Chapter 335: A Special Nineteenth Birthday

The next day, Jin Ling Normal University rehearsal room.

Today, Ruan Jingtian is more serious than she has ever been.

In yesterday's Liu Yifei, she saw the shadow of Zhou Xun from "Tangshan".

The key is... she is only nineteen! Only one year older than herself!

How on earth did she do it?

The overwhelming praise and analysis on the internet, the record-breaking follower count on Blog Net, and of course, the recognition from the young director.

That is the honor Ruan Jingtian craves most.

In the rehearsal room, Liu Yifei presses her fingertips against her ribs: "Use and feel your diaphragm to breathe, don't use your throat—imagine there is an iron chain tightening around your lungs."

"Mm, very good."

In the hallway, Boss Lu, rubbing his sleepy eyes, paces over.

He is also squeezing in time; he can only communicate the plan with the Olympic team in the morning, and today he needs to finalize the list of lead dancers for the dance "Ink Wash".

From far away, he hears the female voice coming from the rehearsal room.

The young director stands quietly outside the door smoking; the morning light is like a golden comb, finely combing the wooden floor of the Jin Ling Normal University rehearsal room.

The light is blinding; when Liu Yifei stands on tiptoe to adjust the angle of the blinds, the hair tie on her wrist slips to the crook of her elbow.

The nineteen-year-old skeleton has shed the roundness of a young girl, revealing a celadon-like glaze in the slanted light.

Lu Kuan watches her quietly like this; the moment she turns around, the shadow of her at fourteen flashes across the mirror wall.

That pretty face, which still carried baby fat back then, is now slender and graceful, her eyes bright and full of spirit.

In the young director's eyes, two figures suddenly overlap:

The nineteen-year-old her is demonstrating Grotowski's "reverse wave," her waist arched like a crescent moon;

The fourteen-year-old her is sobbing, stuck in the same movement, the palm prints on the barre still stained with tear marks, looking at him with teary, aggrieved eyes.

He gently exhales a puff of smoke, remembering the heart-to-heart she shared with him in the car that day—

I know this is also your expectation for me, you won't deprive me of this right, right?

What can be done.

"Why are you here?" Liu Yifei and Ruan Jingtian are walking out side-by-side when they suddenly discover Boss Lu smoking at the corner.

"There's a discussion meeting in a while." The young director smiles indifferently: "Ruan Jingtian has basically entered the door, keep persisting."

Da Tiantian wipes the fine sweat from her forehead: "Understood, Director Lu, I will work hard!"

The "Human Wealthy Flower" glances at the expression on his face; there must be something he wants to say to her "Little Teacher Liu": "Then I'll go first."

Liu Yifei smiles and waves at her: "Okay."

The young director and the actress he personally cultivated stand by the window on one side of the hallway.

"What's wrong?"

Boss Lu looks at her increasingly slender and prominent collarbones under her practice clothes, the baby fat on her pretty face long gone, almost thin enough to exceed the character requirements of Zhang Chunru in 1995.

"Your performance state is quite good, but your life state is lacking; you need to learn to adjust."

"How do I adjust?"

Lu Kuan tilts his chin toward the rehearsal room: "Go out for morning practice with Ruan Jingtian when you have nothing to do, sleep in on days without scenes, and go for a stroll in the snack streets of Jin Ling."

"Or make some phone calls to Sister Mei, Zhou Jielun, Zhou Xun, and them, and your little sisters; aren't those all ways to adjust?"

"Yesterday's performance was already quite good, don't put so much pressure on yourself anymore."

Liu Yifei shakes her head: "That's because I prepared for almost a whole year, and besides, the character of a biographical figure has traces to follow; if I still perform poorly with a reference, that would be too pathetic."

The young girl's expression is gentle and indifferent, but her attitude carries a burning sensation like the scorching sun of a Jin Ling summer: "I will take a vacation and rest after this movie is finished, but I don't want to stop now."

"It's you instead!" Little Liu looks at the "washing machine" with sparkling eyes: "Why do I always feel like you're holding back?"

"Tom Hanks had at most a dozen takes, Moore was so worried she couldn't sleep at night; what about your high requirements for me?"

Boss Lu teases: "It's over, it's over, Little Liu, you're no longer pure; you seduced me in the video last time, and now you have masochistic tendencies..."

What interrupts him is a pink fist, though the force is enough to make him wince.

Whether it's the sun or being teased until she's a bit shy, Liu Yifei's pretty face is slightly red: "I'm serious, don't you..."

"Don't cherish you, this delicate flower? Pomegranate Sister?"

The young director puts away the teasing: "Rest assured, the quality of the movie is the foundation; no one, including me, can break this bottom line."

"It's just that we also have to consider the scale of this movie and the length of the shooting cycle."

He counts on his fingers: "The scenes for you three main supporting actors in Jin Ling will be shot until next year, and there are several large-scale war scenes."

"Then after shooting Tom Hanks's downfall upon returning to Germany, that will be your scenes in America, and the final big climax."

Boss Lu suddenly grabs her fair wrist: "Don't lose any more weight, your wrists have become a circle thinner."

"You can't abuse yourself just because I always tease you about having thick legs."

Within his line of sight, Liu Yifei's black high-waisted practice pants tighten along the sharp upper edge of her hip bones, pulling out two arcs.

The tight clothing outlines her slender waist, her flat lower abdomen rises and falls slightly with her breathing, her long, rounded legs are taut; no matter how you look at it, it has nothing to do with being thick.

Now, Little Liu, only her gums are left for the "washing machine" to tease.

Hmm, perhaps later there will be her small chest.

Times have changed; now the little girl has also learned to take the initiative and tease this "washing machine" who is incapable of love: "Why, do you feel sorry for me?"

Boss Lu smiles: "I feel sorry for my cash cow."

"Hmph." The girl gives him a charming roll of her eyes.

You "washing machine," your mouth is the hardest part of your whole body.

The young director then turns serious: "Sister Chunru and Liu Ayi have told me many times."

