384: Chapter 378: Seeking Help 384: Chapter 378: Seeking Help Half an hour later, in a coffee shop in Central Circle.
“Xing, it’s rare for you to seek me out.
What is it that you need my help with?”
“You couldn’t explain clearly over the phone.
Why did you insist on meeting me out here in the middle of the night?”
Looking at Zhou Xingxing, who had just hurried in and appeared somewhat restrained, Li Qingxia asked with a puzzled face.
Both of them were public figures.
Although it was quiet in a hotel room, it was not appropriate for them to meet there.
After all, it was night.
If Zhou Xingxing were to go to Li Qingxia’s room at this time of night, and someone with ulterior motives saw this, the entertainment tabloids tomorrow might fabricate some outrageous gossip.
“Qingxia, I heard that this trip to Xiangjiang for you is to shoot an advertisement for a liquor company from the Mainland?”
Zhou Xingxing sat down opposite Li Qingxia, deliberately keeping a bit of distance as he spoke hesitantly.
In the movies, the characters portrayed by Zhou Xingxing were vividly alive.
An inadvertent small gesture could elicit roaring laughter from the audience.
But upon watching his movies a few more times and reflecting on them, one could also find tears amid the laughter and feel a sense of humility and melancholy.
However, in real life, he was not articulate.
He was the introverted type.
Li Qingxia had worked with him and had a fairly pleasant collaboration, so she was already quite familiar with his personality.
“I’ve never been keen on doing advertisements.
The movie I just started shooting is going well over on Tai Island, and we’ve only completed half of it.”
“Tenth Brother Xiang personally called me and even threatened me—how could I refuse to come over?”
“I’m not like you, Xing, who dares to confront him and directly fall out.”
“Just as Brother Sanmao said, only you, Xing, have truly lived with some dignity when facing Yongsheng Company …”
Li Qingxia curled her lip and sighed.
As soon as she mentioned coming to Xiangjiang to help shoot an advertisement for an unknown brand of baijiu, she felt her mood turning sour again.
“Don’t tease me, Qingxia.
I didn’t want to fall out with them either!”
“Ever since they spread the word in the circle, look at how many people are blaming and criticizing me.”
“I’m financing my own movie.
How many people, because of their concern for them, dare not collaborate with me?”
“I bet almost all my fortune on the new Journey to the West movie I’ve shot, and it’s been finished for a while.”
“But up until now, the terms with the theater chains haven’t been settled, and it can’t be successfully released …”
Zhou Xingxing sighed deeply, his face bitter.
His rueful smile had an indescribable taste to it, as if it carried endless sorrow, capable of unknowingly touching one’s heartstrings.
“No way, Xing?
Your movies rarely flop.”
“Your new movie can’t be released because the theater chains are unwilling?”
Li Qingxia asked, her face full of surprise.
As an insider, she knew very well that Zhou Xingxing, despite his unimpressive appearance, had a fairly high status in the industry.
Especially since, in the box office rankings of Xiangjiang two years ago, his films occupied most of the top ten.
Many people even jokingly referred to that year as the ‘Zhou Xingxing Year.’
The thought that the theater chains were unwilling to release his new movie was truly beyond Li Qingxia’s imagination.
“The reality is exactly that.
In this world, there are few who offer help in tough times, but many who kick you when you are down!”
“The theaters are not unwilling to release it but are deliberately suppressing it, setting a share ratio that I simply can’t accept.”
“I sometimes wonder, if I were to accept the terms of the theaters, would they deliberately underreport the box office takings?
Maybe they’d turn ten million into one million.”
“Helpless against the more powerful, without backers, they will do as they please without any scruples.”
Zhou Xingxing sighed again with a mixture of bitterness, adding feelingly, “Actually, I’m just an actor.
All I want to do is quietly shoot my own movies …”
Hearing his words, Li Qingxia also fell silent.
Even though she seemed glamorous in public, many times she couldn’t help herself.
Being in the industry, she understood Zhou Xingxing’s feelings and felt the same about his words.
“Xing, so why did you want to meet me this time …” Li Qingxia began with a complex expression, hesitating, her words trailing off mid-sentence.
“It’s like this.
Qingxia, the boss behind the advertisement you’re going to shoot this time is said to be very influential!”
“If he supports me, Yongsheng won’t dare to continue giving me trouble.”
“If there’s a suitable opportunity, I hope you can introduce me.
I’d like to meet him …”
After some hesitation, Zhou Xingxing ventured to ask.
“This …” Taken aback, Li Qingxia did not immediately respond.
She didn’t doubt Zhou Xingxing’s words.
