Huayu: From charlatan to great entertainer

Chapter 594 The beauty is as beautiful as the first time we met, who is He Qian tonight?
Lu Kuan finished a long transoceanic phone call on the balcony; the night breeze was already chilly.

He gently pushed open the glass door leading to the living room. Under the warm indoor light, his beautiful and lovely wife was curled up on the sofa, her summer clothes outlining her smooth body curves.

Especially the full curves of her waist and hips, outlined by the soft fabric, are eye-catching. However, when you move your gaze up to her little snowflakes piled on the sofa and her pretty face with a slight drool, you can see a touch of cuteness in her sexy young woman.

What sweet dreams are they having? A smile still lingered on their lips, so much so that a glistening strand of drool hung from the corner, like two little children at home.

On a hot summer day, Lu Kuan, out of a habit ingrained in Chinese people, still found one of his own shirts and bent down to cover his wife's belly.

The unique, warm fragrance emanating from Xiao Liu's hair quietly seeped into her heart, and then, as if sensing something, she slowly woke up.

The first thing she saw was the handsome face of a high-class lecher, who was getting closer and trying to take liberties with her. Liu Yifei instinctively wanted to punch him, but the man quickly covered her lips with his. The two pert noses collided softly, which made her wake up from her dream.

Yes, it's a household washing machine working, everything is normal.

Youthful days are good companions; after a long while, lips part, and saliva drips—who knows the pain?

"You ambushed me while I was sleeping, didn't you?"

Liu Yifei didn't even bother to blush. Instead, she stretched out her arms and hugged the man tightly, making room for him on the sofa. The two of them squeezed together, whispering sweet nothings to each other.

Boss Lu, being tall, had just been teased by his wife and wasn't feeling too good. He adjusted the trajectory slightly before saying with a cheerful expression, "I think you're having a wet dream. You're drooling all over the place."

"Get lost! You think I'm like you?" The young woman suddenly leaned back, making the washing machine commotion...

Enjoyable.

Look how well this young wife has been trained; she's become so skilled now.

The couple cuddled on a London sofa, fully clothed, with the Thames River at night outside the window in August. The glass curtain wall of The Shard magnified the city lights, and a summer breeze carrying the scent of the river drifted through the half-open window.

Afraid of forgetting her whimsical dream, Liu Yifei poured it all out to her husband: "I dreamt of what Youyou and Tiedan looked like when they grew up. They were only in third grade, so cute!"

"Huh?" The old father also became interested. "In a dream? What was it like?"

Xiao Liu recalled: "Both little ones have noses that look a lot like mine, and they were already taller than their peers when they were seven or eight years old. Youyou's eyes look a lot like yours, you can tell at a glance..."

She didn't know how to describe it, "She had that kind of aura that no one could fool or bully, and then she even bullied her younger brother."

"Hahaha!" Lu Kuan found it quite amusing after hearing his wife's vivid dream story: "You must have heard me say that too many times yesterday, plus your own past experiences, that's why you had that dream last night."

"It's good that my daughter is so smart, just like me!" The old father smiled, as if a beautiful young woman had already appeared before his eyes.

"What's so great about it being whatever you want!" Xiao Liu pouted. "If you bully your younger brother in third grade, won't you be bullying your mother in middle school? And when she's older, I won't be able to control her even when you're not home!"

Boss Lu shook his head: "That's your problem, not mine, and certainly not Youyou's problem."

"Think it over carefully before you speak. Do you still want to do whatever you want tonight?" Liu Yifei sneered. "Tell me, whose fault is it?"

"The problem with Tie Dan."

Liu Yifei burst out laughing: "You and your father are bullying Tiedan together, aren't you? I won't allow it!"

She lightly punched her husband: "You really would favor girls over boys, wouldn't you? That's strictly forbidden!"

"How could that be!" Lu Kuan hugged his wife and changed positions, letting her lie on top of him, otherwise they would both roll off the sofa in a moment.

That's the kind of perverse taste the rich have.

