Global Film Emperor

Chapter 265

“Old Song, you should drink less. Aren’t you afraid your wife will scold you? I’m more afraid your wife will call and scold me. You guys don’t know, last time I drank with Old Song, I really didn’t force him to drink. He got drunk on his own, and then Zhuang Xue called me and started cursing right away, ‘Zhao Xinxiang! Why did you take Old Song drinking again?’ She went on and on. I put down my phone and went to the bathroom. Five minutes passed, and when I picked up my phone again, his wife was still cursing.”

Inside the restaurant, everyone was toasting and drinking. The dozen or so people had already drunk ten bottles of baijiu (Chinese liquor), and now they were switching to beer. Some of them who couldn't hold their liquor drank less, but Lu Ze really drank a lot, at least half a jin (250ml) of baijiu. They were all friends, and everyone knew who could hold their liquor better or worse, so no one could escape drinking.

After the interview, everyone gathered together. They didn't talk about the results, but chatted about funny things that happened to people they all knew on set and in life. Zhao Xinxiang talked about Zhuang Xue's outburst, which made everyone laugh a lot.

Regardless of whether they are men or women, after getting married and having children, they will prioritize their spouse and family. Although Song Guiyuan's alcoholic liver disease is not serious, Zhuang Xue is afraid that if Song Guiyuan goes out to socialize, the child will be without a father.

So even if Song Guiyuan wanted to drink tonight, no one could let him drink too much. They just brought him a bottle of rice wine and told him to sip it. Then, listening to Zhao Xinxiang's teasing, he looked disgusted, as if he was about to leave in anger.

Lu Ze didn't reply, but just stared blankly and put a piece of fish into his mouth. He was really drunk. There are two kinds of people at the table: one kind can drink more as they get older, and the other kind can't drink as much as they used to when they were younger.

Lu Ze belongs to the second type. When he was young, he dared to drink recklessly at the table. Now he has lost the impetuousness of his youth, partly because he was injured by drinking too much back then. Normally, four or five bottles of beer would make him a little tipsy, but drinking a pound of baijiu today was already an exceptional performance.

"Come on, let's have another drink. It's been years since we last met, and I have a lot to say, but men don't stand on ceremony. I'll toast you."

Once Zheng Yi spoke, Lu Ze couldn't refuse. He drank a glass of beer, picked up a peanut and almost shoved it up his nose. It felt like someone was pulling the top of his head, and he could barely open his eyes.

"What's wrong, Lu'er? You're already confused after only halfway through? Never mind, it's good that you're in place. Drink some mineral water and calm down. If you really can't take it, take a nap."

Seeing that Lu Ze was indeed acting, even speaking less, everyone stopped urging him to drink. Zheng Yi handed Lu Ze a cigarette, which Lu Ze lit, closed his eyes, leaned back in his chair, took a puff, and scratched his forehead with his thumbnail.

"Sigh, you know, people just can't keep up with getting old. It's only been a few years, and I'm already getting worse and worse. I can't drink as much as you guys. I give up, I'm completely convinced."

"Nonsense, which of us isn't older than you? You're older? Are we all about to be buried? When we're done for, we're done for, it has nothing to do with age."

"Song Guiyuan, shut up! You're someone who drinks beverages, how dare you talk to me?"

Although he drank too much at this party, he was indeed very relaxed. It had been a long time since Lu Ze had attended a drinking party where he could speak freely and even throw in a few swear words. With a bunch of men together, they could avoid talking about things they shouldn't, and no one would care about their laughter, anger, or cursing.

How could Lu Ze, who always had to think three times before speaking at drinking parties and was always exhausted from drinking, not like this?

When the cigarette butt was almost completely burned, it was still a little hot to the touch. He threw it into the ashtray and stubbed it out. As he moved, he suddenly felt the contents of his stomach pushing upwards. Lu Ze felt he was losing control, so he hurriedly got up and went to the toilet to unload everything.

I flushed, swayed to the mirror, turned on the tap, swept my medium-length hair behind my head, scooped up a handful of cold water and vigorously rubbed my face, only to find someone handing me two tissues.

"Thank you."

"You were selected?"

Lu Ze stiffened for a moment, then casually took the tissue, wiped his face, crumpled it up, threw it into the trash can, and calmly replied, "Mm."

