Huayu: King of Kung Fu

Chapter 139 You're back so soon?

"Lin Hu drives a surge in box office revenue across the Asia-Pacific region; 'Fast & Furious' sweeps the Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Southeast Asian markets!"

Mainland media outlets reported in detail on the box office performance of "Vegetarian Chicken" in the Asia-Pacific market, attributing it entirely to Lin Hu's personal appeal.

A B-movie with a budget of less than $4000 million grossed $2.5 million worldwide, a truly remarkable achievement.

Compared to the performances of actors like Chen Long, Jet Li, and Chow Yun-fat in Hollywood, the Chinese entertainment industry pays at least ten times more attention to Lin Hu.

The reason is simple: Lin Hu is a homegrown superstar from mainland China who rose to fame independently without relying on Hong Kong films.

Now that Lin Hu has successfully made his way into Hollywood, the media is going wild, with a huge number of reporters waiting outside the film set every day to report on him.

This made it extremely difficult for Lin Hu to go on dates with Gao Yuanyuan, as any chance of being photographed together would cause a huge uproar.

"Alright, that's all for today, let's call it a day!"

Lin Hu announced that work was done, took out his phone, and sent Gao Yuanyuan a text message: "I'll have dinner with you tonight!"

Gao Yuanyuan replied: "How are we supposed to eat? There are so many reporters watching."

"I'm going first to go home and get ready. You can take your time removing your makeup!"

"oh!"

Lin Hu went to get his car, and as soon as he left the film set, he was surrounded by reporters.

"Brother Tai, Universal Pictures is preparing for 'Fast & Furious 2,' but you withdrew from the project. Why is that?"

Lin Hu laughed and said, "I want to act but I can't. Michelle went to act in 'Resident Evil,' and I don't have a partner anymore."

"Is that why you're not acting?"

"Not entirely, because I have several film projects planned recently, and I also need to plan the future development of the company, so I don't have time to go to Hollywood to make movies for the time being."

"As a Chinese actor, breaking into Hollywood is not easy. Don't you feel it's a pity to give up like this?"

"I didn't say I wanted to give up on Hollywood. It's just that I hope to break into the European and American markets with authentic Chinese films. I want the whole world to see Chinese movies!"

Lin Hu's words were very sophisticated, which drew cheers and applause from the reporters.

The reason Lin Hu didn't continue acting in the sequels of "Fast & Furious" is because Dom Toretto wasn't involved in the second and third movies in the original timeline.

In the second film, Paul Walker took on the lead role, but the box office performance dropped significantly.

For the third installment, they even replaced Paul Walker and cast a completely different lead actor in "Tokyo Drift," which received even worse reviews and failed to break 100 million at the box office.

In the fourth installment, Dom reappeared and became the central protagonist, allowing the Fast & Furious series to be reborn.

If Lin Hu doesn't refuse the role now and continues to participate, he doesn't know what kind of script Hollywood will come up with.

He himself doesn't have much say in Hollywood right now and can't decide on scripts.

For example, if he directly presented the script for the fourth film to Universal and said, "I want to be the boss in this one, and Paul will play my supporting role," Universal might not agree.

Therefore, Lin Hu decided to temporarily withdraw.

After Universal releases the second and third installments and loses all their money, he can step in again and turn the tide – that would be the triumphant return of a king!

This kind of pretentious yet face-slapping plot, where nothing can be done without him, will surely make Chinese netizens ecstatic.

Lin Hu has exceptional observational skills, a benefit he gained from time travel.

Those reporters who wanted to take photos of him secretly, despite their various disguises, could not escape his eyes.

So even though he was being watched around the clock, those people couldn't actually get any pictures of him.

Unless it's something he wants reporters to photograph, like how he visits his daughter every weekend, which he doesn't hide from others.

But those reporters never managed to get a clear picture of Xiaohua's face.

Lin Hu drove his car back to his home at the Donghu Hotel.

He turned around, changed to another car, and slipped away through another door.

He made sure no one was following him before calmly getting onto the highway.

More than half an hour later, Lin Hu arrived at Rose Garden, another upscale villa district in Beijing that caters to foreigners.

His love nest with Gao Yuanyuan is right here.

