Chapter 694: Awards One After Another (Ten-thousand-word update!)

This was not the first time Lu Yan He had spent the Lunar New Year with Chen Siqi's family.

However, it was generally the only time he would see them.

Chen Siqi had never asked him to meet them.

Come to think of it, neither he nor Chen Siqi had actually grown up in a relatively normal environment.

Of course, Lu Yan He was a bit better off. At the very least, before he transmigrated here, he was a child who grew up in a normal family environment and had not lacked any love. It was just that after coming here, the original body's experiences created a contradictory mindset in him; sometimes, he would even forget everything from before he transmigrated, adopting the original body's perspective and becoming shrouded in a kind of extreme loneliness, hatred, and anger.

As for Chen Siqi—

Lu Yan He thought to himself, fortunately, Chen Siqi still had her maternal grandparents. Therefore, in all the years of struggling against Liu Weian, she didn't need to fight for love from her father, and she had people who loved her normally, letting her know what normal love looked like.

Lu Yan He suddenly realized something.

Chen Siqi said the wedding wouldn't have those traditional segments—like the parents' segment. Besides the reasons she mentioned, was she also considering his side?

There wasn't a single person on Lu Yan He's side who could attend the wedding as a representative of his family.

After realizing this, Lu Yan He smiled.

He was twenty-four this year, and so was Chen Siqi.

Getting married at this age seemed a bit too early.

However, if counting from when they started dating, he and Chen Siqi had already been together for six years.

Lu Yan He thought on a whim, how about getting married next year?

He didn't ask Chen Siqi.

He roughly knew Chen Siqi's thoughts.

Chen Siqi never brought up the question of when to get married because she knew he had been very busy with work all these years and had almost no time to stop.

It was also because she didn't want to pressure him.

Lu Yan He didn't feel pressured, though.

To this day, he couldn't imagine what it would be like to marry someone else.

He just had an inherent flaw: whenever he did something, he wanted to do it to the best of his ability.

Marriage was the same.

Getting a marriage certificate was simple, of course, but holding a wedding couldn't be done perfunctorily.

Lu Yan He's eyes lit up.

"How about we go get the certificate after we get back?" Lu Yan He asked suddenly.

Chen Siqi slammed on the brakes.

Lu Yan He was almost thrown against the windshield.

Fortunately, he followed traffic rules and had buckled his seatbelt as soon as he got in the car.

Chen Siqi looked at him in shock, "What kind of madness has gotten into you?"

Lu Yan He hadn't come back to his senses yet.

Chen Siqi asked again: "Do you think I'm pressuring you to get married?"

"No." Lu Yan He shook his head, "I was just thinking, holding a wedding is very troublesome and requires dealing with all sorts of things, but getting a certificate is much simpler. Besides, we've been dating for so long, right?"

Chen Siqi: "... Do you know how much of a stir it would cause if we got married now?"

Lu Yan He: "If we two get married, no matter how big the waves are, what does that have to do with us?"

Chen Siqi: "I'm not talking about public opinion, but our respective companies, partners, and the many employees behind us."

Lu Yan He: "Whatever it's like now, it can just stay the same after we get married."

"Signing a prenuptial agreement?" Chen Siqi said, "Are you sure? We'll still keep things that separate after we're married?"

"It's not that separate now, either." Lu Yan He shook his head, "My point is, these things aren't that important. Are we just not going to get married ever because of them?"

"I didn't say we'd never get married, but you can't just say we'll get the certificate as soon as we get back; it can't be that fast." Chen Siqi said, "Have you discussed it with Chen Ziyan? What about your Linghe? What if—I mean, what if we end up divorcing later? How would these things be divided?"

"I haven't even thought about divorce."

"You've put me on the moral low ground with that." Chen Siqi said helplessly, "I just want to think through all the situations in advance. Don't be impulsive, don't have regrets. Even if we two have made up our minds that we are going to be entangled for the rest of our lives and absolutely won't separate, for the people around us, there's no insurance, and they don't have a sense of security."

Lu Yan He: "..."

Chen Siqi: "Also, you don't think I'll agree to it if you don't propose to me properly, do you?"

Lu Yan He deflated.

"Forget it."

Chen Siqi stared intently at Lu Yan He.

"Hey." She reached out and poked Lu Yan He.

"What?"

Chen Siqi raised her hand and pinched Lu Yan He's nose.

"You know very well that I am very willing to marry you. In this world, the person I love most is you."

