Reshaping Life (Showbiz)
Chapter 11

Page 11

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6d ago

Lu Heng, dressed in Zhenzhong Middle School's uniform, walked at the very front while surrounded by others. With his backpack on and both hands tucked into his pockets, he looked unrefined in his rustic clothes, yet his bearing was carefree and composed. There was none of the awkward unease one might expect from someone newly arrived in a strange city and being watched from all sides. If he added a pair of sunglasses and dressed a little more Fashionably, he would look exactly like a major star making an appearance.

Wei Zhanjie could not help laughing.

Chen Zhenggang came forward and briefed Wei Zhanjie on what had happened during their stay in J City over the past few days. He also handed over the two contracts Wei Linxuan had entrusted him to keep.

Wei Zhanjie took the contracts and casually passed them to the secretary beside him. He nodded at Lu Heng and said with a smile, "You must be hungry. Let's go home and eat first."

Only then did Chen Zhenggang remember they were filming a program, and he hurriedly stepped back.

Wei Zhanjie put an arm around Lu Heng's shoulders as they left the train station. The camera followed behind, filming all the way, before he got into the front passenger seat.

In the car, Wei Zhanjie briefly introduced the members of the Wei family. Smiling, he said, "Your brother Lin Xuan's mother is an actress. Although she retired many years ago, she is still the most beautiful screen goddess in many people's hearts. To avoid causing a disturbance at the train station, your aunt didn't come to pick you up. She's at home making soup for you and helping prepare your room."

Whenever Wei Zhanjie mentioned Mrs. Wei, his words inevitably brimmed with pride and satisfaction.

Lu Heng nodded. Of course he knew Wei Zhanjie's wife—the Film star Fang Yuqing, who had taken the silver screen by storm twenty years ago and captivated countless people. She was also the only actress in Huaxia Film history to win both Best Actress at Cannes and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress. Her charm had even broken Hollywood's unspoken rule against using Eastern faces on the big screen. Three renowned Hollywood directors had successively invited Fang Yuqing to audition for either the leading female role or the second female lead.

Yet at the height of her acting career, Fang Yuqing had resolutely retired and married Wei Zhanjie, the second young master of the Wei family. At the time, he had displayed no particular talent and only kept appearing in gossip magazines because of his romantic, womanizing reputation.

It was said that after news of their marriage spread, many people were heartbroken and drowned their sorrows in drink. Some swore never to marry, vowing to wait for Fang Yuqing to divorce, while others went straight to Wei Zhanjie and demanded a duel.

Beating out all those suitors to marry the goddess had become Wei Zhanjie's proudest accomplishment in life.

Of course, ten years later, when the media interviewed Wei Zhanjie again, the great CEO's proudest achievements had become: marrying Fang Yuqing and having Wei Linxuan.

As the future top star heavily promoted by Huaxia Imperial Entertainment, Lu Heng knew all too well the boss's habit of never going more than three sentences without mentioning his wife and child. He instinctively chimed in a few times, and his perfectly timed compliments immediately got Wei Zhanjie talking. The entire ride, Wei Zhanjie went on and on about his family. On the one hand, Lu Heng's praise had left him eager to talk; on the other, he hoped this would ease Little Lu Heng's nervousness and fear about meeting unfamiliar relatives.

While Wei Zhanjie's enthusiasm might have partly been for the sake of the program, it could not be denied that Lu Heng's well-timed pandering had won his favor. Otherwise, the busy president of Imperial Entertainment could easily have recorded the program some other way.

Sitting in the front passenger seat, the cameraman in charge of filming was secretly amazed. He had never expected Lu Heng, a boy who had just come from the countryside, to be so skilled at speaking and handling people.

About an hour later, the car arrived at the villa complex where the Wei family lived.

The security guard at the gate took one look at the license plate and immediately let them through.

The car slowly drove into the villa complex. Watching the scenery outside the window drift backward, Lu Heng was filled with mixed emotions.

Although the experience of changing owners twice in his previous life had left some bad blood between him and Huaxia Imperial Entertainment, once his management contract was transferred back to Imperial Entertainment and he became an undisputed top-tier kung fu superstar under the company's vigorous promotion, that resentment had long since been buried.

To win over the company's key talents and cultivate an atmosphere like one big family, the boss often invited capable employees to dine at his home. Thus, Lu Heng was no stranger to the Wei family residence.

Sixteen years in the past, he looked through the car window at the slowly retreating scenery: vast stretches of greenery, exquisitely decorated streetlamps, an artificial pond reflected by the shade into a piece of emerald, winding bridges and streams along secluded paths, roads so clean one could take off one's shoes and stroll back and forth, and the distinctive, delicate buildings on either side. Outside every courtyard stood black wrought-iron gates with hollow floral designs, some tightly shut, others open.

The scenery remained the same, but the people were no longer the same.

Wei Zhanjie had no idea what Lu Heng was thinking. He only felt that the sight of the quiet-faced boy gazing out the window had a certain cinematic quality. He quietly lowered the window so Lu Heng could see more clearly. Brilliant sunlight immediately spilled inside, falling over the boy and forming rings of light.

As if reading his mind, the cameraman aimed the lens at the boy.

Thus, within the sun-drenched car, the boy's picturesque features and lingering gaze stunned everyone in an instant.

Soon, the car stopped in front of the Wei family villa. Wei Jiayi, who had been waiting at the door, immediately ran out and threw herself at Wei Zhanjie, calling, "Second Uncle!" Wei Zhanjie scooped her up naturally. With her arms around his neck, Wei Jiayi studied Lu Heng and tilted her head. "Is he the big brother who chased all the bad guys away?"

To promote Exchanging Lives, the production team had immediately sent the video of Lu Heng confronting the trafficking ring at the train station to the company headquarters after the contract was signed. The Huaxia Imperial Entertainment Public Relations Department took screenshots from the video and used them in promotional press releases, heavily publicizing the "little hero who stood up for justice" and the traffickers he encountered while filming. This first linked Exchanging Lives with a current hot topic.

Meanwhile, Wei Linxuan had the company find the most professional editing master, who worked through the night to select the most exciting footage filmed over the past few days for Exchanging Lives and cut it into a one-minute-fifty-seven-second teaser. It included the footage of Lu Heng fighting the traffickers. Together with the carefully arranged sound effects from the post-production team, the trailer made every moment seem fraught with danger and instantly seized everyone's attention.

In 2000, the domestic Film and television market had yet to truly find its footing, much less develop the concept of using trailers to attract viewers. Even major Film and television productions did not do so, let alone a reality-variety program.

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