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

Chapter 545 Mysterious Aura

Of course, this idea of ​​changing careers was just a fleeting thought.

Unlike filming a movie, he played League of Legends every day for a period of time, so he was very aware of his skill level.

Chen Nuo glanced at Zhou Xiwen, who was smiling obsequiously to the side. He wasn't stupid; how could he not know what was going on?

However, even though it was a fixed match, he's the kind of person who never cares about professional ethics. Otherwise, he wouldn't have spent money to hire four King-level players to play five-player ranked matches with him and get him to Master rank. If Qi Yuntian hadn't suddenly called, he might have sat down and played another game.

Qi Yuntian called late at night to tell him some strange news. Because Qi Da no longer actually manages any specific affairs at the company; his main job is overseeing finances and handling strategic direction.

This message, relayed through Liu Xiaoli, is undoubtedly closely related to his future career development.

Such an important matter cannot be explained in just a few words.

So Chen Nuo couldn't play the game anymore. He said goodbye to the group of young Koreans, and while on the phone, he returned to the hotel and set up a three-person video conference, also inviting Alison, who was far away in Canada, to join the discussion.

The final result of the discussion was rejection.

Both Alison and Qi Yuntian felt that it was not a good thing for him, as a public figure, to be so deeply involved in politics.

Although his growing influence will inevitably attract attention from certain parties, it's fine to skirt around the edges, but it's better to avoid taking sides and waving flags.

Once the direction was set, Allison voluntarily left the group chat.

Then Chen Nuo and Qi Yuntian discussed for a while how to refuse the matter. Later, the topic naturally shifted to Liu Yifei. However, Chen Nuo did not want to talk about it. In order to change the subject, he casually mentioned the strange encounter he had just had in the Korean internet cafe.

He originally thought Qi Yuntian wouldn't be interested and just wanted to use this as an excuse to hang up the phone.

To everyone's surprise, Qi Da seemed quite interested when he heard this.

Upon asking, Chen Nuo was utterly astonished.

Qi Yuntian said that Li Jing is becoming increasingly adept at project management, and Tang Qing is also doing a great job with the artists. In addition, the company launched a housing incentive program at the beginning of this year, attracting a group of high-quality new employees. Now there are not many things in the company that require his personal attention.

So, besides taking care of his children in the country, he read some news and decided he wanted to start an esports club.

To Chen Nuo, this was like hearing the sun rise in the west. He chuckled and said, "Didn't you say you didn't even play Super Mario when you were a kid? How did you come up with the idea of ​​starting an e-sports club?"

Qi Yuntian chuckled and said, "Anyway, I don't have much to do lately. I had someone calculate it, and the investment is only a few million. If I lose it, I lose it. I'll just have some fun."

Having known each other for many years, Chen Nuo could tell that this person was not telling the truth. He pressed for an explanation, and Qi Yuntian finally revealed the real reason.

After listening, Chen Nuo finally understood what had happened.

It turns out his G650 was so famous that it's now the talk of the town among China's wealthy elite. This eventually reached the ears of a certain well-known second-generation rich kid, and whether he was drunk or not, he recently made some sarcastic remarks on Weibo.

However, since no name was mentioned, Huanxin Company naturally couldn't take it personally and respond. But Qi Yuntian was a little indignant, so he decided to throw some money in and test his skills against a certain second-generation rich kid in the e-sports circle.

Chen Nuo genuinely didn't know about this, and immediately laughed, "What did he say? Is it really that serious?"

Qi Yuntian laughed and said in a Beijing accent, "It's nothing, but it seems that since he wants to play, I'm free anyway, so I'll play along."

Okay, since Qi Yuntian made it sound so easy, Chen Nuo didn't say anything more. Just like he said, in this day and age, setting up an e-sports club is really cheap. A few hundred or ten million is not a big deal for Qi Yuntian now.

hang up the phone,

Although Chen Nuo was very sleepy, she still logged onto Weibo.

After a quick search, I found the Weibo post Qi Yuntian mentioned. Indeed, no one was named; it simply stated: "A certain big star in China bought a G650, and his fans are raving about it every day. I mean, it's just a beat-up old plane..."

To be honest, this statement was much gentler than the ones he remembered saying that Wang Xiaofei only had two coins in his pocket, that Zhao Benshan was still a farmer no matter how much money he had, and that Zhou Libo was a gigolo.

After reading it, he thought for a moment, then picked up his phone and sent Qi Yuntian a WeChat message, writing: "There's a website in the US called Twitch, you should check it out..."

……

Chen Nuo wouldn't personally handle either game streaming or esports clubs, but he wouldn't stop Qi Yuntian if he wanted to.

