Chapter 613: Huang Fenglian

Lu Yan He himself had indeed sensed the change in Huang Tianlin's attitude toward him.

Although Huang Tianlin had never actively said anything to him about it.

This shift in attitude was reflected in many details, even in a certain feeling.

Lu Yan He discovered that when he later offered suggestions on how a scene should be acted, Huang Tianlin's resistance was not so great.

Huang Tianlin would tell him his requirements for the scene and the effect he hoped to achieve, but he would no longer explain in detail—

how exactly Lu Yan He should act.

He simply let Lu Yan He try take after take; if Huang Tianlin was not satisfied, he would not call cut.

Of course, Lu Yan He himself also enjoyed acting immensely.

Lu Yan He realized he was an actor who desperately needed directors to give him space. He was truly not the kind of actor who stubbornly insisted on doing things his own way, yet he also could not act like a marionette, following the director's instructions to the letter.

Just like this, grinding and adjusting with Huang Tianlin until they formed a tacit understanding and a cooperative working method—it was quite good.

When he had filmed almost all his scenes, with just one or two days left to shoot his final scene in the crew before wrapping up, Huang Tianlin told him that Huang Feng's mother wanted to talk with him that evening about the matter of Huang Feng signing with a company.

Lu Yan He had thought he would not hear any response before he wrapped.

"Alright."

Huang Feng's mother was named Huang Fenglian, a very common Chinese name over here. Among the female Chinese staff in the crew, nearly one-third had either "Feng" or "Lian" in their names.

However, Lu Yan He's impression of Huang Fenglian was quite profound. She brought Huang Feng to the set every day for filming while also handling the crew's financial work, and one could often see her constantly switching modes.

In reality, Lu Yan He felt Huang Fenglian was not the typical woman. She was not domineering at work, nor particularly gentle with her child; she was a woman full of vitality. The reason Huang Fenglian left this impression on Lu Yan He was that, within the crew, she had never enjoyed any special treatment just because she was the director's sister.

On the contrary, besides her financial duties, she did basically whatever the set needed that she was capable of; once, during a shoot that had extremely high demands for lighting,

Huang Tianlin, being particular, wanted the light to present a texture like a flowing oil painting.

In the end, after trying this and that, it required someone to stand on a scaffold nearly three meters high, holding a lamp by hand at a specific angle to cast the light, in order to capture that effect on camera.

This was a small crew where everyone had their own responsibilities and no one else could spare a hand; without a second word, Huang Fenglian hoisted a lighting fixture larger than her own head, clambered up the scaffold with a clang, and helped hold the light like that for over an hour.

Her entire body was baked by the heat radiating from the light until sweat poured down like rain.

"Sister Fenglian, hello."

Lu Yan He greeted Huang Fenglian and shook her hand.

Although Huang Fenglian was Huang Tianlin's sister, she did not possess his bad habits of being overly self-important, hypersensitive about his dignity, and putting on airs.

She very proactively and warmly shook Lu Yan He's hand; her smile was simple and clean, yet infectious, possessing a warmth that lay somewhere between social politeness and pure sincerity.

"Yan He, thank you for valuing Xiaofeng," Huang Fenglian said. "I truly never expected that this brat could be chosen by you."

Lu Yan He said, "I have rarely seen a child with such acting talent as he has."

Huang Fenglian asked, "Do you really think so?"

"Yes." Lu Yan He nodded. "This kind of talent is innate. I believe he himself hasn't thought about so many things, but as soon as he starts acting, he can release a sense of storytelling and a sensitivity that even he is unaware of. This kind of thing is very moving; at least when I was acting with him, it moved me greatly."

Huang Fenglian nodded, lightly biting her lip, and said, "Although Huang Feng came to film this movie this time, it was only because Huang Tianlin needed a child of this age for the shoot; he insisted that only Xiaofeng was the most suitable. Before this, Xiaofeng had never acted, and I had never thought he could act. For him, I only hoped he would grow up healthy, get into a good university, find a good job, and live a stable life."

"Mm, I understand." Lu Yan He nodded. "Sister Fenglian, I won't hide anything from you. Whether Xiaofeng will eventually walk the path of a professional actor is something we cannot really say yet, given how young he is. This also involves his own future willingness, as well as his opportunities in this industry; none of these are certain. It's just that, seeing he has such talent, and considering that many roles actually require a child actor who can act, I became interested. I also want to make this clear to you in advance: I have no intention of making him give up his studies to become a full-time actor from a young age. I myself finished university honestly before starting to act full-time; I have always believed that no matter what industry a person engages in, studying hard is extremely important."

Huang Fenglian nodded in agreement.

"Do you have any concerns? You can ask me directly; I will answer whatever I can. If there is something I cannot answer, my Agent, Chen Ziyan, will arrive here tomorrow. She is coming here for a very important reason: to formally discuss Xiaofeng's situation with you as the head of a talent agency," Lu Yan He said.

