Chapter 166

In the end, Cheng Chen still went to Jingui City with Gao Yuanyuan to join the production of "The Number One Under Heaven."

"Mr. Cheng, welcome, welcome! You've finally arrived—I've been waiting ever since Yuanyuan recommended you!"

As soon as he stepped into the office, Wang Sanri greeted them with a greasy, beaming smile.

When speaking of Wang Sanri, one must mention his father.

Those who enjoy Hong Kong films should be very familiar with the kind-faced uncle often cast as a benevolent gangster.

He is Wang Sanri's father, Wang Tianlin.

He was a pioneer—the first to introduce film production, screenwriting, and martial arts choreography into television, bringing major breakthroughs to the industry.

He can be called a driving force behind Hong Kong's film industry and culture in the 1950s and 1960s.

He made enormous contributions to Hong Kong's film industry.

He not only launched many Hong Kong superstars but also mentored renowned directors like Wang Sanri and John Woo.

Hua Zai and Fa Ge both call him their master.

Thus, with his father's glory, Wang Sanri has enjoyed effortless success in Hong Kong's entertainment industry.

In the comedy film genre, Hong Kong's representative directors can be divided into Xu Guanwen, Wang Sanri, Zhou Xingchi, and Liu Zhenwei, each representing a different era of Hong Kong comedy.

The achievements and popularity of the early Xu Guanwen-led Xu Brothers were unquestionable.

The Xu Brothers were also the most popular local comedy actors before Zhou Xingchi.

Therefore, among comedy directors, Xu Guanjie and Zhou Xingchi, bolstered by their acting careers and works, are more popular than Wang Sanri.

This does not mean Wang Sanri is weak—in fact, he is a highly versatile director.

He can effortlessly handle gangster films, comedies, romantic films, and more—he's a "well-rounded director."

"Hello, Producer Wang, I'm Cheng Chen."

Cheng Chen shook hands with Wang Sanri and smiled slightly.

Though he had a poor impression of this man, playing along had become his basic skill since entering the entertainment industry.

Wherever you go, you must be polite!

"Sit."

Wang Sanri looked at Cheng Chen with clear admiration.

After Li Yapeng's leg injury, he had been anxious and helpless.

Though with his fame, he could now simply raise his hand and attract countless actors to audition.

But finding an actor who could fully replace Li Yapeng was exceedingly rare.

After all, Li Yapeng is currently at the peak of his popularity in the entertainment industry, especially after starring in "She Diao Yingxiong Zhuan."

He portrayed Guo Jing's simple, honest nature perfectly, making viewers exclaim that Guo Jing himself had appeared on screen.

Later, however, Li Yapeng gradually went off the rails, shifting from actor to businessman, shooting short videos and becoming an internet celebrity.

I still remember that one yell of "Chunfen" nearly sent people into cardiac arrest.

And his awkward, silent interactions with his good friend Cha Pu.

Netizens immediately imagined Wang Fei's inner thoughts upon seeing this scene.

Wang Fei: You see? How am I supposed to live like this?!

But at this moment, Wang Fei had not yet become entangled with Li Yapeng.

If Cheng Chen remembered correctly, it was precisely because of Li Yapeng's injury that they got together.

Good grief, Li Yapeng didn't suffer in vain—so far, it seems he's turned misfortune into fortune.

At this time, Gao Yuanyuan recommended Cheng Chen to him; initially, he merely nodded and did not immediately agree.

He vaguely recalled Cheng Chen was a singer who had just won the title of Heavenly King at this year's Golden Melody Awards.

He then had his assistant bring over Cheng Chen's file—what he saw shocked him.

Good grief, this was a top-tier superstar through and through.

He had appeared on the Spring Festival Gala twice, released one album that made him legendary, commanded millions of fans across the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong-Macau, and starred in numerous films and TV dramas as well as Zhou Xingchi's movies.

He had also invested in one TV drama and one film.

The reports about Cheng Chen alone filled his entire desk.

And this was still after his assistant had filtered them.

Seeing Cheng Chen's impressive "resume," Wang Sanri was immediately convinced.

At the very least, Cheng Chen's fame and popularity could replace Li Yapeng.

Next came the question of acting ability—though Wang Sanri had made many bad films,

he still held very strict standards for actors.

Seeing that Cheng Chen had collaborated with Lai Shuiqing and Zhou Xingchi, he immediately called both directors to verify.

The results stunned him: Lai Shuiqing had nothing but praise—he was just a kind-hearted man.

