Chapter 417 - 354: Two Heroines
After 7 p.m., Link brought Chris Liu to an Italian-owned seafood restaurant in the Huangpu District on the Bund.
The restaurant was upscale, brilliantly decorated, and frequented by elegantly dressed people, including many blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigners.
Knowing that Wendi Deng had arranged the dinner here, Link quietly praised her attentiveness. She had learned about his dietary preferences prior to the banquet.
Once inside the restaurant, a violin orchestra played, filling the place with melodious music and creating a splendid atmosphere.
Guided by a waiter, he led Chris to the central seating area.
"Hey! Link!" Enjoy new tales from My Virtual Library Empire
Ms. Wendi Deng and a few others had already arrived. She waved at Link, gave him a warm hug, and introduced the three guests beside her.
Sitting in the middle was the elderly director Wang Ying, who was in his sixties.
Originally a director from Hong Kong Island, Wang switched to Hollywood in the nineties, directing famous films such as The Joy Luck Club, The Nanny Diaries, The Last Holiday, and Prayer of the Dragon. He was a well-known Huaxia director in Hollywood. His wife was a famous actress from Hong Kong Island and the ex-girlfriend of "Brother Fa".
The other two were the leading ladies from Snow Flower and the Secret Fan.
Binbin Li, known as Alice Lee in English, was 37 years old, a leading actress in national cinema, and had starred in works like Young Justice Bao, Young Zhang Sanfeng, A World Without Thieves, and King of Kung Fu, securing her status as a top actress in the domestic entertainment industry.
She played the lead role with the most screen time in this film. Allegedly, when Wendi Deng approached her, she agreed to participate without even reading the script, eager to break into the international film market.
The second was South Korean actress Jun Ji-hyun, 29 years old, standing at 173 cm, dressed in a pale blue dress with her long black hair cascading over her shoulders, revealing some sexy collarbones. Her makeup was exquisite, and she had a pure, beautiful appearance, yet carried a bold, independent aura that made her a favorite among many old-timers.
She started her career as a model in the nineties. In 2001, she rose to fame in Asia with the movie My Sassy Girl and became a well-known actress across Asia. She later featured in successful films like Daisy and My Savage Senior Sister. Despite the fierce competition in the South Korean entertainment industry, as she aged, her career hit a bottleneck, and she was trying a transformation.
Last year she moved to Hollywood and acted in an international co-production, Battle of the New Century, which had mediocre box office results.
Upon receiving the script for Snow Flower and the Secret Fan from Fox Searchlight Pictures, she immediately agreed to take part.
In this movie, the two of them even had a romantic scene.
Link also introduced Chris and, after taking their seats, chatted with everyone. Despite being the youngest, he was the focus of the conversation.
Wendi Deng praised him as a charismatic man.
Wherever he went, he caused a sensation—be it in the United States, Britain, or France. Now, in Huaxia, he had become a notable figure in the entertainment industry. His reports were frequently seen in the press, overshadowing several other top domestic stars' news.
Wendi Deng asked him if he had any secrets?
Link smiled and said, "I know the wife of a media tycoon—is that a secret?"
Wendi Deng laughed loudly.
The others also smiled lightly, while looking at him with a hint of surprise. Recently, there had been rumors in the circle that Link was a talented but arrogant man.
It was said that after coming to Mainland to hold concerts, he had refused many private, business, and official invitations.
When a leader from the Music Association wanted to discuss the development of music careers in both East and West with him, he also declined.
Through his assistant, Link conveyed that his purpose in coming to Mainland was to hold concerts as a singer. Other than singing performances, he wouldn't get involved in other matters.
If there were any formal matters, they could be submitted through documents to his management company, and he would handle them accordingly. He hoped for everyone's cooperation.
This refusal to show face was also one of the reasons for the recent increase in negative news about him in the media.
From these rumors, Link should have been a very aloof and difficult person to deal with, but now he behaved very witty and humorous, and was very amiable in his interactions, nothing like the arrogant and rude person the legends described.
"Yifei, Mr. Baker seems very easy to talk to, and very humorous too,"
Alice Lee said to Chris in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft.
"Link has always been like this. He's easy to talk to and doesn't put on airs at all. We often joke around and say whatever comes to mind."
Chris, holding Link's hand, revealed a delighted smile on her delicate face, seemingly happier to hear others praise Link than herself.
Alice Lee glanced over Chris at Link, who was talking to Wendi Deng, and secretly regretted it.
If she had known this guy would become so impressive, she should have been warmer to him on the plane back then. Maybe if she had been warmer... But then she thought about being thirty-seven while Link was only twenty-one, and she couldn't help but dismiss those thoughts.
The guests had arrived, and the restaurant staff served a table full of delicious dishes, Australian giant lobsters, Japanese abalone, Spanish oysters, Canadian geoduck, along with several types of seafood from Huaxia, Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs, ornate lobsters, sea cucumbers, etc.
The remainder were Huaxia specialty stir-fries and fruit desserts, complete with appealing color, aroma, and taste.
Wendi Deng pointed to several dishes on the table and told Link that in Huaxia, food is sometimes not just food, but often considered medicinal, a supplement that when eaten regularly can strengthen the body, beautify and nourish the skin, and prolong life.
She also told him that in ancient Huaxia texts, oysters, geoduck, and sea cucumbers are recorded as being able to nourish the kidneys and generate Yin and Yang energy.
Wendi Deng even explained what Yin and Yang are.
Director Wang Ying, being older, clearly had more knowledge in this area. He picked up the topic and critiqued the culinary merits of the table's offerings one by one using knowledge of health preservation, covering topics like nourishing the kidneys and liver, balancing Yin and Yang, achieving equilibrium of Yin and Yang, and so on.
His explanations were mysterious and profound.
Link felt like laughing; if he hadn't been Huaxian himself, he might have actually been bamboozled by their words. However, seeing their enthusiasm, he ended up eating more of the oyster and geoduck sashimi.
At the dinner table, Link discussed movies with Director Wang Ying, mentioning that he had watched "The Last Holiday" and "Chinese Box" from the director, found them very interesting, and was excited to collaborate. He hoped to receive guidance during the shoot.
Director Wang Ying, an experienced player in the industry, spoke politely and humbly, not leveraging his age. He even cracked a few mildly risqué jokes to bridge the age gap between them.
Link felt that collaborating with him would likely go smoothly.
He also chatted with Alice Lee and Jun Ji-hyun for a while.
He had known Alice Lee from a long time ago, on a plane to Huaxia in 2008, but back then she was busy talking with Jack Chen and hadn't been as warm to him as Chris.
After meeting again, Binbin Li was clearly more enthusiastic, saying she really liked his songs and had often fallen asleep listening to them lately.
Wendi Deng, laughing, interjected to ask if she had dreamed of Link at night, mentioning that Link held the title "dream lover of a billion young women worldwide."
Alice Lee shyly admitted she was one of those billion women.
Wendi Deng, patting Link on the shoulder and laughing, asked if he could make Alice's dream come true.
Alice Lee shyly glanced at Link and blushed, looking down.
Link chuckled softly, seeing her blush at thirty-seven, he silently marveled at the substantial differences between Eastern and Western people in terms of skin, blood circulation, body odor, and patience.
As he thought about all these random things, the seafood he had just eaten turned into a surge of heat coursing through his body.
The scent in his nose wasn't of seafood, but rather the body fragrance of the several women around him.
It unavoidably caused him some ungentlemanly reactions.
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