Chinese Entertainment Intelligence King

Chapter 243 The "Hierarchy of Disdain" among the Four Little Actresses, the "Sisterly Affection" Teddy Bear Group
Yan Li had a peaceful few days in Shanghai.

I work during the day, and go to Yang Rong's house for dinner and sleep at night. Occasionally, when I have free time, I'll stroll around Shanghai and buy some things.

Yan Li is good at making money, but he also loves to spend it.

He didn't quite understand why so many people work themselves to the bone to make money, only to be reluctant to spend it.

If you say that ordinary people save money to buy houses and cars and dare not splurge, that's one thing, but many wealthy people, even though they have money, are also very frugal.

So what is your purpose in making money?
Just to satisfy his boss fantasy?!

Yan Li didn't understand, nor did he follow suit. Without affecting his business, he would set aside a small treasury for himself every year, and then use that treasury to buy things whenever he had time.

Yan Li buys whatever he likes and whatever he thinks is good. Sometimes he forgets about it after buying it, and he may waste some money, but he doesn't care too much.

He even came up with a set of "twisted logic" for himself: only when he spends money and has no money will he have the motivation to make money.

Before leaving Shanghai, Yan Li went on a big shopping spree, having Wu Maowen pack and mail the things he planned to take back to Beijing, while he himself carried large and small bags to Yang Rong's house.

Why did you buy so much stuff again?

Yang Rong came out of the kitchen wearing an apron. Yan Li twitched his nose twice and said, "It smells so good. Are you making soup?"

"Make some nourishing soup."

Yang Rong answered casually, and Yan Li's expression turned strange. "Still making nourishing soup? This isn't the time to be begging for mercy."

"This wasn't made for you."

Seeing Yan Li's expression, Yang Rong felt somewhat embarrassed and annoyed. Upon hearing this, Yan Li opened the lid of the stew pot.

Yes, Qin Lan has also made black chicken and red date soup. It nourishes the spleen and qi, and also nourishes yin and blood.

"You keep all the good food for yourself, while I work myself to the bone and nobody cares?"

Yan Li was somewhat dissatisfied. Why didn't any of these women prepare some nourishing soups or tonics for him? They didn't care about their man at all.

Yang Rong rolled her eyes at him. "You still want to fix it? I'll kill you after you're done?"

Soup was simmering on the stove. Yang Rong rummaged through the bags and packages that Yan Li had brought over. This wasn't the first time; everything Yan Li brought was a gift for her.

They have jewelry and bags, but most of their clothes are clothes, and most of them are the kind of clothes that can't be shown to the public.

Yang Rong's fingers were hooked around an undergarment that was less than the fabric in her apron pocket, and her face turned bright red.

"I don't wear them."

Yan Li glanced at her but didn't say anything. She had said the same thing before, but in the end she still obediently followed his lead.

He reached out and pulled her over, expertly slipping his hand inside her clothes. Yang Rong struggled briefly, then obediently let Yan Li do as he pleased.

Yan Li flexed his palm: "I'm leaving tomorrow."

Yang Rong bit her lip and said, "Oh."

Yan Li brought up the old topic of going to the capital again, and he still had a good impression of Yang Rong.

She has a gentle and obedient personality, but she's not without temper when it comes to him. She's obedient and sensible, but also has a bit of a prickly side, which makes her quite interesting.

Yang Rong still disagreed with moving to the capital, but perhaps because Yan Li was leaving, she was reluctant to part with him and agreed to go to the capital for a visit in a while.

"That's okay too."

Yan Li nodded. He wouldn't force them to move, but the key was that he could see Yang Rong. As long as Yang Rong was willing to go to the capital often, that was enough for Yan Li.

As they were talking, Yang Rong's phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID and was about to hang up when Yan Li snatched it away and answered it.

Wang Ou's flippant voice rang out: "Xiao Rongrong, you heartless bastard, I was busy with work and didn't call you, and you didn't even bother to call me."

"I've been busy these past few days with the theater rehearsing a play."

Yang Rong tried to snatch the phone, but failed. She could only clasp her hands together and beg Yan Li not to speak.

Wang Ou was still saying, "Jiani's design drawings are also ready. I'll have her send them to you later."

"it is good."

"By the way, I might have an advertisement in Hangzhou in a few days. I'll come visit you then."

"Row."

"I'm not staying at the hotel anymore, I'll stay at your place. We can sleep together, hehe, and I can call Yan Li and make him drool."

"……Um."

"What are you busy with, uttering each word one by one?"

"Have a meal."

