Huayu: From charlatan to great entertainer

Chapter 330 Walking the path you came from

In the courtyard of the villa in Hyde Park, Xiao Liu sat in a rattan chair for a long time in silence.

A frosty turtleneck sweater wrapped around her slender neck, and the chilly spring breeze blew across the faint gray-blue veins on her cold white skin.

Even though she had already guessed Yang Mi's position, the moment she got a glimpse of the truth, her brows were broken into sharp shadows like those in Munch's paintings, and it was like the thin gold script of Song Huizong spread out on rice paper.

Da Mimi's two text messages turned into a traffic called ambition, which influenced three female stars in the domestic entertainment industry through cross-border communications.

She successfully aroused Xiao Liu's interest in her and began to appreciate the two faces of this new generation actress.

She also successfully prevented Bingbing's cautious temptation tonight, causing this long-lost star to have to stay alone in her empty room again, and could only treat the soft bedding of the luxury hotel as him and repeatedly entangle herself with him, unable to sleep all night.

Even she herself was already in a state of panic because of the text message that just revealed her secret.

Was it done by Concubine Liu Yi?
Boss Lu, this cracked egg, has indeed attracted many ambitious female celebrities in the entertainment industry.

Even if Bingbing and Da Mimi were released into later generations, they would still be two unavoidable female stars with a lot of black and white.

In the entertainment industry, a never-ending star-making factory, they are like two carefully carved totems of ambition, using completely different aesthetic symbols to write the dark fairy tale of the evolution of Chinese female stars under the spotlight.

Bingbing is the Medusa on the red carpet.

When the bright yellow dragon robe was spread out in front of the camera on the red carpet of Cannes in 2010, she completed her coronation from Jinsuo to empress.

The dark black hair forms a crown of power, and the snow-white skin and red lips outline a totem of desire.

Yang Mi is the nine-tailed fox in the jungle.

Unlike Bingbing's burning body, Da Mimi's ambition is hidden under the sugar coating of girlishness.

Those narrow and long fox eyes are naturally ambiguous. They can hold the clear tears of Guo Xiang in "The Return of the Condor Heroes", and they can also sparkle behind Lin Xiao's workplace suit in "Tiny Times".

In the survival rules of the traffic forest, they interpret multiple variations of ambition in different forms.

Bingbing’s dragon robe is the battle flag of charge, and Yang Mi’s fox eyes are the code of evolution.

When Xiao Liu in his previous life was defeated by the overwhelming negative news and retired from the circle, these two ambitious people had already melted their looks, traffic and capital into a poisonous scepter.

In this Shura field where beauty is power, their philosophy of survival is far more captivating than the million-dollar gowns on the red carpet.

But what about this life?

With the support of Boss Lu in this life, the rising Medusa has become even more arrogant, but she is only dormant under one person.

But before the nine-tailed fox in this life could show her ability to be reborn after her tail was cut off, she was targeted by Xiao Liu, whose vision, knowledge and character were far superior to hers.

In other words, these two ambitious people were targeted by the 19-year-old empress.

Oh, by the way, let’s count that beautiful and rich girl in the world for now.

The washing machine itself said that fighting with others is endless fun. Now Liu Yifei doesn't know what fear is at all.

She is well aware that she is spoiled and arrogant, and she is also confident and well-informed.

In the afternoon, Xiao Liu put aside his thoughts about his children's love affairs and did not try to test or verify anything. He drove Mia and Liu Xiaoli to Champagne City.

As she wrote in her diary, the focus of those three words has always been on me.

"Xixi, go slower, Mommy is scared!"

On the southwest-running Interstate 57, the old mother huddled in the passenger seat of a Ferrari Enzo, somewhat afraid of the wind, while Mia followed closely in a Cherokee.

This high-performance sports car is designed to pursue ultimate performance and lightweight. Engineers have allocated more space and layout to the cockpit and powerful power system, leaving no space for rear passengers.

Obviously, this problem made Liu Xiaoli very dissatisfied.

"This car costs tens of thousands of dollars, but there's not even enough space for people to sit in the back seat. How can that be justified? Otherwise, Mia could come with us, and it would be much safer."

Xiao Liu wore sunglasses, and her neat and tidy hair was blown up, with a few strands of hair playfully sticking to her fair cheeks, making her skin as crystal clear as jade look even more delicate.

