Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 147 First Meeting with Zhang Yimou

[There's a funeral going on, so we'll be at 2 AM.]

Zhang Yan didn't respond to that, not because he was scared, but mainly because he wanted to take Chen Hong back to Beijing to help prepare for Yu Hua's wedding. Even if he wanted to discipline Wang Luyao, that would be something to do after they got back.

Perhaps it was because Zhang Yan dragged her to shoot an advertisement that Yu Hua's situation after moving to Beijing was not so difficult, and she did not fall into the situation of living off a woman.

So the wedding, which was supposed to take place in the fall, was postponed until early winter.

Before attending the wedding, Zhang Yan went to the port to pick up his newly purchased eighth-generation Crown.

This car would cost over 60 yuan to import legally, and over 30 yuan for a grey market import. But Zhang Yan's car was seized by customs, and he was given special approval. Including the registration, he only paid 20 yuan.

This can be considered a form of indirect reward.

It went from a three-cylinder engine to a six-cylinder engine, from a 3.6-meter length to a 4.8-meter length, and it can even reach 100 mph with the air conditioning on. It feels like a complete upgrade.

If Zhang Yan hadn't promised to make a wedding car for Yu Hua, he would have loved to drag Chen Hong along to experience the velvet interior of the back seat first.

The paperwork took up most of the day.

When the two arrived in Beijing, the entrance to Yu Hua's rented house was already packed with guests. About half of the people from the Lu Xun Academy of Literature were there, and some even came all the way from Guangxi.

With some people bringing their families, the outdoor tents were completely filled by these people alone.

Zhang Yan parked his car on the side of the road, and Yu Hua, who had already heard the news, came out to greet him. After circling the new car, Yu Hua exclaimed in surprise, "Isn't this a bit too high-profile?"

"Then I'll drive back and exchange it for a Xiali."

Zhang Yan pretended to climb back into the car, but Mo Yan grabbed him and pulled him back.

"No, this car is fine!"

Mo Yan touched the interior and clicked his tongue, saying, "This is enough to buy a two-courtyard old house, right? If it were me, I would want to live in it every day."

Zhang Yan had met Mo Yan a few times before, but he was not nearly as familiar with her as he was with Yu Hua.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with Mo Yan, Zhang Yan continued, "I've also arranged the other wedding cars. Including this one, we've got a total of six: two Santanas, two Jettas, and a white Xiali."

These days, having a wedding car is already a blessing; most people don't bother with anything that's all the same color.

The Xiali is Chen Daoming's car, while the other four were borrowed from singers—these people make money quickly and spend it generously, and they basically buy a car to get around once they become famous.

As they were talking, Chen Hong suddenly tugged at Zhang Yan and pointed excitedly at the roadside, saying, "Isn't that Zhang Yimou and Gong Li!"

Mo Yan also noticed Zhang Yimou at this moment, and his eyes lit up immediately. He nudged Yu Hua and said, "Yu Hua, we've finally got some work!"

Yu Hua then realized that he had no connection with Zhang Yimou. The only thing that had gotten Zhang Yimou to come to him was the recently published novel "To Live".

He rubbed his hands vigorously on his pants, and was about to go forward when Mo Yan stopped him.

"What's the rush? Don't you know about being reserved? Be reserved!"

As Mo Yan spoke, he secretly made a gesture as if he were counting money.

Yu Hua took a deep breath and, although he still went to meet them, his pace had slowed down considerably—he himself might have thought this was composure, but in the eyes of others, he looked like a mechanical puppet.

As someone who knew both parties, Mo Yan also went over.

Zhang Yan stayed where he was, turned to Chen Hong with a smile and asked, "You were so excited just now, I thought you were going to go up and ask for an autograph."

Chen Hong rolled her eyes at him and said, "I just admire Gong Li's achievements, not idolize her—besides, since she's here, can we choose anyone else for the female lead in 'To Live'?"