What truly impressed him was Zhou Xingchi's response.

"Cheng Zai? A very hardworking young man—his acting is definitely fine. Are you shooting a TV drama?"

"Whether lead or supporting role, rest assured—he can take on any part…"

Knowing Zhou Xingchi well, if someone had merely worked with him once and wasn't the lead actor,

Zhou Xingchi would usually give a couple of vague remarks and nothing more—he'd never heap such lavish praise or speak so definitively.

Moreover, Zhou Xingchi was famous for being strict; actors who earned his approval, if not rare as phoenix feathers, were certainly few and far between.

Thus, after synthesizing the opinions of both Hong Kong directors and reviewing Cheng Chen's relevant information and works,

Wang Sanri immediately cast Cheng Chen as Duan Tianya.

"Producer Wang, don't we need to hold an audition first?"

The two chatted for a while, then Cheng Chen got straight to the point.

"Audition? No need, no need—your talent makes an audition completely unnecessary."

Wang Sanri waved his chubby hand, wearing an expression of strong confidence in Cheng Chen.

In truth, he had watched all of Cheng Chen's works and gathered opinions from others before making this decision.

But saying this now was just a tactic to appear trusting of Cheng Chen and win his favor.

"By the way, take a look at this actor's contract—if everything's fine, let's sign it today."

Wang Sanri said with a smile.

Cheng Chen took the contract and set it aside, saying:

"It's like this, Producer Wang—I'm sure my sister… Yuanyuan already told you."

"I still have some MV shoots to finish, and I haven't fully grasped the character Duan Tianya yet."

"Could we shoot other actors' scenes first and delay my parts for a while?"

"It won't be long—about a week should be enough."

"No problem at all. Yuanyuan already mentioned this to me—I have no issues whatsoever."

"Reschedule all your shoot dates; go ahead and film your MVs. By the way, I'm actually your fan, hahaha."

Wang Sanri smiled.

"Thank you for your support, Producer Wang. By the way, Yuanyuan is also the female lead in my MV—I might need her to come help out later."

"It won't delay the production at all—I'm just letting you know in advance."

Cheng Chen said to Wang Sanri.

"Hmm… fine, as long as it doesn't affect filming progress."

Wang Sanri agreed readily.

"Thank you."

Cheng Chen exhaled, thinking Wang Sanri was quite reasonable.

"Any other requests? Otherwise, shall we sign the contract today?"

Wang Sanri said with a beaming smile.

Hearing this, Cheng Chen felt a bit embarrassed.

He skimmed through the contract's contents—production teams at this level never tampered with contracts.

After all, the artists were big stars; any scandal would severely damage the production.

When he reached the salary section, Wang Sanri spoke up:

"Mr. Cheng, you're replacing Li Yapeng as Duan Tianya. The original salary offered to him is the same as what we're offering you."

Cheng Chen nodded, confirmed there were no discrepancies, then signed his name.

"Pleasure doing business with you, Cheng Zai."

"Pleasure doing business with you."

After Cheng Chen signed, Wang Sanri immediately changed how he addressed him.

Since Cheng Chen's album recording wasn't finished, he needed to return to Jingcheng immediately.

But before leaving, Cheng Chen met with Deng Yancheng and Wei Liyuan, the directors of *The First Under Heaven*.

Although this film had two directors, Wang Sanri was the one who made the final decisions.

As for Deng Yancheng, besides *The First Under Heaven*, his major work also includes the Zhong Hanliang version of *The Legend of the Condor Heroes*.

Of course, that was also a co-directing effort—the lead director was still Lai Shuiqing.

As for Wei Liyuan, she was the kind of assistant director listed on paper—her major work, uh… *Fire Boy 2*, was also a co-directing project.

Other crew members present included Huo Jianhua, Ye Xuan, Guo Jin'an, and Huang Shengyi.

Huang Shengyi was an old acquaintance—they'd met during the filming of *Kung Fu*.

Back then, that slightly shy little girl had now grown into someone increasingly radiant and beautiful.

As for Ye Xuan, she was a classic example of someone who had completely messed up her career.

Cheng Chen's strongest impression of Guo Jin'an was "fool"—yet he won the TV Drama Award for playing a fool, and his wife was also in the industry; his happiness was truly complete.

The one who drew Cheng Chen's most attention was Huo Jianhua, standing silently to the side.

This senior had landed the role of Guihai Yidao right after his debut—clearly his management team had pushed hard for him.