Liu Yifei, who turned into a rebellious girl as soon as she grabbed the steering wheel, did not pay much attention to her mother's complaints. She pouting her pink lips slightly and cheering from time to time.

"Wow! This is so cool!"

The clear and sweet voice drifted freely in the wind until it was slapped by the old mother and then slowed down in frustration.

The Enzo is a hardtop sports car, with no top that can be raised or retracted.

Liu Xiaoli's expression was blown away by the strong wind.

Xiao Liu frowned and looked at the rearview mirror: "Shh, Mom, it seems like there's a car following us!"

Liu Xiaoli was shocked when she heard this. Before she could catch any danger in the rearview mirror, Mia called.

"Crystal, someone is following you. A 3.0L Royal is behind you on your left."

Liu Xiaoli anxiously grabbed the phone. Her English wasn't particularly fluent, but she could communicate without any problems. "Mia, should we seek help?"

"Not for now. There's a parking area 20 kilometers away. Let's stop there and take a look at the situation."

After hanging up the phone, Liu Yifei did not childishly compete with the Crown that was following her. She drove calmly and leisurely with the Cherokee in the parking area, one in front and one behind.

The tall and strong Mia opened the door of the Cherokee and let Liu Xiaoli and her daughter get in. She watched the two young Asian men walk out of the Crown alone.

"It's them?"

The dark car film made Liu Yifei's pupils dazed for a moment: "These two yellow-haired guys wearing Stanford baseball jerseys have appeared in school before."

"Did they do anything to you?" Liu Xiaoli nervously grabbed her daughter's arm.

"No, I didn't do anything. I just saw them often in the classroom and cafeteria during this period."

The mystery was soon solved. Xiao Liu looked at Mia, who leaned over, and rolled down the window. "What's going on?"

"He claims to be an executive of the Tokyo 'Eihun Society' and is currently employed by an animation media company under Sony Columbia. He said he has something to discuss with Crystal."

Xiao Liu's face instantly turned gloomy. This was a notorious right-wing organization.

She instinctively wanted to refuse, but she always felt that if she didn't send these scum away and let them follow her all the way to Champagne City and be seen by Zhang Chunru, it would be even worse.

In fact, ever since Boss Lu announced the film project in Jinling a few months ago, she and Zhang Chunru have already discovered a lot of signs of harassment.

The little girl put on sunglasses and asked Liu Xiaoli to sit in the car while she went to negotiate.

Although the old mother was a woman and weak, she was not willing to let her daughter face it alone, so she and Mia stood beside Concubine Liu Yi, one in front and one behind.

"Say something."

The two yellow-haired devils bowed deeply and spoke in English with a Tokyo accent, which made Xiao Liu frown. "Miss Liu! Excuse me! Please withdraw from the filming of this movie that falsifies history!"

"please!"

Concubine Liu Yi was so angry that the veins on the back of her fair hands were faintly visible. She wanted to kick the two yellow-haired men down.

She thought for a moment, took out her Nokia, and turned on the camera function: "Come on, tell me more."

"I have a Mytube account with 500 million followers, and I would love to have you two become rising Asian stars in North America."

The taller, yellow-haired man dropped his pretense and faced the camera, his face gloomy as he spoke carefully: "This is the wish of good-hearted common people like us. Please consider it, Miss Liu."

"If Miss Liu is unwilling to give up, we will do our best to follow you and persuade you until you agree."

Typical well-regulated and organized right-wing hooligans use dirty and despicable means to cause mental stress to the parties involved without violating the law.

However, Concubine Liu Yi had read a lot in Zhang Chunru's notes and her own description, and was mentally prepared.

The yellow-haired man from the Yinghun Society obviously had no intention of completing the task overnight. He got into the car with a strange smile and left, seemingly heading towards Champagne City.

Xiao Liu didn't take it seriously at all: "Let's go."

"what!"

Liu Xiaoli turned around and suddenly screamed!

There was graffiti spray-painted on the hood of the Grand Cherokee, with a big X drawn on it. Before a black teenager could do anything bad to Enzo, he was scared and ran away by Mia's action of pulling out the baton.

"These damn beasts!"

The elderly mother, originally from Northeast China, angrily slammed the hood of the car and said, "Xixi, tell Xiaolu to give these scum a good beating!"

Boss Lu’s repeated reminders have finally come true. No matter how low-key the launch conference is, it cannot stop the infiltration of these termites.

