On the 21st of January, Li Mu and Zhao Kang drove past the city where his girlfriend, Wang Jia, lived. After picking her up and her brother, Wang Ke, they returned to Yan Jing together.
The National People's Congress holiday was on the 23rd of January, and classes officially began on the 24th of January.
However, it was not important to Li Mu when classes began. He had already built an indestructible body with only 3321 points in the National People's Congress. No one could do anything to him about his frequent absences from classes. Moreover, no one was willing to cause trouble for him.
They set off in the early morning and traveled all the way. It was already evening when they arrived in Yan Jing. Li Mu received a call from Dufy while he was still on the road. She asked if he had returned. Li Mu told her that he was on his way back to Yan Jing. Dufy insisted on treating him to a meal no matter what.
Li Mu wanted to refuse at first, but Dufy said that she was going back to America the next day, so Li Mu immediately agreed.
There were many special types of service industries in China that were not developed enough. Now that he wanted to invest in a company in America, Li Mu could not find a suitable agency at all. Li Mu wanted to get the domain name of Facebook and wait. He could not use a company that belonged to Hua Xia as the main body. If that was the case, investing in Mark Zuckerberg would cause a lot of trouble. Moreover, he would be rejected by the American capital market. It would be more convenient to directly register in America.
Li Mu did not have any friends in America. He only had this Dufy whom he had met once. In any case, she owed him a favor, so he could ask her for help with this kind of thing.
Li Mu suggested to Dufy, "Call Old Chen as well."
Dufy had no objections. "Then you can contact him."
Li Mu contacted Chen Ze and told him about the matter. Chen Ze immediately agreed.
He knew that Dufy was leaving tomorrow, so he wanted to treat Dufy to a meal and have a good gathering. However, Dufy did not agree. She said that she was going to treat someone else to a meal, but she did not mention Li Mu. When Li Mu called, he realized that when Dufy said that she was going to treat him to a meal, she was actually going to treat him.
Chen Ze was not surprised that Dufy wanted to treat Li Mu to a meal. Previously, Dufy thanked Li Mu because Li Mu had given Du Wei two good songs. Dufy even felt that she had given face to Li Mu by agreeing to let Du Wei participate in Li Mu's micro film. At that time, she did not think that micro films like "Old Boys" would be popular. She felt that this kind of form, which was neither a TV series nor a movie, would not be popular. However, she did not expect that this film would be popular from the third day of the first lunar month until now.
More than half a month had passed, and the popularity of this film was still frighteningly high. It was incredible.
With her excellent performance and the two songs Li Mu gave her, Du Wei was now very popular. These were all unexpected by Dufy, so she also felt that she owed Li Mu a big favor.
Li Mu sent Zhao Kang and others to a restaurant near Zhongguancun, and then drove to the restaurant that Dufy had booked. The restaurant that Dufy booked this time was in a club called Prince Gong's Mansion. This club was next to Prince Gong's Mansion in the Qing Dynasty. It was a combination of a large courtyard house and a modern building.
It was the first time that Li Mu heard of this club, and it was also the first time that he came here. Afraid that he would not be able to find the way, Dufy also specially asked Chen Ze to wait at the door.
When Li Mu saw Chen Ze, his car was parked in front of an extraordinary Qing Dynasty gatehouse. Seeing Li Mu's car approaching, Chen Ze got off the car and waved at him, then asked Li Mu to drive behind him into the gatehouse.
Li Mu was a little curious. There was no nameplate or plaque on the gatehouse, but there were four middle-aged men standing at the door with serious faces. When Chen Ze drove in front of the gatehouse, he was politely stopped. Then Chen Ze showed a beautifully made card, then pointed to Li Mu's GL8 behind him and said something to the other party. Only then did the other party let Li Mu in with him.
After entering the gatehouse, there was a stone road about 100 meters long. When they drove to the end, it suddenly became spacious. The first thing that entered their eyes was an extremely beautiful courtyard house, with small parking lots on both sides. There were about 100 parking spaces in total. Chen Ze drove to the front door of the courtyard house, and Li Mu followed closely behind and parked the car.
Two young men in Chinese tunics immediately walked out from the main door and helped them open the door. Seeing that Chen Ze directly got out of the car, Li Mu handed the car to the other party, and he also got out of the car. The young man beside him bowed 90 degrees and said, "Sir, please." Then, he got into the car and drove to the parking lot.
Chen Ze called out to Li Mu and walked in. A beautiful girl dressed like a Chinese university student immediately walked in front of them and politely asked Chen Ze: "Young Master Chen, you've come. May I ask what the arrangements are for tonight?"
Li Mu was still a little unaccustomed to the girl calling Chen Ze "Young Master Chen". However, when he thought of the way she dressed, he didn't find it strange. Perhaps this Prince Gong's Mansion Club walked this kind of retro style.
Chen Ze was long used to this type of style, and said to the girl: "Miss Du has arrived?"
The girl hurriedly nodded and said: "The two Miss Du have arrived. This is Hidden Fragrance. Please follow me."
Walking into the depths of the courtyard house, the extravagance here had a different flavor. The bluestone floor was flat and dry, and the screen wall was large, engraved with nine vivid and lifelike dragons of different shapes and sizes. The two side corridors, from the stone walls to the roof and pillars, were all exquisitely made. All of the bricks, tiles, and eaves were painted new. Adding on the unique red lanterns in the courtyard and corridors, it really made people feel as if they had traveled through time and space.
