Huayu: I'm reborn, but you still force me to be a scumbag?

Chapter 529 Either F or A
"Wait! What black man? What drunk driver? What's going on? Did you run into the police on your way back?"

Upon hearing Luo Rui's words, Allison immediately tensed up and asked, "Has Chen been recognized?"

Lorraine Eisner said, “Yes, but don’t worry, Allison, I was driving. Chen is perfectly fine. That cop idolized him like he was Michael Jackson. He took the other person’s phone number, said he wanted to grab a couple of drinks sometime, and then let us go. Before he left, he talked a lot about how much he loved that SNL show the night before, especially the part about ‘humanity is great,’ and even took a picture with him…”

Allison interrupted, "What do you mean 'she has a love for me'?"

Luo Rui pointed at Chen Nuo, "It's Chinese. He just taught me."

Chen Nuo coughed lightly and said, "This sentence means..."

Luo Rui cut him off, "In short, it was just a bunch of stuff he said to promote the advertisement."

Chen Nuo retorted with dissatisfaction, "What do you mean by 'for advertising'? Those were my honest thoughts."

Luo Rui shrugged and said, "Well, that's some heartfelt advice that got 20 people to become Netflix members. Anyway, Allison, someone who can get 20 Americans to willingly pay money anytime, can simply choose not to go somewhere if he doesn't want to."

……

"Although I don't want to say it, she is indeed a bit spoiled and somewhat naive in her thinking. Of course, I'm not denying her work ability; I'm just saying that in politics, she may be too superstitious about the ideas she grew up with, and her understanding of politicians may still be at a high school level."

Lorraine Eisner left. Whatever the slightly tipsy woman had originally intended to do upstairs, this was clearly no longer the right time. And as soon as she left, Allison immediately said…

"Let me put it this way, Chen, when an American president is running for re-election, regardless of which party he belongs to, he is capable of doing almost anything."

As a Canadian, let me tell you, the Watergate scandal has been used by the Democrats to criticize the Republicans in the media for thirty years, but the dirty deeds they've done behind the scenes are far more numerous than Watergate itself. And that person in the White House now—

No, as far as I know, he's definitely not the kind of gentleman people see him to be. And that Joanna Reynolds who contacted me, she's not a friend of mine, and she's no good.

Chen Nuo asked, "Did she have a grudge against you before?"

Alison said, "No, she used to be a polling data analyst for Gore, and I was George W. Bush's campaign manager at the time, but we were in the same circle and knew each other. I know she's always been very upset about the defeat back then."

Chen Nuo suddenly realized, "So she was one of your defeated opponents, no, she should be a small fry in your defeated opponents' team?"

Alison said, "You could say that."

"Haha." Chen Nuo laughed. "Alison, I think it's a waste of your talents to be working with me. Have you ever thought about going back to being a campaign manager?"

Allison shook her head and said, "Unless you fire me, I'm very happy with this job. I worked with you when you came to America, and now that you've gone back to China, I can go back to Canada to be with my daughter. I don't have to scheme against people anymore, I don't have to spend every day and night studying various reports and polls, I'm away from politics, away from that dirty circle, the salary is good, you're a generous boss, and I have such a lovely colleague like Nazha. I feel very happy."

Seeing Allison's expression, Chen Nuo's mood brightened. He leaned back on the sofa and said, "Then tell me your suggestion, Allison."

"Before that, I'd like to ask you, Chen, do you lean more towards the Democratic Party or the Republican Party?"

"Me? I prefer... never mind, I understand what you mean. If I have to choose, then I'll stick with the Republican Party."

Allison was slightly surprised, then laughed and said, "I hope you're not saying this just because of me."

Chen Nuo laughed and said, "Actually, really, I don't care about politics at all. I chose this position entirely because of Ivanka."

Allison laughed and said, "Chen, your lifestyle isn't that of a good man. But sometimes you're surprisingly good. You're a really strange guy."

Chen Nuo laughed and said, "I just tend to make mistakes that all men in the world make."

Allison laughed and said, "You're right, but I'm sorry, when my daughter grows up, I'll still tell her to stay away from you."

