[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-starting-from-hong-shixian-a-chinese-entertainme":3,"chapter-starting-from-hong-shixian-a-chinese-entertainme-starting-from-hong-shixian-a-chinese-entertainme-chapter-21":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Starting from Hong Shixian: A Chinese Entertainment Rise",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2351300,4599,"Chapter 21: Old Classmate, Long Time No See","starting-from-hong-shixian-a-chinese-entertainme-chapter-21",21,"\u003Cp>Sometimes, stealing the spotlight isn't difficult; he has spent enough time on film sets to see plenty of instances where someone overshadows the lead or usurps the host's role.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What is difficult is having the ability to steal the spotlight, yet still fulfilling one's duty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Honglei rubbed his nose; he always felt this kid didn't seem like a young man who had just stepped out of school.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, even Sun Honglei would have to remember his good deeds...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the set, filming continued.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qi Hui and Sun Honglei delivered their lines, clashing and probing each other both openly and covertly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mu Wanqiu, played by Zhu Jie, chimed in from time to time, secretly undermining her \"husband\" Xie Ruolin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this scene, Zhu Jie, the supporting actress, had some lines, while Yao Chen, the female lead, remained silent the entire time without a single word.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She could only eat her dumplings in silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mr. Xie, why are you so certain that I am from the Secret Service?\" Yu Zecheng asked with a hint of innocence on his face, laughing softly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Ruolin, played by Qi Hui, still maintained an air of having everything under control, stuttering as he said: \"This house... used to be lived in by a Japanese teacher. After the liberation, the Military Statistics Bureau was... was quick, so... Mr. Yu?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We live here too.\" Mu Wanqiu blinked her large eyes, her crisp, melodic voice interrupting Xie Ruolin: \"Are we also from the Secret Service?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"See, what your wife said is exactly what I...\" Yu Zecheng let out a sigh of relief; the feeling of being suppressed the whole time was not pleasant, and he could finally breathe a little easier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Cut!\" A voice calling for a stop rang out from not far away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Honglei’s lines, which he was halfway through, came to an abrupt halt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Huh?\" He looked a bit dazed: \"Did I mess up again?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Zhu Jie,\" Director Jiang called out: \"You need to act out that slight sense of disgust, not like a young couple or newlyweds flirting with each other.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Jie’s face flushed, and she hurried over to Director Jiang’s side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Wei played back the scene they had just filmed, letting her watch it for herself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this, even the tips of Zhu Jie’s ears turned red.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the playback, her eyes were darting around, especially since she couldn't control her blinking, making it look like she was batting her eyelashes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Director, I’ll make an adjustment,\" Zhu Jie said, feeling somewhat embarrassed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’ll give you 5 minutes,\" Director Jiang said: \"If you really don't understand, go ask Yao Chen. She acts it well, especially that subtle, lingering sense of disgust toward Xie Ruolin.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Zhu Jie was slightly stunned; in fact... she always felt that Yao Chen wasn't acting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, she didn't ask Yao Chen. Zhu Jie was from the 2001 class of the Shanghai Theatre Academy and was quite capable herself; once she knew where the problem lay, it was easy for her to correct it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The subsequent filming became very relaxed. Zhu Jie and Yao Chen exited, leaving only the confrontation between Qi Hui and Sun Honglei.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You m... might not know, but Ji Weimin of our Party Affairs Bureau has fled with a large sum of money...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But, even if you catch him, you can't pocket his assets.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Our Party Affairs Bureau has a h... high reward from above, just to prevent it from f... falling into the hands of your Secret Service.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So that's how it is.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That's why, brother, as l... long as you can find him, leave the rest to m... me to handle.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Brother, I don't mean to be rude,\" Yu Zecheng refused again: \"I get nervous holding that kind of money.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why are you nervous about this?\" Xie Ruolin was both helpless and dissatisfied: \"Look at those people now; their mouths are full of principles, but their hearts are all... business!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Very good, cut.\" After the scene finished, Director Jiang shouted from afar: \"Prepare for the next one.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the sun set in the west, the day's filming quickly drew to a close.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qi Hui prepared to return to his rented apartment, but he didn't have a car, so he found the production manager to see if he could catch a ride.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, he was informed by the production manager that the crew had already booked a room for him at the hotel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Qi Hui was a bit surprised, but he still found a car to go back to his rented apartment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What else could he do? He hadn't brought his daily necessities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At night, led by the production manager, Qi Hui checked into the hotel room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a standard room, not comparable to the luxury suites of the leads, but Qi Hui didn't mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back when he worked in construction, he had lived in shipping containers, and with several people sharing one at that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sweat, athlete's foot, the smell of smoke... compared to that environment, the hotel was already as good as it could get.