When Shen Yu was talking, Tao Mu was picking up shrimp dumplings with chopsticks. Hearing this, he was stunned for a moment, and looked at Shen Yu, who was still ignorant about the situation, and respected him as a man.
——In front of women, especially beautiful women, this dude actually dared to bring up topics related to age. Fortunately, Shen Yu was a man. If he was a young and beautiful female artist who mentioned this in front of her seniors in the industry, it would definitely be a direct act of provocation.
There was even a possibility of a catfight breaking out right then and there.
The smile on Fang Ruoti’s face suddenly faded. Since everyone in the crew was present, she didn’t say anything in a very graceful manner.
Zhou Yanqing, who had always been a easy-going person, laughed and said, “Speaking of which, those of us who debuted very early are truly at a disadvantage. Every time I meet movie fans, everyone likes to say the same thing. Ahhh, heavenly king Zhou, I grew up watching your movies, I grew up listening to your songs…..” (TN: like film king/queen are used to refer to actors and actresses who won best actor/actress awards, heavenly king/queen are used to refer to super popular platinum selling singers who may have won awards for their music as well)
When Zhou Yanqing said this, he also vividly mimicked the obsessive reactions of those fans when they saw him: “But I like to hear them say that they have always liked me, that I have become more and more handsome over the years. Time really flies. Some of my first fans are now even grandparents. Someone told me at my last autograph session. Qing’zai (TN: like ‘er’ and ‘zi’, ‘zai’ is a suffix tacked on to a name as an endearment, but the latter is more common among Cantonese speakers), can you sign for me first, I have to go pick up my grandson from school.”
Zhou Yanqing was forty-three years old this year. The group of fans who had first been with him when he debuted at the age of seventeen were now in their fifties and sixties. It was indeed the age of grandparents.
Fang Ruoti’s face softened, and she took over what Zhou Yanqing said: “Speaking of which, my first movie was filmed with brother Qing. I was only eight years old at the time, and I played brother Qing’s daughter in the movie. Brother Qing bought me a lot of snacks during breaks between filming scenes. At that time, I was quite a little chubby girl. My mother was afraid that I would get fatter and stopped me from eating snacks.”
Zhou Yanqing said with emotion: “Yeah. More than 20 years have passed, and the little chubby girl back then has become such a beautiful woman. And I’ve gotten old.”
“No.” Fang Ruoti said with a smile: “Brother Qing will always be brother Qing, and will always be the most handsome man in our hearts.”
Tao Mu poured a cup of tea, stood up, and respectfully toasted Zhou Yanqing: “Teacher Zhou, I especially admire your acting skills and your person. Today, I present the Buddha with borrowed flowers, and use tea instead of wine to toast you. I hope that during the filming, please give me a lot of advice.”
Zhou Yanqing smiled and looked at Tao Mu who was respectful. He had a high status in the entertainment circle, and he had seen many such young people. So he didn’t take it too seriously, after all, the people in the entertainment industry were basically all shrewd people, and those who don’t know how to speak like Shen Yu was in the minority.
“I heard that you put a lot of effort into studying your character before filming, and indeed young people should be this serious in their work.” Zhou Yanqing also poured a cup of tea and drank it: “Compared to the old brothers here, my acting skills are actually not very good. But I have a lot of experience in filming. If there is anything you don’t understand, you are welcome to ask me.”
The atmosphere at the dinner table eased up again because of Zhou Yanqing’s interruption. Several other bigwigs also gradually started to speak, talking about the past or something. The entertainment circle in Hong Kong was very small, and most of the actors here have cooperated with each other before. They also remember each other’s embarrassing anecdotes. Now that they were chatting about the past, those who did not know or who were not qualified to interject listened with relish.
No one bothered with Shen Yu.
Shen Yu stood awkwardly holding his bubble milk tea, with a look of grievance like he might burst into tears.
Yan Sheng quietly patted Shen Yu’s back. Shen Yu sat down and asked aggrievedly, “Brother Yan, did I say something wrong again?”
Yan Sheng smiled wryly, talking about such a topic in front of a female artist, this was no longer something that could be described with just the word ‘wrong’.
However, looking at Shen Yu who had tears in his eyes, it was not like Yan Sheng could reprimand the other, he could only comfort: “Don’t worry, Fang Ruoti won’t quibble with you.”
Shen Yu pursed his lips aggrievedly, and looked at Tao Mu who was chatting amiably with everyone with a look of longing. He especially envied Tao Mu’s sophistication and exquisite social skills.
“Am I particularly stupid?” Shen Yu whispered to Yan Sheng, “If only I could be as skillful as Mu Mu.”
That shrewd person?
Yan Sheng glanced subtly at Tao Mu, who was asking Wang Jinsheng for his acting skills and making the other laugh loudly, but didn’t respond.
