Chapter 157: A Leopard Cannot Change Its Spots

Zhuang Chen took a look and saw an elderly woman dressed in office attire with thoroughly unremarkable features.

"Cha Xiaoxin, once the number one paparazzi, now an entertainment godmother. Last year, she was kicked out of the 'Do-Bag Club' for having a sharp tongue."

Song Qiao leaned close to Zhuang Chen's ear and whispered, "We've had business dealings over the past few years. She's here to discuss business today, so we can chat while we eat later."

She pulled out her phone to send a text message. Soon, the other woman turned around, exchanged greetings, and after the beauty pageant concluded, they headed to a nearby restaurant for lunch.

Introducing Zhuang Chen as an investment backer, the other party was extremely enthusiastic, discussing the fine details of project cooperation over the meal. Once they were well-wined and dined, Song Qiao raised her glass and said, "To a smooth and pleasant cooperation this year, let's have a toast."

"Sister Cha, don't let Mr. Zhuang's youth fool you; he's a massive tycoon who makes the Forbes list!" Song Qiao said with a flattering smile. "It's rare for us to get together, so we'd love to hear some inside gossip. What do you say..."

Cha Xiaoxin's eyes lit up. She raised her glass, invited Zhuang Chen to drink, and said, "No problem! Outsiders always say the entertainment industry is deep and murky, but honestly, it's nothing special!"

"I heard Zhuo Wei is doing quite well on the mainland? I've been in the industry for thirty years and worked for at least five media outlets. In my eyes, this circle is half human and half dog!"

"Real paparazzi never run around press conferences. Some tabloids even turn everyone into dogs; the moment the boss gives the order, anyone can transform from a human into a hound overnight."

Zhuang Chen was momentarily stunned. True to her reputation as the queen of paparazzi, she was certainly direct!

Cha Xiaoxin put down her wine glass and declared with overbearing dominance, "The paparazzi are merely the executors. Many of them are laid-off workers from newspaper groups who transitioned from reporting social news to entertainment staff. They don't have many leads on hand; senior journalists provide the tips to chase down celebrities, and those senior journalists are the most valuable assets."

"Sigh, nowadays the relationship between artists and the media has soured to an irredeemable point. Finding real scoops is genuinely difficult, which is why there are more and more paparazzi."

"Starting monthly salaries for newbies at major newspaper offices are usually around ten to twelve thousand, and entertainment reporting pays higher than other sections. A handful of top-tier paparazzi can make fifty to sixty thousand a month. The difference mainly depends on snapshot photography skills and how many informants one commands. The more scoops you pull in, the higher your income naturally."

"Back in the day, the incident with the Heavenly King Lai involved a hundred-thousand-dollar 1000mm ultra-long-range telephoto lens, coupled with a teleconverter, shooting from a range of one to two kilometers away. Nowadays, it's even crazier: concealed pinhole cameras, or even drones."

"Lower-tier methods involve 'room-busting,' which means breaking doors down. They wait for the celebrities to leave and then go inside to rummage through things. Back then, a major tabloid boss directly taught his subordinates to dig through celebrity trash cans, hunting for clues like detectives. Of course, the ultimate goal was opposite-sex items, like condoms..."

"A-list celebrities have people staked out at their front doors every single day, twenty-four hours a day without interruption, recording every minute detail. Even going out to buy groceries gets you tailed. Those with good tempers got used to it long ago and even became friends. When going out to play, they sometimes give a heads-up in advance, or simply stop when they run into them to let the photogs snap a few pictures to fulfill their quota, avoiding a scolding from their bosses..."

"Pha Lai and Lan Kwai Fong are crawling with patrolling paparazzi. Wealthy tabloids hire freelancers to tail targets just to increase their intelligence network, paying 300 bucks a day. Walking the celebrity hotspots in Mong Kok and Causeway Bay for ten hours a day makes them known as 'infantry.'"

The more Zhuang Chen listened, the more astonished he became. Goodness gracious, was it really this professional?

Some internet sleuths had researched the ancestor of the paparazzi, tracing it back to Gu Hongzhong, a premier court painter of the Southern Tang Dynasty in the Five Dynasties period. Emperor Li Houzhu was extremely curious about what Han Xizai got up to during his nightly banquets of endless song and dance, so he sent Gu Hongzhong to sneak in and live-broadcast the party purely from memory through his paintings for the emperor's reference.