"I knew it was you. Well, now I don't have to treat you to this meal. But to be honest, Lu Ze, I'm a little jealous of you now. But it's okay, this little thing won't affect our brotherly relationship."

After vomiting, Lu Ze felt a little more awake. He looked at Song Guiyuan, who was half a head shorter than him, opened his arms, hugged him, and patted him on the back. "Thank you, I'll be going now."

"Be careful on the road. I won't keep you any longer. Let's get together again when things are better. I won't say anything like 'take good care of the filming' anymore. Anyway, you're more serious about filming than anyone else."

Lu Ze nodded, feeling a little relieved. He turned and went down the stairs, swiped his card at the front desk for 20,000 yuan. The few bottles of liquor he had just bought cost more than 10,000 yuan. He asked for a refund if he was overpaying and to pay the difference if he was underpaying. He also signed his name on the receipt.

The waiter opened the hotel door, and Lu Ze zipped up his down jacket and walked out of the hotel. The weather in the capital this year was a bit strange. It wasn't even December yet, but small snowflakes were already falling from the sky. They didn't melt when they landed on the ground. Instead, they were blown by the wind and, like sand, were swept up and floated in the air.

He lit a cigarette, got into Liu Bin's car, opened the window and flicked off the ash, not even noticing the snowflakes blowing in.

There are only a few things in this world that can be considered fair: everyone dies, time passes in 24-hour increments, and everyone has regrets.

Lu Ze's regret today is that he no longer has a decent friend. Perhaps they stopped being friends when they were competing with them for roles. Even his relationship with Song Guiyuan will be affected to some extent. Fortunately, the impact will not be too great.

"Aze, where are we going? To the hotel or back to Shanghai?"

"I'm sleepy. Let's just go to any hotel. Call Zixuan and ask her to book me a flight to Shanghai for tomorrow, preferably in the morning, around nine or ten o'clock."

The atmosphere in the private room became less than pleasant after Song Guiyuan returned and Lu Ze was nowhere to be seen. Everyone remained silent, occasionally raising their glasses to take a sip, and exchanging few words.

Everyone wasn't stupid. From the moment Lu Ze deliberately got himself drunk, they understood that Lu Ze had been chosen after all, which was no surprise to them.

Song Guiyuan threw the cigarette butt on the ground and stomped it out. He rubbed his face before taking out the receipt with Lu Ze's signature from his pocket, spreading it out, and placing it on the table.

"We agreed from the beginning not to let this matter ruin our relationship. Although I know it's unlikely, because everyone really needs this role, but I wasn't chosen. It can only be said that I wasn't as good as others. I accept it wholeheartedly, not because I have a good relationship with Lu Ze. Our friendship is there for all to see. Everyone is friends with Lu Ze. I won't say more. I'll raise a glass."

He poured himself a beer and drank it all in one gulp. The relationship between Song Guiyuan and Lu Ze hadn't changed after all. No matter how well Lu Ze was doing, he still considered himself Lu Ze's older brother, and Lu Ze also recognized Song Guiyuan as his older brother.

So he will still take the blame for his younger brother. He has to say this on behalf of his brother, even though he knows that some of these people are petty and stubborn. But he is powerless to help them. He can't possibly pull them out of their stubbornness and make them view Lu Ze with a normal attitude.

After drinking the glass of wine, Song Guiyuan picked up his down jacket, patted off the dust that had accidentally gotten on it, walked out of the private room, hailed a taxi under the streetlights in the snowy night, and returned to his empty home. He would go back to Guizhou tomorrow to reunite with his wife and children, and then begin the remaining stops of his drama tour.

"did you miss me?"

The next day at noon, Lu Ze returned home with the complete script. The cripple had stayed at Wang Zixuan's place the night before and was brought back by her this morning. Lu Ze reached out and rubbed its forehead wrinkles, which resulted in the cripple gently biting Lu Ze's finger with its teeth.

Filming for "Find You" is scheduled to begin in January next year, which is a month and a half away. During this period, Lu Ze has two other commitments to attend: the premiere of "Wrong Love" and the second one that requires him to leave immediately.

He went to the dressing room to prepare the clothes he needed for the next few days. Then Wang Zixuan brought him a custom-made suit and an invitation to the Taiwan Golden Horse Awards ceremony.

"."

(End of this chapter)