Chapter 218: The Wolf Is Coming

Fan Bingbin was somewhat at a loss.

She had no idea that Xiang Huaqiang would be here.

Having polished her acting skills while listening to all sorts of gossip under Madam Chen, the rosy filters she once held for the Hong Kong entertainment industry had long been completely shattered.

As for what kind of person Xiang Huaqiang was, she knew it clearly in her heart.

Zhang Bozhi, clearly fearing she might anger Zhou Yi, took advantage of having her back to Xiang Huaqiang and others to quietly point with her right hand at someone not far away.

Zhou Yi glanced over; it was a woman he did not know.

"I heard from my subordinates that you, A-Yi, would be gathering here today. Since I happen to be nearby, I thought I'd come and get to know you. Indeed, you are a man of outstanding talent, worthy of being number one on the list of Hong Kong's most desired male stars for dating."

Xiang Huaqiang, knowing Zhou Yi's status on the mainland, did not put on airs; instead, he acted very approachable: "Gu Zai and Nicholas Tse lost fairly this year."

Among the various bizarre rankings in Hong Kong, the "Ranking of Male Stars Most Desired to Be Kept" and the "Ranking of Male Stars Most Desired for Dating" can basically be considered another form of affirmation for Hong Kong and Taiwanese male stars.

In the past, these two rankings were basically occupied by the same few handsome men; Louis Koo held the top spot dominantly for a time, until Nicholas Tse suddenly burst onto the scene.

Now, Zhou Yi has replaced them both, becoming the new favorite of housewives and young girls; his songs in Hong Kong don't even sell as well as his photo albums.

"Is that so? That's truly a pity. Without a trophy, I could have brought it home and placed it in my cabinet dedicated solely to displaying awards."

Zhou Yi smiled indifferently; when his gaze swept over Louis Koo, the latter's expression was obviously somewhat unnatural.

Since the filming of "The Lion Roars" had been confirmed, a co-production between Xiang Huaqiang's Hundred Years Film Company and the mainland's China Film Co-Production Corporation, he couldn't even refuse Xiang Huaqiang's presence, let alone ask Zhang Bozhi to send Fan Bingbin a text message.

Fully aware that his own background might be a little lacking, Xiang Huaqiang would not be as polite to them, these Hong Kong stars, as he was to Zhou Yi.

Moreover, he had previously collaborated quite well with Chow Yun-fat; if Zhou Yi found out, he might very well change his route midway and refuse to come up to play.

"This is my personal card. A-Yi, when you come to Hong Kong next year for the awards ceremony, if you have time, feel free to drop by my place."

After handing his personal card to Zhou Yi, Xiang Huaqiang, acting as if they were old acquaintances, turned his gaze to Fan Bingbin: "This must be Ms. Fan Bingbin, right? Madam Chen mentioned you; your acting is very good."

In terms of the skill of telling blatant lies with one's eyes open, Xiang Huaqiang was never inferior to anyone. Zhou Yi chuckled, adding luster to his own face: "Mr. Xiang is too polite. I feel her acting isn't even as good as mine."

?

Hearing this, Fan Bingbin's face immediately showed an expression of shock.

What did he mean, "not even as good as him"?

Didn't "My Fair Princess" and "Young Bao Qingtian 2" act well enough?

She was, after all, a talented actress, okay? Although her talent wasn't as high as Zhou Xun, Zhang Ziyi, or Yuan Quan's, she was certainly not someone for you, mere Zhou Yi, to try to compare yourself to!

Xiang Huaqiang, having understood, instead laughed heartily in the same manner: "Alright then. You young people gather; I won't disturb you. I still have some company business to handle."

"Take care, Mr. Xiang."

The lightly made-up woman whom Zhang Bozhi had quietly pointed to earlier hurriedly stood up and followed him.

Obviously, she also knew she couldn't stay here any longer.

"She is one of the makeup artists for the movie 'The Lion Roars'." Zhang Bozhi paused for a moment, then still introduced the identity of the departing person.

"This Mr. Xiang quite values me." Zhou Yi rubbed the personal card in his hand, chuckled softly, and then slightly narrowed his eyes.

Xiang Huaqiang at this period seemed to indeed lack a sense of security; he had not yet reached the state of having completely succeeded in his surrender later on.

If, among the capital of the Hong Kong circle at this time, Emperor Entertainment was the first to successfully slide on its knees to the mainland under Albert Yeung's leadership, then Xiang Huaqiang could be considered the second one attempting to slide on its knees after Emperor.

However, because the mainland already had Emperor, the standards for Xiang Huaqiang's act of surrender were somewhat high. Xiang Huaqiang understood this himself, so he had been yielding profits to the mainland in various places.

A typical example is this "The Lion Roars".

From inside to out, this was a movie with a strong flavor of fictionalized Hong Kong style; Xiang Huaqiang had previously produced and distributed countless similar styles.

As a result, this one pretended hard that he couldn't make it, dragged the mainland's official co-production company in, and voluntarily cut off a large chunk of meat to stuff into the mainland's mouth; the mainland had no choice but to eat it, fed to them in various ways.