After all, 2012 was truly the best time to enter these two industries.

Moreover, many things are already readily available. For example, to acquire shares in Facebook, he specifically established a technology company and collaborated with Peking University on algorithms. Currently, that company, called Yike, still has a handful of people holding nominal positions.

Although nothing has been accomplished yet, Liu Qi and his friend are still on the company's employee list, receiving a monthly salary of two thousand yuan, and the company is also paying their social security contributions.

Isn't this a ready-made platform? Equipped with a top-notch, well-connected team from Peking University, if Douyin can't do it, Douyu and Huya will be a piece of cake. What more could you ask for?

That night, Chen Nuo had another dream.

He forgot the specifics, but he remembered sitting on the platform, surrounded by pretty young ladies—cat-eared girls, bespectacled girls, lolis, and mature women. Sometimes they wore Hanfu, sometimes they held whips, singing and dancing—it was incredibly lively.

……

The meeting between Pan Chengrong and Cui Xueli that morning was also quite lively.

It was just that Choi Sulli was holding Pan Chengrong, crying and laughing at the same time.

This alternating crying and laughing lasted for a full half minute before she turned her head, hastily wiping the tears from her face with the back of her hand, looking at Chen Nuo somewhat embarrassedly, and softly calling out:
"elder brother."

Chen Nuo smiled, but before he could speak, the girl threw herself into his arms and hugged him tightly.

They've really grown up.

Recalling the little girl who cried uncontrollably in front of him a few years ago, now a graceful young woman, Chen Nuo couldn't help but feel a mix of emotions.

— Five minutes later.

The door to the conference room opened, and Chen Nuo walked out without turning around, closing the door behind him.

Several men who were guarding the conference room and the corner of the stairs immediately came to greet him when he came out.

Leading the way was a middle-aged man with small eyes and a big mouth, wearing a newsboy cap.

Chen Nuo stood there with a smile, waiting for him to come over. She extended her hand and said in Korean, "President Yang, thank you for taking care of my sister."

Yang Hyun-suk grasped his hands and shook them vigorously a few times: "No, thank you for trusting YG and sending Sulli here."

"President Yang, how has she been performing lately?"

“Great, fantastic. Sulli is truly talented; she’s top-notch in both singing and dancing. Our company’s Pink Project currently has six members, and she’s the leader.”

Chen Nuo didn't want to waste time arguing with him, and said seriously, "President Yang, Shirley is my younger sister whom I raised. I know she's a little slow and a little foolish, but please don't scold her when things happen. She's all alone here, far from home."

President Yang's smile faded, and he nodded seriously, saying, "I understand."

Chen Nuo was talking to Yang Xianshuo, but he didn't notice that the door he had casually closed when he came out had been ajar at some point.

His voice came through the crack, and the atmosphere inside, which had been filled with laughter and conversation, gradually quieted down until you could hear a pin drop.

Pan Chengrong and Chen Bicheng looked at each other blankly. They couldn't understand Korean at all and had no idea what was going on.

I don't understand why the girl next to them, who was just smiling happily and complaining about how hard the trainee life was, suddenly shut her mouth and then slowly burst into tears.

But this time,
She didn't make a sound, let alone be noisy.

But looking through the crack in the door, those tearful eyes seemed to hold a surging, roaring sea within them.

……

……

Although no one led the way, Pan Shouyi and Chen Duling still managed to find the billboard in Jiangnan.

Although Zhou Xiwen was considered by some to be a "scumbag who deceives young girls," he actually did not deceive them in this matter.

Not far from the cinema where the premiere was held, across the street, on a glass-walled office building, there was a huge advertisement that covered an entire six-story wall.

The advertisement is stark and bleak, with a misty, gray-blue morning background. In the center is a 2012 Porsche 911 Carrera S, and a man in a dark gray trench coat and black leather shoes is leaning forward slightly, opening the car door. Only his profile at a 45-degree angle is visible in the photo, his eyes slightly lowered as he looks at the car door.

At the bottom of the image is a tiny line of black text: "Porsche 911 Carrera S – Timeless Machine."

Looking at the small groups of people taking photos under the advertisement, Chen Duling said thoughtfully, "Have you noticed that many of the slogans in the advertisements your brother took are related to time?"

Pan Shouyi tilted his head and said, "Really?"

"Have."

"Oh~" Pan Shouyi said, "You didn't sleep last night because you were looking for the commercials he filmed before, right?"

Chen Duling was a little embarrassed and said, "I didn't not sleep, I was just curious."

"So, what did you figure out?"

“I feel that your brother has a mysterious aura about him, and the photographers have noticed it too, which is why they reacted this way.”

