Chapter 156: Mount Hua Sword Debate, Lone Man and Woman

Come to think of it, Chen Nuo really hadn't been in touch with Liu Yifei for a long time.

He only knew that she had released a Japanese album in August, which had made some news at the time; it was said to have sold quite a few copies in Japan.

However, in all honesty, the buzz really wasn't that high.

At the very least, considering Liu Yifei's fame in the mainland entertainment industry, the effect was very mediocre.

The general consensus in the industry was that the "crossover superstar plan" arranged for her by her mother, Liu Xiaoli, had ended in total failure. At the very least, at her age, she still couldn't handle such a big stage.

Sony had even tried to hype up her rumored relationship with Chen Nuo halfway through, but for some reason, it just fizzled out.

Later, Chen Nuo heard that she had terminated her contract with her previous agency.

And after that, where this woman was now or what she was doing, there hadn't been a single piece of news in the media for months.

However, he knew her phone number hadn't changed. Because during this year's New Year, the two of them had exchanged "Happy New Year" messages.

Yes, just the four characters "Happy New Year."

It was just that polite, just that vulgar.

Not at all like the good friends who had once gotten drunk together.

After listening to Qi Yuntian's suggestion, Chen Nuo hesitated for a long while, but on his way to shoot an advertisement, he tried sending a text message to Liu Yifei.

Qi Yuntian sighed at this: "In the face of money, you still ended up being a sycophant."

Chen Nuo didn't know who Qi Yuntian was talking about, but it wasn't him.

He was just following the trend, thinking that Liu Yifei and Fan Fan Binbing actually looked quite compatible in terms of appearance.

Perhaps she was a few years younger, but that could be solved with makeup.

Anyway, the script for *The Message* that Ning Hao had come up with in this life basically adhered to the original work, and the character Gu Xiaomeng was not an underground party member.

The requirements for acting skills weren't that high.

And Ning Hao's ability to coach actors wasn't low either.

Under Ning Hao's direction, hadn't Fan Fan Binbing played a married middle-aged woman in *Crazy Stone* quite well?

Alright, Fan Fan Binbing was, after all, a dignified Hundred Flowers Best Actress; using that as a comparison seemed a bit excessive.

Then, when the time came, he would invite Ning Hao, Li Yang, and Zhang Yi to teach this "vase" actress what "naturalistic acting" was.

If that didn't work, he would just go to the set and be her acting teacher himself; that should work, right?

He didn't believe he couldn't cure a "paralyzed face"!

Regardless, as the small boss of this tiny studio,

Chen Zong believed that by using this gimmick to save on promotion costs and using that money to improve the film's texture—not to say it would be great, but at least not worse than the *The Message* of his previous life—he could afford more extras, and so on.

If he needed to use Liu Yifei, then he would use Liu Yifei.

Who told him that gossip hype had been the same routine for decades, yet audiences just happened to eat it up?

He would just have to work a little harder!

Men, after all, should be able to endure a little hardship.

However, he didn't know if she would agree. He'd better wait for a reply before deciding.

That afternoon, Chen Nuo's advertisement shoot was for Li Ning, involving a set of promotional photos and a television commercial.

This was the second endorsement Chen Nuo had on his back.

The previous one, for diapers, had recently been renewed.

It was signed for another two years, with all other terms unchanged, except for an adjustment in the contract amount: 6 million for 2 years. Compared to the original 600,000 for two years, it had increased tenfold.

Actually, even then, Chen Nuo didn't want to sign.

Because this was a product related to babies. It was truly hard to say. It was one thing when he had no money before, but now, he still had to be a decent person. If these diapers were like Sanlu milk powder, and some quality issue arose, or toxic substances were exposed, he, as the spokesperson, would have no way to defend himself and could only go jump in a river.

As it turned out, the boss gave an absolute guarantee, even taking Qi Yuntian to inspect their factory, and finally established a third-party testing mechanism, welcoming them to call people over for random inspections at any time.

Only then did Chen Nuo sign the contract.

Chen Nuo was initially puzzled, not understanding why the boss was so persistent about signing him.

6 million for 2 years. That was no small number.

It wasn't until the end, after both sides signed the contract at Chen Nuo's studio, that he and Qi Yuntian saw the other party downstairs.