"They didn't..." Liu Yifei raises her willow eyebrows, about to argue.

"I know you're in a hurry, but don't be in a hurry yet." Boss Lu interrupts her: "That's why I just told you to learn to adjust yourself."

"Top actors enter a role quickly and exit quickly; you wouldn't learn from Lin Daiyu burying flowers and dedicate your whole life to just one character, would you?"

Boss Lu looks at her with an unquestionable tone: "I'll only mention one point: when I think you need to stop, you must stop."

"Clear?"

Little Liu smiles gently, two shallow dimples appearing and disappearing: "Understood."

Several footsteps approach from far to near; Boss Lu turns his head; it is Ma Wen, Cai Guoqiang, and the others from the Olympic creative team who have arrived.

"Alright, hurry back to take a shower and rest; there are no scenes for you today anyway."

Boss Lu nods and turns to leave; the several lead dancers waiting to be selected for "Ink Wash" look at this side curiously while walking toward the rehearsal room.

Watching the man's back, Liu Yifei just wants to call out to him to say something.

But seeing Shen Wei and the others approaching with design drafts, she has to purse her lips and leave first.

The "Sky of History" crew is large; for the convenience of crew management and to prevent any potential right-wing elements from causing trouble, the crew has rented out an entire hotel near the Shi Jiao base, the Sheraton.

Liu Yifei walks back to the hotel from the studio, greets Zhang Chunru and Liu Xiaoli, and returns to her room.

Liu Xiaoli sees that her expression is normal, smiles and asks a few concerned questions, then sits on a chair and sighs with Zhang Chunru.

"I don't know how she chatted with Little Lu."

Zhang Chunru comforts her: "It's fine, Lu Kuan is a man of measure, he absolutely won't let Xixi have any problems."

"Sigh, I know he is clear-eyed and sharp-minded, but..."

Liu Xiaoli hesitates: "He himself is extremely invested and focused on movies; I heard from Xixi that he often edits films until his eyes water and he still doesn't stop; I'm just afraid they will both be foolish together!"

"Young people want a career and don't want their health; it's really fatal!"

Zhang Chunru sighs: "Lu Kuan is that kind of person; it seems I've almost never seen him rest."

"It's just that I didn't expect Xixi to be such a stubborn character; these two children..."

In front of the girl's old mother, she finds it inconvenient to speak too clearly.

But it is very clear that the character backgrounds of Lu Kuan and Liu Yifei share certain commonalities; once they decide on something, they will do it very decisively, as if they have never left themselves a way out.

From a God's-eye view, the car accident Boss Lu directed and acted in at Shui Mo Town, the subsequently initiated "Tangshan" movie, and this "Sky of History" which is far from mature in terms of shooting and release timing.

In these two or three years, with his ability to shoot other genre films, his status in the film industry and economic income would only be higher, not lower.

And Little Liu's Don Quixote-like charges seem to have happened more than once or twice—

The confession at the birthday banquet, the self-harm on the Fox live stream...

Zhang Chunru is a female writer who is well-versed in the world and has a clever mind; this pair of young people whose relationship is tangled and messy is actually no different from Li Ming and Lucy in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button".

One is overly mature, the other is being forced to mature.

The chasm brought about by their differences in life experience and personality is currently melting like ice and snow.

Two souls walking toward each other; who knows when they will meet.

In the room, Little Liu, who was given a day off by the crew today, finishes her shower and lies on the sofa of the high-end hotel, bored.

Suddenly stopping, she can hardly think of anything she can do!

In North America, besides going to school, it was reading Zhang Chunru's materials, or life experiences from field visits, and some business coordination work that Boss Lu entrusted to her.

Remembering that the "washing machine" told her to make phone calls to friends to adjust herself, Liu Yifei takes out her phone and calls Zhou Xun first.

"Hello? Xixi?" Zhou Xun is running the roadshow for "The Banquet"; the movie is scheduled for a nationwide premiere on September 16th.

"Sister Xun, congratulations, I saw your 'Tangshan' was nominated for the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers!" Little Liu flatters first: "With the Hong Kong Film Award in hand, I think the Golden Horse is about the same; this year you're going for a hat-trick for Best Actress!"

"Haha, the little girl is beautiful, and she speaks so nicely too!"

Zhou Xun changes the subject: "I watched yesterday's performance; without exaggeration, I studied it frame by frame!"

"Stop it! Don't make fun of me!"

"Really, especially when compared to Lu Kuan's explanation and analysis; this is material for an acting class!" Zhou Xun remembers the psychological relief task the young director arranged for her and becomes even more professional.

"Didn't you see the blog post forwarded by the Beijing Film Academy official website? It's the designated teaching segment for the 2007 Acting Class; look, how much face you have!"

"However!" Sister Xun, who is as clear-minded as an elf, changes the subject: "I see you've been looking a bit 'thinner and thinner, yet I don't regret it' lately?"

"Is some scumbag giving you a hard time again?"

Liu Yifei knows she is teasing, and smiles back: "I am now Lan Xiaolong Maiden practicing the 'Jade Maiden Heart Sutra', cutting off feelings and desires, just wanting to achieve great success in this character."

"If there is a 'washing machine' who doesn't have eyes and gives me a hard time, I'll take his dog head with one strike of the 'Pure Heart Sword Art'!"

Zhou Xun laughs out loud, thinking to herself, you little Lan Xiaolong Maiden, you probably already had your heart stolen by Yin Zhiping, who acted opposite you.

"After I finish running in Pengcheng, I'll come to visit the set, okay? I'll personally give you your birthday gift!" Zhou Xun laughs: "You're nineteen today; it's really a flower-like age."

"Hehe, thank you, I'll wait for you on set."

Feng Xiaogang and the others call Zhou Xun to prepare to go on stage; before hanging up, she says from the bottom of her heart: "Xixi, whether it's for a certain director or for the character, don't be too 'wasted and haggard'; you're still so young, don't have so much pressure."

