Chapter 348: Making an Appearance Sparks Hot Debate (7/10)
After the concert in the south ended, Link led his tour team to Dahai City, the economic center of Huaxia, an international metropolis built by the sea, gazing across the Pacific Ocean towards cities like Los Angeles.
With a permanent population of over twenty-five million, Dahai City is the third most populous city in the world. Link had sold about 380,000 copies of his three albums here, making it one of the cities with the most fans in Huaxia. This city was also a focus of this tour, with three concerts expected.
After arriving in Dahai City, besides rehearsing at the city stadium, Link also found time to accompany Chris Liu to the premiere of her new movie in the city.
This was the first movie premiere he attended in Huaxia.
When he appeared on the red carpet in formal dress, holding Chris Liu's hand, he caused quite a stir on the scene.
Dozens of reporters at the scene eagerly threw out questions, inquiring about the nature of their relationship.
Link said the two were good friends, having met during the 2008 Olympics, and it just so happened that his Dahai City concert coincided with the release of Chris Liu and Wang Lihong's new movie, and they had invited him to attend the premiere.
Wang Lihong had also been a guest performer at his concert in Taiwan Island.
At the premiere, he, Chris Liu, and Wang Lihong also took many group photos at the invitation of numerous photographers.
These group photos, once uploaded online, were chased by many Asian netizens, as Link had high appeal and a good physique, with a face that transcended the East and West and was rated by major world media as the sexiest man in the world.
Chris Liu and Wang Lihong were also considered among the most beautiful and handsome individuals in Huaxia.
The group photo with the three of them was considered the highest beauty quotient of the year in the entertainment circle, combining the beauty of the East and West.
"Damn! This guy is so handsome."
In the dorm of the acting department, class of '07 at the Dahai City Drama School, Lin Genxin was with his feet up on a chair looking at the photos online and exclaimed.
"The sun must be rising from the west. Don't you always claim to be the most handsome man in the world? Is there actually a man you think is handsome?"
Zhou Fang put down his book and teased him, looking back.
"Yeah, Old Lin, who are you talking about?"
Dorm mate Pu Bajia laughed and asked.
"Link Baker, come over and look, this guy is really handsome. Not just his face, but his body, his demeanor, everything. I admit he's just a little better than me."
Lin Genxin said.
"Link? I thought it was someone else. It's no wonder, since he's the man rated by 'People' as the sexiest man in the world. Even Leonardo and Tom Cruise can't compare. And the guy's not just handsome. He's also a world boxing champion, a music superstar, and a billionaire. More importantly, he's even younger than us by a year. He's just too damn impressive," Zhou Fang exclaimed, slapping his thigh.
"Eh? Liu Yifei? Why are Link Baker and Liu Yifei walking the red carpet hand in hand? Do they know each other?"
Pu Bajia came over and took a glance, noticing another person next to Link, which was the fairytale-like beauty in a red off-shoulder gown with exquisite makeup.
"Liu Yifei and Link Baker together? No way! How could they be together?"
The other people in the dormitory crowded around, and upon seeing the photo of Link in a high-end tailored suit, holding the hand of the fair-skinned, physically attractive beauty as they walked the red carpet, chatting now and then, and looking quite intimate, they were taken aback.
On another photo, the fairytale-like beauty was coquettishly smiling at Link, with a radiant smile, completely devoid of her previous aloof demeanor.
"I heard that Link is a playboy. With Liu Yifei being so close to him, could there be something between them?"
"Impossible, don't talk nonsense, how could Liu Yifei like a foreigner?"
"Why not? With Link being so handsome, it's perfectly normal for Liu Yifei to fancy him," one remarked.
"No way! The fairytale beauty is mine, and no one can take her from me," another boldly declared.
At this time, not only were the students from Dahai Drama School buzzing, but many fans of the fairytale-like sister across the country also had a lot of questions in their minds after seeing these photos. What was the relationship between the two, and whether the fairytale-like sister had been harmed by Link?
Since Chris Liu was very popular domestically and Link was no less so, the news of the two of them walking the red carpet side by side quickly topped the headlines of major media, catching the attention of many people.
