Chapter 89: The Lazy Person

“Ayi, you said before at the Top Ten Chinese Golden Melody Awards that you wanted to learn Cantonese—perfect, Asa’s going to shoot a music video with you, and you’re both around the same age; she’s just the person to help you learn Cantonese.”

Huo Wenxi, who had brought Cai Zhuoyan to Zhou Yi’s side, no longer bore the resentful expression she’d once worn toward him for Xie Tingfeng; her tone was now effortlessly familiar.

Because the company had assigned her the role of Zhou Yi’s little fan, the eighteen-year-old Cai Zhuoyan obediently followed behind Huo Wenxi, and when she heard she might help teach Zhou Yi Cantonese, her face lit up with a sweet smile: “Elder Zhou.”

She hadn’t yet turned nineteen, so calling nineteen-year-old Zhou Yi “Elder” was perfectly fine.

“Learning Cantonese just by shooting one music video? Sister Wenxi is overestimating my learning ability,” Zhou Yi smiled, playing along: “I just hope Asa doesn’t think I’m stupid.”

Cai Zhuoyan quickly waved her hands: “How could she? Elder Zhou, you’re a top student. I’m the one worried—I’ve never taught anyone Cantonese before.”

After Huo Wenxi feigned an excuse to leave, she mentally rehearsed the script the company had prepared for her while chatting casually with Zhou Yi.

Though she wasn’t exactly his fan, she had indeed sung his songs in karaoke with her best friends.

Their first meeting left Zhou Yi with a strong positive impression—he made conversation that put her at ease, mostly discussing Hong Kong topics, keeping the atmosphere lively.

When they’d finished talking, Huo Wenxi returned at just the right moment and took Cai Zhuoyan away, after they’d exchanged contact information.

“How did it feel?”

“He seems like a really nice person.”

“Good feeling is enough—you’ll be shooting a music video with him, so it’s good to get some early chemistry. This is an opportunity, understand? Don’t worry about the fan persona they assigned you; the company’s real goal is to leverage the high exposure from Tingfeng’s rivalry with Zhou Yi to benefit us.”

Huo Wenxi, dubbed by Hong Kong media as the “Most Beautiful Agent,” laid out Cai Zhuoyan’s future step by step, making the younger woman nod vigorously.

Meanwhile, after Cai Zhuoyan and Huo Wenxi left, Fan Bingbin finally approached Zhou Yi as he found a moment of free time—her deep black embroidered shoulder-length dress was stunning—

“Congratulations! Coca-Cola’s first major star signed in the new century. A ten-million-dollar contract—wow, I don’t know how many films I’d have to make to earn that back.”

Fan Bingbin teased with a noticeably warmer tone: “I’ve never seen so much money in my life.”

“You’ll have to get used to it—this is just the beginning.”

Zhou Yi turned toward the voice, smiling as he loosened his tie: “Over time, I’ll only become more valuable.”

“Then I’m really winning, aren’t I?”

Fan Bingbin teased with a laugh.

Of all Zhou Yi’s qualities, the one that most drew her in was his constant, unshakable confidence.

Under Joan Chen’s wing, her own confidence had nearly been worn away; Zhou Yi’s sudden emergence made it impossible for her not to notice the one trait in him most worth learning from.

“That depends on how you see it—I haven’t been idle either.”

Their eyes met, each understanding the other’s meaning; they smiled at each other. Fan Bingbin stepped forward and embraced him, leaning close to whisper: “You made me take a whole day off.”

“That just proves your physical condition is good.”

Fan Bingbin rolled her eyes, pulled away, then raised her hand slightly to smooth out the tie he’d loosened. She was about to speak when two figures appeared in Zhou Yi’s line of sight—

“Oh, Chris, I think we might’ve come at a bad time.”

Jackie Chan’s unmistakable voice startled Fan Bingbin; realizing her hands were still on Zhou Yi’s tie, she quickly smoothed out the wrinkles, then politely nodded to Jackie Chan and his foreign companion.

“Big Brother Jackie.”

To Fan Bingbin’s surprise, Zhou Yi stepped forward with a smile: “Long time no see.”