"A mysterious aura?"

"Yes, sometimes I feel your brother is very mature, and other times I feel he's very young..."

Before they could finish speaking, a loud shout came from behind them.

The two girls turned around and saw a dark gray Porsche Cayenne slowly pull up beside the entrance to the premiere's red carpet.

The car door was opened by a staff member, and a figure in a suit stepped out, one foot landing on the spread-out deep red carpet. But immediately, a swarm of people blocked their view. "Did you see that? Did you feel that?" Chen Duling asked.

Pan Shouyi laughed and said, "I don't feel anything. Lingling, I advise you to be careful. I feel like you're almost bewitched by my brother."

Chen Duling was taken aback for a moment, then said with a wry smile, "What? Don't talk nonsense!"

Just when Pan Shouyi thought Chen Duling was talking nonsense,
Little did she know that later that evening, someone on the other side of the Pacific Ocean uttered almost the exact same sentiment as Chen Duling.

But when facing this person, Pan Shouyi probably wouldn't dare to joke anymore.

In fact, no one can joke with Roger Albert now, not even himself.

Roger Ebert looked at the terrifying old man in the mirror and believed that no skilled Hollywood makeup artist could recreate his current appearance. Anyone who saw him like this would know that death was not far away.

The doctor said to let him rest at home, which is definitely for his own good, hoping that he can prolong his life for a little longer.

However, things are unpredictable, and he still decided to leave his house today.

reason?

Because of the movie!
Thinking of this, his thoughts inexplicably drifted to the male lead of the movie he was about to watch.

Having worked in film criticism for over forty years, he has witnessed and discovered countless great actors—Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, Leonardo DiCaprio…

But Roger Ebert had never seen an actor like that before.

A good actor needs experience; only a few geniuses are exceptions. He used to think he was one of those geniuses.

However, after watching that recent TV series, he became somewhat uncertain again. Because no truly talented actor could possibly have such a wide range of roles.

This young man doesn't seem like a young man at all. Could it be that within that youthful body lies a soul steeped in experience? Otherwise, how could he possess such a mysterious aura?
When he emerged from the restroom, his old buddy, assistant Jeff, was waiting for him. Seeing him, the burly man with graying hair gave a wry smile and asked, "Roger, wouldn't you like to reconsider?"

"NO." The chinless old man used the latest technology to produce a hoarse voice with a throat vibrator.

Jeff shrugged, gave up on yet another attempt to persuade him, helped the old man into a wheelchair, and then pushed him out of the mansion in Chicago.

The nearest movie theater to Roger Albert's house was only a ten-minute drive away, but Jeff, as usual, tried to keep the conversation going to alleviate the loneliness in the car.

"This must be the least promoted film he's ever made since its release, right, Roger? I've hardly seen any ads for it online. If you hadn't told me, I wouldn't even have known he made a movie... Roger, I'll bet you ten dollars that this movie isn't very good. You could have just waited for the DVD to come out instead of braving the cold..."

Jeff kept rambling on, while Roger Albert barely said a word.

He remained motionless and silent, looking just like the corpse of an old man sitting in the back seat. He thought to himself, perhaps by the time the DVD of this movie comes out, he will be a real corpse.

……

When Roger Albert's car arrived at the movie theater parking lot, the theater manager was already waiting.

As a nationally renowned film critic and a longtime customer of this movie theater, he has enjoyed this treatment for years.

As he got out of the car, sat back in his wheelchair, and was pushed into the theater, the October wind was a bit cold, blowing into his mouth and nose, making it increasingly difficult for him to breathe, and his chest felt like it was on fire.

He knew that if Jeff found out, he would definitely send him home, so to cover it up, he used a throat lollipop to say, "How's it selling?"

The cinema manager said, "So far, its attendance rate isn't very good. The midnight premiere today wasn't even a third full. You know, that might be considered good for others, but it's very rare for a Chen film. I think it's because it hasn't been promoted much at all. When I saw online that Chen went to South Korea for the premiere, I couldn't believe my eyes. He'd rather go to an African country than promote it in the US? I really don't know what he's thinking, and of course, I have no idea what the distributors are thinking..."

Roger Ebert listened silently; he certainly knew more about the inside story of the film and the messy affairs of the local Pritzker family.

"So what do you think of the movie?" The electronic voice from the throat microphone interrupted the manager.

The manager said, "Personally, I think it should be able to squeeze into your list of the top ten movies of 2012."

Although he had read many film reviews from his colleagues in Venice before coming, Roger Ebert felt more at ease upon hearing this. As this was a film he had overcome numerous difficulties to see, he naturally hoped it would be a wonderful one that made his trip worthwhile.

