A grand feast for the Chinese entertainment industry

Chapter 168 Fierce!
"...Three of a kind! I estimate at least three million!"

"Bang! I didn't know. Actually, I think 'Baby' isn't that outstanding on his album. There are so many good songs on that album, every single one is amazing! Maybe it's just the record company's decision. 'Baby' is a teenage pop style, which is easier to promote, so it was made the first single! ...Four of Bamboo!"

"Yeah! I think so too! He'll definitely be releasing other works next! 15 songs from his album charted on the Billboard 100, ah... I don't know how to put it! I feel like the media doesn't know what the important thing is! Please, a number-one single is worth reporting, but 15 songs charting is even more worth reporting, okay?... Yaoji!"

"Yeah! A bunch of people who don't know anything, do they even understand what Billboard means! The whole album charted, eight of his songs were in the top twenty, three of his songs were in the top ten, and he even got a number one single! Damn! Three million copies is just the beginning, Ah Rong, I'll definitely make him treat me to drinks later... 90,000!"

In the heat of the battle and the excitement of the conversation, there was a sudden knock on the door.

Leslie Cheung was the first to stop drawing cards, exclaiming, "Here it comes!"

Wang Fei jumped up and opened the door, exclaiming, "Oh my, the global superstar is here!"

Lin Jianlu walked in with a smile, and everyone at the table, including the card players, stood up in a flurry, greeting each other in a chaotic manner. While they were hugging and patting each other, Huang Zhan complained, "Did Rosamund Kwan make you very tired? I told you that you like to exercise in the morning, but you only come at this time!"

Lin Jianlu laughed and said, "Rosamund Kwan isn't too tired, but Rosamund Kwan and Leung Wing-ki together would be a bit tiring!"

Among the group, the men laughed heartily, while the women smiled with disdain.

On Tuesday night, Lin Jianlu went to Rosamund Kwan's house for the night again, and was caught by the media. Of course, this is not new news. The two have been rumored to be having an affair for almost a year. Rosamund Kwan has expressed her love for him in public and in the media many times. This is just the first time that they have been caught with evidence.

But it was quickly overshadowed by the subsequent Billboard incident.

It's only a group of old friends who still make fun of this.

After greeting everyone in turn, Lin Jianlu waved her hand, "You guys continue, I'll watch a few rounds first." — Lin Yilian insisted on giving up her seat, but Lin Jianlu insisted on waving her hand and politely declined.

We had arranged to play cards at the teahouse today, but I didn't expect so many people to come.

It was originally agreed that Leslie Cheung, Faye Wong, Huang Zhan, and myself would be part of the performance.

As a result, there were also Li Zongsheng, Lin Yilian, Na Ying, Shi Nansheng, Wang Zuxian, and two somewhat unfamiliar women—Shi Nansheng introduced them, one named Ye Quanzhen and the other Cong Shan, both of whom were her friends.

Leslie Cheung quickly handed over a cigarette. Lin Jianlu hesitated for a moment before taking it. Wang Zuxian then handed him a flame with a whoosh. Lin Jianlu lit it, took a puff, and complained, "Damn it, if I hang out with you old smokers all day, I'll smoke more and more!" — Leslie Cheung laughed heartily.

After chatting for a while, Lin Jianlu couldn't help but turn to look at the woman named Cong Shan a few more times, and suddenly asked, "Hello, I have a vague impression of you, but I'm not sure if it's right. There's a movie called 'The Goatherd'..."

Cong Shan laughed, looking quite dashing, "It's 'The Herdsman,' a film directed by Xie Jin. Yes, I acted in it."

"Oh!...I knew it, he looked familiar!"

However, the changes are actually quite significant. Before Lin Jianlu traveled back in time in her previous life, there was a trend on short video platforms of digging up old movies, among which "The Herdsman" was probably the most popular.

It's practically a fairy tale for older single men!
This girl was so beautiful in the movie, so pure and lovely. Looking at her now, I don't know how old she is. She doesn't look old, but she has completely shed the naivety and innocence of the movie. She looks radiant and free-spirited, and has the temperament of a modern young woman.

Shi Nansheng asked, "Is Qingxia alright?"

Lin Jianlu replied, "Okay! Of course, that's great! She's gotten even fatter! She's tidying up the house, go find her!"

However, Shi Nansheng waved his hand, "Tch! I'm not going! I'm not smoking anymore, and I'm not playing cards anymore, why would I want to see her!"

Everyone laughed.

Leslie Cheung said, "Please! Brigitte Lin has found her life partner, and you, as her friend, are saying things like that! ...Hey, Lu Han, you'll be having a banquet after the baby is born, right?"

Lin Jianlu nodded, "Yes! Inviting you old friends is enough; it's not appropriate to publicize it extensively."

Everyone understood and stopped asking.

Lin Jianlu suddenly snapped out of her daze and turned her head again, only to meet Cong Shan's gaze. "Wait a minute! You filmed 'The Herdsman'... Hmm, your accent sounds like it's from Beijing! Are you from Taiwan?"

