Chapter 192: Visiting the Set of

After the Olympic opening ceremony, the prestige of Zhang Yimou reached an unprecedented height.

A vast number of viewers who watched the opening ceremony one after another became his fans.

The latest quote for Zhang Yimou's acting fee in the film and television industry has also reached as high as 20 million, which has already caught up with the current number one, Wei Jin; of course, this is only Wei Jin's price within the country.

However, regarding this price, Zhang Weiping flatly denied it and also refused to disclose the remuneration he has offered Zhang Yimou over these years.

The acting fees of many directors in the film and television circle have also been dug up; sure enough, there is a market only when there are achievements.

Feng Dapao, Ning Hao, Chen Shiren, and Zhou Xingxing have almost all quoted over 10 million; relying on his status as an Oscar Director, Li An also sits firmly in the first echelon, neck and neck with Wei Jin.

The box office of *Red Cliff* stopped at 278 million, which is a big gap behind *Brotherhood of Blades*, which had an investment of 50 million, and it completely failed to meet the expectations of the production side; however, the box office performance in Japan was much better, nearly 10 million USD higher than the domestic one.

The word-of-mouth for this movie is not very good, but counting the overseas markets, it should still have some profit.

On the Olympic arena, various competitions were launched one after another, the Olympic athletes fought bravely for the first place, and the enthusiasm of the countrymen was ignited one after another.

Chen Xi sent news that the preparation for *Lucy* is going very smoothly, the schedules of the actors from several sides have already been finalized, the location scouting is currently underway, and the special effects side is also communicating with Shanhe Ink; there is absolutely no problem with starting filming at the end of the month.

Chen Zhiming also reported on the sales of *My Chief and My Regiment*, which was finally jointly acquired by four stations: Beijing, Jiangsu Province, Shanghai, and Yunnan Province, with a price of 1.2 million per episode, totaling 51.6 million in revenue from the first round of sales.

Since the post-production has not been completed yet, the four stations are very sincere and willing to settle the account in the form of prepayment plus the final payment, only waiting to deliver the finished film at that time to clear all the remaining payments. ——Beijing, inside Ceng Li's villa.

"Jingjing, congratulations to you, I will definitely come when the time comes."

Ceng Li looked at the invitation in her hand, feeling a bit envious of her little sister; she and Wei Jin might never have a wedding.

"It's so good, Ziyi has also found a home, and you are also getting married; I don't know who in our class will be next."

"Can't it be you? Is Wei Jin really not considering marriage?"

Ceng Li shook her head; she knew very well that even if Wei Jin really wanted to get married, it absolutely could not be her. Ceng Li was already very satisfied to be able to walk with him all the way.

"Sigh, actually, it's not bad for you to be like this; it's just missing that piece of paper. You know how many people envy you..."

Ceng Li envied Hu Jing, but how could Hu Jing not envy Ceng Li? The first Grand Slam Best Actress, Cannes Best Actress, Oscar Best Actress—with so many honors, the school has almost put Ceng Li on a pedestal. She has already transcended the ranks of actors and is a People's Artist.

"But I don't intend to continue acting. After marriage, I will give myself a vacation; this circle is truly rotten to the core."

Since contacting Wei Jin multiple times to no avail two years ago, Hu Jing knew that she was not Wei Jin's type, so she extinguished the thought of continuing to maintain a relationship.

Fortunately, after twists and turns, she finally found a man who loved her, so she did not intend to continue moving forward on this rugged path of the entertainment industry.

"That's fine too; your personality isn't too suitable for the entertainment circle either. Your mouth is too fast, and it's easy to offend people. Anyway, your husband is also a big tycoon, so it's not bad to just stay at home and be a good wife and mother."

Ceng Li naturally supported Hu Jing's choice; she herself also felt somewhat out of place in the circle.

"But I can be a good wife and mother, what about you? When do you plan to have children? You're not young anymore."

Although she had been intimate with Wei Jin, the friendship between Hu Jing and Ceng Li was truly good. Since her best friend was destined to be unable to form a family, if she could have a child, it would be a form of solace for Ceng Li.

"He promised me, within these two years; perhaps I will be a mother sooner than you."

When saying this, Ceng Li's face revealed a look of longing and anticipation. The movie *Room* left too many imprints on her; she longed to have her own child.

"Then it's a deal, I want to be the child's godmother."

"Same here, when you have a child, I also want to..."

The two best friends made the same promise at this moment. In the entertainment industry, it is truly rare to have such a deep friendship like Ceng Li and Hu Jing's. ——Liu Shishi called again. Ever since she made a cameo in *The Martian*, this little girl has always sent messages and called Wei Jin for no reason. Wei Jin naturally understood the intentions behind it.

However, Wei Jin kept her hanging; for one, he really didn't have the time, and for another, it was to pave the way in advance so that Liu Shishi would have some psychological preparation.