Lu Yan He's attitude softened.

"Then why did you say so much just now?"

"Who told you to suddenly say that to me while I was driving? And say it so dryly?" Chen Siqi said, "If you had chosen a particularly romantic place and proposed to me formally, how could I have argued with you so much? I definitely would have agreed to you first, then argued with you."

Lu Yan He: "... I just thought of it suddenly."

"I know you thought of it suddenly, on a whim, which is why I argued with you so much." Chen Siqi said, "I don't want this to be something you proposed on a whim."

"This isn't, I'm talking about the timing."

"The timing is the same." Chen Siqi emphasized.

Lu Yan He's heart had been smoothed out.

"I know." Lu Yan He nodded, "I will prepare properly."

"Prepare what?"

"A grand proposal."

"You'd better not make a big scene." Chen Siqi said immediately, "I can't stand being proposed to in front of everyone."

"Mm."

"Also, if you find out I'm not wearing makeup, you aren't allowed to propose; you have to change the date."

"..." Lu Yan He said, "Can't you just insist on wearing makeup every day?"

"I'm not a celebrity artist. My work is so tiring every day, it's very hard work, where would I have the time to dress myself up every day?" Chen Siqi said righteously.

Lu Yan He: "... How about you propose to me instead? I don't have any requirements."

"Sure." Chen Siqi said, "Then I'll propose to you."

Lu Yan He looked at Chen Siqi in shock.

Chen Siqi had an expression that said, "What's the big deal, of course I can."

Lu Yan He went "uh," "Don't, I'd better do it."

Chen Siqi: "What's wrong? Can't you stand it if I propose to you?"

"I can't stand people saying later that I was forced into marriage by you." Lu Yan He said bluntly.

"Heh." Chen Siqi rolled her eyes, "Fine."

The way every couple gets along is completely different.

Lu Yan He had known this for a long time.

However, Lu Yan He sometimes couldn't help but reflect on whether the love between him and Chen Siqi, which had walked out of their student days, was too familiar and sticky, lacking a bit of the green collision born from strangeness?

By comparison, Zhan Yun and Yin Xincheng, who had just gotten together, were dating sneakily and full of excitement.

Their relationship had been under close scrutiny ever since the Lingyun Awards (Drama Category) ceremony.

Both teams had been asked until they were numb by the media.

Regarding this, the team members uniformly replied: It was just a joke on the red carpet.

Despite this, the media still persistently asked Yin Xincheng if he liked Zhan Yun.

Even in Yin Xincheng's comment section, there were a bunch of people asking these questions.

If it hadn't happened to coincide with the Spring Festival Gala, they would probably have stayed on the trending searches the whole time.

After the heat of the Spring Festival Gala was crushed, the number of people concerned about this matter decreased.

But there were still some.

Yin Xincheng and Zhan Yun met once during the Spring Festival to have a meal together.

After being bumped into, the two just smiled and said they were just good friends.

The strategy they adopted was to deny it.

Of course, they also had a very convenient disguise.

*Friends* had filmed for so many seasons that they were already quite familiar with each other; even if they went out for a meal together, it was a very normal thing.

As long as no intimate actions were captured, it could be explained away with the word "friends."

In fact, even their teams didn't really know what was going on with the two of them. Only the other few people from *Friends* knew.

On the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, the second season of *My Own Swordsman* began airing.

Huang Kai accepted an interview; having successfully slimmed back down, he finally restored his handsome appearance.

Liu Zi, who had just won an award, recorded a variety show with Huang Kai.

Everyone curiously asked him why he had gained so much weight a while ago, whether it was too much work pressure, or what was going on.

Huang Kai said very awkwardly: "Just ate until I got fat, and I was lazy, didn't move, no special reason."

"Handsome guys just get fat for fun; they lose weight as soon as they say they will." The host said, "After the first season of *My Own Swordsman* aired, everyone was very concerned about the emotional progress between Bai Zhantang and Tong Xiangyu. I wonder if you have anything you can share with us?"

"Everyone has to watch the show to know that." Huang Kai said immediately, "We can't do spoilers."

"How does Brother Huang see Sister Zi in private? In what ways is Sister Zi similar to the character Tong Xiangyu, and in what ways are they different?" The host had to change the direction of the questioning.

