Chapter 209: Returning Home and the New Movie

Cheng Chen's trip to Japan has ended.

When leaving, many Japanese fans came to the airport to see him off.

Due to the sheer number of people, traffic near the airport was completely paralyzed.

This phenomenon was captured directly by the media, who declared Cheng Chen's influence in Japan comparable to that of Japan's top entertainment stars.

After this concert, Cheng Chen's name became nearly unknown to no one in Japan.

Especially the songs "Fireworks" and "Lemon" spread throughout Japan as if they had grown wings.

Many Japanese singers promptly covered these two songs.

Needless to say, these two songs would certainly not be absent from this year's Kōhaku Uta Gassen.

In comparison, "Loser" was not covered as wildly as the other two songs due to its vocal difficulty.

But this song unexpectedly spread among Japan's Bosozoku.

According to someone who witnessed the Bosozoku retirement ceremony firsthand:

Just after 10 p. m., under the command of several leaders, the Bosozoku formed a large circle.

Each member shouted out their own name according to their crew and rank.

Finally, they shouted to their comrades, "Take care!"

All those present responded loudly with "Take care!"

Thus, over two hundred of them held hands and took turns shouting one by one.

After all members had shouted, they began singing together a song called "Loser."

At first, the eyewitness thought this was some kind of ceremonial song, but after returning home and checking, he learned it was sung by a China singer.

The song's resentment and self-mockery, paired with the helpless atmosphere of the Bosozoku's retirement, made the scene feel heavy.

Finally, everyone shouted once more, "Take care!" — the shouts echoed long in the air.

Thus, this farewell retirement ceremony officially ended.

Of course,

Cheng Chen had no idea his song had spread among the Bosozoku.

Imagine this: during the day, elementary school students in China sing "The Lone Brave" on their way to school.

At midnight, Japanese Bosozoku belt out "Loser" amid the roar of motorcycle engines.

Hmm, somehow it's a bit insane…

…

On the plane, Cheng Chen reached into his bag for an eye mask to sleep, but pulled out a pouch instead.

Omamori means amulet, talisman.

In Japan, Omamori symbolize various different wishes.

This Omamori was obtained for him by Ishihara Rimi at Asakusa Temple.

Asakusa Temple is Tokyo's most famous and oldest temple.

It is also one of Tokyo's most densely populated areas.

Every year, many people come to the temple to pray for safety and good fortune; it is extremely well known.

The Omamori in Cheng Chen's hand is for health and safety.

Looking at this Omamori, Cheng Chen remembered the moment after the concert.

The way Ishihara Rimi gave him this Omamori.

"C-Chegong, this Omamori… I give it to you, it's my heartfelt gift, please don't refuse!"

Ishihara Rimi's face was flushed, unlike the elegant, rigid, formulaically soothing smile she would later have.

At this moment, Ishihara Rimi was more natural, shy, and genuinely cute.

Cheng Chen took the Omamori and smiled:

"How could I refuse? Ishihara-chan, when you come to China in the future, be sure to find me—I'll take you around China properly."

"It is my honor, thank you so much!"

Ishihara Rimi bowed deeply in gratitude.

In her eyes, having her gift to her idol not rejected was already more than enough.

Especially since her idol had even promised to take her traveling in China…

Along with the Omamori was a story outline.

It was given to Cheng Chen by Xinhai Cheng.

He had asked Cheng Chen to write the theme song for his anime film "5 Centimeters Per Second," but ended up being dragged into writing the screenplay instead.

Yes, the one Cheng Chen mentioned: "Your Name."

After Cheng Chen outlined "Your Name," Xinhai Cheng was immediately captivated by the story.

Seeing Xinhai Cheng's eager expression, Cheng Chen suddenly understood.

He had thought "Your Name" was an ordinary story because he came from the future.

He had experienced an information explosion; all sorts of tropes or plots had long since become mundane to him.

Time travel, protagonists swapping bodies?

In the future, these were common tropes, found everywhere on websites.

China's films also had endless similar plots.

But now it was 2005, and the focus was still on grandeur…

So when Xinhai Cheng heard Cheng Chen's story outline, he was instantly hooked.

He went home and immediately turned Cheng Chen's verbal story into an outline, then sent it to Cheng Chen.

