Huayu: Starting from joining the mainstream entertainment industry in 96

Chapter 10, Section 10: Making Unmarried People Want to Get Married

Tuesday, May 4th.

Night had already fallen, and the outer room of Wang Sheng's house in the Beijing Film Studio's residential area was slightly crowded.

Wang Sheng, Chen Liang, Monkey, Da Liu, and Xiao Bing were all crammed into this small space that served as both a living room and a dining room.

The king's father and mother were in the inner room and had already gone to sleep.

They had to go to work early the next day, so they didn't join in the fun and avoid adding to their troubles.

Wang Sheng and the others played cards quietly, eating the melon seeds that Da Liu had brought.

The 18-inch Peony brand color television set on the TV cabinet has been tuned to the arts and culture channel of Beijing TV.

The screen was playing a dubbed version of "Roman Holiday," featuring black-and-white images of Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck, but without sound.

This is content broadcast on the Arts and Entertainment Channel's "Midnight Movies" program.

In the days before the internet was widespread, television was the main window for obtaining information, and even if the advertisements were of poor quality, they could still reach many people.

The "Midnight Cinema" program on Beijing Arts Channel has a unique and stable audience during the late-night hours.

The first category is artsy youths and intellectuals. The classic dubbed films, art films, or old films shown in "Midnight Cinema" attract arts lovers, teachers, cultural workers, and others who pursue spiritual life and are used to staying up late.

They are more sensitive to visuals, emotions, and artistry.

The second category includes hospital staff on duty, factory night shift workers, taxi drivers finishing their night shifts, and people with simple insomnia; for them, watching TV late at night is an important form of companionship.

For them, advertisements might be background noise during breaks or information that suddenly catches their eye.

The third category is viewers who have no say at home. Nowadays, most families only have one television, and only late-night programs are available for these people to watch and choose. This type of viewer is also the least valuable.

The fourth category is...

"What time is it?" Chen Liang raised his wrist for the nth time, looking at his cheap digital watch. "Why isn't this movie over yet? I'm getting impatient."

"What's the rush? I said it's a pre-roll ad after 'Midnight Cinema,' so we have to wait until the movie finishes." Monkey was relatively calm, his eyes fixed on the screen: "But this movie is really good, Hepburn is a true goddess!"

"Goddesses belong to other people too..." Da Liu muttered, eliciting a few soft chuckles.

Wang Sheng didn't seem nervous at all. He had already won ten rounds of cards in a row, and there was no money involved in the betting. The only difference was that the losers had to slap a piece of paper on their faces.

Chen Liang and the others already had a lot of paper strips stuck to their faces, and they looked like they were about to evolve into White Impermanence.

In fact, Wang Sheng was still a little nervous. This was the first time that the project he led after his time travel had truly faced the market, and its success or failure depended on this.

The loan of 50,000 yuan, the trust of parents and brothers, are all pinned on this illusory advertisement.

The print media has already placed an advertisement, but there hasn't been much of a response yet.

Do your best, listen to destiny.

That was all Wang Sheng could think at this point.

……

Meanwhile, at the dormitory building of the Oriental Song and Dance Troupe.

Li Xiaoran was also sitting in front of the small public television set in the dormitory.

She finally managed to convince her two other roommates to allow her to watch the arts and culture channel at this time.

"Xiaoran, what kind of ad is this? Why do we have to watch it in the middle of the night?" a roommate asked, yawning. She had already made her bed and was ready to sleep.

"It was... taken by a friend, who asked me to check the quality," Li Xiaoran explained vaguely, her cheeks slightly flushed.

She didn't dare say she was the female lead, let alone mention the "veil kiss".

"Oh..." My roommate was clearly not interested and turned to face the wall: "See? Just keep the volume down."

Li Xiaoran nodded, hugged her knees, sat on a small stool, and stared intently at the screen.

She had seen the romantic story of "Roman Holiday" many times before, but at this moment she was somewhat absent-minded, glancing at the wall clock from time to time.

She felt a little confused.

Recalling the scene from that day's filming, Wang Sheng's profile as he focused on explaining, and that gentle yet unexpected kiss in the morning light... she shook her head, trying to dispel these images and tell herself it was just work.

But a strange sense of anticipation quietly spread through her heart. What would this advertisement, into which she had never experienced anything before, look like? How many people would see it?
……

Inside a guest room of a star-rated hotel catering to foreign guests in Beijing.

The lighting was dim and ambiguous.

A thrilling battle has just ended.

The two players are named David and Lisa.

Despite having foreign names, the two are actually Chinese. They just work for foreign companies and, following the company's rules, have given themselves a foreign identity.

David is the sales director of a well-known foreign company's Beijing representative office. He is in his early thirties and has an overseas background.

Lisa is the marketing manager of a foreign company. She studied at a university in Shanghai and her thinking is closely aligned with international trends.

The two met at a business cocktail party. Because they both yearned for the Western lifestyle, they maintained a "modern" relationship that went beyond ordinary friendship but rejected traditional constraints. They advocated living for the moment and believed in hedonism.

To cover up the sounds of the fight, the television inside the house was kept on—a tactic David learned abroad.

The channel that was playing happened to be the Beijing Arts and Literature Channel.

After taking a shower, the two were still not very sleepy, so they started watching.

Lisa was watching casually, but when she saw Princess Anne and Joe Bradley's restrained farewell at the press conference, and the deep helplessness and love hidden in those beautiful eyes, she couldn't help but be drawn in.

This classic romance film, made in the 1950s, was her introduction to love during her teenage years. She had fantasized countless times about encountering a romantic and profound love like Princess Anne, a love that she had to cherish in her heart. She nudged David, who had just lain down: "Hey, don't sleep yet, watch this with me, 'Roman Holiday,' my favorite."

