1990: Starting from Baojia Street

Zhou Yan was still thinking before, who moved so quickly to sign Chen Hong, but he didn't expect that it was an own mistake, and Chen Hong took Xu Junrong as a liar.

Why do you think he is a liar? Zhou Yan asked.

Because his Mandarin is too strong, and he told me when he came up that his company was planning to sign famous actors such as Leslie Cheung and Gong Li, which sounded a bit fake.

Zhou Yan twitched the corners of his lips, Good guy, is this Xu Junrong so wild? He really deceived Chen Hong as an ignorant girl.

Chen Hong was also very considerate, saying it was a bit fake, but there was no way this thing was fake.

Zhou has never thought about signing Gong Li and Leslie Cheung. When it comes to signing well-known actors, Zhou Yan is more interested in Liang Jiahui and has no other ideas.

Like Leslie Cheung, Zhou couldn't sign. If he insisted on signing, the price would be too high.

Manager Xu is quite ambitious, Zhou Yan explained helpfully.

Chen Hong said with a smile, I thought he was lying before, but now that I know this company belongs to your family, I think what he said is still possible.

Zhou Yan glanced at the smile on Chen Hong's face with his peripheral vision, and sighed secretly. Sure enough, good-looking people have advantages. Such obvious respect, coupled with Chen Hong's beautiful face, makes it difficult for people to dislike it.

Zhou has no plans to sign A-list actresses for the time being. Zhou Yan added.

Chen Hong's eyelashes fluttered, Are you telling me that if I go to Zhou's, I will get key development?

Zhou Yan nodded, You can understand it that way.

Then if I sign with Zhou, can I play your role?

The filming of The Sixth Sense has not been completed yet. I have no new plans for the time being, but if there is a script that suits you, I will let you take part. In fact, you don't have to pay attention to my drama. If you sign the contract, the company will I’ll help you contact me about the script.”

In addition to helping me choose scripts, what else will the company help me with?

You are wrong to ask me these questions. If you are interested, I will ask Xu Junrong to contact you.

Is this the person who contacted me last time?

Um.

Chen Hong nodded, Let's talk then.

…

After sending Chen Hong home, Zhou Yan drove to school again, where the orchestra was rehearsing this afternoon.

During the summer vacation, there are relatively few people in the school. No one uses either the piano room or the concert hall, so the orchestra can come here to rehearse basically every day.

When Zhou Yan arrived at the place, they were rehearsing Eternal Night.

Unlike other songs, Eternal Night is very difficult and will not produce any results if there is little rehearsal time, so they rehearse this song the most frequently.

Because there will be an Oriental Heritage Concert later, the orchestra now has many folk music musicians. Although the music rehearsed today does not involve folk music, students of these folk music have also come to the concert hall.

They had nothing to do in the summer, so they treated the concert hall as their home every day.

What surprised Zhou Yan was that Wang Feng, Long Long and Zhao Muyang were also sitting below.

Zhou Yan walked over and chatted with them for a few words before he realized that they would come over every other day during this period. Although they didn't say it, Zhou Yan knew that they should be here for Xu Junrong.

Xu Junrong has been busy with the band's signing these two days, so he should be free to discuss the signing with Wang Feng and the others.

Zhou Yan came over now, wondering if he could meet Xu Junrong and tell him about Chen Hong, but he didn't see Xu Junrong.

Xu Junrong didn't come over until Zhou Yan was about to go home.

Seeing Zhou Yan, Xu Junrong was also surprised, Mr. Zhou, why are you here?

Zhou Yan smiled and said, This is my school, and the people above are all my classmates and students. Why do you think I came here?

I thought you were here to find me.

I'm also looking for you by the way. Do you still remember Chen Hong, the person I asked you to contact last time?

Xu Junrong nodded, Of course I remember. She said he had signed a contract with the company and hung up on me directly.

She didn't sign with the company. There was a misunderstanding. Find time to contact her again and talk about the signing.

Well, I understand. Then after I finalize the matter with Wang Feng and the others, I can go to Chen Hong. Should I still call her as before?