"Can't you wait a while before eating?"

"Hungry."

"..."

Wang Ou and Yang Rong talked for nearly twenty minutes before Yang Rong made an excuse to hang up the phone.

Yan Li was somewhat surprised. He didn't know that Wang Ou was so talkative in private. Yang Rong "ignored" her, yet she had been rambling on and on for so long.

Yang Rong pinched her slightly sore cheeks. This was nothing. If she hadn't kept hanging up, this little roast chicken would have been chatting for one or two hours straight.

Yan Li, her "boyfriend," had no time for Wang Ou. She didn't trust anyone else, and the only person she could talk to without reservation was Yang Rong.

It's common for the two of them to talk on the phone and text until their phones run out of battery. To save on phone bills, they even got a special couples plan.

Yan Li was a little disappointed. He had originally wanted to make some noise to watch the fun, but Yang Ren stopped him.

This woman has a ruthless streak!

Furthermore, with his weakness exposed, Yan Li dared not go too far, which allowed Wang Ouzhen to be deceived.

With a sigh, Yan Li saw how much effort Yang Rong was putting in, so he simply picked her up and got down to business.

Yang Rong said anxiously, "The soup...the heat hasn't been turned off yet."

Upon hearing this, Yan Li didn't let go, but carried Yang Rong directly to the kitchen, where he waited for the soup to be ready...

---

Grand Hyatt Beijing, Wangfujing
On his first day back in Beijing, Yan Li attended the premiere of "The Banquet".

Huayi Brothers made quite a splash, calling it a global premiere ceremony, inviting many media outlets, and having thousands of audience members present.

The entire cast and crew of "The Banquet," including director Feng Xiaogang, lead actor Ge You, Zhang Ziyi, Wu Yanzu, Zhou Xun, Huang Xiaoming, and Ma Jingwu, were present.

Xu Fan, Liu Huan, Wang Baoqiang, Zhang Hanyu, Huo Siyan and other Huayi Brothers artists also came to show their support.

Yan Li, as one of the distributors, just came to join in the fun, and dragged Ning Hao, who was writing the script in Beijing, along.

I originally wanted to go straight in, but the staff made me walk on the red carpet.

Yan Li, dressed casually, didn't mind at all. She chatted with the senior executives of China Film Group and Zhuang Cheng, CEO of Media Asia, who were also dressed casually.

The owner of Media Asia is Peter Lam, a well-known Hong Kong tycoon and second-generation rich kid, who once dated Joey Wong.

However, Lin only acquired and invested in Huanya later, and since he also had his own businesses, he didn't actually participate much in Huanya's operations. The specific business and execution were handled by CEO Zhuang Cheng.

The group chatted casually, taking in the cheers from the red carpet and feeling the popularity of the main cast and Huayi Brothers stars.

There's no need to elaborate on the veteran actors like Ge You, but it's worth mentioning the young actresses and actors.

Huang Xiaoming, having the home advantage and being at the peak of his popularity, was dominating Wu Yanzu.

Among the four young actresses, Zhang Ziyi, who plays the female lead, is clearly more popular than Zhou Gongzi.

There is also a "hierarchy of contempt" among the four little actresses.

Little Swallow is in a league of her own, her popularity is too strong. The "Four Dan and Two Bing" is a case of the two Bing trying to piggyback on the fame of the four Dan, but when the Four Little Actresses were first listed, it was actually the other three who were trying to piggyback on Little Swallow's fame.

Although Xiao Yanzi has been embroiled in numerous controversies in recent years, and was even dealt with by Yan Li some time ago, her deep foundation still keeps her in first place.

Zhang Ziyi firmly holds second place. Although she is quite controversial, she has a genuine international aura and has won numerous awards, including the Golden Rooster Award, the Hong Kong Film Award, and the Hundred Flowers Award.

Not long ago, he was even made headlines when the president of the Venice Film Festival knelt down to him.

In terms of film, Zhang Ziyi has an absolute leading advantage among the four little actresses; otherwise, she would not have been able to outshine Zhou Xun, who joined Huayi Brothers, in playing the female lead.

If it weren't for the slightly lower popularity and public opinion, she might have been able to compete with Little Swallow.

The third is Zhou Gongzi. Actually, she's not bad either. She has good grades, a good reputation, and popularity. It's just that she's not as outstanding as the first two, so she's been suppressed for the time being.

Xu Cai Nu has been at the bottom since the beginning, and her only redeeming qualities are her so-called "talented woman" title and her high blog hit rate.

