Chapter 115: Joker's Diary

"Little Chen, Little Chen."

Madam Liu's gentle voice woke Chen Nuo from his sleep. Opening his eyes, he saw this pretty face, no longer young but still charming, looking at him with a smile.

In fact, Liu Xiaoli was very angry right now.

She discovered that ever since Xixi met this boy in front of her, many things had started to change. On New Year's Day, just because she took her phone, she sulked for a whole day and night without eating, and didn't talk to her for three whole days.

In the past, this was an impossible thing to happen. At that time, as long as she coaxed her a little, everything would be fine.

And now?

The key is this Chen Nuo.

Whenever she encountered something related to him, Xixi never listened obediently once.

However, no matter how angry she was, in front of this boy, she could only hold it in.

Berlin Film Festival Best Actor, male lead in Wong Kar-wai's new film—she couldn't easily offend either title. Not to mention his current popularity across the two shores and three places, and even Southeast Asia.

Fortunately, this person and his agent were both stubborn and didn't understand hype. Otherwise, if he took advantage of the wind blowing after *Perhaps Love* was released, showed his face everywhere, and bought some headlines, it would definitely be a trend of soaring into the sky.

However, she never expected that as soon as they arrived in the US, Liu Yifei would go on a private date with this boy and get dead drunk. If... what should she do!

Liu Xiaoli was furious in her heart, but her face still wore a kind smile. Seeing Chen Nuo wake up, she asked gently: "Little Chen, how did you and Xixi meet? And drank so much. Look, I have to trouble you to take care of her; this is so bad."

In short, Chen Nuo was indeed a bit embarrassed. No matter what, Liu Yifei did get drunk with him. However, it wasn't easy for him to explain.

Chen Nuo had to take the blame: "Madam Liu, Liu Yifei and I haven't seen each other for a long time. Between friends, it's rare to meet in a foreign land, so we opened a bottle of red wine to celebrate. As a result, I wasn't careful and didn't control it. This matter is my fault; I'm really sorry."

Liu Xiaoli sighed and said: "Don't do this next time..."

At this time, Liu Yifei on the side suddenly propped up her body and said drunkenly: "Mom, it has nothing to do with him."

Liu Xiaoli hurriedly went over to help her up. "Xixi, are you awake? Let's go, Mom will take you home."

Liu Yifei wasn't awake. After she said this, she went completely limp, drunk in a mess. With Liu Xiaoli alone, she couldn't carry a living person over 160cm at all.

Chen Nuo looked and felt it wasn't appropriate not to speak, so he asked cautiously on the side: "Do you need me to help?"

Liu Xiaoli hesitated, chose between the few burly foreign waiters and Chen Nuo, and finally nodded to Chen Nuo. "Then I'll trouble you, Little Chen. Help me get her to the parking lot; my car is there. I've already paid the bill here, let's go now."

Well, at first the two were arguing back and forth, but in the end, neither of them paid.

Chen Nuo had to put in some effort. He walked to Liu Yifei's side, first put her arm around his neck, then supported her waist, and lifted her body up at once.

Liu Xiaoli watched Chen Nuo's somewhat rough movements from the side, and her heart felt like it was blocked by a stone, as if the treasure she had cherished all her life was suddenly being played with by someone in their hands.

She couldn't help but say: "Little Chen, be gentle."

"Okay, Madam." Chen Nuo was very obedient and immediately loosened his grip on Liu Yifei's waist. As a result, her whole body slid down. Chen Nuo hurriedly turned around and hugged her.

Not to mention, although Liu Yifei looked very slim, her actual weight wasn't light, and her body felt fleshy to the touch, almost unable to feel bones. Holding her was like holding a doll.

Not only was her body soft and comfortable to hold, but Chen Nuo also smelled a faint milky scent from her, mixed with the smell of alcohol, which was quite pleasant.

Liu Xiaoli saw Chen Nuo's movements clearly.

When Liu Yifei slid down, she was startled and almost screamed. Then, seeing Chen Nuo hug Liu Yifei tightly and even take a deep breath there, she was almost shattered.

She hurriedly walked over: "Little Chen, come, I'll help you. You just lift her arm, I'll support her waist."

Chen Nuo explained: "Madam, I'm sorry, I was just afraid she would fall to the ground."

You're still talking! Bastard, taking advantage and still acting innocent. Liu Xiaoli bit her back teeth and tried hard to maintain a smile: "It's okay, come, you lift her arm, let's go."

