Chapter 294

When the entertainment industry's dark force, Boss Lu, was secretly helping a certain novice resolve some loose ends, that novice young lady was on her way to the University of Chicago to handle all the necessary paperwork.

On September 8, 2005, Liu Yifei would officially enroll as a Master of Business Administration student at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Booth only recruits graduate students, offering international students a two-year MBA program and five-year doctoral programs in business fields such as accounting, economics, and management.

Considering her own life and work arrangements, Liu Yifei decided the two-year program was the optimal choice.

Enrolling in September, she would have to join the crew in Canada for the filming of "The Foreign Land 2" in October.

Referring to last year's filming experience, it would take about two months, followed immediately by living with Zhang Chunru while studying and preparing for the massacre film.

Temporarily detached from the domestic entertainment circle, Liu Yifei felt instantly and incomparably fulfilled, as if she could temporarily forget some heart-wrenching experiences.

However, her interactions on the blog network, the successive broadcasts of "The Return of the Condor Heroes" and "Zhu Xian 2," and the advertisements Pepsi placed across various channels would continue to generate influence in the film and television circle, so she did not worry about disappearing from the public eye.

"Xixi, wake up, we're almost there!"

Liu Xiaoqing shook her daughter, who was fast asleep, awake.

She had been in the United States for a week, and her biological clock had not yet adjusted; however, having suddenly ended three years of morning practice, she had become increasingly prone to sleepiness.

It was as if she had returned to her childhood.

"We're here? I don't know why I've been especially sleepy lately."

Liu Yifei smiled apologetically at Zhang Chunru, who was driving: "Sister Chunru, thank you for your hard work."

"After I get my driver's license, I'll be your driver."

Zhang Chunru was particularly fond of this clear-minded young lady and smiled as she waved her hand: "I wouldn't dare ride in your car; I heard from your mother that you like racing."

"Haha, I just watch; I'm very timid, how could I dare."

Zhang Chunru recalled her chats with Liu Xiaoqing over the past few days and heard about the glorious events at Liu Yifei's birthday banquet, thinking to herself that she was far too modest.

If this was considered timid, there were few who were bold.

However, this demeanor was quite like a child who grew up in the United States, courageous in expressing herself and speaking her mind.

From Champaign, Illinois, to Chicago was a journey of about 200 kilometers; the three of them parked the car and walked into the campus, the sky as blue as if washed, making one feel relaxed and happy.

Being new arrivals and having plenty of time, Liu Yifei and the others were not in a hurry to handle the paperwork and started strolling around the campus first.

Zhang Chunru had been an exchange student here and had also come here to give speeches after "The Rape of Nanking" became a bestseller, so she naturally took on the role of tour guide.

Not long after entering the campus, a Gothic building made of gray bricks and stones came into view; the church style was unique, with spires towering into the clouds, ancient and mysterious.

"This is Rockefeller Chapel, built in 1928 by the founder and oil tycoon Rockefeller."

"His philosophy was to gather people with different religious beliefs in a traditional church, without saints, crosses, or other religious symbols, only one or two very miniature architectural details."

"That's great, Sister Chunru, is there any story behind that carillon?"

Liu Yifei pointed to a certain part of the church's bell tower.

"Oh, that was a gift donated by Rockefeller in 1932 to commemorate his mother."

"At the beginning, it ran backward, representing Rockefeller's longing for his mother, yearning for time to reverse and to return to her embrace."

Zhang Chunru turned her head and smiled at Liu Yifei, just wanting to talk about the same imagery in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," but thought better of it.

The thirty-seven-year-old big sister still preferred to take care of the fragile heart of the eighteen-year-old little sister.

Along the way, Liu Yifei finished seeing the main quadrangle of the core campus, the famous Harper Library, the Regenstein Library, the Robie House...

She carried a camera with her and took many photos, preparing to select the best ones to post on her blog.

Although she was not like a "country bumpkin entering the Grand View Garden," Liu Yifei had been filming and working for the past few years and indeed did not have much time to measure the world with her own footsteps.

Travel ten thousand miles, read ten thousand books.

Eighteen-year-old Liu Yifei, due to complex reasons, walked into a university at this age just like her peers.

In this lifetime, her spiritual world had been continuously ripened by Lu Kuan over these four years.

Just like those children with brilliant IQs in the gifted class at the University of Science and Technology of China, most of them eventually faded into the crowd.

Liu Yifei also needed to do the right thing at the right time; objectively, this played an important role in continuing to perfectly shape her worldview and mature personality.

"Iris!"

The three of them entered the admissions office at the Harper Center, and Ellie, a staff member who had been waiting for a long time, gave Zhang Chunru a warm hug.

Iris is Zhang Chunru's English name, meaning iris flower, symbolizing light and freedom.

