Chapter 63: Little Nest (Seeking Follow-up Reads)

Wu Yuchen rushed home in a hurry and took the letter that hadn't been opened from his father's hand.

"Chenchen, what is going on? When the postman came just now, I thought it was delivered to the wrong place!"

Wu Yuchen quickly browsed the invitation letter in the letter, and a document similar to competition instructions, and after confirming that it was correct, he answered Wu Jianping with an uncontrollable smile on his face:

"Dad, that's right. This is an invitation letter sent to me by the Berlin Film Festival!"

"You? Berlin Film Festival?!"

Wu Jianping was stunned. As a staff member working in a publishing house, he naturally heard of the name of the European Three Major Film Festivals.

This is one of the world's three major film festivals. Those who can participate in the country are big directors like Xie Fei and Zhang Yimou. He found it hard to imagine that his son was suddenly invited by the Berlin Film Festival!

Wu Yuchen explained to his father:

"The short film *Bus 44* I shot was shortlisted for the short film unit of the Berlin Film Festival."

Then Wu Yuchen grabbed the letter in his hand and walked out:

"Dad, I won't tell you more, I have to find a phone that can make international long-distance calls!

Also, I won't be back tonight!"

Wu Jianping wanted to ask two more questions, but his son had already run out. He sighed in his heart. How did his son become more and more capable after going to university?

It was a short film, and he was asked to cooperate in writing a novel, and recently he was tossing about feature films. Now he suddenly said he was invited by the Berlin Film Festival. These things made Wu Jianping feel a trance of unreal feeling.

Wu Jianping had an idea in his heart. Maybe the novel *Drawing Sword* he had already finished could really become a best-selling

Wu Yuchen found a place where he could make international calls; although the rates were very expensive, he didn't care about that money at this moment.

Beijing's time zone is 6 hours ahead of Berlin's. It was just the start of the workday in Berlin, and someone picked up after two rings.

Wu Yuchen was glad that his English listening and speaking skills were decent, and he immediately began communicating with the person on the other end.

After hanging up the phone a while later, he had obtained the information he wanted. He could arrive in Berlin 3 days early, and his accommodation and travel expenses would be reimbursed until the end of the film festival. After all, many young directors from impoverished regions might be too poor to even afford the travel costs.

Of course, they wouldn't provide first-class cabins or luxury hotels; that was the treatment reserved for those who had won the Golden Bear or Silver Bear in the main competition section. Moreover, for his short film "Bus 44," they would only reimburse expenses for two people at most; anything beyond that was at his own expense.

The corners of Wu Yuchen's mouth curled up—two people were enough!

At the Beijing Film Academy, downstairs from the women's dormitory, Jiang Qinqin was pulled away by Wu Yuchen the moment she saw him. Thinking he was taking her to a hotel, she felt incredibly shy.

Who would have thought that Wu Yuchen would pull her to a public phone, stop, and then pull a letter from his chest pocket, slap it into her hand, and say boldly:

"Call your dad and tell him you aren't going back for the New Year!"

"Huh?!"

"I'm taking you to Berlin for the New Year!"

The Berlin Film Festival opens on February 15th and lasts for ten days, while this year's Lunar New Year is on February 16th. Therefore, going to participate in the Berlin Film Festival meant he was destined to spend the Lunar New Year over there.

Jiang Qinqin didn't react at first, then she looked at Wu Yuchen in disbelief. Only after he took out the invitation letter to show and explain it to her did she let out a shriek and excitedly throw herself into Wu Yuchen's arms.

This was the Berlin Film Festival!

In Jiang Qinqin's heart, this was one of the highest temples of cinematic art!

Small snowflakes drifted onto Jiang Qinqin's hair, but she didn't care. She just held Wu Yuchen's arm and followed him as he took several turns through the hutongs.

Both of them knew exactly why Wu Yuchen had brought her out today, but she had assumed they were going to a hotel; she hadn't expected Wu Yuchen to bring her to the entrance of a small, dilapidated courtyard in a hutong.

Afterward, Jiang Qinqin followed Wu Yuchen into the courtyard and arrived at the door of a small room. It looked quite run-down from the outside, but after pushing the door open, she discovered the interior was decorated quite exquisitely. The quilts and bedding were all bright red, and the room was fully equipped with an electric heater and other necessities.

This was the room where Xiao Ma lived in the movie "The Postmodern Life of My Aunt."

Wu Yuchen smiled and explained to Jiang Qinqin:

"This is the small courtyard where we filmed our movie; I rented it for half a year. I told my parents I was busy filming, so I'd be staying here for the next few days and wouldn't be going back—that's not really lying to them. This will be our little nest before we go abroad. How is it?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Qinqin's face lit up with surprise. She let go of Wu Yuchen and carefully examined the room. There were red lanterns hanging at the entrance, a pair of couplets pasted on both sides, a large red poster pasted behind the door, and the walls around the room were also covered in red paper. The entire room felt warm and festive, like a bridal chamber.

She walked to the bed and sat down, touching the mandarin duck pattern embroidered on the bright red quilt with her hand. Waves of deep affection and sweetness began to rise in her heart.

This was clearly more meaningful than just finding a random hotel, and it moved Jiang Qinqin deeply because of the thought Wu Yuchen had put into it.

Wu Yuchen smiled. Xiao Ma's room in the movie was already like this; the sea of red symbolized her fiery personality. But now, it was perfect for him to stay in. To be honest, the small room was quite comfortable.

At night, there was no wind outside the small room, but a steady, soft snow fell. Inside the room, the five or six-square-meter space had long been warmed by the electric heater and the passion of the two young people.

Both of them were lying under the covers. Jiang Qinqin was pinching the corner of the quilt with her hands, feeling a bit nervous. The old-fashioned incandescent bulb hanging above emitted an orange light, which hit Jiang Qinqin's fair, tender face, making the slight flush on her cheeks look even more charming.

Wu Yuchen brushed over her long, fair neck and beautiful face, used his hand to push aside the bangs on the forehead of the beauty beneath him, and whispered softly in her ear:

"Qinqin~"

"Darling~"

"Darling Senior Sister~"

"I'm coming!"

The dark shadows on the wall had already merged into one.

The light bulb's wire in the room was routed from the bedside. Looking from outside the room, the previously steady light began to sway constantly. The snow that had already accumulated in the courtyard was illuminated by this light, taking on a pale red hue, as if it had been stained with layers of shyness. It was unknown how much time passed before it faded away.

The next day, after Wu Yuchen groggily opened his eyes, he glanced out the window; snowflakes were still drifting down. It seemed this heavy snow was quite persistent.

With the electric heater on in the room, he didn't feel cold under the covers, not to mention that with warmth in his arms, a young man's vitality was very strong.

Wu Yuchen gently pinched Jiang Qinqin in his arms. Seeing that she was still fast asleep and clearly exhausted, he didn't disturb her, just smiled to himself. The joy of this moment was not something to be shared with outsiders!

He planned to buy this small courtyard once he had some spare money; it wasn't for investment, but mainly because he felt it had a different significance.

Thinking of money, Wu Yuchen thought of the upcoming Berlin trip. Everything depended on this!