Spring rain was as precious as oil.
The cool threads of drizzle washed away the lingering traces of the recent dust storms. The trees around the studio grounds grew increasingly lush, while tender blades of grass poked through the soil beneath the apartment buildings. Holding an umbrella with a manila envelope tucked in his coat, Chen Qi ambled over to the tongzilou.
The door to Gong Xue's dorm room was half-open, with the cheerful chatter and laughter of several women drifting out.
He knocked three times and pushed the door open. Li Jianqun and Gong Ying were both inside. He smiled. "How come you aren't shooting today?"
"No scenes for us today," Gong Ying replied. "What are you here for?"
"I'm here to talk serious business. Not like you two, idling about without an ounce of tact. You see me come in and don't even pour me a cup of water."
"Tsk! You really think you're an honored guest?"
Gong Ying was not afraid of him in the slightest. Li Jianqun, still not very familiar with him, merely smiled without speaking, looking a bit reserved. Seeing the manila envelope in Chen Qi's hand, Gong Xue knew he truly had business to discuss. "Why don't you two head back first?" she suggested. "Come back tonight to hang out."
The two women took their leave.
Gong Xue poured him a cup of water, then brought out a sketchbook, smiling. "That Li Jianqun is truly amazing, far better than me. This is her sketchbook—you can really tell she's a professional."
Chen Qi leafed through it casually, tossed it aside, and said, "The script for Tai Chi 2 is finished. Take your time reading through it. We should be able to start shooting in the second half of the year. Your screen time is a bit less than in the first film—it's just what the plot calls for, so don't mind."
"It doesn't matter. I really like Tai Chi, so filming a sequel is great too."
Gong Xue happily picked up the script and began thumbing through it. Chen Qi asked, "By the way, you've been at Beijing Film Studio for a while now. Have any directors reached out to you?"
"Yes. People were approaching me when I first arrived last year. Like Director Wang Haowei for Submerged Net, Director Shui Hua for Regret for the Past, and Director Xie Tieli for Intimate Friends—he wanted me to play Xiao Fengxian!"
"Then why didn't you take any of them?"
"What do you think?" Gong Xue rolled her eyes at him.
"Aiya, why act like such a ganggang? When an opportunity comes, you have to seize it! Don't just wait around for me—my plans are never set in stone."
"What do you mean, ganggang? That's used for men, not women."
"What do you call a woman then?"
"I'm not telling you!"
She gave a huff, paused, and then confessed earnestly, "I'm not trying to flatter you, but after acting in your films, doing other people's projects feels a bit... a bit, well... you know?"
"You look down on them?"
"I never said that!"
"You're putting a ton of pressure on me. If I don't set you up with a great project, I'd feel bad—"
"Hey!"
Gong Xue suddenly reached out with her dainty hand and covered his mouth, speaking softly: "First, I truly believe your films are wonderful, while other scripts always feel like they're lacking something. Second, if I act in your films, I can be with you. I don't want to be apart from you for too long. Don't let it become a burden, or else I'd be the one feeling guilty."
"..."
Chen Qi didn't know what to say for a moment. He simply held her close. After chatting a while longer, he rose to leave, but after taking a couple of steps, he halted.
"What is it, ganggang?" Gong Xue blinked, teasing with a smile.
"No calling me ganggang!"
"Alright then, ganggang!"
"You're getting cheekier by the day... What I wanted to say is, Tai Chi 2 starts shooting in the second half of the year. If you aren't afraid of hard work, I'll see if I can write another script. How about filming two movies this year?"
"Sure! When have you ever seen me complain about hard work?"
"All right, I'll work out a concept."
Seeing that she hadn't quite caught on, Chen Qi didn't spell it out and left with a smile.
Gong Xue assumed it would be like Tai Chi, where she played a standard female lead, but Chen Qi's intention was to tailor a movie specifically for her.
And so, his workload expanded yet again. He had to write for the Yuen Brothers, write for Gong Xue, brainstorm submissions for the United States, and plan the North American exclusive release... Fortunately, he was young and full of vigor; otherwise, he would have had to start chugging tiger penis wine before his time.
And right while he was buried in work, Tai Chi was finally set to meet domestic audiences.
...
