Huayu Entertainment 1995 started with hijacking.

Chapter 199 The Return of the Double Gold Director

"Bingbing, make yourself at home, don't be shy!" a middle-aged woman said kindly.

"Thank you, Auntie~" Fan Bingbing politely gave a half bow.

"Mom, don't bother, I'll take Bingbing into my room to play~" Gao Yuanyuan said, pulling Fan Bingbing into the room.

Since joining Miracle Films from Qiong Yao's company, Fan Bingbing has been living a very comfortable life. She's full of energy since joining the company, determined to repay the 20 yuan debt and work hard for her future!
Miracle Films didn't disappoint her; they assigned her a role right after she joined, and it was even the second female lead, making her feel valued. Most importantly, this role wasn't a maid; it was a wealthy young lady, the daughter of the Grand Tutor, and the Emperor's sister-in-law!
For the past two months, she played the second female lead, Pang Qiuyan, in the TV series "Young Justice Bao". She formed a deep friendship with Gao Yuanyuan, who is about the same age and plays the female lead. As soon as the TV series finished filming and she returned to Beijing, she was invited by her close friend Gao Yuanyuan to visit her home.

Upon entering Gao Yuanyuan's room, Fan Bingbing found it quite tidy. A green potted plant sat next to a white storage cabinet, and light blue curtains hung in the room. Sunlight streamed through the window onto a neatly stacked stack of newspapers on the desk.

Fan Bingbing walked over and saw the headline of the newspaper: "Wu Yuchen's 'The Sixth Sense' Breaks 3 Million at the Box Office, Shocking America!"

Fan Bingbing then flipped through the stack of newspapers and found that they were all reports about Wu Yuchen's "Sixth Sense":

"Wu Yuchen's 'The Sixth Sense' is a box office and critical success!"

"Wu Yuchen's 'The Sixth Sense' becomes the strongest horror film in history!"

"The Sixth Sense sweeps across America, Wu Yuchen creates a horror myth!"

Fan Bingbing flicked the newspaper in her hand, then grinned at Gao Yuanyuan and teased, "Oh! Why is our Sister Yuanyuan so interested in Director Wu Yuchen?"

Gao Yuanyuan blushed, snatched the newspaper from Fan Bingbing's hand, and explained shyly:

"Isn't everyone talking about this? Besides, Chen... Wu Yuchen's 'Sixth Sense' has achieved such great results, bringing glory to us. Shouldn't we pay more attention to it?"

Fan Bingbing stepped forward and put her arm around Gao Yuanyuan's: "Sister Yuanyuan, you don't need to make excuses. I heard you calling him 'Brother Chen' over and over again when you were on the phone in the film crew."

"Huh?! You heard that!" Gao Yuanyuan's eyes flashed with three parts panic, three parts shyness, and four parts secret joy.

"I overheard this when I came to see you that day. I really didn't mean to!" Fan Bingbing quickly added.

"You should have told me sooner!" Gao Yuanyuan stomped her little foot lightly.

"Sister Yuanyuan, look at yourself in the mirror. Your face is as red as a monkey's bottom. I told you that back then, and I was afraid you wouldn't be able to film anymore!" Fan Bingbing covered her mouth and laughed.

Upon hearing this, Gao Yuanyuan immediately touched her cheek, which was indeed a little hot. Then she grabbed Fan Bingbing and slapped him, saying, "Stinky Bingbing, what a monkey butt! You're so bad!"

The two women laughed and joked for a while, then sat on the bed. Fan Bingbing gently pinched Gao Yuanyuan's rosy and delicate cheeks and said, "Sister Yuanyuan, you're so beautiful. Even I, a woman, want to kiss you. No wonder Director Wu is so smitten with you!"

“We’re a perfect match,” Gao Yuanyuan said, tilting her chin up.

"Sister Yuanyuan, tell me about you and Director Wu. How did you meet?" Fan Bingbing asked with a look of great curiosity.

Gao Yuanyuan, finally having someone to share with, couldn't hold back any longer and began to recount the beautiful story of how she met, got to know, and fell in love with Wu Yuchen. She was completely unaware of the flame that was burning within Fan Bingbing's envious gaze.

