Chapter 194: Heading to Hong Kong

Snowflakes danced in the capital.

The footsteps of time quietly approached New Year's Day.

Aside from juggling several women, Li Luo bought five properties in one go at Jinqiu Garden. After spending over three million in a grand gesture, he halted his frantic property-buying spree.

Excluding his small courtyard, he now held eight properties in his hands.

He had become a small-time property mogul.

As long as he held onto these assets firmly, in a dozen years or so, his fixed assets would steadily exceed two hundred million.

Some things are better in moderation.

He needed to keep some money on hand for a rainy day.

He couldn't spend all his money on real estate; besides, with over seven million in cash left, he felt confident in whatever he did.

While he was busy spending money,

gossip columns in entertainment tabloids began to appear.

Gao Yuanyuan, who had exploded in popularity due to *Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber*, was suspected of having relationship trouble with her musician boyfriend. Paparazzi even snapped photos of her boyfriend eating a late-night snack with another well-known female singer.

Facing the reporters' persistent questioning, Gao Yuanyuan responded with an expressionless face.

This effectively confirmed the rumors.

Meanwhile, Wu Dun had completely finished setting up the entire production team and was just waiting to confirm the start date.

Taking advantage of his last few days of free time,

Li Luo bought several tins of high-quality West Lake Longjing tea and returned to school. His head teacher, department head, and vice-dean each received a share. After presenting the gifts, he shook hands and expressed his gratitude for their previous support.

Nothing should be taken for granted.

Proper gratitude is indispensable.

With everything arranged, Li Luo said his goodbyes to the women one by one, took his small assistant, and hailed a taxi straight to the capital's airport.

He began his journey to Hong Kong.

Arriving at the VIP lounge,

he saw the guy in front of him constantly shaking his leg. Li Luo took off his sunglasses:

"Brother Long!"

This movement gave the latter a start.

"Huh?"

Zhang Long turned his head to look at Li Luo, a playful smile appearing on his face: "Young people still need to show some restraint. Look at the state of you."

This guy was full of weariness, looking completely drained of energy.

As someone who had been there,

he knew exactly what was going on at a glance.

"If I were always restrained,"

Li Luo rubbed his eyes and sat down beside him with a yawn, "could I still be called a young man?"

For the past two or three days, he had barely stopped.

Even if he had iron kidneys,

he could barely hold up.

Being able to maintain this state was already quite impressive!

"Actually, you could have gone a few days later."

Zhang Long chewed on a betel nut and waved his hand dismissively: "You just finished filming a movie; it wouldn't have been a problem to rest for a few more days. There's still some time before filming starts anyway."

Originally, he had planned to head to Hong Kong first to handle the preliminary preparations with Wu Dun.

It was just that during their communication,

Li Luo had also expressed his desire to accompany him.

He could only rush to help handle all the paperwork over the last two days, along with sorting out the flight tickets.

"It's fine."

Li Luo sat down calmly and put his sunglasses back on: "Didn't Wang Fei come to the hospital to see me last time? It just so happens she's holding a concert in Hong Kong, so in terms of both reason and sentiment, I should go join in the fun."

"It's just something I'm doing while I'm there anyway."

Zhang Long nodded in realization and smiled at Wu Yu, who was following behind.

This is how people in the industry interact.

Singers attend premiere ceremonies, and actors attend concerts.

Everyone supports each other.

So he wasn't surprised by Li Luo's words, and he certainly wouldn't think of anything else.

"Manager Zhang."

Wu Yu greeted Zhang Long respectfully.

Then she pulled her suitcase over and sat down.

The group chatted idly while waiting for boarding time to arrive.

In truth, Li Luo certainly wanted to rest for a few more days, but he couldn't withstand Wang Fei's constant stream of texts and calls, strongly expressing her desire to spend New Year's with him, so he had no choice but to choose to leave early.

He did it all to ensure he caught the final show of her current concert tour's Hong Kong leg.

"Li Luo."

Just as the group was chatting, a loud, boisterous shout rang out.

Several people walked over from not far away, the person in the lead walking with an air of great authority.

The person who arrived was none other than Xiang Naying, with Gao Yuanyuan following closely behind.

Their entourage also included their assistants.

Miss Yuan put on a pair of large toad-style sunglasses, her small face tight, giving the impression that she was in an extremely bad mood. Li Luo chuckled inwardly; he hadn't expected her acting skills in this regard to be quite good.

As early as yesterday, Li Luo knew everyone was on the same flight.

He feigned surprise.

He stood up to shake hands with them.

"You are...?"

Xiang Naying guessed that Li Luo was probably going to see Wang Fei's concert—in fact, she was too—but she found it strange that he was accompanied by someone from a film company, and carrying quite a bit of luggage.