The courtyard house was extremely large, and there were many entrances and exits. This was Li Mu's first time here, so he didn't have a general idea of what was going on, so he followed behind the two. After passing through two courtyards, he could see that different words appeared on the doors of the rooms beside him. Some were called Shuidiao Getou, some were called West River Moon, Red River, and Spring Garden. It turned out that these rooms were all named after poems.
"Hidden Fragrance" was no exception. It was a rather unpopular poem name, originating from Jiang Kui's song about plum blossoms. Its name came from Lin Bu's song about plum blossoms, "Sparse shadows slanting across the clear water, Hidden Fragrance floating at dusk under the moonlight." To Li Mu, he had only heard of it before, but he couldn't remember a single word of the specific content. After the Golden Fans Family became popular in 2003 and 2004, the two words "Hidden Fragrance" were closely linked to the song of the same name by Sha Bao Liang in the memory of the people.
Compared to the outside, the inside of the room was even more luxurious. The first entrance was a Chinese-style entrance, separated by eight screens. After passing through the screens and a wooden bead curtain, there was a hall that was a combination of Chinese and Western styles. The chairs, tea tables, and decorations were all in the Chinese style, almost all made of pure wood. However, the overall layout was not as overly formal as a Chinese hall, but rather had the flavor of a modern living room. On a high wooden stool in the corner, there was an exquisite incense burner burning with sandalwood, which smelled extraordinarily good.
The two sisters, Dufy and Du Wei, had arrived a long time ago. When Chen Ze and Li Mu walked in, the two of them hurriedly stood up and invited them to take a seat. Beside the tea table, a beautiful tea master dressed in simple and unadorned attire was brewing Kung Fu tea. Dufy said, "We sisters don't really like drinking tea, and we don't know what kind of tea you two like, so we ordered Da Hong Pao for you. If you don't like it, we can change it."
Li Mu smiled and said, "I don't know much about tea either. Anything is fine."
Chen Ze smiled and said, "I like drinking Da Hong Pao."
Du Wei said a little shyly to Li Mu and Chen Ze, "Big Brother Li Mu, Big Brother Chen Ze."
Li Mu looked at her and smiled, asking her, "You've been so popular recently. How are you getting used to it?"
Du Wei stuck out her tongue. "I'm not used to it. Sometimes, I even regret it."
Li Mu asked her, "Do you regret acting in 'Old Boys', singing those two songs, or both?"
Du Wei hurriedly said, "Brother Li Mu, I'm just joking. Sometimes I feel uncertain and stressed. If I hadn't made this movie, I would have been able to live a more relaxed life. But when I think about it, if it wasn't for this movie, I wouldn't have gotten the two songs, so I don't regret it anymore …"
Li Mu nodded and smiled. "Zhang Ailing said that it's better to be famous as early as possible. If you come too late, you won't be happy. Some people say that she's too utilitarian, but I think it's very reasonable. The earlier you become famous, the earlier you can experience that kind of happiness. If you become famous before the age of twenty, you'll be successful in your thirties. At that time, you'll still have enough youth to live the life you want. In comparison, if you become famous late in your thirties, you'll have to sacrifice a lot to maintain your fame. And for those who become famous at a young age, even if they make a mistake, people will be more forgiving. After all, there's a special term for young and frivolous people."
Du Wei nodded gently and smiled, showing two shallow dimples. She said to Dufy coquettishly, "Thank you, Big Sister." Du Wei was a little confused. Dufy looked at Li Mu deeply and said to Du Wei, "Your Big Brother Li Mu is teaching you a lesson. It doesn't matter if you don't understand. You just have to remember that being famous now is not a bad thing. Before the age of thirty, you can pursue your dreams in music. No matter how big the stage you want, I'll help you fight for it. After the age of thirty, if you find a man you like and want to live your own life, I'll support you. At least you won't have any regrets in music."
Du Wei nodded gently and smiled with two shallow dimples. She said to Dufy coquettishly, "Thank you, Big Sister."
Dufy winked at her and then asked Li Mu, "What do you think is the best path for Xiaowei to take in the future?"
Li Mu said without hesitation, "She must continue to go to school. She can sign a contract with a management company, but she must not delay her studies. The common problem in the domestic entertainment industry is that the level of education is not high enough. Most of the celebrities are unorthodox. A straight-A student will have a strong image. In addition, she can't take on movies and TV shows randomly, and she can't sing some music that is just to make up the numbers. Before she graduates, it's best to release a small number of high-quality works on a regular basis to maintain her exposure. At the same time, she can build up her foundation. After she graduates, she can make a breakthrough."
Dufy said, "If she signs a contract with a management company, she may not have that much freedom. The company will definitely look for scripts and roles everywhere. They will also look for people to ask for songs, and the quality will definitely not be that high."
Li Mu smiled and said, "It's very simple. Sign a contract with Makino Image. I guarantee that Xiaowei will have at least one 90-minute movie every year, and she will be the female lead. At the same time, I will give her at least three good songs. I won't let her take on any commercial performances or commercial activities. She will only do TV shows on first-tier TV stations, and she will do no more than four times a year. How about it?"
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