Hear this life

Two days later, Wen Tingli met Qiao Baoxin in Room 803 of Dahua Hotel.

Qiao Bao's heart darkened and he became thinner, but his complexion was very good and he looked full of energy.

Facing Wen Tingli, she remained silent for a while, then she held her and looked at her again and again, and said sadly: "Fortunately you are okay. My brother has told me everything that happened the night before. Our Qiao family is really embarrassed. I apologize to you on behalf of my father."

Wen Tingli patted Baoxin's hand sympathetically. In front of her extremely strong parents, Baoxin could do nothing but endure the pain.

She pulled Qiao Baoxin to sit down beside the bed: "Tell me first, did anything special happen a few days ago? I remember you said you would not return to Shanghai before the winter vacation, why did you come back suddenly?"

Seeing her alert expression, Qiao Baoxin also became cautious. After thinking for a while, he said, "It was a coincidence. There was a senior sister in our student union who was from Qingpu, Shanghai. At the end of the fellowship last week, she suddenly took out a train ticket in front of everyone and said that she was going home to visit her sick father. She accidentally bought an extra ticket. When she was changing clothes in the morning, she realized that it was difficult to return the ticket now, so she asked if anyone wanted this ticket."

She had been hesitating whether to come back to spend her mother's birthday with her. It was a rare opportunity for someone to go back to Shanghai with her, so she immediately asked for the ticket, and the senior only charged her half the price.

It didn't sound strange. Wen Tingli pondered for a moment and said, "We clearly agreed to meet at the Dream Café near Gao Mansion that day. Why did you suddenly change the appointment and ask me to meet you at the hotel?"

"Because I went out to buy something that afternoon, and I vaguely felt someone following me. I thought it was my father's people who discovered my whereabouts, so I was scared and called my cousin. But my cousin was very sure that my father knew nothing about it. He said he would help me find out who that person was. Later, when he heard that I was going to meet a friend, he advised me to meet him in a hotel, because that way he could arrange someone to protect me downstairs."

It turned out that the idea was proposed by Meng Qiguang, and it was thanks to him that he pretended to be confused in front of her that night.

"So did your cousin find out who was following you?"

Qiao Baoxin shook his head: "He said they were just a few hooligans and had been driven away. He told me not to worry."

Wen Tingli was still thinking, but Qiao Baoxin had already pulled her to her suitcase.

"I brought you something. This is a delicious northern dessert called yokan. It's Poria cocos cake. The filling inside is delicious. If you get hungry on the set, you can use it to fill your stomach. I watched the old man at the stall make these little clay figures. Look at the eyeballs. Don't they look real? Xiao Taozi will definitely like them."

The box is only this big, and half of it is filled with gifts for Wen Tingli.

Qiao Baoxin took out a pile of old tickets and showed them to Wen Tingli.

"The second part of your "Fair Detective" was also released in Peking at that time. My classmates and I went to watch it four times in a row. Tingli, your acting is getting better and better. Many of our classmates like you." Qiao Baoxin's eyes sparkled.

Facing this half box of gifts and Qiao Baoxin's sincere gaze, Wen Tingli didn't know what to say, and hugged Baoxin tightly: "You are alone outside, take good care of yourself, and don't let us worry."

Bao Xin nodded with red eyes.

"You haven't told me what happened between you and Tong Zhaohui. Have you really broken up with him?"

Qiao Baoxin sighed.

When she first arrived in Beijing, she and Tong Zhaohui had a very good relationship. In her eyes, Tong Zhaohui was a glittering medal - a top student who graduated from Yenching University, the youngest lawyer, with good character and warm attitude towards others... She almost interacted with him with a feeling of infatuation and admiration, and she also firmly believed that she and Tong Zhaohui would be together for the rest of their lives.

But later, Tong Zhaohui kept disappearing, sometimes for a week or two, and when he came back he had no explanation.

Qiao Baoxin knew that he had a mission to accomplish and always showed unconditional understanding towards him. But later on one occasion, the two of them had made an appointment to go to Meihua to watch a movie, and Tong Zhaohui once again broke the appointment without a reason. It was cold in early spring in Peking, and Baoxin stood stupidly at the door of the cinema for more than an hour, his legs almost frozen into popsicles.

After returning home, Bao Xin fell ill. During this period, Tong Zhaohui never showed up. Bao Xin lay in the dormitory in a daze, and gradually, her heart was cold. She had no relatives in Peking, and when she needed Tong Zhaohui the most, he was always not by her side. In the end, several classmates in the same dormitory sent her to the hospital.

By the time Tong Zhaohui learned the news and rushed to the hospital to visit her, it was already a few days later. Bao Xin was going through the discharge procedures alone.

She calmly broke up with Tong Zhaohui.

Tong Zhaohui was silent for a long time, then said apologetically: "Bao Xin, I'm sorry that I didn't take good care of you during this period, but please believe me, I really like you, but I have too many important things to do right now. If you are willing to wait for me for a few years——"

"I don't want to." Bao Xin shook his head firmly.

At the age when she longed for love the most, she met a man who made her heart flutter. This gave her a certain illusion for a while: this relationship was right and they would go on forever.

But this experience made her see one thing clearly: if a love always makes her disappointed, always makes her compromise, and always puts her in a position of waiting and sacrificing for a long time, then this is definitely not the love that is suitable for her, and it is best to end it as soon as possible.

At the end, Qiao Baoxin sighed: "Actually, I feel a little regretful. He is a nearly ideal man, but I didn't regret it at all afterwards. Tingli, you don't think I am an unstable person, do you?"

