A perfect life begins with changing the timeline.

Chapter 138 All Creatures Compete Freely Under the Frosty Sky (Happy New Year!)

A 21-hour sleeper train ride is indeed quite tough.

However, at around 6 a.m. on October 18th, the train finally arrived in Ningbo.

Feeling a little tired and unwell, Li Mu carried his bag and followed Brother Bie out of the station and arrived at the hotel he had booked in advance.

The hotel was prepared by the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival specifically for accommodating reporters. Upon arrival, Li Mu and Bie Yan both received press passes and schedules.

You can rest and stroll around during the day. The opening ceremony will be held at 18 PM.

First, a grand cultural performance titled "Sailing" will be held. Then, the opening film, "A Dream in the Garden," will be shown on screen. Starting tomorrow, Li Mu will be able to use his press pass to enter and watch movies in the cinemas that have been booked there.

This was his first time attending a film festival like this, and I must say, it was quite a novel experience.

However, judging from Brother Bie's lack of interest—he's probably been here quite a few times and is already tired of it.

Before returning to his room, Li Mu asked, "Brother Bie, should I go scout out the area first, and maybe write a short article about the pre-film festival hype?"

"Okay, you can arrange it yourself."

Bie Yan waved his hand: "I came here this time just to show you around and introduce you to a few people. From now on, you'll probably be the one bringing other people. As for how to handle things, you're a formal reporter now, so figure it out yourself."

"Okay, I understand. Then you can leave the laptop in my room?"

"Okay. Call me if anything comes up, I'm going to lie down for a bit."

The older brother immediately went into "slacking off" mode, while Li Mu, after tidying up his things, took the movie guide, glanced at the route map, and then carried his camera out.

He first went to the hotel restaurant to eat something to fill his stomach, and then quickly went downstairs.

There were no private cars this time, but there were several minibuses at the hotel entrance, specially prepared by the Ningbo side for reporters, to take them to the Ningbo Gymnasium, where the opening ceremony performance tonight and the live broadcast of the awards ceremony on the 22nd will be held.

Li Mu hung his press pass around his neck and got into the car.

There is currently no one on the bus.

It's obviously still a bit early.

He found a seat near the back and a window, huddled the camera in his arms, yawned, and closed his eyes.

The older brother can slack off, but he can't.

Although Brother Bie said to let the entertainment reporters dig up some small news, Li Mu was actually very clear about his own position.

Just because the older brother doesn't care doesn't mean I can do nothing.

Be diligent and do all the tasks, big and small. Whether they're useful or not is one thing, but preventing others from finding fault with them is another.

As he closed his eyes to rest and pondered what template to use to write an article of how many words, a knocking sound rang out. He opened his eyes and saw two people wearing light jackets getting into the car.

They were all holding cameras.

This is clearly someone in the same industry.

However, the relationship between journalists is clearly not at the level of exchanging pleasantries upon meeting; it must be more like a江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to a world of martial arts and chivalry) level.

The two saw Li Mu, and Li Mu saw them too.

Then, the two of them found a seat in front and sat down.

Whispers could be heard from time to time inside the car, but Li Mu couldn't hear them clearly.

After waiting a while, seven or eight people arrived one after another, and it was already 8 o'clock.

Finally, the driver got into the car and started the engine.

The reporters, who were sitting in a very relaxed manner, were taken to the stadium by the car.

This was Li Mu's first time in Ningbo, and to be honest, the city didn't leave a deep impression on him—after all, even though it's located on the coast, it's still not as prosperous as Guangzhou.

"bite."

A text message came through.

"Brother Li, have we arrived yet?"

It was sent by Fan Taobing.

"We're here. Are you awake?"

"Yeah, I just got in the car. We start filming on location today. What about you? What are your plans for today?"

"I'm walking towards the stadium now, planning to take some photos and write a short article about my experience."

"Oh, is Ningbo fun?"

"I don't know, I'm unfamiliar with this place."

"Is the film festival atmosphere strong?"

"I didn't notice anything —"

"That's great! I want to go too—but unfortunately I'm not eligible."

"Then come over here, I'll get you a press pass."

"Haha, you're so annoying! If I were to go, it would definitely be as an actor!"

"Then you come."

"Actress Fan Bing doesn't qualify."

"Reporter Fan Linbing is acceptable."

"Haha, you're so annoying!"

The two chatted back and forth, one after the other.

In fact, even Li Mu himself didn't realize that his phone bill was particularly high this month, and—his inbox was basically full of messages from her.

It can only be said that habit is a terrible thing.

The two chatted for the rest of the way, and the car arrived at the stadium.

A giant poster for the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival has been hung outside the stadium, and some staff members are carrying materials inside.

Like his colleagues, Li Mu quickly raised his camera.

Because preparations are still underway, reporters are not allowed to enter the stadium at this time.

As a result, the reporters who got up early in the morning only managed to take photos of the outside.

After about an hour, since there wasn't much to photograph, the group could only stand by the roadside and wait for the next minibus.

There are three minibuses in total, departing every half hour to take everyone to and from the destination.

The other reporters were all chatting away, but—perhaps because Li Mu's face looked too young, not many people paid him any attention.

