Chapter 328

Kela wants to retaliate against Natalie Portman? Of course she does!

So that night, under the biased judgment of Wu Yuchen, the two took turns punishing Natalie Portman—sometimes together.

Kela was chosen as Natalie Portman’s body double for Star Wars: Episode I precisely because the two women looked remarkably similar, and after the film’s release, many fans mistook Kela for Natalie Portman.

That’s also why Natalie Portman had previously cursed Kela. Other actresses might compete due to similar roles, but these two shared nearly identical faces—naturally making their relationship more tense!

This gave Wu Yuchen a sense of playing sisters: he punished a scheming evil older sister alongside a naive younger sister. Of course, in the evil sister’s own words, this was called redemption!

In short, whether punishment or redemption, Wu Yuchen thoroughly enjoyed himself—after all, two global icons as sisters like this were truly one-of-a-kind!

As for Natalie Portman’s motive in approaching him—opportunities and resources? That depended entirely on Wu Da’s mood and her future performance.

Unlike previous women, this woman didn’t engage in a simple transaction with Wu Yuchen. Since she so eagerly offered herself up for punishment, Wu Da would make sure to properly discipline her.

Though her looks didn’t match the top-tier beauty of Anne Hathaway or Jessica Alba, Wu Yuchen found this Jewish little bitch truly skilled—especially when being punished. Her act of saintly purity, or rather the gradual shift from saintly to broken and conquered, carried a unique allure.

This made Wu Yuchen reflect: no wonder she was born in the so-called “Holy City”—her devotion was far more sincere than any American’s!

Haha, the more “pious,” the more fun—next time I’ll dress as Sun Wukong and properly punish this Jewish little saintess!

On the flight back from America to Huaxia, Wu Yuchen was still pondering something he’d learned before leaving.

DreamWorks had just approached a project—or rather, Spielberg had become involved in one: Transformers!

In his past life, Transformers was produced by Paramount; many assumed the adaptation rights belonged to Paramount, but they didn’t. Or at least not at this point in time—they still belonged to Hasbro.

Last year, in 2003, Hasbro had been negotiating with producer Don Murphy about adapting G.I. Joe into a film, but the focus gradually shifted to Transformers.

This year, Murphy reached out to Spielberg, who had long been interested in Transformers, and DreamWorks’ and Spielberg’s reputations gave Hasbro greater confidence.

Thus, the Transformers project became tied to DreamWorks.

As for why it later ended up with Paramount, that was because in his past life, Spielberg sold DreamWorks to Paramount in 2005—including all planning and adaptation rights for Transformers.

But now, because of the Pirates project, Spielberg would never sell DreamWorks—and that opened up possibilities.

The Transformers series was a globally famous, massively profitable film franchise!

Wu Yuchen didn’t intend to direct it himself—he’d be tied up with the Batman trilogy for the next few years and wouldn’t add more workload. But he didn’t need to direct to invest!

Still, he didn’t immediately inquire about the project. He knew there was no rush—DreamWorks wasn’t a major studio and couldn’t handle multiple big projects at once. Besides, Transformers was still in early planning stages—far from ready.

His best opportunity would come after DreamWorks’ Island of Lost Souls released—when the film’s failure made DreamWorks wary of big-budget risks, then he’d step in. That was the perfect moment!

So, from every angle, he desperately hoped Island of Lost Souls would flop hard!

…

The sparrow outside the window chatters on the power line

…

Rain falls all night, my love overflows like rainwater

Fallen leaves in the courtyard pile up thickly like my longing

Hearing this familiar song on the car radio, Wu Yuchen felt a pang of nostalgia—only three years had passed since that shy young boy, Xiao Zhou, had become a music king.

Jiang Qin saw Wu Yuchen listening with longing and explained: “This is Zhou Jielun’s ‘Seven Mile Fragrance,’ just released this month—it’s absolutely hot right now~”

“I know—I can even sing it~”

“Really? Is this song popular in America too?”

Wu Yuchen smiled and shook his head, then asked: “Are you ready?”

“I’ve been ready since day one—just waiting for you to come back and shoot! Ten-billion-dollar director!” Jiang Qin clung to Wu Yuchen’s arm, gazing at him adoringly.

The news that Pirates King 2 had broken ten billion dollars had sparked widespread coverage in Huaxia. In his past life, this film wasn’t imported, but now—with Wu Yuchen involved—it was certain to be brought in; box office so far: 1.8 billion.

Wu Yuchen’s flight landed late, and by the time he got home, it was already 2 a.m.

But as soon as he returned, dropped his luggage, he turned on the TV and switched to the sports channel.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the thrilling men’s 110-meter hurdles final is about to begin. We see the eight finalists already lined up at the starting blocks—Liu Xiang is in lane four!”

Jiang Qin also saw the live broadcast and smiled at Wu Yuchen: “This Liu Xiang is pretty impressive—I didn’t even know about him before. After he won his semifinal yesterday and made it to the final, I realized Huaxia has such a talented sprinter!”

Wu Yuchen watched the screen and pulled Jiang Qin over to sit on the sofa: “Don’t bother tidying up yet—watch this race first!”

“Huh? It hasn’t even started yet!” Jiang Qin looked at the screen, where the runners were still stretching and warming up.

But Wu Yuchen said: “If you wait until it starts, it’ll be too late—you’ll regret it if you don’t watch now!”

Jiang Qin sat down and poured Wu Yuchen a cup of tea: “Fine, fine—I saw Liu Xiang seemed pretty strong yesterday. Maybe he’ll even win a medal~”

Wu Yuchen watched this scene with deep emotion—he’d felt the same in his past life. Until Liu Xiang won, he’d never even heard of him. When the news broke the next day that Huaxia had a 110-meter hurdles champion, his first thought was disbelief—had he misheard?