"Wow, Iris, your mental state has improved; you are simply two different people compared to last year."

Zhang Chunru smiled: "Yes, I have a new goal now; I am very calm and am gradually adjusting myself."

"Let me introduce you; this is my compatriot, and also my little sister Crystal; you should have seen her in movies?"

"This is Crystal's mother, Ms. Liu."

Ellie was a fat and tall white woman, and her eyes lit up upon hearing this: "Liu Yifei, hello."

"When you have time, please come to my house as a guest; after watching your videos, I went to an Asian supermarket and bought a lot of tea, but I don't know how to brew it!"

Liu Yifei was poised and generous: "Sure, it would be my honor."

Liu Xiaoqing also hugged and exchanged pleasantries with Ellie, who enthusiastically introduced the courses and academic system of the Booth School of Business.

"You introduced Crystal's situation to me, which is why I suggested she choose the two-year MBA program."

"Our Booth School of Business only has one required course, called LEAD, Leadership Effectiveness and Development."

This is a signature course of the Booth School of Business, which ranks in the top three globally, mainly through lectures and group activities, allowing students to influence each other, handle crises, communicate fully, and enhance self-awareness.

"Besides this, Crystal can choose other courses according to her own needs, roughly in seven major categories."

"Finance, marketing, operations, decision-making, interpersonal, strategy, business environment, etc."

Ellie pulled several forms and all kinds of document materials from the table and handed them over: "You can choose slowly."

"The business school uses a credit system, and there are many stars as well as Wall Street bankers who, like you, will take 1-2 months of leave; it doesn't matter."

Words like "group discussion" differ too much in different scenarios and configurations.

For example, in a world-class school like the Booth School of Business, who are the people organizing students for discussion and interaction?

James McKinsey, founder of McKinsey & Company;

Eugene Fama, who won the Nobel Prize in Economics for the "Efficient Market Hypothesis";

Erik Hurst, director of the Becker Friedman Institute for Research in Economics;

Liu Yifei could not suppress the curiosity in her heart: "Ellie, who is my group discussion mentor?"

"Wait a moment, let me check."

"Your mentor is Xi Kaiyuan, a scholar with outstanding achievements in fields such as behavioral decision-making."

Liu Yifei nodded ignorantly; she naturally did not understand the background of this Chinese-American scholar, but Zhang Chunru's eyes revealed envy, as this was a figure who had recently risen to fame in the Chinese-American circle in the United States.

Xi Kaiyuan is a tenured professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business; although he has never won a Nobel Prize, there are nine Nobel Prize winners who are full professors alongside him.

Actually, what Liu Yifei did not know for the time being was that Xi Kaiyuan's achievements in economics were slightly lower; his true specialty was psychology.

In 1993, he received his Ph. D. in psychology from Yale University.

Among the branches of psychology worldwide, emotional intelligence is a field that is not easily ventured into.

But it was precisely in this field that his mentor wrote the world's first paper on emotional intelligence, and he wrote the second.

To use an inappropriate analogy, this scholar Xi Kaiyuan is a bit like Huang Laoxie; the fields he studies are very strange and very niche, and ordinary scholars are not interested.

"Psychology? Psychology is good, it's very interesting!"

On the car ride back, Zhang Chunru introduced Xi Kaiyuan's achievements to her, and Liu Yifei listened with a look of longing.

Although she did not want to admit it, Lu Kuan's extremely strange behavior during his coma and on his birthday had become a mystery she could not forget.

Perhaps...

Could she find some clues from this world-class master of psychology?

"My mental state was not very good in the past two years, and the psychology clinic I went to was opened by his student."

The three of them returned to Zhang Chunru's residence in Champaign; the house Liu Xiaoqing found was in Hyde Park in downtown Chicago, so they were temporarily staying here upon returning to Champaign.

Liu Yifei nodded knowingly, understanding what she meant.

Previously in Lu Kuan's office, she had already been warned to pay attention to her mental state and psychological health while preparing for this film.

Over the past week or so, watching Zhang Chunru still having to take some sedative medication occasionally, she realized that what was said was not false.

A great personality has powerful influence, just like the angel of justice, Ms. Zhang Chunru.

Through her words and actions, she set a vivid and concrete example for others, interpreting noble moral standards and a positive life attitude with her own practical actions.

Although she came to the United States to live and study with Zhang Chunru with the purpose of observing the prototype for a biographical film,

Liu Yifei truly drew a lot of strength from this great personality and also relieved a lot of depression.

After a simple Western-style dinner, Zhang Chunru played with the child for a while, and Liu Yifei returned to her room to have a work video call with Yang Siwei.

"How is it? Are you used to life over there?"

"Very good, I eat everything with gusto!"

Liu Yifei looked at the female agent in the video: "Siwei, your face seems rounder again."