This film, "The Banquet," is actually a clash between Zhang Yimou and Zhou Xiaodong, two leading actresses.

But from all aspects, Zhang had the upper hand over Zhou.

Yan Li didn't know if Zhang Ziyi was too amazing, or if Huayi Brothers had lost their minds.

Putting aside other things, today's red carpet event, with our own movie and our own event, actually allowed an outsider to overshadow our company's "number one female star."

Even if you can't beat them, can't you at least take sides?

For example, they could recruit more of Zhou Xun's fans, or adjust the fan positions to give Zhou Xun an advantage, or arrange for the popular Huang Xiaoming to team up with Zhou Xun to counter Zhou Xun.

There are plenty of tricks, but I just don't use them.

Yan Li even suspected that Li Xue was the event planner, using this incident to help her sister smear Zhou Gongzi.

Well, it's also possible that the Wang brothers have their eyes on Zhang Ziyi; there have been rumors that Huayi Brothers wants to sign her.

Regardless of the reasoning, it's clear that Huayi Brothers doesn't value Zhou Xun enough.

They don't treat their own people like human beings; it's an old problem.

Despite his inner complaints, Yan Li was actually quite happy; he even hoped that Zhang Ziyi would sign with Huayi Brothers.

With two leading actresses and one soldier, plus some other actresses, the company certainly had a lot of buzz, but behind the scenes, Huayi Brothers must have been fighting tooth and nail.

He had heard that Huayi Brothers' artist management division was now divided into two groups. One group was headed by Li Xue, who led Li Bingbing and others, while the other group was led by Zhou Gongzi.

Once Huang Xiaoming signs with Huayi Brothers, he'll probably lead a group. There are also rumors that Alec Su and Ruby Lin are going to switch from Qiong Yao's company to Huayi Brothers. With the two of them working together, it's impossible for them to be subordinates to Li, Zhou, and Huang.

The Wang brothers had better keep ensuring they have enough resources and that their IPO plans go smoothly, otherwise there might be another mass exodus of artists.

After watching the excitement for a while, it was time to enter. Media Asia, as the producer, and China Film Group, with its higher status, were the first to appear.

Compared to the popular celebrities of the past, these behind-the-scenes bigwigs, though powerful, are not well-known.

However, when Yan Li appeared, the cheers were significantly louder, and the momentum was no less than that of some of the popular stars who had appeared earlier.

This attracted the curiosity of many people in the venue, who assumed it was some celebrity who was late. Upon seeing Yan Li, they nodded with slight surprise but also a sense of naturalness. Unlike typical behind-the-scenes figures, this one certainly possessed considerable fame and popularity.

Even if he were just an actor, Yan Li would be considered one of the more prominent celebrities present today.

With all the accolades and exposure, in terms of popularity, only a few big names or popular idols like Zhang, Zhou, Ge, Liu, and Huang can overshadow him.

Yan Li has walked the red carpet infrequently and lacks experience.

But he was confident and composed, showing no signs of nervousness. He calmly waved to the audience, strode across the red carpet, said a few casual words, and went straight into the venue.

There were quite a few big names at the "Night Banquet" event today, but Yan Li was also a prominent figure. In addition, he had just made headlines, so as soon as he entered the venue, people kept coming up to greet him.

Huo Siyan was the quickest to act.

She had actually wanted to be Yan Li's date, but Yan Li ignored her and let her in first.

After entering, she didn't wander around. She waited for Yan Li near the entrance, and as soon as he came in, she immediately clung to him.

Yan Li knew the young woman quite well, and since she didn't seem to be hiding anything, he easily figured out her intentions.

There are so many big names and big shots around today, she can't stand out, but she still wants to get some exposure in this kind of setting, so she can only try to curry favor with powerful figures.

Yan Li didn't know what to say.

This young woman isn't particularly greedy for money, nor is she career-driven, but she's very vain, enjoys being fawned over, and likes to be in the spotlight.

She clung to Yan Li for this reason: with Yan Li protecting her, plus a somewhat ambiguous relationship, many people would look up to her.

Seeing Huo Siyan's ingratiating smile, Yan Li stopped chasing her away and let her stay by his side.

Besides Huo Siyan, another member of the Teddy Sisters group, Xiong Naijin, who works at Huayi Brothers, was also present.

Upon seeing Yan Li, Xiong Naijin also came over to greet him.

Although she was a member of the Teddy Sisters, Xiong Naijin had hardly ever met Yan Li. Even when they did meet, the Teddy Sisters were always together, with Qin, Huo, and Li in front, so she didn't get a chance to speak.