Chen Nuo laughed and said, "Don't worry, I'll be old by then."

Allison said, "But I doubt you could still drive women crazy at 80."

Chen Nuo said seriously, "I don't know about 80 years old, but I can still do it at 40."

After saying that, the two of them burst into laughter.

When the laughter stopped, Allison became serious again and said, "Chen, I think you should go this time."

Actually, Rory was partly right. I believe the White House is currently eyeing your popularity among young people. Obama's last victory was largely due to his youthful image, which attracted a large number of voters aged 18 to 29.

But now... four years later, he is no longer the young, vibrant Black man he once was, but a long-serving, mediocre figure burdened with doubts and criticisms.

For them now, your influence among young people is a gold mine. They certainly hope to regain control of those people through you. However, your views on the TPP expressed on SNL have created negative public opinion among them. Especially after reading the newspapers these past two days, the Republican Party is using your words to launch a massive attack on its Asia-Pacific strategy.

So they're eager to bring you to the White House to show you have a good relationship with the president and mitigate any negative interpretations. Based on my understanding of them, if we refuse them, they definitely won't let it go.

This may not necessarily be a bad thing for us.

Although you don't want to get involved in American politics, and we all dislike the Democratic Party.

However, Chen, you have already taken deep root in this land.

The situation you described on SNL has become a reality for you.

Despite differences in skin color, language, and nationality, you are already someone Americans want to sit down with, talk to, and befriend.

You are a bridge connecting the Eastern and Western worlds, so from any perspective, you cannot and should not leave here.

In this situation, maintaining a good relationship with the US president is actually a choice you have to make.

In a lengthy and eloquent presentation lasting a few minutes, Allison demonstrated that her high salary was definitely not that of a white-collar worker. His ability to hire this woman as his public relations manager in Canada, taking advantage of a crisis, was purely a matter of luck.

When he heard the last sentence, Chen Nuo was momentarily dazed.

He should cultivate a good relationship with the US president.

If someone seriously tells you this sentence, then no matter what you do, your life will definitely not have been in vain.

But for Chen Nuo,

It's no exaggeration; for his current state, what Alison said is an undeniable fact.

What was the point of all that painstaking groundwork he laid before? Wasn't it just to cultivate good relationships? And it's precisely because his plans for the future are already so deeply ingrained that it's impossible for him to switch sides, that he doesn't want to create any unnecessary complications.

But now... it's all his fault for his mouth, damn it.

It seems that Ivanka really has no choice but to go and explain things to Donald Trump.

go Go.

But after attending that awful concert, he'll absolutely head straight home. Nobody's going to force him to come back to that hellhole before November 8th!
Chen Nuo sighed and said, "Okay, I can go. But I don't want to make any statements then. I hope I'm just going to attend a concert. What they say is their business. They can make up whatever they want in the media, but I don't want to say it out loud, and I don't want to campaign for him. I don't want to get involved in that mess at all. If I can't do that, I'll go back to China and hide for a while."

Allison paused for a moment, then said, "I will try my best to ensure that. There are still three days until the 19th. We will leave tomorrow morning. After we get there, I will use this time to see my old friend and some other people. I will try my best to find a way to get some kind of guarantee."

Chen Nuo sighed, "Thank you for your hard work."

Allison said, "It's nothing, it's what I should do. Okay, you get some rest. Good night, see you tomorrow."

See you tomorrow. Good night.

Allison turned and walked halfway, then suddenly stopped and turned back, saying, "Oh right, I'm sorry, it looks like you won't be able to watch the show tonight."

Chen Nuo said indignantly, "And I was planning to go to Netflix tomorrow morning to check the results with them, but now I have to cancel that too. FUCK!"

Allison asked, "Are you confident about this TV series?"

Chen Nuo said, "Some, why?"

Allison said, "It's nothing, it's just that at this time, I hope it will get a good result. Because no one in the world is more snobbish than those people in Washington. If you get an A and you get a C, you will see two different faces."

