Chapter 417: The Cannes Weight

Cai Yinong hadn't expected at first that he would invite her to his home.

But upon reflection, it didn't seem strange.

Although the Shanghai Bund wasn't as overrun by paparazzi as the capital, it was still a crowded and complex place, not exactly a quiet sanctuary. For someone of his level, meeting in public was indeed quite inconvenient.

Her assistant, Yan Hong, drove while clicking her tongue in wonder: "I didn't expect that the top-floor penthouse at Tang Chen Riviera was actually bought by him in '09. I thought Tang Chen was just bragging."

Deng Liqi also chimed in: "Miss Yan, I've heard of this Tang Chen Riviera back in Hong Kong. It must be very expensive, right?"

"Of course!" Yan Hong said. "It's known as the number one luxury residence in Shanghai. Back in the early 2000s, it was already selling for over a hundred thousand per square meter. This top-floor penthouse was originally listed for over a hundred million, right? Boss Cai, I'm not remembering that wrong, am I?"

"You're not," Cai Yinong said, her tone calm as she gazed out the car window.

The car turned from Century Avenue onto the Lujiazui Ring Road, slowly driving along the river toward Tang Chen Riviera.

Yan Hong continued to lament: "No wonder people say he should have been ranked first on the 2009 Forbes China Celebrity List. It was just Forbes being petty and intentionally holding him back. Not only did they underestimate his income, but they also forced Hong Kong and Taiwan artists onto the list just to let Cheng Long suppress him—they just didn't want him to take the top spot."

Deng Liqi laughed: "Sounds like the people at Forbes are quite bored, too."

Cai Yinong said crossly: "Teacher Deng, don't listen to her nonsense. She just loves spreading these rumors."

"Haha, I actually find Miss Yan quite interesting," Deng Liqi said with a smile.

Yan Hong lifted her chin: "I don't care if it's true or not, I'm just waiting to see how Forbes ranks things next year. Teacher Deng, have you seen his *Inception* yet? The internet says it's explosively good—is that true?"

"I have." Deng Liqi nodded, saying earnestly: "I can only say four words: I am completely floored. I'm a screenwriter too, but if I had to write a film like this, I couldn't do it even if I racked my brain. Christopher Nolan and his brother—they can only be called geniuses."

Hearing this, Cai Yinong couldn't help but turn her head to listen carefully.

"Exactly, I've seen many people on Douban saying the plot is incredibly awesome," Yan Hong said excitedly. "They say if an average person doesn't read reviews, they won't understand it the first time, and many people have gone to see it twice. Is that true, Teacher?"

"Pretty much. I've gone to see it seven times in total," Deng Liqi laughed.

"Ah???" Yan Hong looked surprised. "Seven times?"

"Seven times isn't much. You Naihai, Du Qifeng, and the others have seen it over a dozen times. We go to study it, but there are many Hong Kong viewers—ordinary people—who are willing to watch it a second or third time."

"Ah? I saw in the news that many Japanese people are also crazily watching it multiple times. I thought it was just a promotional tactic."

"Promotion is definitely part of it, but people are genuinely willing to go. I especially recommend you go see the IMAX version when you get the chance; it's truly exceptional."

"Teacher Deng, you're making me want to see it more and more." Yan Hong suddenly sighed and tapped the steering wheel lightly: "Sigh, it's so frustrating. The whole world can watch it, but we can't. China Film Group is being too excessive this time."

"Say less," Cai Yinong glanced at her.

Yan Hong pouted and added: "I think some people are just jealous. They didn't invest in it themselves, and now they want to hold others back. It's really not decent."

"Yan Hong!"

"Alright, alright, I'll stop, Boss Cai."

Cai Yinong turned and asked: "Teacher Liqi, I've heard your box office predictions are incredibly accurate. Have you thought about how much the final box office might reach?"

Deng Liqi chuckled: "I have. Let me tell you, I've read the predictions from many American box office experts, and they all say it'll be between 1.2 and 1.8 billion, but I'm a bit more optimistic—I think it can hit 2 billion."

Cai Yinong was shocked: "2 billion?"

Deng Liqi nodded: "Yes."

"……The reason?"

"Just look at its third-week box office performance."

