Huayu: Starting from an Unemployed Male Model

Wei Jun changed his mind. He originally planned to record only two versions, but since the choir was already there, he changed the lyrics on the spot and rehearsed with the choir several times, eventually producing the Chiqi version of "Touring Beijing".

Each of the three versions has its own advantages: the solo version is Youjing, the chorus version is Xinghuo, and the prairie fire version is Chiqi.

Wei Jun already had a plan for the three versions of the music video. He would sing the version himself and invite He Rundong and Li Yixiao to reprise their roles as the King of Chu and Consort Yu.

The material for the chorus version is taken from the Republican era episode of the short drama "Enemy" by Douyin's "Jianbing Guozi" and "Summer Sister". The Chiqi version was originally intended to bring together stories of modern people, families, country and rivers, but it is not easy to operate actively and requires netizens to actively match.

Wei Jun has excellent execution skills; he does what he thinks of. He spent some time working on the script and then had his agent, Yang Hua, extend invitations to He Rundong and Li Yixiao.

The idea was nice, but the reality was harsh.

On September 1st, He Rundong and his girlfriend of many years held a wedding ceremony in Taiwan. The couple is currently on their honeymoon in Beijing. However, after listening to the demo sent by Yang Hua and reading the script, he did not directly refuse. He just wanted to talk to Wei Jun in person and even asked someone to send him a small gift.

Li Yixiao directly refused due to certain reasons, revealing that she would only agree if He Rundong was willing.

Upon learning this, Wei Jun immediately took Yang Hua and Yang Chaoyue straight to Beijing. He first had Yang Hua contact Shen Ao to make preparations for filming. Once they finalized the cooperation, filming would begin immediately.

A private room at a club near Liangmaqiao in Beijing.

Wei Jun pushed open the door and entered, followed by Yang Chaoyue, who was holding a beautifully decorated gift box.

"Teacher He, I'm sorry, I was stuck in traffic, so I'm late." Wei Jun picked up the wine bottle on the table, poured a glass of wine, and raised the glass to He Rundong, who had been waiting for a long time. "Here are three drinks as punishment."

Wei Jun downed his glass in one gulp and was about to refill it when He Rundong snatched the glass away, laughing heartily, "Mr. Wei, I know the traffic in Beijing very well. When I go out to eat, most of my time is spent on transportation."

Beijing ranks among the top three cities in China for traffic congestion. How congested is it? Let's put it this way: a one-hour drive can take more than two hours during peak hours, especially in areas prone to congestion such as within the Second Ring Road and the East and West Districts.

Traffic congestion in Beijing has a long history, with the city's roads expanding outwards in a "single-center plus ring road" pattern, giving it a sprawling, "pancake-like" development feel.

With residents becoming increasingly affluent, the demand for private cars is gradually increasing. This year alone, the number of motor vehicles in the city has reached 571 million. With more cars, illegal parking is becoming more frequent, leading to traffic deadlocks.

Wei Jun bowed and expressed his gratitude.

"Mr. Wei, please have a seat," He Rundong gestured, and personally poured Wei Jun a cup of hangover tea. "This tea is quite good, Mr. Wei, you may try it."

Wei Jun picked up the teacup, offered a slight thank you, and took a few sips. Although he didn't know much about tea, he could tell that it was refreshing and soothing. "Good tea."

"Teacher He, since you gave me such delicious tea, I'll also give you a gift as a congratulatory gift for your marriage." Wei Jun took the exquisite gift box from Yang Chaoyue, opened it, and showed her two items inside.

A small, exquisite camera, and a photography book.

Wei Jun pointed and said, "This is InStone's latest action camera. I know you like photography, so I'm giving it to you to play with. As for the other one..."

Before Wei Jun could finish speaking, He Rundong exclaimed, "Anne Leibovitz's photography collection!"

