This actor has something

Chapter 458 Mini Program

"The no-man's land has been sent for review, and Chairman Han said this time it's a sure thing."

On the other end of the phone, Ning Hao's voice was filled with relief and relaxation.

"The post-production of 'No Man's Land' is finished? You're in such a hurry! I haven't even had a chance to look at it before you've sent it for review?"

He Daqi placed his phone to the side, put it on speakerphone, and faced a full-length mirror. He was looking at his trendy new hairstyle in the mirror. It had been a long time since he had properly styled himself, and he was still a little unaccustomed to suddenly having someone do his hair.

I still remember when I was standing like a lackey at the Golden Horse Awards. In order to stand out at the awards ceremony, I obediently followed the stylist's instructions and sat up straight, afraid that if I moved even slightly, my makeup or hair would not be done properly, and that I would ruin the stylist's skills.

I'm no longer young and carefree. Now, even if I wore my underwear on the outside to the Golden Elephant Awards, people would only praise me for being trendy and fashionable.

While the stylist was busy, Ning Hao heard He Daqi's slightly teasing question on the other end of the phone and replied irritably:

“You can’t offer any suggestions, so why should I wait to show it to you? Chairman Han said that because of the repeated revisions to the script for ‘No Man’s Land,’ the review process will take longer this time. If I finish it sooner and submit it for review sooner, it might even pass the review earlier.”

Hearing Ning Hao's praise of Han Shanping on his phone, He Daqi curled his lip in disdain.

Why didn't you do this sooner? You know, Ning Hao has been working on the script for "No Man's Land" for quite some time now. It's only because Ning Hao's "Crazy Stone 2" is still doing well at the box office that Old Han reluctantly helped him out, worried that Ning Hao would waste too much time on this lousy movie "No Man's Land".

Putting everything else aside, Han Shanping is a bit hypocritical. Ning Hao is so good at making box office money, but Han Shanping didn't even lend a hand during the initial censorship.

Could it be that he, like He Daqi, also doesn't have high hopes for the No Man's Land area, and is therefore waiting to see Ning Hao make a fool of himself?
"Then I wish the 'No Man's Land' project will be approved soon." He Daqi's tone was flat and perfunctory, lacking any sincerity.

Ning Hao also realized that he originally called to brag to his relatives and friends and release his pent-up resentment from messing around in the no-man's-land.

As a result, Ning Hao ran into a bastard like He Daqi after making only a few phone calls, which made him feel even more depressed.

"I can't have anything nice to say to you, I'm hanging up."

Hearing the dial tone on his phone, He Dayi swiped to hang up, chuckled, and turned his attention back to the mirror, admiring his new look.

Half an hour later, he and Vivian Chow, who had also finished her hair and makeup, got into a car and drove to the Hong Kong Film Awards ceremony.

Inside the car, Vivian Chow put down her small makeup mirror and turned her head to see Ho Tai-kai leisurely playing games on his phone. Vivian Chow asked casually, "Such a good attitude? Aren't you afraid that this year's Hong Kong Film Awards might be a trap set for you?"

"Don't talk nonsense. There aren't that many bad people. There are still more good people than bad people in this world." He Daqi probably didn't even believe what he was saying, but he spoke so righteously that you couldn't tell if he was being sincere or just acting.

Zhou Huimin can tell the difference.

How unsuccessful it would be if you couldn't tell the difference between your bed partner and your spouse.

Not to mention that when Zeng Aizi called to invite He Daqi to the Golden Elephant Awards, He Daqi later asked Zhou Huimin about Zeng Aizi for a long time.

Zhou Huimin has been unable to figure out what He Daqi is trying to do lately, and she's too lazy to figure it out anymore. After all, there's a safety net, so let Daqi do whatever he wants.

Hearing that He Daqi was being dishonest with her, Zhou Huimin stopped talking and finally reminded him, "Just keep it to yourself."

He Daqi did not respond.

How could he not know the truth? Putting aside everything else, everyone in the industry knows how ugly his conflict with the Hong Kong Film Association was when he was vying for the Painted Skin project. Now that Painted Skin is doing so well, no matter how it came about, just tell me, isn't the Hong Kong Film Association furious?

They didn't care that Ya Yue was spending money on publicity and ticket subsidies, and even hired Zhang Yimou as the director. The two leading actresses were Zhou Xun, who won the Golden Elephant Award for Best Actress, and Zhou Huimin, who had semi-retired from the entertainment industry, plus the international superstar He Daqi.

They don't care about that; all they know is that your film sold out at the box office, even became a huge hit. All they know is that He Daqi snatched the Painted Skin project from the Hong Kong Film Association.

That's all you need to know.

And now, the Golden Elephant Award nominee is Painted Skin!

