Chapter 66 Recording of The Perch Appointment

Looking at the entrance of the broadcasting studio, Zhang Qianjun asked the staff member beside him, "Should I just walk straight in in a moment?"

The staff member nodded and said, "Teacher Zhang, I will give you a cue in a moment. Just walk in normally, wave to the audience to greet them, then go over to the host, shake her hand, and sit down on the sofa on your side."

Zhang Qianjun uttered an "oh" and understood. "Don't call me Teacher Zhang; just call my name. If you really find it difficult to call my name, you can also call me President Zhang or Boss Zhang."

The staff member nodded to indicate she understood. After a short while, she prompted, "Boss Zhang, it's time to enter the stage."

Immediately, Zhang Qianjun walked into the studio, and a series of "whoa" sounds erupted from the scene, mixed with shouts of "Master of the Hall, Master of the Hall, look over here."

After waving to greet the audience, Zhang Qianjun walked up to Chen Luyu. Even though this elder sister was wearing platform high heels that were at least ten centimeters tall, in Zhang Qianjun's perspective, she was still short and thin.

After shaking hands and exchanging greetings with Luyu, Zhang Qianjun sat down on the edge of the sofa.

Luyu asked her first question: "Wow, I noticed that you walk really fast. Are you usually like this?"

Zhang Qianjun nodded. "I'm used to it. I walk the red carpet the same way."

Luyu then raised another question: "We want to know, are you now used to posting on Weibo and instantly reaching the top of the trending search list, followed by so many people leaving comments and reposting? Or are you still somewhat curious and uncomprehending as to why—why there are so many people who like me?"

Zhang Qianjun wore a puzzled expression. "Am I very popular on Weibo?"

Luyu said with a serious expression, "Really, extraordinarily popular. Lately, any random post of yours makes the trending search list." Then she looked at the audience at the scene, "Would you say he's popular or not?"

A burst of screams and shouts came from the audience: "Extremely popular!" "Super popular!"

Zhang Qianjun looked at the audience—who he couldn't tell were genuine fans or hired plants—and smiled. "I rarely post on Weibo, usually only posting when I have work. If you see that any random message of mine can make the trending search list, it's probably because the company bought too many trending searches."

A wave of laughter erupted from the audience seating area.

Opposite him, Luyu was briefly stunned, thinking to herself, is this his style? "What have you been doing recently?"

"Not long ago, I was promoting So Young. Now I'm mainly selling clothes."

Luyu continued, "Recently, So Young has broken various box office records—fastest to reach 300 million, fastest to reach 500 million, and so on. As of today, it has already surpassed 600 million. Market analysts are all saying this movie will definitely break the domestic box office record for Chinese films. Do you consider this a milestone in your career, even though you are only twenty years old?"

Zhang Qianjun gave his answer instantly, "No, the National Day release Unbeatable will definitely have a better box office than it."

Then he looked at the camera and the audience, "Let me plug an advertisement: on the evening of September 27th, Unbeatable will land in major theater chains. We cordially invite all viewers to attend and watch."

Luyu then asked a question about acting skills: "There is currently a theory circulating online that your acting skills have declined, and your performance in So Young is inferior to your first movie, Better Days. How do you view this theory?"

Zhang Qianjun let out a tut. "I don't agree with that. When Better Days was filmed, I was only a college freshman and hadn't taken many acting classes. No matter what, I'm still better now than before. If the audience has this feeling, it's most likely because the protagonist of So Young, Chen Xiaozheng, is an unlikable character to begin with—a very boring character."

Luyu grew interested. "You say the male lead of So Young is very boring. Does that mean you feel the movie So Young is inferior to your directorial debut, Better Days?"

"Yes."

Huh? Luyu was slightly puzzled.

"I said yes," Zhang Qianjun repeated loudly. "Although this might offend the original author, in my personal understanding, So Young is just an IP-adapted sentimentality movie. As far as the essence of the movie is concerned, it's quite mediocre."

Luyu asked perplexedly, "But the box office of So Young is much higher than Better Days?"

Zhang Qianjun replied with a straight face, "Isn't that because I'm much more famous than before?"

The sound of "oh oh oh" came from the scene again.

Luyu pursued the question regarding acting skills: "Do you consider yourself a good actor?"

Zhang Qianjun leaned back. "What counts as a good actor? Are people with good acting skills considered good actors?"

Luyu immediately changed her approach: "Do you think your acting skills are very good?"

Zhang Qianjun shook his head. "Not really, my acting skills are average. I can act well in movies entirely relying on the method of transposition; I belong to the typical experiential school. Characters I can immerse myself in well look decent to others, while characters with average immersion result in very average performances. Fortunately, I'm relatively gifted among the experiential school."

Luyu asked with keen interest, "Do you feel you have a great talent for acting?"

Zhang Qianjun nodded. "Um, how could I not?"

Luyu looked at Zhang Qianjun on the other side of the sofa, suddenly feeling an inexplicable sense of disfavor.

"What is your view on fans?"

"Fans? Normally speaking, they are very cute people. Without fans showing up to support, a celebrity is worth nothing."

"Then do you think your fans became fans because of your good movie performances, or because they listened to your songs?"

Zhang Qianjun frowned. "Most of my fans are probably 'physical' fans, right? A small portion are music fans. Those who became fans because of my performance should be very few, shouldn't they?"