Cong Shan smiled, her eyes sparkling, and spoke crisply, "I'm from the capital!"

“Oh… I thought you were from Taiwan, so you’re from the capital…” Lin Jianlu pointed at Shi Nansheng, “How come you’re so familiar with her? She even brought you here to play cards! She’s definitely going to make you lose money!”—She laughed, and answered crisply, “I’m not playing cards, I came to see the celebrities!”

Huang Zhan suddenly slammed his fist on the table. "Please, some people, don't flirt with girls in front of me, okay? Old people are pitiful. You're slapping me in the face like this, flirting with one girl after another. It's so uncomfortable for me!"

Everyone laughed, and Cong Shan was a little embarrassed and blushed.

Lin Jianlu laughed, stubbed out his cigarette, and gave the middle finger, "Damn it!"

Suddenly, Wang Fei asked, "How does it feel to have a number one single on Billboard?"

Lin Jianlu brushed a speck of cigarette ash off his pants, crossed his legs, and said, "What could I possibly feel? What do you want me to feel?" Wang Fei asked curiously, "How would I know! I just want to know... Aren't you happy? Did you celebrate by drinking?"

"Happy? Of course I'm happy! That's fucking money! I make over six dollars just from selling one! But... is it really necessary to celebrate with alcohol? I drink every day!"

Wang Fei: "Damn it! I hate how calm he is about everything! It's like getting a number one single on Billboard is such a simple, easy, and insignificant thing!"

As she spoke, she patted her chest, her expression animated, "This is really discouraging, you know that!"

Lin Jianlu shrugged.

Lee Tsung-sheng chuckled, "He was just putting on an act in front of us. I bet he opened a bottle of champagne behind our backs!"

So everyone burst into laughter.

Huang Zhan laughed the loudest, seemingly having gotten his revenge, "Tonight I'm going to have a Remy Martin, you're paying!"

Lin Jianlu laughed. He rarely showed respect for the elderly to Huang Zhan because Huang Zhan himself never treated himself like an old man. "Damn it! Don't think I don't know, you secretly put over 30,000 yuan on my liquor bill! Was it you?"

Huang Zhan laughed triumphantly.

While laughing, he said, "It wasn't me! When we went out for drinks, I suggested putting Lu Zi's bill on the tab, and everyone agreed! The bartender didn't object either! So we put it on your tab! We did it twice, and it accidentally came to over 30,000... Hey, you're so rich, and I'm just an old man, I'm just mooching a few drinks from you, don't go back on your word!"

"Depend on!"

"Hey, don't say I'm disloyal or won't help you! Bring those two beautiful mistresses you have back in the mainland, bring them here, and I'll pay the bill! I'll even buy you another drink!"

"No need! Rosamund Kwan paid for it!"

"Damn it! ...You're so disloyal! Ugh...You've managed to pick up girls like this, and you're still living off them! You'll drive me crazy one of these days!"

Lin Jianlu smiled, then turned to Naying and asked, "Didn't I see you come to my room during the Spring Festival Gala?"

Nayoung paused for a moment, instinctively wanting to stand up and reply, but quickly realized she had overreacted and sat back down. She then hurriedly and cautiously explained, "No, brother, I went there, but I didn't run into you either time! I had my lines to recite, so my rehearsal schedule was a bit heavier! ...I really did go!"

Lin Jianlu nodded and said nothing more.

Na-young was a little nervous and subconsciously looked at her only close friend in the room.

Wang Fei looked up while drawing a card and saw it. She scoffed and turned to Lin Jianlu, "Look how scared you've made him! He has to go and pay his respects to you, or he'll offend you?"

Leslie Cheung's tone suddenly turned stern, "Hey! Fei, don't talk nonsense!"

Wang Fei paused for a moment, feeling a little embarrassed, and tried to save face, "I... I didn't mean anything by it! Hey, Lao Na is a rough person, she's a bit muddle-headed when she does things..."

Lin Jianlu waved her hand, "I was just asking casually. You're overthinking it!"

So the topic was dropped.

But in this simple exchange, it was clear that Ye Quanzhen and Cong Shan, who were sitting on the side watching the cards, had changed their expressions without realizing it. Cong Shan's unique and dashing smile disappeared in an instant.

Wang Fei was extremely frustrated after losing one hand and then losing the next. Lin Yilian got up again to offer her a seat, and Lin Jianlu didn't stand on ceremony and sat down to start playing cards.

After three rounds, I made a small profit of over two thousand yuan.

As it was approaching noon, everyone was clamoring for Lin Jianlu to treat them to lunch. So they called over a waiter from the teahouse and asked him to order from the nearby hotel. Everyone started rattling off their names in a chaotic manner until Shi Nansheng spoke up, "Hey, stop messing around, we can't fit everything on two tables!" He then instructed the waiter, "Five hundred yuan per person should be enough!"

Around noon, Rosamund Kwan first called to ask for directions, and then rushed over.

