Chapter 473

Having lived in Hong Kong for two years, Gong Ying had become highly adept at fashion and styling, and she tailored outfits according to each person’s personality.

Long was a homebody with an unremarkable appearance, yet everyone in Japan called him “Cool Guy Manga Master”—his entire wardrobe was arranged by Gong Ying.

Gong Ying knew her sister had grown up in mainland China’s environment, where bright, beautiful colors were naturally viewed with skepticism, making her wonder if such outfits truly suited her.

Gong Ying believed suitability had nothing to do with where you came from; someone like Li Zhi, whose face wasn’t stunning but whose figure was explosive, was perfect for bold, vivid clothing—she could wear even bolder, brighter styles than Hong Kong women, but that look clearly didn’t suit Second Sister.

Under Gong Ying’s guidance, Gong Shu underwent a complete transformation; although Gong Ying often mailed clothes to her sister, the results of direct personal coaching were different—from hairstyle to makeup, from tops and skirts to shoes, these changes gave her a distinctly urban lady’s aura.

Gong Shu stared at her reflection in the mirror, almost not recognizing herself, wondering if Xiao Wei would like this version of her.

Meanwhile, their mother Zhuang Che immediately took photos to capture this new side of her daughter.

After changing clothes, the three women went out for a meal at Holiland; Gong Shu had often heard about it from Wei Ming and had truly enjoyed it, but she felt she shouldn’t eat too much—it was all fried food, and she feared gaining weight.

A tiny shop next to this Holiland had also been rented out and was currently under renovation; Gong Ying told them it was another Holiland outlet, planned to specialize in bubble tea, named “Nian Nü Jiao.”

In the future, within ten steps of any Holiland, there would be a Nian Nü Jiao—they would become symbiotic, like Mixue Bingcheng and Luckin Coffee.

Gong Shu shook the bubble tea in her hand: “Sell this?”

“Yes.”

Gong Shu: “This is so delicious!”

Gong Ying: “Drink as little as possible—it’s very sugary.”

Then they went to see a movie; April was a slow season for films, and besides the imported film “Breakin’,” the only local film worth watching was “I Love Night Lilac,” a spy thriller directed by Teddy Robin and Xu Ke, starring Lin Zixiang, Lin Qingxia, Teddy Robin, Xu Ke, and others.

Gong Shu still preferred Hong Kong films, but Hong Kong spy movies were definitely made for entertainment first, often with a comedic tone.

Their mother Zhuang Che saw echoes of the old film “Heaven’s Number One” in this movie, and Lin Qingxia’s code name in the film was “Heaven’s Number One”—quite straightforward.

Hong Kong films of this era were like this: borrowing a bit here, taking a bit there, mixing it all together into one movie; “I Love Night Lilac” also bore traces of foreign classics like “Casablanca” and “The Great Escape.”

Of course, the box office was strong—it had already surpassed ten million, on track for the top ten of the year.

Gong Ying’s evaluation was mediocre: “The best film I’ve seen this year was Cheng Long’s ‘Project A,’ but it’s already left theaters.”

Gong Shu also felt regret—it was a script written by Wei Ming, and they’d have to wait a while longer for the VHS tape, since the film was still rolling out overseas, currently enjoying huge popularity in Japan.

A few days later, Liu Rulong returned from Japan, along with news that “Project A” had earned 1 billion yen in Japan—a mere beginning of its box office surge.

One billion yen was roughly equivalent to 30 million Hong Kong dollars at the time—a level the “Best of the Best” series couldn’t reach; with this momentum, it would soon surpass Cheng Long’s previous best, “Drunken Master,” and eventually break 3 billion yen, easily surpassing “Shaolin Temple” as the highest-grossing Chinese-language film.

Zou Wenhuai loudly publicized this news in Hong Kong, aiming to irritate Cinema City; what was a high Hong Kong box office? Hong Kong was just a small place—true talent was measured globally.

The higher the overseas box office, the more Zou Wenhuai felt the one million he’d spent on Wei Ming was worth it, and he grew increasingly eager for “The Five Lucky Stars,” another Wei Ming project, nearly completed and targeting the summer season.

Liu Rulong also realized how popular Cheng Long was in Japan, so he planned to incorporate Cheng Long elements into “Dragon Ball.”

On the day he returned, Gong Ying had just taken her mother and sister home from Ocean Park; Gong Shu asked her mother to take a photo of her and Glass Window’s Steel Egg, to show Xiao Wei later.

When the three women returned home, they found Liu Rulong inside.

Gong Ying didn’t care that her mother and sister were still there—she rushed into his arms and kissed him; Gong Shu and her mother couldn’t bear to watch, then made excuses about needing to buy household items and went downstairs.

Their mother remarked to Gong Shu: “Ying is completely a Hong Konger now—so open.”

Gong Shu felt embarrassed; every time she reunited with Xiao Wei, she was even more forward, and Zhu Lin watched with great interest.

After the mother-in-law and sister-in-law left, Liu Rulong awkwardly released Gong Ying, first listening to her belly.

