Huayu Entertainment 1995 started with hijacking.

Chapter 103 The Old Hen Pays New Year's Greetings to the Weasel

A melodious tune played, drawing the listener in and evoking a sense of sadness.

"Okay, this is the one to go with!" Wu Yuchen decided after listening to the accordion-based piece.

In the film "My Brothers and Sisters," Cui Jian plays a father who is an accordion teacher. This setup isn't just for the sake of the plot. There are two instruments that inherently evoke a sense of nostalgia and have a tear-jerking effect: the harmonica and the accordion. It's not just because of their timbre; for those who lived through the 1970s and 80s, the mere sound of these two instruments can evoke memories, increasing their sense of immersion and stirring their emotions.

After finalizing this crucial piece of music, Wu Yuchen breathed a sigh of relief. He could leave the rest of the post-production to the Beijing Film Studio and take a break.

In the original film, because the actress playing the female lead, Gigi Leung, is a singer, she also sang a theme song called "About Love." The producers probably intended it as a promotional point, but the song's quality was mediocre; it's the kind of song that doesn't even have a single comment on modern music apps. While it didn't have absolutely no impact on the film's promotion, it was negligible.

However, now that the female lead has been changed to Wang Zuxian, Wu Yuchen has no intention of having her sing any ending theme or theme song. He doesn't need that much traffic or hype.

Of course, the most crucial point is that Wu Yuchen didn't dare let Wang Xianxian speak at all; she's a true soulful songstress!

Many people have probably heard "Missing You Is a Disease," one of Chang Chen-yue's signature songs, but few know that it was actually written by Chyi Chin in 1989 for Wang Zuxian to sing.

Wang Xianxian sang it as "Missing You Is a Cake," letting a good song be tarnished for eighteen years! It wasn't until Zhang Zhenyue covered it that the song became a hit.

Wang Xianxian, however, was the type who was bad at singing but had a strong desire to sing. In the 1991 Miss Hong Kong pageant finals, as a guest performer, she insisted on singing, performing two solo songs: the Cantonese song "200 Degrees" and the Mandarin song "When Dreams Awaken." Chen Shuhua wanted to cry, and Ye Qianwen wanted to punch someone. After listening, all they could do was clap and cry from the audience, saying through tears, "She sang so beautifully!"

There are countless soulful singers, but Lao Wang's voice is enough to make half of them kneel in admiration!

After leaving the Beijing Film Studio, Wu Yuchen drove to Li Xiaoran's place. Upon entering, he saw her intently staring at the computer screen, her hand moving the mouse rapidly, a look of excitement on her face.

Wu Yuchen walked over and saw the buildings she had just built and the moving little block tanks. Wasn't this just "Red Alert"?

Although Red Alert 1 is often referred to as Red Alert 95, the game was actually released in late 96. It was called Red Alert 95 because it supported the Windows 95 operating system. However, the game was never approved for release in China, so everyone played pirated versions. The reason for its rejection wasn't due to the game's content, but rather its background information.

In a stroke of genius, Albert Einstein invented a time machine, traveled back in time, and killed Hitler. Without Hitler and his Third Reich, Soviet Russia, under Stalin's rule, began its rapid expansion, first annexing China and then invading Western Europe. To counter Soviet Russia, the West formed an alliance to resist.

That's right, in the Red Alert game expansion, China was annexed by the Russians. It would be strange if this could pass censorship in China!

"Sis, I have some good news for you!"

Li Xiaoran didn't move an inch, not even lifting her eyelids: "Wait a minute, I'm busy right now~"

Wu Yuchen stood behind her and watched for a while. Li Xiaoran must have just started playing this game and didn't have any tactics. She played against a simple computer and they were evenly matched.

He wasn't interested in watching these two weaklings fight, so he sat on the sofa, turned on the TV, and started watching "Prime Minister Liu Luoguo" with great interest. The show was incredibly popular after its release last year, sweeping across the country.

Although "Prime Minister Liu Luoguo" can be classified as a period drama, its ideological, critical, and satirical content far surpasses that of more than 95% of similar dramas that followed.

After watching one episode, Wu Yuchen noticed that Li Xiaoran's posture hadn't changed at all. When he went over to take a look, he discovered that she had started a new game. She had been playing against the Soviet Union, and now she was playing against France.

"Ranran, get up, I have something to tell you." Wu Yuchen patted her shoulder.

"Wait, wait, let me finish this game!" Li Xiaoran was clearly engrossed at this point.

Upon seeing this, Wu Yuchen's heart stirred. He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, and seeing that she didn't react, his hands began to wander unconsciously, while he gently kissed her fair and delicate neck.