There happened to be nothing going on during this period, so Wei Jin did not refuse this time; after all, he was a co-producer, so visiting the set was also appropriate.

The private jet finally came in handy, but Yiwu was still a distance away from Hengdian. Fortunately, Miss Cai was hospitable and came to pick him up in person.

Looking at Wei Jin's luxurious private jet, Miss Cai was completely stunned. She knew that a big tycoon in Hong Kong owned this model of aircraft, and as far as she knew, it cost several hundred million.

For a moment, Miss Cai felt more and more that she had acted too late; this time, she had to let Liu Shishi win him over no matter what.

Along the way, Miss Cai kept chatting about topics related to Liu Shishi, observing Wei Jin's reactions; she didn't want to throw a meat bun at a dog and have it never return.

The feedback she received made Miss Cai very satisfied; this honey trap should be effective this time.

"President Wei, I haven't congratulated you yet. The box office is a big hit. If there's a chance, take Shishi along too. She didn't get enough of it from her cameo last time."

*Now You See Me* has been released for two weeks, with a domestic box office of 265 million RMB, a North American box office of 157 million, and a global box office as high as 310 million USD, making who knows how many industry peers jealous—why can't they get on Wei Jin's bandwagon? "President Cai is joking, isn't Tangren's movie doing quite well now?"

One didn't know what Tangren's efficiency was; they were incredibly slow at filming TV dramas, yet they were bustling with activity when filming movies.

At the beginning of the year, they asked Wei Jin to help look at a script—*Republic Strange Records*, with Liu Shishi and Hu Ge as the leads. It wrapped up in a month or two and was already released in June. It wasn't bad, with a box office of nearly 30 million.

"Small-budget production, limited profit, and very little bonus for the actors. President Wei, seriously, can you help Tangren out..."

"President Cai, let's talk about this later. How is the progress of the crew now?"

Seeing that Miss Cai was about to start nagging again, Wei Jin hurriedly changed the subject. Wanting a free ride? Not a chance.

"It's alright, we'll be there in a while. You don't know how excited Shishi was when you promised to come..."

Miss Cai started to PUA Wei Jin again. Listening to the whole conversation, it was as if Liu Shishi wouldn't marry anyone but him. ——"Lao Hu, is Director Wei definitely coming today?"

Yang Mi had received the news from her best friend Liu Shishi early on. Regardless of how many scenes she had today, she came to wait early in the morning. Seeing that it was already afternoon and she still hadn't seen anyone, she was a bit anxious.

"What are you rushing for? Didn't you see the director call for a break? This is most likely that he's almost here."

Hu Ge, on the other hand, looked indifferent. Having known Wei Jin for a long time, he knew his standards—everything was based on ability first—so he wasn't that utilitarian.

"Mimi, you wouldn't have offended Director Wei, would you?"

Liu Shishi was also a bit curious about her best friend's state; it was truly too abnormal. Even if an investor came, it shouldn't be like this, right?

"What nonsense are you talking about? I just haven't seen Senior Brother for a long time and miss him." Yang Mi brought up her alumni relationship with Wei Jin, pretending to be very close. She was very good at using his influence to boost her own status.

However, these words really achieved an effect. At least Zhang Li and Wang Kai couldn't be sure; their own boss was too romantic, and perhaps one of them was the hidden boss's wife.

Liu Shishi naturally didn't believe it, but she didn't expose her on the spot. The little girl was still relatively kind; if her best friend wanted to show off, let her show off. Anyway, Wei Jin would be hers tonight.

Thinking of this, Liu Shishi suddenly blushed.

"Hey, Shishi, why are you blushing?"

"No, I..."

"Stop talking, he's here, he's here." ——"Lao Hu, A-Li, Wang Kai, Yang Mi, Shishi, long time no see. Oh, Zicong, you're here too..."

Wei Jin greeted the cast and crew; they were all acquaintances.

"Director Wei."

"President Wei."

"Senior Brother Wei."

Yang Mi followed suit and greeted him; it seemed Wei Jin didn't care how she had obtained the role.

"Hu Ge, you still remember when Director Wei came to visit the set of Chinese Paladin 1, right? In the blink of an eye, four years have passed."

Miss Cai felt a bit emotional; if she could do it all over again, she would have gone for Wei Jin herself four years ago. Missing out on such a super potential stock made her regret it to her very core.

"You're telling me, back then I was still a young lad, now I'm almost middle-aged."

Anyone familiar with Hu Ge knows that once you get to know him, he is quite the comedian.

"Everyone has worked hard on the set. Perform well; this drama will definitely be a hit. When that time comes, every one of you will be a popular star."

There were too many people, and Wei Jin didn't know what else to say, so he could only encourage everyone a bit.

