Huayu: From charlatan to great entertainer

Chapter 378 Tiantian comes to visit, Bingbing appears

The chirping of cicadas gradually faded away at 11 pm Beijing time, but the sun was still scorching hot at 10 am in Chicago.

In Hyde Park, Mia pushed open the cast iron gate, and the copper bell entangled in the oak roots made a muffled sound.

This neoclassical gray brick building is hidden in the southeast corner of the University of Chicago. Ivy covers the west wall, and three arched floor-to-ceiling windows can be seen between the leaves.

Liu Xiaoli and the female bodyguard brought the things into the house and left her daughter in the yard to call her boyfriend to let him know she was safe.

(Take an ugly photo)
"Tired?"

"It's okay. I'm reading the course materials on the plane. I'll apply for the exam in two weeks."

The girl calmly watched her mother busying around in the living room, her voice filled with sweetness: "You bastard, I miss you..."

Lu Kuan had just left the Olympic Building and got into the car: "Study hard and graduate quickly. Young girls shouldn't fall in love too early."

"Shameless, you've taken advantage of everything and told me not to fall in love too early." Xiao Liu chuckled on the phone.

She checked the time. "Is your first day at work this busy? It's almost dawn in Peking, right?"

"There are some problems that need to be solved. It's a headache."

"What? Tell me about it."

When you love someone, you want to participate in every aspect of his life.

The two of them now look like a couple who started an international relationship after graduating from college, one working in China and the other studying abroad.

Share work and life with each other, and provide spiritual encouragement and communication.

Boss Lu sat in the car and told her about the LED incident that had been making a lot of noise in the past two days.

He didn't expect Concubine Liu Yi to help him in any way, he just wanted to chat with her.

"Oh... then you have also taken responsibility. The meeting minutes must be archived as data."

"Not only are our meetings recorded, but our daily discussions are also recorded. We'll make a documentary in the future."

"If there's a serious problem with the LED, it might be okay if it's just a few black screens, but if there's widespread damage, I'll be a sinner for all eternity."

There was a hint of fatigue in Lu Kuan's voice. The intensity of the work was not enough to make him complain, but the mental pressure was indeed enormous.

There were only a few glitches in later episodes, which were minor flaws and could be edited out directly in the recording.

The crowd watching the performance live may not be able to see clearly amidst the dazzling lights and colors.

But you can never be sure about such things. What if it really gets stepped on and causes large-scale damage?

This is really not something that a prophet can control.

"Gu Jun is here for an interview today. She's a documentary director from the class of 87 at the Beijing Film Academy and is currently working at the Central News Documentary Film Studio. She's supposed to be in charge of the production of the entire Olympics documentary."

"She turned off the camera at the time. She wanted to persuade me privately but didn't have the nerve to do so. She could only ask me cryptically what to do if I failed."

Boss Lu laughed and said, "I was just joking with her. If I really fail miserably, I'll pack up and run away immediately. I'll buy an island and live there like Bergman, and live out the rest of my life overseas! Otherwise, every spit of the people in this country will drown me."

This is a joke, but it is also realistic.

He will have to bear this kind of infamy until his death. Every time his movie is released, his rivals will use this incident as an excuse, and the entire industry will be brought into disgrace.

"No, you've done so much for the country. Even if the people don't know, the leaders know it."

"Just like Liu Xiang, so many people are waiting to see him win the championship on home turf. But even if he falls short, it won't affect people's love for him."

Boss Lu smiled bitterly in his heart, you know how to give examples.

At the 2008 Olympics, facing the eager expectations of the people of the country, the man who set a world record and made the whole of Asia proud had no choice but to withdraw from the competition.

This huge sense of expectation suddenly fell through, just like the idealist's spiritual world collapsed in an instant.

Liu Xiang's career and personal reputation also hit rock bottom.

This is actually very similar to the situation where the road is wide.

He had previously won the position of Olympic chief director and his artistic image and reputation have always been excellent.

The expectations and hopes carried by this opening ceremony are a hundred times greater than those carried by Liu Xiang!
The higher you stand, the harder you fall. For the general public, they yearn for heroes, but cannot tolerate the failure of heroes.

This is like a mirror, reflecting our nation's desire for "strength" and persistence in "perfection" during its rise.

When people look back on this history many years later, they will not only feel the ups and downs of their personal destinies, but also the collective awakening of an era.

