Chapter 54: Coming-of-Age Ceremony and the Gift

On the evening of August 17, Wei Jin arrived at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in formal attire. Seeing that the entire Fangfeiyuan had been booked out, he couldn't help but feel a bit moved; it was truly a grand gesture. Just speaking of the venue, the standard of the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse was of a very high class.

Many domestic blockbusters didn't have premieres of this scale. If one really had to compare, only "Hero" could top it, as it was held at the Great Hall of the People after all.

Media reports stated that the budget for this banquet was around two million. The topic "Crystal Princess, Feiyue Eighteen" had also been appearing constantly in major media over the past two days, which showed how much thought Liu Xiaoli and Chen Jinfei had put into this coming-of-age ceremony.

According to the plans of Liu Xiaoli and Chen Jinfei, this banquet would invite numerous filmmakers, producers, media friends, and big names they could manage to invite from the industry, using this to pave the way for Yifei's future career. This was also the best and most direct method they could think of.

Starting from the main hall entrance and extending outwards, the red carpet was at least ten meters long, adorned with fresh flowers and crowded with luxury cars.

When Wei Jin walked closer, a large number of media had already arrived early. Outside the main hall, camera flashes were flickering; there was definitely no shortage of news material.

Guided by the reception staff, Wei Jin walked onto the red carpet, posed for the media, and then signed the guest book. He was startled when he looked at it—whoa, quite a few people had come, and they were all industry insiders.

Entering the hall, the view opened up significantly. Guests in groups of three or five held glasses, chatting and laughing.

"Director Wei, welcome, welcome."

Chen Jinfei's expression was slightly serious. He greeted Wei Jin with a smile at this moment, which made Wei Jin feel a bit unaccustomed to it. It wasn't the first time the two had met; when filming "Those Years" previously, Chen Jinfei had come to visit the set.

"Mr. Chen, hello."

"Director Wei, please go inside. Yifei is still in the back. I haven't been able to attend to you properly, please forgive me."

Chen Jinfei made his fortune in real estate and had significant wealth. By rights, he didn't need to show such favor to Wei Jin, but Wei Jin was no longer a novice. Not to mention the heads of major film and television companies in the industry, his status as an international director alone was worth his respect.

"Mr. Chen, you're too polite. Don't worry about me; we're all in the industry, I'm very familiar with this."

Wei Jin didn't want to linger with Chen Jinfei. After a brief greeting, he walked inside. Many people stopped to greet him when they saw him.

"President Wang, come over and join us."

The one who spoke was Wang from Huayi. During this period, he had been overwhelmed by the fallout of Wang Jinhua's departure. Wei Jin didn't know how he still had the mood to attend Yifei's coming-of-age ceremony; he figured he was probably eyeing the young girl.

"President Wang, I'll come over in a moment."

As Wei Jin spoke, he shook the gift box in his hand.

As someone personally invited by Yifei, staff informed Liu Xiaoli, who was backstage. Before long, Liu Xiaoli walked out quickly.

"Director Wei, welcome to Xixi's coming-of-age ceremony. Xixi is currently doing her makeup backstage. Why don't you go and see her?"

"Is it convenient for me to go?"

Wei Jin was a bit hesitant; it seemed their relationship hadn't reached that point yet.

"It's fine. Xixi will be very happy to see you've come."

She led the way as she spoke, and Wei Jin had no choice but to follow, thinking to himself that he should check out Yifei's look for today and hope she didn't leave behind any dark history.

Passing through the hall to the backstage, it was bustling with young women. Yifei was in a princess gown, looking poised and elegant, while a makeup artist was applying her makeup.

Standing nearby were a few girls. Wei Jin only recognized Shu Chang and Jiang Yiyan; one was Yifei's best friend, and the other was her classmate.

"Brother Wei Jin, you're here."

Seeing Wei Jin appear, Yifei was quite delighted, and the women nearby also greeted him.

"Mm, Yifei, this outfit today is beautiful enough. Remember not to dress yourself in the future."

Seeing that the few schoolmates were a bit reserved, Wei Jin teased Yifei.

Seeing the young girl remain optimistic and cheerful in the face of outside gossip, Wei Jin felt a bit moved.