Originally, Zhang Bozhi should have been set as the female lead, but due to Madam Chen's intervention, Xiang Huaqiang also noticed this woman who came from the mainland—

One look: "Oh ho, isn't this the mainland person who made Qiong Yao's daughter-in-law grind her teeth in anger?"

Last year, the news that Zhou Yi simply couldn't be bothered to pay attention to Qiong Yao and helped Fan Bingbin was seen by the public as rumor, but for the top executives of companies within the circle, it was fact.

If it weren't for Qiong Yao's company still being powerful this year and delivering a beautiful report card with "Love in a Rainy City," it is hard to say what they would have encountered.

After all, Zhou Yi was at the peak of his fame this year, and even Fan Bingbin, who had jumped out of Qiong Yao's company, had carved out new fame with "Young Bao Qingtian 2"; now she was considered a famous new-generation actress to some extent, and didn't have to suffer exploitation from Qiong Yao's company.

Especially the latter point; Zhao Wei, who is still in Qiong Yao's company, is very envious, to the point that her contract renewal, which had just made some progress, stalled again.

She didn't want to work for Qiong Yao anymore either.

This truly made Qiong Yao's daughter-in-law, He Xiuqiong, extremely angry, but considering Zhao Wei's national popularity, she could only offer gentle persuasion. If she really couldn't be persuaded... then we'll talk about it when she can't be persuaded.

"You, don't work on this film crew anymore. Change to another position; go to the head office."

Outside the KTV entrance, Xiang Huaqiang, knowing someone was following behind, didn't even turn his head as he instructed his secretary to transfer her to a different post: "Also, notify everyone down the line: regarding that Fan Bingbin, our people must keep their eyes sharp from now on. I am at a critical moment right now. If anything happens, don't blame me for being impolite."

"Yes, Mr. Xiang."

"Back to the hotel."

Once in the car, Xiang Huaqiang wore a cold face, his mind filled with myriad thoughts.

To speak fairly, Zhou Yi, a singer, had nothing to do with him. But the man is now a celebrity of the mainland and Warner Bros., and at such a young age, he has even appeared on the China-Korea Song Festival.

Warner Bros. even secured the rights to distribute the China-Korea Song Festival DVD to collaborate with channels like CCTV to do charity work.

This was not ordinary for Xiang Huaqiang.

He didn't even need Zhou Yi to do anything for him; as long as Zhou Yi remained neutral and didn't cause trouble or set traps for him, that would be enough to pop the champagne.

He is at a critical period right now.

Thinking this, Xiang Huaqiang called his wife: "Hey, wife, cut ties with Chow Yun-fat completely. I met Zhou Yi. Don't try to bet on both sides privately anymore.

"Zhou Yi is not someone easy to mess with. In these troubled times, getting ashore is the most important thing."

If Zhou Yi found out that Chow Yun-fat was still trying to scheme for a "comeback" by secretly colluding with the Xiang family, given Zhou Yi's personality... it is hard to say whether his path to whitewashing would be ruined, coming to an abrupt cliff-edge halt.

After all, criticizing one is criticizing, and scolding two is scolding; he didn't want to become a newspaper clipping in Zhou Yi's press conference at this time, thereby causing his efforts to fail at the last moment.

Since Zhou Yi is a wolf that likes to eat meat, giving him a little bit of meat wouldn't hurt.

Xiang Tai, who also came to the Imperial Capital to attend various banquets and expand various connections, fell silent for a moment, then finally said "Good" heavily.

Not wanting to be implicated because of Chow Yun-fat was the true reason Xiang Huaqiang sought out Zhou Yi, even giving him his personal card and trying to befriend him.

In the KTV, Zhou Yi, who had also thought of the previously friendly relationship between Chow Yun-fat and the Xiang family, found it somewhat amusing.

Even without him, the Xiang family would eventually have washed themselves clean and gone ashore; this was equivalent to picking up a bargain for free.

"I am truly sorry, Zhou Yi, Fan Bingbin. We didn't expect Director Xiang to come either; when he arrived, we were all startled." Zhang Bozhi, whose original intention was truly just to have fun, cleared away some people and then solemnly brought a glass of wine over to apologize.

"Sorry, Zhou Yi, Fan Bingbin. I will punish myself with three glasses."

Gu Tianle, equally depressed, came up and downed three glasses in quick succession.

When one is under someone else's eaves, one must bow one's head.

He still had to film movies for Xiang Huaqiang in the future, so he could only endure this person's domineering behavior.

"It's fine; at least this Director Xiang knows he can't stay here and has left."

Zhou Yi, playing with that personal card, didn't say whether he forgave them or not, just leaving the two hanging, making their hearts flutter up and down.

Fan Bingbin, already familiar with Zhou Yi's tone, sensed the meaning behind his words. Her eyes lit up, and she immediately played peacemaker: "Zhou Yi, they really had no choice; Director Xiang is, after all, very powerful in the Hong Kong film industry..."

