HuaYu97: Starting as a Singer

Chapter 143 [143] I, Li Bingbing, would rather starve to death than steal a man from my sister.
after an hour.

Gao Yuanyuan kicked Qi Yuan in annoyance.

Her back was practically broken, yet Qi Yuan still had the energy to read the script; he was an animal.

Last time, Du Qifeng wanted to invite Qi Yuan to film "Running Out of Time" in Hong Kong.

There was no further news, and Qi Yuan assumed that Du Qifeng had changed his mind.

Unexpectedly, Du Qifeng personally called him in the last two days and told him that the reason "Dark War" didn't contact him was not because they stood him up, but because they felt there was no suitable role for Qi Yuan in "Dark War".

Now he's taken out the script for "Gunfire" and wants Qi Yuan to play the male lead, A Lai.

To be honest, Qi Yuan was a little surprised.

To cast him as the male lead in a Hong Kong film right off the bat is a rare privilege reserved for mainland male actors, so rare that you could count them on one hand.

Qi Yuan was unaware of the matter concerning the White Dragon King of Thailand.

He felt that Du Qifeng might have cast him as A Lai because the production team was too poor.

Du Qifeng is a director who came from TVB. In the past two years, the Hong Kong film market has been sluggish, and companies such as Huaguoxing and Golden Harvest, owned by the Xiang family, have all started making films.

It's just that these directors who came from TVB have had a rather tough time.

Du Qifeng and his colleagues all needed to eat, so he approached his former employer, TVB, for investment.

However, the head of TVB, the Shao family, no longer wanted to make movies, so Du Qifeng didn't earn a penny and went to Taiwan to find Qiu Fusheng, the head of TVB.

Qiu Fusheng originally didn't want to invest, but out of consideration for Du Qifeng, he gave him 250 million yuan.

The figure of 250 represents the total investment in "The Gunfire".

With this budget, each scene can't be reshot more than twice, otherwise there won't be enough film.

Du Qifeng cast Qi Yuan as the male lead not only because of the White Dragon King's evaluation of Qi Yuan, but also because he had other motives: to use Qi Yuan's name to solicit more investment from other investors.

Qi Yuan is the male celebrity that Hong Kong's wealthy women most want to keep as a mistress; perhaps there really is a wealthy woman willing to spend money on him.

Even if he doesn't, he'll just trick Qi Yuan into investing some money.

Anyway, Qi Yuan is rich. He earned tens of millions in just over a year. Even a small fraction of that is enough for him to spend.

To show his sincerity, Du Qifeng called Qi Yuan again: "Yuanzi, don't underestimate us just because our investment is only 250 million. Let me tell you, our movie will definitely be amazing..."

Every great director is a con artist, and Du Qifeng is no exception.

He described the movie in glowing terms, as if it would be a box office hit and win countless awards if Qi Yuan agreed to star in it.

Most popular actors wouldn't believe Du Qifeng's hype.

250 million? Even the investors think you're an idiot. It would be a miracle if your movie succeeded.

Du Qifeng couldn't find any popular actors in Hong Kong, so he eventually found Wu Zhenyu.

Wu Zhenyu is currently only a second or third-tier actor in Hong Kong, and has virtually no connection to the word "famous".

As a time traveler, Qi Yuan knew how amazing the movie "The Mission" was.

In its previous life, this film, with an investment of 250 million, not only won the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Director, but also the Golden Horse Award for Best Director and Best Actor, defeating a number of films with investments far exceeding those of "The Mission".

This is a true low-budget dark horse, and also Du Qifeng's masterpiece, the pinnacle of Hong Kong gangster aesthetics.

Sometimes it's just that strange; a movie made with a huge investment often turns out bad, while a movie made with a small amount of money and a tight budget often turns out to be a masterpiece.

"Du Sheng, your script is too simplistic. Let me think about it some more." Qi Yuan wasn't in a hurry to agree, preferring to give Du Qifeng some time to cool off.

