Huayu: From charlatan to great entertainer

Chapter 335 A Special th Birthday
The next day, in the rehearsal room of Jinling Normal University.

Today Jing Tian is more serious than ever before.

She saw the shadow of Zhou Xun in "Tangshan" in yesterday's Liu Yifei.

The key point is... she's only nineteen! Only one year older than me!

How exactly?
There is overwhelming praise and analysis on the Internet, the number of fans on the blog has reached a new high, and of course there is recognition from young directors.

That was the honor Jing Tian most desired.

In the rehearsal room, Liu Yifei pressed her fingertips against her ribs: "Breathe through your diaphragm, not your throat—imagine there's a chain around your lungs."

"Ah, very good."

In the corridor, Boss Lu walked over, rubbing his sleepy eyes.

He also took some time off and could only discuss the plan with the Olympic team in the morning. Today, they needed to finalize the list of lead dancers for the dance "Watercolor Ink".

I could hear a female voice coming from the rehearsal room from a distance.

The young director stood quietly outside the door smoking. The morning light was like a golden comb, carefully combing the wooden floor of the rehearsal room of Jinling Normal University.

The light was so bright that when Concubine Liu Yi stood on tiptoe to adjust the angle of the blinds, the hair tie on her wrist slipped down to her elbow.

At nineteen, her bones had lost the plumpness of a girl, and in the oblique light, they revealed a celadon-like glaze.

Lu Kuan just looked at her quietly. The moment he turned around, the shadow of his fourteen-year-old self passed by the mirror wall.

At that time, she still had a pretty face with baby fat, but now she has become slim and graceful, with a lively look.

Two figures suddenly appeared in the young director's eyes:

The nineteen-year-old was demonstrating Grotowski's "Reverse Wave," her waist arched into a crescent;

The fourteen-year-old girl was stuck in the same action and sobbing. The palm prints on the bar were still stained with tears. She raised her tearful eyes and looked at herself aggrievedly.

He exhaled lightly, thinking of what she had said to him in the car that day -

I know this is what you expect of me. You won't deprive me of this right, right?
What can I do?

"Why are you here?" Liu Yifei and Jing Tian were walking out side by side, when they suddenly spotted Boss Lu standing at the corner smoking.

"There's going to be a discussion later." The young director smiled calmly, "Jing Tian, ​​this is considered a good start. Keep it up."

Da Tiantian wiped the sweat from her forehead and said, "I understand, Guide. I will work hard!"

The rich and beautiful woman looked at the expression on his face, and she must have something to say to her "Teacher Liu": "Then I'll be leaving first."

Concubine Liu Yi smiled and waved at her: "Okay."

The young director and the actress he had trained stood by the window on the side of the corridor.

"what happened?"

Boss Lu looked at her collarbone, which was becoming increasingly slender and prominent under her training clothes, and the baby fat on her pretty face that had long since faded. She was almost too thin to be suitable for Zhang Chunru's character in 1995.

"You're in good form performing, but not in good life. You have to learn to adjust."

"How to adjust?"

Lu Kuan raised his chin as he walked towards the rehearsal room. "Whenever I have time, I'll do some morning exercises with Jing Tian. If I don't have a filming day, I'll sleep in and go to one of the snack streets in Jinling to relax."

"Or you can call Sister Mei, Jie Lun, Zhou Xun, and your sisters. Aren't they all adjusting?"

"Yesterday's performance was already quite good. Don't put so much pressure on yourself."

Liu Yifei shook her head. "That's because I've been preparing for almost a whole year. Besides, the role of a biographical figure has a certain pattern to follow. If I can't perform well with such a reference, it would be too bad."

The girl's expression was gentle and calm, but her attitude was as scorching as the scorching summer sun in Jinling: "After filming this movie, I will take a vacation and rest, but I don't want to stop now."

"You!" Xiao Liu looked at the washing machine with sparkling eyes: "Why do I always feel that you are holding back?"

"Tom Hanks had to do more than a dozen NGs, and Moore was so worried that he couldn't sleep at night. What about my high expectations?"

Boss Lu teased: "It's over, it's over, Xiao Liu, you are not clean anymore. You seduced me in the last video, and now you are showing masochistic tendencies..."

He was interrupted by a fist, but the force was just enough to make him grimace.

I don’t know if it was because of the sun or because she was a little shy from being teased, but Concubine Liu Yi blushed slightly: “I’m serious, don’t…”

"Don't pity this delicate flower of yours? Sister Pomegranate?"

The young director stopped joking and said, "Don't worry, the quality of the film is the most important thing. No one, including me, can break this bottom line."

"But we also have to consider the large scale of this film and the long shooting period."

He counted on his fingers, "Jinling, the scenes for you three main and supporting characters will be filmed until next year, and there are also several large-scale war scenes."

"Then after filming Tom Hanks's downfall in Germany, you'll be in the US, and then there's the big climax at the end."

Boss Lu suddenly grabbed her wrist and said, "Don't lose weight anymore. Your wrist has become thinner."

"You can't be so hard on yourself just because I always laugh at your thick legs."

As far as the eye can see, Liu Yifei's black high-waisted training pants are tightened along the sharp upper edge of the hip bone, forming two curved arcs.

The tight clothes outlined her slender waist, her flat belly rose and fell slightly with her breathing, and her long and round legs were straight, which did not look fat at all.

Now, the only thing left on Xiao Liu's body is his teeth, which he can use to make fun of the washing machine.

Well, maybe there will be small breasts in the future.

Times have changed. Today's little girls have learned to take the initiative and tease this love-incompetent washing machine: "Why, do you feel sorry for me?"

Boss Lu smiled and said, "I feel bad for my cash cow."

"Hmph." The girl rolled her eyes at him coquettishly.

You are like a washing machine, and the only thing you have is a tough mouth.

The young director then said seriously, "Sister Chunru and Aunt Liu have told me this many times."

