Becoming a Movie Star, System Only Finished Loading After Ten Years

The press conference for the film kick-off ended, but Qi Hao couldn't immediately escape the persistent reporters.

They had finished their main tasks and didn't mind putting in some overtime.

In this world, there are not only free lunches but also free overtime.

Many questions that were inconvenient to ask during the press conference can now be addressed.

"Qi Hao, you've lost a lot of weight recently. Is it because you've been working too hard?"

"My work has been quite busy lately, but I lost weight for a new movie. This film requires me to maintain a certain physique."

Qi Hao pretended not to hear the innuendo in the reporter's question.

"What kind of new movie is it, and which actress are you working with?"

This question clearly has the second part as its focus.

"It's an art film currently in the preparation stage, so I can't disclose too much. If there are any updates, we'll be sure to inform everyone right away."

There were no box office expectations for "hello! Mr. Tree" and Qi Hao didn't intend to stir up rumors to create hype. However, if it's possible to lose less money, that would be nice.

"Some claim that Qi Hao, you have a fortune of billions. Is this true?"

These days, even with listed companies, unless you're a major shareholder whose information needs to be disclosed, it's hard to guess someone's net worth.

No one really knows how much money Qi Hao has.

People only know he has over six million shares of Penguin stock and over three million shares of Mrs. Hua stock. Beyond that, they know practically nothing.

They don't even know that Qi Hao has already sold his shares in Mrs. Hua.

"Rumors, definitely just rumors. Stock investing is risky, and I really don't recommend people try it casually. A friend's mom got into stock trading recently and nearly lost all her principal."

Qi Hao skillfully shifted the topic.

It's best to keep wealth hidden; conceal as much as possible, and if that's not feasible, just brag a bit later.

As for this friend, such a person indeed exists.

Ms. Liu's five million principal is almost lost, and now she's in a phase of questioning life.

An Feng also has to frequently comfort his mom.

So she doesn't get any bad ideas about going to the rooftop.

"Do you have any advice for your fans who are into stock trading?"

"I suggest everyone pay attention to company values, develop rational investment thinking, adhere to long-term investment principles, and for beginners, try with small amounts and don't bet everything on one point."

Qi Hao said with a straight face.

If he had to speak plainly, his advice to stock trading fans would be—don't trade stocks!

But as a public figure, he certainly can't say that.

Isn't that going against national policy?

As a celebrity, just be a good one and spare us the preaching. After all, Qi Hao himself doesn't like listening to others lecture him.

If it weren't for being too lazy to listen to Feng Xiaogang's preaching, these reporters wouldn't be able to pin him down.

"Qi Hao, it's been a long time since any scandals have come out about you. Haven't you been in a relationship recently?"

There's always a journalist with a quirky imagination.

However, this question hit the nail on the head.

"I'm sorry, scandals themselves are fake. I've been busy with work recently!"

No matter how the question is framed, he had to give a perfunctory response.

Because if you don't answer, you'll venture into these media people's professional territory, and they could imagine nine different possibilities for you.

Nine, all without repeating themselves.

After some back-and-forth, the media were escorted out by the staff, and Qi Hao managed to free himself.

The media sure are strict, watching Qi Hao's private life with a magnifying glass. Even the fact that there haven't been any recent scandals was picked up by the media.

In the past, Qi Hao didn't care if others used him to stir up rumors.

Even if attending the same event, it could be written as leaving together and acting intimately.

Now Qi Hao has clearly expressed a refusal to fuel rumors.

If anyone still stubbornly wants to push it, then they'll have offended Qi Hao.

As for why he's not cooperating anymore.

The reasons vary; some say it's because Qi Hao is now a Best Actor and is beginning to cherish his reputation. Others say Qi Hao's net worth has reached tens of billions, so he's a man of status now, and some say Qi Hao is at the age to find a partner, so he wants to stay clean.

Fortunately, these reasons are at least reasonable.

Qi Hao's good reputation and solid strength showed their effects; there have indeed been no recent scandals about him.

After the media left, the crew began closed filming.

Qi Hao set up his chair next to Jiang Wen to observe him filming as a "producer."

He was really just a nominal producer.

There was no way for him to dictate the content; otherwise, Jiang Wen might perform a scene of strangling himself for him.

Learn secretly?

Not at all, it's an open and honest observation.

When something is unclear, he even directly asks, "Why is the lighting done this way? Is there a deeper meaning?"

Jiang Wen's films are extremely watchable.

There are many elements worth interpreting repeatedly.

"Not really. It's just... I think it looks good this way." Jiang Wen paused for a moment and said truthfully.

"Okay then, you carry on!"

What else can Qi Hao say? Perhaps Jiang Wen does bury a lot of subtleties in his movies, but many are just netizens projecting their own thoughts.

Of course, it must be a deep film to have room for interpretation.

Ordinary movies don't call for interpretation; that's just marketing and self-indulgence.

"It's my turn to perform."

Jiang Wen, dressed in his costume, brushed off the hem of his garment.

"Oh~!"

Then go ahead, I'll just continue lying here for a while.

"Why don't you help me keep an eye on things?"