After thinking for a moment, Chen Nuo gave an outsider his true opinion for the first time in a very serious manner. He said earnestly, "I actually think it won't be A, nor will it be C."

"Oh?"

"There are only two possible outcomes for this show: either you get an F (failing grade) or you get an A++."

“A++?” Allison laughed. “Chen, American schools don’t have that grade.”

Chen Nuo smiled and said, "I know."

……

……

"Joey, Joey!"

In an ordinary residential community in the southwest of San Jose, in a two-story townhouse...
John Omar, the black police officer Chen Nuo and Luo Rui had encountered an hour earlier, opened the door and shouted loudly as soon as he entered, "Joey, are you asleep, Joey?"

“God, could you please keep your voice down?” A chubby Black woman appeared at the other end of the entryway, looking annoyed. “Damn it, look at the time! The kids are already asleep. Can you please shut your motherfucker mouth?”
John Omar lowered his voice and said with a laugh, "Haha, Joey, I bet you won't believe who I saw while I was on duty just now."

"Who?" The black woman named Joey yawned, leaned against the door frame, crossed her arms, and said lazily, "John, looking at you now, I feel like you've met God."

"Haha, Joey, you'll never believe it, really. OMG, come here and help me take this damn shoe off."

Joey walked over, squatted down with some difficulty, grabbed his shoes, and said, "I told you before, don't wear these Motherfuckers with steel plates, no one's going to shoot your feet! Push!"

"That's because you don't know how many crazy people are on the street..."

"...Fuck, finally you took it off, shit! It stinks! Go take a shower right now!"

"Wait a moment."

John stepped barefoot onto the floor, pulled Joey up, put his arm around her waist, and said, "Joey, guess who I just ran into."

"Who? Obama?" Joey said irritably. "I don't have time to play guessing games with you. It's almost midnight."

John chuckled and asked, "What are you planning to do at 12 o'clock?"

"Motherfucker, do you have Alzheimer's? Didn't we agree to watch a show together tonight?"

"Haha, what show?"

"What exactly is wrong with you?"

"Tell me, Joey, what show is it?"

"Like an eagle catching a chick, damn it, I think you're really not normal. Let go of me, I want to stay away from you."

"Hehe, no, one last question, why do you want to watch it? Why do we want to watch it?"

"What nonsense are you spouting? Of course, it's because..." Joey was still impatient, but suddenly, looking at John's ambiguous smile, she was stunned.

Then, her eyes slowly widened, and she covered her mouth with both hands: "Oh, no!"

John suppressed a laugh and asked, "What's wrong?"

Joey shook his head and said, "Damn, impossible. No, John, you can't... absolutely impossible, no fucking way, tell me it's not what I think."

John chuckled and said, "Joey, I told you to guess, but you wouldn't."

"No, I don't believe you. You're lying to me, how could that be? Fuck, you're kidding me, right?"

"Hahahahahaha."

"FUCK, stop fucking laughing and tell me! What the hell is going on?!"

John chuckled, “We saw the news yesterday that he was coming, right? I was just thinking of trying my luck at one of those places rich people frequent tonight. But I knew it was basically impossible. Anyway, I was on duty tonight, so I could go wherever I wanted. So I waited at the intersection of Palo Alto University Street. I knew that if he really came and was going to have a couple of drinks with his friends, this would be his usual route. Around 10 o'clock, I saw a speeding car, a really nice red Ferrari, with someone standing in the passenger seat shouting. I didn't think much of it and just chased after it. And then, guess what?”

"What is it?" Joey asked in a trembling voice.

“A woman was driving, but he was sitting in the passenger seat. I hadn’t noticed him at first, but then he smiled at me, you know what, he smiled at me! Like this, hahaha, and then I heard a sound…”

"Wait a minute, John."

Joey said, "My legs are a little weak. Help me inside to sit down first. Then speak slowly, word by word. But I'm warning you. If I find out you're joking with me, for the next month, you'll be on your own. That's right, you won't get a single chicken wing from me. Also, don't even think about touching me again. I swear to God, no pussy, no hand job, no blow job. You'll be on your own for the next month!"