"They don't..." Liu Yifei raised her eyebrows and was about to argue.

"I know you're anxious, but don't worry." Boss Lu interrupted her: "That's why I just told you to learn to adjust yourself."

"Top actors can get into a role quickly and get out of it quickly. You wouldn't be like Lin Daiyu, the flower burial hero, dedicating your entire life to just one role, would you?"

Boss Lu looked at her with an unquestionable tone: "I only want to say one thing, when I think you need to stop, you must stop."

"clear?"

Xiao Liu smiled gently, two shallow dimples faintly visible: "I know."

He heard a few footsteps approaching from afar. Boss Lu turned around and saw that it was Ma Wen, Cai Guoqiang and other members of the Olympic creative team who had arrived.

"Okay, go back and take a shower and rest. You don't have any scenes today."

Boss Lu nodded and turned to leave. Several lead dancers waiting to be selected for "Water Ink" looked at this side curiously while walking towards the rehearsal room.

Looking at the man's back, Liu Yifei was about to call him and say something.

Seeing Shen Wei and others coming over with the design draft, he had no choice but to purse his lips and leave first.

The crew of "The Sky of History" is large. In order to facilitate the management of the crew and to prevent possible disruptions by right-wing elements, the crew directly booked an entire hotel at the Sheraton near the Shiqiu Base.

Liu Yifei walked back to the hotel from the studio, said hello to Zhang Chunru and Liu Xiaoli, and returned to her room.

Liu Xiaoli saw that she looked normal, smiled and said a few words of concern, then sat back in the chair and sighed with Zhang Chunru.

"I don't know how her conversation with Xiaolu went."

Zhang Chunru comforted him, "It's okay. Lu Kuan knows his limits and will definitely not let anything happen to Xixi."

"Hey, I know he's smart, but..."

Liu Xiaoli hesitated and said, "He is also extremely dedicated and focused on his films. I heard from Xixi that he often edits until his eyes burst into tears. I'm afraid they will make mistakes together!"

"Young people prioritize career over health, that's really a disaster!"

Zhang Chunru sighed, "Lu Kuan is such a person. It seems that he rarely takes a break."

"I just didn't expect Xixi to be so stubborn. These two kids..."

She couldn't say it too clearly in front of the girl's mother.

But it is obvious that Lu Kuan and Liu Yifei have certain similarities in their character traits. Once they decide to do something, they will do it very decisively and seem to have left no way out for themselves.

From a God's perspective, there is the car accident that Boss Lu directed and acted in Shuimo Town, the subsequent film "Tangshan", and the "Sky of History" whose filming and release timing was far from mature.

In the past two or three years, with his ability to shoot other types of films, his status in the film industry and his economic income will only increase.

And it seems that Xiao Liu’s Don Quixote-like charge is not the first or second time—

A confession at a birthday party, a suicide on Fox Live...

Zhang Chunru is a female writer who is well versed in the world and has an intelligent mind. This pair of children with a complicated relationship are actually no different from Li Ming and Lucy in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button".

One is overmature, the other is being prematurely matured.

The gap between them caused by differences in life experience and personality is melting away.

Two souls are walking towards each other, and it is unknown when they will meet again.

In the room, Xiao Liu, who was given a day off by the crew today, took a shower and lay on the sofa of the luxury hotel bored.

Stopping suddenly, she could hardly think of what she could do!
In North America, besides attending school, she read information about Zhang Chunru, or experienced her life through field visits, as well as doing some business collaboration work assigned to her by Boss Lu.

Remembering that the washing machine told her to call a friend to adjust herself, Liu Yifei took out her cell phone and called Zhou Xun first.

"Hello? Xixi?" Zhou Xun was on the roadshow for "The Banquet", which was scheduled to premiere nationwide on September 9.

"Sister Xun, congratulations! I saw that your film 'Tangshan' was nominated for the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Awards!" Xiao Liu flattered her, "With the Golden Image already in hand, I think the Golden Horse is almost there too. You're going to win a hat trick of Best Actress this year!"

"Haha, the little girl is beautiful and speaks very sweetly!"

Zhou Xun: "I watched yesterday's performance and, quite literally, I learned it frame by frame!"

"Come on! Stop teasing me!"

"Really, especially the analysis and explanation of Lu Kuan, this is the material for the acting class!" Zhou Xun thought of the psychological relief task assigned to her by the young director, and became more dedicated.

"Didn't you see the blog post on the Beijing Film Academy official website reposting the video? It's a clip from the designated textbook for the 2007 class. Look at it, how impressive!"

"But!" Xun Ge'er, who was as insightful as an elf, changed the subject: "I see that you seem to be showing some signs of not regretting your decision to let things go?"

"Did some scumbag make you angry again?"

Concubine Liu Yi knew she was teasing, and smiled and retorted: "I am now practicing the Little Dragon Girl of the Jade Girl Heart Sutra. I am ruthless and want to achieve great success in this role."

"If there's a washing machine that's too blind to let me get angry, I'll take his head off with a single strike of my Suxin Sword Technique!"

Zhou Xun laughed out loud when he heard this, and thought to himself that you, the Little Dragon Girl, must have already been captivated by Zhen Zhibing, who had played opposite you.

"After I finish my trip to Pengcheng, I'll come visit you and give you your birthday present myself!" Zhou Xun said with a smile, "You're nineteen today. You're truly in your prime."

"Hey, thank you. I'll be waiting for you on the set."

Xiao Gangpao and the others called Zhou Xun to prepare to go on stage. Before she hung up, she spoke from the bottom of her heart: "Xixi, whether it's for a certain director or for a role, don't exhaust yourself too much. You are still so young, don't put so much pressure on yourself."

"Well, I know."

After hanging up the phone, Liu Yifei sighed, thought for a while, and called Mei Yanfang, whom she hadn't seen for a long time.

