Huayu: King of Kung Fu

Chapter 142: Was it Xiaohu who instructed you?

The affair between Lin Hu and Zhou Xun, who had a child out of wedlock, caused a huge uproar last year.

Although things calmed down considerably afterward, the release of "Better Days" this year brought up the old story again, with many media outlets recounting the ins and outs of the Lin-Zhou romance.

The spread of these gossip stories isn't all bad; at least it generated a lot of buzz for the movie.

Many students were bored during their summer vacation, so they went to the cinema to watch "Better Days." After watching it, they found it to be quite good and started spreading the word among their classmates.

Overall, although Lin Hu doesn't practice kung fu, he used his fame and gossip news to generate initial buzz and attract a group of viewers to the theater.

The film's realism and brutality resonated deeply with many viewers, leading to its widespread positive word-of-mouth.

Ultimately, amidst fierce competition and a plethora of blockbusters in the summer movie season, it carved out a niche for itself, earning 3700 million yuan at the box office.

It outperformed films like "The Mummy 2" and "Romantic Cherry Blossom" released around the same time.

"Better Days" is a movie about school bullying in mainland China. Hong Kong people shouldn't be able to empathize with it at all, but thanks to Lin Hu's name, it managed to draw a group of people to the cinema.

It actually grossed HK$860 million at the box office, which was quite a miracle.

According to the agreement, Peter Chan's team will receive 20% of the Hong Kong box office revenue.

They received over a million this time, and combined with the previous package deal of six million, they made over seven million, which is quite good.

As for Lin Hu's gains?

He received over seven million yuan from the box office revenue of "Better Days" in mainland China, which just offset the remuneration of Peter Chan's team.

The overseas rights were sold for over two million US dollars thanks to the hype surrounding Zhou Xun's Best Actress win.

Overall, this movie not only won Zhou Xun a major award, but also made Lin Hu a fortune, making it a very worthwhile investment.

When Lin Hu and Fan Binbin returned to Beijing, the initial cut of "My Sassy Girl" had already been completed.

Everyone gathered together to watch it, and Lin Hu felt it was good. It not only captured the essence of the original, but also did a very good job in localization.

However, the background music hasn't been added yet, so it doesn't look quite right.

Peter Chan suggested having Eason Chan sing the theme song "I Believe," and Lin Hu had no objection, saying, "Then you find someone to write the lyrics, and have him sing the Cantonese version!"

Lin Hu can write lyrics in Mandarin, but not in Cantonese, even if he can speak Cantonese.

Because Cantonese lyrics emphasize rhyme, the tone of the lyrics must be consistent when sung and when read aloud.

This is very difficult and requires professional lyricists.

Even a master of lyrics like Wong Jim would slowly flip through a rhyme book when composing lyrics.

Lin Hu had no professional training, yet he could write lyrics on the spot, which was very strange.

Hiring someone to write lyrics wouldn't cost much, so he stopped trying to show off.

As for the Mandarin version of "IBelieve", Lin Hu felt it would be more appropriate to invite a mainland singer.

Often, a single song can make a singer an overnight sensation.

When Lin Hu went to see Xiao Hua, he handed "I Believe" to Zhou Xun and said, "This is the theme song of 'My Sassy Girl.' See which of your friends is suitable to sing this song, and give it to him."

Zhou Xun hummed the song once and said, "This song is really nice, how about we let Sha Bao sing it?"

"Either is fine, it's your decision!"

Sha Baoliang is a very good singer, but he's not doing so well right now. It will take another two years before he becomes a household name across the country with his song "Dark Fragrance".

Zhou Xun has a tomboyish personality and is very loyal. She asked Sha Baoliang to help her, and they spent a few days working on "I".

"Believe" has been recorded.

When Lin Hu and Chen Kexue heard it, they sang it with deep emotion and tender sentimentality; it was very beautiful.

Peter Chan was quite satisfied and said to Lin Hu, "Beijing is truly a place where hidden talents abound. This Sha Bao's singing has the flavor of Jacky Cheung. If he were in Hong Kong, he would have been famous long ago."

Lin Hu remained noncommittal, saying that there were plenty of mainland singers who ventured to Hong Kong, but only Faye Wong became a superstar.

Red is a mystery; it cannot be quantified or predicted.

Unless there's a bug like Lin Hu, who has foresight and uses resources destined to become popular to feed the project.

Sha Baoliang was overjoyed to receive this song and was extremely grateful to Lin Hu: "Thank you for entrusting me with this song!"

"Don't mention it. It was Xun-ge who recommended you. You're her friend, so you're my friend too!"

As soon as Sha Baoliang got back, he called Zhou Xun: "Old Zhou, I think Lin Hu still loves you. Haven't you ever thought about getting back together with him?"

Since Lin Hu started dating Zhou Xun, Zhou Xun's friends have received various performance opportunities. First Huang Bo, then Huang Jue, and now Sha Baoliang has also gotten a good song.

Zhou Xun's prestige among her friends has risen rapidly, and now her friends are all urging her to get back together with Lin Hu.

If an ex-girlfriend is like this, what if Zhou Xun became Lin Hu's wife? Wouldn't everyone get rich?

Zhou Xun was incredibly annoyed and complained, "Why are you all acting as mediators? Did Xiao Hu send you all to do this?"

Sha Baoliang looked completely bewildered: "What do you mean 'all'? Who else is there?"

"Huang Jue, Huang Bo, you all say that Xiao Hu is good to me and want me to get back together with him. I think you are just after your own interests and want to get benefits from him. I will never help you again."

Sha Baoliang quickly said, "I'm innocent! I genuinely think he treats you very well, and you two have a child, right?"

Zhou Xun said, "He's Xiaohua's father, so what's so strange about him being nice to me? But things aren't what you think. I won't get back together with him, so please stop talking about it."

Zhou Xun stopped talking to Sha Baoliang, hung up the phone, and felt inexplicably irritated.

She hugged Xiaohua tightly, kissed her little face, and murmured, "Baby, I really wish the three of us could live together, but—Mommy can't!"

Zhou Xun's feelings for Lin Hu were very complicated. She had not forgotten Lin Hu, but she could not accept that this bastard had other women besides her.

To reiterate, if she loves someone, she wants them all; she doesn't care for just half!

On the outskirts of Beijing, in Fengning.

Bashang is a transitional terrain between the North China Plain and the Mongolian Plateau.

Between the plains and the plateau, the terrain rises abruptly, forming a stepped landscape; the flat land in between is called the dam area.

The crew of "Brotherhood of Blades" filmed the final battle scene here.

In August, the grasslands are lush and green, with waves of grass rippling outwards, stretching endlessly like a green sea.

The film crew found a birch forest and decided to film there.

The three faced off, and Zhao Jingzhong had no chance of winning against Shen Lian and Ding Xiu alone.

Just then, a troop of cavalry galloped across the grassland from afar.

The leader shouted in Manchu, "Who is the friend that General Li Yongfang invited for the Great Khan?"

Zhao Jingzhong's face lit up with joy. He took off his hat, revealing his braid, and shouted loudly, "Bibala Zhao Jingzhong!"

Lin Hu felt a strange urge to laugh!

In most TV dramas, the hairstyles depicting Qing Dynasty figures are half-bald with a shaved head.

However, the hairstyle Lin Hu gave Wu Jing only had hair on the back of his head, making it a proper rat tail.

It's incredibly accurate!

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