Xiao Liu's voice suddenly crackled with excitement, her lovestruck mind drifting off to some unknown place: "Buying an island would be great! I'll retire 30 years early, and we can live together on Peach Blossom Island. It's so beautiful!"

Suddenly she comforted him softly, "It's okay, no matter what happens, I will always be your number one hater... no, number one fan!"

The little chicken showed its black feet.

"Haha!" As he was speaking, the Maybach 62S drove into the copper-plated gate, and Boss Lu received a call.

"I'm hanging up first. Lao Mouzi called me. You and Aunt Liu should take it, have a meal and take a rest."

"Okay! Got it. Try not to stay up late. I'll video chat with you when you're free."

"Okay, hang up."

Beep, beep, beep…

Lao Mouzi’s phone call is all about LED.

"Xiaolu, what's the final word? Has the report been submitted?"

"I just got home. I'll make some more changes and report to Leader Liu tomorrow to see what he says."

"I've been talking to Professor Wang Lai from Huaqing's Department of Electronic Engineering these past couple of days, as well as a few researchers at the National Institute of Semiconductors who specialize in digital light sources. I've come up with some preliminary ideas, and we'll keep exploring."

His feasibility technical report is mainly divided into three points:
First, divide the LED light strip into independent modules, and each module is equipped with a backup power interface.

If an area fails, the backup module can be quickly activated or the power supply can be switched to the adjacent unit to avoid large dark areas.

The second step is to establish real-time monitoring and emergency response, build a simple circuit monitoring system, and use voltage sensors to provide real-time feedback on abnormal areas. The back-end technical team will be on standby simultaneously and manually switch to backup lines.

In the end, we could only prepare several emergency plans in advance, such as designing dual versions of lighting scripts for key programs and pre-setting multiple lighting plans. If the LED fails partially, we will immediately activate the projection or follow-spot light to focus on other areas.

By shifting the visual focus, we can cover up flaws and even transform dark areas of faults into "white ink painting", which fits the artistic conception of traditional culture.

That's it.

On this side, Boss Lu was busy with the Olympics and film editing, and Liu Yifei also started a happy study life in North America.

When I first came here two years ago, I was heartbroken and was determined to achieve academic success and win recognition for myself.

A year ago, I was tasked with filming a movie, which required me to immersively experience that period of history that was too painful to recall.

Now...

The mood is naturally different because of the joy of being in love and the anticipation of being together in three months.

Starting from August 8, an Asian silhouette appeared every day under the Gothic arcades of the University of Chicago.

Xiao Liu always goes out with a relaxed and peaceful mood, with no makeup on, after morning exercise and breakfast. His white canvas shoes roll over the dewy lawn, and the toes of his shoes are stained with the juice of crushed maple leaves.

She usually sat on the third step of the stone steps in front of the library, where an oak tree cast a spot of light that just illuminated the notes section of "Financial Statement Analysis."

In the campus coffee shop at noon, in order to maintain her figure, she always replaced mocha with black coffee, with a discarded sugar packet at the bottom of the cup.

While listening to the investment bank elites at the next table discussing subprime debt, her pink highlighter was crossing Twitter's fourth-quarter operating plan.

"Twilight 2" is scheduled to be released on Christmas, and a series of marketing and traffic-generating activities are inevitable. In addition to receiving instruction and answering questions in the classroom, this is also the job that Lu Kuan assigned her in North America.

In this life, Liu Yifei developed and became familiar with the affairs of corporate management by making mistakes, and she lived a different life in a parallel world.

Sometimes people's encounters are just so wonderful.

It may be a bit of an exaggeration to say that Lu Kuan turned stone into gold for Concubine Liu Yi, but it is not an exaggeration to intervene and influence the life trajectory of another person in this way, enabling her to adapt to and realize the possibility of other destinies.

For example, the Liu Bang group and the Zhu Yuanzhang group in history both gathered a group of trusted ministers in a very small geographical area.

Without the guidance of the leaders and the help of history, I wonder whether generals such as the butcher Fan Kuai, the trumpeter Zhou Bo, the silk merchant Guan Ying, and the prison warden Cao Shen would still be able to shine.

A month passed in a flash, and on this day in early September, Hyde Park Villa welcomed a long-lost mainland guest.

Da Tiantian is here to visit again.

In the sunlight filtering in through the linen curtains, Liu Yifei curled up in a rattan hanging chair, her ivory silk nightgown slipped above her knees, revealing the pale blue veins at her ankles.

