Chapter 17
Although he kept inwardly criticizing his childhood friend, Chen Ze wouldn't bring his girlfriend to Gu Shi and his wife. After all, they both knew the truth about his other girlfriends. He understood Gu Shi, so he wouldn't break any rules.
Gu Shi wasn't intentionally showing off his relationship to his friends. Luo Zhengzheng's marriage to him had been met with skepticism and scrutiny due to her family background. Initially, she was reluctant to appear in front of his friends, only becoming more comfortable after Jiajia was born.
As her husband, he couldn't offer much help in other ways, so he could only demonstrate his respect and affection for his wife to outsiders. He hoped that by showing his devotion, others wouldn't look down on her.
The next day, Luo Zhengzheng got up early, washed, and put on makeup. Considering going to work, she wore a white shirt tucked into light blue wide-leg trousers, with a silk scarf. Her hair was simply tied in a high ponytail. She looked fresh and sophisticated, perfectly embodying the capable and professional image of an office worker.
Noticing her unusual attire, Gu Shi praised, "Not bad."
Luo Zhengzheng's wardrobe was filled with designer clothes, each one expensive. Coupled with her naturally outstanding temperament, she could wear anything. Adorned with jewelry, she shone brightly, truly embodying the image of a refined young lady. Although she was going to study, she didn't intend to hide her identity. She would dress up as she pleased and wouldn't compromise her appearance.
After breakfast, the two went out together. Gu Shi said, "Take my car, I'll take you to Wanhua Entertainment."
Luo Zhengzheng felt it was unnecessary: "The driver can take me."
Gu Shi insisted on taking her. Luo Zhengzheng wanted to say it was too clingy. She was going to work, not doing anything else. But seeing his persistent gaze, she remained silent.
Gu Shi drove her all the way to Wanhua Entertainment and then personally led her to Chen Ze's office.
Luo Zhengzheng thought to herself, "It's just like a dad taking his daughter to school."
Then she spat a few times, "Pah!" She wasn't Gu Shi's daughter.
Chen Ze wasn't surprised at all that Gu Shi had personally brought his wife over. He looked at Gu Shi and said, "Would you like a cup of tea? I have some good tea here."
Gu Shi pulled Luo Zhengzheng to sit on the sofa. "I don't mind if you just pack the tea for me."
Considering the investment Gu Shi had given him, Chen Ze generously said, "You can take it with you later."
Gu Shi didn't stand on ceremony. "Is the contract ready? Send it to Guo Yao and have him forward it to the company's legal department. If there are no problems, I'll sign it directly."
Chen Ze nodded. "I'll have my assistant send it to Guo Yao right away."
After finishing his business, Gu Shi said, "I'm leaving now."
Given their relationship, he didn't need to tell Chen Ze to take good care of Luo Zhengzheng as he would take care of his wife. So he didn't say anything more.
Chen Ze saw him out. Gu Shi looked at Luo Zhengzheng and said, "I'll pick you up after getting off work this afternoon."
Luo Zhengzheng nodded.
After Gu Shi left, Chen Ze handed Luo Zhengzheng over to his secretary, a woman named Wang Jie, who was married with children.
Chen Ze had already told Wang Jie about Luo Zhengzheng's identity, so she didn't dare to be presumptuous. Smiling, she looked at Luo Zhengzheng and said, "If you don't mind, you can call me Elder Sister Wang."
Luo Zhengzheng naturally didn't mind and smiled, saying, "Elder Sister Wang, please take care of me."
Wang Jie smiled and probed, "Actually, if you want to invest in filming a TV series, as long as your President Gu gives the order, a large number of people will flock to it. There's no need to come here to learn."
Luo Zhengzheng said, "Then it wouldn't be very interesting. I want to understand this industry, so I definitely need to learn from the seniors."
Wang Jie suggested, "President Gu invested in our company's movie. You can learn from the producer, which is equivalent to supervising your own investment. You'll understand everything from the preparation to the completion of filming and then the release of a film."
Of course, Wang Jie's suggestion wasn't random. It was something Chen Ze had prompted her to do.
Chen Ze had long wanted to bring Gu Shi into the entertainment industry, but he had always lacked enthusiasm. Unexpectedly, he found a breakthrough with his wife. Luo Zhengzheng was learning at his company. He would definitely show her the dedication his company had to producing a film, making her realize that they were serious and meticulous about making movies and TV series and determined to create high-quality productions. This way, she could invest with complete confidence. When he approached Gu Shi for investment again, she would certainly offer Gu Shi sound advice.
Although only a portion of the funding for "I Am a Robot" had arrived, it didn't hinder the film's preparation. Wang Jie took Luo Zhengzheng to the producer's office.
The producer of "I Am a Robot" was Chen Hui, Chen Ze's distant elder paternal cousin sister. Having already heard from Chen Ze that Gu Shi was willing to invest in their film thanks to Luo Zhengzheng, she was naturally delighted to see Luo Zhengzheng now and extended her hand: "Hello, Mrs. Gu!"
Luo Zhengzheng smiled and shook her hand in return: "Elder Sister Hui, just call me Zhengzheng."
