Artists under the Rebirth of the Coal Boss

Chapter 284 A Small Gathering in Shanghai Before the New Year
Thursday, Lane 1038, Huashan Road, CN District, Kerry Garden.

This place is adjacent to Shanghai's consulate district, upscale residential areas, and international five-star hotels. It boasts a tranquil environment and convenient transportation. Celebrities such as Rosamund Kwan and Tao Hong have all purchased properties here.

Wenzhang and his wife organized a small New Year's Eve gathering at their home.

The crew of the TV series "Dwelling Narrowness" in Shanghai were invited, including director Teng Huatao, producer Zhu Jinghong, and screenwriters Qi Qi, Zhang Jiayi, Li Nian, and Lin Xingzhuo.

…………

Lin Xingzhuo rode in a Lexus from Li Nian's studio, and the two traveled together to Kerry Garden.

Li Nian opened the Chanel four-color eyeshadow palette, touching up his makeup as he said, "Brother Zhuo, these two have been particularly aggressive lately. Could this be a trap?"

“Recently, during a Dior brand event, when Ma Yili was being interviewed, she asked a staff member to kneel down on one knee to hold the microphone for her because she didn’t want her newly done manicure to get dirty.”

“Wenzhang was even more outrageous. On the way back from filming ‘Ocean Heaven,’ he was stuck in traffic and in a bad mood, so he kicked his personal assistant out of the van.”

Lin Xingzhuo was stunned: "What do you mean by kicking out the nanny van?"

Li Nian jokingly lifted his leg, but Lin Xingzhuo grabbed it and played with it for a moment.

After struggling to break free, Li Nian, panting, said:
"Stop messing around, I still need to touch up my eyeshadow!"

"He simply opened the sliding door of the van, kicked the person out, and happened to be filmed by a passerby."

"Luckily, there was a huge traffic jam on the highway, otherwise someone could have died. That male assistant had to get several stitches..."

Wen Zhang's "Naked Wedding Era" and "Love is Not Blind" haven't even been filmed yet, and this kid is already getting cocky?

However, to be fair, Commander Ma is indeed too domineering. It must be really oppressive for Wen Zhang, a straight man, to have a male personal assistant.

Lin Xingzhu lit a Zhonghua 5000 cigarette and asked, "Have things gotten better between them recently?"

Li Nian used a large eyeshadow brush to apply the base color and continued touching up her makeup, saying:

"It's not just getting better! It's absolutely unstoppable, sweeping through the Shanghai area!"

"Ma Yili goes without saying!"

"She landed endorsements for Omega and Dior right after giving birth, and is now a fashion icon in Shanghai! Her fashion status in Shanghai is definitely top-tier!!"

"In terms of commercial endorsements, she's on par with the workaholic Liu Tao..."

"It's said in the industry that Ma Yili, Sun Li, and Liu Tao are known as the three giants of home furnishing endorsements, basically dominating the domestic furniture market!"

"In recent years, Ma Yili has filmed 'Princess Pearl III: Heaven and Earth,' 'Qiao's Grand Courtyard,' and 'Struggle,' all of which were hugely popular dramas!"

"Xia Lin, who starred in the year's top-rated TV drama 'Struggle,' won the BQ Red List! Her role in 'Good People of Jiangbei' also earned her the Best Actress award at the Changchun Film Festival!"

"Oh, and Jiang Xueying from 'Qiao Family Courtyard,' which was also the CCTV ratings champion and earned Ma Yili a Golden Eagle Award nomination!"

Listening to Li Nian's description, Lin Xingzhuo gained a more intuitive understanding of Ma Yili's status in the millennium compared to the dull and boring office actor files in his previous life!

Commander Ma is undoubtedly a top-tier actress in Shanghai's entertainment circle!

Li Nian sighed and said, "I thought she would lose her status after leaving to have a baby, but I didn't expect her absolute strength to still hold the position of the top female figure in Shanghai's entertainment circle! She's too strong!"

Lin Xingzhuo exhaled a puff of smoke and asked, "What about Wenzhang?"

Li Nian switched to a tapered brush, dipped it in the outline color, and deepened the outline, saying:

"Wen Zhang directed the phenomenal hit 'Dwelling Narrowness,' and now he's making another movie with Li Lianjie!"

"This couple is now making a strong push across the big and small screens, in fashion, and in business! They're incredibly powerful!!"

"And Wen Zhang recognized Li Lianjie as his godfather."

Lin Xingzhuo said, "I know that he went to film 'Ocean Heaven'."

Li Nian said mysteriously, "I heard that during the filming of 'Ocean Heaven,' Li Lianjie was going to welcome the Buddha's relics in Shengjing for the Qingming Festival, and Wen Zhang accompanied him."