She's incredibly lazy, the kind of lazy that's extremely lazy. Normally, she won't get out of bed until 10:30 or 11:00. It's no exaggeration to say that of all the women Lin Jianlu has slept with so far, this young lady is the laziest. Not to mention Zuo Xiaoqian and Xu Qing from the mainland, even Liang Yongqi, who now understands the most basic thing about getting up a little earlier and having breakfast with Lin Jianlu, still can't get out of bed.

So, for two consecutive mornings, her nanny came in early and just cleaned the house, not even bothering to make breakfast. Yesterday, she called again, and Lin Jianlu decided not to go.

After a long night of hard work, I went for a run early this morning and am starving, but I can't even get breakfast. How am I supposed to get by? Maybe I should just go back to the hotel and pamper Liang Yongqi, or maybe I should stay at Lin Qingxia's house.

However, she does have a cool and cute side.

What must be admitted is that her looks are absolutely stunning—stunning beyond words!

Cong Shan is already considered to be over 80 points in terms of looks, but when Rosamund Kwan arrived, she immediately paled in comparison.

Wang Zuxian, on the other hand, has been approaching thirty years old in recent years. She has gradually gained a sense of calm and ease after experiencing the ups and downs of life. Even when facing Rosamund Kwan, she is inevitably overshadowed at first, but she still has her own unique aura and beauty, and is not so overwhelmed as to lose her color.

The stunningly beautiful woman, completely uninhibited, entered the room, greeted everyone, and then immediately slapped Lin Jianlu on the back to help him watch his cards. Huang Zhan grinned, his face full of lewd glee, and asked, "Hey, isn't he fierce?"

Rosamund Kwan laughed. She knew all too well what a lecherous guy like Wong Chi-lam wanted to hear. She would just not give him what he wanted, but she would still make him itch with desire. Without saying a word, she said, "Boss, I paid for this!"

The room erupted in laughter—mainly from several old acquaintances.

People like Shi Nansheng and Leslie Cheung have collaborated with each other so many times that they are very familiar with each other.

The others were less familiar, some had never met before, and some were meeting for the first time. It took them a while to react, and only after everyone had finished laughing did they come to their senses and understand, but they couldn't laugh anymore.

After finishing this round, I did the math and realized I'd earned a total of four thousand.

Lin Jianlu casually shoved the money into his pocket, then turned and kissed Rosamund Kwan on the cheek. "They want me to treat them, you're going to have to spend money again!"—The group laughed again, and Leslie Cheung finally couldn't help but speak up, "Hey, you're on the billboard, are you really going to get Aunt Thirteen to take care of you?"

Lin Jianlu laughed, "I don't feel ashamed at all! Nor does she feel ashamed!"

…………

Recording. Playing cards. Drinking.

Selling one's body.

Don't sing Mandarin songs. In fact, as the English album was being recorded, Lin Jianlu was already making rapid progress. Now that he's back in his comfort zone, he basically only sings one song every two days at most.

He even took a day to go to EMI Records to help Wang Fei adjust her singing style for "Red Bean," and incidentally rejected all the audio tracks Zhang Yadong had made for "Wings of Light."

Wang Fei even called to ask, and Lin Jianlu felt that his description was clear and accurate enough, and Zhang Yadong was no ordinary person either. In the end, he was very dissatisfied with the result.

It took several hours to redo it, and I personally taught her to sing it before finally getting Wang Fei into the recording studio to start recording. When she came out and listened to the result, Wang Fei looked up and was speechless.

Yes, psychedelic rock, Lin Jianlu said it's psychedelic rock.

Wang Fei absolutely adores this style.

If it were anyone else, whether it were a different singer or a different producer, EMI Records, which had just spent a fortune to sign Wang Fei, would never dare to make or release a song like this.

But the lyrics, music, arrangement, and production are all by Lin Jianlu, and Wang Fei sings it, oh well, that's fine!

We must respect artists! We must respect geniuses!

Leung Wing-ki's new album is already in preparation—the little girl is making rapid progress, mainly because she is becoming more and more well-behaved and is starting to throw fewer tantrums and act childishly. As a result, Lam Kin-lu has started to like her more and more, and finally decided that even if he doesn't help her manage the entire new album, he will at least help her produce a few more songs.

Millennium Records is the territory of Mr. Chiu from Taiwan. It's just around the corner and it's also within Ge Fuhong's sphere of influence. If you help her promote someone, you won't care about anything else. You can ask for 18% royalties.

Ge Fuhong agreed to produce only two songs for Wang Fei, and the contract he had previously negotiated would have directly demanded 5% of Wang Fei's album revenue—no joke. Regardless of whether you plan to produce ten or twelve songs for this album, Lin Jianlu only has two songs, one of which, "Red Bean," is basically confirmed as the title track. It's worth the price!
Even with such an outrageous price, record companies all over Hong Kong and Taiwan are now asking Ge Fuhong if Jianlu has any other works recently, and if he can help create a song for their respective artists.

