Chapter 488: Where is Wong Kar-wai?

"...Miss Ni Ni, now that we've finished talking about the movie, can we continue chatting about other things?"

"Of course."

"From what I've heard, when this movie was filming, a big star once came to visit your set. Is this true?"

"Ah? Who... are you talking about?"

"Haha, Miss Ni Ni, what do you think? Of course, it's your good friend, Mr. Chen Nuo."

"Uh..."

"May I ask if Mr. Chen Nuo came to visit the set back then because of you?"

"No, it's because he actually has good relationships with many people in our crew. For example, the male lead Christian Bale, for example, his classmates from the Beijing Film Academy are also in our crew, and Director Zhang Yimou also has a very good relationship with him, so..."

Before she could finish, the reporter interrupted: "Recently, there have been rumors online that when you were filming Director Zhang Yi's 'The Mute's House' with him back then, you two were once a couple. Is this true?"

"Ah? No, that's all nonsense. I don't have that kind of relationship with him."

"Is that so? But we got this news from your New Picture Company's Mr. Zhang. I heard that you two previously..."

"What? Mr. Zhang?"

"Huh?"

"Good morning, Grandpa."

"A-Jun, looking at you like this, are you preparing to go on a long trip again?"

"Ah, yes, going to the mainland to take care of some business."

"No way, you're just a delivery boy, what business do you have to take care of? Do you have deliveries to take by boat to the other side?"

"Haha, it's not like that, just going over to visit some relatives."

"Oh, I see. Then when are you coming back?"

"In a couple of days. Why, Grandpa?"

"Oh, it's like this, in a few days, it's Grandpa's birthday. I want to invite you and A-Qi to have a meal together."

"..."

"What's wrong? Come and drink some fish soup."

"Grandpa, haven't I been coming over to drink soup whenever I'm free lately?"

"That's right, so look at how much better your complexion has been lately. Alright, it's settled then. Grandpa will wait for you to come back... Don't look so gloomy. Listen to Grandpa, Grandpa wouldn't harm you."

"Uh..."

"Hey, did you hear what your mother was saying to you?"

The man's voice came over, but Zhang Jiaqi turned a deaf ear and picked up a piece of food with her chopsticks.

The woman continued: "When the time comes for Grandpa to invite him to dinner, you should go and see what he's actually like. I heard from Grandpa that the person is very handsome, just usually very shy. Although there are some issues with his health, they've all pretty much recovered. I also ran into him once a few days ago, and you can't really tell usually. Think about how he almost got crushed for you that day; such a loyal and affectionate man is rare nowadays."

Zhang Jiaqi picked up her wine glass.

"Snap."

"Ah!" Zhang Jiaqi cried out in pain and said discontentedly, "Mom, what are you doing?"

The woman withdrew the chopsticks that had hit Zhang Jiaqi's hand and said calmly, "As a girl, don't drink so much. You won't be able to get married later."

The man said, "You need to listen to what your mother says, A-Qi. We only have you in this family. If there were a second one, your mother and I wouldn't bother with you anymore. You need to get married early so we can stop worrying. You're already 27 this year; if you get any older, you'll only be able to find those divorced men and help them take care of their kids. It would be better to just go with that A-Jun. Even though he doesn't have money, at least he lives near us, and if he hits you, you can run back."

"Hit me?" Zhang Jiaqi laughed in anger, "What right does he have to hit me?"

"What right?" the woman said coldly, "The right of you daydreaming all day long."

"...I'm not eating anymore." Zhang Jiaqi threw down her chopsticks.

"Every time we talk to you, you stop eating," the man nagged. "Your mother is right. When you were in your teens, you said you wanted to chase your dreams and be an actress. It's been ten years, and you're still dreaming. You read books every day and buy so many of them; look, you can't even fit them under the bed anymore. I ask you, have you..."

"I'm going out." Zhang Jiaqi stood up, grabbed her bag by the door, opened it, and rushed out.

"Hey, you..."

The man's voice came from behind, but the woman ran like the wind, leaving it far behind her.

"Daydreaming takes flight

Never too far or too abstract

Eventually becoming a diva

Or becoming a bride are both ideals

In the square of the era

Everyone will always have a prize..."

An old, slightly outdated song drifted out from a clothing store on the street, the melody brushing past Zhang Jiaqi's ears, but she didn't pay it any mind.

She was no longer the little girl who would stand at a bus stop fantasizing about being the "Next Station Diva." Besides, one of the two who originally sang this song had long since fallen from her pedestal.

She took out her phone and dialed a number.

"Hey, A-Wei, what are you doing? Are you free to go out for a walk... Ah? You've already started work? Really? Who introduced the role to you? ...Alright, alright, call me back when you're done, I'll wait for your call."

The call ended, and Zhang Jiaqi's expression became somewhat complicated.

She held that old, paint-chipped iPhone and tapped on another contact.

"Brother Hao, how are you? This is Kiki. I just heard from A-Wei that you helped her find a role at TVB. Are there any extra opportunities you could give me? ...Ah? It wasn't you? Then I'm sorry, Brother Hao, maybe I got it wrong... No time today? I have to go to the countryside to help my mom look after the shop. I'll call you again when I get back... Okay, bye Brother Hao."

Zhang Jiaqi made a few more calls, but didn't hear the news she wanted.

Finally, she sighed and tapped a number in her call history to dial out.

"Gigi, are you up yet? Do you know that A-Wei found a part in a production... I'm not joking with you, she just called me and told me, but when I asked her who introduced it, she wouldn't say... It wasn't Zhang Tianhao, I just asked... Money? I haven't had work for many days, where would I get money to lend you? Alright, I'm hanging up, bye."

