Persuading Bingbing to Turn Over a New Leaf

"Was it that obvious?"

Fan Bingbing was slightly embarrassed. She pressed her lips together, revealing a faint, barely perceptible stubbornness.

The indoor light slanted in, falling right across her face.

Her lips were full, their shape clearly defined, naturally rosy-red.

Even under the dim light, her skin seemed to come with its own soft glow, so fine that her pores were almost invisible.

Her face was a classic oval, its lines smooth and full. Her chin was delicate, neither too pointed nor too round, tapering off at just the right place.

Her eyes were large and bright, their outer corners slightly upturned with a natural hint of seduction. Yet her gaze was calm at the moment, giving her an air of quiet focus.

Her nose bridge was high, its line straight and crisp from the root to the tip—the most spirited feature on her face, yet perfectly blended with her softer contours.

Shen Shanden nodded. "Pretty obvious. After leaving Huayi, do you know where you're going?"

Fan Bingbing fell silent for a while. "Maybe you can't understand it, but I want to fight for my pride—to prove that I can do it, that people can't look down on me."

Shen Shanden said, "Come to think of it, I'm your fan. Back when I was in high school, out of Little Swallow, Crape Myrtle, and Golden Lock, you were my favorite."

"That makes me sound a little old." Fan Bingbing smiled. "But you do have good taste. Back then, Aunt Qiong Yao said I couldn't play a leading role, but I insisted that I could."

Shen Shanden commented, "The moment you debuted, you challenged one of the industry's big shots, fighting for control over your own life and career. That wasn't merely brave—it was downright ferocious. But you actually pulled it off."

Fan Bingbing gazed at the distant sky, her tone carrying an indescribable flavor. She was a little happy, but not very much.

"I paid a price too. My career really did take off, but joining Huayi didn't make me feel freer. Instead, it made it harder to breathe."

Shen Shanden took another sip of wine. "So this time, now that you understand the rules of the game better than before, you want even more freedom?"

Fan Bingbing stared at the mouth of the bottle in her hand and said nothing.

They had only met a few times and hadn't known each other long, yet Fan Bingbing suddenly felt that Shen Shanden understood her very well.

"I envy you."

Fan Bingbing suddenly said, "It's not like my family has no connections in the industry. My father was a singer in an arts troupe, and my mother was a dancer who studied at Director Xie Jin's Film and Television Arts Academy."

"But this industry cares about pedigree. I don't have the very best resources or connections. Only today did I understand that if I had been part of the Big Three, the road would have been much easier."

Shen Shanden agreed. "I don't have any connections or resources either. In the film industry, cultural circles, and media circles, blood ties, family ties, and master-disciple lineages are all linked together in chain after chain. I don't have even a trace of any of that."

Fan Bingbing laughed so hard she bent backward and forward.

"Stop teasing me. How could someone like you understand the troubles of someone like me? You're directing productions worth tens of millions, and there are even bigger projects waiting for you afterward."

Shen Shanden was utterly baffled. What exactly had Fan Bingbing imagined?

Everything he had today was thanks to his diligence and hard work.

He was a textbook grassroots success story, all right!

"I really wish I had someone to rely on." Fan Bingbing leaned closer.

Shen Shanden raised a hand to stop her. "It wouldn't be good if someone saw."

"You were awfully proactive in the private room." Fan Bingbing raised her left hand and sniffed her index finger, teasing him.

Shen Shanden said, "At home, I'm a good man."

Fan Bingbing asked, "What do you think I should do now? Orange Sky is hard to join, Huayi won't let me go, and if I get tangled up in the emotional dispute between Chen Hao and Wu Ke Bo, my public image will be ruined."

"There aren't many choices on the mainland. That only leaves Hong Kong and Taiwan."

Shen Shanden let out a breath. "I don't like analyzing situations for people."

"Then make an exception for me." Fan Bingbing smiled and coquettishly pleaded.

Shen Shanden thought for a moment. "That depends on your ambition. If you want to become a truly top-tier star, one worthy of the name, you can cooperate with Hong Kong and Taiwan, but don't get too deeply involved."

Fan Bingbing was intrigued. "Oh?"

Shen Shanden asked, "What do you think it means when a star works across two fields, or three?"

Fan Bingbing blurted out, "It means they're first-tier, right?"

Shen Shanden explained again what he had previously told Da Mimi.

By the time she finished listening, Fan Bingbing's brain was practically overheating.

Shen Shanden himself didn't know what sort of wicked amusement had prompted him. Maybe men just liked this sort of thing—persuading a wayward woman to turn over a new leaf.

"When you're out in the world, what's the most important thing?"

