Chinese Entertainment: Directors Start with the Fairy Sister

"I carry my bride over the threshold."

"I carried my bride across the threshold."

...

When Zhao Yanxi typed the last character, the sequel to Fifty Shades of Grey, Fifty Shades Darker, was finally officially completed.

Zhao Yanxi was very glad that she had bought the bilingual (Chinese and English) version of the novel in her previous life to show off.

Otherwise, we'd have to translate the text in his mind into English, and that would be disastrous!

Translating from Chinese to English is not an easy task in itself, and foreign novels often contain slang and colloquialisms that reflect local characteristics.

I checked the time; it was already past 9:50.

According to Xiao Liu, this is the time to get ready to get up, or to already be up.

Zhao Yanxi dialed the number immediately, and the call was answered surprisingly quickly. Zhao Yanxi subconsciously exclaimed, "Little lazybones, you're up pretty early today?"

"Yan Xi, it's me."

Liu Xiaoli's cool voice came from the other end of the phone: "I'm calling Qianqian to wake up."

Liu Yifei's languid voice could still be faintly heard from the other end of the phone: "Mom, don't make a sound~~"

Judging from the tone of the voice, it must have been made while the person was mumbling under the covers.

"Okay, okay, Auntie, I'll be right there then~"

......

To strike unexpectedly and catch the enemy off guard!

While Liu Yifei was still lazing in bed, Zhao Yanxi stepped on the gas and drove straight to her doorstep.

The door wasn't closed, and Zhao Yanxi walked in without any ceremony.

As soon as I sat down on the sofa, I stared at a little girl.

"Director Zhao?"

"Shu Chang?"

Zhao Yanxi suddenly realized why Liu Xiaoli had gone to wake Liu Yifei up so early in the morning. She had thought Liu Yifei was coming to visit, but it turned out that Shu Chang had arrived early.

Imagine this: one weekend, you sleep until after 10 a.m., while your best friend is all ready and waiting to come over before 10 a.m.

To parents, isn't this a classic case of a mother pulling out seven wolves as soon as her son is still alive?!

"Oh, Mom, let me lie down a little longer. Yanxi just left, she definitely won't be here anytime soon."

"Still lying down! Changchang has been sitting down there for half an hour."

"Changchang is still in school, but I'm an adult. What's wrong with sleeping in a little longer!"

"Slacking off and then making excuses!"

Downstairs, Zhao Yanxi and Shu Chang looked at each other and smiled knowingly.

"The ratings for 'Lotus Lantern' are really good! We haven't even congratulated you on your soaring popularity yet!"

Since its premiere on CCTV in October, the TV series "Lotus Lantern," starring Shu Chang, has seen its ratings steadily rise.

When it was first released, it ranked second on the TV drama charts, second only to the imported Korean drama "Dae Jang Geum" in the first half of the year.

When the finale aired and Erlang Shen's innocence was overturned, the ratings surged, reaching number one.

It's already the end of December, and "Lotus Lantern" should be firmly in the top spot for annual viewership ratings!

"Hehe, it's all thanks to Director Yu, Brother Jun, and Sister Xiaoqing. I was just lucky~"

"This isn't a journalist interview, so there's no need for such an official response," Zhao Yanxi said speechlessly.

Shu Chang smiled, which lightened the awkward atmosphere somewhat.

The two chatted about some news in the industry for a few minutes before they heard the sound of a door opening on the second floor. Looking up, they saw Liu Yifei, wearing a purple fluffy nightgown and without any makeup, coming down from the second floor.

"Yan Xi! How did you get here so fast?"

Looking at the two people on the sofa, Liu Yifei asked in surprise.

"Hehe, because I live nearby!"

"How close?" Liu Yifei sat down next to Shu Chang and asked curiously, "I don't remember there being any new housing developments nearby?"

Hehe~

Zhao Yanxi smiled smugly: "Think about it again~"

"I don't want to! Just tell me!"

Liu Yifei tossed a cushion over.

Zhao Yanxi took it and casually leaned against her waist: "I bought the building next to yours."

"You bought a house here?!" Liu Yifei asked excitedly, "Which building? Take me to see it!"

After saying that, Liu Yifei pulled Zhao Yanxi out, and Shu Chang followed curiously.

Zhao Yanxi pointed to her own villa, "Look, it's that one."

As they entered, Liu Xiaoli was coming downstairs. Liu Yifei exclaimed happily, "Mom, come quick! Yan Xi bought a house next door and is now our neighbor!"

