The people who heard the news were ecstatic — and Leslie Cheung's fans were practically losing their minds with excitement. In their eyes, landing a role in a Laila Moran film was like grabbing onto a ladder straight to the top. With her name behind the box office and critical acclaim, could major awards really be far behind?
The first East Asian to win Best Actor at the Golden Globes?
The first East Asian to win Best Actor at the Oscars?
The first to win two Best Actor awards?
The first to...?
If he could achieve all that — that would be a dream come true.
"Did you see the news?" Chen Shufen was on the phone with Leslie Cheung early in the morning.
"Yeah." Leslie, who was casually reading the newspaper, replied calmly.
Unfortunately, his cool demeanor didn't carry through the phone line, and Chen Shufen felt like her heart was about to leap out of her chest.
"The trailer's been released online — so your identity's out. Everyone's talking about it now. What should we do?"
If it were any other matter, she would've just handled it herself without bothering him. But this was different — the impact was huge, and now even she felt nervous about making the wrong move.
Back when they first received the invitation and the script, she'd wanted to go public with the news immediately. After all, just announcing the collaboration would have skyrocketed Leslie Cheung to the very top of Asia's entertainment scene — all thanks to Laila Moran's reputation for never making a bad film and her near-mythical ability to shape award-winning actors.
But because of the confidentiality terms on Laila's side, they had no choice but to keep quiet and wait for the official marketing campaign to begin.
So what happened now? They hadn't gotten any heads-up, and yet the trailer was already out?
The truth was, this blunder had quite a lot to do with Laila herself. After all, she was a fan of Leslie Cheung. To spend more time with him, she had personally taken on the task of handling all direct communication.
So neither Demi nor Louise thought much of it. They knew the boss would handle all updates herself, and figured she was just feeling a little whimsical. Why else would someone like her do something so small?
But who could've predicted that the normally meticulous Laila would — because of her overwhelming workload — forget such a critical notification?
And just like that, the trailer was released… while the other party still hadn't been informed.
"Let's get in touch with Director Moran and go from there," Cheung said, still unconcerned. He didn't see it as a big issue. After all, he had acted in the movie, and he was one of the dual leads. Now that the trailer was out, there was no point trying to hide anything. The only thing they needed to confirm was how best to coordinate with the official promotional plans.
"Okay! I'll call her right now!" Chen Shufen was about to hang up, but Cheung stopped her with a laugh.
"Calling now? You forgot what time it is over there?"
Chen Shufen smacked her forehead. Right! There was more than a 10-hour time difference — it was still the middle of the night on Laila's side!
"Ugh, my memory. Okay, I'll call tonight. But I've already gotten a ton of interview requests — do you want to consider any of them?"
Cheung thought it over. "Let's wait until we talk to Moran. See what plans she has in mind."
"Got it!" Chen Shufen hung up cheerfully and answered her desk phone, which had been ringing nonstop. As expected, it was a friend from the industry calling.
Her phone hadn't stopped ringing since early morning. Cellphone, landline — one after the other. Between industry contacts and reporters, it was pure chaos.
But oh, what a glorious kind of chaos! The busier it got, the clearer it became: Leslie Cheung was hot.
Not just your typical Asian superstar kind of hot — this was international-level hot.
His previous film had already been a hit, sure. It was a timeless classic, one for the cinematic history books. But he'd only played a supporting role back then. No matter how standout a supporting character was, it was still just that — supporting. Chen Shufen had always believed that, with his skill and screen presence, he fully deserved to take center stage as a lead in a film worthy of an Oscar.
So today's situation was something she'd long prepared for. She knew it was coming — she was just waiting for the news to drop. Still, no matter how much mental preparation she had done, nothing could have stopped the surge of excitement she felt when it finally happened.
"Yes, yes, it was filmed a while ago. We just kept it quiet for promotional purposes," she said with a wide grin into the phone.
"You know how Director Moran is — she takes her work very seriously. Once she said it needed to be kept under wraps for now, of course, we had to respect that… Hey, you're not wrong. Of course, I wanted to go public sooner! If we had, maybe someone wouldn't have snatched that role last time, right?… Yeah, yeah, he probably doesn't care, but I remember. He's so picky about scripts — and just when he finally said yes to one, bam, someone else gets the part. Tell me that wouldn't piss anyone off, right?… Blah blah blah…"
She kept going, completely caught up in her own excitement — or maybe it was just that she finally had someone to share her joy with. Not that she was reckless with her words — it helped that the person she was talking to was a good friend. And besides, the role-stealing incident from before had already gone public, so even if someone leaked what she said, it wouldn't matter.
Just the thought of some wannabe heartthrob stealing her Leslie Cheung's role made her stomach churn.
Popular idol? Massive fanbase? Please.
Just remembering that kid throwing shade, tossing around words like "washed-up" and "too old" in thinly veiled jabs — she could practically feel her hand twitching, itching to slap him across the face. Was there anyone hotter than Cheung right now?
Let them gloat while they can. The one who'd regret it in the end definitely wouldn't be on their side. And those fools who kept bragging about their "rising young stars"? They were nothing more than regional-level celebs with a few brain-dead fans — give them a little hype and they thought they ruled the world.
No, Leslie Cheung was the real deal — the one who lay low and played the long game, refusing to stoop to their level.
Chen Shufen hummed a little tune as she ignored the phone ringing again on her desk and walked straight out the door. No need to even pick up — she already knew why they were calling. Her friends had her personal number; they could call her directly. As for the others? Most likely, people are sending scripts or invites to events.
Now they remembered him?
Where were they before?
Of course, what she conveniently forgot was that these people had reached out in the past — it was just that Cheung rarely said yes. Even brand endorsements were carefully selected. He was famously hard to book, which was why many had quietly taken him off their invite lists.
But now, things were different.
He'd starred in Laila Moran's newest film — and not just as any supporting role, but as one of the two leads. Who's to say he wouldn't become the next Oscar-winning Best Actor from the East?
So why not try inviting him now?
What if he says yes?