Chapter 443: Big Shot

"Sisi, stop urging him." Seeing Liu Yifei pick up her phone yet again, Shu Chang hurriedly advised her to stop.

Liu Yifei then put the phone down and said with a bit of embarrassment, "Changchang, I'm really sorry. I didn't expect him to be held up for so long."

"It's fine, it's fine, it doesn't matter," Shu Chang said quickly. "Business comes first."

Liu Yifei sighed and said, "Sigh, if you ask me, it would actually be better to just tell him not to come, so everyone doesn't have to keep waiting for him for so long."

Shu Chang couldn't help but offer a bitter smile.

Though they both grew up acting in the entertainment industry, this young lady remained completely oblivious to the worldly wisdom she had learned.

Sometimes she truly envied this close friend of hers from the bottom of her heart, even felt jealous, and couldn't help but sigh that this was just fate.

She looked around.

It was already nearly 10 o'clock at night.

Her birthday banquet had started at 6 o'clock in the afternoon. According to the schedule, they would eat first, followed by the cake, blowing out candles, singing the birthday song, taking group photos, and giving gifts; all in all, people should have been leaving one after another by now.

But today... she had been forced to arrange an additional small cocktail party, allowing everyone to chat, taste wine, and wait for someone in the meantime.

Fortunately, although the time was a bit late, there was still someone worth waiting for.

If she had really followed the initial suggestion of this young lady beside her, who knew nothing of the hardships of the world—that if "someone can't arrive on time for business, then just forget it and don't come"—she really wouldn't know how to answer to the VIPs present tonight.

When she found out before the banquet started that Liu Yifei had already sent a WeChat message telling the other party not to come, she had nearly fainted. Fortunately... after her tactful persuasion, the other party had sent another one.

"Did he reply to you later?"

"No."

"Sisi, do you think it's possible he took what you said earlier seriously?"

"No way, don't worry. If he wasn't coming, he would have said so. He must still be busy right now. Ugh, I just don't know how late he'll be busy until. It's so annoying."

Hearing Liu Yifei's tone, Shu Chang was startled and hurriedly added, "It's fine, it's fine, stop urging him. As long as he can come, that's enough."

After saying this, she couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy inside.

Liu Yifei spoke with such certainty, but she was truly worried.

If he ended up saying he couldn't make it, what would she do!?

At this moment, a middle-aged woman dripping in jewelry walked over with a little girl.

The noblewoman was very thin, quite pretty, dressed in a dignified and luxurious manner, and well-maintained, looking only about thirty years old. The girl beside her was wearing a pink Valentino dress, looked about eleven or twelve, was a little chubby, had slightly small eyes, and a rather large face, though she was still quite cute.

She hurriedly pulled Liu Yifei, then stood up and said with a smile, "Sister Ma."

"Little Shu, hello. Um, let me ask, how much longer until Chen Nuo arrives?" the woman called Sister Ma asked with a smile. Her tone sounded relaxed, but there was a hint of impatience in her eyes.

Shu Chang's smile remained unchanged as she replied in a gentle tone, "It should be soon, Sister Ma."

"Alright." Sister Ma clearly knew Liu Yifei as well, so she smiled at her and said, "Miss Liu, excuse me, I'm not rushing you, it's just that my Brenda has class tomorrow, so I came over to ask."

Liu Yifei smiled and said, "It's fine."

"Brenda, come, say hello to everyone," Sister Ma said, tilting her head toward the girl beside her.

The girl called Brenda looked at Liu Yifei, then averted her gaze, shook her head, and whispered, "No."

Sister Ma didn't mean to force her, smiled politely at Liu Yifei again, and said, "Then you two chat." With that, she took the girl and left. It was clear they had no intention of mingling with others, as they just sat down on a sofa in a corner.

Shu Chang felt a bit awkward. Once they were a little further away, she pulled Liu Yifei down to sit and whispered, "Sorry, Sisi. The little girl doesn't know any better, don't be angry."

Liu Yifei shook her head and said, "I'm fine, it's normal. Changchang, who is that? Your friend? How come I've never seen them before?"

Shu Chang whispered, "That's the wife and daughter of the Baidu chairman."

"Ah? The Baidu chairman? Is it, um, what's his name, Li... his surname is Li, right?"

"Yes, Li Yanhong."

"Ah, yes, yes, that's him. I've seen him on the internet before. Changchang, how do you know them?"

"I... I met them at an event before, and that's how I got to know them. Sister Ma is quite nice. When she heard it was my birthday this time, she just, hehe."