"Although the North American market dropped quite a bit—by 26%—that's because *Captain America* just premiered in the US and snatched its screen share. Even so, under the pressure of *Captain America*, it still sold over 98 million, beating *Captain America*'s 96 million, and still took the third-week box office championship."

"What does this prove? It proves its potential hasn't been exhausted yet—it can still fight!"

"When this result came out, the HBO box office expert I saw was completely stunned, you know."

Deng Liqi spoke with great enthusiasm: "The screen allocation for the next week is crucial. If theater managers think it held its ground and give it more opportunities, returning the reduced screen share to it, then it will take off directly. 2 billion—I don't think there's the slightest problem."

"Look at the people lining up on Twitter, his fans, and those passersby who rarely go to the cinema. This time, it's not just in North America; its opening in the Asian market has exceeded everyone's expectations."

"In Japan, it sold 33 million USD in its second week. That's over a million more than the first week. Aside from *Spirited Away*, you can't find another film with this kind of trajectory. Who could have guessed? No one!"

"And in South Korea, the first week also sold nearly 30 million USD, almost setting a record."

"As for Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia—all the places he's been—and our Hong Kong, they've all sold extremely well. The occupancy rates and repeat viewing rates are very high, all approaching historical highs."

"If it continues to develop at this rate, 2 billion is really not me talking nonsense."

As Cai Yinong listened, the entertainment reports she had seen recently flashed through her mind, seeing that man walk all the way from Japan, causing countless frenzies throughout East and Southeast Asia.

Honestly, seeing the fanatical appearance of those fans in Southeast Asia, Japan, and Korea on TV, if we're talking about happiness, she was definitely one of the happiest people in the world.

She had invested 43 million in him, after all!

Cai Yinong said deliberately: "The box office is indeed good, but I think it's mainly because his promotion was done well this time. How it will go later is actually hard to say now, right?"

Deng Liqi disagreed: "Promotion is certainly one aspect, but word-of-mouth is the most important. Boss Cai, have you looked at IMDb? Its first-day IMDb score was 9.7. Now, three weeks have passed, and the number of ratings has reached over 200,000, but the final score has only dropped a little bit—to 9.6. It's still ranked ahead of *The Shawshank Redemption*, sitting at number one on the charts. And this is already the third week. And Rotten Tomatoes—97% freshness, it hasn't moved an inch. This kind of data is truly unprecedented."

Cai Yinong laughed: "Teacher Liqi, why do I feel like you've become a fan of this movie?"

"……I'm a screenwriter, Boss Cai. The plot structure of this movie is truly amazing. It's not just me who thinks so; it's the collective view of our Hong Kong screenwriting circle."

"This movie is at least ten years ahead of the rest of the world! Even if you take it out to watch ten years from now, I can guarantee it won't be outdated at all. It's not an exaggeration to call it a masterpiece!"

……

At this moment, the car had arrived at the main entrance of Tang Chen Riviera. Yan Hong, in the driver's seat, lowered the window to verify visitor information with the security guard, preparing to enter the residential complex.

Suddenly, a red Beetle slowly drove out from inside.

This kind of car might be cute and eye-catching elsewhere, but driving out of Tang Chen Riviera, it looked somewhat incongruous no matter how you looked at it.

Cai Yinong instinctively took a look—the interior of the Beetle was decorated in a pink and tender style, all cartoon-themed; it was clear the owner had put a lot of thought into it.

The girl in the driver's seat had her hair tied up neatly; her appearance was delicate, her features soft, possessing a unique spiritual aura typical of Jiang-Zhe women—definitely not the kind of ordinary face you'd forget at a glance. Even in the entertainment industry, such looks were considered outstanding.

Cai Yinong was slightly startled and was just about to roll down the window to take another look, but the Beetle had already brushed past her Mercedes S350 and driven out of the complex gate.

By then, the security guard had cleared them, the gate lifted, and the car drove into the underground garage. After the three of them got out, a dedicated private butler led them toward the exclusive elevator.

The elevator went straight to the top floor. Once the door opened, there was no traditional corridor; as soon as you stepped out of the elevator, you were in a private foyer. Underfoot were marble floor tiles with a golden peacock pattern, and standing by the wall were two Roman-style pillar lamps with gold-plated bases and glass shades.

Further ahead was the six-meter-high living room.

The entire floor-to-ceiling glass window stood facing the river. At a glance, both banks of the Huangpu River were in full view, and the skyline of the Bund hung before the eyes like a flowing painting.