Instead of sleeping in the custom-made, 2.4-meter-wide king-size bed in the penthouse suite at the Savoy Hotel, with a mattress specially flown in from Sweden from the Hästens Royal Collection and Egyptian cotton sheets with over a thousand stitches per inch.

Two tall people, whose combined height is nearly 3.6 meters, insisted on squeezing onto this small Victorian-style velvet sofa in the living room.

"They're all our own children, so of course they'll be loved the same way!"

"However, it's better for boys to be tough, both physically and mentally. It's better for them to be bullied a little by their older sister than to be bullied by outsiders later on."

Lu Kuan had already prepared an excuse for his daughter: "Besides, how could Youyou deliberately bully him? It's okay for kids to play around and fight if they get angry. Don't pay attention to these things and let the children handle it themselves."

"Oh dear, just you wait and see, that's how it is with siblings who grew up together." Boss Lu spoke with the wisdom of an old father. "The older sister bullies the younger brother but also loves him dearly, and the younger brother usually has to wipe away his tears to protect his sister."

"From now on, whenever we get into minor squabbles with classmates at school, my sister will be the brains of the world, and my brother will be the best fighter. How exciting!"

“You’re going to spoil him if you try to teach him!” Liu Yifei pinched her husband’s stubble chin with dissatisfaction, then became somewhat worried. “Speaking of school, the baby is almost a year and a half old. He’ll be in kindergarten at three, so primary school seems to be just around the corner.”

"I recently inquired about private kindergartens in Beiping, such as Eton and Bokai, as well as top-tier primary schools like Shijia Hutong Primary School and Fuxue Primary School. I think they are all..."

"What? Not good at all?"

"Not really," Xiao Liu sighed. "I've just heard some negative news about these schools, like parents using private jets to pick up their kids for spring outings, booking out five-star hotels for birthday parties for the whole class, and kids comparing whose dad has the highest official position or whose family has the most money."

"In elementary school, some older students have high-ranking official positions, and kids from respectable families form gangs and bully others. It's enough to give you a headache."

Lu Kuan nodded: "Oh! That's normal. As long as you don't plan to take them abroad to study, let alone these top schools that are full of the most powerful children in the country, even ordinary schools have these factors, just maybe not as exaggerated."

Whether we acknowledge it or not, class still exists, not in the true sense, but as a social barrier that naturally forms under market conditions.

He patted his wife's pretty face: "Don't think so much. By the time they're in fifth or sixth grade, they'll be 10 years old and will have already started their socialization process."

"Regardless of whose children they are, the process of cooperating, competing, and even conflicting with classmates is also a process of learning how to establish rules, understand boundaries, and handle differences."

"Could schools be more profound and complex than society?" Lu Kuan explained, "The school environment, especially those top schools near the capital that you just mentioned, is actually a very safe experimental zone for socialization."

"Isn't this how people all grow up?"

Xiao Liu pursed her lips and didn't say anything. This was the first time the young couple had a disagreement on parenting and education.

Liu Yifei's concern stemmed from her worries about the environment in which children grow up during their early years. She worried that the complexities of adults would rob them of their innocence and fun, and that they would develop bad habits of comparison and snobbery by following these negative trends.

But Lu Kuan doesn't think so.

Compared to his childhood experiences, these are just minor conflicts for a hothouse flower, not even worth mentioning.

This difference essentially stems from their different upbringing:

Xiao Liu grew up in a middle-class family. He couldn't say he had absolute power in Jiangcheng, but he always wanted to do something, which was just a matter of making a few connections or asking around.

But for Lu Kuan, even if he couldn't deliberately create any hardship or make his two children experience the difficulties and bitterness he went through, or stage a foolish scene where they had to endure something they weren't meant to suffer, there was no need to shield them from the hardships of these necessary experiences in their growth.

In his view, the core of true elite education is not to clear all obstacles for children, but to cultivate their core competitiveness in recognizing rules, managing risks, and ultimately standing out in complex environments.

Even if he loves Youyou and Tiedan very much, he must be soberly aware that the challenges of taking over a vast business empire and dealing with complex social networks in the future are not skills that can be honed in a sterile greenhouse.

The competition and rivalry in those top schools are precisely a low-intensity "human nature laboratory" and a miniature "social stress test field".

