Chapter 385

To scare audiences, horror films rely on visuals, sound effects, dialogue, and atmosphere; Li Zhi being frightened despite no sound, unreadable dialogue, and a lit living room proves how terrifying The Exorcist, Hollywood's highest-grossing horror film, truly is.

Wei Ming had doubted whether Li Zhi was faking it, but her pale skin now had a bluish tinge, and her full lips trembled slightly—this wasn't something acting could achieve; she was genuinely terrified.

After calming down in Wei Ming's arms, she let go and apologized: "Sorry, Teacher Wei, the curtain just moved, and the movie was so scary—I couldn't help it. I didn't mean to disturb you."

Seeing her sincere attitude, Wei Ming sat down on the sofa: "I was just tired from writing and needed a break. But don't watch horror films—they don't build courage, only deepen fear. I was just joking earlier; you actually believed me?"

Li Zhi suggested: "How about we switch to another movie?"

Wei Lingling had many videotapes, including plenty of Western films.

He walked to the Western section where the tapes were stored: "Are there any of these you haven't seen?"

Li Zhi: "I've seen few, because there are no Chinese subtitles—I can only guess at English. I've only watched these two."

So Wei Ming picked one she hadn't seen: The Blue Lagoon, one of North America's top ten box office hits last year. The director and male lead didn't matter; the female lead was Brooke Shields, even Grandma Zhao Lirong knew "Brooke Shields."

The story follows a teenage boy and girl stranded on a deserted island, living there and exploring the mysteries of male-female relationships.

At the film's start, Brooke Shields radiated youthful beauty and was genuinely pretty—she was only fourteen or fifteen when filming, about the same age as A Min.

But she was a Western woman; though young, Brooke Shields in the film already looked ripe for picking, while A Min, though tall, still had childish features—Wei Ming felt pity, and it was legally forbidden.

Thinking of A Min, Wei Ming checked his distance from Li Zhi—yes, safe distance.

Li Zhi had also abandoned her usual aggressive, submissive strategy; Wei Ming's coldness had taught her one truth: he was now deeply involved with that girl, his heart full of her, leaving no room for any other woman.

All she could do now was wait—for that girl to make a mistake. She didn't believe a teenage Hong Kong girl, raised in luxury, could truly cherish such a rare, high-quality man.

Once she understood this, even when the film showed suggestive, nude scenes, Li Zhi didn't seize the moment to act. Instead, she blushed and excused herself to the kitchen to pour tea for Wei Ming, only returning after the young lovers' tussling ended.

After the movie ended, Wei Ming's first thought was that Brooke Shields was truly beautiful; his second thought: I really want to go to Sanya—sun, beach, coconuts, and bikinis!

Hong Kong's beaches couldn't compare to Sanya's; in his past life, he'd owned a villa there, but he'd hardly ever used it.

It was nearly midnight when the movie ended; Wei Ming wished Li Zhi goodnight and returned to his room, not bothering to change the sheets—fine, he didn't mind his little aunt.

To be fair, girls' beds smell nice; his dreams were of applying sunscreen to A Min's back on the beach. Li Zhi was different—she wanted him to apply it to her front.

The next day was awkward: at twenty, he was most prone to impulses, hadn't "trained" with his two sisters in days, and worst of all—he hadn't packed clean underwear.

Luckily, his little aunt's bedding wasn't contaminated; otherwise, he'd never face the world again.

In the morning, Li Zhi finished breakfast and wanted to call Wei Ming to eat, but found he'd already left—a note remained.

"Still have matters to attend to, leaving now. If you're fine, I won't come over tonight. Remember to lock your door, don't watch horror films, don't open the door to strangers."

Li Zhi's eyes grew moist; in all her time in Hong Kong, her own father had never given such thoughtful advice.

Though Wei Ming had seemed cold yesterday, acting aloof, his heart was warm. Li Zhi knew it wasn't because she was beautiful or had a good figure—he was simply a good person.