Chen Nuo and Liu Xiaoli worked together to help Liu Yifei out of the restaurant and stuffed her into the back seat of a Land Rover Discovery in the parking lot. Chen Nuo didn't expect that Liu Xiaoli, a woman, would actually drive this kind of car.

He stuffed Liu Yifei into the back seat, straightened up, and let out a breath: "Phew, Madam Liu, that's it. You guys go quickly, drive slowly on the way back."

Liu Xiaoli felt terrible seeing Chen Nuo stuff Liu Yifei in, wishing Chen Nuo would leave immediately. However, according to her habit of doing things, she still politely said: "It's okay, no rush for a moment. Little Chen, which hotel are you staying at? How about I drop you off."

As soon as Liu Xiaoli finished speaking, she saw Chen Nuo pull open the passenger door, step directly onto the car pedal, turn his head to say a hotel name, and smile: "Then thank you, Madam."

Liu Xiaoli was so angry she almost vomited blood, and forced a smile: "Why be polite, we are all so familiar. Get in the car quickly."

Chen Nuo's skin was thick because he was still dizzy. He didn't want to go to the side of the road in America to hail a taxi in this state.

After the car started, he dozed off in the passenger seat. However, Liu Xiaoli had recovered and couldn't suppress her curiosity, taking the initiative to ask: "Little Chen, why did you come to LA? Didn't I hear you were filming Director Wong Kar-wai's new film in New York?"

"Oh, it's already finished."

"Ah?" Liu Xiaoli said in surprise, "How long has it been? Has it been two weeks?"

"Hmm, 15 days."

So short?

Liu Xiaoli didn't say anything at once. Wong Kar-wai's style—who doesn't know it? What role is only filmed for 15 days? It couldn't possibly be the male lead, at most it's a small supporting role. It seems those media in China are also talking nonsense.

Also, she originally felt a bit strange about how this person suddenly climbed onto Wong Kar-wai's high branch. *Hehe*, it turns out he went to play a bit part in the film.

Liu Xiaoli sneered in her heart, but on the surface, she said: "Filming so fast, it seems the filming went quite smoothly."

Chen Nuo gave a "hmm," recalling his later scenes with Emma Stone, which were almost all one-take, and admitted: "It was indeed quite smooth."

*Hehe*, still pretending with me. Liu Xiaoli's mouth curled slightly. "Little Chen, if you become famous in the future, you must help Xixi more."

"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare." Chen Nuo's alcohol was coming up, and he started calling her by her nickname directly. "Xixi is more powerful than me, and earns more than me. It should be you and Madam helping me."

You know your place, knowing who is high and who is low. But is Xixi something you can call? Could it be that Xixi really has something with this kid? Liu Xiaoli pretended to be unintentional: "Your relationship with Xixi is so good, you should help each other in the future. Friends, more friends mean more paths, don't you think, Little Chen?"

"Yes..." Chen Nuo was just answering when the phone in his pocket rang.

It was already almost 4 PM. Chen Nuo saw the caller name was Qi Yuntian, and his heart jumped, knowing this should be the result of the negotiation.

"Madam, let me answer a call."

"Hmm, okay."

Chen Nuo answered the phone and said "Hello."

Qi Yuntian's voice was in Chinese, sounding very calm, but Chen Nuo knew him too well and could tell from his voice that he was suppressing his excitement.

"Michael Slane wants to talk to you on the phone. As soon as I went hard this afternoon, they softened. Now it's negotiated to $500,000 plus a 0.2% share. As long as you bite down and don't let go, I think we can negotiate a bit higher. It's just that I didn't expect this old fox to personally come down to negotiate such a small contract. Also, I think Warner is very strange this time. They would rather agree to our share requirement than agree to give more cash. Chen Nuo, you have to think clearly, could there be any problem with this?"

It seems there is a problem.

Thinking to this point, Chen Nuo suddenly remembered something and shuddered, his alcohol sobering up by more than half.

Right, it's not that he has a problem, it's that Warner has a problem.

Back then, after Heath Ledger committed suicide, the American media reported on his estate issues. At that time, he saw in the newspaper that Heath Ledger's final earnings from *Batman 2* exceeded $20 million.

According to Heath Ledger's current status, although he was definitely more awesome than him, he was still a long way from the $20 million club. According to Chen Nuo's guess, the salary was only a few times more than his, at most $10 million.

Then where did the other $10 million+ in earnings come from?

Clearly, there was only one source.

That is, Warner also gave Heath Ledger a box office share back then, and he was fleeced.

