Chapter 00281: Chen Qi Assembles His Troops
# Chen Qi Assembles His Troops
Chapter 281
Novel: 1979 Golden Age
Chapter 281: Chen Qi Assembles His Troops
Bank Street, equivalent to Hong Kong's Wall Street.
It is a gathering place for elites, where towering skyscrapers are everywhere, and people bustle about in a hurry.
The men are all dressed in suits and leather shoes, while the women wear uniforms and skirts, talking endlessly about stocks, loans, and exchange rates, giving the place an air of sophistication.
Liu Dehua had come here before, but he never expected to participate in this manner one day.
He entered the tallest building—Bank of China Tower—ignoring the spacious lobby on the first floor and the customers doing business there, heading directly to the third floor, where Liang Jiahui, donned in the same suit, was already seated on the sofa, reading the newspaper.
“Jia...”
Just as he was about to greet him, he paused.
He noticed Liang Jiahui was wearing a pair of glasses today, legs crossed, with a coffee by his side, sipping leisurely.
Liu Dehua had little experience performing, but at the sight of his peer, he inexplicably felt an impression: this person had made it!
“Jiahui!”
“Good morning!”
“What’s with you? Where did those glasses come from? Where did you get that coffee? Wow, you’re dressing like an elite!”
Liang Jiahui glanced at him and replied slowly, “The glasses are borrowed, I bought the coffee myself. What do you mean dressing like an elite? The purpose of our visit here is for observation, and this is the result of my observation. How about you? Have you finished writing your personal background yet?”
“No, I can’t write it at all. I think you’ve got it down. I’m observing every day, but I just can’t seem to get a feel for it—what should I do?”
Liu Dehua hung his head in dejection.
“Observation requires reflection. Come here, look!” Liang Jiahui pointed at two people, saying, “That person wears glasses and loves reading newspapers, while that person doesn't like reading newspapers but enjoys coffee. I feel these two characters can be integrated, so it turned out like this. Don’t you remember what Mr. Chen said? Find the unique aspects and turn them into your own.”
Seeing Liu Dehua's expression, Liang Jiahui decided to help him out further, saying, “Your role is that of my junior from the same school, freshly entering the workforce. You can go to the first floor and observe those young employees; see what their state is like.”
“Then why don’t you go?”
“My role holds a higher position than yours. This floor is for receiving esteemed clients, and the first floor is for regular clients. Why should I go down to the first floor? Mr. Chen said this is called experiencing life. How can you experience anything if you don’t even buy coffee?”
“Coffee?”
Liu Dehua was taken aback, then looked over at the employees.
Sure enough, coffee was the mainstream thing here, and their conversations frequently included English terms, their footsteps powerful and decisive… Suddenly, he began to understand that this was different from the theoretical classes at the training center.
There was no choice; Hong Kong doesn’t pay attention to these things, everything is fast-paced.
However, if there were a scene involving sexual assault in a film, some rascals would certainly take the opportunity to experience it firsthand.
“Hey, where are you going?” Liang Jiahui saw him getting up and quickly asked.
“I’m going to buy coffee too!”
………
That afternoon.
Zhong Chuhong stepped off the minibus, lifted her head, and glanced at the Clear Water Bay film set of the leftist faction, sighing helplessly before stepping inside.
She usually worked at Shaw Brothers next door and had been curious about this neighbor, but curious as she might be, she had never dared to come here.
Entering the studio area, she headed to the main building.
“Mr. Chen, your guest has arrived!”
“Let her in!”
Zhong Chuhong walked into the office and saw a very young man sitting inside, finding it somewhat hard to believe that this was the big shot of the leftist faction.
Instantly, she felt a bit angry, Just who brought me here?
“Mr. Chen!”
“Sit!”
Chen Qi gestured for her to take a seat and said, “Manager Fang should have told you about this; here’s the script.”
He didn’t waste words, directly handing her the script, and continued, “During the preparation phase, I have two requirements for you. First, you have 20 days to learn pottery; second, do you usually listen to English songs?”
“Not really!”
“Don’t like English?”
“Not at all, I can’t stand foreigners.”
Chen Qi chuckled, nodding, “That’s not bad, but for acting, you need to listen to more English songs until you can hum along easily. Your role, as well as the male lead's role, is quite Westernized; they represent modern urban men and women, can you understand that?”
Seeing her not responding, he added, “If you’re unwilling to act, you can go back.”
She couldn’t dare to do that.
Zhong Chuhong had a fierce temper, but she wasn’t a fool.
Quickly, she said, “I can understand! I will take this role seriously!”
“Good. Later, the main creative members of ‘Ghost and Human’ will be coming over; we’ll have a meeting. You can take a look at the script first.”
With that, he turned back to his work.
Zhong Chuhong cast him a discreet glance and could only sit there to read the script.
Chen Qi focused on his own tasks, busy writing for a while before looking at her and saw she was bowing her head, seemingly engrossed in it.
From her perspective, her face and figure appeared quite ordinary, but combined, they gave off a unique charm.
Sensuality isn’t about wearing less; it’s about having a certain quality.
Chen Qi had always believed that Zhong Chuhong was the most sensual star in Hong Kong.
She had been the shining star of Hong Kong in the 1980s, and there was a popular saying at the time, “No one gets more popular than Zhou Runfa, no one shines brighter than Zhong Chuhong.”
In 1991, she married and retired at the age of 31. It seemed all Hong Kong actresses had this concern; they wanted to marry around thirty, and once married, they wouldn’t film anymore.
Qiu Shuzhen was the same.
Suddenly, Chen Qi smiled, recalling a piece of gossip regarding her: Zhong Chuhong was good friends with Ye Tong, the actress who played Xu Xian.
They were so close that at one point, people suspected they were in a romantic relationship.
The authenticity of the rumor was about 70%!
Around four o’clock, everyone began to arrive, gathering in Chen Qi’s small office.
This was their first time all together, and they were surprised at each other, especially the three newcomers, who immediately lit up when they saw that director Xu Ke was present.
Then their eyes widened even more when they saw Xiao Fangfang performing alongside them, feeling both excited and a little apprehensive.
Xu Ke, however, fixed his gaze on Zhong Chuhong, revealing an admiring expression, and then looked at Chen Qi, both of them sharing a silent understanding.
“Well then, let me introduce the cast!” He clapped his hands and began, “Director Xu Ke, our pillar of soul!”
“Liu Dehua, our male lead!”
“Zhong Chuhong, our female lead!”
“Liang Jiahui, our big villain!”
“Xiao Fangfang, our legend; she plays the medium.”
“Qiu Shuzhen, our young girl; she plays the malevolent spirit in the subway!”
Hmm???
Everyone looked at her together.
In the script, after the male lead turned into a ghost, he wandered and encountered a powerful malevolent spirit in the subway, who later taught him how to use his abilities.
Even Xu Ke initially thought he would find a fierce-looking man to play this role, but the result was a pretty young girl.
The contrast was striking.
Qiu Shuzhen met their gazes without fear and boldly said, “Don’t underestimate me; I’m super fierce!”
Having just filmed ‘Orphan’ Xu Ke was the most qualified to speak up, nodding, “That’s true; she’s indeed super fierce, she can do it.”
“Our ‘Ghost and Human’ production team is now complete and officially entering the preparatory phase!”
Chen Qi felt quite satisfied with the team he had selected, saying, “The filming period is estimated to be two months, and post-production will take a bit more trouble. I plan to release it during the Christmas season. Please rest assured, this will definitely be a milestone work in your acting careers!”
(End of Chapter)