Chapter 118: Crossing mountains and seas

Wen Yingshan really didn't expect that the meeting, which was close at hand, would come to an abrupt end.

Although she was saying "it's okay, it's okay, I understand, darling, you go quickly" to Chen Nuo on the phone, she couldn't help but bury her head on the steering wheel and cry after hanging up. It wasn't until Qi Yuntian knocked on the car window outside the passenger seat that she raised her head and opened the car door in a fluster.

In terms of treating women, Qi Yuntian is a pure robot, without even a bit of emotion.

Wen Yingshan's eyes were swollen from crying, but he sat in her car and actually said coldly: "This man, you can't grasp him."

Wen Yingshan's tears fell again at once.

Qi Yuntian *hehe*d: "Let's go, drop me off at the hotel. Do you want me to drive?"

Wen Yingshan shook her head, took a tissue to wipe her eyes, and said: "No need, I can."

At this time, the reporters and fans surrounding the airport didn't know where they got the news that the person they were waiting for had transferred to another flight, and they dispersed in a roar. Among them, several media reporters holding cameras passed by their car while cursing.

Qi Yuntian pointed at them and said: "See that? He is only 19 years old. This is the life he will face for the next few decades. You want to be with him? You might be more miserable than Andy Lau's wife, living in darkness for a lifetime. Is it worth it?"

Wen Yingshan started the car and started to move slowly without speaking.

Qi Yuntian said: "You are still young, you have plenty of choices, right? At the age of blooming, there are plenty of boys for you to choose from. And, just so far, the two of you can be considered even. Just take this opportunity to part ways and go find another handsome guy to fall in love with. Isn't that wonderful?"

Wen Yingshan's car drove fast and smoothly. Hearing this, she asked: "Mr. Qi, are you from Beijing?"

Qi Yuntian nodded: "Right, why?"

Wen Yingshan said: "Listening to you speak, you seem very cultured. How long have you been Nuo Zai's agent?"

"Over a year, I guess."

There was a red light ahead, and the car stopped. Wen Yingshan took the opportunity to put down the front board, looked at the mirror on it, and used paper to clean the makeup that had smeared on her face.

Especially the mascara and eyeshadow next to her eyes, she cleaned her face seriously and earnestly until it returned to its jade-like whiteness.

At this time, the red light in front also turned green.

Wen Yingshan stepped on the gas gently, and the car continued on the road.

She drove very slowly this time, just at a speed of 40 yards.

Driving and driving, on a straight road, she suddenly didn't look ahead and turned her face to Qi Yuntian's side, asking seriously: "Mr. Qi, how do you think I look?"

Qi Yuntian was startled and screamed: "What are you doing? Damn, watch the road!"

Wen Yingshan said: "Mr. Qi, you haven't answered me yet."

Qi Yuntian saw a sharp turn ahead and was so scared that his soul flew away. He hurriedly shouted: "Pretty, pretty!"

Wen Yingshan then turned her head back, turned the steering wheel, and her Honda Fit swept past that sharp turn like flowing water.

Qi Yuntian was almost driven crazy by this at this time, roaring: "Are you sick? Are you damn wanting to die?"

Wen Yingshan said calmly: "Mr. Qi, my old man is a taxi driver. Since I was two years old, my mom had to go to work, and I sat in my old man's car and went to work with him."

"Before I was 12, I almost lived in a taxi. I did my homework in the car. There isn't a road in the New Territories or Kowloon in Hong Kong that I don't know. I don't know how many times I've passed that turn just now. I wouldn't have an accident even if I closed my eyes."

Qi Yuntian calmed down from the crisis of escaping death and said unhappily: "What are you telling me this for?"

Wen Yingshan smiled, the corners of her mouth slightly raised, revealing a row of neat teeth.

She didn't turn her head this time, but kept looking straight ahead, saying: "Mr. Qi, you have been persuading me to leave Nuo Zai. I don't know why. Mr. Qi, I am a native Hong Kong girl. I am not like you. My academic performance is not good, and I don't speak as well as you. Since I was a child, I learned to drive by sitting next to my old man, and I learned one thing."