These words touched Wen Tingli's heart inexplicably, and she held Baoxin's hand tightly: "I feel sorry for you, but this is your own decision, and you don't need to explain it to anyone."

As a friend, she felt guilty that she could not be with Baoxin at that time, but she was also glad that Baoxin did not lose herself in love. Perhaps the experience of being sick helped Baoxin cut off the last trace of emotional dependence, and it was at that moment that Baoxin truly matured.

This is the inevitable path to growth. Wen Tingli has experienced it herself, so she is particularly happy for Baoxin.

"Please promise me that if you encounter difficulties in the future, don't forget to ask me for help. Keep up the good work. I'm still waiting to see your acceptance letter from Mary College of America."

"Don't worry, I will achieve something sooner or later to show you."

The two smiled at each other.

***
Wen Tingli came out of the room, thinking about what Meng Qiguang said to Baoxin as she walked. Did he really not find out anything, or did he find out but was unwilling to tell Baoxin? This man has always been arbitrary, so it is not surprising that he is unwilling to tell Baoxin the truth.

While thinking, she had already made up her mind. After going downstairs, she didn't see Zhou Wei and Lao Li, but saw Lu Shicheng waiting for her in the car. She was surprised and happy, and hurriedly lowered the brim of her hat and ran over: "Why are you here? Weren't you in a meeting at Lixin Bank all afternoon?"

Lu Shicheng got out of the car and opened the door for her: "I have to meet some important guests tonight, so I can't have dinner with you. I might as well come over and stay with you for a while."

Wen Tingli pouted in pretended disappointment. This was the first time they didn't have dinner together at night after they reconciled.

As she got into the car, she complained to him, "Why are you like this? Xiao Taozi's birthday is coming up soon. I was planning to go to the department store with you tomorrow night to pick out a gift for Xiao Taozi. Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Then he couldn't help laughing, took off his hat and put it aside, and leaned his head on his shoulder: "I'm just kidding, I'm going to talk to Sister Huang tonight."

"Then I'll let Zhou Wei take you there." He seemed to be worried. He kissed the top of her head nonchalantly while talking to her. She could hear him even if his voice was very soft. "It happened suddenly. I'll make it up to you tomorrow night, okay?"

"Yeah." She leaned against his shoulder, listening to the deep and magnetic voice comfortably, "By the way, there is something I need to tell you——"

She told him about someone following Qiao Baoxin that day. Lu Shicheng pondered, "It seems that we have to ask Uncle Kuang to go to Beiping."

"You also suspect that the White Dragon Gang is involved?"

He curled his lips and said, "This is not the first time that Lu Kejian has secretly colluded with the White Dragon Gang. The situation in Peking is getting worse and worse. Lu Kejian is worried that he will never be able to return to Shanghai if things continue like this. It is not surprising that he will make some new moves."

Wen Tingli thought about it and nodded. The two chatted in low voices for a few words, and Lu Shicheng's brows slowly relaxed. When the car started, Wen Tingli accidentally raised her eyes and saw a man and a woman coming out of a magnificent building at the intersection ahead.

The man had a familiar dark, thin, triangular face. He was Chen Maoqing, the owner of Huamei Film Company.

The woman had a good temperament, but the sunglasses on her face covered most of her facial features. Under the lenses, one could see that her lips were tightly pursed and she looked very unhappy. As soon as she came out, she quickly got into the car on the side of the road.

Chen Maoqing was not in a hurry to get in the car, but continued to stay at the door of the foreign company and talk to a man who looked like a wealthy businessman.

Wen Tingli remembered that she had met this wealthy businessman at the Gao family's birthday party a few days ago. Everyone called him Boss Xin. It was said that he was one of the largest compradors in Tianjin. He was good at investing and had a wide variety of businesses under his name.

Chen Maoqing pulled Boss Xin into a conversation very enthusiastically, but Boss Xin's eyes were unscrupulously glued to the woman in the car.

***
That night, in addition to Zhou Wei and Lao Li, Wen Tingli had two more "guards" behind her. They knew their limits and never came close to her or disturbed her work. They just stood by her from a distance, which made Wen Tingli feel completely at ease.

But the next month was calm. Wen Tingli's heart was temporarily relieved. She successfully finished the rest of Spring Breeze and started to shoot Twin Pearls, which had been suspended due to dieting. In order to edit the new film as soon as possible, Huang Yuanshan worked overtime day and night in the company every day, and was also actively contacting major cinemas to prepare for the release of Spring Breeze.

This is the first film produced by Xiufeng Company since its establishment. The outside world has different opinions. Some people are waiting to see the joke, saying that "Xiufeng is just a makeshift team set up by two women. They are weak. I heard that they don't have much money on the books and rely on attracting investments to maintain their operations. How can such an empty shell produce a good film?"

Another group of people analyzed the film from a rational perspective and still did not think it was a good film. Labor themes have always been unpopular, and they expected that "Wen and Huang would not be able to come up with anything new."

Facing all the outside world's discussions, Xiufeng did not respond. This mysterious attitude aroused the curiosity of some fans who were originally not interested. Wen Tingli struck while the iron was hot and published a serial advertisement in the newspaper with Dong Qinfang of Xinxin Department Store.

On the first day, the newspaper only published a photo of a woman with the title "Guess who she is?"

