Chapter 382: Chapter 383: Past Events in the Entertainment Circle
Xia Yangyang is not sure yet if her mother’s death really has anything to do with Gu Mingzhu.
Before having any concrete evidence, she does not want to arbitrarily suspect anyone.
However, there is indeed a connection, a story, between Gu Mingzhu and her mother.
Xia Yangyang stared at the photo, her fingers gradually tightening around it.
She vowed to get to the bottom of this matter.
Liu Ruyan was quite famous in the entertainment circle ten years ago.
So, she and Director Zhang know each other well.
Her mother had risen to fame before Liu Ruyan, while Gu Mingzhu and Tan Zhen both belong to the same era of entertainment.
Xia Yangyang had heard this from her grandmother.
Tan Zhen was very popular in the showbiz world back then, having filmed quite a lot of movies and accumulated a large fan base.
Director Zhang has also been in this circle for more than twenty years.
He must have some memories of her mother.
Thus, Xia Yangyang took a newspaper to see Director Zhang the next day.
Zhang Jizhong looked at the old photo, squinting for a bit before saying, “Yangyang, where did you find this photo? It’s all old faces. The first batch of graduates from the August Film School, many of them are now big names in the entertainment industry. Look, this is Tan Yong, a veteran superstar. Nearly fifty now, he still maintains agility in action films. He’s never used a body double in his many years of filming. I admire that. This one here, isn’t she Wang Linlin? Now she’s the dean of the Central Film Academy. And Zhang Changcheng, he had quite a talent for acting. He later went into business and became a real estate tycoon. Here’s Zhao Xin, good acting skills and clever, but didn’t really make it in the circle because she’s not particularly good-looking. Fortunately, she married a rich merchant and emigrated…”
Director Zhang got unusually excited, looking at the photo as if he was seeing old friends, enthusiastically telling Xia Yangyang about each person’s life and interesting anecdotes.
When it came to Tan Zhen, Director Zhang noticeably paused, “This…”
Seeing Director Zhang’s hesitation, Xia Yangyang rushed, “Director Zhang, do you recognize her? She is my mother.”
Xia Yangyang is the daughter of Xia Liangdong. Everyone knew Xia Liangdong’s first wife had died many years ago.
These past events were long forgotten.
So, it took a moment for Director Zhang to recall that Xia Yangyang was Tan Zhen’s daughter.
Director Zhang hesitated, “Yes, I know her, but we never worked together. So, we were not really close. Twenty years ago, I was just an unknown little director, while Tan Zhen was already a superstar. Opportunities to work with A-list celebrities like her would have been out of question. By the time I gained a bit of fame, Tan Zhen had already retired from the spotlight to marry and have kids. I just remember that she loved doing charity work and persisted for many years, until later…”
Having said that, Director Zhang paused and cast a wary glance at Xia Yangyang before sighing, “Those past events, I don’t remember clearly anymore.”
Xia Yangyang knew that Director Zhang must have been thinking of the accusations against her mother for embezzling donations and committing suicide after her reputation was ruined.
Given her mother’s fame back then, there was no way Director Zhang wouldn’t know.
Now, he just didn’t want to upset her.
For the same reason, Xia Yangyang did not want to discuss them further.
She pointed directly to another person in the photo, “Director Zhang, do you recognize her?”
The one Xia Yangyang pointed at was Gu Mingzhu.
Director Zhang frowned, “She is Gu Mingzhu, the youngest prodigy student of the August Film School, she got admitted to the university at the age of sixteen, the only daughter of the Shengyuan Group, she’s Gu Qichen’s sister, your sister-in-law right?”