A grand feast for the Chinese entertainment industry

Chapter 151 Worth it!

It was almost noon when Brigitte Lin returned.

She's been in an incredibly good mood lately, and even her walk has become noticeably lighter.

She doesn't look like a middle-aged woman over forty; she's more like a carefree and lively girl in her early twenties.

She doesn't plan to go back to Taiwan or Hong Kong for the Lunar New Year. She's settled down in the capital. Her daily routine lately is to have breakfast with Lin Jianlu and Xu Qing in the morning, and then drive her newly acquired car to her villa, which is currently under renovation, before going to work at Forbidden City Film Studio.

She would go home at noon, sometimes with the three of them, sometimes just with Xu Qing, and sometimes by herself. After lunch, she would rest for a while, drink tea, read books, and then have dinner together in the evening. After dinner, she would have a chance to be affectionate with Lin Jianlu for a while, but he no longer slept with her and went to Xu Qing's place to have his fun, which she didn't mind.

Anyway, it doesn't matter.

For example, when it comes to going to work, she's really just a figurehead. Lin Jianlu knows this, she knows it herself, and Zhang Heping, the chairman of Forbidden City Film Industry, knows it even better. So, going to work is going to work, but there's really nothing that she absolutely has to handle. Sometimes she attends meetings, occasionally meets a guest, but most of the time she's in the office reading scripts.

The company was just established, but the buzz had been going on for half a year. As soon as it officially opened, all sorts of applications and scripts were already piled up on the table. No problem, we'll take our time to read them.

Lin Qingxia belongs to the category of those who neither wield power nor bear responsibility.

She would take her time looking at them, and when they came up with a script, she would make sure she had read it and could offer her own opinion. Zhang Heping was the chairman, and he would oversee the process. After considering all the opinions, the scripts that seemed good would be collected and eventually sent to this courtyard house.

To put it bluntly, what Forbidden City Film Studio ultimately decides to film or not depends on Lin Jianlu's final approval.

That's even simpler: if they don't ask, then ignore them; if they do ask, just tell them your honest opinion.

He has his own judgment; when has he ever listened to others?

"Hello, Miss Qingxia!"

"Ah, hello! Oh, I know you, I've seen 'Farewell My Concubine,' you are the one who..."

"Her name is Jiang Wenli, and she was my classmate in college."

"Oh, Ms. Jiang, hello! Welcome to my home!"

Brigitte Lin shook hands with Jiang Wenli very seriously.

She didn't know the person well, but she didn't care. She was indifferent to everyone and everything now, as long as Lin Jianlu allowed her to keep the child in her womb and give birth to it, nothing else mattered.

After exchanging a few polite words, she turned to Xu Qing and asked, "Where's your husband?"

Xu Qing casually pointed behind her, "I brought back a little lover, she's keeping me company in the back!"

Lin Qingxia was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.

…………

Xu Qing wanted Jiang Wenli to stay for lunch, but Jiang Wenli originally didn't plan to. The whole table was full of Lin Jianlu's girlfriends, and she was the only outsider there, which would be awkward.

But later, she decided to stay, mainly because she was worried about Lin Jianlu's attitude and wanted to see him again to test the waters and ease the tension in their relationship.

Then she witnessed two scenes that she would never forget for the rest of her life.

Xu Qing and Lin Qingxia got along peacefully. Instead of the usual rivalry between two love rivals who would immediately clash or even fight, they chatted and laughed together.

Then, Lin Jianlu introduced his third girlfriend to his two girlfriends.

Oh my, even as an observer, Jiang Wenli would feel quite embarrassed, thinking that if it were her, she probably wouldn't be able to handle the situation. But Lin Qingxia and Xu Qing both seemed completely unfazed.

The three women greeted each other and surprisingly managed to sit down at the table in a harmonious manner.

The girl named Zuo Xiaoqian was probably a little nervous at first, but she quickly calmed down as Lin Qingxia chatted with Lin Jianlu in a lighthearted manner.

Well, thank goodness, Lin Jianlu has indeed calmed down.

Xu Qing's influence through her pillow talk seems to be quite effective.

Moreover, he even took the initiative to invite me, saying that there was a small gathering that evening, and if I was free, I could go and sit with Lao Gu—of course, I immediately nodded in agreement.

After dinner, he was too lazy to be angry anymore. He had an open and honest talk with Lao Gu. He swore to God that he would never cheat again, and if it happened again, he would be willing to leave with nothing.

Jiang Wenli chose to forgive him.

Then he shared the invitation he received at noon—which was indeed a message that Lao Gu hadn't received.

So the couple went over together in the evening. It was a gathering of people in the TV drama circle, or, from another perspective, a gathering of film and television people in Lin Jianlu's own investment circle. Of course, although film and television are not exactly inseparable in China these days, Gu Changwei is just a cinematographer. No matter how famous he is, no matter how much he looks down on TV dramas, he is not arrogant enough to cause trouble for a group of TV drama directors.

Moreover, none of the people who came were ordinary people—Zhao Baogang was very respectful to Lin Jianlu, Guo Baochang was old and senior, but he didn't put on airs, Li Xiaowan and Li Shaohong were also acquainted, they were from the Beijing Film Studio, Feng Xiaogang also brought Xu Fan to freeload, Zhang Guoli and his wife also came, as well as Zhang Zien, Zhang Yibo, Haiyan, and Ma Weidu.