The press conference on the lauch of “Black and White” was scheduled for the next day. Because the entire crew was full of bigwigs and superstars, the most influential entertainment media in the three places of mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan all accepted the invitation to attend. Even FlyNews Entertainment sent two reporters over.
Yan Sheng looked at the only online media that was scurrying around among the print media and TV media, and a thoughtful look unconsciously came over his face.
The A-list superstars in Hong Kong and Taiwan don’t pay much attention to the mainland market, and naturally they didn’t know FlyNews.com’s influence on the mainland entertainment industry. But Yan Sheng was an authentic mainland star and he had also witnessed the jaw dropping development of FlyNews.com.
Even if one percent of the 130 million registered users were converted into fans, then the influence of that celebrity could spread to the whole country, and if there were one-tenth of the one percent of the fans could be converted into purchasing power, it was estimated that even those high-end luxury brands would eagerly reach out olive branches.
In fact, it was not the film salary that made up a celebrity’s net worth, but the high-end endorsements and commercial performances. Those who could climb to the status of Yan Sheng in the entertainment industry were noncommittal about commercial performances. But for those high-luxury brands that were limited in number, and could only sign one at a time, they all flocked around like vultures.
Yan Sheng’s career was currently on the rise these past two years. Because of his good image and family background, many luxury brands have indeed approached him for endorsement. But one had to admit that the resources in the fashion circle were too limited, and the competition was too fierce. What Yan Sheng had was precisely what others were covetous of. Therefore, every time Yan Sheng wanted to sign an endorsement or renew his contract, there would always be competitors who were secretly doing things behind the scenes in an attempt to expose his black material. Yan Sheng’s management team was very skilled, but not invincible. Occasionally, they would also be overwhelmed by black materials.
If at this time, there was a fixed and influential voice channel to support him and help him with public relations, Yan Sheng felt that his star path could be much smoother.
So from the perspective of interests, Yan Sheng really wanted to befriend Tao Mu. After all, Tao Mu controlled FlyNews.com, and now anyone with a discerning eye could see the publicity potential of FlyNews.com.
It was a pity that Tao Mu didn’t have much good feelings towards him, and even rejected him very much because of Shen Yu. On this point, Yan Sheng could not help but feel regret——
When someone broke the news that Tao Mu’s acting style was similar to his, Yan Sheng thought Tao Mu was also his fan. After all, Yan Sheng won the best actor award for his debut film, and he had been making steady progress since. Many newcomers in the entertainment industry were his fans——at least when interviewed, many newcomers would say that.
When he heard the rumors, Yan Sheng really thought that Tao Mu was one of them. Whether Tao Mu wanted to gain popularity or truly admired him, Yan Sheng was happy to see this. Unexpectedly, things were not as it seemed. Tao Mu actually hated him because of the remarks made by some brainless fans.
Yan Sheng had debuted for many years, and it was the first time he had seen an actor who would hold a grudge and act stingy in such a sincere and honest way.
“Big brother Yan?” In the backstage lounge, Shen Yu looked at Yan Sheng’s focused look with his eyes practically glued to Tao Mu’s body, and couldn’t help but gently grab Yan Sheng’s sleeve: “What are you looking at?”
Yan Sheng came back to his senses and said with a smile, “It’s nothing.”
After a pause, he reminded Shen Yu again: “The press conference will be held soon, and there will be a part involving questioning from the reporters. Don’t be too nervous.”
Shen Yu took a deep breath: “I’m not nervous. My agent also arrived last night. He taught me how to speak.”
Saying that, Shen Yu looked at Wen Shijin who was standing beside him with complete trust.
Because the Shen Group intended to make Shen Yu the promotion ambassador of the Lost Children’s Gene Bank. Recently, Wen Shijin had been staying in Shanghai, busy solving Shen Yu’s image problem. Finally, he flew to Hong Kong before the launch press conference, just to join the crew of “Black and White” with Shen Yu to make sure that Shen Yu would not offend the seniors in the industry because of some inappropriate remarks.
It was just that Wen Shijin didn’t think that he was just a day late, and Shen Yu already managed to offend Fang Ruoti because of his reckless words. If he knew earlier, he shouldn’t have worried about Shen Yu’s image and reputation in the police academy, and just sent an assistant to shadow Shen Yu.
The other bigwigs sitting in the lounge frowned in unison. In fact, when actors communicate privately, in order to ensure a harmonious atmosphere, they generally do not let their agents follow.
But Shen Yu’s situation was rather special——although he had the title of newcomer actor, he was, after all, the young master of the Shen Group. Even if he was kicked out of the Shen family because of his blood, the Shen family had no intention of giving up this adopted son. The film and television company under his name was still open, and his management team was still working for him. It was not good for everyone to ask too much from this kind of rich kid who was just playing around in the industry.
What was more, it was much easier to communicate with someone like Wen Shijin who knew what he was doing than to chat with someone like Shen Yu who couldn’t even understand other people’s words. At least he won’t burst into tears while chatting, as if someone was bullying him. So in contrast, they would rather deal with a well-behaved Shen Yu who was like a puppet instead.