That is to say, within Warner at the moment, the box office of *Batman 2* is actually greatly underestimated. Otherwise, how could it be so easy to get a box office share from their hands? It was impossible for Heath Ledger in the previous life, and it was impossible for himself in this life.

Otherwise, why hasn't anyone gotten a box office share from Warner for the *Harry Potter* series or the *Superman* series?

Precisely because of this, compared to cash flow, they actually don't value the box office share of *Batman 2* much, which is why they would rather agree to the share requirement proposed by Qi Yuntian than make concessions on cash.

Then if he uses this point, perhaps he can continue to negotiate the share?

In a flash of lightning, stimulated by the golden dollars, Chen Nuo's brain was simply clear enough to be a mathematician.

"Got it, give the phone to him."

"Good." A few seconds later, a deep male voice sounded: "Chen, hello, I am Michael Slane."

"Hello, Mr. Slane."

"Chen, you know, it's been a long time since any artist dared to raise the price temporarily during the negotiation process with us. If I remember correctly, you are the first one in six years."

Chen Nuo smiled falsely: "Is that so? You think too highly of me, Mr. Slane."

Michael Slane's voice sounded very serious: "Do you know who the last person to temporarily increase the offer to Warner was?"

He raised his volume, as if he wanted to use the name to intimidate Chen Nuo: "It was Tang Mu Hanks. Chen, Tang Mu Hanks temporarily increased the price during the negotiation of the contract before filming *Cast Away*, demanding an increase in salary. But, do you know, in the end, he still didn't succeed with me and filmed the movie at the original price."

*Hehe*, putting pressure on me, you're still too young. Chen Nuo was in a slightly tipsy state and said carelessly: "Then he definitely didn't just ask to increase this little salary. Michael, I was eating with my friend at noon. She is a Chinese star. When she learned that the reward for the film contract I was negotiating was only $500,000, she laughed at me loudly, saying my Berlin Best Actor award was just a name."

"Michael, I was as embarrassed as a beggar in front of my friend at that time, so I asked my agent to increase my offer. No, not an offer, that is my final bottom line. I would rather return to China with nothing than have my reputation spread in our circle like a beggar."

Michael Slane's tone was very unbelievable: "$500,000 plus a 0.2% commission, this is at least over $1 million. Do the stars in China think this is a beggar? How rich are they?"

"*Hehe*, Michael, there is a female star in China with the surname Zheng who filmed for 77 days in a garbage movie and took a salary of 160 million RMB. What do you say?"

Michael Slane said half-believingly: "Sounds like a fairy tale. Alright, Chen, let's talk seriously. You are not a star in Hollywood, you are still a newcomer with no fame at all. You cannot ask to be like Jackie Chan, taking millions of dollars and still wanting a box office share."

Chen Nuo laughed: "Michael, please, can my little money compare to Jackie Chan? I'm just asking to get what I deserve. I don't want to be a beggar; I want to keep a little more self-esteem in front of my friends, that's all."

Damn self-esteem, damn Chinese face.

Michael Slane's brain started to work. Since this is the case, how should he fight for Warner's interests?

He started to calculate. The global box office of the first *Batman Begins* was $370 million. The second part, their company's internal optimistic estimate, is that the box office can reach about $500 million. Every 0.1% is $500,000.

Therefore, if calculated according to the $1 million plus 0.2% commission requested by the other party, the budget department will think Chen Nuo's salary will eventually be around $2 million.

However, Michael Slane doesn't think so.

Because he is not optimistic about the box office performance of this *Batman*.

The reason is not only that Heath Ledger was replaced by Chen Nuo, but also because two *Batman* movies released consecutively will definitely cause fatigue among the original comic fans, thereby leading to a decrease in their desire to pay for tickets to enter the theater.

This is almost a nailed-down thing.

Unless, a miracle appears.

That is, this sequel's traffic explodes, word-of-mouth explodes, explodes out of the circle, and becomes a phenomenal film.

But... the villain has become a Chinese boy, and it might still explode?

Impossible.

So when Michael Slane heard Chen Nuo and the others asking for a box office share in the morning, he easily agreed.

He believes that this film's box office will not only fail to reach the expected $500 million, but might even be less than the first one's $370 million. A little box office share, give it if you want.

Anyway, Warner and this Chinese boy will probably only collaborate this once in their lives, it's no big deal.

The other end of the phone was silent for a long time. Chen Nuo thought the other party had hung up the phone and couldn't help but look at the phone screen, but it didn't.

