Chapter 42

(Continue to vote for me!)

While Wu Cheng was eating breakfast, the three women were reading newspapers as they ate.

Wu Cheng glanced at the newspapers and found that they were all about the film reviews of 'Five Lucky Stars'. Zhao Yazhi was reading the Urban Entertainment News, which was essentially their own newspaper, and it was full of praise for 'Five Lucky Stars'.

It praised the film as if it were a rare gem in the sky and a unique treasure on earth.

"Cheng, do you want me to read it to you? Let you indulge a bit?" Zhao Yazhi asked with a smile.

Wu Cheng shook his head and laughed, "No need, I'm not impressed by those things!"

In fact, he was still reminiscing about the scenes from last night when he shared a bed with the three women. These were the things that truly made him indulge. Compared to these, those reports were nothing!

Seeing that Wu Cheng was indeed not interested, the three women stopped reading and put down the newspapers. They chatted about where to go shopping or how to maintain their beauty.

After breakfast, the three women went out shopping, but Wu Cheng did not follow. He thought that going shopping with one woman might be romantic, but going with three women would give him no chance at all, and he would have to be a commentator and a free porter.

Being a commentator was fine, but when facing three women he couldn't offend, it was a kind of torture. So, he decided to avoid this torture.

Once the three women left, Wu Cheng started reading the newspapers himself.

The film could be considered a major production in Hong Kong.

With a large cast, grand action scenes, and a budget of three million, this was a very rare large investment in Hong Kong. It was the mid-1970s, and a million-dollar box office for a Shaw Brothers film was already satisfactory. Investing three million in a single film was simply impossible.

As for the actors' fame, it was naturally ignored.

Newspapers like the Oriental Daily, Ming Pao, and Sing Tao Daily also lavished praise on 'Five Lucky Stars'. They had no choice but to praise it, as the audience was immersed in the festive atmosphere.

Of course, some newspapers criticized 'Five Lucky Stars' for its crude humor and vulgar content, even suggesting that Zhao Yazhi was selling her body. Fortunately, Zhao Yazhi didn't read those newspapers carefully today.

Wu Cheng ignored such newspapers.

However, the Ming Pao report was written by the music producer Mr. Wong Jim, "I had the privilege of watching 'Five Lucky Stars' in advance yesterday. It was not as bad as I had feared. The surprises it brought me far exceeded my expectations... Although some of the jokes seemed forced, it is still a good film."

"The part that impressed me the most in the entire film was not the car chase scene, but the segment where Mr. Wu Cheng and Miss Teresa Teng collaborated. The same song, performed in two different styles, conveyed two distinctly different atmospheres. I must admit, Mr. Wu Cheng's musical talent, like his literary talent, is outstanding. I would be honored to collaborate with him. Additionally, I must admit that Mr. Wu's acting is also excellent. His chemistry with Miss Teresa made people forget his age, making them seem more like a couple than siblings."

...

Wu Cheng didn't expect that Wong Jim, the old rascal... oh, he was only in his thirties. Wu Cheng didn't expect him to give such high praise.

Thinking that the music wasn't his own, Wu Cheng felt a bit embarrassed, but as a reborn person, he couldn't give up this benefit.

He would get used to the embarrassment eventually!

After a quick browse through the newspapers, Wu Cheng received a call from Golden Harvest about the film's box office. In fact, he already knew the box office figures.

Golden Harvest and Lido Cinema, along with several other small theaters, had a total of 43 screens showing the film. If every screening was full, with the current ticket prices, the box office would be around 300,000. This was for the two screenings from the premiere to midnight.

In reality, these theaters could show the film six times a day... if all six screenings were 'Five Lucky Stars', the daily box office would be nearly 900,000.

Of course, Wu Cheng knew that Golden Harvest wouldn't give 'Five Lucky Stars' all six screenings a day. Four screenings a day was already a favor.

After all, Wu Cheng took the lion's share in the first week.

This was also why distributors could easily pressure the production companies.

Originally, Golden Harvest had scheduled 'Five Lucky Stars' for three screenings a day: one in the morning, one in the afternoon, and one in the evening. However, due to the overwhelming pre-sales, many people demanded additional screenings, so they added more. Even so, Josephine Koo felt they were losing money.

...

Wu Cheng didn't go out in the morning, which left the few thugs waiting in the neighborhood below his house in a dilemma. Two of them followed Zhao Yazhi and the others after seeing them leave, while the other four continued to wait for Wu Cheng's appearance.

