Abstract Art Award Winner

There's nothing important going on in Zhou Le, Beijing.

The only important thing is to find a master craftsman introduced by Yu Qian to polish a gift, but the design drawings will take three days to be completed, so Zhou Le is not in a hurry at the moment.

Since they promised to finish it before Christmas, Zhou Le decided to believe them for the time being.

If all else fails, ask someone else to use their connections to get you a rarer bag.

It can be considered as preparing for both possibilities.

Zhou Le had an easy time with this; he could just ask Lu Han for help. Lu Han knew more people in the fashion industry. If all else failed, he could ask Guan Xiaotong.

In short, it's not convenient to ask the girls around you about this kind of thing, otherwise it would be unreasonable to ask them and then not buy it for them.

After arranging the gift, Zhou Le slept at home for a day, and the next day he received a call from Yin Zheng.

"Hey, what's wrong, Zheng-ge?"

"Mr. Zhou, here's the thing. I filmed a show called 'Winter Begonia,' and I met a few actors in it. We used to chat a lot while filming, so we created a small group chat."

They've all been in Beijing lately, and they were saying they wanted to get together. They even asked me to check if you were free, and if so, to come over and chat and get to know you.

"The Sideburns Are Not Red with Begonia?"

Zhou Le certainly knew about this production team; back then, he had essentially exchanged other resources with Yu Zheng.

Everyone had a pleasant time working together.

"I haven't been busy lately, and I'm thinking of going out for a nice meal, but who's going?"

Zhou Le felt he needed to ask more questions to clarify things.

Otherwise, if you go there and encounter people whose values ​​don't align with yours, and you end up arguing, then it's pointless.

Although Zhou Le loves to freeload meals, he won't miss this one.

"Anyway, without Brother Xiaoming, it's mainly just me, Tan Jianci, Chen Duling, and Bai Bin. If you come, it will be the five of us."

Upon hearing these names, Zhou Le had no more reservations.

"Okay, when are you going?"

"How about tonight? If you're coming, I'll pick you up in my car, and we'll go to the hotel together. Anyway, Tan Jianci is treating us tonight."

"Oh, someone's treating? Okay, but should I bring anything? Do they drink alcohol? Maybe I should bring a couple of bottles?"

"Don't bother with us, bro. There aren't many people there who can hold their liquor. You could probably get us all drunk by yourself."

"Alright then, I'll go empty-handed."

"Yes, you don't need to bring anything. It's already a great achievement that people can come."

"The way you're talking makes it sound like I'm some big shot, that I have to call you all 'brother' or 'sister'."

"Okay, okay, it's not a big shot, alright? Anyway, let's put it this way. I'll be downstairs at your place around 6:30 tonight, and then I'll drive over. It'll probably take 40 or 50 minutes."

"Okay, you can arrange it."

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Le smiled. It was nice to meet some new friends. In fact, compared to big events like wrap parties and celebration parties, Zhou Le preferred small-circle gatherings like this.

Everyone just sits together, eats and drinks, chats casually, and goesssips—that's about enough.

Not long after, Tan Jianci sent a message as well.

"Teacher Zhou, are you really coming tonight? I heard from Brother Zheng that you've already been invited, but I'm afraid he might be joking with me, so I'm asking."

"Sure, how could I refuse if you're treating? We've met before, and I've never had a meal with you before. I feel like life isn't complete without having had a meal with someone you know."

"Haha, that's good. But has Teacher Zhou finished filming that movie?"

"The filming is over."

When will it be released?

"Next year, I don't know the exact time, it depends on the director's arrangements."

In fact, Zhou Le knew in his heart that Zhang Yimou's "Cliff Walkers" was aiming for the May Day release.

It just so happens to fall before the deadline for some important awards.

But even if he knew about such sensitive things, he couldn't just say them.

"Okay then, see you tonight."

Afterwards, Zhou Le ate something, went out to practice for a while, and then went to sleep. After filming, he needs to get back in shape to prepare for possible public appearances later.

Otherwise, being too thin won't be appropriate and will easily draw criticism.

You can eat as much as you want, but you absolutely must exercise. If you only eat and don't exercise, you'll just gain weight and become a big fat person.

