Chapter 022: Once the Momentum Starts, It Starts!

On the evening of November 28, Li Wenyu attended a crowded gala. A diverse mix of producers, Hong Kong stars, and rising newcomers were all present to make an appearance.

Edison Chen and Gillian Chung were still on the fringes of the banquet, mere fresh-faced rookies. Nicholas Tse and Faye Wong were quite open about their romance, while Zhao Wei was busy networking in Faye's social circle. The center of the banquet was occupied by the Heung family, Emperor Group’s Albert Yeung, Media Asia’s Peter Lam, Stephen Chow, and Jackie Chan, all of whom were chatting and laughing with Li Wenyu.

Leslie Cheung had earned over 60 million in foreign distribution fees thanks to *The Shallows*! With the money already in the bag and only taxes to be paid, the comparison was stark. Even if it were released in Hong Kong and the mainland, after taxes and the exhibitors taking their lion’s share, the remaining box office profit to be split between Leslie and Li Wenyu would be far less than this. It was just too easy.

Tsui Hark, whose *Legend of Zu* had flopped, was also exceptionally friendly toward Li Wenyu. Old Tsui felt that his "Zu" dream had been ruined by the marketing and distribution.

Everyone was talking about the "Campus Beauty Contest" that had erupted just half a month ago on November 11. How had it evolved so quickly into an East and Southeast Asian beauty pageant? The buzz surrounding this topic was truly remarkable. It was just the old routine of the Miss Hong Kong or Miss Asia pageants, now showcased on the internet. But once this hype exploded across international networks, it gained unstoppable momentum.

As the reception ended and Li Wenyu was about to leave with Fan Bingbing, Cecilia Cheung walked over to block their path. She said in Cantonese with a smile, "Director Li, who do you think is prettier, me or Bingbing?"

Fan Bingbing didn't understand. "???"

Li Wenyu didn't either. They usually had their assistant, Xiao Hu, for daily communication, and Leslie Cheung and Andy Lau both spoke decent Mandarin. Andy Lau, who was walking beside them, was left speechless as he acted as an interpreter, struggling to find the right words.

Fan Bingbing, clutching Li Wenyu’s arm, was nearly exploding with rage. She was Li's official girlfriend, after all! She had already soaked up hundreds of billions in traffic! Throughout the party, she had been clinging to her "Elephant Brother," walking in the very center and stealing the spotlight. Even Zhao Wei had been watching her from the sidelines, which had felt incredible. Now, she was furious. She had finally cleared the hurdle of Zhao Wei, but she hadn't fully won the game yet. After all, Zhao Wei had starred in *The Duel* and *Shaolin Soccer*, and even if she was just a supporting actress, those were still credits. And *The Shallows* hadn't even been released yet!

With that front still unconquered, what was this Cecilia Cheung trying to pull?

Li Wenyu chuckled. "Bingbing is definitely prettier. Of course, Cecilia, in other people's aesthetic, you have a chance to win as well."

Cecilia’s behavior of blocking the way? With her limited education and rising temper after becoming a breakout star, plus the backing of the Heung family, she was acting quite brazenly in Hong Kong at this time. Andy Lau acted as the friendly translator.

Cecilia Cheung laughed twice and asked curiously, "Is this kind of pageant held once a year? Can we take turns in the future? Out of respect for Brother Leslie, I don't mind losing once, but there should be a time when the flowers fall in my garden, right?"

Anyone with a brain knew that Leslie Cheung was making a fortune. If you tried to sabotage this, the person you’d offend wasn't just some rookie director.

Li Wenyu nodded with a smile. "Once a year could work, provided everyone cooperates."

After Andy Lau translated, he asked excitedly in Mandarin, "Doesn't that mean it could directly replace the Miss Hong Kong and Miss Asia pageants? Everyone is discussing it all over the internet right now, but it seems there's no professional organization platform handling it..."

Li Wenyu nodded. "Don't worry, Brother Hua. Before long, various capitalists will emerge to grab this job."

For internet capital, those with a keen sense of smell had already started having their programmers develop websites or forums just to catch this massive wave of traffic. He wasn't sure if the first to emerge would be Western capital, capital from Hong Kong, Macau, or Taiwan, or from the mainland.

Andy Lau looked thoughtful, though he didn't grasp the full picture; he didn't understand much about the internet.

