Chapter 41: Rolls-Royce Phantom? (Request Monthly Votes)

Lao Tian knew Qi Hao was going to attend Wang Zhiwen’s wedding, so he urged Qi Hao to drive the Rolls-Royce Phantom there.

The meaning of life is to show off; a life without show-off is meaningless.

Everyone already knows you own a Rolls-Royce.

Some negative press articles even appeared, claiming that while other celebrities donated to victims of the snow disaster, Qi Hao arrived in a million-yuan luxury car.

Such negative press articles are normal.

In fact, right after Qi Hao won the Best Actor award, there should have been a concentrated wave of negative press.

Especially for someone like Qi Hao, a male public enemy linked to rumors with many female stars.

If they didn’t smear him into oblivion, it would seem like everyone looked down on him.

But at the time, right after winning Best Actor, Qi Hao went straight to shoot “Li Mi’s Guess,” letting Deng Zhao run him over with a car.

That move seemed extremely bizarre.

As a result, everyone chose to wait and observe before launching any smear campaign.

Then he turned around and became the spokesperson for spicy strips.

Everyone shifted their focus to Zi Wen, unanimously believing Qi Hao’s agency had stabbed him in the back.

If that’s the case, let them tear each other apart.

Spreading negative press costs a lot of money.

A star blacklisted by his agency might not die, but he’d lose a layer of skin.

But who could have imagined Qi Hao had such strong public goodwill, and Zi Wen was such a coward, that after just one commercial appearance and one calendar shoot, the whole campaign collapsed?

Even during the calendar shoot, they made him wear clothes.

Now that Qi Hao and Zi Wen have broken up, people have quietly pulled out the negative press again.

If they can eliminate Qi Hao, they can divide up his resources—when a whale dies, ten thousand creatures thrive.

Even if they can’t kill him, getting him depressed would be fine too.

If he’s depressed, he won’t be able to compete with us for resources.

But what kind of person is Lao Tian?

He’s walked this path with Qi Hao and has faced no shortage of scheming.

During the capital’s snow disaster, he didn’t just donate money in Qi Hao’s name—he organized his studio staff to clear snow from nursing homes.

Once the article was published, it effortlessly dismantled the low-level smear campaign.

That way, no one would keep fixating on Qi Hao’s Rolls-Royce Phantom.

After all, he earned his money legally; even if he bought a plane, it’s his freedom.

Unfortunately, Qi Hao still drove his Santana 2000.

Wang Zhiwen’s wedding venue was the Jinjiang Townson InterContinental Hotel in Pudong New Area.

Many guests were invited.

All expenses, including room fees and golf charges, were covered by Wang Zhiwen alone.

At the hotel’s drop-off area, a crowd of media personnel were lying in wait.

Wang Zhiwen had temporarily refused interviews and had no intention of allowing media into the wedding venue.

So if you wanted news, you had to find another angle.

Wang Zhiwen was exactly the kind of celebrity the media loved to chase.

He came from an ordinary family in his youth and barely managed to get into Beijing Film Academy.

Due to his thin frame, which didn’t match mainstream aesthetics, his appearance wasn’t outstanding, and during college he mostly got minor roles.

After graduation, he was assigned to teach at the Central Academy of Drama, gradually landing substantial roles and rising to prominence.

His 1994 role in “Guo Ba Yan” completely liberated him from “appearance anxiety.”

His rebellious demeanor in the drama attracted many girls; the way he smoked a cigarette was incredibly stylish.

He also released albums and singles; his hit song “It’s Hard to Say I Love You” became ubiquitous.

Countless beauties flocked to him.

Hmm, somewhat similar to Qi Hao now, except Qi Hao only has rumors—Wang Zhiwen made money freely and chased women effortlessly, switching between mature women and young girls like flipping cards.

After gaining fame, Wang Zhiwen had a terrible temper and was extremely difficult to deal with.

Once, lacking paper, he wrapped his gum in a reporter’s business card and tossed it in the trash, completely angering the media and getting him jointly blacklisted by many outlets.

Of course, the blacklist couldn’t last long.

The media wasn’t a monolith.

Compared to wrapping gum in business cards and tossing them in the trash, media people did far dirtier things.

Since Wang Zhiwen refused to cooperate, the media could only shiver in the March cold, waiting for stars to appear at the drop-off area.

At that moment, a Santana 2000 slowly pulled up.

A Santana?

This global five-star hotel was utterly incompatible with a Santana.

And it was an old model from years ago.

Even the hotel’s drop-off attendants hesitated.

But since they were in business, they wouldn’t show any bias toward wealth or poverty.

The car door opened, and out stepped a tall young man.

It was… Qi Hao!

The media moved swiftly, snapping photos nonstop—of Qi Hao, and of the Santana 2000.

Especially the Santana 2000.

They wanted to tear it apart to see what made this car steal the spotlight from a Rolls-Royce Phantom LWB.

You don’t drive it? Then give it to me!

Some directly voiced their confusion: “Qi Hao, where’s your Rolls-Royce Phantom?”

Qi Hao and his new luxury car were one of the media’s main targets for stakeout.

Now Qi Hao had arrived.

The Phantom had become a mirage.

“Sorry, private itinerary. If you have questions, ask again next time.”

Fortunately, the hotel had prepared in advance.

Several attendants stepped forward, separating Qi Hao from the media and escorting him into the hotel lobby.

Zhang Nan was responsible for driving the car to the parking lot.