Sunlight slanted in from one side of the black-gold velvet curtains, spilling onto the off-white sofa. A few cushions were placed casually, and the gold-rimmed coffee table matched the inlaid marble platform. Everything was exquisite to the extreme, yet not the least bit vulgar.

In this vast living room, a man had originally been standing by the window, looking at the Huangpu River water outside. Hearing the sound of the elevator, he turned his head back.

At that moment, Cai Yinong almost forgot to breathe for a second, but she immediately reacted, put on a smile, and walked up to greet him: "Teacher Chen Nuo, hello, hello. Nice to meet you for the first time, I am Cai Yinong."

Cai Yinong and the other two stayed for about 40 minutes before taking their leave.

Back in the car, driving out of the complex, none of them spoke for a while.

Finally, Cai Yinong was the first to speak: "Teacher Liqi, I'll trouble you to go back and discuss with Teacher Huang, Teacher Chen, and Teacher Liang according to what we just said. Make some changes, and when you're done, show them to me first. Once there are no problems, then send them to him. Alright?"

Deng Liqi nodded: "Alright, no problem."

After saying this, Cai Yinong hesitated for a moment and said: "We must hurry, but we can't do exactly as he says. Especially... Teacher Liqi, you know, in terms of some gimmicks... we still have to have our own principles."

Deng Liqi smiled and said: "I understand, Boss Cai. What should be there will definitely be there. I guarantee that when the trailer comes out, there will definitely be scenes of Shishi and Miss Jin Chen being intimate with him."

Hearing him put it interestingly, Cai Yinong laughed, "Right, Teacher Liqi, that's exactly what I mean."

"Boss Cai, why is he all alone..." Yan Hong suddenly said.

"That's none of your business," Cai Yinong interrupted.

"I'm just guessing, anyway there are no outsiders. Sigh, I just feel so pitiful for him living in such a big house all by himself. Don't you think so, Boss Cai?"

Deng Liqi also sighed and said: "There's a lyric that goes, 'The more the lights fade, the more the heart is restless.' In such a luxurious penthouse, he doesn't even have anyone to talk to. How cold. How lonely."

Cai Yinong didn't speak.

As the saying goes, it's lonely at the top.

Alone, no matter how big the mansion, how much money earned, or how famous, if you don't even have a companion, what's the point?

It turns out that in this world, she wasn't the only one like this.

……

After Cai Yinong and the others left.

Chen Nuo sat for another 10 minutes, estimated that the time was about right, and went downstairs.

He put on a hat and sunglasses, drove a black Volkswagen Passat, and left the complex.

Following Century Avenue all the way west, passing through the Yan'an East Road Tunnel, and entering Yuyuan Road in the Jing'an District. About twenty minutes later, the car stopped in front of an inconspicuous brick-red Western-style house.

This old house was a typical French architectural style, with exterior walls of grayish-white cement and a roof covered in deep red tiles. The main body of the house was two stories, and the courtyard was surrounded by high walls.

Chen Nuo took a key from his body, opened the door, and walked through the courtyard into the inner room. Fan Fan Binbing, in home clothes with her hair casually tied up, was sitting on the sofa talking with Lin Meiru.

Seeing him return, Fan Fan Binbing couldn't help but smile and say: "Didn't you say you were going to have dinner with Cai Yinong before coming back?"

"Forget it, I didn't eat. I feel there are many problems with the script, so I let them go back and change it. Where is Ruoruo?"

"Inside. Tsk tsk, Boss Cai spent over 40 million, and you won't even have a meal with her. What a cruel heart." Fan Fan Binbing shook her head, but the smile on her face carried a bit of mischief, as if she had expected him to do this.

Chen Nuo glared at her crossly and said: "This little money is only enough to hire me to film, not enough to hire me to eat. I'll go in and take a look."

"Be gentle, I just coaxed her to sleep, don't wake her up again, or I won't care."

"I know."

He said, took off his coat and hung it on the coat rack by the door, stepped into the bedroom in soft slippers, his footsteps extremely light.

In the crib, that tiny baby was sleeping soundly.

Her cheeks were pink and tender, her breathing even and steady, covered by a light blue thin blanket, her eyelashes long and dense, casting faint shadows under the light. Chen Nuo looked down at her, no lines, no camera, no applause. Just him alone, quietly looking at this little life before him, all the noise faded away, his heart incomparably calm and peaceful.

