Chapter 218

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As a superstar with immense influence across Asia.

Every move Cheng Chen makes is watched by an enormous number of people.

The grandeur of his concert in Hanguk naturally made its way back to the Mainland.

"Cheng Chen is treated with great respect in Hanguk, accompanied by Kim Hee-sun!"

"The Heavenly King has arrived in Hanguk—once-mighty entertainment empires must bow beneath his feet!"

"Music knows no borders—Cheng Chen dominates Hanguk's entertainment circle!"

Front-page headlines across Mainland entertainment media all carried reports about Cheng Chen.

"It is well known that China's entertainment industry has long been overshadowed by Japan and Hanguk.

Domestic stars, whether in clothing or styling, increasingly emulate Japan and Hanguk.

But this is far from a healthy trend—does our great China really have no fashion of its own?

Especially in China's music scene, Hong Kong Sheng once led the Mainland.

The Mainland tried hard to copy Hong Kong Sheng and Tai Sheng, but who did Hong Kong Sheng and Tai Sheng copy?

Yes, besides Japan and Hanguk, there was no one else—tragic, pitiful!

But Cheng Chen's emergence reversed this situation—yes, this young man has been in the industry for less than four years.

At just over twenty years old, he single-handedly shattered this shackling constraint.

At his concert in Japan, his song 'Rare Characters' made the Japanese completely bow before the charm of Chinese characters.

Entire generations of Japanese youth began learning Chinese, as if possessed by infinite magic.

It sparked in them a desire to understand the Chinese language spoken by this Chinese youth.

At his concert in Hanguk, even a single ticket had been scalped to astronomical prices.

Those who know Cheng Chen should recall he once declared, 'Huachuan is the coolest!'

During those years when Hanguk wave flooded China, he resisted with song after song of Chinese-style music.

He prevented our youth from collectively singing incomprehensible Korean songs.

Then what were they singing? They sang, 'Sky-blue waits for misty rain, while I wait for you.'

'Red Sun Rising in the East, its great path brims with radiant light.' Thank China for having Cheng Chen.

Thank China's music industry for producing Cheng Chen—I firmly believe Cheng Chen and his Chinese-style music will sweep the globe!'

This blog post went viral across the internet.

Even Weibo's trending list featured the hashtag 'Thank China's music industry for Cheng Chen.'

Alongside Cheng Chen, the hashtag 'The whole world is speaking Chinese' also trended.

When he first saw this hashtag, Cheng Chen thought SHE had released that hit song.

But then he thought harder— that song wasn't released until 2007, and now it's 2005.

That song hadn't even been released yet!

In fact, due to China's rising international influence over the past two years, a 'Chinese language craze' has emerged worldwide.

Without doubt, Chinese is the most widely spoken language in the world.

About one-fifth of the world's population speaks Chinese as their mother tongue.

Chinese has also profoundly influenced the languages and writing systems of neighboring countries.

For example, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese all retain large numbers of Chinese prepositions and Chinese script characters.

Modern Chinese has unified and standardized grammar, despite vast differences in dialect pronunciation.

But written Chinese has no barriers to communication caused by dialectal differences.

The beauty of Chinese lies in its simplicity and subtlety—a single simple phrase carries the richest emotions!

Today, Chinese is still only spreading among a small number of countries; but in about ten years,

That will be the moment when Chinese truly dominates.

For instance, in 2016, Nanfei made Chinese its second foreign language.

In recent years, Chinese language instruction has proceeded smoothly in some primary and secondary schools in Nanfei.

Later, it spread to other African nations, all of whom incorporated Chinese into their education systems.

In other Asian countries, watching Chinese TV dramas has become an essential part of youth life.

And Miguo, as the world's number-one superpower,

Also considers Chinese indispensable,

Many countries' banks, schools, hospitals, and restaurants now offer dedicated Chinese translation services.

Even Saierweiya begins Chinese education as early as elementary school, placing exceptional emphasis on Chinese.

They treat Chinese as a second language alongside their mother tongue.

Meanwhile, the neighboring Russians have even included Chinese in daily classroom instruction—exams are obviously no exception…

Sometimes Cheng Chen wonders whether he should just copy SHE's 'Chinese Language.'

After all, he finds one member of that group particularly annoying.

…

Cheng Chen stayed in Hanguk for about a week.

During this time, Park You-ryeol stayed by Cheng Chen's side, treating him like a lord, catering to his every need for food, drink, and entertainment.

Yet Cheng Chen did not mind this behavior.

He was clearly seeking something; he didn't say it, and Cheng Chen deliberately didn't ask.