Originally, Boss Lu wanted to ask her to play the role of Cheng Ruifang, but Mei Yanfang is basically retired. She has been busy in Sichuan Province for the past year, contributing to the charity of teaching buildings and earthquake escape donated by the community.

She knew the significance of the film and was worried that her current professional skills would not meet Lu Kuan's high requirements, so she turned to play a Chinese American who cheered for Zhang Chunru at a North American book signing event.

"Happy birthday, Xixi. I was planning to call you at noon. Your performance yesterday was great!"

"Sister Mei, are you still in Rongcheng?"

Mei Yanfang asked her assistant to wait for a few minutes. "Yes, it's very fulfilling. I'm really happy that Xiaolu gave me this job."

"Then you should take care of yourself, Sister Mei."

"It's okay. This year our buildings have sprung up like mushrooms after rain. It's a delight to watch."

Mei Yanfang exchanged a few pleasantries with her, then changed the subject: "I heard you've been under a lot of pressure lately. You really need to balance work and rest."

"Did my mother tell you that?" Liu Yifei comforted her, "I'm fine, don't worry, Sister Mei."

"I still remember the first time I saw you act. You played a female lawyer in Whiplash. That day, you were in so much pain that your back was soaked with sweat, yet you persevered until the end."

"Sister Mei, Lu Kuan has always used you to inspire me. You are my role model."

Mei Yanfang sighed inwardly. The young director had given her the task of guiding her, so how could it have become a reverse encouragement?

In psychology, Leon Festinger proposed a theory called cognitive dissonance.

That is, when an individual's behavior is inconsistent with his previous consistent cognition, he will tend to believe in and choose to seek various theories, information or reasons to make his choices consistent with his existing cognition in order to alleviate inner conflicts and hesitations.

Obviously, the washing machine asked Liu Yifei to call her friends to adjust her mood, but she began to look for examples to support her desperate gamble.

Mei Yanfang waved her hand to signal her assistant to wait and share her own mental journey with her.

"Sissi, let me tell you about my personal experience."

"In 1987, I filmed Rouge, playing Ruhua, a tragic character who sacrificed herself for love. During filming, I was so empathetic to the character's infatuation and despair that I found it difficult to detach myself from it afterward."

The Hong Kong big sister hesitated for two seconds and said earnestly, "Actually, I had just broken up with my boyfriend of several years."

"Ruhua's obsession with love in the film resonated strongly with my own real-life emotional setbacks. It was so painful that I suffered from insomnia for half a year."

"This movie won me the Golden Horse Award and the Hong Kong Film Award, but when Stanley Kwan approached me to do the second part, I refused. I knew that it would be extremely painful for me to get into the role again and then break free from it."

After a heart-to-heart conversation, Liu Yifei hung up the phone.

Who in this world is not suffering?

Even someone like Mei Yanfang could not find love throughout her life, and even chose to escape because of her strong resonance with the movie characters.

The little girl knew that she was trying to enlighten her with good intentions, and perhaps she was entrusted by her old mother Liu Xiaoli.

It was only in the past month that she started to get better and better. Thanks to the detailed preparations in the early stages, she was able to completely immerse herself in the role and give an excellent performance that far exceeded her previous performances.

Even if the road is wide, we can only use both defense and fighting to help her adjust her mood and pull her back from the edge of the cliff at the critical moment.

It seems impossible to ask Concubine Liu Yi to truly and willingly get out of this crazy state.

Suddenly, the cell phone dinged. Liu Yifei, who had already moved the body to the bed, picked it up and saw that it was a blessing message from Su Chang.

Happy birthday, Xixi! Our crew went to Haidilao for dinner yesterday and put it on your bill! Mua!

"Those Years" directed by Xue Xiaolu has officially started filming, and this is another "count on my sister's account!"

After angrily replying a message to her best friend, Xiao Liu got up and turned on her computer, interacting with fans on blogs and other Internet opinion hubs.

Yang Siwei called her in the middle of the day and told her some small birthday interactions.

For example, regular activities such as recording videos to thank fans, drawing lucky fans on the blog website to give gifts, etc.

There are no other artists in the studio. Yang Siwei's main task over the past year has been to maintain fan groups across various channels and conduct high-end business and endorsement negotiations.

When I clicked on the details in the background, I found that close friends such as Yao Beina, Zhang Jingying, Su Chang, Tang Yan, and many artists I had worked with had sent their blessings, which was a great success.

Xiao Liu patiently replied to each one, which was also a way for him to adjust his mood and pass the rest time of the whole day.

A message box popped up on the blog interface, another blog post tagged her. This is a new feature launched last year.

Only friends who follow each other can receive reminders.

Yang Mi: Happy birthday to my beloved best friend Xixi!

The accompanying picture is a funny photo of the two of them on the set of "The Return of Condor Heroes".

At that time, Da Mimi had not yet been included in Xiao Liu's blacklist, and the latter had kindly taught her how to breathe and speak.

I wonder if there is another "former best friend" with severe myopia who feels sad when seeing this in front of the computer.

Because of her long-term contract with Tangren and the failure of her role as Longkui, she has almost become obscured by the public.

With nothing else to do, Concubine Liu Yi looked through her replies with a playful look.

Looking back at previous blog posts, the most recent one was a repost of a clip of my own acting.

Caption: Study hard!
Xiao Liu was at a loss whether to laugh or cry, thinking that this person was really someone who could let go easily.

This is the little girl who reached the peak of her career as soon as she debuted. A full man does not know the hunger of a hungry man.

If Da Mimi doesn't tie herself closely to you and promote her best friend CP, how can she increase her fan base of 500 million to a higher level?

With an indifferent teasing mentality, Liu Yifei gave a thumbs up to the juvenile form of the jungle nine-tailed fox Yang Mi.

The other side of the computer.

