Huayu: The Big Players Behind the Scenes

Xie Yuan, being a playful old man, was a good match for the girl's father, and their ages were also suitable, so he readily agreed.

Since he was already there, Wang Jingsong also got a cameo role as a friend of the girl's father, a fisherman. Old Wang's free-spirited and unrestrained temperament is reasonable.

The older brother asked his cousin Luo Jin to take the lead. His best friend originally wanted to use Shu Chang, but she figured that girl couldn't pull off that famous crotch-grabbing scene.

Wang Jingsong recommended Yang Xiaomi, but Zhuang Huai'an didn't want to get involved with her, so he ended up using Jiao Junyan, a freshman from the class of 05. This girl had a fierce spirit and was the right age.

This really made Mimi very angry!

The mother needs someone with substance, so Wenli is a good choice. She's poised yet down-to-earth. There's a slight age gap, but she can be easily made up.

For this film, Zhuang Huai'an once again employed an all-Beijing Film Academy cast, and even planned to use classrooms at the Beijing Film Academy for filming locations in the school.

Zhang Huijun naturally chose to cooperate with his holy son's renewed promotion of the sect.

The exterior scenes were filmed in Caofeidian, Tangshan, which is close to the Bohai Bay and has no shortage of fishing ports.

Coordinating filming in both locations was somewhat difficult, but the Beijing Film Academy had a lot of talent. Word spread quickly, and many teachers volunteered to help, treating Zhuang Huai'an's film crew almost like an after-school project.

Tsk, Zhuge Liang and Feng Xiao, let's not keep in touch. I'm afraid these classmates who are working for free will misunderstand.

There are some hearing-impaired people in the play, so Zhuang Huai'an directly invited the actors from the Disabled Persons' Federation Cultural Troupe who performed "Thousand-Hand Bodhisattva" to train Liu Yifei and others in sign language.

The training venue was a small auditorium at the Beijing Film Studio, which was personally coordinated by director Tie Li.

Presentation

The film crew is making preparations in full swing.

On this day, Chung Lai-fong brought the production budget and cast list for "My Own Swordsman" for her signature.

"Boss, who are you planning to cast for the role of Guo Furong?"

This question could stump Zhuang Huai'an.

It's really not easy to find an actor in the industry who is as ugly, rustic, and distinctive as Yao Dazui.

"Yangyang can play the role,"

Liu Yifei chimed in, "I've read the script too. Yangyang has a sharp and capable air about her, and... after she got together with Senior Zhiyong, she's practically one of us now."

Yeah, why do you have to pick an ugly one! It's a preconceived notion, but the real-life Guo Fu wasn't ugly at all!

"Alright," Zhuang Huai'an joked, "then I'll listen to the little boss lady."

Liu Yifei blushed and went up to him, aiming a Great Wilderness Imprisoning Heaven Finger at his waist.

Zhong Lifang quickly turned around and left, pretending she had never been there.

"Ouch~" Zhuang Huai'an pretended to be in pain, "What are you doing? They know about this."

What do you think?

Liu Yifei glared at him, her expression both cute and fierce, "You haven't even confessed your feelings, and you expect him to say yes?"

"Oh yes,"

Zhuang Huai'an got up, took a box from the drawer, led Liu Yifei to the refrigerator in the rest area, opened the box and a diamond ring came into view, then opened the top shelf of the refrigerator and a large pile of red roses scattered out.

"Sissi, will you be my girlfriend?"

"Idiot, who puts flowers in the refrigerator?"

Liu Yifei smiled, her eyes crinkling, and extended her right hand.

Zhuang Huai'an immediately understood and quickly put it on her.

"This ring is nice, and the flowers are pretty too. I'll take it."

After saying that, Liu Yifei turned to leave. Zhuang Huai'an, confused, quickly grabbed her, "You haven't said whether you agree or not yet?"

"Hehe, silly you, that won't do."

Liu Yifei broke free from his hand and skipped away from the office. Judging from her retreating figure, she seemed very happy.

Zhuang Huai'an shook his head and chuckled. Their relationship had long since blossomed naturally; there was no need for any dramatic events. A simple and peaceful relationship was just as good.

Hmm... if we're officially in a relationship, then... it should be possible...

Thinking of this, he glanced guiltily at the sky outside the French windows. Hmm, it was cloudless and beautiful, which meant that God had agreed... right?

