Chapter 445

The day before The Ink Affection premiered, the film was screened internally at Shanghai Film Studio.

Wei Ming was invited and had the chance to sit with Gong Ying and watch the movie together.

In Wei Ming’s view, The Du Shiniang and The Ink Affection were among the best period films of recent years, both beautifully shot.

Although The Ink Affection excelled in scenery, characters, and calligraphy, its audience enthusiasm would likely not surpass the more dramatically compelling The Du Shiniang.

Besides, Lin Jie has the critically acclaimed To the Middle Age; this year, Xue Jie may be overshadowed by Lin Jie.

But making period films had one advantage for Wei Ming: he could play dress-up with the sisters.

Both she and Zhu Lin bought their costumes from the film under the pretense of keeping mementos, paying out of their own pockets.

At this moment, she was dressed as a Jin dynasty female scholar; the carefully put-on outfit was slowly taken off piece by piece by Wei Ming.

She clenched her teeth tightly, refusing to make too much noise.

There was no choice—Gong Ying, Wei Hong, and Xi Zi were all in this old Western-style house; she had sneaked into Wei Ming’s room.

She couldn’t bear to waste this long night, for tomorrow they would part ways.

These past few days, Gong Ying had completed her task of buying an overseas Chinese apartment for her parents—a three-bedroom, 90-square-meter unit costing just over 100,000 Hong Kong dollars, the best unit on the second floor.

So tomorrow she planned to return to Hong Kong to care for her pregnant mother-in-law.

Wei Ming had finished his communication work with the Shanghai Animation Film Studio, and the elementary school students from Guozitun had already spent several days there, broadening their horizons and preparing to return home.

With nothing else left to do, Wei Ming also planned to return to Beijing to prepare for the film shoot.

These past few days, the children had visited the Bund, toured the Magic City, eaten local Shanghai cuisine, and visited the Shanghai Animation Film Studio, where they saw The Legend of the Heavenly Book and Black Cat Detective.

They had never seen these before; new films typically didn’t reach rural screening teams until six months or even a year later, and they had never watched TV cartoons because their village had no television—only the original novels.

Wei Ming simply bought a television in Shanghai for them to take back, placing it in the brigade office so everyone could watch the news and serial dramas; it was always good to learn more about the outside world.

The next morning, Gong Ying went to the airport to see off her sister, while Wei Ming and Wei Hong accompanied the study-travel group to the train station, watching them board; only then did Wei Ming and Wei Hong head to the airport for their flight.

On the day Gong Ying returned to Hong Kong, it happened to be the live final of the New Talent Singing Awards, so Liu Rulong picked her up and immediately took her out for dinner, a movie, and a stroll.

He did this to prevent her from seeing Ah Min perform on stage; although Wei Ming wasn’t on the judging panel, there was the big-mouthed Wong Jing, who knew whether he might bring up past events and reveal the connection between Ah Ming and Ah Min.

So today, Ah Long had decided to leave work early, not touch his brush all night, and not let his wife come home before ten.

Ah Ming, brother’s got your back.

After a week, Zhou Hui Min had mastered the song “Favourite” perfectly; Su Xiaoliang and Li Xiaotian from Hua Xing were thrilled upon hearing her demo—this was truly a masterpiece on par with Hard to Find a Lover, and it suited Zhou Hui Min perfectly.

They had decided the three-song mini-album would be titled “Favourite · Zhou Hui Min.”

After so much buildup, the finale’s viewership was terrifyingly high, setting this year’s peak—even Happy Tonight had to step aside, and ATV had outright given up, waiting for next week’s comeback.

Many viewers tuned in just to see Zhou Hui Min win; after all fifteen contestants had finished performing, Zhou Hui Min finally appeared.

Wait, weren’t there only fifteen? Then how are there sixteen now?

First, Zhou Hui Min explained to the audience that she would not be competing or being scored—she was appearing only as a guest performer to sing one song.

This decision disappointed many of her fans, but hearing her sing made it still acceptable.

But backstage, Anita Mui found it hard to accept; she had just delivered an outstanding performance with “Season of the Wind,” electrifying the entire audience, yet even if she won the contest, she still couldn’t surpass Ah Min.

As Zhou Hui Min explained, a piano appeared behind her.

