Chapter 21: Mei Yanfang

The two hurried to the ward, but the reporters had not yet arrived upon hearing the news; Zhao Wenzhuo was getting bandaged, so Jiang Qinqin had no choice but to first ask his agent, Yuan Xin, about the cause.

It turned out to be a filming accident on the set of *The Drunken Master*; during a battle between good and evil between Mo Shaocong and Zhao Wenzhuo, the latter was accidentally struck in the corner of the eye by a sword tip, bleeding profusely, and was immediately sent to the hospital.

One can only say that actors of this era were relatively professional; in later generations, the wound would basically be scabbing over by the time they got around to it.

Lu Kuan disliked the strong smell of disinfectant in the ward and stood alone at the door, enjoying the refreshing chill of the cold air.

"Hello, may I ask if this is Zhao Wenzhuo's ward?"

Lu Kuan tilted his head slightly; it was a tall woman with short hair, a scarf covering her face from the nose down, and a pair of dark sunglasses covering the rest—a very well-executed disguise.

Since his rebirth, this was the first time he had been so shocked; this person was none other than Mei Yanfang, who had a past relationship with Zhao Wenzhuo, the daughter of Xiangjiang.

Thanks to the nature of his work at a public relations firm in his past life, he could be considered to have known and interacted with quite a few A-list stars.

But this beauty, envied by the heavens, passed away at a young age; this was the first time he had seen her in person in both his past and present lives.

"Yes, please come in."

"Thank you!"

Before long, Zhao Wenzhuo was also wheeled into the ward, his eye wrapped in thick gauze, his expression one of great pain.

"Block the reporters!"

The young nurse hurried along, carrying an IV drip bottle, mistaking Lu Kuan for a bodyguard or assistant, while behind her was a swarm of cameras and microphones.

Lu Kuan had a good attitude; he turned his sturdy frame to block the crowding crowd before turning to enter the ward.

Nineteen that year, standing like a nobody.

"Sister Mei! Why are you here?!"

Zhao Wenzhuo felt as if he had drunk a cold beverage on a sweltering summer day, smiling so hard the wrinkles on his face seemed ready to burst.

He had met Mei Yanfang on set in 1994 and they had once hit it off, sparking rumors; whether it was due to the vast difference in their status in the entertainment industry at the time or other reasons, the relationship ended without result, and they could only return to being friends.

Mei Yanfang also removed her various facial disguises and checked his injuries with concern; upon hearing from the young nurse that his eyeball was not damaged, everyone finally felt at ease.

The little transparent Lu Kuan kept his eyes on his nose and his nose on his mouth, standing to the side and observing silently.

"I was invited by Director Zhang from the mainland; he was hosting a dinner at his home in Wuxi, so I came over."

Lu Kuan's mind raced—what work had Zhang Yimou and Mei Yanfang collaborated on?

*Hero* should have just finished filming its final scene at the Qin King Palace in Hengdian; why would Zhang Yimou invite Mei Yanfang while hosting a grand banquet at his home in Wuxi at this time?

Could it be *House of Flying Daggers*?

That had to be the answer; in the *House of Flying Daggers* of later generations, the role of the Flying Dagger Sect's eldest sister, played by Song Dandan, was originally designed by Zhang Yimou for Mei Yanfang, but she unfortunately passed away from cervical cancer in 2003 and could not complete this swan song.

At this moment, Lu Kuan watched the people in the room exchanging pleasantries with the posture of a reborn person and a bystander, feeling a sense of disillusionment between his past and present lives.

Jiang Qinqin would meet Cao Cao in the 2005 *Qiaojiada Academy* and become his wife;

Zhao Wenzhuo would also go downhill after the decline of Hong Kong martial arts films, even being ridden over by Zhen Zidan, later falling in love and starting a family with Niu Xiaoling;

And this daughter of Xiangjiang, the diva and big sister, had less than two years of life left...

"Xiao Lu! Xiao Lu!"

Lu Kuan snapped out of his reverie, his spirit pulling back into this reality.

Jiang Qinqin walked over and tapped his forearm lightly: "Daydreaming? Could you please see Sister Mei off? She came in a hurry and didn't bring an assistant."

There was no bossiness in Jiang Qinqin's words, and the intimate manner drew a flurry of speculation from those present.

"Sure, please, Sister Mei." Lu Kuan smiled nonchalantly.

