Chapter 404

Li Aiguo has been busy for over a month since returning to the United States, trying to find a suitable singer for the electronic-style song he is preparing for Wei Ming. He requires someone who possesses both strength and fame, the kind who can become an overnight sensation.

After all, the more Wei Ming earns, the more he earns; they are a community of shared interests. For this, he has utilized every connection he could, getting to know many people in the music circle during this time, to the point where he has almost become a semi-professional himself.

"Leonardo, get in the car first; we'll talk on the way." After exiting the airport, Li Aiguo showed off the latest BMW he had bought to Wei Ming. This was all purchased with the money Wei Ming had shared with him, and he didn't even need a loan. The artistic vitality of "Moonlight Shadow" is extremely robust.

Wei Ming was very satisfied: "It just so happens that I need a car for my activities in Los Angeles recently. Thank you, Aiguo."

"How could I let you drive yourself? Wouldn't that be a slap in my face? We are authentic Los Angeles kids; we have to have this." Li Aiguo patted his own face. During Wei Ming's time in Los Angeles, he will serve as Wei Ming's driver, tour guide, and agent, and will cover all his expenses, while also being able to tag along to attend the Grammy Awards ceremony.

"Won't this delay your affairs?"

"It's fine, I still have some time before I start school." He will be pursuing a master's degree at the University of Southern California next.

After getting in the car, Li Aiguo headed straight for Sunset Boulevard, while simultaneously telling Wei Ming about the musical master he had selected.

"You know Elton John, right? From the UK. You should know him; I remember Melinda let you listen to his album."

"I know him all too well." Wei Ming laughed. It was this 'old sister-in-law' who exposed his identity back in Hong Kong. Wei Ming's subsequent ability to organize a charity concert with such great appeal is, to a certain extent, thanks to him.

"I remember he does rock music, right?" Wei Ming said. Although he didn't form a band, the Elton John albums he had listened to before were basically rock-styled.

"His musical style is actually quite diverse; he can also handle lyrical ballads, and he can play the piano very well." Li Aiguo clearly had conducted an in-depth understanding of Elton John.

He continued: "In recent years, Elton has been having bad luck; his life and career are a mess, and he is seeking a transformation. Electronic music is the direction he wants to try."

Li Aiguo is quite good at choosing people. After John Lennon's death, Elton John can be considered the most talked-about male musician in the UK, and also one of the highest-selling solo singers, with more than one album selling tens of millions of copies.

Wei Ming's understanding of him, apart from those world-famous songs that are familiar to everyone, mainly comes from his biographical film "Rocketman." Anyone who can have a biopic made while the prototype is still alive is no ordinary celebrity.

And the fact that he is currently at a low point in his life, besides the growing pains of his transformation period, also involves messy things like drug use and homosexuality.

However, those things have nothing to do with him. Wei Ming only cares whether this song can reach the height of his previous life; that is the highest-selling electronic music single globally!

"Can I meet with Elton John and have a chat?"

"Sure, he is in the United States, but currently in New York. I need to contact him first. Do you want him to come see you, or do you want to go see him?" Li Aiguo asked.

"Then you contact him later. I'll go to New York when the time comes. After the Grammys, I still have to send Brother Yifu to Chicago for school, so it's on the way."

Li Aiguo: What kind of 'on the way' is this? I think you just randomly came up with an excuse to go to New York!

Actually, Wei Ming also wanted to go to San Francisco. He knows where his great-aunt lives, but he just doesn't know if it would be too abrupt to visit uninvited.

"What shall we do tonight?" Wei Ming asked.

This international flight departed tonight, and landing in Los Angeles was in the evening of the same day. Wei Ming had already slept on the plane. He now needs activities that consume physical strength and energy, so that he won't suffer from insomnia late at night.

"How about going to a bar?" Li Aiguo suggested, something not available in Yanjing. "Yanjing doesn't allow dancing now, you must be feeling stifled, right?"

Wei Ming: "I don't have an addiction to dancing. How about you, Brother Yifu?"

"Me, I'd better go back to the hotel to rest." He has a wife and children, is very self-disciplined, and doesn't want to go to such occasions. He never patronizes the "military paradise" in the Taiwan military.

Wei Ming: "Forget the bar. Are there any movies recently? I want to watch an American blockbuster."

"No, not a single blockbuster. It's the off-season for movies now. However, there is an old movie that has been showing for over a month. It's a warm film about family life, and both its reputation and box office are quite good."

He was talking about "On Golden Pond," a top contender for next year's Oscar ceremony. Crucially, it was also very successful at the box office; the North American box office has now exceeded 100 million, which is quite remarkable.

Wei Ming knew the fame of this movie; it starred three-time Oscar winner Katharine Hepburn, as well as Henry Fonda and Jane Fonda, a father and daughter.

"That works too. Brother Yifu, want to go see it?"

This time, classmate Lin Zhengyi didn't object; he just considered it as learning English and seeing if he could understand it.

American movies not only lack Chinese subtitles, but even English subtitles are missing, which is quite challenging for foreigners like them.

The ticket price was three dollars per person, and they bought some cola and popcorn.

Because it had been showing for over a month, the occupancy rate was no longer very high, but because new films couldn't really hold up, the scheduling was still decent. They found a multiplex cinema belonging to the AMC chain.

