Huayu: Starting from the top talent show

Chapter 479 Using one's own body as a form of charity to reform haters
As the instant hit "Sisyphus" continued to advance according to the original promotional plan, it sparked a new wave of global popularity, with sales and streaming views soaring. Meanwhile, the filming of the drama "A Little Red Flower for You" in Qingdao had officially entered its final stage.

Although Shen Juan had to dedicate extra time to album promotion (covering major markets such as North America, China, Western Europe, Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia, and Australia) during his spare time, making the filming schedule extremely tight, the overall filming progress of the movie did not fall too far behind.

The limited number of scenes meant the crew had less time for scene transitions, while the actors' excellent performances were another factor.

Although Shen Juan is said to lack the comprehensive acting skills of other Best Actor winners, and the reason why the Hong Kong Film Awards gave him the award this year was more for commercial considerations, he is, after all, the youngest Best Actor winner in history who just broke Tony Leung Ka-fai's record. It's impossible that he is really as bad as the haters say.

At the very least, playing a specific role and expressing a specific mood or state of mind that one can handle is not a problem.

In short, he's just a little unbalanced in his studies.

Is it reliable that "Better Days" will win Best Actor?
Absolutely deserved!

So even though he was busy during this period and couldn't fully concentrate on filming, the quality of his performance was still satisfactory to the director. Apart from the fact that his physique was different from that of a brain cancer patient in the rehabilitation stage, which he couldn't change, he basically did his best.

Tonight's filming task is simple.

That is, after the male and female protagonists meet, the female protagonist takes the male protagonist to the rooftop at night to listen to the sounds of the zoo.

"Do you believe that there is a place where there is a version of you who is not sick, and who went to school and graduated normally, and became a little explorer?" When Liu Haocun said this, his eyes shone like stars in midsummer, with a hint of cautious probing, and also seemed to hide a firm belief in a parallel universe.

"How did you know I like adventure?" Shen Juan looked at Liu Haocun with some surprise and curiosity.

"Mountaineering manuals, outdoor knots, aren't these all you have on your table?" Liu Haocun tilted his head and smiled sweetly at him, his tone and eyes carrying a hint of smugness that said, "I already knew that," making him look especially adorable.

“Since I can’t get out anyway, I’ll just look around and have some fun!” Shen Juan turned his face to the night outside the rooftop, his voice muffled, and explained with some emotion: “After getting sick, I felt like I only had half a life left, so I really wanted to experience something different.”

"What do you mean, only half a life? I find you're really pessimistic." Liu Haocun suddenly raised his voice, his brows furrowing slightly.

"I've been a loser since I was little. I'm not proactive in my studies, I'm not self-motivated in my work, I don't have any energy to eat, and I'm not energetic even after I wake up. I never got a little red flower in kindergarten, and I didn't get any awards in elementary, middle, or high school either." Shen Juan looked down at his fingers with a self-deprecating and resigned smile on his face.

"It's so pitiful for a kid who's never received a little red flower." Liu Haocun looked at his pitiful appearance, his eyes softened, and his voice carried a barely perceptible pity.

"It doesn't matter."

As soon as he finished speaking, Han Yan called a halt with satisfaction.

"Cut! That was great! Juanjuan and Haocun were especially fantastic! Actors, take a ten-minute break, let's do another take!"

Shen Juan was speechless at the director's insistence on keeping the classic scene in one take, but aside from rolling his eyes, he didn't react much.

After all, this is an actor's job.

So he just stared blankly at the night, utterly bored, silently adjusting his mindset to prepare for the situation later.

But Liu Haocun, who was standing next to Shen Juan, took out his phone, plugged one of the earphones into Shen Juan's ear, and started playing music.

"Why are you suddenly listening to music? And what's more, it's..." Shen Juan gazed at the city silhouette shrouded in night in the distance.

"Because it sounds so good! And it's the kind of super good sound! To be honest, I especially love the three songs on your album: 'Deep Green,' 'Things You Said,' and 'Cool.' The first time I heard them, I was completely blown away by your voice. It's absolutely amazing!"