The film development and printing for Tai Chi proceeded around the clock with overtime. In the past, a whole batch would be completed before being distributed, but now they practically wanted to send each print out the moment it dried.
Representatives from every province camped out at the film laboratory—finders keepers.
Two regions snatched the first batches. One was the Beijing Film Company, which had the home advantage and pulled strings; the other was the Henan Film Company, whose representative put up a desperate fight as if ready to drag anyone who contested him down to the grave.
Thus, Tai Chi premiered first in these two places.
Truth be told, waiting for the summer movie season would have produced an even bigger splash, but they simply couldn't wait any longer. Releasing it now and keeping it running right through the summer would work just as well.
Zhengzhou.
Today was a day off, and middle schooler Liu Xiaowen was thrilled. He got up early, finished breakfast, dressed neatly, and with his younger brother in tow, joined his parents as the family of four headed out to the cinema.
Tai Chi had already been hyped hundreds of times in newspapers and Popular Cinema. He might not understand what a "milestone" meant, but he knew it was a martial arts movie!
Heavens!
There was actually a martial arts movie made in China!
Not just him—even his father was brimming with excitement, and so was his little brother. The only indifferent one was his mother.
"Why are there so many people?"
"Whoa, can we even get tickets?"
"Hurry and grab some!"
When the four of them reached the cinema, the crazed crowd gave them quite a fright. The father made a swift decision, rolled up his sleeves, and charged in. It took a long time before he scrambled out, disheveled and battered: "I nearly lost half my life in there, but thank heavens, I got them!"
"What is everyone doing? Is going this crazy over some film full of fighting and killing really necessary?" The mother couldn't understand.
"Weren't you the exact same way when you went to see Romance on Mount Lu last year?"
Before his wife could blow her top, the father quickly hurried his two sons inside. The grand auditorium, seating over a thousand people, was packed to the brim. Everyone was burning with curiosity: just what kind of movie had conquered those big-nosed foreigners?
Shortly after, the movie began.
It certainly did not disappoint.
All three males of the Liu family kept their eyes wide open throughout the entire screening, battered by a sensory blitz far ahead of its era. Their breathing grew ragged and surged with the dramatic highs and lows on screen, rapidly harmonizing with the rest of the hall. Over a thousand voices gasped in unison, then groaned in awe together. At this moment, the dream-making machine that was cinema achieved its supreme glory.
"Well struck! Beat that little bastard to death!"
"Hit him! Hit him!"
"Holy mother of mine, so damn satisfying!"
When Yang Yugan finally dispatched Prince Duan and turned to walk away with effortless cool, the entire theater erupted into cheers and resounding applause. Liu Xiaowen clapped until his palms were stinging red, his face flushed with exhilaration. This was hands-down the best movie he had seen in his entire ten-odd years of life.
Even after the screening ended, the audience continued to chatter animatedly.
Liu Xiaowen and his brother couldn't stop talking either, but unfortunately his brother was only an elementary schooler and couldn't keep up with the conversation. He couldn't wait to head home, find his buddies, and share every detail with them.
...
"Ah!"
"Don't you run! I'm going to beat you to death today!"
In the evening, the residential courtyard grew lively.
Liu Xiaowen scrambled across the ground as his mother chased him down, wielding the sole of a cloth shoe. She looked furious yet pained at the same time as she scolded, "You little brat! Don't you know we only have one water vat in this house? What were you stirring around in it for? Stirring was bad enough, but then you had to bang it against the wall! Do you have any idea how much a new vat costs?!"
"I was practicing martial arts! You don't know anything!"
"Talking back, are you? Come here so I can give you a thrashing!"
Liu Xiaowen sprinted away as fast as his legs could carry him. Right then, another kid came running head-on toward him—a playmate from the same courtyard. This one had far less backbone, bawling at the top of his lungs as he ran: "Mom! Mom! I won't do it again! I won't do it again! I'll never play with the rubber ball again!"
Behind him, another woman was in hot pursuit.
When the two boys collided, they turned and fled forward together, two mothers chasing close behind them. Neighbors came out holding their dinner bowls to watch the spectacle.
"What's going on now?"
"The boys caused trouble! One smashed a water vat, and the other broke a window—all from watching that movie!"
"What kind of movie causes such chaos?"
"A martial arts flick. Wild as all get-out!"
Chapter 185