Chapter 3: The First Sino-American Blockbuster in History!

Inside the room.

Under the dim light.

Shen Long lay on the desk, taking a deep breath.

To make money!

To make money!

He kept hinting it to himself.

But the moment he flipped open that script outline and saw "Sun Wukong Battles Superman 2"...

He instantly closed his eyes, feeling a tightness in his rear, as if ten thousand grass mud horses were galloping.

What the hell is this crap!

After a long while...

He finally opened his eyes, thought through the happiest things in his life, and flipped open the script pages of "Sun Wukong Battles Superman 2" again.

A million in investment; if we shoot it stingily, maybe we can barely make a living!

At worst, don't put my name on it, or use a pen name.

It's just...

The moment he put pen to paper and started writing that nonsense plot, he felt his life was basically over.

………………………………

The night in Yanjing City.

Brilliant and noisy.

Zhou Yang, dressed in a crisp suit, arrived at the Tianqiao Bridge in a refined manner.

The Tianqiao Bridge was lively; every few steps you could see a few long-haired street singers wailing like ghosts...

Zhou Yang stopped in front of a long-haired singer wearing ripped jeans and watched silently.

This singer was immersed in his singing; once he got into it, he shook his head and body as if on drugs, imagining he was performing at a globally watched concert.

But no one nearby was listening at all, and the guitar case was completely empty, with hardly any bills inside...

This person was Shen Long's younger brother, Shen Hu.

In 2003, rock music in Hong Kong and Taiwan was still very hot, and Yanjing was a holy land for many traffic singers to drift.

Countless youths who hadn't even graduated high school, who smoked, fought, and went to clubs, would hear a few rock songs, read a few biographies, then get blood-boiling, grab a guitar, and squat on the Yanjing Tianqiao Bridge to sing.

Shen Hu was one of them, and the most typical one.

One song finished...

Shen Hu suddenly took a gulp of mineral water, glanced with his peripheral vision at the empty guitar case, couldn't hide his disappointment, but soon tilted his head back and continued playing the guitar with considerable arrogance.

"Next, I bring you an original song of mine, 'Night of Skipping School'..."

A singer's creations are mostly related to their own personal experiences.

Meet many women, and the songs sung are all about women's inner thoughts...

Get heartbroken many times, and you create sad love songs...

Be a single simp for too long, and you sing the simp's song with deep affection.

Shen Hu hadn't graduated high school, had little knowledge in his belly, and even less social experience, but he felt he was full of artistic cells; he locked himself in a rental room and created for a week, finally producing a proud "Night of Skipping School."

"Night of Skipping School" was a must-sing song every day; once he opened his throat, his voice would tear your heart out as if his parents had died.

The first time Zhou Yang heard this song, he thought Shen Hu was wailing bitterly in front of a funeral hall; his immediate thought was, "Hell, do I need to give a condolence gift?"

Sure enough, the moment Shen Hu opened his throat, it attracted the gaze of many passersby to stop.

It's just, everyone's expression was very strange, all whispering among themselves.

"Damn, that sudden wail scared me!"

"Is this person's brain not normal?"

"There are many people who've gone crazy from singing lately; stay far away..."

"Yeah, right..."

"..."

Zhou Yang watched some people who were startled, muttered a few words softly, then dragged their companions away in a hurry, and then looked again at Shen Hu, who was immersed in his own world, self-satisfied.

Zhou Yang found it extremely amusing.

After Shen Hu finished his ghostly wailing and saw everyone around keeping their distance, he was suddenly a bit disappointed.

His gaze accidentally landed on Zhou Yang, then his eyes became somewhat eager: "Boss Zhou, how was my singing?"

"Awesome!"

"Can you release an album?"

"Of course you can release an album!"

"Really can release an album?"

"Can release!"

"But those people..."

"What do those people matter? You must believe in your talent, persist in your art!"

Zhou Yang pushed up his glasses, looking utterly sincere: "Among the singers I know, you are absolutely the most talented one!"

"Brother Zhou, do you really think so?"

"Otherwise, why would I sign you?"

"True, hehe..."

Shen Hu smiled sheepishly, handed Zhou Yang a cigarette; Zhou Yang waved his hand: "I don't smoke, I quit. By the way, I'm preparing to shoot a movie, 'Night of Skipping Class'. Revise it according to my requirements... I'll release an album for you then..."