"Hmm, the most similar thing is that they are both people full of resilience toward life. Although they often say they can't do it, are tired, or it's meaningless, in reality, they have never truly compromised or given up." Huang Kai said with a smile, "As for the differences, Sister Zi isn't as calculating as Tong Xiangyu. Sister Zi is quite emotional and muddled in life, and easily deceived by others."

Liu Zi suddenly looked at Huang Kai in shock.

"How do you know that?"

"Ah?" The host thought Liu Zi was doing a bit, and immediately followed up, "How do you know that?"

Huang Kai had to say: "For example, before, I saw a producer wanting to find you to act in a play. They didn't have a script, didn't have a director, just chatted with you, and you felt that since they kept coming to chat with you every few days, they were very sincere, so you agreed. As a result, after your agent found out, they were very helpless, and after going to investigate the situation, they found out that the other party hadn't even secured investment yet and was planning to use your name as the lead actor to pull in investment."

Liu Zi remembered this incident and let out a laugh.

"It really was." She sighed, "Sigh, don't mention it, I was scolded miserably by my agent afterward."

"However, these are all small things." Liu Zi said, "If only the things I was deceived about were such small things."

Huang Kai and the host both heard that something was wrong, and no one dared to pursue the matter further.

The host immediately changed the subject.

"Brother Huang, do you think you are a calculating person in your daily life?"

"I suppose." Huang Kai nodded, "Whatever I do, I must think it through in advance."

Liu Zi suddenly stretched her head over and asked with a serious face: "Then, regarding the fact that you got fat, did you think it through in advance before you got fat?"

Huang Kai: "..."

Suddenly speechless.

This scene also became a viral meme online.

Liu Zi's innocent, curious look when asking this question was turned into an emoji, becoming the most popular new image for the Spring Festival.

Lu Yan He burst into laughter when he saw it.

To some extent, Huang Kai's remark was actually a bit of a magnet for hate.

In the social public opinion field, unless you have the talent to make "boasting" sound "insincere and not showy," any positive evaluation of yourself will attract a lot of people's dislike, or even condemnation.

However, Liu Zi's one sentence washed away all such risks.

Although Huang Kai became a source of amusement because of this incident, he also gained more favor from everyone because of the "teasing."

Lu Yan He knew well that in this day and age, being serious was not a good thing for a celebrity artist. He couldn't help but curiously ask Chen Siqi: "Do you think I've become much more relaxed in the last year or two?"

Chen Siqi: "Which aspect are you referring to?"

"As an artist."

Chen Siqi shook her head: "I don't feel that way."

"Ah?"

"You couldn't possibly be truly relaxed, either. Everyone has expectations of you; they don't see you as a source of amusement." Chen Siqi said, "Of course, everyone likes people who don't put on airs, but if one day you are particularly arrogant in front of the camera, like Li Zhibai, the audience might not say anything, but their liking for you in their hearts will definitely be discounted."

"Why?"

"The expectations and expectation points are different." Chen Siqi said, "You know, don't we often do surveys? Ranking celebrity artists? Among them, if it's a survey of high school students on who they most hope to be their boyfriend, your vote count will definitely be very high. But once the scope of this survey reaches universities, or girls who are a bit older, Li Zhibai's vote count will surpass yours."

"Doesn't this show that everyone actually prefers that kind of more authentic male celebrity?"

"No, you're wrong." Chen Siqi said, "But if this list changes 'boyfriend' to 'like,' your vote count will surpass his. And the main reason for this difference is that for many girls—especially relatively mature college students—you have too many halos, making everyone feel that if they were to become your girlfriend, the pressure would be very high. This reflects everyone's basic impression of you."

Lu Yan He: "I still don't understand why I can't appear too relaxed if that's the case."

"No, pay attention, I'm not talking about being relaxed, but that you cannot appear truly casual." Chen Siqi said, "Take an example: if there is a documentary program following you and Li Zhibai for a week, if Li Zhibai's state for that week is just eating and sleeping, eating and sleeping, everyone wouldn't be surprised at all, and would even feel that this is him. And because of his laziness and lack of ambition, many people feel as if they see themselves, without any pressure, and like him more. But if it were you, a large number of people would be greatly disappointed. Even if you have never hyped up how hard-working or diligent you are, in everyone's preset of you, you are not such a person. This would make them feel disillusioned because the image you present is different from the image they expect."

Lu Yan He vaguely understood a little.

In the end, it's actually about what the audience expects of you, and whether you have met their expectations.

The more famous a public figure becomes, the more they are constrained by such image shackles.