"Stop messing around, stop messing around!" Li Xiaoran swayed her body, but her hand kept clicking the mouse.

Seeing this, Wu Yuchen became even more reckless, which annoyed Li Xiaoran. Before long, she was at a disadvantage, and soon her base was destroyed by the opposing Prism Tanks.

She pouted, turned her head away angrily, and said, "It's all your fault! It's all your fault!"

Taking advantage of the situation, Wu Yuchen silenced her with a kiss, picked her up, and headed towards the bedroom. Li Xiaoran continued to sob and slap Wu Yuchen's arm, clearly unhappy that he had caused her to lose the game.

But Wu Yuchen didn't care at all; he wanted to personally let Li Xiaoran experience a more advanced weapon. Could the French giant cannon in Red Alert be as powerful as his Chinese giant cannon?

Soon after, the room turned into a battlefield, with artillery fire raging and Li Xiaoran's position falling into enemy hands multiple times!

……

Li Xiaoran lay on her side on the bed, exuding a lazy aura. Seeing Wu Yuchen smiling and looking her over, she pouted and snorted softly, "So annoying!"

"Didn't you like it just now?"

"That was just now, and this is now! I was about to win!"

Wu Yuchen smiled and then asked, "How's your learning with your teacher going?"

Wu Yuchen also paid Li Xiaoran tens of thousands of yuan for filming "Run Lola Run". After she came back, she didn't go out to do freelance work anymore. Instead, she followed several teachers that Wu Yuchen had helped her to practice basic skills.

After filming a movie as the female lead, Li Xiaoran realized that she had many shortcomings, so she deliberately studied to make up for them. With the experience of filming before, she returned to train in a targeted manner, and she felt that she had made great progress during this period.

However, at this moment she was still unhappy with Wu Yuchen for harassing her while playing games and causing her to lose, so she rolled her eyes at him and didn't say anything.

Wu Yuchen chuckled and rubbed her buttocks, saying nothing, before reaching for something and handing it to Li Xiaoran.

"What is this?"

Li Xiaoran glanced at Wu Yuchen with a puzzled look, then opened the package. She was initially confused by the string of English words, but after recognizing some, a look of surprise and disbelief crossed her face. "This is..." she exclaimed.

Wu Yuchen nodded: "Yes, an invitation to the Berlin Film Festival! I'll take you to Berlin after the Spring Festival!" Upon hearing this, Li Xiaoran felt a surge of joy and immediately pounced on Wu Yuchen, showering him with kisses.

"Am I annoying?" Wu Yuchen asked with a smile.

I love you so much! I love you so much!

Li Xiaoran's eyes narrowed into slits as she hugged Wu Yuchen tightly and cheered. She was genuinely overjoyed. As a newcomer actress, she could only play minor roles in TV dramas when she first entered the industry, and she remembered clearly all the disdain she received on set back then.

Now, just six months later, she was able to attend the Berlin Film Festival as the leading actress. Of course, Li Xiaoran knew who had brought her this change and opportunity. Her heart stirred again, and she flipped over and straddled Wu Yuchen.

Wu Yuchen raised an eyebrow. Just now, she had been begging for mercy after being killed by him, but now she thought she was invincible? He wouldn't mind letting Li Xiaoran experience his Black Hawk bombing tactics again!
……

This year's Spring Festival falls in early February, so there's no need to travel to Berlin like last year. You can go after the Spring Festival.

On the eve of the Lunar New Year, Wu Yuchen and his family arrived at their grandparents' house, where they made dumplings and cooked glutinous rice balls, spending the reunion night together.

This year, Wu Jianping and his son Wu Yuchen naturally became the focus of the dinner table, after all, one became a popular writer and the other made a movie that won an award and was even released in theaters.

"Brother, let's talk behind closed doors. Did you and Chenchen really co-write 'Bright Sword'?"

"Hey! I've already told you the story of Chenchen's creation, and I'll write it. If outsiders don't believe me, fine, but don't you know me? If I could write it, I would have done it myself long ago!"

"That's right, who would dare to doubt my grandson! Chenchen, Grandma believes you! And the movies you made are really good, 'We Two,' and 'Comet' and such, I went to see them with your grandpa!" Grandma Wu Yuchen praised with a smile.

"Grandma, it's called 'The Night the Comet Came'! Brother, I really love this movie; I took all my classmates to see it five times in the theater!"

Wu Yuchen's cousin, who was three years younger than him, looked at his older cousin with admiration and asked for credit.

"I'll get you a copy of their group signatures tomorrow," Wu Yuchen said with a smile.

"Thank you, brother!" My cousin grinned happily.

