Deceiving Chinese Entertainment Industry for Thirty Years 59

Chapter 59: A Meeting of kindred spirits? Bingbing’s fortunes take a turn

January 21, 2025

Chapter 59: A Meeting of kindred spirits? Bingbing’s fortunes take a turn

The *Return of the Pearl* audition project, for Ma Xun, was over.

Of course, for others, it could also be said to be over.

After the recording ended, Ma Xun saw Ping Gongzi already talking to He Xiujing.

It was certain that Ping Gongzi also understood that he had lost completely.

If he was smart, he would properly discuss the distribution of benefits afterward.

Old Master Ping should still be able to have his name listed and receive money, but he shouldn’t think about anything else.

Based on the current audition results, the Ping family really had no chance of turning things around.

Even if they intended to overturn the results, they would need to find someone.

The “Big-Eyed Thief” (a nickname for someone with great influence in Hunan Television) was fighting on their home turf. Did Ping Gongzi have the ability to replace this guy?

Actually, even Ma Xun, who most wanted to replace the Big-Eyed Thief, had no way to do so.

Therefore, the only person who could be replaced was Ye Quan Zhen.

But don’t forget, this was arranged by Ma Xun.

Ma Xun had long since determined that the Ping family couldn’t replace Ye Quan Zhen.

Currently speaking, Ye Quan Zhen’s status wasn’t top-tier.

However, because Ye Quan Zhen starred in films like *Wulongyuan* and *Fire Cloud Legend*, her influence in mainland China was enormous.

It could be said that in mainland China, she was absolutely no less popular than top Hong Kong and Taiwan actresses.

There’s a touch of dark humor here; for her to have such high popularity in mainland China, she really needs to thank the pirated market.

Furthermore, precisely because Ye Quan Zhen’s status wasn’t that of a top actress, her appearance in a television drama was perfectly acceptable!

Conversely, top actresses whose status surpassed Ye Quan Zhen’s wouldn’t appear in a television drama, not even a Qiong Yao drama. And actresses whose status was lower than Ye Quan Zhen’s couldn’t compare to her in terms of popularity.

So, who could the Ping family find? They weren’t that powerful of a family to begin with, and in recent years, they mainly relied on Qiong Yao dramas.

Ma Xun had seen this point long ago, and he had long ago set Ye Quan Zhen as his trump card. By revealing this card, the Ping family would be completely outmatched.

Of course, Ma Xun also admitted that Ye Quan Zhen wasn’t a perfect Zi Wei (the main female character in *Return of the Pearl*).

This time, Ma Xun didn’t consider the casting from the perspective of the role.

Compared to Zi Wei, Ye Quan Zhen had one problem: she was older.

But everything else was fine. Her acting was fine, her looks were fine.

The current Ye Quan Zhen was still very youthful; in a movie, wearing age-reducing clothes, she could still play a young girl and act opposite top handsome actors like Jin Cheng.

Her legs, her face, especially her cool and fragile demeanor—amazing.

Moreover, playing Zi Wei would be greatly beneficial to Ye Quan Zhen. Wasn’t she trying to escape the control of the Bamboo Union Gang? After this *Return of the Pearl* airs, it would basically be over.

In addition, Ma Xun had another hidden point. That is, as mentioned before, Qiong Yao actually looked down on Ye Quan Zhen.

And He Xiujing used Ye Quan Zhen this time—what does this represent? A mother-in-law and daughter-in-law conflict? Heh, let’s just watch the drama unfold.

Ma Xun had this win completely secured. And how this play would be filmed later, he didn’t need to worry about; it would probably start filming in the second half of the year and air next year. As long as the drama is filmed according to the original script, there shouldn’t be any problems. I, Ma Xun, will just enjoy the fruits of my labor.

As for other things…

“Brother!”

“You…”

“Look over there.”

“What?”

“Your sister!”

“What sister? You… you stop spouting nonsense! Go!”

“Haha…”

Sun Donghai’s sudden appearance truly made Ma Xun feel somewhat awkward.

As for the girl he pointed out, it was of course Bingbing.

Actually, Ma Xun had seen it earlier. Bingbing and her mother had also returned with nothing to show for their efforts this time.

In this *Return of the Pearl* audition, Bingbing hadn’t succeeded.

However, Bingbing did gain something. She grew, she saw many things. In the future… well, she also saw Ma Xun.

She wanted to say something, but her mother was there, so she decided against it. Watching Ma Xun leave, she just let him go.

This failure, there would be a next time; anyway, she could only plunge into this entertainment industry.

Bingbing and her mother were preparing to return to their hometown. They would rest up first before thinking about what to do next.

Unexpectedly, just as they were about to hail a taxi, someone called out to her.

“Miss Bingbing.”

“Oh, Miss Ye.”

Bingbing didn’t expect it to be Ye Quan Zhen. This really surprised her.

And Bingbing’s mother’s reaction was even more exaggerated.

“Oh my, Miss Ye, you’re a big star, you’re so beautiful…”

Bingbing’s mother opened the floodgates, directly putting Ye Quan Zhen on the spot.

Ye Quan Zhen was inherently introverted, and now she was somewhat…

Fortunately, Bingbing saw this.

“Mom, say less.” This child was growing up; she even dared to speak to her mother directly.

But Bingbing’s mother didn’t say anything this time; she was just too enthusiastic.