The program "Yu Lu's Appointment" saw the high heat of the news and invited the two as guests.
Link was holding concerts in Huaxia and needed the exposure; Chris's new movie was releasing and could use some publicity. After discussing, both agreed to come on the show.
In the program, Yu Lu asked about how they came to know each other.
Link recounted his experience of attending the Olympics in Huaxia in 2008, where he encountered the "King of Kung Fu" film crew on the plane, which included Chris Liu, Jackie Chan, and Li Lianjie among the actors. He had asked for autographs from the stars and got to know Chris.
After arriving in Capital City, Chris was the host and was very friendly to him, a foreign friend. During breaks from the competition, she took him to see the beautiful sights of Capital City, enjoy delicious food, and even taught him Chinese for a few days.
The slogan he wrote on the Olympic venue, "I am Link, please cheer for me," was also taught by Chris.
In the past two years, they often kept in touch over the phone, sharing common interests and hobbies.
This time, he came to Huaxia to hold a concert and also to visit her, an old friend.
The host, Yu Lu, asked him in English, how would he evaluate Chris Liu?
Hearing this question, Chris Liu also smiled and looked at him, perched on her little legs, wearing a beautiful strapless dress, her black hair draped over her left shoulder, not only beautiful but also of great temperament.
Link looked at her and praised her, saying Chris was a pretty girl, cute, warm to people, kind, and caring. She had a high pursuit of performance and was also a very outstanding actress.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
A round of warm applause erupted from the audience.
Yu Lu then asked Chris Liu how she would evaluate Link?
Chris Liu said Link was a perfect guy, handsome, strong, humble and polite, humorous, and talented, with almost no flaws.
The female viewers in front of the TV nodded in agreement; Link indeed was perfect.
He not only had a flawless face but also a super strong and sexy body, enviable musical talent, and a net worth of several hundred million US dollars.
For women, marrying such a man would be extremely lucky and worth boasting about.
Yu Lu saw that the atmosphere on set was good and, switching gears, mentioned that there were many rumors about Link in the Western media, with outlets like Vanity Fair calling him a playboy, asking if this was true?
Link, being a Huaxia national and knowing that the Huaxia audience disliked scoundrels, naturally denied this point.
He continued to use examples like MJ and Madonna to tell everyone that this was a Western media strategy to gain public attention by hyping negative news about popular stars, even if there wasn't any negative news, they would create some, which was very common.
He also mentioned that last month, six media outlets were sued to the Manhattan County Court by Link Music for fabricating rumors about him.
After more than a month of hearings, the court ruled that Link Music had won, and the six media outlets had publicly apologized to him, admitting they fabricated false news to smear his reputation.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Hearing he had won the case, the audience believed him even more and felt that the host, Yu Lu, asking such a question was very lowbrow.
Yu Lu, seeing the situation was favorable, moved on to other topics, asking about their upcoming plans, the next concert, Chris Liu's new movie, and asking Link to speak Chinese on the spot, among other things.
Link answered methodically.
"This Link looks quite good, handsome, famous, and even speaks Chinese."
In Dahai City Film Studio's office, the producer Zhang Weiping said while watching television. Enjoy exclusive content from My Virtual Library Empire
"Old Zhang, why are you still watching these programs? You used to say Yu Lu knows nothing and just babbles on all day long."
Director Zhang Daming came in with a cup of tea and glanced at the TV.
"Daming, you're just in time. Take a look at this Link. What do you think?"
Zhang Weiping pointed at Link on the TV, dressed in a suit, good-looking, and talking eloquently to the audience.
"Link? I know him; I've known him since the 2008 Olympics. My daughter is even a die-hard fan of his. What do you want with him?"
Director Zhang asked.
"Isn't there still a role for a foreign actor needed in 'The Flowers of War'? Link is also an actor, has worked with Woody Allen, is famous, and knows a little Chinese. How about we invite him to play the male lead?"
"This... looks good, but he is a big shot, so his pay must be quite high."
Director Zhang touched his stubbled chin, hesitant.
"No matter, let's first make contact and see what happens."
"Okay then!"
Director Zhang looked at Link on TV, touched his stubbled chin, and nodded.