Soul Returns to Hong Kong: From Tailor Shop to Richest Woman

In mid-February, the damp chill in Hong Kong had not yet completely dissipated.

After the copy of "Death by Light" was sent out of the editing room, Su Zhihao hardly slept a full night.

During the day, he would take his film reels to the cinema to negotiate film scheduling. At night, he would return to his Causeway Bay apartment to review the accounts, and halfway through, he would curse the director, and after cursing the director, he would curse himself.

"Two million six hundred thousand." Su Zhihao sat on the sofa, tapping his fingers incessantly on the coffee table. "If this goes wrong, I'll really have to go back to Kowloon City to clean up the mess."

Su Jun was doing math problems at the dining table when he heard this and immediately said, "Old Dou, don't say such unlucky things."

Su Zhihao glared at him: "You even know anything about auspiciousness?"

Su Jun muttered under his breath, "Of course I understand. If this movie makes money, you'll be in the mood to film a second and third season, and you won't have time to look for a stepmother."

Su Zhihao angrily retorted, "What nonsense are you spouting, you good-for-nothing?"

Su Cheng sat next to him, reciting English vocabulary: "What he said makes sense."

Su Zhihao: "..."

Su Zhihao grabbed a cushion from the side, intending to throw it, but then realized that his two sons had indeed been much more well-behaved lately.

All things considered, Lin Ying's hundred yuan per lesson was well spent.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The first round of screenings for "Death by Light" was arranged in midnight screenings at Hong Kong cinemas, plus a few spare screenings at smaller cinemas after the Lunar New Year.

Director Zou thought it was already pretty good. "Brother Hao, the new film isn't well-known, and the actors aren't big names either. The fact that the theaters are willing to give it a midnight screening as a trial is already a favor to Boss Peng and you."

Su Zhihao's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot: "I invested 2.6 million, and you're just letting me test the waters?"

Director Zou sighed, "That's how the film industry is. If it sells out on the first night, they'll naturally add more screenings the next day. If nobody watches it on the first night, even giving you a prime-time screening won't help."

Su Zhihao was speechless; in the film industry, box office numbers are everything.

So on the day of the premiere, he unusually changed into a suit, his hair was slicked back, and he stood at the theater entrance with a smile even brighter than the ticket sellers.

The poster for "Death by Light" is pasted on the wall.

In the image, a coffin shop assistant is holding a rooster, with a row of zombies covered in yellow talismans behind him.

The poster's colors aren't particularly sophisticated, but they're eye-catching enough.

Lin Ying stood in front of the poster and looked at it for a while.

Lin Qian tilted his head back: "Sister, did you really write this?"

"Um."

"Why aren't any of your people on that list?"

"I'm a screenwriter, not an actor."

Lin Qian nodded as if he understood, then asked in a low voice, "Will it be scary later?"

Lin Ying glanced at him: "Are you scared?"

Lin Qian immediately puffed out his chest: "I'm not afraid!"

Today, everyone from the Lin family who could come was here; Lin Lanying specially closed her tailor shop for half a day, and He Dazhu changed into a clean coat; Lin Fu and Li Yuzhen rushed over from the New Territories, and Lin Yaoying and Deng Hui also came with Lin Yue.

The whole family stood at the theater entrance, chatting and laughing. Lin Ying knew they were there to support her.

When Lin Lanying bought the tickets, she placed her hand on the counter and said, "Nine tickets."

The ticket seller looked up at her and said, "It's a midnight show, huh? There are a lot of kids here, don't be scared and cry."

Lin Lanying raised an eyebrow: "My daughter wrote the play, why would she be afraid?"

The ticket seller was taken aback.

Lin Qian immediately added from the side, "My older sister is a screenwriter!"

The ticket seller glanced at Lin Ying again and smiled, "Oh, little screenwriter, I wish you great success at the box office."

Lin Ying nodded politely, "Thank you."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The moment the theater lights dimmed, Lin Ying's fingers unconsciously tightened around the armrests of her seat.

Whether a film is good or not is entirely up to the audience to decide!

In the first scene, Ah Shun, a coffin shop assistant, is hunched over keeping watch at night. He makes three mistakes with his abacus, and the boss scolds him from behind, "You can't even calculate the money for the dead."

Someone in the theater chuckled.

Then, Ah Shun delivered the wrong coffin in the middle of the night and accidentally stumbled upon a Taoist priest's ritual. The priest was chanting incantations with his eyes closed when, in the next moment, a chicken hidden under the table pecked at his trouser leg, causing him to jump up...

On the other side, the Su family also arrived, with Su Yongchang and Li Fenglan sitting in the front row.

The Su family sat in the middle.

Su Zhihao, along with Su Cheng and Su Jun, sat in the back. Halfway through the movie, the audience burst into laughter.

Su Jun grabbed Su Cheng's arm: "Brother! They're laughing! They're really laughing!"

Su Cheng whispered, "I heard you, don't pinch me."

Su Jun then looked at Su Zhihao: "Old Dou, are we about to strike it rich?"

