Chapter 60: Invitation to a Gathering of Mainland Artists

"Is that so? I understand."

Hearing this, Zhou Yi felt a surge of surprise in his heart, yet his expression remained unchanged: "Cheng Hao currently has no agent; the dramas she acted in before were all introduced by her teachers."

"The commercials she filmed were also handled by herself. I can give you her contact information."

"A-Yi, are you very close with Cheng Hao?"

Seeing this, Liu Ruoyin narrowed her eyes imperceptibly and asked curiously.

"I have known her for over two years; when we were at school, we often went out to eat and have barbecues together."

Zhou Yi smiled at the corner of his mouth, laid his cards on the table directly, and revealed his closeness with Cheng Hao to this top diva Liu: "She is coming to film the MV out of friendship; otherwise, how could a small nobody like me at the time have invited an actress who was already somewhat famous like her?"

Liu Ruoyin suddenly understood, and immediately wrote down the Cheng Hao number Zhou Yi had given her.

After watching these few people leave, Zhou Yi finally dropped the fake smile reserved for commercial flattery on his face, gazed at Liu Ruoyin's departing back, and fell into thought.

As for the drama "Pink Ladies," if he remembered correctly, although the role of Wan Ren Mi was initially set for Xiao Qiang, the latter worried that this role would break the external image she had always cultivated, so she did not accept it, rather than Liu Ruoyin just said she had to decline it due to having other film commitments.

Moreover, Liu Ruoyin, who obtained the role of Jie Hun Kuang, actually wanted to play Wan Ren Mi even more, especially after Xiao Qiang, known as the number one beauty of the Treasure Island, rejected the role of Wan Ren Mi.

Leaving other things aside, just the glamorous and bright image of Wan Ren Mi in the script and nearly a hundred sets of non-repeating outfit combinations throughout the drama are enough to show the production team's importance attached to this role.

So much so that later, when Cheng Hao, who played Wan Ren Mi, was filming in the production team, media even reported gossip news about a conflict between Liu Ruoyin and Cheng Hao.

So, the question arises.

How could someone who was so determined to play Wan Ren Mi suddenly give up this role so readily?

"Hey? Zhou Yi, everyone is far away, stop looking."

The call from beside his ear brought Zhou Yi back to his senses from his thoughts; he pushed away the hand waving wildly in front of him, turned his head to glance at her: "What do you mean stop looking? I was just thinking about how she suddenly found Cheng Hao."

"Do you have any idea how popular you are right now?"

Slapping away the man's right hand that held her wrist, Sun Yanzi said with a strange expression: "Didn't she say it was because the director saw Cheng Hao's performance in your MV that he thought of sending her an invitation?"

"This is very normal; nowadays, many stars are discovered by talent scouts to film commercials or MVs, and after becoming famous, some are seen by film and television directors who think they fit the traits of a certain role, and then an invitation is sent for an audition."

"..."

Zhou Yi thought carefully, and indeed, that was true.

Although in the entertainment circle of the millennium, those grassroots stars rising to fame were gradually decreasing, people who became famous by filming commercials and MVs were still objects that film and television directors paid attention to when casting.

"Forget it, I'll call Qian Jiang and have him inquire."

Thinking of his agent who had connections on both sides of the strait and in Hong Kong and Macau, Zhou Yi, having waved goodbye to Sun Yanzi, immediately walked to a quiet corner of the banquet hall, made a call to him, and asked him to help inquire about the news of casting changes in the "Pink Ladies" production team.

And just at this moment, Fan Bingbin, who had been secretly watching him for a long time, immediately found an opportunity. With great propriety, she silently waited for this man to finish his phone call, and then took the opportunity while he was still alone to walk over—

"Mr. Zhou Yi? Hello, I am Fan Bingbin."

"?"

Zhou Yi never expected to meet this person, who would in the future single-handedly create the reputation of "800 million" and become the designated plastic surgery template for the mainland entertainment industry, at the Rock & Roll celebration party.

Precisely because of this, facing this future marketing professional who could issue three "overwhelming beauty" press releases a day in terms of looks and figure, Zhou Yi raised his eyebrows quite unexpectedly: "Fan Bingbin?"

…………………………………………………………

"Who did you say?"

Evening, Zhou Yi's home.

