This actor has something

Chapter 328 A Somewhat Shy Partner

The probing from the two Wangs, though late, finally arrived. However, it wasn't done by them themselves, but rather by Feng Kuzi giving them a hint.

On the second day after returning to Beijing, He Daqi was woken up by his cell phone ringing.

After a good night's sleep, the two children were picked up by He Daqi's grandparents early in the morning. They didn't bother He Daqi and let him sleep soundly until after ten o'clock.

"It's so noisy, answer the phone, stop dawdling." Zhou Huimin covered her ears, squinted, and kicked He Daqi.

He Daqi yawned and sat up straight, feeling a bit stiff. He didn't rush to get out of bed. He first stretched his arms and legs and yawned and groaned as he stretched. Feeling a bit more relaxed, he then got out of bed, picked up his phone which he had left on the computer desk to charge the night before, and walked into the bathroom.

Seeing Feng Kuzi's name on his phone, He Daqi guessed the reason. He answered the call and put it on speakerphone, greeting him while squeezing toothpaste.

"Hey, Director Feng, good morning! Have you eaten yet?"

"It's still early, it's already 10:30. Daqi, you didn't just get up, did you?" Feng Kuzi asked, somewhat speechless.

"Hehe, I played games a bit late last night, stayed up all night."

"You've returned to China, right? I kept calling you before but the line was always busy. I knew you were in South Korea, so I didn't bother you with international calls. But today the call went through right away, so you must be back. Did you finish filming that movie in South Korea? Perfect timing, my film crew hasn't started shooting yet. See if you can find a time that works out of your schedule. If you can find some time next month, we can discuss what kind of role would be suitable for you based on your availability."

He Daqi was shocked and asked in surprise, "It's not turned on yet? Didn't you start preparing at the end of last year?"

"Haha, this is my first time working on a period drama, so I'll definitely need more time to prepare. By the way, Daqi, could you spare some time for the schedule?"

"Director Feng, it's not that I'm making excuses. I've said it several times before, but I really don't have the time this year. I came back to China this time because of the exchange group. I have to go to South Korea in a while."

"I see... Daqi, you haven't forgotten your promise to me that you would definitely participate in my next movie after this period film is finished, right?"

Is that so? He Daqi quickly recalled what had happened. To be honest, he would have completely forgotten if Feng Kuzi hadn't reminded him today.

"I remember, of course I remember. Don't worry, Director Feng, even if I have to postpone it, I'll make sure to make my schedule available."

"It's okay. If we're going to film it next year, it'll be in the second half of the year. Anyway, I'm still filming this one. I reckon it'll be next year by the time it's finished. Plus, with post-production, there's no way I'll have time in the first half of next year."

"Okay, it's settled then. I'll have my assistant schedule it for me in advance. Um, Director Feng, is there anything else? If not, I'll wash up and go eat first, I'm a little hungry." Seeing that the toothpaste on his toothbrush was starting to sag, He Daqi was too lazy to continue arguing with Director Feng, so he subtly urged him on.

"Don't rush, Daqi! There's something else."

"You say."

"Um... um... When Wang Jinghua held her signing press conference yesterday morning, I saw on the news that a lot of people from your Crazy Stone crew went there. Is Yonghui Qiming going to cooperate with Wang Jinghua?" Feng Kuzi was silent for a while, probably talking to someone, before asking the main purpose of his call today.

“Yonghui Qiming will just be an artist management company in the future, and there won’t be any major changes. If nothing unexpected happens, Crazy Stone will be Yonghui Qiming’s last film. In the future, any collaborations will only be between artists. So Director Feng, your guess is unlikely to come true. Of course, this is only the situation with Yonghui Qiming. I don’t have the final say with Ya Yue. I only have a small share there. The main decision-makers are others. I can’t control how they negotiate collaborations with others.”

He Daqi's answer silenced the person on the other end of the phone for about ten seconds. After a moment, Feng Kuzi finally responded:

"...Um, Daqi, don't hang up yet. Someone is coming to see me about something. Wait a moment, I'll be right there."

He Daqi didn't wait for Feng Kuzi's response. He put his phone on the sink, filled a cup with water, and started brushing his teeth.

After he finished washing his face and was drying his neck with a towel, Feng Kuzi's voice came from his phone again.

"Da Qi, are you still there?"

“Still growing.” He Daqi touched his chin in front of the mirror and found that he still hadn’t started growing a beard.

"Isn't it Mr. Lin from Hong Kong who has the final say on Asia-Vietnam?"

