Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 332 Remaining Strength Can Be Profited From
The next morning.

Zhang Yan was awakened by a feeling of suffocation. He pushed away the large thunderbolt that was smeared on his face, sat up for a while, and then realized that Zhou Tao was missing from the bed.

Wang Luyao was sleeping sprawled out, and showed no signs of waking up.

She's not usually like this. Maybe it's because it was the first time we slept together yesterday, so she was a little stimulated?

Zhang Yan put on his coat and went outside to look around. He found no trace of Zhou Tao in the living room and was wondering if she had left without saying goodbye when he heard Zhou Tao's voice coming from next door:
"I'm in the study."

Following the sound, Zhang Yan found that Zhou Tao had already finished washing up and was copying down the faults and suggestions he had pointed out yesterday.

The contrast between the two situations further highlights Zhou Tao's ambition.

Thinking about it carefully, the fact that Wang Luyao was able to gain the upper hand last night and enjoy most of the affection was probably the result of Zhou Tao deliberately showing weakness.

Zhang Yan had mistakenly thought that the intensity had increased.

Slightly frustrated, Mr. Zhang did not disturb Zhou Tao's copying. Instead, he went back to change his clothes and quickly cleaned up the battlefield traces on and under the bed.

Wang Luyao didn't wake up groggily until the blanket with the map drawn on it was removed. She sat up with heaving breasts, rubbed her eyes, and asked, "Brother Yan, what time is it?"

Zhang Yan glanced at the alarm clock on the wall: "It's almost eight o'clock."

"oops!"

Wang Luyao jumped three feet high and said in a panic, "No, I have to hurry up and meet up with Sister Chang, otherwise it will delay our important business!"

As she spoke, she hurriedly put on her clothes. Halfway through, she noticed Zhang Yan cleaning up the mess and quickly added, "Don't worry about this. I'll clean it up when I get back this afternoon!"

Hearing her say that, Zhang Yan put the sheets and mattress at the foot of the bed, only removing the used umbrellas and toilet paper.

When I came back, I saw Wang Luyao washing up, so I used the hot water I boiled yesterday to make two buckets of instant noodles, and then I went outside to wash up as well.

Wang Luyao finished washing up first, devoured half a bowl of noodles in a flash, then slung her small bag over her shoulder and went out: "Brother Yan, when did Zhou Tao leave?"

Wasn't he always in the study?
It's likely that Wang Luyao was too busy to notice.

Zhang Yan mumbled, "When I woke up this morning, she wasn't in bed anymore."

"Humph~"

Wang Luyao suddenly seemed to have caught something red-handed. She slung her bag over her shoulder and pouted, saying, "I knew she was only after our benefits. She's not on our side at all!"

Just say what you want to say, why are you shouting so loudly?

Zhang Yan glanced at the study, thinking that Zhou Tao must have heard it, but since she didn't react, there was no need to expose it.

So he vaguely replied, "I know what I'm doing—alright, you go ahead and do your thing, try to pick a few really capable ones."

"Don't worry, I'll definitely pick out the best ones!"

Wang Luyao clenched her fists and went out excitedly.

Zhang Yan shook his head slightly as he watched her retreating figure. In fact, he was not optimistic about Wang Luyao's chances of going to the Beijing Dance Academy for recruitment. People who aspire to develop in the field of dance generally prefer those state-owned song and dance troupes rather than a makeshift organization like Yuanmeng.

After all, the path to advancement for dancers is very different from that for singers. Singers focus more on the recognition of the audience, while dancers need the praise of professional judges.

Perhaps the gimmick of "dancing leads to acting" can attract some people with weak will, but the top tier is basically out of the question.

He went back inside, took the remaining bowl of noodles to the study, placed it next to Zhou Tao, and asked, "Did you have anything to do this morning?"

Zhou Tao carefully put the rectification suggestions he had written into his bag, then straightened the instant noodles and asked, "What's wrong? Is there something else you need me for?"

Zhang Yan braced himself on the table with his hands behind his back and chuckled, "No, it's just that I noticed you were a bit reserved last night, so I deliberately held back a bit. I still have some energy left to spare."

…………

9 o'clock in the morning.

Seeing Zhou Tao slumped over his desk, his limbs trembling and his bones feeling like they were made of jelly, Zhang Yan finally pulled out the victory flag and strode out of the Guomao courtyard with a triumphant air.

As he reached the door, he remembered that Wang Luyao would be coming back that afternoon to wash the sheets and blankets, so he quickly told her through the window. After hearing Zhou Tao give a perfunctory reply, he then left without a word.