“Let me introduce you—this is my co-star on the same set: Chris Tucker. Chris, this is Zhou Yi, a treasure of our Chinese music scene.”

Under Jackie Chan’s introduction, the rhythmically speaking Chris Tucker warmly extended his hand, offering a halting greeting: “Hello.”

“Just speak English, Mr. Tucker—you can call me Spike, my English name.”

Zhou Yi introduced himself naturally in fluent spoken English: “Spike Zhou, that’s my English name.”

“Hey, I like this guy, Jack.”

Chris Tucker, the Black man, sounded genuinely delighted; Jackie Chan chuckled helplessly: “Chris and I came to deliver the script, and to walk you through the plot from the protagonists’ perspectives, to help you find inspiration.”

“But it seems you’re not free right now? Maybe we can talk later?”

Jackie Chan, having passed through his own youthful recklessness, saw clearly the subtle tension between Zhou Yi and Fan Bingbin, and his tone carried playful amusement.

“No inconvenience at all—Bingbin won’t leak the plot.”

Zhou Yi smiled: “Still, having both leads explain the plot to me? That’s a bit overwhelming.”

“Think of it as a special tutoring session—I hope it helps you write a more fitting song.”

At Jackie Chan’s age, mentoring the young was second nature; he genuinely admired Zhou Yi, especially given the rare chance to break into international markets.

In this film, *Rush Hour 2*, he’d slipped in plenty of personal touches—like the Chinese characters.

Putting several Chinese actors in major roles in a Western film, with half the plot shot on location in Hong Kong—only Jackie Chan had the capital and clout to pull that off in China’s entire entertainment industry.

Soon, the plot of *Rush Hour 2* unfolded under Jackie Chan’s narration.

Continuing from the first film, Jackie Chan’s Officer Li invites Chris Tucker’s Officer Carter to Hong Kong for a vacation, only for them to stumble upon a bombing at the embassy.

The police suspect the Triad boss is behind it, so they assign Officer Li to investigate; Officer Carter, originally just here for vacation, ends up entangled in a series of hilarious clashes with the Triad.

Honestly, Zhou Yi thought the plot design of this movie had no fresh elements—it succeeded wildly only because Jackie Chan’s action choreography was truly one-of-a-kind.

“In the script, after Officer Li believes Officer Carter has been killed by the bomb, there’s a scene where he gets in the car and hears music playing on the car radio.”

“I think this is the perfect spot for you to insert a song.”

“Since the film’s tone is action-comedy and aims for lightheartedness, the song needs rhythm and should match the scene—it shouldn’t be sad or heavy, since no one actually died.”

As a lead actor, Jackie Chan was genuinely analyzing and helping: “In the plot, Officer Carter wants to relax, to vacation, to lazily enjoy his holiday.”

“And in truth, Officer Li also wants to relax, to take a break—that’s why he ends up joining Officer Carter for fun.”

“If you want to reflect their inner desires, I think you should write a song that matches these two hidden wishes: wanting to take a break, wanting to be lazy.”

“In the script, Officer Li’s emotion upon hearing the radio song was originally meant to be sadness—but then his face unconsciously breaks into a smile, and his head nods along with the beat.”

“Logically, that doesn’t make sense—but honestly, it’s just a comedic choice to lighten the mood…”

Jackie Chan broke it all down in meticulous detail; Zhou Yi nodded along constantly.

Wanting to take a break. Wanting to rest. And rhythm.

A song immediately surfaced in his memory—

Bruno Mars’s famous lazy vacation anthem: *The Lazy Song*.

Besides the lazy theme, the lyrics include a line: “I might need some time to finish my college degree—I’m sure my dad will be proud of me then.”

That perfectly matched his own status as a soon-to-be graduate.

PS: Sorry, editing the video took longer than I expected—I lost track of time.

I’ve edited this song together with the corresponding scene from Jackie Chan’s movie and uploaded it as an Easter egg chapter—it’s currently under review.

The Easter egg chapter should be approved and viewable by tomorrow.

(End of Chapter)