Chapter 354: Preferences
Translator: Min_Lee Editor: Tennesh
Back when they had been shooting "Founding Era" on Planet Wai, Zaro had toyed with the idea of a stage name. Fang Zhao had jokingly suggested " Samoyed 1 ."
As far as Fang Zhao was concerned, even though Zaro looked like he deserved a good beating, he never did anything immoral or illegal, and he was a simple thinker. Also, Zaro always said in private that he was the "Smiling Angel" of Leizhou and even secretly nicknamed himself "Samoyed." The name might even strike folks who didn't know the backstory as tasteful.
Zaro had arrived at the Corale Film Festival two days late not because, as he put it, "the superstars always showed up last" but because he had received a dressing down from his father. In the end, Zaro had gone over his father's head straight to his grandfather, the governor of Leizhou. By the time he had secured his festival passes and tickets, it had already been two days into the festival.
"Senior Master, let's stick to our game plan on this trip. You have to control yourself. This flying transport wasn't part of the plan. It's too high profile. Shall we stick to the plan going forward? You promised the governor on your honor!"
"I promised on my honor." Yet Zaro was oblivious to his agent's pale complexion. He had promised his grandfather that he wouldn't stir up trouble or instigate disputes, but...
Does being high profile count as stirring up trouble?
Isn't this perfectly normal?
Being high profile didn't qualify as something out of the ordinary in Zaro's book.
Zaro fidgeted with his sunglasses and pouted his lips toward an approaching limo. "Let's go. We've posed for 10 minutes. These ecstatic photographers probably have enough material."
Zaro's agent, who was trailing behind his client, wore a blank expression on his face. These paparazzi? They're not here out of admiration. They're here to see a monkey make a fool of himself! He could predict what the entertainment journalists would write even without going online. The entire population of Leizhou knew the limits of Zaro's talent. His films would never qualify for the competition of a film festival of this stature. More likely than not, he was here to party and pick up chicks.
Zaro's agent was also quite worried.
In Leizhou, Zaro had been able to indulge himself and make a mess of things to no end. His family had always backed him up. Even though Leizhou natives loved to chew out Zaro, at the bottom of their hearts, they still treated him as a mascot and a regular source of entertainment. But on other continents, similar behavior would probably result in a mob lynching.
Zaro waved off his agent's spiel. "Got it, got it. Stop talking. I'm no idiot."
Zaro's agent: "..." Yes, you're the brightest of them all. You have an IQ of 250!
Just as he was getting ready to leave, Zaro heard someone yell near the entrance to the airport. "It's Fang Zhao!"
"Fang Zhao! Over here!"
"Fang Zhao! What do you think of Will's painting, 'My Neighbor'?"
"Stop pushing! You folks in the front are getting in the way."
"What's Fang Zhao carrying in his suitcase?"
"Is it some kind of secret weapon?"
"Who cares? Let's shoot it first." It was storytelling time again. It didn't matter what was actually inside the suitcase. The key question was how to spin a tale based on the picture.
Fang Zhao had been dominating the headlines of late. Everyone recognized the name. The entertainment press corps naturally paid attention to someone who frequently showed up on TV newscasts. Fang Zhao's role in curing the Hull virus and his Supernova Award win had completely overshadowed the prestige of the Twelve Tones program. There were plenty of folks who had graduated from the Twelve Tones program, but only one student had written a song that had helped cure the Hull virus.
Capturing Fang Zhao on film was a rare opportunity. Naturally, the paparazzi would seize the moment. Staking out the airport had paid off after all.
Ji Polun and company were completely crowded out.
"Wow, Zhao God is this popular?" one of the young actors said with envy.
"The entertainment journalists who joined the stakeout are from all over the world, not just Yanzhou!" Ji Polun marveled.
"Even Silver Wing's A-listers don't draw this kind of commotion, no?"
Many celebrities were insanely popular in Yanzhou but hardly worth a mention in a global context.
Not far away, an incredulous Zaro watched as the press pack rushed toward Fang Zhao like sharks that had smelled blood. His shades had nearly fallen off.
Zaro hadn't felt anything when the paparazzi had snapped away at him behind a 10-meter perimeter, but now the contrast was glaring. It stung.
"Such bad luck! He must have pulled some sort of sorcery to steal the limelight from me!"
Zaro's agent: "..." Are you a f*cking idiot?
