Debuted right after graduating from high school

While the shop owner Evelyn went to get something, a bartender served Jessica and Fan Wumian apple martinis and Long Island iced tea respectively.

Jessica Alba said softly:
"I'm sorry, she seems to be too enthusiastic. Maybe she wants me to start a new relationship as soon as possible and get out of the shadows, which is why she dragged you into this."

Fan Wumian's tone was tinged with a smile:
“It’s okay, this is interesting. I’ve been to the US for a few parties, but I’ve only ever seen old-fashioned pubs like this in American movies and TV shows before.”

"In Chinese culture, drinking at gatherings usually takes place around the dinner table. The most I've ever drunk was more than a pound of baijiu, with an alcohol content of 52%, and I felt unwell for two days afterward."

"For some nomadic tribes on the grasslands, a pound of liquor is merely for rinsing their mouths; they prefer to drink it from bowls."

Jessica exclaimed in surprise:

"A pound of strong liquor, that's like drinking a whole bottle of whiskey! You're amazing. I can only drink four martinis like that before my body temperature rises and my head goes out of control."

We chatted for a short while.

The shop owner, Evelyn, reappeared, carrying a small blanket with exquisite patterns, along with props such as sage, candles, and essential oils.

After finding a small round table and sitting down, Evelyn closed her eyes, shuffled the cards, and then had Fan Wumian sit opposite her. She then focused on cutting the cards and asked him what questions he wanted to ask.

Business was going smoothly, and there wasn't much else he wanted to know. He only asked, "What will my personal fortune be like in the next year?"

Then, three cards were drawn, and the female shopkeeper arranged them in order from left to right.

Open them from left to right. All three tarot cards are upright: "Wheel of Fortune," "The Sun," and "The World."

Fan Wumian was confused, but Jessica and Evelyn were dumbfounded after reading it.

Especially Evelyn, the female shop owner, said to him with a surprised expression:

"This is simply incredible! These three cards are truly rare and powerful. It would be hard to find a more perfect hand. Your success is definitely not accidental; perfect luck is on your side!"

The Wheel of Fortune, when upright, represents a turning point in the life cycle and often hints at destiny's arrangements or major opportunities.

The Sun, upright, is one of the most positive cards, symbolizing light, success, and pure joy.

The World, upright, is the ultimate card of completion and fulfillment, representing the achievement of goals and a perfect cycle.

The combination of these three cards perfectly matched Fan Wumian's situation, making Jessica Alba extremely envious after seeing it. She interjected:

"Last time I drew the Tower reversed, the Fool reversed, and the Knight of Wands."

The female shop owner blinked and quickly said:
"The reversed Tower symbolizes the setbacks and obstacles in old relationships, while the reversed Fool symbolizes a new beginning. I didn't understand the meaning of the Knight of Wands before, but now it seems that your knight has appeared, Jessica. You should start a new adventure with Van as soon as possible."

"I have seen your success in your career, and I have also seen your lovely children and happy family."

"Look at the two of you, you're such a perfect match."

Jessica was increasingly speechless, feeling that the female shop owner had been blinded by Fan Wumian's wealth, power, and looks, forcibly forcing the two into marriage. She twitched her lips and said:

"It's not like you're asking about our future or our relationship. How did you figure that out? Shut up. You need to calm down and conduct the tarot reading."

Evelyn stubbornly refused to admit it:

"This is the outcome I predicted. If you don't believe me, you can ask me now what the future holds if you and Van are together."

Jessica Alba, currently troubled by love, glanced at Fan Wumian and said readily:
"Okay, but I just want to know if his good fortune can change my fate."

Instead, have Jessica sit down and relight the candles and add essential oil.

Fan Wumian watched from the side as Jessica silently recited the question and drew three tarot cards, revealing in turn the "Empress" upright, the "Two of Cups" upright, and the "Ace of Wands" upright.

The female shop owner was so excited after reading it that she clapped her hands and said:

"I told you, you two would be a perfect match! This symbolizes success in your career, harmony in your relationship, and new strength and beginnings for you, Jessica."

Fan Wumian was well aware that the female shop owner, Evelyn, was trying to set him up with Jessica.

But Jessica Alba hasn't completely gotten over her previous relationship and clearly has no intention of starting over. So she's very laid-back and really just treats it as meeting a new friend and having some fun at a bar.