"Bah! Quickly retract that sentence; am I still going to eat lunch?" Yang Siwei sighed deeply: "You left, and it's really boring; I think there are too many people in the studio now."

Indeed, Liu Yifei would be in North America for at least one to two years.

The studio's operations, media, and public relations still had some work content, but the driver, photographer, and makeup artist would be completely unemployed.

Yang Siwei's main work now was to maintain and develop endorsements, operate the blog, and operate the fan website.

Although she would not appear in person in the short term, it only affected domestic commercial activities, and there was no shortage of works being released.

"Zhu Xian 2," which had already started broadcasting, "The Return of the Condor Heroes," which would premiere at the end of the year, and "The Foreign Land 2" for next year's summer season.

Plus the "Zhu Xian" online game operated by Shanda, which officially opened its servers in August and exploded on the internet as soon as it was listed, with the number of concurrent online players exceeding 500,000 one week after opening.

As the spokesperson, Liu Yifei, although she was not in the "rivers and lakes," the "rivers and lakes" were full of her presence everywhere.

Of course, this data could not be compared with "World of Warcraft," which officially started operations in the mainland in June; the latter had already acquired 1.5 million top-tier player traffic in just two short months.

In view of this, even though "Zhu Xian" was more closely related to her own interests, even the blog network had to reach a strategic cooperation relationship with The9 to divert traffic to each other.

Actually, Liu Yifei had expectations for the current "dilemma" of the studio, and that was why she signed Liu Shishi.

It was just that...

At this moment, Liu Yifei and Yang Siwei thought of this point at the same time, and Yang Siwei hesitated: "There is some news; I think I still have to tell you."

"What?"

"The cast and makeup for 'Chinese Paladin 3' have been finalized; among the three main heroines, Xuejian is Yang Mi from Huayi, Zixuan is Tang Yan from Emperor, and Long Kui is..."

"Tong Liya from New Vision."

"Tong..." Liu Yifei was suddenly shocked, remembering what Lu Kuan had said to her in the office that day.

Do good deeds to the end, be a villain to the extreme.

Dealing with Liu Shishi, this last trace of hidden danger, was clearly his style of doing things.

"My Own Swordsman" started filming at the Feilong Film and Television Base in Pinggu, Beiping, last winter, taking 8 months to wrap up, similar to later generations.

Being able to play Long Kui was also a seamless transition for Tong Liya.

Hanging up the video, Liu Yifei started reading Zhang Chunru's diaries and notes from middle school.

That was when Zhang Chunru, after receiving patriotic education from her parents since childhood, started to face and study this period of history for the first time.

Zhang Chunru knocked on the door and came in, concerned: "Xixi, don't read for too long every day; if you feel uncomfortable, go out for a walk and look at the scenery."

"Mm, I know."

Outside the window, the neighbor, Auntie Jessica, knocked on the window frame and waved at Zhang Chunru and Liu Yifei.

"Iris, Crystal, come out and see this little guy!"

Liu Yifei let out a "wow" and excitedly darted out of the room.

Zhang Chunru smiled as she watched her back; this youthful vitality unique to an eighteen-year-old girl was also invisibly healing her.

"It's so cute! Jessica, is this your puppy?"

Liu Yifei held a little yellow dog of an indistinguishable breed, unable to put it down, and said to Liu Xiaoqing, who rushed out the door to see what was happening: "Mom, take a photo for me!"

Liu Xiaoqing smiled and agreed; seeing that her daughter really liked it, she smiled at Auntie Jessica: "If the puppy has a litter, can you sell us one? Xixi really likes small animals."

"This one is for you; we can't keep too many at home, and Iris said Crystal likes small animals very much; I know you will treat him well."

"Ah!!!"

Liu Yifei could no longer control her screaming and started petting the puppy as soon as she took it.

Liu Xiaoqing hugged Jessica gratefully and turned back to hold Zhang Chunru's hand: "Chunru, I really don't know how to thank you."

"What are you saying, I like Xixi very much and hope she can be happy."

Liu Yifei rushed over and gave Zhang Chunru an American-style kiss on the cheek according to Western etiquette, making everyone laugh out loud.

"Do you want to give it a name first?"

Liu Yifei pursed her lips and thought for two seconds; she had an answer in her heart, but she was embarrassed to say it in front of everyone.

"Let me think."

Zhang Chunru smiled: "Xixi, do you want to go for a walk? You walk it and cultivate some feelings first."

"Okay!"

The weather in Champaign in September was exceptionally pleasant; the summer heat gradually dissipated under the gentle caress of the breeze, and the air was filled with a faint fragrance of grass and trees, mixed with a hint of the coming autumn.