Qian Jiang, who had arrived here with a stack of documents and had just sat down for a short while, was stunned upon hearing this: "Fan Bingbin? The one who played Jin Suo in 'My Fair Princess'?"

"Ah, yes, that's her."

Zhou Yi, who returned after attending the banquet, simply took a shower, washed away the smell of alcohol, changed into a blue and white bathrobe, brought out a hangover soup from the kitchen, and as he passed the dining table, casually poured a glass of water for his own agent: "Surprised, right? I was surprised too at the time."

"What did she want from you?"

"She didn't say it explicitly, just said she liked my songs, happened to meet, so let's be friends. We chatted a bit, and then exchanged contact information."

"That doesn't sound right; she has no connection with Rock & Roll, her status is pitifully low, and her fame is not high. Currently, besides the role of Jin Suo, she has no second representative work to show off; how did she manage to get into the celebration party?"

"Who knows? Probably found a familiar reporter friend to get an entry opportunity."

Sitting on the sofa, Zhou Yi turned on the TV, lowered his head to take a sip of the hangover soup, and mumbled: "Let's not worry about what she wants to do for now; how is your inquiry going?"

"I found out. After the director of the 'Pink Ladies' production team failed to invite Xiao Qiang, the role of Wan Ren Mi was actually considered for a few other candidates."

"Even Liu Ruoyin herself, who had the female lead positioning of Jie Hun Kuang, didn't want it, went to try shooting a version of the costume photo for Wan Ren Mi, and then was rejected by the director and the original manga author."

"…?"

Zhou Yi put down the bowl, looked up at Qian Jiang: "Rejected?"

"You think. The role of Wan Ren Mi is not something anyone with popularity can play; you haven't seen that costume photo; anyway, I couldn't see any hint of charm and style at all; it would be strange if she wasn't rejected."

Qian Jiang disdainfully curled his lips: "Moreover, Liu Ruoyin herself is not that kind of bright and beautiful woman. In this regard, the Cheng Hao you know is indeed far superior to her."

"That is indeed the truth."

Zhou Yi agreed completely.

Among the female stars he currently knows, besides Fan Bingbin who just actively sought him out to exchange contact information, Cheng Hao could be said to sweep the board.

And compared to Fan Bingbin, whose temperament leans more towards bright and beautiful, Cheng Hao lacks a bit of seductiveness but has more of a quiet, gentle, and dignified calmness.

"How about it, does your friend want to play? If she wants to, I can help fight for it; her chances are still very high."

"After all, the several main roles in this drama are limited by household registration origin; only two people from the Treasure Island are allowed. Putting aside Liu Ruoyin, the other quota for someone from the Treasure Island is currently being fought for by a male actor named Zhang Shi."

"How would I know if she wants to play now? Before you came, I called her and told her about this; she said she doesn't want to play, feeling she can't act well, can't act out that kind of charm and style without being vulgar."

After finishing the hangover soup, Zhou Yi rolled his eyes.

He couldn't just pretend to be a mystic to Cheng Hao and say she would be very suitable for the role of Wan Ren Mi and could interpret this role to the point of becoming famous all over the country, could he?

"Oh, by the way, speaking of this, I actually have another matter."

Qian Jiang, who had brought up the topic of mainland artists, took out his notebook and flipped through it: "Do you know Zhou Xun? That female actress who just released the song 'Drifting' not long ago."

"I know her, what's up?"

"The company has officially secured her recording contract; she will end her cooperation with Sony in 2001 and switch to Warner. The contract is already negotiated; just now, her agent knew you were also in the Treasure Island, so she asked me if you had time to get together."

Hearing this, Zhou Yi's expression immediately turned strange: "Gathering? Just the two of us? Are you sure?"

"How could that be? There are other mainland artists too."

Qian Jiang, annoyed, handed his notebook to Zhou Yi and said, "Including Lu Yi and Chen Kun who came to audition for 'The Pink Lady', and Zhou Jie who came for promotions—all are from the mainland."

"To put it plainly, it's actually a gathering of artists from the mainland."

In these days, mainland artists who could make it to both the island of Taiwan and Xiangjiang were few and far between, and even fewer among the younger generation, so such a gathering to strengthen connections was normal.

It was much like a hometown association at a university; with the year nearly over, they gathered to reconnect.