After waiting for two hours, one of the thugs called Xiang Huasheng, "Brother Sheng, the guy surnamed Wu hasn't come down yet. The three women who live with him have gone out, and Big Mouth is following them!"

"Three women? This guy sure has good luck with women!" Xiang Huasheng chuckled and said, "Keep waiting! If he doesn't come out by afternoon, bring those women over. Remember to be polite, don't say I didn't warn you."

"Got it, Brother Sheng!"

In the end, the thugs waited until the afternoon without seeing Wu Cheng come down.

Zhao Yazhi and the others didn't return for lunch. They called Wu Cheng to order food and continued shopping with Teresa Teng and Brigitte Lin.

Finally, they couldn't wait any longer and directly approached Zhao Yazhi and the others, inviting them to visit. Faced with this situation, Zhao Yazhi, Teresa Teng, and Brigitte Lin were very nervous. After all, the thugs were holding guns, and if they accidentally fired, what would happen?

"Don't scream or struggle, this guy doesn't have good eyesight!" The thug with the gun carefully covered the weapon with a cloth and said seriously, "As long as you cooperate."

If Xiang Huasheng hadn't specifically instructed them, they would have taken the opportunity to take advantage of the situation.

After all, the three women in front of them were rare beauties, especially with their noble aura, which was far beyond ordinary women.

The three women exchanged glances. Although they were very nervous, they didn't struggle but followed the thugs obediently. They prepared for the worst and thought, "If only Wu Cheng were here."

...

In an independent villa, Xiang Huasheng met the three women.

Xiang Huasheng didn't expect that the three women his subordinates brought would be famous in both the music and film industries.

However, since they were here, he didn't plan to back down. While pouring them drinks, he said casually, "Ladies, there's no need to panic. I invited you here with no ill intentions. I just want to do business with your friend, Mr. Wu Cheng. I apologize for the abrupt way I brought you here, but Mr. Wu is very busy, and I am impatient, so I had to use this less friendly method. Please forgive me, ladies!"

What could the three women do in this situation? They could only hope that this man really wanted to do business with Wu Cheng and not use them to force Wu Cheng.

...

Wu Cheng was writing a manuscript when he heard the phone in the living room. He didn't think much of it, got up, and casually sat on the sofa to answer the call. The next moment, he sat up straight, a surge of anger rising in his heart, and he said in a deep voice, "Xiang Huasheng!? The young master of Xin Ji?"

After a pause, he continued, "You better make sure they're not missing a single hair!"

"Mr. Wu, please rest assured. We just want to do business and don't want to hurt anyone!"

"I want to hear their voices. I hope you're not lying to me!"

"No problem! Rest assured, we have our principles."

Hearing Zhao Yazhi's voice, Wu Cheng took several deep breaths to calm her down and himself, then said, "Address!"

After getting the address, Wu Cheng leaned back on the sofa, took several more deep breaths, but still couldn't calm down. He had a strong urge to kill.

He got up, put on his coat, and left quickly.

Half an hour later, Wu Cheng found the small villa. He saw many guards with guns patrolling the yard outside.

There were many visible guards, and even more hidden ones. The entire villa was almost without blind spots, which made Wu Cheng abandon the idea of rushing in and causing chaos. He had to quickly calm down.

If it were just him, he wouldn't be too worried, but there were three women inside who needed his protection. He couldn't ignore their lives.

After a thorough search, Wu Cheng entered the villa.

Seeing Wu Cheng, Xiang Huasheng smiled and welcomed him, opening his arms and saying, "Mr. Wu, welcome! I am Xiang Huasheng, I believe you have heard of me."

If Wu Cheng hadn't heard of him, he wouldn't have known he was the young master of Xin Ji.

Wu Cheng looked at him coldly, his jaw muscles twitching as he struggled to control the overwhelming anger. Seeing Wu Cheng's restrained anger, Xiang Huasheng smiled smugly. He had originally intended to use normal means, but since Wu Cheng was holed up at home, he had to resort to this method. Now, he was very pleased with the result.

"Where are they?" Wu Cheng took a deep breath and asked coldly.

"Mr. Wu, don't worry, they are fine, right over there!" Xiang Huasheng pointed.

Wu Cheng saw that Zhao Yazhi, Teresa Teng, and Brigitte Lin were sitting normally on a corner of the sofa, though they looked somewhat panicked. Seeing Wu Cheng, they all seemed to relax, as if they had found their mainstay.