"Mm, understood."

After hanging up the phone, Liu Yifei sighs, thinks for a moment, and dials Mei Yanfang, whom she hasn't seen for a long time.

Originally, Boss Lu wanted to invite her to play the role of Cheng Ruifang, but Mei Yanfang is basically in a state of retirement; for the past year, she has been busy in Sichuan, contributing to the school buildings and earthquake escape public welfare donated by the Inquiry Realm.

She knows the important significance of this movie and is worried that her current professional ability cannot meet Lu Kuan's high requirements, so she turns to making a cameo appearance as an American-Chinese who cheers for Zhang Chunru at a book signing in North America.

"Xixi, happy birthday, I was just about to call you at noon; yesterday's performance was great!"

"Sister Mei, are you still in Rongcheng?"

Mei Yanfang signals her assistant to give her a few minutes: "Yes, it's very fulfilling; Little Lu gave me this job, and I'm really quite happy."

"Then you must take care of your health, Sister Mei."

"It's fine, this year our buildings have sprung up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain; just looking at them makes people happy."

Mei Yanfang smiles and exchanges a few pleasantries with her, then changes the subject: "I heard you've been under a lot of pressure lately? You still need to combine work and rest."

"Did my mother tell you?" Liu Yifei comforts her: "I'm fine, don't worry, Sister Mei."

"I still remember the first time I saw you act, the female lawyer role you played in 'Whiplash'; that day, your back was soaked with sweat from the pain of your illness, but you still persisted until the end."

"Sister Mei, Lu Kuan has always used you to motivate me; you are my role model."

Mei Yanfang sighs slightly in her heart; the task the young director gave her was to enlighten her, so how did it turn into reverse motivation...

In psychology, Leon Festinger proposed a theory called cognitive dissonance.

That is, when an individual's behavior and previous consistent cognition diverge, they will tend to believe in and choose to seek various theories, information, or reasons to make their choices consistent with their existing cognition, so as to alleviate inner conflict and hesitation.

It is clear that the "washing machine" told Liu Yifei to call friends to adjust her emotions, but she started looking for practical examples to support her own all-in gamble.

Mei Yanfang waves her hand to signal her assistant to wait a moment, and shares her own journey with her.

"Xixi, let me tell you about my personal experience."

"In 1987, I filmed 'Rouge'; the character Rufu I played was a tragic character who died for love; during filming, I was too empathetic to the character's infatuation and despair, and only after filming did I find it very difficult to pull myself out."

The big sister of Xiangjiang hesitates for two seconds, speaking earnestly: "In fact, at that time, I had just broken up with a boyfriend I had been dating for several years."

"Rufu's obsession with love in the film resonated strongly with my own emotional experiences of repeated setbacks in reality, which once made me very painful and caused me to suffer from insomnia for more than half a year."

"This movie won me the Golden Horse Award and the Hong Kong Film Award, but when Stanley Kwan asked me to film a second one, I refused; I knew that if I walked into the character again, breaking free would be huge pain again."

After a heart-to-heart conversation, Liu Yifei hangs up the phone.

Who in the world is not suffering?

Even someone like Mei Yanfang spent her whole life seeking love in vain, and even chose to escape because of a strong resonance with a movie character.

The young girl knows she meant well to enlighten her, and perhaps she was still entrusted by her old mother, Liu Xiaoli.

It's just that for the past month, she has been gradually improving; because of the meticulous preparation in the early stages, she was able to completely immerse herself in the character and produce an excellent performance far beyond the past.

Even Lu Kuan can now only help her adjust her emotions by "attacking while defending" and pull her back from the edge of the cliff at critical moments.

To ask the current Liu Yifei to truly and willingly pull herself out of this state of madness, it seems impossible.

The phone suddenly "dings," and Liu Yifei, who has moved her corpse-lying location to the bed, picks it up to see; it is a birthday blessing text from Su Chang.

【Xixi, happy birthday! Our crew went to Haidilao to eat yesterday and put it on your tab! Mwah!】

"Those Years," directed by Xue Xiaolu, has officially started filming; this is another "Put it on my sister's tab!"

Resentfully replying to her best friend, Little Liu gets up and turns on her computer to interact with fans on Blog Net and other internet opinion hubs.

Yang Siwei calls halfway through to tell her about some small birthday interactions.

Such as recording videos to thank fans, drawing lucky fans on Blog Net to give back gifts, and other routine activities.

The studio has no other artists; for the past year, Yang Siwei's main task has been to maintain fan groups on various channels and conduct high-end business and endorsement negotiations.

Clicking on the details of the mentions in the background, best friends like Yao Beina, Zhang Jingying, Su Chang, Tang Yan, and many artists she has worked with have sent blessings; the status is fully pulled.

Little Liu patiently replies to them one by one; it can be considered a channel to adjust her emotions and pass the rest of the day.

A message box pops up on the Blog Net interface; it is another blog post mentioning her; this is a new feature launched last year—

Only mutual friends can receive notifications.

Yang Mi: Happy birthday to my dearest best friend Xixi!

The attached photo is a funny photo of the two of them on the set of "The Return of the Condor Heroes".

At that time, Da Mimi hadn't entered Little Liu's blacklist yet; the latter once kindly taught her how to breathe and vocalize.

It's just that in front of the computer, I don't know if there is another "former favorite best friend" with high myopia watching with a heavy heart.

And she herself, because of a long contract with Tang Ren and the failure of the Long Kui character, has almost faded into the crowd.

With nothing to do, Liu Yifei looks at her reply thread with a playful expression.

Flipping back to previous blog posts, the most recent one is a post forwarding her acting segment.

Caption: Study hard!

Little Liu is left speechless, thinking to herself that this person is really someone who can let go.

This is the "full person not knowing the hungry person's hunger" of this little girl who was at her peak upon debut.

If Da Mimi doesn't bind herself closely to you and hype up the best friend CP, how can she take her 5 million followers to the next level?