Unless everyone in the Hong Kong Film Association is dead, how could they possibly let Painted Skin win an award, or even nominate it? But now Painted Skin has been nominated, and He Daqi has even been invited to the Hong Kong Film Awards. It would be strange if there wasn't something wrong with this.

He Daqi isn't so clueless as to be unable to understand this simple matter, much less so lacking in common sense.

Doesn't he know there's a problem here? He knows it all too well.

He came on purpose, whether it was to see things through or to repay the favor that laid the foundation for him at the Golden Elephant Award years ago, he had to come this time.

He had a plan in mind about what underhanded tricks the Golden Elephant Awards might pull.

Or you could treat him like Stephen Chow, making him feel like he can't have you, and then you'll lose face.

Either they want to make an example of He Daqi, and this time they'll go all out to make him sit quietly in the audience, and might even mock or slander him during the awards ceremony, or better yet, make him storm off in anger.

Since the beginning of Painted Skin, the Hong Kong Film Association has broken ties with Ho Tai-kei. This time, they have no intention of making peace. Since they've already broken ties, they might as well kick him while he's down and take advantage of the situation.

Coincidentally, He Daqi thought the same thing.

He Daqi is now afraid that things won't escalate. He needs attention, because attention is what builds his public image. There are more people in Hong Kong, and if he makes a scene here, no matter what happens in the end, with Yabo.com suppressing things in mainland China, the final outcome will definitely be in He Daqi's favor, regardless of the true nature of the matter.

So now both sides want to cause trouble, one in the open and the other in the shadows, especially the one in the shadows who is pretending to be confused and not planning to play by the rules.

The nanny van was parked at the end of the red carpet.

He Daqi got out of the car and helped Zhou Huimin down.

Ignoring the screams and shouts around them, the couple walked slowly down the red carpet, arm in arm with smiles on their faces.

Zhou Huimin quickly noticed the difference in He Daqi. In the past, this guy walked the red carpet with incredible speed and ease, as if he was afraid of delaying the people behind him.

This time was different. He Daqi walked quite slowly, which made Zhou Huimin a little unaccustomed to it. She took two steps to steady herself before she could match He Daqi's pace.

The couple walked the red carpet for nearly fifteen minutes, posing for quite a while, before reluctantly entering the venue.

I haven't seen many acquaintances for a while.

For example, Liu Furong, a veteran superstar who has always been on good terms with He Daqi, has not seen He Daqi for a long time, perhaps because his schedule is too full.

Take Gu Tianle for example. The last time we met was when He Daqi was fighting with the Hong Kong Film Association over Painted Skin. He came to mediate, but he didn't do a good job as a mediator and didn't take the important matter to heart at all.

When He Daqi met acquaintances, his face lit up with a bright smile. He chatted with one person for a bit, and another for a bit, laughing and joking. You would never guess that he was someone who was about to do something big.

At this moment, Ho Ta-chi was chatting with Cheng Lung with his arm around his shoulder. Cheng Lung felt that Ho Ta-chi's help with Li Zongsheng's concert was a great honor, so he laughed and chatted for a while longer, and also expressed his gratitude on behalf of Li Zongsheng.

"Qi Zai, let's go out for a good drink after the awards ceremony."

"Let's call it a day. Brother, our relationship isn't short of a drink. I brought my child with me, so I need to head back early. Next time you come to Beijing, I'll come over and treat you to a proper meal."

He Daqi came here today to cause trouble, so why would he go out for drinks with Cheng Long?

Besides, things are different now. Before, He Daqi didn't care and didn't pay attention to his image. Now, his main goal is to improve his public image, so he can't afford to get drunk with Cheng Long again without preparation. Not only would he embarrass himself, but he would also be going against his own goals.

Jackie Chan wasn't upset about not getting a drink with Ho Tai-kai. He continued chatting and laughing with Ho Tai-kai for a while, and the meeting didn't last too long, since Ho Tai-kai and his wife had arrived quite late. After about twenty minutes of casual conversation, the Golden Elephant Awards ceremony officially began.

He Daqi also returned to his seat and sat down with Zhou Huimin.

This year is of special significance, marking the centenary of Hong Kong cinema.

There were more mainland stars present today than at any previous Hong Kong Film Awards, especially in the front rows. He Daqi didn't even need to look closely to notice that the proportion of mainland stars in the front seats was higher than that of Hong Kong stars.

He had been busy chatting with acquaintances in Hong Kong, but now that he was back in his seat, He Daqi was nodding and greeting his acquaintances on the mainland with a smile.

As usual, it's still the short, stout guy who starts things off.

He Daqi, sitting in the first row, could see clearly that Zeng Aizi's gaze was malicious. Even though he hid it well, it still couldn't escape He Daqi's careful observation.

He Daqi knew that Zeng Aizi had close ties with the Hong Kong Film Association; otherwise, he wouldn't have been the main host every year.