After a while, he turned around and walked out on tiptoe.

Lin Meiru didn't know where she had gone.

Fan Fan Binbing asked with a smile: "Besides Cai Yinong, did you meet anyone else?"

"No," Chen Nuo looked confused. "Who did I meet? Oh, she brought an assistant, and the screenwriter for this play, from Hong Kong, surnamed Deng, who also knows Xiao Peng. We chatted for nearly 2 hours, it felt pretty good. I was thinking if Xiao Peng still can't write the script, I'll let him help out too, so Luo Rui doesn't urge me all day long."

"Is that so?" Fan Fan Binbing said with a smile, her fox-like eyes squinting into slits.

Chen Nuo frowned, "Why are you making that face? It's inexplicable."

"Nothing~ I'm just caring about you, afraid you'll get tired."

Chen Nuo looked left and right, "Where's Xiao Mei?"

"Went to help Aunt Li cook."

"Oh."

Chen Nuo sat on the sofa, stretched his legs, and had a good stretch.

Then, he immediately straightened his body and said unhappily: "Pour me a glass of water. Why is there no water when I get home?"

Fan Fan Binbing smiled and said: "Got it, Master, I'm going now."

After she turned around, Chen Nuo hurriedly zipped up his pants.

However, not long after zipping up, he zipped them down again.

Fan Fan Binbing handed him the water, took a step, straddled his lap, adjusted her posture, frowned and said: "... When are you going to Hengdian?"

Chen Nuo's brow also furrowed: "After the premiere, why are you asking this... aren't you afraid Xiao Mei will come in?"

Fan Fan Binbing squinted her eyes again, like a little cat eating, looking somewhat satisfied, "Not afraid, I said, I'm just whispering to you... I want to know if I can meet you there when the time comes."

"*Painted Skin 2*, filming in Hengdian?"

"There's a scene, ah, there, inside."

"But I'm only going for, a few days."

"... Alright............ Tell me the truth, did you, meet someone, just now."

"No. You, aren't you checking?"

"Hmm, checking, nothing. Hmph, count you, clever."

……

……

A masterpiece.

This was the private evaluation given to *Inception* by a Hong Kong screenwriter and amateur box office expert when the third-week box office figures were released.

However, at the end of the fourth week, when *Inception*'s North American box office reached 113 million, an increase of 20 million USD against the trend compared to the third week, many, many people used various languages to bestow this title upon it.

The Metacritic score stabilized at 92; Rotten Tomatoes collected 195 professional reviews, 193 fresh, 2 rotten, with a 97% freshness rating from general critics and 94% from top critics; audience approval was 93%, with an average rating of 4.8 (out of 5).

But if you click into the comments section, the most common keywords in the negative reviews weren't "boring" or "disappointing," but "too brain-burning" and "I didn't understand it."

"A movie can be filmed to this extent, it's no longer like a movie, it's like a nightmare," wrote Rios, a user who gave it one star, in the comments section: "I didn't come to the cinema to take a philosophy class. Nolan gives me a headache, makes me tired, and I watched a bunch of people's dreams within dreams within dreams... My god, did I spend money to watch hallucinations?"

"It's too complex, complex to the point of being unreal. I don't think this is a movie, it's torture!" A user with the ID 'Pink Chair' also gave it one star and wrote angrily: "I want a Hollywood blockbuster, not mental torture."

But amidst this anger, a massive wave of five-star reviews washed them away without a trace, like a flood.

"It is art." —inceptionfan93

"After I walked out of the cinema, I didn't want to say anything, I just wanted to close my eyes and sink into it one more time." —marlene·z

"At this moment I am certain, Nolan has become the director second only to Kubrick in my heart. Chen? Perhaps in another 20 years, he will be Marlon Brando the Second." —joshd.

"The whole movie is like building a universe in a dream." —katewanders

*The New York Times* called it "the most ambitious original sci-fi film Nolan has created this decade, while Chen is irresistible; this Chinese man doesn't give you a moment to visually retreat from the very beginning of the film."

*Rolling Stone* wrote: "This film will be studied, debated, and imitated—until the arrival of *Avatar 2*, or the divine descent of Nolan and Chen's *Batman 3*."

