Chapter 72: 1 Hour and 07 Minutes Phone Call

When Liu Yifei entered the hall, she saw that the screening hall was indeed empty. Although she couldn't see clearly, borrowing the light from the screen, she could see that there were only a few people sitting in the whole hall.

She found her seat and sat down. When she looked up, she saw a familiar face. But it was completely different from before, simply like two different people.

Because in *Return of the Condor Heroes*, it was absolutely impossible to have dust or mud on Yang Guo's face, and it was absolutely impossible to see Yang Guo smiling flatteringly at anyone.

But here, he was hunched over, piling up a pleasing smile.

This smile was so forceful that it even squeezed out layers of skin folds on his face.

He was carrying a bag of dirty empty plastic bottles, bowing and scraping to a little old man who collected scraps.

Liu Yifei was hit by this scene all of a sudden.

Although there were many more touching plots later, Liu Yifei also heard people crying in the hall.

But maybe it was because she didn't see the beginning plot, and she hadn't really watched it, so until the end of the screening, the deepest impression in her mind was still this smile that was humble to the dust.

Liu Yifei imagined what it would be like if she went to shoot this scene, how she would act.

But her mind was blank, and she couldn't think of anything.

This smile did not belong to the world she was in.

When walking out of the cinema, Liu Yifei suddenly wanted to call Chen Nuo to ask him how he acted.

Taking out her phone, finding the number, dialing out, but immediately hung up.

Forget it.

Although she was his colleague and was talking about acting, in this special time now, if the other party spread it out and said she called him late at night, her reputation would be ruined.

Liu Yifei put her phone back into her pants pocket and prepared to take a taxi home.

At this moment, the night was already deep. After coming out of the cinema, some people stood sparsely on the side of the road, all of whom seemed to be people who had come out of the mall and were preparing to take a taxi. Liu Yifei put on her mask again and stood on the side of the road waiting for the car silently.

She was already a little regretful that she had run out secretly.

The dim and gloomy light emitted by the street lamps on the street could not give people a sense of security. Instead, under its illumination, there were many dark shadows. It seemed that a pair of ill-intentioned eyes were hidden in these shadows, coveting her in secret.

Illusion, all illusion.

Liu Yifei encouraged herself secretly.

She tiptoed and kept looking at the road. There were clearly some cars coming just now, but unfortunately, she didn't dare to grab them with others. Now there were fewer and fewer people, and the cars seemed to be gone.

There seemed to be some movement behind her. Was it footsteps?

Liu Yifei walked two steps toward the bright place under the street lamp, pretending to look back as if nothing had happened, only to see a man whose face could not be seen walking straight toward her.

Her heart almost jumped out of her throat.

Although she couldn't be considered timid, it also depended on the time. In this situation, whether the other party was a paparazzi or a bad person, it was very terrible.

Liu Yifei turned and left directly, and at the same time took out her phone from her pocket, didn't even look, and pressed the dial button directly.

What Liu Yifei didn't know was that when she turned and walked away quickly, the man walking toward her crossed the road directly.

The phone only rang once before it was picked up, and a "hello" came from the other side.

Liu Yifei's voice trembled and said: "I'm being followed, what should I do?"

"Liu Yifei?"

The voice on the other end of the phone was a man's, sounding very young and also a bit familiar, not her agent. Liu Yifei's heart was in a mess, she couldn't tell who it was at all, and she didn't know which number she had dialed in her panic just now.

"Yes, yes, it's me, someone is following me!"

The other party also suddenly became nervous: "Are you alone now? Where are you?"

"I am..." Liu Yifei said the address of the cinema, "He has been following me behind, chasing me! Quick, should I call the police?" The footsteps behind seemed to be getting closer and closer.

"Ah? Then it's too late to call the police. Now you hurry up and call for help, quickly see if there is anyone else on the road."

In a flash of lightning, Liu Yifei suddenly remembered who this person was.

This person is Chen Nuo.

She had found his number and dialed it before, so he was the first one on the contact list, and she had dialed it out in her panic just now.

However, it was no longer a matter of caring about men and women, or whether the mouth was tight. She immediately followed Chen Nuo's method and prepared to find someone to stop the person behind her.

Looking to the left, no one.

Looking to the right, no one either.

