Chapter 33: The Thing Called Emotion

The promotional tour for the seven cities had been completed, leaving only Ludong Island. Li Xiaoran returned to Jingcheng with the intention of going to Ludong Island with Cao Yang.

The spring water trickled in a thin stream, singing the mountain's tranquility into the most beautiful song.

After a long while, the singing stopped abruptly.

Li Xiaoran snuggled into Cao Yang’s arms and said in a soft voice, "If I had known you were starting a new film so soon, I would have declined the Master’s audition. Now the momentum is a bit too big, and I’m riding a tiger—it’s hard to get off. If I can't compete with International Zhang later, I’ll definitely be mocked."

Nowadays, International Zhang and Li Xiaoran are either tearing each other apart or on the way to doing so.

As the box office for *On the Beach at Night Alone* climbed higher and higher, Li Xiaoran, who essentially carried the one-woman show, stole the spotlight.

International Zhang had already gone to the U.S. to campaign for the Oscars. Perhaps fearing that the domestic media would only report on Li Xiaoran during the period before the ceremony, she started the tug-of-war all over again.

The domestic media was happy to see it; two high-profile actresses tearing at each other across the Pacific was quite interesting.

Cao Yang knew very well that Li Xiaoran was building momentum, and International Zhang was doing the same. It looked like a catfight, but in reality, it was a tacit mutual elevation of their status.

Li Xiaoran felt that being tied to International Zhang was not a loss, as she was now considered to have truly broken into the international market.

International Zhang also felt it wasn't a loss; Li Xiaoran was not only a Berlin Film Festival Best Actress winner, but her domestic box office was also excellent. It was said that *On the Beach at Night Alone* had recently started screening in Europe, and the box office and reception were reportedly good.

Their agents were thinking that by tying the two of them together, they could stand in a league of their own, shaking off the other so-called "Three Flowers" and suppressing those three.

Both were very ambitious.

"Once your momentum is up, others will naturally place you in the same tier as International Zhang for comparison. Even if the Master chooses International Zhang in the end, it’s no big deal. Everyone knows International Zhang rose to fame through the Master; they are old partners, so it’s normal for the Master to favor her."

"But I still want to win."

Li Xiaoran tugged at Cao Yang’s arm and acted spoiled in a delicate tone, "Darling, can you talk to that woman of yours and ask her to help me? I can call her 'sister' and am willing to be the mistress, okay?"

Cao Yang sighed; he knew it would come to this. She had really fallen for this dynamic.

But what was this faint excitement in his own heart? Why did he feel a sense of guilt?

Did this count as a form of cheating?

Forget it, just follow his heart.

Ludong Island was the film's shooting location and also the final stop of the promotional tour.

On this day, almost all the main actors had arrived. Everyone gathered on Ludong Island, and everyone was happy that the film was a big hit; each of them had gained something, more or less.

After the event, there was inevitably a dinner party in the evening.

After a few rounds of drinks, Sun Honglei brought his glass over to toast, "Director Cao, thank you for giving me the opportunity to participate in such a classic film. I’ll toast you; I’ll finish this one, you drink as you please."

Cao Yang took a sip and said, "Honglei, your acting is good. I have high hopes for your future."

"Thank you, thank you for your kind words, Director Cao. With those words, good things come in pairs; I’ll toast you again."

Cao Yang took another sip, looking at the other man’s hesitant expression. Was there something going on?

Ding Jiali, sitting nearby, gave Sun Honglei a nudge and said directly, "What’s so hard to say? There are no outsiders here."

"Director Cao, I’ll toast you too." Ding Jiali filled her glass and was about to drink it when Cao Yang pressed her hand down.

"Sister Jiali, if you have something to say, just say it. Don't play these games with me; you said it yourself, there are no outsiders here." "Alright, Director Cao, I’ll be direct.

Director Sun Zhou is currently preparing a film, and someone recommended Honglei to him. Director Sun is quite satisfied, but there are a few competitors that make him hesitate. Since Director Sun is also a graduate of the Beijing Film Academy, we were wondering if Director Cao could help put in a word."

At this moment, Liu Shan leaned over and whispered in Cao Yang’s ear, "Director Sun is from the 1984 Director Department cadre training class. He has a classmate who is the head of our Qingying Studio, Hou Keming."

Cao Yang realized it in an instant. They must have known about the relationship between Sun Zhou and Hou Keming, and they were also very clear that Hou Keming valued him highly, so they wanted to use this connection.

It sounded complicated, but it was actually very simple: they just wanted him to build a ladder for them, to give Hou Keming a heads-up so that Hou Keming would keep this matter in mind.

Ding Jiali was truly putting in the effort.

Cao Yang was a bit curious about what the film was, so he asked.

"The film is called *Zhou Yu's Train*. Director Sun said it might start filming in July," Sun Honglei explained from the side.

Huh?

Cao Yang didn't know what to say. As far as he knew, the female lead of this film was Gong Li, and because of this film, she had an affair with Sun Honglei, and reporters had even snapped intimate photos of the two.

The key was that Gong Li was already married at the time, and Sun Honglei had a girlfriend.

It was also because of this incident that Sun Honglei left Ding Jiali, but Gong Li didn't get a divorce... and in the end, the two of them didn't stay together either.

!

After a moment of silence, looking at Ding Jiali, who was staring at him expectantly, Cao Yang sighed. These things couldn't be stopped; even if he didn't call Hou Keming, they would find other ways, and they would succeed all the same.

What a pity.

"I’ll call Dean Hou later to mention this."

Ding Jiali was full of joy; she insisted on raising her glass, clinked it lightly against Cao Yang’s, and downed it in one gulp.

The next day, Cao Yang went with Production Manager Cheng Jianye to look at several shooting locations.

Cheng Jianye was very serious in his work; the locations he found all met Cao Yang’s requirements, and this time, the filming had received the support of the local government.

This kind of support was not just verbal; there were not only policy incentives but also financial support.

Of course, the financial support came with conditions—for example, how much prize money or subsidies could be obtained depending on what awards the film won or how much box office it achieved.

Cao Yang thought of another thing. He always subconsciously ignored that he was no longer a nobody; shooting this kind of award-seeking film was very attractive to some advertisers.

For example, the digital camera that the male lead would take a group photo with every time he entered a home.

Digital cameras in this era mostly had around 3 to 5 megapixels and had already begun to encroach on the market of traditional film cameras.

"Teacher Cheng, contact digital camera brands like Canon, Fuji, Olympus, and Leica. Ask them if they want to do product placement. Tell them they can get more screen time, close-ups, and the film will also go to Europe to compete for awards."

Cao Yang thought for a moment and added, "You can make it into a kind of betting agreement. For example, how much is the basic advertising fee, how much for being shortlisted in the main competition units of the three major European festivals, and how much for winning an award—these can all be negotiated."

"Also, the motorcycle the male lead rides and the cars in the film, etc. Organize a list and try to approach the major brands for those as well."

"Alright, I’ll contact a few more and let them compete for it." Cheng Jianye rubbed his hands, ready to show what he could do.

He had figured it out: Cao Yang’s ambition was not small. Having just been to Berlin, he now wanted to go to Venice. Could it be that the Beijing Film Academy was about to produce another great director?

Who wouldn't envy the fixed team of a great director?

(End of chapter)