Chapter 497

Before leaving Hong Kong, Gong Ying also visited Qingniao Company to inform Ms. Xia Meng of her plans to go abroad, though the launch date was set for September and would certainly not delay the main project.

Xia Meng expressed her congratulations: “Will your parents be going with you?”

Gong Ying shook her head: “My nephew and my uncle plan to return to our hometown in Shanghai for the New Year; I’ll go ahead to make arrangements, and then both families can get together.”

In truth, it was mainly to accompany Xiao Wei and to see the world.

“Oh, and here’s this,” Gong Ying pulled out a sheet of paper, “this is the theme song Xiao Wei wrote for our film.”

“Oh?” Xia Meng hadn’t expected to trouble Wei Ming, but he’d written it himself—apparently he truly cared for Gong Ying.

“Like Flowing Water,” Xia Meng murmured as she read the title, nodding slightly: “Fine moments, beautiful scenes—yet heaven is cruel. Whose courtyard holds joy and delight? All because of your blossom-like beauty, like flowing water.”

The phrase “like flowing water” comes from Tang Xianzu’s The Peony Pavilion; these veteran artists were all familiar with Tang’s works.

After reading the lyrics, she was even more delighted—this song perfectly matched the heroine Shan Shan’s life story; it was truly tailor-made.

Gong Ying said: “It’s a new song he wrote for Anita Mui, so the company will need to coordinate with Hua Xing Records.”

“Anita Mui, hmm—though she’s younger, I’ve heard her songs; she can definitely convey the song’s trials and tribulations. Thank Xiao Wei for me.”

After Gong Ying left, Xia Meng thought for a moment and called director Yan Hao, asking him to ask Jin Yong to help pick a title; the original names were Purple Butterfly and Returning Home, but Wei Ming’s song title “Like Flowing Water” could also serve as an alternative.

Since arriving in Hong Kong, Gong Ying had kept in touch with Zhu Lin, and this time she directly sent a telegram to inform him of her trip abroad.

When Zhu Lin saw the telegram at his home in Tuanjiehu, he couldn’t help but laugh and sigh—this was really possible!

Too bad his own family had no overseas connections; the idea of using this method to go abroad and see the world was out of the question.

Oh dear, Xiao Xue and Xiao Wei are going to America—they’ll become even more unruly, Zhu Lin admitted he was jealous.

Just then, the phone rang—it was Xu Shufen.

After listening to Xu Shufen, Zhu Lin immediately stood up: “Alright, Auntie, don’t move at all—wait for me to come over.”

After hanging up, Zhu Lin first retrieved the household medical kit before setting out.

Xu Shufen had originally planned to go to Hong Kong with Lao Wei, but before departure she caught a cold, felt weak and achy, and feared she’d feel unwell on the plane, so she decided to delay her trip.

Lao Wei immediately said he wouldn’t go either, letting Ping’an go alone, but Xu Shufen refused: “I can join you after I recover—I’ve flown many times before; how could I possibly get lost?”

“No, no—I can’t possibly leave a sick person alone at home.”

“Who says I’m alone? Isn’t there Xiao Zhu?” Xu Shufen laughed. “We get along well; she won’t abandon me, will she?”

Sure enough, one call from Xu Shufen brought Zhu Lin running. Though Auntie was ill, Zhu Lin secretly felt pleased—he could further strengthen his bond with his future mother-in-law.

So staying in Beijing didn’t seem so bad after all.

Lao Wei waited until Zhu Lin arrived and saw she’d brought a medical kit; remembering she’d studied medicine, he felt somewhat reassured.

After examining her, Zhu Lin concluded: “It’s just a heat-related cold—not serious. I have medicine here.”

Lao Wei smiled: “Then I’ll leave Auntie in your hands. Just come over after work to keep her company.”

Zhu Lin hurried to say: “I don’t need to work these days—my job has flexible hours. I can stay with Auntie until she recovers.”

Lao Wei smiled even more broadly; Xu Shufen held Zhu Lin’s hand. Some families believe having many sons is a blessing—but having more daughters-in-law is just as good.

Seeing her husband cared for and Ping’an already arrived, Lao Wei decided to accompany him to the airport.

On the way, Wei Ping’an asked: “So this big star Zhu Lin just came to our house to take care of my sister-in-law?”

“Yes, we’ve always been on good terms, and she actually knows medicine,” Lao Wei beamed—he was truly proud.

“What about the other big star, Gong Ying?” Wei Ping’an teased.

“Oh, she’s quite good too, but I heard she’s going to America to find her relatives.”

Almost simultaneously, Wei Ming and Gong Ying boarded their flight from Hong Kong to San Francisco, missing out on a good show.

At Qiu Shuzhen’s home, she and her seven siblings were roughhousing when the phone rang; their mother answered and told everyone to be quiet.

