Global Film Emperor

Chapter 274 Attending the Banquet
"Please install it for me, thank you."

"Okay, Mr. Lu, could you please sign your autograph for me? It's one of my favorite shows, and I've been a fan of yours for years."

"No problem, you're too kind. What's your name?"

When the sales assistant at the counter handed the gift box to Lu Ze, Lu Ze also gave her a sticky note with his signature and words of blessing on it, which made the sales assistant thank Lu Ze repeatedly.

After saying goodbye to the sales assistant, Lu Ze put on his sunglasses, picked up the gift box, left the jewelry store, got into his car, and headed towards a five-star hotel.

With fifteen days left before filming begins, he needs to depart for the capital the day after tomorrow to join the crew for a ten-day script discussion and to attend the opening ceremony press conference.

Today, Lu Ze had another engagement: he was going to attend a party. Of course, it wasn't a private party hosted by some nouveau riche or high-ranking official's son, but rather the 100-day celebration for Hu Zhiguang's grandson.

Lu Ze had heard the news long ago that Hu Zhiguang's family had gained another member: his daughter-in-law had given birth to a healthy baby boy weighing six and a half pounds. Hu Zhiguang was overjoyed. Now he stopped fishing and playing video games, spending all his time with his child, and posting photos and videos of the baby on his WeChat Moments from time to time.

More than an hour later, Lu Ze entered the hotel, took the elevator to the banquet hall, and the moment the elevator doors opened, he could hear the noise of people talking. Without even looking, he knew that there must be a lot of people here today.

Perhaps due to their different family backgrounds, the guests were all dressed formally, wearing suits and expensive watches, chatting and laughing with a few close friends.

The women were all beautiful, adorned with jewels, and carrying expensive luxury handbags. Their demeanor was dignified and elegant, exuding the air of socialites.

Lu Ze's attire—a long black trench coat, a black turtleneck sweater, casual pants, casual leather shoes, and sunglasses—made him stand out somewhat among the group.

It wasn't just his attire, but also his height and striking good looks that surpassed all the other men present, that made Lu Ze stand out. Soon, someone recognized who this tall, handsome man was.

"Hello Mr. Lu, are you free later? Shall we grab a drink?"

"Mr. Lu, I really enjoy your acting. How about we become friends? Here's my business card; please don't refuse."

"Good evening, Mr. Lu."

Lu Ze has now transcended the level of integrating into a group through clothing. In all informal occasions, no one will look at him differently if he dresses comfortably. After all, they are businessmen, high-level executives, while Lu Ze is in the entertainment industry. It is normal for people in different fields to have different dressing styles.

Everyone greeted Lu Ze warmly. There is indeed a class difference between a boss and an actor, but you also have to consider what level of boss and what level of actor they are.

An actor like Lu Ze, who enjoys immense popularity and outstanding talent in China and is capable of maintaining a stable position in the industry for a long time, would at least receive some respect from even ordinary business owners. If someone needs Lu Ze's help, such as asking him to endorse their company, they would have to treat him with even greater courtesy.

As for the socialites who greeted Lu Ze, they all had gentle and generous smiles, a particularly intellectual temperament, and were charming and alluring without being vulgar. Just a simple gesture of tucking their hair in their hair would make ordinary men fall in love.

The public often has a great misunderstanding of the term "socialite," thinking that they are high-class public buses, socialites who move between men.

But that's not actually the case. Women who can be called socialites usually come from very prominent families and have a very high level of education and self-cultivation. Unless such a woman has some kind of perverted fetish, she would not do anything that would disgrace her family.

And those so-called "high-class public buses" are actually high-class escorts who frequent low-class gatherings. They usually accompany the men who keep them and thus participate in these banquets, spending time with wealthy women.

This kind of woman's behavior is... well, let's just say it's not exactly flattering. She appears glamorous on the surface, but is actually quite naive. While others attend parties to discuss business and make friends, she seems to be trying to sell herself as a commodity. So she acts very openly, which leads to people either unaware of the situation or deliberately misleading others, and then spreading the misconception that all socialites are high-class prostitutes.

True socialites aren't immune to developing relationships beyond friendship with guests at parties, but these relationships have nothing to do with money; they're purely based on feelings and appreciation for each other—perhaps what's known as love at first sight.

Hu Zhiguang's banquet certainly wouldn't allow men or women who came to pick up rich men to attend, so the women here are indeed from prominent families. The unmarried ones go without saying, and the married ones must have very powerful husbands, and their families are not far behind either.

Actually, the families that value social status the most are these people, and it seems that quite a few of these women are interested in Lu Ze.

She didn't use any vulgar gestures to express her appreciation for Lu Ze; instead, a simple action or a single word revealed her captivating charm.

