Huayu: The Big Players Behind the Scenes

"It's hard to believe that you're only 19 years old and yet you've made such a profound film."

In the corner, Hou Hsiao-hsien sighed with emotion. Everyone said that he was the leading figure in the Taiwanese film industry and the first Chinese-language filmmaker to win the Venice Golden Lion, but he believed that he could not make films like "The Hunt" and "Seaside Town".

"I can only say I was lucky."

Zhuang Huai'an smiled modestly and said, "In the field of film art, you are the master. Compared to your cinematic language, I only used a trick in the script."

This wasn't flattery on his part. In Zhuang Huai'an's view, in terms of camera work alone, he has consistently ranked among the top three in the Chinese film industry, with the other two being Zhang Yimou and Chen Shishi at their peak.

Moreover, this ranking has become more and more valuable over time, because later directors, due to market reasons or to cater to the audience, gradually stopped playing with visual language and focused on the plot.

Although Zhuang Huai'an had a complete outline of the film in his mind and could coordinate all aspects of the crew with ease, those were all other people's ideas. In reality, his directing ability was only at the level of a college student.

He defines himself as a mere porter, and directing is just a tool for gaining fame; essentially, he still sees himself as a businessman.

After all, in his previous life he was just an ordinary second-generation mine owner. Besides eating, drinking and having fun, he couldn't do anything else.

Surely no one really believes that an ordinary person could succeed in being reborn without any special abilities, right? Really?

The two got along very well. With Hou Xiaoxian acting as a shield, the other people at the banquet wisely refrained from approaching them. Only Li Minglai came to say hello, as he was returning to Hong Kong that evening.

The following afternoon, Zhuang Huai'an was invited to attend a fan meeting hosted by Rock Records.

After a few songs, Luo Dayou, panting, laughed and said, "Today, besides us old guys, we also have a special guest."

"Oh? A special guest?" Zhou Huajian feigned confusion. "Has the company signed another new artist?"

"Is that so?" Li Zongsheng joked. "Old Zhou (the manager of Rock Records) would dare to sign new artists without going through us? Would he write songs to promote them himself?"

Luo Dayou laughed and said, "Of course he wouldn't dare. He's a new friend of mine, and he's super cool."

"I knew it," Li Zongsheng replied with a laugh, "Old Zhou is such a loser."

These three are all cornerstones of Rolling Stone Records and have a good relationship with Zhou Hongyi, so it's okay for them to make these kinds of jokes.

After a brief warm-up, Lo Ta-yu called out in a hoarse voice, "Let's welcome Mr. Chuang Huai-an, the Golden Horse Award-winning director and director of 'The Hunt' and 'Seaside Town'."

Although Chuang Huai-an's highest achievement to date is the Golden Lion Award, this is, after all, Taiwan, and the Golden Horse Award is more widely known.

The fans in the audience gave him face and burst into cheers.

Zhuang Huai'an stepped out from behind the scenes, waving enthusiastically to the audience, "Hello everyone, I'm Zhuang Huai'an."

"Damn, how come this director is so handsome?"

"Yeah, he's even more handsome than John Lone. It's a shame he's not an actor."

The audience below the stage were buzzing with discussion, and Zhou Huajian on stage joked, "Director Zhuang's temperament and appearance have simply raised the average level of the directing industry."

"Seriously, look at the young girls in the audience, their eyes are glued to you," Li Zongsheng said in his usual frivolous manner. "Director Zhuang, are you really not considering becoming an actor? I think if you put your face on the screen, the box office would go up by several percentage points."

Who would mind if someone complimented them on their looks?

Zhuang Huai'an was very happy and said with a smile, "I have indeed considered this. Since no one has invited me, I hope that the media friends in the audience can help me spread the word, and that my fellow directors can also take a look at me. I'm quite free lately."

Take that with a grain of salt; who can afford to hire a Golden Lion-winning director?

The people on stage smiled and continued their banter, taking a short break as well.

After Luo Dayou boasted to everyone that Zhuang Huai'an was his fan, Li Zongsheng pretended to be unhappy, saying, "Who isn't a top producer?"

So Lao Li pressed Zhuang Huai'an for his opinion on his songs.

