Fan Binbin's Next Step

Zheng Hui pinched her chin: "I am indeed planning an English album, but there's no rush."

Fan Binbin's smile faded slightly.

"I don't plan for you to release songs in Europe and America for the next two years."

Why?

Zheng Hui looked into her eyes: "Because your most important thing right now isn't singing."

"You are twenty-two years old now, which is the fastest growth stage for an actress. Your physical expressiveness is at its peak, and your emotional perception is also at its most acute."

If you focus your energy on acting now, you'll improve much faster than you will in the future.

Fan Binbin did not speak.

Zheng Hui continued, "But if you start pursuing both a singer career and star status at this stage, your schedule will become increasingly packed."

Promotional tours, announcements, endorsement shoots, commercial performances, variety shows—once these things pile up, your time will be fragmented. You might think you can manage both, but the reality is, when your schedule is full, you'll naturally slack off in some areas.

"I won't……"

"It's not a matter of whether you want to or not," Zheng Hui interrupted her. "It's that people have limited energy. In your busy schedule, you will eventually have to make choices. Subconsciously, your acting will tend to be formulaic and template-like. It's not that you are intentionally being lazy, but when your attention is distracted, your brain will automatically choose the least effortful way to act."

You might not notice it the first time you do it, and you might not notice it the second time either, but over time, your performance will become a fixed routine.

When an emotion arises, your body directly recalls previously used responses, rather than re-experiencing and creating a new feeling.

Fan Binbin gradually calmed down as she listened to these words.

Since meeting Fan Binbin, Zheng Hui has been consciously working on her acting skills. He has hired teachers, arranged drama classes, and her acting training has never stopped.

When filming "Full House" and "My Sassy Girl", Zheng Hui personally coached her on set. When filming "Hero", Zheng Hui also asked Zhang Yimou to train her more.

Over the past few years, Fan Binbin's acting skills have indeed improved a lot. If we compare her current level with her peak period in her previous life, the gap is already very small.

But not enough.

"So in the past two years, acting skills have been the top priority."

Zheng Hui said, "With your current level, winning domestic awards like the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival isn't difficult. But if you want to win awards on the international stage... you're still a long way off."

After saying this, Zheng Hui got up from the bed and went to the study. Less than a minute later, Zheng Hui returned with a document.

"Take a look at this." He handed her the document. Fan Binbin took it, opened it, and read, "Jasmine Blossoms."

"What is this?"

"A movie script," Zheng Hui said. "The director's name is Hou Yong. You may have heard of him; he's Zhang Yimou's cinematographer. This is his directorial debut."

"He sent you an invitation through Li Zongming at the beginning of this year, wanting you to play the female lead. However, at that time you were busy with the North American promotion of 'My Sassy Girl' and 'Hero,' and Li Zongming told him to wait until you returned to China to see how it went."

As a result, before the other party could wait long, SARS struck, bringing the entire industry to a standstill and causing the plans to be postponed again and again.

Now that the pandemic is over and the promotion for "The Light Chaser" has come to an end, it's a good time to take on this role.

Fan Binbin flipped to the first few pages of the script, quickly glanced at the character descriptions, and then her eyes lit up.

"One person playing three roles?"

"Yes," Zheng Hui said. "Three generations of women, spanning from the 1930s to the 1980s."

You play the daughter character who spans three generations in the core storyline, but each generation has a completely different personality, historical background, and fate.

Fan Binbin continued scrolling down, becoming more and more interested with each page.

Playing three distinct female characters with the same actress demands a very high level of skill. Voice, posture, eye contact, and the rhythm of speech all need to be differentiated. If done well, it becomes the ultimate testament to acting prowess.

"Although this is the director's first time directing a feature film," Zheng Hui's voice came from the side, "the team is quite good. Jiang Wen will be acting opposite him, and Zhang Yimou and Tian Zhuangzhuang will also help with guidance."

Fan Binbin looked up: "Jiang Wen?"

"right."

Jiang Wen is one of the best male actors in China, acting opposite him...

"Hou Yong's cinematography skills are beyond question; his visual language is absolutely top-notch. What he lacks is experience as a director, so Zhang Yimou and Tian Zhuangzhuang helped fill that gap."

In this group, you have actors of Jiang Wen's caliber acting alongside you to enhance your performance, and people of Zhang Yimou and Tian Zhuangzhuang's caliber helping you ensure the overall quality. This is the best training environment for you.

"If I perform well, winning a Golden Rooster Award is not impossible."

Golden Rooster Awards.

Fan Binbin won the Best Actress award at the Hundred Flowers Awards last year, but the Hundred Flowers Awards are based on audience votes and are not as prestigious as the Golden Rooster Awards. The Golden Rooster Awards are judged by professional juries and represent the highest recognition in the Chinese film academic community.