The caption reads: "This reporter found a set of four photos, which are suspected to be taken by a female star on the set. This is the first photo. Please help identify the woman. If you guess correctly, you will receive a 10-dollar shopping voucher from Shin Shin Department Store."

On that day, the newspaper's phone was almost blown up by fans.

Everyone thought they were regulars at the cinema and were confident in identifying the stars. Plus, there were prizes to be won, so they were naturally happy to take part.

Considering that the woman in the photo is much thinner than ordinary people, many people guessed it was Zhou Manru, some guessed it was Duan Miaoqing, and few guessed it was Wen Tingli.

The next day, the newspaper published a second photo. It was the same woman, still facing sideways, but the angle of her face was slightly straighter.

On this day, more people called to join the guessing game.

On the third day, Zhou Manru suddenly published an article in the newspaper denying that the woman in the photo was herself. This caused an uproar. Not only did the fans become curious about this mysterious star, but even some tabloid reporters wrote articles to participate in the guessing game.

Day 4, day 5 - more and more voices were discussing the issue. Occasionally, someone would talk about the news while drinking tea in a teahouse. They would start fighting over who was in the photo. Everyone insisted that they were right.

When the newspaper announced the answer on the sixth day, countless people were shocked. Some people refused to believe that it was Wen Tingli, and in order to expose the "lie of the newspaper", they ran to the door of Xiufeng Film Studio and waited all day. In their impression, Wen Tingli on the screen was lively and bright, with a fit body, and she would never be as thin as a bamboo pole like the woman in the photo.

At this time, Huang Yuanshan came out with a smile to claim the photo: "Yes, it is the photo of Miss Wen Tingli from our company when she was filming the new movie "Spring Breeze Blows Again" on the set."

After this series of advertisements were released, the film became popular before it was released, and everyone in Xiufeng was grinning from ear to ear.

Huangjin's boss Liu Menglin's face was as dark as the bottom of a pot. "It's obvious that this is a trick that Wen Tingli came up with! Just spending a little money, she hyped up the movie like crazy. How come the people I employ can't think of such a good method?!"

The managers were so frightened that they kept silent.

The more Liu Menglin thought about it, the angrier he got. "This is just Xiufeng's first film. When they become more powerful, won't Huangjin be suffocated by them? Shen Yingying and Duan Miaoqing's new films haven't even been released yet, but Xiufeng has taken all the limelight. Why don't you guys come up with some ideas? Are you waiting for the company to lose money?"

"I have already contacted all the major newspapers. Once Xiufeng's film is released, it will be met with overwhelming criticism. By then—"

"Bullshit! Do you think Wen Tingli is a pushover? You're using this little trick to tickle me? I'm no longer the young actress I was when I first started in the industry! Can you please use your brain?"

Suddenly someone came in to report: "The boss of Huamei Film, Chen Maoqing, is here."

He? This person is the most sinister and annoying. Liu Menglin waved his hands: "Just say I'm not here and let him go."

But Chen Maoqing's half-smiled voice could be heard from the stairs outside the door: "Boss Liu, if you chase me away today, you will regret it in the future. I am here to offer you some advice."

***
The next day, Wen Tingli got up before dawn, humming happily while choosing clothes in front of the wardrobe.

Today is a good day for Xiufeng to sign the first round of screening contract with the Huguan Grand Theater. If everything goes well, their "Spring Breeze Blows Again" will be officially released next week.

In order to finalize this matter, she has been busy from morning to night recently, sometimes working in the studio until one or two o'clock in the morning. She thought Lu Shicheng would come to see her the next day, but every night when she got off work, she could see his car parked under the sycamore tree across the street.

There were often no pedestrians on the street in the middle of the night. At this time, she was like a happy little bird, laughing and running towards him across the road. He waited for her with open arms on the other side. As soon as she jumped into his arms, he held her tightly, bent down and kissed the top of her head, her eyelids, and her ears. No matter how many kisses he gave her, it was not enough.

Once, Lu Shicheng went to Hong Kong to attend the Southern Business Conference. His schedule was tight, and he had to meet people from all walks of life after the meeting. He didn't sleep for two days and two nights. When he returned to Shanghai, Wen Tingli firmly disagreed with him picking her up that night, but when she came out, she still saw Lu Shicheng's car, but he was so sleepy that he fell asleep in the car.

Wen Tingli did not run like she did in the past, but walked over on tiptoe. As soon as she leaned down in front of the window, Lu Shicheng opened his eyes alertly, and when he saw her, his eyes softened immediately. The silver moonlight reflected on his brow, making his whole face have a special tenderness. He did not get out of the car immediately, but reached out from the window to hold her head, pulled her close to him, and kissed her.

Thinking of these pleasant memories, Wen Tingli couldn't suppress the corners of her mouth. She sat down to choose jewelry with great interest. Suddenly, Xiao Taozi's voice rang in her ears: "Sister, I want to eat this."

Wen Tingli took the can from Xiao Taozi and helped her unscrew it: "We're having a celebration dinner tonight. Which restaurant do you want to go to, Xiao Taozi?"

Xiao Taozi looked confused.

Wen Tingli patiently taught her sister: "A celebration banquet is when a person or a group has achieved satisfactory results—"

The phone suddenly rang.

"Hurry! Come to the company! We have something important to discuss." It was Huang Yuanshan.

Wen Tingli hurried to the company and felt that the atmosphere was wrong as soon as she entered the door. When they saw her come in, they seemed to have a backbone and quickly surrounded her.

Wen Tingli gave everyone a comforting look: "Don't worry, the sky won't fall, just talk slowly."

