Restart life

Chapter 581, page 0569: [The richest man invited me to dinner?]

TRAIN STATION.

Gong Ge'er, who had just returned to Beijing from Hengdian, made a phone call and said, "Let's go out for a late-night snack tonight. I, Hu Hansan, am back again!"

Guo Fan asked, "Your lousy movie, it's already over in just over half a month? Weren't you supposed to be playing the second male lead?"

"The whole movie was only filmed for about a month. Sigh, another terrible movie," Gong Ge'er sighed.

The movie is called "Born to Be a Genius II," which at first glance seems like a sequel to Guo Degang's "Born to Be a Genius." In fact, it has absolutely nothing to do with it; it's just a poorly made comedy, and the male lead is Wu Ma, who was brought in from Hong Kong.

But for Gong Ge'er, this is already a huge step forward.

Previously, he could only follow Hu Ge to make parody short films and star in things like "The Bandit Suppression in Birdcage Mountain", "007 vs. Men in Black", and "Step by Step Surprise".

Guo Fan said, "You're back just in time. Zhao Yanzi's 'So Young' is a huge hit, and now everyone's rushing to make youth films. Guangjing Ruixing is planning to make 'My Old Classmate' into a movie, and they've even asked Gao Xiaosong to be the screenwriter. I'll be the director. You can play the male lead's roommate."

"Great, Lao Guo, you're getting more and more awesome. Why don't you just let me do the movie scores too?" Gong Ge'er laughed.

Guo Fan said, "Let's give it a try, I'll let you participate in the music selection."

Gong Ge'er's experience and identity are very complicated.

He graduated from the Beijing Film Academy with a degree in Public Administration, but went on to become a composer. He's been playing music for almost ten years, but he still can't read sheet music and composes by humming.

He participated in two seasons of "Super Boy" and his best result was reaching the top 18 nationwide.

He also voiced Ragnaros in World of Warcraft, and served as the writer and producer for the radio drama "Bright Sword". He composed the first theme song for "CF" and created the venue music for the 08 Olympics.

Despite all that he's done, Gong Ge'er is still broke. Later, when Guo Fan was filming "The Wandering Earth" and needed funds, Gong Ge'er had to sell his car to help out.

He was the first screenwriter credited for "The Wandering Earth 1" and the producer of "The Wandering Earth 2".

After returning to his rented room from the train station, Gong Ge'er washed off the sweat and slept until evening before going out to find Guo Fan for a late-night snack.

When they arrived at their destination, Guo Fan and Yin Yue were already eating.

Yin Yue was the producer of "Li Xianji's Adventures," and it was he who introduced Guo Fan and Gong Ge'er. The three of them had a very close relationship.

"Come sit down, the kidneys are all grilled for you!" Yin Yue called out.

Gong Ge'er grabbed a bottle of beer, bit off the cap with his teeth, took a big gulp, and said, "This weather is fucking hot!"

Guo Fan asked while chewing on a skewer of grilled meat, "Have you seen the news? The Three-Body Problem won the Hugo Award."

"Really? Holy crap, Liu is awesome!" Gong Ge'er exclaimed.

Both of them are die-hard fans of Liu Cixin, having read his novels since middle school.

Guo Fan handed over his phone: "Look at this Weibo post."

Gong Ge'er craned his neck to take a look.

However, this was Chen Guiliang's second Weibo post of the day: "If Liu Cixin's novels were to be adapted into science fiction films, which Chinese director do you think would be suitable?"

Gong Ge'er immediately laughed and said, "Domestic directors can't possibly make any science fiction films. Don't waste Liu Cixin's novels."

Guo Fan said, "If we keep working hard, maybe one day we can make science fiction films too."

Gong Ge'er said, "I'll be your screenwriter and composer. I don't need any pay, just give me a supporting role."

"Making science fiction films is difficult; at best, domestic films made are mostly youth films," Yin Yue sighed.

Guo Fan laughed and said, "That's right, I'm about to go and shoot a youth film."