Fan Bingbing thought to herself, "I've finally discovered some of Director Wu's little secrets!"

Logically, she should now embody the spirit of girls helping girls, bringing Jiang Qinqin and Gao Yuanyuan together to expose Wu Yuchen's true colors as a scumbag.

But she is Fan Bingbing, the ambitious Fan Bingbing! She would never do that!

Without a doubt, exposing Jiang Qinqin and Fan Bingbing was the stupidest choice she could have made. It was far more serious than her falling out with Qiong Yao, and it could very well have ruined her acting career, leaving her with no hope of ever making it again. Only a fool would do something like that.

Besides, if Jiang Qinqin can do it, and Gao Yuanyuan can do it, then why can't Fan Bingbing?!

Isn't Fan Bingbing beautiful enough? Besides, her name is a reduplicated syllable!
In her opinion, both Jiang Qinqin and Gao Yuanyuan owe their status as well-known celebrities in China to Wu Yuchen. She also wanted to rely on this powerful figure!

Gao Yuanyuan, meeting Fan Bingbing's envious gaze, spoke with great enthusiasm amidst Fan Bingbing's constant praise. Before she knew it, her throat was dry. Just as she was about to get up to drink some water, she slapped her forehead and exclaimed, "Oh! I forgot!"

With a gasp, Gao Yuanyuan hurriedly went to turn on the computer in the room. These days, it takes one or two minutes to boot up an old Lenovo computer.

Fan Bingbing leaned over and asked, "Sister Yuanyuan, what's wrong?"

"Today is the day of the Venice Awards ceremony. Chen Ge told me that there is a seven-hour time difference, so it should be around now. I was originally planning to stay informed online!"

As Gao Yuanyuan explained, she operated the dial-up internet connection. Several minutes later, she finally opened a few web pages she usually saved. After another half-minute pause, the first website to load, Sina's homepage, prominently displayed a title:
Wu Yuchen's "Love" wins the Golden Lion at Venice!

Gao Yuanyuan was stunned for a moment, then immediately let out a happy scream, and excitedly pulled Fan Bingbing next to her, shaking her repeatedly and saying excitedly, "Brother Chen won the Golden Lion Award again! A Golden Lion!"

Not only Gao Yuanyuan, but Fan Bingbing's face also turned red as she watched, and she hugged Gao Yuanyuan and cheered loudly.

"Sister Yuanyuan, quickly check the details!"

When Gao Yuanyuan heard Fan Bingbing's reminder, she finally calmed down from her excitement and hurriedly clicked on the title again. However, perhaps because there were too many visitors, the new webpage kept failing to load.

Gao Yuanyuan quickly switched back to the Sohu and NetEase websites she had just opened, but neither of them could be read. The mere few kilobytes of internet speed were driving Gao Yuanyuan crazy.

Fan Bingbing immediately shook Gao Yuanyuan's arm and said, "Sister Yuanyuan, why are you still opening a webpage! Just call your brother-in-law!"

Upon hearing this, Gao Yuanyuan slapped her forehead, realizing how stupid she had been. She then took out her phone and called Wu Yuchen.

The phone was answered after only a few rings.

Gao Yuanyuan immediately exclaimed excitedly, "Hey, Brother Chen, congratulations on winning the Golden Lion! Really? Hehe, see how much I care about you! You have to give me a reward when you come back~ Hmm, hmm, I'll be waiting for you to come back..."

After hanging up the phone, Gao Yuanyuan happily said to Fan Bingbing, "Brother Chen said I was the first person to call and congratulate him!"

At this moment, Fan Bingbing put away her phone. She had just edited a congratulatory text message and sent it to Wu Yuchen. Then, she looked at Gao Yuanyuan with envy and said, "Sister Yuanyuan, you and your brother-in-law have such a good relationship!"

Fan Bingbing's envy was genuine. She thought to herself, "If I hadn't reminded you, how would you have gotten to be first? If I had that kind of relationship with Director Wu, I would always be first!"
Wu Yuchen smiled as he looked at his phone. Yuanyuan was such a thoughtful girl. Then he saw a text message on his phone from Fan Bingbing. He hadn't expected her to be so considerate. Then he remembered that the two of them seemed to be filming "Young Justice Bao" together. Could they be together?