There seemed to be figures in front, but too far away.

She couldn't walk anymore, so tired.

Looking back, still no one.

"What should I do, there is no one everywhere." Liu Yifei was so anxious that she was about to cry, and she said to the microphone, "I looked front, back, left, and right, and there is no one. Why don't you help me dial 110, let the police come to save me~"

"What about the person behind you?"

"There is no one behind!" Liu Yifei screamed.

The phone on the other side was silent for a while, and said: "... There is no one behind you? Didn't you just say someone was chasing you? If there is no one, why are you running?"

Hmm?

Liu Yifei's footsteps slowed down, and she looked back a second time.

On the empty road, there were only a few figures in the distance, playing and making trouble happily.

Indeed, there was no one.

Then where is the person?

Did he give up?

"Hoo hoo, he doesn't seem to be following me." Liu Yifei stopped, but was still very nervous, "What should I do now, should I continue walking? Or call the police?"

"Call the police. You hang up the phone now, and then call 110 immediately."

"I still don't dare to hang up, you don't hang up the phone either, you go find another phone and help me call the police, okay?"

"Okay. I'll go find a phone now, you tell me your location one more time."

After a while, Chen Nuo used the hotel's landline to call Beijing's 110, telling the police that a girl was being followed by a stranger, and also told them Liu Yifei's phone number and address.

Afterward, he said: "Okay, now you find a safe place and wait. I gave your phone number to the police, they will call you when they arrive later."

"Okay, thank you."

"Hmm, then I'll hang up?"

"Don't!" Liu Yifei found a convenience store that was open at this time, but the cashier was a boy, and she still felt unsafe. After entering, she sat on the chair by the window at the door, looking around nervously.

Hearing Chen Nuo say he wanted to hang up the phone, she almost subconsciously refused: "You wait until the police arrive before you hang up, okay?"

"Okay." Chen Nuo agreed cleanly. It wasn't a troublesome matter anyway, and he didn't hesitate.

And then he asked casually: "Why are you out alone so late? Where is your mother, didn't she accompany you?"

Liu Yifei said: "No, I ran out to watch a movie secretly alone."

"Ah, what movie?"

"The Zhang Zhang Yaba's House."

When receiving Liu Yifei's call, Chen Nuo was preparing to sleep in a hotel in Shanghai. Alone.

Very unfortunately, he came suddenly, and Xia Yehe was performing in the frontier.

At that time, seeing that the caller was Liu Yifei, Chen Nuo was taken aback, and after hearing what the other party said, he was even more surprised.

"Why did you go out to watch a movie so late?"

Entering a bright place and talking on the phone with someone, Liu Yifei calmed down a little, "I saw the poster on the road today, and suddenly I really wanted to watch it. I found that there were not many people in the hall. Is your film's box office good?"

"Quite good, better than the director expected."

Chen Nuo was telling the truth.

Although *The Zhang Zhang Yaba* was almost off the screen, it had only been a month, and it was estimated that there were not many cinemas in the country still showing it.

But this was already an excellent result.

An art film, released for almost a month, and there were still cinemas showing it, which was already very rare.

Zhang Yi said that the final box office might exceed 10 million, on par with *Kong Que*. However, Gu Changwei put down his status, personally held the Silver Bear trophy, and ran to I don't know how many cities with *Kong Que* for roadshows, and the promotional expenses invested were estimated to be ten times theirs.

More importantly, they also had a fierce tiger in the same period, *The Promise*.

When everyone thought their small art film would be eaten by this fierce tiger without even bones left, no one expected that not only did they not die, but they also tore a large piece of fat meat from the tiger's hands. Although *The Promise* was still unstoppable and broke many box office records one after another, with a first-week box office reaching 70 million, *The Zhang Zhang Yaba* actually also got 3 million in box office.

From the second week, although *The Promise*'s box office was still singing and advancing, its reputation began to polarize. At this time, *The Zhang Zhang Yaba*'s box office actually didn't fall but rose, following *The Promise* with over 3.5 million, ranking second in the box office list.

*The Zhang Zhang Yaba* sold 6.5 million in two weeks, which absolutely exceeded everyone's expectations.

By the third week, some cinemas added some screenings, and finally, after three weeks, the total box office was pointing to 10 million.

