Chapter 10: Zhang Chen's Thoughts
Why do people like to discuss business while drinking? Because as the alcohol enters the stomach, it quickly gets absorbed into the bloodstream through the capillaries, and the person soon enters a state of slight intoxication.
In this state, people are most eager to talk and often come up with witty remarks.
China has 56 ethnic groups. 55 of them sing and dance after drinking, with the Han Chinese being the only exception, who only know how to brag.
Cao Bingkun thought Zhang Chen was just bragging.
"Come on, tell me, who do you want for the female lead? Zhao Yanzi or Fan Xiao Pang? Or perhaps Zhou Gongzi?"
Zhang Chen laughed heartily at this. He had indeed had a bit too much to drink, but not to the point of talking nonsense.
"Old Cao, let me ask you, isn't there someone named Che Xiao in your associate's class?"
"Che Xiao? Yes, there is. She's a senior from the 2000 class, but she's already graduated."
Zhang Chen slapped his forehead. He only remembered when Old Cao mentioned it. The associate's and vocational classes at Beijing Film Academy were two-year programs, and Che Xiao was from the 2000 class, so she had already graduated.
"What, you want to cast her as the female lead?"
Zhang Chen nodded.
"Why her?"
"What about her?"
"Nothing really, I'm just curious, do you two know each other?" Cao Bingkun's face was full of gossip.
Zhang Chen shook his head.
"Then how did you think of looking for her? You're not trying to pursue her, are you?"
"How could I? I've never even met her."
"Actually, I think pursuing her wouldn't be a bad idea. She's very pretty."
Zhang Chen rolled his eyes. No kidding, Che Xiao is pretty, do you even need to say it? Even the coal boss himself has certified her beauty.
"At our Beijing Film Academy, is there anyone who isn't pretty?"
"Haha, that's true. Beijing Film Academy might not have much else, but handsome men and beautiful women are everywhere. Do you know her? Her parents are both in the industry. Her mother is a first-class actress from the General Political Department's Drama Troupe, and her father played the Golden Horned King in journey to the west. How about it, want to give it a try? I can introduce you."
"What, are you two very close?"
"Of course! I, Old Cao, was quite a figure in the associate's class too." At this, Cao Bingkun immediately put on a smug expression.
"Then let's arrange a meeting. How about sometime this afternoon?"
"No, are you serious?" Cao Bingkun had the illusion of being caught bragging red-handed.
"Of course."
"Uh... brother... are you always this direct when pursuing girls?"
"What pursuing girls? We're talking about the movie's lead role. Do you have anything else in your head besides hormones?"
...
At dinner time, in a teahouse near the Haidian Chaoyang Theater, Zhang Chen and the other person were bored, drinking tea and waiting.
"Why did you arrange to meet in a place like this?"
"She said she was watching a play nearby, so I set the location here. She'll come straight over after she's done."
Just as they were talking, the bell at the door rang twice, and then footsteps approached their private room.
The two people inside perked up.
Then the door curtain was lifted, revealing Che Xiao standing outside, but she wasn't alone. There was another girl outside.
"Senior sister has arrived, please come in quickly! Hello, beautiful lady, please come in too ~"
Cao Bingkun stepped forward to greet them, acting like a sycophant.
As he ushered the two in, Zhang Chen also stood up, taking out two new teacups and filling them with clear tea.
"Please sit."
"Thank you."
The two entered, politely nodded to Zhang Chen, and then took their seats.
Che Xiao was quite tall, estimated to be around 1.7 meters, and coincidentally, the girl next to her was also tall, making them appear to be of similar height.
Zhang Chen found the girl somewhat familiar but couldn't recall who she was for a moment. Cao Bingkun, however, spoke first:
"Beautiful lady, why do you look so familiar to me? Did you play that character in nan cai nv mao?"
Seeing that she had been recognized, the girl smiled sweetly. It was then that Che Xiao introduced her: "This is my friend, Zeng Li. We were watching a play nearby today, and we came together after it finished. You don't mind, do you?"
"Not at all, not at all! How could I mind getting to know a beautiful lady? Wait, Zeng Li? You're Zeng Li? The Central Academy of Drama's number one beauty, Zeng Li?"
Zhang Chen covered his face. Old Cao's acting was too exaggerated. This guy definitely recognized her the moment she walked in. He had heard the name Zeng Li from Old Cao's mouth many times before.