A few days ago, after arriving in Rome, Italy, he felt incredibly strong, capable of taking on two or three opponents without any problem. However, after meeting Miss Zuo and D'Addario, Fan Wumian quickly came to the reality and realized that the saying "There are only oxen that die from exhaustion, not fields that are over-plowed" was indeed a wise saying.

For example, some girls who take shortcuts can meet more than ten clients a day and never rest except in special circumstances. But if it were a so-called male escort, those "ga ga ga" wouldn't have such formidable fighting power.

Daddario had only recently arrived in Germany, which allowed Fan Wumian to remain calm and simply admire Jessica Alba, rather than being impulsively eager to win her over.

After the ceremony was completely over.

Fan Wumian examined the tarot cards, picked up "The Fool" from the pile, and asked curiously:
What does this card mean?

The shop owner, Evelyn, had been obsessed with tarot cards since childhood and had long since become an expert in this esoteric art. She explained:

"The Fool is the first card of the Major Arcana in Tarot, symbolizing new beginnings, adventure, freedom, and unlimited potential. Upright, it is interpreted as an unknown starting point and infinite possibilities, while reversed, it represents confusion and constraints. I have a book here that I can give to you."

Jessica Alba smiled and said:
"Van, have you taken a liking to tarot cards? I found them very interesting when I first encountered them."

Fan Wumian explained:

“I’ve been paying attention to these mystical practices lately to prepare for my new script. Western mysticism is quite different from Eastern mysticism. In Hong Kong, feng shui and fortune telling are popular, using props like copper coins and feng shui compasses.”

At first, I wondered why our ancestors didn't invent something like tarot cards. Then I remembered that "drawing lots" and "birth charts" also involve interpreting information through certain rituals, so they are essentially the same thing in a different guise.

Compared to the mysticism itself, Fan Wumian is more concerned with the enormous potential value behind it and is considering how to combine Eastern and Western metaphysics to create a brand new major IP for film and television.

Once it's done well, the potential market size might not be much smaller than that of film series like Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, and Star Wars.

After sitting back down at the bar and chatting for a bit, a white girl came up to Fan Wumian and excitedly expressed her love for his songs.

The shop owner, Evelyn, immediately perked up and asked him to come on stage and sing a song. She was unaware beforehand that Fan Wumian had released an English album, and his influence in the United States was indeed limited.

Upon learning that singing could earn him a drink—a glass of Hennessy XO priced at $99 in the store—Fan Wumian became quite enthusiastic and sang "Jar of Love" for the few customers in the store.

Another sunrise, another sunset, and in the blink of an eye, they will all become yesterday.

A good day, a bad day

How do you view today?

Why do we keep demanding things we will eventually lose?
What you have may not be what you want.

Some things you already have may not belong to you.

In the early days of YouTube, "Jar of Love" was pinned to the top of the site for several months, and many young Americans first became acquainted with Fan Wumian because of this song.

Heartbroken, Jessica Alba felt down after hearing the song, but she still managed a smile and, together with the shop owner, asked him to sing another one.

Fan Wumian didn't want to spoil the fun, so he used his computer to search for the English version of the song "Please Say Hello First," which is called "Just Say Hello."

There's a song in it—

You know what I want
Want to be your destiny

Please, even just saying hello to me would be appreciated.
A surge of love surrounds me.

The emotion in the song was so intense that Jessica almost burst into tears, and she had an urge to call her ex-boyfriend. She tilted her head back and finished her apple martini, barely managing to calm herself down.

When Fan Wumian returned to her side, she clapped her hands and said:

"Wow, you always bring new surprises. I really like this Avril Lavigne song. You sang it with a different feel."

The female shop owner also praised it:
"If I had a singer as talented as you in my shop, my business would never be as bad as it is now. It's fantastic!"

Fan Wumian was unaware that Jessica had almost contacted her ex-boyfriend, making him look like a clown.

As he reached out to take the Hennessy XO, he smiled and said:

"Actually, this is a song I wrote. When I was a newcomer, I took 'A Quiet Place' to the Berlin Film Festival. I was really poor at the time, so I took the initiative to find Avril Lavigne and sold the song to her to raise money to make a movie."

"And then there's 'Something Just Like This,' which was bought by Marvel, but after all the twists and turns, it's back in my hands."

"It only released one mini-album in the United States, and many people don't know about it."

