Huayu: Hard fight against Zhang Weiping at the beginning

Chapter 591 Zhu Yilong: Unspoken Rules?
Premiere

Zhang Chen spoke eloquently on stage, while Zhu Yilong and Mao Xiaotong secretly looked around, feeling it was a dreamlike scene.

Is this what the premiere was like?
So grand!
Everywhere you look, there are either entertainment industry bigwigs or big stars.

Those famous directors and producers who are usually hard to meet are piled up together today, like free cabbages.

This was Zhu Yilong's first time attending such an event, and he seemed a little nervous.

He was just a junior at the Beijing Film Academy, not yet graduated. Apart from director Yi Mou, the most important person he had ever met was probably his own principal. He had never seen such a grand premiere before.

He was a typical newcomer; otherwise, he wouldn't have been chosen by Zhang Yimou to play the male lead in "Aftershock".

Although Mao Xiaotong is a year ahead of him from the Central Academy of Drama, she's not much better off.

The two of them stood there stiffly, like two puppets, not knowing what to do.

"You two, don't just stand there. Walk around and get to know some people. It might be good for your future acting careers..."

The person who gave them the instructions was Zhang Yimou. After filming "Aftershock" wrapped up, he specially brought the two of them here to broaden their horizons.

"Oh~"

The two nodded readily, but inwardly they were lamenting. Of course they understood the reasoning; their agent had said the same thing to them, but they didn't know anyone here.

You can't just grab someone and force a conversation.

While Zhu Yilong was lost in thought, Mao Xiaotong, feeling hungry, moved closer to the long table and started eating.

Zhu Yilong was speechless. Even if he didn't understand, he knew that he shouldn't eat and drink in this kind of setting, but Mao Xiaotong didn't seem to understand.

Forget it, I'll just wander around by myself.

Then, he saw Lu Yang in the crowd.

That's great, I have a senior brother here.

Although Lu Yang didn't know him, as long as he mentioned the name of Beijing Film Academy, it shouldn't be too awkward.

Following Lu Yang should allow me to meet some people.

Zhu Yilong mustered his courage and walked towards Lu Yang.

"Senior brother~"

Lu Yang was chatting with Wang Jing when he was suddenly startled to hear "Senior Brother".

"You are……"

Before anyone could ask, Zhu Yilong introduced himself: "I'm from the 05 class of the Performance Department at Beijing Film Academy, a student of Professor Cui. I'm here today with Director Yi Mou."

"Teacher Cui's student?"

There is only one teacher at Beijing Film Academy, Cui Xinqin.

Many celebrities are his students.

"Uh-huh."

"Oh, I remember now, you're the male lead in 'Aftershock'?"

"Yes, yes, it's me~"

Zhu Yilong was thrilled that Lu Yang knew him; he had originally thought he would have to rely on his teacher's connections.

"Oh, how are you feeling?"

"It's...it's pretty good. Director Yi Mou is very strict, but you can learn a lot from acting in his films..."

Zhu Yilong was speaking from the heart.

"Yes, newcomers should be like sponges, constantly learning and improving themselves."

Lu Yang offered a few words of encouragement, mentioning that he himself had come in just as many places, and then pointed to the person next to him, introducing, "Hey, this is Director Wang Jing~"

"Hello Director Wang Jing, I grew up watching your shows!"

Wang Jing is one of the three major directors in Hong Kong.

"Haha, young man, you've acted in a film directed by Yi Mou. This starting point is sure to make many people envious..." Wang Jing was completely unpretentious and immediately teased him with a smile.

"By the way, young man, have you signed with a company yet? If not, you could sign with Oriental Films. Raymond Wong is looking to sign a few new mainland talents and asked me to help him find some..."

Wang Jing had seen this scene far too many times, and suddenly remembered Huang Baiming's instructions.

Zhu Yilong apologized, saying, "I've already signed. I just signed with Sister Hua's Jiushi Culture a couple of days ago..."

Zhu Yilong was actually a little proud when he said that.

Wang Jinghua from Shijiu Culture~
Although Wang Jinghua didn't personally mentor them, getting into this company is still quite an achievement.

To put it simply, Shijiu Culture generally doesn't sign new artists, and Zhu Yilong is someone many of his classmates would love to sign but can't.

That's a real shame.

Wang Jing wasn't too disappointed, since he was just helping someone else find a suitable candidate.

It would be great if it succeeded, but it wouldn't have much of an impact if it didn't.

The group chatted casually, and many people came over during the time, and Lu Yang introduced Zhu Yilong to them each time.

"This young man is Zhu Yilong, the male lead in 'Aftershock.' He's a very good actor. If you have any good opportunities, give him a chance..."

Lu Yang really went all out, promoting Zhu Yilong to everyone he met, which resulted in Zhu Yilong receiving several audition opportunities.

"Thank you, senior!"