As the theater manager said, this film wasn't a box office hit; only a handful of people were seated in the theater that afternoon. This wasn't good news for the film distributor and the theater, but it was perfect for the audience.

Roger Ebert felt good about it, even though the pain in his chest was getting worse and was even spreading to his face, but he still decided to watch the movie before going home.

Then, the movie began.

……

……

Chen Nuo was packing his luggage when he received Allison's call.

After hearing what the woman said on the phone, he immediately stopped what he was doing. "How is he now?"

Allison said, "He's still in the hospital receiving emergency treatment."

"Is he okay?"

"The prognosis is not good; he hasn't woken up yet."

Chen Nuo asked, "Should I go see him?"

“We can wait and see if he can pull through,” Allison said.

Chen Nuo nodded and said, "Let me know if there's any new information."

"it is good."

After hanging up the phone, Chen Nuo lost all interest in packing her luggage.

He sat on the edge of the bed in a daze for a while, then picked up his phone.

Sure enough, today in the United States, Roger Ebert published a film review of "Drop" in the Chicago Sun-Times.

This film review, which Roger Ebert may have paid for with his life, has garnered tens of thousands of comments on the Chicago Sun-Times website within just a few hours. These comments are likely from fans of the old man and film enthusiasts from all over the world who have heard the news.

Chen Nuo didn't read the comments; his feelings became extremely complicated when his gaze fell on the title.

Roger Albert wrote:
"Drop: A film about loneliness and rebirth."

I've seen countless movies about someone starting a new life in a strange place. But "Drop" made me realize why such movies are so captivating.

Everyone has probably thought about this: how wonderful it would be if we could live again at some point, in some place.

This movie tells just such a story.

Chen Nuo's performance is the soul of the entire film.

The vitality he displayed in this film was almost astonishing.

Those groundbreaking performances, the first of their kind in his career, brought a young and vibrant life to life on the big screen, making him breathe, pulsate, and come alive. For an old man like me, nearing the end of my life, the burning flame of youthful life on the screen filled me with immense joy, but what followed was profound pain.

In this respect, I hate him even more than he did when he made Twilight, because he made me realize that life can be so bright, and I am gradually drifting away from it.

Chen didn't use any exaggerated body language, and his lines were surprisingly few. His expressionistic performance reached a new peak in this film. He used every imaginable method to portray the pain, loneliness, and struggle of that young life.

As he rode his bike through the rainy streets of New Orleans, passing that dimly lit strip club time and time again, staring blankly at Charlize Theron's poster, I believe anyone could read the character's inner story through his eyes.

Chen's performance didn't feel like acting; it felt like interpretation. He was interpreting how a broken soul finds its way out of life. The dark, damp, and dirty side of America's underclass was thus revealed in his interpretation, like a mud-smeared scroll slowly unfolding.

Director James Pritzker shines almost brilliantly in this film. It's hard to believe this is his first feature film.

Charlize Theron perfectly embodies the beauty, sexiness, and danger of the female lead in the film. The ambiguous flirting between her and Chen Nuo is perhaps the most heart-pounding moment on screen since Jamie Lee Curtis's hotel dance scene in "True Lies."

Drop is not a pleasant movie. It's heavy, oppressive, and suffocating. But its charm keeps you glued to your screen for almost two hours.

I won't spoil the ending, but I can only say that when I saw the last scene of the movie...

I discovered that I am no longer afraid of death, because, well, that's how it is.

Recommendation rating: Two thumbs up.

A thumbs up to Chen Nuo. He made me believe that in those neglected corners of America, countless "Cassian"s are struggling in the shadows, while our government remains oblivious. He showed me the true face of death, allowing me to face it with equanimity.

Another thumbs-up is for the photographer. Every shot he takes is like a love letter to Chen, every frame a tender kiss to him.

This film truly deserves its awards, winning both Best Cinematography and Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival. I would like to express my respect to the jury of this year's Venice Film Festival.

I recommend this film to all viewers who love art films. It will be one of the most profound, beautiful, and heart-wrenching films you will ever see.

Finally, I want to say to the Academy members: cast aside your narrow-minded prejudices and ridiculous pride. Although Chen tore the fig leaf of American society to shreds in this film, I won't rest in peace in heaven if his performance in this movie doesn't even get a nomination for this year's Oscars.

—Roger Albert
October 3, 2012, Chicago

Chen Nuo read this long film review over and over again, especially staring at the last paragraph for a long time.

Finally, he picked up the phone and dialed a number.

"Linghu, have the crew reapply for the flight route. We're not going to Japan today; we're flying to Chicago."

Ps:

Sorry for the delay.

(End of this chapter)