The sky was like a carefully wiped canvas, deep blue and clear, with a few wisps of snow-white clouds floating leisurely, dyed a faint orange-red by the setting sun, like a beautiful oil painting.

Liu Yifei felt an indescribable sense of comfort holding the dog leash; having changed to a place where no one knew her, it was like walking into a new world.

Not far behind her, the tough female bodyguard, a veteran of the Navy SEALs, followed closely on guard.

Liu Yifei and Zhang Chunru sat down on the grass.

Liu Yifei did not forget the fundamental task of her trip and started to observe, imitate, and understand while spending time with her.

"Sister Chunru, how old were you when you came to live in Champaign? How did you start coming into contact with this period of history?"

Zhang Chunru helped her take a photo with her new friend and frowned as she recalled the past: "In '80, I was 12 years old and went to middle school in Illinois."

"At that time, I had already participated in the Youth Writers Conference in central Illinois and even went on stage to receive an award as a representative of the Urbana school district."

"It was probably around '83; because I was interested in literature, I relaunched a magazine called 'The Maverick,' but when I entered university in '85, I studied mathematics and computer science."

She smiled at Liu Yifei: "It's about the same as you now; a female actor coming to study business, your thinking is quite jumpy."

Liu Yifei pursed her lips and said nothing; she had never explained her purpose to Liu Xiaoqing or anyone else.

"As for the interest in this period of history, it actually started from childhood."

"My ancestral home is Huaiyin, Jiangsu Province (now Huai'an City), which is very close to Jin Ling; my grandparents told me about this period of history since I was a child."

"It wasn't until December 1994 that I attended a conference sponsored by the Global Alliance for Preserving the History of WWII in Asia, which commemorated the victims of the Jin Ling Massacre, and I saw the most terrible photos I had ever seen in my life."

I don't know if it was the rustling of the cold wind that made her body feel cold, but when Zhang Chunru talked about this, she clearly entered a more depressed mental state.

The sensitive Liu Yifei sat a little closer, hooked her forearm, and covered Zhang Chunru's hands in her palms.

She wanted to pass some energy to her and also share some of the nightmares.

"At that time, I suddenly realized that the childhood memories about the massacre were not just a folk legend, but a real oral history."

"But at that time, no one had written a non-fiction, narrative monograph on this subject in English; in order to bring the historical truth to light, I was very indignant that some Japanese people deliberately distorted historical facts, which is why I decided to pick up the pen."

A few short and indifferent sentences echoed and drifted in the quiet sunset of Champaign.

Not many people knew that Ms. Zhang Chunru's historical monument-like work started so suddenly from a kind impulse filled with national righteousness.

"Xixi, people actually die twice."

"Once is the death of the body, and once is disappearing from the memories of others; that is the true death."

Zhang Chunru smiled as she looked at the young girl beside her and held her delicate palms back: "History is the same."

Liu Yifei looked at her weak yet strong side profile and only felt a warm current pouring into her heart.

She thought of a sentence she saw in Zhang Chunru's diary last night:

【That year the world was in chaos, I wish you a splendid life in the next life, but what makes this stain particularly disgusting is that history did not write a proper ending for this story.】

Right after this diary written in 1994, this female warrior indignantly picked up the pen!

If you don't write it, I will!

In a trance, Liu Yifei did not even notice that her tears had already flowed down her cheeks.

On the land of a foreign country, in her observation and imitation filled with reverence and admiration, in Zhang Chunru's memories of enduring psychological and mental discomfort.

Liu Yifei's spiritual world hooked and echoed in that bloody and tragic history.

In the kind and respectable sister beside her, she saw more truth, goodness, and beauty in human nature and drew more pure, strong, and healthy spiritual strength from women.

What she did not know was that in another time and space, such a work almost crushed Zhang Chunru, causing us to lose this kind and righteous angel early.

And in this lifetime, for this massacre film that would be released to the whole world, the creator Lu Kuan would undoubtedly also face the same obstruction, difficulties, pain, and self-doubt.

Liu Yifei could not help but recall the scene two years ago when the young director was watching "Schindler's List" alone in his Los Angeles office.

Those eyebrows that seemed to be tied in a knot, the cigarette that never left his hand, the dull coughing and sighing.

At that time, when he made the decision to film, the pressure must have been great, right?

As if playing a movie, his study in Gongjian Hutong, which was always filled with smoke, appeared in her mind again.

From the first meeting with Zhang Chunru in Berlin in 2002 until now, three years, countless days and nights of script revision and perfection.

Exhausting his efforts, thinking hard...

The evening breeze in Champaign brushed her face, and the bell tower not far away shone with golden light in the afterglow of the setting sun; the hourly bell rang on time, deep and melodious.

At this moment, Liu Yifei, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly missed him very much, very unworthily.

Double points, begging for votes!!!!

(End of chapter)