Jing Tian sat cross-legged in front of the pear wood teapot. The collar of her mint green cotton and linen shirt was slit, revealing a piece of snow-white skin. The curled ends of her hair looked like a cinnabar ink line that had just been opened.

The two drank tea and chatted, enjoying the quiet afternoon.

"Sister Xixi, how dare you live here? I'm scared even when I walk in the door!"

"What are you afraid of? If you find another pig head, just deal with it and eat it."

Jing Tian stuck out her tongue and stroked the rim of the warm cup. The sunlight coming through the blinds reminded her of the horrific scene in July.

That day, the senior sister who was reading the materials collapsed against the wall in pain and was later diagnosed with dissociative aphasia.

Everyone knows the rest of the story. Da Tiantian was also a sad eyewitness to the final dating scene in "Cinema Paradiso".

Liu Yifei looked at this cute and silly girl and said, "Why are you here again? Didn't I ask you to prepare the female lead for 'Let's Watch Meteor Shower Together'?"

"New York Fashion Week is next week. Uncle Lu has contacted some resources, and I'll make an appearance there. You know what I mean."

Jing Tian did not shy away from telling her about these actions which were similar to those of "riding the red carpet".

Xiao Liu is not a moral emperor, so she doesn't care how others operate and hype. Besides, Jing Tian can be considered one of her own.

"Sister Xixi, come with me! Let's go shopping for clothes and have something delicious to eat."

Da Tiantian took out the bound A4 paper from her bag and said, "I brought the script with me too. I just gave it a quick read. You can teach me!"

Liu Yifei flipped through the collection of papers in her hand, highlighting the eye-catching data and arguments: "Not interested."

Jing Tian brazenly slapped him on the thigh and said in feigned anger, "Are you not interested in shopping, or are you not interested in helping me read the script?"

"I'm not interested in you."

The naive Da Tiantian doesn't know that her cheap senior sister has already tasted the goodness of a bitch. Who would be willing to pay attention to a little brat like you?

Go play on the side.

Unable to bear the humiliation, Jing Tian slammed the table and stood up: "Liu Yifei! I came all the way from home to see you, and this is how you treat me?"

Xiao Liu calmly put down the cup and watched the snow sway up and down as she took a deep breath, making her unable to help but look down and compare herself with it...

I don't want to bother with her anymore.

"Jing Tian, ​​don't be so ungrateful. Do you think everyone has such a good fortune like you and can play the female lead right away?"

"How many actors, both big and small, in the entertainment industry are worried about having no way to go to heaven or enter the earth? You are still running around aimlessly all day instead of thinking about your role."

The eldest sister put on a stern face and lectured the younger generation, but although anyone could say this, she still lacked a bit of persuasiveness. Da Tiantian was a little overwhelmed this time: "Who? You!"

"You're so lucky! Much better than me!" Silly Bai Tian said indignantly, "You can film a TV series at the age of fourteen or fifteen, and there are top directors teaching you how to act!"

"Do you know how much I envy you? I'd be happy even if I were scolded like you!"

"Of course you're proud! Now I'm your boyfriend again!"

"Teacher Lu never paid much attention to me, but now it's all yours, wuwuwu..."

Jing Tian seemed to be thinking of the romance of the day when the two started dating, as well as her own miserable state, and she choked up as if she was getting into the role.

My secret love ended in vain after only a few days. How can I seek justice for this?
Liu Yifei looked at her amusedly, put down the information in her hand and hugged Jing Tian: "Okay, okay, why are you still angry at me?"

"I'm seriously warning you, do you think you're safe just because you got the role?"

"If you perform really badly during the shoot, do you believe he can replace you at short notice?"

"Su Chang from the questioning industry will wrap up filming 'Secret' in two months, so he can be plugged in right away."

Jing Tian looked up at her bewilderedly, tears welling up in her eyes out of anger.

Concubine Liu Yi! You have a sharp tongue and a sharp heart!

Do you know how to comfort people?

"Hahaha! I won't tease you anymore. I'll go with you, okay?" Xiao Liu found in Jing Tian the joy that Boss Lu had felt when he teased her in the past.

Men, as a whole, have a kind of evil taste for training beautiful women, making them cry, making them laugh, making them cry and laugh in bed.

"Dong dong!"

Liu Xiaoli pushed the door open and came in to give them some fruit slices to eat. Seeing Jing Tian's red eyes, she was surprised and asked, "What's wrong?"

