Chapter 130: Chapter 130: This is a Feast at Hongmen Today!
“Hehe, you are being way too polite,” Zhao Zhenhao smiled as he first shook hands with him, then quickly introduced, “Let me introduce this gentleman, Lin Zhengjie. You two might not be familiar with the name, but once I mention his title, it will definitely ring a bell.”
The man kept modestly downplaying, “Ah, Mr. Zhao, you’re flattering me! I really couldn’t… I dare not accept the praise…”
Wang Hao decisively played along, “So, this gentleman’s title is…?”
“Asian Gambling Saint!” Zhao Zhenhao said with a smile: “Now you must be familiar, right?”
Familiar my foot? I’m new here, I don’t know anything!
“Gambling Saint! Wow, impressive, impressive! Hello, hello!” Wang Hao hurriedly greeted, “My idol!”
Bai Yaning glanced at the Asian Gambling Saint and said indifferently, “Hello.”
“It’s Miss Yaning!” As soon as the Asian Gambling Saint saw Bai Yaning, his eyes lit up, and he quickly put on his kindest smile, gesturing to her, “Just now I was wondering which beauty could catch Mr. Zhao’s favor, and it turns out to be Miss Yaning. It seems Mr. Zhao really has clout this time, managing to invite Miss Yaning for a meal, I’m envious but wouldn’t dare to resent!”
Wow, this little speech is quite something.
He managed to compliment Bai Yaning while subtly highlighting Mr. Zhao’s status, not bad at all, that flattery deserves a score of ninety!
After all, who doesn’t like to hear nice things? Bai Yaning smiled lightly, and Zhao Zhenhao humbly boasted, “I don’t deserve such praise, it’s only thanks to Mr. Wang’s good grace that I could invite Miss Yaning to a meal today.”
“Oh?” The Asian Gambling Saint was taken aback and looked at Wang Hao in surprise, “This gentleman actually has such great influence? Has Miss Yaning ever agreed to dine with anyone before? Impressive, impressive! I’m in awe!”
“Just got lucky,” Wang Hao said, chuckling, as he stood up to shake hands, “Hehe.”
With this external support coming to the rescue, Zhao Zhenhao finally could bring up a topic proactively.
He immediately introduced the others, “Of course, Miss Yaning needs no further introduction from me. Today’s focus is Mr. Wang. Mr. Wang is extremely knowledgeable, a good friend of Miss Yaning’s, and I’m fortunate to invite him to dine with us, truly not an easy feat.”
“Just average, just average,” Wang Hao smiled as he greeted everyone, “Nice to meet you all, please look after me, ha.”
“This lady,” after Wang Hao finished greeting, Zhao Zhenhao introduced the artistic young woman, “The famous domestic screenwriter Zhang Xingran, the writer of ‘My Heavenly Immortal Girlfriend.’ Miss Yaning, you’re probably familiar with her, right?”
Eh? This woman is the screenwriter of ‘My Heavenly Immortal Girlfriend’?
I thought she was a middle-aged literary woman, but now — Brother here completely doesn’t recognize her!
“Ah, I have long admired you,” Wang Hao chuckled and nodded, “All predecessors here!”
Zhang Xingran nodded proudly, “Miss Ice Princess, Mr. Wang, nice to meet you.”
After exchanging brief pleasantries, Zhao Zhenhao introduced the last person, the chubby man, “This is Mr. Xia, Xia Bin, a big boss here in Zhonghai. Speaking of which, Mr. Xia and Miss Yaning must be well acquainted, right? The ‘My Heavenly Immortal Girlfriend’ series was invested in by both of your families, correct?”
Is the world really this small?
I just sent that Yu Zhinan packing a couple of days ago, and now I run into the investor and screenwriter here?
Looks is a setup, a real Banquet at Hongmen!
Blast it, come at me, if I were scared of you guys I’d reverse my name and call myself Hao Wang!
“Miss Ice Princess, hello,” Xia Bin began by greeting Bai Yaning, then took off his jacket and draped it over the back of a chair. After sitting down, he stretched out his hand to Wang Hao, “Mr. Wang, hello, hello, this is our first meeting, please look after me.”
“Of course, of course,” Wang Hao chuckled and shook his hand.
“If he finds out that Brother Hao messed up his drama, he won’t know what kind of fun is in store, heh heh!”
Since everyone has been introduced, Zhao Zhenhao was brimming with confidence. Heh heh, everyone here is my person, will you not be subdued this time?
