Artists under the Rebirth of the Coal Boss

Chapter 100 has appeared again! A magnificent radiant image!! The Prince of Dai and Dou Yifang!
Yang Mi said, "I heard that Tianming Jiaye has issued a ban on Qi Wei within the industry."

Mao Xiaotong, the newcomer, instinctively tensed up upon hearing the word "ban": "Ban? Will Qi Wei still be able to film movies?"

Yang Mi picked up a Wuxi-style steamed bun with a rich and sweet broth and a firm and chewy meat filling, dipped it in the rose vinegar and shredded ginger in the dish, and explained, "This is not an official ban, so how far it will be implemented depends on the strength of the film and television companies."

"If this film and television company grows bigger and stronger, the level of the ban will be like a python, tightening its grip more and more, and the artists will be completely finished."

"If the company gets weaker and weaker, and eventually goes bankrupt, the ban will naturally cease to exist..."

Lin Xingzhuo sipped his coriander, shredded silver fish soup and recalled information about Tianming Jiaye Cultural Media Investment Co., Ltd.

This coal-based company clearly falls into the latter category; its investment in the film "The Return of the Condor Heroes" failed, severely damaging its financial situation.

Later, they invested in films like "Journey to the West" and "The Three Smiles of a Talented Scholar and a Beautiful Woman," suffering heavy losses and quickly losing all their mine compensation funds. Like most coal-related film and television companies, they disappeared without a trace...

Zhang Tong ate a spoonful of crab roe tofu and said, "I heard from a classmate that the other party might use underhanded tactics. After all, they used to be in the coal business. Even if the tiger is dead, it won't fall. The water is deep and unfathomable..."

Yang Mi stared at Lin Xingzhuo, then asked in a daze, "Coal-based...is it that terrifying?"

Mao Xiaotong also turned her gaze to Lin Xingzhuo.

Lin Xingzhuo touched his nose, poured Mengzhilan M9 into the wine cup, and said, "We, Jinyuan Huwei Coal Industry, are different. We have always won people over with virtue and handled things according to the rules."

…………

After three rounds of wine, five flavors of food.

Hengyun Hotel gave us two plates of square cakes and Huishan pastries as a gift.

Lin Xingzhu then ordered another pot of Taihu Green Bamboo tea.

The tender buds in spring resemble bamboo leaves, and the tea soup is bright green with a refreshing and sweet taste.

The four people drank tea and began their study group exchange activity in a private room of the restaurant.

Zhang Tong took a sip of hot tea and said, "Xingzhuo, your horse riding scene was amazing! Have you trained in horsemanship?"

Lin Xingzhu, while eating a Huishan pastry filled with candied melon strips, said:
"No, my executive broker, Xiao Ma, taught me. Don't sit on the horse's back; squat halfway, use your thigh muscles, and your upper body will be stable..."

Yang Mi held a square cake and suddenly realized, "Oh, I see."

Mao Xiaotong didn't eat dessert. Instead, she took out her notebook and Baoke ballpoint pen, looking like a well-behaved student, while secretly glancing at Lin Xingzhuo's private parts.

As a dance expert proficient in ballroom, Latin, jive, paso doble, samba, and many other styles, she certainly knew that Lin Xingzhuo spoke of it casually.

In reality, achieving a semi-squatting horse posture, using the thigh muscles to maintain upper body stability, is quite challenging...

Lin Xingzhuo... his core muscle group must be quite strong...

Mao Xiaotong's face flushed red as she recalled how Lin Xingzhuo carried her to bed when she had a fever...

…………

The group chatted for a while about their recent experiences filming, and then moved on to the character discussion session.

This is a standard practice in such learning and support groups in the entertainment industry, and all of them fall under the Stanislavski framework of "self-dialogue with the character" and "interaction with fellow actors."

In the professional field, this is the actor's organic creation and character internalization training...

…………

This study group will discuss the roles of Dou Yifang and Prince Liu Heng of Dai.

Yang Mi spoke first: "This is a rare pairing of a powerful emperor and empress in the current costume drama market."

"A couple who walked hand in hand through the difficult and arduous path of entrepreneurship, an empress with a guilty conscience and an emperor who would never ask about each other."

"Many people think that Liu Heng fell in love with Dou Yifang after being tricked by her... In fact, I think Liu Heng fell in love at first sight..."

Zhang Tong nodded in agreement, saying, "According to the logic of the script, the Prince of Dai was not favored from a young age and learned to be patient and stoic from childhood. He is the most skilled prince in acting and pretending to be stupid."

"How could someone who has been acting since childhood not recognize Dou Yifang's little trick..."

Yang Mi stuffed the last piece of square cake into her mouth, drank half a cup of Taihu Green Bamboo tea, and said:

"Yes, that's it... knowing full well... but willingly watching her act... and slowly getting into character... even though I knew she was sent by the Han Palace and I had to be wary of her..."

