Huayu: King of Kung Fu

"This story takes place on a high school campus. At the beginning, a girl fell from the school building with a thud..."

Zhou Xun was stunned. She felt that this scene was somewhat similar to the Category III film "Shocking Change" that she had just watched, in which a woman fell from a building.

However, she didn't interrupt, but leaned on Lin Hu's shoulder and continued to listen.

"Our story's protagonist is a high school senior named Chen Nian. She's introverted but has excellent grades. The girl who fell from the building is named Hu Xiaodie, Chen Nian's classmate. When the police questioned Chen Nian about the incident, she didn't say anything, and Hu Xiaodie was ruled a suicide..."

Zhou Xun listened quietly, sensing more similarities emerging. Both deaths were ruled suicides by the police, but there seemed to be more to the story.

"Hu Xiaodie committed suicide because she was bullied by her classmates and suffered school violence. She could not bear the humiliation."

"Wei Lai, a troublemaker at school, was afraid that Chen Nian would tell the truth, so she and a few friends threatened Chen Nian after evening self-study..."

On her way home, Chen Nian encountered a boy named Xiao Bei, a street thug who spent his days fighting. Xiao Bei's life changed when he met Chen Nian…

"Xiao Bei starts protecting Chen Nian every day, and their relationship grows stronger, but the conflict between Chen Nian and Wei Lai also intensifies..."

"Finally, one day, Wei Lai died. The police arrested Xiao Bei, who confessed to killing Wei Lai, but..."

"Actually, Wei Lai was accidentally killed by Chen Nian. Xiao Bei recreated the murder scene and took the blame for Chen Nian..."

……

The story Lin Hu told Zhou Xun is called "Better Days".

This is a romantic crime film starring Zhou Dongyu and four-character actors from the original timeline. It grossed 15 billion yuan at the box office and swept the awards season that year.

Zhou Dongyu won nine Best Actress awards for this film, including the Hong Kong Film Awards, the Golden Rooster Awards, and the Hundred Flowers Awards.

That was the year mainland Chinese films stopped participating in the Golden Horse Film Festival; otherwise, the Golden Horse Best Actress award would have been hers too.

Lin Hu has always believed that Zhou Dongyu is a weaker version of Zhou Xun.

So, the films that made Zhou Dongyu successful could also make Zhou Xun successful.

Therefore, when Lin Hu decided to help Zhou Xun's career take off, he immediately thought that Zhou Dongyu had several good movies that were worth taking advantage of.

As for what to do with Zhou Dongyu? That's none of Lin Hu's business.

There aren't many good scripts for Chinese-language films, so Lin Hu naturally prioritizes his beloved Xun Ge'er!

……

The story wasn't long, but Lin Hu told it in great detail, taking a full hour to finish.

It tells the story of how Chen Nian was bullied, how Xiao Bei protected her, and how two lonely people relied on each other for survival...

Zhou Xun found the story very touching, but something still felt off.

Because she had just watched the Hong Kong Category III film "Shocking Change" with Lin Hu, and the relationships between the characters in that film felt very similar.

But these are two completely different stories.

Set in a Hong Kong metropolis filled with scheming among adults, the film ultimately depicts Simon Yam's character's willingness to die, suggesting he was manipulated by Irene Wan.

Set in a school in mainland China, the story depicts the purest feelings between teenagers. In the end, Xiao Bei willingly takes the blame for Chen Nian, but Chen Nian confesses her crime to the police.

After Lin Hu finished speaking, Zhou Xun asked incredulously, "You... did you adapt this story from the movie 'Shocking Change'?"

Lin Hu stated matter-of-factly, "That's right, Chen Nian is Irene Wan, Xiao Bei is Simon Yam, Xiao Die is Simon Yam's wife, Zhang Jianting is Wei Lai, and the police officer is Wong Chi-wah..."

Lin Hu immediately matched the characters in the two stories to the real people in the stories.

He said, "The movie 'Shocking Change' is about the backstabbing and scheming among adults. Although it's very erotic, it's not very meaningful."

"I borrowed this story framework to tell about the deceit and treachery in the city, and adapted it into the pure feelings on campus, which I believe will be more touching."

Zhou Xun really liked the script, and the role of Chen Nian was very challenging.

But something just feels off. I don't understand what Lin Hu's thought process is, that he would actually turn an urban Category III film into a campus romance film.

After hearing Lin Hu's story, she wished she had never seen the movie "The Shocking Change".

Lin Hu, however, said in a serious tone: "In this story, Xiao Bei said to Chen Nian, 'You protect the world, and I will protect you.'"

"Brother Xun, you're an actor, it's one thing to protect the world. But you can use your screen image to add color to this world, and I'm willing to always protect you!"

In the interactions between Lin Hu and Zhou Xun, Zhou Xun's emotions were expressed more passionately and she took a more proactive approach.

She devoted herself to Lin Hu without complaint, helping him find resources and solve his predicament.

He even emptied his own savings to support Lin Hu's film production.

She also loved expressing her love to Lin Hu, saying things like "I love you," "I miss you," and "I want you"...

Whether it was helping Lin Hu's career or providing emotional support in their relationship, she gave him everything.

Lin Hu rarely said such things because he was carrying Zhou Xun and Gao Yuanyuan on his back, and he was actually a little guilty.

Moreover, he hasn't done anything for Zhou Xun so far, and he actually feels quite sorry for her.

This was the first time Lin Hu had taken the initiative to secure resources for Zhou Xun, and also the first time he had spoken passionate words of love to her.

"Xun-ge'er, I'm willing to protect you forever!"

Zhou Xun was deeply moved. She hugged Lin Hu and said affectionately, "Little Tiger, I love you!"

……

Lin Hu and Zhou Xun lay side by side on the bed, discussing how to film "Better Days".

Lin Hu made it clear that although he tailored the script for Zhou Xun, he would not direct it because he only knows how to make action films.

Zhou Xun then asked, "What do you think about having Lou Ye direct this film?"

Lin Hu shook his head: "Lou Ye only makes dull art films. Our film, 'Better Days,' actually has commercial appeal."

It has suspense, innocent romance, and a focus on reality; it's also the classic trope of a good girl and a bad boy.

It should be commercially successful, so I need to find a director who can make commercial films to direct it.

"Then who should we look for?"

In Lin Hu's mind, the most suitable person to be the director is Peter Chan.

Because the original "Better Days" was produced by Peter Chan, and the director Derek Tsang is his protégé.

This film has a distinct Peter Chan style, and it's likely that Peter Chan himself starred in it.

Moreover, Derek Tsang hasn't made any decent films since leaving Peter Chan.

Peter Chan is particularly good at making romance films. His film "Comrades: Almost a Love Story" is a classic of Chinese-language romance films, which Lin Hu really likes.

In Lin Hu's memory, Peter Chan is probably one of the Hong Kong directors who has integrated into the mainland in the most thorough way in later generations.

Most Hong Kong directors who come to the mainland to make films are essentially still making Hong Kong films. However, Peter Chan has made films like "American Dreams in China" and "Dearest," which are purely based on mainland themes and have achieved good results.

However, it took Peter Chan many years of dedicated work in mainland China for him to become proficient in handling mainland-themed works. He didn't know if Lin Hu would be able to handle a script he suddenly received.

Lin Hu made up his mind to contact them first.

So I called Raymond Wong and asked him to help me contact Peter Chan.

Unexpectedly, Raymond Wong said, "Peter Chan went to Hollywood!"