Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 441 Misunderstanding

There might be debate about which of the four most famous female impersonators in China is more well-known.

If you were to ask who has the best top-tier film resources, at present, it would undoubtedly be Li Xiaoran; none of the others can compare.

Li Xiaoran won the Berlin Film Festival's Best Actress award for her role in Cao Yang's "On the Beach at Night Alone," becoming the first mainland Chinese actress to win the award. With Cao Yang's private assistance, she received a constant stream of film offers.

The films he has worked with are just a few examples of his collaborations with renowned directors, including "Nine-Tailed Fox", "Chinese Odyssey 2002", "A World Without Thieves", "The Banquet", and "Forever Enthralled".

In fact, even if you include Hong Kong and Taiwan, there is no actress with better resources than her.

She has awards, influence, and fame.

However, Li Xiaoran seems to have had a bit of a rough year.

The film "Mei Lanfang," directed by Chen Kaige and starring her, was originally scheduled to wrap up filming at the end of November or the beginning of December last year, but it was delayed again and again until March of this year.

If that were all, it would be fine.

In mid-March, inspired by Chen Guofu's "Marriage Advertisement," Xiao Gangpao suddenly had an idea to make a movie about marriage advertisements.

Chen Guofu is currently the film director of Huayi Brothers. Xiao Gangpao discussed it with him and Xiao Wang. Due to the record-breaking performance of "Assembly", Huayi Brothers will naturally give Xiao Gangpao their full support.

Furthermore, Chen Guofu also recommended Shu Qi, a fellow Taiwanese from his hometown, to Xiao Gangpao.

Xiao Gangpao didn't give an immediate answer. Instead, he called Li Xiaoran first to ask if she was available.

He knew about Li Xiaoran's relationship with Cao Yang.

His previous collaborations with "A World Without Thieves" and "The Banquet" were also very successful. In addition, the huge success of "Assembly" made him determined that in the future, as long as the role is suitable, he will choose Li Xiaoran as his first choice for his movies.

Since Li Xiaoran was available, Xiao Gangpao rejected Chen Guofu's suggestion without hesitation.

What can a film director at Huayi Brothers do?

I'm only calling you Director Chen out of respect; otherwise, who the hell do you think you are? Go cool off somewhere else, you damn film director.

Who is Lao Tzu?

The record for Chinese-language films is held!

Huayi's flagship storefront.

Little Steel Cannon is very clever.

This would both give Cao Yang face and deepen their relationship. Li Xiaoran is also a very good actress, so it's a win-win-win situation.

When Li Xiaoran received the call and learned that Xiao Gangpao was making a new film, she learned about the movie's content and then agreed to participate.

Who would have thought that in April, Cao Yang would come up with a new idea: to team up with Xiao Gangpao to create a disaster film about an earthquake.

For a small, powerful car, is there even a question about how to choose?

So without hesitation, they shelved the script that was still being polished, and decided to wait until after filming "Aftershock" to finish making the movie, which was originally planned to be titled "If You Are the One".

Li Xiaoran was stood up.

Xiao Gangpao carefully explained the matter to Li Xiaoran and promised that once "Aftershock" was completed, he would definitely film "If You Are the One".

Furthermore, Xiao Gangpao also guaranteed that if Li Xiaoran took on other projects during this period, he would wait for her to finish her current work before filming "If You Are the One".

In short, you are the perfect candidate for "If You Are the One".

Is Li Xiaoran angry?

I am very sure of that.

This is like being stood up by the director—I've already reserved my schedule for you, but you say the movie has to be postponed, and what's most infuriating is that you have to shoot another movie first!
Isn’t this bullying an honest person?

Oh, Cao Yang's idea? Well, what else can we do?
I'm so angry!
Li Xiaoran was furious but didn't know who to vent her anger on.

Finally, I must tell Xiao Gangpao that he shouldn't let Cao Yang know about this for the time being, so as not to make him hesitate, feel guilty, or be distracted by it.

After saying those words, Li Xiaoran truly felt that she was remarkable. What other woman could be so devoted to Cao Yang?

A few days later, Li Xiaoran was so angry when she saw the trailer for that disaster movie online and on TV that she almost died of anger!
That bastard Cao Yang! My heart is completely with him, and he actually... actually cast that vixen Gao Yuanyuan in his new film!

unacceptable!

I'm so angry!
Don't say that Little Cannon wants to use a vixen; it's not that Li Xiaoran looks down on him.

Given Cao Yang's status and influence, in this world, including Hollywood, no matter who he collaborates with, if Cao Yang wants to, he can designate the actors; Little Cannon has no say whatsoever.

Besides, Little Cannon has never worked with that vixen. He knew she stood him up. If he could make the decision, he would definitely have given me the role in the new movie.

Cao Yang!

Li Xiaoran was so angry she wanted to bite him. If Cao Yang had been there, she would have definitely used her sharp teeth to teach him a lesson.

So she decided to teach Cao Yang a lesson and ignore him for six months.