"Huguang Grand Theater suddenly changed its mind. Boss Huang is negotiating with them over the phone."

Wen Tingli was startled and rushed upstairs. While still in the corridor, she heard Huang Yuanshan shouting, "Lao Zhang, you are going back on your word! You'd better give me a reasonable explanation, otherwise I will never let you go. What? This is nonsense! Hey!"

Turning around and seeing Wen Tingli, Huang Yuanshan hung up the phone and said anxiously, "For no reason, Huguang suddenly disagreed with the premiere with us, saying that they wanted to give up the prime time slot to Huang Jin's new film "Bizarre Afternoon Tea Party" and the gorgeous "Li Yutang". They also said that if we insist on showing it in their theater, it's not impossible, but we can only show it in the second half of the night, or simply wait until those films are off the screen."

"This is ridiculous! How can a premiere movie be shown in the late night?!"

"That's why I said there's something fishy going on!" Huang Yuanshan's face looked as if it was going to rain. "Our new film is very popular right now, and this is happening for no reason. It's obviously aimed at Xiufeng. No, I have to go find Lao Zhang and ask him face to face! If he's doing this because he's not satisfied with the profit-sharing terms, we can just give in."

Wen Tingli stopped Huang Yuanshan and said, "No, if we compromise this time, every cinema can use the same method to control us in the future. Huguang is not the only cinema in Shanghai. Let's go and change to Meiqi."

Maggie's boss Liu was quite attentive to them. He invited them to sit down and personally made tea for them.

But when it comes to the premiere of the collaboration, he shook his head in embarrassment: "There is really no free time this month. The new films of Huamei and Huangjin are preparing to be screened for the first time in this theater. As you know, the films made by these old companies have always been well-received. Besides, we are good friends who have collaborated many times, so we have to give them priority."

The two men came out of Majestic with gloomy faces and rushed to the Shanghai, Nanjing, Dahua, Daguangming, Cathay and other theaters.

However, these theaters either closed their doors directly or hemmed and hawed, asking their staff to make excuses, such as, "Our boss just went out of town... We don't know when he will be back."

At this point, Wen Tingli and Huang Yuanshan could almost conclude that this matter was related to gold and beauty.

They did not sit and wait for death, but split into two groups. Wen Tingli was responsible for finding Vice Chairman Weng of the Film Association to discuss countermeasures, while Huang Yuanshan used the network of connections he had accumulated over the years to find out the inside story. By the evening, Huang Yuanshan's connections finally came in handy, and Mr. Gu, the boss of the Lido Cinema, hesitantly revealed the inside story to them.

It turned out that yesterday afternoon, the two big bosses, Huang Jin and Hua Mei, who had always been at odds with each other, joined forces for the first time and called the owners of major cinemas, inviting them to dinner at Jindong Hotel.

In addition to the two bosses of Huangjin and Huamei, there were also bosses of film companies such as Shen's Pictures, Chunguang, Yuansheng, and Qun Yi, all of whom were industry tycoons.

After everyone took their seats, Liu Menglin spoke first. He listed a bunch of evidence of Xiufeng's "unfair competition" with righteous indignation, and then went straight to the point: In order to prevent "black sheep" like Xiufeng from becoming bigger and stronger, it is better to "nip it in the bud" now.

Prior to this, the bosses of several film companies had reached a consensus: as producers, they required major cinemas to refuse to screen Xiufeng Company's so-called "inferior" films, otherwise they would refuse to provide their own company's films to the cinema.

Compared with the fledgling Xiufeng, cinemas naturally prefer to cooperate with old film companies such as Huamei and Huangjin (Note). Huamei has the movie queen Yu Peiling, and Yao Lingzhu and Ye Xiaohong from the same company have recently shot new films under the support of Chen Maoqing. Shen's Pictures has old stars Xiao Diejun and Le Zhiwen. As for Huangjin Company's favorites Duan Miaoqing and Shen Yingying, they are all in good momentum.

As for Xiufeng, there is only one leading actress, Wen Tingli. Her new film "Spring Breeze Blows Again" is a labor film that reflects the miserable life of female workers. Just hearing the theme is not enough to attract the public.

Mr. Liu from the Majestic Cinema was the first to compromise. The reason was simple: he was a senior fan of the movie queen Yu Peiling, and he was afraid that if he did not cooperate, Huamei would refuse to allow their cinema to screen Yu Peiling's new films for the first time in the future.

As for Huguan Cinema, which had previously agreed on cooperation with Xiufeng, Liu Menglin used both soft and hard tactics, promising that as long as Huguan gave up signing the premiere agreement with Xiufeng this time, their company's new films could give a 10% profit when screened at Huguan.

In this way, Xiufeng was completely blocked from entering the cinemas by several major film companies without knowing it.

After learning the whole story, everyone was so angry that they couldn't say a word for a long time.

Li Zhen has always been very resourceful, but this time he was just running around in a panic: "It's not just one, not two, but several popular film companies that have united to suppress Xiufeng. Which cinema can withstand this? This afternoon, I went to a hundred acquaintances and didn't even meet a theater owner. If the theater refuses to show our film, we can't just show an open-air movie on the main street, right?"

This seemed to remind Huang Yuanshan, and she stood up angrily: "I will contact Kinmen and Guanghua right away. Good wine needs no bush. As long as there are theaters showing it, I don't believe our film won't be able to make a breakthrough."