After a happy young girl shared this with her best friend, the news instantly swept through the entire company. Although everyone knew what was going on, the official announcement made all the difference.

To this end, Zhong Lifang even summoned the heads of various departments and issued a gag order: anyone who couldn't keep their mouth shut would have to pack their things and get out.

Zhong Lifang's words had a good effect. Everyone was already somewhat intimidated by this decisive and efficient iron lady, and with such good benefits from the company, they naturally wouldn't say anything that would ruin their future.

This is why, even though the company is almost entirely composed of employees from the Taipei Film Academy, it has never encountered any problems.

National Day film season

Jay Chou's "Initial D" was released in mainland China, and he specially invited Zhuang Huai'an and Liu Yifei to attend, which the two naturally accepted.

To be honest, this movie was originally scheduled for the summer season, which would have been perfect for capitalizing on the fan economy and reaping box office revenue from college students. However, unfortunately, "A World Without Thieves," which had just returned from the Berlin Film Festival, was too powerful, so "Initial D" had to temporarily avoid the competition and was moved to the National Day holiday.

"Damn! I was so careless, I forgot these two were here too!"

Zhuang Huai'an watched the two dogs huddled together, grinning and joking, and felt as uncomfortable as if he had eaten something disgusting.

"What's wrong?" Liu Yifei asked softly when she saw his pale face.

"It's alright, let's go sit over there."

Zhuang Huai'an sighed inwardly. There was nothing he could do; this was the world of martial arts. When Jay Chou came all the way from Taiwan for his coming-of-age ceremony, he had no reason not to come for the premiere in Beijing. That would be too unethical.

"Oh, Director Zhuang, Yifei, you're here too?"

The lesser-known singer was delighted to see an acquaintance and pulled Liu Yifei aside to sit and whisper to each other.

Zhuang Huai'an was lured away by Mr. Lin of Huanya. The success of the "Infernal Affairs" series made this famous spendthrift from Hong Kong dream of entering the mainland market.

"Director Zhuang, if I may ask, I heard you had a falling out with Boss Yang?"

"Mr. Lin, your question is indeed quite presumptuous."

Zhuang Huai'an joked, "Yinghuang has actually invested millions of US dollars in the Mars Rescue project. Where did you hear that I had a falling out with Boss Yang?"

Hearing this, Lin Jianyue was not embarrassed and said frankly, "Boss Yang is a decent person, but he's a bit too stingy. If I were to have the chance to ride in Director Zhuang's car, it would have to start at least at ten million US dollars."

Haha! How come you get all the good things?

Playing along, Zhuang Huai'an couldn't give him a hard time, so he smiled and changed the subject. Lin Jianyue didn't dwell on it and continued chatting with him, knowing that this matter couldn't be rushed.

At 19 p.m. sharp, Initial D began to play.

There's no need to elaborate on the famous scenes in this show: I went to the countryside and had a blast... I stayed for two days, the Mercedes climbed a tree, and so on.

Even after the movie ended and the music of "All the Way North" started playing, Zhuang Huai'an had many questions in his mind.

Takumi drives high-intensity mountain roads every day, and he burns through tires and fuel. Can he earn back the cost of racing tires by just delivering tofu?

If the value of his delivery of tofu far exceeds the cost, is the tofu made of gold?

You should know that the trunk of the AE86 is only so big!

If we follow this line of thought, why does Takumi always deliver tofu late at night when there are fewer people around? Why doesn't Bunta deliver it himself and instead sends the child to do it?

Why would a tofu delivery truck be modified to run so fast that even a police car can't catch it?

Moreover, Takumi's destination was a high-end hot spring hotel, and the delivery was scheduled for the early morning. It had to be fast and couldn't be damaged. If there was any damage, Bunta would beat his son with a stick.

If it's just regular tofu that's crumbled, it shouldn't be this serious, right?

Tsk, some things in Gunma Prefecture aren't being done properly. If this happened back home, and they were frequently delivering things by car in the middle of the night, it probably wasn't anything legitimate.

Look at Bunta Fujiwara's dazed and confused appearance every day, does he look like someone who makes tofu?

Think about it: Bunta makes tofu downstairs, and Takumi sleeps upstairs. As the steam rises up, Takumi wakes up every day to deliver tofu, and he often finds things appearing to slow down while driving...

This... oh my... it's terrifying to think about!

Initial D, could it be Initial D?

If that's the kind of storyline, then Natsuki did the right thing!