Chapter 35

This stirred a sense of guilt in Xu Can; he had traveled thousands of miles to make a living, and he couldn't even return home for the New Year.

But if he didn't strive, he would only be stuck as an extra back home, unable to earn enough to provide his parents with a better life.

Ever since Xu Can had reported the interest groups by name, no director in the Chinese entertainment industry was willing to hire him.

Now that he had carved out a path in Hollywood, he had sent plenty of money home, allowing his parents to buy a new house.

It was a pity that the old couple didn't want to move to North America; they were used to their life in their hometown for decades, and moving would only make them unhappy.

"Oh, right!"

Xu Can suddenly thought of something.

"My movie should be released in a couple of days. You'll be able to see me in the theater then."

"Really? Then I must hurry and buy tickets."

"Let Xiaoling buy them for you. I'll give her the money; treat the whole family to the movie."

……

China, Zhenhai Experimental High School.

With the New Year approaching, the high school seniors still had to attend remedial classes. Xu Xu Yuling was working through practice problems during self-study when she suddenly heard the boys at the back desk discussing Spider-Man.

Because Spider-Man was exploding in popularity abroad, some rumors had reached the domestic scene.

"Spider-Man is about to be released. Are you guys going to watch it?"

"I heard Spider-Man is played by a Chinese person?"

"That's fake, right? How could Hollywood let a Chinese person act? You actually believe the media?"

"What's so interesting about Spider-Man? Is he as strong as Superman or Batman?"

"He could beat Batman to a pulp, no problem."

In this day and age, the only concept domestic kids had of American comics was Superman and Batman. Spider-Man was somewhat famous, and Captain America had only appeared in 8-bit FC games.

As for the likes of Iron Man and Thor, they hadn't even heard of them.

The surrounding classmates all joined the discussion, and Xu Xu Yuling couldn't help but join in the fun.

She knew her cousin was playing Spider-Man in Hollywood, though she didn't yet know what that meant.

"Spider-Man really is Chinese; my cousin is playing him."

Xu Xu Yuling's words made the classmates present go quiet for a moment... followed by an outburst of mocking laughter.

"Hilarious. Then I'm Superman."

"Your bragging is a bit ridiculous. I'd rather believe my brother is the President of North America."

"It's true!"

Xu Xu Yuling, unable to take it, pulled out her hidden phone and flipped through Xu Can's stills.

"Isn't this just cosplay?"

"I could buy a set of spandex, put it on, and say I'm Spider-Man too."

The other classmates in the class expressed their disbelief.

After all, the promotion for "Spider-Man" in mainland China had been outsourced to China Film Group.

Whether intentional or not, they hadn't highlighted that the actor playing Spider-Man was Chinese!

All the posters, both online and offline, only showed Spider-Man in his mask, and the cast list wasn't clearly written!

Xu Xu Yuling wasn't aware of the undercurrents here.

She only knew that the movie itself was ironclad proof!

"If you don't believe me, go watch it and see if Spider-Man is my cousin. If he isn't, I'll buy you breakfast for a month. If he is, you have to buy me breakfast for a month."

"Deal!"

The classmates in the back row had wanted to see the movie anyway, so they readily agreed to the bet.

Even if Spider-Man was Chinese, it couldn't possibly be Xu Xu Yuling's cousin.

The film would be released in two days, and it would soon be revealed! ===== CHAPTER 67 =====

Stone didn't have many scenes on set, only three or four.

The most important shot among them was the close-quarters combat between the female assassin and the protagonist, John Wick, in a hotel room.

This was the only scene Xu Can and Stone had together.

After Stone filmed a few more dramatic scenes, her character would be executed by the organization behind the scenes.

The fight scene in the hotel room was one of the few shots in the film that required multiple takes.

As opponents, Xu Can and Stone had to fight for their lives, and the combat was quite intense.

Choking with bedsheets, heavy punches to the face, shoulder throws, ground joint locks...

Even though they were a handsome man and a beautiful woman, they had to fight to the death.

Xu Can, while immersed in his character, could execute the fierce moves perfectly;

Emma Stone, however, kept breaking character, causing the director to call "Cut" repeatedly.

"Let's take a 5-minute break... Emma, don't be too tired. Adjust your state first."

Director David Leitch was very helpless.

The relationship between Emma Stone and Xu Can was clearly unusual, and since Xu Can was his investor, the director felt embarrassed to say anything harsh to the young lady.

Stone felt quite guilty and apologized repeatedly.

Xu Can pulled her aside:

"What's wrong? You're quite wild during our usual battles in the hotel, aren't you? Why can't you let go on set?"

"You... you're too bad!"

Stone's face turned beet red, and she shyly punched Xu Can.

The "battle scenes" he was talking about were their private battles; how could that be the same as filming on set?

"I'm always afraid of hurting you. Those action designs are quite dangerous, and you don't want to hire a stunt double."

Neither of them was willing to use stunt doubles; they both performed the shots themselves.

"You know my build. Don't worry, you won't cause me any harm."

"The main thing is, when I face you, it's hard for me to generate that kind of murderous ferocity..."

Stone looked at Xu Can with heartache and reached out to stroke his handsome face.

"How about this, I'll give you a trick..."

A moment later, they returned to work.

"Action!"

At the director's command, the camera rolled!

Xu Can and Emma Stone got into their positions and began filming.

This time, Director David Leitch clearly felt the ferocity erupting from Emma Stone's eyes!

She had completely transformed into the female assassin, determined to kill the "John Wick" in front of her!

Their movements were perfectly coordinated, with every punch landing with impact!

It made everyone on set nervous, fearing that they wouldn't hold back during the fight and end up injured.

Soon, after a series of realistic combat moves, the female assassin was thrown to the ground and crawled out of the hotel room, gasping for air.

"Cut!"

"Very good! Fantastic!"

This take was simply perfect! It captured that bloody feeling.

The female assistant quickly helped the sore Stone up.

Even though it was acting, Xu Can and Stone inevitably suffered some bruises and bumps.

"Ouch, it hurts so much."

Emma Stone complained incessantly.

"Emma, this take was great! What kind of spell did Xu cast on you?" ===== CHAPTER 68 =====