Shu Chang's words were half-true and half-false.

The truth was that she had attended a commercial event, and after being guided by someone, she went up to curry favor and they exchanged phone numbers, having met only once.

The lie was that she sent greetings during every holiday, but the other party had never replied; she truly had no idea if the person was nice or not.

This time, her agency had suddenly received a subtle hint from a certain channel, after which they immediately took the initiative to contact the other party and even sent someone to deliver an exquisite invitation. This lady then "reluctantly" brought her daughter over to attend her birthday party.

Tonight, people like Ma Dongmin were actually not in the minority.

Like the couple Chen Jianbin and Jiang Qinqin standing over there; she only had a decent relationship with Chen Jianbin from filming "Qiao's Grand Courtyard," and they hadn't been in contact since, not even having each other's phone numbers. Yet, a few days ago, they suddenly called to say they wanted to come and wish her a happy birthday.

And then there was Li Bingbing, who was talking to Chen Jianbin right now. The two of them had only brushed past each other backstage at the 2009 Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival and hadn't even exchanged a proper word. Yet, she actually wanted to come and celebrate her birthday too.

Or take the niece of that ministry leader and her friend over there—it was said they had significant influence in both the capital and arts circles, a giant Buddha no less than Baidu. She hadn't even met them; they were introduced through the personal connections of her agency's boss.

Two tables of twenty people, except for her cousin, Liu Yifei, and You Xiaogang, who were her close friends and family, almost everyone else was like this.

Flattered, or expected?

She couldn't even say for sure herself.

But regardless, the goal her agency had set beforehand had indeed been achieved.

The big money spent on press releases and trending searches for this purpose should all be on the way right now.

Tomorrow's entertainment sections and financial bloggers' Weibo headlines would feature blurry photos, accompanied by phrases like "Stars Gather at Shu Chang's Birthday Banquet" and "Capital Elites Appear at Private Party."

After tonight, in the eyes of those snobbish crews and producers who judged people by their status, she, Shu Chang, would no longer be that little child star and minor actress with no background, no connections, and nothing at all.

Consequently, she would no longer have to worry about being targeted for "casting couch" offers wherever she went, or having to endure cold shoulders, forced smiles, drinking, and even open or veiled humiliation just to barely scrape together an audition opportunity.

Thinking of this, Shu Chang couldn't help but feel a bit excited.

However, she began to worry even more—

That person, when exactly would he arrive?

Because only when he was photographed by the paparazzi outside and walked in himself would this play truly reach its climax. If he didn't come, then all of this would be nothing but a flower in the water and a moon in the well for her.

"He's coming, he's coming! He replied to the text, he said he's on his way," Liu Yifei suddenly said while looking at her phone.

Shu Chang lifted her head abruptly, her eyes lighting up, and asked with surprise, "Ah? Really?"

"Mm-hmm, look," Liu Yifei nodded and handed over the phone.

Shu Chang looked closely and saw a string of unreplied messages on Liu Yifei's WeChat interface, from the initial "Forget it... don't come," to "We won't wait for you then, we're starting to eat," "Changchang is starting to blow out the candles," and "When are you coming over?"

The other side had remained silent, with no response at all.

Until just now, a new message finally popped up at the very bottom of the screen, timed at 21:51: "Coming, on the way. 20 minutes."

After Chen Nuo signed the contract, the first thing he did was check the stacked unread messages on his phone's lock screen.

It wasn't until he had warmly said goodbye to Hastings and the others in the underground parking lot, wished them a safe journey tomorrow, and arranged with Luo Rui Eisner to go to Hong Kong together the day after tomorrow, that they separated and got into their respective cars.

Only then did he tap the lock screen, enter WeChat, and type a reply to Liu Yifei.

It was too late, and it was a private matter during his personal time, so he didn't have Gulinazha or Qi Yuntian follow him; he only brought Linghu along, told him the location, and rested in the back seat while thinking about things.

The things Hastings said earlier had truly touched him in a certain way.

Although the idea of "not being satisfied with watching TV, so wanting to overthrow News Corp to start Netflix" was definitely a fabricated tall tale, according to his experience from his past life, the development of Netflix had indeed shaken the traditional Hollywood system.

As an up-and-comer, Netflix had caused a huge impact on old-school giants like Time Warner, Paramount, Universal, and Disney over the next decade, which also led Murdoch to package and sell most of the entertainment assets of 21st Century Fox to Disney in 2016 or 2017.