"Of course, if you ate and slept for those seven days, and then on the last night, spent two hours writing a script, then it would be different." Chen Siqi said, "Once there is a result that meets everyone's expectations, your laziness for the previous seven days will be rationalized, or even deified. Hmm, they will think you're awesome, because of the achievements you've made in the past few years; to be honest, everyone is result-oriented with you."

"What about Yan Liang?"

"Process-oriented." Chen Siqi said bluntly, "A large part of Yan Liang's core fan base advocates that 'Heaven rewards diligence.' They can't be geniuses, so they act as 'earthly talents,' believing that one part of cultivation brings one part of harvest."

Lu Yan He nodded, understanding.

Chen Siqi's insights, although very labeled and secular, were undoubtedly very reasonable.

Idols, to fans, definitely have a meaning of being needed by fans, which is why there is talk of worship and pursuit.

Just like a rich second generation will not yearn for another rich second generation; they will only yearn for another rich second generation who is richer than them.

When fans look at idols, sometimes they are just looking at an imagined self, a successful self, a dream that cannot be realized but is hoped to be realized.

For the public, the image Lu Yan He has built is one of success miracle studies.

"If Yin Xincheng really got together with Zhan Yun, how many people would be disappointed?"

"I'll be blunt: Yin Xincheng is not worthy of Zhan Yun."

"Zhan Yun is the most popular actor brought out by *Friends*. Even Yan Liang is not as popular as Zhan Yun; this is an undeniable fact, even if Yan Liang has filmed several hit dramas."

"How many urban girls have projected themselves onto Zhan Yun? Although Yin Xincheng is also very popular, to be honest, his attention in the drama *Friends* is not as good as Zhan Yun's, so why should he be Zhan Yun's boyfriend in a romantic relationship?"

"I know, someone will definitely scold me, saying that men and women are equal, and there is no conclusion that in a couple, the male must be more outstanding than the female. But putting aside these self-deceiving things, girls, ask yourselves, when you are looking for a boyfriend, don't you want to find a boyfriend you can worship and who is stronger than you?"

Just after the Lantern Festival, Yu Jiang suddenly published such a passage on her personal social media, bringing the previous scandal between Zhan Yun and Yin Xincheng back to everyone's attention.

And as soon as Yu Jiang's article was published, it immediately hit the trending searches.

Not only did many of her readers express agreement in the comment section, but this topic also received a lot of support and backing on the internet.

Many people thought Yin Xincheng was not worthy of Zhan Yun.

Many people said that Yu Jiang spoke their minds directly.

Not just their minds, but their attitude toward life.

Someone said directly: "This actually has nothing to do with gender equality. To put it bluntly, when I look for a boyfriend or a husband, of course I want to find someone stronger than me. I have a 'strong-worship' mentality, and there's nothing wrong with admitting that. Men want women to be beautiful, women want men to be strong; this is too normal."

The number of likes exceeded ten thousand.

The most feared thing about celebrity affairs is becoming a topic in the public sphere.

Yin Xincheng and Zhan Yun had just gotten together, and suddenly, with Yu Jiang fanning the flames like this, their relationship was suddenly not just their own business.

The discussion was rampant.

Everyone popped up to express their attitude.

Subsequently, some people used Lu Yan He and Chen Siqi as examples.

Just at this time, the second season of *Friends* reached its final episode.

The six of them reunited to hold a celebration banquet for the conclusion of this season.

The various discussions from the outside world seemed to have no impact on the mood of the six of them at all.

At the celebration banquet, everyone cut the cake very happily.

Subsequently, they flew together to Japan, South Korea, and Singapore to participate in three *Friends* fan meet-and-greet events.

The frequency of exposure made them appear almost every day in the eyes of those who followed them.

However, in such dense exposure, not a single media outlet had the opportunity to interview them about the recent online controversy.

They waited until they returned to the country and appeared at the airport, where a group of media and fans picking them up surrounded them, blocking them completely.

A nosy media outlet asked loudly in front of so many people: "Yin Xincheng, Zhan Yun, have you seen the recent controversy online?"

Yin Xincheng and Zhan Yun both pretended not to hear and walked forward wearing sunglasses.

But those media outlets were like dog-skin plasters, sticking to them tightly, refusing to let them go.

Asking over and over again.

In the end, someone actually asked loudly: "Yin Xincheng, you don't dare to answer, is it because you are also guilty, feeling that you are not worthy of Zhan Yun? Can you give a direct response?"

