Hong Kong Entertainment: The King of Kung Fu

Beijing, Maxim Western Restaurant.

This was the most expensive restaurant in Beijing in the 1980s. It was a Sino-foreign joint venture that had just opened a year ago.

The restaurant is decorated with a large number of crystal chandeliers and wall lamps. The windows are all colorful stained glass. The murals on the walls are copied from the Louvre and the Forbidden City. They are a magnificent combination of Chinese and Western styles.

Because it is expensive, there are not many customers in the restaurant.

After coming to the capital, Yang Ye would occasionally come here to eat with Adjani and take her to taste the taste of his hometown.

Of course, colleagues from the crew also came here. These "Hong Kong bosses" went to the capital to pick up girls, causing trouble for many big girls in the capital.

Yang Ye couldn't stop this kind of thing. When people saw the money, they were willing to post it and have nothing to do with Yang Ye.

Yang Ye spent more money to pick up girls himself, he was too shameless to tell others, he just pretended not to see it!
At this moment, Adjani was elegantly drinking French onion soup, while Yang Ye was holding a pen and writing on a piece of paper.

Seeing that this guy was writing very seriously, Adjani couldn't help but curiously asked: "Who are you writing to?"

"Marguerite Duras."

Adjani became interested. Duras is the most famous writer in France today, and Adjani admired her very much. She asked: "Why did you write to her?"

"I think her "Lover" was written incorrectly!"

This statement surprised Adjani, who had just finished reading "Lover" not long ago.

"What's wrong? I feel like I wrote it great!"

"She's lying!"

"Lying? What do you mean?" Adjani was confused.

Yang Ye raised his head and said seriously: "The Chinese lover Duras described did not even have a name. He had a weak personality and relied on his family. He listened to his father on his knees, squandered his father's property, obeyed his father's words, and married his father. The girl he arranged to be his wife...is his father’s puppet.”

Yang Ye was talking about the image of the male protagonist in Duras's "The Lover". Adjani had read the novel. She said "hmm" and said, "Is there anything wrong with this?"

Yang Ye said: "This is a typical image of the 'rich second generation' in colonial China in the eyes of white people. It is a stereotype. It is obvious that Duras is catering to her readers and she is not following her own heart."

"Why do you think so?"

"In the novel, the heroine Jane is dismissive of her Chinese lover because she is a noble white man and she is only with him for his money. She also describes that the Chinese man loves her humbly... …

But at the end of the novel, when she left Saigon and returned to France, she secretly cried when she saw her lover's black car parked on the pier.

Well, because a white person can't cry for a Chinese person, so she can only hide and cry. But no matter what, this at least shows that she has feelings for her Chinese lover.

Isabel, if you lived in that era, would you fall in love with such a humble and cowardly Chinese man? "

"Of course I won't...well, you are different, my dear little chicken, you are a brave and romantic Chinese man."

Yang Ye smiled calmly, grabbed the back of her hand, kissed it gently, and continued:

"But Duras does! This is an autobiographical novel. Jane is Duras himself. The story takes place when she was fifteen and a half years old.

More than fifty years have passed, and Duras still wrote this story affectionately in the last days of her life.

At the beginning of the story, she even says 'Youth faded too early in my life. When I was eighteen years old, the blooming years had long since withered and withered. '

The meaning of this sentence is very clear. Her whole life is lived in memories. She loves her Chinese lover deeply and will never forget it in her life!

So, is this man who deserves to be remembered throughout her life really as humble and cowardly as written in the book? I don’t believe it! "

"This... love is unreasonable sometimes."

"No, love is the mutual attraction between two people. For example...because you are beautiful, I fell in love with you at first sight.

So I get close to you, show off my skills in front of you, take you to see my movies, and sing love songs to you, because... I love you! "

Adjani smiled and said, "Then do you know when I fell in love with you? It wasn't when I agreed to sleep with you."

"Hmm...could it be after you went to bed with me?" Yang Ye said confidently.

"Go away!" Adjani smiled and hit Yang Ye, and said, "The experience that night was naturally wonderful, but I just regarded it as a romantic one-night stand."

Adjani picked up the wine glass and took a sip of red wine, and continued: "That was when...we were about to say goodbye. I said, sing me another song.

Then, you really sang a farewell song for me, so romantic, so affectionate. I think, at that moment, I fell in love with you. "

Adjani said, with a gentle smile on her face, she softly hummed the song "The Departing Train" given to her by Yang Ye:
"After all, not a single tear fell. Your smile made me relax and I tried to find some comfort.