In this private room where only the four of them remained, Fan Bingbin didn't call him "Director Xiang" but addressed him by his name directly.

Originally demoted to a supporting female role, Zhang Bozhi still harbored dissatisfaction toward Fan Bingbin deep down, but after today's sudden incident, she now wished she could become sworn sisters with this beautiful and kind-hearted actress.

Just kidding; Zhou Yi is super brave. Currently, no artist in all of Hong Kong with a dark history wants to provoke him. After all, no matter how high your star power is, can it possibly be higher than Chow Yun-fat's?

Nicholas Tse, the only one whose popularity and ability to fight with fans could match him, has recently been tightly controlled by Emperor Entertainment.

Taking advantage of the situation, even Gu Tianle had to look at this mainland newcomer, who was taking on the female lead role in a film for the first time, with a bit more respect.

Due to Xiang Huaqiang's uninvited farce, after apologizing, neither Zhang Bozhi nor Gu Tianle had any desire to stay any longer. After exchanging contact information, they chose to take their leave and departed in a hurry.

For a moment, the huge private room was left with only Fan Bingbin and Zhou Yi.

"Not bad; your comprehension is good."

After the two left, Zhou Yi turned his head and teased with a smile: "Now that you've joined the cast, I'm afraid you might start bullying others."

"Of course my comprehension is good; I did study a bit and have a proper secondary vocational school diploma." Fan Bingbin rolled her eyes: "Also, do you think I'm like you, bullying others?"

"How could that be? I have always been kind to others, you know."

"Hard to say." Fan Bingbin looked him up and down and said seriously.

"... It's hard to say whether your ability to read people and situations really matches a secondary vocational school level. Be careful, or I'll report you for falsifying your academic credentials."

Zhou Yi sneered and curled his lip in disdain.

"Then go check."

Fan Bingbin, who had monopolized a large pile of fruit platters, bit into a seedless red grape. After bending over to select several songs with her back to Zhou Yi, she finally looked up, flicked her ponytail, and asked: "What do you want to sing? Do you want to sing 'Happy Worship' or 'Must Love' with me?"

Zhou Yi, sitting on the sofa, shrugged: "I generally don't want to sing my own songs in the KTV."

"What?"

Fan Bingbin paused for a moment, then grinned wickedly and switched to several other people's songs—

"I want to order songs by Sun Yanzi, Xiao Yaxuan, Zhang Shaohan, and Wang Fei. Play the original versions!"

"..."

Obviously, she hadn't read the news much lately, specifically the entertainment section.

Zhou Yi rubbed his hands together, his eyes flashing with "ferocity."

…………………………

"EXTRA! Zhou Yi and Fan Bingbin's romance exposed! The two left the same building together, inseparable!"

The next day, Tianya.

Because the newspaper featuring photos of Zhou Yi and Fan Bingbin saw a surge in sales but failed to stir up much public opinion, Wang Xiaoyu, the instigator, felt very depressed.

He saw comments with roughly the same content under news on Tianya, Mop, Sina, and Sohu, namely—

"Why Fan Bingbin again? That's been overdone. Next one. If the media runs out of news, they should stir up more about Wang Fei; I haven't seen enough of her yet."

"Not as good as Zhang Bozhi. Didn't Fan Bingbin officially announce she's filming 'The Lion King' after the New Year? I think the supporting actress Zhang Bozhi looks quite nice."

"I think Li Bingbing is better. Li Bingbing is my dream lover. Zhou Yi, hurry up."

"Not as good as Jiang Qinqin. Zhou Yi, quickly take down Jiang Qinqin. I'll acknowledge you as a man."

"I like Taiwan's Tian Li. A-Yi, do you dare to go to Taiwan and stir up some trouble!"

"I like He Qing. Zhou Yi, quickly change your stage name to Zhou Yu and go discuss music with He Qing. I've been unhappy with Xu Yajun for a long time..."

"..."

When forums and even internet news sites and chat rooms were filled with such unremarkable content, some netizens even seriously discussed Zhou Yi's next, or even the one after that, rumored partner, sweeping up both married and unmarried people in one go.

When Wang Xiaoyu, sitting in front of the computer, looked down at the business card Zhou Yi had left him...

After a long while, he slapped his forehead and realized the truth.

At the same time, Zhuo Wei, who had been fired earlier by the "Daily New News" and had just left the media circle to work at an advertising company, received an order from his boss on his very first day of work—

"You're the new one, right? Process this batch of Zhou Yi posters, and also this batch of Sino-Korean Song Festival DVD packaging. Make them look as beautiful as possible. Did you hear me?"

"..."

Looking at Zhou Yi's brilliant smile on the poster, Zhuo Wei, who had recently lost his job because of him, felt for a moment that the poster was mocking him...

"Why are you still standing there? Get to work. Also, don't smudge or dirty Zhou Yi's face on the poster."

Zhuo Wei: "..."

Wuhu~

………………………………………………

PS: Eighth revision. Sent! Pass it! Don't ban it! There's absolutely no mistake!

(End of this chapter)