And in the review from the British *Guardian*, the headline even used "This is a performance that shakes the depths of the soul, worthy of every British gentleman taking off his hat in salute."

At this time, the film review from Luo Jie Ebert, who had been silent for three weeks, was finally released.

The old man still stood firm on his blog, writing in his review: "... *Inception* has taught some people a harsh lesson.

If there is anyone still saying 'audiences only want to see beauties and explosions,' 'brain-burning equals box office poison,' or 'original scripts can't support box office blockbusters,' then please have them watch this movie and then shut their mouths.

This is an audiovisual work that shakes the soul, and it is also a thorough intellectual game.

Christopher Nolan has once again used his work to tell the whole world that movies can not only be good to watch, but can also make people think, make people silent, and make people wake up from dreams in shock.

And Chen Nuo, I have told you again and again, this young man from China can handle any role he wants to play.

Art films, commercial films, even popcorn movies and Oscar and SNL hosting—he handles them all with ease.

Although sometimes, supreme talent is truly annoying, just like a 4+4 medical student who surpassed others' dozen years of effort in just 4 years.

But this is the gap between the mundane and the genius!

I give it a rating beyond two thumbs up.

I suggest you take your children, parents, colleagues, lovers, or everyone you know, walk into the cinema together, and enjoy the most worth-watching sci-fi film since *E. T. *!"

And besides Luo Jie Ebert, this old man who was increasingly ill, at this time, many famous film critics who had been tight-lipped in major media magazines finally issued their long-awaited voices.

"This is a great movie, without a doubt, this is the most brilliant and profound sci-fi blockbuster of this summer."

—Ben Mankiewicz, host of the *At the Movies* segment.

"Every unforgettable summer has an incredible movie that pops up. After *The Dark Knight*, Nolan and Chen Nuo have once again presented a film that is not only brilliant and gripping, but will also leave a permanent mark in your heart."

—Betsy Sharkey, *Los Angeles Times*.

"This is a journey of consciousness and emotion, a philosophical fable about faith, regret, and truth. Chen's performance makes you silent in excitement, and Nolan's script makes you doubt in silence."

—Joe Neumaier, *New York Daily News*.

"It is both a psychological film that is profound to the point of being unsettling, and a hearty commercial blockbuster. You have no reason not to be hit by it—but you'd better be prepared, for the dreams of the next few nights after watching it will be invaded by Chen."

—Richard Roeper, *Chicago Sun-Times*.

And in Japan, it had been the box office champion for three consecutive weeks at this time, with a cumulative box office of over 75 million USD, hailed as the "most successful non-animated film since 2001."

On the historical box office chart, it reached the 11th position. And this was clearly still a long way from the end of its journey, making people unable to help but speculate what kind of heights it would reach.

*The Asahi Shimbun* wrote: "This is a work that uses 'dream' as a narrative engine, yet uses extremely sober logic to establish a layered worldview. The director had no intention of pleasing the audience, but instead challenged the audience's intellectual limits—this is precisely why it became a hit against the trend in Japan."

And *The Yomiuri Shimbun* wrote in its review: "Chen Nuo-san, who showed his action star qualities for the first time, is an important reason why people can smile happily and persevere in this frustrating work, *Inception*. Without his gentle charm, this movie would not have become a household name among the Japanese."

*The Tokyo Shimbun*, however, used a headline to remind everyone, "The women crazily posting on 2ch are hoping for Chen Nuo-kun to conduct another 'Human Observation'—this is the dream they are truly looking forward to." In the end, this article was attacked by countless otaku on the website, forcing *The Tokyo Shimbun* to delete the article and apologize for the behavior of secretly belittling *Inception* in the article.

In South Korea, after an excellent start, it continued to make progress, finally breaking 48 million USD in just 17 days, and was spontaneously dubbed "the *Avatar* for smart people" by Korean audiences.

On the homepage of the Naver movie channel, *Inception* remained firmly in the first place on the rating list for 13 consecutive days, leaving *Captain America* unable to even see its back.

Netizen @zin_o wrote in a review: "This is the first movie that made me buy IMAX tickets to watch three times in a row. I feel like my brain has been upgraded in the cinema. Its brilliance made me forget *Avatar*. The spectacle of human dreams is greater than the shock of Pandora. A new god is born!"

