A grand feast for the Chinese entertainment industry

Chapter 47 Crying

Taiwan in July is not a comfortable place to live.

Of course, Hong Kong and the capital city in July are definitely not very comfortable either.

Lin Jianlu has set a return date, but she will stay here for about half a month longer—she will be recording several variety shows to coincide with the official release of "Cold to the End Video".

Then... I'll probably come back in August for another book signing.

During their brief free time, Chen Shuhua and Lin Xilei accompanied him on a trip to Sun Moon Lake.

The scenery is just so-so.

In short, it's just about taking a photo, checking in, and escaping the heat.

He encountered many fans on the way and even stopped to sign hundreds of autographs. It has to be said that the record industry is booming now. Many people carry a portable CD player and two or three CDs in their backpacks when they go out. So they just sign whatever is handed to them. Signing on the CD player is nothing special. He even signed two CDs for Wu Bo.

Some people were still greedy and, after Lin Jianlu signed it, they gave it to Chen Shuhua to sign as well.

The album is Wakin Chau's "Heartbreaker".

After the signing, they even casually offered their blessings, "Ah Lu, Shu Hua is a great person. She hasn't had a single scandal in years. You must treat her well! May you have a long and happy marriage and many children!"

Chen Shuhua blushed and laughed heartily.

Lin Jianlu casually replied, "Okay! I'll send you some wedding candy later!"

As a mainland Chinese, he is not only thriving in Hong Kong, but also in Taiwan. Many people now like him not just for his songs, but also for him as a person. According to Sylvia Chang's analysis, it is because he has a kind of inexplicable relaxed feeling that makes everyone feel particularly close to him.

Hey, to put it bluntly, it's all about not caring about anything!
So he dared to respond to anything, and he would just spout nonsense!
Unfortunately, he is handsome, has a good image, and is recognized as talented. When he talks nonsense, he always knows his limits and never says anything annoying. Even if he drags other innocent girls into his scandals, they know it's a joke and will not only not be angry, but will be very grateful. A casual remark from him can generate traffic, attention, and job offers will come knocking on his door!

Of course, sometimes it can offend people.

On the way back from Sun Moon Lake, Chen Shuhua was visibly downcast.

Lin Jianlu thought for a moment and realized the reason, so she scolded him, "You're so annoying! If you really want to marry me, be brave and pull down my pants! You don't dare!"

Chen Shuhua burst out laughing, "You're the annoying one! You're so annoying!"

This kind of rabid dialogue terrified Lin Xilei, who was driving, so much that she trembled with fear.

…………

Before I knew it, it was mid-July, and I was busy with a lot of random things.

Of course, work.

But besides work, he also did a lot of socializing. Lin Jianlu's personality is such that he actually likes to be alone and prefers not to interact with anyone. He doesn't want to cause trouble for anyone and hopes that no one will bother him. But when it comes to dealing with real-world matters, he knows that if he wants to do his job well and make more money, he can't live in that ideal state.

So he actually appears to enjoy socializing.

During his breaks from work, he has recently been frequently seen on the streets of Taipei, enjoying many unique local delicacies.

Chen Shuhua took him, Zhang Zhenyue took him, and Zhang Aijia took him.

Of course, he also fulfilled his previous promise to the media.

Before going to dinner with Rene Liu, he specifically called the local media to inform them that they could come and take photos of their rumored romance, and even helped come up with the headline: Lin Jianlu has changed girlfriends again, Rene Liu has successfully taken the lead!

Not only did his friends find it both funny and absurd, but even the paparazzi found it quite ridiculous.

But they still went and filmed it, and reported on it.

The first time I met Wakin Chau's wife, she was American, born in Hong Kong, and of white descent. She is said to be of mixed Chinese, Caucasian, and Hispanic descent. She was quite beautiful and spoke fluent Taiwanese Mandarin.

The two were very much in love.

Chen Shuhua and she had a good personal relationship and chatted non-stop during their meal.

Unfortunately, his two children are quite different. The older boy, born in 90, is already six years old and, like Zhang Aijia's son, is difficult to coax. No matter how he tries to entice them, he refuses to call her "Dad." Meanwhile, the younger daughter is still an infant.

Chen Shuhua liked the two children very much. After dinner, she insisted on taking Lin Jianlu with her and accompanied the eldest son to a toy store on the street, where she gave him an expensive set of toys.

Zhang Yusheng, Wu Zongxian, Zhang Yu and his wife, Zhou Linggang...

It can be considered making friends and socializing.

Then suddenly, another well-known producer from Taiwan, Qiong Yao, one of the four major producers, called Zhang Aijia and arranged a meeting.

Sylvia Chang and Brigitte Lin had both acted in her dramas in their early years and had a relationship with her. She herself held a high position in the Hong Kong and Taiwan entertainment industry, so Lin Jianlu eventually agreed to meet with the old lady and the two sides had a meal together.

Although Lin Jianlu had already rejected her proposal for collaboration through Zhang Aijia during prior communication—she had a drama in preparation called "Heaven Has Tears," scheduled to begin filming at the end of this year or the first half of next year, and hoped to invite Lin Jianlu to play the second male lead. The male lead's age was not suitable.

That's ridiculous! Lin Jianlu might consider a cameo role for three or five days, but when it comes to seriously filming a TV series, he'd rather not. He'd just tell them directly that he couldn't act, he had no acting skills, and he didn't have the time!
Besides, no matter how famous Qiong Yao is, she's not qualified to let Lin Jianlu play the second male lead in a TV series!
Overall, the chat was pleasant.

