Chapter 333

Having truly left the cameras and the crowds behind, he went hiking in the desert with his friends, feeling the desolation far from human habitation.

This feeling gave Lu Yanhe a long-lost sense of broad-mindedness.

They also encountered a sudden torrential rain one day.

Sitting in a desert inn, the thin tin walls clattered loudly under the raindrops, as if they would tear down their shelter in the next second.

That kind of biting coldness when facing nature head-on is something you cannot feel in the city.

The many emotions Lu Yanhe had accumulated over the past few months were unexpectedly released during these few days.

He returned to a state of clear and bright peace of mind.

Coming out of the desert, Lu Yanhe felt he had tanned a shade darker.

Everyone, having finally gathered together, had to return to all corners of the country to go to school again.

When Lu Yanhe returned to Yuming and met Chen Ziyan, she looked at him with shock and asked, "Did you not wear sunscreen? How did you get so dark?"

"I did, I did, but it was useless," Lu Yanhe explained. "I even wore an anti-UV hat later on, but it was still useless."

Chen Ziyan squinted at him. "It's fine now, you're so dark that even makeup can't save you. Fortunately, you won't be joining any film crews in the next few months, so you don't have to worry about this skin tone issue. Sigh, you're going to the Hexi Film Festival in a few days; it's bound to cause a heated discussion."

Lu Yanhe said, "Is it that much darker? Why do I feel it's okay?"

Chen Ziyan looked at him, not even wanting to answer that question.

The fact that Lu Yanhe had turned dark did not wait until he appeared at the Hexi Film Festival to cause a heated discussion.

The next day, when he returned to school, someone took a photo of him and posted it online, and it ended up trending immediately.

Many people were startled by Lu Yanhe's photo.

——Why did he get so much darker?

——He looks a bit rustic now, not as handsome as before.

——Not at all, I think he looks even more handsome after getting a tan.

——What did he go do? Did he go get a spray tan?

A group of people found Lu Yanhe's sudden darkening unbelievable.

Because, in the past, Lu Yanhe had a rather "pretty boy" look.

Lu Yanhe himself didn't care much about the discussion regarding this matter. Anyway, he wasn't following the "relying on looks" route anymore; if he was dark, he was dark, as long as it didn't affect his normal work.

Lu Yanhe also didn't endorse any whitening products.

During a livestream, Lu Yanhe explained that he had gone to the desert to have fun, which was why he got so tanned.

Not many of his fans cared either.

As a result, inexplicably, a topic titled "Why can't male artists manage their own image?" appeared online the next day.

The topic was very popular.

A blogger used Lu Yanhe's darkening as an entry point to discuss the difference in the public's tolerance for the image of male and female artists.

"We must see that it is precisely because we are more demanding of female artists' images—they must be thin, must be fair, must have a good image and temperament, and if there is even a slight flaw, they will be criticized. Conversely, look at male artists: those with beer bellies have beer bellies, they don't manage their figures, and no matter how ugly they are, there's a group of people praising them as handsome, or saying that men can still make a living as actors even if they are ugly. This matter with Lu Yanhe actually has little to do with him; he isn't filming, so if he's dark, he's dark. Yet, even though he's dark, he's still supported by many people. This behavior makes me think of a female artist from a while ago who just gained a few pounds and had a little extra flesh on camera, only to be mocked for being fat and trending on search. It's truly unfair."

This post received support and agreement from many people, all calling for society to be more tolerant toward women.

What Chen Ziyan feared most was Lu Yanhe being dragged into this kind of controversial topic.

It is inherently a significant social contradiction that has been argued for years without a conclusion. If Lu Yanhe gets dragged into it at this time, he will only end up covered in dust.

Chen Ziyan thought for a long time about how to face and resolve this matter.

From a public relations perspective, this matter is not about right or wrong, but about removing Lu Yanhe from the trouble as soon as possible.

Thus, a few hours later, Chen Ziyan posted a message on her personal account: Yan He is preparing for a role he will join a crew for later, and he deliberately tanned himself; it is a requirement for the role.

Lu Yanhe sent several question marks shortly after.

Chen Ziyan explained it to him.

Lu Yanhe understood.

"But I haven't accepted this type of role later on," Lu Yanhe said. "Won't people question it?"

"From filming a movie to its release, it takes at least a year. Who will remember this matter a year from now?" Chen Ziyan said. "If someone really asks, just say that the movie fell through and you didn't end up acting in it. The most critical thing is to remove you from this matter first."

Lu Yanhe admired Chen Ziyan's sharp reaction.

On the other side, the invitation letter from the Hexi Film Festival for Lu Yanhe had arrived.

He received the invitation as the spokesperson for the film festival's sponsoring brand, math.

This time, his work was mainly to help the brand with promotion.

