A grand feast for the Chinese entertainment industry

Chapter 85 Contrast
The next morning, we played cards.

We almost couldn't gather enough people for a table – mainly because of what happened in the morning.

That's just how the Hong Kong entertainment industry is. Actors are a bit better off; as long as they're not famous enough or hardworking enough, they can always get enough friends to play cards, since few people in the Hong Kong entertainment industry don't enjoy playing cards. But it's more complicated for singers. Most singers love to stay up late and sleep until noon.

If you want to play cards in the afternoon, there are plenty of people there. But if you want to play in the morning, no way, you won't be able to get up.

Brigitte Lin, Leslie Cheung, and Lin Chien-lu were among the first to be mentioned. Later, Leslie Cheung made a phone call and managed to add Liu Chia-ling to the list.

While everyone chatted and played cards, Brigitte Lin smiled and remained expressionless, as if nothing had happened the night before. She even treated everyone to lunch and ordered takeout from the hotel.

It's said that Xu Ke and Shi Nansheng went to America, but in the afternoon, Liang Chaowei came over for a visit.

He is an introverted person, not one to talk or laugh much, but he is quite cultured and his conversations are engaging and meaningful. Actually, he wasn't originally known for his acting skills; he was a handsome guy who debuted as an actor. It's only in recent years that he has gradually come to understand acting and has become better and better.

Such examples are common.

Wang Jing once talked about Maggie Cheung. In fact, when she first debuted, she came from the Miss Hong Kong pageant and was just a pretty face. Later, she felt that this couldn't go on and wanted to change her image. It was Sylvia Chang who called her to Taiwan to film a movie and gave her a year of special training. She wasn't good at that movie, but Sylvia Chang had already opened up her potential, and she was just one step away from success. Then, coincidentally, she met Wong Kar-wai.

With just one film, Maggie Cheung stepped directly into the hall of fame.

I played for a whole day, countless rounds, and in the end, I calculated that I had won a small amount of three thousand yuan.

Leslie Cheung is usually a very good card player, but he seemed a bit distracted today and lost more than 10,000. Liu Jialing also lost, but Brigitte Lin was the big winner, pocketing more than 20,000.

After nightfall, everyone had their own social engagements and events. Before five o'clock, the card table was closed, and everyone said their goodbyes.

Before parting, Lin Jianlu hugged Lin Qingxia and said goodbye.

Nothing seemed to have changed, everything seemed the same as before, and the events of last night were indeed over, but suddenly it seemed that we could no longer return to that state of casual banter and joking.

…………

I've arranged to have dinner with Lao Wang and Lao Dou and their spouses tonight.

On August 1st, Lao Wang released her new album "Restless," an album with a strong Beijing rock vibe. Dou Wei introduced her to Zhang Yadong, who then produced the album for her.

Moreover, a large portion of the lyrics and music on the album were written by Wang Fei herself. From the lyrics and music to the style, it can be considered a bold attempt—an album with a strong experimental nature.

The results were mediocre.

It has been on the market for at least a month, but it is selling far less than her previous albums.

Her previous album, "The Sound of Faye Wong," sold over 300,000 copies in Taiwan, and her earlier album, "Sky," even sold over 700,000 copies in Taiwan, making her a force to be reckoned with!
This album, "Restless," is likely to be a disaster. We were talking about it while playing cards this morning. Leslie Cheung said he estimates that Faye Wong's album will only sell 20,000 to 30,000 copies in Hong Kong, and he doesn't know if it can sell 150,000 copies in Taiwan. As for global sales, 300,000 copies is a big hurdle, and 500,000 copies is out of the question.

For her, it was definitely a complete disaster!

But judging from her appearance, she didn't seem to care much—her contract with Cinepoly Records was essentially over, and this was her last album under contract, so she was playing it boldly and having a great time, which was enough for her.

Of course, she said she plans to release one last Cantonese EP with her former label before leaving.

The outside world is unaware of this, but Lin Jianlu already knows that she has indeed decided to go to EMI Records—EMI offered her a signing fee of up to HK$6000 million to sign her!
Of course, everyone was saving face for each other, and she would only officially sign with EMI when her contract expired next year. In the meantime, she would give birth—well, she was already showing.

Oh, by the way, she recently gave an interview to Time magazine, and she'll probably be on the cover of Time magazine sometime in October—the fourth Chinese person and the second female singer.

…………

We chatted until quite late, and by the time we finished dinner and went home, it was almost 10 p.m.

Upon opening the hotel room door, they found the lights were already on, and even the TV was on. Then they saw Liang Yongqi stand up from the sofa, her face beaming with joy, "Brother Lu!"

She pointed to the room key inserted in the door for accessing electricity and said, "I took one of your room keys this morning!"

He pulled her into his arms; she was so fragrant and soft.

She was a tall girl, only seven or eight centimeters shorter than Lin Jianlu, whose waist she could touch with a slight bend. "Does it still hurt?", she asked. Her face flushed instantly. She nodded first, then shook her head, and quickly explained, "I'm fine, Brother Lu!"

Forget it, it's still swollen to the touch!
So he kissed her and said, "Want to take a bath with me? We'll just sleep today, nothing else."

She seemed secretly relieved and very happy, "Okay!"