I had the pleasure of running into Yan Li privately today, and I wanted to say a few more words, but Huo Siyan found an excuse to kick me out.

Yan Li looked at Huo Siyan speechlessly. The Seven Fairies had a deep sisterly bond, and the Teddy Sisters were no better off.

Ignoring Huo Siyan and the others' petty squabbles, Yan Li focused intently on socializing.

Several key members of the "Night Banquet" production team also came over to chat with Yan Li. As the distributor, Yi An considers Yan Li to be half a boss of theirs this time.

"President Yan."

Because he was acting in "The Deer and the Cauldron", Huang Xiaoming, who had a shaved head, greeted him respectfully, and Yan Li smiled and shook hands with him.

"Xiao Ming, it's fate that we're working together again."

During the Phoenix Eagle Battle, Yi An was in charge of distribution and naturally came into contact with Huang Xiaoming. However, Yan Li was busy, and the two only met once.

Huang Xiaoming has a phobia of Yan Li and wants to avoid him, but he can never escape Yan Li's grasp.

Besides "The Banquet," the later "The Deer and the Cauldron" will most likely also be written by Yan Lifang.

Oh, and the production company also contacted Yi An about the TV series "New Shanghai Bund" starring Huang Xiaoming, so they might have to collaborate again.

Huang Xiaoming forced a smile: "Yes, thank you for your care, President Yan."

"It's not really a matter of helping each other out, it's more like we're just helping each other out."

Yan Li patted Huang Xiaoming on the shoulder. Unlike Huang Xiaoming, who had a psychological trauma towards him, Yan Li didn't actually take him too seriously.

Aside from casually sabotaging Huang in "The Return of the Condor Heroes," and not intentionally making things difficult for him, Yan Li believed he had treated Huang quite well.

If he really wanted to mess with Huang Xiaoming, the other party wouldn't have gotten to where he is now.

Forget about exposing his dirty secrets or anything, just tripping him up a few times would be enough to give Huang Xiaoming, who is on the rise, a lot of trouble.

Of course, now that Huang Xiaoming has gained fame and has latched onto Huayi Brothers, he seems to be a completely different person, but Yan Li still doesn't take him seriously.

If Huang Xiaoming dares to provoke Yan Li, Yan Li will teach him a lesson in no time.

But whether Huang Xiaoming had been warned or simply didn't want to clash with Yan Li, he remained very well-behaved and always behaved himself whenever he saw Yan Li.

He was good at interpersonal relationships, and Yan Li wasn't an arrogant person, so on the surface, the two were quite harmonious.

The two got along well, but Huo Siyan, always eager for a good show, used Qin Lan's past being pursued by Huang Xiaoming to instigate Yan Li to teach the other party a lesson.

This matter was exposed because Huang Xiaoming was involved in a scandal, and coupled with Hu Ke's scandal, many people felt that the two "did not get along".

"If you keep nagging, I'll deal with you first."

Yan Li saw that there were many people around, so he didn't physically punish them, but he still gave them a reprimand.

Huo Siyan's eyes lit up: "Okay, do whatever you want with me."

Yan Li: "..."

Later, Yan Li met Zhang Ziyi and Zhou Gongzi again, exchanging only polite greetings and a few words, even less than Huang Xiaoming.

Huo Siyan looked at Yan Li with some surprise. These two were renowned actresses, yet Yan Li was so indifferent, which was not like him at all.

Actually, it wasn't that Yan Li wasn't interested in these two; after all, they were both popular actresses, and their fame alone was enough to attract people.

However, these two were merely a halo to Yan Li. Young Master Zhou was a little better, but Zhang Ziyi really didn't fit his aesthetic.

Furthermore, and most importantly, we are not on the same wavelength.

They are not only not on the same side, but also enemies. Yan Li wants to promote Fan Xiaopang to the top, and he has a close relationship with Li Bingbing, which will inevitably lead to various conflicts of interest with Si Dan.

In this situation, let alone the attraction between the two women, even if they were incredibly beautiful, Yan Li would not take any action.

He is a womanizer, but he won't let lust cloud his judgment and cause him to disregard company development and his relationships with other women.

The two actresses shared similar sentiments.

Yan Li was somewhat attractive, but they were not on the same wavelength, and both of them had partners at the time, so there was no need for them to fight over food from Shuang Bing's bowl.

But Yan Li neither would nor needed to share these principles with Huo Siyan, and instead focused on communicating with others on his own.

Huo Siyan followed him around like a secretary, going wherever Yan Li went.

Yan Li received a lot of attention at the event, and naturally, some people noticed her.

