Chapter 35: Chang

Fang Hong, Liu Tianxian, Chen Zhixi, Li Xian, Cai Wenjing, and other creators and actors were already seated in the front-row seats prepared for them.

Zhu Yirong didn't come—he graduated and went to look for a job!

When the film began, after the dragon logo, a white rabbit appeared on screen.

The rabbit was incredibly cute, running toward empty space, and as it ran, a goddess dressed in ancient attire, peerless in grace, floating as if about to ascend, slowly materialized.

The rabbit, full of spirit, ran straight into the goddess's arms!

The goddess held the rabbit, gently stroking its white fur, then lifted her head at a 45-degree angle to gaze at the void, beautiful and confident.

The image froze, and four golden characters appeared beneath: Yutu Film Industry!

This animation was specially commissioned by Fang Hong from classmates in the Animation Department at Beijing Film Academy.

The audience in the theater showed little reaction, but the woman's face looked strangely familiar—as if they'd seen her somewhere, yet couldn't place it.

The animation was somewhat inaccurate!

Liu Tianxian stared at the woman on screen, touched her own face, and leaned in, lowering her voice: "Who did you base this goddess on?"

"You. Isn't she beautiful?" Fang Hong said.

Liu Tianxian frowned: "Why base her on me?"

"It was urgent, the budget was tight, redesigning would've been time-consuming and expensive, so I just traced your features—simple and efficient," Fang Hong explained.

"So I'm just a cheap substitute, then!" Liu Tianxian complained.

"Don't say that—I'm promoting traditional Chinese culture. The United States has a goddess holding a torch; China needs an Chang'e holding a jade rabbit."

Liu Tianxian laughed and sighed, exasperated—how could this man come up with such a thing? She tapped his arm: "You should change it, or people will misunderstand."

If the media finds out, they'll spin all sorts of nonsense.

"Fine, I'll change it next time," Fang Hong agreed.

This animation is still too crude—it needs refinement; it must be replaced.

"You'd better keep your word," Liu Tianxian said.

"Of course I will. Let's watch the movie!" Fang Hong gestured.

Seeing his seriousness, Liu Tianxian fell silent, crossed her legs, and watched the film intently.

Although she starred in this film, shooting and the final product were two different things—she hadn't known the exact visual outcome during filming, at most knowing the general story.

"In 1998, I was sixteen."

The film's narration began with these words, then: Those Years, the girls we chased.

Appeared on the big screen!

Journalists and critics in the theater whispered to each other—some already knew the film's origin.

When people gather, information spreads quickly!

But they didn't know whether the film had secured rights, so they hadn't yet suspected plagiarism.

Of course, most viewers didn't know—they'd never read the novel Those Years or even heard of it.

They only learned about it after the film became a hit!

The film's visuals now differed slightly from what she'd seen at China Film Group—color graded and finely edited to flow more smoothly.

Though the early scenes were quiet, they never dragged—the pacing was excellent.

{The boy was caught reading pornography in class and was moved by the teacher to sit in front of the girl. }

{The girl forgot her textbook, so the boy gave her his—and got punished. }

{The girl saw the drawings in the boy's book and smiled. }

{The girl began monitoring the boy's studies. }

{Under the girl's supervision, the boy's grades soared; she asked him to stay after school with her and made a bet. }

{Though she won the bet, she still tied his hair into a ponytail for him! }

The audience had been silent until Liu Tianxian appeared with her ponytail—her pure, youthful image was stunning!

A soft murmur of "Wow" rippled through the theater.

The film had a filter applied, enhanced by sunlight and environmental lighting—her youthful beauty left the audience staring, marveling at how truly gorgeous this girl was!

One could only say Liu Tianxian had exceptional presence—fresh, ethereal, untainted by the world.

Though Fang Hong had seen it before, he still found it beautiful—this film needed her as the female lead.

No acting required—just standing there, she was: the girl we chased!

The immersion was overwhelming!

At this point, the film entered the "Loved" phase!

{The girl was admitted to Normal University and parted from the boy; before leaving, he told her: Don't let another guy chase you too fast! }

{They released a sky lantern; the boy confessed his love to the girl! }

By this point in the plot, some viewers sat upright, faces serious, eyes fixed on the big screen.

The theater was quiet, but the audience was gradually resonating—this simple, pure love, this uneventful college life, was exactly what many had experienced.

"Why do you organize these fighting contests and get yourself hurt? How can you be so childish?!"

"Childish?!"

"Yes, childish! Very childish!"

"I'm childish—that's why I chased a girl who studied hard. I'm childish—that's why I chased you for so long."

"Then don't chase me!"

On screen, the male and female leads argued in the rain; the girl watched the boy's retreating back without looking back, heartbroken, shouting:

"Idiot!"

"Yes, I'm an idiot!"

"Big idiot."

"Only a big idiot would chase you for that long!"

"."

The female lead cried, and the image of the rain falling on her struck straight at the audience's hearts — they ached right along with her!

Someone let out a breath, and feelings of regret and reluctance spread through the theater!

Liu Tianxian tilted her head to look at the man beside her. His outline was dim, but she wasn't looking at his appearance — she was looking at his heart.

She kept feeling this movie was hinting at something!

The girl who studied hard was basically her now; the immature boy was basically him in his fallen state!

The gap in status, the gap in money, and the gap in personality the film hinted at — the gap between loving to read and not loving to read — felt about the same.

Actually, she was overthinking it. The real reason Fang Hong made this movie was simply to win and to make money — he hadn't thought that much about it.

Of course, if Liu Tianxian thought that way, Fang Hong would admit it too!

The film's plot moved into its closing stage. During the SARS incident, the male lead was very worried and gave the female lead a call.

The audience saw that the female lead was already looping her arm through another boy's, and they knew it was too late.

That night, the two of them gazed together at the bright moon in the sky, imagining the version of themselves in a parallel time-space.

"Those Years, the heavy rains we missed"

"Those Years, the love we missed"

"How I want to hold you, to hold the courage we missed"

"."

At the wedding scene, the boy, in order to kiss the girl, forcibly kissed the groom instead, and the background music echoed through the entire theater.

It was edited quite nicely — no one thought it sounded bad!

The image on the screen shifted: in the parallel time-space, the boy embraced and kissed the girl, the scene warm and romantic!

But the audience knew this was only a beautiful fantasy. They had missed each other after all, and feelings of regret and being moved filled the entire theater.

(End of chapter)