You have to know, this was completely without word-of-mouth spread. If the plot and actors are not allowed to be discussed, what word-of-mouth is there to speak of?

If you really want to say there is, it's Chen Nuo's face.

So whether it was Zhang Yi or Li Xiaotian, they both said they must give him a seven-figure red envelope to reward his favor of selling his face.

Liu Yifei had been bombarded by various public opinions during this period, and her mother had long ago not let her see any entertainment news, so she knew nothing about these. At this moment, Chen Nuo's understatement fell into Liu Yifei's ears, and she felt that the box office definitely wasn't high. She also knew the difficulty of art films and couldn't help but ask: "Can it be 5 million?"

Chen Nuo said: "That needs a little more, estimated to be a little over 10 million."

Liu Yifei was a little surprised.

You have to know this is 2005. Just next year, Ning Hao made a name for himself with *Crazy Stone*, which also sold only 20-something million. At this time, a 10-million-level film is a goal that many second- and third-tier film merchants can only hope for.

Let alone an art film.

She had also shot three films before, and the best one was still several hundred short of 10 million. If one day she could be the heroine in a 10-million-level film, her mother would definitely wake up laughing even in her sleep.

"Isn't that the same as Director Gu's *Kong Que* not long ago?"

Chen Nuo didn't expect Liu Yifei to really know, so he said: "Right."

"You are amazing." Liu Yifei said involuntarily.

Since she was a child, she had almost never been jealous of anyone; it was always others who were jealous of her. Including at the Film Academy, she was the only one in her class and even the entire acting department. When classmates mentioned her, there was no sense of comparison, because they were not on the same level at all.

However, now, she was suddenly a little jealous of this boy on the other end of the phone.

He didn't need to change his type, be a singer, didn't need to cater to fans, and didn't need to participate in the infighting of several brokerage companies. He didn't even have a company; it was said that he just set up an individual studio, and there was only one agent wherever he went.

He just shot his films, shot until no one in the crew didn't praise him, shot until directors and producers all looked at him differently, shot until his first film had a box office of over 10 million and he won a Best Actor award.

Thinking of this, Liu Yifei suddenly had a trace of curiosity and asked: "Have you taken any new plays recently?"

"Hmm... not yet, I went to talk about one today, the director really wants me to act, but I'm still considering..."

"Ah? But aren't you still shooting *Return of the Condor Heroes*?"

"This schedule is relatively late, if I act, it will be next year."

Liu Yifei suddenly realized and said: "Then why set the actors so early?"

Chen Nuo said: "I don't know either."

Liu Yifei figured it out herself: "It must be that the director has high requirements, wants to screen carefully, and the selected actors are estimated to be big names, needing to arrange the schedule in advance. Director, who is the director?"

Chen Nuo hesitated and said: "I don't know if I can say this..."

Liu Yifei was a little unhappy: "You say it, I won't tell anyone, including my mom."

Chen Nuo thought about it and felt that anyone in the world might leak secrets, but this girl on the other end of the phone definitely wouldn't. So he said: "Okay, it's Ang Lee."

Liu Yifei actually thought of many directors in her mind just now, but she never expected it to be Ang Lee.

Although she had already shot quite a few series and had been in the industry for several years, and recently she had appeared in several S-level domestic big productions as the heroine, after *Return of the Condor Heroes* was broadcast, she could definitely be called a first-line actor in the country.

However, who is Ang Lee?

Even for her, Ang Lee was still just a name that could only be seen in the list of judges of major film festivals, in some film magazines, and in Hollywood news.

Out of reach.

She wanted to shoot Ang Lee's play, just like an ordinary high school girl wanted to play Li Xiaolong Maiden.

Liu Yifei couldn't believe her ears, "Who did you say?"

"Ang Lee."

"*Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon*, Ang Lee?"

"Right."

Liu Yifei stopped talking all of a sudden. If it was just a trace of jealousy just now, now, she felt like a stone was blocking her heart.

After a while, she asked with a trace of uncertainty: "... Did you just say you still have to consider?"

Chen Nuo couldn't explain. He had watched *Lust, Caution* and knew the numerous controversies this film caused later, and knew that this film absolutely couldn't be touched.

Had to say "Hmm."