Watching the taillights of the Maybach as it drove away, the two were lost in thought.

Because Chen Nuo clearly remembered that two years ago, this boss should have been driving a BMW 740Li, exactly the same as his.

Chen Nuo really hoped he had made a fortune elsewhere. Like stock trading or something. Otherwise, 6 million for 2 years didn't seem like a very profitable deal.

So when talking to Li Ning, he was quite cautious.

Facing the 10 million for 3 years offered by the other side, he and Qi Yuntian didn't even think about it and countered with 15 million for 2 years.

As a result, Li Ning himself came to find him personally.

Right in the coffee shop outside the Film Academy, Boss Li didn't talk about much else, just told Chen Nuo that as an important guest performer for the 2008 Olympic opening ceremony, he was now ready to enter the physical training stage.

At that time, he would certainly be wholeheartedly dedicated to the motherland and would no longer be able to attend to the enterprise.

How should he put it?

Although he would give everything for the country, after all, it was an enterprise he had founded with his own hands, and he could never let it go; it had almost become a heart disease.

Sigh, he wondered if Little Chen could help out, so he could contribute to the country with peace of mind and cure his illness.

However, Chen Nuo claimed he wasn't a "Medicine God," and in the end, after some back-and-forth, they reached a price of 18 million for 3 years, which was barely acceptable.

Although Li Ning paid a bit more, in reality, Li Ning was different from the diaper company; they also required him to attend several events on-site every year to do promotions for them.

The content to be filmed was also more extensive.

Unlike the diaper company, where filming a commercial for half a day was the end of it.

Coincidentally, the director filming the advertisement for Li Ning this time was the same person who had filmed the diaper commercial for Chen Nuo more than a year ago, the same classmate of Zhang Yi, Ye Bohan.

He Yang was still that boisterous self: "Nuozi, you look even more handsome with your hair cut. I saw photos on the internet before and found you were a bit fatter; was it from eating steak every day in the US?"

But this time, if it weren't for Chen Nuo mainly requesting to do it a few more times and take a few more shots, he would have been done in an hour.

After filming for half a day, Ye Bohan sighed: "Chen Laoshi, it's not that I don't want to call cut, but I don't know what else I can do after calling cut? I'm really not flattering you; Chen Laoshi, you just stand in front of the lens, and I can't find any problems. It's truly good no matter how I shoot it."

Chen Nuo smiled and said: "Director Ye, if you have something to say, just say it directly; there's no need for this."

Ye Bohan chuckled: "Chen Laoshi, I'm really not talking nonsense; it's all from the bottom of my heart... Um, actually, I've been filming commercials for several years. But I'm still not reconciled; I still want to see if I have the ability to mix in the film circle. In the past few years, I've been fumbling around on my own and have cobbled together a script. If Chen Laoshi has time, could you help me take a look? If you think it's a pile of stinking dog shit, then I can just give up."

This was the aftereffect of the success of *Crazy Stone*.

Who told Ning Hao to be so successful now?

What did that make those down-and-out directors, big and small, think?

Who didn't know that Ning Hao was just like everyone else at the beginning, unwanted, ignored, and had eaten countless closed doors.

Who was the one who pulled him up in the end?

The name Chen Nuo had clearly become synonymous with a "Bo Le" (talent scout) in the hearts of countless small directors like Ye Bohan.

Everyone wanted to take their script to him and try their luck.

What if, what if they were chosen?

Was Ning Hao any different from everyone else? He could make movies, but who the hell couldn't make movies?

The next *Crazy Stone* might just be pressed under the leg of their own table!

Chen Nuo actually didn't feel repulsed by this.

In fact, he felt that perhaps if there was a real opportunity, he would also shoot a "nameless work" again.

Otherwise, reborn for a lifetime, still following in the footsteps of successful people and succeeding once again?

Once or twice would be fine, but if it was always the same style, that would be too boring.

Moreover, he dared to bet that he didn't know how many good films had been buried in his previous life.

For example, *The Dumb Man's House*, who had ever heard of it?

Zhang Yi, who the hell was that?

As it turned out, it wasn't a trash movie made by a trash person, was it?

Perhaps many films just lacked a Bo Le and a good actor, that was all.