With an indifferent, teasing attitude, Liu Yifei "likes" the post by the juvenile form of the Nine-Tailed Fox, Yang Mi.

On the other side of the computer.

Wuxi Three Kingdoms and Water Margin Film and Television City; Da Mimi, who is socializing with a group of superstars on the set of "Red Cliff," suddenly receives a call from her assistant.

"Mimi! Liu Yifei liked your post!"

Yang Mi smiles and greets Takeshi Kaneshiro in front of her, then walks to the side: "Really? Did she reply! Is it the one about the birthday just now?"

"Mm, yes, according to your instructions, I called you the first time."

"Okay, I'll remember your contribution, I'll hang up first." Yang Mi is more anxious than if her house were on fire and she were calling 119: "Hello? Xixi! Happy birthday!"

Little Liu replies expressionlessly: "Thank you, Mimi, I saw your blog, you have a heart."

Yang Mi laughs: "Do real best friends need to say these things?"

Da Mimi, who thinks she has a clever mind, strikes while the iron is hot: "Xixi, I'm in Wuxi, very close to you; do you have any arrangements for the evening? How about I go celebrate your birthday?"

"I prepared a gift for you, I want to give it to you personally!"

"Uh..." Little Liu is a bit overwhelmed by her sudden enthusiasm.

This is the imbalance in perception brought about by the information gap between the two.

On the eve of the 2004 Yinchuan Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Awards, the then-aggressive Little Liu had already seen something wrong with Yang Mi.

This time, she stirred up trouble on the set of "Curse of the Golden Flower" and was almost caught red-handed by her.

Evidence?

Not needed; refer to the non-existent weapons of mass destruction in a certain Middle Eastern country.

Free judgment is enough.

"Xixi? Are you listening?"

Da Mimi is a little panicked in her heart; isn't this also a probe?

It's just that Liu Yifei wouldn't let her see any clues: "Come then? Let's eat together when you arrive tonight?"

The drive from Wuxi to Jin Ling is less than 200 kilometers; even if she doesn't ask Director John Woo for leave, it's not too much trouble to go back and forth.

She has already thought it through: take a photo with her good best friend Xixi at the birthday banquet tonight, and it would be best if she could also post it to her blog; this 5 million follower count still has room for improvement in the short term.

Just like the wishful thinking Da Mimi had before—

Boss Lu needs to be licked, and Liu Yifei also needs to be licked.

If the former succeeds, she moves up.

If the former fails, relying on the latter, she can also maintain the status of a best friend.

Is this best friend status useful?

Just look at Su Chang, who has completely established herself in the "chick flick" and youth movie tracks, and you will know.

The cultivation of the Inquiry Realm is one aspect; it's hard to say whether Liu Yifei played a role in it.

The entertainment industry is also a circle; it values human relationships and social interaction more than anywhere else; it is clear that she should grasp this opportunity that sprouted from "The Return of the Condor Heroes".

Little Liu hangs up the phone and shakes her head helplessly.

If Yang Mi hadn't mentioned it, she would have almost forgotten the birthday banquet her old mother prepared for her; in the morning, she actually thought about telling the "washing machine".

It's actually just using the Sheraton venue to have a small dinner in the fully enclosed crew, and invite some good friends.

But looking at his dark circles and needle-like stubble, and the fact that he still has to discuss program ideas with the Olympic team until very late every day after filming, he is actually very tired.

Liu Yifei doesn't know whether she should disturb him, so she'll wait until Tom Hanks's scenes are finished in the afternoon to tell him.

I don't know if a certain person still remembers that today is her birthday...

After letting her imagination run wild for a while, the little girl continues to implement his policy of adjusting emotions, and chats on the phone for a while with good friends Tang Yan, Yao Beina, Zhang Jingying, Tong Liya, and others.

A rare day of leisure and comfort.

It's a pity she didn't have time to bring the cat from home; it's being taken care of by someone in the villa yard.

In the afternoon, Liu Yifei, who is taking a nap, is woken up by a burst of urgent knocking on the door, but she can't open her eyes no matter what.

The chaotic dream pulls her to the temperature-controlled basement of the Washington National Library one moment, and throws her into No. 1 Xiao Fen Qiao in 1937 the next; before her eyes are all the performance details recorded in her notebook.

Like a cloud and mist hanging over her head, coupled with the increasingly noisy cicadas outside the window, it is so dense and sticky that she can't breathe.

Ruan Jingtian outside the door is clapping and shouting, so panicked that fine sweat is seeping from her perky nose: "Sister Xixi! Sister Xixi!"

Liu Xiaoli next door hears the commotion and pokes her head out: "Tiantian? What happened?"

"Liu Ayi, I can't open the door, hurry and use the room card to swipe it!"

Liu Xiaoli turns around and enters the room without a word, opening her daughter's door with the same panic as Da Tiantian...

The two of them rush to the bedside with agile hands and feet.

Liu Yifei's eyelashes tremble rapidly under her eyelids, like butterfly wings entangled in a spider web.

The air conditioning is at a constant 26 degrees, but fine cold sweat seeps from her forehead, soaking the silk pillowcase with a dark water stain.

Her right hand unconsciously clenches the corner of the quilt, her knuckles turning white from the force, while her left hand hangs vaguely in front of her chest, as if trying to grab something in her dream.

The dream rotates like a kaleidoscope; under the cold light of the National Library basement, her fingertips are sliding across the yellowed, old manuscript;

The next second, the smoke of war fills the city of Nanjing in 1937; on the blue brick wall of No. 1 Xiao Fen Qiao, the performance notes she was holding in her chest were shaken off by artillery fire.

The cicadas in her ears gradually distort into the shrill scream of an air-raid siren in her dream; she wants to scream, but finds her throat blocked by cotton.

Liu Yifei's body, trapped in the duck-down quilt, twitches slightly, her black hair scattered all over the embroidered pillow.

Cold sweat slides down the back of her neck into her silk nightgown, accumulating into a cold puddle at her collarbone.

