Reborn in the Chinese Entertainment Industry: You're a Director, But You're a Casanova?

Zhang Xiaohui, a top-tier gold digger, was utterly humiliated by this shameless logic, her face turning ashen. She couldn't even find a way to retaliate, so she could only glare angrily at Liu Yuehua before fleeing in disarray.

How to break the pattern of a punch?

Liu Yuehua pursed his lips, thinking that the champagne wasn't as good as Arctic Ocean soda.

Adding to the reminder from Leslie Cheung's words, he realized that the villa was now filled with Hong Kong's top superstars. Instead of wasting time here, he should go back and see if he could squeeze some money out of those celebrities.

As soon as Liu Yuehua pushed open the door, he heard the clatter of cards being shuffled.

At the mahjong table, Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui chatted casually, while Carina Lau sat opposite the aloof Princess. Tony Leung sat on the sofa in the corner, holding a wine glass, looking like a silent gourd, with Cheung Hok-yau serving tea and making jokes beside him. Surprisingly, Maggie Cheung was also in the kitchen, making soup.

During the flu-induced shutdown, these seven legendary figures at the pinnacle of the Chinese entertainment industry, bored out of their minds, all came to this villa to kill time, thanks to Leslie Cheung's connections.

Watching these seven top-tier money-printing machines, who usually command exorbitant salaries, idly playing mahjong, Liu Yuehua's heart bled.

Wasting the time of top actors and actresses is tantamount to murder.

If we put them into the film crew, how much box office revenue could we generate?

A plan to get something for nothing quickly took shape in Liu Yuehua's mind.

He closed the door and walked towards the crowd.

"Dear brothers and sisters, what's the point of playing mahjong every day?"

Liu Yuehua walked to the mahjong table and pressed down on the one-of-a-kind tile that the princess was about to play.

"How about we play an exciting game?"

"What are you doing?" The princess frowned. "You can stop me from singing, but you can't stop me from playing mahjong."

Zhang Manyu walked over carrying two plates of fruit, staring at Liu Yuehua with great interest.

"Yuehua, what mischief are you plotting now?"

"How about we play a game to test human nature?" Liu Yuehua revealed the core concept of a movie from his previous life called "Perfect Strangers".

"From now on, put all your communication devices on the table. From now on, whenever anyone's phone rings, the call must be on speakerphone, and any text messages must be read aloud in front of everyone, word for word. Are you ready to play?"

The entire room fell silent for a moment.

In Hong Kong, a place teeming with paparazzi, rife with voyeurism, deals, and unspoken rules, a mobile phone is every celebrity's Achilles' heel. Who would dare to take their underwear off?

But the seven people present were all top figures at the pinnacle of their fields, and this oppressive yet voyeuristic setting instantly struck a nerve with them as top artists.

"Interesting." Liu Jialing, who was always audacious, was the first to slam her phone on the table.

"I have nothing to hide, I'm upright and have nothing to fear, Wai-jai is handing over his phone."

Tony Leung smiled helplessly, took his phone out of his pocket, and put it on the screen.

Zhang Xueyou and the princess also excitedly followed.

Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui exchanged a glance, then, as if eager to stir up trouble, slammed their phones on the table. Maggie Cheung returned to the kitchen, turned off the stove, and smiled as she placed her own phone on top of the stove.

"Great, since we're going to play, let's add some character settings." Liu Yuehua calmly took out a DV camera from the corner, fixed it on a tripod, and pointed the lens at the dining table.

"I won't give you a script; it's all improvisation."

"Brother Rong and Sister Mei, you two will play a couple who are only superficially together but facing a midlife crisis."

"Vic and Jia Ling, you two play a newlywed couple who are suspicious of each other and each harbor their own secrets."

"Wu... Xueyou and Wangfei, you two seem to be a loving couple, but in reality, you have many conflicts."

"As for Sister Manyu, you are the single hostess of this gathering tonight, but you harbor the biggest secret among everyone here, a secret you set yourself."

Liu Yuehua stepped aside and snapped his fingers.

"Game begins."

These gods didn't need an adjustment period at all; with a snap of their fingers, the auras of all seven of them instantly changed.

It started as just casual conversation about food and sex at the dinner table, but undercurrents were already beginning to stir.

With a ding, the first text message broke the deadlock.

The voice came from Tony Leung's phone. Liu Jialing's face darkened, she grabbed Tony Leung's phone, and read it aloud with a cold smile:

"The moon is beautiful tonight, but it's a pity you're not here. The sender has no name, just the letter M."

Most afraid of the air suddenly quiet.

Liang Chaowei's melancholy eyes trembled slightly.

Without changing his expression, he explained in a helpless and tired tone, "He's just a lighting technician on the film crew. He often gets drunk and sends out harassing text messages."

"If that's how you think, there's nothing I can do. If that's what you think, then so be it."

"You just marked the lighting technician with 'M'? What kind of attitude is that?" Liu Jialing pressed on, her anger flaring up.

"I've already explained everything, what more do you want?"

Just as the two were at an impasse, Zhang Xueyou's phone rang.

As soon as the call connected, a Hong Kong-accented Mandarin-speaking boss's voice came through the speakerphone.

"Hey, you bastard, Lei promised to do a promotional appearance at that real estate development last time, is he coming or not?"

"I even paid for Lei's resettlement expenses."

Zhang Xueyou's face fell instantly, and he frantically tried to hang up.

The princess beside him coldly pressed down on his hand, her eyes turning icy.

"Let him talk. I'd like to hear what good friends you have that you'd help them buy a house."

These big shots got really into it, their acting addiction and their true passion were completely ignited.

While the acting was in full swing in the living room, Liu Yuehua quietly slipped into the study. He was all too familiar with the legal provisions on portrait rights and film revenue sharing between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.

While it might feel satisfying to secretly film several celebrities with a DV camera, if the footage is leaked or released without permission, the person will receive a joint lawyer's letter from their agency the next day and be blacklisted for good.

The only way to turn voyeurism into legitimate theatrical films is through a mutually beneficial partnership.

Liu Yuehua turned on his computer and spent half a day working on revising a film box office revenue sharing agreement.

He tentatively titled the film "Perfect Strangers," and filled in the names of Leslie Cheung and others in the "Party A" column. He also filled in a guaranteed minimum for the actors' salaries and provided profit sharing.

He offered the celebrities downstairs an offer they couldn't refuse.

……

Liu Yuehua went back downstairs.

The mutual tearing apart between Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui portrays the despair of middle-aged people facing the passing of time and the fading of love.

As the female lead, Maggie Cheung's character is exposed by a phone call at the last moment, revealing that she has always secretly loved the male lead played by Leslie Cheung.

The breakdown that came after enduring so much hardship brought tears to the eyes of everyone present.

As the last phone call ended, the superstars in the living room slumped back in their chairs, utterly exhausted. This exhilarating performance was even more satisfying than winning a Hong Kong Film Award.

Just as everyone was about to take a sip of water to review the proceedings, Liu Yuehua pressed the stop button on the DV camera.

"Okay! Cut!"

"Yuehua, this is so rude of you." Liang Chaowei was the first to react, and his face immediately darkened.

"It's a big no-no for people in the industry to secretly film each other at gatherings."