Come on, let me see what tricks you're going to pull, so I can prepare.

He Daqi couldn't wait any longer.

With this mindset in mind, He Daqi couldn't concentrate on the song and dance performance at all. He was just waiting for the other party to pull some tricks. He was afraid that the Golden Elephant Awards would play too small a game and treat him like Stephen Chow. If that happened, he really couldn't make a big fuss.

Fortunately, He Daqi was not disappointed. When the awards ceremony officially began, Zeng Aizi started saying some random things, vaguely alluding to He Daqi.

This guy is quite persistent. Every time he goes through a segment, he makes a few sarcastic remarks, but he doesn't say them clearly and always does them in a half-joking manner. After a while, the mainland celebrities present noticed something was wrong, and their eyes began to subtly focus on He Daqi.

He Daqi seemed oblivious to Zeng Aizi's veiled meaning, smiling and clapping from time to time.

He Daqi can't hold onto such petty tricks; they're disgusting enough. If you really take it to heart, and the other person just says it's a joke, then you're speechless, as if you're not magnanimous enough.

In fact, He Daqi was cursing in his heart at this moment.

Is that all you've got? Dare to go even further? If you dare, I'll follow suit.

As if they had heard He Daqi's thoughts, the next guests to come on stage were Zeng Aizi and Du Gou.

Before each Golden Elephant Awards ceremony, there is a brief introduction of the nominated films by a guest speaker, and only after the introduction is completed do the award presenters go on stage to present the awards to the films.

The award being presented now is for Best Art Direction, which isn't a major award, but it just so happens that Painted Skin is one of the winners.

This time, Zeng Aizi was quite blunt: "Some of our Hong Kong Film Awards Best Actor winners speak Hong Kong dialect in Hong Kong and Mainland dialect in the Mainland. That's what you call a true winner-takes-all, getting better year after year. Xiao Du, you should learn from him."

Du Gou immediately chimed in, feigning ignorance, and asked, "This is Hong Kong, why should we speak mainland dialect? Mr. Zeng, who do you want me to learn from? He Daqi?"

As soon as he finished speaking, all the mainland celebrities in the audience frowned; those words were not a compliment.

Now is not the time to watch He Daqi's antics, but rather the time to unite, stand up, and leave in protest.

The mainland celebrities started looking at each other and exchanging glances, waiting for someone to raise their arm and then they would all get up and leave.

Some people did stand up, but they didn't get up and leave.

He Daqi strolled onto the awards stage, leaving everyone somewhat bewildered.

He was in the first row, close to the stage, and had already walked up to Zeng Aizi and Du Gou on stage in less than twenty seconds.

Looking at Zeng the Dwarf and Du the Dog, who were frowning and looking at him with questioning eyes, He Daqi felt as if fireworks had exploded in his heart.

You two get so carried away that you'll say anything!

Then don't blame me for using it to improve my public image.

He Daqi was all smiles, just like a friendly older brother next door, his smile was incredibly bright and cheerful.

But what he did wasn't exactly something righteous or honorable.

Snapped!
He Daqi slapped Zeng the Dwarf on the head, as if he were lifting a short, stout person with one hand, and dragged Zeng the Dwarf aside.

Who would have thought that He Daqi would dare to do this in public, let alone Zeng Aizi himself? Caught off guard, he staggered and almost knelt on the stage.

He Daqi ignored him and instead looked at Du Gou.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the next segment of the Golden Elephant Awards ceremony is a magic show where you guess an orange."

He Daqi spoke as if it were the truth, cheerfully saying into the microphone, then placing his hands in front of Du Gou and asking seriously, "Guess whether I have an orange in my left hand or my right hand?"

Du Gou was completely bewildered, not understanding what was going on. He subconsciously looked at He Daqi's hands, specifically his left hand.

It happened so fast that no one could react. The moment Du Gou looked at He Daqi's left hand, He Daqi loosened his clenched left hand and said with a smile, "You guessed wrong."

Snapped!
He Daqi swung his left hand and slapped Du Gou hard across the face.

When I drew the "Du" dog, I saw stars and almost fell asleep.

"Guess again, is it the left hand or the right hand this time? You're looking at the right hand? Too bad, you guessed wrong again!"

Snapped!
"Guess again."

Snapped!
Come on, guess.

Snapped!
He Dayi used force only in the first two slaps, delivering hard blows to Du Gou on both sides; the rest were mostly insulting.

"It seems Mr. Du isn't in the mood today. Alright, let's have a question. Can you speak Mandarin in Hong Kong?" He Daqi still had a smiling face.

Snapped!
Can you tell me?

Snapped!
Can you tell me?

"can."

Snapped!
"Speak louder, I can't hear you!"

"Yes, I can speak!"

(End of this chapter)