Hong Kong covers just over a thousand square kilometers, yet it's home to more than seven million people, making it one of the most densely populated places in the world.
This international metropolis was once known as the "Hollywood of the East."
Although its entertainment industry had shown signs of decline since the turn of the century, it remained one of Hong Kong's pillar industries.
Television was a massive part of that world.
Hong Kong had a large number of TV stations, including two major broadcasters and more than a dozen smaller cable channels. Among them, Hong Kong Satellite Television (Hong Kong TV) and Asia Television (ATV) were the industry's two giants, together holding over seventy percent of the market share.
The remaining thirty percent was divided among stations like Pearl River Channel, Hong Kong Island Cable TV, Kowloon Vision, and other cable networks. Competition between them was fierce, which helped keep Hong Kong's television industry thriving.
The invitations sent to Lu Chen's workshop came from ATV, Pearl River Channel, and Hong Kong Island Cable TV.
There was really nothing to think about. Lu Chen accepted ATV's invitation.
Asia Television was Hong Kong's first television station and also the world's first Chinese-language TV station. It had a long history and a glorious past.
Although its overall strength now lagged slightly behind the younger Hong Kong TV, ATV's foundation remained exceptionally strong, and it still carried tremendous influence throughout Hong Kong and even Southeast Asia.
ATV operated twelve channels. The invitation for Lu Chen came from its Variety Channel for a program called 'Entertainment Three Talks'.
The show had been on the air for over a decade. Hosted by the famous presenter Chen Shuling, each episode featured one celebrity and one special guest discussing the hottest entertainment topics of the moment. Its ratings consistently ranked among the top three talk shows of its kind.
There was no doubt why 'Entertainment Three Talks' had invited Lu Chen. It was because of the online controversy surrounding him, specifically, his comments about Hong Kong pop music and Hong Kong cinema.
Lu Chen took the invitation very seriously. After receiving the show's outline, he set aside time to study it carefully and watched several previous episodes of 'Entertainment Three Talks'.
His assistant, Li Zhen, enthusiastically offered him all kinds of suggestions. She even recommended a well-known stylist.
Her excitement was understandable. Lu Chen had only spent a handful of days in Hong Kong altogether, yet his name had already spread throughout the local entertainment industry, causing quite a stir.
One song had shaken up the entire music scene and even attracted ATV's attention. As Lu Chen's assistant, Li Zhen naturally felt proud.
After all, this was the famous ATV! Besides, she was a big fan of the host, Chen Shuling, so she was especially eager to see Lu Chen perform well on the show.
Since the show was pre-recorded, after the workshop and ATV coordinated their schedules, the recording was set for the afternoon of the 21st.
---
That day, Lu Chen arrived at ATV headquarters on time with his two assistants.
ATV's headquarters was also located in Sai Ying Pun's West Harbour Commercial Centre, only a few hundred meters from Lu Chen's workshop in the Rongjin Building. However, unlike the newer office towers nearby, ATV's headquarters was a thirty-year-old building.
The thirty-nine-story gray building didn't stand out among the surrounding modern skyscrapers, and its design even looked somewhat outdated.
But the five large characters reading "Asia Television," together with the company's logo mounted on the exterior wall, gleamed brilliantly in the sunlight, proudly displaying the station's glorious history.
Once upon a time, countless Hong Kong entertainers had regarded stepping into this building as a badge of honor.
At the entrance, Lu Chen was greeted by Chen Shuling's assistant. After completing the visitor registration, the group took the elevator to the twenty-seventh floor, where the ATV Variety Channel studio was located.
Chen Shuling and the other guest were already waiting.
Chen Shuling was in her forties, but thanks to excellent care, she looked barely over thirty. She wasn't a breathtaking beauty, but she carried herself with elegance and dignity. Her warm smile made people feel instantly at ease.
"Hello, Lu Chen. Welcome to ATV." She smiled as she shook his hand. "I'm actually one of your fans."
Just that one simple sentence instantly shortened the distance between them.
Lu Chen smiled. "Then I'll give you a limited-edition copy of my album. All I ask is that Sister Shuling goes easy on me during the show."
Despite her gentle and approachable appearance, Chen Shuling was known for her sharp interviewing style. Even when facing top-tier stars, she never hesitated to ask difficult or sensitive questions. In fact, most Hong Kong TV hosts were like that.
Since all of Hong Kong's television stations were privately owned, they placed great importance on entertainment value.
That naturally meant demanding more from their hosts. Audiences liked variety shows that were funny, controversial, and full of lively discussion. A host without a distinctive style would quickly be forgotten.
More importantly, Hong Kong's broadcasting regulations were very different from those on the mainland, allowing TV programs far greater freedom in what they could discuss.
Lu Chen had watched plenty of past episodes of 'Entertainment Three Talks', so he knew Chen Shuling's interviewing style well. Although his comment had been made jokingly, he genuinely hoped she'd go easy on him.
Chen Shuling blinked in surprise before laughing. "All right. I'll definitely take good care of you."
She then introduced the other guest.
Since the show was called 'Entertainment Three Talks', it naturally featured three people. Lu Chen, as the invited celebrity, was unquestionably the main guest, but the third participant was far from just filling a seat. His opinions formed an important part of every episode.
His name was Zhuang Dong. He was a writer, critic, and journalist, well known in both literary and entertainment circles. He had published several books and had more than 500,000 followers on Hong Kong Island Blog.
Zhuang Dong was thin, slightly dark-skinned, and wore a suit and glasses. After the introductions, he shook Lu Chen's hand with a somewhat aloof expression. "Hello. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Lu Chen smiled politely. "Hello, Mr. Zhuang."
Zhuang Dong looked at him with sharp eyes. "Mr. Lu, I'd like to ask you something. What is your primary purpose in coming to Hong Kong? Or to put it another way, what is your goal?"
Lu Chen was momentarily taken aback.
'The recording hasn't even started yet, and he's already coming at me?'
The man clearly wasn't being friendly.
After a brief pause, Lu Chen answered calmly, neither humble nor arrogant. "I came to Hong Kong to make friends."
The reply was completely unexpected. Zhuang Dong had probably intended to catch Lu Chen off guard, but instead, Lu Chen's answer left him speechless.
Standing nearby, Chen Shuling's eyes sparkled with amusement as she quickly smoothed things over. "Gentlemen, let's save the discussion for the show."
She had a feeling that today's episode of 'Entertainment Three Talks' was going to be exceptionally entertaining. At the very least, they had invited the right guests.
(End of Chapter)
You can read ahead up to 60 chapters on my patreon https://www.patreon.com/darkshadow6395