Huayu: From charlatan to great entertainer

Chapter 387

The misty morning light filtered through the curtains and shone into the bed, casting the shadows of her eyelashes beneath Sleeping Beauty's eyelids.

Seemingly touched by some morning vitality, she impatiently squeezed her delicate little bottom, only to suffer even more.

His girlfriend's voice was soft and sweet: "Don't move, you stinky thing, let me take a nap a little longer."

"I didn't touch it."

Still grumpy from waking up, Xiao Liu didn't even bother to open his eyes. He turned over and reached out to grab the two bombs and one satellite.

She curled up and snuggled into his still-warm embrace.

"How are you going to work looking like this?" His girlfriend rubbed her forehead against his stubble, her voice sweet and innocent. "How about I help you..."

Boss Lu teased her, "That's no fun. It'll be more comfortable to exercise with you in a few days."

"What a character!" Liu Yifei's voice was sweet and sticky. She picked up her phone, glanced at it, and got out of bed. "I thought I was going to have jet lag, but I slept so well!"

She kicked her boyfriend twice with her white feet: "Get up and exercise. Have you forgotten that you used up all your sleeping tickets in New York last time?"

Boss Lu's face darkened. He had indeed gone a bit crazy that time in September, using up all his credit limit in one go after a short separation.

It's almost made Jing Tian next door bald.

Two months have passed since we last met, and I've completely forgotten that I need to exchange exercise for more sex.

This lifestyle is too much like a planned economy.
"Wow!" Liu Yifei stood barefoot by the panoramic floor-to-ceiling window, slapping her palm against the glass.

"The pine trees are turning into matcha ice cream towers, I really want to eat them!"

"Lu Kuan, let's go have a snowball fight! Consider it exercise!"

Xiao Liu was dazzled by the snow-covered scenery outside the window. As she turned around, her white silk slip dress slipped off one shoulder.

Morning light pierced through the triple-glazed windows, casting a misty halo on her nightgown.

Her arches formed an elegant curve, and her right hand unconsciously gripped her left shoulder strap.

His shoulder blades twitched slightly with the yawn, and his shoulder blades were faintly visible under the thin silk, like wings fluttering in the snow.

The snow-white light shimmered from her collarbone, instantly captivating her boyfriend's predatory gaze, making him unable to look away.

Twenty-year-old Liu Yifei possesses an innate, pure and innocent charm, a beauty that she only reveals to herself.

They are truly a scourge to the country and its people.

The king doesn't want to hold court in the morning; he only wants to do morning exercises.

Even if she couldn't eat it all, she could still enjoy the aroma, right? The washing machine embraced her from behind, gently nibbling at her delicate earlobe.

"It's so itchy, what are you doing!" Xiao Liu giggled and turned around to pinch his face, wrapping her arms around her lover and offering him a sweet kiss.

Barefoot, she was quite a bit shorter than her boyfriend. When she stood on tiptoe, her calves showed the muscle lines of a ballerina, and the Santa hat-colored nail polish on her toes shone like berries in the morning light.

"Ugh... No more kissing!" Xiao Liu, blushing furiously, pushed the washing machine's mouth away. "Are you trying to use your ugly face to get away with this?"

"No, I want to use the 'manly man' trick."

Xiao Liu pretended to be disgusted as she wiped her luscious red lips, her once sweet lips now turning into a venomous mask:
"What 'manly strategy'? Go change your clothes and work out!"

"What can you do besides covering my face with saliva all morning by creating this ozone layer?"

The washing machine got angry and pinched its girlfriend's butt hard twice to vent its anger, writing the words down in its little notebook.

In a few days, when someone starts singing like a swan, we'll settle this score properly.

After a quick wash and change, the two headed to the gym. Lu Kuan stretched his neck and said, "I need to work out. I haven't been feeling too good lately."

"How can you be okay if you only sleep five or six hours a day? Yesterday was probably the earliest you've gone to bed this month, wasn't it?"

