Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 396 Hot Spring Trip
The next afternoon.

"You naughty girl, you suddenly want to go to a hot spring. Your dad and I just arrived, do you not want to see us...?"

"Mommy~"

Chen Hong hugged her mother's arm and said coquettishly, "Once the relatives come, I won't have any freedom. I definitely need to relax a bit before I get busy."

"You kid..."

Having no other choice, Chen's mother could only let Chen Hong sit in the passenger seat. She then instructed Zhang Yan, who was driving, "Xiao Zhang, please take good care of her while we're out. She's so unpredictable; there's just no way to deal with her."

"Don't worry, Mom, I'll take good care of her—it's not far anyway, we'll be back first thing tomorrow morning."

As Zhang Yan spoke, he said goodbye to his father-in-law and his own parents, then got into the car under Zhang Fang's resentful gaze and slowly drove away from the small villa in his Crown.

Looking in the rearview mirror, Chen Hong, in the passenger seat, sighed, "If my parents knew what we were going to do, they'd think I'd gone crazy."

Faced with her words, Zhang Yan didn't know what to say, and could only retort, "Idol, you chose it yourself."

When Gong Li called Chen Hong last night, Zhang Yan was actually right next to her. Gong Li might not have been able to sense anything through the phone, but he could fully feel Chen Hong's excitement and anticipation.

And that led to today's hot spring trip.

As agreed, Zhang Yan drove to the vicinity of the August 1st Film and Television Base, and met up with Gong Li, who was wearing sunglasses, two streets away from the hotel where the film "The Hegemon-King of Western Chu" was staying.

After making the phone call yesterday, Gong Li tossed and turned all night, experiencing countless regrets and struggles, but in the end she still went to keep the appointment.

Sitting in the back of the Crown, looking at Chen Hong and Zhang Yan in front of her, Gong Li bit her lower lip and asked, "Where are we going?"

"Go to the hot springs."

Chen Hong smiled and said, "I tried it the first time I came to Tianjin, and it's very effective for skin care and beauty."

There are hot springs near the Economic Development Zone, but Chen Hong chose the one where she filmed "Tianjin Wei". It's the middle of summer, not a good time to soak in hot springs, so Chen Hong booked the whole place.

Gong Li nodded slightly, and then said nothing more.

Zhang Yan didn't know what to say, while Chen Hong smiled and said nothing.

An eerie silence fell over the car until, a dozen minutes later, Zhang Yan's mobile phone suddenly rang, breaking the somber atmosphere.

Chen Hong picked up the mobile phone to explain the situation, chatted with the other party for a few more minutes, and then covered the microphone and asked suspiciously, "The other party claims to be Wang Zhongjun from Huayi—is this Huayi the one that's competing with us for Dingli?"

"It's that one."

Zhang Yan asked in confusion, "Why did he call?"

"They said they wanted to visit you and take the opportunity to ask you some questions about film and television companies."

"Perhaps it's because he's unwilling to give up."

Zhang Yan said, "Tell him there's no need to make a special trip. I'll find an opportunity to sit down and get to know him when I go to the capital someday."

"He doesn't seem like he hasn't given up; he's being very polite."

As Chen Hong spoke, she put down the receiver and gave Zhang Yan a few perfunctory words, then hung up the phone and said, "He said he would come over to give a gift when we get married."

Zhang Yan shrugged and remained silent. As his status continued to rise, coupled with the influence of 'internal affairs,' he was certain that many unfamiliar 'friends' would come to the wedding to show their support, so he didn't care about having Wang Zhongjun one more.

Wang Zhongjun's call was like unlocking the seal on the mobile phone. Along the way, Zhang Yan received several more calls, mostly from the literary circle, such as Mo Yan, Su Tong, Zhu Xiaoping, and Hai Shi.

This was all part of the early team from the 'Haima Film and Television Creation Center'. Back then, Wang Shuo was at the height of his career, while Zhang Yan was just a nobody.

These people probably never dreamed that just a few years later, the film and television company that Wang Shuo had built up by going bankrupt would be acquired by Zhang Yan.

