The Corale Film Festival lasted quite a long time, about half a month. Many attendees arrived ahead of time. There were also some folks like Fang Zhao who landed a few days into the festival, but they were few.
Fang Zhao was held back by class. Quite a few key sessions were clustered around a few days—not just music classes but also drawing and dance. It was as if the scheduling was intentional so that the teachers could keep their students at HuangArt for a few more days.
One student suggested in private that this was a prank on the part of the teachers.
Fang Zhao's departure was delayed by two days. By that time, the film festival had already kicked off. Entertainment headlines were dominated by the Corale Film Festival. The entertainment journalists were already flexing their limbs in celebration.
"There're bound to be reporters staking out the airport. We've gotta look our best," Nanfeng said while scrolling through the headlines on his bracelet.
Fang Zhao was easy to take care of. He always kept his hair short, and he wasn't fussy about his hairdo. Nanfang paid a hairdresser to give him a trim before their departure, and their stylist could take care of the rest. The stylist was one of Nanfeng's friends. He would be traveling with the entourage. He was responsible for Fang Zhao's entire look.
Fang Zhao wasn't a fan of too much bling. His outfit for the day was simple, but nobody could take issue with it either. This annoyed Nanfeng. It wasn't quite what he had imagined. He felt that he hadn't shown his full repertoire.
En route to the airport, Nanfeng checked in with his chat groups and showed off to a few of his old friends. He also compared notes with the other assistants from Silver Wing.
Nanfeng had been added to a Silver Wing chat group for assistants not long after he had started this job. The other assistants had been quite guarded around him at the outset because he had still been on probation. But soon enough, Nanfeng had become an insider. His boss was always at full throttle. There was a constant stream of news about Fang Zhao, which gave Nanfeng quite a bit of backbone. Fang Zhao was also in a special situation. He was on academic leave, which meant he wasn't competing directly against Silver Wing's other artists. That was also why Nanfeng had been quickly accepted as one of the boys.
There was internal competition within Silver Wing. The assistants were quite chatty, but there was no way they could reveal too much about their boss's private lives. Matters that pertained to their boss's direct interests were off-limits.
Meanwhile, several young actors were comparing notes in a chat group set up by Ji Polun.
Ji Polun had had a minor role in the Yanzhou chapter of "Founding Era" that didn't draw much attention, but he had racked up quite a few credits over the past few years. Even though he was never the leading man, one was bound to see his face in some local and foreign productions. Just getting folks to recognize his face was no small feat.
The Corale Film Festival was naturally too good an opportunity to pass on. Ji Polun showed up with a few young actors who were his partying buddies. They might not be invited to certain events, but just being able to show their faces and get exposure from a major film festival justified the trip.
Some of the celebrities who attended film festivals got invites from sponsors, while others were part of productions that were being screened at the festival.
On average, there were dozens of premieres at a film festival. Each premiere staged a red carpet walk. The featured film's cast only took up so much time. They needed a large number of other filmmakers and celebrities to fill up the screen time.
Did you think the folks who weren't part of the cast who walked the red carpet repeatedly were really there to watch the movie?
As for minor celebrities, they didn't necessarily walk the red carpet. Some found it a chore, while others failed to crash the party.
A few actors in the group were sharing their thoughts. They thought they had decent careers in Yanzhou, but here they were nobody. No one recognized them on Main Street, not so much as a glance.
As for the entertainment journalists? Why would those guys make time for two-bit characters like them?
"I just crashed a red carpet ceremony. There were so many people crashing the ceremony that they had to step up security. I was kicked out in the end. The good thing is I had already had my picture taken. I've completed my assignment. I'll have my publicity team edit the footage. They better edit out the part where I got kicked out by security."
"I hear two of our company's projects are selling quite well over at the film market. They've already signed deals for them. It's a very lively film market this year. Movies set against the Period of Destruction are doing exceptionally well."
"The fad created by 'Founding Era' won't die down for another five years. My agent has secured a role in a film set in the Period of Destruction. I'm only the third male lead, but the director is quite well known. Both the leading man and leading lady are listers on their respective continents. My roommate also got a role in a TV series that touches on the Period of Destruction."
"Who wants to go watch movies? Let's organize a group. Let's go!"
"Idiot! Are you going to waste your hard-earned appearance here on watching movies? You should seize the moment and crash a few red carpets, get your photo taken, and generate some headlines. Where's your agent?"