"I'll treat everyone to dinner tonight. Order whatever you want to eat, don't be shy."

"Yay!"

Without delaying the production's filming, Wei Jin and Miss Cai went to the rest area nearby.

"President Wei, who among these few do you think can become popular?"

"They all have a chance, but it still depends on whether they can seize the opportunities later. But to be honest, by comparison, Shishi's role isn't particularly outstanding."

Wei Jin naturally knew what Miss Cai was thinking; it was nothing more than wanting to sign Yang Mi. Unfortunately, her plan was destined to fall through. He didn't know why these companies loved signing artists so much; if the works were done well, the artists would come rushing over.

"Then I'll have to ask Director Wei to give more opportunities in the future. Didn't Yifei also rely on Director Wei's support?"

Speaking of Liu Yifei, Wei Jin realized with a start that he hadn't seen her for a while. Could the young girl be throwing a tantrum? It seemed he needed to find an opportunity to continue consolidating their relationship.

"That's different. Yifei is lucky; after her debut, she encountered nothing but high-quality dramas. It's very difficult for others to replicate that path."

"As for Shishi, she is too immature right now, only slightly better than Yifei was when she first debuted. Even if I gave her an opportunity, she might not be able to handle it."

At the dinner that evening, the atmosphere became lively. After all, they were all young people, and after a few drinks, everyone started chatting freely.

Hu Ge, Lin Zicong, and Wei Jin were old acquaintances; one was a comedian, the other had a natural sense of humor, so the table couldn't stay quiet.

Wang Kai and Zhang Li were company artists who knew their boss's temperament well, so they weren't too restrained.

Yang Mi was slick and sophisticated, Liu Shishi had ulterior motives, and Miss Cai was fawning and obsequious. Over the course of the meal, Wei Jin ate very happily.

The dinner ended, and everyone dispersed one after another. Originally, Zhang Li had intended to accompany Wei Jin, but Liu Shishi drunkenly leaned against Wei Jin, so she extinguished that thought.

Yang Mi noticed Wei Jin leaving with Liu Shishi and felt a bit annoyed. Isn't she older than her? If Wei Jin had just given her a look, she would have complied. Unfortunately, he never gave her a chance from start to finish, and for a moment, she doubted Wei Jin's taste. On the way to the room while being supported by Wei Jin, Liu Shishi was very nervous. She didn't know if this approach was right or wrong, but Miss Cai had been brainwashing her for a long time about the benefits of winning over Wei Jin.

Thinking about it, it made sense. Wei Jin was young, wealthy, handsome, and talented, and he had some interest in her. Although it was rumored that Wei Jin was a playboy, Liu Shishi didn't think she was lacking anywhere. As long as she was willing to put in the effort, Wei Jin would definitely be hers. Didn't they say that a woman chasing a man is separated by a thin veil?

"Come on, Shishi, you can do it."

Listening to the sound of the door opening, Liu Shishi cheered herself on in her heart.

Liu Shishi felt herself being placed on the sofa. Hmm, Wei Jin must have gone to get her water. This man was actually quite considerate.

Waiting and waiting, Liu Shishi felt like she was about to fall asleep, yet she didn't hear Wei Jin's voice. Could he really be a gentleman? But at least give her a glass of water.

Opening her eyes in annoyance, Liu Shishi saw Wei Jin sitting in front of her with a faint smile on his lips.

"Are you finally willing to wake up?"

How could Liu Shishi not know that Wei Jin had known she was faking drunkenness all along? For a moment, she felt her face burning hot.

"I, I was just thirsty."

She originally wanted to quibble, but under Wei Jin's burning gaze, Liu Shishi's voice grew quieter and quieter.

Looking at Liu Shishi's shy appearance, Wei Jin didn't tease her anymore. The young girl had thin skin, and it wouldn't be good if things went wrong. He pulled her onto his lap.

Gently lifting her chin, Liu Shishi's eyes flickered; she seemed too embarrassed to look at the man.

Wei Jin didn't waste any more time and gently kissed the girl's lips. They were smooth and supple, and the sensation was quite good.

Slowly, Wei Jin began to gently tap against her teeth. Although Liu Shishi was ignorant, she followed suit, and soon, the two began to chase each other.

Wei Jin's hands were not idle either, constantly wandering, and Liu Shishi already felt like she was about to burn up.

Sensing that the timing was basically right, Wei Jin picked her up horizontally and brought Liu Shishi to the bed. It was better not to play too wildly the first time.

That night, Wei Jin witnessed Liu Shishi's acting skills; she was absolutely an excellent practitioner of the Experience School.

It can only be said that Shishi's acting skills are not to be spoken of to outsiders. Today's first update, I implore all book friends to reward me with subscriptions, follow-up reads, collections, monthly tickets, and recommendation tickets. Thank you all! (End of chapter)