"Joining a crew to film a new movie."

Li Luo shook hands with Gao Yuanyuan, who looked cold and distant: "And seeing Sister Fei's concert while I'm at it."

The group exchanged greetings.

They each found a seat and sat down.

Li Luo took this opportunity to quietly ask Miss Yuan about the situation, learning that Gao Yuanyuan had originally wanted to find an opportunity to break up with her boyfriend, but the other party had accidentally been photographed by the media.

She simply went with the flow and handled the matter cleanly.

However,

she had to keep some distance for this period.

Now, paparazzi from all walks of life were watching her closely; even the time it took to go out for a meal was met with several cameras pointed at her.

Miss Yuan didn't need to remind him.

Ever since she and Xiang Naying appeared, some sneaky figures had appeared outside the VIP lounge. Li Luo quickly returned to Zhang Long's side, and everyone maintained a corresponding distance.

Half an hour later,

the plane cut through the sky, heading straight for the south.

After nearly four hours of flight, Li Luo and Wu Yu successfully arrived at this Pearl of the Orient.

Walking out of the airport, they had already changed from thick down jackets into slightly thinner jackets; the weather in the north and south was vastly different, and a jacket over a T-shirt was enough to handle the temperature in Hong Kong.

They took off their scarves, wearing only sunglasses.

In a place like Hong Kong, he didn't need to worry too much about being recognized.

At least for now,

his influence hadn't reached this far.

Waving goodbye to Xiang Naying, Gao Yuanyuan, and the others, he followed Zhang Long into the commercial vehicle arranged by the crew to pick them up and headed straight for the hotel.

Looking at the streetscape by the road,

the patrolling officers,

and the Cantonese drifting into the window from time to time,

a strange sense of familiarity welled up in Li Luo's heart.

Although it was his first time in Hong Kong,

this was a memory instilled in him by countless Hong Kong films and dramas, making him feel both familiar and strange—a feeling that was quite jarring.

Wu Yu, beside him, was also in high spirits.

Hong Kong today

was still an international metropolis in every sense of the word.

It was also her first time in Hong Kong, and she found everything she saw fresh and new.

The living environment for mainland film and television workers had improved a lot now; back in the 80s and 90s, the rapidly booming film market had led Hong Kong industry professionals to look down on their mainland counterparts.

When Li Lianjie filmed back then,

he would fight from morning till night and only get two yuan a day.

Even a minor stuntman on a Hong Kong team could get several thousand to ten thousand yuan a month.

The treatment was worlds apart.

There was no helping it; the economic gap was too large.

Now, with the takeoff of the mainland economy, many things were slowly changing. In fact, the shift in the attitude of Hong Kong people toward mainlanders was a history of the economic development of both sides.

As for the so-called discrimination, Li Luo didn't take it to heart.

This kind of rubbish

existed everywhere.

In the eyes of Shanghai aristocrats, everywhere else was full of country bumpkins.

As long as his own backbone was strong enough, why would he fear such boring things? If anyone dared to come and cause trouble, he'd just slap them back.

As the wheels turned,

they soon arrived at the hotel booked for him by the crew.

The treatment provided was quite good; in Hong Kong, where every inch of land is worth gold, they had still managed to get him a comfortable suite, and through the living room window, he could see the modern urban landscape of Hong Kong's high-rises.

"How is it?"

Zhang Long strolled around and came to stand in front of the floor-to-ceiling glass, looking out at the distant sea surface: "If you're not satisfied, I'll change it for you."

He was also serving as the producer for the new movie.

Wu Dun couldn't be on set every day, so having his own person to keep an eye on expenses was very important.

This wasn't a joke.

Mixed in this circle of interests, some people naturally developed a profit-driven character. Some directors, when encountering investors who didn't know the ropes, could chew up the other person's bones and swallow them whole.

Setting up a scene could be done for thirty thousand, but with a bit of lip service, it could become a hundred thousand.

Once filming was done and the set was dismantled, there was nowhere to investigate.

There was no lack of directors who, after finishing a film, would happily go home and buy a villa.

Of course, no one would dare play such tricks on Wu Dun, but necessary arrangements still had to be made; otherwise, once some things were left unchecked, they could easily develop in an uncontrollable direction.

"I'm very satisfied."

Li Luo fist-bumped Zhang Long and nodded slightly: "Thank you, Brother Long, and please thank President Wu for me too."

"Don't mention it."

Zhang Long patted his shoulder and popped a betel nut into his mouth: "I'll have someone send over the complete script in a while. Have a good time tonight, and we'll meet up for a meal with the crew tomorrow."

After a few words of idle chat, the guy left quickly.

There were plenty of things waiting for him to attend to.

"Brother Luo."