Luo Zhengzheng wasn't a career woman. In her past life, even though her husband had died young, she had mother-in-law 's support. She had always admired career women like Chen Hui and Wang Jie. In this life, although she wanted to do things she was interested in, she felt she could never become a career woman like Chen Hui.
If one couldn't be a career woman, you couldn't be. Everyone had a different personality and their careers would be different. While she admired career women, she didn't envy them.
Wang Jie handed Luo Zhengzheng over to Chen Hui and returned to her office. Chen Hui smiled and said to Luo Zhengzheng, "Our movie is having auditions, would you like to go take a look?"
Luo Zhengzheng was quite curious about auditions, "Okay, let's go take a look."
Chen Hui led Luo Zhengzheng to the third-floor audition room in the elevator. The corridor was bustling with people. Some were auditioning, some had finished and left, and many more were waiting outside.
Although curious, Luo Zhengzheng didn't wander around. People in the entertainment industry weren't stupid. Seeing Chen Hui politely leading a young and pretty girl into the audition room, whispers arose in the corridor, especially among the actresses applying for female roles, who assumed she had gotten in through connections. But regardless of whether she had connections or not, they were just there to audition, relying on luck. Even if they were dissatisfied, they couldn't do anything about it.
Director Lu had been auditioning for over an hour without finding a suitable actor and was getting increasingly frustrated. Seeing Chen Hui bring in a beautiful, unfamiliar girl, he was even more furious: "I told you, I don't use connections in my films."
Luo Zhengzheng wasn't angry. In her past life, she had seen videos online about Director Lu's fiery temper. In other words, Gu Shi had invested in the film "I Am a Robot" because of her, and as an investor, she hoped Director Lu would maintain this attitude towards the film. Otherwise, even with her memories from her past life, she feared the film would lose money.
Hearing Director Lu's words, everyone else looked at Luo Zhengzheng. Although she had been in the news for a while, her photo was too blurry for anyone to recognize her. Coupled with her fashionable attire, no one in the room recognized her, assuming she was there to use connections, and their gazes towards her were somewhat scrutinizing.
Chen Hui rolled her eyes. "Shouldn't you change your temper?"
Director Lu snorted. He was a director, not an actor. At his level, he wouldn't tolerate even an investor, let alone a minor actor who got in through connections.
Chen Hui said irritably, "These were our investors, not people trying to get in through connections."
Director Lu choked for a moment. While he wouldn't tolerate investors, he wasn't stupid enough to offend them for no reason. His face flushed, and he said, "Why didn't you say so earlier?"
Everyone knew his temper, which was why they didn't dare to throw people into his films casually. He had risen from an ordinary citizen to his current position through his filmmaking skills, not through any other messy favors. If this film flopped at the box office, the first to be affected wouldn't be the actors, but him, the director. Therefore, he valued this film more than anyone else.
Chen Hui glared at him: "You need to give me time to talk!"
He started yelling the moment they entered the audition room, how was she supposed to talk to him? Luckily Luo Zhengzheng had a good temper. If it were a rich heiress, hmm!
Director Lu remained silent.
Chen Hui looked at Luo Zhengzheng: "Ever since this movie started preparations, all sorts of people have been pulling strings and using connections, hoping to get a role, even a small one. You'd think they'd have some talent, but not many have any acting skills, and some are even newcomers. Director Lu is incredibly annoyed. When he saw me bring a beautiful woman here, of course he misunderstood."
Luo Zhengzheng wasn't going to get angry over such a small thing. Besides, they had said it was because she was pretty that they misunderstood, which was already giving her face. She smiled and looked at Director Lu: "May I watch your audition?"
There was nothing wrong with watching, especially since she was an investor. Director Lu's expression changed, and he said, "May I ask your surname?"
Luo Zhengzheng smiled and said, "My surname is Luo, Luo Zhengzheng."
Director Lu nodded: "Ms. Luo, please have a seat here."
He then asked his assistant to pour her some water.
Chen Hui sat down next to Luo Zhengzheng. Although Luo Zhengzheng was incredibly curious, she maintained a calm demeanor. All the auditionees were unfamiliar faces. Even in the following decade, Luo Zhengzheng hadn't seen them on screen. Despite this, she watched with great interest. She couldn't judge their acting skills, but the fact that they didn't seem awkward suggested they had some talent. She turned to look at Director Lu and saw his stern face, which was quite intimidating.
She couldn't help but think that even if the actors auditioning were skilled, seeing his expression would scare them away. So, how could they possibly be able to concentrate on the audition?
After several actors’ audition, Director Lu was still unsatisfied.
Chen Hui told Luo Zhengzheng, "The main cast has been finalized. But Director Lu is a perfectionist. even for a minor role. He wants someone with real talent. So all characters with lines have to audition."
Hearing this, Luo Zhengzheng couldn't help but exclaim, "Director Lu is capable and has clear goals. No wonder his movies are all so good."
Even later, few could compare to him. It was not that no one was better at directing, but many who were better lacked his insistence on film quality. They had his standards, but lacked his ability. This had created a situation where there were many movies on the market, many bad ones, and few good ones.