"They're scared! That's a good thing!" Concubine Liu Yi hugged the furious Liu Xiaoli and comforted her, "It means we're doing the right thing!"

"It's okay, Mom. It's only a few months in the US. Once we return home, these evildoers will be nowhere to hide."

Liu Xiaoli patted her daughter's back and said, "Please ask Chunru to come back to China and live with you for a while. At least before and after the filming and release of this movie, I think some people will not be able to calm down."

"I thought so too. I'll tell her when I get there."

The next two hours of the journey were uneventful, except for the graffiti on the Cherokee's hood that needed to be dealt with.

Xiao Liu was somewhat glad that she found the place in the parking lot in time. If the Ferrari Enzo that was given to her by the washing machine had been damaged, she would have asked Mia to help her buy two Glocks on the black market.

Arriving at Zhang Chunru's residence, the Chinese-American female writer looked her up and down nervously in the living room: "Xixi, are you all okay?"

"No, don't worry!" Liu Yifei smiled brightly, then asked doubtfully, "So are those security guards outside the door..."

Zhang Chunru smiled bitterly: "It was Xiaolu who arranged it. I'm really not used to it."

"I asked my parents and Brett to move to the city center with the kids. I'll stay here with you and help you practice speaking."

Liu Xiaoli went to her room to put her things away. Xiao Liu took her hand and said, "Lu Kuan is quite thoughtful. I've noticed something a little unusual these days."

"Fortunately, they didn't dare to do anything rash, so they just used some dirty tricks in the backroom that they couldn't show on the surface."

Zhang Chunru looked at her with a smile, thinking that he must be very thoughtful, even contacting a psychologist to help her.

I hope you never have to use it.

In the next few months, until the filming of the movie starts around August, Liu Yifei will go through a life experience that is both physically and mentally exhausting.

She wants to completely transform herself into Zhang Chunru.

Starting from the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, the book retraces her steps in collecting historical materials in libraries of major universities in the United States, discovering John Rabe's diary in Germany, and searching for survivors in Nanjing.

Keep this state until the power is turned on.

If the mental pressure she had previously felt after reading the materials and Zhang Chunru's diaries and notes was not too profound, after all, she still had the help of the person concerned to relieve and adjust her mind, as well as the student life at Booth School of Business to divert her attention.

These three months will be a great test for her mentally and psychologically.

But as long as you step over it, this character will stand up as it should.

After all, this is a historical film from a biographical perspective. Restoring the truth and original appearance of people, events, and things is the primary proposition, followed by artistic creation and ideological sublimation.

After lunch, Zhang Chunru dug out a camphorwood box from the small attic. Inside a brown paper bag with a 1982 Jinling Post Office stamp on it, five TDK tapes were arranged as before.

Like an epitaph of time.

She put the tapes that her grandfather Zhang Naifan had used to teach her to speak the Huaiyin dialect (now Huai'an, Jiangsu Province) when she was a child into the radio, and the unique electric sound of the old tapes in 1983 came into her ears.

The two "Zhang Chunru" who were twenty years apart in age sat on a small bench in the attic, and through Zhang Naifan's kind voice, they traveled back to twenty years ago together.

It feels hazy, as if it were a different world.

"Click."

The tape inserted into the radio began to rotate. First there was a rustling sound like spring silkworms chewing on mulberry trees, followed by the crisp sound of porcelain colliding.

"Xiaoru, hold the teacup steady."

The old laughter seemed to be able to shake off the dust accumulated on the beams. The sunlight from twenty years ago suddenly slanted in from the dormer window in the attic, pinning two shadows on the mottled wall.

The scene where Liu Yifei quietly listens and savors the scene will also serve as the true feeling at the beginning of the movie.

Through the golden years of time, her shadow overlaps with the silhouette of young Zhang Chunru, and her two pigtails ripple in the halo of 1983.

"Come, repeat after grandpa - it's going to rain this afternoon." Zhang Naifan's Huaiyin Mandarin carried the rhyme of the waves in the canal. Xiao Liu's throat rolled but he couldn't make a sound.

"Sister Chunru..." The little girl tilted her head to ask her how to pronounce the dialect, and then she glanced at the thin cheeks of this angel of justice, which were already covered with tear marks.

Zhang Chunru touched the little girl's face and forced a smile, shaking her head to indicate that she was fine.