At the Wuxi Three Kingdoms and Water Margin Film and Television City, Da Mimi, who was socializing with a group of superstars on the set of "Red Cliff", suddenly received a call from her assistant.

"Mi Mi! Concubine Liu Yi gave you a thumbs up!"

Yang Mi smiled and said hello to Takeshi Kaneshiro in front of her and walked aside: "Really? You replied! Was it the one about your birthday?"

"Well, yes, as you instructed, I called you as soon as possible."

"Okay, I'll give you credit. I'm hanging up now." Yang Mi was more anxious than calling 119 when her house was on fire: "Hello? Xixi! Happy birthday!"

Xiao Liu replied expressionlessly: "Thank you, Mimi. I saw your blog and it was thoughtful of me."

Yang Mi smiled and said, "Do I need to say this to my bestie?"

Big Mimi, who thought she had a clever mind, took the opportunity to speak: "Xixi, I'm very close to you in Wuxi. Do you have any plans tonight? How about going to celebrate your birthday?"

"I prepared a gift for you, and I want to give it to you personally!"

"Uh..." Xiao Liu was a little overwhelmed by her sudden enthusiasm.

This is an imbalance in perception caused by the information gap between the two people.

On the eve of the 2004 Yinchuan Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Awards, the aggressive Xiao Liu had already noticed that something was wrong with Yang Mi.

This time, he was stirring up trouble on the set of "Curse of the Golden Flower" and was almost caught by her.

evidence?

No need, refer to the fabricated weapons of mass destruction of a certain Middle Eastern country.

Just use your free judgment.

"Sissi? Are you listening?"

Da Mimi was a little panicked. Wasn't this also a test?
But how could Concubine Liu Yi let her see any clues? "Come over? Let's have dinner together tonight."

The driving distance from Wuxi to Jinling is less than 200 kilometers. Even if you don’t ask director Wu Yusen for leave, it is not too much trouble to go back and forth.

She has already made up her mind to take a photo with her bestie Xixi at the birthday party in the evening, and it would be best if she could post it on her blog as well. The number of her 500 million followers still has room to increase in the short term.

Just as Da Mimi had planned before——

Boss Lu wants to lick it, and Concubine Liu also wants to lick it.

The former succeeded and took the position himself.

Even if the former fails, she can still maintain her status as a best friend with the latter.

Is this bestie status useful?

Just look at Su Chang, who has firmly established himself in the chick flick and youth film scene.

The cultivation of the world of questions is one aspect, but it is difficult to say whether Concubine Liu Yi played a role in it.

The entertainment industry is also a circle, which emphasizes personal relationships and social interactions more than anywhere else. It is obvious that I should seize this opportunity that emerged from "The Return of the Condor Heroes".

Xiao Liu hung up the phone and shook his head helplessly.

If Yang Mi hadn't mentioned it, she would have almost forgotten the birthday party her mother had prepared for her. In fact, she was thinking of telling the washing machine that morning.

In fact, we just used the Sheraton venue to organize a small dinner in the fully enclosed crew and invited close friends.

But looking at his slightly dark circles under his eyes and his needle-like stubble, he has to discuss program ideas with the Olympic team until very late every day after filming, which is actually very tiring.

Liu Yifei didn't know whether she should disturb him or not, so she decided to wait until Tom Hanks's movie was over in the afternoon before talking to him.

I don’t know if someone still remembers that today is their birthday...

After daydreaming for a while, the girl continued to implement his policy of adjusting her mood and chatted on the phone with Tang Yan, Yao Beina, Zhang Jingying, Tong Liya and others whom she had a good relationship with.

A rare day of leisurely and carefree life.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to bring my cat with me, so I asked someone to keep it in the yard of the villa.

In the afternoon, Liu Yifei was awakened from her nap by a series of rapid knocks on the door, but she couldn't open her eyes.

The chaotic dream sometimes pulled her to the temperature-controlled basement of the National Library in Washington, D.C., and sometimes left her at No. 1937 Little Pink Bridge in 1, with the performance details recorded in her notebook all before her eyes.

It was like a cloud of mist covering her head, and coupled with the increasingly noisy chirping of cicadas outside the window, it was so dense and sticky that she couldn't breathe.

Outside the door, Jing Tian was clapping and shouting, so panicked that sweat oozed from the tip of her nose: "Sister Xixi! Sister Xixi!"

Liu Xiaoli, who was sitting next door, heard the noise and poked her head out: "Tiantian? What happened?"

"Aunt Liu, I can't open the door, please swipe the room card!"

Without saying a word, Liu Xiaoli turned and entered the room, opening her daughter's door in the same panic as Da Tiantian...

The two of them quickly rushed to the bed.

Concubine Liu Yi's eyelashes trembled rapidly under her eyelids, like butterfly wings entangled in a spider web.

The air conditioner was set at a constant temperature of 26 degrees, but fine cold sweat oozed out of her forehead, leaving a circle of dark water marks on the silk pillowcase.

His right hand unconsciously clenched the corner of the quilt, his knuckles turning white from the force, while his left hand hung loosely in front of his chest, as if trying to grab something in a dream.

The dream spun like a kaleidoscope. Under the cold light of the National Library basement, her fingertips were running across the yellowed old manuscripts.

The next second, the city of Nanjing in 1937 was filled with smoke, and the performance notes she was holding on her chest were shaken off the blue brick wall of No. 1 Xiaofenqiao by the artillery fire.

The chirping of cicadas in her ears gradually distorted into the shrill sound of an air raid sirens in her dream. She wanted to scream, but found that her throat seemed to be blocked by cotton.

Concubine Liu Yi's body twitched slightly in the duck down quilt, and her black hair was scattered all over the embroidered pillow.

Cold sweat was running down the back of her neck into her silk nightgown, forming a cold puddle at her collarbone.

