[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-i-only-know-how-to-ride-the-trend":3,"chapter-i-only-know-how-to-ride-the-trend-i-only-know-how-to-ride-the-trend-chapter-2":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","I Only Know How to Ride the Trend!",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2343483,4580,"Chapter 2: Strong Men Never Complain About Their Environment!","i-only-know-how-to-ride-the-trend-chapter-2",2,"\u003Cp>June 2003.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The news that Hollywood’s film “Superman 2” was about to premiere globally sent shockwaves through China’s film industry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This superhero film, with an investment nearing $150 million, attracted countless investors the moment it was announced in the early 2000s.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Throughout the three years of production, China’s film magazines and countless rumors surged like a tidal wave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A set of data showed that from the year 2000 to 2003, sales of Superman-related toys across China skyrocketed exponentially.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All of this stemmed from the 1987 Hollywood film “Superman 1,” which swept the globe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How massive was the impact of “Superman 1” on the global market?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When “Superman 1” premiered in Japan in 1987, it shattered box office records in Japan’s so-called “superhero graveyard,” records that still led by a wide margin after the millennium.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In China at the same time, “Superman 1” drew nearly 80 million viewers to theaters, earning 24 million RMB with tickets priced at just 30 fen each.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>China’s domestic box office champion that year, “Kung Fu Hustle,” earned only 15 million RMB!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Due to the film’s overwhelming influence, it even reversed-exported into comics, prompting many artists to redesign Superman’s appearance to resemble Christopher Reeve.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this world, Superman was the childhood hero of countless young children.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sixteen years later, when “Superman 2” was about to premiere and rumors spread that it would feature the world’s most advanced Hollywood visual effects, half of China’s film industry erupted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is cultural output. As pioneers of Chinese cinema, we must make films with style, with skill, with confidence!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the rented apartment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Yang pushed up his glasses, his eyes blazing as he stared at director Shen Long.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shen Long’s throat moved slightly as he trembled while gripping the script titled “Sun Wukong vs. Superman 2.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He lowered his head and nervously flipped open the script; the moment he saw the first line, his vision went black.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Superman is swept by a tornado from America into China, then caught in a temporal current, finally landing in the Journey to the West world, where he meets Sun Wukong.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Temporal currents, time travel, tornadoes, the Journey to the West world—each element piled together, exploding inside his skull.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sat there for a long time, unable to recover.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Zhou, Zhou Zong, we… I, I…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He began stammering, his gaze Buganzhishi  Zhou Yang’s eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Heaven!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What merit did he have to direct such a mind-blowing film?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Yang seemed to anticipate his reaction, handed him a cup of coffee, and smiled: “Director Shen, don’t you want to make films?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I, I… I do, but I…” He felt his hands gripping the script burn hot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Director Shen, I know you’re talented, but since graduation, you’ve been drifting in Beijing, with no one wanting you—except for wedding photography, earning a hundred yuan a day. Until now, you’ve never created a single personal masterpiece. Do you know why?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you want to spend your whole life as a wedding photographer, living in obscurity? Are you content that in the future, your classmates—less talented than you—will win Golden Rooster Awards, Golden Horse Awards, chase Oscars, and become world-famous directors?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I don’t want to, but Zhou Zong, I, I…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Yang sat down, adjusted his tie, and patted Shen Long’s shoulder: “Make this film well, and I’ll launch you into the sky.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the rented apartment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, silence fell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shen Long lowered his head, opened his mouth as if to speak, but after trembling for a long time, he said nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the year 2000, he graduated from Beijing Film Institute’s Photography Department…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For three years, full of ambition, he stayed in Beijing, determined to rise through talent alone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After two years, he was swindled out of tens of thousands by a shady production crew, worked a whole year for free, failed to collect his wages, and, starving, finally took a job at a wedding company as a photographer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, the wedding industry demanded cheerfulness, high emotional intelligence, and social finesse—he, with an ordinary appearance, shyness, and average emotional skills, kept losing out in competition. Since March this year, he’d lost his job and couldn’t find another suitable one…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His younger brother Shen Hu fared even worse. For some reason, he dropped out of high school, packed his guitar, and followed him to Beijing to “struggle.” He believed himself a genius and constantly created music.