Rebirth of Chinese Entertainment, starting with the strategy of 95 flowers to counterattack

Chapter 136 Adorable MaiMai

When the plane landed at Qingdao Liuting International Airport, it was drizzling outside the window.

Gu Yang led Shen Wei out of the passage and saw a petite figure standing at the arrival gate in the distance.

She wore light blue denim overalls, a white T-shirt with a cartoon print underneath, and canvas shoes. She looked as youthful and vibrant as a freshly picked strawberry.

She wore her hair in a high ponytail, the ends swaying gently as she looked around. Her large, round eyes searched eagerly through the crowd, and she held up a crookedly handwritten sign that read, "Welcome Director Gu Yang!"

Gu Yang couldn't help but smile, deliberately slowing his pace as he walked up to her: "You came all this way to pick me up?"

"Ah!" The little girl was startled by the sudden sound and almost dropped the arrival sign in her haste.

When she looked up and saw who it was, her big, round eyes lit up instantly, and her fair cheeks flushed visibly: "Director Gu! I'm Zhao Jinmai! Director Guo specifically asked me to pick you up!"

"Is there no one else in the crew?" Gu Yang raised an eyebrow, teasing her deliberately, "Why send such a little one like you?"

"Hehe!" The girl laughed, her eyes crinkling to reveal two adorable dimples. "This is an opportunity I worked so hard to get!"

"Oh? Why are you so proactive?"

"Because I want to see my idol as soon as possible!" She stomped her foot excitedly. "I'm the captain of the 'Pleasant Goat' fan club's Anti-Black Team 107!"

??? ??? ???
Gu Yang was a little confused!
What is this?
His fan base has grown to this extent?

Sunlight streamed through the airport glass, illuminating the girl's still-childish face, making even the fine downy hairs clearly visible.

Looking at her innocent and carefree smile, Gu Yang sighed helplessly in his heart.

Mai Mai is so cute with her chubby cheeks!

Big eyes, high nose bridge, cherry lips!

It's a pity this girl is only 16 years old!

Seeing her, Gu Yang couldn't help but admire director Guo Fan once again.

This top-notch begging master managed to create The Wandering Earth with nothing to his name.

He tricked all the actors into coming.

He said that Andy Lau would be starring in this movie, and if he joined the cast, he would have the opportunity to take a free photo with Andy Lau.

So everyone came.

The actor originally slated to play Liu Qi absconded, resulting in a penalty of 15 yuan for breach of contract.

Now we have the money, right?
That just covered the salaries of Qu Chuxiao and Zhao Jinmai.

At that time, Mai Mai was still a junior high school student.

She refused at the time because she was preparing for the high school entrance exam, and her parents were worried that it would affect her grades.

Strongly opposed!

But Guo Fan was good at bragging. He told Mai Mai, "I'll give you 5 yuan for pocket money."

On the other hand, he confidently told the parents.

I'm a research student!
On set, you can personally tutor your child!
Ultimately, considering the pocket money and the free skilled labor, Zhao Jinmai and her parents agreed.

But after joining the film crew, I realized I'd been scammed.

To avoid interfering with her studies, Mai Mai filmed during the day to hone her acting skills and stayed up late at night to do practice problems.

But when the director came over, he was embarrassed because he was stumped by a trigonometric function.

Fortunately, my younger sister is a natural-born academic achiever. She only asked the director for leave five days before the high school entrance exam to go back and take the exam.

He eventually gained admission to a top local high school with high scores.

Not only that, three years later, when this girl was taking the college entrance exam, she was doing practice questions while filming the TV series "Together".

And so, this girl scored 524 points in the college entrance examination and was admitted to the Central Academy of Drama with the highest score in her professional exam.

As the film crew's van crossed the Jiaozhou Bay Bridge, the sea was shimmering with a silvery light.

Zhao Jinmai, like an excited little sparrow, pointed out the window and introduced, "That's Star Island! We were filming night scenes on the island last week, and I saw it at three in the morning."