The fluorescent lights in the Washington basement suddenly began to flicker, and Liu Yifei saw her eighteen-year-old self huddled in the corner of the steel frame. The iron door creaked, and a man with a hazy yet familiar face struggled to shake the iron cage that imprisoned her mind, making a creaking sound in her ears.

Somehow, this harsh disturbance made her feel at ease.

"Xiao Liu!" Lu Kuan's voice in the dream sounded like it was soaked in warm water. He rushed in, his fingertips brushed across the blood-stained notebook in her arms, and threw it aside.

"The road... is wide..." Broken whispers escaped from her pale lips.

In the chaos, Liu Yifei suddenly felt a warm palm covering her sweaty forehead. The touch was so real that her eyelashes trembled.

"Xixi!" Liu Xiaoli reached out and patted her daughter, but her hand was icy cold.

Jing Tian stood aside, twirling her skirt helplessly: "Sister Xixi!"

"The road is wide!"

Concubine Liu Yi suddenly woke up from her nightmare.

Her pupils dilated with fear, and her eyes shifted between her mother and Jing Tian, ​​as if she had not yet fully awakened from her dream.

His right hand was still tightly gripping the corner of the quilt, his knuckles trembling slightly from the excessive force.

Before Liu Xiaoli and the others could ask, the little girl explained with a bleak smile: "It's okay, I just had a nightmare."

With Jing Tian by her side, the old mother didn't say much.

I have indeed heard enough of my daughter talking in her sleep during this period.

Da Tiantian is also a smart person. Without saying anything else, she turned around and took out a gift from her bag: "Sister Xixi, happy birthday!"

Xiao Liu smiled sweetly: "Thank you, wait a minute, I'll go wash my face."

When her daughter left for a while, the old mother couldn't help but sigh: "Tiantian, you are so thoughtful."

Jing Tian whispered, "It's okay. Sister Xixi is like this now... and we can't persuade her, so we can only help her divert her attention."

Over the past month, she has also witnessed with her own eyes how Concubine Liu Yi devoted herself to this role.

Even though she is bullied by this "evil girl" every day, Da Tiantian really can't hate such a clear-minded girl.

Of course, the rich beauty still feels dissatisfied with her forcing herself not to call Lu Teacher intimately.

Unrelated.

Da Mimi wants to lick Lu Kuan, and to make preparations for both, she also wants to lick Liu Yifei;
Da Tiantian likes to admire Lu Kuan, but can't help but want to get close to Sister Xiao Liu, who is only one year older than her.

When Concubine Liu Yi walked out of the bathroom, she had already regained her sweet smile.

The little girl looked in good condition and was indeed much more relaxed today.

But her daytime thoughts turned into nightly fantasies, and she had no control over the situation in her dreams. This was a spiritual crisis buried in her subconscious.

"Here!" Da Tiantian took out the carefully prepared gift from the Tiffany blue gift box with a proud look on her face.

The Montblanc Patronus series fountain pen has a cap inlaid with diamonds with the initials of Consort Liu Yifei's name, and the ink bottle is filled with her favorite midnight blue.

When she wasn't doing her morning exercises, Jing Tian boldly teased her, "I know you don't need bags, but jewelry and necklaces are too tacky. A fountain pen is fine, right? Literary girl?"

Concubine Liu Yi gave her a charming glance and said, "Very well, as a thank you, I think you can add twenty minutes of physical training every morning from now on!"

"What?! No, no, I'm still growing! I have to make sure I get enough sleep!"

Da Tiantian waved her hands like rattles, making Liu Xiaoli and her daughter laugh.

The old mother suddenly remembered: "Xixi, have you told Xiaolu to invite him, Director Zhang, and Designer Lin to dinner tonight?"

Zhang Yimou and Lu Kuan have a very close relationship and are both chief directors of the Olympic Games, so if they are to be invited, they will definitely be invited together.

Lin Ying helped introduce her daughter to the Zheng family, a Chinese newspaper tycoon in North America, at the beginning of the year. It is only right that she should be grateful.

Concubine Liu Yi was also in a dilemma: "He... is really too busy. I think I should go and ask him an hour before dinner. If it's true..."

The little girl naturally wanted him to celebrate her birthday with her.

But when she really started to immerse herself in the role and participate in some of his business affairs, Liu Yifei began to empathize with his inability to control his own time.

The greater the ability, the greater the responsibility. In the discussions of the Olympic creative team, some aspects really require him to take part.

"Dong dong!"

"Please come in."

Da Mimi politely knocked on the half-open door. In fact, she had been there for a while and heard everything that happened in the room.

Naturally, I was delighted to hear this.

These two people didn’t make it!
I was even hesitant to invite him to dinner for my birthday, so at least our relationship hasn't broken through the last level.

"Xixi, I'm here." Da Mimi smiled beautifully and walked over to Liu Xiaoli, holding her arm. "Auntie, you look younger again! What kind of cosmetics are you using? I want to buy some for my mom!"

"This child is so sweet." The old mother was unaware of the undercurrent between her daughter and her, and just thought she was a good friend who came to celebrate her birthday. "Mimi, please sit down quickly. I'll go wash some fruit for you."

"Yeah, okay! Thank you, Auntie."

Liu Xiaoli went out, and Xiao Liu said calmly: "Mimi, this is Jingtian."

"Tiantian, this is Yang Mi, who worked with me on The Return of the Condor Heroes."

The wealthy and beautiful woman treated Concubine Liu Yi very kindly, and naturally she still had the arrogance and pride that came with her family background towards unfamiliar people: "Hello, Yang Mi, nice to meet you."

Da Mimi habitually looked Jing Tian up and down, and when she saw the gift box and pen on the table, she couldn't help but sneer in her heart: "Hello Jing Tian."

"Sissi, this is the Hermès Orange Spring fragrance gift box for you. Happy birthday!"

She was not an entertainment reporter, so she did not recognize that this was the beautiful lady who had spent 1500 million to buy a painting.

