Huayu Entertainment: Starting with Exorcising Evil from a Film Queen

At this moment, Zhang Ze had just returned to his rented room.

It was already late at night when I hung up Hu Ge's call. Auditions, air conditioning, and rushing around meant that even if I slept for a while on the plane, it was just a drop in the ocean.

Exhausted from the whole day, he didn't even have the energy to wash up and collapsed onto the bed.

As soon as he lay down, a pair of soft arms wrapped around him from the side and then slowly reached down.

"You're back?"

It's Zhao Liying.

Zhang Ze was surprised that she wasn't sleeping in her room and asked, somewhat taken aback, "Did I wake you up because I came back too late?"

Zhao Liying's voice carried a hint of a laugh, "No, you've come back just in time..."

Next, everything became enchanting, and the room was filled with splendor.

After a long while, Zhang Ze lay sprawled on the bed, feeling the weakness of his body being completely drained.

Although Zhao Liying, who was standing next to her, was also weak and flushed, she forced herself to sit up, struck a victorious pose, and announced triumphantly.

"Little Zhang Ze, easily defeated!"

Zhang Ze felt a surge of grief and indignation welling up inside him.

I should have known better than to try and help Hugo!

It's made my sex life unsettled!

How could this girl be so arrogant and domineering in front of me!

No!

This dish absolutely needs further improvement!

We absolutely must make a killing with this reputation!

She needs to understand who's the boss in this family!

……

In the following days, Zhang Ze vigorously revitalized the family tradition.

Zhao Liying's shouts changed from "Little Zhang Ze, easy to take down" to "Daddy, I was wrong" with a sob in her voice.

This solidified Zhang Ze's position as the emperor of the family, but the aftereffects of transferring that wisp of pure energy to Hu Ge could not be recovered in just a few days.

He decided to temporarily stop going out to work as an extra and stay at home to rest and recuperate.

A few days later, "The Dream of the Past" officially premiered on Beijing Satellite TV during prime time.

As a period drama and Chen Kun's return to television after many years, the show's ratings soared right from its premiere, easily surpassing 1%.

Zhang Ze didn't pay much attention to this matter, after all, he didn't have many scenes and was just a supporting character who appeared in only a few episodes, so he couldn't cause any trouble.

He's currently figuring out when the "Chinese Paladin 3" production team will officially start filming, and also figuring out how to invest his money to maximize profits.

08 was not only the year when the entertainment industry began to fully prosper, but also a year in which many industries made great strides and developed rapidly.

Zhang Ze had a lot of potential opportunities in mind. As long as he could firmly grasp one of them, he would be set for life even if he just lay down and did nothing.

However, Zhang Ze hadn't decided what to do with it yet, since he had limited money and couldn't afford to squander it.

However, to Zhang Ze's surprise, the TV series he didn't care about caused a huge uproar online, and the online sentiment began to develop in a direction he had never anticipated.

Initially, the focus of discussion on various forums and online communities was on Chen Kun's acting skills and the plot.

However, as the plot progresses and Lu Tianen grows up, the style of the story changes drastically when the butler, Uncle Fu, who has always been by his side and is like a father and brother to him, appears.

"Holy crap! Isn't this butler way too handsome?"

"Where did the director find this actor? His appearance and demeanor are so convincing; I'd believe he was a noble young master from the Republican era!"

In the drama, Zhang Ze plays Uncle Fu, who kneels on the ground and begs desperately to dissuade his unruly young master. The sadness and helplessness in his eyes are almost overflowing from the screen.

But the audience's attention was completely diverted.

Logically speaking, such roles are usually played by actors who have a kind or honest appearance or are older.

Even if the makeup artist tries their best to make Zhang Ze look older and uses hair gel to make his hair look perfectly styled, they still can't hide his handsome features.

"It's so distracting! Looking at that face, I just can't see him as a servant!"

"I hereby declare that, from today onwards, this is the pinnacle of butler aesthetics in my mind!"

