1991: The Era of Hong Kong Dramas

Six o'clock in the afternoon.

"The Great Era" has been rehearsed countless times. The script for the promotion segment and the Q&A session were sent back for revision by the variety show's scriptwriting team. The script was revised and reviewed again.

After going back and forth, Huo Sheng had memorized the rhetoric of "stock market turmoil and family feuds" better than he could a multiplication table.

And that's not all. After the actors put on their makeup and hair, they rehearsed again. It was a repetitive, tedious but necessary process.

Because I was going to be barefoot, I checked my socks three times to make sure they had no holes.

Only when everything is absolutely safe can one think about eating.

Huo Sheng didn't have much of an appetite, so he ate only about half of what he wanted and then strolled back.

At this point, everyone from TVB had come out. The backstage area was in chaos, with staff rushing back and forth in the corridors.

Many artists of lower status gathered in the lounge waiting for their turn.

These people originally had nothing to do with Huo Sheng, but now he is preparing to start a new movie. Sammi Cheng played the intern lawyer Fang Jiaqi in the original "The File of Justice", but now the timeline is messed up, and she is busy filming "Flying Tiger Elite".

Huo Sheng could only pick other cheaper actors here.

For example, Jessica Hsuan, who just signed a contract, or Zhao Xueer...

"Why?"

Just as I was looking, a tall, slender figure suddenly appeared right under my nose.

Today, Faye Wong wore a white dress, her lips bright red, dressed like a typical Hong Kong girl. She tilted her head, her straight black hair hanging down, and said with a half-smile, "How come I always run into you here?"

"That's so strange," Huo Sheng retorted. "I work at TVB."

"Aren't you filming a movie?"

"Today I'm helping to promote 'The Greed of Man'."

"oh."

Faye Wong smiled and said, "I'm here to promote my album too."

"Work hard." Huo Sheng nodded seriously. "The more you sell, the more I earn."

"Alright!"

Wang Fei, hearing his capitalist attitude, turned her back on him and ignored him.

Huo Sheng chuckled, glancing around. "Why aren't you in the lounge? Why are you wandering around outside?"

"I didn't just wander around aimlessly."

Wang Fei casually pointed down with one finger, "This is my waiting spot."

Huo Sheng glanced behind her; there was only a lone pillar behind her, with a constant flow of people behind her, and not even a place to sit.

She was used to this treatment and didn't see anything wrong with it.

Given her current popularity, she should actually have a dressing room. However, since the station sees her as a newcomer, they weren't sure how to best arrange things for her, so they simply followed the old rule and put her in the lobby.

"What are you going to perform later?" Huo Sheng asked.

"Sing."

Speaking of this, she smirked, "I have to put my arm in the beehive and sing 'Easily Hurt Woman'."

"ha?"

Huo Sheng was somewhat surprised: "Who came up with this dirty trick? Is this part safe?"

"They gave me a bottle of medicine."

Wang Fei raised her hand to show him the ointment she was holding, stammered, "I heard, I heard that if you apply it to your arm, bees won't sting you."

"Did you apply it?"

"I applied it." She pursed her lips. "It's just a little awkward to use."

Huo Sheng glanced at it. Although the ointment had been applied, and his fair and slender arm emitted a faint scent of Chinese herbal medicine mixed with alcohol, there was a noticeable patch on the back of his elbow that hadn't been spread.

Huo Sheng pointed: "The back wasn't spread evenly."

Wang Fei looked down, then bent her hand behind her back and tried again. Her posture was awkward; her fingertips only reached the lower edge of her shoulder blades, and the area that hadn't been coated was still untouched.

She withdrew her hand and stopped.

Huo Sheng sighed and held out his hand: "Give me the medicine, I'll apply it for you."

"..."

Wang Fei blinked, a blush spreading to the base of her ears. After hesitating for a moment, seeing Huo Sheng's hand still raised, she handed him the ointment.

Huo Sheng unscrewed the cap, poured some ointment into his palm, turned her arm over, and placed his palm on it.

When the ointment touched her skin, Faye Wong instinctively flinched, and Huo Sheng stopped moving as well.

Once she stopped moving, he began to massage her in circular motions, starting from below her elbow and moving upwards little by little.

The surroundings were noisy and chaotic, and no one noticed this corner on the side of the pillar.

Wang Fei kept her head down, watching him apply the makeup carefully, seemingly oblivious to anything else, as if she genuinely felt it was dangerous.

"alright."

After a while, Huo Sheng straightened up, tightened the lid, and handed it back.

Wang Fei took the ointment and looked down at her arm. The skin there was slightly red and felt cool from the ointment.