Seeing the "cheapness" of the gift, Yang Mi nodded to Jing Tian, ​​said hello and left.

How could she know about this limited edition Montblanc Patron of the Da Vinci series, which came with a custom diamond signature and was probably worth 10 to 20 times more than her few bottles of shabby perfume?

Concubine Liu Yi naturally remained expressionless: "Thank you, Mimi. You can take a rest and have dinner here tonight."

"Okay, it's not far anyway. I'll just spend some time with you today and then rush back overnight."

Da Mimi can still speak, and every word she says is meant to "seek credit". You should be asked to write the List of the Gods.

If Liu Yifei had not discovered some clues a long time ago, it would be really rare to have a best friend who took leave from the crew to come and celebrate her birthday in person.

At least in Yang Mi's opinion, Su Chang and Tang Yan were not here, and the only one present today was the unknown Jing Tian in front of her.

This is what highlights her unique status.

Liu Xiaoli brought in two boxes of washed strawberries, and the three girls chatted idly.

Bags, figure, performance...

In Jinling at the end of August, the sky began to darken around 6:30.

Liu Xiaoli's small birthday party in the Sheraton cold restaurant was about to begin. Yang Siwei led the guests and lucky fans in and arranged all the matters, big and small.

"Xixi, where is Director Lu?" Yang Siwei asked his artist cautiously.

She now has a shadow over Xiao Liu's birthday.

The kind that lasts a lifetime.

Starting from this day last year, I have been working on public relations for almost 72 hours non-stop!

It took a lot of effort to calm down the heat and guide public opinion, and Xiao Liu, who had traveled to North America, landed safely.

The slightly plump agent's heart couldn't bear to see this happen again.

Liu Yifei looked at her watch and said, "I just called Ah Fei. He said he's still discussing things with the Olympic team. Let's wait a little longer."

Today's ceremony was not grand. After all, when filming a drama of this kind, Liu Xiaoli kept everything simple, just as a way to relax her daughter.

Even so, PepsiCo China's sales director, marketing general manager and other leaders still came uninvited.

Judging from the company's direction this year, it seems that they want to upgrade her contract to the Greater China level.

I happened to be conducting market research in Suzhou, so it was only natural for me to come over to support my artists.

The guests took their seats, and fans who had been selected through the official Weibo account to attend the birthday party were eagerly awaiting the start of the event. Liu Xiaoli walked over to her daughter with a depressed look on her face: "Xixi, look at Xiaolu..."

Jing Tian volunteered: "Why don't I go? It's only a few minutes' drive away. I'll go see if they've finished."

Yang Mi on the side looked at her nose and mouth, watching the subtle atmosphere without saying a word, and glanced at the expression of her "best friend" beside her as if nothing had happened.

She was certainly not stupid enough to add fuel to the fire and hint at something, but she felt that today's trip was worthwhile, at least she saw with her own eyes the true portrayal of the relationship between this scandalous couple in the entertainment industry.

seem...

It's not as deep as the news suggests, is it? It seems like it's just unrequited love for my best friend.

Liu Yifei sat at the dining table and took out her cell phone. Her hair was slightly curled and fell on her shoulders.

Her cuffs were slightly rolled up, revealing her slender wrists. Her face was lightly made-up, her lips were a natural pink, but there was a slight frown between her brows.

"Don't bother, I'll give him a call. If he's really busy..."

"Miss Liu!"

Ah Fei stood at the door of the banquet hall and greeted everyone. Seeing everyone looking at him, he quickly walked closer: "The boss really can't get away, he..."

Xiao Liu felt extremely regretful, but he still forced a smile and said, "It's okay."

"A Fei, bring some cakes over and share them with the artists on the Olympic team!"

Da Mimi could hardly suppress the smirk on her face, so she simply stood up and walked to the cake cart: "Tiantian, let's cut it."

Ah Fei waved his hand to persuade the two-faced female star: "Don't be busy yet, the boss asked me to come and pick up Miss Liu to go to the studio, something..."

Everyone was stunned when they heard this. Liu Xiaoli was the first to react. She pushed her daughter's shoulders and said, "Go quickly. We'll wait for you."

Jing Tian felt a little bitter and unhappy: "Can we go with Sister Xixi?"

"No, it involves Olympic confidentiality." Ah Fei shook his head firmly, but did not explain to everyone why Liu Yifei could go if it was a confidential matter?
Yang Siwei understood and walked onto the stage: "Dear guests, fans, today's event may be postponed for a while. How about I sing a few songs for everyone first?"

"Okay! Come on!"

The experienced agent controlled the situation, the hardworking mother persuaded her to leave, and Da Tiantian looked at her pitifully, and...

With a smile on her face, Da Mimi looked genuinely happy for her best friend's unexpected turn of events.

"Okay, then you wait for me."

A Bentley Elegant took her to the studio, and the security guard who had informed her in advance let her in.

Liu Yifei approached curiously. It was her first time to get inside the Olympic creative team. The artists along the way all looked at her with smiles, and there was some inexplicable meaning in their eyes.

Lin Ying turned around: "Oh, Xixi is here."

She hurriedly called out to Boss Lu, who was discussing technical specifications and PR progress with Zhang Heping, Wang Tao, Li Zexiang, and others: "Lu Kuan, your heroine is here! Stop being so serious!"

Everyone in the venue burst into laughter.

Zhang Jigang said, "Designer Lin, don't make the little girl blush. Be careful or the director will give you a hard time!"

"That's right, the road guide was about to make a graceful and elegant appearance, and you're really ruining the atmosphere!" Chen Weiya also took the opportunity to tease.

Normally, everyone submits to the "tyrannical power" of your boss Lu, but now there is a legitimate reason to tease and make fun of him, and no one wants to miss this opportunity.