Also present were a deputy director of the Capital Radio Station, as well as Han Shanping and Zhang Heping.

Surprisingly, a CCTV producer named Liu Wenwu also came. It's unclear who introduced him, but after Lin Jianlu made her way around, she sat down with him. Liu Wenwu kept talking, but it's unclear what he was saying; he was probably trying to attract investment.

Just before the drinking party was about to begin, another big shot arrived.

Of course, he was actually an old acquaintance of Gu Changwei, and Jiang Wenli was also very familiar with him.

Zhang Yimou.

Currently, there aren't many truly outstanding directors in the Chinese film and television industry. They are mostly recognized by international awards: Chen Kaige, Zhang Yimou, and Jiang Wen from mainland China; Hou Hsiao-hsien and Ang Lee from Taiwan; and Wong Kar-wai from Hong Kong—only six people in total.

Moreover, among these six people alone, in terms of strength, achievements, and status, Zhang Yimou is at the level of third to first. It is generally acknowledged in mainland China that he is half a head shorter than Chen Kaige, but that is only because Chen Kaige has somewhat mentored him. In reality, the two are at the same level and in terms of status. In Taiwan, Ang Lee is indeed very talented, the only one to have been nominated for an Oscar. However, apart from Ang Lee, Hou Hsiao-hsien is not doing so well anymore, and has not produced any convincing new works in recent years. Wang Jiawei is certainly talented, but he is not enough to surpass Zhang Yimou.

Gu Changwei took the initiative to go up to Zhang Yimou, shake hands, and chat for a few words.

Guo Baochang then came over—after listening to their conversation, Jiang Wenli realized that it was Guo Baochang who had called them over.

Then Lin Jianlu walked over on her own initiative.

At this point, Guo Baochang took the initiative to introduce, "Jianlu, let me introduce you, Zhang Yimou. Yimou, Lin Jianlu."

Zhang Yimou extended both hands, and Lin Jianlu followed suit, shaking hands warmly. "Hello Jianlu! I've wanted to get to know you for a long time, but I never had the chance. We had dinner together yesterday, and Teacher Guo told me that you had a gathering today, so I shamelessly asked Teacher Guo to bring me along so we could meet."

Lin Jianlu also gave him face, "Hey! What are you saying! If you had said you wanted to get to know me earlier, we would have met a long time ago, why did it take until today? It's just that I recently embroiled another big director in a fight, and I was afraid that you big directors would look down on a lousy singer like me, so I never dared to invite you!"

Zhang Yimou laughed heartily and waved his hands repeatedly.

"Who would dare to look down on you? You are the face of the entire Chinese music scene, and also the face of the entire arts and culture circle in mainland China!"

"Hey! It's too early to say that. It's better to wait a few months!"

"Oh? What do you say?"

"Wait for my good news, I'll surprise you! ... Come, let me introduce you, this is my girlfriend, Xu Qing. And this is also my girlfriend, Lin Qingxia."

Although it wasn't the first time Jiang Wenli had seen Lin Jianlu openly defy public order and morality, she still subconsciously pursed her lips—but looking at others, everything seemed normal, as if no one thought there was anything wrong with it.

Old Zhang shook hands with Xu Qing very seriously, explaining, "We've known each other for a long time!" Then he shook hands with Lin Qingxia, saying, "Actually, I've known Miss Qingxia for a long time too, but I know her, but Miss Qingxia doesn't know me!"

Brigitte Lin laughed, "I've never met you, but I've seen 'Old Well,' 'To Live,' 'Raise the Red Lantern,' and 'Red Sorghum.' I don't know if that counts as knowing you?"

So everyone burst into laughter.

It's fun.

Then everyone ate and drank together. Lin Jianlu was truly charismatic and commanded the entire room by himself, constantly cracking jokes and delivering witty remarks. The whole drinking session was lively from beginning to end.

The key is that they are truly insightful and knowledgeable; they are not simply someone who has become famous and wealthy.

This is something that really can't be viewed from the perspective of age.

The party didn't end until almost ten o'clock. I don't know exactly how much he drank, but he drank quite a lot. He got all the men at the party drunk and rambling on and on. Even so, he drank the most. When the party was over, he was still very attentive and asked each person how they got there and how they got home.

He personally arranged cars to send many people back—it was then that Jiang Wenli suddenly noticed that a young and beautiful girl had suddenly appeared beside him, with a gentle and generous demeanor. Lin Jianlu would occasionally call her over and casually give her some instructions, which the girl would then nod and do.

Judging from her name, what is it? Liu Xiaoli.

This was a completely new situation that we had never known before.

Unfortunately, the party was over, and Xu Qing, that blockhead, must have drunk quite a bit. He was drunkenly hanging on Lin Jianlu's arm, grinning foolishly. It was impossible for him to go and ask her anything.

But once he sat in Xu Qing's newly acquired Land Rover, Old Gu dazedly touched this and that, and suddenly sighed, "When will we be able to drive a Land Rover?"

He also said, "Only when you reach the point of seeing deer can you say your life has been worthwhile!"

(End of this chapter)