Wu Yuchen didn't dwell on such a trivial matter. He picked up his phone again and made a call, not to anyone else, but to the male and female leads of the film "Love," Ge Cunzhuang and Wang Danfeng. The two veteran actors had played a crucial role in the film winning the Golden Lion Award, so he had to share the good news with them as soon as possible and make them happy too.

At the same time, news that Wu Yuchen's film "Love" won the Golden Lion quickly spread throughout China.

However, in 1999, the number of netizens in China was still relatively small. The first group of people to know about it were none other than these journalists. Among them, the evening newspapers were the happiest, because it was around 2 p.m. in China at the time. They could quickly finish their articles and add them to the newspapers, and the newspaper sales would definitely increase tonight!
In the evening, the *Beijing Evening News* was displayed at newsstands throughout the streets and alleys.

"Wu Yuchen wins the Golden Lion, achieving a double gold medal feat!"

"Chinese-language films swept three awards, shining brightly at Venice!"

It wasn't just the Beijing Evening News; similar content was also published in newspapers such as Yangcheng Evening News, Xinmin Evening News, and Yangtse Evening News, and it was delivered to thousands of households by newspaper deliverymen.

"Chinese-language films emerged as the biggest winners at this year's Venice Film Festival, with Wu Yuchen's 'Love,' Zhang Yimou's 'Not One Less,' and Zhang Yuan's 'Going Home for the New Year' taking home the three most prestigious awards."

The most attention-grabbing of them all is undoubtedly Wu Yuchen's "Love," which won him the Golden Lion Award!
This year has undoubtedly been a breakout year for Wu Yuchen. At the beginning of the year, "Mr. Donkey" won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, and now he has won the Golden Lion for "Amour." He becomes the second Chinese actor, after Zhang Yimou, to win two Golden Lions!
It is worth mentioning that Zhang Yimou won the Golden Bear and Golden Lion four years apart, while Wu Yuchen won them in the same year, which is unprecedented and adds to his legendary status!
Winning two gold medals in the same year also marks that Wu Yuchen has entered the peak period of his creation. He not only has the critically acclaimed and commercially successful "The Sixth Sense" in the United States, but also "Mr. Donkey" and "Love", which have extremely high artistic value.

Undoubtedly, Wu Yuchen has become a prominent figure in the Chinese film industry!

Chen Kaizi gripped the newspaper tightly in his hand and read it word by word, feeling a deep sense of frustration that he couldn't vent.

This year hasn't been smooth for Chen Kaige. His film, *The Emperor's Shadow*, only won a technical award at Cannes, and after its release in China at the end of July, it barely grossed 10 million yuan in over a month—not even a fraction of *My Sassy Girl*'s earnings. And that's not all; this director Chen isn't about box office success, he's about artistic achievement. How can a bunch of ordinary people who haven't even read the *Records of the Grand Historian* expect to understand his films?
However, unexpectedly, at the Venice Film Festival, not only did Zhang Yimou win the Jury Prize, but Wu Yuchen also won the Golden Lion, becoming a double-gold director!

This made Chen Kaizi both resentful and increasingly aware of the danger, so much so that he didn't even notice the newspaper creaking in his hand.

Chen Hong knew her husband well, so she immediately stepped forward, stroked the back of his hand, and said softly, "Kaige, 'The Emperor's Shadow' was very well made. It's just that a bunch of foreigners don't understand our Chinese culture. Look at how highly they rate you in Japan."

Then she gently pulled the newspaper from Chen Kaizi's hand:
"Of the three major European awards, Venice and Berlin combined can't compare to Cannes in terms of influence. Your Palme d'Or is far more valuable than theirs. You should relax now and wait a couple of years to win another Palme d'Or. Then who can compete with you?"

After listening, Chen Kaizi breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that Chen Hong understood him best, and a smile appeared on his tense face.

Exactly, what's two gold medals? Can they compare to his Palme d'Or? Can they compare to his "Farewell My Concubine"?!

Once he's in top form, he'll be ready to compete in Cannes again!