"It's okay, we were discussing the plot. Jing Tian just performed a crying scene." said the harmless girl.

The old mother also believed it: "Okay, you guys talk more, I'll go prepare the guest room for Tiantian."

Jing Tian didn't dare to expose Xiao Liu's ugly face, so she could only pout in grievance: "Thank you, Auntie, you are so kind."

The door was gently closed, and she murmured softly: "How can there be such a huge difference between the two people who live together?"

"I find that you are becoming more and more like Teacher Lu!"

Nonsense, your good senior sister has already taken on his shape.

Envy, right?
To this day, Liu Yifei no longer cared whether she called him Teacher Lu or not. She took Jing Tian's hand and said with a smile, "You really like him? Tell me about him?"

"I'm not going to tell you, so you can laugh at me?"

Xiao Liu spoke nonsense seriously, acting like a scumbag girl: "No, I was just playing around with him, not serious."

"Tiantian, you have such a good family background and you are so beautiful, Lu Kuan will definitely like you!"

Jing Tian looked at her speechlessly: "You think I'm a fool, right?"

"You do not believe?"

Liu Yifei, whose acting skills were already considered to be at the top level, sighed and said, "Forget it, those are just excuses. Let me tell you the truth."

"My grandparents are both veteran revolutionaries. They couldn't stand the lifestyle before Lu Kuan's death. You know, he..."

"Not long after we started dating, my grandmother called and tried to persuade me for a long time."

"Besides, he's too rich. How can a man like that settle down? How can a female celebrity be his match?"

Jing Tian still didn't believe it, she subconsciously felt that this was a trap.

In the past, this senior sister in front of her gave her the feeling that she was a white flower similar to herself, but now, huh.

Beautiful but evil heart!

Xiao Liu smiled somewhat sadly: "Otherwise, I wouldn't have returned to the US to study for this stupid graduate school, just to calm everyone down..."

“Also think about how to go in the future.”

Da Tiantian still didn't believe it. She looked at her senior sister who was acting everywhere with a speechless face. She reached out and took the photo frame on her desk. It was a funny photo of the two of them in front of the Mouth of Truth in Rome.

"If you keep treating me like a fool, can you please do some preparations?"

Concubine Liu Yi laughed out loud and took the script she had placed on the table: "I'm demonstrating it to you!"

"This is the conversation between Chu... Chu Yuxuan and her best friend after breaking up. Do you understand? Just act it out like this!"

Jing Tian rolled her eyes speechlessly: "Tsk, you guys are so mean, bullying honest people like us every day, you are so mean!"

"No, I'm just teasing you. I'll go to New York with you, okay? But I can't stay for long. I have an exam soon."

"Really? It won't be long. I'll just make an appearance and attend a few business meetings before heading back."

Da Tiantian shook her arms excitedly, and her plump breasts looked quite turbulent, which made Xiao Liu very envious.

Especially now that she has tasted the sweetness, every time she sees the washing machine eating the cherries on the cream cake, she feels shy and enjoys it, and her whole body feels like it's being electrocuted.

"Sweet..."

"Ok?"

"Can I..." Concubine Liu Yi looked at her and made an obscene dragon-grabbing hand gesture: "Can I feel it?"

Jing Tian took a few steps back in horror: "You're a pervert!"

"No, no, I wanted to ask what you usually eat? Or... is it natural?"

Da Tiantian blushed slightly: "I don't know... I was like this when I was at the Affiliated High School of Beijing Dance Academy. It was such a burden, and I was in so much pain after dancing."

Concubine Liu Yi smacked her lips, not knowing what to say.

Those who suffer from drought will die from drought, and those who suffer from waterlogging will die from waterlogging.

Jing Tian suddenly looked at him strangely again: "You... you seem to have grown a bit! What kind of breast enhancement methods did you use?"

"Really? Is there such a thing?" Liu Yifei was very surprised. There was no need to pretend in front of Da Tiantian, so she pinched it twice.

"Yeah! Yes! It looks like there have been changes."

The innocent girl stood up happily, leaned sideways in front of the dressing mirror and glanced at herself twice. She couldn't help but think of the scene of a washing machine working day and night, and her blush spread to behind her ears.

Well, anyway, I don’t have this talent. If you want to eat it, just develop it yourself...

living comfortably without anybody's help.