And then, there was the press conference for signing the cooperation framework with North Aurora.

These were his two most important tasks at this Hexi Film Festival.

Lu Yanhe did not attend the opening ceremony and only flew over the day before his work.

Thanks to the fact that there were only three compulsory courses this semester, and because he was filming "Late Spring," he hadn't chosen any elective courses, so he had plenty of time and happened to have no classes; otherwise, he would have had to ask for leave again.

Even with a legitimate reason, Lu Yanhe couldn't feel at ease asking for leave—for a student, attending classes at school is a matter of course, and this is a personal obsession of Lu Yanhe's. As a result, just after arriving in Hexi, Chen Ziyan told him, "Director Wang Zhong invited us to dinner tonight."

Lu Yanhe had originally planned to wander around Hexi by himself. With this, he could only go to the appointment first.

This dinner only had Wang Zhong and Chen Ling.

Wang Zhong had come to talk to Lu Yanhe about the film "Rouge."

"I like this script. If I were to be the director of this movie, what do you think?" Wang Zhong asked Lu Yanhe.

He didn't beat around the bush at all and asked straight to the point.

Lu Yanhe said, "Director Wang, if you are willing to be the director of this movie, I am of course very willing. You know, I am your loyal fan."

Wang Zhong breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Lu Yanhe say this.

After all, the script was written by Lu Yanhe, and Lu Yanhe is not an ordinary screenwriter; if a director comes to buy the script, the screenwriter just sells it.

Wang Zhong had already heard from Chen Ling that for this script, Lu Yanhe's own production company would definitely hold the copyright and participate in the production, rather than simply selling the script to others.

Moreover, there was also Chen Bige—she was the female lead Lu Yanhe had already decided on.

Regarding the fact that the female lead was Chen Bige, Wang Zhong had absolutely no dissatisfaction.

He admired Chen Bige very much and also really wanted to work with her.

Moreover, he also felt that Chen Bige was very suitable for the role of Ruhu in "Rouge."

Wang Zhong had always felt that a good ghost story could not be written in a modern setting—this kind of thing needs to happen in an environment far from people's reality to have that eerie, ethereal charm.

He didn't want to film those movies that were scary just for the sake of being scary.

He loved filming gods and ghosts because their fantastic existence could bring some metaphysical aesthetic imagery.

But "Rouge" was a story that combined the past and the present very well.

Especially that look Ruhu gives in modern society, watching the last remaining traces of the past on the stage.

Nothing was written in the script, but Wang Zhong could feel everything.

Lu Yanhe talked a lot with Wang Zhong about "Rouge."

For example, why he chose Chen Bige to play Ruhu; according to Lu Yanhe, this role and this script were tailor-made for Chen Bige. Of course, that wasn't the real situation.

There were also other questions, such as Wang Zhong's thoughts on the character of the Twelfth Young Master and his thoughts on the modern young couple.

Lu Yanhe was surprised to find that many of his ideas were actually very similar to the original movie.

Especially his proposal to set the story in the nineties of the last century, rather than in this completely bizarre modern city.

Wang Zhong said, "Only in this way can the customs of the past and the present still find common ground. Now, you can't see the shadow of the Republic of China era at all."

Lu Yanhe nodded.

Wang Zhong suddenly asked, "Then, do you want to play the role of the Twelfth Young Master?"

Lu Yanhe looked at him in surprise: "Me?"

Wang Zhong asked, "Why, did you not save the male lead role for yourself when you wrote this character?"

Lu Yanhe shook his head with a smile and said, "Actually, no. I didn't write this character based on myself."

Upon hearing this, Wang Zhong said, "Actually, you could play the Twelfth Young Master, but the age gap between you and Chen Bige is a bit large, and I'm worried you two won't match."

Lu Yanhe imagined himself acting in "Rouge" with Sister Bige, and he immediately shook his head, saying, "Not suitable."

It was the kind of thing that would give him goosebumps himself.

Wang Zhong laughed out loud.

He said, "Since that's the case, when should we invite Chen Bige to talk about it together?"

Lu Yanhe said, "Director, Sister Bige is also at the Hexi Film Festival this time. Should I ask her if she has time now?"

Wang Zhong: "That would be great."

Lu Yanhe nodded, "Then I'll give Sister Bige a call."

After Chen Bige heard Lu Yanhe briefly explain the situation, she immediately said she would come over now.

Thus, Lu Yanhe and Wang Zhong waited for a while.

About half an hour later, Chen Bige came over wearing a baseball cap.

She greeted Wang Zhong first and shook his hand, "Director Wang, long time no see."

Wang Zhong said, "The last time we met was two years ago, right?"

Chen Bige nodded, "Yes, we met at the Jiangguang Film Festival before, and you gave me a Film Contribution Award that time."