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After showering and eating, Qi Hui opened his laptop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as he logged on, he saw many discussions and news reports about himself, like Hiroshima at 8:15 on August 6, 1945.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Tsk tsk... ten years from now, I’d at least be doing a livestream to sell products,\" Qi Hui laughed with a tsking sound.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clicking on Weibo, Qi Hui was surprised to find that his follower count had reached five digits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although it wasn't much, considering there wasn't even a mobile Weibo client yet, the significance was clear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After thinking for a moment, Qi Hui posted a photo of himself wearing a blue Zhongshan suit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, people began to comment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Came here by reputation.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Me too.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Damn, this outfit is so handsome!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Indeed, it makes me want to get one to try on.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Isn't this much better than a suit?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A suit? That's just for bartenders or salespeople.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"To the person above, the Zhongshan suit is formal wear; you can't just wear it casually.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Came here by reputation.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What formal wear? It's just a knockoff copied from Japanese student uniforms.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh, right, right, right. Only your Japanese student uniforms aren't copies, they were adapted from kimonos.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Not just that, it was also copied from Japan.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hahaha, hilarious.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"23333...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Damn it, who are you cursing?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh my, someone's getting anxious!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qi Hui looked at the comments, speechless. As expected of the silly netizens, they were either keyboard politicking or on their way to keyboard politicking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beep beep beep~\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, the QQ notification sound suddenly rang out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qi Hui looked at the bottom right corner and found a friend request popping up: [Old classmate, long time no see.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking closely, he discovered it was actually Yang Mi, added through the class group.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qi Hui raised an eyebrow. In his memory, Yang Mi had been quite aloof at school.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hunan Province\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a hotel room, Yang Mi was lying on the bed, her two fair feet swinging back and forth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jade feet... not quite jade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Mi had smelly feet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, it was mainly her self-deprecating humor that drew so much attention.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even years later, when she got married, Yang Mi didn't forget to poke fun at herself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, it wasn't entirely self-deprecation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When filming \"Chinese Paladin 3,\" staff members had revealed that the shoes Yang Mi wore were particularly smelly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why hasn't he accepted it yet?\" Yang Mi muttered, looking at the computer screen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She rarely added classmates on QQ; usually, it was the classmates adding her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially after \"Chinese Paladin 3\" became a massive hit, everyone in the class had added her QQ, except for Qi Hui.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Mi felt a bit depressed. Currently, Qi Hui’s popularity and level of discussion on the internet could rival Nagasaki at 11:02 on August 9, 1945, which had caused the discussion around \"Chinese Paladin 3\" to be less intense than before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And that was despite Qi Hui not having a single show out yet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, the interface on the screen moved; the friend request had been accepted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Mi’s eyes lit up. The entertainment industry isn't just about fighting and killing; it's about human relationships and social graces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She needed to start building connections and getting closer to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the other side, Qi Hui looked at the chat interface on the screen, rubbed his chin, and a mischievous smile appeared in his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His fingers tapped, and a line of text was sent over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hello, Teacher Yang, I'm Qi Hui, your fan.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Mi: \"...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at the line of text that appeared on the screen, she fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Mi had just been reminiscing and pondering about university life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But... the many memories of university life that she had been brewing and conceiving in her mind seemed to have become a bit inappropriate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a moment, she didn't know how to reply to this message.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ah... is this jerk a conversation killer?\" Yang Mi exclaimed in frustration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The current Yang Mi is still quite green, not yet having reached the high level she would later attain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>————\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dear readers, time is like a wild donkey; once it starts running, it doesn't stop. In the blink of an eye, it's the end of the month. It's time to vote—what do you think of me?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The monthly votes will expire tomorrow; it would be a pity to waste them.\u003C\u002Fp>",1580,"2026-06-21T03:10:06.472Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","f566edac784529100941acaabd1ae68a40a882e74a84ab6022ca9a4ad544c68f","starting-from-hong-shixian-a-chinese-entertainme-chapter-22","starting-from-hong-shixian-a-chinese-entertainme-chapter-20",202,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fstarting-from-hong-shixian-a-chinese-entertainme-cover.jpg"]