Michael Slane's voice followed: "$1 million in cash is definitely not okay. $500,000 plus a 0.3% box office commission. This is my final offer. We have already made a lot of concessions, Chen."

Damn, you sent me a pillow when I was sleepy. The two words "Deal" were about to blurt out.

Suddenly, a sharp siren sounded, and a police car in the rearview mirror pulled the siren and chased up.

Liu Xiaoli in the driver's seat was anxious and panicked: "It's broken, I'm speeding! Little Chen, what should I do? I, I, I came out in a hurry just now, except for money, I didn't bring anything!"

*Hmm? * Then you have to stop.

Chen Nuo was startled when he saw she actually didn't mean to stop.

In the US, if you speed and don't have a driver's license, it's at most a fine, a reprimand, and points deduction, but if you dare to run? *Hehe*.

But he wasn't sure if Liu Xiaoli really didn't understand, or if there was something in the car that couldn't be discovered by the police. If this woman had something, wouldn't he be implicated? His face changed instantly, and he even forgot about Michael Slane on the phone.

"Madam Liu, is there anything in your car that can't see the light?"

Liu Xiaoli was stunned and asked: "What do you mean?"

Chen Nuo asked straight to the point: "Guns, drugs, corpses, bloody daggers with your fingerprints, and large amounts of cash—are there any of these?"

Liu Xiaoli was startled and shook her head: "No, no, how could there be those things."

If there aren't, why are you running? Chen Nuo breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly said: "Madam, then don't be afraid, pull over."

Liu Xiaoli was really depressed at this time.

Just now, Chen Nuo was on the phone beside her, speaking English and Chinese, and heard something about box office shares, Jackie Chan, etc. Her curiosity was aroused, and her attention was all on Chen Nuo. There were no cars on the road at this moment, and she accidentally exceeded the speed limit by quite a bit. As a result, she didn't expect to be targeted by the police.

Hearing Chen Nuo tell her to stop, Liu Xiaoli hesitated: "But I didn't bring my driver's license and I'm speeding. If things get big later, will it be passed back to China and affect Xixi?"

Chen Nuo was a bit anxious at this time because the police car behind started to lecture with a loudspeaker.

At this time, there was no time to explain, so he said it again: "Madam Liu, it's nothing, pull over quickly."

"But, but..."

The police car in the rearview mirror started to accelerate to catch up. In a hurry, Chen Nuo couldn't care about Liu Xiaoli's identity and roared directly: "Stop, can't you hear? Stop!"

Liu Xiaoli was startled and stepped on the brake subconsciously, pulling the car to the side of the road and stopping.

The police car behind stopped against their car's butt. Two chubby white police officers got out of the car, both holding guns in their hands. One to the left, one to the right, one in front and one behind, carefully approaching.

Seeing this formation, Liu Xiaoli's face had already turned pale. "Little Chen, if something happens to me, you have to help me take care of Xixi."

I'll take care of your head, your IQ is really worrying. Chen Nuo gave her a white look. If this woman hadn't stopped at the first time, how could they treat you as a dangerous person?

What to do now? According to Chen Nuo's understanding of the LAPD, neither of them brought identification documents, and they dared to flee by car. Most likely, they would handcuff him and Liu Xiaoli back to the police station. If they were really captured by some media and passed back to China, he didn't know what it would become.

"Chen, are you still there? Did something happen?"

Chen Nuo suddenly heard Michael Slane's voice from the phone receiver. It turned out he hadn't hung up the phone yet.

He couldn't help but tentatively ask: "Michael, I'm in a friend's car. I was speeding a bit just now and was intercepted. Do you have any way?"

Michael Slane's voice sounded very calm, and even seemed to carry a bit of a smile: "Which district are you in now?"

"West Hollywood."

"What's in your car?"

"Nothing."

Michael Slane said lightly: "Then when the officer comes over, give him the phone."

Afterward, Chen Nuo heard him say: "Mickey, our Chinese boy was intercepted for speeding, West Hollywood district. Did you play golf with the bureau chief of their jurisdiction last week?"

A male voice said word for word: "Yes, Mr. Slane."

"Then you go tell the police officer there, if there's nothing, let them let the Chinese boy go. We haven't finished talking about our business."

"Okay, Mr. Slane."

Thank you for subscribing and voting for me.

I don't know which long-lived good person anonymously helped me get a recommendation ticket red envelope or something. The first subscription increased by dozens because of this. I really~ *sigh*~ thousands of words, I can only say thank you.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 116 =====