"Of course, the Golden Rooster Award is just one step. More than trophies, I hope your acting skills can reach a new level. I'm also helping you prepare for something even further, something that can really compete for international awards. But we'll talk about that when you're ready."

"International awards?" Fan Binbin's eyes lit up even more. "Don't think that far ahead." Zheng Hui patted the script in her hand: "Focus on thoroughly understanding this play first."

Fan Binbin solemnly closed the script: "I'll take it."

Zheng Hui nodded and then said, "In the play 'Jasmine Blossoms,' there's a scene where the third-generation female lead, Hua, gives birth."

Fan Binbin thought about the description in the script outline: "Hmm, I saw it."

"This scene is one of the emotional climaxes in the second half of the film. Hua produced her own child alone in that era and under those circumstances. This process was not only physical but also psychological."

Her fear, loneliness, resentment, and the maternal strength that erupts from her pain—all of these need to be simultaneously presented in the performance.

Fan Binbin became serious.

Zheng Hui said, "You can't rely on imagination to film this kind of movie. I've already asked someone to find some medical teaching materials about childbirth for you to watch first. Those videos contain real records of the birthing process, from contractions to pushing to the baby being delivered."

You need to observe a woman's actual reactions in that state: how her breathing rhythm changes, how her muscles tense, what her facial expressions are like, and what her voice sounds like.

Fan Binbin nodded.

Zheng Hui continued, "In addition, I asked Li Zongming to contact some women who don't mind being observed during childbirth. If conditions permit, you can go and witness a real natural childbirth process."

Fan Binbin was taken aback. "Going to the delivery room to watch someone give birth?"

"Um."

"...Will it work?"

"As long as someone is willing to cooperate, that's fine." Zheng Hui said, "The worst thing about acting is being fake. If you only rely on your imagination for a childbirth scene, the performance will either be the kind of formulaic pain performance you see in movies and TV dramas, with sweat dripping from your forehead, screaming, and clutching the sheets."

Either it's too restrained, making it difficult to discern anything.

What is real childbirth like? The body's instinctive reaction when the pain reaches its limit is something you can't imagine sitting at home.

Fan Binbin nodded: "Okay, I'll go take a look."

……

In the days that followed, Fan Binbin began the preliminary preparations for "Jasmine Blossoms".

She read through the medical textbooks and obstetric imaging materials that Zheng Hui had sent her, one by one. At first, she did feel somewhat uncomfortable.

The real childbirth process is completely different from what is shown in movies and TV dramas. There are no dramatic screams, but rather continuous, long moans and rapid breathing.

The pain isn't a sudden outburst, but rather a series of waves. With each wave, the mother's entire body tenses, her toes curl, her fingers strain, and her facial expression isn't an exaggerated contortion, but rather a blurry zone between endurance and collapse.

She wrote all these details down in a notebook.

Li Zongming's work is also progressing. He contacted several maternity hospitals and finally found a willing mother, a woman in her early thirties who was having her second child. She had a cheerful personality and was very excited when she heard that she was an actress who wanted to experience childbirth. She agreed to participate in the observation.

Fan Binbin went to that hospital one afternoon.

Wearing protective clothing, a mask, and a hat, she stood in the corner of the delivery room and watched the entire birthing process from beginning to end.

The whole process takes about two hours.

When she came out, her fingers were cold, and her back was covered in a thin layer of sweat.

It wasn't fear, it was awe.

The process of life struggling to emerge from one body into another had a far greater impact on her than any film or television work.

She stood at the hospital entrance for a long time before getting into the car.

On the bus, she opened her notebook and added a dozen more lines of observation notes.

...In late August, online discussions about Zheng Hui and the three women remained heated.

On major portal websites, forums, and BBS, the three camps engaged in heated debates.

The buzz surrounding "Chasing the Light" hadn't died down when the shocking effect of Faye Wong's English album topping the Billboard charts piled up, essentially dominating the entertainment section of the entire Chinese-language internet.

Media interview requests flooded into Fan Binbin's insane number.

Li Zongming filters dozens of interview requests every day, and he directly rejects the vast majority of them.

Those who are too sharp and gossipy, or who are obviously trying to dig up dirt and cause trouble, will all be rejected.

But he also knew that remaining completely silent was not an option. Prolonged silence would be interpreted as guilt, or as "Fan Binbin having no grounds to stand for and therefore afraid to speak."

Especially with the growing popularity of the Zheng Fei Party, Fan Binbin needs to make a public appearance.

He sifted through a list and chose the interview in the magazine "Metropolitan Beauty".

This media outlet leans towards fashion and lifestyle, and is never known for its sharp gossip. Its interview style is more like a chat, which is suitable for Fan Binbin to release moderate information in a relatively safe environment.