However, these theaters are either outdated or located in remote areas, and they only show the second, third, or even final runs. If you really send a movie to these theaters for a premiere, even if you can accumulate a little word of mouth, the box office will be a complete failure.

"Sister Huang!" Cao Renxiu stepped forward and grabbed Huang Yuanshan, "You have put so much effort into this film, are you willing to let it end in such a hurry?
"I'm not willing to accept this." Huang Yuanshan's teeth creaked. "I'm the most unwilling one! But is there any other way? Chen Maoqing and Liu Menglin are risking their own fortunes and reputations to strangle Xiufeng to death. Either we admit defeat and leave, or we wait for an opportunity to turn the tables."

She looked around, her angry face slowly turning into a bitter smile: "As the boss, I can't let you down. I have to find a way to keep Xiufeng alive. While there are still gaps between Jinmen and Guanghua, I can still negotiate terms with them calmly. When other hot films come out, there won't even be a chance to negotiate terms."

She patted Cao Renxiu's shoulder and forced a smile, "Don't worry, I will negotiate with them properly. You... just wait for my good news."

As he walked out, Huang Yuanshan's back seemed to be hunched. Everyone looked at each other sadly. Such a proud and cheerful person had to bow his head and bend in front of a conspiracy.

"Sister Huang!"

From just now till now, Wen Tingli has not said a word. While everyone was busy discussing countermeasures, she just sat there with a gloomy face, thinking. But now, she has made up her mind.

"I have thought of a way to break the deadlock." She cheered up and walked towards Huang Yuanshan. "The person who can break the deadlock promised to help me several months ago. As long as we find this person right away, we can turn the situation around. Sister Huang, do you want to take the risk and give it a try?"

"Let's go." Huang Yuanshan said without any hesitation.

Wen Tingli was somewhat moved. Sister Huang was a loyal, responsible person who never acted arbitrarily. Since the establishment of the company, she always unconditionally supported all her decisions. Working with such a person, no matter how difficult the task was, it seemed to become less difficult.

"Okay, no matter what you see or hear next, don't interrupt before I give you a look." Huang Yuanshan clapped his hands with Wen Tingli in tacit understanding.

***
The two hurried downstairs and unexpectedly saw an old acquaintance, Liu Menglin, at the company gate.

He probably just happened to pass by here, parked his car on the side of the road, and looked at the Xiufeng sign with an eye that showed he was waiting for a good show.

When he caught a glimpse of them, instead of telling the driver to drive away, he greeted them with great interest.

"Where are you going, you two, in such a hurry?"

Huang Yuanshan and Wen Tingli had no time to pay attention to him. They opened the car door from the left and right and got in.

Liu Menglin got out of the car leisurely and walked towards them. "If I had known this would happen, why did I do this in the first place? After all, we are old friends who have worked together. I really can't bear to kill you all. So, as long as you publish an apology statement in the newspaper for three consecutive days and announce that Xiufeng has officially been incorporated into Huangjin and renamed as 'Huangjin Film Studio No. 2', I can consider letting you go. In the future, one of you will continue to be a big star and the other will continue to be a famous director. Isn't it much easier than working hard to start a company by yourself?"

As they were talking, Wen Tingli had already started the car, and Liu Menglin was just blocking the front of the car.

She smiled at him: "Boss Liu, you are blocking my way."

Liu Menglin thought that at this point, the two would be less arrogant, but they were still as arrogant as before. He couldn't help but laugh sarcastically, "It seems that Miss Wen is going to ask for help. Go to Lu Shicheng? Tsk tsk, you women are only capable of this. Yes, the Lu family is rich and powerful, but can Lu Shicheng force all the film companies to close down in one go? No way! Even if he did it by force, he, Lu Shicheng, would immediately become the public enemy of all Shanghai filmmakers. Why bother to implicate irrelevant people?"

Huang Yuanshan rolled down the window and was about to start scolding, but Wen Tingli held her shoulders, calmed down, and smiled at Liu Menglin: "Boss Liu's biggest problem is that he looks down on women from the bottom of his heart. You and I have dealt with each other so many times, when have you ever seen me ask for help to solve a small problem? I am not you."

Liu Menglin choked there. What made his throat blocked was not Wen Tingli's contemptuous attitude towards him, but the fact that she actually downplayed this massive strangling operation as a "small trouble."

"A little trouble? Huh?" He spat at the car that was speeding away, "You just keep talking tough. I want to see how capable you are of solving this little trouble."

***
Wen Tingli drove the car all the way to a separate small building on Aiduoya Road. Before getting out of the car, she carefully looked around and made sure that there were no familiar vehicles nearby. Only then did she get out of the car and rang the doorbell.

"I'm an old acquaintance of Miss Yu Peiling and I want to meet her right away." She handed her business card to the old maid who came to open the door.

"Our Miss Yu is in a bad mood right now, and she ordered not to see any visitors early in the morning."

"I am here today for no other reason than to fulfill the agreement we made half a year ago. Please tell Miss Yu about this and she will agree to see me."

Huang Yuanshan had been holding it in for the whole journey, and at this moment, he could no longer hold it in, so he quietly pulled Wen Tingli aside and said, "You brought me here to find Yu Peiling after all this time, do you expect her to help us out? She is Chen Maoqing's favorite general, and it's good enough that she doesn't take advantage of us."

Unexpectedly, the old maid quickly came out and said politely, "Miss Yu, please come in."

***
The next day, in the office of Huamei Company, Chen Maoqing put his legs high on the desk and flipped through the photos in his hands.