Zhang Yan was actually referring to Zhang Yimou, but Chen Hong had already realized that her excitement just now might make Zhang Yan jealous, so she only talked about Gong Li and didn't mention Zhang Yimou at all.

At this moment, Gong Li also noticed Chen Hong.

She immediately left Zhang Yimou, who was exchanging pleasantries with Yu Hua, and walked over, extending her hand and saying, "I didn't expect to see a colleague here."

"you know me?"

Chen Hong subconsciously asked back, "Hehe, I have seen 'Tianjin Wei'."

As Gong Li spoke, she turned her gaze to Zhang Yan: "This must be Zhang Yan, the screenwriter of 'Tianjin Wei'—Yu Juan and Jiang Wen have mentioned you quite a bit."

"Let's leave Sister Yujuan alone."

Zhang Yan chuckled and said, "Jiang Wen probably scolded me quite a bit, didn't she?"

According to Feng Xiaogang, when Jiang Wen saw the scene in the complete script where she was having sex with a black woman, she cursed "Holy shit!" several times on the spot.

Gong Li laughed upon hearing this and said, "Actually, I think the version about the 'rise of a Chinese godfather' is more interesting—it can't be filmed in mainland China, but it should be fine in Hong Kong."

Teacher Zhang should really consider TVB's invitation; at least there are fewer restrictions there, allowing you to fully utilize your talent and imagination.

"It's not necessary."

Before Zhang Yan could speak, Chen Hong preemptively refused, saying, "We are also developing very well now. Zhang Yan's Dream Records has already become one of the top record companies in China in just six months."

She rarely oversteps her bounds like this when she's out in public.

But in front of Gong Li, Chen Hong seemed to become inexplicably more aggressive and could not tolerate the slightest bit of disrespect from her.

"Dream Records?"

Gong Li frowned slightly and said, "I feel like I've heard this name somewhere before."

She didn't really care about Chen Hong's inexplicable hostility. After all, since becoming Zhang Yimou's leading lady, she had long been used to similar situations.

Chen Hong then boasted, "The popular show 'I Am a Singer' was a program co-produced by our company and Tianjin TV!"

"Ah, so you guys were the ones who came up with 'I'm Crazy for Singing'?!"

Gong Li was genuinely surprised. It's not unusual for writers to cross over into film, television, and music; there are many such examples in both Hong Kong and mainland China.

But Zhang Yan is so young, yet he has already built a nationally renowned record company by his own hands. This achievement is probably no less than that of those legendary geniuses.

At this moment, Zhang Yimou, Yu Hua, and Mo Yan also came over.

Yu Hua introduced Zhang Yanhou to Zhang Yimou, and Zhang Yimou's first reaction was: "You are the screenwriter and producer of 'Hair Messed Up'?"

"what?"

Zhang Yan asked in surprise, "How did Director Zhang know about this film?"

“Some people said they saw something new inside, so I went to check it out myself—young people’s perspectives are indeed quite different from ours.”

Zhang Yimou shook his head slightly as he spoke, it was unclear whether he was sighing or expressing his disagreement with Guan Hu.

Because he hadn't expected Yu Hua to be getting married in the next couple of days, Zhang Yimou simply gave a small gift, then agreed to discuss things in more detail in a few days before leaving with Gong Li.

Chen Hong watched the two of them get into the car before whispering, "Don't you think there's something off between them?"

"Have it?"

Zhang Yan joked, "I think you're acting a bit strange today. You're like a little hedgehog with its fur standing on end in front of Gong Li."

"No way!"

Chen Hong first denied it, then sighed and said, "It's probably because any actress with a bit of ambition would subconsciously see Gong Li as a competitor."

EMMM……

In Zhang Yan's view, Chen Hong and Gong Li are not on the same track at all, and there is no competition between them.

However, these words were a bit hurtful, so Zhang Yan ultimately chose to keep quiet.

(End of this chapter)