Zeng Li waved her hand and smiled: "What number one beauty of Central Academy of Drama? That's just my classmates joking around."
Che Xiao seemed to have caught on too and took the opportunity to tease: "Cao Bingkun, I didn't realize you knew so much about beautiful women."
"Not at all, not at all, it's senior sister's great reputation."
Cao Bingkun waved his hand awkwardly, knowing that his little trick had been seen through.
"Oh dear, I was so happy to see senior sister that I forgot to introduce you two. This is my buddy, Zhang Chen from the directing department, class of 2002, our junior. My buddy has admired you for a long time, and he pestered me relentlessly to introduce you."
Cao Bingkun just spouted nonsense. Zhang Chen really wanted to kick him, but it seemed their relationship with Che Xiao was indeed quite good.
Afraid that Che Xiao would misunderstand, Zhang Chen quickly explained: "Senior sister, don't listen to his nonsense. Actually, I recently wrote a movie script and wanted to invite you to be the female lead, but I didn't know you, so I asked Old Cao to help with the introduction."
"Hahahaha~" Cao Bingkun laughed heartlessly beside him: "That's right, I was just joking earlier."
"movie script? Female lead?" Hearing it was a movie, Che Xiao's eyes immediately lit up. Not only her, but even Zeng Li's expression changed.
Very few art school graduates go straight to the big screen; most start with the small screen.
Especially for a female lead role.
Zeng Li was from the Central Academy of Drama's 1996 class and had graduated several years ago. She had appeared in some TV dramas and had some well-rated representative works, such as nan cai nv mao, but she had not yet appeared in a movie.
Che Xiao also knew her own situation. Although she had already starred in a TV drama, it hadn't aired yet, and her role was entirely due to her mother's influence. Now, suddenly, someone came up to her and said they thought she was suitable for the female lead in their movie. How could she not be moved?
However, they weren't rookies; they didn't show it on their faces. Basic vigilance was still necessary.
"Can I read the script first?"
"Of course."
Zhang Chen took out the script and handed it over. Cao Bingkun didn't forget to praise his friend: "This script is extraordinary. Yesterday, he and I met Professor Fu from the directing department, and not only Professor Fu, but all the teachers in the room praised it endlessly. They're already helping to set up the crew."
"Really?"
"Real, of course real, truer than pearls."
Cao Bingkun's witty remark directly amused everyone. Zhang Chen noticed that this guy always became eloquent whenever he saw a beautiful woman.
"Let's read the script first."
The private room fell silent, with only the sound of turning pages. Zhang Chen quietly observed from the side.
Frankly, purely from an image perspective, Che Xiao wasn't actually suitable for the Sarah role. Her image leaned towards intellectual, very suitable for roles like female white-collar workers, female executives, or independent women, which still had some distance from the Sarah in the movie.
But for Zhang Chen to secure investment, the female lead of this movie had to be Che Xiao.
As someone from Coal Province, Zhang Chen was naturally familiar with events that occurred there.
The most regrettable was undoubtedly the massive fake alcohol case in 1998, where industrial alcohol adulteration led to 27 deaths and countless people permanently blinded, directly crippling Fenjiu for over a decade.
But when it came to the most gossiped-about event, it was certainly the lavish wedding held in 2010 between Coal Province's richest man and actress Che Xiao.
It was said that this wedding cost 50 million RMB, including a wedding procession of 200 luxury cars, 500 tables of banquets, 9,999 red lanterns, and a dining cost of 10,000 yuan per table.
Everyone who attended received a 500 yuan red envelope.
The scale was unprecedentedly grand. It could be said that before Huang Xiaoming's 200-million-yuan 'wedding of the century,' Li Shoufu and Che Xiao's wedding was the most luxurious in all of China.
Zhang Chen naturally paid attention to such big news back then; not only did he follow it, but he even looked into it in detail.
So he knew that a few years later, Li Shoufu, in order to create an opportunity to meet Che Xiao, spent 2 million yuan to have Uncle Long arrange a dinner party.
See how extravagant!
That was Zhang Chen's plan.
Since Li Shoufu could spend 2 million to arrange a dinner party just to meet his goddess, then he would certainly be able to spend 2 million to invest in a movie to make his goddess happy.
Of course, the two of them probably didn't know each other yet, but that didn't matter.
From Li Shoufu's later actions, it was clear that Che Xiao was his ideal type. Zhang Chen believed that even if they met a few years earlier, they would still have chemistry.