He held her hand tightly again, trying to give her some warmth before she faced the wind and rain alone and began to retrace her original path of exploring the historical truth.

Xiao Liu's arduous journey of transforming from an ordinary actor to an outstanding actor was like a spring rain that suddenly fell on the earth, and it officially began on this day at the end of April.

In early May, the Hoover Institution at Stanford University in the United States.

This was the first place Zhang Chunru started looking for information when she decided to start writing a book in 1994.

In the antimagnetic cabinet numbered HT-04 in the Special Collections Room of the Hoover Institution, Zhang Chunru first came into contact with the original diary of Minnie Vautrin, the head of Ginling Women's College.

Twelve years later, Xiao Liu's fingertips touched the brass door handle, and the metal surface still retained the tingling sensation of the low temperature from the night before.

The smell of anti-termite powder wafting from the door reminded her of the camphorwood box in the attic in Champagne City a few days ago, mixed with the unique fishy and sweet smell of old sheepskin.

An archivist in khaki overalls was dusting documents. He handed her a pair of white gloves when she entered. "Put these on! The documents are very fragile. Be careful."

"Thank you, Vincent."

"Iris called me. You're the first visitor this morning." Vincent, who was in his fifties, stared at her intently for a few seconds. "You look a lot like her."

The facial shape, expression and accent are similar.

Only the eyesight is a little lacking.

Vincent handed over a black hardcover register: "Come on, sign here."

Xiao Liu said in a sweet voice: "Can you tell me which page Iris's registration is on?"

The archivist curled his lips and didn't complain about the trouble. He immediately turned back to the bookshelf and after searching for two minutes, he unfolded a registration book with the cover almost peeling off.

Visitor log for March 1995, 3 - Page 12: The signature "IRIS CHANG" in blue ink has not faded to this day.

Wearing white gloves, Concubine Liu Yi carefully brushed over her name, forcing herself to immerse herself in Zhang Chunru's feelings at the time.

She wanted to remember this scene, and even remember the lighting, temperature, taste and touch in this archive room today.

She knew that she didn't have any outstanding talents, so she could only do as he asked and try her best to empathize and experience it.

The moment the anti-magnetic cabinet is opened, the coolness and the old smell of history come to your face.

As Xiao Liu's white-gloved fingertips just touched the sewn binding of "The Diary of Vautrin", he seemed to feel the humidity of the plum rain season in Nanjing in 1937, which was revived in the dry air of California.

On the yellowed inner page, December 1937, 12, it is recorded:

"Tonight, more than 30 women climbed over the wall and broke into the campus. Their long hair was cut into uneven shapes - this was the sign of them shaving their heads to avoid being raped by the Japanese army."

Although he had seen this sentence countless times in scripts, historical materials, and diaries, Xiao Liu's fingers still trembled uncontrollably as he turned the pages.

Nothing is more touching to the soul than real history.

She didn't watch too much, but kept simulating and experiencing Zhang Chunru's emotions back then in her mind.

Lu Kuan systematically explained to her how to prepare for a role in a biographical film.

From the outside to the inside, the first thing is naturally to have an in-depth understanding of the character's life personality, social background, and historical environment, and read relevant books, diaries, letters, and interviews to grasp the character's inner world and external environment.

When retracing the character's path, observe the surrounding environment, character behavior, and language habits, and try to imitate the character's lifestyle, such as eating habits and daily routine.

These are the parts she has completed, and are what she has been focusing on preparing for in addition to studying for the past six months.

But these are still just forms.

Just as seen from the perspective of archivist Vincent, Xiao Liu deliberately wore Zhang Chunru's original clothes, imitated her makeup, and even had a similar English accent, but the only thing missing was her eyes.

This requires her to feel the emotional fluctuations that the character may experience through personal experience and find emotional resonance with the character.

Liu Yifei began to actively reflect on the character's behavioral motives and think about the character's natural reactions in specific situations.

The morning light slanted in through the Gothic stained windows, and she sat there for two hours.

After a long time, the little girl stood up and tiptoed to the archivist: "Vincent, I still need these historical materials, please."

"All ready, ma'am."

Vincent took her to the filing cabinet and looked at Liu Yifei's happy expression and couldn't help but say, "You can take a break before you read it."

"Researching this isn't easy. When Iris first saw those photos, it took her a while to recover."