This senior was a true workhorse of the entertainment industry: last year alone, he filmed four dramas, rushing between four sets.

Of course, that wasn't even the most impressive—his record of filming seven idol dramas in a single year stood as of 2017.

He had the demeanor of a veteran official, yet his appearance was refined and handsome—though his taste in choices wasn't great…

Four years away from his breakout role as Changqing Daxia, it was from that year onward that he began dominating screens, becoming wildly popular…

After meeting these main creators and sharing a meal, Cheng Chen hurried back to Jingcheng.

Back in Jingcheng, Cheng Chen rushed to the recording studio to finish recording all remaining songs of his album.

He then notified Yan Danchen to come film the MV—this had been their prior agreement.

But just after Yan Danchen completed filming two MVs, the drama crew suddenly called her back.

"The crew said my scenes have been moved up—the remaining MVs…"

Seeing Yan Danchen's troubled expression, Cheng Chen said generously:

"It's fine—go back to the crew first. I'll find someone else for the remaining MVs."

"I'm so sorry."

Yan Danchen felt guilty.

Cheng Chen patted her head and smiled:

"Silly, what does it have to do with you? It's perfectly normal for the crew to adjust the schedule and screen time."

"Go back to the set with peace of mind. Everything is fine on my end."

"Okay!"

After Yan Danchen left, Cheng Chen called Gao Yuanyuan again.

It turned out Gao Yuanyuan didn't have time either, saying she was rushing to meet her schedule during this period and had set aside time for Cheng Chen's MV shoot.

Well, didn't that just clash!

Just as Cheng Chen was wondering who to ask to cameo as the female lead, he suddenly received a call from Liu Tianxian.

"Right! How did I forget about this girl!"

Looking at the caller ID on his phone, Cheng Chen slapped his thigh excitedly.

"Hello, girl, what are you up to?"

Cheng Chen picked up the phone and asked.

"Huh? I... I'm fine, I'm at home."

Cheng Chen's opening question threw Liu Tianxian off her game.

It was as if Cheng Chen had taken the initiative to call her.

"That's great, girl, could you come over and do me a favor, cameo in a role..."

"Sure... but, Xiaoyao Gege, you'll have to talk to my mom first."

Liu Tianxian had originally agreed without hesitation, then seemed to think of something and said a little shyly.

"Of course, give me Teacher Liu's phone number, I'll talk to her..."

After getting Liu Xiaoli's consent, Cheng Chen immediately arranged to meet Liu Tianxian at the company.

"Girl, this is the MV script, take a rough look at it.

This isn't like filming a TV drama, it's not that strict. You just need to grasp the overall emotional tone of the female lead."

Cheng Chen handed the MV script to Liu Tianxian.

Liu Tianxian was dressed in a casual style today. Her figure was already on the tall and well-proportioned side, and a pair of jeans fully showed off her straight legs.

She wore a white baseball cap on her head, and her loose hair looked both playful and lively.

Combined with her fair skin and big watery eyes, she was as pure and innocent as the girl next door.

"'Light Chaser' — is that the name of your new song, Xiaoyao Gege?"

Liu Tianxian held the script and asked Cheng Chen.

"Mm, let me roughly explain the tone of our MV.

This is a story of a secret crush. The protagonist's appearance before love is tactful and cautious. The setting of the story is placed in high school..."

As an insert song for a TV drama, "Light Chaser" has sincere lyrics and a gentle singing voice.

It contains a pure love and a steadfast promise, and is especially full of story.

At the same time, it can remind some people of their own youth.

Because the little youthful thoughts of this song are all in the lyrics.

If when you were young you happened to like such a person, they shine brightly in the crowd,

facing them you would be at a loss, with a little bit of inferiority and nervousness...

Liu Tianxian quietly listened to Cheng Chen's narration and unconsciously fell into the story.

A secret crush?

Facing them, one would be at a loss, watching him from afar?

Liu Tianxian felt a little panicked. He... did he notice something, and that's why he let her play the female lead in this MV?

"Xiaoyao Gege... could you sing this song for me once?"

"Hmm?"

"I want to better understand the emotions this song expresses."

Liu Tianxian said earnestly.

"Okay."

Cheng Chen picked up the guitar and sang while playing:

"If you are the fireworks over the sea, I am the foam of the waves.

At a certain moment, your light illuminated me.

If you are the distant galaxy,

dazzling enough to make one want to cry, I am the eyes chasing after you, always gazing at the night sky when lonely..."