Ma Wen was even more outspoken. He smiled and walked over to hold the girl's hand. "Oh, I was wondering who allowed Director Lu to shamelessly say I was pursuing her in front of the entire American media."

"You really can't blame our road guide for being too lecherous! I feel so sorry for him!"

"Come here, Princess Yi, we just found out it's your birthday, so we're giving this to you as a gift!"

Ma Wen had lived abroad for a long time and his etiquette and customs were westernized. He immediately took off the rose brooch on his body, leaving Xiao Liu at a loss as to whether to accept or refuse it.

The studio was filled with a cheerful atmosphere. Seeing that Liu Yifei was like a deer that had strayed into human territory and felt a little embarrassed for unknown reasons, Lao Mouzi took the initiative to step forward to rescue her.

"Marvin, Marvin, you really don't know how to adapt to local customs."

"You're just flattering me, and you're giving gifts to the birthday boy right away. Isn't it embarrassing for old comrades like us to come with nothing?"

There was a burst of laughter and ridicule in the studio.

"That's right! Marvin doesn't think things through!"

"This shouldn't be possible. Your EQ is too low!"

Boss Lu then came over with a smile and said, "Don't argue, let's just have a chat as a team later on this show to show our appreciation, okay?"

Zhang Yimou clapped his hands in agreement: "Sure, we can get some birthday cake, it's always worth it."

Everyone laughed again.

As soon as Liu Yifei entered the door, she was teased by a group of veteran artists. The key point was that she only knew Lin Ying, Zhang Yimou and others, so she didn't know how to answer them casually and shyly tugged at Boss Lu's sleeve.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Try an experiment, and you'll know."

The staff handed over a contract draft. Liu Yifei took a quick look and saw that it was the Technical Confidentiality Agreement of the Olympic Creative Team.

Lu Kuan smiled and said, "It's just a formality. No matter what you see or hear later, don't tell anyone."

"Oh, okay." Xiao Liu was happy to do it and signed his name in a flamboyant manner without even looking at it.

The young director patted her arm and said, "Wait here for a moment. Director Zhang of the Olympic Organizing Committee needs to go through the formalities first and listen to the technical report."

Concubine Liu Yi smiled at him quietly, and stood aside without saying anything, but her beautiful eyes lingered on him, like a newly born exotic flower, a beautiful jade with a halo, so bright and beautiful.

I thought he was so busy that he forgot his birthday, but now it seems like he has a little surprise?

This is a unique way of losing and regaining something and an unexpected encounter, which leaves a lasting impression.

After receiving the instruction, Wang Tao began to report in a serious tone on the technical progress and interim results of the drone ignition ceremony.

"Director Zhang Heping, Director Lu, Director Zhang, fellow artists, I will now give a technical report."

"Since taking on the ignition display project in April 2005, DJI has developed detailed technical goals."

"At the end of 2005, with the strong support of the Olympic Committee, including Mr. Liu, we jointly established a cluster intelligence joint laboratory with a confidential research institute of Northwestern Polytechnical University."

"We have established a joint R&D center for UAV power systems with Beihang University."

"By that year, based on the company's original first-generation autonomous hovering flight control system, we had completed the improvement of the visual-assisted positioning system, the project development of the distributed flight control system, and the technical introduction of the ultra-high frequency band anti-interference communication protocol."

"For nearly 17 months now, the company has been inspired by a 2004 drone swarm experiment in Massachusetts, using the Vicon motion capture system for positioning and the open-source code project SwarmLab to improve drone obstacle avoidance..."

Boss Lu looked at everyone except Lin Ying and a few others who were all confused and interrupted, "Wang Tao, detailed technical parameters and interim results can be reflected in written documents."

"Tell me about the current level of our drone performances and then demonstrate them in comparison."

Zhang Heping also laughed: "Director Lu is still pragmatic. Xiao Wang, do as your director says."

"Okay, let me give you a brief summary."

"Tonight we're demonstrating a solution that's part Chinese, part foreign, and we're going to deploy barely over a hundred drones." Wang Tao looked a little embarrassed. "Our solution is primarily mechanical coding, supplemented by electronic control."

"To compensate for the signal weakness, a ground-based base station assisted positioning system was used. The nickel-metal hydride batteries can currently only sustain a five-minute performance at most, and the LED lighting system uses a programmable color-changing module..."

The tech guy was a little intoxicated as he was talking, and he quickly corrected the situation: "Well... how about I start first?"

Zhang Heping nodded in agreement.

Even though it has been greatly simplified, the artists will really get dizzy if I continue to talk about it.

Wang Tao picked up the intercom used by the crew for filming and confirmed the parameters with the technician responsible for calibrating the signals of several small ground mobile base stations.

"The signal strength is around 95%, we can take off."

"receive."

Boss Lu smiled at Zhang Heping and said, "Director Zhang, shall we move outside?"

"Walk."

The curiosity of everyone in the Olympic creative team was piqued.

I have seen the stunning CG of the Phoenix Returns to the Nest ignition plan a long time ago, but it has always been regarded as a backup plan due to technical issues.

The original bidding proposal of the Wenjie team was tied with the proposal of Zhang Yimou and Jack Morton because of this point.

It was already pitch black outside, and the artists and related staff all stood with their arms crossed, looking at Wang Tao's team who were making final preparations not far away.

"This is..." Liu Yifei looked at the dense drones in the open field and blurted out: "Lu Kuan, what are you doing with the plane?"

Boss Lu explained with a speechless look on his face, "These are drones used for Olympic performances. Each one is pre-installed with an LED color-changing module to increase the color and expressiveness."

"Director Zhang was sent by the Olympic Committee today to conduct a phased technical review to ensure the progress of the technical breakthrough and to evaluate the effectiveness of the final plan."

Xiao Liu had no interest in technology at all. He was just curious and said, "Then you asked me to come..."

