3:00 PM.
A four-star hotel managed by China Film Group.
A crowd of crew members stood on tiptoe, their gazes fixed on the distant horizon. Suddenly, a lead Passat appeared, followed closely by a motorcade of some sixty vehicles.
Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief, their faces breaking into smiles of release.
They had finally arrived.
With a solemn expression, Li Mu pulled himself together, waved his hand grandly, and the band stationed outside the hotel struck up the "Ode to Joy". The brisk, passionate melody instantly resounded across the hotel entrance.
As the music played on, the motorcade slowly pulled into the hotel parking lot.
The car doors flew open in unison.
Jiang Wen, Zhou Yun, Chow Yun-fat, Liu Jialing, Feng Xiaogang, and other heavyweights stepped out of the vehicles one after another. Walking behind them were Chen Kun, Liao Fan, Jiang Wu, and other prominent supporting actors in the film.
It was truly a gathering of stars today.
Seeing Jiang Wen emerge, Li Mu immediately greeted him with a smile, "Please allow me to escort our distinguished guests to rest in the hotel for a moment. The banquet will start in about two hours, so I must trouble you all to be patient."
Jiang Wen nodded with satisfaction and said to Chow Yun-fat, "Then let's have everyone go and rest for a bit. You must all be tired from the flight anyway."
"Yes, alright." Chow Yun-fat nodded.
Feng Xiaogang joked half-heartedly, "I've traveled all the way back from Qiongzhou, so you'll have to keep me company and drink a few cups with me tonight."
Jiang Wen burst into laughter, turned sideways, and made a "please" gesture toward Chow Yun-fat and the others.
Chow Yun-fat returned the courtesy with a polite bow, and the two men laughed heartily as they walked side by side into the hotel. Li Mu stepped back to the side of the road, acting like a temple guardian as he watched them go in.
When Jiang Wu passed by him, he nodded in acknowledgment.
Li Mu smiled in response.
Suddenly, Li Mu caught a chilling gaze.
Lifting his eyes, he saw Liu Zi looking at him with a distorted, icy expression.
His left cheek was slightly swollen and bruised, with a small patch of skin scraped off, making him look rather disheveled.
As their eyes met, Liu Zi stopped right in front of Li Mu with a sneer.
"So you're here too." Liu Zi glanced at Li Mu's staff badge, leaned in close to Li Mu's ear, and said in a voice audible only to the two of them, "Your name is Li Mu, right? I'll remember you."
"Thanks. It's rare for someone like you to remember." Li Mu replied with a relaxed expression.
Li Mu's nonchalant attitude instantly sent Liu Zi's fury through the roof. With a ferocious expression, he grabbed Li Mu by the collar.
Those who had not yet entered the hotel paused in their tracks and cast their gazes at the two of them simultaneously.
Li Mu smiled, raised both hands, and looked at Liu Zi playfully.
Is this guy out of his mind?
Daring to start something on an occasion like this today—does he really think his old man Zhang Guoli has eyes that can reach the heavens?
Sensing the strange stares from the people around him, Liu Zi forcefully suppressed his anger, patted Li Mu's collar with a smirk, and said, "Your collar is a bit dirty, little brother. Go back and change into a new one; don't make a fool of yourself on an occasion like this today."
With that, he turned away bitterly and walked into the hotel with the rest of the group.
Li Mu flicked his suit collar casually and, as if nothing had happened, continued to stand guard by the roadside.
At that moment, Wang Hao carefully poked his head out and whispered, "Brother Mu, that guy's name is Zhang Mo, and he's the son of industry heavyweight Zhang Guoli. How on earth did you offend him?!"
"Nothing much. Just pinned him to the ground and rubbed his face in it a bit." Li Mu said with an understatement.
"Ah?!" Wang Hao gasped out loud.
You beat up Zhang Mo?
That guy was notorious for being unreasonable even when he was in the wrong!
