Huayu 1999: Starting with nothing but getting something for nothing

However, Yang Che quickly calmed down. He needed to find something to pass the time. Although there was a TV on the armrest with more than fifty classic Japanese and Hollywood movies to watch, he didn't want to watch them.

Then I could only read English books and write the outline for the script of "The Myth".

He discovered this while writing "My Robot Girlfriend"—he really enjoyed writing this kind of thing. Although it was plagiarism, there was undeniable creative pleasure in it, since it wasn't just a simple copy and paste.

Of course, Yang Che wasn't just making "The Myth" for these reasons. He planned to release it around the same time as "Hero," which was also a shortcut.

Myths are stories created by combining various folk tales and historical records, and they revolve around the struggles for Qin Shi Huang's elixir of immortality and his women.

The First Emperor was truly pitiful!

This story, much like Cheng Er's "The Wasted Times," is essentially a slightly embellished version of the Green Gang's demise, and there's not much to say about it.

But these kinds of stories are just so captivating. Before time travel and destiny became overused, any story that came up with them was guaranteed to be a hit, like "Love Across Time"...

And so I continued reading and writing until the flight attendant gently reminded me that I could look at the side of the plane.

Yang Che glanced sideways upon hearing this. The sky was dotted with starlight, a bright expanse, yet it wasn't a city, because the lights were arranged in a very regular pattern.

"This is Riverside, the biggest lighting ceremony in Los Angeles. Because it's almost the 21st century, this year's lighting is the largest, with a total of 20 million lights."

"You're beautiful, just like you, Ms. Yoshino."

The flight attendant gave a standard smile: "Thank you for your compliment. My journey is about to end. Please forgive me if there was anything I didn't do well. See you again sometime."

"See you again someday" is said in Chinese.

"goodbye."

Yang Che nodded. Clearly, he didn't have a face that would make this Yoshino girl swoon, so he didn't have a note.

Unlike twenty years later, when the price of a bag of rice could buy you a sixteen-year-old in Okubo Park, of course, you have to be careful, as there's a high probability she has syphilis, since they take pride in being infected with syphilis.

Don't laugh at them. Since 2020, the number of Chinese university students has been increasing on a large scale due to HIV infection, and it is increasing at a rate of 30% per year. By 2025, the number of students infected will be the third largest in the world, second only to India and South Africa... far ahead of the rest.

Forty minutes later, at 2 a.m., the plane landed.

Yang Che passed through customs at 3 a.m. The temperature in Los Angeles was around 10 degrees Celsius, which was very comfortable, a typical Mediterranean climate.

At the exit, Wu Shixian, who looked noticeably heavier, was spotted, and the two shared a bear hug.

There was a black guy next to me who started whistling, damn it!

Wu Shixian grinned: "Brother Che, you must have had a long journey!"

Yang Che sighed, "It was really tough. I persevered for nine hours straight without closing my eyes once."

"Come on, you're getting all worked up just because I called you fat. You don't smell tired at all."

Yang Che curled his lip: "I paid for my own first-class ticket, but it's true I didn't sleep."

"Let's go, how's 'My Sassy Girl' doing in Japan and South Korea?"

"That's wonderful... but things are still best in China, let me tell you..."

So Yang Che told Wu Shixian about the important things that had happened recently. The guy listened in stunned silence, and was very envious. America must be so boring.

Afterwards, the two took a taxi to a hotel near the airport, which was quite basic.

It wasn't that Wu Shixian was putting on a show; it was because he had to transfer to a flight to the salt flats in six hours, and there was really no need to stay in an expensive place.

Yang Che didn't say anything. After sending a text message to his parents, Yuanyuan, and Bingbing, each for one dollar, he was about to catch up on sleep. He hadn't slept for so long on the plane just to avoid jet lag.

Mom: "Your dad and I just had dinner and are watching the news, so you don't need to worry about us. But you, running around in the dead of winter, make sure you wear more clothes, drink more hot water, and send a text message or make a phone call every day."

Bingbing: "Okay! You have to be good too, bro. Bro, the box office in Taiwan for 5 days is 150 million, oh, that's RMB. Love you."

Yuanyuan: "It only came to my belated realization that the kiss I'd been longing for all this time was gone. The thought of us being separated by such a distance has made me quite sad, and I've been feeling down for over two days. When you're not busy, you should tell me a few jokes."

Another item was a summary of box office figures from various countries sent by Liu Chang.

1750 million RMB and 211 million USD in mainland China;

Taiwan, China: NT$560 million, US$18;

Hong Kong City, China: HK$550 million, US$70;

11 billion won in South Korea, which is approximately US$95.

$6 in Singapore;

US$7 in Malaysia;

$5 from Indonesia.

Totaling $412 million.

When Yang Che saw these text messages again, it was already 8:30 a.m. Los Angeles time on December 12th. He was woken up by Wu Shixian's knocking on the door.

Besides the three text messages, there was also a phone call from Han Sanping, but Yang Che neither replied to the text messages nor returned the call because Wu Shixian had overslept... Of course, it was the middle of the night in China at that time.

Neither of them washed up, and with messy hair and sleepy eyes, they rushed towards Los Angeles Airport. Fortunately, they boarded the plane to Salt Lake City at 9:30 a.m. without any major incident.

Yang Che was starving, and there were no meals provided on the plane. It was tough.

In the front row sat a redneck with body odor, and in the back row sat a black woman with body odor mixed with cheap perfume. Yang Che felt like he was going to die, and his face turned pale.

Even the blonde, freckled girl next to him wasn't interested in chatting him up; of course, she didn't even notice Yang Che's Asian face.

The only saving grace is that the flight only takes one hour and 15 minutes.

After getting off the plane, Yang Che breathed in the dry, cold air of Salt Lake City and said through gritted teeth, "I'm going to make money! I'm going to buy a private jet!!!"

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

"Bebi, come here, let me give you a hug."

At the Salt Lake City airport arrival gate, Gong Beibi slapped Yang Che's outstretched hand away and said irritably, "Why do you have to say things in such a lewd way?"

Yang Che immediately stopped smiling: "I'm sorry, I offended you and Lao Wu."

Wu Shixian shrugged and smiled to ease the tension: "Now you know why I like her, right? I was determined not to date anyone in the entertainment industry."

Gong Beibi rolled her eyes, but then opened her arms and hugged Yang Che with a smile: "Everything went smoothly, right?"

Yang Che smiled and said, "Everything went smoothly before I came to America."

At this moment, Yang Che looked at Laurie Torrone, who was 1.9 meters tall and still had short brown hair. He was also the producer of "Saw".

It was just a simple greeting.

The four then traveled in a Chevrolet Blazer to Park City, where the Sundance Film Festival is located.