Chen Nuo took the script from Ye Bohan's hand, looked directly into his eyes, and said: "I'll take it back and read it. I might read a bit slowly, but I will definitely finish it. After reading it, regardless of whether we can cooperate, I will give you a call, okay?"

When Chen Nuo and Qi Yuntian left in the car, Qi Yuntian looked at the rearview mirror and asked curiously: "What did you say to that director? How did you make him cry?"

Chen Nuo said: "Nothing, just empathy. Directors are artists, after all; it's normal for them to be easily excited."

Liu Yifei didn't reply to Chen Nuo's text until after 8 PM, and the content was as simple as ever.

"I'm in the US, just woke up, what's up?"

Alright, so she really did go home for the New Year.

Chen Nuo thought for a moment and replied: "I'm planning to invest in a film, and I'm also planning to act in it. There's a role in it that I think is quite suitable for you. Are you interested?"

Liu Yifei replied very quickly: "What about your girlfriend? Isn't she acting?"

Chen Nuo replied: "She's acting too. But just a bit part. This film has two female leads in total; one is Fan Fan Binbing, and the other is reserved for you. The men are all supporting roles."

After sending this, he waited for more than half an hour before Liu Yifei replied: "OK! I'm in. I'll be back in the country in a couple of days."

Chen Nuo didn't expect it to be so easy. Before anything was even explained, and without asking about any specifics, Liu Yifei was actually going to return to the country for a face-to-face meeting.

Liu Yifei wasn't some washed-up little star; if nothing else, her commercial performance fee had always fluctuated around 800,000. This was the price of a proper first-line actress, okay?

It was conceivable that there must be many film producers looking for her to act, but the fact that there had been no news for so long meant she had turned them all down.

He didn't expect that without asking about details or discussing the salary, she would agree so readily.

This was definitely giving him face.

The next day, on the way to the airport to pick up Wen Yongshan, Qi Yuntian gave him a thumbs up after learning about this: "Awesome. Hey, Brother Nuo, do you think Liu Yifei might be interested in you?"

Chen Nuo laughed: "Actually, I occasionally have that feeling too."

Qi Yuntian curled his lips: "You're narcissistic enough."

Damn it.

How was he narcissistic?

After picking up Wen Yongshan, Chen Nuo told her about the upcoming arrangements in the car, telling her to be prepared to play a bit part.

Wen Yongshan was a bit surprised: "I've never acted in this kind of Republic-era drama; I'm worried I won't act well."

Chen Nuo comforted her: "It doesn't matter; the people acting with you will all be... rookies. Put together, it won't be noticeable."

Wen Yongshan couldn't be bothered to argue with Chen Nuo's sarcasm: "Who else did you find?"

"Liu Yifei and Fan Fan Binbing." Then Wen Yongshan stopped talking.

After arriving home, she suddenly smiled and said: "When I was in Hong Kong, I especially wanted to see the Li Xiaolong Maiden with my own eyes; I think she's so beautiful. Finally, I have a chance this time."

Liu Yifei arrived at the Capital Airport at noon four days later.

Chen Nuo didn't dare to show his face at the airport, so he let Qi Yuntian pick her up while he waited in the car.

Wen Yongshan had originally wanted to come, but Chen Nuo refused.

They were all friends; don't make it so grand.

On the way, Qi Yuntian was confused about big things but clear about small ones.

Chen Nuo didn't understand what kind of nonsense this riddle-maker was spouting every day.

When he saw Liu Yifei again, Chen Nuo felt that he didn't know what this girl had been through, but she had truly lost a lot of weight over the past year.

She was wearing a hat and a pair of large sunglasses, and he felt like he couldn't even see where her face was.

Her attire was also very simple: a long white down jacket and blue jeans. However, Chen Nuo felt that the clothes were empty inside; her body seemed very thin, not at all like last time, when he held her and she was so fleshy and soft.

But she was still beautiful.

Especially when she took off her sunglasses and looked over quietly with a pair of large, black-and-white eyes, Chen Nuo still had the feeling of Yang Guo seeing the Li Xiaolong Maiden.

Liu Yifei revealed a faint smile. He didn't know if it was an illusion, but Chen Nuo felt it was a bit lukewarm.