After finishing his practice, Zhou Le went home, took a shower, and when he saw that it was almost time, he set an alarm and went to sleep. He slept from 4 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. when Yin Zheng called.

"Oh dear, Mr. Zhou, why don't you read my WeChat messages? I tried calling you on WeChat but no one answered; I had to call you by phone."

"Hi, I usually only check WeChat when I'm awake, and I have several WeChat accounts that I have to switch between. I'll just call you if I need anything in the future."

"Okay, shall we set off now?"

"Let's go, but I need to wash my face first. I'll be right back, just wait a minute."

Zhou Le rushed inside, washed his face, brushed his teeth, and then left.

Zhou Le only wears makeup when she's working; she doesn't wear it at all when she goes out, since she's already naturally beautiful.

Moreover, because I had already reached the maximum experience level before filming the idol drama, I received a bonus of innate positive qualities.

So now, even if Zhou Le doesn't wear makeup when she goes out, she still looks perfectly fine at first glance.

But the most important thing about this function is that it can not only adjust in a positive direction, but also develop in a sickly or haggard way. In other words, Zhou Le can show these emotions with his own acting skills, but if you add filters, it is not as simple as one plus one being greater than two.

It's like having its own background music and atmosphere.

"Hey bro, you don't wear any makeup at all, but you look more handsome than us who wear a little bit of makeup."

Yin Zheng also noticed this and asked in surprise.

"No need to ask, these things can't be learned. Of course, I don't know either. Anyway, people are just born this way, there's nothing we can do about it."

"Tsk, I wish I had your face."

"It's okay, you're not bad either."

Yin Zheng's face fell instantly upon hearing this: "If someone else said that, I could take it as a compliment, but if you said it, it's definitely not a compliment." "That's not true."

They chatted idly as they walked toward the restaurant, talking about Chen Duling, Bai Bin, and Tan Jianci.

"Well, Chen Duling is actually a very interesting girl. She's not very old, but she's quite capable. I remember she scored 621 points on the college entrance exam. She said that herself, and you can find it online."

Upon hearing the other person's college entrance examination score, Zhou Le asked a few more questions, since there are very few artists in China with such excellent academic performance.

"Then we can certainly get to know each other."

And so, they chatted all the way to the restaurant. When the two of them arrived, only Tan Jianci was there, since the appointment was for 7:30, and it wasn't time yet.

So they talked to Tan Jianci about their previous collaboration.

"Actually, I think you are very suitable to play a beautiful, strong and tragic character in ancient costume dramas. With makeup, a filter, and a wig, you would be a perfect handsome man in a fantasy world."

Besides that, there should be crime dramas. It's just that you look a bit frail and aren't that tall, so you're more suited to playing technical roles, like profiling, psychology, or providing cybersecurity support.

In other words, clerical work would be more suitable. I think you could consider this. Also, you don't need too many lines; make the character a bit more profound.

Tan Jianci nodded. A large part of what Zhou Le said overlapped with the company's positioning of him.

There were some things the company hadn't mentioned, but Zhou Le brought them up. Zhou Le thought about it and felt that they made sense, so he secretly noted them down and planned to talk to the company about them later, so that he could choose roles in that direction in the future.

"Teacher Zhou, I am actually quite cheerful. Sometimes when I have nothing to do, I will browse Douyin and watch short videos. I have tried posting a few before, when Douyin first came out, but the results were just so-so."

Upon hearing the other person mention Douyin (TikTok), Zhou Le laughed. Wasn't this his comfort zone?
"Let me tell you, with Douyin, one thing is to see what you are good at and what suits you, and another thing is to see what kind of fans you plan to attract."

I'm the kind of person who has no taboos. I usually play around with abstract art, occasionally do something cool, and when I go live, I either chat, work out, or play games. Anyway, there are always people watching.

People like us don't usually lack content, but if we want to build up our accounts, we still need to find a direction. For example, some accounts specialize in posting singing content, some specialize in making short videos, and some specialize in food content.

You need to find something that suits you. I remember you're pretty good at singing and dancing, right? You used to be in a boy band, right?

"Yes."

