The Rise of Chinese Entertainment in 2008

"I have to go back to the capital tonight, let's meet up," Gu Ning said.

"I'm not in Beijing..."

"I know where you live. I'll send you the address when I get back to Beijing. If you don't come, I'll come to your house to find you." Gu Ning hung up the phone after saying that.

Inside one of the villas in a high-end villa district in Beijing, Liu Yifei, hearing the busy tone on her phone, angrily threw the cushion she was holding onto the sofa.

"He's a complete scoundrel!"

Meow~

A black cat was fast asleep on the sofa when it was startled awake by a cushion. It sat up abruptly, and seeing that nothing seemed amiss, meowed at its owner as if to ask, "What's going on?"

But its owner was in a state of confusion and had no time to pay attention to it.

Liu Yifei picked up another cushion, hugged it to her chest, curled her legs up on the sofa, and rested her chin on the cushion, lost in thought.

After returning from Tianjin, she resolved to forget what had happened before.

Therefore, she didn't answer Gu Ning's calls or reply to his text messages.

Upon learning that Gu Ning had offended someone and that the film might be affected, she couldn't help but call Gu Ning again.

The thought of Gu Ning coming to see her filled her with panic.

…………

Around 4 PM, Gu Ning announced that work was done, gave some instructions, and drove back to Beijing.

Tianjin is not far from Beijing, only a little over 100 kilometers in total, and it took just over an hour to get back to Beijing.

Upon entering the city, Gu Ning drove directly to the vicinity of Liu Yifei's villa area and sent her a text message.

Then I listened to music and waited.

Inside the villa, Liu Yifei, who had already tidied up, took a deep breath after receiving the text message, put on a mask and hat, and went out.

As she left the residential area, she looked around and saw a car driving by.

The car stopped beside her, the window rolled down, and Gu Ning said, "Get in."

Liu Yifei opened the car door and got in. Gu Ning started the car after the door closed.

"I…"

"How much does a villa in this neighborhood cost now?"

Just as Liu Yifei took off her mask and was about to speak, Gu Ning asked.

She struggled with the decision all day before finally deciding to talk things out with Gu Ning.

After getting in the car, she was about to speak, but Gu Ning interrupted her. She tried to speak several times, but never managed to say anything.

"I haven't paid attention to that."

After Liu Yifei finished speaking, she turned her head to look out the window.

Gu Ning smiled but didn't say anything, focusing on driving.

The car came to a side road with little traffic, slowed down, and stopped at the side of the road.

"We haven't arrived yet!"

As soon as the car came to a stop, Liu Yifei unbuckled her seatbelt and was about to get out when Gu Ning quickly said something.

Upon hearing this, Liu Yifei turned to look at Gu Ning, only to see Gu Ning leaning over, which startled her.

Gu Ning reached out and cupped her neck, then kissed her.

Liu Yifei knew this was wrong, but when their lips touched, the instinct formed from their many previous kisses made her instinctively cooperate.

After a long while, their lips parted, and Gu Ning gently stroked her smooth cheek with his thumb. Looking into her slightly dazed eyes, he smiled and said, "Masks and baseball caps are your natural defenses, but you take them off when you're alone with me, which means your body, and even your heart, don't reject me."

Upon hearing this, Liu Yifei regained her senses, pushed Gu Ning away, avoided his gaze, and said, "What exactly do you want?"

"I don't want to do anything, but you can't hide from me!" Gu Ning said, reaching out and taking her hand.

"Do you want to turn this into a real relationship?" Liu Yifei asked Gu Ning.

Gu Ning said, "I'm fine with continuing to act with you, or even turning this fake relationship into a real one, as long as you don't avoid me."

Liu Yifei took a deep breath and resisted the urge to slap him.

Although she wasn't sure if she liked Gu Ning, they had done everything they could.

If Gu Ning confessed his feelings to her, she would be willing to try dating him.

The reason she avoided Gu Ning was not only because she wanted to calm down, but also because Gu Ning never defined their relationship in the text messages he sent her.

Given what she just said, normally Gu Ning should confess his feelings to her.

But let's see what Gu Ning is saying.

I'd be happy to play along with her, or even make it real.

It's almost as if they're saying it outright: whoever wants her, the relationship between the two of them doesn't matter.

"Don't be angry, it's just a joke."

Gu Ning raised her hand, kissed the back of it, and said, "Comrade Liu Yifei, would you like to be my girlfriend?"

Liu Yifei was initially a little angry, but upon hearing his words, she couldn't help but laugh.

She grew up abroad, but after returning to China, she also read some novels about that special period.

The term "comrade" sounds so dated.

"Comrade Liu Yifei, this is a very serious matter. Please take it seriously," Gu Ning said with a stern face.

Liu Yifei's smile vanished, replaced by a blank expression. "You're a director, aren't you? Is this how you film a confession scene?"

At this time, she was not yet Fat Fairy, and her expressionless face was aloof.

But when paired with her words, she gives off a charmingly naive vibe.

Upon hearing this, Gu Ning turned around, picked up a bouquet of roses from the back seat, and said, "Is this alright?"

Liu Yifei looked at the roses in front of her, hesitated, and then accepted them.

"That's not enough."

"clear."

As Gu Ning spoke, she bent down.

"What are you doing? I haven't agreed yet!"

Liu Yifei thought Gu Ning was going to kiss her, so she quickly raised a rose and stood between the two of them.

Gu Ning pulled over the seatbelt and smiled, "I'm just buckling your seatbelt."

Upon hearing this, Liu Yifei put down the roses and let Gu Ning fasten her seatbelt.

*Smack!*

Gu Ning fastened his seatbelt, leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, then started the car amidst Liu Yifei's playful scolding.

"You offended Director Lu Chuan, are you really okay?" Liu Yifei asked.

"fine."

Gu Ning said casually, "The entertainment industry is a place of fame and fortune, and interests come before fame. As long as I don't offend someone who can control everything in the industry, and I can bring benefits to others, none of this matters."

Upon hearing this, Liu Yifei seemed to be deep in thought, realizing it reflected on her own problem.

Hua Yi couldn't control everything in the industry, but after she was blacklisted, she lost all her resources.

After being selected as one of the Four Little Actresses, her mother was very excited. After returning to Beijing, she accepted many interviews under her mother's arrangement.

Her mother thought this would break Huayi's blacklist, but to her surprise, she still didn't receive any film or television offers.

Is it because I can't bring benefits to others?

"Are you thinking about being blacklisted?" Gu Ning asked.

"You know?"

Liu Yifei asked in surprise, "Since you knew that, why did you dare to use me before?"

She had previously thought Gu Ning was a new director and was unaware of this.

After all, Huayi Brothers did not publicly announce their ban on her.

"Who in the industry doesn't know about this?"

Gu Ning said, "Previously, Mr. Wang from Huayi contacted me and told me not to hire you."

Gu Ning wasn't lying about this; at the previous celebration banquet, both of Huayi's CEOs, surnamed Wang, had asked him to exchange contact information.

After the celebration banquet, Xiao Wang arranged to meet him once.