This expression of gratitude came from the bottom of his heart; Zhu Yilong truly understood what it meant to be one of their own.

Lu Yang was also nonchalant: "It's alright. Senior Brother Zhang Chen took care of me the same way back then. It's a tradition at Beijing Film Academy. As long as you have the talent, your fellow students will definitely lend a hand..."

That's what circles are all about.

Zhu Yilong also lamented that if he hadn't happened to be a student at the Beijing Film Academy, how could his senior, Lu Yang, have looked at him with such respect?

Now, he suddenly felt much better.

After overcoming numerous obstacles to finally land the male lead role, I learned that the female lead was handpicked by director Zhang Chen. I really don't know how to describe that feeling.

When he first met Mao Xiaotong, he was quite disdainful.

Later, he discovered that Mao Xiaotong's acting skills were no worse than his, and his opinion gradually changed.

Looking at myself now, I'm a complete nepotism beneficiary, and the thing is, nepotism is really lucrative.

It hasn't been that long, and I've already received several audition offers.

Just as I was feeling sentimental, a voice came from beside me: "Wang Jinghua really wants to see you, she wants you to go to her room..."

The party was already halfway through, which was undoubtedly a bolt from the blue for Zhu Yilong.

He must have heard some of the rumors circulating in China.

Wang Jinghua asked him to come to her room, which made it hard for him not to overthink things.

Including the incident a while ago when Chen Xiao jumped out of the car.

In an instant, Zhu Yilong instinctively felt that his future was shrouded in a dark cloud of crows.

What should I do?
Zhu Yilong was undecided for a moment.

I'd always heard that big shots had unusual tastes, but I never imagined it would happen to me.

Should we give in?

As Zhu Yilong faced a life-or-death decision, his manager urged him, "What are you standing there thinking about? Sister Hua wants to see you; that's an incredible blessing. And you're still hesitating?"

Zhu Yilong knows his own suffering.

Who doesn't want to succeed?

He considers himself to be quite hardworking, even neglecting sleep and meals for the role.

But even with such efforts, it's still impossible to escape that hurdle. Is the entertainment industry really like that?
No one can escape this cesspool of corruption.
In that brief moment, a lot of thoughts raced through Zhu Yilong's mind.

Is it possible to break away from Shijiu Culture?
Will it be banned?

If I ask my senior for help, will he protect me? I've heard that Xingchen Entertainment and Shijiu Culture have a very good relationship.

Zhu Yilong hesitated, but he didn't have much time left.

"what should I do?"

Zhu Yilong asked himself these questions but couldn't get a good answer. In the end, he decided to meet Wang Jinghua. As for whether he would use his looks to please her, he hadn't thought about it.

I just hope the other person isn't that kind of person.

Then when we arrived at the destination, we were truly stunned.

Zhu Yilong was surprised to see Mao Xiaotong at the door of the room: "Why are you here too?"

"My agent sent me here, saying Sister Hua wants to see me."

Although they signed the contract on the same day, they had never met Sister Hua, and the contract was signed by someone else on their behalf.

beep~
The knocking on the door made Zhu Yilong feel exceptionally good.

It seems I misunderstood.
The room door opened, and Zhu Yilong and Mao Xiaotong entered, exclaiming in unison, "Sister Hua~"

"Okay, come in, make yourself at home~"

Wang Jinghua's expression seemed perfectly normal, which made Zhu Yilong even more certain that he was overthinking things.

"We signed you two to the company, but we've never met before. Today is a good day to formally introduce ourselves."

Wang Jinghua handed each of them a bottle of mineral water.

"Sister Hua, you're too kind~"

The two knew they were nobody, while Sister Hua across from them was indeed the top agent in mainland China.

"Hmm, not bad looking~"

Wang Jinghua's first words expressed her approval of the two of them.

"Are you dating anyone?"

"No." The two shook their heads simultaneously.

"There is no best option, so let's not discuss it for now."

Wang Jinghua stated directly, then seemed to explain, "You've just starred in Director Yimou's film; you have a bright future ahead of you and are at the peak of your careers. Dating would hinder your future."

Wang Jinghua's words, seemingly a reminder, were actually a warning.

The two nodded repeatedly.

This time, Wang Jinghua focused his gaze specifically on Mao Xiaotong: "Xiaotong, I heard about the silly thing you did a while ago..."

Mao Xiaotong covered her face, feeling utterly ashamed.

Unexpectedly, Wang Jinghua said, "Although the thing was stupid, it was done very well."

Mao Xiaotong thought she had misheard: "What did you just say? You said you did a very good job?"

"Well, you were just lucky, like a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse."

Wang Jinghua's eyes made no attempt to hide his admiration for Mao Xiaotong. Seeing that she still didn't respond, he simply said, "Let me put it this way: in the entertainment industry, the most common thing is to flatter the powerful and belittle the weak, but the rarest thing is genuine emotion."