Until the day before Cheng Chen announced his return home, Park You-ryeol hosted a grand farewell party for him.

After the farewell party, Park You-ryeol began to reveal his true purpose to Cheng Chen.

The two talked that night for a long time, until dawn…

Cheng Chen's return to China had been announced in advance, and many domestic fans had already gathered at the airport.

As soon as Cheng Chen appeared, the fans screamed his name wildly.

Looking at the fans waiting at the airport, Cheng Chen took a deep breath—there really was something sweet in the air at home.

The familiar dialect in his ears, the kind that runs in his bones—this feeling was truly good…

Upon returning, Cheng Chen immediately plunged into work.

First was the work on "Lost in Thailand"—Ning Hao was a director with extremely high execution ability.

Casting for the film had largely been finalized.

Upon learning Cheng Chen had returned, Ning Hao hurried to Xinghuo Entertainment with the confirmed lead actors.

Seeing Xu Zheng's bald head, Cheng Chen smiled—since their collaboration on "Crazy Stone,"

he had never seen Xu Zheng again.

At this time, he should have been starring alongside Wang Gang and Ceng Baoyi in a historical comedy called "Three Times the Imperial Edict."

The drama revolved around a series of bizarre and convoluted events between Wei Zhongxian, the notorious minister of the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty, and his son Fu Yingxing, born before he became a eunuch.

Xu Zheng played Fu Yingxing, Wei Zhongxian's son.

In truth, this drama was pure wish-fulfillment fluff—fun to watch as a child, but riddled with glaring flaws upon reflection.

For instance, in the plot, Fu Yingxing runs a pastry shop in Jinan, while the eunuch sells seals engraved with "As If the Emperor Himself Is Present" in Palace Alley,

then is immediately questioned by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, who forces him to name the buyer, and the Guard immediately seals the door and chases after them.

So how did it instantly transfer to Jinan, end up in a beggar's hands, and then get given to Fu Yingxing?

This plot hole was far too obvious and irresponsible!

As for "Three Times the Imperial Edict," the coincidences and accidents stemmed from intense power struggles among multiple factions within the court, where no one dared act rashly.

It was precisely because of this that Fu Yingxing could thrive like a fish in water, navigating danger after danger—but the hidden currents beneath were far more complex than they appeared, everywhere fraught with peril.

Even today, one can see how, amid such power struggles, someone always gets drawn in, someone always pays the price.

But most people are simply unaware of the truth, merely here for the spectacle…

Of course, Cheng Chen was not in a position to judge the merits of this drama—it was wrong to view today's productions through the lens of the future.

After all, times were different, and creators thought differently.

And this drama, in Cheng Chen's memory, had only ever aired on local television stations…

"I called you all here for no big reason—our leads have all been confirmed… hmm, where's Bao Qiang?"

After everyone exchanged greetings upon entering the room, Cheng Chen noticed Wang Baoqiang was absent.

"I called him—he should be on the way."

Director Ning Hao said.

Cheng Chen frowned and nodded, then continued:

"You've all had the script for a while—why not each share your understanding of your roles?

I previously told Bo Ge that we'd do a simple audition; originally, this should have been Ning Director's task.

But you all know, I'm the Screenwriter and also the Producer, so it's not easy for Ning Director to handle it alone.

Since we're all free today, let's do the auditions together."

As soon as Cheng Chen finished speaking, Huang Bo eagerly raised his hand.

Ever since Cheng Chen mentioned the audition, he had been preparing nonstop—he treasured every chance to appear on screen.

"Then let's start with… Xu Lang—Zheng Ge, you go first!"

Cheng Chen scanned the group, then turned to Xu Zheng.

"Me? Sure."

Xu Zheng grinned, pointed at himself, cleared his throat, and said:

"When I first read the script, I laughed out loud at the scenes.

When I learned from Ning Director that this was written by Manager Cheng himself, I was surprised—but also felt it made perfect sense."

Although Xu Zheng was shy in daily life, he became eloquent when discussing acting.

He first lightly flattered Cheng Chen, then continued:

"Recently, my wife has been studying astrology, dragging me along every day to explore it endlessly.

My ears are worn out from hearing it—I dare not resist at home. Manager Cheng wants to audition and hear our understanding of the characters.

So I'll use astrology to analyze the character Xu Lang…"

Hearing Xu Zheng's words, everyone's eyes lit up—astrology to interpret a character.

Clever!

Cheng Chen silently nodded—Xu Zheng's mind was still very sharp.

But… "Lost in Thailand" was originally completed by Xu Zheng in the future.

He never expected he'd be having Xu Zheng audition for "Lost in Thailand."

