Before its actual release in the original timeline, Durian Durian was a film Zhang Tiancheng had never seen; he only knew it was a banned movie.
Following the address Qin Hailu had given him over the phone last night, Zhang Tiancheng arrived at the film crew's set in Tsuen Wan, only to frown instantly.
The crew was currently shooting inside a public bathhouse. For some unknown reason, security was extremely tight, with crew members blocking the road a dozen meters away from the entrance.
Even after both of them explained that they were friends of Qin Hailu, the guards refused to let them through. It was not until Zhang Tiancheng spotted the young woman from that day and beckoned her over to vouch for them that they were finally permitted to enter.
However, as they tried to step into the bathhouse itself, they were stopped once more by crew members stationed at the door, who told them that filming was underway inside and it was inconvenient for visitors to enter.
If it was inconvenient for visitors, it could only mean they were filming exposure or intimate scenes.
Zhang Tiancheng furrowed his brow immediately.
He was a normal man; when watching movies in his past life, he would stare intently at intimate scenes, and he had watched that particular sequence between Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Tang Wei several times.
Yet those were strangers. Qin Hailu was his friend—that was an entirely different matter.
The two waited off to the side. After ten-odd minutes, someone finally emerged from the bathhouse.
"Let's go, we're going in," Zeng Li said, heading straight toward the bathhouse.
Once inside, they didn't see Qin Hailu. Just as Zhang Tiancheng was about to ask someone for directions, Qin Hailu approached from a side corridor with damp hair.
"You're here," Qin Hailu said, walking over with a beaming smile.
Looking at her, Zhang Tiancheng desperately wanted to ask, "Why did you take a role like this?" But the words died on his lips; asking that would only make everyone awkward.
"How much longer is this shoot going to take?" Zeng Li asked with a smile.
Qin Hailu glanced at Chen Guo sitting in the director's chair over yonder, and lowered her voice. "The original plan was to shoot in Hong Kong for a month, and the rest of the scenes will be filmed in the Northeast. But progress is very slow right now; the scenes we've shot over the past five days were scheduled to be finished in two."
Zeng Li's eyes lit up. "Tiancheng and I are planning to head back in September. If you're returning to Mainland China in September, we can go together."
Qin Hailu looked at Zhang Tiancheng in surprise. "Going back in September? What about your movie?"
"What's there to manage? Post-production wraps up at the end of August, and then it goes straight into theaters."
Qin Hailu's eyes widened in astonishment. "No promotion?!"
"I'm not famous in Hong Kong, and those actors aren't particularly well-known either. Promotion would just be a waste of money, so we might as well just release it directly. As for the box office, I'll leave it to fate."
Back when the film was nearing wrap-up, Zhang Kailin had asked about promotional plans, but Zhang Tiancheng had flatly rejected the idea. From the very beginning, he had never intended to run any promotional campaigns.
None of the main cast members had any name recognition, so promotion would simply be throwing money away.
Because the action sequences had dragged out the schedule, the production had already gone over budget. Factoring in the upcoming post-production expenses, the cost of Lone Cop had soared to four and a half million, making a promotional push completely out of the question.
The remaining funds were earmarked for his next film; he couldn't afford to squander them on Lone Cop anymore.
As for the box office, Zhang Tiancheng didn't care—he would let nature take its course.
Right now, his only thought was to return to Mainland China as soon as post-production wrapped and prepare for his next project.
He needed to seize the time to shoot a few more films and strive to elevate his director ranking to Level 5 before graduation.
As for a shortage of funds, that was hardly an issue at all. Whenever he asked, Zhang Zenghua and Li Yiling would surely provide.
"You really do whatever you want, don't you? Aren't you afraid of losing money?" Qin Hailu asked in amazement.
"If I lose it, I lose it. For a first film, isn't losing money perfectly normal?"
Qin Hailu gave him a thumbs-up and joked, "As expected of a tycoon, you certainly talk differently from ordinary folks."
"Qin Hailu, come over here for a second. Let me talk you through the next scene."
Over there, Chen Guo was waving at Qin Hailu.
Since Qin Hailu had to get back to work, Zhang Tiancheng and Zeng Li took their leave. They were both in Hong Kong anyway, and there would be plenty of time to visit her later.
Shooting for Durian Durian proceeded at a sluggish pace, and the month-long schedule of scenes wasn't completed until the end of August.
Right on cue, the post-production for Lone Cop was also finished. Zhang Tiancheng entrusted all subsequent censorship submissions and theatrical releases to Zhang Kailin.
On August 30th, when the heat in Hong Kong was practically scorching, Zhang Tiancheng, accompanied by Zeng Li and the four bodyguards, traveled back to Mainland China together with the Durian Durian crew.
However, once they crossed the Lo Wu Control Point, Zhang Tiancheng and Zeng Li parted ways with the film crew.
The production of Durian Durian had been too slow, and their Mainland scenes required immediate attention; the moment they crossed over, they had to fly straight to the Northeast. As the lead actress, Qin Hailu had no time to linger and flew off to the Northeast with the crew.
Zhang Tiancheng, meanwhile, took Zeng Li home.
Standing before the gates of the villa, Zeng Li, who had asked the question countless times along the way, couldn't help pressing him once more.
"Is your dad really not home?"
Seeing that Zeng Li still looked tense, Zhang Tiancheng chuckled.
"You've asked that a million times. Why are you still so nervous? You weren't like this when you met my aunt."
Zeng Li shot him an icy glare. "Your aunt and your dad are hardly the same thing."
"Is your dad really not home? If he is, I'm not going in."
Realizing how genuinely nervous Zeng Li was, Zhang Tiancheng stopped teasing her.