But sorry to say, Lu Ze was wary of women who, to put it nicely, had high emotional intelligence, but to put it bluntly, were cunning and calculating. Getting involved with them might lead to some unexpected problems. "Oh, look who's here? It's been a long time."

Seeing Gao Wanzhi walking towards him, Lu Ze was genuinely happy. He went over and gave her a light hug. Looking up, he saw that Gao Jian and Wang Min were also watching him.

Lu Ze knew he would definitely run into these people at the banquet, so it wasn't a surprise. They simply hugged each other and sighed, realizing that these familiar people were no longer his leaders.

How have you been these past few months?

Hearing Gao Jian's words, Lu Ze picked a cherry, popped it into his mouth, spat out the pit, wiped his fingertips with a tissue, and then replied, "It's great. Apart from the fact that my new movie's reputation is collapsing, everything else is fine."

"We don't believe you at all. You can't possibly take this to heart. Besides, I think your new movie is pretty good. It's not as bad as they say. It's okay, just try harder next time. And be more discerning when choosing scripts next time."

Lu Ze didn't complain to them that it was the director's fault that caused all this to happen, nor did he tell them how many suggestions he had given to the director on set, but the director wouldn't listen to these messy things. Anyway, it's all in the past now, and "Wrong Love" is about to be taken off the screens, so it can't be re-released no matter what.

After chatting for a while, the main character appeared. Hu Zhiguang's son and daughter-in-law walked to the front of the stage with the baby in their arms amidst everyone's congratulations. Lu Ze also went over to take a look. The baby was very cute and quiet. No matter how noisy the scene was, the baby slept soundly in his blanket, which Lu Ze liked very much.

Then, Mr. Hu, whom we hadn't seen for a long time, entered the venue and expressed his gratitude for everyone's congratulations. In fact, Hu Zhiguang's influence is no longer enough to attract so many people. However, his son is quite successful, having started his own high-tech company, which is doing very well. Most of these guests are his son's business partners and friends.

He walked over to everyone and looked at Lu Ze, Gao Wanzhi, and the rest of the old team. He sighed and gently hugged them. It was the first time that not only Lu Ze but also Gao Wanzhi and the others had met Hu Zhiguang since leaving the company.

Hu Zhiguang looked somewhat old and had lost his former vigor. In fact, the older a person gets, the less they should be idle. Staying at home will make them age faster. However, he looked much better, which put everyone at ease.

Hu Zhiguang handed over the gifts intended for the children, but he didn't pay much attention to them. After all, his family was well-off and didn't need their gifts; the sentiment was what mattered.

"You can sit at my table later, let's have a good chat. Come on, let's go now, sit here."

Hu Zhiguang's wife was busy taking care of the child, and now there were only a few of them at the table. As Hu Zhiyuan's son spoke on the stage, everyone clapped softly. Then the food and drinks were served, and the child's 100-day celebration officially began.

At first, Hu Zhiguang did not ask Lu Ze, but asked Gao Jian and others if they were doing well in their new positions. After learning that everyone was doing well, he took a sip of baijiu and nodded.

"I'm sorry for what I did this time. I haven't said this to you before, but I'm telling you now since we're all here. I'm sorry for what I did."

"Mr. Hu, you..."

"Hey~ Don't interrupt me. Now that you're not working under me, this bad habit of yours has resurfaced? Have you forgotten the mistakes you made back then?"

Gao Jian smiled sheepishly. This man in his forties had worked with Hu Zhiguang for nearly twenty years. During that time, he had caused Hu Zhiguang a lot of trouble due to several work mistakes when he was young. Now that he thought about it, it was actually quite interesting.

No one was sad, because it wasn't a matter of life and death, so there wasn't any need for tears. It was like old friends chatting, and the atmosphere was particularly harmonious.

After Hu Zhiguang's son toasted the table, everyone sat down, and Hu Zhiguang turned his attention to Lu Ze, reaching out to pat Lu Ze on the shoulder.

"Actually, the person I'm least worried about is Lu Ze. He has real skills and has gained influence. As long as he doesn't make any big mistakes in the future, he won't have a bad life. I admire you for that. You are tactful but upright, shrewd but not harmful, and knowledgeable about human relationships but have your own bottom line and principles. This is invaluable. I have always believed that you can achieve great things since you first showed your talent."

At this point, Hu Zhiguang picked up his wine cup, and everyone echoed him, clinking glasses and swallowing a mouthful of baijiu before patting Lu Ze on the back.

"Stay in Qian Shijia and nothing will happen to you."

"."

After sleeping on a chair all night, my lumbar disc herniation flared up. If any of you know of any topical medications that are very effective for treating lumbar disc herniation, could you please share them with me?
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(End of this chapter)