"Thank you, Mr. Lu."

Mei Yanfang was an artist of both virtue and talent; although she did not know the identity of this young man, she still extended the most basic politeness and kindness.

"Drive slowly, I'll wait for you here."

Jiang Qinqin had come for the sake of hype at the request of her agency and would definitely have to accept interviews from reporters later.

He escorted Mei Yanfang, who looked like she was wearing a ghillie suit, through the crowd and drove toward the hotel where she was staying.

Damn it, ever since he was reborn, he'd been nothing but a driver for others; it was simply beneath the stature of Boss Lu from his past life!

"Is Mr. Lu also in the film and television industry?" Mei Yanfang was the first to break the silence in the car.

"Yes, I just entered the industry and still have much to learn from seniors like you, Sister Mei."

Flattery will get you everywhere; when the situation is unclear, flattery comes first!

Before the ever-changing diva could respond with modesty, Lu Kuan began his old act of playing the mystic: "Sister Mei, you came to Director Zhang's home this time because of his offer for a role, right?"

Mei Yanfang paused inwardly, her face remaining calm: "Oh? How do you say that?"

Lu Kuan skillfully threw out a bluffing line: "Sister Mei, my original profession was actually a Daoist priest on Maoshan; this conclusion was calculated, I don't know if it's accurate."

"Aha?" Mei Yanfang was somewhat speechless; she hadn't expected to meet a little charlatan on the mainland, though there was no shortage of such people looking for a living in the Xiangjiang entertainment circle.

"The Heavenly Stems of your birth date, Sister Mei, have much water; water belongs to the Kan trigram, and you come from Xiangjiang in the south, and the south belongs to the Li trigram, which is 'Not Yet Completed'."

Unlike people from the mainland, Mei Yanfang had actually studied these supernatural things a bit, and with nothing else to do, she began to chat with him.

"How do you interpret the 'Not Yet Completed' hexagram? Is this trip auspicious or ominous?"

"There's no big problem in your career; the light of the gentleman, its radiance is auspicious."

Mei Yanfang smiled noncommittally: "Oh, then I'll take your auspicious words, Mr. Lu, but please keep it a secret for me."

"Sister Mei, there is one thing that is not very good; I hope you pay attention."

Lu Kuan decided to flap his butterfly wings to see if he could change the fate of her downfall.

In all fairness, no matter how bumpy the emotional path of this daughter of Xiangjiang was, her public morality was beyond reproach.

In 1993, she led a team to Canada for a charity performance; because her countrymen were being discriminated against, she openly tore up her visa and gave up her immigration status.

On the eve of the return of Xiangjiang, people were panicked and social trends were turbulent; facing the malicious disparagement of hostile forces at home and abroad, she was also the one who first advocated on a television program to stay in Xiangjiang for life and vowed to be a Chinese person.

As for the 1991 flood relief charity performance in the East China region, the 1993 disaster relief and poverty alleviation charity performance at the Great Hall of the People, and so on and so forth...

It can be said that she was a person of flesh and blood, of love and righteousness in the Xiangjiang entertainment circle.

At this time, Mei Yanfang smiled inwardly at the little Daoist's baseless intimidation, her face still calm: "I would like to ask for your guidance."

"The hexagram image of 'Not Yet Completed' says: Fire is on water, not yet completed."

"The image of the first line says: Wetting its tail, also does not know the limit."

"The image of the third line says: The expedition of 'Not Yet Completed' is ominous, the position is not correct."

"In short, the blood vessels are not flowing smoothly, the illness is in the lower body; prevent disaster and evil, one must be cautious!"

There are different opinions about her illness; a small number say it was discovered early but not treated, while the majority believe it was already in the late stage when discovered in 2003, and she did not actively seek treatment in order to fulfill her wish of having children, leading to the tragedy.

Researching the information, it still leans toward the second view; if it could have been discovered before 2000, I believe someone with such status and medical resources would not have abandoned treatment, especially since her sister had already passed away from it.

Moreover, her will was only drawn up after the illness was discovered in 2003, which caused a huge scene among her mother and the three children.

If the disease had been discovered very early, with the nature of these three, they would certainly have forced her to set up an inheritance distribution plan favorable to them long ago.

In addition, the protagonist is not simply overflowing with sympathy.

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(End of this chapter)