Jessica Alba counted on her fingers:
"You are a director, an actor, a singer, and a very successful businessman. Your life is so wonderful. I even saw you on the cover of Time magazine. You have a perfect life. You must rarely encounter anything that makes you unhappy, right?"

Fan Wumian countered with a question:

"You're a celebrity, you debuted and became famous smoothly from a young age, you earn so much money during your work, and you're sexy and beautiful. Most men like you, but do you think you'll always be happy?"

The answer is already obvious.

Jessica Alba smiled and then changed the subject to lighter topics like travel, movies, and fashion.

As her psychological defenses gradually crumbled, and with a "what the heck" attitude, the girl didn't refuse when the shop owner, Evelyn, suggested that Fan Wumian take Jessica home.

Arriving at the door of her Beverly Hills mansion, seeing that Fan Wumian made no further moves, Jessica even invited him inside for a cup of tea.

In the US, if someone of the opposite sex stays out late at night, the unspoken message is usually that they want to have sex with you.

Fan Wumian was quite surprised by this. Although he didn't understand why, he didn't refuse this unexpected windfall. As soon as he entered the house and saw Jessica approaching him, the two immediately started kissing.

Unlike her outward gentleness and elegance, tonight she was as wild as a superhero from "Fantastic Four." Before even reaching the bedroom, she pushed Fan Wumian down onto the living room sofa.
After more than an hour of aerobic exercise.

Afterwards, Fan Wumian turned off the light, lay down on her bed to sleep, and suddenly asked:
"I thought you had no interest in me at all. It's really hard to understand the dating rules in Hollywood, like how you tacitly agree to spend the night together after only a few meetings."

"."

Jessica Alba, with her back to him, remained silent for a moment before explaining:
“I hadn’t really thought about these things before, but I’ve been in so much pain lately, so I thought that maybe starting to get to know other people might help me, you know?”

"I understand, he's just a tool."

Feeling relaxed, Fan Wumian turned his head and asked, "So how do you feel now? Has it helped you?"

Jessica Alba said with a smile:
"Of course, it means I've let go of the past and started moving forward. You're the perfect lover."

Seizing the opportunity, Fan Wumian continued, "Want to come to my place tomorrow night? There's a teppanyaki restaurant near the hotel; I'll take you there to try it."

"Okay, let's go to sleep first, I'm sleepy."

As a tool, one should naturally be aware of one's role. After finishing her morning exercise the next day, Fan Wumian left early without eating breakfast, giving her space to be alone and think things through.

As he was leaving, he said to Jessica:
"If you have time today, you can go to the cinema to see 'The Counterfeiters: The Painter.' The script for the second film in the series has been in development for a while now and it can start filming anytime. How about I arrange for you to play the female lead? You can play a federal agent who is tracking down the male lead."

"The best way to avoid overthinking is to keep yourself busy. I'd be happy to give you some roles and even invest in your startup."

"Or you could invite some friends to Rome. My yacht will be returning from Italy, sailing all the way back to the port city. You can borrow it for a while to relax. Of course, be careful while passing through Somalia; there are too many pirates during that time. I paid someone to escort me along with another fleet."

Including my morning exercise, I've "betrayed" my ex-boyfriend four times in total.

A woman's life is always affected by hormones, and after Fan Wumian helped her regulate her emotions, Jessica felt much better today. She no longer wallowed in self-pity or overthinked, and smiled as she heard this:

"Thank you for your thoughtfulness. I will seriously consider your suggestion. Don't forget the teppanyaki tonight!"

Fan Wumian smiled and gave an OK sign before getting into the car. After leaving, he made a point of looking back to make sure no reporters were taking pictures nearby.

Hollywood has an open atmosphere, and with his overall advantages, it was almost like he had arrived in "paradise".

He had just returned to the hotel and rested for a short while when Victoria's Secret supermodel Doutzen Kroos called him and invited him to go on vacation to the Bahamas together in a couple of days.

Fan Wumian made an excuse that he was too busy with business and declined the invitation. While exercising in the indoor pool downstairs, he "coincidentally" met several actors, screenwriters and directors who all hoped to get some resources from him.

Not wanting to be disturbed, he stayed in his hotel suite, carefully crafting his new script, intending to incorporate elements such as "sealed artifacts" and "extraordinary pathways" as a stepping stone to becoming a Hollywood director or international superstar. (End of Chapter)