I'm just trying to ride the wave of popularity!

Chapter 384 Those Heartbreaking Moments
"I can't believe it's been three years..."

"It's been almost four years, I should say..."

"Well, time flies."

The late autumn sun, carrying a hint of warmth, shone on Wu Mingming's face.

Wu Mingming, the director, program planner, and news editor of 【1819】, and her colleagues remarked.

His gaze then fell upon the figure who was the center of attention, surrounded by countless people, and he felt slightly dazed.

He then quickened his pace, continuing to carry the camera, and desperately squeezed his way toward the figure.

As she got closer to the small room of about thirty square meters, those long-forgotten memories gradually became clearer. Amidst the surrounding noise, Wu Mingming felt an indescribable sense of melancholy...

this moment!
Memories of the summer of 2003 flooded back.

That summer of 2003...

At that time, he was just an ordinary reporter in 1819. He impulsively pushed open the door because of an anonymous tip-off and met those young people.

He remembers that day, the young man in front of the camera was crying his eyes out, seemingly repenting for his ignorance and mistakes, but cleverly using their platform to advertise his first movie.

He remembered that year, when the young man frequently appeared in reports from major media outlets, enduring countless controversies and insults.

We also witnessed how, a year later, this young man, to the astonishment of countless people, gradually ascended to the pinnacle of the Chinese film industry…

Three years...

It's only been three years!
He squeezed through the crowd, took his pass, and made his way into the core media live broadcast area. He found their spot and stood next to Zhou Yang.

He looked at the young man, who stood at the door, seemingly pausing for a long time, before finally, as if gathering his courage, pushing the door open.

Then, the door opened.

"I still remember..."

"Many years ago, in that summer, the cicadas' chirping tore through the sweltering air..."

"Not the summer of 03, but that summer many years ago, in the early 90s..."

"..."

Wu Mingming looked at Zhou Yang.

Zhou Yang always had a smile on his face in front of the camera. His voice was deep and slightly trembling, as if he was reminiscing with a sense of loss.

"I stood on tiptoe and leaned over the counter of the convenience store, staring intently at the black and white television with its static-filled screen, waiting for the cartoon to start, just like always..."

"Then, I saw a 'giant' wearing a cape burst onto the screen..."

"He was so righteous, so gentle, so incredibly powerful! Like an omnipotent superhero. I watched him lift a falling helicopter with one hand, watched him easily twist steel bars into pretzels, watched him rush into fires time and time again to save people, time and time again to save the earth, time and time again to fight to the death against all kinds of monsters."

"I was stunned! I was awestruck. I never imagined that there could be such amazing people in this world..."

"That night, I walked along the country lanes and when I got home, I sat on a stool..."

"The lights were exceptionally dim that night, yet I remember every detail. I repeatedly copied the 'S' logo on his chest with my notebook, sketched his image over and over again, and even made a pair of glasses in the same style."

"That was my first superhero during my childhood."

Zhou Yang silently pushed up his glasses.

Seeing this, Wu Mingming was first stunned, then somewhat dazed...

These glasses!

It looks exactly like Superman before he transforms!
Zhou Yang wore these glasses in public for more than three years...

He saw Zhou Yang silently walk into that room!
The room was messy and noisy.

but……

"Many people ask me what I think of Hollywood movies, many people ask me what I think of Superman..."

Under the media's lens, Zhou Yang pointed to a faded hand-drawn storyboard of "Sun Wukong vs. Superman 2".

At this moment, the manuscript is still pasted on the wall, covered with some yellowed coffee stains.

And on the manuscript, there is an "S" shape that everyone is familiar with...

At that moment, Wu Mingming subconsciously looked at Zhou Yang.

But then Zhou Yang smiled, his eyes reddening, and gently stroked it.

"My dream is to make movies..."

"My dream is to make a movie similar to Superman..."

"But as we grow older, dreams, along with reality, gradually fade into the dust of history, becoming tiny fireflies, and slowly begin to seem unrealistic..."

"My grades were poor, and I barely finished high school, but I was just one step away from university. In the end, I had to give up my studies because of poverty and did not repeat the year. I ended up working in a factory..."

"Life is like a merciless knife; it changed me, it changed many others, and it shattered my dreams..."

"Actually, I'm not afraid of being laughed at, but in 03, after I left the factory, I actually jumped into the river. Because in this world, I had no relatives, no friends, I actually had nothing left..."

"Like an ant, once you die, you're just dead..."

