Huayu: Starting from joining the mainstream entertainment industry in 96

Chapter 187, page 185: Just turned eighteen~

In May 1998, the scenery of Taihu Lake in Wuxi was not yet fully scorched by the summer heat, and the air was filled with the freshness of water vapor and vegetation.

At the Wuxi Film and Television Base, the crew of "The Four Great Constables" is filming intensively. Although night has fallen, some night scenes have just finished shooting.

Cecilia Cheung, looking slightly tired, stepped out of the business vehicle arranged by the film crew and returned to her hotel, escorted by a group of assistants and two burly security personnel.

She wore a large sun hat and a mask, but her bright eyes and increasingly skillful demeanor still made her instantly recognizable.

The actors and crew members in the same group were already used to this, only occasionally casting envious or complicated glances at it.

This girl's popularity right now is truly astonishing.

Sometimes, even during a tight filming schedule, she has to ask the crew for leave to fly across the country to participate in commercial performances or advertising shoots.

Initially, there were some complaints within the production team, as no one wanted the filming schedule to be affected by the lead actor's frequent absences.

But when she thought of Cecilia Cheung's identity as an "inspirational young woman from Hong Kong Island" endorsed by official media, and especially the "Brother Sheng" behind her—Wang Sheng, the actual controller of Shengying Media and Enlight Media, all her complaints were silently swallowed back down.

In this circle, who doesn't know the power of that young "chief" in Beijing?

His people naturally receive special treatment and consideration.

Executive agent Li Xiuxiu quickly caught up with Zhang Bozhi and whispered the schedule for tomorrow.

As the de facto daily manager of Cecilia Cheung's management team, Li Xiuxiu was almost always by her side.

Cai Yinong and Li Xiuxiu had privately speculated about the true relationship between Zhang Bozhi and Wang Sheng.

Such a relentless allocation of resources and such strong support seem insufficient to be attributed solely to the boss's appreciation of a potential artist.

So, could Cecilia Cheung be Mr. Wang's "golden canary" in private?
If that's the case, this Hong Kong girl who's currently incredibly famous might one day become one of the "boss ladies" who need to be carefully served.

This thought made Li Xiuxiu, who was determined to gain a foothold on Wang Sheng's big ship and climb the social ladder, even more vigilant in her dealings with Zhang Bozhi.

She knew that serving Cecilia Cheung well was a way of indirectly demonstrating her ability and loyalty to Wang Sheng.

This was a rare opportunity for her, who was eager to seize the chance and achieve upward mobility; it could even be said to be the most direct "shortcut" she could currently access.

Therefore, Li Xiuxiu's care for Zhang Bozhi was meticulous, far exceeding the duties of an executive agent.

With a background as a journalist, she speaks fluent Mandarin and has clear logic. She personally took on the role of Zhang Bozhi's Mandarin teacher, helping her correct her pronunciation word by word and understand the emotions behind her lines. This is one of the important reasons why Cai Yinong believes that she is capable of taking on this important task.

In addition, she often personally took care of trivial matters that should have been handled by a personal assistant, such as delivering meals and water and reminding her to put on more clothes, striving to make Cecilia Cheung feel at ease and reassured in the details.

For example, today, after finishing work late at night, she was worried that the boxed meals provided by the crew might not suit her taste or might be cold, so she specially asked the hotel kitchen to prepare a light and nutritious Cantonese late-night snack and personally delivered it to Cecilia Cheung's room.

"Zhizhi, it's me, Xiuxiu." Li Xiuxiu gently knocked on the door.

After a while, the door opened, and a pleasant fragrance of shower gel wafted out.

Cecilia Cheung had clearly just taken a shower, wearing a silk bathrobe, her wet hair wrapped in a hair drying cap, her bare face showing a hint of weariness, yet appearing even more radiant.

"Sister Xiuxiu, come in." Cecilia Cheung stepped aside to let her in, her tone familiar. Li Xiuxiu placed the insulated food box on the coffee table in the small living room and opened it. Inside were delicate shrimp dumplings, siu mai, and a bowl of steaming hot congee with dried scallops: "Filming night scenes is tiring. Eat something before you sleep; it's good for your stomach."

"Thank you, Sister Xiuxiu, you're always so thoughtful." Cecilia Cheung smiled, walked to the sofa and sat down, but did not pick up her chopsticks immediately. Instead, she took off her hair drying cap and let her long, dark, damp hair fall down.

"Let me dry your hair first. Sleeping with wet hair can easily cause headaches." Li Xiuxiu picked up the hair dryer that was placed aside very naturally, walked behind Zhang Bozhi, and gently combed her long hair, turning on the warm air setting of the hair dryer.

The room was momentarily quiet amidst the buzzing of the hairdryer.

Zhang Bozhi closed her eyes, enjoying the meticulous care. After a moment, she suddenly spoke, her voice somewhat muffled by the wind noise: "Sister Xiuxiu, do I... have any more events scheduled in Beijing this month?"

Li Xiuxiu paused slightly as she quickly recalled the itinerary.

As an agent, she needs to be fully aware of all the artist's arrangements.

"Yes," she replied quickly, her tone certain. "On the morning of May 30th, there's a brand event at the Wangfujing Department Store in Beijing. They've invited you to be there. You'll probably need to perform two songs and interact with the fans. The afternoon... there are no plans for now; you're free to do as you please."

"The 30th... performance in the morning, free time in the afternoon..."

Cecilia Cheung murmured the same thing over and over, her tightly closed eyelashes trembling slightly.

Li Xiuxiu keenly caught the subtle expectation in her tone, and while continuing to blow-dry her hair, she smiled casually and said, "That's right, by then your scenes in Xicheng should be almost finished, so there's no need to rush back. The crew will probably be going back to Beijing in early June to film some more scenes."

Upon hearing this, Cecilia Cheung gave a soft "hmm" and said nothing more.

In the reflection of the mirror, Li Xiuxiu saw that the corners of her mouth seemed to curve upwards in a very small arc.

The hairdryer continued to work, its warm airflow brushing against the hair and carrying a pleasant fragrance.

Li Xiuxiu said no more and focused on doing her work.

She knew very well what she should ask and what she shouldn't ask.

This young "Hong Kong Rose" is not as simple and innocent as she appears.

After drying Zhang Bozhi's hair to about 70-80% dryness, Li Xiuxiu turned off the hairdryer and gently combed Zhang Bozhi's smooth and shiny long hair: "Okay, eat it while it's hot."

"Yes, thank you, Sister Xiuxiu." Zhang Bozhi turned around with a sweet smile on her face, seemingly in a good mood.

She picked up her chopsticks and began to eat her late-night snack in small bites.

Li Xiuxiu sat down beside her, watching her eat, but in her mind she was planning the details of the itinerary around May 30th.

Cecilia Cheung ate her food quietly, but her heart was not as calm as it appeared.

May 30th... Six days have passed since her eighteenth birthday.

For her, adulthood is not just a legal milestone, but more like... the removal of some kind of constraint and the opening of some kind of possibility.

(End of this chapter)