The veins on Yin Xincheng's forehead bulged.

Lu Yan He looked toward that person very angrily.

He took off his sunglasses and looked over coldly.

"You like asking about worthiness so much, do you think you are worthy of asking such questions?"

Yan Liang pulled Lu Yan He and said: "Don't pay attention to him, let's go."

Lu Yan He put his sunglasses back on.

The fans who came to pick them up applauded very supportively.

"Well said!"

"Yin Xincheng, we support you!"

"Yin Xincheng, if you like Zhan Yun, just say it openly, don't pay attention to those people."

The atmosphere at the scene suddenly turned into an encouragement meeting.

Yin Xincheng's face became inexplicably awkward.

Zhan Yun was also embarrassed.

Bo Jin and Wen Minglan walked at the very back, looked at each other, and tried very hard to manage their expressions to avoid being captured and having their micro-expressions interpreted.

The six of them got into the nanny van together.

Their teams all got into the cars behind.

The reason they didn't separate was that from the moment they landed, they had started recording a program.

This program was defined as a *Friends* group variety show, but in reality, it was only recorded for one day, with everyone sitting together chatting and gossiping.

It was mainly as a welfare extra for the audience who liked this show.

"Thanks a lot." Yin Xincheng said to Lu Yan He after getting on the car.

Lu Yan He: "It's nothing, thanks to you holding back. Sometimes when you run into some media, you can really get so angry you get a heart attack."

"Yeah." Yin Xincheng sighed, "Every time I feel I've gotten used to this ecosystem, something always happens that exceeds your imagination."

There were cameras filming in the car, so they couldn't say many things directly.

For example, the fact that Yin Xincheng and Zhan Yun had already started dating.

The attitude Yin Xincheng and Zhan Yun reached now was: don't admit it, don't deny it, but don't take the initiative to show it either.

This principle was also followed by the other few people from *Friends*.

Looking at the two of them like this, Lu Yan He suddenly thought, fortunately, when he and Chen Siqi got together, they didn't make it public immediately.

With so much public opinion and controversy, and even people like Yu Jiang who turned their being together into a social topic to argue about, even a love as strong as gold might be burned in half.

Not easy.

A couple of days after this, it was the Blue Ribbon Awards ceremony.

Lu Yan He attended with everyone.

Nominated for both *Friends* and *My Own Swordsman*, he won the Best Screenplay Award for *My Own Swordsman*.

The Blue Ribbon even specially prepared an award speech: "*My Own Swordsman* inherits the style of classical Chinese novels in the form of a sitcom, creates unit dramas in a chapter-based style, reflects the great *jianghu* through small characters, and in this square inch of land, uses the ancient to reflect the present. As the foundation of a drama, it is well-deserved."

The presenter was still Luo Yuzhong.

When Luo Yuzhong read this passage, Lu Yan He's eyes turned red.

As it turned out, this was just the beginning.

Best Supporting Actor was taken by Yan Liang for *The Summit*, a second win.

Best Actress was also a second win for Liu Zi of *My Own Swordsman*.

And the final grand prize, Best TV Drama, actually went to *Friends*, shocking everyone in the venue.

Wen Yang personally went on stage to read the award speech: "*Friends* is a sitcom, but of course, it is also a TV drama. Good works can transcend themes and forms, transcend inherent aesthetic standards, and the barriers of past award evaluations. *Friends* is a new trend; it tells the story of a group of young people's lives, friendships, and love in the city. When it gains the love and pursuit of this era with a tone that seems easier than realism, perhaps we should also notice that the meaning of realism is also being endowed with new era meanings along with the development of the times."

Lu Yan He listened to this award speech, and his whole person went numb.

Tonight was completely a grand gift from Wen Yang and the Blue Ribbon to him.

These two award speeches were the best annotations for *My Own Swordsman* and *Friends* in this world, annotations from a mainstream award.

The neglect and contempt of the Golden Tripod Awards for them were truly swept into the embers of history at this moment.

Everyone from *Friends* went up to the Blue Ribbon Awards stage together, happily enjoying the glory of this moment.

That night, *Friends* could be said to have had a bumper harvest.

Most importantly, it was the meaning represented behind this grand prize.

Especially the award speech given by the Blue Ribbon to *Friends*, which received a huge response on the internet.

Of course, after *Friends* won the award, many people jumped out and said that a drama like *Friends* should not have received such a grand prize, and that it could not represent the level of Chinese TV dramas.

