Chapter 81: If Love Opens in Theaters

"November 30, 2005. The premiere of *If Love* was filled with starlight.

In addition to the three leads, Jacky Cheung, Takeshi Kaneshiro, and Zhou Xun, Hong Kong singers Leo Ku, Miriam Yeung, and William So came to add to the festivities. Furthermore, dozens of famous domestic directors and stars, including Feng Xiaogang and Lu Chuan, graced the grand event.

At the same time, the *If Love* premiere banquet gathered celebrities from the entertainment, real estate, and political circles. Under the guidance of the emcee, the three leads—Takeshi Kaneshiro, Zhou Xun, and Jacky Cheung—along with director Peter Chan, took the stage one after another to talk about their feelings regarding the film's front-of-camera and behind-the-scenes experiences, and held a charity auction..."

Meng Hai was from Sichuan. He came to Beijing for school and hadn't brought anything except a radio from his high school days, which played entertainment news during the day and late-night whispers at night.

It was exactly 6:00 PM. Only three people were in the six-person dorm: besides Meng Hai, there was Zhang Ge from Yucheng and Song Leitao from Jiangsu.

While listening to the radio, Zhang Ge asked, "It's out today. Are you guys going to see it?"

Song Leitao sometimes really couldn't understand this roommate of his; what was the point of playing dumb to this extent? He turned his head and said, "What do you think?"

Zhang Ge muttered, "A musical. Not really interested."

Song Leitao chuckled, not wanting to speak anymore. He was certain that out of the 30 people in the class, if Zhang Ge really didn't go, then the remaining 29 would be the ones watching this movie. Not a single one would be missing.

"Hey, are you guys really going? Did you buy tickets?" Zhang Ge asked again.

Meng Hai said, "I bought a ticket for after 8:00 PM. I went to buy it this morning."

Zhang Ge said, "You're going alone?"

Meng Hai smiled.

Zhang Ge curled his lip. "Fine, having a girlfriend is a big deal. What about you? Song Leitao."

Song Leitao didn't really want to engage with him and said nonchalantly, "I haven't bought one yet. I'll watch it in a couple of days."

Zhang Ge gave an "Oh."

Just then, the dorm door was suddenly opened from the outside. A boy wearing a yellow down jacket walked in. Upon seeing the three of them, he asked with slight surprise, "Why haven't you guys gone to eat?"

Song Leitao was just about to speak when he heard Zhang Ge say, "Isn't *If Love* out today? I just finished tidying up and was about to go watch the movie, and grab a bite while I'm at it. Chen Nuo, what about you? Have you eaten? Do you want to go with me?"

Fuck your mother.

Song Leitao had learned a few Sichuan phrases from the people from Sichuan and Chongqing in the dorm over the past few months, and at this moment, he couldn't help but curse in his gut.

He followed up by saying, "Me too. I've already made plans with friends. I originally wanted to go in a couple of days, but I really couldn't wait, so I bought a late-night ticket. Heh."

Chen Nuo nodded and said, "It's a pity I didn't take the complimentary tickets Director Chan offered me back then, otherwise I would have distributed them to you guys. I was thinking of paying out of my own pocket to contribute to the box office. Zhang Ge, I won't be eating with you. I have plans to watch the movie with Yang Mi, Zhang Xiaofei, and the others. I just came back to grab my gloves, and I'm leaving immediately. It's too cold outside; I really can't stand it." After finishing, he opened his locker and started rummaging through it.

Zhang Ge walked over and said nonchalantly, "Chen Nuo, why didn't you go to the premiere yesterday? Such a good opportunity, showing your face would have been nice."

Chen Nuo remembered that Pan Chengrong had given him a pair of gloves. He even remembered the style—black and white, with a very cute panda head on them; they were considered a local specialty from Sichuan. Why weren't they in his winter clothes? Could they have been put in the suitcase?

"I don't really want to attend these kinds of events. Director Chan agreed." He took out the suitcase from under his desk and opened it.

"So you didn't go to the Venice premiere either, right?"

"Yeah."

"I heard Peter Chan is very fierce on set. Is that true?" Zhang Ge asked.

The clothes in the suitcase were piled up a bit high, and Chen Nuo had to rummage through them bit by bit. "It's alright. As long as your attitude is serious, he won't scold you. At most, he'll say you're not catching on."

Zhang Ge asked again, "What about Zhou Xun? What's her temper like?"

"Sister Xun? She's a very good person. I don't know much else. Everyone else calls her Brother Xun, but I call her Sister Xun. Anyway, you'll know once you work with her in the future. She's really nice, and she loves eating desserts. Just buy her a few KFC egg tarts, and she'll be extremely happy."

Overall, Zhang Ge was quite satisfied with being Chen Nuo's roommate, but occasionally he felt uncomfortable. Like right now. What did "you'll know once you work with her in the future" mean? Zhang Ge understood every word, but put together, he didn't understand the meaning at all.

Zhang Ge didn't speak for a moment, and Song Leitao couldn't help but interject, "Chen Nuo, what about Jacky Cheung? Do you have much private contact with him?"

Still unable to find the gloves, Chen Nuo racked his brain—where exactly had he put them? "Not much. I had one meal with him. It was with the crew at the time, and I sat next to him. I felt he was quite talkative and enthusiastic. He even said that if I go to Hong Kong, he'll take me around."

At this moment, Meng Hai, who was a bit introverted, interjected with a bold question: "I saw on entertainment news that when you were filming *The Return of the Condor Heroes* with Liu Yifei, you slept with her. Is that true?"

Song Leitao had been drinking water, and upon hearing this, he spat it out with a "Pfft."

Well, it's the quiet dogs that bite. So it really was true.

Although he hadn't found the gloves yet, Chen Nuo still couldn't help but laugh. He turned his head and said, "You believe that too?"

Meng Hai's face turned a bit red. "I saw that what was written above was very realistic, saying you fell in love because of the drama."

Chen Nuo suddenly remembered where the gloves were. When he took out his winter clothes earlier, he seemed to have casually put them in the pocket of a down jacket. "It's all fake. Basically, it's all hyped up by the crew themselves, and some of it is just gossip magazines writing nonsense. To maintain the heat, once the TV series starts airing, all these messy news stories will disappear."

Meng Hai stammered, "Then... then next time you run into Liu Yifei, can you help me get an autograph? I really like the Wang Yuyan she played."

The gloves were found. Chen Nuo held them in his hand, turned around, and smiled. "Sure. Wait until she returns to the country for her final exams. I'll call you then, and you can come get it yourself. I'm leaving first. Zhang Xiaofei and the others are still waiting for me downstairs."

After Chen Nuo finished speaking, he left the room.

The dorm was quiet for a while. Zhang Ge suddenly turned back to the other two and said, "Do you guys think Chen Nuo likes Zhang Xiaofei or Yang Mi? Why is he with those two every single day?"

Song Leitao had a new understanding of this person today. If he didn't want to engage with him before, now he didn't even want to look at him. He didn't say a word and started putting on his shoes, preparing to leave.

Meng Hai thought for a moment and said, "I don't know if Chen Nuo likes them, but I think Yang Mi definitely likes him. There were a few times in class when they were asked to perform a scene together, and Yang Mi's eyes didn't look right. It didn't look like acting."

Song Leitao had finished putting on his shoes. Hearing this, he smiled and said, "According to you, how many girls in the class look at him with the right eyes? None of them are right!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 82 =====