Huayu 1999: Starting with nothing but getting something for nothing

"Let's go to the antique shop."

Upon hearing this, the group turned and entered the alley, only to hear shouts.

"Hey, Yang Che."

Shu Qi looked at the group of people who had turned around, and thought... Yang Che in the middle was much more handsome than the last time she saw him. Indeed, a beautiful flower needs green leaves to complement it, and the same goes for men.

Yang Che looked at his friends' surprised and inquisitive eyes and felt confused. Why were they looking at him like that?

Wu Shixian recalled meeting her once at the celebration party in Hong Kong last year.

"We'll go ahead first, hurry up, today is mainly for you to see."

"Know."

Yang Che waved his hand and walked towards Shu Qi.

"This rural-urban fringe style of clothing looks really out of place on you."

"well enough."

Shu Qi grinned and found his words particularly amusing.

Actually, the two weren't that close, but at that moment Shuqi just felt a sense of familiarity with him.

This is actually a combination of factors, including a sense of belonging triggered by an unfamiliar environment, the accumulation of the familiarity effect, and the release of situational stress.

This is a common feeling when you meet someone for the second time in an unfamiliar place.

"When did you arrive in Beijing?"

What were you doing here a week ago?

"....."

The two exchanged a few meaningless words.

"I'm leaving now, I have things to do over there. If you're bored, give me a call, and I'll take you somewhere else to be bored."

Shu Qi grinned widely again: "Hahaha, okay!"

Yang Che looked up and saw that Yan Zu and Yu Feihong were watching him from a distance. He smiled and nodded, and the two smiled back.

Then Yang Che turned and left, looking incredibly dashing.

Shu Qi returned to director Mabel Cheung's side with a lingering smile on her face.

Seeing Zhang Wanting's questioning look, Shu Qi smiled and said, "He's Wang Fei's boyfriend. He's filming a movie here too."

"Oh, him."

"....."

On April 18, filming began for "Waiting Alone." There was no ceremony, just a group photo.

Xia Yu is in the center, with Jia Jingwen on her left, who has exquisite makeup, and Gong Beibi on her right, who has smoky makeup and a head full of dreadlocks.

While Zeng Jian was counting down, Alyssa Chia happily shouted "Cheese!" to the camera while linking arms with Yang Che, just like Wu Shixian and Gong Beibi.

Xia Yu, who was in the middle, was very embarrassed and regretted not calling his girlfriend Yuan Quan, who was going to make a cameo appearance.

Yang Che smiled on the outside, but cursed inwardly. He had already decided that once Little Fatty and Wang Fei left, he would hang this woman up and beat her.

"Brother Che, your arms are rock hard, hehe."

Yang Che glanced at the nine media outlets on the periphery, their eyes burning with anticipation. What else could he do? He gently greeted them, "Please grant the interview. Everyone here today is a friend."

Well... naturally, there's no Beijing News.

Unsurprisingly, Yang Che received even more media attention than Xia Yu, the male lead, so I decided to ask him first.

Yang Che's face turned green as soon as the Sina reporter opened his mouth.

"Big brother, this is the first day of filming for our new movie, and he keeps asking Wang Fei what it means."

"Your girlfriend is popular."

"No, stop trying to ride on his coattails. If you keep making up stories about me being a kept man... Okay, okay, if you mention Lao Wang again, don't blame me for not considering you friends anymore."

The reporters burst into laughter before officially commencing the interview.

"Wu Shih-hsien directed and starred in it. I didn't participate much in the creative process; I just offered some suggestions on costumes, props, and sets."

"Although both can be called romantic comedies, 'Waiting Alone' and 'My Sassy Girl' are presented in completely different ways. To be honest, 'Waiting Alone' is more sincere, as I understand it. It doesn't talk about the standard answer to love, but rather expresses the courage to love even after recognizing the imperfections of human nature. In this life, we will be attracted to many people, but only a few can truly make us let our guard down and embrace them."

"Love certainly exists. It's not fleeting, nor is it perfect. It's a faint but unwavering strength deep within your heart, even when you show your most vulnerable side."

When the female reporters heard this, they were practically having a brain orgasm. Just as they were thinking of getting Yang Che to share more—or rather, some philosophy of love—some annoying male reporter asked about the box office.

"Box office expectations? Of course, the higher the better."

"Yes, the actors didn't audition. Director Wu already had target actors in mind when he was writing the script."

"Xia Yu is definitely great. We almost worked together on 'My Sassy Girl'."

"I believe Jia Jingwen can do a great job. In 'Flying Dragon in the Sky,' she played two roles with completely different personalities, Lin Yuhong and Bai Jianying, and she portrayed them very well. I also believe in director Wu Shixian's ability to create compelling characters."

"Yes, Wang Fei is in Beijing. We are doing well, thank you for your concern."

"I can't talk about the Olympic bid committee, just check their official website."

"Thank you, thank you."

.........

This was followed by interviews with Wu Shih-hsien and the three actors.

Wu Shixian solemnly explained that he was a Sino-foreign joint venture, not a foreigner.

He then said that when he participated in "My Sassy Girl," he flattered Yang Che so that Boss Yang would invest in his script in the future. After the profits from "My Sassy Girl" were distributed, the two of them took out all their profits, plus sponsorships, and raised the production costs for the movie.

Alyssa Chia expressed her gratitude and made a statement in a cheerful, generous, and well-mannered manner, radiating positive energy and easily winning the favor of the reporters.

Then filming will officially begin. The first scene is Chen Wen, played by Xia Yu, and Li Liang, played by Xia Donghai, joking around in an antique shop.

As the countdown to "start" began, Wu Shixian's face paled slightly. He felt a pang of fear; although he was the director of "Saw," this was different. He instinctively looked for Yang Che, but Gong Beibi appeared beside him, took his hand, and smiled sweetly.

Wu Shixian smiled and picked up the megaphone: "Attention all departments, prepare for test shooting."

The room fell silent instantly, and everyone instinctively straightened up, focusing all their attention on the equipment at hand.

Even Yang Che, who was sitting on a stool in the corner, stopped his discussion with Jia Jingwen about the character Liu Rong.

"Act 2, Shot 1, Scene 1, Beginning."

Xia Yu and Xia Donghai were holding a pair of underwear, saying that it had been worn by Chow Yun-fat.

However, Jia Jingwen wasn't interested. Instead, she reached out and nudged Yang Che's arm: "Why did you just say that Liu Rong's choice of Ping Zhinan was correct? Was it because you played Ping Zhinan?"

"First of all, this is mainland China, so you have to say Mercedes. Secondly, whenever I see pretty girls wearing cheap clothes and eating cheap fast food, I feel sorry for them and think it's a waste of their talents, because I believe pretty girls are God's favorites and they deserve better."