Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 118: The Premiere of "Big Spread of Influence"

Premieres are still a novelty in the country.

Of course, the premiere of "Da Sa Ba" was not very formal. It was just a free movie screening for industry insiders and media reporters, and there were no other activities.

"Zhang Yan, over here!"

Zhang Yangang had just parked his car outside the movie theater when he saw Feng Xiaogang waving repeatedly in his direction.

Seeing Zhang Di standing next to him, and Zhang Di holding a child in her arms, Zhang Yan and Chen Hong quickly went over and greeted her with smiles: "Sister-in-law is here too - Xiao Siyu, do you still remember me?"

The little girl still had post-operative scars, so she was wearing a mask. She stared at Zhang Yan for a while, then suddenly turned and snuggled into her mother's arms.

"This girl."

Feng Xiaogang rubbed his daughter's head and said, "Remember this from now on, this is Uncle Zhang Yan, your benefactor..."

"Stop it, stop it!"

Zhang Yan interrupted him, saying, "Brother Feng, if you say that again, I'm turning around and leaving."

Feng Xiaogang chuckled, but Zhang Di said solemnly, "Xiao Zhang, I still have to say thank you. I really felt like the sky was falling during that time, and if it weren't for you..."

"Sister-in-law, these are all brothers, it's only right to help each other out—besides, it's what Brother Feng deserves."

Just then, Xu Fan came out to greet them, took Chen Hong's hand affectionately, and said, "I was worried you wouldn't make it in time. It's so convenient to have a car at home."

When Feng Xiaogang saw this scene, his eyes darted around.

As the women chatted and laughed as they walked inside, he deliberately pulled Zhang Yan a few steps behind and quietly gave him a thumbs up, saying, "You're really something, kid. It's rare to see a first wife and a mistress get along like this."

"Where!"

Zhang Yan quickly distanced himself, saying, "Xu Fan and I are just ordinary friends. I did date her classmate for a few days before, and my car was smashed by that girl a while ago."

Feng Xiaogang remained unconvinced: "Really?"

"of course it's true."

"Then why didn't you come earlier..."

Feng Xiaogang stopped mid-sentence when he caught sight of his wife and daughter in front of him.

Zhang Yan glanced at him sideways, recalling how Feng Xiaogang had highly praised Xu Fan back in the "Da Sa Ba" crew, and guessed that he was probably regretting bringing his wife and daughter to the premiere.

Haha~
He was just feeling grateful to himself for his daughter's situation, but the next minute he felt that his wife and children were "in his way."

Of course, this is just Zhang Yan's guess, and it may not necessarily be true—and even if it is true, it's not his place to comment.

At this point, Feng Xiaogang changed the subject and started talking about the disintegration of SL.

The disintegration of SL occurred on December 26th, the third day after Zhang Yan returned to his hometown. Although several days have passed, it remains a hot topic.

Even inside the movie theater, you can hear many people discussing this.

According to Feng Xiaogang's insider information, there seems to be some turmoil at the top, with a considerable number of people fearing a change in the political landscape and wanting to return to the old ways.

Got~
It seems that once I get back to Tianjin, I'll have to keep writing—I wonder when I'll be able to settle down. I hope it won't take too long, otherwise "I'm Crazy for Singing" will have to be postponed until after the "Young Singers Competition".

The men talked about international affairs, while the women's topics were more down-to-earth.

Chen Hong took the initiative to share her experience of going to Hengjiang with Zhang Di and Xu Fan, and also showed them a pair of bracelets that had been passed down in the Zhang family.

Actually, saying it was passed down from generation to generation is a bit of an exaggeration. It was a rare item that Zhang Yan's grandfather found during the war years. He brought it back and gave it to Zhang Yan's grandmother, who then gave it to Zhang Yan's mother.

It has now been passed down to the third generation.

Hearing these words, Zhang Di was simply happy for Chen Hong.

Xu Fan felt a bit conflicted, but overall, she was still glad that she chose to cut her losses in time; otherwise, she would probably have ended up like Jiang Shan, with nothing to show for her efforts.

The premiere didn't even have a segment where the director and producer gave speeches; they just started playing the movie right away.

At first, Zhang Yan was a little uncomfortable seeing Ge You and Xu Fan, two familiar faces, on the big screen, but he gradually got into it.

This film is indeed well-made, and it also capitalizes on a hot topic—with the official dissolution of SL, even more people want to go abroad.

When they saw the final scene, showing himself standing guard with a sidelong glance, Zhang Yan put his arm around Feng Xiaogang's shoulder and laughed, "Brother Feng, with this movie and 'Stories from the Editorial Department,' you're probably going to have a great year next year!"

Feng Xiaogang smiled broadly, his face crinkling with wrinkles, and added earnestly, "You forgot to mention 'Idea Company'."

"Yes, and 'The Idea Company' too!"

After the movie ended, Feng Xiaogang said he had things to do and asked Zhang Yan to take Zhang Di home.

Zhang Yan always felt that Lao Feng wanted to get rid of his wife and daughter so that he could do some dirty things, but he himself was also in deep trouble, so he naturally couldn't say much.