Jiang Wen looked at Qi Hao's leisurely appearance, and instantly found it incredibly dazzling.

Qi Hao already had a certain grounding in directing, and it was said that he had directed three films independently.

Most importantly, "Let the Bullets Fly" was primarily invested by Feiyang Media, so Qi Hao certainly wouldn't mess around.

Plus, Jiang Wen would be the final gatekeeper.

"Paying up or not?"

Qi Hao didn't hold back either, he originally intended to learn from Jiang Wen, Liang Jiahui, and Ge You.

"Still asking for money? Just wait for me tonight!"

Jiang Wen laughed heartily.

"Who's afraid of whom!"

Qi Hao was known as someone who never got drunk, which was a bit exaggerated, but it at least showed he could hold his liquor pretty well.

But this dialogue, heard by others, sounded suspicious in many ways.

Don't forget, Qi Hao's rumored partners.

They weren't just enchanting female stars, but also included Jiang Wen, Wang Zhiwen, Ge You, Ge You's father, and so on.

"Attention everyone, get your act together, don't make me yell at you!"

Qi Hao, as the temporary director, wasn't without temper, either. Your looks are too suggestive, believe it or not, I'll make you do a kissing scene with Master in the play.

After shooting a scene, they wrapped up to go drinking.

Qi Hao fraternized with Jiang Wen, Ge You, and Liang Jiahui at the drinking table.

Even Feng Xiaogang, who had no shame, dared not regard Qi Hao as a junior, otherwise, he'd be pinned down and beaten by Jiang Wen and Ge You.

Who knows what made him think it through, soon he stopped dwelling on past favors he had done for Qi Hao.

He also started fraternizing with Qi Hao.

Seeing this left Chen Kun and Liao Fan dumbfounded.

When not filming, Qi Hao sought advice from Liang Jiahui and Ge You.

He didn't mind if they had full access to the script; since the project was established and filming would start by Spring Festival, and it wasn't a great project anyway, no need to worry about plagiarism or leaks.

Thus, Qi Hao got a version of Mr. Tree by Liang Jiahui, and another by Ge You.

Even Jiang Wen occasionally joined in.

Jiang Wen's acting wasn't always the same; he had a niche film titled "In the Heat of the Sun" about marginalized people, similar to the abandoned by the times like Mr. Tree.

From Jiang Wen, Qi Hao could also learn something.

Moreover, Jiang Wen had long been captured and kept around by him as a teaching NPC.

After squeezing these three teaching mentors dry, Qi Hao's part also got scheduled, his role as Fake Mazi only had two scenes, so he could shoot them casually.

However, Qi Hao playing Zhang Mazi, the makeup must be on point.

It wasn't necessary to exactly mimic Jiang Wen, because when he pretended to be Zhang Mazi working for Master Huang, people didn't know what Zhang Mazi looked like yet.

"So, you gotta look like a bandit!"

Ge You was very much in character, often looking up to Master Tang even in downtime, speaking in the same tone.

He was killed by Qi Hao.

The same fate befell his woman and that eight-year-old son.

So, Qi Hao's Fake Mazi, although not appearing much, had undoubtedly plenty of blood on his hands.

Master Tang was right, gotta look like a bandit.

A full beard must be made up; regular bandits often have beards, and the mountain hideout conditions didn't allow for easy shaving.

The pockmarks that Zhang Mazi didn't have, needed to be made up.

That's the style.

"This big, why do I feel like it's not pockmarks, but lunar craters."

Qi Hao touched the pockmarks on his face, feeling they were a bit terrifying.

Is this considered disfiguring type acting?

"Mirror, bring him the mirror."

Jiang Wen asked the stylist to bring the mirror over, and Qi Hao saw his full appearance.

It was still recognizable as Qi Hao the actor.

Just that it clearly had nothing to do with being handsome.

You could only say, I contributed to this film, I bled for this film, if this film turns into a classic in the future, I must have a share of the credit.

"Say a couple of lines, let's hear."

Teaching Qi Hao how to act as Mr. Tree these days had also built some emotions.

Even the scandal about Qi Hao and his dad, Ge You had also dispelled any heart's grudge.

"The tall one got sawed by me, shorter than the short one!"

Qi Hao said straightforwardly without any joking.

"What about the short one?"

Mr. Ge delivered lines with ease too.

"Scared him to death on the spot!"

The two directly engaged in a scene on site.

This Fake Mazi, although with few scenes, had rivalries with all three lead roles.

"Good!"

Jiang Wen initially thought he needed to explain the character of Fake Mazi to Qi Hao.

Unexpectedly, Qi Hao's performance was spot on, exactly the specific presentation he had envisioned.

This was probably the tacit understanding between directors.

"First shoot the indoor scene, Jiahui, you two practice a bit, strive for a one-take pass!"

Jiang Wen now had confidence in Qi Hao and Liang Jiahui.

All young people alike, Zhang Mo, Chen Kun, they all had certain acting skills, but compared to Qi Hao, they were all just trash.

No wonder during drinks, Zhang Guoli marveled that if one had a son, it should be like Qi Hao.

Now if Qi Hao wants to hone his craft, to improve his acting skills, he must compete with veteran actors from the older generation.