The fluorescent light tube in the Washington basement suddenly starts to strobe; Liu Yifei sees herself at eighteen curled up in the corner of the steel frame. The iron door creaks, and a man with a blurry but familiar face is trying hard to shake the mental iron cage that imprisons her, creaking in her ears.

For some reason, this harsh disturbance makes her feel at ease.

"Little Liu!" In the dream, Lu Kuan's voice is like it has been soaked in warm water; he rushes in, his fingertips brushing past the blood-stained notebook in her arms, and throws it aside.

"Lu... Kuan..." Broken babbling spills from her pale lips.

In the chaos, Liu Yifei suddenly feels a warm palm covering her cold-sweat-drenched forehead; the touch is so real that her eyelashes tremble.

"Xixi!" Liu Xiaoli reaches out and pats her daughter gently; her touch is ice cold.

Ruan Jingtian stands to the side, wringing her skirt hem, at a loss: "Sister Xixi!"

"Lu Kuan!"

Liu Yifei wakes up suddenly from the nightmare.

Her pupils dilate in terror, her gaze shifting between her mother and Ruan Jingtian, as if she hasn't fully woken up from the dream.

Her right hand is still tightly clenching the corner of the quilt, her knuckles trembling slightly from excessive force.

Before Liu Xiaoli and the others can ask, the little girl explains with a miserable smile: "It's nothing, I had a nightmare."

With Ruan Jingtian on the side, her old mother finds it inconvenient to say anything more.

She has indeed heard enough of her daughter's sleep-talking during this period.

Da Tiantian is also a sharp-minded person; she doesn't mention anything, turns around, takes a gift out of her bag: "Sister Xixi, happy birthday!"

Little Liu smiles beautifully: "Thank you, wait for me a moment, I'll go wash my face."

Taking advantage of the moment her daughter leaves, her old mother can't help but sigh deeply: "Tiantian, you have a heart."

Ruan Jingtian whispers: "It's fine, Sister Xixi is like this now... and everyone can't persuade her, so I have to help her divert her attention."

For the past month, she has also witnessed with her own eyes how Liu Yifei has painstakingly invested herself in this character.

Even though she is bullied by this "wicked woman" every day, Da Tiantian really can't hate such a clear-minded girl.

Of course, the "Human Wealthy Flower's" dissatisfaction with her forcing herself not to call him "Teacher Lu" intimately remains.

Irrelevant.

Da Mimi wants to lick Lu Kuan and make two-handed preparations to lick Liu Yifei;

Da Tiantian likes and admires Lu Kuan, but can't help but want to get close to this Little Sister Liu who is only one year older than her.

Liu Yifei walks out of the bathroom, having already recovered her beautiful smile.

The little girl's state is still good, and she is indeed much more relaxed in body and mind today.

It's just that thoughts during the day turn into dreams at night; how can she control the situation in her dreams? This is a mental crisis buried in her subconscious.

"Here!" Da Tiantian takes out the carefully prepared gift from the Tiffany blue gift box with a proud face.

A Montblanc Patron of Art series fountain pen, with the initials of Liu Yifei's name inlaid with small diamonds on the cap, and her favorite midnight blue ink shaking in the ink bottle.

Not during morning practice time, Ruan Jingtian also boldly teases her: "I know you don't lack bags, and jewelry necklaces are too tacky; is a fountain pen okay? Literary girl?"

Liu Yifei gives her a charming glance: "Very okay; as a thank you, I think you can add twenty minutes of physical training every morning from now on!"

"What?! No, no, I'm still growing! Sleep time must be guaranteed!"

Da Tiantian's hands wave like a rattle, making Liu Xiaoli and her daughter laugh.

Her old mother suddenly remembers: "Xixi, did you tell Little Lu, and invite him, Director Zhang, and Designer Lin to come for dinner tonight?"

Zhang Yimou and Lu Kuan have a close relationship and are both general directors of the Olympic Games; if you invite one, you must invite them together.

Lin Ying helped her daughter introduce the North American Chinese newspaper tycoon Zheng family at the beginning of the year; it is reasonable and emotional to thank them.

Liu Yifei is also quite troubled: "He... is really too busy; I think I'll go ask an hour before dinner, if it's really..."

The little girl naturally wants him to accompany her for her birthday.

But truly starting to invest in the character and participate in some of his business affairs, Liu Yifei can be considered to have empathized with his inability to control his own time.

The greater the ability, the greater the responsibility; some segments of the Olympic creative team's discussions really require him.

"Knock knock!"

"Please come in."

Da Mimi knocks politely on the ajar door; in fact, she has been there for a while and heard the conversation of everyone in the room clearly.

Naturally, she also heard it with great joy.

These two people haven't made it yet!

Even when inviting him to dinner for her birthday, she is still hesitant; at least the relationship hasn't broken through the last layer.

"Xixi, I'm here." Da Mimi smiles like a painting, steps forward and takes Liu Xiaoli's arm: "Auntie, you're young again! What cosmetics do you use? I'll buy some for my mom too!"

"This child, your mouth is really sweet." Her old mother doesn't know the undercurrents between her daughter and her, just thinking she is a good best friend who came specially to celebrate her birthday: "Mimi, sit down quickly, I'll go wash some fruit for you to eat."

"Mm, okay! Thank you, Auntie."

Liu Xiaoli leaves, Little Liu's expression is indifferent: "Mimi, this is Ruan Jingtian."

"Tiantian, this is Yang Mi, I worked with her on 'The Return of the Condor Heroes'."

The "Human Wealthy Flower" is close to Liu Yifei, but naturally has the self-respect and pride brought by her family background toward people she is not familiar with: "Hello, Yang Mi, very happy to meet you."

Da Mimi habitually looks Ruan Jingtian up and down, glances at the gift box and fountain pen on the table, and can't help but sneer in her heart: "Hello, Ruan Jingtian."

"Xixi, this is an Hermès Orange Verte fragrance gift box for you, happy birthday!"

