Chapter 356

Melinda didn't know the answer to Wei Hong's question either; I'm just your brother's ex-girlfriend, editor, partner, and bed-mate, not his wife.

However, Melinda did ask Wei Hong about Wei Ming's romantic issues in China through side inquiries.

"My brother? My brother has always been single."

Seeing her say it so righteously, Melinda smiled: "There isn't anyone he's been getting close to?"

Wei Hong's eyes rolled: "It's not that there isn't, but that girl is even younger than me. It shouldn't be the kind of relationship you're thinking of."

"Zhou Huimin?" Melinda said directly.

"You know her too!"

Melinda smiled: "I've seen her in Hong Kong; she's a very pretty little girl."

"She's only 14." Wei Hong's implication was that she couldn't threaten you, Sister Melinda. She is relatively traditional in her thinking and feels that love is best when it's constant, so she hoped even more that her brother and Melinda could rekindle their old flame.

But Melinda knew they couldn't go back. She asked: "There's a female actress in China named Gong Xue, you should know her, right? And another one named Zhu Lin."

"Of course, they are so popular right now!"

Speaking of this, Wei Hong had a lot to talk about: "Especially Sister Gong Xue. She recently acted in my brother's new play, and she's simply red-hot. I feel she can be considered the most popular female star in the mainland right now!"

Wei Hong was deducing this based on the popularity of *Mama, Love Me Once Again* before she went abroad.

It had been released for a week, and *Mama, Love Me Once Again* swept through all the large and medium-sized cities in the country with the highest number of prints of the year. Now, even the daytime screenings were packed. For a time, the land of Shenzhou was filled with weeping, and a large number of scenes of motherly kindness and filial piety emerged.

Everyone seemed to have a masochistic tendency, running into the cinema just to have a good cry. Every cinema had put up reminders to bring handkerchiefs.

Gong Xue, who could previously only be considered a popular second-tier actress, was completely promoted to a top-tier popular female star after this battle.

In the morning, Gong Xue woke up in her house in Tuanjiehu. She had a good dream last night, dreaming of the little rascal, only Sister Lin was there too, how embarrassing.

There was also a script by her bedside, which was sent to her by the Shanghai Er Yingchang yesterday. It was a period piece called *Love in the Brush*, which tells the story of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties.

She hadn't filmed a period piece before and was quite interested. Moreover, the script was solid, and it was being handled by a female director, so she thought about giving it a try.

It's just that she didn't know if the Beijing Er Yingchang would agree to her returning to her "maiden home." She herself was also a bit hesitant. Returning to the Magic City to film would certainly allow her to accompany her parents, but what about Ma Xiaowei? Sister Lin had gone to the Northeast; wouldn't he have to keep an empty room alone?

If Zhu Lin were in Yanjing, Gong Xue probably wouldn't hesitate and would just agree directly.

She felt that her own mentality was also changing. Previously, it was about guarding against Sister Lin snatching the bad boy away from her side. Now, it was about the sisters working together to keep him here; we can't let the foreigners take advantage.

After getting up, Gong Xue first washed up and did her skincare. She used all international big brands. Wei Ming hadn't spent little money at the Friendship Store for this. At first, she also felt the pinch, but after knowing the foreign exchange balance in Ma Xiaowei's bank, she stopped trying to persuade him.

After getting ready, Gong Xue took the script and prepared to ride her bike to the Beijing Er Yingchang. Now she didn't dare to take public transportation, and she didn't even dare to go to crowded places. Once, she was recognized even while wearing a mask.

In the building next door, Yanzi was eating while breastfeeding her child. The table was rich in nutrition, with fish, meat, and eggs. Biaozi had even managed to apply for fresh milk for her.

"Oh my, wifey, take a look at this news headline."

Yanzi took a look: "*South Gong Xue, North Zhu Lin: The Twin Stars of the Film World with Both Acting Skills and Beauty*."

"This is... *Hundred Flowers Film World*!"

Although *Hundred Flowers Film World* is a local newspaper in Henan and has nothing to do with *Popular Cinema* magazine or the Hundred Flowers Awards, its circulation is very high, and it can be bought all over the country. The newspaper provides relatively accurate screening schedules as well as movie plot introductions and film reviews, and is considered the most authoritative "viewing guide" of this era.

Huang Jiaoyan put down her chopsticks and picked up the newspaper to read. Besides the article, there were also photos of the two female stars for comparison; they were indeed both very beautiful.

They both fit the aesthetics of the era and slightly exceeded it. They were beauties who could lead the aesthetics of the era and could be called the best of the same era. Previously popular Liu Xiaoqing, Chen Chong, and Zhang Yu were definitely not as good in terms of looks alone.

Biaozi held his wife's hand and said: "If it weren't for marrying me and being delayed, based on the popularity of *Heroes from Youth*, maybe it would be South Gong Xue, North Yanzi."

*Heroes from Youth* and *Happiness Knocks at the Door* were released one after another, and the box office and audience they gained nationwide were not much different, both in the hundreds of millions.

Moreover, Huang Jiaoyan's female lead combined beauty and action. At the time, the momentum was also very great, and she was called the "Martial Arts Queen" and "Contemporary Heroine" by the media.