Ge Fuhong's unified response: I can't do anything about it! He can give the work to whomever he wants. I'm just responsible for negotiating contracts for him. Whether he gets the work or not depends on whether he thinks highly of the singer! Besides, he's never had any free time lately! He's either busy chasing girls or being chased by girls, so busy!

Yes, the songs have been ordered and given to Leung Wing-ki, including four solo songs: "Short Hair," "Coward," "When Love Is Near," and "Warm," plus a duet song that I promised her a long time ago, "Good Hearted Breakup," a duet where the female sings in Cantonese and the male sings in Mandarin. I really like the song, but Leung Wing-ki is extremely dissatisfied with the lyrics, especially the song title. She throws a tantrum and acts coquettishly, demanding that we change the song.

There was no way to avoid her persistent nagging, so I changed the song to "Little Dimples" for her.

As a result, she gave "Good Hearted Breakup" to her good friend Zheng Xiuwen as a favor. Well, they had made several movies together. She didn't know what had happened in their past lives, but now Zheng Xiuwen had always been very nice to her, and even seemed to be deliberately trying to please her, the newcomer. So she became good friends with her.

Brigitte Lin and Lin Hsi-lei both reported her, and Ge Fuhong also admitted it. Don't be fooled by Liang Yongqi's increasingly obedient demeanor in front of Lin Jianlu; in fact, she is quite domineering in their circle of friends.

She has a large group of followers, who could even be considered her associates—Zheng Xiuwen is much older than her and has already become famous and quite popular, so she certainly doesn't have the qualifications to be her boss. However, the two are best friends, and Liang Yongqi is always willing to stand up for her in certain situations! She dares to confront people and things that Zheng Xiuwen wouldn't dare to do!

Anyway, the real big shots in the industry, those two are not at their level, and ordinary so-called big brothers really don't dare to easily mess with a combination like Lin Jianlu, Ge Fuhong and Zhang Aijia. Mainly, it's not worth making a big deal out of a small matter. So, Liang Yongqi is now considered the big sister among the new generation of artists.

Well, it's said that she pointed her finger at Xu Zhian and cursed him to his face more than once, standing up for Zheng Xiuwen. Xu Zhian didn't dare to talk back, and afterwards he even apologized to Zheng Xiuwen. Sigh!

Zheng Xiuwen's current record deal is with Warner Music. She suddenly got hold of Lin Jianlu's new song through a roundabout way, which made them very happy. The general manager of Warner even accompanied Zheng Xiuwen to Music Factory to thank her in person. Of course, the main reason was to ask Lin Jianlu and Zheng Xiuwen to sing a duet on the song.

Lin Jianlu agreed.

Given Lin Jianlu's current status, fame, and influence among fans, he doesn't even need an English album to be a huge hit to be considered top-tier. Whoever he collaborates with, especially if the duet isn't included in his own album, it's practically like giving that person a best-selling album—even though Zheng Xiuwen is already very famous, it's still a definite boost for her!
Otherwise, there wouldn't be such a rule in the industry—you can't create choral works if you're not from the same company!
Of course, rules are rules, and rules are destined to be broken from the moment they are created.

He's Lin Jianlu, so let's make an exception!
Old Duan had nothing to say, but he repeatedly told him not to come again!

Ge Fuhong's harsh reprimand of Liang Yongqi made her realize that she had done something wrong. That night, she tearfully apologized to Lin Jianlu, who didn't care and instead hugged and comforted her.

This girl is really straightforward. That day, she angrily called Zheng Xiuwen and questioned her why she insisted on having Lin Jianlu sing a duet with her. Wasn't she making things difficult for my husband?

Take the song back! We're breaking off all ties!
As it turned out, she was so easy to coax. In short, Zheng Xiuwen clearly had a way with her. Later, she didn't know how she was coaxed, and the two became best friends again. When she cried that night, Lin Jianlu listened to her tell the whole story and could only smile bitterly.

Forget it, I knew she was stupid a long time ago, it's not like I just found out.

Aside from the fact that Zheng Xiuwen has a really difficult and annoying boyfriend, Lin Jianlu wouldn't mind collaborating with her on a song to help boost her popularity—making friends has always been his principle in life.

…………

Throughout the end of April, entertainment news in Hong Kong was completely dominated by "Lin Jianlu" and "Billboard." No matter which newspaper you opened and turned to the entertainment section, you would find news about these topics.

At this point, the original publicity plan became somewhat unsuitable.

I didn't expect it to surge so rapidly on Billboard, nor did I expect the Hong Kong and Taiwan authorities to react so promptly to the Billboard rankings and generate such a huge public discussion!

After discussing with Lin Jianlu, Xinli Columbia decisively adjusted its strategy and launched all its prepared publicity plans to capitalize on the early surge in popularity.

Suddenly, propaganda from all sides came flooding in.