Lin Jianlu has such high emotional intelligence that as long as the other party isn't deliberately provoking her, she can basically avoid a falling out. In fact, Qiong Yao is also quite intelligent and talkative.

If both are good, then that's naturally good.

Later in the conversation, they even made an agreement that if Qiong Yao ever went to the mainland to film, especially if she collaborated with the mainland on a TV series, Lin Jianlu would be willing to go and help out for a couple of days.

…………

Just before I was about to leave Taiwan, I suddenly received a call from Alyssa Chia.

She wanted to invite Lin Jianlu to dinner.

After hesitating for a moment, she still agreed. "I have to go to the TV station to record tomorrow. The time is hard to say. I might be busy until late. If you don't mind waiting..." Of course she wasn't afraid, so she arranged to call Lin Jianlu after she finished work the next day.

As a result, the recording of "Dragon Brothers and Tiger Brothers" ended before 4 p.m. the next day.

Everyone here is a fun person and very good at improvising. The things we recorded went far beyond the script, but they were still very funny. Fei Yuqing joked, "If A-Lu were to host this show long-term, wow, our show would explode! And it would be so easy, we could record two episodes a day!"

They were supposed to have dinner together, but Lin Jianlu already had plans, so they decided against it.

On the way back to the hotel, I called Alyssa Chia beforehand to tell her not to rush, to focus on filming, and that it wouldn't be too late to eat after work.

So I waited for her at the hotel for more than three hours.

I also received a call from Su Huilun in between.

She's having a blast lately.

"Lemon-tree" easily sold over 400,000 copies in Taiwan and is heading towards 500,000. It also sold 70,000 to 80,000 copies in Hong Kong. In addition, it has also garnered some sales in Southeast Asia. Considering the overall lag in sales statistics, we can now roughly estimate that global sales have reached over 700,000 but less than 800,000 copies.

A massive breakthrough!
If she was firmly established in the second tier before, now she has risen to the first tier.

If given enough time, there's a good chance this album will eventually sell over a million copies—one album is equivalent to five of her previous ones. This level of album sales is something countless singers never achieve in their entire careers!
She's currently in Malaysia doing promotional work, and she's just booked her flight back on the 17th.

However, Lin Jianlu's plane ticket has already been booked; she will be flying to Hong Kong on the 16th.

She yelled angrily, "I went to Hong Kong to find you, and you suddenly went to Taiwan. Now I'm going back to Taiwan, and you're going to Hong Kong again! Is it so hard to see you?"

"Hey, don't just say things that benefit yourself. Have you forgotten that I was promoting you in Hong Kong? Where's your conscience? You should have a conscience!"

She laughed.

We'll just have to wait until we run into each other again to make an appointment.

…………

It wasn't until 8 p.m. that they finally got to eat – there was a great restaurant on a street not far from Jia Jingwen's house that specialized in seafood, which she said was her favorite.

Although she was clearly a little tired, she was very happy, bustling around taking orders and making arrangements.

I enjoyed the meal.

However, after finishing the simple task of filling their stomachs, the atmosphere unknowingly became somewhat somber—after chatting for a short time, her eyes began to redden without her noticing.

She pulled out the business card Lin Jianlu had given her, clutching it tightly in her hand, and said, "Actually, I didn't want to call you, and I guessed you probably wouldn't have time to talk to me, but I didn't expect you to agree anyway. You probably don't know, but you gave me this business card, telling me about the insurmountable difficulties you were facing... I..."

Lin Jianlu tore off a napkin and handed it to her.

What a beautiful girl! Before long, she was crying her eyes out.

She said that being in debt is indeed a lot of pressure, but as long as she works hard, she can still earn money to pay it off slowly, so she is not afraid. What really makes her suffer is that she doesn't even have anyone to rely on right now. This reliance is not about wanting someone to help her pay off her debts, but about having a psychological support so that when she is under a lot of pressure, there is someone she can cry to.

Her mother broke down even earlier than her and is still unable to work normally, while her younger brother is still very young. No matter how much pressure and fear she feels, she can only endure it all by herself and dares not break down in front of anyone, especially not in front of her family!

Among the many friends she has made in the past two years, most of them sympathize with her experiences and situation and are willing to offer some help. However, for her already stressed and sensitive heart, these friends either have ulterior motives or are actually worried about getting involved with her. Lin Jianlu is the first person who can openly tell her that she can call for help when she encounters insurmountable difficulties.

Lin Jianlu barely said anything, just listened quietly as she cried and talked.

They would pour him a glass of water every now and then, and offer him a tissue every now and then.

She talked for over an hour straight before her crying finally subsided. Her eyes were not only red, but also noticeably swollen.

But after she finished crying and wiped away her tears, she seemed much more relaxed, and even smiled sheepishly. "I'm so sorry! You're such a big star, and you actually came all this way to listen to all this nonsense! I just wanted to treat you to a meal! I love so many of the dishes at this restaurant, and I really wanted you to try them! But when I saw you, I just couldn't control myself... I'm so sorry!"

Lin Jianlu laughed, "It's okay! Big stars aren't busy all the time. This is my private time."

So they chatted about relatively light topics for a while, and Lin Jianlu let her pay the bill. Only then did the two leave the restaurant. She stayed with Lin Jianlu until he hailed a taxi. Then she stood on the side of the street, waving her hand earnestly, and watched the taxi drive away with Lin Jianlu.

(End of this chapter)