Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 330 The Last Chance
I left Jiang Wen's house.

Zhang Yan stroked the Best Actor trophy and secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but he wasn't surprised by Jiang Wen's reaction.

Jiang Wen and Liu Xiaoqing's relationship was not a legitimate one, and Jiang Wen was the one who cheated first, so he had neither the right nor the embarrassment to turn against Liu Xiaoqing because of it.

Since it was a valuable keepsake, Zhang Yan didn't put the trophy in the Guomao courtyard, but instead locked it in the safe of his villa in the Second Ring Road.

It was only a little past four in the afternoon, and there were still four hours before the delegation's flight landed.

Zhang Yan pondered whether to meet with Feng Xiaogang for a chat, see Zhou Tao beforehand, or visit Professor Shi Tiesheng's home.

In the end, he chose to stay home and take a nap.

After sleeping until 6:30, Zhang Yan drove to Daxing International Airport.

Upon arriving at the airport gate, the first thing that catches the eye is Chen Hong's huge advertisement.

After the hit TV series "The New Dragon and the Phoenix", Guangming Factory invited Chen Hong to shoot a new advertisement. The advertisement only changed one word, changing "It's the same taste" to "It still tastes the same".

This is just the appetizer. Chen Hong has already signed at least ten advertising endorsements—after all, she's getting married and retiring from acting soon, so she definitely wants to cash in one last time.

It's just that Chen Hong is currently busy entertaining her in-laws; otherwise, given the popularity of "The New Dragon and Phoenix," her advertisements would have already taken over the streets and alleys.

When Zhang Yan got off the car, three middle-aged women with long black hair were pointing at the billboard and discussing whether Emperor Zhengde could get a Beijing household registration after returning to modern times with Li Fengjie.

Should I still marry my daughter to him if he doesn't have a Beijing hukou (household registration)?

Zhang Yan: "..."

My script didn't mention that Li Fengjie was from Beijing!
The bus carrying optoelectronics arrived a little earlier than Zhang Yan. When Zhang Yan went to wait at the VIP entrance, he ran into a director from optoelectronics.

Zhang Yan didn't recognize the other person, but the other person claimed to have seen Zhang Yan in Leader Lin's office and even took the initiative to talk about "In the Heat of the Sun".

This movie is indeed interesting. Although it contains some metaphors, it mainly deals with youthful impetuosity. If all movies were this type, the film and television industry would have a lot more work to do.

His words implied a rejection of the sixth generation of directors.

Although the sixth-generation directors have only made a brief appearance so far, the scripts for the sixth generation have already begun to be submitted for review in batches, and of course, they have been rejected by most of them.

The two chatted idly for about twenty minutes before the inspection team finally filed out of the passage.

Zhang Yan and the director hurriedly went to greet him. They exchanged a few pleasantries with Leader Lin, but because there were many people and lots of chatter, they didn't say anything serious. Leader Lin simply told Zhang Yan to come to his home the next afternoon for a detailed discussion.

Then Zhang Yan chatted briefly with Director Teng of the Film Bureau and Han Sanping.

Old Han's first words were: "I've benefited a lot, I've benefited a lot!"

But the leaders of other film studios all looked rather somber, seemingly detached from Han Sanping's joys and sorrows.

According to Han Sanping, Long Wu and Andy Lau were indeed on the plane, but they didn't use the VIP channel with the inspection team; instead, they used the regular entrance.

To Zhang Yan's surprise, Gong Li was also among the entourage.

"Did you just land a big job in Hong Kong?" Zhang Yan asked, puzzled. "Why are you back on the mainland with the inspection team?"

"That movie is scheduled to be filmed in mainland China."

Gong Li then changed the subject, asking, "You drove here, right? I have something to give you, so consider it a delivery fee if you take me home."

"What is it?"

Zhang Yan asked curiously, but Gong Li didn't say anything.

After seeing Leader Lin, Han Sanping, and the others off on the bus, Zhang Yan and Gong Li waited at the gate for a while, but Long Wu and Liu Dehua still didn't come out.

"I guess he was recognized by fans."

As she spoke, Gong Li pulled a large envelope from the luggage in the trunk and handed it to Zhang Yan.

"What exactly is that thing?"