The most famous modern parallel was Princess Diana meeting her secret lover, directly orchestrated into a car crash by paparazzi, though they perhaps served as scapegoats.

"Sigh, the entertainment industry plays even wilder games these days!" Song Qiao sighed deeply. "Let alone outsiders, even I get confused sometimes!"

"Open a web browser, and all sorts of hype and sensationalism are overwhelming, making it impossible to tell truth from falsehood. Especially before a movie's release; we've summarized a pattern—whenever a celebrity suddenly makes headlines with a scandal, just check if they have a project dropping soon."

"What about insider-hype tactics, suspense-hype tactics, provocation-hype tactics, pain-point hype tactics, trend-hype tactics..."

"Even... defense is impossible against them!"

By the end of the meal, Zhuang Chen's horizons had been broadened, and he could only describe it as breathtaking. To ordinary onlookers who just eat melons and watch the show, celebrity lives might seem shrouded in mystery, primarily because distance creates beauty.

To the professionals inside the circle, however, nothing could remain hidden. All kinds of love, hatred, grievances, clashes of interests, and even life-and-death struggles down the road...

Ultimately boil down to two words: fame and fortune.

After Cha Xiaoxin left, the two returned to the car. Song Qiao gracefully pulled out her makeup mirror and touched up her face while speaking with utter disdain, "Hmph, that old woman isn't an innocent soul either. It's just that a dog can never change its nature, which is why she was finally kicked out of the circle by DoDo Cheng."

"There are two major cliques in this circle: Anita Mui's Nine Dragonesses, and DoDo Cheng's Do-Bag Club. Blue Lan, Anita Mui, Sandra Ng, Maggie Cheung, Carina Lau, Joey Meng, Yammie Lam, Carina Lau, and Chingmy Yau grew close back in the day because they filmed and partayed together."

"James Wong gave them the name 'Nine Dragonesses.' Last year, the one surnamed Lan committed suicide, Anita Mui died young, Yammie Lam married the God of Songs to focus on family, Chingmy Yau married into wealth, Maggie Cheung retired, Sandra Ng turned into a powerhouse businesswoman, and now only Sandra Ng and Carina Lau are still actively working..."

"Today, the Nine Dragonesses still run into each other or keep in touch in public to varying degrees. The circle including Chingmy Yau, Sandra Ng, and Carina Lau has all sorts of personal and business dealings..."

"The core members of the Do-Bag Club include entertainment big sister Liza Wang, DoDo Cheng, Carol Cheng, media powerhouse Amy Fung, director Sylvia Chang, Nicholas Tse's mother Deborah Lee, Cha Xiaoxin, and ATV veteran Lam Kin-ming. Later on, more and more people joined, swelling the ranks to over twenty?"

"Originally, eight women agreed to meet up for monthly dinner parties to chat, gossip, and exchange rumors. Having too much melon-eating gossip to handle, they mockingly called themselves the Do-Bag Club."

"Later on, it actually evolved into an official organization, and Cha Xiaoxin frequently used her status to leak gossip about others everywhere. For instance, through Nicholas Tse's mother Deborah Lee, she continuously leaked gossip about Nicholas Tse and Cecilia Cheung."

"Even DoDo Cheng breaking up with her boyfriend of sixteen years, Lui Fong, which shook the entire entertainment industry, might have been her doing as well."

"DoDo Cheng told her to shut her mouth, so she ran over to the mainland and started hyping it up wildly again. You tell me, what is one to do when encountering such a so-called friend? Sigh..."

Zhuang Chen sneered. Indeed, a dog can never shed its old habits, and his impression of the entertainment industry was growing worse by the minute. Female celebrities in the early years were better; although there was backstabbing, at least their acting chops were solid, and many classics turned into cherished childhood memories.

Even the vase actresses back then possessed a delicate, captivating charm, such as Rosamund Kwan and Michelle Reis. Just look at those so-called fresh-faced starlets of today...

Dropping Song Qiao off at her hotel, she tempted him before getting out of the car, "You didn't travel thousands of miles for nothing, right?"

"How boring is it to hang out by yourself? Shall I find a Miss Hong Kong to keep you company?"