Zhang Jiaqi put the phone into her bag, carefully stepped over a puddle on the ground, walked out of the alley, and arrived on the main street.

She hadn't walked two steps when there was a newspaper stall by the road. An old woman was sitting on a small stool, and seeing her approach, she smiled and said, "A-Qi, 'East Week' just came out, do you want a copy?"

"Yes." Zhang Jiaqi walked over, took 10 dollars out of her bag, and handed it over.

"Heavenly King Guo Fucheng secretly meets old flame Xiong Dailin, wedding bells near?"

"Zheng Xiuwen suspected of quitting 'High Altitude Love II', kept a straight face throughout the set."

"Twins reunion concert backstage exposed: Sa and Jiao have zero interaction in private?"

And the biggest headline among them read—

"Chen Nuo, who has been working in Hong Kong for many days, secretly returns to the mainland, attended the premiere of 'The Flowers of War' yesterday."

Below it was a picture of a man in a sharp black suit, a high-definition photo of him standing on the red carpet.

Some said it was because he lost weight for the new movie he was filming in Hong Kong, others said it was because he was in poor health.

But regardless, standing there, in Zhang Jiaqi's eyes, he was born to be on the red carpet, his whole body radiating a dazzling brilliance. With a slight smile, she feared there wasn't a woman in the world who wouldn't fall for him.

Zhang Jiaqi looked at the photo, then saw below the headline, another line of small print marked in small yellow letters:

Traveling a thousand miles for an appointment, for love or for loyalty? It's baffling.

The corner of the cover also read:

"Rumored to have rekindled old flame with the latest 'Zhang Girl' Ni Ni. When questioned by reporters on the spot, Chen Nuo said nothing, suspected of tacitly admitting it. Things are really getting big! Liu Yifei and Wen Yongshan's latest responses!"

Zhang Jiaqi put away the magazine and continued walking on the busy street.

Five minutes later, Zhang Jiaqi walked into a McDonald's, ordered a juice, sat down in a corner, opened the 'East Week' she had just bought, and began to flip through it page by page amidst the noisy crowd.

The gossip feature on the inside page was written in large bold print:

"Rekindling an old flame? Chen Nuo secretly returns to the mainland for 'The Flowers of War' premiere."

"—Ni Ni, Wen Yongshan, Liu Yifei, who is the true queen?"

Recently, the scandal between Chen Nuo and 'The Flowers of War' lead actress Ni Ni has been spreading like wildfire. Last May, he specifically went to Nanjing to visit the set, suspected to be for the purpose of visiting this old flame. According to insiders, during the filming of their debut work 'The Mute's House', the male and female leads fell in love because of the play, turning a fake romance into a real one.

Later, because of Wen Yongshan's intervention, the two broke up. Regarding this, Ni Ni has always held a grudge.

Finally, last May, the two were suspected of rekindling their old flame. According to people related to 'The Flowers of War' crew, during Chen Nuo's visit, he and Ni Ni were once in the same room late at night, and the woman was only seen leaving at dawn.

The crew subsequently responded that "there is absolutely no such thing," but hotel staff privately indicated that the two did indeed stay on the same floor, and their entry and exit times highly coincided.

And this time, Chen Nuo, who was originally filming a big Hollywood production in Hong Kong hailed as the "Chinese version of 'Game of Thrones'," suddenly returned to the mainland in secret, which is believed to be for the purpose of supporting Ni Ni and helping his old flame return to the peak.

What's even more speculative is that at the premiere, when a reporter tried to question Director Zhang Yimou about this, the director's face turned black on the spot and he flew into a rage, suspected of being extremely dissatisfied with the internal leak of the crew.

As everyone knows, since Chen Nuo's debut, he has only had two public girlfriends—one is Wen Yongshan, and the current one is Liu Yifei. Now that a "third" has been exposed, the entertainment industry has suddenly exploded, and mainland social media has even been on the trending list for three consecutive days. Countless fans are deeply disappointed and angry, saying that Chen Nuo's love history is rich and inconsistent with his previous image.

So what is the attitude of his current girlfriend Liu Yifei? Will his former lover Wen Yongshan respond?

Three women fighting for one man, who is the true queen?

For more reports, please pay attention to the next issue of 'East Week', our reporter will bring you exclusive scoops."

After reading it, Zhang Jiaqi sighed slightly. Sure enough, it was just these weeklies making up headlines to sell copies again. There was no substance at all.

As someone who often follows entertainment news, she could tell at a glance that all this talk about Ni Ni was just a scandal hyped up to promote the movie 'The Flowers of War'.

As for the latest scoops on Liu Yifei and Wen Yongshan mentioned at the end, she would bet ten thousand dollars that there would be nothing in the next issue either. Hong Kong's entertainment newspapers and magazines are all like this now; they just start making things up based on what sells well.

After finishing the biggest cover story, she started reading from the beginning again.

Heavenly King Guo, Zheng Xiuwen, and the Twins... However, in this issue of the weekly, the gossip news about Chen Nuo still occupied more than one item.

Besides the scandal that had just broken out, there were two other pieces of news.

One is from the United States—the "Chinese Theatre cement slab theft incident" that caused a sensation last year.

Zhang Jiaqi remembered that this cement slab later even turned up in Italy, where someone auctioned it at an underground auction in Milan.

And this time, East Week reported that this cement slab had inexplicably reappeared in the United States.

It is said that a police station in Florida received an anonymous tip claiming it was hidden in a certain warehouse. But by the time the police rushed over, the cement slab had vanished into thin air once again. In the end, they only found the owner of the warehouse, a freight company boss who knew nothing about the cement slab.