What I want is to snuggle tightly in your arms so that I can remember your warm body temperature for a long time.

The departing train, from me, goes away... goes away..."

She said, "Honey, can you sing for me again?"

"Of course, I'm very happy. But speaking of songs, I recently wrote a new song. Do you want to listen to it?"

"Yes, what song is it?"

"It's the theme song I wrote for the upcoming movie "Lover". Do you remember the opening sentence of "Lover"?"

"Which sentence?"

"I remember you. You were very young at that time. Everyone said you were beautiful, but I want to tell you that you are more beautiful now than when you were young. Compared with your appearance then, I love you now, which has been destroyed by time. Appearance!"

"Of course I remember it, it was a very romantic love story."

"Wait a minute!" Yang Ye waved, and the waiter came over quickly.

"I want to go up and sing a song to this beautiful lady, is that okay?"

"Of course, Mr. Yang, it's our restaurant's honor!"

Yang Ye walked up to the stage, took the guitar, adjusted the strings, and said in French: "This song is for my lover, Miss Isabel Adjani, I will love you forever!"

After Yang Ye finished speaking, the French and Chinese people eating in the restaurant all looked at where Adjani was sitting and raised their glasses to her.

The music flowed out like water, and Yang Ye sang affectionately: "

When you get old, your hair turns white and you feel sleepy
When you are old and can no longer walk, take a nap by the fire and reminisce about your youth
How many people have loved you when you were young and happy, and admired your beauty, pretending or sincerely?
Only one person still loves your pious soul and the wrinkles on your old face.

When you get old, your eyebrows droop and the lights dim.

The wind blows, your news, this is me, the song in my heart..."

After Yang Ye finished singing, the restaurant burst into warm applause.

Yang Ye put down his guitar amidst applause, walked off the stage, casually took a rose from a table, and walked towards Adjani...

Adjani happily took the rose, and the two hugged each other and had a French kiss as if no one else was around.

……

"The lyrics are very familiar...is it a poem by the Irish poet Yeats?" Adjani couldn't hide the gentle smile in her eyes.

"Yes, I thought it was very suitable, so I adapted it!"

"It is indeed very appropriate, because this poem by Yeats was also dedicated to her lover. His lover was also an actor."

"I am luckier than Yeats, because Maud Gonne never accepted Yeats's pursuit. And you, Isabel, we have each other!"

Yang Ye kept talking about love, which made Adjani smile and feel happy. French people love this tune.

Maud Gonne was a British actress. Yeats proposed to her three times in his life, but she rejected them all.

Yeats and Mao De Gang, just like Jin Yong and Xia Meng, have been licking her all their lives, writing poems, novels, and scripts for her... but they still haven't licked her.

Having said that, maybe it is because you have been in love all your life that you can create so many excellent literary works, right?

If you lick it, you won’t be able to read such wonderful novels or read such beautiful poems.

Good licking!
Better to say no!
……

Yang Ye and Adjani chatted for a while and continued to talk about Duras and her Chinese lover.

Yang Ye believed that Duras did not tell the truth in the novel. Adjani said: "Are you so sure?" Yang Ye smiled and said: "Do you know another novel by Duras? It's called "The Dam Against the Pacific" 》.

Adjani nodded and said, "I know, it was even made into a movie, but I wasn't born yet at that time."

"In that novel, there is also a Chinese man named Mr. Ruo. He is very ugly. He is always outside the story, which is very strange.

After reading "The Lover", I finally figured it out. If the husband and the Chinese lover are the same person, why are the images in the two stories so different?
This shows that there is another hidden meaning in this story. Duras does not know why she did not tell the truth. "

"How is this possible? I think you are thinking too much. This is just a novel."

"If you don't believe it, let's make a bet."

"What are you gambling?"

"I bet Duras will eventually tell me what her real first love looks like after receiving my letter."

"Where's the bet?"

"up to you!"

"If you lose, you must spend at least one month every year to accompany little Elaine and me!"

Yang Ye sighed, held her white and tender palm, and said, "No need to gamble, I can do it."

"Compared to your rhetoric, I think the contract is more effective."

"Okay, I am a contractual person. But what if you lose?"

"At your mercy!"

"You said that?"

"I am also a person with a spirit of contract!"

……

Although Yang Ye plans to star in "The Lover" himself, he will be obsessed with Sophie Marceau in the movie.

However, he was not interested in the chain-smoking male protagonist in "Lover".

