Chapter 1354: A Different Future

Ye Jing left satisfied. Although Zhao Fusheng said he had read the original novel, being able to secure follow-up investment for the 'Drawing Sword' crew from Zhao Fusheng still made him quite happy.

People are all about face. Isn't Shanks the Red-Haired from 'One Piece' making his way through the world with his Face Fruit?

The phrase 'Please give me face' seems simple, but the truth it contains is something ordinary people cannot understand. Because if a person is not strong enough, they are not qualified to ask others to give them face.

Or, if this person's fame is not enough for everyone to know, there will still be those who don't give face.

This is no joke.

When you are a nobody, you might think some people are impressive, but when you are the ultimate nobody, you don't really feel anything about even the most impressive people, because it's all trivial.

Only a恰到好处 level of impressiveness inspires fear.

It sounds ridiculous, but it's true.

Take Zhao Fusheng, for example. If you find a small actor, a third- or fourth-tier one, they wouldn't know who he is. But if you mention Zhao Fusheng's name to a first-tier star, that star would surely be respectful.

Sometimes, ignorance is also a kind of happiness.

...

...

Ye Jing happily went to invest in 'Drawing Sword.' Although Zhao Fusheng really wanted to visit the set, after thinking it over, he restrained himself.

There would be plenty of opportunities later. He should first prepare to go home and hold the wedding.

That's right, his mother and Li Yuan took turns calling Zhao Fusheng and Fan Baobao, the message being only one thing: they wanted the two of them to return to Ninghai as soon as possible. The wedding preparations were all complete, only missing the bride and groom.

The wishes of elders, as long as they are reasonable, should be fulfilled.

It's like when we were children, no matter how unreasonable our demands, our parents would always satisfy them.

So, after discussing it, Zhao Fusheng and Fan Baobao decided to go back early.

Taking the train, the two returned to Ninghai.

It is said that childhood sweetheart love has a beautiful process but finds it hard to bear rich fruit.

Some say love without a material foundation is fragile, liable to collapse at any time. Once you leave the ivory tower and step into society, a breakup is inevitable.

This sounds like toxic chicken soup, but in fact, it is true.

The real society is sometimes so cruel. Problems that might seem trivial at school can become tigers blocking the road that prevent two people from finally being together in life.

Sitting in the carriage, watching the scenery recede outside the window, Fan Baobao suddenly asked Zhao Fusheng, 'Tell me, back then, if you hadn't come up with that advertising idea, what would we have become?'

Zhao Fusheng was startled, then smiled and shook his head: 'I don't know. Maybe you would still have become a big star.'

"I don't believe it." Fan Baobao gave him a charming glare, clearly not buying her man's words. "Without you, I probably wouldn't have even finished art school—I'd have had to drop out and work to pay off debts."

In her mind, if Zhao Fusheng hadn't come up with that "Clear Mouth Girl" ad idea back then, she would most likely have had to go out and earn money.

Even now, Fan Baobao had thought about this countless times, and the conclusions she reached were never pleasant.

For a pretty girl, the price she has to pay to change her fate goes without saying.

Zhao Fusheng heard Fan Baobao's words, gently shook his head, and smiled, but said nothing.

Some things can't be hypothesized, but he knew that in his original memory, Fan Baobao did become a star, even marrying a star from Taiwan. As for the process, he didn't know, because back then the distance between them was too great.

The farthest distance in the world is probably just that.

"What are you thinking?" Seeing Zhao Fusheng silent, staring blankly out the window, Fan Baobao asked him softly, puzzled.

Zhao Fusheng chuckled, gently rubbed her head, and amid Fan Baobao's slightly displeased protesting look, said with a smile, "Have you ever thought about what it would be like if one day you became a film queen?"

Film queen?

Fan Baobao was stunned for a moment, then looked at Zhao Fusheng incredulously: "What are you saying? How could I ever become a film queen?"

Clearly, in her mind, she had never even considered the possibility of becoming a film queen.

In Fan Baobao's impression, her acting skills weren't that good yet, she had no outstanding representative works, and her reputation was even worse. At best, she was just a decent young actor. As for something like film queen, that was something only veteran前辈 in the film circle had a chance to compete for—only people like Gong Li or Zhang Manyu could become film queens. For a rookie like her, it was more appropriate to level up in TV dramas and grind monsters in movies.

"Why impossible?" Zhao Fusheng's expression was calm; he shook his head. "Actually, nothing is impossible. The key is whether you want it or not."

Acting skill is a matter of opinion. For most professionals, when they analyze a film's quality, they might judge it based on the actors' professional level, even if the box office is low, that doesn't stop them from critiquing the film's merits and flaws. For layman audiences, they think that if a movie looks good to them, the actors' performances are the best.

In fact, the latter view is wrong.

Evaluating an actor's performance cannot be judged by box office. You can say that "Monster Hunt 2" and "Europe Raiders" are terrible films, but you can't deny that Tony Leung's acting is really good—those eyes of his just speak volumes, full of drama.

Why are many of Wong Kar-wai's films, despite having terrible box office, still revered as classics? In the end, it's because the actors' performances are strong enough to carry the entire film, coupled with Wong Kar-wai's almost obsessive meticulousness in directing actors, which makes the films classics.

But even if Wong Kar-wai's films were released in the most prosperous film market a decade or two later, they would still bomb at the box office.

That is beyond doubt.

Some movie fans always say that if those classic old films were released today, they would dominate. In fact, this notion is endearing but unrealistic, because such thinking is fundamentally wrong.

If box office alone determined a film's quality, then the top ten classics of Chinese cinema in a hundred years would all be films shot after 2015.

Acting skill is very elusive; sometimes it's just a feeling, but that feeling can truly pierce the audience's inner world, immersing you deeply in the film.

That is the most successful film work.

Clearly, Fan Baobao hasn't reached that point yet.

But don't forget, she has a good boyfriend. Zhao Fusheng felt he could definitely create a film specifically starring her. At worst, he could learn from the approach used for Jing Tian—find a bunch of male Best Actors to support her. Zhao Fusheng refused to believe that his Fan Baobao would end up like Jing Tian, unable to be molded into a film queen no matter how many resources were piled on!