She is not an entertainment reporter and didn't recognize that this is the "Human Wealthy Flower" who once spent 15 million to buy a painting.

Yang Mi sees the "cheapness" of the gift, and nods to Ruan Jingtian, greeting her and letting it pass.

Where would she recognize this Montblanc Patron of Art limited edition from the Da Vinci series, plus the custom-made small diamond signature; the price might be ten or twenty times that of her few bottles of broken perfume.

Liu Yifei is naturally calm on the surface: "Thank you, Mimi, you rest for a while, and eat here tonight."

"Okay, anyway, it's not far; I'll just accompany you well today and rush back overnight."

Da Mimi still knows how to speak; every word is aimed at "claiming credit"; the "Investiture of the Gods" should invite you to write it.

If it weren't for Liu Yifei having already discovered some clues, this best friend who asked for leave from the crew to come and celebrate her birthday personally would really be rare.

At least in Yang Mi's view, Su Chang and Tang Yan are not here; the only one present today is this unknown Ruan Jingtian.

Only this can show her unique status.

Liu Xiaoli brings in two boxes of washed strawberries, and the three women chat intermittently.

Bags, figure, acting...

In Jin Ling at the end of August, the sky begins to darken around 6:30.

The small birthday banquet Liu Xiaoli arranged in the Sheraton cold restaurant is about to begin; Yang Siwei leads guests and lucky fans into the venue, arranging all matters, big and small.

"Xixi, where is Director Lu?" Yang Siwei asks her own artist cautiously.

She now has a shadow over Little Liu's birthday.

The kind that lasts a lifetime.

Starting this day last year, it was almost 72 hours of continuous public relations!

It was only after a lot of effort that the heat was suppressed, public opinion was guided, and Little Liu, who traveled far to North America, landed safely.

The chubby agent's little heart can no longer stand this kind of thing happening again.

Liu Yifei checks her watch: "I just called Afei, he said he is still discussing things with the Olympic team; let's wait a little longer."

The scale of today's event is not very large; after all, filming in a crew with such a theme, Liu Xiaoli still arranged for everything to be simple, just as a mental adjustment for her daughter.

Even so, the sales director of Pepsi China, the general manager of the marketing department, and other leaders still came uninvited.

Listening to the company's trend this year, it seems they want to upgrade her contract to the Greater China level.

Just happening to be in Suzhou researching the market, coming to support their artist is also a matter of course.

The guests take their seats, and the fans who were drawn on the official blog to attend the birthday party are also looking forward to the opening; Liu Xiaoli walks to her daughter's side with a depressed face: "Xixi, look at Little Lu..."

Ruan Jingtian volunteers: "How about I go there! It only takes a few minutes to drive; I'll go see if they have finished."

Yang Mi on the side watches with her eyes, looks with her mouth, watches the subtle atmosphere of the scene without speaking, and glances at the expression of the "best friend" beside her as if nothing happened.

She is naturally not stupid enough to add fuel to the fire and probe anything; she just feels that this trip today is quite worth it, at least she saw the true relationship portrayal of this pair of rumored men and women in the entertainment industry with her own eyes.

It seems...

It's not as deeply affectionate as the news portrays! It looks like it's still the unrequited love of her good best friend.

Liu Yifei sits at the dining table and takes out her phone; her hair ends are slightly curled, hanging on her shoulders.

Her sleeves are rolled up slightly, revealing her slender wrists; her makeup is light, her lip color is natural pink, but there is a faint light frown between her eyebrows.

"Don't bother, I'll make a call; if he is really busy..."

"Miss Liu!"

Afei greets from the entrance of the banquet hall, and seeing everyone looking over, he walks over quickly: "The boss is really unable to get away; he..."

Little Liu feels very regretful in her heart, but still forces a smile on the surface: "It's fine."

"Afei, you take some cake over and share it with the artists of the Olympic team!"

Da Mimi can hardly suppress the smirk at the corner of her mouth, so she gets up and walks to the cake cart: "Tiantian, let's cut it together."

Afei waves his hand to persuade the thick-skinned female star: "Don't be busy yet, the boss told me to come and pick up Miss Liu to go to the studio; there is something..."

Everyone is stunned; Liu Xiaoli reacts first, pushing her daughter's shoulders: "Go quickly, go quickly, we'll wait for you."

Ruan Jingtian feels a bit bitter and jealous in her heart: "Can we go with Sister Xixi?"

"No, it involves Olympic confidentiality matters." Afei shakes his head firmly, but doesn't explain to everyone why Liu Yifei can go if it's confidential?

Yang Siwei walks onto the stage knowingly: "Dear guests, fan friends, today's event may have to be postponed for a while; how about I sing a few songs for you first?"

"Good! Come one!"

The experienced agent controls the scene, the old mother who has suffered a lot persuades her to leave, and there is also Da Tiantian who looks at her pitifully, as well as...

Da Mimi, who is smiling on the surface, looking like she is sincerely happy for the turn of events for her best friend.

"Alright, then you wait for me a moment."

The Bentley Arnage carries her to the studio; the security guards who were notified in advance let her pass.

Liu Yifei walks over curiously; it is her first time breaking into the interior of the Olympic creative team; along the way, all the artists and big names look at her with smiles, their eyes carrying some inexplicable meaning.

Lin Ying turns her head: "Oh my, Xixi is here."

She is busy greeting Boss Lu, who is discussing technical parameters and public relations progress with Zhang Yuan Heping, Wang Tao, Li Zexiang, and others: "Lu Kuan, your heroine is here! Don't pretend to be serious!"

Everyone in the venue bursts into laughter.

Zhang Jigang plays the straight man: "Designer Lin, don't make the little girl blush; be careful that the general director will give you a hard time!"

"That's right, Director Lu is still preparing for a graceful and dashing appearance; you are destroying the atmosphere too much!" Chen Weiya also seizes the opportunity to tease.

On weekdays, everyone submits to the "tyranny" of Boss Lu; now that there is a legitimate reason to tease and ridicule, no one wants to miss such an opportunity.