“Come on, you’ve got to be my best man—everyone’s planning to get me drunk tomorrow.” Wang Zhiwen, seeing Qi Hao arrive, immediately felt saved.

“I didn’t prepare anything…” Qi Hao was speechless.

“Prepare what? Just bring your stomach,” Wang Zhiwen leaned close to Qi Hao’s ear and whispered: “Don’t actually get drunk—just scare them a little.”

Like a nuclear bomb—whether you use it or not, you’ve got to have it.

Having a best man like this means anyone who dares to drink with you better watch out—we’ll unleash Qi Hao.

“Alright, alright, big brother, big sister, happy wedding!” Qi Hao shook his hand and offered his congratulations.

He had met Wang Zhiwen’s wife before.

Although he thought she wasn’t as beautiful as Wang Zhiwen’s previous rumored lovers, she was the one he liked.

Some said this woman was extremely wealthy.

Qi Hao didn’t know for sure.

But it was possible—if Wang Zhiwen didn’t want to strive anymore.

Striving doesn’t guarantee success, but not striving is definitely easy.

When we were kids, we naively thought money was everything; only as adults did we realize our childhood thinking was absolutely correct.

Wang Zhiwen had someone escort Qi Hao to his hotel room.

He also told him the current arrangements: some people had gone to the golf course, while others were playing cards in Tian Zhuangzhuang’s room.

Qi Hao first returned to his room, then went to Tian Zhuangzhuang’s room.

Tian Zhuangzhuang’s room was a large suite.

Wow—there were poker tables, mahjong tables, several set up, and it was genuinely lively.

“Oh my, our wine god has arrived!”

Qi Hao’s arrival was not met with disrespect due to his youth or status.

In fact, his personal standing was quite high.

But due to his age and experience, he found it hard to fully integrate into the older generation’s circle.

“I’ve quit, I’ve quit—hello, everyone!”

Qi Hao scanned the room.

He went straight for the good actors; he ignored the bad ones, to avoid letting random NPCs slip into the backup cast.

“Qi Hao, here, take these—I’m feeling sick, I’ll go sit out.”

“Your cards are terrible,” Qi Hao took the cards and complained: “Who’s the landlord this round?”

“You are!”

“Holy shit, how did Teacher Zhao (Bao Gang) dare call that?!”

“Why else would they have asked you here?”

"234567!"

"Take it back, take it back—don't play like that!"

"Why can't we play like this? In Jinmen we can..."

Qi Hao quickly blended in with everyone; he didn’t need to flatter or suck up to get ahead, and his bold, fearless newbie energy had a lot to do with it.

After all, he was just a middle school student, and he had a system on his side.

He didn’t care about anyone.

Ignorance breeds fearlessness.

After the card game, guests who had checked in early went out to eat and drink.

This was even more Qi Hao’s domain.

"Jiang Wen, don’t leave—you came to me on your own, so why are you running off?"

Qi Hao had been hit with a barrage of drunk challengers, and now he was feeling the effects.

He grabbed Jiang Wen, who had come to challenge him and was trying to slip away.

He had long since forgotten the other man’s status in the criminal underworld.

Under sober conditions, he would never dare do this.

Even if he were an Academy Award-winning actor, he’d only be less restrained when speaking.

"That’s right! If you raise it, you drink it!" Tian Zhuangzhuang egged on.

He was the next challenger; if Qi Hao and Jiang Wen drank enough, he’d succeed today.

"That’s enough, don’t drink so much you end up in the hospital!"

Director He Ping couldn’t watch anymore—it was a joyous day, and if someone ended up in the hospital, would the wedding even happen tomorrow?

"Oh, I’m feeling dizzy. Let’s call it a night—I need to eat something. I haven’t eaten much all day."

Qi Hao took the opening—he really shouldn’t have drunk so much today.

Tomorrow he had to be Wang Zhiwen’s best man, and if there were any wedding games or drinking challenges during the bride-fetching, he’d likely have to drink again.

"Zhuangzhuang, let’s go!"

Jiang Wen was genuinely afraid of Qi Hao, but he wasn’t afraid of Tian Zhuangzhuang.

In fact, many people might find it unbelievable that Tian Zhuangzhuang came to Wang Zhiwen’s wedding.

Back when Xu Fan and Wang Zhiwen were dating, Xu Fan cheated on Wang Zhiwen for resources, then later married Feng Xiaogang.

Logically speaking...

Well, the entertainment industry doesn’t follow logic—none of this even matters.

Not only did Tian Zhuangzhuang show up, he was tomorrow’s wedding officiant.

Just like Chen Kaige, Chen Hong, and Wen Ji.

"Why didn’t you go sing?"

Sun Nan was the one who introduced the bride and groom; he was a professional singer with immense status in the mainland music scene.

"I can’t sing at all—don’t encourage me, I’m afraid I’ll give in to this huge temptation."

Qi Hao knew he meant "Beijing Welcomes You."

Being invited to sing it was indeed an honor, but many still refused.

"Your voice is great—not worse than Nao Tai Tao’s."

Sun Nan drank a toast with Qi Hao, then moved on to greet the next person.

The entertainment industry is endless networking.

Whether drinking or attending weddings, it’s all essentially networking.

Expanding your circle.

If you’re lucky, you might stumble upon some opportunity.

After dinner, Qi Hao turned down a group’s invitation to go party in the hotel’s fourth-floor spa room, went back to his room, took a shower, and lay on the bed to check his quest.