“I haven’t listened to many of your hit singles before, such as Blind Light and STAY, because I don’t really like fast-paced songs. I prefer songs with a more soothing melody, like your Golden Hour and 10000 Hours, which have a great feel to them.”

Shen Juan turned his head and glanced at Liu Haocun. He saw that she was curled up, hugging her knees with her arms. Her bright eyes were half-closed as she quietly stared at the lights not far ahead. She seemed a little lost in thought, but the slightly upturned corners of her mouth showed that she was in a pretty good mood.

So he couldn't help but laugh along, jokingly saying, "I'm glad you like it. I wrote it especially for you."

“I think all the songs on this album were written before we even met.”

"Yes."

"Then why did you say it was written specifically for me?"

Liu Haocun's lips curled up, her expression quite smug. Although she had always known that Shen Juan was a scumbag who liked to play with girls' feelings, on the other hand, it was very nice to meet such a handsome guy who matched her aesthetic and was willing to lie to her and make her laugh!

This is an undeniable objective fact.

"Can't I even make you happy?" Shen Juan took the thermos from his assistant and took a sip of warm water.

Looking at Shen Juan's Adam's apple bobbing up and down, Liu Haocun felt inexplicably shy: "I feel like only a fool would fall for that."

"Actually, you can choose to play dumb, because there's a saying, isn't there?" Shen Juan turned to look at the shy girl beside him, whose eyes darted around and dared not meet his gaze. He suddenly softened his tone, as if he were talking about a secret, and said in a calm, low voice, "Love only makes people stupid."

What are you talking about?

What do you mean by saying that love only makes people stupid?

There's no love between us!

"Can we use another example like this?"

"Don't be so narcissistic!"

Liu Haocun's worries were like a punctured balloon, instantly causing her to panic and lose all composure. So, to protect herself, she quickly transformed into Hakimi, whose tail had been stepped on, and began to breathe out hot air, even raising her voice by half an octave. Feeling unsatisfied after saying that, she added fiercely:
"We might not even have a friendship between us!"

How could an investigator possibly fall in love with the person being investigated?

This is...this is so insulting!!!
"Really? That's really sad. I always thought we were very good friends." But Shen Juan's smiling face showed no trace of sadness. In fact, because it satisfied his wicked sense of humor, he was watching her irritated and angry with great interest.

After a moment of silence, Liu Haocun calmed down and regained his composure: "Are you deliberately playing the scumbag for me?"

Shen Juan raised an eyebrow: "Isn't that what I am all along?"

"You're quite frank," Liu Haocun said, amused.

"Honesty is one of my few strengths."

"Why do you say such annoying things? It feels like you're showing off something." Liu Haocun smiled and glanced at Shen Juan, his eyes curving into beautiful crescents, and his voice becoming incredibly soft: "Are you waiting for someone to list out all your good points to refute you?"

Shen Juan acted as if nothing had happened, calmly asking in return, "Then tell me, what other good qualities do I have?"

"Handsome, good physique, young and rich, ambitious, has his own career, and a good personality."

"You have such a sweet tongue!" Shen Juan pretended to widen his eyes slightly, offering a compliment that was full of emotional value.

Hum hum ~
Liu Haocun's lips curled up higher and higher.

Am I sweet-talking?
well enough.
But I don't think I said anything, did I?
He's handsome, has a great physique, and a good personality.
Aren't these all well-known advantages?

Anyway, I'm just telling the truth!
Anyway, I didn't lie and flatter him!

However, from childhood to adulthood
He seems to be the first person to compliment me like that!
Having a sweet tongue or something
Looks like this guy has a good eye!
but
Although he couldn't hide his little bit of happiness and pride, Liu Haocun still felt that something was off.

It was as if Shen Juan had stolen her persona and preemptively uttered the lines that should have been hers, thus shifting the balance of power.

So she added, "And then... shamelessness!"

"Hmm?" Shen Juan asked, somewhat curious.