“Ah… are you sure you’re not scammers? Alright, alright, we’ll come tomorrow. Wait, let me write this down…”

Qiu Shuzhen’s family had many children—much like Home Alone. She was the fifth of eight siblings; though a middle child, she’d been favored since childhood for her beauty, and her parents sent her to singing and dancing lessons early on.

“What’s going on?” the youngest son asked Qiu’s mother.

Qiu’s mother called Qiu Shuzhen over: “Ah-Zhen, didn’t you enter that Youth Star competition?”

“Yes, I made the top ten!” Qiu’s fourth brother said. “Mom, did Fifth Sister win?”

“They didn’t say. She called herself a producer and asked Ah-Zhen to visit DreamWorks Film Company—here’s the address. I’ll go with you myself tomorrow.”

“Ah, to a film company? Then I must’ve won first place—only the champion gets to act in a movie!” Qiu Shuzhen jumped up excitedly.

She’d never expected to win when she saw Li Jiaxin among the top ten, but somehow she’d taken first place—apparently she still didn’t fully grasp her own beauty.

Qiu Shuzhen had been invited to Hong Kong’s DreamWorks, but when Zheng Yijian learned he’d been invited, his first reaction wasn’t joy—he asked why he wasn’t invited to Maniac Comics: “I’d rather visit Maniac Comics—wasn’t this event organized by them?”

Eventually, Li Zhi agreed, had Liu Rulong host him, and signed the contract.

As for Li Jiaxin, the second-place girl in the female category received only a phone call—her image rights were secured, and she learned she’d placed second; only when the new magazine launched would she know who won first.

This hit her hard. She believed Maniac Comics’ readers lacked taste, yet she’d still been invited to play a role—clearly Brother Wei Ming had taste.

In the future, she wouldn’t join such low-class beauty contests; if she entered, it’d be Miss Hong Kong or Miss Asia—but she was only thirteen, too young to qualify, so she’d have to wait and mature further.

As producer of Home Alone, Li Zhi personally made the call and rubbed her neck afterward—she’d really wanted to travel to America with Wei Ming, but he already had a female star by his side.

Next, she planned to visit the Home Alone set; Xi Zi was filming there, and on her way out she ran into Wei Lingling.

“I’ll come with you—let me check the product placement for Langning,” Wei Lingling said.

The indoor scenes had just begun, mostly featuring Abin’s solo performances, but Biaozi was also there; after finishing his scenes, he stayed on set—he could ward off all ghosts and demons, radiating an aura of intimidation.

Coincidentally, Zhou Huimin and Wei Hong arrived too—and even earlier.

Zhou Huimin wanted to know what role she’d play; Wei Ming hadn’t told her, so she came to ask the director.

Huang Baiming was delighted to see Zhou Huimin—he couldn’t see his eyes; Hong Kongers now called her Little Diva, “little” because of her youth and limited experience, but her achievements were anything but small.

She already had three of Hong Kong’s top-selling albums and had gained influence comparable to Tan Yonglin in a short time.

Though rarely seen publicly, every appearance sparked fan frenzy. Take the recent New Singer Grand Finals—half the audience, it was said, were her fans, because she claimed Lü Fang was her fellow disciple, and the crowd overwhelmingly supported him.

But their support was only verbal; the rankings were decided by the judges.

As Zhou Huimin’s big-screen debut, this film was a perfect marketing hook—he even considered luring her to Xinyicheng to play the female lead.

“Oh, Wei Ming put a lot of thought into your role—you play a princess in the film.”

“Huh?”

Not only Zhou Huimin was surprised; Wei Hong was puzzled too: “Isn’t this a modern story?”

“Yes, but modern countries still have princesses—just look at Japan, Thailand, Cambodia—they all have kings.”

Zhou Huimin worriedly asked: “I’m not playing a Japanese princess, am I?”

“No, no—it’s a fictional Asian kingdom. You’ll appear when the male lead’s mother is desperate to return home and help her board your private jet back to Hong Kong.”

“Oh, I see.”

Originally Zhou Huimin had planned to research and experience life beforehand, but now—how could she experience princess life? She’d have to rely on novels for imagination.

Huang Baiming handled conversation with Zhou Huimin, while Gao Zhisen managed filming; Huang occasionally offered advice.

Just then, Li Zhi and Wei Lingling arrived; Huang Baiming immediately stood up.

He wasn’t afraid of Li Zhi, but he had to show respect to Wei Lingling—Langning Group was powerful, with constant good news.

Wei Zong might still lag behind their boss Lei Juekun, but he’s young; given time, he might become Hong Kong’s richest woman.

Filmmakers love wealthy people—wasn’t Home Alone precisely the product of Langning’s unselfish investment?

This film had trained both him and his apprentice Gao Zhisen in directing; they could now directly make films for Xinyicheng—what reason did Mai Jia have to be unhappy?

Wei Lingling told them to continue filming, not to stop for her; she took Li Zhi, Wei Hong, and A Min upstairs to take a look around.