That's incredibly powerful!
However, at this time, after recording five songs at the music factory, Lin Jianlu had already booked a flight back to the capital on the 30th—he wanted to go back for May Day to date and also to give Gao Yuanyuan a little nudge.

At the end of March, Liu Xiaoli took her through the entire process of the art exams. She somehow managed to get a pass certificate for the Central Academy of Drama's acting department, ranking seventh. This meant that as long as her academic scores met the admission requirements, she was guaranteed admission. She went completely crazy!
Lately, all the phone calls I've received are from classmates expressing how envious and blessed she is. She herself has started to subtly flaunt her little watch and the dress Lin Jianlu gave her, and she no longer hides the fact that she has a boyfriend. It's just that she hasn't dared to reveal his name yet because he is Lin Jianlu and she knows his influence is too great. Lin Jianlu guesses that she might have already started skipping classes.

Anyway, more than 80% of the time, she has stopped learning altogether.

This is absolutely outrageous!

She probably thought that she would definitely be fine with the admission score of around 200 points, but Lin Jianlu didn't even have that basic confidence in her—she had to force her to study hard for the college entrance exam!
Just before returning to the capital, on April 28, which was said to be an auspicious day, Lin Jianlu, along with his two lovers, Brigitte Lin and Leung Wing-ki, officially moved into his detached mansion on the Mid-Levels.

This means they've finally settled down in another home.

However, Lin Qingxia will accompany Lin Jianlu back to the capital next.

Firstly, she still has a lot of work to do there; secondly, she has her own large villa there that is being renovated; and thirdly, she herself said that she is now gradually starting to like the atmosphere of life in the capital.

Let's go back together then.

So, this huge mansion will now be enjoyed by Leung Wing-ki herself.

On the evening of April 29th, before leaving, we arranged another drinking session.

It was mainly due to Mui Yan-fong's strong insistence that Leslie Cheung hosted a banquet and invited Lam Kin-lu to meet Mui Yan-fong. She is considered one of the leading ladies in the Hong Kong music scene today. Of course, she also acts in movies, but with her status in the industry, she doesn't even sign record contracts anymore. Last year, she ended her five-year contract with Rock Records and didn't sign a new contract with any company. If she wants to release an album, she will only do so through collaborations.

For example, her Mandarin album "Woman Flower" released at the beginning of this year was a collaboration with Rock Records, produced by Jonathan Lee, and it achieved both success and critical acclaim.

So go ahead and go—despite having been in Hong Kong for over a year and being close friends with Leslie Cheung for just as long, she, as one of his closest friends, has never once tried to get to know him through him, and they haven't even bumped into each other once. Clearly, she's deliberately avoiding him and doesn't want to make connections. But what does it matter? Singers in Hong Kong generally have this attitude towards me.

If we forgive and forget, we can still be friends!

Exclusion is everywhere, especially since you came here and immediately put yourself in a superior position. The fact that they didn't cause trouble for you behind your back is already a testament to their kindness!
When they met, Mei Yanfang immediately apologized and explained the reason.

In 95, she went to the mainland to hold a concert tour. The plan was to tour many cities on a large scale, which could be considered as paving the way for Hong Kong singers. However, she was deeply moved by the enthusiasm of the mainland fans at the beginning. Unable to resist the fans' shouts, she added a song called "Bad Girl" near the end of the concert. Although she managed to cover up the sensitive parts of the lyrics with "la la la la", the tour was still abruptly stopped afterward. The authorities determined that it was a violation, and all the remaining tour shows were canceled directly.

Furthermore, she has been blacklisted by the authorities, and is strictly prohibited from holding concerts in mainland China in the future!
As a result, she was angry, frustrated and regretful, and her impression of the mainland was greatly damaged. During that time, Lin Jianlu, a native of the capital, suddenly went to Hong Kong and Taiwan to release an album and became very popular. She disliked him very much. According to her, she refused to listen to Lin Jianlu's album until the end of last year.

Later, during the production of the album "Woman Flower" by Rock Records, Xiao Chong suggested that she should learn from Chen Shuhua's singing style in "Chasing the Light" and recommended it to her. At that time, "Chasing the Light" had not even been officially released yet. Xiao Chong gave her an internal compressed version to listen to within the company. She tried listening to it and was immediately impressed. Afterwards, she found "Cold to the End" to listen to and was full of praise.

Therefore, after recording "Women's Flower" last winter, she really wanted to ask Leslie Cheung, or Xiao Chong, Andy Lau, or others to help her contact Lin Jianlu so that she could meet and get to know him.

However, she was busy with various tasks and Lin Jianlu was constantly traveling around. She was also overwhelmed with her own work and kept putting it off until this time when "21" suddenly became popular. She was in Singapore and unexpectedly saw the local media report. She immediately asked someone to buy her the album to listen to. After listening to it, she called Leslie Cheung late at night to express her admiration and respect, and begged Leslie Cheung to introduce her to him.