This is like giving children a vaccine in advance, letting them experience the complexities of human nature, such as snobbery and comparison, too early and in a protected environment.

When they face more brutal business competition or social maneuvering after they grow up, they may have already developed "antibodies" and be able to calmly identify and properly deal with the situation, so as not to suffer serious damage due to their naivety and simplicity.

At the same time, the twins will not only inherit their wife's empathy and kindness in their growing environment, but will also be imprinted with their own insight, adaptability and strategic thinking honed in adversity.

School is the first stage where they can apply their talents and upbringing to practice, learn how to balance kindness and sharpness, cooperation and competition, and thus form a unique personality and leadership style.

The family meeting about the children's education, which was unexpectedly scheduled for just over a year before they would begin their school life, has come to an abrupt end.

Even though this young couple has already achieved considerable success in their respective fields, they are also novices when it comes to the role of parents.

Even for a transmigrator, having an extra lifetime of experience doesn't automatically make him an expert in raising children; after all, this is his first time being a father. How many once-shining stars of humanity have failed to raise their own children well?
Everything must be experienced and explored gradually by this family of four throughout their long family life.
-
The following morning, Lu Kuan went to Selhurst Park in his capacity as club president.

His purpose for this trip was clear: to adhere to the principle of "leaving professional matters to professionals," to never interfere with head coach Pochettino's tactical plans, and to focus on the club's long-term development.

For example, we evaluated home stadium expansion plans with the CEO and finance team, and discussed whether to renovate the existing stadium or rebuild it at a new site.

Then, the business team gave a strategic report on the revenue sharing of broadcasting rights for the next season and the commercial development of the Chinese market.

The most crucial agenda was to personally review the list of the next batch of young talents submitted by the scouting system. From the profiles of young players in Northern Europe to Africa, he circled several key targets for tracking in red.

The most interesting thing was that when the owner and his wife left by car around noon, the fans who had heard the news had already blocked the road. The crowd sang the club's classic anthem "Glad All Over," pounded their chests, and shouted newly composed slogans in unison:

"Don't just say it's good, go win more!"

"'Good' is poison, victory is the antidote!"

Liu Yifei smiled and rolled down the car window to greet the fans. She found it quite amusing that her husband's top-notch brainwashing quote had been turned into a cheering slogan.

Their short trip to London has come to an end, but the couple's hugs and kisses while watching the game, and their hand-holding during their visit to the club the next day, have left Londoners with a mouthful of sweetness.

However, a man's reputation precedes him. After he and his wife went to Paris, The Sun published a scandalous story about Mr. Lu's wife on its front page. The headline was quite eye-catching: "Eastern tycoon wins game and is so happy that he is suspected of having too much sex with his wife that his legs went weak."

It turns out that the young couple had been having an affair yesterday. After talking about their child, they suddenly had the idea to chat about life, ideals, and romance on the sofa.

As a result, when the washing machine was carrying "two capitals and thirteen provinces", it accidentally hit its shin on the edge of the marble coffee table, and both he and his wife immediately screamed.

In the eyes of The Sun, Britain's most professional gossip magazine, it became irrefutable proof that he had won his first battle, achieving a hat trick, a quadruple victory, and a five-child success with his wife.

The report included a photo of Lu Kuan walking cautiously as he boarded his plane at Heathrow Airport, with a joking comment: "The billionaire is so composed on the field, it seems he's giving it his all on another field, only perhaps at a slightly sweet price."

Western readers will smile knowingly. In Western culture, the private lives of public figures, especially such vibrant and intimate relationships, are often seen as a manifestation of personal charm and enthusiasm for life, and even carry a hint of showing off as a "winner in life."

Many Crystal Palace fans joked, "The boss is so tough in the transfer market and on our pitch, it's no wonder he's so competitive in his personal life!"

This news did not damage his image; on the contrary, it added a touch of down-to-earth approachability to Lu Kuan.