Gong Ying laughed at him: “Still too small.”

“But I feel someone inside is talking to me,” Long grinned, then began pulling out gifts he’d bought.

Besides electronics available only in Japan, there were many plush toys.

“Why so many Mickey Mouses and Donald Ducks? Aren’t they American?”

Long told Gong Ying: “Japan just opened a Disneyland—I was invited by Tokuma Shoten to tour it. When you give birth, we can go together, or even visit the American Disneyland.”

This was Liu Rulong’s first visit to a Disneyland, and it showed him the future direction for Kuangren Comics: from comics to animation, then to theme parks—full industrial chain development.

He and Wei Lingling thought alike; Wei Lingling now wanted to open gift shops for their toy products; if Transformers could be placed in amusement parks, and Optimus Prime and Megatron could move, children would surely spend money endlessly.

But theme parks like Disneyland required enormous investment—Tokyo Disneyland cost over 200 billion yen—so Wei Lingling prioritized commercial complexes instead.

With Long back from Japan, they were about to move; their new home was the largest unit in Tai Koo Shing—1,237 square feet, a so-called “thousand-square-foot luxury apartment.”

This area equaled over 115 square meters—all usable space, no common area deductions—so the three bedrooms, two living rooms, and two bathrooms looked spacious, more than double the size of their previous rental.

Besides hiring movers, friends and classmates like Xu Jinjiang and Liangzi (Long Aotian) all lent hands and effort.

Long’s success gave his friends hope—they too would one day settle and build careers in Hong Kong.

After moving, Long treated his friends to dinner.

Long advised them: “Buy property before the Sino-British negotiations end—even on mortgage. Once things settle, those leaving will leave, those staying will stay, the economy will improve, and property prices will surge again.”

Xu Jinjiang and Long Aotian both took notice—property prices were indeed cheap now.

Long Aotian had fully taken over as lead artist for “Qin Shi Ming Yue,” earning among the highest salaries among the company’s comic artists.

Xu Jinjiang had gained recognition overseas through “The Witness”; though self-employed, he received constant film offers and had just starred in Kwei’s “Demon.”

Though not the lead, their incomes were substantial—better than salaried jobs—but the emptiness in their love lives pained them, and they envied Liu Rulong’s dual success in family and career.

After moving and hosting dinner, Long returned to his rental apartment; the lease hadn’t expired, and it was closer to the company in Kowloon City, so he let the three women have the new home while he stayed there temporarily.

A quiet work environment better suited his needs; the company had hired a deputy general manager to handle daily management, freeing him to focus more on creation.

Not only was he working on “Dragon Ball,” he also oversaw the quality of all company works, reviewing every issue of the magazine—his days were packed.

In addition, on this trip from Japan, Long bought several books on animation production.

Animation had always been his original dream; in Japan, through Tokuma Shoten’s connections, he met a friend who strengthened his resolve to act soon.

This friend was much older—he began as a manga artist in his twenties, only started directing TV animation in his thirties, and finally completed his first animated feature film at age thirty-eight.

That film was “Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro”; Long had watched it more than once—it was his favorite Japanese animated film in recent years—and he even watched the TV version; the car chase scenes were simply brilliant; his new friend’s name was Miyazaki Hayao.

Liu Rulong believed a man’s peak energy was in his thirties to forties; Miyazaki was now forty-two, working on his second film, “Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind,” adapted from his own manga; Long visited the production site and felt this would be Miyazaki’s new peak.

But would this be Miyazaki’s career peak? After all, he was already that age—would his energy decline, and could he still produce great works?

Meeting Miyazaki made Liu Rulong realize he must act quickly; barring unforeseen circumstances, “Dragon Ball” would be his last long-form manga, after which he would enter the animation industry, starting small to train a team.

Liu Rulong disliked socializing, but tonight he had to attend—a new director had taken over the Xinhua News Agency’s Hong Kong branch, a leader surnamed Xu, effectively the top mainland official in Hong Kong; Liu Rulong himself was mainland-born and had always relied on mainland support.

Other left-wing forces in Hong Kong were also invited, including Xia Meng and her husband, Fu Qi and Shi Hui, and actress Bao Qijing.

Liu Rulong was invited to bring his wife, so that evening Gong Shu and her mother stayed home watching TV; “The Millionaire” was Xiao Wei’s idea, reportedly very interesting.

They heard answering all fifteen questions correctly won one million Hong Kong dollars, and someone had already succeeded; Zhuang Che found it unbelievable.

“I’m even tempted to sign up.”

Gong Shu laughed: “You could! These questions don’t seem especially hard.”

“Not hard, but I don’t understand them,” Zhuang Che waved her hand.

Her mother would stay longer, but Gong Shu was about to return to Beijing; she’d now seen Hong Kong’s prosperity and convenience, yet she missed Wei Ming and Zhu Lin more.

Because Gong Shu had been immersed in Hong Kong films and Cantopop, she understood some Cantonese; she watched while translating for her mother.

As they watched, suddenly the phone rang.

“Hello, is this Long Ge’s home?” A girl’s voice.