Chapter 99: First Meeting

December 31, 2005, 23:59, New York Times Square.

The New Year's bell was about to ring. Chen Nuo stood with Qi Yuntian in the bustling crowd. The colorful neon lights adorned the dark night sky like a future world, and the colorful crystal ball hanging above the high tower in the center of the square had already begun to slide down slowly.

The countdown numbers started from 59.

Qi Yuntian stood beside him, his breath condensing into white mist in the cold air. He said loudly, "How is it? Isn't it very lively?"

Chen Nuo nodded.

He tightened his scarf and tucked his hands into his pockets.

Although he had been here in his previous life, since Qi Yun had brought him to see it, Chen Nuo didn't refuse.

The surrounding crowd gradually began to count down in unison. The sound echoed over the square, intertwining with the band music coming from afar. Chen Nuo's gaze darted through the crowd; he saw couples of all skin colors embracing tightly, friends gathered together raising their glasses in celebration, and families who had brought their children to experience this moment—without exception, their faces were filled with smiles.

As the countdown sound became louder and louder, the crystal ball was about to reach the bottom, and the crowd began to count down in unison.

"Five, four, three, two, one."

When the last countdown ended, 2006 had arrived.

The LED screen displayed the words "Happy New Year," and a deafening cheer erupted in the square. Accompanied by brilliant fireworks and ribbons flying all over the sky, the entire Times Square was lit up into an ocean of joy.

Fireworks bloomed in the night sky, each explosion like applause for the beginning of the New Year.

Chen Nuo looked up, truly feeling that this was New York, the most famous metropolis in the world, the world financial center, the city of sin.

He sent out the text message he had already edited on his phone to a group.

Among the girls, besides his two girlfriends Xia Yehe and Wen Yongshan, there were three friends: Liu Yifei, Yang Mi, and Zhang Xiaofei, the girl Li Er had instructed him to take care of.

The text messages from Xia Yehe and Wen Yongshan were almost on the same frequency as his. As soon as he sent his, his phone rang with the "didi" sound of receiving a message. Even though there was a 13-hour time difference between Shanghai/Hong Kong and New York, these two girls seemed to have been waiting specifically for 1:00 PM to send him New Year's greetings.

Xia Yehe's text was: "Happy New Year! I hope you have a bumper harvest in box office and awards in 2006, and that you make progress in your studies and succeed in your career. Mua~ Keep it up, you are always the best in my heart."

Wen Yongshan's text was: "Darling, may your career flourish in the New Year, and may your new films be both critically acclaimed and commercially successful. Remember to take care of your health; health is the most important thing. Love you, Yongshan."

After maybe a minute, Yang Mi's text also arrived: "Happy New Year, Chen Geshen! Oh my god, I was wrong. When I sent the New Year's text last night, I really didn't think it was still daytime on your end. Forgive me~"

Zhang Xiaofei, on the other hand, hadn't expected Chen Nuo to text her at all. It took a very, very long time for her to reply, and her tone was practically terrified.

Liu Yifei didn't reply until noon the next day, when he had already started walking the streets of Manhattan with Qi Yuntian: "Happy New Year! I hate my mom to death! She confiscated my phone yesterday!"

By the time he finished replying to Liu Yifei's text, he looked up and saw the NYU flag fluttering in the wind on a building not far away.

After arriving in New York, Chen Nuo finally started flipping through Wong Kar-wai's script.

The script was titled "My Blueberry Nights." Chen Nuo manually translated it as "My Blueberry Nights."

He played an Asian student named Jeremy who worked part-time in a coffee shop.

There, he met a female student named Elizabeth, who was also studying at New York University. She was a freshman and discovered that her high school boyfriend of several years had been cheating on her the whole time.

After Jeremy helped counsel Elizabeth, he realized he had fallen in love with her.

Afterward, to heal her spiritual wounds, Elizabeth took a leave of absence to travel around the United States, preparing to find the true meaning of love during her journey. During this time, she met other people and many things happened. Every time she arrived at a place, she would send Jeremy a postcard, describing what she saw and heard.