There is always a group of people who evaluate a work like this.

It doesn't matter how popular and recognized it is, because it's not serious enough, not in line with the mainstream of past history.

Controversies arose one after another.

And the chairman of this Blue Ribbon Awards jury, former Blue Ribbon Awards Best Actor winner Liu Yu, when interviewed, answered such questions: "At this moment, even if I say ten thousand reasons, there will still be people who do not recognize it. So, I think, for this result, let us wait and see, waiting for time to tell us the answer, whether this result was given correctly. At least all of our jurors recognize this result."

Lu Yan He indeed had not expected this result.

He was very content.

What surprised him even more was that the Honghe Awards, the last of the three major TV awards that had not yet been awarded, immediately announced its nominations.

*Friends* once again received nominations for Best Screenplay and Best TV Drama.

Besides the Blue Ribbon, the Honghe Awards also included *Friends* in its field of vision.

This meaning was undoubtedly a response to the controversy over *Friends* winning the award.

Lu Yan He posted a Weibo, thanking the Honghe Awards for the nomination, and subsequently, entered the set.

*Seventeen Layers* Season 3.

The final season.

The broadcast performance of *Seventeen Layers* Season 2 was quite good, continuing the heat of the first season. Although the word-of-mouth declined slightly, it still held its basic foundation.

The filming of *Seventeen Layers* Season 3 prioritized Jiang Jun's scenes first, because he was about to enter the set to film *Doomsday*.

Regarding such an arrangement, Lu Yan He and Chen Bige had no objections, and naturally, no one else did either.

This time, the filming cycle of *Seventeen Layers* Season 3 lasted for 120 days, mainly because of the wrap-up. Teacher Feng Qiyue wrote twenty-two episodes, and there was more content to film than the previous two seasons.

However, fortunately, there were many fewer group scenes this season, so once the schedule was coordinated, even though Lu Yan He was the male lead, his actual filming time on set only needed sixty days.

This was also because, in the end, this drama was still Chen Bige's big female lead perspective drama. Lu Yan He, the male lead, actually didn't have many more scenes than the other few main supporting roles.

After Chen Bige entered the set, she asked Lu Yan He one thing.

"Do you have any scripts for me to act in this year?"

"This year—" Lu Yan He thought for a moment and said: "There are no suitable ones for the time being."

Chen Bige nodded: "Then I'll take other plays. Director Feng Yu has a script for me to act in, but it needs to be filmed for quite a long time. If I take this play, I won't be able to take other plays this year."

Feng Yu was a director with a very personal style. If you say he is commercial, his authorial expression is very large; if you say he takes the art film route, he likes to play with black humor and fast-paced sets.

To find a benchmark director, Lu Yan He would feel that he was more like Guan Hu during the period of filming *Design of Death* and *The Chef, the Actor, the Scoundrel*.

Lu Yan He was very curious and asked: "The plays Director Feng Yu filmed in the past were basically men's plays, with no female characters. What is he going to film? What role is he looking for you to act in?"

Chen Bige: "A femme fatale in a village."

As soon as Lu Yan He heard this, he immediately felt it was a bit interesting.

"Adultery, incest, barbaric, barbaric land, moral collapse, human nature contradiction kind of thing?" Lu Yan He asked.

"There is such a meaning, overall more dog-blood." Chen Bige said, "But every character is very full of vitality. You'll know when you read the script; that's not a group of people who can be raised in the city. I like this kind of barbaric but vital character. *Raise the Red Lantern* was too oppressive for me. I like Feng Yu's script just because the people in it all act without a word."

Lu Yan He smiled and nodded.

"When is it filming? I'll visit the set, I want to see it."

Chen Bige said: "That will take a while to film. Feng Yu asked me to give him a four-month schedule, but based on his filming style, I've already prepared for a delay."

"Does it take that long for him to film?"

"His style, the first month, you basically don't want to film any useful material." Chen Bige said, "I also cooperated with him once before, so I know his nature. Basically, he can only cooperate with old acquaintances. People who are not familiar with him basically can't stand his style."

Lu Yan He nodded.

For a director at the level of Feng Yu, how he wants to film, basically as long as he doesn't lose money, there will definitely be investors to play with him.

And a director like him, as long as there is a producer who has cooperated for a long time and knows his style to help him control costs and make a good budget, even if he films for a year, as long as the box office doesn't flop too hard, he can still make a profit.

