Huayu 1999: Starting with nothing but getting something for nothing

The two had barely shaken hands and exchanged a few pleasantries when reporters began taking photos and asking questions.

"Yang Che, there are rumors that your act of bravery was a setup, a publicity stunt. What do you think about this?"

Yang Che was both speechless and angry. He was speechless because this matter had already spread to Shanghai. He was angry because the question was so stupid, and what kind of reporter was this?

Secretary Zhang was quite surprised; clearly, he was unaware of this matter.

However, he also knew that this reporter... there really wasn't a suitable word to describe him.

"Let's go, ignore them."

Yang Che shook his head and put on a smiling face to explain: "This case has already been filed and can be found. Besides, talking about layout and design is just spreading rumors and smearing our public security team."

There's nothing we can do, because some people actually believe it.

Who knows, years from now, a whole bunch of people on Bilibili, Douyin, and Kuaishou will be seriously analyzing and concluding that this was all a setup by Yang Che. Whether it's the criminal or the girl, they were all hired actors. As for the police and reporters, they were paid, everyone knows this big shot is incredibly generous...

However, Yang Che misunderstood. This matter hadn't actually reached Shanghai. After all, it wasn't the era of social media anymore; people relied on television and newspapers for information. The internet was almost entirely self-contained, and its spread beyond its immediate reach depended entirely on print media reprints.

So, in the car, Yang Che briefly explained it to the curious Secretary Zhang.

Secretary Zhang clapped his hands excitedly: "Let's increase the publicity!"

Absolutely. When it comes to control over its subordinate cinemas, no one in the country can compare to Shanghai Film Studio. The box office revenue is real, so this is a large part of the reason why Shanghai Film Studio is so rich.

Yang Che's face turned green: "Brother Zhang, please don't! Don't bring up unrelated things during the movie promotion. Besides, this news will spread quickly, and it will coincide with the New Year's Day holiday, which is when the box office will truly explode."

Secretary Zhang opened his mouth, and Yang Che's words made perfect sense.

The Shanghai roadshow—well, not exactly a roadshow, nor a premiere, since it's been showing for most of the day—was more like a meet-and-greet.

But it was quite a grand affair; the Shanghai Film Studio invited Dong Qing over again.

After not seeing her for a month, Yang Che thought the woman looked better, but he felt nothing.

"Ms. Dong looks radiant; it seems things are going well for her."

"Hehe, ever since I worked with you, Mr. Yang, I've been incredibly lucky. It's all thanks to you."

Dong Qing handled it exceptionally well; her smile was both warm and distant, like meeting an old friend. She was very charming; even Fan Bingbing liked her, finding her voice pleasant...

What Fan Bingbing didn't know was that while Dong Qing was chatting and laughing with her, she sent a text message to her boyfriend without his knowledge.

"Silver Star Hotel 725".

Yang Che, who was exchanging pleasantries with Xu Zheng, replied to her: "I'm busy today, I'll be doing morning exercises tomorrow."

Dong Qing replied with a period.

Yang Che chuckled as he packed up his phone: "Sorry, Lao Xu, it's been like this for the past few days."

Xu Zheng was very envious: "I wish I were as busy as President Yang."

Yang Che laughed heartily: "Next month, you'll be the hottest male celebrity in China."

Xu Zheng shook his head; that was an exaggeration.

However, Yang Che also noticed that many viewers were looking at Xu Zheng, and only after chatting with him did he realize that...

The Shanghai dialect drama he starred in, "Thank You, Family," is still airing and he's quite famous in Shanghai.

Besides Xu Zheng and Dong Qing, there were some familiar faces, either from the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center, the Shanghai Film Studio, or the Shanghai Theatre Academy. They were obviously audience members who received complimentary tickets to the cinema.

Yang Che could name Wang Yinan, Tong Lei, Tong Dawei, Feng Shaofeng, Xiao Lilin, and a few others whose names he couldn't recall.

They were all so young, well, these people were about the same age as him.

However, at this moment, they were all looking up at Yang Che on the stage, who had one hand in his pocket and a smile in his eyes, because they knew that Fan Bingbing and Huang Haibo, who were being cheered by the audience and reporters, were brought up by him.

Yes, the audience in Shanghai was more focused on Fan Bingbing and Huang Haibo, unlike in Beijing, where even when asked movie-related questions, the audience wanted to talk to Yang Che.

Therefore, the roadshow in Shanghai was the real roadshow, so Yang Che was very relaxed, and Fan Bingbing also liked it very much. She was so cute to the audience in Shanghai.

Compared to her brother's success, she preferred to be successful on her own.

Especially those who interact with her will either say, "Bingbing, you acted so well," or "Bingbing, you're so beautiful," or "Fan Bingbing, keep it up, strive to create more screen roles that people love"...

During his remarks, Xu Zheng also said very seriously that he was surprised by the performances of the two actors.

Of course, audiences in Shanghai also really like Yang Che.

After all, Yang Che said in the Shanghai dialect, "We're half of Shanghainese..."

Seeing the enthusiastic applause from the audience in Shanghai, Yang Che decided that he also wanted to do the "half XX province person" thing, since he had a talent for languages.

Fortunately, I didn't hear any audience members say, "How dare you call yourself a 'Shanghai native'?"

That's right. Having 310 on your ID card doesn't mean you're a Shanghainese. The day you feel like you're a Shanghainese and need to be more civilized, then you're half a Shanghainese. When you instinctively frown when you see people from other places and smile when you see foreigners in Shanghai, congratulations, you're a true Shanghainese.

Backstage after the show, Yang Che was surprised to see Xiao Li Lin and Fan Bingbing holding hands and chatting happily.

"Brother, this is Li Lin. We acted together in the movie 'Wrong Carriage, Right Groom'."

Yang Che was still puzzled, and at this moment he simply greeted him: "Hello, thank you for coming."

Li Lin said with a smile, "Hello, Brother Yang. Ren Quan and I are partners. I met Bingbing when I visited him on set in Guangzhou."

Yang Che nodded in surprise. This girl was quite remarkable. Not only did she see through his doubts, but she also explained the whole story in just a few words. Looking into her eyes, he could tell she was a very determined person.

Unlike the other men and women who took the initiative to greet him, Li Lin was the only one Yang Che felt was worth getting to know.

Of course, Yang Che didn't have any particular thoughts; this woman had an older man with her. He was supposedly a teacher at the Shanghai Theatre Academy, and also Li Lin's teacher.

Just like with everyone else, I left my business card and said, "Make sure to contact me when you come to Beijing. I have a courtyard where we often have barbecue and beer..."

As a result, these future stars and actors from Shanghai had an even better impression of Yang Che.

...........