Chapter 588

In Beijing, inside a villa, a warm family dinner was underway.

Today was Liu Yifei's 26th birthday, and the format remained very simple, with only Wei Jin, Liu Yifei, Liu Xiaoli, and Shu Chang, who had come to sponge a meal.

"Boss Wei, the Venice Film Festival is about to open, aren't you going over early?"

Shu Chang asked with a pout while eating twice-cooked pork, showing not a shred of ladylike behavior.

"Hmm, I won't go this time; I'll head over when it's time for the premiere."

Wei Jin replied; having gone to Venice for two consecutive years, there was no sense of novelty left, and going too early was truly boring.

Of course, there was another reason: he had to depart with his teacher, Tian Zhuangzhuang, as *Coming Home* was still filming, and he couldn't exactly have Chen Daoming take ten days off just like that.

As for public relations and copyright matters, the company naturally had specialized personnel to take care of them.

"Oh, I see, then I wish Boss Wei a Grand Slam."

Shu Chang nodded without asking further, turning instead to chat with Liu Yifei about their 2002 class group chat.

"Yifei, are you going to Lao Zhu's wedding?"

"I suppose so, it's such a big event, why? Are you not going?"

"It's hard to say right now; he set it for mid-November, and I estimate I'll be busy with promotional activities for a TV drama then, so I might not have the time."

Wei Jin was also clear on the topic the two young women were discussing.

Come to think of it, people in the entertainment industry married quite late, especially those with greater fame.

Yet, unexpectedly, Zhu Yawen from the 2002 acting class at Beijing Film Academy had quietly gone and registered his marriage.

Word was that the bride was an actress from the Central Academy of Drama, and she was even a year older than him.

It was just that the wedding, originally scheduled for June this year, had been postponed due to the filming of *Red Sorghum*.

However, upon hearing Shu Chang mention the TV drama, Wei Jin raised an eyebrow.

"Is it *Magic Mobile Phone 2* or *Beauties at the Crossfire*?"

"*Beauties at the Crossfire*; *Magic Mobile Phone 2* won't be until February next year."

"Tsk tsk... it's been nearly three years from filming to broadcast, can the Fool Girl-brand phone still be used now?"

"Ugh, ugh, ugh~~~ Brother, you're too mean..."

Liu Yifei burst into laughter that sounded like a goose, while Shu Chang rolled her eyes at Wei Jin.

Liu Xiaoli, watching this scene from the side, wore a smile; after a delicious dinner, Wei Jin accompanied Liu Yifei to blow out the candles and presented the gift he had prepared—a pair of earrings.

The style was slightly different from the one for Jing Tian, but it looked equally beautiful on Liu Yifei's crystal-clear earlobes.

The ceremony ended and Shu Chang said her goodbyes; as Wei Jin looked at his still-charming mother-in-law, he remembered one thing.

"Auntie, has Mr. Chen been in touch with you lately?"

"No, why?" Liu Xiaoli was a bit confused.

"Oh, nothing, I was just asking."

Hearing this, Wei Jin breathed a sigh of relief.

It was only after chatting with Han Sanping a few days ago that Wei Jin learned about the subsequent situation of Chen Jinfei's project.

Previously, apart from finding Enlighten Pictures, he had searched through most of the production companies in the industry, and China Film Group was naturally no exception.

Unfortunately, there were no fools in the industry, and they had all rejected it one by one.

Moreover, no one knew who had spread the word that Wei Jin had judged it a massive flop, not only refusing to invest but also refusing to let Liu Yifei star in it.

Wei Jin was also worried that Chen Jinfei wouldn't know his place and would blame Liu Xiaoli for the project being stillborn.

But now it seemed the man still had his wits about him.

"Alright then, Auntie, Yifei and I will head up first, you should get some rest early too."

In the bedroom, Liu Yifei and Wei Jin were kissing passionately.

Although 26-year-old Liu Yifei still had a youthful face, her body had become increasingly mature.

In other words, her desires were also becoming more intense.

At such a time, Wei Jin naturally responded with passion; while greedily sucking on the beauty's red lips, his hands also began to wander restlessly over her hot, delicate body.

It was late August in Beijing, and the weather was extremely hot, so the young woman had dressed very lightly at home today, wearing a pink high-waisted T-shirt on top and a pair of white athletic ultra-short shorts on the bottom.