Yin Yue said to Gong Ge'er, "Why don't you just come and learn production from me? You have a lot of potential in this area."

"You think so too?" Gong Ge'er laughed. "Old Pan (Pan Yueming) even said he'd introduce me to ByteDance Pictures. I'd work as a general assistant for Chen Zhixi, the big producer there, learning while I work."

Gong Ge'er and Pan Yueming have known each other for many years.

At the time, Pan Yueming was already a popular young actor, while Gong Ge'er was just a nobody in the crew. During a break from filming, the two inexplicably started chatting enthusiastically, and Gong Ge'er insisted on inviting Pan Yueming to his rented apartment.

Pan Yueming was speechless, but he didn't know how to refuse, so he was taken home by Gong Ge'er on his broken bicycle without really understanding what was going on.

They became close friends from then on.

Gong Ge'er was drinking with Guo Fan and Yin Yue when he took out his phone to look at Weibo posts about Liu Cixin: "Damn, science fiction novels can be this popular."

Yin Yue said, "You don't even look at who posted the message first. Chen Guiliang said he had read 'The Three-Body Problem' several times, and a bunch of people followed suit by posting pictures of their copies of the novel."

Zhou Hongwei is a master at riding the wave of trending topics. When he saw Chen Guiliang's Weibo post, he immediately had his subordinates go to the bookstore to buy the book, then took a picture and posted it on Weibo, praising it highly.

Gong Ge'er said, "Old Master Chen has good judgment. It seems that it was Old Master Chen who strongly promoted the signing of Hu Ge by Tudou.com. I also made a lot of money by making parody videos with Old Hu."

They ate more and more skewers, and the three of them got drunk while chatting.

Suddenly, Guo Fan's phone rang. He picked it up and saw that it was an unfamiliar number: "Hello, this is Guo Fan."

"Hello Director Guo, I'm Mr. Chen Guiliang's secretary. When would you be free to have dinner together?" the voice on the other end of the phone said.

Guo Fan rubbed his forehead. His first thought was that he was drunk, and his second thought was that it was a telecom fraud.

"What's wrong?" Gong Ge'er asked.

Guo Fan waved his hand, signaling him not to speak yet: "How did President Chen know about me?"

The other party said, "Director Guo is the director of 'The Adventures of Li Xianji,' and Mr. Chen thinks the movie is quite good. Mr. Chen would like to meet with you. Do you have time, Director Guo?"

Guo Fan said, "Yes. I have a movie in hand, which will start filming next month. I have time before filming starts. You can call me anytime."

"Sunday noon, No. 19 Dongjiaomin Lane, there's a restaurant called Yinlu Chuanyan inside." The other party agreed on the time and place.

"Okay, I'll definitely be there." Guo Fan hung up the phone and stared blankly at his two friends.

Yin Yue said, "I think I heard someone mention Chen Guiliang?"

Guo Fan shook his head vigorously to shake off the effects of the alcohol and said, "Chen Guiliang invited me to dinner, could it be a scam?"

"Where should we meet for dinner?" Gong Ge'er asked.

Guo Fan said, "No. 19 Dongjiaomin Lane."

Yin Yue laughed and said, "Then it's probably not a scam. There's a courthouse and a police station right next door. Would a scammer dare to meet someone there?"

"Old Guo, you're going to be rich!" Gong Ge'er shouted.

Guo Fan said, "Did I drink too much? Did I mishear? Something feels off. He's the richest man in China, and I'm just a small-time director. Why would he invite me to dinner?"

Yin Yue joked, "I might have to invite you to film 'The Three-Body Problem'."

"Hahaha, Old Yin really has an imagination." Gong Ge'er laughed.

Guo Fan scratched his forehead: "I have a feeling that I drank too much."

Gong Ge'er said, "Who cares? We'll find out once we go. If you're worried about running into bad guys, I'll go with you. We'll beat them to a pulp!"