"You're really shameless, because normal people would never ask others what their strengths are." Liu Haocun nodded after saying this, as if affirming his own judgment and making his argument more convincing.

However, in Shen Juan's eyes, he looked rather dull and simple-minded, with a kind of innocent stupidity that made him seem a little cute.

This gave him the idea to tease the little girl: "How many people in the entertainment industry are thin-skinned? And a girl like you has probably been pursued by many classmates since childhood. If I weren't a little thick-skinned, would you even pay attention to me?"

Liu Haocun deliberately put on a stern face, but his lips twitched uncontrollably with delight: "Come on! I'm not falling for that."

"Just telling the truth."

Shen Juan shifted closer to Liu Haocun, turned to face her, and looked at her face. Even though there was a distance between them, his tone was as gentle as if he were whispering in her ear, "After all, you are a newly recognized 'Mou Girl' who has won Zhang Yimou's approval. No one can compare to you in terms of talent."

"really?"

"real."

"Hehehe!" Liu Haocun hugged his knees even tighter, resting his chin on them, and his smile became even brighter.

Both Yi Mou and Juan Juan said so.

I really am very talented.

Then, Juanjuan... He just works very hard.

How can you become a movie star without hard work?

So she made up her mind!
She plans to create a fake account to pretend to be a crew member on the set, and share behind-the-scenes footage of the filming of "Little Red Flower" to show everyone how hard she works and how talented she is.

That way, there should be fewer trolls who are misled by other mindless haters and blindly follow suit in criticizing Juanjuan, right?

Ok
She wasn't sure if what she was doing would work.

She was just trying to put her mind at ease.

After all, she had once joined the trend of criticizing Shen Juan.

But after getting to know him personally, I discovered that he had been demonized by certain groups, and he wasn't as bad as some people thought. On the contrary, he was a pretty good person.

The only issue that can be criticized is, frankly speaking, that it's all consensual, and there's no coercion or unspoken rules involved.

Even after spending enough time together to accept reality, the image of Shen Juan and the subway god gradually overlapped in her mind, and the dream girl complex she had accumulated for the god was almost completely transferred to Shen Juan.

Therefore, she inevitably felt guilty and decided to resign from her original, secretive, and noble position as an investigator.

Stop stealing intelligence and treat him normally.

From then on, he turned over a new leaf and devoutly and silently atoneed for his sins.

I've already laid down my butcher's knife and become a Buddha on the spot!

While Shen Juan was diligently filming in Qingdao and also personally performing acts of charity to reform Xiao Heizi, "The Matchmaker," which has garnered significant attention from the outside world for various reasons and was rated as one of the most anticipated films of 2020 along with Chen Sicheng's "Detective Chinatown 3," released its first trailer on the evening of May 18.

Alongside this, various marketing press releases were also launched:

For example, the double spring mechanism needs no further explanation.

Anyway, you can easily find sweet moments and materials online.

Whether it's the innocent and naive childhood sweetheart romance between Shen Juan and Tian Jie in "So Cute Us," which makes viewers want to writhe in bed with their pillows, or the interesting moments in their real lives after leaving the screen that are even more fun than the drama, the fans of the Spring CP are completely hooked. In the end, they went crazy for the two in the fandom battles, showing their loyalty to Tian Jie and becoming the glorious and proud Spring Empire Guard!

"The spring dynasty is here," is their catchphrase.

For example, Xiao Bei, who is a rebel against the Heavenly Gang, falls in love with Wei Lai.

The popularity of the Shen Juan and Zhou Ye pairing is also quite high.

This kind of campus romance, where you meet someone from humble beginnings and watch your boyfriend grow into a global superstar, is equally captivating.

Some people even used the Bei Lai CP (couple pairing) as a pretext to reverse the plot of "Better Days" and create fan-made videos: "[Shen Juan X Zhou Ye] My rose must live in a light" and "Liu Beishan x Wei Lai 'Who wouldn't want to burn their golden pavilion to the ground?' [Shen Juan x Zhou Ye]".
However, due to a lack of exposure and content, it cannot compare to Spring, which has been active in the fan circle for more than two years.