All of this was a historical event that had truly happened in his memory.

So, in this life, having stood early at the starting point of this great change unseen in a century, in the process of this massive shift where the traditional Hollywood "Big Six" became "Big Five," could he exert any influence?

This was truly a grand proposition.

He had only just begun to ponder it in the car, and hadn't even thought of anything yet, when Linghu parked the car and turned his head to say, "Chen Zong, we've arrived. But there are quite a lot of paparazzi outside."

Chen Nuo came back to his senses and looked out through the car window.

The restaurant Shu Chang had booked was quite high-end, but it didn't have an underground parking lot.

The doorman and security guards at the entrance had clearly been tipped off by someone in advance. Seeing this Porsche arrive, they all seemed to realize something and rushed over one after another.

At the same time, in the public areas on both sides of the restaurant, some paparazzi had also raised their long lenses and cameras toward them, as if they had known in advance that he would come.

He already detested these paparazzi to the core.

They even dared to fabricate rumors about him and Han Zong's daughter—although they hadn't said it explicitly, when he went to the hospital this morning, the strange way Han Zong's wife looked at him made him suspect that Han Zong might have been angered into a stroke because of this.

It was simply lawless.

Letting them take photos to make money, how could he face Han Zong on his hospital bed?

"He's here, he's here, he's here!"

"Quick, quick, quick!"

"Waited all night, he's finally here."

"I haven't seen this license plate before, is it him?"

"It's a Porsche, he's the spokesperson, it must be him!"

When that Porsche Cayenne arrived at the entrance of the Chinese restaurant and no one stepped out for a long time, the paparazzi who had been waiting all night all became excited.

Among them was Huang Hongwei, who had returned from Shanghai.

Those dozen or so exclusive photos he took at the airport not only allowed him to pay a year's rent in Jingcheng in one go and switch to a better Nikon camera and a high-end lens, but also got him noticed and recruited into a professional gang called "Fengxing Studio," becoming a professional paparazzo with a position and a salary.

The current boss of the team, the studio owner surnamed Zhuo, had only one task for him: to track and photograph this person who had quite a connection with him.

Today, he had also received the news early, moved from downstairs of the Huanxin Company to here, and occupied the best position.

At this moment, holding his new camera, he rushed up.

"Back off, back off!"

"Don't come any closer, stop right there."

"Stop, stop, stop, did you hear me?"

"This is the entrance to our restaurant, private property, you..."

The security guards shouted with fierce expressions while forming a human wall to block the way.

Huang Hongwei completely ignored this nonsense. Watching a familiar face step out of the driver's seat—the very driver and bodyguard that person took everywhere—his blood began to boil.

He was clearly not the only one who recognized the driver. As Huang Hongwei charged forward, the others swarmed up as well. Just then, the driver opened the rear door, and a figure familiar to Huang Hongwei stepped out. Huang Hongwei pressed the shutter almost subconsciously, taking over twenty photos in less than ten seconds. Only after Chen Nuo disappeared into the entrance and the restaurant doors closed did he take the camera away from his face.

"Damn, Nuo-ge isn't leaving us any way to make a living, is he? Bundled up so tightly?" a paparazzo nearby said loudly.

The security guard in front of Huang Hongwei couldn't help but chuckle, whispering, "Serves you right."

Huang Hongwei gave him a cold sneer; each was serving their own master, so there was nothing to say. He turned and walked to the side, lowering his head to flip through the photos on his camera.

At this moment, someone sidled up to him and asked politely, "Big brother, what do we do now? Can these photos be used?"

Huang Hongwei tilted his head to look; it was a young man with a face full of acne, likely new to the business. He replied, "No problem," then turned back to start selecting suitable photos.

"Huh? This is no problem? Eyes, nose, eyebrows, you can't see anything. Is that for real, big brother?"

Huang Hongwei pressed the playback button on his camera and asked casually, "First time shooting Chen Nuo?"

"That's right, brother." The young man buttered him up, handing over a cigarette of the Yellow Crane Tower brand. "I usually follow the group with Chen Kun and Zhao Wei; I've never shot Chen Nuo before. I just happened to be nearby, heard about it, and came to take a look. Didn't expect to actually run into him. Does anyone really want these? I heard that, and I thought..."

Huang Hongwei took the cigarette, leaned in to light it with the young man's lighter, took a puff, and said indifferently, "Heh, the guy who shouted just now is either incompetent or malicious, don't believe him. Go contact your superior and say you got photos of Chen Nuo, but you can't see anything. A hat covered his head, clothes covered his face, not a single eye, nose, or eyebrow showing, and ask if they want them. If they don't, give them to someone else. See what they say."