……

Xiao Liu's advertising shoot in Paris was arranged by the Gucci team like a finely tuned Swiss watch. Creative Director Alessandro Michele personally visited the set with sketches from the 2010 Pre-Fall collection. He is a genius designer who reshapes the brand with a retro and artistic style and is familiar with industry figures such as Galliano, Alexander Wang, and Anna Wintour, whom Boss Lu knows well.

Henry Pinault also rushed over upon hearing the news to discuss the promotion of the book in the Chinese market with Mr. Lu, who also asked him to provide assistance when the book is released on Netflix this month.

Interestingly, Gucci's creative director, Michele, was inspired after seeing Liu's makeup and demeanor in "The Book of Peace" and temporarily adjusted the shooting schedule, deciding to leave a very important three-minute advertisement for the Asian region for him to fully consider before shooting.

The location will also be changed from Paris to ancient cities such as Beijing, Xi'an, or Nanjing.

Thus began the shooting of Liu Yifei's first global luxury brand endorsement advertisement and materials. These images and materials will obviously become spiritual food for domestic fans to revel in and forward, making them much happier than the fans who counted the number of days she spent "picking her toes" at home in the previous life.

While working on the script, the washing machine also did something productive, taking some behind-the-scenes photos with the brand's permission as a way of generating buzz:

At dawn, an oriental beauty strolls along the Seine in a dark green embroidered dress, her G-Timeless moon phase watch on her wrist reflecting the waning moon in the sky.

At noon, he changed into a sharp three-piece suit and sat in a rattan chair at the Double Dolls Cafe, flipping through ancient books. His handbag was a replica of the classic Jackie handbag from 1969.

During the evening photoshoot at the Alexander III Bridge, she wore a burgundy cape-style evening gown, with the magnificent golden bridge sculptures behind her and the diamond cheetah on her handbag reflecting the afterglow of the setting sun.

This time, her overall makeup look is quite mature, which is also a deliberate effort by the brand to enhance her visual age and match the aesthetics and tastes of potential customers.

Domestic fans were thoroughly entertained, simultaneously condemning the "street dog" as shameless based on the news reported back to the mainland by The Sun, while insincerely praising the candid photos of his wife posted on Weibo and yearning for more.

On August 25, 2010, a multimedia collaboration jointly planned by Taiping Shu, Gucci, and Wenjie officially kicked off.

This day marked the domestic premiere of the first season of "The Book of Peace" and its subsequent release in Europe, America, China, Japan, and South Korea via Netflix.

Gucci also launched a global promotional video featuring Liu Yifei as its brand ambassador, and announced a series of promotional collaborations with other fashion magazines and talk shows featuring this first Chinese global brand ambassador in the brand's history.

Wenjie, on the other hand, is cooperating with the former two, using her domestic media and publicity matrix to further enhance the influence of this high-quality historical drama and the top actress in China. This time, she not only wants to shine in China, but also take advantage of Gucci's global endorsement opportunity to promote herself and "The Book of Peace" to the world.

This is a difficult step, one that even no one in the previous life could attempt to take.

Only those who have mastered the ability to exploit information asymmetry and integrate resources across cycles could so precisely drive this cultural globalization campaign, such as leveraging Netflix globally, securing early positions in the domestic streaming ecosystem, and empowering luxury brands with localization.

In particular, the advertisement filmed by the couple in Paris at the beginning of the month was released on the morning of this day, setting a magnificent prelude to the global premiere of "Taiping Shu" in the evening.

This Gucci promotional video campaign in China showcased the mature resource integration capabilities of the Wenjie Group, employing a multi-dimensional, layered promotional strategy:

On the social media front, Liu Yifei's personal Weibo and studio account were the first to release the full video, which led to reposting by her celebrity friends Bingbing, Su Chang, and Jing Tian.
In terms of channel coverage, Gucci used Focus Media and other partner advertisers to precisely place promotional videos on the external screens of major CBD shopping malls across the country, targeting its customer base.
At the content ecosystem level, Zhijie Video launched a special page and released behind-the-scenes production features.
On the brand's official platforms, Gucci China's official website updated the theme page simultaneously, while Wenjie's official website redirected traffic to related content.

