So what if I work with celebrities?

Although Xu Zan was not the director of "The Dream of the Red Chamber", as the producer, he needed to take care of all aspects of the whole play, unlike Boss Shao who just had to lend his name.

Aside from him, not many people at Panda Entertainment understand the ins and outs of filmmaking. With Xu Zan coming, who knows what tricks Li Hanxiang might pull?

There's a very high chance that the HK$1 million investment will exceed the budget. If Shaw Brothers adds some other expenses and absorbs the box office revenue, then Xu Zan will suffer a huge loss.

Thinking about this, he felt a little irritated. Without trustworthy people, nothing would work. He regretted not working with the sailors in the first place, and instead spending a few years working under that famous director.

That way, you'll have many fellow apprentices, and you can help each other when you start a company.

After dinner, Xu Zan escorted the celebrities back to their hotels, and that's when a new problem arose: where would he sleep that night?

Looking at Hu Huizhong and Zhang Aijia's eyes, it was clear that after a week of busy training, the two of them were already itching to get started, but unfortunately, Xu Zan was too busy to pay attention to them.

Xu Zan told them to go back to their rooms to rest, but the two of them pouted and went back unhappily. He spoke a few words to Xiao Hei, telling him that there were some books in the car and to retrieve them.

To facilitate communication, the three women's rooms were not on the same floor to avoid any problems. This was one of Xu Zan's rather cunning actions.

After Xiao Hei retrieved the books, he was told to go and rest, and not to disturb him unless it was something important.

"Brother Zan, which room are you in tonight?" Xiao Hei was afraid that something might really happen and he wouldn't be able to find him.

"Where else could it be? My room, of course!"

Watching Xiao Hei enter the elevator, Xu Zan strode to Lin Qingxia's door, knocked a few times, but the door did not open.

A cautious voice came from inside, "Who's outside?"

"It's me, Xu Zan!"

After the door opened, Brigitte Lin laughed happily and spoke loudly: "Zan..." Before she could finish speaking, her mouth was covered by him. This scene looked just like a home invasion robbery.

Xu Zan gently closed the door with his right foot and saw that Lin Qingxia's face was flushed and her eyes were slightly frightened. He quickly let go of her.

"With that shout, everyone in Hong Kong will know tomorrow that I came here last night!" He handed over the book in his hand and explained carefully.

"Oh," Lin Qingxia nodded mechanically, not believing him at all. How could anyone be eavesdropping in such a luxurious hotel? There weren't many people staying on each floor.

Looking at the copy of "Dream of the Red Chamber" in her hands, a translation between classical Chinese and vernacular Chinese, she felt dizzy. It was a very thick book.

Lin Qingxia had very poor academic performance; otherwise, why wouldn't she have gotten into university? She didn't like studying much when she was in school, and after starting her acting career, she played around even more. In recent years, she has mostly just read Qiong Yao novels.

"Brother Zan, what's this?" she asked, waving the book in her hand.

"If you want to play Jia Baoyu, how can you do it without reading the original novel?"

Xu Zan walked around the room quite rudely, from the living room to the bedroom. He put his hand on the bedroom door, turned back, and asked, "Is there anything you need? Are you comfortable here?"

Holding a copy of "Dream of the Red Chamber" in both hands, Brigitte Lin said in a soft voice, "It's alright, the environment here is nice, and you can see the sea as soon as you open the window."

Xu Zan sat down on the sofa. "Let me tell you about Dream of the Red Chamber. As actors, we also need some cultural enrichment."

Lin Qingxia sat awkwardly to the side, placing the book in her hand on the table, wondering if he was trying to sexually harass her.

"Some excellent actors will write character biographies based on the script before filming, so that they can better understand the character's arc."

I guess you haven't written any before; they're all about young, beautiful women. You just need to be yourself.

"That's true, Brother Zan. Sometimes I feel sorry for the audience. I just change the name and clothes of a good movie, and the male stars I act with are different, but everything else is exactly the same."

"So I have to read the whole book 'Dream of the Red Chamber'?"

Lin Qingxia felt dizzy just thinking about it. Such a thick book, how many years would it take to read it? By then, it would be too late.

"That's why I'm giving you special treatment! This is a privilege that others don't get!"