Leslie Cheung said that Lu Han had mentioned that he would be returning to the mainland before May 1st, so she put aside her work and rushed back to Hong Kong—just for this meeting!
The process was somewhat convoluted, but the reasons were very valid.

Lin Jianlu was quite willing to believe that someone like her would be ashamed to fabricate such a lie.

So he just laughed it off.

She's a straightforward person. Despite her high standing and long career, she openly admitted, "After listening to 'Chasing the Light,' I was already a complete fan of yours, a total fangirl. And after listening to '21' yesterday, wow, I simply couldn't believe this was an album made by Chinese people! It's so American, so international, so full of flavor! I'm a loyal fan of yours now!"

…………

We returned to the capital.

Just as his new album was suddenly gaining popularity and dominating the North American, European, Latin American, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asian markets, Lin Jianlu returned to the capital.

The next day, they went and dragged Gao Yuanyuan out.

High school seniors also get a Labor Day holiday. Lin Jianlu had already agreed in advance that he would pick up Gao Yuanyuan near the bus stop downstairs from her house at 2 pm on May Day.

Gao Yuanyuan was naturally overjoyed to be on a date with her boyfriend.

When he got in the car, he found that Lin Jianlu had a dark face, completely unlike her usual gentle demeanor when she was on the phone. He was instantly terrified and dared not speak.

Lin Jianlu didn't say anything. He drove the car to a place where he wouldn't be disturbed, and then parked it. He started scolding her—and she guessed right, he had already skipped class twice!
She had shown off her watch, but later she realized something was wrong. Apart from initially showing envy and flattering her, her good friends began to exclude and isolate her. Then she suddenly understood why Lin Jianlu didn't allow her to show off.

I've shown off my border pass countless times; I'm so proud of it.

Of course, she wasn't foolish enough to tell others that she was able to pass the test because Lin Jianlu had pulled some strings for her, and that it was a big star and director like Jiang Wen who had used her connections.

But once you start showing off, you're showing off. Anyone with a brain knows you'll be looking smug and self-satisfied.

The watch is being confiscated for now! It will be returned once you receive your acceptance letter!
He scolded her! He scolded her so badly she didn't dare to look up!
Later on, tears started falling in a steady stream!

She knew she had done wrong in some things and had already suffered the consequences, so she was already remorseful. In addition, she felt a major betrayal in her life, and now she was being criticized again by her beloved boyfriend. She felt both guilty and wronged. But she didn't dare to feel wronged about the things she knew she was wrong about but was quite proud of, such as making excuses to skip class.

After the scolding, she obediently promised that she would never do anything foolish like showing off her watch again, and she would never skip class again. She also said that she would definitely continue to focus on her studies when she got back. Only then did Lin Jianlu gradually calm down.

After a while, I hugged her and comforted her. She had stopped crying, but suddenly she started wailing again.

What can we do?
Gang Gang's boyfriend was three years older than her and had been in the underworld for over a year, but he wasn't much smarter than her—just coax him! Whoever makes you cry, you have to coax them!

But after a while of coaxing, he ended up inside the person's T-shirt.

Seemingly sensing that Lin Jianlu still loved and doted on her, she gradually stopped crying, wrapped her arms around Lin Jianlu's neck, and awkwardly yet proactively asked for kisses, letting Lin Jianlu do as she pleased. She even said with particular pride that she felt she had started to grow again recently and had gotten quite a bit bigger!
In my memory, when I saw her photos, watched her movies and TV shows, or attended public events in my past life, I thought she was only at a level not much higher than A. But now I feel like she's more like a B!
I'm already very satisfied.

To reach Li Dabai's level, you have to be perfect in every way. Without his figure, having only a pair of large breasts would disrupt the overall balance and wouldn't be considered beautiful in Lin Jianlu's opinion.

After appeasing them, add a few words of scolding and admonishment.

Well, when you try to reason with someone, she actually behaves. Aside from occasionally making a coquettish request, she basically accepts everything and obediently makes another promise.

That's fine.

Honestly, Lin Jianlu didn't dare to expect her to completely obey and go back to study hard for another two months, to get a general understanding, to not dare to skip classes again, to sit there obediently and learn a little bit, and to get a score of around 300 on the college entrance exam and successfully get the admission notice from the Central Academy of Drama. If she could, Lin Jianlu would be quite satisfied.

It's settled then. If she scores over 360 on the college entrance exam, I'll take her to sea and ride a big yacht!
She was so excited!
That very afternoon, she even insisted that Lin Jianlu take her to buy a swimsuit!

Sigh... My heart has already wandered!

Go ahead and buy it, buy the ones with the least amount of fabric—when Lin Jianlu held up a piece of fabric no bigger than a finger and held it up to her waist and hips, she became incredibly shy, her face turning bright red. "I don't want to buy this kind! You're so naughty!" She picked out two or three outfits herself, which were quite conservative, but when it came time to pay, Lin Jianlu still casually tossed two more pieces in. She blushed and pretended not to see it.

He slipped her more money, this time a thousand yuan, saying, "Keep drinking the milk. I'm not around, so massage it often so it can get bigger."

