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Mai Chengliang had spoken with Liu Jiawei and learned that when Lu Heng had played the second male lead in Autumn Dew White, Fang Kaizhi had also made him write a character biography.

As long as he could write one, that was fine.

Because of Lu Heng's brilliant audition performance, Mai Chengliang had subconsciously treated him like a seasoned actor and never considered how excessive his demands were for a fourteen-year-old child.

Wang Zhen, who had acted with Lu Heng before, also said with a smile, "I'm really looking forward to working with you!"

It had to be said that although the film emperor Wang had portrayed plenty of classic, hair-raising psychopaths on screen, outside the set, he was genuinely an understanding, kindhearted uncle next door.

Everything was ready; all that remained was signing the contract.

However, Mai Chengliang had never expected another complication to arise on Huaxia Imperial Entertainment's side.

When Wei Linxuan learned that Lu Heng would be playing an addict and would even need to lose ten pounds, he immediately blew up!

"Is our Xiao Heng fat? Is he? Is he?"

"He's already so thin, and you still want him to lose weight!"

"Not letting him eat meat over the New Year! Making him eat one less bowl of food every day! This is child abuse!"

"Making a fourteen-year-old kid play an addict! Making him figure out how to play the role well! Making him visit a rehab center to observe the real-life inspiration! Why not just let Lu Heng smoke two joints to get a feel for it? What kind of people are you?"

"No! I don't agree! Our Lu Heng can't play this kind of role!"

Like an enraged dandelion, Wei Linxuan made the final decision. He absolutely would not allow those evil capitalists to mistreat his little partner like this.

When the news reached Mai Chengliang, the great director was truly out of options. He could only seek out Liu Jiawei, film emperor Liu, once more. It was still the same idea—

You were the one who brought him here. Now the man himself agreed, and I liked him too, but his agency disagreed. Go persuade them!

Liu Jiawei: "..."

Author's note:

Mini-theater—

Film Emperor Liu: Who did I provoke? ╮(╯_╰)╭

Wei the Explosive Top: You provoked me and offended me! You want our Hengheng to lose weight—if he gets skinny as a rack of ribs, will he still feel good to the touch??? We are sworn enemies! (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻

Little Bottom Lu: So it turns out! You only love my looks!!! →_→!

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Results

Bearing Director Mai Chengliang's immense hopes, film emperor Liu gritted his teeth and found out which Hong Kong hotel the Wei father and son were staying at, personally calling to arrange a visit.

As it happened, Wei Zhanjie also had something he wanted to discuss with Liu Jiawei, so they set their meeting for noon at the rooftop restaurant of the hotel.

Hong Kong was small and crowded, economically prosperous, with skyscrapers standing in dense rows. Its pace of life was faster than that of the mainland, and naturally, the pressure of life was greater as well.

So being able to stand before the floor-to-ceiling windows on the top floor and admire the sea view was quite an enjoyable luxury.

Wei Zhanjie looked out at the scenery and said with a smile, "...I truly admire the fighting spirit of the people of Hong Kong. In just over a hundred years, they turned such a tiny patch of land into an international commercial metropolis. It shows the wisdom and diligence of Hong Kong people. Of course, what I admire most is the professionalism and dedication of Hong Kong filmmakers. They are absolutely a model for Huaxia's filmmakers."

At this point, Wei Zhanjie sincerely praised Liu Jiawei's acting skills and dedication, naturally bringing up several Films Liu Jiawei had starred in before. His comments were organized and substantive, not mere polite flattery.

Wei Zhanjie's attitude surprised Liu Jiawei slightly, and he could not help smiling. "I never expected Mr. Wei, despite being so busy, to have watched my humble work."

Wei Zhanjie laughed heartily. "Everyone likes classics. I've loved watching Films since I was young. Without exaggeration, I watch at least a hundred Films every year."

Liu Jiawei smiled faintly and offered a bit of flattery in return. "No wonder Huaxia Imperial Entertainment's productions have always won recognition from both the market and audiences. Mr. Wei truly has a discerning eye."

"You have to love what you do!" Wei Zhanjie waved a hand, then sighed. "It's just a pity. In recent years, Hong Kong Films have fallen far behind, both in output and quality. The era when classics emerged one after another and ensemble casts competed for glory has become rare."

His words struck a chord with Liu Jiawei, and he did not respond.

Wei Linxuan, sitting nearby, seemingly casually remarked, "But there's nothing to be done about that. Hong Kong is simply too small—small place, small population. The films made here can only be watched by these people. Even if a film is a huge box-office success, it can only make a few tens of millions at most. In a few more years, they probably will not even be able to afford the actors' salaries and production costs. It's not like the mainland, where the audience base is so enormous. Take Li Shimin and the Eighteen Arhats from twenty years ago. A ticket only cost one jiao, yet its cumulative box office still reached one hundred million. Hong Kong absolutely does not have that kind of audience base. Without money to be made, investors naturally will not invest. Producers will be strapped for cash, and over time, Hong Kong films will naturally decline into obscurity."

Liu Jiawei smiled but said nothing.

Wei Zhanjie glanced at Wei Linxuan, then smiled at Liu Jiawei. "Children don't understand these things. They always speak nonsense."

Liu Jiawei smiled. "Not at all. Young Master Wei sees the truth clearly. He summed up Hong Kong film's current state in a single sentence."

Wei Zhanjie laughed. "Let's not talk about such depressing matters. I invited Mr. Liu here today simply because I admire both your character and your talent. I believe you need a bigger platform to display that talent, and Huaxia Imperial Entertainment also needs your talent..."

Wei Zhanjie's meaning was simple: he wanted to sign Liu Jiawei's mainland management contract. Huaxia Imperial Entertainment's artists had all been poached by Star Entertainment with lavish offers, leaving the company in the awkward position of having a gap between its old and new talent. Although the talent show Sing Into the Future could indeed cultivate new rising stars, Huaxia Imperial Entertainment still lacked major names to anchor the company.

So Wei Zhanjie and his son turned their attention to Hong Kong.

There were countless top-tier superstars here, with both acting ability and popularity. Unfortunately, Hong Kong film was no longer as glorious as it had been ten years ago. These people possessed talent and popularity, yet could only remain confined to this tiny patch of land called Hong Kong. Was that not a terrible waste?