A beautiful woman's smile can lift a pearl curtain, but these women often lack profound inner qualities and are not capable of discerning whether a man's sweet words are genuine or not.

Xu Zan found the original judgment on Jia Baoyu in the book, which is much better than some of the later expert comments.

"He seeks sorrow and hatred for no reason, sometimes appearing foolish and mad; though he may be born with a handsome appearance, his inner self is nothing but weeds."

He was inept at worldly affairs, foolish and averse to reading; his behavior was eccentric and his nature perverse, he cared nothing for the slander of the world!

Classical Chinese is relatively simple, and Brigitte Lin could understand the general meaning. Isn't this just a naive young master who doesn't know the ways of the world?

Xu Zan quickly drew lines in the book with a pen. He had put in a lot of effort to read "Dream of the Red Chamber" before filming it, so that if the sailors and others asked, he could at least mention a friend on Zhihu.

"These are all the characters' evaluations of Jia Baoyu in the novel. Read them carefully and try to understand them. Li Hanxiang will also give you acting advice later. He's a very talented director who has made so many big stars famous."

"Brother Zan, this part describes someone as eccentric and unpredictable in love, though intelligent and quick-witted, with a promising future. Is that how I should act it?"

Lin Qingxia stood there and, based on what she had learned in a week, struck a pose, as if she had a folding fan in her hand, and walked around the living room with square steps.

Approaching Xu Zan, he clasped his hands in greeting and sang, "Sister Lin, your foolish brother greets you from the front."

She stood upright, slightly raising her head when she bowed, and her smile was like a gentle breeze. The way she raised her eyebrows made her seem cynical.

"You're a fucking genius!"

Xu Zan, holding the script of "A Dream of Red Mansions: A Perfect Match," played a cosplay game with Brigitte Lin, pretending to be Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu.

Isn't this just like an old-fashioned murder mystery game?

Because there were no other characters such as Lady Wang, Wang Xifeng, or Xue Baochai, the two could only act out scenes where Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu were alone together.

"Brother Zan, what will you wear to play Lin Daiyu?" Brigitte Lin asked with a smile as she took out several sets of women's clothing from her suitcase.

"Uh... is it really that realistic?"

"Your body type... this dress is the only one you can wear!"

Lin Qingxia took out her loosest nightgown; Xu Zan couldn't possibly fit into any of the other clothes. The two found a place where they couldn't see each other and exchanged clothes.

"Is Zan-ge ready? Zan-ge? Zan-ge?" Lin Qingxia's voice came from outside the bathroom door.

Looking at himself in the mirror, Xu Zan felt a sense of déjà vu, like he was in Clinton's Lolita Island. He couldn't help but think, "Damn, are all rich people perverts?"

"Coming, coming!" he shouted in a fake voice.

When he went out, he saw Brigitte Lin put a cushion on the ground and sit on it. Petals were scattered all over the carpet, and only bare rose stems remained in the vase on the table.

She used her clothes as a pocket and picked up the petals one by one, putting them inside.

Xu Zan didn't know the lines, but she knew which scene it was. She glanced at the script, then gracefully knelt down and asked:

"What are you doing?"

Today is the 26th of April, the Grain in Ear solar term, which falls at the hour of Wei (1-3 PM). After Grain in Ear, summer will arrive. The Flower Goddess has abdicated, and the flowers have all withered. We must bid her farewell!

Lin Qingxia held the hem of her dress with one hand and rose petals in the other, reciting her lines naturally while occasionally exchanging glances with Xu Zan.

For a moment, she forgot that she was Lin Daiyu. Looking at her skin flushed under the light and her eyes sparkling, she was so beautiful that she was almost bubbly.

Lin Qingxia pulled Xu Zan to the bathroom, intending to scatter the rose petals from her clothes into the bathtub.

At this moment, Xu Zan came to her senses and remembered her line: "It'll still get dirty if it flows outside, won't it? I have a flower mound there. I'll just put the petals in a gauze bag and bury it!"

"Flower Tomb? Excellent!" Lin Qingxia pulled him towards the door.

The two came out of the hotel room and cautiously checked that no one was in the corridor. Lin Qingxia then ran away with Xu Zan. He only felt a cool breeze blowing up from under his nightgown.

They ran from the sixth floor to the fourth floor in one breath. As soon as they entered the room, they were panting heavily. They looked at each other and burst out laughing.