Chapter 43: The Infamous Couple

Actually, Lin Qingxia didn’t have much free time, let alone the time to visit Xiao Ran like she did today. Right now, for example, she was filming “The Legend of Heroes” with Di Long—since it was a night shoot, she only managed to visit Xiao Ran during the day.
Xiao Ran was aware of this. Yet, for some reason, he went to the set of “The Legend of Heroes” that evening. No one knew why. Anyway, he was now sitting in a bar with Lin Qingxia, enjoying the brief moment of relaxation after filming.
Of course, both of them acted as if nothing had happened during the day and didn’t mention it. In fact, nothing really had happened during the day; it was just awkward between them. To Lin Qingxia, Xiao Ran was just a younger brother she liked. To Xiao Ran, Lin Qingxia was not only like an elder sister but also a remarkable beauty in Hong Kong film history.
Xiao Ran habitually rubbed his nose. He didn’t try to stop Lin Qingxia, who was already slightly drunk. He knew she needed to get drunk to forget about the past. Still, he couldn’t help but marvel—Lin Qingxia and Er Qin’s relationship was undoubtedly the most sensational scandal of that era, yet it ended without any real outcome.
In the end, this stunning beauty ended up marrying a businessman who wasn’t particularly attractive, probably because heartbreak had made her lose faith in love. Despite his feelings, even though Xiao Ran wasn’t interested in gossip, he was still curious about what had happened between Lin Qingxia and Er Qin. But Lin Qingxia was very secretive and didn’t reveal anything at all.
Throughout the evening, he kept drinking with Lin Qingxia, though he only had drinks. Lin Qingxia, on the other hand, was very moderate—she stopped drinking after getting slightly tipsy. Xiao Ran supported the unsteady Lin Qingxia and sighed, “Sis Lin, how about I take you home?”
Before Lin Qingxia could agree, Xiao Ran helped her avoid the edges of the tables and other customers walking by. Suddenly, a flash of light made Xiao Ran jump in fright, shouting like Carina Lau in “Golden Flowers and Jade Leaves,” “Who’s there?”
“Hehe, Aran, so it’s you with Sister Xia! Can’t this be published? Good, saves us the trouble!” A familiar voice came from the crowd.
Leung Ka-bau emerged from the crowd like a fish, smiling as he prepared to hand over a film to Xiao Ran. But he saw Lin Qingxia wave her hand and say half-dazedly, “It’s okay, Ka-bau. Thanks for waiting so long!”
Xiao Ran suddenly realized that this bar was a place frequented by celebrities. Leung Ka-bau must have been waiting here often, and now he had caught them together. But that was just Xiao Ran’s assumption. Leung Ka-bau immediately dismissed his suspicion: “No, I just arrived, looking for news about Aran. I swear, I smelled the best story on him.”

Xiao Ran and Lin Qingxia both laughed. Liang Jiabao was indeed witty in his speech, no wonder he had good relationships with many celebrities. They greeted Liang Jiabao and left. Before going, Xiao Ran, still not used to being stared at, agreed to give him an exclusive interview on the condition that he stop staring at him in the future.

After leaving the bar, Lin Qingxia became much more sober. She handed her keys to Xiao Ran. Unexpectedly, Xiao Ran rubbed his nose vigorously and sheepishly said he couldn’t drive. With no other choice, they had to take a taxi back.

After dropping Lin Qingxia off at home, the Filipino maid quickly got to work, bringing things like hot towels and hangovers remedies one after another. Xiao Ran had experienced getting drunk before and knew it was very uncomfortable to wake up the next day. So, he gently wiped Lin Qingxia’s face and placed a folded hot towel on her forehead.

After finishing everything, he carried Lin Qingxia to bed. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly remembered that drunk people often get thirsty, so he quickly went back and poured a glass of warm water, placing it on the bedside table. Only after finishing these tasks did he leave.

Actually, Lin Qingxia wasn’t so drunk as to be unconscious. Seeing Xiao Ran bustling around for her, she found it quite amusing. But when she saw him bring a glass of warm water to the bed, she suddenly felt as if something covered her eyes, becoming blurred, and once again forgot about the task someone had entrusted to her.

“Busy!”, Xiao Ran exclaimed in exasperation to Wei Dongling upon returning to his place. It was indeed busy. Filming work was one thing, but he also had to spare time to attend parties and meet people in the industry, which left him with little time.

“That’s good. If you’re not busy in the film industry, that’s when things get bad!” Wei Dongling glared at Xiao Ran, who was complaining needlessly, then suddenly remembered something and asked, “By the way, didn’t you say before you wanted to start your own company? With ‘True Heroes’ being so popular now, with your skills and reputation, you could definitely go independent.”

Go independent? Xiao Ran wasn’t unwilling. All he wanted was to start a company. In fact, it was extremely easy to establish a film company in Hong Kong these days—just need a company secretary and an accountant, and that’s about it. As for employees, they were usually borrowed from elsewhere.

There wasn’t even much capital needed, because not every company was willing to risk their own funds on filmmaking. Most of the time, they had to seek investments everywhere. From what Xiao Ran knew, even Li Ka-shing had invested in films.