David shrugged, leaned back on the headboard indifferently, picked up a box of Marlboro cigarettes from the bedside table, and lit one.

Nearly two hours later, the movie ended with a classic ending, and the credits slowly rolled.

Lisa was still immersed in the kind of romantic mood she longed for, one that was restrained and tragically beautiful.

The TV signal was not interrupted, and after a brief blackout, the commercial break began.

The first thing was a liquor advertisement, with a gruff male voice shouting "Powerful!"

Next came a health product advertisement, which exaggeratedly claimed to prolong life.

Lisa was somewhat disheartened and was about to pick up the remote to change the channel.

Suddenly, the television screen went dark. Before Lisa could react, a soft, warm golden light, like the morning sun, slowly spread out, and a soothing and affectionate piano melody flowed out, instantly captivating the listener's ears.

The picture gradually became clear.

In the hazy, backlit light, the silhouette of a bride in a pure white wedding dress emerges, her veil gently covering her beautiful features, and a halo of light outlines a sacred edge around her.

The style and quality of that wedding dress suggest it's quite expensive.

Standing opposite her was a groom in a sharp black suit. He was tall and handsome, with a well-defined profile and deep, focused eyes gazing at his bride.

A deep, magnetic male voice rang out, accompanied by a sacred vow:

I do.

The bride tilted her head slightly, and behind her veil, her eyes, like pools of water, sparkled with happiness and anticipation. Her red lips parted slightly, and her voice was sweet yet firm:
I do.

Then, the most classic scene appears—the groom bends down seemingly quickly, but actually very gently, to lift the bride's veil.

The picture only shows the groom's upper body, so the pose of sticking out his buttocks is not ugly; on the contrary, it has an indescribable elegance.

The bride lowered her head slightly in agreement, and as the veil was lifted, she looked up with a sense of surprise, her long eyelashes seemingly sparkling with light.

Their eyes were locked, and their love almost overflowed from the screen.

The groom slipped into the veil from a carefully designed angle.

Under the hazy veil, his lips gently yet firmly covered hers.

It was a brief kiss, yet one filled with boundless love.

The bride's shoulders shrugged slightly involuntarily, and a radiant smile of happiness bloomed on her face. Her lips were upturned, and her eyes were filled with laughter. She obediently, even with a hint of anticipation, closed her eyes slightly.

The entire shot is beautiful and sacred, full of cinematic quality and a sophisticated, "Western" romantic atmosphere that Lisa sought.

Just as Lisa was stunned by the scene, the camera quickly switched to other beautiful shots: the bride and groom exchanging rings, their fingers intertwined, facing the camera with happy smiles, against a backdrop of lawns and a church...

At the same time, metallic-textured artistic fonts appear on the screen:

Shengying Media
A unique love story film to commemorate you.

It also features sophisticated English subtitles.

A pleasant male voiceover begins simultaneously: "Shengying Media, creating unique love stories for you."

Below are two lines of slightly smaller text.

One line reads: Cinematic Wedding Video
You need to let people know exactly what you're selling.

One line is: the telephone number of Shengying Media's office.
As the commercials ended, the arts and culture channel lost signal.

The hotel room was quiet.

David exhaled a smoke ring and raised an eyebrow: "Wow... the photos are pretty high-quality. A wedding planning company? Are wedding services in China this sophisticated now? This looks like it was taken overseas."

His tone carried a hint of worldly-wise assessment.

But Lisa did not respond at all.

David turned his head in surprise and found Lisa staring blankly at the TV screen, which was now playing other content. Her eyes were glazed over, and her chest was rising and falling slightly, as if she was still immersed in the huge impact of the 15-second commercial.

The phrase "To engrave your unique love story" echoed repeatedly in her mind like a spell.

The classic Western romance evoked by "Roman Holiday" hadn't faded yet, and this wedding advertisement, which looked equally "stylish," exquisitely beautiful, and full of high-end customization and exclusivity, instantly struck a chord with her inner desire for "high-class," "classy," and "true romance."

She couldn't help but imagine what it would be like if it were her... wearing a high-end wedding dress that looked like it had stepped out of a foreign fashion magazine, being kissed and recorded so tenderly by a man like David, or even more successful, in a scene like a Hollywood movie... What a tasteful and classy experience that would be!

This is far more appealing than traditional wedding banquets and toasts, and it aligns better with her vision for her life.

The intense emotional resonance and visual allure were unlike anything she had ever experienced in any local wedding service advertisement; it looked so "international," so "high-end and classy."

“David…” Lisa suddenly spoke, her voice slightly unsteady, filled with an unprecedented longing: “How about we…get married? Just like in the commercials.”

"What?!" David was so startled he almost dropped his cigarette on the bed. He stared in astonishment at his lover, who, like him, championed "freedom," enjoyed the moment, and scoffed at traditional marriage. "Lisa, are you alright? All because of an advertisement?"

“That’s not an ordinary advertisement!” Lisa turned around, her eyes blazing with a light that seemed to ignite instantly. “It’s a lifestyle! It’s the highest form of expression of love! You understand? A unique love story! Just like the ones we see abroad!”

She repeated the words from the advertisement, her heart pounding with desire. "I need this! I must have this!"

David looked at Lisa, who suddenly seemed to have a fervent longing for marriage—and in such a "formalistic" way—and opened his mouth, unsure how to respond.

……

David and Lisa represent the fourth type of audience on Beijing TV's arts and entertainment channel. This group is quite random, but it contains viewers of considerable value...

(End of this chapter)