Boss Lu curled his lips: "Old Zhang is even more ruthless than me. He only sleeps four hours a day. It seems he's been working on a new script lately."

Xiao Liu rolled her eyes at her boyfriend: "Just keep enduring it. Once you turn into a terracotta warrior like Director Zhang, I'll dump you!"

Lu Kuan joked, "Zhang Yimou is from Xi'an, so it's only natural that he became a terracotta warrior."

“I was picked up by my master from Jinling. You should have heard that no duck can swim out of Jinling alive. I will probably become a duck.”

He forcefully pulled his girlfriend close and kissed her: "Sissi, I'm your personal gigolo!"

Xiao Liu laughed and scolded, "Get lost! I can't afford to spend your money."

It's always heartwarming to have someone looking after you. After the two of them finished their morning exercise and came downstairs, Liu Xiaoli and the nanny had already prepared breakfast.

Good morning, Aunt Liu.

Good morning, female celebrity!

"Good morning, Xiaolu!" Liu Xiaoli smiled broadly. "Did you build that sunroom in my little flower garden after you left last time? It's so nice!"

Liu Yifei said discontentedly, "Hey, hey, hey! I greeted you too, why didn't you acknowledge me first?"

"Get out of here!" Liu Xiaoli shoved her daughter aside in an annoyed tone.

Lu Kuan laughed and said, "Last month, when the sauna was being installed in the main building, I happened to think about how many of your flowers are not cold-resistant, so I asked them to design a sunroom."

The elderly mother beamed with joy, wishing she could transform into a mother-in-law right now: "That's wonderful! There's even a small tea table inside; we can enjoy tea and admire the flowers there these next few days."

"Sisi, be a model for Mommy later and take some photos in the sunroom. I'll post them on Weibo!"

Good heavens, another one in the Liu family has become addicted to the internet.

Liu Yifei pouts as she sits down at the table, admiring the celadon plates she has personally selected, and then casually glances at her elderly mother.

"Now you remember me? No way!"

Not going?

Liu Xiaoli was furious. She snatched the fork from her right hand and moved the Caesar salad away from her.

Cut off their food supplies and trap them at their table.

Liu Yifei, who had just finished exercising, was staring at the chicken breast in the Caesar salad, ready to devour it, but she immediately begged for mercy, which made everyone laugh.

Her fawning demeanor was quite amusing, reminding Boss Lu of the daily interactions between Xu Hongdou and Huang Yimei with their parents in "With the Wind" and "Rose".

The first kiss in the snow after the long-distance couple reunited, the first time they slept in each other's arms, the first time they did morning exercise and had breakfast together.

It wasn't until we went upstairs, changed our clothes, and got into the car that we set off for work like an ordinary couple for the first time.

The Maybach 62S's anti-skid tires rolled over the thin ice on the Wenyu River Bridge, while the snow outside the car window had already reshaped the world.

The branches of the paulownia tree are encased in a glass shell, and the ice crystals refract iridescent light spots, resembling glass wind chimes hanging from a Christmas tree.

In the congested traffic, the taillights of the car in front were blurred into a hazy red in the snow fog, and the skid marks plowed two black lines on the road, which were quickly filled in by the newly fallen snow.

Liu Yifei, who hadn't experienced rush hour much, was amazed by the increasingly exaggerated traffic: "My god, it's even more congested than New York."

"This is nothing, it will get more congested every year from now on." Mr. Lu passed the time by flipping through the newspaper in his hand.

In fact, if you look closely at his life story of how he rose to prominence, Lu Kuan can be considered a "Beijing drifter".

I came down from the mountain in October 2001 and drifted to Beiping in December. There I met Bingbing and Liu Yifei, and then entered the Beijing Film Academy.

He was, in fact, a witness to the history of traffic congestion in megacities like Beiping.

For older Beijing residents, the first memory of traffic congestion, or to bring up this topic, goes back to the "great traffic jam of the century" on December 7, 2001. On that day, the roads were icy after a snowfall, making it difficult for vehicles to move. Many people were stuck on the road during rush hour and had to walk home.