Seeing this, Zhuang Huai'an mischievously poked at his scar and teased, "I also really like Lao Li's songs, especially the one called 'For You I Endured the Cold Wind'."

Li Zongsheng looked embarrassed after hearing this. The song was nice, but the story behind it was something that couldn't be discussed openly.

Seeing his embarrassment, Zhou Huajian chuckled inwardly and quickly tried to smooth things over, "Director Zhuang, since you're already here, how about we sing a duet for fun?"

"Is this...appropriate?" Zhuang Huai'an was somewhat tempted.

"It's alright, Huai'an," Luo Dayou said softly, noticing his hesitation. "This fan meeting is free. The company organized it to promote the brand, and they'll also randomly select fans to sing along on stage. Old Zhou would be thrilled if you wanted to sing."

You don't need to feel pressured, just have fun.

Luo Dayou pointed to the audience below. Zhuang Huai'an looked over and, sure enough, Zhou, the general manager of Rolling Stone, had a smile on his face as wide as a chrysanthemum.

He nodded. Since his elder brother had said so, he had no more concerns. There were probably nearly a thousand people in the audience, and he wanted to enjoy the atmosphere.

"Alright, since Brother Huajian has already spoken, I'll accept it without hesitation."

"Oh, that would be our honor."

Seeing that Zhuang Huai'an was being so accommodating, Zhou Huajian's eyes lit up, and he asked with a smile, "Director Zhuang, what song would you like to sing?"

"It just so happens that Hua Jian and Lao Li are both here, so how about singing 'I've Been Feeling Annoyed Lately'? I'll sing the part with Teacher Pin Guan?"

The group nodded happily, and Luo Dayou waved his hand behind him, "Okay, band teacher, get ready."

"I've been feeling pretty stressed lately. I feel like my life's been a bit extreme. I guess I'm still not used to going from being nobody to having someone like me."

When Zhuang Huai'an spoke, everyone was somewhat surprised, not expecting that this famous director had such a powerful voice.

After finishing a song, Lao Li started acting silly again.

"Director Zhuang, your voice is really good, but this song is not quite suitable for you to sing."

"Oh? How so?" Zhuang Huai'an chimed in, playing the straight man.

"There's a line in the lyrics: 'My girlfriend's mother thinks I'm ugly, and that girls in Taipei are unattainable.' With your current achievements, girls who want to date you could line up from Taipei to Kaohsiung. I don't feel any connection to that."

After finishing his speech, Old Li felt something was missing, so he pointed the microphone at the audience again and asked, "Isn't that right?"

The girls in the audience were very supportive, cheering in unison, "Yes!"

That's true. If someone is good-looking, talented, and rich, he's not just a golden bachelor, he's a dragon spitting pearls!

"Old Li is right, it is indeed inappropriate."

Zhuang Huai'an nodded generously, then seized the opportunity to say, "Everyone knows you're a top producer, Lao Li. In that case, why don't you write a song for me?"

"Okay, I'll go back and look into it."

Zhuang Huai'an was somewhat surprised to see Li Zongsheng agree so readily. He had just said it casually; if he really wanted to be a singer, he had plenty of songs in his head.

But since they've already made their stance clear, I can't lose face, so I can only pretend to be happy.

After the fan meeting, Zhuang Huai'an took Zhang Lu and hitched a ride with Rock Records to Taipei, where they had a variety show to record.

Upon arriving in Taipei, Zhuang Huai'an learned that "Dragon Brothers and Tiger Brothers" had long since ceased broadcasting, and that "Variety Big Brother" was now hosted by Zhang Fei and Huang Pinyuan, with Fei Yuqing only occasionally making guest appearances as a host.

But it doesn't matter, we're here to have fun anyway.

Unexpectedly, the production team invited Luo Dayou and some local Taiwanese artists to the show as guests.

So what should have been a good show turned into Zhuang Huai'an's praise group, with all sorts of flattery.

After the show aired, Fei Yu-ching called to say that the show not only received excellent market feedback, but also broke records since its inception. Now, a "Chuang Huai-an Fan Club" has been established in Taiwan, and he hopes that Fei Yu-ching will have time to visit more often.

This news sent a chill down Zhuang Huai'an's spine.

After all, islands are full of oddities, and it's hard to say whether this movie fan will be a good thing or a bad thing.