Life in the Light and Shadow of Chinese Entertainment

February 21, 2009, was just one day away from the annual Oscars ceremony.

At this moment, Hollywood is teeming with superstars and big names, a dazzling yet cutthroat arena of fame and fortune!

Film companies, public relations firms, and even academics with voting rights have been hosting a variety of business banquets since the beginning of the new year.

All for the sake of ensuring that the films they represent achieve something at this grand gala!

Looking at the world, the three major European powers have gradually declined, while Hollywood has become increasingly prosperous.

Simply because it allows award-winning films to sell all over the world!

It not only represents prestige, but also brings unparalleled benefits.

This place brings together film and television elites of all skin colors, and of course, there are also those who try to take advantage of the situation.

A banquet was being held at a villa in Beverly Hills, with toasts and laughter filling the air.

The main characters are two young men, one of whom is the world-famous superstar Leonardo DiCaprio, and the other is an Asian youth with a roguish look and a mischievous smile.

He held a glass of champagne, a nonchalant smile on his face, and declined the poker invitations from a series of blonde beauties before walking out of the banquet hall as inconspicuously as possible.

"Phew, the air quality outside is much better!"

Wu Yang couldn't understand it at all. Both women have two shoulders and one head, so why do Chinese women smell so good?

On the contrary, these self-proclaimed noble Westerners all smelled like Xishan aged vinegar.

Especially after drinking and exercising, when blood circulation accelerates, the smell made Wu Yang want to vomit!

This situation is so bad that even a meter away would be an eyesore, let alone close contact.

Ten months have passed since Wu Yang arrived in Los Angeles last summer, and he still can't adapt.

Placing his wine glass on the balcony and leaning on the railing with both hands, Wu Yang gazed into the direction from which the waves were coming.

However, the distance was too far, and the night was too dark, so the sea was not visible at all.

Instead, under the streetlights outside the villa, a graceful figure was seen leaning against the railing of the mountain road.

His shoulders trembled under the streetlights, as if he were crying, or as if he was making some kind of decision.

Wu Yang is not a busybody, but this only happened when they were only twenty meters apart.

The figure's hair was black, and the exposed skin was very fair, unlike the fair skin of Westerners.

"Is she an Asian girl?!"

Without thinking twice, Wu Yang jumped off the one-meter-high balcony.

Ignoring the waiter's surprised gaze, she quickly ran out of the villa gate and saw the beautiful figure who had been lying down just moments before now propping herself up on her arms.

As if preparing for takeoff, Wu Yang shouted, "Girl, don't be impulsive!"

Before she could react, he crossed the four-meter-wide mountain path and grabbed her arm.

Liu Yifei had just had a fight with her mother, Liu Xiaoli, at home and went out to clear her head.

As I walked over, I heard the conversation of the waiters at the door and the noise inside the villa. Thinking that tomorrow was the Oscars, I immediately thought of myself, who had semi-retired from the entertainment industry.

In an instant, the conflicts within her family and the low point in her career erupted, and she couldn't help but lean on the railing and cry.

Having been in the Chinese entertainment industry for many years, Liu Yifei has witnessed all sorts of cutthroat competition and possesses top-notch self-regulation skills.

It only took ten minutes to go from sadness to calm.

Just as she was about to get up and go home, a loud shout startled her.

Fortunately, this is Beverly Hills, a safe neighborhood; fortunately, that wasn't a robbery.

Because her whole body was frozen, and with the streetlights shining on her, Wu Yang couldn't see what she looked like for a moment.

Thinking she might not understand Chinese, he said in English, "Don't do anything rash. Jumping from here will most likely not kill you, but you'll probably be seriously injured!"

He didn't let go of her hand while he was talking; instead, he pulled her to the curb.

Upon realizing that she hadn't encountered any bad people, Liu Yifei turned around and met Wu Yang's gaze.

"It's you!" they both said at the same time.

Liu Yifei was born in Wuhan on August 25, 1987. She entered the Beijing Film Academy at the age of 15 as an international student. She is 170 cm tall and weighs about 100 kg. She debuted in the same year as the second female lead in "The Story of a Noble Family". She later played the female lead Wang Yuyan in "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils". With the title of "Fairy Sister", she became the white moonlight of the post-80s and post-90s generation in China.

At 17, she played the female lead Zhao Ling'er in "Chinese Paladin" and at 18, she played the female lead Xiaolongnu in "The Return of the Condor Heroes", officially stepping into the ranks of first-tier actresses.

She started strong, quickly rising to the top and establishing herself as a popular queen in the Chinese entertainment industry. However, her foray into the big screen led to her downfall.

Especially due to her mother's questionable actions, she was blacklisted by the Beijing entertainment circle last year, making it difficult for her to make a living in the domestic entertainment industry, and she is now in a situation where she has no roles to play.

This is the information that came to Wu Yang's mind after he saw her, Liu Yifei.

……

Wu Yang was born in Jingzhou on May 21, 1986. He was admitted to the Directing Department of Beijing Film Academy at the age of 18. He is 182 cm tall and weighs about 140 kg. After graduating, he went to the United States to pursue his dream in May last year. Just three months after arriving in the United States, he received investment from Leonardo DiCaprio for the script "Buried" and also played the male lead for free.

The film reportedly had a total budget of only $2000 million, with $400 million spent on production and a staggering $1600 million on publicity and public relations, as it was intended to be a contender for the Academy Award for Best Actor.

One month of preparation, one month of filming, one month of post-production, followed by a limited release and announcement of its participation in the 2009 Oscars.

After more than three months of build-up and strong public relations capabilities, it has already received nominations for three major awards at this year's Oscars: Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Actor.

The talk of Leonardo DiCaprio winning the Oscar has been rampant in Hollywood.

This is the information that came to Liu Yifei's mind after seeing Wu Yang.

The two looked somewhat surprised, but under the streetlights, the scene also appeared romantic and beautiful.

……

"It seems I misunderstood?"

Wu Yang awkwardly withdrew his hand, wishing he could dig out a three-bedroom apartment with his feet so he could hide there.

Despite Liu Yifei's refusal to compromise her principles and her current struggles to survive in the entertainment industry, her total income since her debut is at least in the hundreds of millions.

With that kind of wealth, unless they're suffering from depression due to boredom, how could they possibly commit suicide?!

"I have to say, you have a pretty strong grip."

Liu Yifei, with her peculiar thought process, didn't pay attention to Wu Yang's motives, but instead looked at the red mark on her arm.

Four finger marks were clearly visible on her slender, fair arms, and a smooth path could be seen through the sleeveless dress.

"A flat chest doesn't necessarily mean you're no good!"

This sentence suddenly appeared in Wu Yang's mind.

"What are you looking at?"

When someone focuses on a certain part of a body for more than three seconds, the owner of that part can sense it.

Whether this statement is correct or not is unknown, but Wu Yang is facing the embarrassing situation of dying in the company again.

To change the subject, Wu Yang extended her hand: "I'm Wu Yang, nice to meet you."

"The topic shift was a bit abrupt," Liu Yifei complained.

However, she still extended her fair little hand and gave Wu Yang a light handshake.