With this, Beijing entered an era of traffic congestion, with traffic jams occurring not only during rush hour but also at other times.

Looking out the car window at the blue traffic barriers painted with Fuwa Beibei, Liu Yifei turned her head and asked, "How bad will the traffic be in Beijing when the Olympics start next year?"

Lu Kuan laughed and said, "The city and the Olympic Organizing Committee are racking their brains over the traffic congestion. This year alone, 50 new bus routes have been added and more than 80 routes have been optimized, covering the areas around the Olympic venues and newly built communities."

"Line 10 just opened in October, and the Airport Line will open in December. All of this is to prepare for the huge passenger flow next year."

"Oh, by the way, I heard from Leader Liu that odd-even license plate restrictions may be implemented next year."

Xiao Liu asked in surprise, "What do you mean?"

"Check the last digit of the license plate. Odd-numbered plates must be used on odd-numbered days, and even-numbered plates on even-numbered days. Violations will result in points deductions and fines."

"That's very creative!" Liu Yifei said with a smile. "I'd like to invite Sister Chunru to live in Beiping for a while next year. We can experience public transportation and watch the Olympics together then."

"Get us the tickets ready!"

"sure, no problem."

The elevated bridges, large and small, resembled lying motionless silver snakes, with traffic winding from the overpasses to the horizon.

The Maybach's chrome wheels were stranded alongside the Passat in the next lane, a stark contrast to the difference between a mansion and a bungalow, yet the distinction between rich and poor vanished in the snowy light.

Passatri had a young face, wearing a plaid shirt—a staple for programmers—under his down jacket.

He was anxious to get to the headquarters of Kuxun Technology, but when he turned around and saw that the luxury car was stuck with him, he leisurely rolled down the window and started smoking.

It's not scarcity that's the problem, but inequality. So what if this big boss is stuck on the elevated highway with me?

He wasn't disappointed that the dark tint made it difficult to see the details inside the car.

It's just a Maybach; I'll be able to get one sooner or later.

"Boss, it seems there's traffic control ahead. I'll go check it out."

"Okay, stay safe."

Ah Fei returned quickly, accompanied by a motorcycle traffic police officer. Upon seeing the highest-level Olympic pass on the windshield, he humbly removed his sunglasses.
"Are you from the Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games? If needed, I can help you get through. There are foreign-related vehicles at the intersection ahead, and traffic control is in place."

Mr. Lu didn't put on airs. He opened the door, got out of the car, and shook hands with the enthusiastic traffic policeman: "Thank you, comrade. We're in a hurry to get to the Olympic Building."

That's right, the Wenjie Building is just two kilometers away from the Olympic Building, it's on the way.

"Oh! Director Lu! Hello, hello!"

Mr. Lu is often ridiculed by entertainment fans, but most ordinary people still admire his patriotism.

Whether it's "Tangshan," which embodies national spirit and the demeanor of the military and civilians, the donations from Sichuan Province to build buildings, "The Sky of History," which embodies the expectations of the Chinese people, or his current role and identity as the chief director of the Olympics.

Not to mention the numerous prestigious and influential events they've achieved at international film festivals and in North America, one after another, leaving people overwhelmed.

This old Beijing traffic policeman is a die-hard fan, and he almost made Mr. Lu's hand ache from shaking it so much, he kept joking around.

Xiao Liu, listening in the car, almost laughed. He curiously peeked out and nearly made the talkative older brother's eyes pop out of his head, but he was also overjoyed.

"Director Lu, I'm breaking the rules today, can I get an autograph?"

"No problem." Boss Lu readily agreed: "Thank you for your hard work on duty in this heavy snow!"

"Ah Fei, there are some Olympic souvenirs in the armrest box. Take them out and give them to the traffic police officer."

"It's not hard work, it's not hard work, it's just serving the people, haha."