Just like Chen Bige, her salary for filming a movie normally is between 8 million and 15 million, high or low, depending on the film's production cost and market prospects. But she basically won't quote over 10 million for filming Feng Yu's film, because Feng Yu's film is not the kind of big box office film. At most, it's 200 to 300 million. His best box office performance in the past was 310 million.

Of course, actors should be like Chen Bige, with salary and so on, depending on the situation of the film, discussed one by one. They don't rely on salary to make a living, so there is no need to insist on a certain price.

Lu Yan He said: "Then if *Raise the Red Lantern* is released this year, won't you be unable to do publicity?"

"It depends on when it is released. If it's in the second half of the year, I will definitely go to film Feng Yu's play. I might have to ask for leave, but asking for leave is at most one or two days, there is no way to ask for more." Chen Bige said, "The first half of the year is relatively better. The schedule of *Seventeen Layers* is easier to coordinate. On Feng Yu's side, basically, the play is all on me."

Lu Yan He understood and nodded.

"It's okay, if it really doesn't work, then don't run publicity." Lu Yan He said easily, "As long as it wins an award at the Xitu'er Film Festival."

Lu Yan He was very confident this time that *Raise the Red Lantern* could win an award at Xitu'er—

It really had the right time, the right place, and the right people.

Chen Bige: "Are you going to Xitu'er this time?"

"Go, ask the crew for three days off, attend the premiere, and participate in some interviews." Lu Yan He said, "However, if the screening times of *Raise the Red Lantern* and *Tropical Rainy Season* cannot be consecutive for two days, then I can only give up the publicity activities of *Raise the Red Lantern*. This time I have another movie, *Tropical Rainy Season*, which was also shortlisted for the main competition unit. You know, that movie needs me to stand on the platform more."

Chen Bige: "You really are... you don't care about your own biological son, but go to stand on the platform for others."

"The biological son has Director Wang Zhong and you, I am just a screenwriter, not attending, it doesn't have much impact." Lu Yan He said, "*Tropical Rainy Season*, if I don't attend, if it doesn't win an award, to be honest, there might be no media attention to this movie."

No famous director, no other famous actors, and no big company behind it to do media public relations.

The only hot spot of *Tropical Rainy Season* is Lu Yan He.

Huang Tianlin was also very concerned about whether Lu Yan He could attend the premiere and media publicity activities of *Tropical Rainy Season* at Xitu'er.

Fortunately, the Xitu'er official still very much hoped that Lu Yan He could attend the activities of both movies at the same time—

Now, the degree of attention Lu Yan He receives in the world film scene has reached the point where he is one of the most welcome movie stars at international top film festivals.

Because media from all countries are paying attention to him, his fame is extremely great, and he has extreme news value.

Therefore, in the end, *Raise the Red Lantern* and *Tropical Rainy Season* were scheduled to be screened on consecutive days, and Lu Yan He only needed to ask the crew for one more day off.

Lu Yan He actually sincerely hoped that *Raise the Red Lantern* could win the highest award at Xitu'er.

But whether it can win an award, it still depends on the situation of the films competing in the same session.

Lu Yan He was not arrogant enough to think that *Raise the Red Lantern* could kill gods and Buddhas.

Old Man Zhang himself wouldn't be so arrogant.

He could only hope that there would be no such monstrous divine work in the main competition unit of Xitu'er this year.

If it's like *The Shawshank Redemption* running into *Forrest Gump*, then there's no way, it just depends on which set the jurors prefer.

As for *Tropical Rainy Season*, Lu Yan He hadn't seen the finished film yet, and didn't know what *Tropical Rainy Season* would look like or what kind of results it would get.

Linghe had already bought the distribution rights of *Tropical Rainy Season* in China.

So, even from a practical interest point of view, Lu Yan He definitely hoped that *Tropical Rainy Season* would have a good performance.

Of course, being able to enter the main competition unit of Xitu'er was already a very good achievement.

For Lu Yan He, this might no longer be such a strange thing.

But for Huang, it meant that as a film director, he had officially entered the vision of the world's top film festivals from a fledgling, highly regarded talented director.

With such a resume, his next work would definitely be prioritized by the international four major film festivals.

Lu Yan He felt that if he could help a director like Huang Tianlin reach such a height, he would also be very happy. Similarly, this was also a heavy stroke on his resume as a filmmaker. ===== CHAPTER 695 =====