Chapter 93

"Holy crap? That's Xu Can!"

Leonard in the audience seats whispered in shock.

"Huh?"

The people around him looked closely, and finally made out Xu Can's features beneath that stubbly, weathered face.

"It really is him!"

His image and bearing had changed so drastically, he looked like two completely different people!

From the look of it, he was gravely wounded, on the verge of death — clearly he wouldn't last much longer.

Could it be that as the protagonist, he's going to get killed off right at the start?

Or maybe this is the final shot, and the whole film is a flashback?

The moviegoers continued watching with heads full of questions, but the opening's grim, cool, even faintly melancholic tone had already quietly taken root in the audience's hearts.

Xu Can was seen with blood on both hands, crawling step by painful step to the base of some stairs, using every ounce of strength to lean against the wall, and pulling a phone from his suit pocket.

His blood-smeared finger left a bloody handprint on the screen as he tapped open a video inside.

"What are you doing, John?"

In the narrow screen was a delicate, black-haired woman.

Gazing at the screen, the ferocity in Xu Can's eyes was gradually replaced by tenderness.

"I just wanted to look at you." The voice in the video was his own.

"Come here."

On-screen, the woman stepped forward and embraced him of her own accord; the mood was warm and sweet;

Off-screen, New York under the night sky was icy cold, and Xu Can lay all alone beside the warehouse, his grief beyond his own control.

In the video, the two kissed affectionately; Xu Can could no longer bear to watch, and the tough man closed his eyes in agony.

"Are you still recording…"

His hand no longer had the strength to grip the phone; his whole body lay flat on the ground, unconscious.

The camera pulled back, and the lone protagonist lay still in the night.

The background score swelled, its uneasy tones pricking at the public's nerves!

The screen faded to black, and a name slowly emerged on the right side.

【John_Wick】

The title: John Wick!

A simple set of shots, a few spare strokes sketching out a certain twilight-of-a-hero desolation.

Xu Can's weathered look and his richly layered acting had seized the audience's hearts right from the start.

The media and critics had originally intended to make an issue of his acting —

Being able to portray Spider-Man well didn't necessarily mean he could handle other roles.

But now it seemed… the drafts they'd prepared could be torn up; Xu Can's performance was truly beyond reproach.

If they wanted to nitpick, they could only wait to see how the story unfolded from here — whether they could dig up any logical holes, clichéd plot points, or sloppy action choreography.

What kind of decent action scenes can sixteen million buy?

While the critics were drafting their reviews in their heads, Xu Can suddenly felt an itch at his waist.

Emma Stone's little hand had sneakily reached over — was she tickling him?

"Mm?"

"Flirting with some little girl again? You won't even let an assistant off." Emma's gaze was deeply aggrieved.

She knew exactly how lethal Xu Can — the most handsome Spider-Man — was to women.

But Vanessa is his assistant!

That's right, the woman making a cameo as the protagonist's wife in the phone video was none other than Xu Can's personal assistant, Vanessa.

She had originally been on set helping Xu Can with various matters, and was pulled in at the last minute to shoot a scene.

There was even a kissing scene — a real, genuine kiss, not a camera-angle trick.

Xu Can did indeed share a deep kiss with Vanessa.

"It's for the scene… there's really nothing between us." Xu Can explained earnestly.

For now, nothing had actually happened… for now.

"Emmm…" Stone sis pursed her lips and turned back to the movie.

But her hand lingered in Xu Can's palm, and she didn't pull it away.

……

Beep beep beep beep—

A shrill electronic alarm woke John Wick; beyond the enormous floor-to-ceiling window was New York's dim, hazy blue pre-dawn sky.

In the vast mansion, John Wick was alone.

Another hollow, plain day.

While waiting for the coffee, moments with his wife kept flashing unbidden through his mind.

Anyone who has lost a beloved knows that memories cannot be controlled.

The accompanying sting is the same.

A few quick-cut flashback inserts cleanly conveyed the once-warm daily life and the backstory of his wife's falling ill.

The handling was crisp and efficient, drawing involuntary nods of admiration from the professional critics.

"David Leitch and Xu Can are both first-time directors…"

"Could they really be geniuses?"

"Fun fact: some shots of Spider-Man were also directed by Xu Can..."

The film continues.

After attending his wife's funeral, John Wick returns to his empty house, his eyes hollow.

Just then, a deliveryman arrives at the door, bringing a dog crate and a letter.

"John, I'm sorry I can't spend the rest of my life with you."

"But your life cannot be without love... so start with her."

"I love you, John."

"I have found eternal peace; you should seek your own peace too."

The beagle in the crate stares with wide eyes at its new master; she cannot understand human tears, cannot comprehend his overwhelming grief.

Xu Can's heartbroken expression is so infectious that many female audience members in the theater even have tears glistening in their eyes.

Including Emma Stone.

"Wuwuwu..."

Xu Can glanced at the silly girl beside him who was barely holding it back; why are you crying?

Sharp-eyed critics noticed that before the puppy appeared, the room and the visuals were filled with cool tones.

When the puppy arrived, the lighting in the room also turned warm.

This small detail handling explains the puppy Daisy's important status in the protagonist's heart.

Is the entire film the puppy's redemption?

Is it an inspirational story of the protagonist pulling himself together?

Wait, then what about the killing in the trailer?

With more and more questions, the on-site audience is already immersed in the plot and continues to watch.

After a period of peaceful life, John Wick's expression is obviously much more relaxed.

The puppy happily calls him to wake up every day; life seems to gradually have hope.

One day, John Wick drives his beloved sports car out to get gas,

and meets a few thugs speaking Russian at the gas station.

The thugs admire John Wick's car endlessly; a 1969 classic Ford Mustang Boss 429, truly a fine car.

The other party wants to buy it; of course, John Wick refuses.

The thugs, angry and ashamed, curse in Russian: "Everything can be bought with money, you bastard."

Who knew John Wick would respond in equally standard Russian: "Except for this car, you idiot."

For such gang thugs, John Wick truly has no desire to struggle with them and drives away on his own.