She was so lucky to meet such a good man, yet so unfortunate to have met him after other women.

Wei Ming left his little aunt's place with an empty crotch, returned to the hotel to change his underwear, then went to TVB to submit his proposals for the Top Ten Golden Songs and New Talent Singing Competition to Run Run Shaw.

He pointed to the unturned TV: "This morning, TVB's entertainment news already started reporting the great box office and rave reviews for Wrong Turn, Wrong Time."

Though morning ratings were low, this was just the beginning; Run Run Shaw promised daily coverage throughout the release period—not just morning news—and Wei Ming thanked him.

"In half a month, the Top Ten Chinese Golden Songs will be awarded; the Top Ten Golden Songs are a month away. Now is the time to prepare for selection and promotion—there's a plan above." Wei Ming reminded him before leaving.

Run Run Shaw nodded, stood up slightly to show respect; Wei Ming told him to stay seated.

As he left, he met his old friend Xu Jinjiang and greeted him warmly.

Beside Old Xu stood Liang Jiahui; both had long hair, the classic artist look, and Wei Ming thought of Lin Chong and Lu Zhishen.

Xu Jinjiang quickly introduced Liang Jiahui to Wei Ming; Wei Ming was one of the few big names he knew personally—he clearly came to see Mr. Shaw, and that reflected well on him.

Liang Jiahui showed Wei Ming proper humility, adding that his girlfriend loved his songs.

"I know," Wei Ming asked him, "Did Director Li tell you?"

"Huh? Tell me what? Which Director Li?"

So he didn't know. Wei Ming waved it off: "Never mind, you'll find out later."

Director Li had already chosen him as the male lead but hadn't told him yet.

But Liang Jiahui suddenly realized—was he talking about Dian Xin's father? What could it be? Could it be a marriage proposal?!

Wei Ming chatted briefly with the two newcomers, learning they'd just come from the set, having played minor roles, and couldn't help envying Liu Dehua—he'd already landed the male second lead in a film.

They had no lack of courage, just a lack of opportunity.

After leaving TVB, Wei Ming returned to the hotel to write. At noon, he received a call from Aunt Xia Meng.

She asked curiously: "This morning I suddenly saw TVB reporting on Wrong Turn, Wrong Time—long segment, all praise. Did you do something?"

Wei Ming joked: "I went to TVB myself yesterday and talked to Uncle Shaw, asked him to give Aunt Xia Meng some face—and that's how it turned out."

Xia Meng laughed heartily. Later, Wei Ming told the truth: "I gave Mr. Shaw some feasible suggestions for his business—this is his thanks."

"Xiao Wei, you're truly impressive—mainland China really does produce talent!" Aunt Xia Meng praised endlessly, then added: "Monday's box office exceeded 800, 00, nearly matching Friday's—maybe a ten-million-dollar box office isn't impossible!"

That would make it Hong Kong's fourth ten-million-dollar film ever! Golden Phoenix and Shaw Brothers each had two—before, Xia Meng had never dreamed she'd become a movie tycoon.

Wei Ming smiled: "Maybe by the time you return from Hainan, it'll already be ten million—don't forget the celebration dinner."

Xia Meng said: "When I return from Hainan, I'll throw you a celebration dinner—and red envelopes!"

After hanging up, Wei Ming called Ocean Park to inquire about the panda news from the mainland.

After identifying himself, the other party told him: "The mainland has replied—they'll depart for Hong Kong on Saturday the 19th, rest for a few days, then meet Hong Kong citizens on Christmas Day."

Today was Tuesday—only four days left!

After receiving the news, Wei Ming saw it everywhere: TVB, ATV, and all major Hong Kong newspapers—even the hotel front desk was talking about it. He could easily imagine how crowded Ocean Park would be when the pandas opened for visitors.

These past two days, Wei Ming stayed mostly indoors—either writing at the hotel or accompanying A Min, occasionally calling Li Zhi to check on her head.

