Becoming a Movie Star, System Only Finished Loading After Ten Years
Chapter 114 - 113 You’re Really Cunning (Requesting Monthly Tickets)

Chapter 114: Chapter 113 You’re Really Cunning (Requesting Monthly Tickets)

The two of them ate in silence, as if they had nothing to say.

If it weren’t for occasionally glancing at each other, they might have forgotten they were dining with someone else.

"Have your resources recovered?"

Qi Hao stopped eating after he was half-full, intending to eat the rest slowly. There’s a chase scene tomorrow, which will require a lot of physical energy, so he can eat more.

"Almost, I’ve already had some scripts sent over."

An Feng also stopped, realizing now that she’d been eating quite a lot.

"Any good scripts?" Qi Hao asked.

"They’re all quite mediocre..." An Feng shook her head. She doesn’t take on roles frequently, often preferring to stay idle rather than take on unsuitable projects.

Of course, if she were truly blacklisted, it would be hard to stick to this principle.

There was a disagreement between Ms. Liu and An Feng.

For instance, when the whole internet was against her in 2005, Ms. Liu wasn’t bothered. She believed that one must bear the weight to wear the crown. You’ve taken others’ script and commercial resources, blocking their upward path; it’s not surprising to be attacked.

This assault wouldn’t affect An Feng’s status in the entertainment industry.

However, Ms. Liu overlooked the fact that for an eighteen-year-old girl, facing an overwhelming barrage of negative news, it could be deeply distressing.

Or rather, she inadvertently underestimated the harm it could cause.

Thus, An Feng’s PR at the time seemed particularly inept and unprofessional.

Finally, when things became unbearable, they appeared on "Today’s Statement."

An Feng gradually distanced herself from the internet, found love in reading, and sought strength in words.

Without moving a brick off the ground, she drank bowl after bowl of motivational quotes from books.

Then there was the matter of Mrs. Hua’s blacklist.

An Feng and Ms. Liu also had differing attitudes toward this.

For Ms. Liu, the blacklist was like the sky falling, making her so anxious that her mouth was full of ulcers.

Plus, the heavy burden of guilt almost drove her to collapse.

Perhaps because she drank too many bowls of motivational soup, An Feng didn’t feel much, even contemplating what she could do if she wasn’t a star.

But before she could worry for a few days, Qi Hao reached out to offer her a hand.

She had no idea how he managed it.

Almost effortlessly, he lifted this so-called blacklist.

Ms. Liu changed her attitude towards Qi Hao, treating him like a lifesaver.

Of course, things weren’t over yet.

Due to their team’s "immature" actions, they may face hostility from some people for quite a while.

"It’s normal; I also find it hard to pick a suitable script."

A common challenge stars face in the entertainment industry is choosing the right script.

Starring in a bad film damages popularity.

If a good project doesn’t suit you, performing poorly only invites criticism.

Without comparison, there’s no harm.

The truly good script is the one that suits you!

"So, you’ve started thinking about becoming a director, huh?" An Feng sincerely admired Qi Hao for his boldness and action.

His execution was more effective than drinking motivational soup.

"Uh...yeah, exactly, if you’re not at the table, you can only be on the menu. In this entertainment industry, if you don’t advance, you retreat."

Qi Hao didn’t hold back.

He initially shot MVs under the pretense of wanting some practice in preparation for a director’s path.

Then he received tasks to win newcomer awards.

He found himself in deeper and deeper.

Now, whether he wanted to be a director or not, he had to go down this path.

"Not at the table, only on the menu...why do I feel like I’m on the menu."

An Feng was amused by this saying.

Everyone said Mrs. Hua was powerful; even when Wang Jinghua left with a bunch of people, she didn’t lose her leading position.

If An Feng joined, there would be plenty of resources, and as Fan Xuexue left and Li Xue’xue and Zhou Xun got older and faded, the top spot would eventually be hers.

Besides, Mrs. Hua was different from Sugarman, the latter being solely a TV production company, while Mrs. Hua excelled in both TV and film.

An Feng really had no reason to refuse.

But they overlooked one point – being with Mrs. Hua and being on the menu wasn’t much different.

Even rabbits don’t eat the grass near their burrows, but Wang Brothers never shy away from being vague with their actresses.

Everyone in the circle knows their character.

Even as opportunistic as Ms. Liu was, she wouldn’t push her daughter into the fire pit.

"Here’s to not being treated like a dish." Qi Hao clinked his glass with An Feng’s.

Although An Feng could hold her liquor, neither of them drank alcohol.

Knowing Ms. Liu, it was a stretch for her to allow her daughter out alone; she probably checked her watch every three minutes now.

Returning her daughter drunk would be hard to explain.

"I’m afraid it’s going to be difficult for me; I don’t have the talent to be a director. Forget it, thinking too much just creates problems, while an open mind leads to answers. I feel like I’m not as career-driven as I used to be."

