The Rise of Chinese Entertainment in 2008

"Knock knock knock!"

Gu Ning knocked on Shu Chang's door, and after a short while, Shu Chang opened the door.

Because there was heating in her home, Shu Chang was only wearing a black printed sweatshirt and jeans, with her hair down and no makeup.

"etc!"

She closed the door and saw Gu Ning walking inside. She called out to him, opened the shoe cabinet, took out a pair of men's slippers, and placed them in front of Gu Ning.

"Did you buy this especially for me?" Gu Ning asked with a smile.

"These were worn by my uncle before. If you don't like them, that's fine," Shu Chang said, preparing to put the slippers away.

"I don't mind."

Gu Ning quickly took off her shoes and put on slippers.

Although Shu Chang said that her uncle had worn them, the slippers were clearly new, and she could feel that they hadn't been worn by anyone when she put them on.

Shu Chang took Gu Ning's shoes and put them in the shoe cabinet, then hugged her from behind.

"Release yourself!" Shu Chang said coldly.

Gu Ning didn't say anything, but leaned in and kissed her neck.

…………

Half an hour later, Gu Ning turned to look at Shu Chang in his arms and said, "I'm going to Tianjin tomorrow to check out the filming locations. Will you come with me?"

Upon hearing this, Shu Chang looked up at Gu Ning, her tone resolute, and said, "I've said it before, I have no plans to find a boyfriend, let alone consider marriage!"

"Okay, okay, okay."

Gu Ning said, "From now on, in front of outsiders, we'll be just ordinary friends, okay?"

Upon hearing this, Shu Chang lowered her head, leaned against Gu Ning's chest, and tightened her grip on his arm, tacitly accepting this way of getting along.

Gu Ning gently stroked her smooth back and said, "How about signing a contract? How about signing with my company?"

"My aunt doesn't agree," Shu Chang said, shaking her head.

"Then let's do it first and tell her later. After you sign the contract, tell her. That way, the matter will be settled, and she can't say anything," Gu Ning said.

He didn't tell Shu Chang that her aunt had a problem. Shu Chang was very vulnerable right now, and he might not be as important to her as her aunt. Telling her would only make her resentful.

When it was discovered that Shu Chang, this cash cow, was showing signs of slipping out of control, her aunt would naturally start to reveal her true colors.

Shu Chang hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "Okay!"

"Then you should take a good rest these few days. Filming will officially start soon," Gu Ning said.

Upon hearing this, Shu Chang hesitated for a moment before saying, "Are you hungry? I'll go cook for you."

"Go take a shower first, then we'll do it together."

As Gu Ning spoke, he threw off the covers and got out of bed. Amid Shu Chang's gasp, he picked her up and carried her toward the bathroom.

Shu Chang's apartment is about 160 square meters and has only two bedrooms and a study.

The master bedroom has a small walk-in closet and a bathroom of about ten square meters.

Shu Chang knows how to enjoy life; there's a white porcelain round bathtub in the bathroom.

It's a bit small, though; it's a little cramped for two people to move around in the bath.

…………

An hour later, Gu Ning and Shu Chang sat at the dining table eating noodles.

After finishing the meal, Gu Ning offered to wash the dishes, since Shu Chang still had an injury on her hand.

Shu Chang followed Gu Ning into the kitchen, and seeing her busy at work, asked, "Are you leaving later?"

"I don't have anything to do today, so I'll just stay here with you," Gu Ning said.

Shu Chang didn't speak upon hearing this, but a hint of joy unconsciously flashed in her eyes.

She opened the refrigerator and took out some fruit.

"Leave it there, I'll wash it."

"No need, I'll just cut up a fruit platter and eat it while watching TV. It'll be fine if I'm careful."

Shu Chang deftly cut a fruit platter and took it out.

When Gu Ning finished cleaning up the kitchen and came to the living room, she saw that in addition to the fruit plate, there were also some snacks on the table.

He sat down next to Shu Chang, put his arm around her, and leaned back.