Yes. Zhou Yan looked back at Wang Feng and the others: When will you talk to Wang Feng and the others?

I came here today just to talk to them. Mr. Zhou, do you want to come with me?

Zhou Yan shook his head, You can talk to them yourself, I won't get involved, and don't call me Mr. Zhou in the future. I'm not used to it, and it's easy for you to call me my brother.

Then what should I call you?

Call me Zhou Yan, or Director Zhou, or Teacher Zhou, whatever.

Then I'll call you Teacher Zhou.

Okay. Zhou Yan nodded, You can watch and talk about Wang Feng's band affairs. Just let me know when there is an outcome. The same goes for Chen Hong. Let me know when there is an outcome.

Understood, Teacher Zhou.

You get busy, I'll go back first.

On the way, Zhou Yan's pager received a message from Zhang Youan, and without asking him to call back, he said that The Piano Boy had been released in Europe.

Zhang Youan had told him about this a few days ago. It was not important news, it was all a plan that had been arranged long ago.

Although The Piano Boy has average performance at the European box office, it has been released in many countries. In addition to Britain, Germany, Italy and France, it has also been released in Spain, the Netherlands and other countries.

…

Gilbert had just finished lunch when his good friend Robin called him.

Good afternoon, Robin.

No one spoke on the other side of the phone, just a burst of sad music.

Robin? Gilbert called again.

At this time, Robin said from the opposite side, Haven't you heard this piece of music?

No.

This seems to be the work of the Chinese musician you mentioned last time.

Really? Gilbert asked in surprise, Where did you hear this song?

The CD I bought in the video store, the author's name sounds very similar to the one you mentioned last time, and he is also a Chinese musician. That's why I bought it.

What's the name of this CD?

Piano boy, have you heard of it?

No.

Gilbert on the other end of the phone shook his head. He had only heard of Mysterious Country.

He and his wife Maria stayed in China for two weeks. They had a very busy schedule and spent most of their time in scenic spots. Although Mysterious Country was very interesting, they did not bother to find out about the author, nor did they bother to find out more about the author. You know, Zhou Yan also has other music albums.

At a certain scenic spot, they also talked about Zhou Yan with others, but unfortunately, not everyone in China knows Zhou Yan.

After returning, Gilbert shared the good music he heard in China with his good friend Robin.

Which store did you buy it from? Gilbert asked again.

It's that store called A Little Kitten. Do you want to buy it?

Well, I want to see if the author is Zhou Yan.

How do you know if it's Zhou Yan?

Well……

Robin's words immediately stopped Gilbert. Yes, even if he went to the video store, how would he know if the author of The Piano Boy was Zhou Yan?

Gilbert thought for a while and asked, Isn't there an introduction by the author in the album?

It seems there is. Let me take a look at the box.

There was a sound of rummaging for something from the other side, and Gilbert couldn't help but shake his head. Robin was really confused. He just bought the CD and couldn't find the box.

After a while, Robin finally found the box, Let me take a look... Zhou Yan is a well-known Chinese musician and director. Piano Boy is his first music album. This album includes Want to Fly The Piano Boy, Sanmao Joins the Army, Reply from Heaven and other films. Among them, The Piano Boy Who Wants to Fly is also Zhou Yan's first film. The short version of this film won the Clermont Film Festival. Lang International Short Film Festival Jury Special Award...Zhou Yan's second album Mysterious Country was a great success as soon as it was auditioned...

Wait a minute, did you just read Mysterious Kingdom?

Oh, it seems that the CD you played to me last time was called Mysterious Kingdom?

Gilbert stroked his hand and said, That's right, the author is Zhou Yan. I didn't expect that he has other music albums and they are also released by us.

I have listened to it once. It sounds very good, but the style is very different from Mysterious Country.

you again……

Gilbert originally wanted Robin to play a few more songs for him, but after thinking about it, he decided not to, I'll buy one myself.