(The most talked-about incident was probably when Shen Juan invited his sister-in-law onto the stage to introduce her to the audience during his Shanghai tour.)
Then there's another work, much like "Sisyphus," an indispensable "work to save the market during a time of loyalty and righteousness."

Although the situation is not yet fully under control, and the authorities have not yet issued an official document announcing the reopening time for cinemas.

But Shen Juan knew it would open in August.

So starting the pre-launch campaign three months in advance is just right.

The promotional period will not be too long, nor will the pre-release period be too short, resulting in insufficient initial exposure for the film.

Moreover, when it competes with "The Eight Hundred", it can also attack the director for his biased views.

Whether it can beat "The Eight Hundred" is another matter.

At least one thing is certain:

"The Eight Hundred" certainly won't benefit from the reopening of cinemas during the special period like it did in the original timeline, where the winners took all the spoils.

Moreover, he also had a cameo role in "The Eight Hundred" with very few scenes but many memorable moments.

So regardless of winning or losing, he won't suffer a loss.

Besides
Given that the male lead's every move attracts a huge amount of attention, not only Chinese fans are closely following "The Matchmaker," but even the entire Asia-Pacific region, including most European and American Alovers, are curious about this romantic film full of Chinese elements.

Therefore, as soon as the first trailer for the movie was released, it instantly attracted a large number of fans and passersby to watch and comment.

Shen Juan is as handsome as ever, and Zhou Ye's looks are definitely worthy of being selected by Wa Juan. But the one who really caught my eye was Sister Tian! Pink-haired Sister Tian is unbeatable! But is she playing a delinquent this time? Hahaha, the screenwriter is so mean! That's definitely a natural fit for her (doge).

[Fun fact: The screenwriter is Shen Juan.]

It's hard to imagine how many beatings I endured to convince Sister Tian to play this "black-her-her" role. Surely I couldn't have actually spent Monday through Sunday emptying my magazine to convince her? I'm really a little envious of Sister Tian; she gets to live in the male lead's mansion and be so deeply loved by him.

Where's Cheng Xiao? The "Three Sisters of Sanlitun" are one short; it's supposed to be a movie for four, but I never get a name!

[Wasn't Cheng Xiao's 951 position essentially created by Shen Juan using resources to secure it? Otherwise, do you think she could have gotten such top-tier resources as Running Man, promoting LV, Tiffany, and Chinese Restaurant?] (Recently, a marketing account leaked the list of regular guests for this season of Chinese Restaurant: Huang Xiaoming, Zhao Liying, Lin Shuwei, Zhang Liang, and Cheng Xiao)

I never thought I'd see Wei Jie and Xiao Bei dating again! Has my Wei Jie finally won? Waaaaah!

In 17, I thought Shen Juan was just a pretty boy with some talent. In 18, I thought he was a very talented singer-songwriter. But after watching "Better Days" in 19, I realized this kid is really amazing; he can sing and act. I'm optimistic that he'll become the next superstar!

In fact, he has already surpassed them. It's not that he's chasing after superstars, but rather that superstars are chasing him.

The trailer starts off like a romantic comedy, but the second half feels like a tragic ending. Can we please stop crying?!

I don't care if it's a comedy or a tragedy, one movie ticket lets me see their love-hate relationship, I'm definitely going to see it!

Reporter: "What do you think is the most important thing for an actor?"

Shen Juan: "Culture, to persist on this path, to do well and go far, one must have the most basic cultural foundation and the most basic ability to understand texts. Because many roles and many plays cannot be played just because one wants to. As an artist, the more one wants to achieve something, the more cultured one must be. That's why I have been using my spare time to read books to enrich the cultural foundation I lack."

Reporter: "Some people say that you only read the title page of books, mainly to establish a persona. What is your opinion on this?"

Shen Juan: "I don't care what they think, because I read for myself, not for others."