Du Qifeng was indeed more anxious than Qi Yuan: "That's how it is in Hong Kong. Many films start shooting with just a title, and they still become classics. Besides, just give me twenty days of availability after the New Year. I guarantee I can wrap up filming in twenty days, and it won't affect your ability to make big money."

In fact, Qi Yuan had already made up his mind that he would participate in this movie. The male lead in "The Mission" was far better than the supporting role in "The Long Night".

If necessary, it wouldn't be a bad idea to let him invest a small amount of money.

He just can't easily pull out his own money, because many Hong Kong directors and actors treat mainlanders like suckers.

If you're too quick to spend money, they'll treat you like a fool, daring to quote you thousands of dollars for a straw hat.

Later, some Hong Kong directors took mainland investment to make movies, buying a villa for each film they made, treating mainland investors like韭菜 (a metaphor for exploiting them).

One must always be wary of others; he had to be cautious, at least to prevent Du Qifeng from taking advantage of him as a fool with too much money.

Gao Yuanyuan listened to Qi Yuan and Du Qifeng talking on the phone the whole time.

She didn't understand Cantonese, so Qi Yuan translated the conversation for her. She looked at Qi Yuan with a hint of admiration.

As expected of her man, he is not only physically excellent, but also in every other way. Directors in Hong Kong begged him to play the male lead.

She heard that other mainland actors struggled to even get a supporting role in Hong Kong.

"It's a pity that there wasn't a suitable role for you in this movie," Qi Yuan said with some regret.

In his memory, there was only one female character in "The Mission".

Neither Gao Yuanyuan nor Fan Xiaopang could handle this role; Gao Yuanyuan's temperament simply wasn't suited to the "elder sister-in-law" type.

Fan Xiaopang is too young, that won't work either.

The current Fan Bingbing doesn't look like the eldest sister-in-law anymore; she's too young, like a schoolgirl being kept by the eldest brother.

……

Li Bingbing's residence.

This time it was Li Xue's turn to come to Li Bingbing's residence to look for someone.

I met Li Xue once after watching Qi Yuan's concert in Taiwan.

During that time, Qi Yuan led her team to travel back and forth between several major cities in Taiwan. The Li Bingbing and Li Xue sisters did not spend much time together and only had one meal before parting ways.

When Li Bingbing saw Li Xue again this time, she felt that he had changed so much since they had been apart for three days.

Her younger sister has really made a name for herself with Qi Yuan; she's now a prospective manager and even helps Qi Yuan run his studio.

The two were whispering in bed: "Sis, why don't you switch to Star Wish Studio? I'll let you in on a secret. Director Du Qifeng from Hong Kong wants Qi Yuan to play the male lead in his movie. I've read the script, and there's a gangster's wife who plays a big role in the plot. If you switch, I'll convince Qi Yuan to help you get the role."

Li Bingbing was somewhat tempted. Over the years, she had followed Wang Jinghua, who had taken great care of her, but she hadn't really gained any resources from her.

She was only briefly tempted: "Fine, you can work for him. Sister Hua has been very good to me, and I don't want to do anything to betray her."

Actually, Li Xue regretted saying those words as soon as they left her mouth.

Qi Yuan is her favorite idol; it's impossible for her not to have feelings for her idol.

However, she was very sensible and planned to first demonstrate her abilities to Qi Yuan, making Qi Yuan unable to leave her, his outstanding manager, before finally winning Qi Yuan over.

As for those beautiful women, what women can compare to a virtuous wife? She could wipe them out with one hand.

If her older sister were to run into Qi Yuan at Star Wish Studio and spark a romance, that would be a huge problem. She couldn't very well have a bloody confrontation with her own sister, could she?
Li Xue changed her tune, saying, "I knew you couldn't live without Sister Hua. Don't worry, I'll still do my best to help you get the role of the eldest sister-in-law. You used to protect me, now it's my turn to protect you. But let me make this clear first, you're not allowed to have any feelings for Qi Yuan."

Li Bingbing was speechless: "..."

Her younger sister is so possessive of her food that she even guards against her own sister.

Is she that kind of person? Even if Li Bingbing starved to death or jumped off a building, she would never fight with her own sister for a man.

(End of this chapter)