……

At the awards ceremony in Venice, the evening party was filled with well-wishes from all walks of life, and Wu Yuchen greeted them all warmly. After this round of greetings, Wu Yuchen breathed a sigh of relief and saw Zhang Manyu chatting and laughing with Zhang Yimou, so he went over to them.

To be honest, I felt a little embarrassed that Wu Yuchen snatched a Golden Lion from Zhang Yimou, but it was just a fleeting feeling. These kinds of things are bound to happen sooner or later. Chinese directors have been quite active at the Three Great Film Awards in recent years, and Zhang Yimou is also in his most productive period. It's impossible to deliberately avoid him just because he's attending. Otherwise, if the Golden Rooster Awards in China had to accommodate Zhang Yimou for the past two years, Wu Yuchen wouldn't be able to make any more films.

Wu Yuchen will definitely proceed at his own pace, helping when he can and fighting when he should, with himself as the main focus.

After walking over, he smiled at Maggie Cheung and said, "Maggie, thank you for your support!"

Wu Yuchen feels that he and Maggie Cheung are really destined to meet. When he won the Best Director award at the Berlin Film Festival, which was the first major award of his life, Maggie Cheung was a judge. And this time, she is the one who won the Golden Lion.

Manyu Zhang joked, "Director Wu, how did you know I voted for you? Maybe I voted for Director Zhang!"

Wu Yuchen laughed and said, "Whether you voted for me or for Senior Brother Zhang, I have to thank you!"

Zhang Yimou chuckled upon hearing this: "Wu Yuchen is right. Our successful trip today wouldn't have been possible without your support!"

"Don't flatter me, you two great directors. It's because you're both really good that the movie is so well-made!"

Zhang Manyu then subtly revealed: "Actually, Chairman Kusturica really liked Director Zhang's 'Not One Less,' but most of the judges preferred Director Wu's 'Love.'"

These words made Wu Yuchen realize that the jury president favored "Not One Less" this time, which must have helped him win a lot of votes, but his film "Love" was more popular with the public. This amused Wu Yuchen, because in the previous two Berlin Film Festivals, the jury president had sided with him, but this time the jury president was on his side.

However, now that he has already won the Golden Lion Award, what is there to care about? That's why Maggie Cheung said it.

Normally, Wu Yuchen would stay here for a few days after the awards ceremony to sell his films. But this time, he didn't linger at all and directly declined offers from various film companies that came to him, because he was aiming for the Oscars this time, and he would wait until after the Oscar results were in before considering selling his films.

In a meeting room of China Film Group, Wu Yuchen and Han Sanping were present, as was Mr. Ge Cunzhuang. Wang Danfeng, however, did not come; she was with her husband on Hong Kong Island.

Reporters from China Film News and Film Weekly were taking photos of the group and then conducting interviews.

"Director Wu, when will the movie 'Love' be released? Everyone is eagerly anticipating it!"

Wu Yuchen's films have become popular among the public. The craze caused by "My Sassy Girl" was still in full swing, and then came the news that "The Sixth Sense" had grossed over $3 million in North America. Before that could be digested, Wu Yuchen brought home the Golden Lion from Venice. It can be said that one wave after another has made a stronger impact on the domestic film industry.

It's still unknown when "The Sixth Sense" will be released in China, and many people are planning to pirate it. However, "Love" has already won awards, which has aroused strong anticipation among everyone.

Wu Yuchen said with a smile, "I'm sorry, the release date may have to wait a while longer. I plan to release the movie 'Love' in China after the Oscars."

These words immediately perked up the reporter: "Director Wu, are you planning to use this film, 'Love,' to compete for an Oscar?"

Wu Yuchen smiled and said, "I do have this plan, but for the time being, it's not up to me. It still needs to go through our internal evaluation and review before we can decide whether 'Love' can represent our country in the competition."

After Wu Yuchen finished speaking, he looked to his side. Han Sanping, amused by his words, then said to the reporter:
"Director Wu can rest assured about this. Just two days ago, the film 'Love' beat out many other films that applied and qualified to be submitted to the Oscars in China this year!"