"Got it, brother, I'll go ask right now. Thanks, brother. Brother, my name is Zhao Wu'er, please look after me in the future."

Chen Nuo had a sudden inspiration. He pulled the zipper of his cotton jacket to the very top, pressed his baseball cap down to his brow bone, and buried his entire face into the collar, leaving only a tiny slit for light. In this state, he could only ensure he wouldn't walk into a wall, and in the end, he relied entirely on Ling Hu leading him to get into the restaurant.

As soon as he entered and pulled down his zipper to reveal his face, he heard someone outside shouting about Nuo-ge not leaving a way to live, and he couldn't help but smile.

It seemed that the trick little Li used to deal with paparazzi really worked; he would follow this routine in the future!

Snap, snap, snap—not even showing a face, I'll let you shoot air!

At this moment, several waitresses were already standing at the entrance, all looking at him with bright eyes. A restaurant manager in her thirties said, "Mr. Chen, hello, please come with me."

Chen Nuo nodded and said, "Alright, sorry for the trouble." He then followed the manager upstairs.

As they walked, the restaurant manager probed, "Mr. Chen, your arrival today makes our South Beauty shine. Um, Mr. Chen, if I may be so bold, our boss is also here today and would like to meet you. I wonder if you could spare a moment?"

Chen Nuo said, "Forget it, this is a friend's birthday party, I shouldn't steal the spotlight. Tell your boss, let's talk another time."

"Ah, alright. My apologies, Mr. Chen."

"It's fine."

Chen Nuo said, following the restaurant manager all the way until they stopped at a door. Once she pushed it open, Chen Nuo stepped inside.

Shu Chang felt that this moment must be the most glorious and happiest moment of her life.

When the eyes of the whole room converged, seeing that face she had only ever seen on screen just a step away from her, speaking apologies while handing over a small gift.

The gift was light, and her body felt light, as if she were in the clouds.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed her manager, Old Huang, standing to the side with his phone, snapping away wildly.

After the greeting, she very tactfully stepped aside to give up the spot.

Later, she stood in the corner, watching Sister Ma and her daughter replace her position immediately, without even considering that Xixi was also preparing to go up.

That little young lady from the Baidu boss's family seemed like a different person now; she didn't look at all like the cold, aloof little girl who had said "no" to them half an hour ago.

Her face was flushed, and she was extremely excited. She had produced a gift box from somewhere, wrapped quite beautifully—definitely something from a high-end luxury store—and was holding it out with both hands. However, the young man opposite her didn't take it immediately, but instead turned to say something to her mother.

This caused Brenda to show a wronged and sad expression, her little mouth pouting as if she were about to cry.

Shu Chang was watching with pleasure when she suddenly heard a low voice: "I'll send the photos to you, post them on Weibo right now."

"Ah?" She turned to look at her manager. "Right now?"

"Yes, right now, strike while the iron is hot, while the person is still here."

"...Should I tell Xixi?"

"Don't. Just post it. It's just normal interaction between friends right now. Do you understand what I mean? Don't overthink it."

Shu Chang took a deep breath, suddenly feeling nervous.

She nodded and said, "I understand."

Chen Nuo hadn't expected that so many miscellaneous people would come to Shu Chang's birthday party.

Li Yanhong's daughter, a former China Film Group employee who now worked in some ministry, that official's granddaughter, Miss Liu, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, people in real estate, car sales, and the internet industry.

He hadn't expected Shu Chang to be so well-connected, which had expanded his own social circle a bit as well.

As for people in the industry, quite a few came too.

Among them were many seniors, directors, and producers, some he knew and some he didn't.

Greeting them one by one was quite a test of his social skills.

Fortunately, these people weren't star-struck fans; they shook hands, exchanged a few words, took a photo, and politely took their leave, so it wasn't too much trouble.

Even so, by the time Li Bingbing walked over, it was already nearly eleven o'clock at night.

"We meet again," Li Bingbing said with a smile.

Chen Nuo also nodded with a smile: "Yes, what a coincidence."

Li Bingbing, however, said frankly: "Not a coincidence, I actually came here specifically to find you."

"Oh? Something up?"

"Um... I wanted to ask you, but I couldn't explain it clearly over the phone."

"What is it?"

"That movie, are you still filming it?"