Listening on the phone not only wastes the phone bill, but the effect is much worse. The music is transmitted through the phone line and is distorted, so the experience is not very good.

After saying that, without waiting for Robin to respond, Gilbert hung up the phone, then picked up his wallet and CD player and walked out.

Maria asked him, Are you going out?

Well, I'm going to buy a music album and I'll be back in a while.

oh.

After leaving the house, Gilbert got on his bicycle and rushed towards the video store Robin mentioned.

There were quite a lot of people in the video store in the afternoon, and Gilbert saw what he was looking for on the new product shelf in the front row.

After picking up a copy of The Piano Boy from the shelf, Gilbert walked to the cashier and said, Hello, check out.

Seeing Gilbert entering the door in a hurry, he took Piano Boy from the new product shelf and went to check out. The boss was quite curious, Are you here specifically for this album?

Gilbert nodded, Yes.

Do you know the author of this album?

Um.

But he is Chinese.

I traveled to China some time ago. This author is very famous in China.

The boss smiled and said, It seems that the supplier did not lie to me. He told me that this author is very famous in Asia.

It seems like this. When I went to the Great Wall of China, I heard someone playing Zhou Yan's music.

Is the Great Wall fun?

It's very interesting. If you happen to meet someone playing The Great Wall, it will double the happiness.

What is the Great Wall?

It's also Zhou Yan's song.

The boss nodded, I heard from the supplier that this author's movie is being screened here during this period. If you are interested, you can go and watch it.

Really? Are you talking about The Piano Boy Who Wants to Fly?

Well, that's what the supplier told me anyway.

Thank you.

…

After settling the bill, Gilbert couldn't wait to open the CD, put it in the CD player, and listened to it while riding.

What Robin said is absolutely correct. Zhou Yan's album is completely different in style from Mysterious Country.

Mysterious Country has a very strong oriental cultural color. Whether it is the melody or the orchestration, you can hear the flavor of China as soon as you listen to it.

Before today, Gilbert had always thought that Zhou Yan was a musician who specialized in writing music like The Great Wall.

But Piano Boy gives people a very different feeling. The songs in this album have a more Western feel, and the instrumentation used is basically piano and violin.

If listening to Mysterious Country will remind people of ancient and magnificent buildings such as the Great Wall and the Forbidden City, then listening to Piano Boy will make people feel like they are by an unknown river.

The small river passes through the vast grassland, and is occasionally forked by the tree roots protruding from the shore. The flowers, plants and trees on the shore, when blown by the wind, show their smiling faces...

But the sunshine will not always be bright, and the smiling faces will not always be there. When some songs are played, it starts to rain on the grassland, and the raindrops hit the river, causing a faint sadness.

The light, sad, naughty, melancholy... later merged into the river, flowing towards the farther and wider grassland, and finally disappeared into the sky.

When Gilbert got home, the songs in the album had not yet been played. He couldn't bear to part with the wonderful feeling of listening to music while riding a bike, so he passed by the door of his house and rode towards the distance.

He didn't return until the music ended.

As soon as he got home, Maria started to accuse him, Why did you pass by the door of my house just now and then leave again? You ignored me when I called you from behind.

Did you call me? I was so fascinated by the music.

What kind of music are you listening to that makes you so obsessed?

Zhou Yan's new album... should be said to be Zhou Yan's old album.

Is he the author of Mysterious Kingdom?

That's right.

Listen to me too.

Okay. Gilbert handed the CD player to his wife, Let's go watch a movie together tonight.

While playing with the CD player, Maria asked curiously, Why do you want to go to a movie all of a sudden?

I heard from the owner of the video store that Zhou Yan's movie The Piano Boy Who Wants to Fly will be released in our area during this time.

Isn't Zhou Yan a musician? He also makes movies?

Um.

You have to be mentally prepared. His music may be great, but his filmmaking may be average.

Gilbert shrugged, At least listen to some music.

…

In the evening, the Gilberts came to the cinema and bought the 7:30 show.