"He says he's out negotiating deals for me. He wants me to stay out of trouble, but it's so boring staying in my hotel room. I've ended up getting killed in 10 straight gaming sessions. I'd rather watch a movie instead."
"Forget about it. You won't stand a chance trying to land a ticket for a major production. All you can settle for are the smaller-budget movies. I saw a horror movie this morning. I broke into a cold sweat. You gotta admit, the films invited to screen here are all quite high quality."
"Where's Big Brother Ji? I saw in the news yesterday that he attended a premiere—it was for a movie he actually appeared in. Why is he so quiet today? That's not his style."
"Paging Big Bro Ji! Is Big Bro Ji free today to show us a good time?"
Ji Polun was the closest thing to the leader of the group. His career was also the most thriving. Usually, Ji Polun was quite high profile, posting selfies on his social media accounts every day. He had made a post at least once or twice daily since arriving at the Corale Film Festival. It was utterly odd for him to not have posted a single item today. There was no way someone like him would let his social media accounts go cold on an occasion like this. It was definitely not Ji Polun's MO.
After a while, Ji Polun finally responded, "Busy, picking someone up at the airport."
"Who? Who could require Big Bro Ji to put in an appearance? All of Silver Wing's listers have arrived."
"No, there's one more person who hasn't shown up yet."
"Fang Zhao!"
"Big Brother Zhao is arriving on the island?"
"Big Brother" came out so naturally, no qualms whatsoever, even though the actors were referring to someone younger than them.
"I'm going too! Which airport?"
"Wait for me! My shades are broken. Who's got spares?"
"Why do you need shades? Who would recognize you? It would be a great thing if you were recognized! This is the Corale Film Festival, after all."
While Ji Polun and the other young actors were awaiting Fang Zhao's arrival, a shiny golden flying transport hovered above. It stood out amid all the white, gray, and black transports. The plane didn't land immediately, making a few ostentatious turns before touching down slowly.
"That flying transport looks like it's been struck by lightning! Whose is it?" one of the young actors asked, glaring in its direction.
"What a flashy landing. It's gotta be a major player."
"Let's wait and see. Let's see who gets out first. I'm sure it's someone very recognizable considering how high profile the landing was," Ji Polun said.
Just as the actors described, the flying transport was so flashy that the entertainment journalists staking out the airport got all excited. They had started filming when the transport had still been hovering and hadn't stopped since lest they miss a single detail.
Soon, a figure emerged from the entrance of the plane.
Such vibrant colors, an over-the-top shirt, and pants with extravagant prints—this combination stole everyone's attention instantly.
Ji Polun cast a skeptical glance and grumbled, "I saw that outfit at Fashion Week last month. It looked hip on the model, but why does it look so weird on him?" He wanted to punch someone.
"He actually brought 10 assistants? What's up with that? The bodyguards trailing him look like they're gearing up for a group fight." The young actors were blown away.
"F*ck! I'm wearing the same outfit as one of the assistants!" One of the young actors started covering himself awkwardly. His entire outfit had cost some 10,000 dollars. It was the most he had splurged on an outfit ever, yet even this fellow's assistants were so luxuriously dressed. "Such injustice!"
"He's the king of Leizhou no doubt. But is Zaro here to showcase his movie or himself?"
"His movies wouldn't qualify for the Corale Film Festival. As for branding, his last name is an established brand already. One of the Renaults is a major backer of the film festival. Even if his movie isn't screening, he can still easily swing an invite."
While Zaro and company were the focus of attention, another flying transport landed.
Yan Biao disembarked and surveyed his surroundings. "Nanfeng was right on the mark. I thought were going to make a grand entrance, but everyone is the same. There's a flashier plane right next to us."
Fang Zhao emerged and looked over.
Because air traffic was especially busy this time of the year, the airport imposed restrictions on plane size. Large flying transports were banned—only small or medium transports were allowed. Planes that were too big were turned around.
The "bling bling" flying transport parked next to their plane was right on the border. A little larger and it would have been banned. It was probably custom made, and it was clearly larger than its neighboring aircraft.
With that plane as a contrast, Fang Zhao's flying transport, which was already quite modest to begin with, paled in comparison.
Nanfeng was utterly annoyed. Based on where the flying transport was parked, it had landed not long before theirs.
"Who the f*ck is that?"
Fang Zhao, who had a good idea, smiled. "The Samoyed of Leizhou."