Your behavior that day was silly, but it was genuine.

If I'm not mistaken, Director Zhang didn't say much, but I'm sure he's definitely keeping you in mind.
Putting everything else aside, just this one point alone is something countless people couldn't achieve even if they racked their brains.

At this point, even Wang Jinghua was a little envious of Mao Xiaotong.

"I don't know if you guys feel this way, but the entertainment industry is very much about its own circle culture."

You two both debuted in "Aftershock," which was essentially launched by director Zhang Yimou. So let me ask you this: if one day we fall out with other companies, or even become the enemy of all film and television companies, what will you do then? Will you stand on the company's side?"

Zhu Yilong and Mao Xiaotong pondered for a long time before finally saying, "I don't know~"

This answer is expected.

"In the film industry, interpersonal relationships are very important."
"Which ship you get on, which circle you join, which big brother you associate with—that's all very important."

Wang Jinghua really opened up today: "Being in the film industry is similar to being in the underworld; loyalty comes first. You can't survive long without loyalty. Xiaotong benefited from this. Although your behavior was stupid, it just happened to highlight your loyalty..."

Mao Xiaotong quickly waved her hand: "No, no, I didn't think that much at the time. I just felt that Director Zhang Chen had helped me, and since he was in trouble, I had to help him in any way I could."

Mao Xiaotong's voice grew softer and softer as she spoke, until it was barely audible.

"That's precisely what makes it so difficult. If you've already achieved fame and success, it won't matter anymore. But you're a nobody, with neither fame nor talent, which is why your actions back then seem so precious."
Let me put it this way: there are too many shrewd people in this industry, but you just happen to be an oddball.

Your decision was really stupid, but it's precisely because it was stupid that Director Zhang remembers it so vividly.

To Director Zhang, your decision means nothing, it's a drop in the ocean, it's nothing at all. But for you, it's a gamble, and for that reason alone, Director Zhang will definitely let you…

Wang Jinghua guessed correctly.

When Zhang Chen first found out, he also thought that Mao Xiaotong was acting, because at his position, there were too many people who acted in front of him.
Huang Bo once said, "When you succeed, you'll be surrounded by good people."

Zhang Chen is in a similar situation now.

Seeing too many people and too many things every day has made me lose interest in most things.

But it is precisely the most basic and simple aspect of humanity that he cannot betray.

When Mao Xiaotong was still in a very small position, she dared to give up her future to repay his kindness, something most people wouldn't do.

People like Zhang Chen value these things especially.

To survive in the entertainment industry, you need brains.

But not everything can be done with your brain.

Sometimes, you can't get ahead if you're not loyal.

In fact, many actresses are more loyal and righteous than most male celebrities.

When Liu Tao made her comeback, her reputation wasn't good. Who went out of their way to help her?
Qin Hailu.

Most men would give this friendship a thumbs up.

Boss Yang and Brother Cheng are both very loyal and righteous.

That's why Chow Yun-fat was so harshly criticized for refusing to star in "Red Cliff." Zhang Jiazhen was his mentor, and he helped him make a name for himself in North America by connecting him with various resources. Then, when it came time to film "Red Cliff," he put aside personal feelings and talked about business with people. Anyone would find that unacceptable.

Wu Baige was similar; back then, we were both box office poison, but we turned our lives around with "A Better Tomorrow".

what is this?
Brothers in adversity!

Then you become rich and powerful, and you stop talking about feelings with me?

Speaking of this, the Wang brothers and Feng Xiaogang are the least particular.

You guys were all so cocky, making a 'Cellphone 2' film, looking down on everyone, and then what?
You got messed up, but Fan Xiaopang is taking the blame for you?

Don't even dare to fart.

Is this still a man from Beijing? Shameful!
Generous?
What a load of rubbish!
"Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons" cost Stephen Chow tens of millions of dollars.

During the distribution of "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons", in addition to the formal agreement, the two parties also signed a "Supplementary Agreement" concerning box office revenue.

In the email, the Wang brothers agreed to everything and were just waiting for the signatures and seals.

However, Huayi Brothers postponed the signing date to after the new year by saying that "General Manager Huang is on vacation."

After the Lunar New Year, when box office records were broken, the Wong brothers denied any responsibility.

In court, Star Overseas presented evidence that Huayi Brothers' emails clearly stated in black and white: "Confirmed," "No problem," and "Can sign at any time."

However, the email had no legal effect because there was no formal agreement, and the court ruled against Stephen Chow.

His demand for 8600 million yuan in box office revenue sharing went down the drain.

This incident brought shame upon the Wang brothers throughout the capital.

What does it mean to keep one's word?
It was a shame to be thrown into grandma’s house.

……

Sorry, I've been on a business trip for the past two days, so updates will be unstable.
(End of this chapter)