Well, ignoring him isn't good either, Cao Yang will be heartbroken... So let's punish him by not seeing him for six months.

In order to achieve this, Li Xiaoran deliberately took on more endorsements and appearances to keep herself busy.

This busy period lasted for five months. Apart from occasionally being unable to resist calling Cao Yang, Li Xiaoran even made excuses not to return to Beijing when Cao Yang returned to China during the Olympics.

However, five months... was already Li Xiaoran's limit.

After hearing that Cao Yang's film reel of "Joker" had been burned and was called a cursed film, she impulsively called Cao Yang and said she wanted to go to the United States to keep him company.

At that moment, Li Xiaoran didn't care about teaching Cao Yang a lesson or not seeing him for half a year.

Although Cao Yang refused and said it was nothing, Li Xiaoran couldn't rest easy. She had been thinking about it for days and wished she could run to Cao Yang's side immediately to be with him and comfort him.

When Li Xiaoran heard that Cao Yang had returned to Beijing and was preparing to start a new film, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The fact that Cao Yang is able to start a new film proves that he has come to terms with it and will no longer be bothered or defeated by the series of misfortunes surrounding "Joker".

So, Li Xiaoran quickly finished her business and rushed to the capital, ready to give Cao Yang a surprise.

She knew very well that whenever Cao Yang was in Beijing, he would stay in that neighborhood not far from the Beijing Film Academy. She had been there a few times and knew where it was.

The surprise, of course, came right at the door.

We've arrived at the door...

The door opened automatically without me even knocking...

Then, what did Li Xiaoran see?
Her co-star in "Mei Lanfang," Director Chen's wife, and her good friend Sister Hong, was holding a sheer shawl in one hand and adjusting her bodycon skirt with the other!
Meanwhile, Cao Yang, whom she had been thinking about day and night, was all smiles as he looked at Sister Hong, who was adjusting her pencil skirt, leaving much to the imagination.

As the female lead in "Mei Lanfang", Li Xiaoran knew that Director Chen was in Tokyo at the time doing post-production work on the film.

She suppressed her anger and glanced into the room, only to be stunned. What did she see? Tissues! Several used tissues!

It was just lying there, conspicuously on the ground not far from the doorway.

Li Xiaoran knew that Cao Yang sometimes liked to be in the living room...

Immediately, my mind went blank, and all I could think of was: those two adulterers!
Cao Yang, you bastard! I know you have other women outside, but... but!
How could she possibly be there?

How could she be here?
Why her?!
Do you know who this is? This belongs to your senior brother...

Chen Hong, oh Chen Hong, I never expected this! I knew that before you got married, you had an ambiguous relationship with the married director surnamed Teng, and then you interfered in the relationship between Director Chen and the host surnamed Ni...

Who would have thought that you would even target our Cao Yang!

Are all big-name directors your prey?

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. Coupled with the lingering resentment she felt towards Gao Yuanyuan and the "If You Are the One" incident, Li Xiaoran could no longer suppress her anger.

"Haha, Sister Hong, I really didn't expect you to be so amazing. People say that people are like wolves at thirty and tigers at forty. I didn't believe it before, but now I've finally seen it with my own eyes."

"So, how's our young and energetic Cao Yang? Isn't he much better than those older, burly directors?"

At this point, she took a step forward, leaned close to Chen Hong's ear, and whispered with a cold laugh:

"Isn't our Cao Yangli amazing? Did he make you lose control of your bladder and forget everything else? Tsk tsk, otherwise why would he have left without even cleaning up those disgusting things on the ground before he left?"

Sister Hong was taken aback at first, then her expression changed, and anger flared up. Just as she was about to retort, she changed her mind, smiled, and said something ambiguous.

"Young is good."

After saying that, he turned around and left.

As she left, she didn't forget to wiggle her hips and wave goodbye.

gone……

gone……

Li Xiaoran was ready to tear off her mask and have a verbal battle with her, after all, she was in the right. She was a married old woman with a certain status, and no matter how you looked at it, she wouldn't dare to be presumptuous.

To my surprise, it was like punching cotton; the other person didn't respond at all and just left.

Li Xiaoran's temper flared up even more.

If she could give that wretched woman a good dressing down, she could calm down a bit; now she feels even more suffocated.

"Hey Chen, don't go, you..."

Li Xiaoran realized what was happening and was so angry she almost jumped up, as if she wanted to chase after Chen Hong and unleash her fury.

Cao Yang also reacted quickly, dragging and carrying Li Xiaoran, who was running around like a wild boar, into the room and then quickly closed the door.

Fortunately, this house is a large single-level apartment; otherwise, if others heard or saw it, it would be a huge joke.

"Let me go, Cao Yang, you bastard! Are you determined to protect that shameless slut? Now I finally understand, none of you men are good. Who is she? How could you..."

"Xiaoran, Xiaoran, listen to me, please listen to me, okay?"

"I won't listen. I'm going to confront that shameless woman..."