Her voice suddenly stopped.

Gu Yang turned his head and found the little girl staring intently at his left wrist, where there was a scar left from filming "Better Days".

"Want to touch it?" he teased her deliberately.

Zhao Jinmai shrank back into her seat like a startled rabbit, shaking her head vigorously, her bangs flying up.

After a long pause, he managed to squeeze out a sentence, barely audible, like a mosquito's buzz: "You...you're prettier than on TV."

The giant film studios of Oriental Movie Metropolis resemble sleeping metal behemoths.

As soon as Gu Yang stepped into the industrial park, he was stunned by the sight before him!
The 20-meter-high space capsule frame stands majestically, and workers are welding the capsule amidst sparks flying everywhere.

The prop team hurriedly pushed the lunar rover model past, the paint on the rover body still glistening with the undried ink.

The most breathtaking part was the central area, where a 1:1 scale model of the planetary engine base was being tested with lights. The moment tens of thousands of LEDs lit up simultaneously, the entire ceiling was bathed in an apocalyptic crimson.

Not long after Gu Yang entered the film set, he saw several people waving and walking over.

"Hey! Isn't this our Director Gu?" Wu Jing strode forward, put her arm around Gu Yang's shoulder, and patted him hard. "Is your injury healed? Didn't you break a couple more ribs?"

Gu Yang almost choked from the pat: "Brother Jing, aren't you touched? You came to visit me on set even though you're so badly injured!"

"Get lost!" Wu Jing laughed and cursed, then punched him again.

At this moment, Guo Fan pushed up his glasses, rushed forward in three steps, grabbed Gu Yang's hand and wouldn't let go: "Director Gu! I've heard so much about you! I've been waiting for you for so long!"

Their enthusiasm was like they'd seen the God of Wealth; their eyes were practically shining.

Gu Yang immediately grasped Guo Fan's hand in return, even more enthusiastically than Guo Fan: "Director Guo! Brother Jing has been talking about you to me every day, saying that you are the future of Chinese science fiction films! Today I finally meet you in person!"

The two held hands and shook them up and down, each trying to outdo the other in enthusiasm. "Director Gu, look at this space capsule!"

"This is amazing! The attention to detail is incredible!"

"And this lunar rover."

"My God! The workmanship is amazing! Director Guo, your aesthetic sense is superb!"

Wu Jing rolled her eyes as she watched: "You two have gone too far. If you keep praising each other, you'll be sworn brothers."

Guo Fan reluctantly let go of Gu Yang's hand, but his eyes remained fixed on Gu Yang: "Director Gu, how about we go to the conference room to discuss this in detail? Let me show you our special effects plan."

Gu Yang smiled innocently: "Great, I happen to be quite interested in science fiction movies too."

Wu Jing watched the two walk arm in arm toward the conference room and shook her head helplessly: "Well, this kid is still too green."

"I've been tricked into becoming a fat sheep by Lao Guo again!"

Just as Gu Yang was walking towards the conference room with Guo Fan, he suddenly felt his clothes being gently tugged.

He looked down and saw that Zhao Jinmai had slipped over at some point and was looking up at him nervously with her little face upturned.

She tiptoed, cupped her small hand to her mouth, and whispered, "Director Gu... please, please be careful..."

Gu Yang bent down and leaned closer, asking, "Hmm? What are you being careful of?"

Zhao Jinmai stamped her feet anxiously, her ponytail swaying back and forth: "Director Guo... he... he specially prepared a projector in the conference room!"

She counted on her fingers, "Last week she fooled Mr. Wang from China Film Group, the day before yesterday she tricked Mr. Li from Alibaba Pictures. Today she's definitely going to show that 'Rise of Chinese Science Fiction' PPT again!"

Gu Yang couldn't help but chuckle: "Is it that scary?"

"It's terrifying!" The little girl nodded emphatically, her eyes wide open. "Every time I finish showing the PowerPoint presentation, those bosses come crying and begging to invest."

