Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 443 Arrival in Shanghai
The news of the wrap-up of "Mojin: The Lost Legend" was first released through the on-set Weibo accounts of actors such as Liu Yifei.

"On the streets of Toronto, 150 days of hard work, happy wrap-up!" The accompanying photos are of Liu Yifei and her colleagues having a funny group photo on set, as well as a photo of Liu Yifei holding wrap-up flowers and smiling at Li Qiutang.

Li Qiutang wanted Liu Yifei to stay in Toronto for a few more days to enjoy some time alone together.

But Liu Yifei refused; she had other jobs to do.

"I'm flying to Thailand tomorrow to shoot an ad, you can go have some alone time by yourself." She was still laughing, "Poor thing, your wife isn't here with you."

"I should have known better than to marry an actress."

“Especially, you shouldn’t marry a famous actress,” Liu Yifei added. “But it’s too late for you to change your mind now.”

However, as compensation, Liu Yifei cooperated actively that night, which satisfied Li Qiutang.

The next day, Liu Yifei left first, departing from Toronto and transiting in Doha before flying to Bangkok.

Li Qiutang returned to China and landed in Shanghai, where reporters took photos of her arrival. That evening, while dining with her assistant at a restaurant, Li Qiutang received a phone call from someone claiming to be the domestic general agent for a certain wine brand. The caller wanted to book all the wine for Li Qiutang and Liu Yifei's wedding, offering to pay nothing and even give them three million yuan in compensation.

Li Qiutang understood the implication; they were using their wedding as an advertisement. So she replied, "No need. We'll buy the wine ourselves; we don't need sponsorship."

"Director Li, we can discuss the price further if it's not right. We are very sincere, and many people in our company are fans of you and your husband."

"No need, we have our own wedding plans. Goodbye." He then hung up the phone.

He told his assistant, "I don't know where they got my phone number, but they want to advertise at my wedding."

The assistant said, "Information leaks are unavoidable."

Li Qiutang told her assistant, "Don't do these things for me." If the people around her were to do these things, Li Qiutang really couldn't stop them.

"Haha, how could it be?"

Li Qiutang would adjust to the time difference in Shanghai before returning to Yanjing, but even during those few days of adjusting, he couldn't find peace.

It's already known in the industry that Li Qiutang has finished filming "Mojin: The Lost Legend" and returned to China, taking a break in Shanghai.

It doesn't matter what Li Qiutang is doing in Shanghai, as long as he's here.

"Qiu Tang, you're back? Are you in Shanghai?" Deng Chao, who was still filming out of town, sent Li Qiu Tang a voice message. "I'll treat you to a welcome dinner tonight, you must come."

He's currently filming "The Mermaid" in Guangdong Province. How can he host a welcome party for Li Qiutang?

But Deng Chao had plenty of ideas: "Sun Li said she hasn't seen her in a long time. Since you're staying in Shanghai, let's have a casual meal together. I can't come, but I'll make the appointment for you."

"Okay, send me the address, I'll come over tonight."

"You make a reservation at a restaurant, and we'll pay the bill."

"I'm not familiar with Shanghai, so please go with the flow. You've made the arrangements."

Actually, Li Qiutang could easily guess why Sun Li was looking for him.

If Li Qiutang remembers correctly, Sun Li should be filming "The Legend of Mi Yue" in Hengdian right now, and shouldn't be resting at home in Shanghai.

He took a special leave from the film crew just to have a meal with Li Qiutang; that shows his sincerity.

Li Qiutang will stay in Shanghai for a few days. If it's far away, that's fine. But you're in Hengdian, which is only a 4-hour drive away. Are you going to go and see him?
The film and television industry is too reliant on social skills; even if you drive four hours to get there, introduce yourself, and offer a toast, many people will still be willing to go.

Trying gives you a chance; not trying means you have no chance at all.

For the welcome dinner that evening, Sun Li brought Liu Tao, who was also in the "Legend of Mi Yue" crew, along with their respective assistants, so that they could sit at a table and avoid it being too monotonous.