Without Andy to translate, Cecilia Cheung smiled and asked, "What are you talking about? Director Li, any interest in a late-night meal? Bingbing and I are both playing the second and third female leads in Brother Hua's new project, so we should get to know each other better."

"Now that I've met you, Director Li, I'll definitely treat Bingbing like my own sister from now on."

Fan Bingbing, "???"

She couldn't understand, but she felt this woman was no good—she just didn't have the evidence.

Andy Lau clenched his fist and coughed into it. "It's nothing. Cecilia is inviting you to dinner. You young people can chat yourselves; just send text messages, you can read the characters."

Some translation work was hard to stomach. Was she trying to steal a man right in front of her? Well, that was how Cecilia was in private. This year, she hadn't just been on-and-off with Nicholas Tse and Daniel Chan; she was a regular at clubs.

With that, the Heavenly King walked away. He couldn't get involved.

Li Wenyu soon returned to the hotel with Fan Bingbing and their assistant/driver, Xiao Hu. On the way back, Fan Bingbing muttered resentfully, "You actually kept her number?"

She couldn't understand the language, but that didn't stop her from being certain that the way Cecilia looked at Li Wenyu was wrong. *The Shallows* hadn't even been released yet, and the Heung family would definitely explain to Cecilia how much money Li had made for Brother Leslie. A high-yield, high-quality screenwriter who could also direct hit popcorn movies to earn big money—this was already on the level of a top director like Wong Jing. And the Heung family’s China Star was a listed company!

Li Wenyu whispered, "Don't worry about that. We don't even speak the same language; she's no threat to you."

Fan Bingbing gnashed her teeth, muttering something under her breath, and only opened fire once they were back at the hotel.

***

On the morning of November 29, Li Wenyu checked his system.

Host: Li Wenyu, 20 years old.
Fitness: (102/100).
Driving: (67/100).
Car Control: (81/100).
Acting: (52/100).

He felt that breaking the human limit in fitness didn't seem to make much of a difference. These were attribute points accumulated over ten days. During Fan Bingbing’s sneak attacks while he was in "burst" mode, he had been afraid of suffering from "young man's weakness," so he had stabilized his cheating. There were still ten free attribute points left in the system.

He paced around the hotel room, feeling... light, comfortable, and in a state of peak excellence. Any more specific changes? None, it seemed.

After adapting for ten minutes, he headed out for breakfast when his phone rang. It was a text message in Traditional Chinese from Cecilia: "Director Li, I heard you're great at swimming and surfing. Would you like to go out to sea together? I quite like surfing, too."

Li Wenyu was speechless. Cecilia, 21 this year and turning 22 next, was quite the stunner, but then he thought about Eric Kot, Daniel Chan, the slightly suspicious Leon Lai, Daniel Chan again, Nicholas Tse... and what about those foreign white guys? He remembered now—around this time, Cecilia was about to get together with a white foreigner, and after that came Edison Chen! Whether it was Nicholas Tse this year or "Teacher Chen" next year, both were cheating on their respective girlfriends, Faye Wong and Gillian Chung, to be with Cecilia on the side...

Li Wenyu shuddered, put his phone away, and went to eat, opting to leave her message on "read." His love life might be casual, but it couldn't be that chaotic. During the filming, Fan Bingbing had borrowed money to provide perks for the production crew; he had money, but when he tried to give it to her, she refused. In Beijing, he lived in a place she rented, and she was just waiting for *The Shallows* to explode so she could make money.

Li Wenyu arrived at the second-floor buffet and began choosing his breakfast when he saw a young man in glasses looking refined and scholarly walking over with a tray. "Director Li? Truly a hero among boys. Nice to meet you."

Li Wenyu was stunned. "Mr. Ma?"

It was Pony Ma!

Pony Ma’s smile was very warm. "Director Li, I was lucky enough to figure out the root of this sudden East and Southeast Asian online beauty contest. We at Tencent intend to create a beauty pageant website. The mainland version will be a fan club for mainland actresses to attract followers and gain support."

"For the Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan teams, as well as the Southeast Asian ones, we will have an 'over-the-wall' version as a genuine beauty contest channel."

"If we work overtime, we can launch the first version of the site in early December. I hope Director Li can use our site to enter the contest."

Tencent at this time had no Qzone, no web portal... but they had indeed received financing from Naspers a few months ago, and their courage had grown.