There are not many screenings of this movie. Many people are not interested when they see that it is made by a Chinese director. It is not that they have any objections to China, but except for a few specific countries, the audience is not interested in movies from other countries. interest.

However, there were some East Asian faces in the hall, maybe they were here for this movie.

Gilbert was an acquaintance. After handing the ticket to Maria, he approached a young man with an East Asian appearance.

Hello. Gilbert greeted in Chinese.

The young man was stunned for a moment.

Seeing the young man in a daze, Gilbert thought he was not Chinese, so he greeted him in neon language, Speaking loudly.

The young man then said in Dutch, Hello, I am Chinese.

Hello, hello. Gilbert said hello twice in Mandarin, but his Mandarin level was only about this, so he continued to say in Dutch, You are here to watch The Piano Boy Who Wants to Fly 》?”

Yes. The boy nodded, You too?

Yeah, I really like Zhou Yan. When I found out his movie was released, I came over to watch it.

You particularly like Zhou Yan? The boy was very surprised.

Zhou Yan's movie has just been released, and his music album has only been released for two days. Why does this foreigner like it so much?

I have been to China before, and when I was in China, I listened to his album Mysterious Country.

Hearing that Gilbert had been to China and listened to Mysterious Country, the boy was both happy and very envious, I haven't even heard of Mysterious Country yet.

He came to Amsterdam this spring, before Mysterious Country was released.

The news about this album was told to him by a friend when he called him some time ago. Unfortunately, he couldn't buy the album here, and it would be too expensive to mail it.

Looking at the boy's envious expression, Gilbert smiled and said, I can listen to it for you. I even brought the album.

When leaving home, Gilbert originally only brought Piano Boy, but after thinking about it, he felt that the Mysterious Country was brought from China and was very memorable. Today they came to see Zhou Yan again movie, so I brought it over too.

Seeing Gilbert take out the album from his bag, the boy felt like he was dreaming. The album Mysterious Country that he had been thinking about was actually taken out from a Dutchman's bag?

“It’s actually a signature model!”

The boy was even more surprised when he saw the signature on the album.

Gilbert smiled and said, No, this is signed by a Chinese friend of mine.

its not right.

The boy took the album and looked at it carefully, Although the writing is rather sloppy, it is definitely Zhou Yan. However, I have never seen Zhou Yan's signature. I can only confirm that it is Zhou Yan, but I don't know if it is Zhou Yan himself. Signed.”

Gilbert frowned, But Zhou said that this is his own name.

Your medieval friend also has the last name Zhou?

Well, his surname is also Zhou, and he is also a music teacher.

The boy swallowed and said, This friend of yours can't be Zhou Yan... Isn't he tall and thin, with fair skin and very good-looking?

It's not very high.

It's definitely not high here in the Netherlands. Is it taller than me?

Probably taller than you.

Meet him in Yanjing?

Meet him on the Great Wall.

The more the boy asked, the more excited he became, and then he scratched his head again. He didn't know how to confirm this matter. After thinking for a while, he suddenly patted his thigh and said, By the way, there is a scene of Zhou Yan at the end of The Piano Boy Who Wants to Fly. You You’ll know it when you see it.”

Seeing the boy so excited, Gilbert was still a little confused.

What's the meaning?

The person he met on the Great Wall was Zhou Yan himself?

Looking back now, it is indeed possible. At that time, Zhou and Wang always wore sunglasses and hats and only took pictures in places with few people.

He was also a little excited. If it was really Zhou Yan, then this experience would be too wonderful.

Can I listen to this album? The boy pointed at Mysterious Country and said.

Of course. Gilbert gave the CD player and album to the boy directly, I'm going to have a few words with my wife.

Returning to his wife, Gilbert suppressed his excitement and said, Maria, do you still remember Zhou we met at the Great Wall?

Remember, wasn't that music album given to you by him?

There's a chance you'll see him today.

What's the meaning?

Maria's curiosity was aroused, but Gilbert smiled and kept silent.

Maria rolled her eyes, You do this every time.

Haha, you'll find out soon.