Xiao Liu forced a smile, his mental stress visibly greater than when he entered the room. "Thank you, Vincent, I'm fine."

The archivist looked at her slender figure and shook his head helplessly. It was the first time he had seen an actress experience life this way. Since Zhang Chunru had spent a long time researching historical materials at the Hoover Institution over a decade ago, he and the Chinese-American female writer had become close friends, which in turn facilitated Concubine Liu Yi's ascetic life.

Whether in reality or in Lu Kuan's script, the Hoover Institution is an extremely important scene.

This was the beginning of Zhang Chunru's encounter with vast historical materials.

These historical materials include not only "The Diary of Vautrin".

There are also extremely important historical evidence such as the Asahi Shimbun's "Hundred-Man Killing Competition" report, the Japanese army's logistics records, and the 16mm film master of Reverend John Magee.

This was also the main argument Zhang Chunru later used in her debate with the Japanese ambassador to the United States on PBS.

After Zhang Chunru discovered these evidences from a vast pile of old papers, she sent copies back to China and handed them over to many massacre historical research associations and organizations, becoming powerful material evidence to remember history.

Materials such as photos are more fragile, so Vincent took her to the special collection room, where the light and humidity are conducive to the storage of old items.

Under the ultraviolet light, the silver salt particles in the photo of "A Hundred Men Killer" cast tiny spots of light on Liu Yifei's iris, which was a means of anti-corrosion.

If the words about murder and rape in "The Diary of Vautrin" made her scalp tingle when she read them,

These photos of hideous scum undoubtedly have a more direct visual and spiritual impact.

"vomit!"

The little girl was caught off guard and had a nervous stomach spasm.

She suddenly remembered that there was a similar description in Zhang Chunru's diary. Without caring about anything else, she put herself in the shooting scene in her mind and began to think about the character's micro-expressions and movement details.

This kind of details cannot be learned from written materials or the words of the parties involved. This is the significance of experiencing life before filming.

When I reflexively gag, should I swallow or blink first?

Liu Yifei thought of what Boss Lu said, the chain of actions of the characters.

Faced with the impact of bloody historical materials, Zhang Chunru must have wanted to quickly suppress her physiological reaction of vomiting reflex and continue to pursue the truth of history.

Then she should continue turning the pages with her left hand and press her stomach with her right hand?
What about facial micro-expressions?
He should have swallowed first to resist the feeling of vomiting, then blinked in pain, and then stared at the historical materials and refused to move his eyes away, right?
If the young director saw this scene next to her, he would probably nod with satisfaction, as these are the kinds of details that only top actors have.

Whether you can do it depends on your talent.

Whether or not they are willing to do it depends on the actor's own efforts and character.

In terms of acting, Concubine Liu Yi may not have the talent of Huang Rong, but she is full of Guo Jing's sincerity and dedication.

Admittedly, a talented actor may not need such an ascetic life experience to keenly capture the details and performance techniques that make the character's image brilliant.

But by immersing herself completely in the tragic history and realistic environment to gain in-depth experience, and honing and shaping her acting skills in extremely realistic scenes, she can obviously better understand the true meaning of performing arts.

This step taken by Xiao Liu is an extremely important step in the transformation of his acting career.

But putting aside the question of whether this step can be taken, just the act of mustering up the courage, taking the time, and giving up everything to prepare for a movie has already eliminated most of the female stars in the domestic entertainment industry.

The little girl frowned and recalled Zhang Chunru's notes while looking through historical materials, constantly picking out details of the character. This was Lu Kuan's requirement for her.

On the big screen, with a 4K high-frame-rate digital camera, details are the key to determining a character's success or failure.

When Oscar-winning actor Lewis discovered an oil well eruption in "There Will Be Blood", he first licked the crude oil from the corner of his mouth with his tongue (physiological stimulation triggered the vomiting reflex), then rolled his Adam's apple violently three times to suppress vomiting, and finally squeezed out a laugh from between his teeth.

This 1.7-second chain of micro-expressions fully demonstrates the oil tycoon's torn feeling of greed and fear.

When Meryl Streep said "Take my daughter away" in "Sophie's Choice", her left hand suddenly pressed on her stomach and her right fingernails scratched five parallel wrinkles on the tablecloth.

Just this one movement almost cracked my nails.

There is also Heath Ledger in "The Dark Knight". The Joker's lip licking action originated from his observation of the side effects of antidepressants.