…………

In the evening, the two did not linger in Beijing, but drove directly back to Tianjin—mainly because Chen Hong wanted to see what the villa Zhang Yan had bought was like. Although it was called a villa, the yard was not large. The two-story building had a total of five bedrooms and two living rooms. It looked very old and dusty from the outside. It was said that it was originally a property that Feng Gong's great-grandfather had purchased for a close subordinate after he stepped down as president.

However, the interior decoration and furnishings are well preserved; they could easily be used to film a period drama set in the Republican era.

Zhang Yan was able to acquire the villa this time not only because of his connections with foreigners, but also largely because of the official leniency he received. Otherwise, there would be many people in Tianjin who are interested in these old villas, and it would be difficult for an outsider to get a chance.

That night, the two slept in the master bedroom on the second floor. The mahogany frame bed and wooden floor made a creaking sound, like two spies sending Morse code.

Zhang Yan thought it was a bit of a mood killer, but Chen Hong thought it was quite romantic.

The next morning, the two went to the TV station's recording studio together—Yuanmeng Records only had a sign and no actual office space, so this recording studio was just a temporary base.

Seeing Zhang Weining sitting intently in front of the monitoring station, Zhang Yan assumed that Han Lei was recording a song again, but he didn't see Liu Weidong, who was inseparable from Han Lei.

When they got closer and looked into the recording studio, they saw that it was a woman who was recording.

This must be Tian Zhen, right?

Surprisingly, Liu Weidong is quite efficient; he's already started recording songs.

Tian Zhen, inside the recording studio, saw Zhang Yan and Chen Hong outside, but did not stop singing. Zhang Weining, who was completely focused on the recording and wearing headphones, did not notice anyone coming.

After Tian Zhen finished singing, Zhang Weining excitedly picked up the microphone and said, "That was fantastic! Your voice is truly unique. I could listen to it countless times and still not get enough. It's simply..."

Inside, Tian Zhen pointed behind him, and Zhang Weining realized something was wrong. He turned around and saw Zhang Yan and Chen Hong, his face immediately turned red, and he took off his headphones and said awkwardly, "President Zhang, why didn't you say anything when you came?"

No wonder Liu Weidong and Han Lei weren't there; they didn't want to be third wheels.

At this moment, Tian Zhen also came out from inside and looked at Chen Hong, saying, "You are Chen Hong, the female lead of 'Tianjin Wei', right? I especially love that TV series, I've watched it several times!"

The moment she opened her mouth, her voice stood out from the crowd.

A woman's voice is supposed to be gentle and melodious to be pleasant to listen to, but her voice is unconventional and particularly captivating.

Zhang Yan quickly introduced, "This is Ms. Tian Zhentian. She was specially invited by our Yuanmeng Records to compose the score for that movie, Guan Hu—can you call that a score?"

The last question was directed at Zhang Weining.

Zhang Weining scratched his head and said, "I can't say for sure, but it's true that I sang for the film crew."

After a pause, he looked at Zhang Yan with hope and said, "Mr. Zhang, I think Tian Zhen is fully capable of participating in 'I Am a Singer,' and even has the ability to win first place."

This guy is clearly hooked, but if Tian Zhen wins the championship, then Han Hong...

Wouldn't that be more likely to garner sympathy points?

Zhang Yan thought for a moment and then asked Tian Zhen, "What does Miss Tian think?"

There's no rush to decide who wins the championship; first, we need to determine whether Tian Zhen will participate.

Tian Zhen countered, "If I participated, would you be willing to write songs for me?"

"of course……"

"Of course, you only get these benefits if you join Dream Records."

Luckily, Zhang Yan spoke quickly, otherwise Zhang Weining would have rushed to agree.

This tech expert certainly lacks emotional intelligence, though he might also be infatuated.

When Tian Zhen heard that he needed to join Yuanmeng Records to get Zhang Yan to mobilize resources to tailor-make a new song for him, he hesitated somewhat.

Zhang Yan didn't rush him; after all, you can't force someone to buy something.

He turned to the absent-minded Zhang Weining and said, "Brother Weining, could you please give Chen Hong a voice test? Just in case the song we receive isn't suitable."

When work was mentioned, Zhang Weining finally focused his attention and had Chen Hong select three songs of different styles to begin the sound monitoring test.

At this point, Tian Zhen took the initiative to ask, "When will your 'I'm Crazy for Singing' competition start?"

"Is this it?"

Zhang Yan said helplessly, "It was originally scheduled for April, but whether it can be held as planned now depends on when this recent mess will pass."

He truly felt powerless to change the overall environment.

Fortunately, it didn't take long. Just half a month after the collapse of SL, Nanxun's speech was broadcast on CCTV, and the chaotic public sentiment quickly calmed down.

After all, the main concern among the public is that they will repeat the mistakes of the past.

At the same time, Zhang Weining also suggested to Tian Zhen that they could "eat one fish in two ways"—many songs that were suitable for Han Lei could also be adapted for Tian Zhen to sing.

Adapting lyrics and music is precisely Zhang Weining's forte.

(End of this chapter)