Chapter 55: The Date
“I did the math on the budget. There aren’t many large scenes, and no need to build sets. I estimate it could be filmed for just a few million... Including actors’ and crew salaries, it shouldn’t exceed fifteen million!”
“Director, I’ve already contacted You Dazhi. Unless something unexpected happens, he’s likely to take the project!”
“…Now it’s just a matter of choosing the investor. Ideally, we should go to Huayi… but you know how they operate. If the project ends up in their hands, it may not remain anyone’s original work.”
Li Qian nodded and then asked, “Who’s the screenwriter?”
Ji Xiang replied, “Shen Yan…”
“Your signed artist?”
“Yes!”
Li Qian was surprised. “...He’s that talented? I heard his first album was entirely self-composed, and he’s written novels too… He can write scripts as well?”
“…Everything was written by him,” Ji Xiang said proudly. “This kid is definitely going to be a superstar!”
“You’re not joking, right? He really wrote it?”
“If you don’t believe me, talk to him tonight and you’ll see!”
Li Qian looked puzzled. “Why tonight? Isn’t he in Beijing now?”
Ji Xiang said, “He’s out on a date with his girlfriend…”
“He has a girlfriend? Wait, how can you let him be dating?”
“It’s fine. He knows his limits. Besides, he’s only 21—just at the age when a young man’s mind is full of thoughts of women… Better to guide him than to have him running wild!”
“Who’s his girlfriend? Is she in the industry too?”
“Yeah, her name’s Liu Shishi…”
Li Qian clearly knew Liu Shishi and nodded. “That little Liu Yifei from Tangren?”
“She’s our female lead… Little Shen wrote this script hoping to play a couple with his girlfriend…”
“A hopeless romantic.”
“Typical youthful infatuation.”
...
After returning to Beijing, Shen Yan immediately called Shishi and arranged a time and place to meet.
Early in the morning, Shishi took a taxi to Beihai Park.
Shen Yan, wearing sunglasses, found a spot and waited.
After over a month of promotion, he had gained some fame as a singer. Wearing sunglasses helped him stay low-key!
After a while, a figure rushed over.
“Miss me?”
Shen Yan wrapped his arms around her soft body, spun twice on the spot using her momentum, and laughed. “Why are you just here?”
“I got up at eight!”
“You were up before seven on set.”
“That was work. Now I’m home, this is called vacation.” Shishi noticed his sunglasses and reached out to remove them. “Why are you wearing sunglasses too?”
“I’m pretty popular now… Aren’t you wearing a mask?”
“…I wasn’t thinking about it…”
“Put one on… ‘Chinese Paladin 3’ is really popular!”
“Oh,” Shishi put on a mask and pointed toward an alley on the left. “...Let’s go grab some breakfast over there…”
“You know this area well?”
“Of course, I know all of Xicheng District!”
Shen Yan gave a thumbs-up. “As expected from a local native…”
“…Native?”
“Aren’t you from Beijing?”
Liu Shishi smiled mysteriously. “…Do you know what Beijing people like to drink for breakfast?”
“What?”
“Douzhi’er!”
Shen Yan stifled a laugh, trying to keep a normal tone. “…Should I get you a bowl later?”
Shishi was stunned. “You don’t drink it?”
“Smelly stuff, whoever wants it can have it!”
“You’ve tried it?”
“Yeah, I tried it once when I came to Beijing last year… sour and stinky…”
“Then… you’ve had fried liver, lu zhu, and bao du too?”
“I looked it up… only bao du was acceptable, the rest not so much!”
Shen Yan wasn’t lying. Fried liver was basically a bowl of dark, starchy paste with bits of pork liver and intestines, tasting strongly of offal. If the sauce wasn’t rich enough, the unique odor of the intestines and liver was quite pungent—a heavy flavor. Lu zhu, similarly made with intestines, had a slightly better reputation because the braised aroma masked the offal smell. Bao du was okay.
Shishi urged again, “…If you come to Beijing and don’t drink douzhi’er, you’ll regret it!”
“…Alright, one bowl each then.”
“I… I’ll watch you drink, but I’m not having any…”
“Aren’t you from Beijing? You don’t drink douzhi’er?”
The two argued all the way to the breakfast shop. Shishi said, “…Here we are, boss, one bowl of douzhi’er, one bowl of milk, and a few fried dough sticks…”
Minutes later, breakfast arrived. Shen Yan stared blankly at the bowl of viscous paste in front of him, sniffed it, and frowned. “I really have to drink this douzhi’er?”
“Just try it, maybe you’ll like it?”
“…I don’t think I could!”
He took a tentative sip and nearly spat it out…
“Haha…”
Shishi was very pleased, laughing nonstop. Shen Yan simply leaned forward and covered her mouth with his.
After a moment, he let go. Shishi savored the taste and exclaimed, “Wow… so sour!”
“I haven’t even fed you a mouthful; I’m already being very kind!”
“…Pfft, how dare you!”
“You wanna bet I don’t?”
Shishi quickly surrendered. “I’ll order you a bowl of beef soup then…”
“That’s more like it… Later we’ll stroll around the park, then hit the mall… Want to catch a movie? I’ll buy tickets for the afternoon show.”
“Sounds good!”
Shen Yan smiled and asked, “Do you want to come back to the hotel with me? I’ll tell you, my room has a cat that can do backflips!”
“…In your dreams!”
“…How long are you staying in Beijing?”
“Three days, then I have a commercial shoot…” Shishi asked, “And you?”
“I’ll probably stay about a week, still have some promotion…”
“Do you have an event tonight?”
“Yeah… Brother Ji Xiang is taking me to the premiere of ‘The Message’…”
Shishi was surprised. “Your film’s almost done?”
“Almost, it should go into production… Brother Ji Xiang helped me arrange a meeting with Teacher Li Bingbing. I have to convince her to star in it! If she agrees, it’ll be easier to secure investment…”
“How so?”
“Nowadays, getting investors means you have to have the cast lineup set first, then you ask for money… Investors aren’t fools; they base funding on the cast…”
This explained why mainland actors find it hard to carry major film roles.
Investors simply don’t trust mainland actors!
Hu Ge’s popular, right? He was the second male lead in ‘Sword Butterfly’… Liu Ye, Huang Xiaoming… only supporting roles in big productions…
...
After breakfast, Shen Yan took Liu Shishi by the hand and headed straight to the park.
Clouds rolled and drifted.
The late summer, early autumn scenery of Beihai Park was breathtaking…
Of course, Shen Yan had no mood to enjoy the view; his focus was entirely on Shishi…
Quite normal for a man just over twenty...
His mind was full of her!
Before long, they kissed on the grassy lawn.
Brushing grass clippings off his clothes, Shen Yan whispered, “How about we move somewhere else?”
“…Where?”
“My room really has a cat that can do backflips!”
“…Well… then I’ll come see it!”