"Hmm, you could say that." Looking at his pale face in the mirror, He Daqi responded to Feng Kuzi while considering whether he should shave his chin from time to time so that he could grow a beard sooner and look more manly.
"Okay, that's all for now. I didn't know you stayed up late last night, otherwise I would have called you this afternoon. You go ahead and do your work, I'll hang up now."

"okay."

After hanging up the phone, He Daqi smiled slightly, knowing that the two kings on the other end must be starting to have a headache.

Anyway, it has nothing to do with He Daqi. Whether Wang Jinghua can reach a cooperation agreement with Lin Jianyue is also not of much concern to He Daqi, so He Daqi is very happy now.

He hummed a little tune as he walked out of the bathroom, then mischievously went to the window and suddenly pulled back the curtains, letting the summer sunlight stream into the bedroom.

"Ugh! What are you doing!" Vivian Chow covered her eyes and thrashed about on the bed like a fish out of water.

"It's almost eleven o'clock, get up quickly."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Huimin immediately buried her head in the pillow, groaning and unwilling to move. After He Daqi smacked her bottom, she kicked him wildly with her feet and began to mutter unwillingly.

"Why are you getting up! I'm fine. But you, aren't you going to the CCTV building this afternoon? Hurry up and call to order food so you can leave quickly after you finish eating. I want spicy stir-fried pork intestines, and the Daqian braised fish and minced pork eggplant that I had yesterday. Order those for me."

"You're so lazy!"

"Don't talk about the second brother, eldest brother."

……

……

The newly appointed head of the exchange group, Li, was taking things too for granted.

They just wanted He Daqi to report on the program and even had him meet up with the exchange group directly in South Korea. The idea was good, but the key issue was that they ignored the opinions of others.

It was understandable if no one realized it in the first two years. In the first year, He Daqi was not yet a top-tier talent, and in the second year, He Daqi was collaborating with Cheng Long.

This year is different. Some people have already realized that He Daqi didn't appear on many shows before, so those artists who wanted to interact with him didn't have much of a chance. Isn't this exchange group a great opportunity?
Besides, the program He Daqi signed up for this time is about singing about Asians. Do singing programs need backup dancers? That's something that could be arranged!
When Commander Li called He Daqi for the second time, his tone was full of helplessness. His personality was clearly not as assertive as Commander Wang's before; he was more of a refined and easy-going type.

So much so that He Daqi had to make this trip today. The exchange group not only arranged a dance team for him, but also a choir.

Inside the large studio on the sixth floor of the CCTV building, a singer is performing a heartfelt song on stage.

The exchange group must have performed well last year and received commendation from higher authorities, so they are paying even more attention to it this year.

Just look at that huge group of white-haired old men and women below, and you'll know that the requirements are definitely much stricter than last year.

"Daqi is here." Commander Li greeted He Daqi with a smile as he saw him walk in quietly.

"Hmm, Commander Li, what's the arrangement now?"

"Considering your inability to attend rehearsals, your choir partner usually leads the dance team during rehearsals. This way, you only need to come today to experience it and memorize the positions, and then you can go straight to the stage to perform. It won't delay anything. Moreover, the partner we found for you is a veteran with rich experience in large-scale performances. Even if something goes wrong on stage, he can fix it in time. Come on, let me introduce you to him. His name is Han Lei. You should have heard of him, right?" Director Li patted He Daqi's arm and led him backstage.

"Oh my! Teacher Han Lei! He's a household name. His rendition of 'Borrowing Five Hundred Years from Heaven' is so powerful and inspiring."

"Alright, it's good that we know each other." Commander Li smiled noncommittally.

Actually, it wasn't originally Han Lei's turn. A group of female singers almost fought tooth and nail for this opportunity, their competition was so outrageous that it would delay the performance if they continued like this. As a result, Director Li, being a nice guy, had to make his own decision.

Do they really not take this delegation leader seriously? Do they even understand the value of the combined benefits of foreign affairs and propaganda?

As they were talking, the two arrived backstage.

Before Commander Li could introduce himself, He Daqi greeted him first: "Hello, Teacher Han Lei, I am actor He Daqi."

Han Lei smiled and shook hands with He Daqi: "Hello, hello, don't call me teacher, just call me brother. I'm grateful to you for giving me the opportunity to join the exchange group and perform abroad."

"Oh, please don't say that. I've only participated in two exchange groups to South Korea. You've participated in so many, going all over the world. If I remember correctly, you even went to perform at the Kremlin with an exchange group when we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations with Russia, right?"