If I had known it would be this troublesome, Cheng Chen should have just told him directly:

Don't waste your effort—I have not only the script but also the storyboards in my head; you want me to give them to you?

In the end, Cheng Chen agreed to help Xinhai Cheng write the theme song for *5 Centimeters Per Second*.

Meanwhile, Xinhai Cheng had not only begun creating *5 Centimeters Per Second* but was also constantly pondering the plot of *Your Name*.

……

When Cheng Chen arrived in China, he was ambushed by a large crowd of media waiting at the airport.

For Cheng Chen, who had just returned from abroad, the media were clearly even more frenzied.

"Cheng Chen, how was your trip to Japan?"

"I heard you spent over an hour alone with a Japanese female star—what is your relationship with her?"

"Regarding this concert, will you translate the three Japanese songs you performed into Chinese for release?"

"What was your greatest takeaway from this Japan trip?"

"Some say you are now Japan's most popular Chinese male star—what do you think of that?"

The media surrounded Cheng Chen so tightly that not even a needle could pass through; nearby, fans waited for autographs and photos.

Cheng Chen did not directly answer the reporters' questions, but simply shared his reflections on the Japan trip.

He then left under the escort of his accompanying staff.

This Japan trip had earned Cheng Chen immense face.

Even after Cheng Chen's *Rare Characters* became a massive hit in Japan, many Japanese people launched a craze for learning Chinese.

Just as Chinese people have certain advantages learning Japanese, Japanese people also have considerable advantages learning Chinese.

After all, they were exposed to Chinese characters since childhood, and Chinese characters were visible everywhere on street signs.

For the Japanese, the biggest obstacle in learning Chinese characters was likely pronunciation.

So when Japanese audiences, speaking Chinese with that distinctive "Da Zuo" accent, expressed their fondness for Cheng Chen online,

the people of China felt unparalleled pride.

Look—this is our Chinese star, who went to Japan, won over the Japanese, and made them speak Chinese!

Therefore, from every perspective, Cheng Chen's Japan trip was a success.

Yet some people seized upon the song *Rare Characters* to attack Cheng Chen.

They claimed *Rare Characters* was just a mindless pop song.

They claimed the chorus was nothing but a pile of rare characters, meaningless.

They claimed singing such a wordy, artificial lyric at an overseas concert was hollow and likely to mislead.

In short, they grabbed at certain points of the song and launched a barrage of abuse.

Cheng Chen made no response at all.

Anyone with eyes could see that certain people were deliberately smearing Cheng Chen.

After all, at the Japan concert, Cheng Chen had already said it was just a simple pop song.

It was others who had elevated it too high, turning it into a platform for promoting cultural exports.

If that were truly the case, why didn't they target songs like *Wan Jiang* and *Blue and White Porcelain* that he also sang at the concert?

Why target only *Rare Characters*, the song he casually performed?

Because that group dared not smear those two songs—they dared not use those two songs as a target…

Of course, he also made no response to the rumors about his time with Ishihara Rimi in Japan.

If Cheng Chen had told the media that she was merely a little fan of his…

Would the media believe him? Even though that would still boost their national pride.

But nothing is as sensational as "Chinese Heavenly King sparks obsessive pursuit by Japanese actress."

After all, romance combined with "national pride" is unbeatable!

So Cheng Chen paid little attention to outside rumors—he was busy with other things…

"*Crazy Stone* has stood out among recent releases, and in just over twenty days,

our Mainland box office has surpassed 50 million yuan.

*Crazy Stone* has outperformed foreign blockbusters released at the same time, such as *Anaconda* and *The Incredibles*.

It has put great pressure on domestic films during the Valentine's Day slot, including our competitor *Seoul Raiders*.

From its initial release, we were slightly behind, but then we caught up and surpassed them.

Given the current box office trend, the final total is likely to reach around 60 million yuan by the time it leaves theaters…"

On stage, Yang Lin of Xinmei Group was enthusiastically reporting the figures.

He was the head of Xinmei Group's film distribution channel, whom Cheng Chen met when visiting the set of *Qing Hong*.

For *Crazy Stone*'s release, the distribution channel was crucial.

Fortunately, Xinmei Group had long been deeply entrenched in film distribution.

When Cheng Chen first proposed collaboration, Yang Lin seized the opportunity to connect with him.