Only after watching the broadcast did he confirm: Huaxia really had a sprinting champion!

Athens was five hours ahead of Jingcheng, so the final took place in the early hours—most people were asleep, as Wu Yuchen had been in his past life. But now he was awake—he had to witness it firsthand!

“Today may be the moment Liu Xiang makes history. Based on this year’s results, in the final seven hurdles, Liu Xiang is currently the strongest in the world—even Alan Johnson can’t guarantee he’ll beat Liu Xiang!”

Hearing the announcer’s stirring words, Jiang Qin gasped: “Is Liu Xiang really that good?”

Wu Yuchen smiled: “Of course. Didn’t you see he’s in lane four? He’s already won two world championships this year in major competitions—people just don’t pay attention.”

“Really? Then I’m going to watch closely!” Hearing this, Jiang Qin perked up.

The first gun fired—predictably, someone false-started.

The announcer chimed in: “If anyone false-starts again, they’ll be disqualified. Now it’s about who can avoid mistakes.”

Wu Yuchen could sense the announcer’s implication: Liu Xiang had already broken history by reaching the final. Everyone’s hope was simply that he wouldn’t mess up—just bring back a medal.

Jiang Qin was now fully immersed in the broadcast’s tension, holding her breath, her whole body taut with anticipation.

“Go! Liu Xiang’s start is flawless! He’s in the lead!”

Seconds passed—even Jiang Qin could see Liu Xiang had pulled ahead by a full body length; she clenched her fists unconsciously.

“Liu Xiang! Leading the pack!”

When Liu Xiang cleared the final hurdle, it was clear he’d pulled more than two meters ahead of everyone else!

At that moment, both Jiang Qin and Wu Yuchen stood up instinctively, watching as Liu Xiang crossed the finish line without a doubt in first place!

“Liu Xiang wins! Liu Xiang! Liu Xiang has made history! A Chinese man with black hair and yellow skin has become the world’s fastest man at the Olympics!”

“Won?! He actually won the gold?! Oh my god!” Compared to the announcer on TV, Jiang Qin—who’d watched barely minutes—was even more excited, screaming and clutching Wu Yuchen!

Even though Wu Yuchen already knew the outcome, witnessing Liu Xiang’s victory again filled him with excitement: “Won! Champion! Huaxia’s first sprinting champion!”

After the race, Wu Yuchen didn’t turn off the TV. He watched Liu Xiang run around the track draped in the national flag, basking in the crowd’s cheers, then confidently told reporters:

“Who says yellow-skinned people can’t finish in the top eight at the Olympics? Today, I’ll prove to everyone: I am the Olympic champion!”

Later, at the award ceremony, Liu Xiang leapt onto the stage with swagger, accepting his medal and the roaring crowd’s adoration!

Wu Yuchen, witnessing this firsthand, couldn’t help but cheer for him.

Back then, many people disliked Liu Xiang’s bold demeanor; later, some criticized him for being arrogant and lacking humility.

But honestly, in all these years, Huaxia had produced only one Liu Xiang. He earned the world’s top spot through his own talent, tied the world record, and did so when Huaxia’s training standards lagged far behind developed nations—how could he not be bold?

People in Huaxia were just too insecure. Foreigners being bold and wild was seen as confident and individualistic, but when Huaxia finally had a Liu Xiang, someone still couldn’t stand his confidence.

Watching this 110-meter hurdles final left Wu Yuchen and Jiang Qin exhilarated—their excitement carried into their later activities, and they didn’t sleep until nearly dawn.

The next day, Huaxia was in an uproar—every news outlet exploded with coverage, proudly celebrating Huaxia’s golden sprinter. Liu Xiang instantly became the most discussed person in the country!

But for Wu Yuchen, the thrill of watching the live broadcast was enough—he needed to refocus on his main work.

In the music room, deep, resonant cello notes drifted through the air, slowly unfolding over time.

When the piece ended, Wu Yuchen rose and applauded: “Excellent! I didn’t expect you to reach this level in just six months!”

Zhao Wensuan put down the cello and walked over with a smile: “Director Wu, you flatter me. This is still just a simple piece—I had some music theory background, and it took me half a year to master just one or two.”

“Hahaha! Hard work never betrays the diligent—it’s more than enough for me!”

Wu Yuchen didn’t actually plan to have Zhao Wensuan compose music—his posture while playing the cello was already perfect for filming. He looked every bit a true cellist, indistinguishable from a professional.

Moreover, Wu Yuchen had specifically asked the masters who’d trained Zhao Wensuan in mortuary work over the past half-year. According to them, Zhao Wensuan was now qualified to work as a mortician.

Thus, Wu Yuchen was highly satisfied with Zhao Wensuan’s performance—whether as a mortician or a cellist, he’d truly given his best. As for embodying the character, Wu Yuchen had no doubt he wouldn’t disappoint.

If he’d originally chosen Leon Lai from the Four Heavenly Kings, could he have achieved this level of preparation?

Wu Yuchen smiled: “In half a month, we start filming.”

Hearing this, Zhao Wensuan breathed a deep sigh of relief.

He’d prepared extensively for this role, but with Wu Yuchen away in Hollywood for so long, he’d sometimes feared the worst—what if Wu Dao canceled? What if he was replaced? Though Wu Dao’s chances of reneging were slim, such things weren’t unheard of in the entertainment industry.

Now, at last, Wu Yuchen had returned—and filming was about to begin!