Not long ago, simply because he suspected his girlfriend of cheating, he beat her so badly she ended up in the hospital, and he was expelled directly because of it.
And Li Mu beat him up?
"All right, all right, stop going 'ah'. A beating's a beating, we'll deal with whatever comes of it." Li Mu felt not a shred of regret. "The guy was already riding roughshod over me; if I hadn't fought back, would I still even be a man?"
Wang Hao gave an awkward smile. If it were him, he definitely would have just swallowed it.
As the two of them were talking, Third Brother hurried out from inside the hotel.
With a wave of his hand, he first motioned for Wang Hao to leave, then looked at Li Mu with a stern expression and asked, "How did you offend Zhang Mo? That guy came asking me about you, and even asked me to help him vent his anger."
Why is it this guy again?!
Li Mu was practically speechless. He's just a second-generation celebrity, right? Push me hard enough and I'll blow the lid off this whole thing with you!
With a helpless sigh, Li Mu explained the origin of the matter to Third Brother.
Finally, he said with righteous indignation, "Given the situation at the time, if I hadn't pinned him to the ground, who knows if I'd still be alive after he swung that golf club down? You tell me whether I had any choice but to pin him down in that situation."
Third Brother knitted his brow, opened his mouth as if to say something, but held it back.
After a moment of silence, Third Brother asked, "Do you know who his father is?"
"Isn't it just Zhang Guoli? He raised his son into this state, so as the father, he bears the ultimate responsibility!" Li Mu was utterly annoyed by Zhang Mo's endless dramas. "To spoil a child is to kill him. If Zhang Guoli had only been willing to discipline this son a little more, he wouldn't have turned out like this."
"Hush!" Terrified, Third Brother quickly covered Li Mu's mouth, threatening him with his eyes. "Do you not want to work in this industry anymore? Do you have any idea what kind of influence Teacher Zhang Guoli wields in this circle?"
Zhang Guoli's influence nowadays was no less than Jiang Wen's, if not greater.
On top of that, he had close ties with official circles. Falling out with him would spell serious trouble even for Jiang Wen.
Li Mu's anger subsided by three parts. He pried Third Brother's hand away and said with an awkward smile, "Teacher Zhang Guoli is a veteran senior in the industry. Surely he wouldn't stoop to targeting a junior like me over such a trivial matter."
Seeing Li Mu cave so quickly, Third Brother chuckled.
Weren't you acting fearless just a second ago?
Why are you backing down now?
Putting on a serious and troubled expression, he said, "You saw it yourself—Liu Zi has a very heavy role in this film. You could say that throughout the entire script, his part is second only to the three main leads."
Li Mu nodded. Liu Zi's role was undoubtedly a core part of the movie.
"Then what do you suggest I do?" Li Mu asked.
Third Brother let out a long sigh and spoke as if he had planned this all along, "Director Jiang's thought is that you go apologize to Zhang Mo, and let this matter pass. After all, he was at fault first as well, so consider it giving him some face."
"Me... I should apologize to him?" Li Mu looked hesitant.
"My ancestor, I'm begging you! It's just an apology, it won't cost you a pound of flesh. Just pretend you're talking to a dog, alright?" Third Brother pleaded, looking as though he was about to drop to his knees right in front of Li Mu.
Li Mu said with a stern face, "I'd rather never work in this industry again than apologize to trash like him."
I finally managed to find someone to lean on, and I still have to swallow my pride and crawl? If I do that, won't I just become a beggar begging on my knees?
With a complex expression, Third Brother sighed and said earnestly, "I'm begging you, brother, just do it to give me some face. My face might not be enough, but Director Jiang's face should suffice. That's just how our industry is—whoever has the reasons isn't necessarily the one who's right."
Li Mu's expression shifted in a struggle, and only after a long while did he say helplessly, "All right then. I have to grant Third Brother this favor. I'll go apologize to him myself in a moment."
With that, Li Mu turned and walked away.
Leaving Third Brother standing in place with a turbulent mixture of emotions.