"No skipping class! You'll have to cram for Chinese and English. If you don't get 300 points, I'll spank you!"

"Also, you've done a great job in the past. There are some things that you can't tell anyone, no matter how good your relationship is, understand?"

Oh dear, in short, all sorts of instructions. This also means there's a lot of worry about them.

She was reluctant to leave from beginning to end.

…………

"Oh! Master Lu is here! Please come in!"

"Fuck you uncle!"

On the morning of May 2nd, taking advantage of some free time, a group of people gathered in the screening room of Forbidden City Film Studio to watch "Spicy Love Soup"—planned for a summer release, but don't expect to make any money!

Currently, cinemas in China do not even have cinema chains; instead, they operate under a tiered distribution system.

In other words, once a film passes censorship, its release date is set, copies are made, and it is distributed to film distribution companies in various provinces. Each province then distributes the films further down the chain until they reach the cinemas in the corresponding cities.

Then, the box office figures are impossible to calculate; it's entirely up to the cinemas to report whatever figures they want!

The portion he reported was clearly the part he was willing to acknowledge!

How many screenings are scheduled each day? How many tickets were sold? What were the ticket prices? What was the attendance rate?
none of your business!

How my cinema schedules screenings, how it shows films, and how it sells tickets is none of your business—whether it's Hong Kong or Taiwan, movies or records, at least when there's cheating, there's the concept of stealing box office revenue. In the current situation in China, there's no need to steal, and people don't even think they're stealing!

The filmmaking process and the film distribution and screening processes are two completely parallel systems.

Then, cinemas of all sizes across the country report the so-called box office figures they are willing to report and acknowledge. The provincial-level distribution company then compiles these figures, and that's your box office figure!

The taxes are deducted, the distribution company takes a portion, and the remaining one-third or so goes to the production company—specifically for "Spicy Love Soup," it's split 50/50 between Xi'an Film Studio and Forbidden City Film Studio.

Well, Lin Jianlu secretly wondered if it could sell for six million, at least to break even!

With a box office of six million, the production company only received two million, so at least they didn't lose money.

Gao Yuanyuan had to go to class, and Lin Jianlu wouldn't allow her to take leave, so she obediently went to school. However, Xu Qing made a special trip over—Lin Qingxia is the general manager of Forbidden City Film Company, and this is her home turf. So, the two of them were seen whispering together, and their friendship and harmony amazed many people once again.

Xu Jinglei, one of the female leads, is obviously present.

Thinking back, it's been a long time since I last saw her—the girl is still as charming and beautiful as ever, and she still has that indescribable, artsy vibe that's quite captivating.

She was very polite and started using the formal "you" (formal). "I heard you recently released an English album? It's selling very well in America! I've already asked someone to send it to me from there, it hasn't arrived yet! I'll definitely listen to it when it arrives."

Lin Jianlu was also polite, "Hi! Thanks for your support! Give me a call when you get back, and let's meet again sometime. I'll give you an autograph!"—This eased the atmosphere considerably, and her smile immediately became much more relaxed. "Thank you!"

Strictly speaking, from the recently wrapped-up "A Romantic Affair" to the upcoming "Love Will Carry On," she has already secured the lead role in two TV dramas under Lin Jianlu's management. Both were paid for by Lin Jianlu, yet she was the lead actress in both. In the industry, this level of success would naturally place her in Lin Jianlu's faction—however, Lin Jianlu doesn't acknowledge it, and she can never quite get close to him!
Lin Jianlu prefers to think of this as an act of expulsion against Wang Shuo!
With "A Romantic Affair," Zhao Baogang repaid Wang Shuo's favor, and with "Love Will Carry On," he completely shut down Wang Shuo's future nonsense after returning to China—"You're not in China, I don't know you, but damn it, I spent so much money on two dramas to promote your woman!"

If they ever meet again, Wang Shuo will never be able to say anything harsh if he still wants to make a living in the underworld!

I wouldn't dare expect utmost respect; a polite thank you would be the bare minimum!
But if he allows Xu Jinglei to get close to him during this period, then he's finished. The public opinion and reputation will change instantly—you're just throwing so much money at her just to sleep with a woman!

That's called stealing someone's love, that's called being cuckolded!

…………

Zhang Yang stood respectfully at the door to greet customers, fawning like a pimp.

After finishing the film, this guy just took the film reels and left, spending several months editing at Xi'an Film Studio, then doing music and such. He only started to emerge after the New Year. He was quite proactive when shooting the music video for "Believer," but Lin Jianlu was still waiting for this movie.

One million! His first investment in the film and television industry!
After Lin Jianlu entered, a large group of people came over to greet him. After dealing with them for a while, Zhang Heping, on behalf of the leaders, said a few words and announced the start of the event.

It was just an internal screening; there weren't many complicated procedures.

At this moment, Brigitte Lin and Hsu Ching sat down next to Lin Chien-lu without any hesitation.