And on the official rating platforms of Daum and CGV, its comprehensive score also once rushed to 9.3 and 9.1, called "a dream machine, but it can make the nights of an entire city delay sleep" by the Korean *Kyunghyang Shinmun*.

Chen Nuo, who had been controversial due to "no comment" when promoting in South Korea previously, was now completely free of anyone mentioning his rude behavior, and no one even remembered anything about "anti-Chen" or "pro-Chen."

On the DCInside movie forum, discussion threads about Chen Nuo were endless, almost every day there were hot threads occupying the homepage:

"He is not acting, he is not a 20-something actor, I feel he is a person who has spent hundreds of years in dreams. There is a charm of vicissitudes in his eyes." —user_

"The moment Chen Nuo-xi ran in the snow, I suddenly grasped the handsomeness of this man." —yong_

"I hated him before, but now I've fallen in love with him." —hyun_

"This is the real actor, not that kind of TV drama actor who is an idol, but the kind of actor born for movies. Jeon Do-yeon's eye is great!!!" —moon_jk93

Many Korean netizens began to spontaneously organize clips of his past works, and the playback volume of related clips on YouTube quickly exceeded one million.

And the number of followers on the Instagram account he had newly registered previously actually skyrocketed to nearly 500,000 within a few days with the help of these Koreans, already ranking ahead of Kim Kardashian. Of course, compared to Justin Bieber, Britney Spears, and Lady Gaga with over 2 million, there was still a bit of a gap.

In Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and other places, as it entered its second week of release, the heat of *Inception* not only did not fade but continued to rise.

Under the fermentation of word-of-mouth, many cinemas even began to add midnight screenings.

Hong Kong's *Ming Pao* pointed out in an editorial: "In this movie, what the audience experiences is not just the ups and downs of the plot and the dazzling special effects, but a sense of awakening from the creator's deep intentions—it reminds us that movies can still think, and are still worth us sitting quietly in the dark for two hours."

Malaysia's *Sin Chew Daily* wrote: "You think it's telling a dream, but it's actually dreaming for you. You think you are sitting in a cinema chair, but in reality, your world has been taken away by it for a full two and a half hours."

Finally, arriving at the European continent, when *Inception*'s box office was released in all dozens of countries here, and reached a cumulative 350 million USD in early August,

Major European media began to re-examine the impact brought by this film—

"What we are witnessing is not the success of a movie, but a collective evolution of the global film industry. It is a collective carnival of the audience. When an audience member walks into the cinema for the fourth time to watch the same movie, we are witnessing the rise of a new film consumption model."

—*Empire* magazine.

"Its success reminds European filmmakers: the audience is much smarter than you think. They are also willing to give more for a good movie."

—*Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung*.

At the same time, *Captain America*, the second-place film in North America that many had high hopes for, was released in 3,832 cinemas, achieving a decent start of 96.8 million USD in its first week. However, in the second week, in many cinemas, it returned its screen share to *Inception*, thus ushering in a cliff-like decline, collecting only 54.3 million USD.

IMDb score 6.9, Rotten Tomatoes freshness 79%, audience approval 74%. Many film critics said: "The story is too traditional, lacking surprises."

The third one, which was even more sigh-inducing, was *Rise of the Planet of the Apes*, which should have been a topic of discussion.

This sci-fi blockbuster produced by 20th Century Fox, with a cost as high as 93 million USD, resulted in a first-weekend box office of only 8.2 million USD after its release on August 5th, ranking at the bottom of all new films this year. Its reputation collapsed across the board, called the "biggest disaster of the year" by the critical community. The *Chicago Tribune* sarcastically said: "This is not the rise of the apes, but the fall of the screenwriter's IQ."

Finally, there was the former king, *Transformers 3*, now in its 7th week, collecting only 2.6 million USD, having already reached the end of its release.

It was under these circumstances that the Chinese premiere of *Inception* on August 9, 2011, was ushered in.

And in fact, in the one or two weeks before this, the entire Chinese internet's film fans and 'Nuo-mi' (Chen Nuo fans) had already erupted many times, like a volcano in intense activity.

PS:

I originally wanted to take a break for the holiday and write 4,000 words to slack off.

I actually wrote to 4 o'clock in one breath, 8,000 words.

Asking for double monthly tickets isn't too much, right?

(End of chapter)