The interview was arranged to take place in a studio. A senior female reporter from the magazine, surnamed Shen, was sent. Everyone called her Sister Shen.

After the photo session, the two sat down for a chat. Sister Shen asked gently, "Binbin, Faye Wong's English album 'Faye Wong' has recently achieved great success in the US, debuting at number one on the Billboard album chart. Did you know about that?"

Fan Bingbing nodded: "Of course I know. Faye Wong's album debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 is an honor for a female Chinese singer. I admire her very much."

Sister Shen was somewhat surprised by her frankness.

Fan Bingbing continued, "To be honest, before Faye Wong, no female Chinese singer had ever achieved such success in the mainstream Western music market. Regardless of whether you are a fan of hers or not, and regardless of your previous opinion of her, this achievement is undeniable."

With 470,000 copies sold in its first year and reaching number one on the Billboard charts, no one can deny the prestige of that achievement. I sincerely admire her.

She used the word "admire" twice, and Sister Shen underlined it in her notebook.

Sister Shen slowed down her speech: "But as you know, there are a lot of voices online comparing the two of you."

"Comparisons, of course." Fan Binbin's tone was not displeased, but even tinged with amusement: "Ever since I became famous after my debut, I've been constantly compared to others. Compared to Zhao Zhetian, compared to Zhang Ziyi, compared to all the actresses of my age."

Whose acting is better, whose resources are more abundant, whose endorsement fees are higher, whose movies have stronger box office performance—I've never stopped comparing them, and I've never been afraid of it.

"The more I compete, the more excited I get."

Upon hearing this, Sister Shen's eyes lit up.

This answer was both beautiful and assertive. Fan Bingbing didn't show any defensiveness; instead, she turned the word "comparison," which should have made her uncomfortable, into a testament to her confidence. "But this time the comparison is a little different," Sister Shen continued, pressing, "not acting skills, not box office, not endorsements, but... the same man."

Fan Bingbing's expression remained unchanged. She neither evaded the question nor answered directly: "You heard some things from Faye Wong's albums, some things from my albums, and you also saw Gao Yuanyuan in Zheng Hui's music video."

Then you want to piece these fragments together to form a complete story.

"But if you really want an answer, you should ask Director Zheng. He wrote the songs, he collaborated with the people, and he produced the album."

Whatever you gleaned from it, whatever you read, whatever you guessed, you should ask the person who wrote it.

Sister Shen asked, "And what about you? What role do you play in this story?"

Fan Bingbing smiled and said, "I've never hidden anything. What I sing is more than what I can say in interviews. If you don't understand, that's your problem. If you do understand, you don't need me to admit it personally."

Sister Shen changed her perspective: "What if everyone insists on putting you and Faye Wong in the same story? Would you mind?"

Fan Bingbing glanced at her: "Why should I mind?"

She didn't back down at all: "Being compared to Faye Wong is a form of recognition in itself. She is Faye Wong; not everyone can stand on the same page as her."

She smiled slightly after saying that.

"As for the rest, you can guess for yourselves. I won't put the puzzle together for you."...

The interview was published in "Metropolitan Beauty" three days later, with the online version released simultaneously.

The title is: "Fan Binbin: The more they compare themselves to me, the more energetic they become."

The article sparked as much discussion as any previous report about her.

The phrase "The more they compete with me, the more excited they get" became the most quoted saying almost within a day.

On Tianya, someone posted a picture that put Fan Binbin's quote together with Faye Wong's quote from "Good Morning America": "He understands my voice better than I understand myself."

The two photos were placed side by side, with only three words captioned below: "Ask Director Zheng."

This picture quickly spread across all forums.

Those who like Fan Binbin like him even more now.

Those who were moved by her frankness, stubbornness, and indomitable spirit:

"No explanations, no showing weakness, no pandering. If you want to compete, then compete; I'll see it through to the end."

"Her answer was really smart; she acknowledged Faye Wong's talent without belittling herself. You want to compare? Sure. You want to ask about relationships? Go ask Zheng Hui." Of course, some people didn't buy it.

"That sounds nice, telling everyone to ask Zheng Hui about everything. So what is your own attitude? If you don't want to say, then don't hint."

"If you understand, you don't need me to admit it personally. Isn't that tacit admission? You're denying it while making everyone guess."

"I think she's just marketing herself with ambiguity. She's using the love triangle topic to keep herself in the spotlight and then shifting the blame to Zheng Hui. No matter how you interpret it, she doesn't lose out."

"Don't exaggerate her abilities. Without Zheng Hui, she would still be Jin Suo."

The debate continues.

None of the three factions could convince the others.

The man at the very center of the storm remained silent.