Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 602 Chinese New Year, Liu Yifei's Logic
The next day, the chill of the capital remained, and a thin layer of frost covered the branches of the old locust tree in the courtyard.
Inside the villa, Wu Chen and Liu Yifei were packing their luggage.

Tomorrow, they will fly to Foshan, just in time for the "Little New Year's Eve" in the south.

While they were preparing to return home, on the other side of Beijing, Huayi Brothers' annual gala was in full swing in the banquet hall of the Park Hyatt Hotel.

The stage lights were bright, and the hall was filled with the clinking of glasses and lively conversation.
Entertainment reporters had already set up their cameras and microphones at the hotel entrance, and even launched a special online report, continuously updating the star power on the red carpet.

Inside the banquet hall, Feng Xiaogang was undoubtedly the most sought-after figure.

The stars under Huayi Brothers and the bosses of their partners lined up to toast him, each holding a wine glass.

"Last year, I made 11 billion in box office revenue, which exhausted me! This year, I need to take a break."

Holding a wine glass, Feng Xiaogang half-jokingly and half-seriously complained to everyone, but his words were full of undisguised pride.

His two films, "Aftershock" and "If You Are the One 2", grossed over 11 billion yuan at the box office in 2010, a feat that made him stand out from the crowd.

The crowd naturally showered him with compliments, and of course, they couldn't help but subtly inquire about his plans for his next film.

Amidst the clinking of glasses, Feng Xiaogang walked over to Wang Zhonglei with his wine glass in hand, lowered his voice, and kept muttering about yesterday's Oscar nomination news, his tone full of resentment.

"I have no idea what those people in the bureau are thinking."

The subject matter of "1939" clearly made it impossible for it to be nominated for Best Foreign Language Film. Why send it in? Wouldn't it have been better to send my "Aftershock" instead?

He was very confident in "The Great Earthquake," at least in terms of its universal values.

Wang Zhonglei knew that Feng Xiaogang longed for awards. It was because of this that Feng Xiaogang was always looked down upon by Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige in mainland China, not to mention Wu Chen.

"It's all in the past, Xiao Gang, there's no use dwelling on it anymore. There will be a chance for 'Back to 1942'."

"After the New Year, we'll find a time to officially announce the project."

Wang Zhonglei offered words of comfort.

It has to be said that after benefiting from the historical disaster subject of "The Great Earthquake", Huayi Brothers finally put "Back to 1942", which had been shelved for a long time, on their agenda.

That more painful and heart-wrenching national memory will surely boost both box office and critical acclaim.

At this moment, not only Wang Zhonglei thought so, but Feng Xiaogang thought so too.

The festive atmosphere of the New Year grows stronger with time.

On the first day back home, a big feast is a must.
News about the Spring Festival Gala has gradually been revealed.

News about the CCTV Spring Festival Gala has gradually increased in various reports.

Zhang Ziyi, who had a rather unlucky year last year, wanted to turn things around by taking advantage of the Spring Festival Gala stage. She even set her sights on Zhao Benshan's skit, hoping to play a cameo role in it, but ultimately she failed.

Benshan Media has announced that this year's "Chang'e" will be someone else.

"It feels like these days, the only watchable parts of the Spring Festival Gala are the skits," Yuan Xiaoqin said, sitting on the sofa, munching on sunflower seeds and chatting idly.

“Our family has basically never watched the Spring Festival Gala before. What do you mean by ‘only the skits are watchable’?” Wu Chen subconsciously chimed in from the side.

Before he could finish speaking, he immediately drew a glance from Yuan Xiaoqin: "Why are you meddling? Go do your own thing."

Liu Yifei covered her mouth and secretly laughed.

"By the way, Xixi," Yuan Xiaoqin suddenly changed the subject and looked at Liu Yifei, "when are you two planning to get engaged?"

Xiaoli and I just talked yesterday. She asked me to ask you guys about it. You young people might not be in a rush to get married, but this is something you could settle down with first.

Upon hearing this, Wu Yangming, who was tinkering with a new tea set not far away, immediately perked up his ears.

Wu Chen's heart skipped a beat.

He knew he would be asked about this, but he didn't expect Liu Xiaoli to have informed Yuan Xiaoqin beforehand.

A blush instantly spread across Liu Yifei's fair cheeks, even the fine hairs behind her ears seemed to stand on end. She lowered her head, her voice barely a whisper:

"Auntie, I...I'll listen to Wu Chen."

"Did you hear me! I'll listen to you! I'll listen to you!"

Seeing this, Yuan Xiaoqin immediately shifted the focus of the conflict, reaching out her finger and gently tapping Wu Chen's forehead.

“It’s planned,” Wu Chen quickly replied.

"You better be!"

Just as Yuan Xiaoqin finished speaking, there was a knock on the door.

Without even looking, I knew they were just neighbors and relatives from the village coming over to chat.

Since Wu Chen returned, there has never been a shortage of people at home.

The pace of the film and television industry slowed down throughout the Spring Festival.

The Spring Festival Gala, family reunions, and New Year's greetings are the main themes of this season.

Two Lunar New Year films were released on the first day of the Lunar New Year: "What Women Want" starring Andy Lau and Gong Li, and "Mr. & Mrs. Incredible" starring Louis Koo and Sandra Ng.

Both films received mediocre reviews, with the latter being particularly bad, and naturally, they failed to make a splash at the box office.

On the contrary, "Love is Not Blind," which was scheduled for release before Valentine's Day, continued its aggressive promotional campaign.
On the TV drama front, although Yu Zheng's "Palace" has become much more low-key due to the warning from Shanda's legal department, it is still riding the wave of Qing Dynasty time-travel dramas brought about by "Scarlet Heart", and its ratings are steadily rising.

Of course, this also drew a barrage of criticism from loyal fans of "Scarlet Heart".

"Plagiarist! From character design to plot, what part wasn't copied? Does Yu Zheng have no shame?"

"The color scheme is garish and the plot is childish. How can it compare to the high-quality production and heart-wrenching storyline of our 'Scarlet Heart'?"

"I support Shanda suing him to the death! Let this plagiarist never be able to survive in the industry!"

"."

Sometimes Wu Chen was slightly surprised when he saw these comments; wow, the fans really did criticize him fiercely.

The Spring Festival went by in a flash.

On the morning of the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, Wu Chen and Liu Yifei embarked on their journey back to Beijing to prepare for the premiere of "Love is Not Blind".

Having been indulging in food, drink, and fun for the past few days without paying much attention, Liu Yifei returned to the villa and was about to change into a sports vest to do some exercise when she looked down and noticed that her belly seemed to have gotten a little rounder.

"Oh no, oh no, I've gained a lot of weight," she muttered, frowning in distress.

"Just eat less these next few days."

Wu Chen had completely gotten used to the relaxed feeling of the holiday. When he got home, he lay down on the sofa and glanced at Liu Yifei, who was gesturing on the mat.

Well, being a little plump actually has its advantages; it's just right.

"That won't do!" Liu Yifei's eyes suddenly hardened. "It seems we have no choice but to try another method!"

Wu Chen was wondering what weight loss goal she was going to set, when he saw her walk to the corner, bend down, pull out the electronic body fat scale, stuff it under a box in the storage room, then clapped her hands, looking relaxed.
"nailed it!"

"."

Wu Chen was dumbfounded.

If you can't solve the problem, solve the things that can identify it.
This logic is impeccable!

(End of this chapter)