During his performances, before each plan was implemented, his tongue would involuntarily sweep across his upper gums. This pathological movement made the criminal motive more physiologically realistic.

The devil is in the details, that's what they say.

Liu Yifei took out her Nokia N95, which was the new phone she had just bought.

It's not that she gets bored easily, but because of its 500-megapixel camera. She wants to record some details of her rehearsal and study them carefully when she goes back at night.

When looking at the photo of the saber, should your eyes first look at the tip of the knife and then at the victim, or vice versa?
What was Zhang Chunru thinking at that time?

While watching the 16mm Magee film and listening to the sound of gears rubbing against each other in the projector, Liu Yifei thought for a moment and made a defensive gesture of straightening her back.

This must have been her instinctive reaction when she saw the images of the atrocities, right?

Looking at the yellowed Japanese military logistics report and the data of 37 gallons of oil and gas usage per day, Zhang Chunru must have been so angry that her pupils trembled and her whole body trembled.

Combined with the previous photos of the Hundred Man Killing and other historical materials, this was obviously used to burn corpses!
Concubine Liu Yi looked at the series of terrifying numbers with bloodshot eyes:
On December 12, an application was made to replenish 14 condoms used in comfort stations;
December 12: Kerosene consumption for burning bodies reportedly reaches 19 gallons per day.

December 12: Medical teams complained about a 24% increase in tool wear and tear from handling severed limbs. (Note: Actual data)

The morning light slanted in through the gaps in the blinds, cutting Concubine Liu Yi's profile into fragments of light and dark.

Her long, flowing hair was tied loosely behind her head. Two or three strands of hair were stuck to her neck by cold sweat, and the ends of her hair left subtle ripples on the file paper as she breathed rapidly.

There was a ticking sound on the copy, and the girl's tears fell heavily, as if to penetrate the unbearable evidence.

At this moment, she was completely immersed in the role and could not tell whether she was Zhang Chunru in 1994 or Liu Yifei in 2006.

Stanislavski once warned: "The actor must beware of becoming a victim of his own role."

At this moment, Xiao Liu's dizziness in time and space at the Hoover Institution is the cruel baptism of entering the temple of great performance.

As she stroked the 37 gallons on the document with her fingers, the lines on her palms were carved by the tragic history, leaving the same grooves as Zhang Chunru's.

This may be the most paradoxical truth for actors who are deeply immersed in a role: only by making the real body a historical container can the soul be immortalized on film.

From 7:4 in the morning to : in the afternoon.

So went the first day at the Hoover Institution.

In the Grand Cherokee, Mia looked at her with some concern: "Crystal, you're not in the right state."

"I know, it's okay." Xiao Liu looked at the images on her phone without raising her head. They were all the performance movements and details she designed during the day.

The female bodyguard was helpless: "Should we go back to Beverly Hills or find a hotel in Stanford?"

"Ah?" The little girl looked up calmly, "Just live nearby. We have to arrive early these days."

Xiao Liu began an immersive pre-shooting experience. Many of the universities, libraries, and graduate students where Zhang Chunru had searched for information were in California, and Lu Kuan suggested that they and her mother live in the newly purchased house.

As the Chinese say, if a house is left unoccupied for a long time, it will become unpopular and lose harmony among people, which is not good for feng shui.

It's just that Concubine Liu Yi was always reluctant, which made her happy mother feel quite regretful.

In her heart, she naturally wanted to find ways to bring the couple together, but in the proud little girl's mind, this was not right.

It’s fine if I just accompany you to take a look, but what right do I have to live in your house now?

Back in the hotel room, Liu Xiaoli looked at her daughter with concern, but before she had the chance to ask her how she was doing, she forced a smile and pushed her mother out the door back to her room.

"Mom, I still need to read some materials and analyze the performance details. I'll just have a couple of bites of the food the hotel will send. You should go and rest too!"

Liu Xiaoli refused to give up: "That won't do. How can you experience life like this? It's only been a short time and your chin is already pointed!"

"Really? That's perfect. You need to lose weight anyway. Sister Chunru lost more than 15 pounds in those years."

The old mother was speechless after hearing this, thinking that she was making a big mistake by saying too much.

After nagging for a long time, he was finally persuaded to leave by his daughter.

