to me as a person.

From the very beginning, Zhang Yuan's plan was to win over Zhang Ziyi.

However, there are specific techniques involved in doing it.

Using Ip Man as a starting point, it would be appropriate to then target the Wong family.

But as always, everything comes down to cost.

I went through all this trouble just to vent my anger?

He's not a complete idiot anymore.

It's a complete loss-making endeavor to gain publicity.

And if the actress playing Gong Er is replaced, who else could it be?

I know several talented actors and celebrities.

But who can shoulder this great responsibility?

Not really.

Putting aside the fact that Wang Jiawei will definitely stand his ground, that guy is pretty unethical anyway.

He filmed for several years, and the investors were so angry that they wanted to fire him, but he didn't care at all.

Even if Zhang Yuan had a way to subdue Wang Jiawei, he could do it if he paid a sufficient price.

But this could create a huge feud!
Not only did he incur Wong Kar-wai's wrath, but the entire Hong Kong region was also dissatisfied with him.

Especially after a change in management, if the film doesn't do well at the box office or is criticized by the audience, they will definitely put all the blame on themselves.

This contradiction is even more pronounced.

It's not worth it for Zhang Zinan to yell at someone over a phone call.

So he had thought it through and decided to proceed in three steps.

I invited Zhang Ziyi to dinner because of Tang Wei's situation; this is a treat.

Not long ago, he used her own charity fraud scandal to add fuel to the fire online, and also caused a scene on the set of "The Grandmaster". This is a "decapitation".

So, the next final step is something everyone knows.

That's right, accept them as dogs.

You can insult me ​​for a few minutes, and I'll have your little sister earn tens of millions for me as compensation in the future. That's perfectly reasonable.

Only by doing this can he and the Wang family come to a conclusion.

Zhang Ziyi, on the other hand, had no choice.

She has to agree whether she wants to or not.

At the same time, this is also a "surrounding three sides but missing one" strategy, to prevent the person from being pushed too far and then selling themselves to a powerful figure who would turn around and relentlessly attack them.

Zhang Ziyi has never worked for any company; she has always been an independent worker.

They are proud and arrogant, and they want to earn their own money.

But now the situation is beyond our control. This lesson has been so profound that we should learn that a single tree cannot make a forest.

At this moment, Zhang Ziyi's eyes widened in disbelief.

She's not stupid; she reacts quite quickly.

Not only did I fully understand what Zhang Yuan had said back then, but I also understood why he had been talking about audio equipment earlier.

A 200 million yuan sound system is good, but not top-of-the-line; there are better options.

Just like her, she's very strong and famous in the film and television industry, but there are even stronger and more famous people out there.

Only by properly controlling the beryllium diaphragm can good sound be produced.

That beryllium was her, that "cheap beryllium."

Beryllium is poisonous, and now her reputation is almost as poisonous as beryllium.

But Zhang Yuan knew that all of this would pass.

Especially after the "Guo Meimei" incident broke out the following year, the topic of charity and public welfare was completely labeled with a negative image.

As a result, no one mentioned Zhang Ziyi's scandals anymore.

She managed to get away with it.

In addition, her performance after the release of "The Grandmaster" was quite good.

It's not that she's that strong.

Instead, there was a younger Gong Li after Gong Li, but there was no younger Zhang Ziyi after Zhang Ziyi!
Who can replace her?
Zhou Dongyu, or Liu Haocun?
No more.

Because times have changed.

"Do you understand it?"

Everything you want is here.

"It all depends on your choice."

Zhang Yuan raised his hand and pressed the play button again.

The theme song from "The Godfather" played three times. He closed his eyes to listen quietly, giving the other person time to think.

When the music ended, Zhang Yuan slowly opened his eyes.

Zhang Ziyi nodded to her older brother, as if she had made up her mind.

"I promise you!" she answered with her characteristic "stubborn" gaze.

"Hmm." Zhang Yuan nodded slightly, and at the same time gently raised his right hand, placing the back of his hand flat in mid-air.

Zhang Ziyi sighed, and the stubbornness in her eyes vanished without a trace.

She then adopted a slightly ashen, submissive expression and moved to his side.

Zhang Ziyi has certainly seen "The Godfather" and other Western films.

After bending over, he knelt on one knee and raised both hands to lift Zhang Yuan's right palm.

Then he lowered his head and kissed her.

"very good."

"I forgive you."

"Welcome to my home."

"Stay for dinner later."

Zhang Yuan patted Zhang Ziyi on the shoulder, and the other party showed a happy smile.

It was finally resolved.

However, Zhang Yuan was far more terrifying than she had imagined!
After she understood what the other person had done, she was truly afraid.

They were manipulated by the other party.

Whether it's myself, the cast of "The Grandmaster," or everyone else who came forward.

"Dandan, take your sister Ziyi and brother Zinan to the tea room and brew them some good tea."

Send these two away and let them catch their breath.

Zhang Yuan did not leave, but instead got up and went to the screen that had puzzled Zhang Ziyi earlier.

This screen actually disrupts the sound field structure of the entire listening room.

But Zhang Yuan deliberately placed it here, for a reason.

"Come out."

He called out.

Then, a figure that was neither male nor female, trembling with fear, shakily emerged from behind the screen... (End of Chapter)