"I took over 'Mojin: The Lost Legend' in early 2013. Song Ge approached me at the time; he was the general manager of Wanda Pictures. After the project was handed over to me, Song Ge left and is now with Yanjing Culture. He even said a few days ago that he wanted to work with me again." It's normal to brag a bit at a dinner party. "This film took five months to shoot; it was exhausting."

Sun Li deliberately mentioned, "There will be something to watch next year, as you and Lu Chuan, both directors, are making films based on the same IP."

Li Qiutang waved her hand: "Why compare yourself to him? There's no need."

Sun Li and Liu Tao smiled. "So what are you going to do next?" Both ladies were eagerly awaiting Li Qiutang's answer.

"Let's take a break. We don't plan to start filming this year at least." Li Qiutang knew what answer the two wanted to hear, but he still chose to tell them the truth.

"That's true, after all, we just finished working on a big-budget film."

"I still have to prepare for the wedding. If I leave so much to Yifei to do alone, she'll definitely scold me."

The two married women shared the same sentiment.

"You two argue too? I thought you were a perfect couple who never blushed," Liu Tao said.

"To be honest, we haven't really gotten into heated arguments over the years, but we have had our disagreements. That's life, everyone has their ups and downs."

Take houses for example. Li Qiutang wanted to buy a new house, but Liu Yifei refused no matter what. Li Qiutang had already agreed to live with her mother, but Liu Yifei still refused to buy it, saying that she had only lived in the current house for a few years and there was no need to buy a new one.

The two had argued about this matter several times, and Li Qiutang eventually compromised, but Li's parents still insist on buying a new house.

Li Qiutang doesn't like shopping, but Liu Yifei sometimes insists on dragging him out, and they end up shopping for at least five hours. What man can stand that? Li Qiutang doesn't want to go shopping, and Liu Yifei scolds him for it. After a few times, Liu Yifei has stopped forcing him.

There's no right or wrong in this kind of thing.

The three married people were having a lively conversation about family life.

Just then, the door to the private room was knocked open.

The newcomer was a middle-aged man who leaned halfway in and said with a smile, "All three teachers are here."

"you are?"

The man then came in and introduced himself. He was an agent who had heard that the three of them were having dinner here, so he brought his artists to offer a toast.

"Xiao Song, come here." He ushered in an actress. "This is Song Yi, a very excellent and intelligent actress."

"Hello Director, hello Ms. Sun Li, hello Mr. Liu Tao," Song Yi greeted them proactively.

“I know you,” Li Qiutang said to Song Yi, “You acted in ‘Our Jing Ke,’ right? It was really good.” Of course, drama is also a director’s profession, and Li Qiutang often went to support the classic plays of the Beijing People’s Art Theatre.

"Thank you, Director. I'd like to propose a toast." It's good that you remember me.

"I won't drink," Li Qiutang declined. "Drinking too much will lead to trouble."

“Then let’s have a drink, Song Yi.” Her agent reacted quickly, and Song Yi didn’t hesitate either. He tilted his head back and downed a glass of wine.

"What are you acting out right now?" Just chatting idly.

"I was filming 'The Legend of the Wind' in Chedun, and I played Gu Xiaomeng."

Li Qiutang laughed after hearing this: "This is a play from our company."

Song Yi did not understand.

Li Qiutang said, "This drama was invested in by our company. Director Jiang Wei is my teacher, and Li Ningyu is Shu Chang, right?"

"Ah."

"I was planning to visit the set in Chedun tomorrow, but I never expected to run into Gu Xiaomeng here."

"That's even better." Song Yi's agent was overjoyed.

After saying a few more words, Song Yi and his companion took their leave.

Neither Sun Li nor Liu Tao learned any news about the new film from Li Qiutang tonight, but that didn't matter. Having a friendly meal and leaving a good impression was also the goal for tonight. Maybe she would remember them later and recommend them to the production team.

The essence of running a business is to build positive relationships.

(End of this chapter)