After leaving the Guomao courtyard, he called Dong Ping to go for a bath together and chatted about attending the Venice Film Festival in August.

He also told Dong Ping about his marriage on July 18th and asked Dong Ping to pass the message on to Jiang Wen. He had revealed the truth a little too quickly yesterday, so he didn't have time to tell Jiang Wen about it. Now, contacting Jiang Wen about it felt a bit inappropriate.

When Dong Ping heard that Zhang Yan had stolen Jiang Wen's Best Actor award and even threatened to give it to Liu Xiaoqing, he slapped his thigh in frustration and said, "Why didn't I think of this sooner?"

"He has another one at home, so perhaps..."

"Fine, I won't repeat what you said."

As the two were chatting, someone outside called out that the mobile phone in the closet had gone off.

Zhang Yan went outside wrapped in a towel to answer the phone. It was Guan Hu calling, asking when Zhang Yan would be free, as he wanted to introduce two people to Zhang Yan.

Since Guan Hu stood up for the sixth-generation directors, the two haven't been in contact for a while.

The main problem is that Guan Hu can't see things clearly. Although Zhang Yan has different views on film and television creation, he doesn't think this matter can affect their brotherhood.

Hearing this, he said, "I'm in the capital right now, how about we get together at noon?"

Guan Hu naturally had no objection.

Zhang Yan returned to the pool, apologized to Dong Ping, and made an appointment to have lunch together the next day before they went their separate ways.

Since he arrived at the restaurant early and had nothing else to do, Zhang Yan called the Tianjin TV station's directing department to discuss some issues with the script for "Three No-Man's-Law".

This script was produced by the Tianjin TV station's editing department; it wouldn't be so easy for other stations to get Zhang Yan to review it.

As we were chatting, Guan Hu arrived.

Two men with big heads and thick necks followed behind him, one with a round face and the other with a square face.

According to Guan Hu, the round-faced one is named Zhang Guojun, a producer from the Beijing Film Studio; the square-faced one is named Pan Hongye, also a producer.

"Pan Hongye?"

Zhang Yan had never heard of the name Zhang Guojun, but he vaguely remembered Pan Hongye, though he couldn't recall where he had heard it before.

Seeing this, Guan Hu reminded him, "Brother Pan is the producer of 'Addiction'."

"Oh~"

Zhang Yan suddenly realized what was going on and quickly shook hands with Pan Hongye, saying, "I've heard so much about you."

"We are the ones who have long admired Mr. Zhang."

Pan Hongye laughed and said, "Xiao Zhang and I were originally holding back, wanting to set an example for fictionalized historical dramas in mainland China, but your 'New Dragon and Phoenix Play' has completely stunned us!"

Zhang Guojun nodded in agreement: "Yes, we originally thought of extracting a script from crosstalk, but we didn't expect that before we even extracted the script, our idea was already outdated."

Listening to the two of them singing in unison, and with Guan Hu adding his own encouragement, Zhang Yan quickly understood what was going on.

Because of the poor performance of Beijing Film Studio in recent years, Zhang Guojun also considered starting his own business at the end of last year. So he took out his savings and approached Pan Hongye, wanting to follow the example of Yuanmeng, Dingli and Huayi and try to start a private film and television company.

They originally planned to create a script modeled after "The Emperor Qianlong's Adventures," and then launch the project once the pilot program expanded—if the expansion wasn't rapid enough, they would collaborate with government agencies to film it.

While the script was being polished, the first fictionalized historical drama in mainland China was released, and it even boldly incorporated time-travel elements. As soon as it aired, it caused a sensation and even sparked a social phenomenon of "if you jump, I'll jump".

This immediately disrupted their plans.

Although they were quite confident in their script, the problem was that Yuanmeng had spent a lot of money on costumes, props, and sets, and if they copied it, the cost would definitely increase.

And then came the currency devaluation in 94…

After discussing it privately and inquiring about Zhang Yanwei's character, the two decided to collaborate with Yuanmeng, ideally using some of the original cast and crew from "New Dragon and Phoenix".

If Zhang Yan is willing to cooperate, they will go back and register a company. They have already thought of a name for the company: "Jingcheng Tianyin Film and Television".

"Cooperation is good; it benefits both sides."

Zhang Yan smiled and said, "To be honest, before I came to Beijing, I just finalized an agreement with Shandong TV to co-produce a martial arts film. By the way, what story is this script about?"

"We adapted the script based on the stand-up comedy routine 'The Battle Between the Emperor and His Minister,' so the tentative title is 'Prime Minister Liu Luoguo.'"

(End of this chapter)