These were all young kids out there who wanted to be movie stars who sent their letters to Huamei on their own, just to get a chance to audition in front of him.

Soon, he picked out a pair of young men and women with the best looks and called the HR manager's office: "Notify Wang Yuqi and Liu Yulin to come to the company for an audition tomorrow."

After finishing the call, he whistled triumphantly at Yu Peiling in the poster on the wall.

"Do you really think you're strong enough? If you don't listen, there are plenty of people who will."

Humming a little tune to himself, Chen Maoqing put his legs down and opened the safe on his right. In the safe were various contracts, official seals, and piles of gold bars. The moment he opened the door, a golden light flashed in his eyes. He breathed a sigh of relief and did not notice that the position of the official seal had changed. He picked up two gold bars and played with them in his hands.

Some people make movies for fame, some for the so-called "awakening of the people". In his opinion, these people are all fools. Chen Maoqing has only one purpose in entering the industry: to make money.

He will deal with anyone who interferes with his money-making. For example, recently, he has been busy dealing with Xiufeng. Who told them to come and fight for a piece of the pie? The film market in Shanghai is only so big. If you take a piece and she takes a piece, he will just starve.
The most brilliant thing about this plan was that no one would have thought that he and his old rival Liu Menglin would join forces one day. In just a few days, they had cornered Wen Tingli and Huang Yuanshan. He couldn't wait to see them panic, so he called his secretary with a smile, "Why hasn't today's newspaper been delivered yet?"

Unexpectedly, it was his own people who rushed in in panic first.

"Boss Chen, is this statement true or false? Why is there the company seal on it?"

Chen Maoqing snatched the newspaper.

【Huamei Film Company boss Chen Maoqing took the initiative to reveal a shocking industry secret. 】

The article describes in detail the "boycott Xiufeng" campaign jointly initiated by film companies such as Golden, Huamei, and Shen's Pictures.

"Boss Chen has always been upright and incorruptible. He is very dissatisfied with the dictatorial behavior led by Liu Menglin this time. He would rather take the risk of being targeted by the gold and withdraw from the alliance. At the same time, in order to express strong protest against this "industry monopoly", Boss Chen also took the initiative to give Xiufeng the prime time slot of his new film at the Majestic Cinema..."

Below was a photo of Huamei and Meiqi's premiere contract, which had been torn in half.

The caption next to it reads: In order to express his protest against this unhealthy trend, Boss Chen tore up the contract himself.

Chen Maoqing stared at the newspaper intently, with sparks almost flying out of his eyes. The contract was real, the official seal was real, the signature was real, but this torn contract couldn't be real.

The phone rang suddenly.

"Chen!" Liu Menglin was furious on the other end. "How dare you play tricks on me! You bastard! You came up with the idea, and you were the one who took the lead in forming the alliance. Now you push me to the front to be the bad guy, and jump out to earn a good reputation. Just wait, if I don't turn your Huamei upside down this time, I'm not surnamed Liu!"

Next, the bosses of Shen's Film, Qun Yi, and Yuansheng all called to blame him. No one listened to Chen Maoqing's explanation because everyone was present when Chen Maoqing signed the contract with Meiqi's boss Liu that day. Besides, everyone knew that Chen Maoqing watched his contract more closely than his own eyes.

Chen Maoqing held the microphone in his hand, unable to defend himself, and almost went crazy. In the end, he simply threw the phone down and hurriedly opened the safe. Sure enough, there was a contract missing! It was Meiqi's copy.

Someone opened his safe! Chen Maoqing's forehead was instantly covered with cold sweat. Needless to say, it must have been done by Xiufeng's people. No, his box was in his own office, and no one could open it except him!

Could it be that there was a traitor around him? Actually, he had at least five or six confidants who often accompanied him in the office to discuss things. Perhaps, one time when he was taking a contract, he forgot to ask one of his confidants to leave and the other party saw the combination of the safe.

He grabbed the phone and was about to call the police, but suddenly he paused. Since the other party was able to open his safe, they must have already read the documents inside. If he called the police, the other party would definitely make his shameful secrets public.

That would be a real disaster for him.

Chen Maoqing felt cold all over and collapsed into a chair.

While he was in a daze, his eyes suddenly met Yu Peiling's eyes on the poster opposite, and an incredible thought popped into his mind.

Could it be her? She was the most favored person in the entire company, and she was the only one who could enter his office directly without waiting for approval.

No, it's impossible. Yu Peiling has always been a beauty fool. When did she become so cunning? Besides, not long ago, he had just used some tricks to force her to sign a contract extension with the company. In the next few years, whether she would continue to be popular or be sent to sit on the bench by the company was all up to him. I don't think she would dare to openly break up with him.

Although he quickly dispelled his doubts, he was still very uneasy. He half-knelt on the ground and checked the contracts in the cabinet one by one. He found the one for Yu Peiling. He breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. As long as the contract was still there, she couldn't get out of his Five Fingers Mountain!

Suddenly my pupils trembled. How come the contract... the two most critical pages were missing, and someone rushed into the office in a panic.

"It's bad, Boss Chen. Miss Yu suddenly held a press conference and said that her three-year contract with Huamei has expired and she will not renew it from now on. She wants to join Xiufeng Pictures."

"Impossible!" Chen Maoqing jumped up from the ground like a frog.

"It's true! The press conference is in the banquet hall on the first floor of the Carlton Hotel. It probably hasn't ended yet. You should go and take a look!"