Huo Sheng didn't care at all. After doing the good deed, he glanced around and said, "You wait here."

Before Faye Wong could respond, he had already turned and left.

Two minutes later, he dragged over a folding chair, its legs scraping the floor with a clattering sound. "Here, take this and sit down. We'll be waiting a while today."

Faye Wong pursed her lips and remained silent.

Huo Sheng knew her quiet nature well, so he waved in front of her and said, "It's about to start, I have to go, bye-bye."

"Um."

As if only then realizing what was happening, Faye Wong said, "Bye-bye."

……

Huo Sheng couldn't resist and, together with Yuan Yingming, slipped away to the side of the stage to find a spot to watch the show.

The anniversary gala officially began at 7:30.

The show kicked off with a bang, with Anita Mui and Andy Lau each leading a team to sing "Stanby Me," and featuring a lineup of Sally Yeh, Sandy Lam, Faye Wong, Vivian Chow, Cally Kwong, Irene Wan, the Four Heavenly Kings, Alan Tam, Kenny Bee, Alex To, Andy Hui, and many more.

Then the host, Cheng Danrui, took the stage, dressed in a black suit and holding a microphone, and said, "Thank you, thank you to the more than one hundred singers from Hong Kong for coming to congratulate our anniversary."

"The gala is now officially beginning. Let's introduce the captains of the men's and women's teams—Andy Lau and Anita Mui."

Andy Lau, dressed in a red suit, is arguably the most eloquent of the Four Heavenly Kings; Leon Lai, on the other hand, would not have been able to withstand Anita Mui's teasing.

Anita Mui had a small face, but her features were exaggerated. She had large, lifeless eyes, short hair, and thick lips, and was strikingly beautiful. Unfortunately, by this time, her voice was already hoarse and low, making her look very unlike a singer.

The two have a good relationship and exchanged harsh words on stage without feeling awkward at all.

The first segment involved Jacky Cheung hanging from a horizontal bar and Sandy Lam spinning around, testing their singing skills.

In 92, TVB had already perfected its exploration of variety shows. While the mainland was still seriously broadcasting "Zhengda Variety Show," TVB was already daring to make fun of popular stars.

A dozen or so A-list celebrities were seen squeezing plastic from a box, their facial features flying everywhere. There were also actresses like Veronica Yip and Irene Wan wearing cat tails and singing "Charming Sexy Little Wildcat" together…

The four men and four women from the "Greedy Era" cast also caused a burst of screams. The way of playing on the acupressure mat has never been seen in all of Asia before. It is very novel. Lau Ching-wan was in so much pain that he lay on the ground and crawled in the shadows, which caused a burst of laughter on set.

The people in the variety show department immediately copied it back and did it themselves.

When it was almost time, Huo Sheng and Yuan Yingming went back, just as an assistant director ran over shouting, "Scenes from 'The Great Era' are ready to air! Actors, get ready!"

The host's voice came from the stage, penetrating the curtain: "Next, please welcome the creative team of our 25th Anniversary Silver Jubilee Drama - The Great Era."

The VCR has started playing.

Huo Sheng stood on the side of the screen, unable to see the image, but he could hear the sound.

The screams of the Fang family being wiped out, Ding Xie's roar at the stock exchange, and Fang Zhanbo's gritted teeth as he said, "I will make you pay for your blood debt," gradually quieted down the noise from the audience.

The festive atmosphere at the scene was completely wiped out, and the effect was very effective.

As the lights came on, Wai Ka-fai led the way, and the actors filed out and stood in a row in front of the stage. Wai Ka-fai and Adam Cheng were in the middle, Lau Ching-wan was on the left, Vivian Chow was on the right, and the others lined up in order.

"What kind of story is 'The Greed of Man'? Why don't you tell everyone a few words first?"

Wai Ka-fai took the microphone and spoke about the human nature behind the stock market turmoil, his original intention for creating the work, and Huo Sheng and Yuan Yingming, who made significant contributions but did not appear on screen.

The entire Q&A session lasted about three minutes, during which the main actors rambled on and on, saying a lot of very official things, which was considered the end of the promotion.

At 10:45 p.m., all the segments ended, and the performers rushed onto the stage, with a total of over a hundred people singing the theme song together.

Paper flowers were scattered from the ceiling, covering the ground in gold, red, and blue.

Huo Sheng stood in the main creative area, watching the stage lights gradually brighten and dim. The music of the grand chorus surged from all twelve monitor speakers simultaneously, making his chest throb.

The grand celebration has come to an end.

"The Greed of Man" also premiered as scheduled the following day.