"A young man with no beard is unreliable."

He didn't try to curry favor with them, but instead picked up his notebook and started writing an article.

Highlight the key aspects, such as the unique features of the film festival and the preparations for the Ningbo Gymnasium.

After writing half a page, the second minibus arrived.

He got into the car and drove back to the hotel. Then he went back to his room, turned on his laptop—

I began editing my first article, based on the format written in my notebook, about my experiences before the opening ceremony of the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival.

Admittedly, notebooks are much more convenient than handwriting.

You can polish and revise as you write.

Finally, after about an hour, he wrote an article of more than 700 words. At the same time, he edited the photos on the memory card and named them "Photo 1" and "Photo 2". After checking that the "Photo 1" format he inserted in the descriptive paragraphs of the article was correct, he considered the work done.

Leaning back in my chair, just as I was about to enjoy a moment of leisure, the phone rang.

It was someone else who called.

"Where are you?"

"Room."

"Okay, get dressed, let's go eat."

"Okay—Brother Bie, I just wrote a short article, shall I take it to you?"

"Okay, give it to me."

"

So, Li Mu quickly pried open the door to Bie Yan's room and handed her the laptop.

After glancing at it briefly, Bie Yan nodded: "It's alright, send it back to the office this afternoon."

"OK."

Li Mu responded and walked out with him.

"Brother Bie, what should we eat?"

"I don't know either, it's just a Ningbo specialty. Your brother Liu is waiting for us downstairs."

"Brother Liu?"

Li Mu was taken aback.

For a moment, I didn't even know who it was.

The older man nodded: "Yes, remember who we played cards with the first time we went to Macau?"

"—Is it that Brother Liu?"

Recalling the bespectacled, unremarkable-looking middle-aged man, Li Mu asked.

"right."

Bie Yan nodded: "His name is Liu Chong, and he works at China Film Publishing House."

"China Film Publishing House?"

Li Mu didn't really know the specific functions of this unit for a while.

But thinking about it—being able to have the name "China Film Group" attached to it must be quite something.

However, Bie Yan quickly cleared up some of his doubts: "Yes, the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival, they are one of the organizers. You know the magazine *Global Screen*?"

"Yes, it's one of the most authoritative magazines in the film industry."

"That's from their publishing house. He came here as an organizer with his company staff, and I happened to be here too, so we had a meal together."

"Understood."

Li Mu didn't inquire about anything else.

He didn't say much more.

After the two went downstairs, they saw a Jetta with a Ningbo license plate at the entrance.

Liu Chong, who had only met Brother Liu once, stood by the car and waved in their direction.

Bie Yan responded with a smile, and by the time she reached the car, Liu Chong had already gotten in.

So, Bie Yan got in first and Li Mu got in the back. After they got in the car, the Jetta drove off.

How are you feeling?

These were Liu Chong's first words. As he spoke, he offered cigarettes to Li Mu, who accepted one.

Judging from his question, it was clear that he was aware of Bie Yan's physical condition.

"I'll have the surgery in November, and then I guess I'll have to say goodbye to drinking. What should we eat?"

"I'll take you two to try some local Ningbo specialties—actually, I find most of the food here a bit too salty, but some of the small fish, snails, and shellfish are quite flavorful and good with drinks—what a pity."

Contrary to Li Mu's previous impression of him as a man of few words, Brother Liu shook his head as he spoke, "I won't drink today."

"No way, drink up! I can't drink, but that's why I brought Xiao Li here—Xiao Li's alcohol tolerance is just incredible! The other day it was Zhou Jian's birthday, there were over a dozen people, and he went around twice and drank over a pound of whiskey. When we got to the karaoke place, he toasted other people for me and drank a whole roulette-sized shot glass of whiskey—"

"————"

Before Liu Chong could even express his thoughts, Li Mu's face turned green.

No, bro.

So, after all that, I drank that much?

No wonder I was throwing up like a stupid dog —

Liu Chong glanced at Li Mu and then smiled, "That's fine too. Today, Li Mu and I will drink, and you can serve us tea and water."

"They even offer to take you home."

Bie Yan joked, then asked, "Looking at the guest list, the guests this time are all quite prominent. Even Wang Xiaoxiang, the chairman of the Golden Horse Awards, has been invited?"

Liu Chong nodded: "Yes, the people have arrived. Haha, they had no choice but to come. With the enemy army pressing in, if they didn't come soon, starting next year, Hollywood films will flood the mainland market and squeeze their living space. By then, it will be too late."

"

Li Mu was taken aback when he heard his words.

But Bie Yan nodded slightly, and said with a sigh, "Hollywood is a monster—it's not something you can just stop. So, they want the country to come up with a solution?"

"I guess so. They suggested that we could follow the example of South Korea and Japan and create a 'protection month' for domestic films, during which foreign films would not be allowed to be shown."

"What did you say over there?"

"It will always rain, and girls will always get married. A stagnant pool cannot nurture a true dragon king, therefore—all creatures compete freely under the frosty sky."

"Tsk."

Don't just sigh with admiration, "What great wisdom!"

Li Mu blinked subconsciously.

Putting everything else aside, it seems that Brother Liu really admires great figures.