Hearing her say this, Chen Nuo understood immediately. Back at his home in Los Angeles, this lady had very actively recommended herself to Quentin; he had been standing to the side and seen it clearly.

"Filming. But not right now. You must have seen the news online, right? I expect we'll have to wait for this wave of trouble to pass before we can continue."

Li Bingbing asked again: "I guessed as much. Then about how long will I have to wait?"

Chen Nuo thought for a moment and said, "Maybe a year."

Li Bingbing breathed a sigh of relief and said, "That's fine, one year, I can afford to wait."

Looking at her expression, Chen Nuo felt a bit moved. It seemed this Bingbing was truly serious about this role. However, as for whether she could actually get the role? To be honest, he wasn't very optimistic.

But that was a story for another time.

The guests left one after another. Shu Chang stood with Liu Yifei in front of the restaurant entrance and couldn't help but laugh when she saw Chen Nuo making himself look like a riot police officer before heading out.

"Isn't this a bit too exaggerated?" Liu Yifei said while laughing. "It looks so strange."

"You don't understand, this is called being impregnable," Chen Nuo's voice came from inside his collar.

Shu Chang, hearing this, had a different opinion.

The reason was that tonight, for the first time in her life, she had made it onto the trending list.

Her Weibo followers had actually increased by over a hundred thousand in just one hour. When she opened Weibo, the comments, likes, and reposts were all showing the bright red "999+"—this was definitely a grand occasion her account had never seen before.

Some peers she had worked with on dramas in the past also popped up, leaving comments on her Weibo one after another, and those who hadn't followed her before did so now. It could be said that this hour was the most glorious hour of her acting career; in the world of domestic entertainment, the name Shu Chang had never been so prominent.

And what had she done? The only thing she did was upload nine birthday photos, one of which happened to be a photo of her and Chen Nuo together.

So, was not showing one's face really being impregnable?

It wasn't that simple; unless the whole person was invisible, it wouldn't make much difference.

However, she naturally wouldn't interfere with the interaction between the little couple.

As she watched Chen Nuo head out alone, the paparazzi guarding the entrance immediately rushed over like madmen...

Shu Chang looked at her best friend beside her.

Her manager was right to warn her; Liu Yifei and he should leave separately. It seemed that was truly the case, otherwise, she really didn't know how crazy the paparazzi outside would have become.

The things she went to such great lengths for were, in fact, just someone else's daily life.

"Alright, I'm leaving too, bye-bye Changchang. Happy birthday."

"Thank you, Xixi. Remember to say thank you to Mother Xiaoli for me, and tell her I absolutely love her gift."

"Haha, okay, bye-bye."

"Bye-bye."

After the two hugged, Liu Yifei checked her hat and sunglasses, and also left under the escort of security, welcoming the baptism of the paparazzi's flashbulbs.

Finally, watching Liu Yifei get into her car and drive away, Shu Chang felt a complex mix of emotions.

"Miss Shu."

At this moment, a gentle voice sounded.

Shu Chang turned to look and saw a man in his early thirties wearing glasses, dressed in a crisp suit, looking refined, well-mannered, and quite handsome.

He smiled slightly at her, extended his hand, and said, "Miss Shu, hello, my surname is Wang."

The hotel manager next to them introduced, "Miss Shu, this is the boss of our South Beauty, Mr. Wang."

Shu Chang was stunned. South Beauty had recently become popular all over the country. She knew a strong woman with the surname Zhang was in charge, but she didn't know when the boss had changed. Judging by his age, could they be mother and son?

She politely reached out to shake his hand: "Hello, Mr. Wang, is there something you need?"

The refined Mr. Wang smiled and said, "It's like this, you held a banquet here tonight, which is a great honor for our South Beauty. Therefore, I have decided to waive all your expenses for tonight as a token of thanks for your support of our establishment."

Shu Chang was startled.

You must know, she invited two tables of guests to this birthday banquet tonight, all with a custom menu; adding in the drinks and the buffet reception afterward, it would cost at least over a hundred thousand. For her, this expense was not exactly light.

She hesitated and said, "This... wouldn't be very appropriate, would it?"

Mr. Wang smiled and said, "It's nothing. Your presence is an honor for our South Beauty. A mere few tables of food are not worth mentioning."

"Ah... then thank you," Shu Chang said, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"Then I won't disturb you any further, Miss Shu. Goodbye."

"Alright, goodbye."

Mr. Wang turned and walked two steps, then suddenly looked back and asked, "By the way, Miss Shu, would it be convenient to leave your WeChat?"

(End of chapter)