The King of Soft Rice in Chinese Entertainment

Chapter 423 Release
Angela didn't say much about the issue, after all, renting a large yacht to go out to sea is for fun, and "Falling" hasn't even been officially released in Cannes yet, so it's not time for public relations.

However, Xu Jiuyang was certain that she and Fan Bingbing were plotting for the awards. After all, a thief never leaves empty-handed... no, after all, they had come all this way and spent a lot of money to produce this film. Fan Bingbing had even gone so far as to take down Maggie Cheung in order to become the first Cannes Best Actress, and she had even resorted to some unscrupulous means.

So, if we disregard the Palme d'Or, I'll probably get the Jury Prize? Or the Camera d'Or as mentioned before?
Forget about Best Director. This is Zhang Jing's directorial debut, and her work isn't particularly outstanding. The Golden Camera Award for Best Newcomer is enough for her.

So... it's impossible for Fan Bingbing to win Best Actress this year, right? Then why did she go through all that trouble to make "Daughter Trapped in Time"?
The film has completed its pre-production work and will begin filming as soon as she returns. Zhang Jing will still be the director, and the novel version that Gao Yuanyuan is in charge of has finished its serialization in "Contemporary" and will soon be published.

Xu Jiuyang didn't think much of it. Anyway, it was just a few awards, so let them do whatever they wanted.

Everyone seemed to be having a great time on the yacht, or at least it looked like it. The water, far from the shore, was a deep blue that was almost black, and the temperature was lower than near the beach, making it very comfortable to swim.

But someone was somewhat frustrated, as such a white expanse could only be looked at but not eaten.

Despite the yacht being nearly 30 meters long, the interior space is still not very large, and anything done there is easily noticed.

Just because you've played some games before doesn't mean you can play them in other places without feeling guilty, especially since Angela and Fan Bingbing are different from other women.

But then there's Ini, who keeps popping up in front of him every now and then, making all sorts of bold and explicit gestures, so much so that he spends at least half the time sitting on the sofa, and the other half? Soaking in the seawater.

It's really a dead end.

Since that was the case, Xu Jiuyang chose her that night and also called Zhang Meng and Chen Pinying over.

Yes, he had done that before, and that's why he understood why Zhang Meng and Chen Pinying were Yini's secretaries in the United States.

However, this is not absolute. Since Inee came to China, Doutzen Kroes has been her assistant. Angela obviously has other plans. However, Zhang Meng and Chen Pinying still have an advantage in some matters. They have already messed with them before, and after several times, they even called Zhang Junning and Chen Qiaoen over, so they have helped deal with Inee several times.

Anyway, he's just here to accompany someone in Cannes. Fan Bingbing and Angela will have someone inform him what needs to be done.

only--

"I understand. Is there anything else?" Facing Sister Zhiling standing in front of him, Xu Jiuyang sighed silently in his heart.

“That’s all, Master,” Lin Zhiling replied gently, a polite smile on her face.

"That's settled then." Xu Jiuyang nodded, then added, "You can go back now."

If I hadn't said that last sentence, she would have kept waiting and followed me wherever I went, like a puppet with a pre-programmed routine.

"Boss, do I have to listen to her from now on?" Zhang Yan asked as she approached after Lin Zhiling left.

"Listen to her? Why?" Xu Jiuyang asked subconsciously.

“She’s the housekeeper,” Zhang Yan pouted.

"Alright..." Xu Jiuyang chuckled, "She's the housekeeper, you're the assistant, how can she have authority over you? If she's going to have authority over anyone, it'll be over the maids."

"So there are maids too..." Zhang Yan's mouth was still pursed.

"What? Your sister Bingbing can have a maid, but I can't?" Xu Jiuyang retorted.

Zhang Yan chuckled awkwardly and went to the side to organize the schedule and various documents sent from China.

Xu Jiuyang sighed inwardly again. Although he had some guesses about the housekeeper Angela had arranged, he never expected it to be Lin Zhiling.

“Her family sold their daughter without any financial burden,” Angela said at the time. “By doing this, I was also saving her from her misery.”

"That's not what I want to know, okay?" Xu Jiuyang muttered, then shook his head. This has happened so many times already; he should be immune by now. Why is he still surprised? After all, Ini has become Angela's tool.

Even her maid is more surprising, isn't she?

When Fan Bingbing and Angela came to Cannes this time, they each brought a maid. The former brought Maria, and the latter brought someone named Shimizu Yuka.

Her name didn't sound like anything special; she seemed like just an ordinary Japanese girl. Xu Jiuyang initially thought so too, since he had never been to Angela's home in Beijing.

But when he saw her in person, he was shocked again and again. What was Shimizu Yuka? It was Ranran!

Other teachers may forget, but Lanlan's facial features are too distinctive, and her cosplay of Mai Shiranui has been praised and collected by many people.

In addition, he had already been reminded of a great deal by Maple, Rainbow, Maria, Tina and the like. If he couldn't recognize her, he might as well buy a block of tofu and smash his head against it.

So, we really don't need to worry about how they accurately identified this topic from the crowd.

Let's just pretend they dreamt about it.

"Yan Za, it's such a shame you didn't come out to sea that day. How about we go to the beach in a couple of days?" Xu Jiuyang said to his assistant.

"You just want to see me in a bikini, right, boss?" Zhang Yan said, indicating her refusal.

“Yeah, right,” Xu Jiuyang said with a smile, “Your sister looks so sexy in a bikini. If you can’t compare to her, then you’re a complete failure.”

"Why make this kind of comparison?" Zhang Yan asked, puzzled.

“Maybe, possibly, perhaps, it’s because he wanted to bring you sisters together…” Xu Jiuyang put his two thumbs together.

Zhang Yan immediately spat at him, then buried herself in organizing the documents, but unlike usual, she didn't run away after being teased and only come back after a while.

Although there might be factors like unfamiliarity with the hotel environment, they must have received tasks from Fan Bingbing, so... so come on, come on, everyone come on, butlers, nutritionists, personal trainers, come on all.

Regardless, at least in terms of professionalism, they should be trustworthy – Lin Chih-ling was the one who piloted the boat on the previous sea trip, and she even had a qualification certificate.

Skipping that, two days later, Fall officially opened in Cannes and received good reviews.

"With a very ingenious structure, it shows how people are gradually consumed by desire." — Le Figaro

"Both the methods of the crime and the investigative techniques are full of coincidences, yet together they create a kind of dark humor." — France Soir

"Every character has a dark side, and when they are all unexpectedly revealed at the same time, the satirical effect reaches its peak." — Cahiers du Cinéma

Although Angela used public relations tactics and spent a lot of money, these praises were not entirely bought.

The reason is simple: Western, or rather European, perceptions of China have begun to change.

Back in the 90s, they still had a condescending attitude, after all, they had won the Cold War.

Therefore, in their eyes, China was still barbaric and ignorant, and needed them to bring the light of civilization.

So at that time, they preferred Chinese films with a Republican-era flavor, or mainland films, such as those with Peking Opera elements, those depicting the distortion of humanity under feudal ethics, or those filled with a buzzing atmosphere.

For example, "Farewell My Concubine", or "Ju Dou" and "Raise the Red Lantern".

(End of this chapter)