Was this publicly NTR-ing him?

Only then did Xu Zheng clear his throat and say:

"Ahem, Xu Lang should be a Capricorn—he's a successful businessman.

Even when his wife comes to his company to discuss divorce, he only talks about his career and future.

His mind is filled only with the future development of his company, completely ignoring his severe family problems.

Xu Lang's first appearance immediately reveals his distinct Sun sign traits:"

A person who ignores family and relatives for the sake of ideals and career pours all effort solely into personal success.

Among the twelve zodiac signs, only Capricorn, ruled by Saturn, possesses such cold-blooded traits—seen by outsiders as utterly heartless in pursuit of fame and fortune.

In searching for the major shareholder, Xu Lang endured hardship and trials, relentlessly seeking the temple whose roof he had only glimpsed; such unwavering determination could belong to no one but Scorpio or Capricorn.

Meanwhile, as a business elite, he sought to exploit the layman Wang Bao to mislead his competitors.

Xu Lang willingly accompanied Wang Bao, the cheerful but foolish scallion pancake youth.

He endured the endless troubles Wang Bao imposed upon him.

This is another classic trait of Capricorn: endurance…

Xu Zheng spoke at length, even covering all the zodiac horoscopes.

The listeners were thoroughly engaged, their eyes filled with sudden understanding.

Cheng Chen also pondered inwardly: Xu Zheng's grasp of the character Xu Lang was undoubtedly accurate.

Xu Lang, as a shrewd and experienced man, represents the highest level of contemporary societal cognition.

Such people never care about the inner states of those around them.

He lives cautiously, strives relentlessly toward his goals, and always wears a false smile to mask a cold heart…

Just as Cheng Chen was thinking, Gao Bo suddenly spoke:

"Cheng Zong, am I up next? Just now Zhengzi used the zodiac to discuss character understanding—I can do the same."

Seeing Cheng Chen's interest in Xu Zheng's method of analyzing characters, Gao Bo volunteered.

"Huh? Bo Ge, has your girlfriend recently taken to studying zodiac signs too?"

Cheng Chen asked with a smile.

Everyone burst into laughter.

At this time, Gao Bo had a girlfriend.

Gao Bo and his girlfriend met during their student days.

Back then, Gao Bo and his friends formed a group called "Blue Sandstorm," touring nationwide for performances.

His girlfriend also loved dancing; though they attended different schools, they often met to dance together.

Slowly, they grew close, and afterward, Gao Bo and his girlfriend—

Along with the two friends, they toured nationwide under the name "Blue Sandstorm."

Over time, the two became a couple…

Their love lasted over a decade, but Gao Bo's girlfriend was always low-key, and since Gao Bo himself was not yet famous, few knew of her.

Hearing Cheng Chen's question, Gao Bo chuckled and said:

"Not really—she doesn't study zodiac signs much; I studied them for a while."

That was true—he had once gone through a long period with no career progress.

He tried everything: visiting temples to burn incense, computer fortune-telling, zodiac horoscopes—you name it.

He really did study the zodiac for a while.

"Then Bo Ge, tell us about your character: Gao Bo."

Cheng Chen smiled.

Gao Bo opened his mouth, and his distinct Lu Sheng dialect rang out:

"Gao Bo of Scorpio is skilled at observing and analyzing situations.

When he saw Xu Lang kneeling before his wife, he appeared at just the right moment.

He exploited the quarrel between Xu Lang and his wife to uncover Xu Lang's plan.

Gao Bo possesses calm judgment and sharp insight, able to observe things objectively.

After Xu Lang discovered and destroyed the phone tracker, he found Xu Lang's hotel through Wang Bao's Weibo photos.

He sneaked into Xu Lang's room and planted another tracker inside Wang Bao's backpack.

Among the twelve zodiac signs, who else but Scorpio could so perfectly embody the role of a professional spy?

Along the way, he relentlessly pursued and ambushed Xu Lang and Wang Bao using every tool at his disposal.

At the final moment, he fought furiously with Xu Lang over the authorization document.

This also reflects Scorpio's defining trait: never giving up until the goal is achieved.

The meticulous, deeply calculating Scorpio Gao Bo is undoubtedly the number-one rival of the cunning, masterful Capricorn Xu Lang…"

After finishing, Gao Bo unconsciously glanced at Xu Zheng.

Clearly, he had immersed himself in the role.

Just as Cheng Chen was about to speak, the office door suddenly opened.

Wang Baoqiang stood at the threshold, panting, face flushed with embarrassment:

"Brother, sorry… I'm… I'm late…"

…