It's a pity that because of marriage and pregnancy, subsequent resources didn't keep up, and she rarely appeared in public, so slowly no one mentioned it anymore.

Yanzi chuckled and kissed her daughter's chubby face: "Those things are all empty; how can they be as important as my daughter."

Biaozi also smiled: "That's true too."

Yanzi added: "And Sister Lin is so atmospheric and beautiful; let her be the representative of the North."

Just as she was about to put down the newspaper, Yanzi suddenly saw the author's name.

"The author who wrote this article, Liu Zhenyun, is that the Liu Zhenyun we know?"

"Bai Bai Lao Liu?" Biaozi noticed this then, "Hey, it's probably him. But he used to write literary reviews; I didn't expect him to start commenting on movie stars this time."

Liu Zhenyun: Actually, I was also enlightened by an expert.

At Peking University, Liu Zhenyun had already seen this article of his. He saw it from a junior student's hand. These freshmen of the '81 class are really unlearned and unskilled; their attention to stars even exceeds that of academics.

The saying "South Gong Xue, North Zhu Lin" gained widespread recognition in society. Even those freshmen at Peking University went to Liu Zhenyun and said that the senior brother had insight.

Liu Zhenyun initially just wanted to write a review of *Mama, Love Me Once Again* to earn some manuscript fees. He and his girlfriend were both moved by the movie. As a result, when he chatted with Wei Ming, he proposed such a proposition.

"Wait until these two people completely stand at the pinnacle of the Chinese film world in the future, wait until decades later when a generation of movie fans are all mourning their brilliance. Once you think that this saying was first proposed by you, don't you feel very honored?"

Wei Ming resisted the urge to give this honor to Bai Bai Lao Liu. Who told everyone to be brothers? Of course, it was mainly because of the principle of family avoidance.

With Liu Zhenyun starting this, many articles discussing "South Gong Xue, North Zhu Lin" immediately emerged in the country. For a time, Zhu Lin, whose popularity had declined, was brought along and appeared frequently in the newspapers.

This is the power of bundle marketing. Wei Ming had long wanted to bundle the two of them. The release of *Mama, Love Me Once Again* was the best timing.

They have equal popularity, similar age, one south and one north, and their achievements are about the same. Once bundled, it is easy to be recognized by the public, and then it is difficult to separate them.

In the future, when Zhu Lin has popular new works, she can feed back to Gong Xue. Once the two attend an awards ceremony at the same time, their starlight will completely overwhelm all other female stars.

This is 1+1 greater than 2!

Wei Ming has a good relationship with the media. Later, let *China Youth Daily* make a final conclusion, and this CP will be locked.

Liu Xiaoqing was worrying while looking at the newspaper at this time. She really wanted to bundle herself in too, for example, South Gong Xue, North Zhu Lin, West Xiaoqing. She came from the west, and *The Mysterious Buddha* was also quite popular, and the number of viewers was also among the top of the year.

However, east, west, south, north are missing an east. The Magic City is already east enough. In fact, Gong Xue should be East Gong Xue, and it would be appropriate to find another one from south of the Yangtze River.

She was worrying about the candidates for east, west, south, north when Gong Xue came on her bike.

Liu Xiaoqing hurriedly greeted Gong Xue with a smile. Wei Ming came to the Beijing Er Yingchang once before going abroad and hinted that her chances for the role of Cixi were very high, so Liu Xiaoqing became closer to Gong Xue.

She also showed her the newspaper of "South Gong Xue, North Zhu Lin."

As soon as Gong Xue saw that the author was Liu Zhenyun, she knew that Wei Ming was behind it. She felt both happy and a little embarrassed.

She didn't have the concept of "hype" in her mind now, but she also felt that it was not good, as if China was so big and there were only two female actresses.

"These newspapers are really talking nonsense." Gong Xue glanced at it simply and put it aside, continuing to read the script of *Love in the Brush*. She hadn't finished reading it yesterday, and she was gesturing while reading.

The female lead of this play has a calligraphy scene. If she wants to take it, she has to learn from Ma Xiaowei.

Frankfurt.

In the afternoon, Wei Ming continued to stick to the Chinese booth. To attract global publishers, besides bringing the Black Cat Detective doll, Wei Ming also brought the four treasures of the study.

Soon, bursts of ink fragrance permeated Hall 6. Many people came over smelling the ink fragrance. This ink of Wei Ming's was refined calligraphy and painting ink bought from Rongbaozhai. The ink color was rich and fragrant, and the price was not cheap.

Wei Ming buried his head in writing calligraphy, and Mike and others naturally introduced him on the side.

To attract people, Wei Ming wrote in the Mi style. He felt that the Mi style was very beautiful, and the visual aesthetic was better. He had also specifically asked Old Wei to get a set of Mi Fu's *Tiaoxi Poem Scroll* imitation copies from the Forbidden City for practice.

Upon hearing that it was, many publishers became interested. Upon hearing that it was Confucius's *Analects*, those who had some understanding of Eastern culture were basically not strangers, and they gathered into a group.

"It's written so beautifully. What does this mean?" a bearded man from the Middle East asked.

Mike replied in Arabic: "It is written, 'Among three people walking, there must be my teacher.'" Then he explained what it meant.