Upon receiving these calls, Zhang Yan felt that the money was well spent. From now on, no matter which circle he was in, no one would mention "Little Wang Shuo" again.

But where did they get the information from?
Why were they calling me one after another, as if it were pre-arranged? Zhang Yan's question remained unanswered even after arriving at his destination.

When Gong Li got off the bus, her expression was quite strange, and she even seemed reluctant to get off – she had always thought Chen Hong would get off halfway, but who knew that Chen Hong would also come to the hot spring hotel like this.

What does it mean? !

"you……"

Gong Li stared at Chen Hong, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping herself.

Chen Hong smiled and took her arm: "We're both women, you're not afraid of me seeing you naked, are you?"

Is this a gender issue?!
If it weren't for the fact that Chen Hong was pregnant, Gong Lizhen would have grabbed her by the collar and interrogated her about what she was thinking.

Zhang Yan was also somewhat surprised.

Although he knew that Chen Hong had always had a special obsession with Gong Li, he did not expect that she would come to watch from the sidelines. Zhang was now somewhat experienced in having women on both sides, but the relationship between other people and his fiancée was always different.

So not only was Gong Li conflicted, but Zhang Yan was also a little uncomfortable.

Seeing Gong Li's resistant expression, Chen Hong leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Director Zhang asked you to come here to vent. After seven years of relationship, you can't let him down."

Gong Li's expression grew increasingly complicated.

She felt she had made a mistake, but it was too late to back down now that things had come to this.

Finally, she sighed helplessly and resignedly followed Chen Hong into the hot spring hotel.

…………

The period drama section of the August 1st Film and Television Base.

Zhang Yimou sat absentmindedly on the edge of the filming set. They had just finished talking yesterday, and Gong Li had taken a day off today. Xian Qiran thought that Zhang Yimou's talk therapy had worked, but Zhang Yimou himself did not think so.

Recalling Gong Li's emotional breakdown last night, he couldn't help but worry that she might do something foolish in a moment of impulsiveness.

After all, it was a seven-year relationship. Even if he no longer loved her, he didn't want anything to happen to her. Besides, if something did happen, he would definitely be criticized by the media.

Thinking this, Zhang Yimou dialed Gong Li's number on his mobile phone, but it rang for a long time without anyone answering.

He tried calling again, but still no one answered.

Zhang Yimou's mood became increasingly agitated. Just as he was about to dial a third time, Xian Qiran, who was next to the camera, turned around and said, "Yimou, can you help me figure out how to bring out the character's emotional outburst here?"

Zhang Yimou had no choice but to put down his mobile phone and walk over.

After quickly flipping through the script, he asked a staff member for a retractable prop knife, then walked up to the actor playing a minor Qin army leader and personally demonstrated: "Don't say any lines, and don't shout, just stab like this, keep stabbing, grit your teeth and stab..."

As he spoke, he brandished the prop knife at the extras, looking as if he was about to stab them to pieces.

Then he handed the knife to the actor and said, "Here, you try it."

He watched as the actor gritted his teeth and stabbed the knife more than a dozen times before returning to Xian Qiran's side with satisfaction, saying, "It would be best to give a close-up of the knife tip constantly piercing through the body from behind, so as to show how hard and deep the stab was."

Xian Qiran gave a thumbs up, and then hurriedly called for the props to prepare blood packs, preferably several, so that the water—no, the blood—would splatter everywhere.

Seeing that there was nothing more for him to do, Zhang Yimou returned to his original spot, picked up his mobile phone, and dialed it for the third time, unwilling to give up.

The call was finally answered, but a stranger's voice came from the other end: "Hello, the guest is currently soaking in a hot spring. Is there something urgent that you keep calling? If it is, we can pass it on for you later."

When Zhang Yimou heard that she was soaking in a hot spring, a huge weight was lifted from his heart—it turned out that Gong Li really was just relaxing.

He quickly replied, "No need, no need, just let her soak and relax!"

(End of this chapter)