Wen Yingshan paused and continued: "When the car is on the road, I have to focus on driving well and not look around, otherwise the car will crash. Just like just now. Mr. Qi, do you think I'm right?"

Damn, a lunatic. Didn't I just want you to have fewer inappropriate thoughts? You're doing this to me?

Qi Yuntian said angrily: "Right, right, right."

Wen Yingshan pursed her lips and smiled, then said: "Mr. Qi, I am already in Nuo Zai's car. I will only drive well and won't look around."

"Look, has my Mandarin improved? During this period, Nuo Zai went to the US to film with you. I practiced Mandarin while reading Director Xu's script and watching *Chinese Paladin* in Hong Kong. I found that Mandarin is not difficult to learn. If I, a Hong Konger, go to the mainland, it won't be very difficult to talk to people there, right?"

She paused and said: "However, I won't go, because Nuo Zai said I am his girlfriend in Hong Kong. If I go to the mainland, I am nothing. So don't worry, I won't add to the chaos."

Qi Yuntian breathed a sigh of relief and coughed: "It's best if you can think so."

"However..." Wen Yingshan said softly: "This time it's Nuo Zai who owes me. He said he would come to Hong Kong to see me, but when he arrived in Hong Kong, he didn't see me. So, he didn't keep his promise, right?"

Qi Yuntian was startled and said: "Right, and then?"

Wen Yingshan smiled slightly and said: "Last week, my mainland travel permit was issued. Mr. Qi, take me to see Nuo Zai, okay? I'll just see him once, look at him with my own eyes, and I'll return to Hong Kong immediately."

Chen Nuo was on the plane and didn't know what happened in Hong Kong for the time being.

The refund ticket Qi Yuntian bought for him was economy class, and the seat was really very bad. Because he was sitting in the middle of three seats, and there were girls on both sides, and they weren't very old.

It was fine at first because Chen Nuo was wearing a mask and a hat.

When he just sat down, the girls on both sides each glanced at him, but afterward, Chen Nuo closed his eyes and dozed off, pretending that only he was left in the world, so they were all fine.

It wasn't until the flight meal was served that Chen Nuo was indeed a bit hungry because of the previous surprises. When the flight attendant asked him to eat braised pork or shredded pork with garlic sauce, he said shredded pork with garlic sauce.

As a result, as soon as this sentence came out, before the flight attendant handed him the meal, the girl on the aisle turned her head at once.

That girl was only in her 20s. Although she was dressed quite fashionably and her makeup had that earthy air of 2006, it could be considered exquisite. She stared at Chen Nuo, her eyes not moving at all.

May I ask, in this situation, does Chen Nuo dare to take off his mask to eat?

He didn't dare. He took the flight meal and stared at the shredded pork with garlic sauce bento in front of him for more than ten seconds. Feeling that the person beside him still hadn't moved, he couldn't help it, turned his head slightly and asked: "Beauty, aren't you eating?"

That girl's eyes became even brighter.

"You are Chen Nuo, right? I recognized your voice. Right!?"

The girl's voice was very small.

The beauty by the window seemed to be eating in small bites, but she had actually been observing this side secretly. At this time, she blinked.

Chen Nuo was truly speechless. Why did he encounter someone who recognized him, a small character like him, on a plane?

This was also because he had been abroad for this period of time. He didn't know how crazy Zhang Jizhong had hyped his news with Liu Yifei in order to sell the TV series.

If his popularity due to the release of *Perhaps Love* reached 5, then after this period of brewing and spreading, plus the hype of *The Return of the Condor Heroes*, it had reached a level of about 8.

And this was still 8 among the general public.

If it were among young people aged 18-25, especially those girls in big cities who pay attention to entertainment news, the attention would be even higher.

It was going to explode. Although blogs and portal websites couldn't compare to the dissemination power of later TikTok and Weibo, the current dissemination effect was by no means comparable to traditional media.

So, encountering two girls on a plane, one of whom recognized him, wasn't strange. Chen Nuo's mind turned rapidly, and he subconsciously wanted to deny it, but then thought, can this still be denied?