In such an outfit, she clearly had no resistance to Wei Jin's assault; with just a few casual flicks of his large hands, the clothing quickly abandoned the positions they were meant to protect.

Thanks to long-term development and training, Liu Yifei's body was extremely sensitive, and she soon succumbed under Wei Jin's unique Kung Fu.

Her pair of slender, snow-white legs seemed unable to muster any strength, and her entire body went limp in his arms.

After several minutes of wet kissing, the girl gasped for air, her eyes swirling with emotion, and she took the initiative to push Wei Jin onto the large bed behind her, then buried her head and parted her red lips to press down.

"Oh~~~"

Since it was her birthday, Wei Jin felt he couldn't let the girl do all the work, so he patted her pretty face and said softly:

"Yifei, turn around."

Hearing this, the girl rotated 180 degrees, and her snow-white, beautiful buttocks swayed before Wei Jin's eyes.

Thus, she slowly let go of Wei Jin and sat down on the card table from above.

"Oh~~~"

Accompanied by a fulfilling and soul-stirring song, tonight's card game officially began. The 70th Venice Film Festival had opened; despite it being the important 70th anniversary, the star power at this year's festival was unusually dim.

However, for Wei Jin, this was a good thing, as it meant the films in competition didn't have particularly great influence, and his hope of achieving a Grand Slam had taken another step forward.

At the same time, the Tokyo International Film Festival also officially released news.

"According to foreign media reports, the Tokyo International Film Festival Organizing Committee announced: The 26th Tokyo International Film Festival, to be held on October 17, will have the Huaxia Palme d'Or director—Director Chen Shiren, who has previously won the Tokyo International Film Festival's Lifetime Achievement Award, the 'Kurosawa Akira Award'—serve as the jury president for the Main Competition Section."

After receiving a formal reply from Chen Shiren's company, media reporters interviewed Chen Shiren, who stated directly: "Truly excellent films are a small handful in any era; I look forward to encountering excellent works."

Wei Jin received a call from Wang Changtian, who was feeling a bit gossipy.

"Brother, I heard you were invited by him to enter *Star Luck* into the competition?"

"Mm, that is indeed the case, what about it?"

Wei Jin was not surprised at all that Wang Changtian knew about this; after all, the relationship between Cao Hua-yi of New Classics and the couple Chen Shiren and Chen Hong was just too good.

"Chen Shiren is truly able to bend and stretch, haha." Across the phone, Wang Changtian began to tease; he still clearly remembered the dismissive attitude Chen Shiren had toward Painted Skin back then.

"Hey, it's not like it's some life-or-death feud, and I reckon this matter was also persuaded by Chen Hong."

As for Chen Hong's thoughts, Wei Jin figured he could guess them too.

The entertainment industry is becoming more and more profitable these days, and Chen Hong's son is already in his teens; it's time to pave the way.

"By the way, brother, you didn't call just to ask about this, did you?"

"Oh, that's not it. Two things: filming for My Old Classmate has finished, and for Lin Yufen's salary, she said she wants it to go through the official company account, so I'm letting you know.

Also, Deng Chao's side has started pre-production; the schedules for the actors from your company need to be coordinated."

"Alright, I know, I will arrange it."

As time entered September, in the film market, About Time finished eating up its final weekend box office dividends and subsequently left theaters, with a final box office tally of 618 million.

Just as Wei Jin said at the premiere of About Time, this film became the box office champion for August, including imported films.

According to media statistics, the Summer Slot that began in late June has produced a box office approaching 6 billion so far, with the average daily market box office hovering around 90 million.

There is a premonition in the industry that this year's domestic film market might once again set a new high, breaking the 30 billion mark.

However, looking back at the market situation of these two months, one would discover a very ironic phenomenon.

Among the top ten domestic films by box office, there are actually three super big trash films: Switch, Tiny Times, and Tiny Times 2, which is simply a joke.

The bureau has already started gathering industry filmmakers and experts these past two days to analyze this situation; they cannot let trash films hinder the rapid development of the film market.

Anyway, Wei Jin did not go to participate; no matter how many times such meetings are held, they cannot solve the problem.

At the same time, the domestic films of September replaced the films of August, becoming the hot topic in entertainment news.

Hidden in the Dust, released on the 6th, A City, adapted and filmed by Han Han and released on the 18th, and Big Shot, released at the end of the month, are undoubtedly the most eye-catching existences.