"Chen Nuo, long time no see."

"Long time no see." Chen Nuo peeked behind her: "Why are you alone? Where is Auntie Liu?"

Liu Yifei smiled faintly: "She's still in the US; I'm alone wherever I go now."

Chen Nuo looked at the expression on her face and didn't ask further.

The atmosphere in the car was so awkward; better to talk about business first to buffer it.

"I recently signed the adaptation rights for a novel, and I'll be signing the contract with the author in a few days. It's a spy-themed film, almost entirely dialogue-driven, mainly with the two female leads having the most screen time. It's tentatively decided that one of the roles is Fan Fan Binbing, and the other is for you. Um, this is the original novel; do you want to take a look first?"

"Sure. I'll take a look in the next two days." Liu Yifei took the *People's Literature* magazine Chen Nuo gave her and put it in her bag.

She suddenly turned her head and said with a smile: "I haven't congratulated you yet; you didn't even say a word about being in a relationship. I saw it on the internet."

Chen Nuo chuckled: "It's not a big deal. How have you been lately? What have you been busy with?"

"I haven't been busy with anything. What about your girlfriend? Is she in Beijing? I saw on the internet that she's from Hong Kong?"

"Ah, yes, from Hong Kong. I say, why haven't you taken any roles lately?"

"I don't want to. I'm asking you, is your girlfriend in Beijing?"

"Yes, she is."

Qi Yuntian suddenly interjected: "Chen Nuo, there's paper here; do you want to wipe your sweat? Do you want me to turn off the air conditioning now?"

Chen Nuo glared: "It's such a cold day, why turn off the air conditioning? You're really funny. What does it matter if it's a bit hot? Liu Yifei just came from LA; what if she catches a cold?"

Liu Yifei smiled: "The weather in Beijing is indeed a bit cold, but I see you're quite hot. If you can't stand it, you can take off a piece of clothing."

"I'm not hot. Don't listen to his nonsense. Um, come, let's continue talking about this film. By the way, how much do you usually charge for your salary?"

"You figure it out. So, what is your relationship with Fan Fan Binbing?"

Liu Yifei's temper had really grown; she actually dared to use the trivial gossip news to reply to the superstar Chen in such a snide way.

However, seeing her all alone and helpless, Chen Nuo couldn't help but feel a sense of compassion and didn't hold it against her.

After patiently coaxing her, Liu Yifei finally talked about her recent situation.

After the record's performance was unsatisfactory, it was actually a relief for her.

After all, everyone had seen her hard training for nearly a year; no one could say she didn't work hard.

But when things failed, someone had to take the blame.

That could only be the agency.

She used this as an excuse to terminate her contract with the agency logically.

At the same time, she also agreed with her mother that she didn't want the other party to overly intervene in her life.

Liu Yifei spoke lightly, but Chen Nuo felt that there were countless tears and complex interest entanglements mixed in.

In short, the result now was that she was all alone, and no one cared where she went.

She had just gone to Antarctica for a trip before the New Year; if Chen Nuo hadn't called her, she was prepared to go to the Arctic again.

"Let me tell you, Chen Nuo, it was so interesting, especially when crossing the Drake Passage. Those waves, wow, they almost scared me to death. At that time, I was thinking, if I died... anyway, it was very exciting."

After Liu Yifei opened up, she felt a bit like the good friend she used to be, talking about her experiences in Antarctica with great enthusiasm.

Hearing her say this, Chen Nuo couldn't help but yearn for it: "Sigh, when I go on my graduation trip, I must go to Antarctica to play."

Seeing Chen Nuo's envious look, Liu Yifei showed her little dimples again: "The tour guide said that December and January are the peak tourist seasons for Antarctica. That's the awards season; you have to think carefully, you can't have both the Best Actor award and the penguins."

Holy shit.

Chen Nuo was truly shocked this time. He hadn't seen her for a few months, and Liu Yifei actually had a sense of humor?

This was truly, every once in a while, there were new changes.

"Then I won't take the Best Actor award, I still have to go see the penguins. Little Leo told me back then that because humans drive cars every day, the Antarctic ice sheet is almost melting now. Penguins and such are almost extinct. Best Actor awards, there are always those, but penguins might not be seen at any time."