Forget it.

So he nodded, pretending to be indifferent, and said: "Beauty, do we know each other?"

"Ah!" The woman was quite calm before, but as soon as this default language blurted out, the girl screamed at once. Although she covered her mouth immediately, it still attracted attention from all around.

Chen Nuo hurriedly lowered his head. After waiting for a few seconds before raising it again, he only saw a pair of bright, crystal-clear eyes looking at him. Truly close at hand, mouth-watering.

He sighed and said: "What's wrong?"

That girl nodded like a chicken pecking at rice and said softly: "Chen Nuo, I especially like your *Zhang Yaba's House*, really."

"... Thank you."

If you recognize me, then recognize me. Since that's the case, Chen Nuo didn't care anymore, pulled down his mask, and started eating.

The moment he pulled down his mask, the girl by the window, who was looking over curiously while drinking water, sprayed it out at once, coughing repeatedly. It took a long time for her to stop, and her whole face turned red.

Chen Nuo didn't care either, eating while chatting with the girl in the aisle.

He learned that she was from Hong Kong and was going to Chengdu to travel and see pandas. Chen Nuo also introduced her to tourist attractions in Chengdu. Jinli and Kuanzhai are for fooling outsiders; whoever goes there to consume is a fool...

After eating, Chen Nuo went to the bathroom.

As soon as he left, the girl by the window couldn't help it and asked the girl in the aisle softly, "Hello, may I ask, that boy, is he a star?"

That Hong Kong girl's blush hadn't faded yet. She turned her head and smiled, saying: "Right. Do you know him?"

"I don't know him, I don't pay much attention to the entertainment circle, but... he is so handsome. May I ask if he is an actor or a singer?"

"Actor..."

As a result, when Chen Nuo came back from the bathroom, the object he had to deal with had already changed from one to two.

However, he still exerted his scumbag skills, fighting two without falling behind, and finally exerted his style of waving his sleeves without taking away a piece of peach blossom. When getting off the plane, he waved goodbye to the two girls cleanly and neatly, rushed out of customs, rushed out of the airport, and drilled into the car Chen Bicheng was waiting in.

The incident happened suddenly, Pan Chengrong didn't come, and in the Volvo car that drove for more than two hours, there was only Chen Bicheng.

It seemed he was still a bit unhappy, but he didn't know what he was unhappy about. Seeing Chen Nuo, he sneered: "I saw on the news that you are going to play the Joker? You played the Zhang Yaba one and now you play the Joker. Can you play some normal roles? Don't let your uncles drink tea with me in the future and ask me what you are playing, I'm too embarrassed to say."

Chen Nuo *hehe*d: "So sour, Dad, is it because the car money was received, and you started to be jealous that I earn more than you now, right?"

Chen Bicheng's tone almost poked the roof of the car: "I'm jealous of you? Just those few dollars of yours?"

Chen Nuo had a triumphant expression: "Just these few dollars? Do you know how much they gave me to play this Joker?"

Chen Bicheng said coldly: "How much?"

Chen Nuo, just like when Zhang Yiyi flicked two fingers in front of him, also flicked his fingers under Chen Bicheng's eyelids, also two fingers.

"This number."

Chen Bicheng seemed to have some understanding of his son's ability to make money and didn't say 200,000 to make a fool of himself. "2 million?"

Chen Nuo laughed loudly.

If he wasn't driving, Chen Bicheng would have been ready to hit someone.

"You're farting, is it 200 million?"

Chen Nuo *hehe*d:

Chen Bicheng didn't believe it at all: "Stop blowing smoke at me, I don't believe a word you say."

Chen Nuo wasn't afraid of his disbelief, because the contract signed with Warner was held in duplicate, one copy each for himself and Qi Yuntian.

He didn't give Old Chen any face at all, pulling the all-English contract out of his bag and handing it over while they were queuing at the airport expressway toll station.