"It's not what you think. Please let me explain."

"I won't listen... um..."

Cao Yang immediately used his ultimate move; this was the only effective way to calm an angry woman.

However, there are risks.

"Oh, you were born in the Year of the Dog."

Cao Yang touched his lips; they weren't broken.

Li Xiaoran didn't kill him, she just gave Cao Yang a small lesson. She had long wanted to vent her anger on Cao Yang.

However, she still secretly glanced at Cao Yang's lips to see if there was any bleeding.

To be honest, if she had run into that vixen Gao Yuanyuan or that hypocrite Yu Feihong in this room today, she wouldn't be so angry.

But who is this?

It's one thing for you to have an ambiguous relationship with that vixen Gao Yuanyuan or that fake virtuous Yu Feihong, but after all, neither of them has a boyfriend, let alone a wife.

At most, everyone will rely on their own abilities to see who will be the final winner – Cao Yang.

But this old woman is different!

"You're the one who's like a dog, you're the male in heat..."

She originally wanted to mock Cao Yang for being indiscriminate in his sexual encounters, like a male dog in heat, but she was a cultured, unmarried woman and couldn't bring herself to say such a thing.

"You've misunderstood, look..."

Cao Yang bent down to pick up the tissue, intending to show it to Li Xiaoran.

"Ugh, get away from me, this thing is disgusting..."

"What? These are tissues for wiping tears. Sister Hong just cried, and these are for wiping her tears. You've misunderstood."

Cao Yang even unfolded the tissue for Li Xiaoran to see.

"Ha, wiping away tears, you're really something, you even made her cry."

Li Xiaoran tilted her head back to avoid the tissue Cao Yang unfolded in front of her, and said sarcastically.

However, she believed Cao Yang's words to some extent, since there were no other traces on the papers, no strange smell, and no familiar scent of photinia flowers.

"Stop messing around, okay? You've really misunderstood. Why don't you check the living room for any traces? Go check the bathroom for any washing marks? If something really happened between us, there would definitely be traces left behind, right?"

As Cao Yang spoke, he began to take off his pants.

"Check this area for any traces or odors, and then try it yourself to see if it's in its refractory period."

This is the ultimate move. Most of the time, when faced with a unreasonable or argumentative girlfriend who insists on being right, a well-timed outburst of words can solve the problem.

"You're a pervert."

Li Xiaoran was startled and quickly said, "Stop taking your clothes off, put them back on."

She was already 80-90% convinced by this point.

Ignoring Li Xiaoran's screams and the pounding of her little fists on her shoulders, Cao Yang picked her up and carried her to the bedroom.

Be frank and open with each other, and have in-depth exchanges.

a long time.

Since we've gone that far, the misunderstanding must have been cleared up.

"You mean, Director Chen, he..."

Li Xiaoran lay in Cao Yang's arms, her eyes wide with disbelief.

"Well, don't spread rumors. Sister Hong is suffering in silence. She can't tell others about this kind of thing. She came here today specifically to ask me to give her some time to try and persuade my senior brother to turn back."

Senior Brother Chen, I'm sorry, I can only use this as an excuse. Please help me take the blame, after all, it's not like I'm wronging you. When Sister Hong cried today, she also revealed this meaning.

Li Xiaoran wasn't stupid; still clinging to a last shred of doubt, she asked, "Why did she ask you to persuade Director Chen? Why didn't she ask Director Tian or someone else?"

Cao Yang had already thought it through. He sighed and said calmly, "Besides me, who do you think is qualified to advise Senior Brother Chen? Who dares to say these things to Senior Brother Chen?"

Li Xiaoran thought about it and realized that this made sense.

Only Cao Yang in China has the authority to advise Director Chen.

"Cao Yang, I'm sorry, I was too impulsive just now."

Li Xiaoran looked up at Cao Yang's face and explained softly, "It's not that I have a bad temper. You know, back in March of this year, Director Feng wanted to make a movie about blind dates and invited me. I made time for it."

"Ok?"

Cao Yang was taken aback, then realized what was happening.

In other words, before I asked Xiao Gangpao to prepare for "Aftershock", Xiao Gangpao already had plans to shoot other movies, but they were temporarily put on hold because of his collaboration with me.

"Fool, why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Cao Yang gently patted Li Xiaoran's head and said with some concern.

Li Xiaoran's eyes sparkled, she bared her teeth, eager to bite Cao Yang a few times to vent her anger.

"Did I tell you you would let me play the female lead in 'Aftershock'?"

After saying that, she deliberately bared her teeth, the threat in her eyes quite obvious.

It's really a wave of upheaval.

Cao Yang's mind raced. Instead of answering the question directly, he looked at Li Xiaoran gently and said, "I've already prepared a role for you. My new movie is called 'Like Father, Like Son,' and you're the perfect female lead."

After saying all that, he emphasized again, "This is a film I directed myself, and I definitely had you in mind for the important roles."

(End of this chapter)