Yang Ye didn't want to play that loser, it would be too detrimental to his image!

Therefore, Yang Ye wants to change the script!

For this reason, Yang Yecai personally wrote to Duras, hoping that she could tell him what her real Chinese lover was like.

Why is Yang Ye so sure that Duras is not telling the truth?

Because he is a time traveler, he knows that Duras's first love is called Li Yuntai.

In 1990, Duras received the news of Li Yuntai's death and couldn't help himself, so he rewrote "The Lover".

Compared with "The Lover", the new story has a more affectionate description and a more lingering narrative. It is the pinnacle of Duras's career.

The image of the lover has also changed greatly compared to before, and his character is very confident.

He talked and laughed happily with Jane's mother and eldest brother. He was a successful young man and a real man!
The image of the Chinese lover rewritten by Duras completely subverts the Western collective imagination model of the East.

He is more likeable, stronger, bolder, prettier, healthier, taller, and more graceful than the original lover.

He rarely cries, smiles most of the time, and is a handsome man.

Duras describes his lover:
“His body was lanky, flexible, perfect, and had a certain wonderful beauty like his hands”;
"The skin is soft and golden, and his body is very healthy and beautiful"...

Anyone who has watched the movie "Lover" knows that there is a scene in the movie where Liang Jiahui invites the heroine Jian's family to dinner. As a result, Liang Jiahui is frightened by Jian's eldest brother and has no resistance.

However, in Duras's final rewriting of the story, "the Chinese are in the center like stars and the moon", and the concepts of European centrality and white superiority were completely disintegrated.

When facing the domineering white Westerners, the lover behaved neither humble nor overbearing, polite and polite, chatting and laughing happily.

This is the image that Yang Ye needs. The Liang family plays that loser, and Yang Ye would never know how to act.

Although Yang Ye is greedy for Sophie Marceau's body, he will not ruin his image because of it!

He is China's number one hunk who has defeated all the opponents in the world. He is the face of China and the pride of countless Chinese people.

……

At the last moment of her life, Margaret Duras followed her heart and confessed her love for her Chinese lover.

She wrote in the novel: "I have fallen in love with you a long time ago. I will never forget you!"

She even hoped that they could get married, that she would give him children, and that the family of three would live happily.

At the end of the movie "Lover": the heroine calmly boarded the ship, while Liang Jiahua hid in the dark and watched her secretly, timidly and reluctantly.

The boat drove away, and the Liang family drove their car and chased it along the embankment of the Mekong River, like a dog.

But in Duras's final version of the story, this was not the case. Jane was not calm at all. She cried very sadly. She hugged her lover and said many sentimental words of love.

……

Margaret soon received Yang Ye's letter.

Ms. Margaret Duras:
Before reading "The Lover", I read another of your books, "The Barrier Against the Pacific".

In that story, there was a Chinese named Mr. Ruo.

He is very ridiculous, stupid, timid, ugly, and has nothing but money.

The heroine Susan only had sex with him once, for money, and she felt very disgusted afterwards.

But in the story "Lover", Jane and her lover often make love, which is very happy and touching.

She even loved him and cried when she boarded the ship and left Vietnam.

If I guess correctly, these two people are actually the same prototype. You told the same story twice.

But I think you haven't followed your heart yet, because there are a lot of gaps that haven't been filled in the story of "The Lover."

In order to clarify the mystery, I sent people to Saigon to inquire about this matter.

Unfortunately, your Chinese lover Li Yuntai has been dead for many years.

He was buried in Sadec, and the blue house you described still exists and is occupied by his children.

He was beloved in Sadec for his kindness and simplicity, and he became deeply religious in his later years.

Ms. Margaret, I don’t know what your reasons are, but Mr. Li Yuntai is not what you describe in your book.

You have told a story twice over the past fifty years.

You even said that when you were "eighteen years old, your blooming years had already withered and withered."

Then, I think you love Mr. Li Yuntai!

You live in the memories related to him all your life and never forget him.

Now, "Lover" is being made into a movie.

More people will know the story of you and Li Yuntai through the movie.

I want to know: Are you willing to let Mr. Li live in the eyes of the world with such a humble and cowardly image?
Or can you give him his true colors and let the world see what the real Mr. Li is like?
Looking forward to hearing from you!

……

Yang Ye directly told Duras the news of Li Yuntai's death, with the purpose of stimulating the third story in advance.

And this story is what Yang Ye needs, the real... "Lover".

To hell with Liang Jiahui's version of "Lover"! (End of chapter)