She suddenly covered her mouth, "Ah! Director Guo turned around and looked at us!"

Sure enough, Guo Fan, who was walking in front, turned around suspiciously: "What are you two whispering about?"

Zhao Jinmai immediately straightened her back, her face full of righteousness: "Reporting to the director! I was telling Director Gu that the boxed lunches in our crew are especially delicious!"

Gu Yang almost burst out laughing, and nodded in agreement: "Yes, she said the braised pork was especially flavorful."

After Guo Fan turned back with some skepticism, Zhao Jinmai immediately tugged at Gu Yang's sleeve, her face scrunched up: "Don't you believe me? Last time, an investor saw the PPT and immediately mortgaged his watch."

Looking at her flushed face, Gu Yang suddenly reached out and ruffled her hair: "Don't worry, I'm even better at bluffing than Director Guo."

Zhao Jinmai was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized: "Ah! So you are one too!"

"Shh..." Gu Yang put his index finger to his lips and winked at her, "This is a trade secret."

The little girl's eyes crinkled with laughter, like a little mouse that had stolen some oil. She skipped and hopped away, turning back a few steps to mouth, "Go, go!"

……

As soon as the conference room door opened, Guo Fan walked out beaming, clutching a freshly signed investment agreement in his hand.

Zhao Jinmai peeked inside and saw Gu Yang slowly putting away his pen, a sly smile on his face.

After the meeting, Gu Yang hosted a banquet at the most upscale seafood restaurant in Qingdao to entertain the core creative team of "The Wandering Earth".

Inside the private room, crystal chandeliers illuminated a huge round table, where waiters were serving up delicacies such as king crab and Australian lobster.

Holding a glass of red wine, Wu Jing chuckled and teased, "Director Gu's really gone all out! Looks like he's been thoroughly fooled by Director Guo."

Gu Yang raised his glass in a gesture of respect: "I mainly want to learn from all of you seniors."

He turned to Wu Mengda and said, "Uncle Da, I grew up watching your plays. I never thought we would be able to work together today."

Wu Mengda raised his glass amiably: "Young people these days are amazing! I heard you just finished filming 'Better Days,' you're really impressive!"

Guo Fan seized the opportunity to interject: "Director Gu, would you consider making a cameo appearance in your next film?"

Everyone laughed, and the atmosphere at the table was relaxed and warm.

Zhao Jinmai sat quietly at the table, dressed in a simple white T-shirt and jeans, looking particularly youthful among the group of veteran actors.

She sipped her juice, but her eyes kept glancing at Gu Yang.

Gu Yang noticed her restraint, so he deliberately spun the turntable and placed a plate of steamed grouper in front of her: "Try this, it's a specialty of Qingdao."

Zhao Jinmai was flattered and quickly thanked him, "Thank you, Director Gu!"

"Are you getting used to life on set?" Gu Yang asked casually.

"Yes!" She nodded emphatically, her eyes sparkling. "It's just that sometimes there are so many lines, I'm afraid I won't be able to remember them."

“Tell Uncle Da more often,” Gu Yang said with a smile, pointing to Wu Mengda. “He’s a walking encyclopedia of lines.”

Wu Mengda chuckled and replied, "The little girl is very talented. She got it right in one take last time, which amazed me."

Zhao Jinmai blushed immediately, lowered her head to eat her rice, and the tips of her ears turned bright red.

After the banquet ended, everyone left one by one.

Gu Yang deliberately walked around to the young girl who was packing food: "You like it so much?"

Zhao Jinmai's ears turned red, and she whispered, "It's for my mother."

Gu Yang suddenly bent down and whispered in her ear, "When you grow up, come find me if you want to act."

Seeing the girl's eyes widen instantly, he added with a mischievous grin, "But you have to get into Beijing Film Academy first."

The little girl was taken aback at first, then her eyes crinkled with laughter as she nodded vigorously: "Yes!"

A gentle night breeze blew, and Gu Yang couldn't help but smile as he watched Zhao Jinmai skip away.

(End of this chapter)