Ma Wen is even more so, smiling and stepping forward to hold the little girl's hand: "Oh my, I was just saying who made our Director Lu say 'I am pursuing her' shamelessly in front of all the American media."

"You really can't blame our Director Lu for being too lustful! This is truly pitiful!"

"Come, Yifei, we just found out you are having a birthday; this will be a gift for you!"

Ma Wen has lived abroad for a long time, and his etiquette customs are Westernized; he immediately takes off the rose brooch in front of him, making Little Liu not know whether to accept or refuse.

The studio is full of cheerful air; Zhang Yimou sees Liu Yifei like a little deer who has strayed into human territory, a bit confused and shy, and takes the initiative to step forward to resolve the situation.

"Ma Wen, oh Ma Wen, you really don't understand 'when in Rome, do as the Romans do'."

"You are flattering here, and giving gifts to the little birthday star as soon as you come up; does it make us old comrades who came empty-handed look bad or not?"

A burst of agreement and teasing in the studio.

"That's right! Ma Wen is inconsiderate!"

"Shouldn't, shouldn't, emotional intelligence is too low!"

Boss Lu then smiles and walks over: "Don't argue, let this program be a token of our team's heart later, okay?"

Zhang Yimou claps and agrees: "Okay, we'll sponge some birthday cake to eat; it's never a loss."

Everyone bursts into laughter again.

Liu Yifei has been teased by a group of old artists since she entered the door; the key is that she only recognizes Lin Ying and Zhang Yimou, so it is not easy to answer casually, and she shyly pulls Boss Lu's sleeve.

"What are you doing?"

"Doing an experiment; you'll know in a while."

A staff member hands over a contract draft; Liu Yifei glances at it, and it says "Olympic Creative Team Technical Confidentiality Agreement".

Lu Kuan smiles: "Just going through the motions; don't tell anyone else whatever you see or hear later."

"Oh, okay." Little Liu is happy to do it, signing her name in a dragon-flying and phoenix-dancing way without even looking.

The young director pats her arm: "Wait here for a while; Director Zhang of the Organizing Committee has to go through the motions first and listen to the technical report."

Liu Yifei smiles at him quietly, standing pretty on the side and not speaking anymore, only her beautiful eyes lingering on him, like a flower just budding, jade producing a halo, bright and unparalleled.

Thinking he was too busy to forget her birthday, now it seems there is a small surprise?

This is a unique kind of "lost and found" and "unexpected encounter," leaving more aftertaste.

Wang Tao gets the instruction and begins to report the technical breakthroughs and phased results of the drone ignition ceremony in a solemn voice.

"Director Zhang Yuan Heping, Director Lu, Director Zhang, fellow artists, I am now reporting on the technical work."

"Since DJI Technology undertook the ignition performance-related work in April 2005, we have formulated detailed technical breakthrough goals."

"At the end of 2005, with the strong support of the Organizing Committee, including Director Liu, we jointly established a cluster intelligence joint laboratory with a confidential research institute of Northwestern Polytechnical University."

"We established a drone power system joint R&D center with Beihang University."

"As of that year, on the basis of the company's existing first-generation autonomous hovering flight control system, we completed the improvement of the visual auxiliary positioning system, the project R&D of the distributed flight control system, and the technical intervention of the ultra-high-frequency anti-interference communication protocol."

"To date, for nearly 17 months, the company has been inspired by the drone swarm experiment from MIT in 2004, using the Vicon motion capture system for positioning, and also using the open-source code project SwarmLab to improve drone obstacle avoidance..."

Boss Lu looks at everyone who is listening with a confused face except for a few people like Lin Ying, and interrupts: "Wang Tao, detailed technical parameters and phased results, just have written documents to reflect them."

"You tell us, to what extent can our drone performance currently do, and then demonstrate it."

Zhang Yuan Heping also smiles: "Director Lu is still pragmatic; Little Wang, do as your Director Lu says."

"Okay, then I'll briefly describe it."

"What we are going to demonstrate tonight is a half-native, half-foreign scheme, calling on a number of drones that barely breaks one hundred." Wang Tao's expression is slightly embarrassed: "Our scheme is mainly based on mechanical encoding, supplemented by electronic control."

"In order to make up for the weakness of the signal problem, we use a ground base station auxiliary positioning system; the nickel-metal hydride battery can currently support up to 5 minutes of performance; the LED lighting system uses programmable color-changing modules..."

The "technical dog" gets intoxicated as he talks, and corrects the course in time: "Hmm... how about I start first?"

Zhang Yuan Heping nods in agreement.

Even if it is very simplified, if he continues to talk, the artists will really be dizzy.

Wang Tao picks up the intercom used by the crew for filming and confirms the parameters with the technical personnel responsible for the signal calibration of several ground small mobile base stations.

"Signal strength is about 95%, can take off."

"Received."

Boss Lu smiles at Zhang Yuan Heping: "Director Zhang, shall we move outdoors?"

"Let's go."

The curiosity of the Olympic creative team members is hooked.

They had long seen the shocking CG of the "Phoenix Returning to the Nest" ignition scheme, but it had always been a backup scheme due to technical problems.

And the Inquiry Realm team's original bidding scheme was also tied with the schemes of Zhang Yimou and Jack Morton because of this point.

Outdoors, the sky is already pitch black; the artists and relevant staff are hugging their chests and watching the Wang Tao team, who are making final preparations not far away.

"This is..." Liu Yifei looks at the dense drones on the open field and blurts out: "Lu Kuan, what kind of plane are you playing?"

Boss Lu explains speechlessly: "These are drones used for Olympic performances; each one is pre-installed with an LED color-changing module to increase color and expressiveness."

"Today, the Organizing Committee sent Director Zhang over to conduct a phased technical check to ensure the progress of the technical breakthrough and to evaluate the final scheme effect."

Little Liu has no interest in technology, but now she is just curious like an itch in her heart: "Then you called me here..."