"He was much more devout than the Li family's relatives, kneeling all the way to welcome them... During the ceremony, he even wailed and cried at the Li family's grave, kneeling there for a long time..."

“Back then, Huang Qiuye gave up her career to take care of Li Lianjie’s parents. Even at the funeral, Li Lianjie was filming in Hong Kong and couldn’t come back, so Huang Qiuye took care of everything.”

"Later, Li Lianjie had a bad reputation in his hometown because he abandoned his ex-wife Huang Qiuye."

"After becoming a kung fu superstar, although he donated a lot of money and gained the title of a local notable, his reputation as a filial son has never been established!" "Later, he also paid for the demolition of the Taoist temple and the City God Temple in his hometown to build a Tantric Buddhist temple, which also caused great controversy."

"In short, Wenzhang's way of crying as a filial son has made Li Lianjie look good in front of the villagers."

“He told his relatives in his hometown that Wenzhang was his son and that he would take care of him in his old age and see him off in his final days.”

"You know, Li Lianjie's biggest regret is that he doesn't have a son. He has four daughters, and in the countryside, there are no sons, so people will always gossip about him."

Lin Xingzhuo exhaled a smoke ring and sighed, "With Wen Zhang's acting skills, he could become a department head in a high-level political arena."

Li Nian didn't understand. She used her fingertip to apply accent color to brighten her eyes, and after finishing her makeup, she put away her makeup box and said:
"Although Li Lianjie has been involved in some supernatural activities lately, he is still very strong in terms of resources."

Contrary to stereotypes, Li Lianjie has a very good relationship with the fashion industry; the owner of Esquire magazine is a fan of his.

"This sugar daddy helped Wenzhang get the cover of Esquire magazine in September!"

Lin Xingzhuo asked, puzzled, "Is it really necessary to go this far? Are fashion resources that important?"

Li Nian said, "Of course we have to fight for it! Fashion resources are the most important way to elevate your status and value in the industry!"

"Why are all the 'Four Dan Actresses,' 'Two Bing Actresses,' and 'Four Little Fresh Meat' actors vying for red and blue blood endorsements? Raise your prestige, come back to endorsements, and your endorsement fees will be several times higher!!"

It was only then that Lin Xingzhuo remembered that in their previous lives, they were both Coca-Cola spokespeople, but Wang Jiaer's endorsement fee was four times that of Yang Yang.

The reason is that Wang Jiaer is also a global ambassador for LV, whose fashion status far surpasses Wang Jiaer's!

…………

Lin Xingzhuo and Li Nian arrived at the residential area and parked their car in the parking space downstairs from Ma Yili's house.

Lin Xingzhuo didn't buy any gifts for his visit, and he also gave Zhang Youqian and Xiao Ma a day off, so no one could make up for it, leaving him embarrassed and empty-handed.

Li Nian brought two gifts from the back box.

These are gift boxes containing Japanese Aomori Golden Bull apples and Swiss Lindor soft-centered chocolates.

Li Nian gave the box of apples to Lin Xingzhuo as a gift when he visited.

…………

The two arrived at Ma Yili's house, and the nanny opened the door.

Wen Zhang accompanied Teng Huatao, Zhu Jinghong, and Qi Qi to play mahjong at the balcony table.

Cao Dun was helping to tidy up the tables and chairs when he saw Lin Xingzhuo. He quickly stepped forward to help take the gifts brought by the visitor and said loudly:

"Aomori Golden Bull Apples!"

"I saw it at the No. 1 Yaohan department store. It was imported from Japan by air and only entered the mainland market this year. It costs several hundred yuan a piece! I couldn't bring myself to buy it!"

"This box costs several thousand yuan!!"

…………

The rich, oily aroma of braised clover wafted from the kitchen...

Chen Guang was helping Commander Ma with his work. This production manager, who was originally working on the set of the film "Su Qier" in Yunze City, had taken leave specifically to return to Shanghai for the dinner party.

He only got the right to sit at the table because of his relationship with Lin Xingzhuo and Cao Dun, and he was aware of his actual status.

Not only did he bring generous gifts, but he also refused Wen Zhang's polite invitation to play cards and obediently went to the kitchen to help Commander Ma with the cooking.

…………

Lin Xingzhuo took out his cigarettes and offered them to everyone.

When Wen Zhang saw Lin Xingzhuo, he stopped playing cards and went over to bend down and light a fire, acting like a lackey.

The emotional trauma that Lin Xingzhuo inflicted on Wen Zhang at the beginning of the year is evident!
Li Nian, however, did not let his guard down. The one who truly held the reins in this household was not the young man Wen Zhang, but the one in the kitchen.

Sure enough, Ma Yili came over from the kitchen with a cheerful expression...

(End of this chapter)