Zhang Yan asked half-jokingly, "Did you even bring back some local specialties for me?"

"It's a draft of a novel."

Gong Li asked, "Have you heard of Huang Yi, a martial arts novelist from Hong Kong?"

"The one who wrote 'Turning Clouds and Overturning Rain'?"

Zhang Yan, being an industry insider, had some understanding of some of the more well-known colleagues in Hong Kong.

"It's him. He recently wrote a new book, saying he was inspired by you. He was planning to get your feedback when you went to Hong Kong, but... he ended up giving me the manuscript, hoping I could pass it on to you." "Inspired by me?"

Zhang Yan had a guess in his mind. He opened the envelope, took out the manuscript, and glanced at it. He saw three large characters written on it in a flamboyant style: "A Search for Qin".

I flipped through it briefly, and sure enough, it was a time-travel novel.

In addition, there was a letter that Huang Yi wrote to him.

Zhang Yan didn't rush to open the letter. Instead, he put the draft and the letter back together and said, "I'll try making a phone call. If I can't reach them, we'll leave first."

As he spoke, he dialed Andy Lau's number directly.

The phone rang seven or eight times before someone answered, but it wasn't Andy Lau himself who answered; it was his assistant.

"I'm sorry, the fans in the mainland are too enthusiastic. I'm afraid I won't be able to get away for a while."

Judging from his accent, the assistant is probably from mainland China. It seems that Andy Lau has made thorough preparations for this trip.

Since that was the case, Zhang Yan and Gong Li didn't wait any longer and gentlemanly opened the car door for Gong Li to sit in the passenger seat.

Zhang Yan also got into the car, casually tossed the envelope into the back seat, and asked, "Is it still that old building?"

Gong Li frowned and didn't answer for a long time before finally saying, "Let's talk about it when we get back to the city."

"okay."

Zhang Yan started the car and drove back. The two remained silent for about ten minutes.

Zhang Yan pondered for a while, but finally couldn't resist his curiosity and tentatively asked, "You and Zhang Yimou..."

Gong Li took a deep breath and looked out the dark window, saying, "It's probably come to an end."

Her words were so direct that Zhang Yan felt awkward about asking any further questions.

Gong Li was silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke up: "Actually, that wealthy businessman from Lijiapo was just a fan of mine. Apart from chatting for a few minutes on the balcony and then going for coffee, we didn't do anything else."

"Why don't you just explain it to Director Zhang?"

"The problem is that he never asked me."

Gong Li sighed again and said bitterly, "He asked almost everyone around me, but he never asked me directly."

"Uh~"

Zhang Yan hesitated for a moment, then analyzed, "Could it be that he already has the answer and feels there's no need to ask you anymore?"

"If it were you, would you ask everyone around you, even casual acquaintances, but be unwilling to listen to your girlfriend's explanation face-to-face?"

"This one……"

Zhang Yan felt he should still ask, after all, listening to both sides leads to clarity, but he didn't think Zhang Yimou's actions were anything heinous.

At most, he might have acted a little out of line, but that could be explained as being too concerned to think straight.

After thinking about it, Zhang Yan felt he should say a few words in defense of his clan: "Men often can't let go of their pride in front of the women they love."

"You too?"

Gong Li suddenly turned around and looked at Zhang Yan.

"Most of the time it won't, but occasionally it will."

"But you're getting married soon!"

As Gong Li spoke, she slowly turned her head to look out the window: "So you are different, or rather, you are different from most people!"

Ultimately, it all comes down to marriage.

Those born in the 50s and 60s are the most persistent about this. They pressured people to get married when they were young and urged them to get married when they got old. They just had to get married. Even a big star like Gong Li couldn't escape this idea.

However, this also means that as long as Zhang Yimou is willing to sign that piece of paper, everything can be salvaged—and this filming of "The Conqueror of Western Chu" in mainland China should be the last chance for the two of them.

Should we remind Zhang Yimou to try and build a good relationship?

The thought lingered in Zhang Yan's mind for a moment before he suppressed it, because he knew perfectly well that Zhang Yimou understood it without him having to say it.

On the contrary, if I did say it, I would have to explain to Zhang Yimou, who is currently in a sensitive period, how I found out, and it could easily cause trouble.

(End of this chapter)