Benshan’s beloved disciple, starting from the 2009 Spring Festival Gala Chapter 17 - Roadshow, 13-Year-Old Meng Ziyi

Chapter 17 Roadshow, 13-Year-Old ng Ziyi

The film “Lost on the Road” held its premiere on April 30 and was scheduled for nationwide release on May 1. With the financial power behind it and Qu Yiming’s own popularity, the news quickly made the front pages of various dia outlets.

In the northeast region, dia headlines leaned heavily towards praise, with titles like.

“[Lost on the Road], Qu Xiaoming’s Deep Love for the Northeastern Land”

“It’s reported that Uncle Benshan, after attending the internal screening, praised his apprentice: ‘This is freaking aweso!'”

[…].

Elsewhere, more neutral dia and magazines that were paid to promote the film simply provided standard information about the release date. But when it ca to the southern dia, the tone shifted entirely — all were bashing both the film and Qu Yiming.

The reason for their criticism was simple—Qu Yiming had sued a southern journalist who had spread rumors about him being transgender. The court case was scheduled for next month in a Shenshi interdiate court, and it seed that the journalist had no hope of winning.

A week before the release, Qu Yiming and the main cast of Lost on the Road began a nationwide promotional roadshow. In the northeast, the team visited three cities: Shenshi, Harbin, and Spring City, holding promotional events at 18 theaters.

The roadshow wasn’t about screening the movie, but about engaging with audiences in person — showing behind-the-scenes footage, sharing production stories, and demonstrating the film’s appeal to cinema managers in hopes of securing more screening slots.

April 25, Saturday.

Spring City, inside a screening room of Zhongying International Cinema. 13-year-old ng Ziyi, accompanied by her mother, Sister Qian, ca to attend the Lost on the Road roadshow event.

Following the seat numbers on their tickets, the mother and daughter sat down in the front row, slightly to the right. Roadshow tickets had been on pre-sale a week in advance. People in the northeast love lively events and audience interactions, making the front row seats very sought-after and expensive.

But for ng Ziyi, whose family had assets worth over a hundred million, this was no big deal. After sitting down, ng Ziyi looked around and noticed the hall was nearly full.

“So many people ca,” ng Ziyi remarked.

Sister Qian responded, “That’s because Qu Xiaoming is really popular.”

“They’re here, they’re here…”

As the mother and daughter chatted, Qu Yiming and the main cast of Lost on the Road entered the screening room and stood in front of the audience.

ng Ziyi’s eyes lit up as they locked onto Qu Yiming. The cast included Qu Yiming, Song Xiaobao, and Xin Zhilei. Xiao Songjia couldn’t make it due to scheduling conflicts. Zhang Tian’ai was asked not to co — Qu Yiming wanted her to appear during the Beijing roadshow instead.

Thanks to the contrast with Song Xiaobao, Qu Yiming — already quite handso — looked even more striking in ng Ziyi’s eyes.

What a handso guy!

ng Ziyi had already noticed Qu Yiming’s good looks when watching Not Bad Money. As Qu Yiming scanned the room, his gaze paused on the strikingly beautiful young girl — ng Ziyi.

Why does she look so familiar?

He stared at her for three seconds, ntally comparing her with various familiar actresses.

Damn! Isn’t this a miniature version of ng Jie?

There wasn’t ti to dwell on the thought — the roadshow needed to proceed. Having already completed events in Shenshi and Harbin over the past two days, they moved into the planned flow: first, show the audience so of the film’s funniest scenes to warm up the atmosphere.

Then, acting as the host, Qu Yiming said, “Dear audience, if you have any questions, please raise your hand.”

Imdiately, several people in the front rows raised their hands enthusiastically — they had co for the interaction.

“You, this audience mber…”

Qu Yiming pointed to ng Ziyi, who had raised her hand high. ng Ziyi stood up, took the microphone handed over by a staff mber, and asked, “Brother Yiming, do you have any extra premiere tickets? Can you sell two? I want to go with my mom.”

Sister Qian: Thanks, sweetheart.

Though proud of her daughter’s thoughtfulness, the mother still covered half her face in embarrassnt.

Qu Yiming replied apologetically, “First of all, thank you for your support. Unfortunately, the premiere tickets are sold out. I’m sorry. Do you have any other questions?”

ng Ziyi: “Oh… do you have a girlfriend?”

Sister Qian: Why would you ask that?!

She quickly tugged on her daughter’s sleeve.

Qu Yiming: “Little one, that’s a private matter, I’m afraid I can’t answer that.”

ng Ziyi: “Oh, oh, oh. Then can I take a photo with you?”

Qu Yiming: “Sure, after the roadshow ends.”

ng Ziyi: “Okay, then I’m done asking!”

Qu Yiming then took more questions from the audience.

Soone asked, “Qu Xiaoming, where did you shoot the scenes of the Spring Festival travel rush? They looked so real — just like what I’ve experienced myself.”

Qu Yiming: “We shot during the actual Spring Festival return period, which provided us with a lot of material.”

[…].

After a few songs and another half-hour of interaction, the roadshow concluded, and they moved into the photo session. Back then, phone caras weren’t great, so only those with actual caras took group shots. Most people were lining up for autographs.

After Qu Yiming had signed most of them, ng Ziyi finally had her turn for a photo.

“All done.”

Sister Qian snapped a few pictures of her daughter with Qu Yiming.

Then she said, “Sorry to trouble you, Mr. Qu.”

“No problem.”

At that mont, Qu Yiming pulled out two premiere tickets from his pocket and said,

“These are for you.”

He had originally planned to give them out at the Beijing roadshow. Since the premiere was being held in Beijing, tickets weren’t much use to out-of-town fans. But ng Jie’s family was rich — flying was no big deal.

“Wow!”

ng Ziyi happily accepted the tickets.

“Thank you, Brother Yiming!”

Sister Qian: “Oh, we can’t accept these, ng Ziyi, give the tickets back to Mr. Qu.”

Qu Yiming smiled and said, “No worries. These were ant for roadshow audiences anyway. It’s just that most people from outside Beijing probably wouldn’t be able to attend the premiere. But I have a feeling you two won’t have that issue.”

ng Ziyi grinned, “Exactly! We’re not short on money! My mom was already planning to take on a trip over the May Day holiday, so we’ll just go to Beijing and watch the premiere while we’re there.”

Qu Yiming: “Great. I’ll be waiting for you there.”

At that point, Sister Qian gave in and said again,

“Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Qu.”

“No problem at all…”

Then Qu Yiming added, “Oh right, has your daughter ever considered acting in a TV series?”

He was planning to start filming The Young Marshal after Lost on the Road premiered. ng Ziyi might be perfect for playing the young version of Zhang Shoufang.

“I’d love to! I’d love to act!” ng Ziyi quickly replied.

Sister Qian gently pressed her daughter’s neck and said with a smile, “I’ll have to discuss it with her father first.”

“Of course. Here’s my card. Let know once you’ve made a decision.”