Liu Xiaoli was startled; villas in Qingcui Garden were never cheap.

"When did you buy it? Yanxi, how come you've never mentioned it before?"

Zhao Yanxi smiled and said, "I bought a place here last time I came here and found that the environment was quite nice and the housing prices were reasonable."

"Have you received the box office revenue sharing for 'You Are the Apple of My Eye' yet?" Liu Yifei asked with concern. "You bought a villa, will you have enough money for next year's film investment?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Xiaoli frowned slightly.

Having talent and being able to make money is a good thing; but being extravagant and having a love for luxury is not a good habit.

Especially my daughter's fiancé...

Before Liu Xiaoli could question him, Zhao Yanxi explained with a smile, "I didn't touch the company's money. The money for this villa mainly came from the royalties of the novel I published in the United States last time."

"A novel published in the United States?"

"Your royalties can buy a big villa? That would cost so much!"

The mother and daughter, one mature and charming, the other pure and innocent, both wore the same curious and surprised expressions, truly a feast for the eyes.

"Hehe, not bad. It was published in August or September, and by the end of November, we had settled accounts for eight or nine million US dollars. We got back about five million US dollars, which is more than enough to buy a villa."

"That's amazing!"

Liu Yifei exclaimed, "Yan Xi, what novel are you writing? I want to go read it!"

"Um..." Zhao Yanxi looked slightly embarrassed and shook her head repeatedly, saying, "I'm afraid that won't work."

"You know, the writing environment overseas is much more relaxed than in China. If you want your novel to sell well, it has to be bloody and violent, which isn't really suitable for girls to read."

"I can't show it to you, I'm afraid you'll scold me!"

"Tch, stingy," Liu Yifei sniffed, but didn't ask any further questions.

Since Zhao Yanxi won't say anything, then let her find out on her own in the future!

Since we're neighbors, why would we be afraid of not having a chance to discover it?

Seeing that Xiao Liu's eyes were darting around as if he were thinking of some mischievous idea, Zhao Yanxi quickly changed the subject, pretending to be smug as she said:

"I shouldn't have to worry about money now—Sissi, do you remember I filmed a movie in Hollywood in August?"

"I remember. Wait, has it been released yet?"

"That's right! It was released last month and has already grossed $110 million in North America. It's also been released in several overseas regions, where it's currently grossed over $20 million!"

"It's broken 100 million again?" Liu Yifei exclaimed in surprise.

Liu Xiaoli was also shocked. "Yan Xi, what film did you make? What's it called?!"

"Paranormal Activity, a low-budget horror film, I only spent less than $5000 to make it. Conservatively speaking, I can get around $3000 million from this movie. Even after deducting some taxes, I can still take more than $30 million!"

Zhao Yanxi didn't hide anything. Although he came today to see Liu Xiaoli's surprised expression, since Liu Xiaoli was also there, he didn't mind showing off his muscles.

As for Sister Xiaoli, well...

There is no doubt about his deep love for Liu Yifei, but she also suffers from the "common problems" of this era, such as admiration for foreigners and men.

Actually, this isn't really a problem. Most of the highly educated people of this era have a bit of a Western-worshiping mentality, thinking that things from abroad are better than things from China. But this doesn't stop them from working hard for the rise of China.

Admiring the strong is only natural; who doesn't like the strong?

Zhao Yanxi's goal was to show Liu Xiaoli that he could establish himself in Hollywood, the holy land of movies, and that he could accumulate a huge fortune in a short period of time, which would definitely provide her daughter with a wealthy life.

Seeing the slight change in Liu Xiaoli's expression, Zhao Yanxi knew that his "muscle-flexing" today had not been in vain!

"Auntie, Sisi, Changchang, would you like to come to my place first?"

After showing off his muscles, he also wanted to return to his daily life, Zhao Yanxi said, extending a friendly invitation.

"I've contacted the restaurant, and they'll send lunch over later. We can have a quick meal then."

"You young people go have fun, I'm not going. I just got back last night and haven't unpacked yet," Liu Xiaoli said, shaking her head.

"We can pack our things this afternoon. Let's go over first, and I'll come back to pick you up, Auntie, when lunch arrives."

Since Zhao Yanxi extended such a warm invitation, Liu Xiaoli didn't bother to refuse and nodded, saying, "Okay, I'll go there myself later."

"Okay, sure!"

"Mom, Changchang and I will go ahead first~"

"Change your clothes first! Who goes out in their pajamas!"