Before she finishes speaking, the hum of the propellers suddenly tears through the twilight, and a hundred silver lights soar into the sky, hovering and arraying at a height of twenty meters.

Liu Yifei watches in a daze as those drones suddenly begin to flow; under the preset of the ground technical personnel, the LEDs drag out a fluorescent blue trajectory in the darkening sky, as if someone is using stars as a pen.

She looks up, fascinated, and subconsciously takes half a step back, her sandal heel clicking on the steps.

Boss Lu pulls the little girl with quick eyes and hands, taking the opportunity to support her shoulders, with a proud face: "Shocked, right?"

In the night sky, a hundred drones are performing collaborative performances without danger, barely piecing together the words "8.25 Xi".

This is taking a shortcut.

Because both her name and the Chinese characters for "Happy Birthday" are a bit complicated.

With the drone coordination ability and obstacle avoidance technology that Wang Tao called "half-native, half-foreign" now, it will take time to perform more difficult performances.

When the last stroke of the character "Xi" lights up in the night sky, Liu Yifei hears gasps rising and falling all around.

"My God, this is too magical, right? Is the glowing part the LED you just mentioned?"

"Yes, the LED light group uses a 555 timer to achieve PWM dimming; now it can only preset the lighting mode through the DIP switch."

The young director looks at the countdown on his phone; the 5-minute performance is coming to an end: "It should light up in a while."

Little Liu murmurs and reaches out, her long eyelashes casting butterfly-wing-like shadows under her eyes.

Before she finishes speaking, hundreds of drones suddenly light up in unison, and the cold LED light dyes her snow-white skirt moon-blue.

The moment those light spots interweave into "Xi" in the air, Liu Yifei covers her heart, trying her best to suppress her excited mood, as if countless jumping joys are about to overflow.

At the same time, in the cold restaurant on the fifth floor of the Sheraton Hotel, hundreds of meters away, Ruan Jingtian, who was waiting for the birthday banquet, suddenly discovered something and exclaimed: "What is that!"

She can't help but run to the window; the height of the floor and the height of the drone performance are not too different; an extremely straightforward high-tech birthday celebration method breaks into her eyes.

This is...?

Without a doubt, without a doubt.

Da Tiantian is happy and worried at the same time.

She hopes to see Liu Yifei alleviate her increasing mental pressure, but how can she not long for that young director to look at her differently like this?

Since she met him at Harper's Bazaar, it seems that everything she did was dispensable in his eyes.

Whether it is a pretty and cute appearance or a family background with a deep background, in the end, the interest exchange came to him, but it is difficult to win more attention...

Da Tiantian feels bitter in her heart.

Da Mimi feels even more bitter in her heart.

The Nine-Tailed Fox of the jungle pinches her manicured nails into her palms, watching the moment of the drones' fleeting beauty with a dark and unclear expression, followed by lights out, landing, and everything returning to calm.

But her heart cannot be calm for a long time.

Such a scene, which woman wouldn't be jealous to the point of madness?

Drone performances in later generations, even if they are only castrated versions at this time, have already shocked everyone, including the Olympic creative team and Zhang Yuan Heping, to the point of "speechless".

There were some small episodes in the final curtain call; two drones were a bit far from the lead drone, swaying and falling vertically onto the buffer pad laid on the ground; the staff hurried forward to deal with the aftermath.

Due to the current technical conditions, these 100 drones use a "master-slave" mode of 1 lead drone + 32 follower drones; accidents of one or two sorties are common in experiments.

"Good! Great! Comrades, you've worked hard!" Zhang Yuan Heping applauds first, his expression excited!

He looks at the young director chatting and laughing with Liu Yifei not far away, and can't help but feel emotional again about Chairman Liu's sharp eye for people.

Without his trust and support, contacting the confidential national defense scientific research unit, a certain laboratory of Northwestern Polytechnical University, and the national-level laboratory of Beihang University as assistance, such a technical breakthrough beyond later generations would not have been completed so quickly.

It is obvious that if the technical breakthrough can be advanced as scheduled in the remaining two years, this ignition ceremony named "Phoenix Returning to the Nest" will surely be recorded in the annals of Olympic history.

The perfect fusion of technological means and traditional culture, the multiple performances of sound, light, and effect, shock their five senses in a way that global audiences never expected.

Leaving aside other things, just in terms of drone technology, the visual impact such a performance brings to global audiences is no different from Li Hongzhang seeing the 88-meter Park Building, elevators, and subways on Wall Street in 1896...

These are things never imagined before.

In this regard, it is perhaps not an exaggeration to say that it is the greatest ignition performance in Olympic history.

The members of the Olympic team shake hands and applaud excitedly, encouraging each other, celebrating that their noble cause has risen to a new level.

But the nineteen-year-old girl, who only has small love in her heart at this moment, hasn't come back to her senses yet.

Not far away, the man she has been tied to for her entire youth is accepting praise and encouragement from all directions.

On this day a year ago, her heart was like dead ashes as she shed tears on the spot, thinking that that moment would become the farewell of this life.

On this day a year later, on her nineteenth birthday, an unexpected surprise came rushing toward her.

Liu Yifei stands in the twilight, looking up at the night sky that has returned to calm, the faint airflow brought by the drone landing still lingering on her forehead.

The overflowing joy makes her heartbeat so fast that it is almost about to rush out of her chest, her eardrums throbbing with the sound of rushing blood.

The moment those silver light spots drew her name in the air, she seemed to see an entire galaxy pouring down.

It's like a dream.

Liu Yifei had a nightmare in the afternoon; those heart-wrenching horrors made her feel lingering fear; when she shouted Lu Kuan and was dragged out of that blood-red sky...

She didn't expect to be dragged into another beautiful dream on the evening of her birthday.

I really hope I never wake up.

Under the curtain of the era, in the process of creating this unforgettable historical background-themed movie.

Unknowingly, the two people who are each other's anchors in their spiritual worlds, like Li Ming and Lucy in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," have walked closer and closer.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 336 =====