Fan Bingbing said somewhat sheepishly, "I think it's connections."

"Exactly!"

Shen Shanden praised her. "But for a celebrity, a public figure, their greatest backing isn't their circle—it's the country they belong to!"

"Especially if you want to reach the very top. What kind of style a country has determines what kind of stars it has."

"If you go against the country's style, the higher you climb, the harder you fall."

In some countries, no matter how big a star was, they still had to go to the island.

Even Stephen Hawking had to go to the island.

If you wanted to become a politician, you had to get involved too.

There was no possibility of keeping yourself clean and apart; they started grooming you from the bottom.

Ivy League student unions, small-circle fraternities and sororities—if you wanted into those little circles, you had to hand over leverage, offer up a pledge of allegiance.

They weren't Hidden Rules; it was all legal.

But in some countries, it was exactly the opposite.

Shen Shanden said, "Hong Kong and Taiwan only look glamorous on the surface. People born in the nineties are no longer interested in Hong Kong and Taiwan Stars. The order that was once turned upside down will slowly return to normal. If you want to become a truly top-tier star, you need to consider that."

"After Zhou, Lin, Wang, Tao, Sun, Cai, Xiao, and Liang, have any newcomers from Hong Kong and Taiwan become nationally famous in recent years? Meanwhile, Super Girl blew the roof off the whole country."

A major star like Fan Bingbing had her own team and her own ideas. Shen Shanden was only offering a simple reminder.

"You don't need to worry yet. Four Dan, Double Bing is like the Four Heavenly Kings—they're bound together. As long as not all of you fall behind, you won't have to worry about becoming irrelevant."

"My suggestion is to wait a while and try becoming your own boss. You have connections and relationships within the industry. You can make use of Hong Kong and Taiwan's strength, but don't rely on it too heavily."

"You need to understand your own advantages. You've already reached the first tier. As the mainland market keeps growing, there will only be more and more opportunities."

Fan Bingbing looked thoughtful. "Can I ask why you chose to enter the entertainment industry? Was it something like Yangzi's situation?"

"I don't understand what you mean."

Shen Shanden did not understand what Fan Bingbing meant. "Of course I entered the entertainment industry because I valued its prospects for growth."

Fan Bingbing complained, "The market cap of our industry isn't even as high as that of foot-washing services."

Shen Shanden said seriously, "Look back at the eighties and nineties—hasn't there already been enormous development? We have over a billion people, use the same written language, and share the same historical memories. In terms of the cultural market, we are a Great Unification market."

"Coupled with the government's powerful capacity for planning, as infrastructure spreads, our market should become several times larger than the United States cultural market. After all, the United States has different languages and different skin colors, while our language and culture are all the same."

"We also have a deeper cultural foundation. A film in the United States can make six or seven hundred million dollars domestically; in the future, we'll easily reach two or three billion dollars—more than ten billion yuan."

"As the market expands in the future, a minor celebrity will be like a small company, while a major star or first-line celebrity will be equivalent to a large company. A nimble little team could bring in hundreds of millions in revenue, or even more."

Fan Bingbing felt that the pie Shen Shanden was painting was far too huge. She did not dare take a bite.

This was not optimism. It was a little insane.

Shen Shanden dared to say that a celebrity was equivalent to a company, but she herself did not quite believe it.

Even dreaming of it did not feel right. It was too unreal.

But in Fan Bingbing's eyes, this was not Shen Shanden's own idea. It was something he had absorbed through constant exposure at home, and combined with his choices, it became highly convincing.

"You want to become the very best director, don't you?" Fan Bingbing asked.

Shen Shanden nodded.

Fan Bingbing was stirred into a burst of bold ambition as well. She had always been competitive by nature. "I'll become the greatest star too—an international superstar. When the time comes, we—"

"So you two are here?" Da Mimi interrupted.

She had played cards for a while, then realized something was off. She hurriedly found someone to take her place and found them on the balcony.

They were chatting so animatedly that she felt like her head was about to explode.

"Big sis won't steal your man."

Fan Bingbing had drunk quite a bit, and her words soared with heroic spirit.

Some rejoiced while others grieved.

Huang Li, who had just moved into a new residential complex in Shunyi, got into an argument.

"The child is one year old."

After feeding the baby, Sun Li argued her case with reason. "They invited me to act, and it's even a major role. China Film Group is the main investor in this project. Wu Jing and Fan Bingbing have officially joined, while there's also been word about Chen Kun and Huang Xiaoming. They're clearly keeping up the promotional rhythm, just waiting for the official announcement. For a project like this, isn't it the best possible choice for my comeback?"