All promotions have already been rolled out, using all their strength to compete for the audience's attention.

Just at this time, Guo Xiaosi once again announced to the outside world the news of the sequels to Tiny Times.

"Tiny Times 3 and Tiny Times 4 will be performed by the original cast, with an initial plan to start filming in December."

Once the news came out, it caused another stir in the circle, and there was all sorts of ridicule online.

"There has never been a film series that is filmed so rapidly, one after another; Guo Xiaosi is really badass."

"I just want to say, does Guo Xiaosi not have a shred of Shame? The Yinxiang Net rating is almost falling below 4 points, and he's still filming?"

"Hehe, it's just that the reputation has already collapsed, so they have to strike while the iron is hot and finish filming all at once; otherwise, how will they harvest the brainless fans later?"

"."

Compared to the ridicule and criticism in the industry and online, the fans were much more excited, and this even included several of the actors.

Although they have been scolded during this period, their popularity, fame, status, and even endorsement fees are all rising.

Wei Jin ignored the disturbances online; he held a celebration banquet for About Time before his trip to Venice.

The scale this time was not large; with the guests and media reporters who arrived, there were only about a hundred people, not even 15 tables.

This was Guo Fan's own intention; in his words, the company already has several directors with 1 billion in box office, so this current result is not worth making a big fuss over.

Wei Jin also felt it made sense, so he simply booked two connecting suites at the Imperial Hotel.

It's just that Wei Jin didn't expect that Song Yi, as the female lead, should have been walking among the guests with the crew, accepting congratulations and incidentally networking.

At this moment, she had obediently come to sit down beside him.

Looking at the girl before him who was somewhat shy yet had exquisite features, Wei Jin raised his glass and congratulated her: "Congratulations, 600-million-box-office female lead."

"Thank you, President Wei."

Although her voice was somewhat soft and sweet, when it came to drinking, Song Yi was quite straightforward, downing it in one gulp.

However, perhaps it was because she drank too quickly, a flush appeared on Song Yi's fair, pretty face, making her look quite delicious.

And perhaps it was the alcohol in her stomach, but Song Yi's courage also grew, and she raised her glass to Wei Jin again: "Director Wei, I have always been on the small screen since I graduated. This is my first time acting in a big screen work, and I feel I have many shortcomings. I wonder if you have time tonight to give me some pointers?"

Good fellow, is she planning to find him for a "moonlight script" session?

However, what is wrong with a female star who pursues progress? Not to mention she is the type he likes, Wei Jin certainly wouldn't refuse, and a smile immediately hung on his face.

"Mm, it's rare that you want to improve so much, then let's have a good exchange later."

The banquet ended, and Wei Jin brought Song Yi to the Golden House to begin giving pointers on the female star's acting.

It could be seen that Song Yi wanted to pursue progress, but she clearly had no experience; after entering the room, she just stood there blankly, completely not knowing what to do.

But that was just right; only then did Wei Jin feel a sense of accomplishment.

"Don't be nervous, you are an actor from the Central Academy of Drama, you shouldn't be unfamiliar with liberating your nature, right?"

"Mm."

Song Yi's soft, sweet voice was barely audible, her fair skin seemed to be covered in a glow of clouds, and her whole person was already flushed red.

For her, this kind of thing was truly somewhat of a Shame.

But having debuted for seven or eight years, she had already thought very clearly that it is truly too hard to get by in the entertainment industry without someone backing you.

This time it was good luck that she got the female lead, but what about later? Will there still be such an opportunity?

Having enjoyed the taste of being famous, she, Song Yi, never wanted to return to her former state of being a nobody.

And to continue walking forward, the man before her was undoubtedly the one who could bring her the most help.

Thinking of this, Song Yi took a deep breath and slowly squatted down.

"Mm, the talent is good, but the experience is not enough; that angle just now could be a bit deeper..."

Wei Jin started from his own feelings and gave guidance to the actress.

"Not bad, it's getting better and better..."

"Mm, open up a bit more, must pay attention..."

"Mm, the movements of your hands can be coordinated; yes, that's it, just like that."

Wei Jin had to admit that Song Yi, who came from the Central Academy of Drama, truly had a talent for learning; in just over ten minutes, she was actually able to grasp the knack of it very well.

"Mm, very good. The training to liberate your nature is just about finished. Next, it's time to prepare for the actual shoot. Don't be nervous, I will guide you."

(End of this chapter)