Shu Chang obediently leaned against him and shifted to find a comfortable position.

"Have you seen Tencent's poll to select post-80s stars?" Gu Ning asked.

Shu Chang shook her head and said, "I don't care about that, and besides, what Consort Yi said can't be taken seriously, it's meaningless."

"no the same."

Gu Ning said, "This has a significant impact; the central media might even report on it."

Although this selection was spearheaded by Tencent, it gained widespread recognition precisely because of the coverage by state media.

Unlike some of the later online nominations, these were not officially recognized.

Gu Ning felt that Yang Mi and Wang Luodan were both lacking in this year's selection of the four most popular actresses.

Neither of them has many works. Yang Mi's most popular work so far is Chinese Paladin 3, while Wang Luodan's is Struggle.

Shu Chang's starring role in "Magic Phone" was the top-rated TV show last year.

From this point of view alone, Shu Chang is actually stronger than the other two.

If we give her a push, she might have a chance to get a spot.

Shu Chang sat up and looked at Gu Ning earnestly, saying, "You don't need to do anything for me. It's fine as it is."

She didn't know what she was feeling right now, but she wasn't averse to Gu Ning.

However, her childhood experiences made her unwilling to face relationship issues.

She also didn't want Gu Ning to be nice to her, afraid that she would fall for him.

Gu Ning looked at her for a moment, then reached out and put his arm around her, saying, "Okay!"

Shu Chang reached out and took a bag of potato chips, opened it, leaned against Gu Ning, ate a chip herself, and then fed another chip to Gu Ning.

The two acted like a couple, embracing each other while watching TV, eating snacks, and chatting naturally.

Gu Ning didn't leave that night, and it wasn't until the next morning that she left with Shu Chang seeing her off.

Shu Chang, like a virtuous wife seeing her husband off, straightened Gu Ning's clothes.

Then he picked up a key and put it in Gu Ning's pocket.

"Consort Yi sometimes comes to visit me. If you're planning to come in the future, please send me a message in advance."

Gu Ning lowered his head and kissed her, and Shu Chang looked up in response.

After a long silence, Shu Chang said, "Let's go quickly, or we'll be late."

"Um."

Gu Ning touched her face, opened the door, and walked out.

…………

Gu Ning drove to the train station, took the train to Tianjin, and Fan Chunxi personally drove to the station to pick him up.

"Director Gu, shall we go get something to eat first?" Fan Chunxi asked.

"We still have time, so take me to see the place we've chosen first. We can grab a bite to eat on the way," Gu Ning said.

He's short on money right now, so making the movie as soon as possible is the best way to make money.

Gu Ning spent two days checking out all the filming locations.

Most were satisfied, with only a few requiring reselection.

With the location confirmed, Gu Ning sent the crew to Tianjin to inform Liu Yang to contact the actors to join the production.

Meanwhile, he was busy directing the setup of a great stage for the sound.

On March 25, the crew arrived in Tianjin first, and the actors arrived one after another the following day.

That evening, Gu Ning gathered all the actors at the hotel booked by the film crew for a script reading.

Gu Ning first had the actors introduce themselves and the roles they played.

"Shu Chang".

Gu Ning looked at Shu Chang and said, "You won't be in any scenes at the beginning, but you'll need to follow Teacher Gui Yalei these days and learn her mannerisms and speech in the plays."

"Don't worry, Director Gu, I will study hard."

Shu Chang stood up and agreed, then bowed to Gui Yalei and said, "Thank you for your help, Teacher Gui."

Gui Yalei smiled and said, "What trouble or not, it's all for acting. I've seen your performances, your acting skills are fine, you'll definitely do a good job."

After the two sat down, Gu Ning asked them to talk about their understanding of the characters.

This is important because a script ultimately remains only on paper, and there will inevitably be some illogical parts.

When actors understand a character, they are better able to discover some of the character's problems.

As long as it's reasonable, adjustments will be made in time before shooting to avoid wasting time during the shooting process.

This isn't really a change to the script; it's more like an optimization.