He himself had transitioned from Producer to head of film distribution, and his first project under this role was *Crazy Stone*.

*Crazy Stone*'s investment was roughly 6 million yuan; its final box office totaled about 60 million yuan.

Since Cheng Chen funded the film entirely himself, crudely speaking, he was the financier.

Even after deducting theater cuts, theater chain fees, and distributor shares, he still made a profit.

And this doesn't even include overseas copyright revenue.

Not only was Yang Lin, the head, astonished, but even director Ning Hao, sitting in the audience, heard Yang Lin's report with a stunned expression.

His first commercial film had broken the 100 million yuan box office mark!

The second thought was, thank goodness no one's boss is losing money…

Thinking of this, Ning Hao looked up at Cheng Chen, who merely smiled at the big screen.

He showed no excessive pride over these results.

In truth, Ning Hao knew that without Cheng Chen, The Crazy Stone could never have achieved such box office success.

It wasn't just because he was the investor—Cheng Chen had already joined in during the early script development.

Later, all promotional activities, TV appearances, and more were almost entirely arranged by Cheng Chen alone.

People say good wine needs no bush, but with today's media, even good wine fears the back alley!

"In the Mainland, a film typically exits theaters one month after release.

Because digital copies used for screening have a password key with a clear expiration date.

The term is one month; if it passes, the film is taken off.

Of course, if the film receives strong reactions and audience interest remains high,

one may apply to continue screening—it's an extremely rare case.

There are clear regulations for film withdrawal: most films exit theaters one month after release.

Some films with low attendance are pulled after just one week.

For theaters' critically acclaimed and commercially successful films, they may consider applying for extended screening.

Out of protection for domestic films, approvals for domestic productions are often more generous…"

Yang Lin spoke all this while observing Cheng Chen.

Seeing Cheng Chen say nothing, Yang Lin said:

"Boss Cheng, why don't we apply too?"

"Do you at Xinmei have connections?"

Hearing Yang Lin's words, Cheng Chen asked in return.

"Uh…"

Seeing Yang Lin hesitate, Cheng Chen smiled and said:

"Forget it. Instead of talking about this, let's study the new film."

Cheng Chen smiled.

"New film!"

Yang Lin's eyes lit up.

Ning Hao and Gao Bo exchanged a glance, though they weren't surprised.

During the New Year dinner, Cheng Chen had already hinted to them about planning a new movie.

Something called… I Am Not A Medicine God?

"Yes, the new movie—you two come over too."

Cheng Chen placed a screenplay directly on the table.

Yang Lin picked it up curiously to read; Gao Bo and Ning Hao looked too.

But on the cover of the screenplay, it didn't say I Am Not A Medicine God—it had a different title.

Tai Jiong!

Business success Xu Lang spent five years inventing a miraculous product called Oil Tyrant.

Each time a car is fueled, one only needs to fill it to two-thirds, then add two drops of Oil Tyrant.

The gasoline in the tank becomes completely full.

Xu Lang's classmate and business rival Gao Bo wanted to sell this invention outright to the French.

But Xu Lang firmly refused—he hoped to develop and research it further, to spread Oil Tyrant far and wide for greater returns.

The two expressed opposing views, arguing endlessly with no resolution.

Since their shares were equal, only an authorization letter from the company's largest shareholder, Zhou Yang, could let either achieve their goal.

Upon learning Zhou Yang was in Thailand, Xu Lang immediately set off to find him.

After hearing this, Gao Bo placed a tracker on Xu Lang and followed him to Thailand.

On the plane, Xu Lang met Wang Bao, and slyly tried to use him to escape his rival Gao Bo.

But he not only failed to shake off Wang Bao—he became his personal caretaker…

Some say the biggest laugh generator in Tai Jiong is its characters, whose unexpected lines and reactions are hilarious.

Unlike typical comedy films, the gags in Tai Jiong appear in series.

Such gags as the Cactus Series, the Transgender Series, the Scallion Pancake Series are not merely pure comedy elements.

They also serve as drivers of the plot…

This is why Cheng Chen, after much deliberation, dropped I Am Not A Medicine God and chose to film Tai Jiong.

Compared to others, Tai Jiong as a comedy film has very stable results!

And now filming I Am Not A Medicine God would be somewhat untimely…