This multi-touchpoint, high-density communication strategy effectively transformed from mass exposure to precise targeting, enhancing the promotional video's communication effectiveness and accumulating potential viewers for the premiere of "The Book of Peace" that evening, creating a synergistic effect of brand exposure and content traffic.

Perhaps the most fitting comment was a short Weibo post made by Mr. Lu, whose business is irregular, at 8:08 a.m.

The Weibo post contains a collage of stills from Liu Yifei's early days in the industry, as well as candid photos taken with his phone during the Gucci billboard shoot.

The accompanying text wasn't lengthy, but it still retained some of the literary flair of a scholar:

Ten years have passed since we first met, time has flown by, but the beauty remains as fresh as the first time we met. Who is He Qian tonight?
Happy birthday to the mom/dad of my child!
This comparison photo is a silent narrative of time.

On the left, 15-year-old Liu Yifei stands on the set in a simple costume, her ponytail fluttering in the wind, her eyes filled with the innocence of naivety, like a green apricot on a branch in early spring with morning dew.
On the right, the 23-year-old can already carry off the world's top haute couture gowns with ease. The shimmering jewelry highlights her youthful features, and the slight upturn of her lips reveals the composure and charm honed over eight years.

What is most moving is the identical gaze in both shots, the same clear black and white eyes; the former is like an unpolished, clear stream, while the latter is like a tranquil harbor in a deep, turbulent sea.

Fans who have been flooding Weibo with "Thank you, Lu Gou" can clearly see how time has transformed a girl's vivacity into a woman's strength and character.

As she journeyed from mainland film sets to Parisian fashion shows, from a fledgling newcomer to one of the most promising Chinese actresses to achieve global fame, every choice she made left its mark on her eyes.

The bottom right corner of the composite photo shows the dappled light and shadow left by the man's mobile phone when he took the photo, which adds to the sense of authenticity, like a private diary. The reason why this set of photos is so poignant is that it simultaneously shows the power of time to carve and the eternity of emotional anchoring.

So, starting from the morning of the 25th, thanks to the efforts of Wenjie, it was as if, in an instant, the whole world was filled with the image of this Chinese actress to celebrate her 23rd birthday, much to everyone's envy and jealousy.

At 9:00 AM sharp, the giant LED screen on the exterior of the Huanjin Building in the Lujiazui Financial District of Shanghai suddenly changed its display.

The white-collar workers who were rushing to work slowed down in unison. Liu Yifei appeared on the screen in a gold-embroidered off-shoulder dress. She leaned against a Baroque carved railing, with the pink and purple embroidered petals hanging down almost touching the ground.

This 15-second advertisement is a visual feast: when the camera zooms in, the coral teardrop earrings on her ears reflect a honey-like translucency in the morning light, creating a gradient echo with the wine-red gemstone necklace hanging between her collarbones.

The most exquisite moment was when she raised her hand to tidy up the stray hairs at her temples; the watch dial and the main stone of the necklace formed a diagonal composition, subtly echoing Gucci's "time and space overlap" design concept for this season.

The makeup was particularly ingenious:

The matte milk tea eyeshadow creates a deep eye socket, and the natural brows are slightly raised, which not only retains the youthful base of 23 years old, but also creates a mature and sophisticated look beyond age through the clever use of coral lip gloss on the cool-toned fair base.

The stylist used wispy strands to create a relaxed look, which complemented the wreath of lilies of the valley and baby's breath on top of her head, achieving a delicate balance between youthful innocence and alluring charm.

It's worth mentioning that this look successfully elevates her visual age to around 28, which not only meets the aesthetic expectations of the target customer group of luxury goods, but also cleverly echoes the image of a female swordswoman who has experienced the martial arts world in "The Book of Peace".

As the morning light shines on the glass curtain wall of the Huanjin Building, this image of an oriental beauty not only attracts financial elites passing by from all over the world, but also becomes a perfect carrier connecting classical aesthetics and modern fashion.

Across the land of China, it seemed that Xiao Liu had awakened the morning, followed by a "Liu Yifei Carnival" that satisfied various parties, including Wenjie and Gucci, before the release of "The Book of Peace."

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(End of this chapter)