Wu Yuchen chatted and laughed with his relatives, eating dumplings while watching TV. Watching the Spring Festival Gala is a must-do during the Spring Festival these days.

97 was the year Hong Kong Island returned to China, so this year's Spring Festival Gala naturally revolved around the theme of Hong Kong Island's return.

For example, one song was sung twice in this year's Spring Festival Gala, which is unprecedented and will likely never be repeated. It was "Hand in Hand, Heart to Heart" at the beginning and end of the gala. Moreover, the highlight before the midnight bell was a group performance of "1997 AD," a song created for the return of Hong Kong to China.

Of course, this also gave rise to a memorable quote: Zhao Benshan shouted to Fan Wei in front of the entire nation, "Laborers are the most beautiful people!"

However, what impressed Wu Yuchen most about this year's Spring Festival Gala was a group that many people in later generations didn't know about: the "Youth Beauty Girls Group," who can be considered the granddaughters of mainland girl groups. Five youthful and beautiful girls transformed into "youthful little birds" on the stage with their light and graceful dance moves, and their appearance made the previous programs pale in comparison.

This girl group was actually quite popular in recent years, and they performed in Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, and other places. Many people may not have heard of the group, but those who lived through that era should have heard their song "Happy Baby," which was also the theme song for the BackJoy posture corrector.

However, Jiang Zhongyi, the absolute center and core member of the group, was the first to leave the group after the 97 Spring Festival Gala. The official reason given was that Liu Huan, a famous singer and actor, earnestly advised her backstage at the Gala not to give up on her studies. And that was the end of that; the first generation of popular mainland girl groups disbanded.

Wu Yuchen couldn't help but sigh, realizing that the budding potential of Chinese girl groups had been nipped in the bud by Liu Huan without anyone noticing.

Wu Yuchen chuckled, dismissing these irrelevant thoughts. He had undoubtedly reaped enormous rewards in the past year. Awards included the Berlin Golden Bear for Short Film, the Grand Prize and Best Actress at the Tokyo International Film Festival, and smaller accolades for "Comet" at the Sydney Film Festival and the Sitges Film Festival. Financially, he had accumulated considerable wealth from the film rights to several movies and also made substantial profits in the stock market.

However, with the Berlin Film Festival just around the corner, he hopes to achieve even greater success this time!

On the third day of the Lunar New Year, Li Xiaoran was taken by her parents to Wu Yuchen's house to pay a New Year's visit. Wu Yuchen genuinely thought it was just a routine New Year's visit, but he soon realized what was going on.

"Chenchen, tell Auntie, is what Xiaoran said true? Is she really filming with you now? And she's going to the Berlin Film Festival soon?"

"Auntie, really. Sister Xiaoran has a real talent for acting, which is why I invited her to be the female lead!" Wu Yuchen naturally had to speak up for Li Xiaoran at this moment.

"Ugh! This girl is driving me crazy! She resigned more than half a year ago and didn't tell us. If she wasn't going abroad soon, how long would she have kept it from us? Am I not her real mother?!"

Li Xiaoran's mother angrily criticized her in front of her old best friend Zhou Shulan.

“Mom! I’m perfectly fine, aren’t I? The dance troupe isn’t anything special. I can support myself now…” Li Xiaoran retorted.

Li's mother slammed her hand on the table and said angrily:

"What a load of rubbish! Do you think it's so easy to get a position in a song and dance troupe? So many people are fighting tooth and nail for it! If it weren't for Chenchen taking care of you, do you really think you could be some kind of leading lady?!"

Zhou Shulan immediately spoke up to persuade her:
"Alright, alright, it's the New Year, why get angry! I think Xiaoran isn't lying. She's had artistic talent since she was little, and every teacher has doted on her. It's fine if the child doesn't like dancing, but wasn't it you who forced her to pursue your own dream back then? If she switched to a profession she likes, maybe she could become a big star in the future!"

"Being a big star isn't that easy! This crazy girl is driving me crazy!"

As she spoke, Li's mother sighed again, then turned to Wu Yuchen and said:

"Chenchen, Auntie knows you're capable. I've heard the entertainment industry is a mess. Xiaoran is an actress now, so you'd better take good care of her and make sure she's not bullied!"

"Auntie, don't worry, you know how close I am to Sister Ranran. How could I let her suffer? I promise I'll take good care of Sister Ranran from now on!" Wu Yuchen solemnly promised.

Li Xiaoran glanced at her mother pulling Wu Yuchen with annoyance, muttering to herself, "You're like a mother hen paying respects to a weasel. He's the one who bullies us the most!"

(End of this chapter)