……

Ten minutes later, the story was finished.

But the air still seemed to hold the lingering excitement and exhilaration of the two people from before.

Joey sat on the sofa, still somewhat dazed.

John was the same.

The two were silent for a while.

Joey murmured, "You really shone your flashlight right on his face like that?"

John stared at the ceiling, a smirk playing on his lips, as if savoring the moment: "Haha, yeah, I was stunned. I really didn't notice there were no streetlights there. He was laughing so loudly, and I was actually a little angry, but when I shone the light on his face, SHIT! You know, even Obama couldn't surprise me like that. I think only Michael Jackson could come back to life. I never thought I'd be so lucky today."

“You’ve always been lucky. Even though you, a guy who didn’t even finish high school, went to be a policeman and got accepted, and then my dad agreed to let me marry you, that’s what I said back then. But now, I’ll say it again, John Omar, you’re a fucking lucky guy.”

Joey murmured, then suddenly raised her voice: "You said he got your phone number, and you even took a picture with him? Where's the picture? Let me see it."

John chuckled and pulled his phone out of his pocket.

But before he could do anything else, Joey snatched it away.

"Hey, I said I haven't... Fuck, fuck you Joey, how did you know my password?"

"Shut up," Joey said irritably, then expertly opened the photo album.

Joey looked at the last photo.

A Black police officer in uniform was squatting on the ground, close to a person sitting in the passenger seat, and the two of them were giving each other a thumbs up.

"OMG, it really is him, it really is the Joker!!! You motherfucker took a picture with the Joker!!!!"

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

……

Five minutes later, the excitement finally wore off.

The two looked at each other and then chuckled to themselves for a while.

Do you think he'll really call you and ask you to go drinking?

"I don't know. I think he was joking. Maybe he just wanted me to let them go, so he said that on purpose."

"But you still let him go."

"What else? If I don't let him leave, I bet you won't let me touch your pussy for two months."

"Haha."

Joey chuckled, then suddenly noticed the clock on the wall and exclaimed, "Fuck! Five minutes have already passed! Hurry, hurry, I can't wait any longer!"

John yawned and said, "Are you sure you want to watch it now, Joey? To be honest, I'm a little tired now. Why don't we go to sleep first and watch it tomorrow morning? Anyway, it only releases two episodes a week, so we can even accumulate more. I don't want to be kept in suspense."

Joey, fiddling with his laptop, said, "We can watch one episode, how about that? Probably just 45 minutes. Then we'll go to sleep. Damn, I really can't wait. Two whole months! I really want to see what this show is all about!"

"I'm sorry, Joey. I know you're looking forward to it, but I've been busy all night and I'm really tired and want to sleep."

"Alright, alright, since you gave me such a big surprise today, I'll sleep with you. But, at least let's see what this show looks like first."

"I love you, darling, look! Look and we'll go upstairs."

"Ok."

As they were talking, Joey had already logged into Netflix.

On the screen, a Netflix logo with red background and white lettering was visible in the upper left corner.

The homepage banner was dominated by a huge promotional poster—on a lawn with blue sky and white clouds, a group of people in sportswear stood in neat rows, while a giant plastic doll stood in the distance.

At the very center of the poster is a striking headline—

Eagle catches chicks

Below is a line of text:

A childhood game turned into a life-or-death struggle.

Below the title is a prominent red button: Play Episode 1 Now.

On the right side of the poster is a brief introduction:
Genre: Suspense/Thriller/Survival
Starring: Nuo Chen, Gulnazar, Paul Chun, Francis Ng, Dayo Wong.

Launch date: September 15, 2012

Number of episodes: nine.

Below are several thumbnail-style teaser images, labeled:

Episode 1: Infantry
Episode 2: One, two, three, freeze!
Episode 3: Where is Hell?

Episode 4: The Person Holding the Umbrella

……

Joey's eyes widened instantly, and he exclaimed, "OMG, John, look, they released nine episodes in total!! They released the whole thing! Netflix, it's gone mad!"

John said, "DAMN, did they make a mistake? This doesn't seem like what they said before."