…………

He spent a total of eight and a half days in Hong Kong. However, he couldn't go to Taiwan yet and had to return to the capital first. Chen Shuhua was definitely still waiting, but there was no other way. Qiong Yao's daughter-in-law, He Xiuqiong, was going to the capital in person. Lin Jianlu was the matchmaker and middleman for this cooperation. If he didn't go and introduce them, the atmosphere would be difficult to control if the two sides made direct contact.

Then let's go back to the capital first, since he's also a bit homesick.

Although they weren't on the same flight, they arrived only forty minutes apart. When Lin Jianlu walked out of the arrival hall, she could already see Zhang Heping with his secretary and He Xiuqiong waiting there.

Everyone met up, shook hands, and then took a car together to the city center.

After settling He Xiuqiong in, Lin Jianlu first spoke with Zhang Heping in person, since some things are better said face-to-face than over the phone. Then, in the evening, Lin Jianlu hosted a dinner for He Xiuqiong, and Zhang Heping also came. They had a formal face-to-face discussion—and both were very satisfied.

The registration and establishment of Forbidden City Film Industry will take some time and involve going through procedures. It is a state-owned holding company, and it not only has important strongholds like Beijing Film Studio under the control of the Ministry of Truth, but also several important cultural enterprises under the jurisdiction of the capital city. If they want to cooperate, they will definitely have to go through their respective meetings.

However, this did not prevent Zhang Heping, the future chairman of Forbidden City Film Industry, from reaching a series of verbal agreements with He Xiuqiong on behalf of the company.

The next day, Lin Jianlu drove to pick up Jiang Qinqin, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, and took her directly to the hotel where He Xiuqiong was staying, so that the two sides could meet—He Xiuqiong was very satisfied again.

Of course, her satisfaction is useless; her mother-in-law's final approval is required.

However, there are no major problems. Firstly, Qiong Yao already favors Jiang Qinqin, and secondly, she is an important part of this collaboration—she is the person Lin Jianlu wants to promote, and Lin Jianlu's importance to this collaboration is self-evident.

They had a light lunch at the hotel restaurant and chatted for a while, after which Lin Jianlu stopped accompanying them—this was only because of an important collaboration; otherwise, Lin Jianlu wouldn't have accompanied anyone, not even Qiong Yao, let alone He Xiuqiong.

"Okay, see you in Taiwan later!"

"goodbye!"

After escorting her back to her floor, Lin Jianlu took her leave with Jiang Qinqin and turned to enter the elevator.

As soon as they entered the elevator, Jiang Qinqin asked curiously, "Brother Lu, what kind of movie is it? Are you going to invest in making one?"

Lin Jianlu smiled and glanced at her, "Don't ask around, just wait for the Shanghai Theatre Academy."

She grabbed Lin Jianlu's hand and pleaded, "Brother! Tell me, is it really a Qiong Yao drama?"

As you get to know this girl better, you gradually realize she's not the delicate and pretty girl you saw in the music videos. If you only look at her photos or watch her performances, you might think she's incredibly beautiful, especially in period costumes where she's stunningly pretty and elegant. Words like "gentle as water" and "picturesque" don't even begin to describe her. She's a true beauty in period dramas. However, in reality, she's quite lively, a bit impulsive, loves to talk, laugh, and joke around, and is even a bit tomboyish—a stark contrast!

But her coquettish manner is exceptionally soft and endearing!

Lin Jianlu had no choice but to reveal a little, "Yes! I personally negotiated with Qiong Yao, so I guess you could say I'm an investor! It's an attempt at a cross-strait co-production! ... As for you, go back and study hard, don't keep calling to report what you've been up to lately, and don't check up on my whereabouts! When the time comes, I'll definitely let you act!"

She looked at him ingratiatingly, crossing her arms, "The leading lady?"

Lin Jianlu looked disgusted. "Tch! All you know is the female lead! I'll let you play the role!" She teased her again. This girl needed to be teased often, otherwise she would get too cocky and become arrogant. "This is Qiong Yao's drama. The female lead was originally cast as Chen Derong from Taiwan! She's famous enough, right? Can you compare?"

"Oh……"

She did indeed become much more obedient.

Just then, the elevator arrived at the first floor, and Lin Jianlu casually pulled her arm away before getting out.

But when they got back to the car and saw her pursed lips, Lin Jianlu couldn't help but chuckle. After starting the car, instead of leaving immediately, she turned to look at her and said, "I'll try my best!"

She immediately perked up. "Really?"

Lin Jianlu smiled but didn't answer. He started driving, and once they were on the main road, he asked, "Shall I take you back to school?"

She quickly said, "No! I've already taken a day off! Besides, I haven't seen you for months, how can you be so heartless..."

"Forget it," she interrupted, "So where are you going? What do you want to do?"

"Hehe, treat me to a nice meal!"

She then pouted and said, "Brother..."

Oh my goodness, how can such a brash girl suddenly become so charming and make people's bones melt when she acts cute!
"Alright, alright, stop! Let me take you to buy some clothes first, then we'll go out for a nice meal tonight!"

"Okay! My brother Lu loves me the most!"

***
This is the third update today, 11,000 words. I'm asking for a few more monthly votes!
(End of this chapter)