“We’re all from the film and TV industry and not outsiders,” Zhao Zhenhao suddenly revived with full energy and smiled, “Miss Yaning is probably not interested in the business side, so it’s just right for us to talk about the script. It’s a good topic. Mr. Xia, the drama ‘My Heavenly Immortal Girlfriend’ that you and Miss Yaning invested in is going well, right?”
Eating a meal, there should always be a topic, right?
Discussing scripts is perfect for insiders, so Zhao Zhenhao really did choose the right person this time.
Brother Hao is lucky today, invincible…
“Some young punk,” the esteemed screenwriter Zhang Xingran elegantly lifted his glass for a sip, “I don’t know how, but a couple of days ago I ran into this messy youngster who trashed our script! He bashed it to the point that Director Zhong lost his confidence and is now clamoring to strike!”
“What?! Is that for real?!” Zhao Zhenhao listened, dumbfounded, “Who is that capable to meddle with the script?”
Bai Yaning bitterly held back her laughter while Wang Hao was also flabbergasted, “…”
That person is sitting right here, what do you mean a messy person?
“Ah, don’t mention it,” Xia Bin leaned back in his chair and chuckled, “Not only did he ruthlessly criticize my script, but he also poached Yu Zhinan.” After saying that, he looked at Bai Yaning and smiled, “Miss Ice Princess, I don’t mean to blame you. Please don’t misunderstand; in this matter, I am on Miss Ice Princess’s side. An actor who doesn’t even learn his lines can certainly not be a good actor, so now we’re considering replacing him with another actor.”
“Right,” Bai Yaning nodded lightly, “It’s nothing.”
Having had the spotlight completely stolen by Wang Hao during the meal earlier, if Zhao Zhenhao doesn’t know to ease the tension now, he shouldn’t bother being in this business at all.
“Ha ha, just a little star, right?” Zhao Zhenhao laughed heartily, “It doesn’t matter. These little fresh meats with followers are easy to hire if they have money. If not, I can try to find you a capable actor. Miss Yaning has always been serious about films, Yu Zhinan got what he deserved.”
“Yes, yes, yes,” Xia Bin vigorously nodded, “Just replace the actor, no big deal.”
“Come, come, come, since the three of you are here, just in time,” Zhao Zhenhao smiled, “Today I have specially prepared a bluefin tuna feast. If the three of you don’t mind, let’s start with some appetizers, and then we can move on to the next item!”
“Bluefin tuna!” The Asian Gambling Saint exclaimed, “I’ve long heard that this fish is the king among fish. I never expected to have the chance to taste it today. I’ll definitely have to dig in, ha ha!”
“You flatter me, sir,” Zhao Zhenhao resumed his elegant demeanor, “This fish is around a hundred kilograms; please eat up, don’t be shy.”
Although the three Asian Gambling Saints came to play supporting roles, they couldn’t just starve, so after a bit of polite refusal, they started eating.
As they began to eat, Zhao Zhenhao started making small talk. He turned to Zhang Xingran and smilingly said, “Mr. Zhang, about that young man criticizing your script, you shouldn’t take it too seriously. Young people are always spirited; it’s quite normal.”
“Isn’t that the truth!” As soon as Zhao Zhenhao said this, Zhang Xingran got fired up, “You say some young punk is dictating things about my script. Does he even know what a script is? Does he understand what a plot is? Huh? To think he almost broke up our crew, it’s so embarrassing if this gets out. How embarrassing is that?!”
Bai Yaning was holding back laughter so much her stomach started to hurt, while Wang Hao nearby definitely kept a low profile, “Oh dear, let’s drink, let’s drink, ha ha, ha ha!”
Normally, at this point, drinking a bit of alcohol and changing the subject would have been the end of it, but Zhang Xingran, feeling justified, insisted, “If I ever get the chance to meet that kid, I must ask him, what’s wrong with my script? Why isn’t it good?”
Should I just cut and run now?
“Yes, yes, yes,” Zhao Zhenhao was agreeing on the side, full of common animosity, “We can’t just let this go; it affects your reputation.” Conversations over meals, of course, must follow along, so Zhao Zhenhao turned his head to Bai Yaning, “Miss Yaning, from what Mr. Xia said, you were there at the time, do you know that young man?”
He was just saying it casually; how could Bai Yaning with her personality possibly know such a messy person?
And then he deeply understood what it meant for words to fail…
Eating a slice of raw fish elegantly, Bai Yaning pointed her chopsticks at Wang Hao, “Isn’t he right here? If you have any questions, just ask him directly.”