“I’m sorry, Miss Ye.”

Ye Quan Zhen smiled, this gave her a chance to explain her intentions. “It’s nothing, really nothing. That is, I want to talk to Bingbing about something.”

“Oh, what is it?”

Bingbing was a little confused.

Ye Quan Zhen held her hand and smiled, “Bingbing, you’re so pretty.”

“Ah, this…” Could this be what she was going to say?

Bingbing’s face turned red.

To be fair, Ye Quan Zhen was really good at flirting. Bingbing was so young; she was no match for her.

Seeing her like this, Ye Quan Zhen liked her even more. “As soon as I saw you, I felt a connection. Why don’t we become sisters?”

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This… it just happened like that?

“I, I…” Bingbing was completely dumbfounded.

But then Ye Quan Zhen told the truth. “Actually, I think you have a lot of potential, and the audition mainly selected a few important roles, but a play always has many roles. I read the script, Xia Zi Wei has a maid, right? They are like sisters, so…”

“Jin Suo! I, I, thank you, sister!”

Bingbing reacted quickly enough this time. She directly thanked her.

Ye Quan Zhen was also happy to hear this and laughed, “That’s exactly what I meant. I’ll introduce you to Sister He Xiujing later.”

“Really? That’s great.”

Bingbing never expected that things would take such a dramatic turn!

“Oh my! Miss Ye, thank you so much!”

Bingbing’s mother was also overjoyed. They had read the novel before and knew about this Jin Suo character. She was an important role.

Wasn’t Ye Quan Zhen their benefactor? They had to thank her properly.

It was just that this situation…

Ye Quan Zhen was absolutely acting on her own initiative. However, she also had her reasons.

The Sixth Prince seemed to have… been paying close attention to this girl.

As expected of the Sixth Prince’s eagle-eyed scout; his vision was really good.

…

Ma Xun really didn’t know what Ye Quan Zhen had done.

After leaving the television station, he found a place to eat with Sun Donghai. At this time, to avoid suspicion, they didn’t invite Station Master Ouyang and Kang Jianmin.

The two brothers, naturally, talked about some important matters while eating.

“Buddy, how did Long Wu respond to the Li Tingyi matter?”

Ma Xun wanted to ask for details. After all, Ma Xun was really curious about how this guy Sun Donghai did things.

Unexpectedly, this guy immediately started complaining.

“Holy crap! I made a lot of sacrifices this time.”

“What sacrifices? What did you sacrifice?” Ma Xun became even more curious.

Sun Donghai slapped his thigh. “Don’t mention it! This Li Tingyi, when I mentioned her, Long Wu initially shook his head. But I figured I couldn’t delay my brother’s affairs, so I said… she had filmed with Big Brother Long before, and I’d never tried that before, what’s it like being a Long’s girl…”

Grass!

“Okay! Okay, okay! Stop it, stop it!”

Ma Xun couldn’t listen anymore.

Sun Donghai was still laughing, not the least bit afraid of losing face.

“I’m not lying, and she really is a Long’s girl, I heard that Big Brother Long is very experienced, I just consider it learning from a senior.”

Ma Xun couldn’t help but facepalm. “Okay, okay, I understand, I understand everything, buddy, you’re truly amazing.”

Sun Donghai was even happier. But he couldn’t just talk. Eating and drinking was the right way to go.

But while they were eating and drinking, Sun Donghai mentioned something else.

“Brother.”

“What?”

“Guess who I met in Hong Kong?”

“How the hell would I know who you met? Sun Donghai, just spit it out, don’t beat around the bush.”

Ma Xun said this because he saw through this guy Sun Donghai. He definitely had something special to say.

“That person… he…”

Sun Donghai looked a little embarrassed, but at that moment, someone arrived.

As soon as this person arrived, he blocked a lot of the light.

Ma Xun almost immediately guessed, “Bai Xiaohang? Did you meet him?”

Sun Donghai smiled awkwardly; he was a little embarrassed.

Bai Xiaohang didn’t hesitate and sat down directly.

“It’s me. This time, I’m going to talk about something. As for Sun Donghai… thank you.”

Wow, this guy’s mind is indeed rather straightforward.

But Ma Xun completely understood.

Sun Donghai met Bai Xiaohang in Hong Kong, and Bai Xiaohang probably hoped that the two of them could help with something.

It could be completely certain. This matter was definitely not easy! If it were easy, Sun Donghai wouldn’t have played this trick.

So…

“Say it, what is it?”

As soon as Bai Xiaohang heard Ma Xun say this, he smiled.

“You know, I usually like to ride motorcycles, and sometimes riding motorcycles can easily lead to meeting friends.”

“Riding buddies, I get it.”

“Right, in Hong Kong, I met one. This person is very skilled. You should also know him. He is Ke Shou Liang, also known as Hei Ge (Black Brother). He’s amazing at stunts and riding.”

“Oh.” Ma Xun nodded. “Just say it, what’s the matter.”

Bai Xiaohang was so hesitant; he was annoyed himself, but this matter was really difficult to say.

“It’s just, Hei Ge has a plan this year. Before, he heard that some foreigners wanted to fly across the Yellow River. Damn it! How can that be! Hei Ge decided to beat the foreigners and fly across the Yellow River first!”

Ma Xun was startled! He remembered; this was a really big deal!

To be continued.

(End of Chapter)

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