There was still an hour before the movie started. Originally, Gilbert didn't think this hour would be very difficult. He had brought two music albums with him, and this hour was not enough for him to listen to both albums.

But now that he knew that the Zhou he knew might be Zhou Yan, he felt like every second seemed like years, and he wished he could rush into the movie theater right now.

The boy over there was just the opposite. He finally listened to the album Mysterious Country. Before that, he had only listened to a short piece of The Great Wall on the phone.

If the album is compared to a veiled woman, then he has not even lifted a corner of the woman's veil before.

No wonder this album sold well in Neon Club. This type of music style is indeed easy to conquer Neon listeners. In many cases, Neon people worship traditional Chinese culture even more than the Chinese themselves.

After the boys finished listening to Mysterious Country, The Piano Boy Who Wants to Fly also started checking in.

Gilbert walked over with a smile, It's time to check the tickets.

The boy returned the album and CD player to Gilbert, Thank you very much for letting me listen to Zhou Yan's new album in a foreign country.

I also want to thank you. It was you who let me know that I might have met Zhou Yan. You also made this album more meaningful.

The boy glanced at the ticket gate and said, I hope it's really Zhou Yan you bump into.

I also hope that.

…

When entering the cinema, Maria was still thinking about what her husband had told her before, but she quickly became immersed in the movie.

Although she has been to China, this was her first time watching a Chinese movie in a cinema.

Although the show was after seven o'clock, the attendance rate was not very high, and many of the people who came to watch the movie were also Chinese.

Most Dutch people rarely pay attention to Asian movies, so they are still not used to seeing East Asian faces. Maria and the others may have spent some time in China and have seen too many Chinese faces, so they are quite used to watching movies. , can also be seen.

Maria also wanted to say before that if a musician makes a movie, it may not be good-looking, but this movie far exceeded her expectations. The story is very touching and the rhythm is very good. Especially the use of the camera, it is not like anything at all. It can be photographed by a layman.

And with the addition of music, the movie becomes fuller. As a musician, Zhou Yan made the movie, not only did he not expose any shortcomings, but he also played to his strengths.

As Gilbert said, even if the movie isn't great, it's nice to listen to the music.

When the movie ended and everyone started to leave, Gilbert still didn't see Zhou Yan. He looked confused and turned around to look behind him, trying to find the boy just now.

Just then, a flute sounded.

Gilbert turned to look at the screen and saw a man standing on the grassland with his back to the audience, playing a flute. The music was melodious and very beautiful.

Suddenly a paraglider appeared in the sky, getting closer and closer.

Seeing that the paraglider was about to hit the man, the man quickly threw the flute away and ran away. At this time, Gilbert saw the man's face.

His eyes widened, it was really Zhou Yan!

Maria's eyes were even wider than Gilbert's. She finally understood why her husband said she would see Zhou. It turned out that Zhou was here.

There was a burst of laughter in the theater, and Gilbert also laughed. Other viewers laughed because this scene echoed the beginning of the movie and was more interesting, but Gilbert's laughter was because of his adventure on the Great Wall that day.

When the Easter egg was over, Maria asked Gilbert, Is Zhou really Zhou Yan?

Gilbert nodded, That's right.

Maria took a deep breath, It's amazing.

Yeah, it's amazing.

When Gilbert walked out of the cinema, the boy was waiting outside. As soon as he saw him, he couldn't wait to ask, Sir, is that Zhou Yan you know?

Gilbert smiled and nodded, Yes, that's him.

Seeing Gilbert nodding, the boy felt amazing and at the same time extremely envious. This Dutchman was also very lucky. When he traveled to China, he could meet Zhou Yan and get Zhou Yan's signed album.

Another thing he didn't know was that Gilbert not only had a signed album, but also had Zhou Yan's contact information.

If he knew this, he would be jealous beyond recognition.

…

Zhou Yan didn't know that his identity had been discovered by Gilbert in the Netherlands. He was standing next to Zhao Fei and looking at Liang Jiahui and Wang Zuxian who were playing opposite each other.