Su Zhihao didn't answer. He continued to stare at the screen until the last scene, when Ah Shun, despite his fear of blood, drew a talisman with chicken blood and stuck it on the zombie's forehead while vomiting. Laughter and applause mingled together in the audience.

Su Zhihao finally breathed a sigh of relief, muttering under his breath, "Damn, that scared the hell out of me."

Su Jun immediately said, "Old Dou, are you too busy to get married lately?"

Su Zhihao rubbed his temples: "You idiot, you're thinking about this even while watching a movie?"

Su Cheng added from the side, "This shows that he has a sense of crisis."

Su Zhihao: "..."

He suddenly felt a pang of nostalgia for the days when his two sons only knew how to play video games.

As the movie ended, Su Yongchang walked up to Lin Ying and said to her, "Ying, that was a good movie."

Li Fenglan also laughed: "I'm so old, I'm being laughed at to death by that fake Taoist priest."

Su Zhiming said gently, "It's quite remarkable that you can write with this kind of commercial rhythm at your age."

Chen Meishan held her hand: "Aying, you're going to be something else in the future."

Su Jun popped out from behind: "Of course she's amazing! She's my tutor now, and she's also my dad's cash cow!"

Lin Ying glanced at him: "Did you memorize those twenty English words for today?"

The smile on Su Jun's face vanished.

Su Cheng simply pulled him back and said, "Go back and carry me."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The first night's midnight screening didn't immediately become a sensation, but word-of-mouth spread quickly.

The next day, an extra headline appeared in the entertainment section of the tabloids at the street newsstands.

The midnight screening of the new-style supernatural comedy "Death by Light" was met with enthusiastic responses, with the audience laughing continuously.

On the third day, several theaters called to ask if they could add more screenings.

When Su Zhihao answered the phone, his face was flushed: "Add me! Of course I'll add you! You should have told me sooner! I have a copy here, I can access it!"

He hung up the phone and turned to shout at Su Jun, "Go! Call your sister Lin Ying!"

Su Jun asked reluctantly, "Now?"

"Now!"

"She's probably doing her homework."

"Then you should wait until she's finished!"

Su Jun held the telephone and dialed a number with a wronged expression.

When the call came in from Lin's Tailor Shop, Lin Ying was checking Lin Qian's arithmetic.

Lin Lanying answered the phone: "Which side?"

On the other end of the line, Su Jun shouted, "Aunt Lin! It's Su Jun! I'm looking for Lin Ying! It's important! My dad says the theater needs to add more shows!"

Lin Lanying, holding the microphone, turned to Lin Ying and said, "Sister, the theater needs to add an extra showing."

Lin Ying stopped writing with the red pen in her hand.

He Dazhu poked his head out from the inner room: "What does 'adding a performance' mean?"

Lin Ying happily explained, "It means that sales are starting to pick up."

Lin Qian immediately jumped up: "Does that mean we're going to make money?"

Lin Ying answered the phone, and Su Jun shouted loudly on the other end, "Lin Ying! My dad said he's adding another show! He said your fortune is safe!"

Lin Ying said, "School starts tomorrow in São Paulo."

Su Jun slammed the phone down...

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

At the end of February, school started in São Paulo. Lin Ying walked into the school gate with her schoolbag on her back, and all eyes were on her.

Previously, everyone's attention was mostly focused on her being the top student in her grade. Now, someone is whispering in the hallway, "It's her, the screenwriter of 'Death by Light'."

"Really? She's only in fourth grade."

"My mommy took me to see it, and I laughed until my stomach hurt."

"My dad said that play is very good at captivating the audience."

Lin Ying ignored her and went straight upstairs into Class 1 of Grade 4.

As soon as she sat down, Tang Shiya leaned over and said, "Lin Ying, I went to see it this weekend."

"Um."

"It's really good. I was afraid of ghosts at first, but I kept laughing afterwards."

The boy in the front row with round-framed glasses turned around: "Lin Ying, is making movies fun?"

As soon as the question was asked, several nearby students gathered around: "Are there really a lot of celebrities on set?"

"When you're writing a script, does anyone ever serve you tea?"

"Does the movie make a lot of money when it's released?"

"Will you continue writing?"

The classroom was twice as lively as usual.

Lin Ying hung up her schoolbag, took out her textbooks, and looked around: "Don't even mention it, all my wealth is in there."

Several classmates were stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter: "How old are you? And you've already got all your assets listed there?"

"She's a screenwriter!"

"My mom says that writing movies is really great."

"She's not only good at exams, she can also write films."

Tang Shiya looked at Lin Ying with admiration in her eyes. While she, at the same age, was still shedding tears over her monthly exam rankings, Lin Ying had already put her name on the movie screen.

When Mr. Luo walked in with his lesson plan, the classroom wasn't completely quiet yet. He tapped on the podium: "Alright, everyone, sit down."

The students quickly returned to their seats.

Inspector Luo looked at Lin Ying with a smile in his eyes, but didn't say anything in front of everyone.

Before even opening the attendance list, he said, "Being able to study is a skill, but being able to do things outside of books well is also a skill. But for today's first class, we still need to finish the Chinese lesson."