"Let me think about it. In that case, you should dance. As for the specific direction, I suggest you don't go for a silly style. Go for the male god route. Wear a white shirt and dress pants, and unbutton the top a little. Prepare for 30 or 40 seconds each time. Dance to whatever song is popular. Anyway, you can dance it yourself and probably can choreograph it. Don't look like anyone else, but you can let others imitate you."

Tan Jianci nodded repeatedly as he listened.

"But if I do that, wouldn't I be in the same boat as those borderline streamers..."

"That's different. You can't think of it that way. You dance to give out benefits, but the direct purpose isn't to make money. It's just to spread your popularity, build up your account, and also help improve your overall commercial value."

Just follow this route. Occasionally, when you need to post on Douyin, you can make a dedicated video and post it, but the content must be good, and the video quality must be high.

Yin Zheng listened with great interest.

Actually, the female artists in the company all have their own Douyin video directions, but he has never seriously pursued them, and usually just occasionally releases promotional materials.

"What about me? I also want to go for the male god style."

Zhou Le blinked: "Brother Zheng, you should take a break. You might have been able to do this before, but now we have to accept our fate. Sometimes you can't argue with that."

I think it would be better for you to make some short videos, but the purpose of making short videos is not just to gain more followers, but to create some memes that can be spread.

But we're on the same side, after all. If an outsider gave you advice, they'd probably just tell you to keep making videos. But it's different, bro. You make videos to spread the word, but occasionally you need to do a few cool ones, like racing, or some really impressive acting scenes in movies, or maybe you'll run into a singer and see if you can sing a couple of lines with them.

Yin Zheng listened to Zhou Le's analysis and suggestions: "But wouldn't that make it a hodgepodge, with everything in between?"

“Celebrities’ Douyin accounts are usually like this: when other bloggers post, it’s called advertising; when we post, it’s called our own work.”

I also think you can take some time to do some restaurant reviews. If you're not doing well on your own, then find an established food blogger, but make sure they have a good reputation and are experienced and knowledgeable.

These aspects are quite in line with your style.

They were chatting about short videos when Chen Duling and Bai Bin arrived around 7:30.

"Sorry, sorry, there was a bit of traffic on the way. I should have left earlier. I'm really sorry."

Chen Duling apologized as soon as she entered the door.

"It's alright, it's alright, you're not late, please sit down."

Once everyone had arrived, Tan Jianci notified the waiter that they could start serving the dishes.

"Let me introduce you. This is Zhou Le, who is also my boss. We are friends and racing partners."

Yin Zheng first introduced Zhou Le to the others, and then introduced Zhou Le to the other people.

After all the introductions were finished, the dishes began to be served one after another.

They chatted casually about the recent weather and what they had seen and heard on their way there.

Only after all the dishes were served and the door was closed did they start talking about serious matters.

"Hey, that movie you guys made before was a hit, right? I remember it did pretty well."

"It's alright, but it's definitely not as good as the two dramas that Xiaotian filmed before, and it probably won't be as good as the ancient costume drama that you worked on this year."

"They're different. You can't compare them. Your subject matter is more serious, so it's about depth and breadth. Hers is more superficial and has a lower barrier to entry."

"As expected of Brother Le, his words demonstrate high emotional intelligence."

Zhou Le laughed: "Okay, okay, is Sister Dudu mocking me? You're like this on our first meeting. Be careful what you say next time, I'll respond with high EQ."

"Haha, only people like you who are good at studying and have good grades can do this. If it were us, we would have been defeated in just a few words."

Bai Bin said from the side.

"Hmm, I remember they both got pretty high scores. Turin scored over 620? But I think Teacher Zhou scored even higher."

"637."

Zhou Le could never forget his college entrance examination score.

"Wow, that's more than ten points higher than mine. I only got 621 back then."

Upon hearing this, the others at the table were no longer calm.

"Listen to that, someone who scored 621 points can be called a 'talent'..."

Tan Jianci grinned as he spoke.

Yin Zheng became interested as well: "And you? I don't think I've ever heard you mention how much you scored on the college entrance exam before."

"Me? I didn't take the college entrance exam. I chose dance as my major, so I was directly admitted to the dance program at Beijing Sport University through a special admission program." (End of Chapter)