The reporter was immediately excited. Today's trip was really worthwhile. Not only did they uncover a lot of behind-the-scenes stories about the filming of the movie "Love", but they also obtained this important news. This alone is enough to make a news story!

After the reporter left, Han Sanping asked Wu Yuchen with a smile, "Aren't you going to wait for a better day?"

Wu Yuchen waved his hand: "It's just a preview screening, why bother choosing a good day? Let's do it this Saturday. I'll send out invitations to everyone, and those who want to come can come and take a look."

“That’s right. With your reputation as a great director, Director Wu, you don’t need to pick any particular day. You can choose any day, and that day will be a good day!” Han Sanping gave Wu Yuchen a thumbs up.

"Hey, Mr. Han, don't flatter me too much, or I'll really get arrogant!"

After Wu Yuchen finished speaking, he and Han Sanping burst into laughter.

Wu Yuchen isn't like some rich kid who insists on releasing a film on a major holiday like National Day, showing off his extravagance. "The Emperor's Shadow" certainly had a grand production, but it failed at both the box office and awards. What was the point of all that fanfare then?

Of course, the main reason was that he still had some things to do and his schedule was quite tight. He didn't want to spend too much time in Beijing, so the sooner the preview screening ended, the better, as it was only held to meet the requirements for the Oscar submission of a foreign language film. However, even if he had things to do, it wouldn't stop him from returning to Beijing to spend time with his parents and loved ones.

With a click, Wu Yuchen turned the key to unlock the door. As soon as he pushed the door open, he saw Li Xiaoran wearing shorts, striding towards him with her long, bright legs and sandals. Her large, white breasts swayed wildly. She then wrapped her arms around his neck, and with a push of her feet, wrapped her legs around his waist and gave him a quick peck on the face.

Wu Yuchen cradled her bottom, holding her like a giant doll, and asked with a smile, "Why are you being so enthusiastic today?"

You should know that when he usually comes over, Li Xiaoran spends at least half the time sitting in front of the computer playing games and doesn't pay any attention to him.

"Let's celebrate our great director Wu winning the Golden Lion!" Li Xiaoran said with a smile.

"Is this how you celebrate?" Wu Yuchen asked, pressing his forehead against hers.

Li Xiaoran blinked her big eyes: "So how do you want to celebrate..."

Before she could finish speaking, Wu Yuchen silenced her with a kiss. After a long pause, Wu Yuchen lifted his head, his warm breath brushing against Li Xiaoran's delicate face: "It's to celebrate your husband's birthday~"

"You stinky Chenchen, do you dare tell my parents?" Li Xiaoran kissed him before Wu Yuchen could answer...

That evening, the two emerged from the bathroom one after the other and sat lazily on the sofa. Li Xiaoran leaned against Wu Yuchen, letting the September evening breeze slowly dry their hair.

As Wu Yuchen combed Li Xiaoran's hair with one hand, he asked, "How was your experience filming 'Endless'?"

"It was alright, I didn't find it too difficult. Director Feng and Teacher Ge You were both very considerate of me. It's just that I felt Teacher Ge You wasn't very enthusiastic. Oh, right, he complained twice in the middle, asking why I went to his father instead of him! Director Feng didn't dare to scold him, afraid that he would quit filming. It was so funny!" Li Xiaoran said, laughing heartily.

Wu Yuchen smiled upon hearing this. When he went to see Ge Cunzhuang back then, he seemed to have given Ge You unwarranted fantasies. Now, with "Love" winning Venice and rumors circulating that it's aiming for the Oscars, he's probably even more frustrated. But no matter how much resentment he harbors, he wouldn't dare vent it on his father!

At this moment, Li Xiaoran suddenly said, "By the way, I recently met a friend who's a migrant worker in Beijing. I think she's having a pretty tough time, so I was thinking of having her stay with me for a while. Is that okay?"

Actually, the house is in her own name, and Li Xiaoran can decide for herself who can live there and who can't. But since Wu Yuchen often comes to see her when he's in Beijing, she definitely needs to discuss it with him.

"Huh? Who is it?" Wu Yuchen asked curiously.

"A little girl from Sichuan named Xie Na."

(End of this chapter)