Chapter 12: The King of Showing Off

Night.

Deepening.

Beside the rental house, under a streetlamp.

Chen Jianfeng squatted on a stone, staring blankly at the contract for "Love Ferris Wheel".

Over the past half month, he had worked hard to secure a role in the movie "Love Ferris Wheel", yet he had been so humble he might as well have been a dog, only to end up with a single "Sorry".

Half a month later, that once-dreamed-of role now lay before him; all he had to do was sign the contract and nod, and he could join the crew, becoming a "character" with lines and a plot.

But...

He found he wasn't as excited as he had imagined.

Not only was he not that excited, but he felt empty, as if this road ahead was not the path he should be walking.

"Shall we shoot it?"

"I don't know..."

"Are you going to shoot it?"

"Shoot it!"

Under the streetlamp.

Shen Hu ate instant noodles, dragging his cracked sandals as he walked out, squatted beside Chen Jianfeng, slurped a mouthful, and savored the aftertaste with enjoyment.

Chen Jianfeng looked at the instant noodles with some craving, but finally his gaze fell on the actor's contract for "Love Ferris Wheel" and he stared blankly.

"We should shoot it; this is an opportunity..."

"I'm still the male lead in 'Sun Wukong vs. Superman 2'... What if we shoot this one, what will happen to our movie?"

When Shen Hu heard this, he didn't respond, simply continuing to silently eat his instant noodles.

"Filming requires single-minded dedication..." Chen Jianfeng put down the contract and murmured to himself while looking into the distance.

"Do you think this movie can succeed?" Shen Hu suddenly asked.

"During the day I thought it couldn't, but now, I think it can; the teachers in Yanjing told me there are no bad subjects, only bad screenwriters and actors..."

Under the light, Chen Jianfeng looked somewhat lost, as if speaking to himself, or perhaps speaking to Shen Hu.

Shen Hu silently threw the noodle box into the trash, thinking of the script for "Sun Wukong vs. Superman 2", recalling what Director Zhou had said in the office today.

As he thought, his emotions seemed somewhat affected, and his gaze gradually grew serious.

"I'll go over the script again, polish and revise it, and write a new shooting plan..."

"Good!"

Chen Jianfeng watched Shen Hu's departing back, then looked again at his own contract.

Perhaps "Love Ferris Wheel" was far more reliable than the so-called "Sun Wukong vs. Superman 2"...

But!

He is the male lead!

…………………………

June 26, morning.

Shen Hu was polishing the script for "Sun Wukong vs. Superman 2" while writing the shooting plan.

Unknowingly, the entire night passed.

He was somewhat exhausted, but his whole body was filled with fighting spirit.

The rental house door opened.

His younger brother, Shen Hu, carrying a guitar, had returned from begging under the overpass.

He returned very depressed, lying on the bed without a word, staring blankly at the ceiling, looking utterly drunk.

Shen Hu asked several times before Shen Hu reluctantly said a word or two.

Last night, the overpass began city appearance renovations; starting today, they could no longer sing there.

In the middle of the night, while working part-time at a bar, he didn't know how many drinks the customers had forced on him; he was about to vomit his stomach contents.

Everyone around him was telling him he had no talent...

He actually knew he had little talent, just a beggar, but the thought of really returning home in disgrace to screw bolts made him deeply unwilling deep down.

So he just deceived himself, singing over and over, comforting himself again and again.

When Shen Hu saw this scene, he also sighed, not knowing how to comfort this younger brother...

"When will Director Zhou help me release an album?"

After drinking, Shen Hu was a bit like a madman, staring at the ceiling and murmuring to himself.

But tears flowed down uncontrollably in great streams.

Shen Hu sighed, not knowing what to say...

Just like that, Shen Hu stared blankly at the ceiling for who knows how long.

Until, a knocking sound came from the door.

Then, Zhou Yang, dressed in a suit and leather shoes, pushed the door open, frowning as he looked at the drunk Shen Hu.

When Shen Hu saw Zhou Yang, he quickly stood up.

"You've been drinking?"

"Just a little..."

"Oh, let's sober you up."

"I'll go splash some cold water."

"Fine."

Shen Hu left the house and walked toward the public restroom.