Joey turned to him, her eyes sparkling, and said, "John, whatever, we don't have to save up anymore anyway. How about we watch one episode tonight, just one, maybe half an hour or so, and then we'll go to sleep."

John hesitated for a moment, then said, "Just one episode?"

"Just one episode, I swear, I was actually very tired, you know, I usually sleep with the kids."

"OK then."

"OK, then let's not change locations, let's just watch it here."

Joey turned around, moved the cursor on the laptop's touchpad, and tapped the first episode of Infantry.

The screen lit up, and a deep baritone voice began speaking in a language that John and Joey couldn't understand.

"It's Chen's voice! But wait. Why is it in Chinese?"

"Isn't this what Chen said on SNL? They filmed in Chinese, but we can choose to watch with subtitles or choose dubbing."

"Let me see... OK, here it is, dubbing, English. Done! I don't want to see subtitles. Seriously, how many Americans have seen that stuff? Okay, let's start over."

Joey tapped the touchpad again.

The screen lit up again.

This is a playground where a group of children are playing games.

On one side were more than ten children, each holding onto the waist of another, forming a long line, while on the other side was a lonely child.

They started running, laughing, and screaming.

They were chasing each other wildly on a dirt playground.

And this time, the voice-over,
Finally, it's a language they can understand.

"In our village, we call that game 'Eagle Catches Chickens'..."

……

……

In September, it gets light in California later than elsewhere.

Before they knew it, the night had faded from the windows of the residents in the southwest of San Jose.

People gradually started jogging and walking their dogs on the streets.

At John and Josie's house, the curtains remained closed, and the living room was still completely dark.

Suddenly, a series of tinkling sounds came from upstairs.

An eight- or nine-year-old Black boy ran down the stairs.

Seeing the scene in the living room, he asked in confusion:

"Mommy?"

At the sound, a woman sitting on the sofa with her knees drawn up and a man hunched over with his eyes almost touching the computer screen suddenly looked up.

The woman exclaimed in surprise, "Michael? Why are you up?... Oh shit, what time is it?"

On the table in front of her, several large, empty snack bags had appeared out of nowhere. A coffee pot was half-open, and there was still some brown liquid left in the two coffee cups.

The man glanced at the clock on the wall and immediately groaned, "OMG, Joey. You said you'd only watch one episode! Shit, we've watched 7 a.m.! The kids are going to be late for school!"

Joey yelled, “Don’t yell at me, John! Who said we’d watch another episode tonight? It was you! What are we going to do now? What are you standing there for? Go wake Michelle up and take them both out to catch the school bus! Oh, and get something out of the fridge and make them two sandwiches. Go on! My legs are numb, I can’t stand up.”

John sighed, stood up, and took a few steps away before turning back and saying, "Joey, I can go do my work, but don't move. Wait for me to come back so we can watch the finale together."

"I... OK. Then hurry up."

"Don't rush me. At least now we know where his red hair came from. I have to say, it really gives me a magical feeling. Am I too sleepy? I almost don't know if Chen is an actor or really that deliveryman."

“You are indeed tired. John, you should go now. I actually want to watch it one more time later.”

"WHAT?"

"Yes, I think the dubbing feels a bit strange. I want to watch the original audio. Not now, of course, let's take a nap later."

“You’re crazy, Joey, but it does make some sense. Anyway, don’t move, wait for me to come back…”

John went upstairs.

Joey looked at the little boy and smiled, "Mike, go to the table and wait a moment, Dad will get you something to eat soon."

"Oh," the little boy replied in his childish voice, "And what about you, Mom? What are you doing?"

"I?"

Joey turned his gaze back and tapped the touchpad with his finger.

Suddenly, the red-haired man on the computer screen started moving again.

She stared intently at the man with cerebral palsy who, from the very beginning, was impossible to look away from, as he walked out of the hexagonal barbershop with his freshly dyed hair.

Their clothes were tattered, yet they seemed reborn.

Joey murmured, "Let me see how it ends. I'm sorry, baby, Mommy just can't wait."

(End of this chapter)