Elsewhere, Zuo Yu and Yan Biao put into practice the bodyguard skills they had picked up in class recently, shepherding Fang Zhao to his car. A reporter tried to tug Fang Zhao but was blocked by Zuo Yu.
Safe in his car, Fang Zhao got a call from Ji Polun. Fang Zhao told him the location of his hotel and asked for a back-road route.
Ji Polun and company, who had been at the film festival for some time, were quite familiar with the terrain. They were handier than GPS. They were here to crash red carpet ceremonies, after all, and made their way to all kinds of events both big and small.
After Fang Zhao and his entourage checked in, Ji Polun and his crew arrived. The two groups had lunch together. Ji Polun insisted on paying, and Fang Zhao didn't fight him.
Fang Zhao also agreed to have his picture taken with Ji Polun and let him post the photo on social media.
"Big Bro Zhao? What should we do after lunch?" Ji Polun asked.
Nanfeng glared at Ji Polun. This kid is a relentless free rider!
Naturally, Fang Zhao knew what Ji Polun and co. were getting at. He responded, "I'm going to catch a few movies. The films that have been selected for the Carole Film Festival competition should be decent."
Ji Polun pounced when Fang Zhao didn't blow him off. "I'm going to join too. I've been so busy since I got here. I've only managed two screenings so far."
"Take me! I love watching movies," another young actor said.
"Me too! Me too!"
"We don't have anything else going on. We'll hang out with you," the others said.
It was as if these groupies had completely forgotten what they'd said in their chat group, that "only idiots go watch movies during a film festival."
Ji Polun had work the next day. The others couldn't remain idle either. Even if they wanted to slack off, their agents would get on their cases. Their agents hadn't worked so hard to get their clients to the film festival just for their clients to be beach bums!
Fang Zhao's workload was different, but he had his own tasks to attend to. His only credit so far was "Founding Era." TV series were different than movies, whose publicity campaigns involved more events. Many directors were promoting their new films and went all out. The TV series featured at the film festival were either being broadcast or had concluded already. There were associated events, but none of them involved Fang Zhao. He hadn't received any special requests either. All he had to do was attend the awards ceremony at the end of the festival.
Fang Zhao had read up on Corale. The archipelago was home to a branch of the Marine Biology Research Institute that was also one of the world's three major sea-slug breeding grounds. But the branch was located on a smaller island, not the main island. Corale comprised a host of islands. Because of the film festival, the general public was most familiar with the main island, Corale Island. If one wanted to buy a sea slug, they didn't need to venture to a smaller island; there were plenty of fish pet markets and stores on the main island, which drew traffic away from the outlying islands.
Fang Zhao wanted to bring his "rabbit" to the research institute branch.
The branch housed quite a few rare sea-slug species and many types that weren't available on the market. The staff there could also perform a health checkup on his "rabbit." They were professionals.
Fang Zhao had all the credentials he needed, so the day after he arrived in Corale, he traveled to the small island that was home to the research institute branch, water tank in hand.
Silver Wing headquarters.
Chairwoman and CEO Duan Qianji was getting a briefing from her secretary about the film festival.
The team Duan had dispatched was doing well negotiating partnerships and new deals. Silver Wing artists were also getting decent exposure.
"What about Fang Zhao? Has he helped out at all?" Duan Qianji interjected.
"Not that I've heard of. After checking into his hotel yesterday, he had lunch with Ji Polun and his friends, then saw a few movies."
Duan Qianji was curious. "What kind of movies did they watch?" She wanted to get a sense of Fang Zhao's tastes based on his preferences in film.
"Uhm... According to his assistant, he watched a historical epic, a film set in the modern day, and a sci-fi movie—and two animated features for children."
Duan Qianji: "..." Animated features for children? Duan Qianji was baffled. She asked, "What did he do today? If I recall correctly, there were three major premieres today."
Apart from the cast, premiere screenings were also attended by other directors and celebrities. Even folks who weren't invited and didn't have tickets tried to crash the red carpet.
"Fang Zhao left the main island first thing in the morning for a small island that's home to the local branch of the Marine Biology Research Institute. He said he wanted to get a checkup for his pet sea slug." The secretary's voice tapered off.
Duan Qianji, who was signing a document, paused. "He went where?"
"The Carole branch of the Marine Biology Research Institute, to get his pet sea slug a checkup."
So a film festival is less interesting than a sea slug?