Jing Tian went out to answer a phone call and came back excitedly, "Sister Xixi, let's book the tickets now and go shopping in New York in advance?"

"Wait, I haven't asked you yet. How did you get into this New York Fashion Week promotion?"

Compared with Paris and Milan in Europe, New York Fashion Week is a newcomer established in 1943. Its purpose is to break the monopoly of Paris fashion and promote the American design industry.

Therefore, New York Fashion Week was the first to introduce Mytube live broadcast in 2006 and pioneered the "see now, buy now" model for fashion events, which is very American in style.

The more commercialized it is, the more room for maneuver there is for actresses like Da Tiantian who rely on money and resources to pave their way.

For example, recommendations from regional agents, famous makeup artists, media professionals, stylists, qualified models, and fashion week organizers.

Unlike those high-class old money people in Europe, they have always disdained to open up these channels for free show.

"Uncle Lu asked someone to contact Du Juan, and she has a quota to invite friends."

Liu Yifei nodded. She had heard of this mainland model. "But with Du Juan's authority, she probably can't get any good seats, right?"

"If you want to produce a film, the effect will be mediocre if you don't go to the front row."

Jing Tian curled her lips: "Then I don't understand, it was all arranged by Uncle Lu."

"Wait, I want to ask a friend." Liu Yifei took out her cell phone and dialed a number, naturally to Wang Daren.

This is one of her few connections in the fashion circle. It was a Chinese friend she met with Lu Kuan at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival after the premiere of "Foreign Land".

Later, Boss Lu personally invested and established a design company with Wang Daren, and handed over the costume and props design of several films to his studio.

"Daren?"

"Crystal, are you back in the States?"

Concubine Liu Yi was surprised: "How did you know?"

"Haha, I recently spoke with Director Lu on the phone. Isn't the studio going to design costumes for a TV series according to his requirements?"

Jing Tian's eyes lit up. She knew about this. It was the show "Let's Watch Meteor Shower Together"!

As mentioned above, this is a way to use Internet products to hype up TV series, and then reversely promote products and feed back to Weibo and e-commerce departments.

Unlike "My Love from the Star" which uses foreign brands and negotiates high-end business, this idol drama that takes a relatively simple approach still uses its own copyrighted clothing, which is more profitable.

"Oh, I've been back for a month." Liu Yifei glanced at the expectant Silly Baitian and said, "Daren, a friend and I want to go to the New York Fashion Week on the 7th. Is there any way to get in?"

Wang Daren was speechless after hearing this. He knew that this person had never had much interest in fashion, but he didn't expect that she even got the time wrong.

"Crystal, this year's fashion week has been moved up. It starts on the 5th, the day after tomorrow."

"Ah?" Xiao Liu looked at Jing Tian speechlessly. How could she even get the date wrong? If it wasn't this call, then everything would be messed up.

Wang Daren explained: "This year is a special case. September 9th and 13th are the Jewish New Year, which happens to conflict with the original fashion week schedule, so it has been rescheduled to the 14th and ends on the 5th."

Rosh Hashanah is one of the most important Jewish holidays and is considered the "Day of Judgment" during which people reflect on their actions of the past year and pray for God's forgiveness and blessings.

The influence of Jews in all levels of American society is well known, so the postponement is not surprising.

"Would you like to come? I'm the guest designer this year. Can I get you two front row seats?"

Wang Daren laughed and said, "Wouldn't it be easier for you to find a guide? Galliano and Anna Wintour have more places. You can just show your Vogue press pass."

Liu Yifei knew that her boyfriend was having a hard time with LED and couldn't bear to trouble him with trivial matters anymore. She immediately thanked Wang Daren and hung up the phone.

Wang Daren is a top student at Parsons School of Design, the most famous design and art school in the United States. After graduation, he interned at Vogue for a year, and it was the fashion queen who took the initiative to invite him.

This is not common in the industry.

It was through his introduction that Lu Kuan met Anna Wintour and Galliano.

However, the young and ambitious Wang Daren soon "defected" and jointly established a design company with Boss Lu, which has gradually become famous in recent years.

This year is also his first time attending New York Fashion Week, and he is ready to make a splash.

Wang Daren hung up the phone and was about to make some final revisions to the autumn and winter ready-to-wear clothes on the office model when the internal phone suddenly rang.

"Alexander, Miss Bingbing from China is here."

"Okay, please ask her to come in."

(End of this chapter)