The traffic policeman smiled, his face crinkling with embarrassment, and pulled out his notebook, saying somewhat awkwardly, "Director Lu, I'd like to ask Ms. Liu to sign her name."

“You don’t know, my daughter went to the airport to chase after celebrities last night. She said she didn’t manage to catch anyone and was depressed for most of the night afterward.”

"Look how lucky I am! I've struck gold with her dad!"

Liu Yifei found it amusing while listening in the car, and she got out of the car in a generous manner to take the paper and pen and write it down.

After handing it back to him, she winked triumphantly at her boyfriend.

Do you know what popularity is?
As the morning light pierced through the clouds, countless tiny diamonds burst forth from the snow.

The girl's patent red boots crushed the ice crystals, and the white mist she exhaled drifted over her frostbitten red nose, making her look quite adorable.

Liu Yifei's captivating charm stunned the programmer in the plaid shirt across the lane, shattering his earlier smugness at being seen in a luxury car alongside him.

Seeing her get into the car with the renowned young director and drive away amidst the wailing sirens, I enviously tossed away my cigarette butt and closed the window.

The passenger in the front seat exclaimed, "Yiming! Isn't that Liu Yifei? And the road is wide!"

Zhang Yiming, who joined Kuxun in 2005 and just became a technical supervisor this year, said calmly, "Really? I didn't notice."

"I'm so envious! Luxury cars, beautiful women, and fame all over the world!"

Zhang Yiming smiled but didn't say anything, a hint of embarrassment on his face as he recalled his earlier smugness and resentment towards the rich.

Then I recalled the dashing and unrestrained demeanor of that young entrepreneur who was only a year or two older than me, and his legendary experience of founding Mytube and launching a surprise attack on Netflix in the United States.

Changing the world with IT!

A true man should be like this!
This future IT tycoon secretly encouraged himself.

At this time, ByteDance was still four and a half years away from being founded.
-
"Mr. Lu! Concubine Yi."

"President Lu! Yi Fei, you're finally back!"

Lu Kuan and Liu Yifei arrived at the president's office via a private elevator. Dong Shuangqiang, Chen Zhixi, and Gao Jun were all there. Today's meeting was to discuss the scheduling and promotion of films for the Lunar New Year season.

Ning Hao and Xue Xiaolu, whom we hadn't seen for a long time, also arrived.

Xue Xiaolu, relieved that you're finally back, gave Xiao Liu a warm hug. The two had a pleasant collaboration in "Bad Genius".

Ning Hao and she were old acquaintances, having known each other since he worked as a photographer for "The Drummer": "Yi Fei, my Xing Aina was so disappointed that you didn't come to my wedding last year!"

Liu Yifei laughed and said, "I did call Sister Xing back then, and I even had someone deliver the gift money. Are you complaining that it's not enough? Are you picking on me here?"

"No, no! Absolutely not." Ning Hao was subdued in one move: "I just thought it would be nice to have some fun with my old friends. It's been so long since we've all gotten together."

“There will be plenty of opportunities. When Lu Kuan returns in a couple of days, I'll invite you all to get together over the Wenyu River.” Liu Yifei was already acting quite like the lady of the house.

Dong Shuangqiang asked curiously, "Where is President Lu going again?"

"It's very close. We're going to Daxing for a few days of closed training. There are some top-secret programs that require martial law drills," Boss Lu explained.

This actually refers to drone testing.

Because the scene was too grand and involved highly dangerous fireworks, it needed to be tested and practiced at the military base in Daxing.

Just like in later years, the organizing committee also prepared special bunker balloons to prevent secret photography and spying.

Chen Zhixi's heart skipped a beat. She remembered the Bazaar Charity Night the day after tomorrow. So that means...

So your boss won't be there?

The newly appointed chief steward was filled with regret at this moment; who wouldn't be interested in watching the drama unfold?

Xiao Liu glanced at the washing machine as if by accident, his expression unreadable.

(End of this chapter)