She sat in the next room and paced back and forth anxiously, worried about Sissi's mental state. She sighed, took out her cell phone and dialed.
-
The crew of "Curse of the Golden Flower" left Hengdian in April and moved to the mountain city of Wulong.

In the conference room, the Olympic Creative Team's meeting was about to begin when it was interrupted by the vibration of Boss Lu's cell phone which was placed on the table.

The young director gestured to everyone and walked out of the meeting room: "Hello, Aunt Liu?"

"Xiaolu, I hope I didn't disturb you. I see it's around nine in China, so I thought you should be up by now."

"No, you tell me."

Liu Xiaoli said with a bitter look on her face, "Ah, actually, I really don't want to make this call."

"I know that Xixi's current efforts are all for the purpose of better shaping the character. Over the years, whenever we were filming, I never covered up for anyone."

“But this time I’m really worried!”

The old mother spoke earnestly and said with emotion at the end: "Xiaolu, now she is the only one who will listen to you, please help to persuade her."

"Everything you do must be balanced between work and rest. You can't just blindly dive into it and never come out. Your body can't handle it!"

"Don't worry, Aunt Liu, I'll take care of it."

"Hey! Okay, okay."

The young director sighed. This girl was really stubborn when she was serious. No matter how many times he warned her, it was useless.

He returned to the conference room first: "I'm sorry everyone, I've taken up fifteen minutes while I took care of something."

Ma Wen smiled and said, "No need to delay. I haven't slept enough yet. I'll take a nap for a while."

"go Go."

"Then let's go out and smoke a cigarette."

Lin Ying was a little curious: "It's Nahanha today too. In the past, he couldn't delay the Olympic Games discussion even if it was extremely urgent."

Everyone nodded, and could only secretly guess that something urgent had happened.

At one end of the corridor, Boss Lu frowned and rubbed his chin, then immediately called Xiao Liu.

Beep, beep, beep…

Sorry, the number you dialed is currently busy.

Soon a text message came in: I'm busy, wait a moment.

It seemed that the call was being hung up, so the man continued to dial without thinking.

The sound of waves is still there, and it is still a text message, with a question mark popping up.

Doesn't it look right?

Boss Lu continued bombarding him with calls. This time, the call went through successfully, but he was met with a sharp scolding: "I'm thinking about the details of the performance. What are you doing?"

Xiao Liu in the hotel room was already a little crazy.

She was just grinding the daytime video clips over and over again, and was interrupted from time to time by calls from the washing machine!

"Stop, don't expect to accomplish everything in one go. Have you forgotten that you have an important mission?"

Concubine Liu Yi was completely bewildered, and it took a lot of effort for her to snap out of her trance. "Huh? What?"

"Oh! Netflix! Did they agree to buy shares?"

Boss Lu's strategy was very successful. He understood the annoyance of someone being interrupted while creating art, and chose to create another important topic to divert her attention.

"Yes, Blockbuster's recent network integration was very successful, and the growth rate of online users has surged. Netflix should have sensed the crisis."

"You happen to be in Los Angeles. Prepare to go to Netflix and talk to Hastings in the next few days. If you want our $3 million in financing, you have to accept the strategy of continuing the DVD rental war with Blockbuster."

Liu Yifei will be experiencing life at the Hoover Institution in Stanford these days. Netflix's headquarters is in Los Gatos in the Silicon Valley urban agglomeration, and the two are less than 50 kilometers apart.

"Okay." Xiao Liu sighed, then reluctantly said, "I... I have some performance clips. Can I send them to you to help me take a look?"

"Okay, you should hurry up and prepare, and wait for Huang Anna's notification."

After the phone call was hung up, Liu Yifei let out a long sigh, as if Boss Lu had dragged her out alive from 1937.

It seemed that she had discovered the foggy road to becoming a top actor, and the girl almost forgot the Netflix strategy she had previously agreed upon with Boss Lu.

Over the past month, she has disguised herself, both externally and internally, as Zhang Chunru from another time and space, and her first step was to enter the Hoover Institution, which is extremely important to her.

However, Concubine Liu Yi, who had just gained some understanding of the technique, was still far from being able to control herself with ease.

She didn't even know that if it weren't for the phone call just now and Lu Kuan's distraction, she would have most likely become a sacrifice for the role as Stanislavski warned.

This is like a young female warrior who has just started learning martial arts, being forcibly enlightened by Boss Lu, an old devil who has experienced two lives, and taught her the most supreme secret skills in the martial arts world.