Wu Yu poked her head out from the room, shaking some clothes and asking: "Are you wearing a suit tonight, or...?"

"White sneakers, jeans."

Li Luo flopped back onto the sofa and casually turned on the television.

Wearing a suit to a concert?

He must be crazy!

He'd rather dress low-key than be out of place.

Hong Kong gossip magazines had extremely poisonous tongues.

He had to be on guard.

The television was replaying the most popular variety show at the time, *Super Trio*. Many segments in the later hit *Ace vs. Ace* were copied from this variety show.

It was still far from being as open as others played it.

In no time at all, Li Luo was laughing out loud.

Outside, he was happily watching TV.

Inside, Wu Yu was busy packing various clothes; everyone was busy and having a great time.

Evening, Kowloon District.

A tide of people surged from all directions toward an inverted pyramid-shaped stone structure.

This was the Hong Kong Coliseum.

Its full name should be the Hong Kong Coliseum or the Hung Hom Coliseum. Its main purpose for construction was to host different sporting events, or various celebrations and international conferences.

However, later on, it slowly evolved into a gladiator arena for singers.

Being able to hold a concert in this place was not only a symbol of strength and status but also a testament to one's fame.

Because the Hung Hom Coliseum's schedule was extremely full, minor singers who didn't have enough clout couldn't book a date here at all. Even if they did book one, the seats would be sparse when the time came.

The Hong Kong media wouldn't be vague at all when it came to mockery.

Whether you're popular or not,

once a singer holds a concert at the Coliseum, it's clear at a glance!

This time, the first stop of Wang Fei's *Faye's Extraordinary* Asian tour was set at the Coliseum, and she was holding eight consecutive shows.

Tonight,

it was the final performance.

Hence, it attracted countless fans of Wang Fei to come and show their support; even those who couldn't buy tickets would join in the fun in the square outside, just to be a little closer to the person they liked.

On the driveway, a taxi drove slowly past.

The surrounding crowd and those fanatical faces made Li Luo, sitting in the car, personally experience the influence of Wang Fei, this phenomenal singer.

Music fans are different from movie fans.

There are more die-hard fans.

And the payment ratio of this group is extremely high, so the money-making ability of popular singers is also extremely strong.

The Coliseum can accommodate over twelve thousand spectators.

For eight consecutive days, over ninety thousand tickets were sold, plus peripheral products and the like. Li Luo did a quick mental calculation and was suddenly shocked by the amount of money involved.

Even if it needed to be shared with others,

the amount received was definitely a staggering figure.

The vehicle braked to a stop.

Wu Yu took out her wallet and handed over Hong Kong dollars.

When traveling, Li Luo would always leave some money with his small assistant, just to handle things like meals and taxis.

While the driver was finding change, he pushed the door open and got out first.

The moment he poked his head out,

familiar flashes of light flickered in the air.

Li Luo smiled subconsciously, wanting to raise his hand to greet them at the same time.

The next moment,

he forcibly stopped the movement of raising his hand.

The reason was actually very simple: the entertainment reporters waiting outside the VIP passage didn't know who he was at all. No matter how handsome he looked, he shouldn't expect to waste a single frame of their film.

Finding out they didn't know him, these reporters lowered their cameras with little interest.

Don't look at how popular he was in the mainland.

But in Hong Kong at this time, to be honest, Li Luo was no different from an ordinary person. Mainland works were disdained, and the assault incident was used to mock the public security for a while before it became silent.

Except for true film and television peers, very few people paid attention to him.

Despite being ignored,

Li Luo still kept a smile on his face.

After Wu Yu got out of the car, he walked straight ahead.

"Sir, please stay!"

The security guard reached out his hand at the right time and asked politely: "Please show your invitation, thank you."

Knowing he was going to Hong Kong to film, Wu Yu had been working hard to learn Cantonese.

But these words were just gibberish.

She only understood the words "sir" and "thank you."

Li Luo's communication was barrier-free, but he really didn't have an invitation, and Wang Fei hadn't told him he needed such a thing, so he couldn't help but feel a bit awkward for a moment.

Shrugging his shoulders, he took out his phone nonchalantly.

The security guard's gaze was vigilant.

He thought to himself, was this guy trying to take the opportunity to sneak into the backstage? Even if he had such an idea, couldn't he dress a bit more like a star?

Dressed like a college student, he didn't know what he was thinking.

The reporters on the side also couldn't help but chuckle.

"Brother Luo!"

Just at this moment, a low cry rang out from inside.

A woman wearing a work badge ran over in small steps, saying with a hurried expression: "I didn't expect you to come so quickly. Sister Fei just asked me to come out and wait for you; she was just about to call you!"

Amidst a gaze of astonishment, Li Luo smiled and shook hands with the other party. ===== CHAPTER 195 =====