"But liking someone is liking someone; it's an emotion that doesn't really have a reason."

As Mao Xiaotong listened to Yang Mi's story, she always felt that Yang Mi was implying something...

Zhang Tong filled Yang Mi's teacup and said, "Actually, I think this kind of relationship is less about love at first sight and more about like attracting like."

"Liu Heng, who had been lying low and patient since childhood, met Dou Yifang, who was pretending to be obedient and docile. Both of them were smart enough to see that the other was acting."

"Liu Heng was destined to be attracted to Dou Yifang, who was so clever and cunning in her schemes."

Mao Xiaotong, who was taking notes in her notebook, asked, "Sister Tong, isn't this script a bit too abrupt, considering their different identities..."

Zhang Tong said, "This brings us to Yu Zhen, the screenwriter, who made an important patch to the script."

"The first spy sent by Empress Lü to the Dai Kingdom, Queen Qingning, the first wife of the King of Dai, was an extremely love-obsessed person... This character can be said to have taken a big step forward in the relationship between Liu Heng and Dou Yifang..." "Queen Qingning used her death to make the two of them re-examine their feelings for each other."

"So what if they were spies sent by the Han Palace? Feelings don't stand the test of reason. Once you lose them, you'll regret it and feel pain..."

Yang Mi looked at someone, her fingertips fiddling with the teacup, and said, "Hmm, the rest of the script seems to be about how all the other women in the harem are just part of their play, like an old married couple putting on an act together."

Lin Xingzhuo felt Yang Mi's gaze and said, "Dou Yifang in this drama is destined to be a character who will be remembered in the history of Chinese palace dramas!"

"The female lead always prioritizes reason."

"Even if Liu Heng treats her well and gives her his trust time and time again, saying it out loud is like handing over her weakness to him. She will not gamble on the emperor's sincerity."

Dou Yifang knew that she and the Prince of Dai were two different people. They might admire and appreciate each other, but there were also conflicts of interest and power struggles between them.

"The Prince of Dai could not control her fate; she had her destiny firmly in her own hands."

Mao Xiaotong stopped taking notes and asked, puzzled, "Game theory?"

Lin Xingzhuo took a sip of hot tea, nodded, and said, "Yes! The Prince of Dai and Dou Yifang spent their entire lives playing a game of strategy!"

"Because love cannot make two people become one, and marriage does not mean that two people only have common interests and no individual interests."

"On the contrary, everyone is rational and, after understanding all the options, believes that the other party is still the best."

"This kind of consideration doesn't end with marriage or having children; it happens almost every moment."

Zhang Tong sized up the man in front of her and said, "But is this kind of love still love?"

Lin Xingzhuo's voice was as clear as moonlight, creating a pure and aloof quality through delicate breathiness and resonance, as he spoke slowly and deliberately:

"Is this kind of calm, elegance, arrogance, and freedom of movement, like the subtle and reserved love of the young masters and ladies in 'Pride and Prejudice,' still love?"

"I do not know."

"But this film at least taught me that love is not some kind of mysticism that is above all else."

"It can be appreciation, attraction, pity, comfort, inertia, or even loneliness, but it is always a choice."

“Every day you choose how much to give, and you have the right to choose whether or not to quit at any time.”

"Therefore, the Prince of Dai and Dou Yifang spent their entire lives in a game of strategy!"

…………

Lin Xingzhuo's game theory of love and marriage was still quite avant-garde in the 2009s.

This left the three girls completely mesmerized.

Zhang Tong is a staunch advocate of remaining single and has repeatedly emphasized on social media and in interviews that she enjoys her single life.

Lin Xingzhuo's character analysis immediately struck a chord with this one of the Eight Beauties, the most beautiful girl in the Central Academy of Drama's 96 class...

…………

Yang Mi's face is completely lovesick...

This man is at it again...

Such unorthodox words, and that voice... Damn it, I promised my assistant yesterday that I wouldn't get love-struck!

Once again, I seemed to see a halo starting to shimmer behind this guy's head...

It's appeared again! The great light phase!!
no more...

…………

Mao Xiaotong recalled that when she was in school, during a class on performing arts, her teacher had played the original audio recording of Dong Xingji reciting "Moonlight over the Lotus Pond".

That kind of aloof and clear voice, a perfect blend of static temperament and dynamic sound, a pure and classical tone...

Mao Xiaotong will never forget this!

Lin Xingzhuo in front of me can actually do that?!

Good heavens! Why doesn't this monster make it in the music industry?

…………

Mao Xiaotong wrote it down in her notebook, silently:
A game of strategy? This is the first time I've heard someone interpret love and marriage this way...

........................

The four-person study group played at Yuantouzhu until dusk, when Lin Xingzhu called Xiao Ma to pick them up in a Range Rover.

Back on set, they found Feng Shaofeng's agent, Liang Mu, already waiting for them in the hotel corridor...

(End of this chapter)