Lin Hu parked the car in the garage, took out some groceries he had bought in advance from the trunk, went into the kitchen, and started cooking.

Halfway through, Gao Yuanyuan returned, entered the kitchen, hugged him from behind, pressed her whole body against his back, and didn't say a word.

The two were like twins, and Lin Hu let her stay close to him while he continued cooking.

"Try it!" Lin Hu picked up a piece of fish and fed it to Gao Yuanyuan.

"It's delicious, it tastes just like my mom's!"

"Really?"

"Really? How did you learn to make this dish?"

"You mentioned last time that your family still often cooks dishes from your hometown in Tangshan. You especially love your mom's 'Wa Kuai Yu' (a type of fish dish), so I specially learned how to make it and will let you try it."

"You're so kind!" Gao Yuanyuan was deeply moved.

It's rare to find someone like Lin Hu who's willing to put in the effort to cook and please a woman.

The two sat at the table eating, chatting about "Brotherhood of Blades" as they ate.

Lin Hu said, "The progress of 'Brotherhood of Blades' is a bit slow. It's estimated that filming will continue until August. As for 'Hero,' I will have to postpone joining the crew."

Lin Hu is mainly away from home. He left midway to promote "Fast & Furious," and now that "Better Days" is about to be released, he has to go promote it again. In total, it will take about twenty days to recover.

Gao Yuanyuan asked, "Should I go with them?"

"You don't need to film that, just film the final battle."

Gao Yuanyuan took a sip of water and suddenly said, "I won't be in your next movie."

Lin Hu then realized that he had made five movies, and Gao Yuanyuan appeared in every single one of them.

Lin Hu specifically sought out Gao Yuanyuan to star in "Ong-Bak";

Gao Yuanyuan only made a brief appearance at the beginning and end of Ong-Bak 2;

In the movie "Better Days", Gao Yuanyuan makes a cameo appearance as a female student who commits suicide by jumping off a building at the beginning.

In the novel "The Legend of the Martial Arts," Gao Yuanyuan is the male protagonist's wife.

In the currently filming movie "Brotherhood of Blades," Gao Yuanyuan is the woman the male lead likes.

Lin Hu laughed, "That's true! It's a pity that 'Hero' was directed by Zhang Yimou, so I don't have the final say. When I make my own films in the future, I'll definitely cast you as my wife!"

"I don't want to play your wife!"

Why?

Gao Yuanyuan didn't answer, but thought to herself, "I want to be your wife!"

After dinner, Gao Yuanyuan went to the kitchen to wash the dishes, while Lin Hu brought a chair, picked up a guitar, and practiced on the balcony.

He felt it was necessary to learn some music so that he could write classic theme songs for movies in the future.

There's no need to make up excuses like in the song "I Believe," where you have to come up with a ridiculous reason to explain yourself, and then have someone else cover for you.

Learn some music, practice an instrument, and I'll be a musician from now on, making it easier to find songs.

He played a few notes, and Gao Yuanyuan came out after washing the dishes. Lin Hu smiled and said, "Yuanyuan, I wrote a song, I'll sing it for you!"

Gao Yuanyuan was surprised: "You can compose music so quickly?"

Lin Hu said smugly, "Your husband is exceptionally gifted!"

Lin Hu has just started collecting songs, and he hasn't started with any classic ones yet; he wants to proceed gradually.

He strummed the strings and sang "Just Once," a theme song from the movie "Goodbye Mr. Loser."

"I want to see you smile, I want to joke around with you, I want to hold you in my arms. One second we're arguing with flushed faces, the next we're making up —"

Gao Yuanyuan listened quietly, feeling that Lin Hu was so gentle. Thinking that this was a song Lin Hu wrote for her, a warm smile appeared on her face.

"Just once, I'll take you to see the end of time, and laugh heartily on a sunny day—"

Lin Hu suddenly stopped singing the chorus.

Gao Yuanyuan asked, "Why did you stop singing?"

Lin Hu looked embarrassed: "Uh—I haven't finished writing yet!"

He's just stealing songs; the excuse that he didn't finish writing them is just that—an excuse.

He suddenly stopped because he saw two women walking by not far downstairs.

This surprised him greatly: "They're back so soon?"