Pointing at the numbers on it, he said: "See that? 500,000 US dollars. This 0.3% is 0.3% of the global box office. This movie is guaranteed to hit 1 billion in global box office. You calculate how much my 80% share is. And this is just the money for this one movie; I can't even be bothered to tell you about the few million in pocket change from shooting other films."

Chen Bicheng was speechless now. After driving in silence on the airport expressway for nearly 20 minutes, he finally muttered a curse: "Damn it, these Americans are even richer than those damn coal bosses..."

Then he actually changed the subject: "By the way, since you're back this time, your mom is making 'diving frog' at home. You can eat it as soon as you arrive."

Chen Nuo had mentioned wanting to eat diving frog when he was having dinner with Liu Yifei.

Diving frog, also known as young ginger frog, is a famous dish from Zigong, Sichuan. The seasoning is primarily millet chili and young ginger. Those who haven't eaten it can never imagine that fresh, spicy, flavorful, slippery, and tender sensation. I guarantee that when you eat this dish, you'll be blowing air from the heat, yet you truly won't be able to stop.

Having eaten Western food for nearly a month in the United States, Chen Nuo almost drooled when he heard this.

However, he didn't forget the important business, continuing: "Let's not talk about food for now. I earned some money this time. While I was in New York, I prepared to find someone to ask about wealth management and investment. New York's Wall Street, after all, is the world's financial center; there are too many talents in this area. As a result, I only found out after asking that people in the US are all saying there will be a world-class financial crisis in two years. If you have money or cash on hand, it's best not to do anything and just put it in the bank."

Chen Bicheng's voice turned serious: "Who did you hear that from? Is it true or false?"

"Have you heard of Morgan Stanley? Have you heard of Goldman Sachs? Do you know Citigroup or Merrill Lynch? Dad, actually, the whole world is spreading this; it's just that people domestically don't know."

Chen Nuo began to lie through his teeth, bullying a middle-aged man who didn't understand VPNs. He even used the acting skills he used for *My Blueberry Nights* and playing the Joker to bully his poor biological father. The surprise and disbelief in his tone didn't just reach the roof of the car; it was about to break through the atmosphere.

"Dad, it can't be, right? You don't know? You have so many friends, Uncle Zhang, Uncle Li, didn't a single one of them tell you?"

Chen Bicheng coughed a few times and said: "Those uncles of yours haven't been having an easy time lately either, and we haven't been in much contact."

It's only natural that they aren't having an easy time; if you guys were doing well, the people of the whole country wouldn't feel too good.

Chen Nuo had heard Chen Bicheng mention some things before. Things were okay here in Sichuan, but in some places, the illegal coal mines had absolutely no supervision. Those coal bosses, in order to make money, were truly...

*Blind Shaft*.

Chen Nuo had zero sympathy for the plight of coal bosses: "Oh, alright, so you know now? Do you have money on hand? You didn't spend it all, did you?"

Chen Bicheng said loudly: "Not yet. The city found me and asked me to take the lead in buying a few plots of land for development, but I haven't agreed yet."

Chen Nuo said in an exceptionally solemn tone: "Don't you dare agree to everything. Just use half of your money to buy one or two plots, that's enough."

Actually, the best way would be to put all the money in the bank and sit and wait for the 2008 financial crisis.

But that wasn't realistic.

Money that should be spent must be spent, and it is even essential to spend it.

Otherwise, how could Chen Bicheng have developed so smoothly in his past life? Did he really think the people above were doing charity? It was all because, at certain levels, Old Chen—the silly coal boss who took out his entire net worth to support the work—had gained a reputation for being generous and upright.

In Chen Nuo's view, taking out half the money now was already enough to buy that reputation.

Chen Bicheng was silent for a while, then suddenly let out a 'heh' and said: "Forget it, why the hell am I still struggling? You earn 20 million from one movie. Fine, fine, I'll just honestly play it safe. Alright, I'll put out half and keep half. When Mayor He and the others find me, I'll just say you're a star now and it's impossible for you to keep renting a place. As your father, I need to go to Beijing to buy you a decent house, so that's all the money there is, take it or leave it."

(End of chapter)