A perfect life begins with changing the timeline.

Chapter 154 Writing an Article

I learned from my girlfriend that it's quite convenient to get to Hengdian from Yanjing. You can fly to Yiwu, then transfer to Dongyang, or hire a car directly to Hengdian. The journey, including both the flight and the car, takes about four hours.

So he dialed his girlfriend's number, thinking he would tell her that he was done here and was heading to the airport now.

"Beep beep... Hello, I was just about to call you."

Li Mu was taken aback and asked in confusion:

"What's wrong?"

"Don't come today... sigh."

Fan Bingbing let out a long sigh, which only confused Li Mu more.

We already agreed to meet in Hengdian, so why can't we go now?

"Why? Has anything changed on your end?"

"It's not me, it's the film crew. We're going to shoot on location now."

Fan Bingbing's voice suddenly lowered considerably:

"The props for the interior scene were accidentally damaged by the staff. We were supposed to be filming an interior scene today, but now we can't. Director Ma has temporarily changed it to an exterior scene, and we're all heading to the filming location now. There's another film crew using the props there, and we have to wait until they're done using them before we can start rebuilding and filming... We'll definitely be working overtime today. I just saw that the assistant director has already started preparing for tonight's night scene."

Li Mu's lips twitched.

"Didn't you just finish working overtime yesterday?"

"So these people in Hong Kong are inhuman. They're so stingy, they practically live two days' worth of work in one. Sigh~"

Fan Bingbing let out another long sigh:

"But thinking about it carefully, it makes sense. Films in Hong Kong are very tight on investment, and a crew's daily expenses are not small. If they can finish a day earlier, they can save money for that day."

"...Then what should I do?"

Li Mu was speechless.

"Should I just go straight back to Guangzhou?"

"……hey-hey."

The voice on the phone sounded a little awkward.

"I didn't expect them to change the plan so decisively. Originally, the plan was to rush to finish filming all the daytime scenes first, and then wrap up the night scenes last. But now it looks like we'll have to do it in between. But with them doing it in between, I'm not sure when I'll start work or when I'll finish... What if you come and can only wait for me in the hotel? I'll definitely feel bad. If I feel bad, and then I can't get into character... then the progress will be even slower."

"..."

Li Mu was speechless.

Filmmaking is truly a very "idealistic" activity.

The time required to complete a task in one go is different from that required to complete it in many goes, and the work progress will naturally be different as well.

"Oh well."

With some reluctance, Li Mu still agreed:

"Then I won't disturb your work."

"……Um."

Now it was Fan Bingbing who was somewhat unwilling.

Ultimately, however, at this moment, the actor's professionalism and rationality prevailed.

"Then I'll finish up as soon as possible and go to Guangzhou to be with you. Okay, I have to get on the train now."

"Um."

After hanging up the phone, Li Mu stood at the entrance of this nationally renowned hospital and scratched his head.

Where...are we going?

I definitely can't go back to Brother Bie's place. After all, I've already visited him, and it wouldn't be appropriate to go back now.

The problem is that he has only just arrived in Yanjing.

Do we really have to go back to Guangzhou?

He looked helpless.

After much thought, I realized that there was really nowhere else to go, and it seemed that I had no choice but to go back.

He had initially found the cold of Yanjing comforting, but after being outside for a while, he couldn't stand the chill anymore. And after hailing a taxi and telling the driver he was going to the airport, he shivered.

"Waaah~"

After a quick snap, and with the added comfort of the warm air in the taxi, I felt a bit more comfortable.

Seeing how cold and disheveled he looked, the driver couldn't help but laugh:

"Are you cold?"

"Hmm, it's really cold."

"Of course, it's just that there's a cold wave these past few days. This is already much better; when it first started the day before yesterday, it was incredibly cold..."

To be honest, this driver with the local accent was quite talkative. Before Li Mu could even say a few words, he started talking first.

Li Mu echoed the man's words until the man stopped talking, then he took out his phone and called the airline to book a ticket back home.

But having just finished discussing the flight, he inexplicably felt a little unsatisfied and asked another question:

Are there any flights to Yiwu right now?

"Um, Mr. Li, please wait a moment... Yes, it's around the same time as the trip to Guangzhou, arriving at 3:1 PM."

A thought suddenly occurred to him...

……

The airport food was expensive and unpalatable. Li Mu quickly ate a couple of bites and then passed through security early. He entered the VIP lounge using the travel gold card issued by Guangfa Bank.

Ignoring the snacks and books in the lounge, he found a corner, opened his notebook, and fell into deep thought.

In fact, he has been designing how to write this interview article for the past few days, and has already done many different format simulations and first drafts.

But no matter how much I wrote, it didn't feel like the feeling I wanted, so I could only use it as a reference.

At this moment, there are ten names in his notebook.

Zhou Xun, Zhao Wei, Yuan Li, Li Bingbing, Fan Bingbing, Zhang Ziyi, Mei Ting, Xu Jinglei, Miao Pu, Tao Hong.

These are the ten people he selected himself.

Regardless of personal preferences, even if your girlfriend is here, there is only one criterion for selection.

That is the work of art.

Let's not even mention actresses like Mei Ting and Miao Pu, who are specialists in serious dramas and playing elegant, demure roles. Tao Hong is a double winner of the Huabiao and Golden Rooster Awards, and Zhao Wei and her girlfriend are even more renowned...

In short, the ten people he selected all had works that either won awards, received official recognition, or were extremely popular.