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But his songs drew zero attention. He sang under Tianqiao for three years, fell into debt, couldn’t even afford a new guitar, and was nearly a beggar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One day, by chance, they met a man in a sharp suit, always carrying a thick briefcase—“Zhou Zong.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That night, Zhou Zong treated the brothers to barbecue, handed them a business card labeled “Xuanshi Entertainment,” and said: “Come work for me. I’ll push you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over the next ten days, Zhou Zong moved into their rented apartment under the pretense of “assessing” the brothers’ talents.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though he claimed to be assessing, he seemed always busy, coming and going at odd hours—but often brought them meals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sometimes steak, sometimes pasta, sometimes Japanese food…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeah, none of it was cheap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Today, as usual, Zhou Zong brought them steak, then told him he planned to invest in his film.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The film’s title? “Sun Wukong vs. Superman 2”—a name that made your butt clench.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Night.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Deep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A breeze blew through the window.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under the nearby Tianqiao, a street singer’s voice rose in song.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Raw, ragged, heart-wrenching.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Yang sat on the chair, listening to the wind-carried song, silently watching Shen Long’s bowed head, his face lit with a bright smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A month ago, he arrived in this world with only 100 yuan to his name.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After recalling carefully, he realized the original owner had just lost his father to cancer, been laid off by his factory, left penniless, and thrown out of his apartment by his landlord.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Overwhelmed, the original owner jumped into the river and washed ashore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Zhou Yang woke up choking—and decisively went to a street stall, bought a cheap secondhand suit and a bag, then cut his own hair with scissors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As someone from his original world who’d made a living in shady dealings, Zhou Yang absorbed these memories without feeling anything extraordinary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ha. With just a suit, even old horses would bow and call him “Zhou Zong.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This past month coincided with the Asian financial crisis; China’s economy was in transition, and countless small businesses were swaying in the wind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Yang used every channel to learn about this world while actively approaching misfortuned individuals across industries, inviting them to meals under the guise of “equity investment.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d originally thought Shen Long and Shen Hu were dumb fools he could scam for free meals and a place to stay.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he found they were even poorer than him—barely able to afford food.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as he was about to give up, Zhou Yang suddenly realized: though Shen Long was naive, he had a spark of talent—and needed only one chance to soar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What mattered most in the 21st century?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Talent!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Director Shen, have you decided? Are you going to make it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I…” Shen Long lowered his head, fell silent for a long time, then gritted his teeth: “How much investment?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“One million.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“One million…” Shen Long lowered his head, thought for a long while, then said bitterly: “One million isn’t enough to make a film…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Say what you lack. I’ll fix it.” Zhou Yang watched Shen Long’s expression and smiled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I lack a lot…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fine. Write down everything you need on paper. I’ll handle it. For the next two days, don’t go looking for jobs—just stay at our ‘Xuanshi Entertainment’ and polish the outline of our film, ‘Sun Wukong vs. Superman 2.’ Understood?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Zhou Zong, are we really making this thing?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Strong men don’t complain about their environment. In two days, I want your outline turned into a viable script. I’ll review it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“By the way, make sure it’s positive energy, understood?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shen Long lowered his head, fell silent for a long time, then forced out a smile worse than crying: “Zhou Zong, it’s fine—but can you take me to see our ‘Xuanshi Entertainment’ headquarters?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The headquarters is still under renovation—nothing worth seeing. When the time comes, you’ll know.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Zhou Zong, I’m going to say something blasphemous—do we even have a company?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Time is money. Stop dawdling. Our film must release before ‘Superman 2’ comes out, understood?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So soon?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Yang said nothing. He pushed up his glasses, patted Shen Long’s shoulder again, and looked out the window.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a long while, he smiled: “Director Shen, in two months, let ‘Superman 2’ become the stepping stone to your success!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(Back to entertainment, writing feel-good stories, no pretentious literary nonsense.!!!!!!)\u003C\u002Fp>",1462,"2026-06-20T23:43:44.409Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","4f4281bdde52909980cbd080c00e3db76a6cfb30a0ff4aa3f0da984b018afa18","i-only-know-how-to-ride-the-trend-chapter-3","i-only-know-how-to-ride-the-trend-chapter-1",101,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fi-only-know-how-to-ride-the-trend-cover.jpg"]