Now, multiplex cinemas have begun to emerge in the United States. This type is obviously more reasonable than single-screen cinemas and more conducive to box office improvement. Of course, the investment costs and management costs will also increase accordingly.

However, even in Europe, there are few such multiplex cinemas now, and naturally, there are none in Hong Kong and the Mainland.

This movie was adapted from a play of the same name, so the lines were very concise. The two veteran actors who appeared first also had very clear lines. With Wei Ming's spoken English ability, there was no problem even without subtitles, only some slang needed to be analyzed through context.

Lin Zhengyi next to him had a harder time, but he could still understand the story.

It is said that this script was specially bought by Jane Fonda for her father, Henry Fonda. Their father-daughter relationship is very similar to the twisted father-daughter pair in the film, and the two also reconciled through collaborating on this movie.

During the process of watching the movie, the combination of two Chinese and one white person was spotted by an Asian audience member in the back row.

After more than 100 minutes of smooth and wonderful time, it was about time. Li Aiguo suggested going out for a late-night snack before returning to the hotel to rest.

At this moment, the Asian audience member behind them suddenly stopped them and looked at Wei Ming: "May I ask, are you Mr. Wei Ming?"

This person was in his fifties, not tall, and spoke Chinese, but it was slightly different from the Mainland Mandarin Wei Ming was familiar with; it was a bit like Lin Zhengyi's accent.

Wei Ming nodded: "You are also of Chinese descent, right? Is there anything you need from me?"

"It really is you!" The other party was overjoyed. "My memory is not bad; I only saw a few reports and remembered your appearance!"

Wei Ming felt it might be because he looked too dazzling.

The other party introduced himself: "My surname is Zhou, Zhou Shitong. I am a physics professor at California State University, Northridge."

"Oh, Professor Zhou, have you read my works?"

"I have, basically all of them. I even read "The Human Righteous Path is Vicissitudes" published by Sanlian Bookstore. My fellow countrymen from Taiwan all say that this novel helped them understand the history of that period very well."

Wei Ming: "So you are a Taiwan compatriot."

He noticed that Lin Zhengyi had already turned his face away. Classmate Lin still had some fame in Taiwan back then; as a prestigious university student who voluntarily enlisted, he became a company commander and was personally received and commended by the superiors, appearing in many newspapers as a typical figure.

As a result, he ran to the Mainland without anyone knowing. This matter was blocked from news in Taiwan; the military just assumed he was dead. If he were known by the Taiwan side to be here at this time, he might be secretly taken out; after all, assassination is a traditional reserved project of the KMT.

Seeing that Wei Ming had no hostility towards Taiwanese, Professor Zhou breathed a sigh of relief. He smiled: "I have been in the United States for more than twenty years and have already settled down here."

Hearing him say this, Lin Zhengyi also breathed a sigh of relief. Having left Taiwan for more than twenty years, it is highly probable that he doesn't know him.

Professor Zhou recognized Wei Ming and took the initiative to befriend him; actually, he had something to invite him to.

"Our California State University, Northridge is currently holding a Chinese Film Festival, wanting to introduce Chinese films to Americans. Famous films from the Mainland, Hong Kong, and Taiwan will all be screened for promotion, including your "The Herdsman." So I don't know if Mr. Wei has time to come and participate in our event and chat with the students about movies, music, and literature."

Wei Ming asked about the time, because he had to attend the Grammys the day after tomorrow.

"That's up to you. This film festival will last for half a month. Whenever you have time, we will screen "The Herdsman"," Professor Zhou said.

Wei Ming thought for a moment: "Then how about tomorrow."

"Great, tomorrow is great. It just so happens that we also invited a famous actor who also comes from the Mainland!"

"Oh?"

After leaving the cinema, Li Aiguo asked: "Chinese food or Western food?"

"American-style Chinese food?"

"There is also authentic food; we can go to Chinatown."

"A bit far, right? Let's just have some fast food nearby. It's almost eleven o'clock."

So the three of them entered McDonald's. Lin Zhengyi's evaluation after eating was: "Not as good as Holiland."

Wei Ming smiled proudly: "McDonald's is no match for Holiland in Hong Kong; we have already studied them thoroughly."

Afterwards, Li Aiguo sent Wei Ming and the other to the Hyatt Hotel on Sunset Boulevard. This is a star-rated hotel that hasn't been open for long, so the facilities look very new. Coupled with the good location, there is a high probability of encountering celebrities at this hotel.

Li Aiguo originally booked a room with a large bed, but because there was an extra Lin Zhengyi, he booked another one downstairs.

"Brother Yifu, don't be polite with me. We are all students of Peking University; it's only right to take care of each other when away from home." Li Aiguo patted Lin Yifu's shoulder. This connection to the future World Bank is considered to have been saved.

Returning to the room, Lin Yifu began to write a letter to his wife, preparing to mail it after arriving in Chicago, and then have it forwarded to his wife in Taiwan by his real relatives in Japan.

Wei Ming took a shower and watched TV programs for a while, only falling asleep at one or two in the morning.

Late-night TV programs are usually some talk shows and late-night news. If you have a paid cable TV network, such as HBO, you can also watch movies, concerts, and so on.

This is his first time in the United States in this life; he must get to know the Americans of this era well. Only by knowing oneself and the enemy can one remain invincible.