Reborn in Hollywood

Chapter 98 Mom's Going to Race

The sea breeze blew in my face, carrying a salty, damp smell.

The sunlight shone on the motorcycle, making Li Rui feel warm and cozy.

The accelerator was quickly twisted to the floor.

The motorcycle sped off like an arrow, the wind whistling past my ears.

Li Rui had never felt this way before—when driving a car, you are encased in a metal shell; but when riding a motorcycle, you are directly exposed to the wind.

That feeling of freedom is completely different.

He rode north along the coastline for almost an hour.

When we finally stopped, we had already passed Malibu and were almost at Santa Barbara.

Li Rui parked the car on the side of the road and looked at the sea in the distance.

The sun began to set in the west, and the sea shimmered.

He suddenly realized that he was starting to like this thing.

Others riding motorcycles might worry that they're like meat wrapped in iron, and that if an accident happens, they'll definitely die.

But Li Rui wasn't afraid.

He has Force perception, Force healing, and reaction speed far exceeding that of ordinary people.

The dangers faced by ordinary people are no problem for Li Rui at all.

Composing himself, Li Rui turned his bike around and started riding back.

By the time we got back to Malibu, it was almost dark.

He parked the motorcycle back in the garage and glanced at the Mustang.

The pearl-white car body still looked beautiful under the lights, but Li Rui knew in his heart that it would inevitably be neglected in the future.

At six o'clock in the evening, Li Rui picked up his backpack, got into the Mustang, and drove all the way to the airport.

The chartered plane is still waiting for him.

The plane landed in Asheville a little after 1 a.m.

Li Rui walked out of the airport, where a car sent by the film crew was waiting for him.

Back at the hotel, Li Rui had just entered his room when there was a knock on the door.

He opened the door, and Kate was standing in the doorway.

She was wearing a loose bathrobe, and her hair was wet, clearly she had just taken a shower.

Kate walked into the room and sat down on the sofa.

"How was the premiere? I saw in the news you were really in the spotlight, almost as famous as the lead actor."

Li Rui's heart beat a little faster, and he sat down next to Kate.

"It was just attending a premiere, nothing special, but I did receive a generous gift after the premiere."

Kate frowned slightly.

"What kind of generous gift?"

"Ten handcrafted motorcycles, worth at least 300,000 yuan on the market, were a gift from Keanu."

Kate was taken aback by what she heard.

"Ten cars? All of them were gifts from Keanu Reeves?"

"Yes, ten vehicles."

Kate gently patted her forehead.

"Giving away ten motorcycles at once—what was Keanu Reeves thinking?"

Li Rui shrugged.

"You wouldn't understand even if I told you, Keanu is my good bro!"

Kate didn't press the matter further, but simply rolled her eyes.

She leaned back on the sofa and looked at Li Rui.

"The film crew resumes work tomorrow, are you ready?"

Li Rui grinned mischievously.

"You shouldn't have said that to me; you should have asked someone else in the crew."

Kate instantly guessed what Li Rui was thinking and couldn't help but roll her eyes again.

She knew in her heart that someone was about to cheat again.

The next morning, Li Rui arrived on set on time.

After a three-day break, the entire crew has recovered.

The staff were in high spirits, the actors were in great form, and director Francis was full of energy.

Li Rui's Force quietly dissipated once again.

It's still not about forcibly controlling things, but rather about going with the flow to make everyone's attention more focused, their cooperation more seamless, and every shot smoother, so that everyone works together as one, with everyone working as one.

The effect is also immediate.

The first day was originally planned to shoot five scenes, but we ended up shooting eight.

Nine scenes were filmed on the second day.

The third day, ten shows.

Francis looked at the progress chart every day, his expression a mixture of emotions, but he had basically gotten used to it or rather, resigned himself to his fate.

Kate privately told Li Rui.

"At this rate, filming should wrap up in less than a month at most."

Li Rui nodded.

"Isn't this great?"

Kate glanced at the other people around her.

"Aren't you afraid of being discovered?"

Li Rui chuckled.

"Discovered what? Discovered the film crew is moving quickly? That's not necessarily a bad thing."

Kate did not say anything more.

She did this to let Li Rui know what was going on. As long as Li Rui could control the overall situation, the filming progress could be faster—faster would be better!

As time went on, the filming progressed more and more smoothly.

Li Rui films during the day, spends his evenings with Kate, occasionally video chats with Jessica, and also deals with the barrage of text messages from Lima and Ambrosio. He also occasionally flirts with Jennifer on his phone.

Poor Natalie has been completely forgotten by Li Rui.

On June 3, the last scene was filmed, and the entire series officially wrapped up!

Li Rui stood in the center of the studio, while the staff around him began to dismantle the set.

One by one, the lights were turned off, and the props were moved away.

Director Francis walked over and punched him.

"Rafi, congratulations on wrapping up filming. You can go on vacation now."

Li Rui nodded.

"The rest is up to you."

Kate came over and stood beside him.

Francis said with a smile.

"Post-production will take several more months, and we might need you to come back and add a few more shots."

Li Rui and Francis gave each other a high five.

"I'm ready to serve you anytime."

After leaving the film set, Li Rui and Kate rode in the same car to the airport.

At 10 p.m., the plane landed in Los Angeles.

Li Rui and Kate walked out of the airport and got into their respective cars.

Kate reminded Li Rui before leaving.

"Don't forget what you promised me."

Li Rui's eyes widened.