Unexpectedly, He Daqi was so enthusiastic. Han Lei smiled and waved his hand, saying, "It was all arranged by my superiors."

Despite his bold and unrestrained singing style, Han Lei is quite introverted in real-life interactions offstage. He's only willing to talk a lot when discussing singing; otherwise, he'll just laugh it off.

Commander Li breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the two were getting along well.

He knew about He Daqi's background. He was assigned by his superiors and after participating for two years, he was now showing signs of becoming a pillar of the exchange delegation to South Korea.

They're hoping to use He Daqi to attract the audience during this performance. They can't expect things to go downhill just because they did well last year, right after they took office?
If He Daqi had arrived unwillingly today, Commander Li would have had a headache. Fortunately, the outcome was quite satisfactory, so there's no need to worry anymore.

He Daqi rehearsed backstage for more than two hours before going on stage for the actual performance.

The effect was pretty good. Perhaps considering that He Daqi couldn't rehearse with them, they didn't assign him any dance moves, and the positioning was relatively simple. He just needed to focus on holding the microphone and singing.

The performance went smoothly, and He Daqi was about to leave. He mentioned it to Director Li as soon as he stepped off the stage, and Director Li led him aside.

"Da Qi."

"Li Tuan, you speak."

"I only found out yesterday when I was talking to Commander Wang. He gave you some advice last year, right? He suggested that you practice more of your other acts besides singing so you could perform two acts. I don't know if you've practiced them yet?"

This is indeed true, and He Daqi actually practiced it, so he nodded and said, "I practiced it, and I practiced two things, one is sword dance, and the other is dual swords."

Commander Li raised an eyebrow, surprised by the unexpected surprise. After a moment's thought, he said, "You don't mind performing a sword dance, do you? We have all the props we need here, and there are a bunch of veteran artists sitting in the audience. Why don't you perform it now and let them see the effect?"

Why not let He Daqi perform with double swords? Actually, it's simply a matter of Commander Li's personal preference. The straightness and rigidity of the sword, imbued with moral connotations by Confucian culture, symbolize the metaphor of a gentleman's character. Therefore, Commander Li's first reaction was sword dance rather than double swords.

He Daqi did not refuse when he heard this. In this hot weather, he wanted to make as few trips as possible. He wanted to get it all done today and only need to come back once more before setting off.

Not long after, He Daqi returned to the stage with a standard-issue sword, looking quite pleased with himself.

First, he smiled and nodded to the group of elderly people below. Then, his expression turned serious, and he slowly raised the sword with his hand behind his back. When it reached his chin, he suddenly increased the speed and performed a sword dance with his hand behind his back. Then, he did a series of side flips, accompanied by the sword dance in his hand, and began to perform the sword dance he had learned in the simulation training space.

It must be said that He Daqi did have a clever move. He was tall and well-proportioned, and with his skillful movements and graceful dance, he gradually drew the attention of the group of veteran artists who were initially indifferent.

After he stopped, an old lady sighed and said, "What a pity. This young man must be He Daqi, right? Xiao Li, if you had told him he had this talent earlier, we could have arranged for someone to recite poetry for him beforehand. It's a bit too late to find someone now, so we can only add background music."

After she finished speaking, before Commander Li could respond, an old man with a white beard spoke up: "Young man, your sword dance must be performed in a specific costume, right? It must be a performance costume with long sleeves or a long robe, otherwise many of your movements would lack a certain charm. Is it Hanfu? Or one of those cross-collar short-sleeved robes?"

"You guessed wrong. This is just a short-sleeved, short-shirt performance. There are no specific clothing requirements." He Daqi was talking nonsense with great sincerity. His acting skills were excellent, and he fooled the old man completely.

"That shouldn't be the case..." The old man was a little confused. He had taught dance his whole life. How could he be wrong about whether or not specific costumes were needed?
"Alright, Daqi, you can go back now. Just remember to come back before you leave." Commander Li said to He Daqi with a smile, then turned to the old man who had spoken earlier and smiled, "Teacher Liu, if you think Daqi's sword dance could be paired with a specific outfit, could you recommend one? Daqi can see the effect next time he comes."

As He Daqi walked down, he overheard what Commander Li said to the old man. He couldn't help but purse his lips. Why had he lied to the old man earlier? It was because he didn't want to wear an ancient costume for a performance in the middle of summer. He had suffered that pain once before and knew how uncomfortable it was.

(End of this chapter)