However, they were both 19 years old, yet Tao Mu was slick like an old fried dough stick that had been immersed in the entertainment circle for years. While it was difficult to even speak and communicate normally for Shen Yu. It made everyone feel that the children of the poor matured early indeed.
Zhou Yanqing debuted at the age of seventeen. The reason why he joined the entertainment industry back then was because his family was too poor. When Zhou Yanqing was eight years old, his father died of illness, and his mother supported him and his siblings by washing dishes. So Zhou Yanqing dropped out of school at a young age to support his family. Because he was quite handsome, he was discovered by a talent scout while working in a restaurant, and was recommended to join TVB’s performance class.
He was lucky, and his first TV series was very popular. After that, he was highly regarded by the company, filmed TV series and movies one after another, released albums and held concerta one after another, and now he had become a superstar in the film, television and music industry.
So he admired people like Tao Mu very much. He believed that young people should work hard: “Don’t resent your fate for being bad. It only depends on how well you do. As long as you are willing to endure hardships and do well, good luck will always come.”
Tao Mu also particularly admired Zhou Yanqing’s character. He still remembered that in his last life, when he was kicked out of the Shen family, censored by the whole Internet, and blacklisted by the industry, it was Zhou Yanqing who helped him by introducing the role of a movie’s protagonist. Because Zhou Yanqing thought that the character of the hero of that movie was a bit like his role as Zhou Yuanting. Both started out as fighters of justice and then turned into corrupt police. Zhou Yanqing and Tao Mu have only worked together once, but Zhou Yanqing still believed that Tao Mu’s acting skills possessed an ingenuous quality.
So later, the director wanted to make a movie, but because the character image was not very positive, many actors refused to accept it, and when he could not find a male lead who suited the role, Zhou Yanqing recommended Tao Mu to the director, and also showed the director Tao Mu’s scenes as Zhou Yuanting. After watching it, the director decided to give Tao Mu a chance to audition.
Then Tao Mu grabbed the opportunity with both hands. With that role, he won the Golden Crow Award for Best Actor.
Although after that, Tao Mu was completely kicked out of the entertainment circle by Shen Yu’s admirers, and no longer had any relationship with Zhou Yanqing. But Tao Mu always remembered this favor.
Tao Mu also showed special respect and admiration when facing heavenly king Zhou in this life.
Zhou Yanqing had noticed that Tao Mu had a lot of respect for him, but he didn’t think too much into it, he just thought that Tao Mu was very good at being a person.
One l had the intention to support a newcomer and the other had the intention to make friends, and soon the two became fast friends despite their age gap.
So at the launch press conference, many reporters saw at a glance that of the two newcomers who joined the crew for the first time. Tao Mu was very comfortable talking and laughing with the bigwigs, while Shen Yu sat and watched everyone with a smile on the side. From time to time, he would whisper a few words to Yan Sheng, and the whole scene was very harmonious.
Until the reporter’s question-and-answer session began.
At the beginning, the reporters on the scene only asked about the filming for the sake of the crew’s face. All the bigwigs also answered very properly. Everything was decent and proper, and there was no explosive point at all. Until the host handed over the microphone to the two newcomers.
The reporter from FlyNews Entertainment, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately raised his hand and asked his boss: “Many netizens complained that your idol baggage is very serious. What do you think?”
Tao Mu didn’t expect that his own employees would ask such a question, but he answered solemnly: “I personally think that many times in life, one has to move forward with a heavy burden.”
Probably not expecting Tao Mu to give such an answer, the whole venue was stunned. Then everyone burst into laughter.
A reporter from FlyNews Entertainment followed up and asked: “So when shooting the movie “Black and White”, will you still take care of your idol baggage? Or, how will you interpret this role?”
Back to the topic again. Tao Mu had already rehearsed the answer to this kind of question, so he answered it quite well.
The group of celebrities from the “Black and White” crew looked at FlyNews Entertainment’s reporters curiously. They knew that FlyNews Entertainment specialized in online entertainment and was a new media that came out last year. The overall aura was very lively and current. But they didn’t expect FlyNews Entertainment’s style to be like this.
Sure enough, if there is no hotspot, one should create a hotspot, and if there is no topic, one should create a topic. But it was also not the low-level style of Hong Kong gossip paparazzi who just looked at pictures and made up nonsense for sales. On the contrary, it could mobilize the atmosphere and make people smile.
It seemed that this FlyNews.com was really different.
With FlyNews Entertainment reporters taking the lead. Soon, the group of reporters were also inspired to start asking appropriate gossip.
Someone raised their hand and asked Shen Yu directly: “I heard that the Shen Group intends to invite you to become the promotion ambassador of the gene bank for lost children. May I ask Mr. Shen, after you serve as the promotion ambassador of the gene bank, will you take the opportunity to find your biological mother?”
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