"What is it?"

Kate didn't know if Li Rui had genuinely forgotten or was just pretending, so she could only bring up the topic.

"Next year's Oscars!"

Li Rui smiled helplessly.

Women, they just love to fuss over these little things.

"Don't worry, I won't forget."

Kate nodded in satisfaction, got into the car, and drove away.

Li Rui got into the Mustang, started the engine, and drove towards Malibu.

It was already 11 p.m. when we got back to the cliffside mansion.

He parked his car and went into the garage.

The ten motorcycles were still there, parked neatly in a row.

Moonlight streamed through the car window, casting a soft glow on the black body of the vehicle.

Li Rui walked over and touched the handlebars of one of the bikes.

Cool, smooth, and with a great texture.

He suddenly felt a bit itchy to touch his hands.

Although it was almost midnight, Li Rui still pushed one out and started the engine.

The roar was particularly clear in the night, and Li Rui went straight onto the Pacific Coast Highway.

The night breeze was cool, and the highway was deserted, with only a few cars passing by occasionally.

Li Rui rode north at breakneck speed.

More than half an hour later, he stopped at a viewing platform by the roadside. Below him was the pitch-black Pacific Ocean, with twinkling lights in the distance.

Li Rui leaned against the motorcycle, looking at the sea in the distance, and suddenly understood why Keanu Reeves loved riding motorcycles so much.

It's not because it saves money or is environmentally friendly; I just really enjoy the feeling of riding the wind, and it's addictive.

Li Rui stayed on the viewing platform for more than 20 minutes, then rode his bike back.

The next morning, Li Rui rode his motorcycle again and cruised along the coastline.

This time he rode even further, all the way to Santa Monica before stopping, having breakfast at a seaside café, and then riding back.

In the afternoon, he switched to another motorcycle and continued riding.

For three days in a row, Li Rui did nothing but eat, sleep, and ride his bike.

On the afternoon of the third day, he was riding his motorcycle through an intersection when he was photographed by a paparazzi with a camera.

The next day, his photo appeared in local news and newspapers.

The titles are varied and diverse.

Raphael Lee's New Hobby: Motorcycle Racing

Keanu Reeves' successor?

From Mustangs to Motorcycles: The Fast and Furious Adventures of Hollywood's New Elite

Even Li Rui found those reports funny.

The phone rang very quickly.

Li Rui took it out and looked at it—it was his mother.

"mom."

Madeline's voice came through the phone, tinged with obvious worry.

"Rafi, don't ride too fast."

Li Rui sensed the worry in his mother's tone, so he lowered his voice.

"Don't worry, Mom, I'm really careful and I won't ride too fast."

Madeline sighed.

"I hope so, and I hope you're not just giving me the runaround."

Li Rui quickly smiled apologetically and responded cautiously.

"How could that be? Every word Her Majesty the Queen said is etched in my heart!"

Madeline snorted.

"Just remember that. If I find out you're riding too fast, I'll go pick one out myself and race you to see who's a better rider."

Li Rui swore and made vows, finally managing to dissuade Madeline from her idea of ​​"racing" with him.

Madeline gave a few more instructions before hanging up the phone.

Li Rui put away his phone and wiped away non-existent sweat from his forehead.

He understood his mother's concern, but he couldn't tell her that he was the only superhuman in the world.

Looks like I'll have to ride my motorcycle less often from now on.

Or you could be more careful while riding, so you don't get spotted by paparazzi again.

Just a few days after returning from Asheville, Li Rui was still recovering from the exhaustion of months of intense filming when the phone rang.

He glanced at the caller ID—Ali.

When the call was connected, the voice on the other end sounded a little weak.

"Rafi, are you alright now? There's something I need to tell you."

Li Rui leaned lazily against the sofa, his tone somewhat languid.

"Go ahead and speak, I'm listening."

Ali cleared his throat.

"The marketing campaign for Pirates of the Caribbean is about to begin."

Li Rui was stunned for a moment.

"Pirates of the Caribbean? It's releasing on July 9th, and it's only June 6th now, what's the rush?"

Ali chuckled.

"It was originally planned to start in late June, but someone saw the news a few days ago about you speeding on a motorcycle in Malibu—"

'

Li Rui sat up straight.

"What do you mean?"

Ali's tone became even more hesitant.

"When the people at Disney saw the news, they thought you were doing so well and since you were just sitting around doing nothing, they might as well start the promotion early. They suggested it to Bruckheimer, and Bruckheimer agreed."

Li Rui paused for a second, then burst into a tirade of curses.

"Fuck! I just got back from the film set, after shooting for three months straight! And now you're telling me I have to go do publicity?"

'

Ali listened on the other end, waiting for him to finish cursing before speaking.

"Raphael, I know you're tired, but it's written in the contract that publicity and promotion are necessary obligations, and the working hours are fixed. The specific time is up to Disney. They use the contract as an excuse, and there's nothing I can do about it."

Li Rui took a deep breath.

"So it's my fault? I shouldn't have ridden the motorcycle?"

Ali gave a wry smile.

"That's not entirely true—but it's true that if you weren't so high-profile, they wouldn't have targeted you so quickly."

O

Li Rui cursed again.

"Okay, I got it. When do we start?"

Alibaba checked its schedule.

"Tomorrow. There's a launch meeting at Disney headquarters, and Bruckheimer is attending in person. You have to go."

Li Rui rubbed his temples.

Send me the address.