Just two months ago, a large amount of dirt on Yifei had been exposed online, and some idiots even claimed she was transgender. Although they were all rumors, they still brought a lot of negative impact to the young girl.

"Brother Wei Jin, why do you always bully me..."

Although Yifei was used to Wei Jin's sharp tongue, she still felt aggrieved.

"Haha, I'm just teasing you. Happy birthday. Come and see my gift—do you like it?"

Wei Jin handed over the gift box in his hand and stopped teasing the young girl. "Can I open it now?"

As a good friend, Shu Chang asked after helping to take the gift box.

Wei Jin nodded.

Shu Chang opened the box and saw only an envelope inside. She thought to herself that no wonder it felt so light in her hand earlier. She turned her head to glance at Wei Jin—could it be a love letter written to Xixi? What should she do? "Hurry, open it and see what it is!"

Yifei couldn't move her head at this moment and couldn't see Shu Chang's small movements, so she urged her.

Hearing this, Shu Chang had no choice but to take out the envelope under everyone's gaze. The few people nearby also had strange expressions when they saw the envelope.

Opening the envelope, she saw a few thin sheets of paper. Before anyone else could ask, Shu Chang exclaimed, "Ah, this is, this is..."

"What is it? You child, why are you so boisterous?"

Hearing this, Liu Xiaoli took the papers and began to read. A moment later, she looked up at Wei Jin.

"Director Wei, you... did you gift Xixi a song?"

This gift was not insignificant. One had to know that big-name singers in the country were currently offering up to 2 million per song to invite Wei Jin to produce music! And even then, Wei Jin wouldn't even pay them any mind.

"Ah, let me see, let me see."

Hearing this, Yifei didn't wait for the makeup artist to react; she turned around and took the papers from her mother's hand, humming as she read.

"You child, your makeup is ruined. How will you go out to see people later?"

Liu Xiaoli complained, but her tone was filled with doting.

"Makeup can be done later. Brother Wei Jin gifted me a song personally; I must see it immediately."

Yifei replied without even lifting her head from the lyrics, feeling very happy inside.

"Brother Wei Jin, did you write this song specifically for me because you knew I signed with Sony?"

Yifei had previously told Wei Jin that she was going to sign with Sony and enter the music scene.

Wei Jin had been thinking about what would be a good gift, so he decided to just gift a song.

"This song is written really well. It's very suitable for a young girl to sing, and the requirements for vocal technique aren't too high. Director Wei has put in a lot of thought."

Liu Xiaoli was truly grateful to Wei Jin; after all, it wasn't exactly a deep friendship.

"Thank you, Brother Wei Jin. I really like the gift."

Yifei jumped up and gave Wei Jin a kiss on the cheek.

"Eh, you had better put on your makeup first; you got lipstick on my face."

Wei Jin pretended to look somewhat disgusted, which made everyone present burst into laughter.

In the main hall ahead, the guests had arrived one after another; many stars who had worked with Liu Yifei, such as Huang Xiaoming and Lin Zhiying, were all there, and the media's lenses were unwilling to stop for even a second.

After Wei Jin came out from backstage, he also mingled with a crowd of industry company executives; it is normal in this circle to fawn over the powerful and trample on the weak, and a group of people surrounded Wei Jin—after all, he was currently in his prime.

Before long, the guests took their seats, and a gorgeously dressed Liu Yifei took the stage in a princess gown and crystal crown, stunning everyone present.

Chen Jinfei and Liu Xiaoli also went on stage to express their thanks, hoping that everyone would look after Liu Yifei's career in the future.

Sony executives also took the stage to announce their collaboration with Liu Yifei, after which Lin Zhiying was invited on stage to sing "Rainy Season at Seventeen" with her, a nostalgic hit from the Little Whirlwind.

Watching the poised Liu Yifei on stage, Wei Jin felt a bit emotional; she was eighteen now, a flower-like age, how wonderful. That same night, the news that Wei Jin had gifted a song to Liu Yifei as a birthday present spread like wildfire, instantly drawing envy from numerous singers and artists. As a new author writing a book for the first time, I humbly beg for collections, follows, reading updates, and recommendations. Thank you all. As a new author writing a book for the first time, I humbly beg for collections, follows, reading updates, and recommendations. Thank you all.

(End of this chapter)