Of course, this was just Li Mu's own opinion. Among the other colleagues he interviewed these past few days, the list of ten people included both identical and different names. But ultimately…

Zhao, Zhou, Zhang, and Xu are like evergreen trees, constantly in everyone's conversations.

Therefore, Li Mu's current writing will be based on these four people.

Parentheses: temporarily.

This is the first version; we're just making a sample.

Even if the number of interviewees expands and the list includes different people, as long as the basic framework is established, the article can be published simply by changing the individual sections.

Holding the pen, he fell into deep thought.

After thinking for a moment, I began to write:

"The Chinese film and television industry after the millennium was both prosperous and bewildered."

Heroes grow old, beauties turn gray. The older generation of veteran actresses—Liu Xiaoqing, Pan Hong, Si Qin, Gao Wa, Chen Chong—have either moved far away, reduced their workload and retired, or are relegated to playing mother-in-law/daughter-in-law roles. Who will carry on the enormous, radiant stage they left behind?

He paused at this point.

I subconsciously wondered whether or not to include Liu Xiaoqing and her group in this article...

After all, this is an article evaluating four young actresses, so it seems a bit inappropriate to suddenly include these actors.

After thinking for a moment, he crossed that line out.

But he thought the eight characters "Heroes grow old and beauties grow old" were quite fitting.

So it was preserved.

Just as I was satisfied with these eight words, I suddenly realized that if I crossed out Liu Xiaoqing and his group's words, then the opening description of "a scene of prosperity" would not hold true.

then……

This beginning has become a scrapped beginning again.

It was ruthlessly crossed out.

Look, this is what makes writing articles difficult.

Having already written countless failed attempts at the beginning, Li Mu habitually turned the page...

……

It was almost 4 p.m., and feeling the chill of Yiwu... Li Muxin remarked that the temperature here felt about the same as in Yanjing.

Please, this cold wave must not move any further south.

Otherwise, if you go to Guangdong, heaven knows how many people will be freezing like lambs.

He walked out of the airport while thinking about it.

Compared to the massive size of Yanjing Airport, Yiwu Airport looks rather pathetic.

It felt like a train station, small and short.

"Hey buddy, where are you going? My brand new Santana..."

"Where did the boss go?"

"Downtown, downtown, ten bucks and I'm off!"

Amidst the shouts of a group of unlicensed taxi drivers, Li Mu, feeling increasingly cold as the sun set, decided to stop wasting time and chose the driver who looked most agreeable, asking:

"How much does it cost to go to Hengdian?"

The driver's eyes lit up instantly.

After discussing the price, Li Mu thought it was acceptable and got into the Santana.

He didn't tell Fan Bingbing, but planned to give her a surprise.

After Santana took him all the way to Hengdian, Li Mu, who had an extraordinary memory, reminded him to park the car in front of the Guomao Building.

He paid the fare and got out of the car.

Looking at the tall building in front of him, he felt quite familiar with it, having visited it once before.

After walking straight in, I asked for a room.

He waited until he got to his room before sending Fan Bingbing a message:

Call me when you're done. I'm busy for a bit.

He had lunch, and then drank a lot of beverages and ate some airplane food on the plane, but he wasn't hungry at all.

Since it was already dark, he was too lazy to go out, so he simply opened his notebook again and continued working on the beginning of the article.

To be honest, the tranquil environment of the hotel was much better than that of the airport. As soon as he sat down at the table, he felt his inspiration flow out like a torrent.

"The Chinese film and television industry after the millennium is still thriving."

As history rolls ever onward and China aligns itself with international standards, the thriving Chinese-language film and television market also looks forward to connecting with the world.

New talents emerge in every generation. The superstars who once shone brightly in an era are inevitably growing old, while the middle-aged actors who form the backbone of the industry are also shining brightly. New faces are springing up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, but who will be able to carry the torch in the next decade remains a suspense.

Therefore, after months of investigation by our reporters, and considering five indicators—the number of works produced over the past few years, viewership/box office ratings, media exposure, audience recognition, and industry reputation—we have solemnly selected four young actresses and bestowed upon them a brand new title—the Four Little Actresses. (Note 1)

Li Mu paused at this point.

On one hand, his phone vibrated; a message had arrived. On the other hand…

He looked at the five indicators he had set in his last paragraph...

To be honest, these five indicators were just a "pretext" he came up with on the spot, but at this moment he suddenly felt that they were quite appropriate.

Or... should we really use them as performance evaluation criteria?

After thinking for a moment, he underlined the passage and added an emphasis mark before picking up his phone to take a look.

New short message: Fan Bingbing.

"We're having lunch, then we'll work overtime. Have you arrived in Guangzhou yet?"

"Call me after you get off work, and I'll write an article about the four little actresses. You don't need to reply."

After sending the message, Li Mu put his phone aside and fell into deep thought again.

(Note 1: Because of the passage of time and the fact that the *Southern Metropolis Daily* did not operate online at the time, there is absolutely no trace of this article about the "Four Little Actresses" online. The only one that can be found is an article published by the *Southern Metropolis Daily* in 2003, titled "[2002 Entertainment Yearbook: The Four Little Actresses Each Have Another Brilliant Year]", based on the two years of development of the "Four Little Actresses". This article can be found online. Therefore, I have to write this article about selecting the "Four Little Actresses" myself. If there are any friends in the media industry, please don't take it too seriously. I am not a professional; this is purely a fictional creation. If the article is poorly written, please just laugh it off.)