When she finally found the answer she wanted, she returned to New York and came to the coffee shop where Jeremy worked, and the two got together.

A thick script actually just told such a simple story. It inexplicably reminded Chen Nuo of the past when he reviewed for two months and could score over 600 on his monthly exams.

It wasn't that he was a genius; it was that the questions were too simple. This time, it wasn't that the plot was complicated; it was that the font was large and wide.

Wong Kar-wai said this was the first time in his life he had filmed a movie with a script in hand, so he felt uneasy. Chen Nuo felt that if Wong Kar-wai really copied this script to film, it would be strange if it didn't flop.

What was the point of this kind of story!? He really couldn't see it.

However, he was just an actor, so what could he do?

An actor shouldn't worry about the director's business; he should just act his own part well.

Chen Nuo had been studying at the Film Academy for half a year and had come into contact with many acting schools. Compared to half a year ago, he had actually made progress in many aspects. For example, his daily morning line practice had made his breath control much more stable, and he had gained a preliminary understanding of various performance theories and methods.

He now had a clearer understanding of his talent.

He was actually a typical immersive actor. Similar to him were Daniel Day-Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Heath Ledger.

According to Li Er, such actors were prone to producing good performances, but it was also the most damaging to the body. Mentally ill people and immersive actors were often only a thin line apart; they were walking a tightrope in between, and if they weren't careful, they would lean to the other side, which was a bottomless abyss. Therefore, it was best not to use immersive acting methods if possible.

But when the time came, Chen Nuo still chose the method he was most proficient in and most confident about.

Because he felt that, perhaps due to his rebirth, his mind seemed more determined and powerful than the average person. To him, the damage caused by this acting method was relatively limited. Just like with the mute, he had been fine even when he didn't understand anything.

Secondly, he felt that this character was similar in age to him and was also a college student, so it would definitely be very easy to get into character.

And that was indeed the case.

This day, Chen Nuo pulled Qi Yuntian onto the streets of Manhattan.

Looking at the two NYU flags on the building to the front left, Qi Yuntian said helplessly, "New York University is very large. It doesn't have a campus; the entire Manhattan is its territory. If you want to experience the feeling of attending New York University, you can't drag me to walk through all of Manhattan, right?"

Why not? If he couldn't even do this, what kind of actor was he?

Next, Chen Nuo spent several days walking from morning till night. Not only did he walk through all the NYU buildings in Manhattan, but every time he encountered NYU students on the way, he would stare at them intently.

From head to toe, then from feet to face, he looked at their demeanor, their gait, the expressions on their faces when they spoke, the way they viewed the world, the pride and spirit of some, and the hurried steps and lowered heads of others.

He looked very carefully, with a focus that was a bit scary.

At first, several students were frightened and almost called the police. If Qi Yuntian hadn't stepped forward to explain in time, he might have ended up at the police station giving a statement before filming even started.

But later on, no matter how he looked, no one called the police. Instead, occasionally, kind students would ask him if he couldn't find his classroom and if he wanted to walk together.

Wong Kar-wai told him to forget everything in the script after reading it.

In this process, Chen Nuo succeeded.

He forgot the script, the lines, and the shots and movements within it.

He only remembered that he was a New York University student from a poor family, and he walked the streets and alleys of Manhattan every day. He knew the location of every NYU building, and he knew how long it took to walk between each one.

He liked eating blueberries because he was from Michigan, and blueberries were a specialty of his hometown. To save money for travel, he hadn't been back for over a year.

He missed his mother, missed the oak-scented bed in his second-floor room, missed the Bruce Lee poster on the wall, missed the little wooden horse he made in his childhood handicraft class, and missed his younger brother and sister in middle school.

His name was Jeremy, and he was currently working part-time in a restaurant. He had dated two girlfriends, but they had all broken up for various reasons.

Now he was in a single period and felt he had lost confidence in love.

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 100 =====