Friday afternoon, Wei Ming brought his recent work to Crazy Comics.

The final issue of 1981 sold 130, 00 copies in Hong Kong—no pressure—so for the 1982 debut issue, A Long planned to print 150, 00, then slow down to aim for 200, 00 by year's end.

In fact, for Hong Kong's population and economic level, 150, 00 was already extremely high, and Crazy Comics had already united most comic fans.

Though some fans of pornographic comics weren't catered to, including them would alienate other readers and risk being reported by competitors—not worth it.

A Long said: "Overseas feedback is good too—Mr. Gong plans to order 50, 00 copies for the New Year's first issue."

Those 50, 00 copies were the total for the American Chinese community and Taiwan—Crazy Comics' key profit source.

Wei Ming said: "If we ever do a weekly comic, we could also attract Taiwanese cartoonists—some are truly talented."

A Long: "Ever since you mentioned nurturing new talent, I've been thinking about this—even considered visiting Taiwan to meet fellow artists."

"A bit risky—what if they mistake you for a spy?" Wei Ming teased.

But Taiwan's current artists really do have some masters—Ao Youxiang's Wu Long Yuan comics had already been born, and even across all Chinese comics, they were outstanding.

After chatting with A Long, Wei Ming called Huang Guoxing in and handed him his recent creations.

"It's an ensemble story," Wei Ming said, "about five friends who met in prison and their lives after release."

"Ah, Convict Crazy Dragon? This kind of story should be drawn by Niu Lao," Huang Guoxing said upon hearing the premise—he knew it wasn't his strength.

Wei Ming smiled: "These five didn't go to prison for great evil. Except for this fat guy named Zhegu Cai, the others aren't quite right in the head—either dumb or clueless, or womanizers. After release, they all want to reform and start anew—and then a series of hilarious mishaps happen."

The story is called Five Lucky Stars—just that name—but you can fill it with scenes from films like The Odd Couple of Lucky Stars, Lucky Stars, Summer Lucky Stars, Best Lucky Stars.

As long as the five characters are vivid and interesting, more stories can be spun off—not limited to Hong Jinbao's Five Lucky Stars film series.

And since it's all urban comedy, it can interact with School for Scoundrels and Happy Ghost.

After hearing Wei Ming describe the five characters' traits, Huang Guoxing immediately picked up his pen and began sketching their portraits, full of energy.

Wei Ming nodded: "I hope you can bring them to life under your brush. Each story in this series is a standalone unit—I've written the first one, 'Cunning Plan,' enough to keep you busy for a while. But you'll need to fill in details with the scriptwriter—I'm still not as good as locals at Hong Kong comedy."

Huang Guoxing hurried to say: "Teacher Wei, you're too modest—Wrong Turn, Wrong Time is hilarious—I've watched it twice."

A Long asked: "You watched it twice in such a short time? Do you have two girlfriends?"

Huang Guoxing: "Nope. First time with Niu Lao, second time with Gan Xiaowen—they don't have girlfriends either."

Wei Ming felt sorry—there were too few people in the company with partners. Luckily, he'd raised the average.

Leaving Crazy Comics, Wei Ming gazed northward—tomorrow, tomorrow, Xiao Wei, Lao Wei, Lao Lao Wei could finally reunite as three generations.

Lao Wei and Xu Shufen had packed their bags. When Wei Hong asked when they'd return, they couldn't say.

Officially, they could only return once Hong Kong's caretakers could fully take over the pandas and handle any illness or emergency.

Wei Hong immediately thought they wouldn't be back for a year or more—Gangdan would never accept strangers.

Seeing her daughter's reluctant eyes, Xu Shufen hugged her: "Your brother will be back in a few days—he won't leave you alone long. Tonight, Mom sleeps with you."

Her daughter was fifteen, and they'd soon be separated for so long—Xu Shufen had to give her advice.

The next day, Wei Hong saw her parents off at the door; the zoo's van arrived to take them away.