Liu Yifei was completely speechless now. She even wanted to ask the other party, since you could refuse Ang Lee, what are you acting as Yang Guo with me for?

Is the rumor in the crew that you borrowed money from Director Zhang Jizhong, so you came to act as Yang Guo, true?

But Liu Yifei didn't ask it out. She let out a faint sigh, her tone complex: "You are so amazing~"

In less than five minutes, she had said these words for the second time. If the first sentence was admiration, then this sentence was an indescribable feeling.

"How come, sigh, don't we actors all do this when taking plays? Two-way choice."

Two-way choice your head, others are two-way choice with third-rate directors, I haven't heard of any actor in the country who would have a two-way choice with Ang Lee. Liu Yifei was angry and suddenly decided: "After I come back from Japan, I will definitely shoot a good film! A big production!"

Chen Nuo said: "Okay, then let's work hard together then. Also, don't come out alone so late next time, it's really quite dangerous."

Speaking of this, Liu Yifei remembered the things that had happened to her during this period again.

Originally, she had thought a little bit, but now compared to this person on the phone, she couldn't figure it out.

She was wronged and slandered, suffered so much, but what was the result? Compared to others, what was she in the entertainment industry? Paid so much, compared to others, still counted for nothing.

Liu Yifei's nose was sour, and her eye sockets turned red all of a sudden, "I know. But... but my mom... she helps others speak, and doesn't love me anymore."

"How is that possible?" Chen Nuo laughed.

"You don't know what happened!" Liu Yifei sniffed, a little angry.

Chen Nuo's tone was very gentle: "Then what happened? Tell me."

I don't know if it's because in this night where spring and summer intertwine, people become particularly fragile, especially easy to open their hearts, or after great surprise and fear, the tightly closed heart door will have cracks, revealing hidden emotions.

In short, Liu Yifei didn't want to say too much originally, but under Chen Nuo's inquiry, she couldn't help but open the chatterbox and started to chatter.

From the rumors and gossip during this period to the pressure and anxiety of transforming from an actor to a singer, from the incompetence of the brokerage company to the arbitrary decision of the agent, from the mother's attitude to the decrease in fans, including her various inner feelings, she said them all.

She felt that this person on the other end of the phone was really a very good listener.

Most of the time he didn't answer at all, just listened silently, occasionally asking one or two questions that were just right, making her not even feel the passage of time, and unknowingly said everything that had happened recently in detail.

Until two policemen in uniforms suddenly pushed open the door of the convenience store and walked in, looking at her, asking unkindly: "Were you the one who called the police earlier? The phone number ending in 9012, called your phone for almost an hour, it's been busy all the time! We've been looking for you in this area for a long time, do you know that?!"

Liu Yifei was startled, stood up all of a sudden, and said: "It's me, it's me, sorry, sorry, I forgot."

The police looked at her. Although she was wearing a mask, she was clearly a young girl, so their anger subsided a little, and they said: "Forget it, forget it, you're fine now, right? Do you want us to send you home?"

"Okay, okay, thank you."

Getting into the police car, Liu Yifei wanted to put her phone in her bag. At a glance, she found that the screen was still on, and it clearly showed the contact Chen Nuo, with a call time of 1 hour and 07 minutes.

It's over.

It's over, it's over, it's over.

Liu Yifei recalled what she had just said, and she wished time could go back, and she could sew her mouth shut.

She really wanted to hang up the phone regardless, and never contact this person again. However, the reality was that she still had to go back to play Li Xiaolong Maiden.

She sighed imperceptibly, picked up the phone, and said softly: "Chen Nuo, the police found me, I'm going home now. Goodbye."

"Okay, goodbye."

What made Liu Yifei feel fortunate was that the other party responded simply and hung up the phone.

Feeling very impatient.

Thinking of this, Liu Yifei was a little unwilling again.

What does it mean, am I that scary? Hanging up so fast, hmph.

The police were very responsible and sent her to the door of her house. And in the end, Liu Yifei was also very lucky not to disturb anyone, and secretly returned to the bedroom on the second floor of the villa.

She didn't wash up again and went straight to bed.

Entering the warm quilt, the string that Liu Yifei had been tightening in her heart finally relaxed. Before falling asleep, her last thought was: "Find time to watch it again from beginning to end."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 73 =====