"I'll say it one last time: my dad went to Chaoshan to negotiate some business, so he's not home. Unless he lied to me on the phone earlier, he isn't here."
Zeng Li took a deep breath, gazed at the villa's front gate, and said, "Let's go then."
Upon entering the house, Zhang Tiancheng dismissed the four bodyguards, officially terminating their employment contract. The final installment of their payment would be wired over once Zhang Zenghua returned.
Zhang Zenghua frequently traveled for business negotiations and always hired a few bodyguards to accompany him.
Since these four men came from the security agency Zhang Zenghua regularly patronized, they had no fear of not receiving their final payment, and they turned and left without a worry.
The moment the four men departed, Zeng Li, who had already scrutinized the spacious living room several times over, couldn't help venting.
"Your place feels so desolate. There's no warmth of life at all."
"My mom divorced my dad long ago. Without a female head of the household, of course it lacks warmth. Once you move in, it'll have plenty of life."
Zeng Li's face instantly flushed with embarrassment. "I am not moving in!"
They didn't stay long in Pengcheng; two days later, they boarded a plane bound for Beijing.
The start of the semester was right around the corner. Even though seniors had no classes, they still had to report to school and pay tuition fees.
After landing in Beijing, the two took a taxi straight to the Central Academy of Drama.
Today was already September 2nd, and tomorrow was the final deadline for registration, so the campus was already bustling with crowds.
Zhang Tiancheng dropped Zeng Li off right below the women's dormitory building. Just as she was about to head toward the entrance, a woman emerged from inside.
This woman was quite famous. The moment she stepped out, passersby eagerly called out, "Senior Sister Zhang!" "Senior Sister Zhang!" "Ziyi!"
The person who had emerged was none other than Zhang Ziyi. She had spent the latter half of last year away from school, filming Zhang Yimou's movie The Road Home.
Although the film had yet to be released, she had already established a connection with Zhang Yimou.
Back in March of this year, Ang Lee was searching for actors to cast in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. She had gone to audition, but wasn't selected—Ang Lee had set his sights on Shu Qi instead.
However, the shooting schedule was extremely long, requiring months of prior Mandarin training and martial arts practice, which led Shu Qi to turn down the role.
Unable to find anyone suitable, Ang Lee received a phone call from Zhang Yimou, who strongly recommended her.
Thanks to Zhang Yimou's endorsement, she secured the coveted role of Jen Yu in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
Filming was already underway, and she had only returned to handle her registration formalities before flying off to Xinjiang to resume shooting.
Zhang Ziyi smiled as she exchanged a few pleasantries with the passersby, only to catch sight of Zeng Li and Zhang Tiancheng standing nearby. The smile on her face instantly grew stiff and unnatural.
"Zeng Li, you're back."
"Yeah, just got back."
Zeng Li's reply was ice-cold.
Before being admitted to the Central Academy of Drama, Zeng Li had studied Peking Opera at a theater troupe as a principal female lead, and she was renowned for her striking beauty, making her very famous within the academy.
When Zhang Yimou was casting the female lead for The Road Home, he had reviewed materials on many candidates, and Zeng Li was among them.
After looking at Zeng Li's photographs, Zhang Yimou had wanted to meet her in person, and his visit to the Central Academy of Drama for auditions was made specifically with Zeng Li in mind.
Yet on the day of the auditions, Zeng Li happened to be away from her dorm.
Aside from Zeng Li, every single female student from the Class of '96 at the Central Academy of Drama had been present.
Back then, Zhang Tiancheng had not yet established a relationship with Zeng Li, nor did he know why Zeng Li had been absent on the day of the auditions.
After they got together, Zhang Tiancheng had asked Zeng Li about it, but she had refused to talk.
Yet Zhang Tiancheng didn't believe for a single second that there was nothing fishy about the whole affair. Ever since that incident, Zeng Li's attitude toward Zhang Ziyi had undergone a complete one-eighty, shifting from warmth to utter chilliness—anyone could tell at a glance what was going on.
Although Zeng Li lacked intense ambition and had declined all acting offers during her three years in college, preferring to remain safely ensconced at school, lacking ambition didn't mean she would smile warmly at someone who had tried to snatch her opportunities.
Zhang Ziyi was well aware of Zeng Li's coldness. A sheepish, awkward smile crossed her face as she turned her attention to Zhang Tiancheng.
"Tiancheng, I never took you for a wealthy young master. Liu Ye and the others mentioned that you funded your own movie in Hong Kong. How did it turn out? How is the film?"
"It's all right. It's about to be released."
Zhang Ziyi's pupils contracted slightly, a deep sense of envy welling up in her heart. Regardless of the film's quality, managing to complete a movie in Hong Kong and rushing it into theaters immediately afterwards meant that Zhang Tiancheng possessed genuine connections within the Hong Kong film industry.
Even though the Hong Kong film sector was currently experiencing a downturn, it was still far more developed than the mainland industry, and numerous mainland artists desperately yearned to break into it.
Since Zhang Tiancheng had connections in the Hong Kong film circles, helping Zeng Li break into that industry would be an absolute breeze.
As for herself, despite having attached herself to Zhang Yimou, the Hong Kong film industry paid her no mind whatsoever.
"Congratulations then. By the way, what's the movie called? When it premieres on the mainland, I'll definitely go support it."
"Lone Cop, though it probably won't be released on the mainland."
Zhang Ziyi wanted to chat a bit longer with Zhang Tiancheng to close the distance between them, but he gave her no such opportunity.
"Lizi, you go on inside first. I need to go find my teacher."
"Okay."
As Zeng Li walked toward the dormitory building, Zhang Tiancheng turned and walked away, leaving Zhang Ziyi standing awkwardly in place.