The topic of "the most handsome butler in history" spread rapidly across various online platforms without warning, quickly becoming the top headline on forums and message boards.

Countless viewers who were captivated by this supporting character flooded in, creating a frenzy of comments, all trying to find out who the actor was.

"No such person can be found! There's only one name on the cast list, Zhang Ze, but all the results are from other entrepreneurs with the same name!"

"This actor looks so handsome even when he's dressed as an old man, what kind of god-like beauty must he have without makeup?"

Zhang Ze never expected that his minor role, which only appeared in a few episodes, would cause such a stir.

Just as he was considering whether to invest his money in the stock market and reap the benefits from the rise in the stock price of Guojiu (a famous Chinese liquor brand),

Suddenly, a series of prompts appeared in my mind.

[Reputation +1]

[Reputation +1]

[Reputation +2]

……

He hurriedly opened his reputation panel.

The numbers above were jumping wildly at an unprecedented speed.

Name: Zhang Ze

Age: 20

[Cultivation Level: Refining Essence into Qi (16/100)]

[Acting Skills: Beginner (52/100)]

[Reputation: 66]

In just a few minutes, his reputation skyrocketed by 66 points!

Zhang Ze's heart skipped a beat.

He had worked so hard to tell fortunes for people like Zhou Xun, Yang Mi, and Li Xiaoran, creating personas and engaging in metaphysics, only to accumulate a little bit of fame after all that effort.

The result of filming one movie was surprisingly immediate.

Indeed, becoming a celebrity is the fastest way to gain fame.

Before he could recover from this huge surprise, his phone rang.

It's Zhao Liying.

"Zhang Ze! You're famous! You're really famous!"

As soon as the call connected, Zhao Liying's excited, somewhat incoherent voice came through, so loud it almost pierced Zhang Ze's eardrums.

"Everyone on our set is talking about you! They're all asking who that outrageously handsome butler from 'The Dream of the Red Chamber' is!"

Zhang Ze could imagine her dancing with joy at that moment, and he couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"They all said that this actor definitely wasn't from Hengdian, otherwise they would have discovered it long ago with their sharp eyes!" Zhao Liying said, lowering her voice and letting out a snicker.

"Luckily they didn't recognize you. Otherwise, if they knew that the handsome guy everyone's been searching for online was bringing me food every day, they'd go crazy!"

His tone was full of undisguised boasting and pride.

Zhang Ze felt a warmth in his heart.

"Alright, keep it low-key."

"I finished work early today, let's go out and celebrate!" Zhao Liying suggested excitedly, "I also have a surprise for you!"

"Okay, I'll wait," Zhang Ze readily agreed.

Not long after I hung up, Yang Mi called again.

"Wow, Zhang Ze, you've kept it well hidden!" Yang Mi exclaimed excitedly. "You've quietly created a huge scandal, and now the internet is full of photos of your character."

"See? I told you you'd be famous!"

"By the way, I'll add you to a group chat. Hu Ge, Tangtang, and the others are in there. You can chat with them when you have time."

"OK."

After chatting with Yang Mi for a few minutes and hanging up, Zhang Ze's phone vibrated again; it was a call from actress Zhou Xun.

Zhang Ze was somewhat surprised. Since meeting Zhou Xun, the two had not been in contact. He thought that the movie star had long forgotten about him, a nobody on the street, but he didn't expect her to call him today!

The actress's phone call sounded much more composed.

"Zhang Ze, congratulations."

Zhou Xun's voice carried a hint of amusement, "I watched 'The Dream of the Red Chamber,' and you acted very well."

"Sister Xun, you're too kind. I'm just a nobody."

"Small roles are where true skill is tested."

Zhou Xun changed the subject, "I still want to thank you for what happened last time."

"I've been thinking about how to repay this kindness, and now I have an opportunity."

Zhang Ze's heart skipped a beat.

"I'm going to be making a movie called 'The Message,' co-directed by director Chen Fuguo and director Gao Qunshu. I recommended you to the director; he saw your trailer and was very interested, so he reserved an audition spot for you."