After getting past the initial awkward stage, their conversation became much more relaxed.

After all, they had worked together before. Although they weren’t together day and night, they did spend a few solid months together.

"Don’t want to be an artist anymore?"

Qi Hao remembered that An Feng once said in an interview that she didn’t want to be a flash-in-the-pan actress but a long-lasting artist.

Unexpectedly, she had come to terms with it in her early twenties.

This entertainment circle is like a big dye vat. No, the whole society is a big dye vat, making many youthful dreams seem naive and ridiculous.

Time changes, people change, and in everything, tears often flow before words.

Staying true to oneself... it’s not that easy.

"Oh, not really. This is still my pursuit, but it’s not as urgent as before. It’s like climbing a mountain; if I can reach the top, that’s great. But if not, it’s fine to just enjoy the scenery along the way."

Reading more books makes one’s speech more eloquent.

Unlike when filming "The Legend of the Condor Heroes," when she was still like a child, even bringing her pets to the set.

Perhaps this is also considered a form of growth.

Qi Hao thought for a moment and said, "Actually, during the earthquake, I donated more than just 150,000."

"Huh?" An Feng didn’t know why Qi Hao suddenly mentioned it.

When the donations first came out, there were comparisons online between her donation of one million and Qi Hao’s 150,000, criticizing Qi Hao for earning much but donating little.

Later, Qi Hao teamed up with Little Flying Stick to donate another large sum to quell the criticism.

"Wu Jing and I spent several million to buy truckloads of goods and went to the disaster area overnight. We stayed there for a while; I stayed for about a week, and Wu Jing stayed longer."

This kind of thing wasn’t really a secret.

After all, in the procurement, loading, transport, and distribution stages, someone could have recognized them.

Moreover, Qi Hao stayed there and volunteered for a week.

Some people who had limited exposure to the event couldn’t piece together the whole truth, while others might just have thought they met a volunteer who looked like Qi Hao.

Therefore, information online about Qi Hao’s disaster relief was vague, without any accurate information, and some even suspected Qi Hao’s team was trying to boost his reputation.

"You’re so cunning," An Feng murmured.

"This is called maturity... but most of it is my team’s help with planning and PR."

Qi Hao almost pointed out that An Feng’s team lacked professionalism.

An Feng’s team was just lucky to have An Feng, who became famous after just a bit of encouragement.

There are quite a few actresses in the industry who have been strongly promoted, with resources possibly stronger than An Feng’s. But small fame depends on support, while big fame depends on destiny. A top star like An Feng can’t be created just by promotion.

And once a star reaches the top in the entertainment industry, it shows that the industry is rotten to the core.

"This time, a lot of people left our company, and now they want to come back. My mom didn’t agree; there are many new faces in the company."

An Feng clearly understood Qi Hao’s implication.

She couldn’t abandon her mother and hire some so-called professional manager to handle things.

Not to mention it might cause a rift between her and her mother, and whether the hired manager would be reliable is another question.

An Feng and her mother had been relying on each other for many years.

There was really no need to make a harsh choice between her career and her mother.

And no matter how loyal a professional manager might be, they couldn’t match Ms. Liu’s dedication to her daughter.

She’s not bad; she’s just a bit naive.

Many stars’ teams in the entertainment circle include relatives.

It’s not that they’re unaware of the potential downsides, or that they overly trust the relatives’ character.

But at least, if a professional manager ruins you, he can just find another job and leave the blame on you.

If your relative ruins you, they can’t just find another employer.

Of course, nothing is absolute; human nature is the most complicated thing.

What An Feng can do now is to build a professional team, have Ms. Liu gradually delegate authority to professionals, or listen more to their advice.

After this big setback, Ms. Liu would probably be a lot more compliant.

The chat afterwards became quite casual.

The meal lasted until 9:30, and Qi Hao and An Feng finally left the restaurant.

By the time they returned to the hotel, it was just about ten o’clock.

The next day, they shot a chase scene, with Qi Hao and Wang Baoqiang chasing An Feng all the way from the dock to her hideout.

These kinds of scenes are quite hard to shoot.

Besides the issue of coordinating the extras, the main actors can also be a bit delicate, easily getting out of breath after a few runs, especially with repeated NGs.

Fortunately, the three leading actors in this film didn’t have such problems.

Wang Baoqiang is trained in martial arts, Qi Hao’s stamina has been boosted numerous times, and An Feng relieves stress through reading and dancing, so this amount of physical activity is no big deal.

Not to mention the cameraman, who carried the camera and ran alongside them.

This segment was shot with a shoulder-mounted camera.

But it’s not like Lou Ye’s work where the shaky footage makes the audience uncomfortable.

In the end, Qi Hao and Wang Baoqiang caught up with An Feng—only to be ’scammed’ out of another sum of money after catching her.