But it was obvious to anyone that such a structure made the company too loose, and bankruptcy could happen at any moment. What Xiao Ran wanted was a structure like that of Galaxy Pictures in the future—a more rigorous corporate structure. He needed sufficient funds to retain and support film talents, adequate investment capital, and his own distribution channels—that’s what he truly desired.

Never underestimate these factors. Without sufficient funds, it’s impossible to support film talents. The inevitable outcome is the loss of such talents, who may even switch to other industries. Without distribution channels, things get even worse—this means that even if a film is Oscar-worthy, it can’t be shown in theaters. Without screenings, there’s no way to recoup investments. Without distribution channels, films can’t be sold in Southeast Asia.

As for distribution channels, what matters most are relationships and strength. Take Wang Jing’s “The Bird King” in 2005 as an example—it wasn’t originally qualified for theatrical release, but thanks to his extensive connections, it was still shown. Low box office? No problem; theater owners can cover it. This is precisely why relationships are so important.

The film industry is a place filled with complex relationships. Without them, even those working in support roles find it hard to break in. Take future director Gu Dezhao, for instance—his sister is a high-ranking executive atKia Company Company, and he has a good relationship with Xu Ke and others.

Just kidding. Trying to make it on your own without these conditions is simply seeking disaster. Although Xiao Ran believes entrepreneurship is a delightful endeavor, he’s not stupid enough to think failure is fun, though sometimes failure truly is the mother of success.

Still, Xiao Ran is confident about his network within the industry. All he needs now is to climb one more level and meet higher-ups. As for funding, he thought long and hard before deciding to take advantage of the stock market crash that began on October 1, 1987, and lasted two full months.

Xiao Ran considers himself a moral person, so for the impending crash, he made extensive preparations. He also gave himself a reason to go all in: Hong Kong people can’t live without movies, so for the sake of cinema, let those affected by the crash consider it a preliminary investment.

Of course, this is just a joke. To be honest, Xiao Ran struggled mentally many times over this decision. Using the crash would mean harming the interests of everyone in Hong Kong, and if it were exposed later, he’d be finished.

Sure enough, the cover of that issue of Ming Pao Weekly showed Xiao Ran supporting the slightly drunk Lin Qingxia. Instantly, all the newspapers and entertainment magazines started investigating who this guy was who was with Lin Qingxia.

At first, they only knew Xiao Ran was a screenwriter and dismissed him as too insignificant to be with Lin Qingxia. When they learned that the scripts he had written since starting his career averaged 20 million in box office earnings, they were stunned. It seemed as if overnight, everyone saw this rising star screenwriter in a new light.

For Lin Qingxia, such rumors didn’t bother her much. Although Xiao Ran was a bit nervous, he didn’t think it was a big deal—after all, there really wasn’t anything between them. Still, he was happy because the media coverage made people value screenwriters more.

“Cheers to our success!”

This happened three days later, when the local box office for “True Heroes” exceeded 25 million. Xu Ke and Huang Baiming immediately decided to hold a celebration party, leading to the scene we see now.

Xu Ke pulled up Wu Yusen’s hand beside her and raised it sharply. The two clinked their glasses gently, and everyone present cheerfully raised their cups and cheered. Just as Xiao Ran finished drinking the liquid in his glass, he heard Huang Baiming laughing so hard his teeth almost came out as he shouted, “To soaring box office revenues, cheers!”
With no choice, Xiao Ran had to pour himself another drink and drink it all at once. Fortunately, having been around for a long time, everyone in the circle knew about this unique screenwriter who didn’t drink, so they forgave Xiao Ran’s unconventional behavior.
After another round of toasts, suddenly the lights went out. A waiter pushed a huge cake to the center of the hall, and everyone instinctively started singing “Happy Birthday.” Xiao Ran smiled—they were celebrating Zhang Guorong’s birthday in advance, and Huang Baiming had informed him about it beforehand.
Zhang Guorong, who later became known as one of Hong Kong’s “Four Beauties,” no longer had the same alluring appearance as before; instead, he seemed energetic and cheerful. He was clearly stunned by this surprise, staring at the large cake before suddenly breaking into a sincere smile.
After singing, Zhang Guorong remained in high spirits. Zhu Baoyi stepped forward and kissed him on the cheek, instantly sparking laughter from everyone. Standing beside Zhang Guorong, Xiao Ran pretended to be self-pitying and said to him with exaggerated sorrow, “Sigh, we’re all standing here—there’s no reason she kissed you but not me. It’s so unfair!”
Zhu Baoyi was clearly very happy. Hearing Xiao Ran’s words, she smiled sweetly and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Xiao Ran immediately acted as if the world was spinning, covering his cheek in ecstasy, like a first-time lover: “Uh, Aiyi, I won’t wash this side of my face anymore. What do you think?”
This playful moment caused everyone present to laugh heartily. The celebration party was indeed a great place to relax. After having fun for a while and posing for photos taken by the reporters, Xiao Ran finally pulled Zhang Guorong aside to build relationships.
After a short conversation, Huang Baiming, Xu Ke, Shi Nansheng, and Wu Yusen all came over to them. Knowing they had important matters to discuss, Zhang Guorong wanted to leave, but Xiao Ran, aware of the situation, quickly held him back: “There’s no need to go. This matters to you too!”
(This book’s VIP chapters will be officially released on July 4th. Stay tuned!)