"Could this female star really be Leng Zhiwen!" It was fine when such a thought wasn't in someone's head, but once it popped into their mind, they couldn't suppress it anymore.
When reporters started comparing this female star with the great star Leng Zhiwen, they were astonished to find that the two looked incredibly alike. If their hair were covered, they would appear to be carved from the same mold.
Although the female star was slightly taller than Leng Zhiwen, it was because Leng Zhiwen was wearing high heels. Without the heels, their heights would be exactly the same.
Furthermore, Leng Zhiwen was a big star completely brought out by Jiangnan Group, and almost all the movies and TV shows he had taken on were projects under Jiangnan Group.
Another point was that Leng Zhiwen strongly disliked participating in variety shows. Apart from occasionally appearing on variety shows organized by Jiangnan Group, Leng Zhiwen was almost never seen on other variety shows.
Even on the variety show that claimed to have hosted celebrities from all over China, "Happy Camp," Leng Zhiwen had never appeared. Later, a discussion even arose online about when Leng Zhiwen would appear on "Happy Camp."
In the past year, online rumors and leaks had claimed three times that Leng Zhiwen would appear on the next episode of "Happy Camp," but it turned out that all of them were false. Leng Zhiwen never appeared on any variety shows.
If it were just a dislike for variety shows, it would be understandable. However, Leng Zhiwen also rarely appeared in public, never participated in any commercial activities, and apart from his continuous output of new works, he was almost never seen.
Despite being only in his early twenties, he lived his life like an old artist, yet even old artists still had to participate in commercial activities.
This was because commercial activities were unavoidable for any star. A star had an agency and a professional team behind them, all of which needed to be supported by the star's income.
Some people might say that a star's income from just one movie could support them, given that their film salaries were often hundreds of millions.
But that was not the case. First of all, the so-called hundreds of millions in film salaries were more likely intended for tax evasion, or even more serious money laundering. Very little actually landed in the celebrity's hands; half at most would be considered fortunate.
Afterwards, the agency would immediately take more than 50% of the income, and the star's team would also take a portion. Finally, the star themselves would have significant expenses for various events, clothing, and other personal matters.
Stars appeared glamorous in public, but they also spent a lot of money in private. Therefore, it was almost impossible for stars to make money solely from film salaries. The real source of income for stars was various commercial activities, endorsements for specific products, and promoting certain products, which were the core sources of economic benefits.
For example, a star running over 40 events in a month, do you really think they were just diligent and hardworking?
Then, this blockbuster star's Facebook follower count plummeted from 100 million to just over 2 million, becoming a huge joke in the industry. He then angrily announced his withdrawal from Facebook, mockingly referred to by some reporters as "Face Gone."
However, this star was not an isolated case. The follower counts of many celebrities experienced a cliff-like drop, while only Leng Zhiwen's Facebook follower count actually saw a slight increase during this period, which was considered a legend.
To get back to the point, in conclusion, Leng Zhiwen's behavior was completely inconsistent with that of a normal big star. Protecting himself completely without caring about money was interpreted as a love for acting.
Of course, such stars were not unheard of, but they were destined to be disliked by their companies.
All companies were fundamentally driven by profit, and squeezing their artists for every last drop was the gospel of all management companies.
Yet, Leng Zhiwen's company not only did not force Leng Zhiwen to take on any commercial activities, but it was rumored that they actively rejected all sorts of invitations for him... In fact, it wasn't that Leng Zhiwen didn't accept the invitations, but rather that all invitations were directly refused by his management company.
Later, his management company even issued a statement to the entire industry, stating that Teacher Leng only focused on art and performance, and did not accept any commercial activities. They asked everyone not to invite him and not to believe any market claims about inviting Teacher Leng for endorsements, as these were all scams.
Good heavens, many reporters simply couldn't comprehend the logic behind Leng Zhiwen's actions.
Thus, rumors gradually spread in the industry that Leng Zhiwen was "Boss Huang's what," otherwise, there was no way to explain his extraordinary unconventionality, because the only answer was that Boss Huang didn't care about that little money and only wanted to protect his beloved.
But this explanation had a fatal flaw: Leng Zhiwen was a man.
Wait, wouldn't that be even more stimulating?
Despite the numerous rumors in the industry, no reporter dared to write such articles in any media... Someone had tried it before, and their magazine disappeared the very next day. Then, this reporter, along with the editor-in-chief behind them, were investigated for serious violations of discipline and were still serving time in prison.
But... but if Leng Zhiwen wasn't actually Leng Zhiwen, but Leng Zhiwen, and she was a woman, then everything seemed to make perfect sense.
She didn't participate in various events precisely because she feared that her identity as a woman would be discovered during those events.
But was this really possible?
Did Leng Zhiwen really need to go to such lengths to hide her gender?
Just as all the reporters were frantically thinking about how to subtly discuss the suspicion of Leng Zhiwen's gender in their next article, and how to publish it without angering Jiangnan Group, another video quickly appeared on the screen behind them.
The person appearing in the video was still the beautiful woman from before. However, at this moment, she was wearing a Tai Chi Taoist robe, just like the outfit she had worn in "The Misty Journey."
Back then, she was clearly dressed as a man, but now her hair was disheveled, and even in the Taoist robe, she was a dazzling goddess.
"Hello everyone, allow me to introduce myself, I am Leng Zhiwen. I wonder if my entrance on stage just now surprised you. Yes, I am Leng Zhiwen, and also the person referred to as Leng Zhiwen in many media reports. I am actually not a boy; I am a girl, from birth!"
"Actually, I have always felt very ashamed about this matter, and I never expected to conceal my gender for such a long time."
"I was originally a martial arts enthusiast and practiced martial arts with my master. Later, my brother-in-law wanted to invest in filming 'The Misty Journey,' but he couldn't find a suitable male protagonist. This was because the 'The Misty Journey' movie my brother-in-law wanted to film only wanted the protagonist to have real kung fu and to be able to fight genuinely in the movie, rather than relying on special effects."
"At the same time, he also wanted the male protagonist to be very handsome. Combining these factors, it was quite difficult to find someone, so my brother-in-law thought of me and pulled me over for an audition. I thus muddled through and became the male protagonist of 'The Misty Journey'."
"Later, during the filming of 'The Misty Journey,' I fell in love with the film and television industry and earnestly wanted to become an excellent actor. Therefore, I dedicated all my time to honing my acting skills. When I was not filming movies and TV shows, I was almost always receiving professional acting training, and I refused to participate in any commercial activities."
"Anyway, no matter how much money I earned, it wouldn't be as much as my brother-in-law, so I didn't need to work that hard to make money. I just needed to hone my acting skills and continue practicing martial arts!"
"Later, I also realized that everyone thought I was male. My brother-in-law also suggested that I publicly state my gender, but due to some flaws in my personality, I found this matter very amusing. Moreover, in subsequent films and television dramas, they all wanted me to play the male protagonist, so I kept my true gender hidden. I apologize to everyone here."
"But as time went on, I knew that continuing this way was not good. Furthermore, my brother-in-law's new product needed an official spokesperson, so I took this opportunity to tell everyone my real gender, and that my name is Leng Zhiwen and Leng Zhiwen."
"Alright, I've said what I wanted to say. If you are angry about my long-term concealment of my gender, then I can only apologize profusely and thus lose a fan."
"If you are still willing to continue watching my works, then I am also very grateful to all of you."
"But regardless, my works will still be continuously produced. Who is Huang He, my brother-in-law?" Leng Zhiwen stuck out her tongue at the end, concluding the video.
And all the audience members below could not help but open their mouths, revealing their tongues.