Before he finished speaking, the hum of propellers suddenly tore through the twilight, and hundreds of silver lights rose into the sky, hovering in formation at a height of twenty meters.

Liu Yifei stared in amazement as the drones suddenly began to move. The LED lights, set by ground technicians, dragged out bright blue tracks on the darkening sky, as if someone was using stars as pens.

She looked up intently and subconsciously took a half step back, the heels of her sandals making a crisp sound as they hit the steps.

Boss Lu quickly grabbed the little girl and supported her shoulders, saying with a smug look on his face, "Are you shocked?"

In the night sky, hundreds of drones performed a coordinated show without any danger, and barely pieced together the words "8.25 ​​Qian".

This is a trick.

Because both her name and the Chinese characters for "Happy Birthday" are a bit complicated.

With the drone's collaborative capabilities and obstacle avoidance technology, which Wang Tao now calls "half Chinese and half foreign," it will take time to perform more difficult performances.

When the last stroke of the word "茜" lit up in the night sky, Liu Yifei heard gasps coming from all around.

"Oh my god, this is amazing, isn't it? Is that the LED you just mentioned?"

"Yes, the LED light set uses a 555 timer to achieve PWM dimming. Currently, the lighting mode can only be preset using the dip switch."

The young director checked the countdown on his phone. The five-minute performance was almost over. "It should be lit soon."

Xiao Liu murmured and stretched out his hand, his long eyelashes casting butterfly-like shadows under his eyes.

Before she finished her words, hundreds of drones suddenly lit up, and the cold LED light dyed her snow-white skirt into a moon blue.

At the moment when those dots of light intertwined into a crimson in the air, Liu Yifei covered her heart with her hands, trying her best to suppress her excitement, as if countless leaps of joy were about to overflow.

At the same time, a few hundred meters away, in the cold restaurant on the fifth floor of the Sheraton Hotel, Jing Tian, ​​who was waiting for her birthday party, suddenly discovered something and exclaimed, "What is that!"

She couldn't help but run to the window. The height of the floor was not much different from the height of the drone show, and the extremely straightforward high-tech birthday celebration caught her eye.

This is...?
Without a doubt, without a doubt.

Da Tiantian was suddenly filled with mixed feelings.

She hoped to see Liu Yifei relieve her increasing mental pressure, but didn't she also hope that the young director would treat her differently in the same way?

Ever since I met him at Harper's Bazaar, it seemed like everything I did was insignificant in his eyes.

Regardless of her charming appearance or her rich family background, when the exchange of interests finally came to him, it was difficult to gain more attention.

Da Tiantian feels bitter in her heart.

Da Mimi felt even more miserable.

The jungle nine-tailed fox dug its nails painted with rouge into its palms, watching the drone's fleeting beauty with a gloomy expression. Then the lights went out, it landed, and everything returned to calm.

But her heart couldn't calm down.

Which woman wouldn't be driven crazy by jealousy in such a scene?

The drone show of later generations, even though it was only a castrated version at that time, had already shocked everyone, including the Olympic creative team and Zhang Heping, to the point of being speechless.

There were some minor incidents during the final curtain call performance. Two drones were a little far away from the pilot aircraft and fell vertically onto the cushion laid on the ground. The staff rushed forward to clean up the mess.

Due to current technical conditions, these 100 drones adopt a "master-slave" mode of 1 leader + 32 followers. One or two accidents are common in experiments.

"Good! That's great! Thank you for your hard work, comrades!" Zhang Heping was the first to applaud, looking excited!
He looked at the young director chatting and laughing with Liu Yifei not far away, and couldn't help but once again feel impressed by Chairman Liu's keen eye for talent.

Without his trust and support, and by contacting a confidential national defense research unit, a laboratory at the Northwestern Polytechnical University, and a national laboratory at the Beihang University for assistance, this technological breakthrough that surpasses later generations would not have been achieved so quickly.

Obviously, if the technical breakthroughs can be advanced as scheduled in the remaining two years, this lighting ceremony named "Phoenix Returns to the Nest" will surely be recorded in Olympic history.

The perfect fusion of technological means and traditional culture, and the multiple performances of sound and light effects, shock the five senses of global audiences in an unexpected way.

Leaving aside other considerations, just from the perspective of drone technology, the visual impact of such a performance on global audiences is no different from Li Hongzhang's observation of the 1896-meter Parker Building, elevators, and subways on Wall Street in 88...

These are things that have never been imagined.

In this regard, it may not be an exaggeration to say that it is the greatest torch lighting performance in Olympic history.

The members of the Olympic team excitedly shook hands and applauded each other, encouraging each other and celebrating that their noble cause had reached a new level.

But at this moment, the 19-year-old girl, who only had a little love in her heart, had not yet come to her senses.

Not far away, the man to whom she had been bound throughout her youth was receiving praise and encouragement from all sides.

One year ago today, she burst into tears on the spot, feeling hopeless, thinking that moment would be the farewell of her life.

One year later, on my nineteenth birthday, I received an unexpected surprise.

Concubine Liu Yi stood in the twilight, looking up at the night sky which had returned to calm. A faint airflow caused by the drone's landing still remained on her forehead.

The overflowing joy made her heart beat so fast that it almost burst out of her chest, and her eardrums pounded with the sound of blood rushing.

The moment those silver dots drew her name in the sky, she seemed to see an entire galaxy pouring down.

Like a dream.

That afternoon, Concubine Liu Yi had a nightmare. The heart-wrenching horrors left her terrified. As she screamed, "The road is wide," she was dragged out of that bloody sky...

But I didn't expect that on the evening of my birthday, I would be dragged into another beautiful dream.

I really hope I never wake up.

Under the curtain of the times, during the creation of this unforgettable historical background film.

Unconsciously, the two people who serve as anchors in each other's spiritual world, like Li Ming and Lucy in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button", have been getting closer and closer.

(End of this chapter)