This is the kind of popular idol we truly need! He's still growing, far from reaching his limits. His immediate foray into the US after winning "The Rap of China" shows he's unwilling to be a puppet of capital. He treats art with sincerity, and the people and history will ultimately treat him with sincerity in return. You see, in this entertainment industry controlled and monopolized by capital, it seems there's still a little room for maneuver in deciding what kind of person you want to be! What do you think?

Thanks to Shen Juan's consistent success, he has never disappointed his fans who support and trust him since his debut.

In addition, he received an even more impressive patriotic meal than the Emperor Jing, and tweeting about Milk Dragon is not something just anyone dares to do.

Therefore, the overall feedback in the video comment sections of various platforms is clearly dominated by positive reviews and expressions of anticipation for the film.

Many people have said that if cinemas reopen after the lockdown, the first thing they will do is to meet up with their long-separated partners at the cinema, buy tickets to watch "The Matchmaker" starring Shen Juan, and greet the era after the lockdown is gradually stabilized with a positive and optimistic attitude!

In addition, Shen Juan plans to use his influence to rake in box office revenue in many overseas countries, especially in the Asia-Pacific region. While making a profit, he will also cooperate with relevant departments to carry out a subtle cultural export mission in Southeast Asia, making the local people's "Chinese dream" even more fervent.

Overseas promotion is also essential.

Major television stations and online platforms across the Asia-Pacific region, as well as the brands that Shen Juan endorses, will all help to support him.

So, in summary, with the joint efforts of Shen Juan and Xinglian, "The Matchmaker" not only became a savior of the Chinese film market and was regarded by industry insiders as a key to unleashing consumer power, but also became a project that film markets in other Asia-Pacific countries need to pay close attention to and consider.

If the mission of Sisyphus is to bring spiritual comfort to people during the first half of the year when loyalty and righteousness erupt, then...
So the mission of "The Matchmaker" and the concert film is to dominate the global emotional landscape in the second half of the year when the initial control of the relationship is achieved.

Just like last year when Shen Juan dominated the global pop music scene for an entire year with his Leviathan and Leviathan Era tour.

This year, Shen Juan will also try to use different methods and means to make 2020 bear his name and symbol.

------------

Zhou Yeye: [I remember you once comforted me by saying something like this: Some people are more willing to accept your negative opinions. No matter what you grow, change, or receive new information, never forget to look up and move forward. What doesn't belong to you will pass, and what belongs to you will find you.]

So now you know why I'm so obsessed with you? Because I remember all the things you said, I'll never forget the times when your eyes were full of me, because of you, I had those sweet moments, and when you were with me, I never envied anyone.

So I'm absolutely certain that I love you! I love you so much! I only love you! I love you the most! I love you beyond measure! I will love you forever!

After posting on Weibo, Zhou Ye casually tossed her phone onto the sofa, walked barefoot to the French windows, and stood there. The night outside was dark, with a bright moon and few stars. Gazing at the lights of the buildings in the distance, she seemed to suddenly remember something, and the corners of her mouth unconsciously curved upwards, revealing a soft, sweet smile.

She's in a good mood today.

She was so good that even Sister Tian couldn't help but complain that she was a fool who would turn into a lovesick woman whenever she thought of Shen Juan!
So good that even Cheng Xiao couldn't help but take a picture of her smiling foolishly while listening to "If I Could" and send it to Shen Juan.

However, it wasn't because the trailer for "The Matchmaker" was finally released, but because her and Juanjuan's birthdays were coming up soon.

I remember watching a movie called "Atonement" a while ago, and there was a line that left a deep impression on me.

Dear Cecilia, the story can resume.
My dearest Cecilia, our fate is not yet over.

Although the male and female protagonists in the movie were separated for various reasons and never got to be together until their deaths, it made her cry quite a bit.

But after crying, I couldn't help but feel happy and relieved.

Because she is different from Juanjuan.

They lived in a time of peace.

We can face any difficulties together.

We can find ways to overcome any difficulties together.

They weren't surrounded by jealous people.

They can fall in love and be together as they please.

So she immediately booked a flight to Qingdao.

After all, this is our agreement!

Let's celebrate birthdays together this year too!
(End of this chapter)