Global Film Emperor

Chapter 171 New Year in Hong Kong
"Brother Lu, here you go."

"Okay, leave it there for now, I'll eat it later."

Lu Ze kept flipping through the script, switching between different colored markers in his hand, and using a ruler to draw straight lines, wavy lines, dotted lines and other marks on the script.

About ten minutes later, he threw the pen on the script, rubbed his eyes, and opened the takeout that Wang Zixuan had bought. It was all high-calorie fried food, such as hamburgers and fried chicken.

He picked up a hamburger, flipped it open, took a big bite, and drank cola. His expression wasn't as happy as a typical couch potato; on the contrary, it was somewhat painful. After all, no one could stand eating this stuff every day.

Filming has been going on for almost two months, and the progress is encouraging. The scenes of the young Jia Helong have been filmed, and Lu Ze needs to gain weight quickly to fit the middle-aged Jia Helong's identity.

When he weighed himself last time, Lu Ze reached an unprecedented 207 pounds. The muscles he had built up during his time in "The King of Fighters" had completely disappeared, and he had become a burly man covered in fat.

Back at the hotel, Lu Ze couldn't bear to look in the mirror. His big belly and double chin were really bothering him, but it was for work, and he had to accept it. He could only make plans for how to lose weight after filming this movie.

After finishing three hamburgers, half a fried chicken, and a glass of cola, Lu Ze let out a burp, his eyes somewhat unfocused, clearly having eaten too much. He leaned back in his chair, not wanting to move at all.

"Brother Lu, you're calling."

Wang Zixuan was taking pictures of Lu Ze with her phone. The task of maintaining fan loyalty now falls on Lu Ze's personal studio. As his assistant, Wang Zixuan has to take many pictures of Lu Ze every day and send them back to the studio, which then posts them on Weibo. Hearing Lu Ze's phone ring in her pocket, she quickly took it out and handed it to him.

"Hello? Mom, yes, I'm in Hong Kong now and won't be able to go back this year. Don't worry about money. How was the medicine I mailed to Dad before? If it worked, I'll buy more. It's effective? That's good. I'll go buy it today. Don't stop the medicine. Just enjoy the New Year."

After hanging up the phone, Lu Nan leaned close to Li Yumei's ear and quickly asked, "What did my brother say?"

"He said he's busy right now and won't be going home this year. Okay, it's good to be busy. Work is important for young people."

Li Yumei hung up the phone, feeling quite uncomfortable. She was stubborn and refused to admit that she missed her son, but how could she not? After all, Lu Ze hadn't been home for a year.

"You're not coming back? Okay, that's alright, Mom. I'm here for you~"

Lu Nan also missed her brother. She was quite disappointed to learn that he wouldn't be coming home for the Chinese New Year this year. But seeing Li Yumei made her feel uneasy, so she quickly hugged Li Yumei's arm and started to act coquettishly, trying to comfort her mother.

"Forget it, you should just leave. I get annoyed just having you at home. Get out of the way, I'm going to cook."

Li Yumei shook off Lu Nan's arm, got up and started preparing dinner. It was hard to imagine that Lu Nan, a well-known beauty at school, was like a piece of dog shit at home, disliked by everyone. Even so, she was shameless and insisted on getting close to her parents and brother, as if she couldn't feel comfortable unless she was scolded.

After hanging up the phone, Lu Ze tapped it twice on his leg. He was also quite homesick, but the film crew wasn't giving him a break this year, so he couldn't make an exception and insist on going home for two days to eat pig's head meat. He had no choice but to stay on set.

"Zixuan, go buy some of that plaster you bought last time, from the Cishitang store. Buy a lot this time, and mail it to the same address as last time. By the way, are you sure you're okay not coming home this year?"

"It's okay, I've already told my family. They're very supportive of my work, so I'll head over now."

Watching Wang Zixuan's departing figure, Lu Ze could only sigh. In the past few years, Wang Zixuan had made rapid progress while running around with Lu Ze. She was no longer the silly girl who always followed Lu Ze around trying to grab his luggage.

She is efficient, responsible, and communicates very well with Shen Jinghan. She has now gotten used to Lu Ze's work pace and can arrange things meticulously on her own without Lu Ze having to remind her. She can be called a qualified assistant.

She's been with Lu Ze for almost three years now, and she's nearly twenty-five. According to Lu Ze's thinking, she should be looking for a boyfriend and thinking about marriage at this age, but she's still single.