Annie Leibovitz is an American photographer, chief photographer for Vanity Fair magazine, known for her celebrity portrait photography. She was called "the only most influential photographer still shooting" by American Photography magazine and has won numerous awards.

She has collaborated with numerous people, including John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Demi Moore, Michael Jordan, David Beckham, Arnold Schwarzenegger...

This photo album is a limited edition, costing Wei Jun over ten thousand yuan. He obtained it from Ah Sam, the editor-in-chief of the magazine "1626".

He Rundong is a true photography enthusiast. He fell in love with photography while filming "A Meter of Sunshine," which was his second collaboration with Sun Li. At that time, Sun Li and Yu Na were both models in his photos.

He likened his camera to his wife, spending money on it without hesitation, often spending hundreds of thousands on photography equipment. Wherever he went, he would take photos of the local people, customs, and so on.

Annie Leibovitz is one of the most authoritative photographers of our time and one of the highest-paid photographers in the world. Her photography collections are highly favored by photography enthusiasts.

Seeing He Rundong's reaction, Wei Jun's lips curled up slightly, it seemed that his gift had worked.

The value of a gift doesn't matter, as long as it's appropriate. Tens of thousands of yuan is a small amount for the two of them.

He Rundong stroked the photo album with great affection, flipped through it a few times, and gradually became engrossed. If he hadn't remembered that Wei Jun was still around, he probably would have kept looking at it.

He Rundong closed the photo album, stood up, and bowed slightly to Wei Jun in gratitude: "Mr. Wei, thank you for your gift. I really like it."

"Teacher He, you're too kind." Wei Junxu helped him up.

"Don't call me Teacher He, call me Lao He or Peter." He Rundong sat down again, smiling broadly.

"Okay, then don't call me President Wei, just call me by my name." Wei Jun laughed heartily.

The two began exchanging pleasantries and compliments.

Wei Jun said he is an artist in the performing arts, a dream fulfiller for men, who has played all the roles that men want to play.

He Rundong said he is a musical prodigy and a promising young talent.

The two chatted and complimented each other for a while before getting to the main topic.

"You should have heard that after I finished playing Xiang Yu, I received many offers for roles as a military general in film and television, but I declined them all because I didn't want to exploit the character of Xiang Yu."

He Rundong poured Wei Jun a full cup of tea and continued, "But your songs and scripts are very interesting, especially the songs, which touched me the most."

"That's why I wanted to talk to you in person. If you're the kind of music businessman who's only interested in making money, I would refuse you. But after listening to your songs, I know you're not that kind of person. So, I have a request. If you agree, I'll not only perform for free, but I'll also help you invite Li Yixiao."

"You say it," Wei Jun said, shrugging.

"If this version of the song generates copyright revenue, I hope to donate 10% of it to a children's welfare foundation to help children who have suffered domestic violence."

Without a second thought, Wei Jun agreed immediately. He believed that one should cultivate one's own virtue when poor and help others when prosperous. Although he was not rich, he was willing to do good deeds. Moreover, he knew why He Rundong donated money. However, he still explained that the song would be released for free on music platforms, and the copyright revenue would not be much. At most, others would buy the performance rights to the song.

"Free? That's generous, brother. Let's have a drink." He Rundong was quite happy and poured two glasses of wine. The two clinked glasses and drank them down in one gulp.

"I'll contact Li Yixiao for you later. She's actually had a tough time these past few years... I remember when we were filming, she wore a thin costume and stood in the freezing cold on set for hours. She had a high fever for three days but didn't make a sound, and she still had to portray the gentleness and tenderness of Yu Ji."

"And she had an unfortunate incident two years ago..." He Rundong sighed, his face full of sorrow.

Wei Jun knew what happened to Li Yixiao the year before last. In 2014, during the "Rashomon Incident," Li Yixiao was unfortunately injured on the back of the head and ear by Ye Xuan's Alaskan Malamute at Yin Xiaotian's birthday party, requiring more than twenty stitches.

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