If the boss behind the baijiu advertisement she was to shoot was not influential, Tenth Brother Xiang would not have personally called her.
Her hesitation at this moment was solely because she knew nothing about that big boss.
It seemed inappropriate to rashly accept Zhou Xingxing’s request without even knowing whether the boss was male or female.
She didn’t ask why Zhou Xingxing sought her help and not Fatty Wang’s.
Zhou Xingxing is considered a genius actor by some, and such a title is by no means an exaggeration, but he is a bit paranoid, and as a result, his popularity within the industry is exceptionally low.
At Yongsheng Company, he indeed had numerous collaborations with Fatty Wang.
However, since he turned against Yongsheng, his relationship with Fatty Wang had also diverged; they did not get along well.
“Qingxia sister, please, just help me this one time,” he pleaded.
“We’ve worked together before; you must know what I’m like.”
“You definitely know I wouldn’t ask for help unless I absolutely had to, with no other options…”
Zhou Xingxing smiled very reluctantly, seeing that Li Qingxia was hesitant to respond, he gritted his teeth and spoke again, requesting.
When he spoke these words, he looked so lowly and desolate.
Seeing him like this, Li Qingxia couldn’t help feeling a sudden, inexplicable pain in her heart, and a sense of compassion stirred within her.
“All right, Xing, if the opportunity arises and I see that boss, I’ll mention you.”
“Of course, I can’t guarantee anything.”
“Whether he wants to see you is still up to him!”
After a moment of hesitation, Li Qingxia finally gave in and promised.
“Thank you, sister Qingxia; thank you, sister Qingxia…” Zhou Xingxing, full of gratitude, quickly responded.
Hurriedly rushing from Tai Island to Xiangjiang, Li Qingxia did not rest well all day.
That she came out to meet Zhou Xingxing late at night was already quite accommodating.
Zhou Xingxing himself was not the type known for his networking skills.
Since the matter was settled, they only stayed in the café for less than ten minutes before going their separate ways.
…
The following day, around eleven in the morning, at the entrance of HSBC.
Chen Hai and his party had just finished opening an account and transferring funds, walking out of the bank at a leisurely pace.
Being involved with hundreds of millions in funds, they were undoubtedly seen as VIP customers by the bank.
The bank’s customer manager, beaming with enthusiasm, escorted them all the way to the entrance of the bank and, after leaving them his business card, finally went back into the lobby.
The entire group, including Chen Hai, was in high spirits.
“Boss, shall we find a place to celebrate a little, to properly celebrate?” Bai Xiaohang inquired with a cheeky smile.
“What’s there to celebrate in broad daylight?”
“Didn’t we say yesterday we’d go see the advert set where Miss Qingxia is filming?”
After a brief thought, Chen Hai turned to Xiang Dong and asked, “What did you and Fatty Wang talk about yesterday?”
“Where in Xiangjiang is the advertisement being shot?”
These past few days, during his spare time, he had watched Dongfang Bubai, starring Miss Qingxia, from beginning to end, again.
For this, he even specially bought a video recorder and videotapes.
Back in the Mainland, he rarely watched television, let alone films.
Even he had to admit that the movie shot by Miss Qingxia was really enjoyable.
It was infinitely better than the kinds of films like those set in the loess highlands that would make one want to fall asleep after just a few minutes.
Just watching Dongfang Bubai, he felt somewhat unsatisfied.
He harbored an odd desire to watch every single film Miss Qingxia had made.
Naturally, he was very interested in how Li Qingxia shot her films.
Of course, his interest was purely in appreciation; there were no ulterior motives.
“Boss, Fatty Wang and Miss Qingxia are at Lantau Island.”
“They left early this morning to get there and even called to ask when we’d arrive!”
“Shall we head over there now?”
On the side, Xiang Dong eagerly replied with a chuckle.
“Lantau Island?
To get there, we’d need to take a ferry across the sea, which will take some time, won’t it?” Chen Hai frowned and inquired.
“Mm!” Xiang Dong nodded and added, “The commercial we’re filming needs a waterside location.”
“It’s easier to find a nice seaside spot for shooting around Lantau Island, since it’s surrounded by the sea.”
Xiang Dong didn’t know much about filming commercials; these were likely things Fatty Wang had told him.
“It’s almost noon now, let’s find somewhere to eat first, and after eating, we’ll head straight to Lantau Island!”
Checking the time on his wristwatch, Chen Hai suggested.
“Mm!”
“Sure!”
…
Since he had spoken, no one else would have any objections.
The group, laughing and chatting, headed towards a restaurant called Dragon and Phoenix Restaurant not far away.