Her mother had Lu Ze's WeChat. After all, Lu Ze was Wang Zixuan's boss, so her mother didn't dare to message Lu Ze often. She would only occasionally ask Lu Ze about Wang Zixuan's current situation, and she also asked Lu Ze to urge Wang Zixuan not to miss out on a suitable opportunity.

However, Lu Ze couldn't say these things, and he was still single and hadn't found a suitable partner. Not to mention his older brother, Li Yumei and Lu Weiguo were worried sick about Lu Ze's marriage, but they couldn't urge him, since his profession made it difficult to find a partner.

Previously, according to Lu Hua's rules, in a normal family, if the eldest child didn't get married, the second child couldn't get married either. But now that Lu Nan could get married, the old couple would probably be more than happy for him to get married quickly. Actually, they were thinking a bit too far ahead. Lu Ze wasn't willing to compromise on relationships, after all, it was a lifelong commitment. He didn't want to be like others in the industry, getting married today and divorced tomorrow. He just wanted to find someone suitable and live a stable life together.

"Lu Sheng! We're filming."

"Okay, I got it, I'll be right there."

The production assistant called Lu Ze over. Lu Ze stood up, looked at his hair which he had grown out again, neatly combed into a slicked-back style, and his large belly and black suit made him look like no good person.

Since gaining too much weight, her movements have indeed become sluggish, and she even started snoring in her sleep. Carrying dozens of kilograms of fat, she sweats profusely after running a few steps, and even her breathing has become heavy. If it weren't for regular care, Lu Ze would probably have developed mild fatty liver in the past two months.

They got into a particularly retro 1948 Rolls-Royce and started filming again. One scene after another was filmed, and then another scene would begin immediately, seemingly without stopping.

This was the first time Lu Ze hadn't gone home for the Lunar New Year. He was staying alone in a hotel to rest. Directors in Hong Kong always wanted to speed up the process, and even though Hong Kong cinema has now entered an era of striving for excellence, they still couldn't shake this bad habit, which wasn't exactly a bad habit.

They only had two days off, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. They resumed filming on the second day of the New Year. On New Year's Eve, at 11 p.m., after Lu Ze finished making all his phone calls, he took Wang Zixuan out for a stroll to see the unique New Year celebrations in Hong Kong.

Lu Ze had to admit that the New Year's atmosphere here was stronger than in inland cities. At 11 p.m., the streets were packed with people, and there were some performances that Lu Ze had never seen before.

For example, Lu Ze had never seen lion dance performances before. Lion dances were relatively rare in northern cities, while Lü Hua often did Yangko dances during the Spring Festival.

Although the customs are different, the process is actually similar. It's just a bit more lively than inland cities, and the climate here is mild. There are young girls wearing miniskirts all over the streets, which is quite pleasing to Lu Ze's eye.

The rest of the crew were all from Hong Kong, so they all went home for the Lunar New Year. Song Qingmin had invited Lu Ze and Wang Zixuan to his home for the New Year, but it was better not to get involved in the holiday, so Lu Ze politely declined.

After trying some local snacks, most of which were on the sweeter side, the two of them strolled to Victoria Harbour with a cup of milk tea. It was already 11:40.

There are more people here than on ordinary streets, but most of them are tourists from the mainland. The various accents mixed together have become a flavor that Lu Ze is used to and enjoys.

To avoid being recognized, Lu Ze still wore a mask, although it would be difficult for someone of his size to be recognized.
The two arrived here to see the fireworks display that would be held in Victoria Harbour tonight. It was said to last for more than ten minutes and cost hundreds of millions of dollars. The two did not want to miss such a grand fireworks display.

Standing on the seaside railing, the sea breeze was actually a bit chilly. The two waited patiently, surrounded by people, just like two ordinary tourists.

"Here it comes! Countdown!"

A countdown began on a huge LED screen on the opposite bank, and Lu Ze and Wang Zixuan were also caught up in the atmosphere of the crowd, shouting along with them.

"five four three two one!"

In an instant, a firework shot into the sky, exploding into a huge, round firework. Lu Ze looked up and, like everyone else, let out a gasp of amazement. Then, a row of fireworks rose up along the coastline, exploding loudly, the sound of which could not drown out the shouts of the people.

People congratulate each other, even strangers exchange New Year's greetings.

"Happy New Year, Brother Lu!"

Looking down, Wang Zixuan held a large cup of milk tea in both hands, her face still expressionless, but Lu Ze could see the starlight that seemed to explode in the sky reflected in her eyes.

"happy New Year."

"."

(End of this chapter)