Xu Qing immediately came over and whispered in his ear, without any preamble, "When I go to Hong Kong in the future, I want to stay there too!"

However, Lin Jianlu immediately understood, "Okay!"

Xu Qing was satisfied.

She knew that Lin Jianlu had many rumored girlfriends and had long wanted to meet Rosamund Kwan to see what Rosamund Kwan could do to surpass her. However, she never had the chance and ended up competing with Chen Hong first.

In recent years, the two have been top beauties in the industry. Although they have not had much interaction, their close relationship has kept each other within their scope of attention.

She knew very well that Chen Hong was both cunning and extremely clever.

But she didn't think she would lose, so she faced the challenge head-on without fear!

Looking back now, it's not a big deal—they confronted each other once, but didn't dare to make a big scene. Chen Hong chickened out and backed down. Not satisfied, they'll just continue their covert rivalry! When it comes to fighting over a man, who's afraid of who!

Several rounds have already passed, and for the time being, Chen Hong is still considered an outsider!
There's only one thing: he lives in the main house of the courtyard house, in the master bedroom, while Chen Hong is still renting a two-bedroom apartment outside!

Needless to say, she has many other advantages—she's Lin Jianlu's official girlfriend, publicly acknowledged and approved by his parents, at least in the capital! She also received one of the only two large villas Lin Jianlu bought! Furthermore, she's on good terms with Brigitte Lin! She's already pregnant with Lin Jianlu's child!

…………

Surprisingly, the movie was alright!

Very artsy. Also very stream-of-consciousness.

However, now that he has seen more of the world, Lin Jianlu's evaluation of art films, which are more familiar to mainland directors, has changed from before. Perhaps in Hong Kong, a film of this caliber would not sell well and would definitely flop, but in mainland China, in 1997, it might still be acceptable!
This kind of artsy vibe, this kind of affected sentimentality, might actually have a lot of people who like it!
Yes, of course. On the big screen, my wife looked a bit more youthful and even less attractive than in real life—perhaps it's because almost a year has passed!
She's grown a little older; her face and features have become more mature, and her figure has become more curvaceous.

After watching the movie, they had lunch together. At the table, Zhang Heping and Han Shanping asked Lin Jianlu for his opinion, and Lin Jianlu simply said, "Let's go for it! I think it's pretty good, let's sell whatever we can!"

And so it was decided.

After finishing their meal, Zhang Heping didn't let Lin Jianlu leave. He stopped him, pulled him aside, and whispered, "I heard from Hong Kong that you released an English album in America and became a huge hit? That's great news! Why didn't you mention it?"

Lin Jianlu was surprised instead, "What's the point of bringing this up? Can we even import this into China?"

Zhang Heping was even more surprised than him, "Sure! Why not! You can't just release it directly in China, but I had someone get the lyrics book, reviewed it, and some of the lyrics were a bit too much, but importing it is no problem! You're like Lin Jianlu! You went to America to win glory for your country, so importing it in China is no problem!"

Lin Jianlu was stunned for two seconds, then tentatively asked, "Should I have the record company contact you?"

He waved his hand, "Why would you contact me! Our city has the Capital Audio-Visual Publishing House! A big publishing house! It's under the leadership of our Cultural Bureau. They sent someone to me a few days ago! They know I'm familiar with you and asked me to help them put in a good word! ...They can pay! They're willing to pay!"

"Alright! I'll take care of it right away!"

Zhang Heping was quite satisfied. He patted Lin Jianlu on the shoulder, told him to come to a meeting tomorrow to discuss the draft, and then left. Xu Jinglei suddenly appeared again, "Jianlu, do you have time this afternoon? I heard you got a really awesome motorcycle? Can I see it?"

"Hey! It's right here at home! You know the address, you can come anytime. It's in the back room of my house. There's someone at my house almost every day, just give them a shout!"

These words left her speechless.

Almost everyone in the circle knows that Lin Jianlu has four beautiful women living in his mansion—why would I go there and annoy them? I just wanted to get closer to Lin Jianlu, but I didn't want to run into his women directly.

But since the conversation had already progressed this far, she had no choice but to agree, "Okay! It's a deal then, I'll go another day!"

"Alright! See you later!"

Xu Qing scoffed, then walked over to Lin Jianlu, too lazy to even comment on anything else, simply saying, "You shrew!"—Lin Jianlu couldn't help but chuckle, "You're the one who gets jealous the most! You'll be so sour to death sooner or later!"

"It's so sour, will you come down with me?"

"No way! I haven't had enough of my good days yet! So watch yourself, don't be so sour!"

"Tch! Heartless!"

***
Another long chapter today, 12,000 words! Three chapters combined into one!
Well, it's been going on for over a month now. It's exhausting, to the point of wanting to vomit blood, but it's also incredibly exhilarating!

The only regret right now is that I don't have enough monthly passes! Brothers who still have monthly passes, please give me a few more!
Xiao Dao thanks you!
(End of this chapter)