……

In the following days, the topic of "The Three-Body Problem" became increasingly popular.

Perhaps because of Chen Guiliang's strong recommendation, Ma Jieke also became curious and read "The Three-Body Problem," and posted a recommendation on Weibo after finishing the first book.

Little Ma was actually watching secretly, but he didn't say anything.

As the novel gained popularity, a large number of entrepreneurs posted photos of their physical copies of "The Three-Body Problem" on Weibo, commenting that they had learned business management principles from the novel.

The white-collar workers with a petit bourgeoisie naturally wouldn't miss this opportunity. Some actually went to read it, while others pretended to have read it. In any case, they kept quoting famous lines from The Three-Body Problem.

This has happened before, when everyone was praising "Wolf Totem".

Liu Cixin is as funny as ever. After returning to China, he discovered that some people on Baidu Tieba (a Chinese online forum) were dismissive of "The Three-Body Problem" winning the award. Liu Cixin immediately switched to his alternate account and started posting like crazy, explaining how prestigious the Hugo Award is, while also praising himself.

Sunday.

Gong Ge'er accompanied Guo Fan to No. 19 Dongjiaomin Lane. They entered through the main gate and found that it was a museum.

"Sigh, I knew it was impossible. I guess someone was just teasing me on the phone," Guo Fan said, quite disappointed.

Gong Ge'er cursed, "What a fucking lunatic, making jokes like that. You didn't delete that number, did you? Call it back and give him a piece of your mind!"

Guo Fan said, "Let's go, let's find somewhere to have lunch."

They drove away and found a restaurant to order food.

Before the dishes were even served, my phone rang again.

"Director Guo, haven't you arrived yet?"

"Big sister, we have no grudges against each other, you don't need to play tricks on me like this."

"Did you come through the main entrance? I'm so sorry, I'm very sorry. You need to go in through the side or back entrance. The main entrance leads to the museum. Mr. Chen will be here soon. Professor Liu Cixin has already arrived."

"Liu Cixin?"

"Yes, it's Liu Cixin, the author of 'The Three-Body Problem'."

"Holy crap... oh no, I meant I'll be right there. Goodbye!"

Guo Fan took out some money and slammed it on the table: "Let's go."

"What?" Gong Ge'er asked.

Guo Fan said, "We've gone to the wrong door. Da Liu is already here. Whether it's a prank or not, let's go and see. What if it's for real?"

The two drove back and quickly found the real entrance.

Inside, there's a hidden gem, and with the surrounding French-style buildings that are considered historical relics, you get a strong sense of the Republican-era mansion as soon as you enter the garden.

Gong Ge'er wasn't shy at all; she even joked with the waiter who led them in: "Why aren't you wearing cheongsams? Cheongsams would suit the style here better."

The waitress said, "Sometimes I wear a cheongsam too."

Gong Ge'er leaned closer to Guo Fan and whispered, "What a grand affair here! It really is Old Master Chen treating us. You're going to be rich!"

Guo Fan said, "You're not really going to make me the director of 'The Three-Body Problem,' are you? I don't know how to make sci-fi blockbusters. I don't even know how to do special effects."

"The Adventures of Li Xianji also has science fiction special effects. You've directed it before, so you have experience," Gong Ge'er said.

Guo Fan was speechless: "How can they be the same? 'Li Xianji' is soft science fiction. A science fiction masterpiece like 'The Three-Body Problem' should have Cameron as the director."

Gong Ge'er said, "What's there to be afraid of? Let's take the role first. I'll write the script and compose the music for you!"

The two entered the private room and found that there were already several people inside.

Many executives, including Guo Feng, Xie Yang, and Dong Qianqiu, attended the event. They were all fans of "The Three-Body Problem" and came together to celebrate Liu Cixin's work.

When Guo Fan and Gong Ge'er saw Da Liu Zhen sitting inside, they were completely dumbfounded.

Not a liar.

It's like a pie fell from the sky!
(End of this chapter)