***
By the time Chen Maoqing arrived at Carlton, the reception was almost over. Yu Peiling was standing on the stage, with Wen Tingli and Huang Yuanshan on her left and right.

The three of them stood together smiling and took a photo, and the cameras below kept clicking at them.

A bright red banner was hung high on the stage: [We warmly welcome Miss Yu Peiling, the movie queen, to join Xiufeng Pictures. ]

Chen Maoqing pushed through the crowd and was about to rush forward, but Xiufeng had already placed bodyguards in the venue. Someone immediately rushed over, covered his mouth, and threw him out of the door.

As soon as Chen Maoqing got up from the ground, he angrily called the manager of Carlton and threatened that if the hotel did not let him in, he would contact a lawyer to sue them for kidnapping their actors. He was finally allowed to sneak in through the back door, where he ran into Wen Tingli and her group.

Wen Tingli walked out affectionately holding Yu Peiling's arm.

"Yu Peiling!" Chen Maoqing rushed forward and yelled, "It's you! You're such a traitor, how have I ever let you down? Are you going to team up with outsiders to cheat me?"

Before he could get close, the bodyguard stopped him again. Chen Maoqing jumped on the spot and cursed: "You ungrateful bitch, heartless thing, shameless scumbag, I should not have praised you in the first place!"

Yu Peiling looked at him coldly, and Wen Tingli patted the back of her hand: "Don't dirty your ears, get in the car first, I'll deal with him."

Chen Maoqing saw Yu Peiling being escorted away by others, and he jumped up three feet high on the spot: "You want to leave? I'm not done with you today! Tell me, how long have you been secretly colluding with the surname Wen?"

Wen Tingli shouted, "Boss Chen, please save some dignity for yourself."

"A traitor, a conspirator, you are worthy of talking to me about decency?!" Chen Maoqing wanted to jump up and kick Wen Tingli, but he hated that he couldn't get close to her at all.

"Traitor?" Wen Tingli said amiably, "I want to ask, what reason does Miss Yu have to continue to stay in your company?"

Chen Maoqing's forehead jumped.

"You praise her while setting traps to control her." Wen Tingli walked closer slowly. "You use her to make money while forcing her to attract investment. You are like a leech, wishing you could suck every drop of blood out of her. Before her, I heard there was another Zhang Xiaofeng, who also made a lot of money for your company. Where is she now? You don't even treat the actresses under your control as human beings! If I were them, I would have beaten you to death long ago. How could I have been bullied by you for so long?"

When saying this, Wen Tingli's face came very close, with a murderous look on her face, just like a jade Rakshasa.

Chen Maoqing was a little panicked, but he refused to give in: "Don't confuse right and wrong! They were made famous by me. Without me, Chen Maoqing, who would know them!"

"Are you confusing right and wrong?" Wen Tingli sneered, "You know it well in your heart! If a person is too ruthless in doing things, he will suffer backlash sooner or later. You asked for this outcome today!"

Chen Maoqing still had his neck stiff and was breathing heavily, but his mind was still racing.

It was all his fault that despite all his precautions, he couldn't defend against Yu Peiling!

By now, he was completely defeated.

How could he accept this! He had always been the one to plot against others, but today he was treated so badly!
However, his underwear had already been seen by others. Once the scandal broke out, Yu Peiling would be the victim, Wen Tingli would reap the benefits, and only he would become a rat crossing the street that everyone would shout and beat.

Do not!
He couldn't bear to see himself fall into complete despair.

"Okay!" He swallowed his anger and said, "You're so cruel!"

Seeing Wen Tingli leaving gracefully, he couldn't help but spit again: "Compared to me, you are a complete villain! You claim to be upright, but the means you use are more despicable than anyone else!"

Wen Tingli did not stop, but smiled and said: "To deal with you, there is no need for 'bright', 'clever' will do."

Chen Maoqing was unable to catch his breath, rolled his eyes, and nearly fainted on the spot.

***
At eight o'clock on Sunday evening, Xiufeng Pictures' pioneering work "Spring Breeze Blows Again" was officially released at the Majestic Cinema.

A few days ago, the news that this movie almost failed to be released in theaters was widely circulated.

Now that the rain has stopped and the sky is clear, people are coming here out of curiosity to find out what is going on.

That night, the Majestic Cinema was unprecedentedly grand.

Wen Tingli and Huang Yuanshan hid behind the scenes and dared not utter a word the entire time.

When they were halfway through, Wen Tingli suddenly ran out without saying a word.

"Eh." Boss Liu was surprised. "The movie hasn't even finished yet. What happened to Miss Wen?"

Huang Yuanshan closed his eyes tightly: "This is her old problem. When the movie is over, she will naturally appear again."

Wen Tingli supported herself on the washstand with both hands and took a deep breath in front of the mirror. She remembered that when her first film "Southern Beauty" was released, she was so nervous that she hid in the bathroom and refused to come out, causing Tan Guiwang to look for her everywhere.

It seems like only less than two years have passed, but it seems like a century ago.

A lot of things have happened in the past year or so. She has experienced all the ups and downs along the way. She thought she was mature and strong enough, but she didn't expect that when the new movie was released, she would still find a place to hide like a child.

She has always been strong and optimistic. No matter in front of her comrades in battle, or in front of Mrs. Zhou and Xiao Taozi, she never reveals her vulnerable side easily. But now, she just wants to hear Lu Shicheng's voice immediately. He is gentle and strong, and can withstand thousands of her emotions. He will definitely understand and tolerate her fragility at this moment.