Huang Fenglian asked, "If he signs with you all, I... I know this might be a bit Tang Tu, but can you take him back to China to study?"

Lu Yan He was completely stunned.

He had imagined many scenarios, but he never expected Huang Fenglian would make such a request.

Lu Yan He said, "Sister Fenglian, I really cannot answer that right now, because it exceeds the scope of what I know. However, why would you suddenly want... to send Xiaofeng back to China to study?"

"He can receive a better education in China," Huang Fenglian stated plainly. "Moreover, you may already know that I am currently raising Xiaofeng alone. In the past, Tianlin helped me raise him, allowing me to go out to work, but now that Tianlin is a director, I am raising him by myself; to be honest, it is very inconvenient. But if I don't work, I cannot support him. He is currently attending a very ordinary school here, and I have no time to manage him, so his grades are terrible. I have thought about whether to take him back to China in the future; whether for schooling or for his future work and life, I feel that China is a better environment for Xiaofeng."

Lu Yan He asked, "I can look into this and see if there is a way, but if Xiaofeng goes to China to study and live, what about you?"

"As long as he can go back to study, I will go back with him," Huang Fenglian said. "I hope you can help arrange a good school for him; for everything else, I will figure out a solution myself."

Huang Fenglian's face was filled with determination.

At this moment, Lu Yan He felt deeply moved in his heart.

In ancient times, Mother Meng moved three times; regardless of era or country, parents equally value their children's education.

However, when it comes to the notion of "bankrupting the family and selling pots and pans to ensure the child gets a better education," it seems the Chinese people take this to the deepest degree.

Lu Yan He also saw this persistent belief in Huang Fenglian.

He truly had not expected that Huang Fenglian's request was for them to help arrange a good school for Huang Feng.

He had even prepared for the worst-case scenario, expecting Huang Fenglian to demand a huge signing fee.

"..."

Lu Yan He said, "Sister Fenglian, I cannot guarantee anything to you right now, but we will look into domestic policies and see if there is any way to make this happen."

Huang Fenglian nodded, took a deep breath, and said, "Trouble you."

Lu Yan He smiled.

"What is it?" Huang Fenglian asked, somewhat embarrassed as she tucked her hair back.

Lu Yan He said, "Nothing, Sister Fenglian. I just feel that Xiaofeng is very lucky to have a mother like you."

Upon hearing these words, however, Huang Fenglian lowered her brows, her expression becoming slightly despondent.

"No, I did not give him a complete family; having a mother like me is actually very unfortunate for him."

Lu Yan He shook his head.

"Whether a child is lucky or unlucky depends importantly on whether they grow up happy and healthy," Lu Yan He said. "You know, before I came to meet you today, I actually imagined many kinds of requests you might make. You may have heard that many parents of child stars care about and demand other things; I never expected that what you care about is his education."

Huang Fenglian said, "I have always regretted that after my parents brought me to Malaysia, I never returned to our home country."

"Your life and work are all here; it is not so easy to put everything down and start life anew in a different place," Lu Yan He said. "The fact that you have taken such good care of both Huang Tianlin and Huang Feng is already incredibly impressive."

Huang Fenglian smiled.

"Thank you."

Lu Yan He said, "If we can't handle the matter of him returning to China for his studies, would you consider having him sign with us and work as an actor during his holidays in the future?"

Huang Fenglian thought for a moment and said, "If he signs with you, will many of his dramas need to be filmed in China?"

"Yes, but actually not that many," Lu Yan He said. "If he acts, it will definitely only be during winter and summer breaks, without affecting his normal studies, so under normal circumstances, he would film at most two dramas a year. Even if he continues schooling in Malaysia, he can use such opportunities to return to China for visits; if he wishes to live and work in China in the future, he will be able to integrate faster."

Huang Fenglian hesitated for a moment before saying, "If he cannot return to China for school, I haven't decided whether he should start acting at such a young age. I still hope he can have a normal childhood."

Lu Yan He understood her thoughts and concerns.

Not every parent is willing to let their child enter the adult world so early.

A child star, in essence, enters the adult world prematurely.

It may seem like flowers and applause, with early fame, but anyone who has truly read many interviews with former child stars knows that the growth process of a child star often forces them to face cruelty and ruthlessness far earlier than ordinary children ever would.

Lu Yan He said, "I truly don't know how to persuade you on various aspects; this isn't my forte. Tomorrow, my Agent, Chen Ziyan, will come to discuss the details with you. I only promise one thing: I will do my utmost to help him grow up healthy and happy."

Huang Fenglian nodded, yet she did not relent because of this.

In his heart, Lu Yan He once again sighed with emotion; Huang Feng really had a wonderful mother.

There was much to do today; I arrived home at ten o'clock at night and wrote all this without stopping for breath.

There will be another chapter a bit later.