"Really?" Shen Hu's spirits lifted instantly. He hurriedly leaned toward Zhou Yang, showing a flattering smile: "President Zhou, do you think my image is suitable?"

"Sure, the image is very OK, not much worse than those top stars..."

"Should I shave my hair?"

"No need to shave... it's very good... Remember, you must maintain this image. When the time comes, I'll give you a role in the movie, letting you bloom in both film and music!"

"Thank you, thank you, President Zhou, thank you!" Hearing this, Shen Hu's spirits lifted again; his not-so-bright brain instantly filled with gratitude and longing.

Zhou Yang patted his shoulder, glanced at the guitar case on the ground, and seriously adjusted his glasses: "I have no small change left. I'll take this money to buy some drinks and pay you back later..."

"Okay, okay, take it... Oh, pay back what? What kind of relationship do we have? No need to pay back. President Zhou, if you do this, we'll become strangers!" Shen Hu heard this and instantly panicked. He grabbed the money and excitedly stuffed it into Zhou Yang's hand, fearing Zhou Yang would refuse.

"Ha, deal!" Zhou Yang chuckled, adjusted his glasses: "You continue singing, ha. I'll go busy myself with movie casting. By the way, you must persist in being yourself, understand! You are about to succeed!"

"Okay, okay." Shen Hu nodded like a chick pecking at rice.

Watching the well-dressed Zhou Yang walk silently step by step toward the distance, only turning back to hug his guitar after he had disappeared.

Just at this moment...

A thin, small singer nearby hesitated for a while, then finally couldn't help but approach Shen Hu.

"Shen Hu, haven't you noticed? These past two days, he has been scamming you out of money!"

"President Zhou is going to release an album for me!"

"Release an album? Are you crazy? Don't you know your own worth? You release an album? Will he really release that 'Funeral March' for you?"

"I... That's not a funeral. That's 'Night of Skipping Class'. That's a tribute to youth. That has deep emotions inside. That is art..."

"Stop daydreaming... Do you really think anyone will listen to the crap you created? Wake up! Look at those people, see them? Their expressions looking at you are just like looking at a fool or an idiot... Moreover, wake up! How could someone who even scams a few yuan possibly lose money to help you release an album?"

"..."

Shen Hu's face turned bright red. He wanted to refute but had no words. He lowered his head for a long time, finally picked up the broken guitar again, and continued to sing like a ghost crying and a wolf howling under the overpass.

The thin singer looked at Shen Hu and shook his head, thinking this guy was possessed by a demon.

…………………………

Ten o'clock at night.

The evening breeze blew.

The entrance of Yanjing Academy was filled with all kinds of luxury cars.

Long-legged girls one by one half-resisting, half-yielding climbed into these luxury cars.

Zhou Yang strolled over to the security room of Yan Ying and silently watched those luxury cars one after another.

"Damn it!"

"Damn, rich people are just great, directly achieving freedom with women! And every day they are different..."

The security guard Zhang Sun cursed quietly in a place not covered by the surveillance camera, then casually took the cigarette Zhou Yang handed him and started smoking.

"Old Zhang, can I put up an advertisement on your security room wall?"

"What advertisement?" Zhang Sun took a puff of smoke, turned his head, saw Zhou Yang had handwritten a recruitment notice, and instantly froze: "Recruiting actors?"

"Yes, want to make a whole movie..."

"What the heck? You want to shoot a movie?"

"Yes..."

"Shooting a movie costs a lot of money. Are you sure you have the funds?"

"Money is not a problem for me..."

Zhang Sun looked at Zhou Yang with some disbelief.

One month ago, while strolling by the river, he saw Zhou Yang climb out of the water and was startled.

Later, he hurriedly pulled the person up. The moment he learned the other party was the president of a company, Zhang Sun thought he had misheard.

Is there a president who dresses so shabbily? Moreover, he is too young, looking like a student...

But thinking about it later, he probably figured this president must have gone bankrupt, couldn't take it and jumped into the river to commit suicide, but failed to die.

Anyway, from that day on, this President Zhou came to his security room every few days, either to mooch the daily new newspaper or to mooch a lunch...

Zhou Yang adjusted his glasses.

Then he straightened his suit, walked outside the security room, and under Zhang Sun's gaze that questioned the meaning of life, pasted the actor recruitment poster.

The poster had a line of prominent large characters: 【The World's First Sino-American Co-Produced Blockbuster!】