She had originally planned to perform at the start to clarify things upfront, but TVB feared viewership would drop after her segment, so they moved it to the post-performance, pre-announcement slot, stretching the audience’s wait for over an hour.

Yet before Zhou Hui Min’s performance, an advertisement for Holiland Fast Food aired, starring a youthful Li Jiaxin.

Li Jiaxin, watching from home, saw this ad for the first time and thought: No wonder Wei Ming directed it—it was truly well done!

After the ad, the song “Favourite” did not disappoint the long-waiting live and television audiences.

Zhou Hui Min sat at the piano and began playing and singing, elegant as a swan.

Playing the piano was a captivating skill; Zhou Hui Min had the audience utterly enchanted.

She was lost in her own world, her heart filled with longing for Ah Ming.

In the audience, Old Ghost, Lin Ni, Old Wei, Xu Shufen, Zhou Ma, Wei Lingling, and Li Zhi had all come.

Zhou Ma not only listened to her daughter’s singing but also observed the other audience members’ reactions—they too seemed entranced by her voice.

This atmosphere was wonderful and filled her with pride, but if her daughter could become a college student, she would be even prouder.

When the song ended, the applause was even louder than Anita Mui’s “Season of the Wind”; though a gentle love ballad, the performer’s heartfelt delivery and the interplay of voice and piano had the entire audience energized.

Even Anita Mui had to admit that, from a technical standpoint, even if judges had scored it, her chances of winning were slim—this song suited Ah Min perfectly.

Since the audience adored Zhou Hui Min, the production team asked her to announce the results.

When she herself called out “Anita Mui,” she looked happier than the winner herself and gave Ah Mei a big hug.

Anita Mui, the grand champion, automatically received a contract with Hua Xing and was slated for heavy promotion; a new song jointly composed by Wong Jing and Koo Kwok Fai was coming next.

Wei Qishan, a senior student under Master Dai Sicong, won silver; another contestant named Huang Rulin won bronze.

As for Wen Zhaolun, because Zhou Hui Min withdrew, he had been added as a substitute in the final and placed fifteenth; however, due to his looks and eloquence, he had already caught the attention of TVB executives and might soon start as a host—quite promising.

To celebrate the show’s successful conclusion, Old Ghost treated everyone to dinner this evening, and he casually asked:

“ATV’s Millionaire is doing a trial recording next week—anyone want to join?”

“What’s a Millionaire?” Wei Jiefang asked curiously.

“It’s your son’s idea for ATV—a quiz show where if you answer fifteen questions correctly, you win one million Hong Kong dollars.”

“A million!” Old Wei exclaimed, “I’ll join, I’ll join!”

Old Ghost: “Listen carefully—it’s a trial recording, just a mock competition.”

“Huh?”

Back in Beijing, Wei Ming had no intention of staying long; he planned to see Biao Zi and Xiao Mei, meet with the actors, then head to Sichuan.

When he met Biao Zi, he had just finished filming his role in The Burning of the Old Summer Palace—completely wrapped, still bald.

Wei Ming called Biao Zi and Xiao Mei, and invited Feng Ge for dinner at Changzheng Canteen.

“I heard from your uncle you’re making a movie—you really know how to stir things up,” Feng Ge raised his glass, and they clinked.

“Life is only a few decades long—I want to try everything.”

To a Shandong man, this made no sense; wasn’t stability the best?

“I had a comrade—not really a comrade, just someone from the same unit, enlisted a few years after me. We recently reunited; he’s now in a civilian post, doing well, but wants to enter the film industry—he’s currently thinking about leaving the military.” This was also something Feng Ge couldn’t understand; if not for his wife, he wouldn’t have even wanted to come to Peking University.

Wei Ming smiled: “Maybe your comrade just prefers freedom. Nowadays, film doesn’t make big money, but in a few years, as the economy improves, the industry will start earning fast—and even if you don’t make money, you get official travel allowances and can visit every corner of the country.”

“That’s true,” Biao Zi sighed regretfully, “Too bad our crew has been stuck in Beijing—we’re about to head to Chengde Mountain Resort, and I’ve already wrapped.”

Xiao Mei smiled: “Then you can go to Sichuan with Big Brother.”

“My wife’s still here—I can’t leave. If anyone should go, it’s you—have you ever taken your wife back to her parents’ home?” Biao Zi shot back.