Tonight was a very special day, and in order to avoid any controversy, she specifically asked him not to be present. She wanted to wait until everything was over so that she could share tonight's failure or success with him alone.

If she succeeded, she would laugh loudly in front of him. If she failed, she could cry silently against his chest. There was no one else present, just him and her. But now, she couldn't wait to share her inner pressure with him, but unfortunately, no one answered the phone for a long time.

Wen Tingli returned to the dressing table in disappointment and stared blankly. She didn't know how much time had passed when she suddenly heard a crackling sound outside.

Was it raining? No, it was applause! She had heard applause from the audience before, so why was it so loud this time?
She walked towards the sound waves a little nervously. Someone rushed up and hugged her shoulders excitedly. She couldn't tell whether it was Huang Yuanshan or Yue Zhaoyun.

"Wen Boss!"

She liked the name, but her consciousness had not yet returned: "What's wrong?"

Several people hurriedly pushed her forward: "Boss Wen, is this a fool? Look!"

What are you looking at? Wen Tingli felt like she had become blind, and her eyes could not focus at all. But then, the bright light and the waves of applause hit her at the same time. She finally realized what was happening. She was stunned and ecstatic. Tears flowed down her face. Her mouth opened wide and her expression was completely out of control. Facing the enthusiasm of the fans, she was unable to move for a long time, like a bewildered child.

***
A full hour after the premiere ceremony ended, Wen Tingli finally calmed down. She looked in the mirror and saw that her eyes were swollen like peaches, but she felt extremely satisfied in her heart.

At the celebration ceremony that evening, she and Huang Yuanshan announced a decision in public.

"Everyone, all the staff of Xiufeng have unanimously decided to donate all the future box office revenue of Spring Breeze to society."

There was an uproar.

Facing the doubtful eyes of the crowd, Wen Tingli said firmly: "The prototype of the protagonist of "Spring Breeze Blows Again" is the vast number of miserable female workers. Without them, there would be no such film. Now that the film has been successfully released, we at Xiufeng cannot take all the credit. We want to use our own strength to really help the 'Chunhong' and 'Yunxiu' in real life. So we plan to use this box office revenue to set up a charity foundation to help female workers in this city. In the future, as long as female workers ask for help from us, the foundation will unconditionally provide them with assistance, including food and clothing support, medical help, legal assistance, night school literacy education... The foundation is called the 'Spring Breeze Blows Again' Charity Fund."

Someone was the first to applaud and cheer: "Boss Wen, does your foundation welcome donations from outsiders?"

When everyone looked, they saw that the woman was wearing a cloud-gauze western hat and red lips. She looked and had the temperament of a proud green peacock. She was Gao Xiaowen, the eldest daughter of the Gao family.

Wen Tingli smiled knowingly: "Of course you are welcome. All matters of the foundation will be supervised by a third-party legal institution, and all accounts will be open and transparent."

"That's great! I'll donate one thousand dollars." Gao Xiaowen said proudly.

Yue Zhaoyun calmly replied: "I am the screenwriter of this film. I will donate 500 yuan."

This situation was unexpected. Everyone looked at each other in shock at first, and then they all laughed and joined in the fun. You donated ten yuan, I donated twenty yuan. Most of them were small amounts, but they made the atmosphere on the scene very lively.

Two young masters from wealthy families were standing at the door, busy looking for someone, while whispering: "Is your information accurate? Lu Shicheng didn't come either. I was planning to take this opportunity to meet him tonight."

"It's impossible for him not to come. Could it be that he has broken up with Wen Tingli? I heard that Huang Jin and Hua Mei teamed up to suppress Xiu Feng a few days ago, but Lu Shicheng didn't help. And he didn't show up at the premiere of Xiu Feng tonight."

The man in the front thought for a moment, looked at Wen Tingli on the stage and said, "It's not surprising. This Miss Wen looks lovely, but unfortunately she is not simple at all. Others are content to be stars, but she has never been content for a day since she entered the industry. Even experienced people like Liu Menglin and Chen Maoqing have not gotten along well with her. If I were Lu Shicheng, I would rather find an obedient and well-behaved girl than someone like her. Anyway, there is no shortage of beauties in Shanghai."

The venue suddenly became noisy.

"One hundred thousand dollars?" Everyone was talking about it. "That's impossible! Who is so generous?"

"It is indeed one hundred thousand dollars." Cao Renxiu rubbed his eyes at the check. "The donor column says: Xiaojuzi."

Everyone became more and more excited.

"A fake name, it must be a fake name. Which big boss is so supportive of charity? Are you interested in coming out and saying hello to everyone?"

Wen Tingli quickly pushed through the crowd and walked to Cao Renxiu, only to see that it was indeed written at the bottom: Little Orange.

She looked around doubtfully, but there was no sign of him in the venue. Suddenly, an idea came to her and she looked up at the audience seats on the second floor.

The movie had already ended, and the VIP seats on the second floor were empty, but there was clearly a person standing behind the railing, who rested his arms on the railing leisurely, leaning forward to look at her in the light and shadow. Or rather, he was only looking at her.

His eyes were so focused that he didn't know how long he had been looking like this. Seeing Wen Tingli found him so quickly, he raised his eyebrows and a smile appeared on his lips.

At this moment, Wen Tingli seemed to hear the sound of her heart pounding. She looked up and smiled at Lu Shicheng. There were so many people around them, but it seemed as if there were only her and him in the world...

(End of this chapter)