Hearing this, Luyu smiled. "Speaking of 'physical' fans, is your girlfriend with you because of your appearance and physique? Everyone knows that the female lead of So Young, Kan Qingzi, is your ex-girlfriend."

Zhang Qianjun chuckled. "There is definitely that aspect of it, but I think the fact that I was both the investor and producer of our first movie is also a very important reason. In adults' romances, love and material things are equally important."

Luyu nodded. "I find you are really very direct and also very authentic. I've heard that when you receive calls from strangers, you often hang up directly if the conversation hits a dead end. Is this true?"

"Hanging up the phone is true; the reason for hanging up is not true." Zhang Qianjun looked somewhat distressed. "Many people call me and can't get to the point after half a day. I don't even know you, so naturally I don't have the patience to listen to you babbling endlessly. I suggest that since you went through some trouble to get my phone number, it's best to state who you are, what you want to do, and what you want me to do within three sentences. Bosses are very busy people, alright?"

Luyu was amused once again. "You really are a very direct person. Although this can save you from a lot of meaningless socializing, it also tends to offend quite a few people. Aren't you worried?"

Zhang Qianjun gave a scoff. "Do you think I'm direct and don't understand social etiquette? No, I just don't waste time on unnecessary people. Besides, I'm already much better now than before."

"You said you're much better now than before. Do you mean when you were an athlete? I know that when you were 15, you were a Sanda athlete. What kind of state were you in back then?"

Zhang Qianjun recalled for a moment. "Back then? Life and death taken lightly, fight whenever dissatisfied. Every time before stepping onto the ring, I was very excited—finally getting to beat people legally."

"Then why didn't you continue on the path of an athlete?" Luyu was clearly more concerned about this question.

"I got beaten up, didn't I? My skills were inferior to others, and my talent was also inferior to others," Zhang Qianjun self-deprecatingly remarked. "Things like ring combat have no buffer zone and accept no modifiers. If you aren't good enough, you just aren't good enough."

"Then why did you choose to embark on an acting career later?"

Zhang Qianjun felt a bit emotional. "To fulfill a dream in another way, I suppose. After all, in reality, I could never become a world champion in my lifetime."

Luyu agreed with this perspective. "We all know you sing very well and debuted as a singer back then. Why didn't you delve deeper into the singer's path?"

Zhang Qianjun thought to himself, I can talk about this. "Singing doesn't make money. If you rely purely on music without going on variety shows, running to radio stations, or running to programs, you simply can't support yourself. And as you can see, with my personality, I wouldn't survive in the music circle; I'd probably enter the circle in the morning, get into a fight at noon, and have to quit the circle by the afternoon. Being an actor is much better, especially an actor like me who is his own boss."

Hearing the word "boss," Luyu finally moved on to the topic Zhang Qianjun cared about.

"Your recently established personal brand has sparked a lot of controversy. Many people say that as such a famous movie star, the unit price of your brand is so low. It's somewhat embarrassing and doesn't match your status. Regarding this, what are your considerations?"

"I think," Zhang Qianjun paused, "there is nothing embarrassing about wearing a 30-yuan T-shirt. Many guys' short-sleeved shirts cost this much, and some are even cheaper than this. When it comes to clothes, comfort and propriety are the most important. On the premise of satisfying these two points, the cheaper the better. After all, it's just a consumable; you can't possibly buy very expensive clothes and keep them enshrined like statues, right? As for the so-called status, when I first debuted and attended some business occasions, I indeed wore designer brands. There's no helping it; if you don't dress more expensively, others won't look you in the eye. But after the release of Brotherhood of Blades, I no longer needed those. Status is judged by the person, not the clothes on the person."

Luyu had a point of interest: "You said you needed designer brands when you first debuted. Have you ever suffered from cold receptions in film crews before?"

Zhang Qianjun chuckled. "Not really. Just like what's said online, I'm the so-called resource-backed favorite; my first film crew was entirely made up of my own people. As for now, wherever I go, I encounter beaming smiles and nothing but good people. When I came to this program, staff members greeted me right as I got out of the car, staying by my side the whole time saying, 'Teacher Zhang, what would you like to eat? Teacher Zhang, what would you like to drink?'—enthusiastic to the extreme."

Seeing that time was almost up, Luyu prepared to wrap things up. "Even though you are already so successful, you are still so hardworking. After the trailer for Unbeatable was released, many fans felt sorry for you; to achieve that muscular physique in Unbeatable, you must have endured a lot of hardship."

Zhang Qianjun interrupted, "No need to feel sorry for me. I received my paycheck, and after taking that much money, any amount of hardship is what I ought to endure."

Luyu nodded. "I'm very glad to see you achieve the success you have today. I think Zhang Qianjun is someone worth liking by everyone—truly authentic. At the end of the show, is there anything you'd like to say to everyone?"

Zhang Qianjun stood up and faced the audience. "Thank you very much for supporting me. I am a person with many flaws, and the most important factor in achieving today's success is having everyone's support. Thank you all. By the way, at the premiere of So Young, many people said they bought tickets at very high prices. I suggest that in the future, everyone really shouldn't do that; it's unnecessary, and money should be spent in more important places. If no one buys high-priced tickets, the prices will naturally come down. In the future, during brand events, I will also try to sing a few more songs, which can also satisfy the fans at the scene. For events like this that don't cost money, you can all go join in the fun when you have time. Finally, thank you all once again for your support. Thank you."