Huo Siyan was quite sensitive to these gazes, and unconsciously straightened her back, as if she herself was the one chatting with the Wang brothers and the CEO of Huanya, not Yan Li.

After socializing for a while, the premiere began, and the host came up to go through the procedures.

Yan Li wasn't too keen on this, so he found a corner spot and started texting on his phone.

Huo Siyan did not follow him because, as a celebrity guest, she was scheduled to speak on stage.

However, after Huo Siyan finished speaking on stage, she did not go to her seat but quietly left the theater.

This situation is not uncommon. Many celebrities simply show up to offer their support and create a news story. Because of time constraints, they leave after making their comments, and no one stops them.

However, Huo Siyan didn't really leave. A few minutes later, she quietly came back in, switched places with the person next to Yan Li, and sat down next to him.

Yan Li: "..."

Was he being too nice to this girl? She's being too clingy.

Huo Siyan seemed to sense Yan Li's emotions, pretended not to know, smiled sweetly, and then stretched out her two small hands to massage Yan Li's legs.

Yan Li glanced at the people next door, making sure no one had seen her, patted Huo Siyan's hand to tell her to behave, and then continued sending text messages.

Seeing this, Huo Siyan dared not cause any more trouble. It wasn't until the movie started, the theater lights were turned off, and the seats were dimly lit that she began to do her little tricks again.

Yan Li was too lazy to pay attention to her anymore and continued watching the movie.

In fact, he had seen the finished product of "The Banquet" before this, and even the uncut version.

The evaluation consisted of only four words: incoherent and nonsensical.

Simply putting a Chinese background on a Western Shakespearean opera results in something that's neither truly Chinese nor truly Western.

The ending was even more unbearable for Yan Li to watch, with all the main characters dying inexplicably, followed by a deliberately cryptic open ending.

However, setting aside the film's tone and plot, "The Banquet" is not without its merits; the costumes, props, and sets are excellent, and the actors' performances are also superb.

Ge You's portrayal of a deep and ambitious man reminds one of Ge You, who also won the Cannes Film Festival Best Actor award before Feng Xiaogang's comedies.

However, perhaps because he's acted in too many comedies, there was a slight jarring effect.

Both Zhang Ziyi and Zhou Xun performed well, especially Zhang Ziyi, who portrayed the character's ruthlessness, sorrow, ambition, entanglement, and madness very well.

It's no wonder that many famous directors are willing to use her; in terms of acting skills, she is definitely among the top actresses in the industry.

Zhang Ziyi not only delivered a solid performance, but also made significant sacrifices, contributing many scenes with explicit content, including a bed scene with Ge You.

Perhaps to attract box office revenue, these days any blockbuster, whether it's necessary or not, will include a few sex scenes or explicit scenes.

Because of the plot of the emperor's infatuation with the empress and his killing of his brother to seize his sister-in-law, the bed scene in "The Banquet" was not out of place and was well filmed. Yan Li raised his flag in respect after watching it.

Well, it's not just because of the movie.

Another thing is that Huo Siyan, that little vixen, is not honest and uses the play to flirt with him.

Yan Li couldn't help but glare at her, but the theater was dimly lit, and he didn't know if Huo Siyan could see it, but he didn't stop moving.

Not only did she not stop, but fearing that Yan Li would get cold, she took off her coat and covered Yan Li's legs with it. Then, feeling that wasn't enough, she wanted to lie down inside to keep Yan Li warm.

But Yan Li stopped him.

Just kidding, neither side is stupid. If they make such big moves, they'll be exposed immediately.

In fact, even now, it's not that no one has noticed anything; perhaps most people are focused on watching the movie and don't pay attention to the two's subtle actions.

But there are also people like Xiong Naijin who pay special attention to Yan Li and Huo Siyan.

She had been suspicious of Huo Siyan when she stepped down from the stage and left. Later, she took the opportunity to sneak out to look for her and discovered that Huo Siyan had secretly gone to see Yan Li again.

Therefore, she didn't return to her original seat, but instead observed the two of them from another corner.

Because the theater was dark, and due to the angle and small movements, Xiong Naijin didn't actually notice anything too serious. But relying on her woman's intuition, she felt that something was off between the two of them, and there was definitely something fishy going on.

Tsk~
Xiong Naijin never expected that Huo Siyan, who claimed to be a close sister, would secretly steal Qin Lan's boyfriend.

Should I expose them, or use this as an excuse to gain some benefits...?

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

PS: 2000 is missing, will be added later.

(End of this chapter)