The old devil wasn't paying attention, and this ignorant female knight was about to go crazy.

Not to mention the young Xiao Liu, even top actors can get so immersed in the role that they can't extricate themselves.

During the filming of "Farewell My Concubine", Leslie Cheung always kept the orchid finger style for the female role, which almost caused permanent abnormal muscle tone in the little finger of his right hand.

Later generations said that because of this role, he suffered a temporary disorder in his sexual orientation awareness, which is not something that can be told to outsiders.

Heath Ledger was filming "The Dark Knight". A week after the film was completed, he fell into severe insomnia and often had auditory hallucinations. He had to undergo psychological therapy for half a year.

After Lewis finished filming "Lincoln", he was even unable to adapt himself during an interview and kept answering questions using English slang from the 1860s.

Fortunately, the "hysteria" of this female hero was briefly interrupted by the old devil, and she turned to look up the information on Netflix.

2006年年中的奈飞市值只有15亿美元左右，总资产近4亿，但其中1.2亿都是5500万张的DVD库存。

In addition, there is a total debt of nearly 2 million yuan, which comes from copyright fees from the producers.

In 2006, when Hastings led Netflix and Blockbuster to compete for online and offline DVD users, the $3 million paid by Boss Lu was a timely help.

Concubine Liu Yi also has a clear understanding of this point——

Total Access, the network integration initiative launched by Blockbuster that has caused Netflix a lot of headaches in recent months, only cost them $1.5 million.

Acquiring shares is not a problem. The problem is how Xiao Liu can follow Boss Lu’s rhetoric to guide Hastings away from his “correct course” - the layout of the streaming media business.

On May 5th, West Coast time, Liu Yifei met with Hastings in Netflix's chairman's office.

The blinds cut the California sunshine into fine golden threads, which fell on the hem of Xiao Liu's business suit.

She admired the inventory wall of DVDs in Hastings' office.

Unlike Xiao Liu, who had researched almost every generation of Hastings' ancestors, Hastings looked at the Asian woman with a strange expression, not knowing how to define her identity.

Celebrity? YouTube influencer? Female entrepreneur?

Or, she might be the Chinese woman who once humiliated the wife of the News Corporation president.

"Crystal, I didn't expect you to come negotiate with me. I know you, but I'm not very familiar with you."

Hastings's eagle eyes were particularly sharp: "Many Hollywood stars are involved in business, but I find it hard to believe that someone like you would readily shell out $3 million to join such a competitive field."

"Crystal, may I have the honor of hearing you speak the truth?"

Actress Liu Yifei turned around confidently: "It's very simple. I am a Chinese actor. I hope I can gain a foothold in Hollywood. Isn't it easy to understand?"

"uh-huh."

Xiao Liu laughed and said, "Chinese people don't get many important roles in Hollywood. If I want to be favored by big directors and producers, I must have enough bargaining chips."

"DVD rental and distribution channels are my bargaining chips. I am indeed optimistic about Netflix's development, especially you, Mr. Hastings. Your management ability is so outstanding and admirable!"

Hastings broke the casserole and asked: "But you are such a young actor, this amount of money..."

Concubine Liu Yi raised her hand disdainfully to interrupt him: "According to the letter before I came, your finances have been confirmed. There is no room for doubt about your financial strength."

"As for where my money comes from, don't expect to know too much about it."

"Don't you know that in the East, the bank accounts of the richest people on the list are not even a fraction of the amount of the underwater crocodiles?"

The little girl raised her chin proudly, her acting skills bursting out, and she acted like the manager of overseas assets of a red family in the East.

"This is a bold industrial investment, and it also paves the way for me. All you have to do is accept it or not!"

Hastings was in a trance as he looked at the mysterious oriental beauty in front of him.

The long raven hair is combed into an academic low ponytail, and the matte foundation has a good age-enhancing effect.

A midnight black wool crepe suit with a slightly open neckline in a French boat cut, revealing the mother-of-pearl sheen of the collarbone.

Even though there is no jewelry on the body, it still shows extraordinary nobility.

What a set of unadorned capitalist rhetoric. Hastings spread his hands and thought to himself, which Asian red family's daughter is this for fun?
“Okay, let’s talk about Netflix.”

　Wu Ershan in the article has disappeared, and I will find time to revise the previous plot.

　　This damn thing.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)