"But I was rescued... I was given a new lease on life, and I started standing alone by the bridge, wondering if this was the end for my life? Should I just give up?"

That night, the city of Yanjing was brightly lit, bustling and noisy, yet I felt a chill, a chill that pierced to the bone...

"That night I had a dream, a dream about the cloaked hero, a dream about the series of words he once said..."

"That night, after that, I began to decide that I would fight for my life, even if I failed, it wouldn't matter..."

"And then, at that moment, 'Monkey King vs. Superman 2' was born..."

"..."

As Zhou Yang slightly raised his head and silently recounted this story, the crowd behind him held their breath. At that moment, the camera focused on his slightly trembling shoulders.

Wu Mingming felt a lump in her throat.

He had heard many versions of Zhou Yang's story before, but at this moment, when the person involved told the story in person, the emotional impact was particularly strong.

President Zhou...

He's a natural orator...

The rented room was very small.

Various props were displayed.

Following behind, Shen Long was initially worried that he might shed a few tears at a crucial moment to fool the audience and deepen the theme of "dreams," which they had already discussed many times, making it even more emotional. But as he spoke...

but!
At that moment, seeing the props and Zhou Yang slowly telling his story, I couldn't help but feel my throat tremble slightly, as if something was blocking it.

He quickly rubbed his eyes, but the more he rubbed, the blurrier they became. In that atmosphere, he thought of himself from those years, of the times he had endured so much hardship along the way…

What Mr. Zhou did is so outrageous, it makes me want to cry!
Seeing him cry, many cameras immediately focused on him at that moment.

He forced a smile as he faced the camera.

"At that time..."

"I picked this kettle out of the junkyard. We know a bit about electrical circuits, so we fixed it and it worked. But the first time we used it to cook noodles, it leaked electricity. Shen Hu got shocked and was jumping around like a madman, while we laughed like a bunch of idiots..."

"Damn, this dilapidated house leaks! Back then, we were so poor we couldn't even afford a bucket to catch the rain, so we used the script as a shield! Look, these storyboards for 'Sun Wukong vs. Superman 2' are still stuck on the wall, every page is bloated and rusty..."

"That cactus! Mr. Zhou said it's like us, it can survive as long as it gets some air. But it hasn't been watered for years..."

"It's still alive..."

"..."

..............................

"Broken defense!"

"So this is the real thing..."

"I had heard their stories before, but when I heard them tell them in person, I felt a pang of sadness..."

"Yes, I feel like the word 'dream' has suddenly become so heavy..."

"..."

【Wind Rises Live】

Countless netizens silently stared at the camera.

In the video, Shen Long manages a forced smile, seemingly wanting to share an embarrassing story to lighten the mood, but as he speaks, his voice chokes up.

Shen Long's voice echoed in the cramped rented room...

Those yellowed storyboard drafts, the leaky kettle, the withered yet stubbornly alive cactus...

Each old object seemed to be infused with life, silently telling the story of that little-known era in front of the camera.

After they saw Shen Long, Chen Jianfeng walked into the frame...

"Before the movie was released, it rained heavily one night. We huddled under the leaky eaves to revise the script. Mr. Zhou said that one day, we would let the whole world see our light..."

"We just stood there laughing like idiots..."

"But I never imagined that we would get to this point, to this day..."

"..."

As one by one, people from the past silently stepped into the frame, telling their untold stories...

Countless netizens vaguely saw some young people huddled under a leaky roof, revising scripts and making all sorts of unprofessional filming plans by dim light...

this moment……

More and more netizens were touched by these genuine and simple memories, and all sorts of unique comments floated across the screen like snowflakes.

Some people posted tearful emojis, some exclaimed, "This is what it's like to pursue your dreams," and many more began sharing their stories of struggling for their ideals...

this moment……

The screen was flooded with "Go for it!" and "Salute!" messages, accompanied by yellowed manuscripts, a leaky kettle, and one cheap prop after another flashing across the lens...

Everyone at this moment...

stunned.

finally……

The camera focuses on Zhou Yang...

Zhou Yang walked into the old office, sat down in the chair, and looked intently at the media and everyone in the camera's view...

Very sincere, very serious...

"Along the way, many people have asked me what I think of Hollywood movies..."

"Even at this juncture, many people feel that I should be angry..."

"but!"

"In fact..."

"I will never speak ill of Hollywood, just as a child will not speak ill of the strict teacher who taught him to walk!"

"..."

(End of this chapter)