The place they rented was at the entrance of a hutong in the suburbs of Yanjing, with no independent bathroom; they had to go dozens of meters to the public restroom to wash up and empty the chamber pot.

Shen Long watched Shen Hu's retreating figure, then gave a bitter smile: "President Zhou, he's feeling a bit unwell..."

"I know."

"President Zhou, there's no one else here. Can you tell me the truth?"

"What truth?"

"Does he have talent?"

Shen Long looked at Zhou Yang.

Zhou Yang gazed into the distance and nodded very seriously: "He has great talent..."

"Really has talent?"

"Yes, it's just that it needs time..."

Shen Long was stunned by Zhou Yang's confident voice. After confirming that Zhou Yang didn't seem to be comforting him, he lowered his head and asked again, somewhat uncertainly: "Can we... can we succeed?"

Zhou Yang patted Shen Long's shoulder and smiled: "We are already on the road to success."

"Doesn't that mean we're borrowing everything from 'Love Ferris Wheel'?"

"It's not borrowing; it's strategic cooperation, mutual benefit!" Zhou Yang refuted Shen Long's words very seriously.

"What do we have?"

"We have dreams and passion..."

"..."

Shen Long opened his mouth.

Suddenly, he couldn't hold it in anymore.

"By the way, after Shen Hu sobers up, take Shen Hu to the film set as well... This time, don't go walking like water rats; take an air-conditioned taxi."

"President Zhou, what about you? Aren't you coming?"

"I still need to discuss the cinema investment a bit, and there are some project collaborations; I'm very busy today..."

"Oh, you really want to invest in the cinema?"

"You could say that."

The midday sun was brilliant.

Zhang Muxue sat silently in the coffee shop.

【Feihe Cinema】 The situation right now was not optimistic; it was on the verge of closing down.

She urgently needed a sum of money, or a hit movie, to keep the cinema going a little longer.

In fact, regarding that "President Zhou," she had already felt in her heart that this "President Zhou" was just a scammer who mooched meals and drinks.

But when "President Zhou" told her over the phone that he was joining the film crew of "Love Ferris Wheel," Zhang Muxue began to feel doubtful and suspicious.

Although the production company for the movie "Love Ferris Wheel" consisted of two female college students, the distributor was a well-known company in the film and television circle, 【Starlight Entertainment】; many new-generation actors were lending their support to the film, and the hottest new-generation heartthrob in the industry, Zheng Yichen, was starring as the male lead...

Hmm, judging by some inside information she had obtained, the future promotional budget for this film would not be small, and the box office would most likely not be bad either.

Even though she didn't believe that "President Zhou" would act in "Love Ferris Wheel," but what if?

After a car stopped by the window, Zhang Muxue snapped out of her thoughts.

When she saw a young man wearing sunglasses and carrying a briefcase step out of that red Audi A6, she was shocked!

Is that President Zhou?

How did he get an Audi A6?

Then, she saw that "President Zhou" adjust his suit and look toward the passenger seat.

From the passenger seat, a pretty girl wearing a mask got out and looked over in confusion.

"Director An, my partner, President Zhang from 【Feihe Cinema】, has been waiting inside for a long time."

"Zhou Yang, tell me, is there a brick in that briefcase of yours?" An Xiaoshi stared tightly at Zhou Yang's ever-present briefcase.

"No, why would you think that?" Zhou Yang showed a gentle smile and shook his head.

"This morning, I saw you secretly stuff something into your briefcase!" An Xiaoshi took a deep breath: "That thing looked like the foam bricks in our film crew."

"No." Zhou Yang smiled and adjusted his glasses.

"Zhou Yang, tell me honestly, did you drive my car around to commit fraud?" After looking at Zhou Yang's expression, An Xiaoshi's delicate face became somewhat serious.

"No..." Zhou Yang shook his head again, stared seriously at An Xiaoshi, and said solemnly: "Director An, I hope you understand that I am wholeheartedly serving our film... Alright, don't let President Zhang wait too long..."

Seeing Zhou Yang's serious demeanor, An Xiaoshi felt confused. Then, watching Zhou Yang walk ahead toward the coffee shop, she seemed to realize something a moment later, froze in place, and hurriedly chased after him: "Wait! Why does it look like I'm your secretary? You carry the script and contracts and follow behind me!"

"..."