Liu Yifei asked curiously: "Who is Little Leo?"

Chen Nuo explained.

Liu Yifei was a bit puzzled: "Why do you call him Little Leo? His name doesn't have..."

But then she suddenly realized: "Oh, in Hong Kong, they call him Leonardo. By the way, it must be your girlfriend who taught you, right?"

After saying this, she curled the corner of her mouth.

Chen Nuo was open and honest; on the night he picked up Liu Yifei, he called Wen Yongshan out, and they all had a meal together.

Four people at one table, talking and laughing, quite harmonious.

At least on the surface, Chen Nuo couldn't see anything wrong.

Liu Yifei was no longer snide, and even chatted with Wen Yongshan about the interesting things that happened when filming *The Legend of the Condor Heroes*, while Wen Yongshan also talked about her experiences in Cannes for a while.

In short, it was quite harmonious.

He just didn't know if it would still be so harmonious if Fan Fan Binbing were added.

Three days after Liu Yifei arrived in Beijing, the Chen Nuo Studio officially signed the film adaptation rights transfer agreement for *The Message* with Mai Jia.

Mai Jia didn't ask for any profit sharing or anything; he came to a clean, one-time price with Chen Nuo and the others: 500,000.

Of which 300,000 was for the novel's film adaptation rights, and 200,000 was for the labor fee for adapting the script.

Currently, Chen Nuo and Qi Yuntian's arrangement was for Mai Jia and Ning Hao to work together to write the script in two months.

By the way, Ning Hao also signed under the studio. And it was his own initiative.

The reason was that when holding the *Crazy Stone* promotional meeting, he heard Chen Zong's golden words and deeply felt that he knew nothing but filming, so he wanted to learn more under Chen Zong's wing.

Actually, he just wanted to hug a big thigh.

However, as for Ning Hao, not to mention his directing level, according to Chen Nuo's experience in his previous life, the person seemed okay, with no messy affairs.

The contract stated that the studio guaranteed Ning Hao one film to shoot every year.

It just so happened that this time, there was no need to look for people elsewhere.

*The Message* would be him; he could write scripts and direct, how great.

The key was that Chen Nuo felt Ning Hao's directing style was actually very suitable for *The Message*.

Don't look at him shooting some "Crazy This" or "That," making the audience laugh, but from his films, this kid was actually very gloomy and cruel at the root.

As a result, Ning Hao said he had no relevant film experience and was afraid of messing things up, so he voluntarily lowered his directing fee and recommended a director named Gao Qunshu, saying why not adopt a dual-director approach for this film.

Gao Qunshu was the "Brother Gao" who recommended Ning Hao to try his luck at Chen Nuo's studio.

After his good brother Ning Hao started driving a Land Rover after filming, he hadn't forgotten his small TV drama director friend.

This made Gao Qunshu feel quite emotional.

One director's money, hiring two people, just as a double insurance; even if one died... in short, if one was missing, the film could still be shot. Chen Nuo and the others naturally had no objections and were eager to do so.

On the day of signing with Mai Jia at Chen Nuo's studio, Chen Nuo directly had Fan Fan Binbing, Wen Yongshan, and Liu Yifei all come.

It could be considered meeting the original author and letting Mai Jia see the results of the casting so far.

It was hard to describe the expression on Mai Jia's face when he saw these three.

Chen Nuo summarized it as roughly 80% excitement and 20% worry.

Qi Yuntian later told Chen Nuo that Mai Jia's original words were: "I am 100% at ease now. It seems your company really takes my work to heart. Chen Nuo's ex-girlfriend, current girlfriend, and rumored girlfriend have all appeared; I truly felt the sincerity. However... pardon my bluntness, didn't Chen Laoshi say before that he wouldn't use stars and would use acting powerhouses?"

Ex-girlfriend? Who?

Stars? Who?

Wen Yongshan and Liu Yifei, or that Fan Fan Binbing?

Heh.

Don't say Brother Nuo is too arrogant.

The Japanese lieutenant general who played Takeda's superior in the original version of *The Message* was a real Japanese person; he didn't know what his name was.

This time he was prepared to change someone to play it.

He wanted to find Takeshi Kitano.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 157 =====