Entertainment News: Follow Wang Baoqiang's Rise to Film Emperor

"Lin Zhi?"

"You're back..."

"I am Wang Baoqiang!"

On the rented room bed, the "guy" whose body was wrapped in thick bandages and who was slurping down instant noodles, heard the door open, looked up, and saw that it was Lin Zhi who had returned. He immediately explained with some surprise.

"You are... Baoqiang?"

"Holy crap—what happened to you, kid?"

"How did it get into this ball shape?"

"What on earth happened...?"

Lin Zhi stared speechlessly at "Wang Baoqiang" on the bed.

God knows... what exactly happened to him during the days he was away from Beijing filming in other places?

How could they have ruined such a perfectly healthy person into this miserable state?!

Lin Zhi immediately put down his luggage, plopped down on the edge of the bed, and looked at Wang Baoqiang eating instant noodles, wanting to hear what was going on...

What on earth happened?!

"Sigh, Lin Zhi... it's a long story!"

"I got into a fight, and I got beaten up like this!"

"But I didn't start it. I was trying to save a director, and I got into a fight with someone..."

"I took on five people by myself, and this is what happened!"

"But they're in just as bad shape as me; they're probably still in the hospital, hehe!!"

As Wang Baoqiang recounted his story, he suddenly let out a sly laugh.

He was even a little smug!

Lin Zhi was somewhat speechless: "When did this happen? Where did you get into a fight?"

"On New Year's Eve, the day of the Lunar New Year... it was at Wang Bar in Sanlitun." Wang Baoqiang recounted slowly while slurping up his Master Kong instant noodles.

Lin Zhi knew about "Wang Ba".

It is a famous bar in Sanlitun, Beijing.

Its official name is Feihualang. It was co-founded by Jiang Wen, a well-known actor in the film and television industry, and Wang Shuo, a famous writer and screenwriter, among others. It is a place where people in the industry usually drink and gather.

Because Wang Shuo usually manages and operates the bar, it's privately known as Wang Bar.

"Why did you go to Wong Kar-wai's? Who was the director you rescued? And who paid for your medical bills?"

Lin Zhi continued to look at Wang Baoqiang and asked curiously.

Wang Baoqiang slurped up his instant noodles in a few bites, even downing the broth, and after finishing it all, he wiped his mouth and said, "There weren't any film crews around last year's Lunar New Year period..."

"Since I was just lazing around at home, I thought I might as well go to the places where celebrities in the film and television industry often gather. Maybe I'll get lucky and meet some big shot or something, and my career will take off right there..."

"So, in the days around the Lunar New Year, I spent every day hanging around Wangba, hoping to get to know some of the more influential people in the industry. But on the morning of Lunar New Year's Eve..."

"I had only been on Wangba for a short while when I saw four or five burly men, wielding sharp knives, looking menacing as they tried to kill a director..."

"How could I possibly tolerate something like this?"

"I rushed over immediately and rescued the director, but there were too many of them, and I couldn't escape unscathed. After fighting them for a while, this is how I ended up!"

"Hehe, but I beat them up pretty badly too. One of them even knocked me unconscious on the spot with a single kick..."

"Tsk tsk, that scene... It's a pity you weren't there, otherwise everyone would have admired me. I was just like Cheng Long, endlessly battling them in the bar, and everyone watching was stunned... If it were made into a movie, it would definitely be a famous scene, amazing!!"

Seeing Wang Baoqiang getting more and more boastful, Lin Zhi curled his lip, knowing there was definitely some exaggeration in what he was saying.

However, it should be roughly the same!

"Oh, right... the director I saved, his surname is Feng, you know? He's the one who made 'The Dream Factory'..."

"He also paid for my medical expenses later on. He even gave me his home address and phone number so I could contact him if I needed anything in the future."

"I'm planning to visit him in the next few days to build a connection. You can come with me, okay? I'll introduce you to him; it'll be a good connection for you, right?"

As Wang Baoqiang spoke, she struggled to get up and go to relieve herself.

Lin Zhi helped the man, who had difficulty moving, to his feet to go to the toilet, saying, "Feng Xiaogang, right?"

"Why did those people attack him? Do you even know?"

Wang Baoqiang scoffed, leaning against the toilet door as he slowly and laboriously pulled down his pants to urinate; all the while, he said disdainfully, "It's just a matter of the crotch..."

"He slept with some obscure actress, and her husband found out. He hired thugs to beat him up. If I hadn't run into him, he'd be done for that day!"

Lin Zhi said, "In the future, you should act according to your ability in these kinds of things. Don't end up getting yourself into trouble instead of making connections. It's not worth it."

Wang Baoqiang chuckled, glanced back at Lin Zhi, and said confidently, "I know what I'm doing. Do I look like the kind of idiot who can't see the situation clearly? I only dare to make a move when I'm absolutely certain of success..."

"If those thugs had guns, I would have stayed as far away as possible and never shown my face. I only stepped forward because I felt I could take them down and there was an opportunity!"

Lin Zhi nodded: "As long as you know what's right."

So we stopped talking about it.

Wang Baoqiang suddenly said, "How's filming going in Wuxi? Are you spending the New Year on set too? I was thinking of calling you on New Year's Eve morning to say hello, but I really didn't know who to call to get in touch with you, so I just gave up..."

Lin Zhi smiled slightly when he saw that the topic was about him: "That's quite a coincidence. Last year during the Spring Festival, I also wanted to call you to see how you were doing and where you spent the holiday... We're kind of on the same wavelength!"

"My film just wrapped up filming yesterday, and I rushed back immediately. Last year, the crew didn't take a break for the Lunar New Year; we just had a meal together. But the producer and director were all nice people, and we got along quite well. When I left the set yesterday, they even settled my salary in one lump sum, giving me 12 yuan..."

"What? How much?" Wang Baoqiang was shocked, her body trembled, and she peed directly on her hand. "You're playing the lead role? Why are you getting such a high salary? You wouldn't... have some kind of shady deal with the producer, would you?"

As he spoke, the guy looked Lin Zhi up and down with a strange expression.

It was as if Lin Zhi was unclean.

"Go to hell! Because of my important role, even though I'm not the lead, I'm still one of the important supporting male characters. And it's all action scenes. I almost died a few times while filming. It was really tough, okay? This is hard-earned money..." Lin Zhi forced an explanation.

Wang Baoqiang snorted and muttered to herself: Who knows?

Then...

Whether out of jealousy or envy, or because she was disheartened by Lin Zhi's good luck and meteoric rise, Wang Baoqiang fell silent.

Lin Zhi, exhausted from the long journey, hadn't slept a wink on the train due to the noise. He didn't chat much with the silent Wang Baoqiang either. After boiling some water to wash up, he lay down on the bed and quickly fell asleep.

As for Wang Baoqiang tossing and turning beside him, it did not affect Lin Zhi, who was quite tired and had fallen into a deep sleep.

He slept exceptionally soundly that night.

the next day.

As dawn broke, Wang Baoqiang, who had barely slept a wink all night, got up.

He ripped off all the bandages except for the one on his head, then pulled up the soundly sleeping Lin Zhi and said excitedly, "Lin Zhi, get up! I'll take you to visit Director Feng. If we can get on his good side, things will be much easier for us in the future..."