Today is Wang Zuxian's last scene. She and her husband came to the restaurant together for dinner.

The so-called together is just what the male protagonist thought. In fact, the female protagonist came to eat alone. She couldn't see her husband at all. She didn't say a word to her husband from beginning to end.

In the male protagonist's view, this kind of neglect is just because his wife is angry with him.

It's very possible that he was abused... There are scratches on Xiaotian's arm. I think they were scratched by fingernails. Maybe they were scratched in defense. I'm not sure either...

The male protagonist was talking to himself, thinking that his wife could hear her, but she was just complaining that he should not have contact with such patients anymore, so she deliberately ignored him.

Finally, after the wife paid the bill, she said to the table, Happy Anniversary, then got up and left.

Watching the heroine leave, the hero touched his forehead and sighed.

At this time Zhou Yan shouted, Stuck.

As soon as this sound card came out, the scene burst into applause. This was Joey Wong's last scene, and this sound card meant that Joey Wong had finished filming.

Zhou Yan also clapped, Congratulations on wrapping up.

Without Zhou Yan's instructions, the staff had already pushed a small cart over, with a lot of wine on it, including red wine, white wine, and champagne.

Zhou Yan sent a bouquet of flowers to Wang Zuxian on behalf of the crew. When he took the flowers, Wang Zuxian's smiling eyes turned into two crescent moons. This was the second time Zhou Yan sent flowers to her through the completion of filming. The last time was Zhou Yan himself. When Green Snake was wrapping up.

Wang Zuxian didn't give it to anyone, just held the flowers in his arms, and then bowed down to everyone present, Thank you for taking care of me during this period. I am very happy to be on the crew of The Sixth Sense and hope to continue to cooperate if we have the opportunity. The crew still has scenes to shoot later, and I hope it will go smoothly.

After she finished speaking, Zhou Yan took over, Everyone has worked hard tonight. Ms. Xiaoxian is very generous. She wants to treat you to a supper. The place has been reserved. Let's pack up quickly and go there together. We have a day off tomorrow. Let's all have a good time. rest.

The scene that Wang Zuxian finished filming was an evening scene, and it was already past nine o'clock when the filming was finished. If we went to have a late-night snack, it would probably be late at night, so Zhou Yan simply gave them a day off tomorrow.

Moreover, the crew has not had a dinner together for a long time, so we just took this opportunity to let them have a good meal and drink. If they have to film tomorrow, they will not be able to enjoy themselves.

Anyway, the recent filming has been going very smoothly and there is no problem with the progress.

The late night snack was arranged by Zhou Yan, and he had already found a place in advance. Otherwise, it would be really difficult to find a restaurant so late.

When Zhou Yan and the others arrived at the restaurant, it was just ten o'clock. Because the food had been served in advance, the food was served as soon as they sat down.

After the wine was poured, they all asked Zhou Yan to say a few words, and Zhou Yan simply said a few words, which roughly meant that they should eat and drink well tonight, don't think about anything else, be energetic tomorrow, and devote themselves to work the day after tomorrow.

After he finished speaking, he gave them free reign.

After drinking a few glasses of wine, Zhou Yan looked at Wang Zuxian next to him. This girl held the flowers in her arms all the way. When she arrived at the restaurant, she specially made a chair and placed the flowers on the chair, for fear that the flowers would be damaged.

Are you going to take this flower back to Taiwan?

Wang Zuxian said with a smile, I will keep it in your home, and you can help me take care of it.

Then you have found the right person. I am very diligent when growing flowers. I usually change the water every two days.

Before Wang Zuxian could praise him, he added, It takes three days to change.

...

As soon as the atmosphere at the wine table rose, the door of their box was pushed open, and two drunken men walked in, both holding wine glasses in their hands.

When the door was pushed open at first, they thought it was another table coming to toast. But when they saw two strangers, everyone was a little confused.

Is this... a wrong move?

After the two men came in, they glanced around the table. When they saw Wang Zuxian, they smiled and walked over with wine glasses in hand. (End of chapter)