Huayu: I Have a Doraemon

As the meeting ended, Zhang Jianya breathed a sigh of relief and was about to get up to leave when Wang Gengnian called him back from behind.

"Director Zhang, wait a moment."

Zhang Jianya turned around, and Wang Gengnian took an envelope out of his briefcase and handed it to him.

"What is this?"

"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon will be screened at the Hawaii International Film Festival soon, and this is the invitation."

Zhang Jianya took the envelope and opened it.

Inside was a folded invitation, printed in English, with the heading "Hawaii International Film Festival" and a line of smaller print below stating the screening time and location.

He glanced at it, didn't look at it closely, stuffed the invitation back into the envelope, and handed it back.

"What, not interested?" Wang Gengnian raised an eyebrow and took it.

Zhang Jianya said in a neutral tone:

"There are other things to do."

Wang Gengnian's expression turned strange.

Zhang Jianya glanced at him and said irritably:

"A student of Zhang Hua from the Beijing Film Academy asked me to deliver a script."

Wang Gengnian blinked, his expression changing from strange to playful.

"Zhang Hua's student?"

He repeated it slowly, his voice rising at the end:

"When did you become so enthusiastic? I've never seen you care about anyone's affairs like this before."

Zhang Jianya sensed the sarcasm in his words and couldn't help but spit out a curse:

"Zhang Yu and I broke up several years ago and lost contact a long time ago."

Wang Gengnian's smile widened even more, clearly indicating his disbelief.

Zhang Jianya's face darkened.

"Are you ever going to stop?"

He glared at Wang Gengnian, his tone impatient: "That kid is a student in a continuing education program. He wrote a movie script and wants to submit it to the United States. He didn't have any connections, so he asked Zhang Hua to find me."

Wang Gengnian raised an eyebrow slightly: "Vote for America?"

"Yeah, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's 'Green Light' program."

Wang Gengnian remained silent for a few seconds, his expression becoming complicated.

For a student from the prestigious Beijing Film Academy to submit a script overseas, I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

Is the domestic market really that unpopular?

Zhang Jianya saw through his thoughts and chuckled, saying:

"Go ahead and keep blocking the review process. Once everyone's gone, who's going to use this open market?"

Wang Gengnian opened his mouth, but was speechless for a moment.

"Alright, I'm not going to argue with you anymore."

Zhang Jianya waved his hand, turned and walked towards the exit of the venue, but stopped after taking two steps and turned back to say:

"By the way, that kid's name is Lin An. If you're interested, you can keep an eye out for him."

Wang Gengnian stood there, watching Zhang Jianya's figure disappear outside the door, still clutching the brown paper envelope in his hand, lost in thought.

……

……

Late at night, in Chaoyang District, a high-end apartment building.

The elevator doors slid open silently.

The motion-activated light in the corridor flickered on, casting a dim, yellowish glow on the dark gray carpet.

Gao Yuanyuan took out her keys from her bag, opened the door, changed her shoes, and hung her coat on the coat rack in the entryway.

Turn on the lights.

She walked to the sofa, sat down, leaned back, and sank into the soft cushions.

The chandelier on the ceiling was so bright it was almost blinding.

She raised her hand to shield her eyes, but it didn't work, so she pulled a pillow from the sofa and covered her head to block out the light.

Filming "iPartment" was not strenuous; in fact, compared to her previous roles, it was quite easy.

There were no announcements requiring getting up at 4 a.m. to do makeup, no torture of walking around in sub-zero temperatures wearing only a thin shirt, and no breakdowns from not being able to get more than ten takes right or having the director throw the script and yell at you.

But she didn't think it was because Lin Cong was easy to talk to.

The director's volatile temper on set was evident to the entire crew—except for one particular person.

The image of that young, confident profile flashed into my mind.

Gao Yuanyuan couldn't help but smile again.

She was discovered by a talent scout while shopping when she was seventeen, and four years have passed since she filmed Ice Cream Guy.

During this time, she met many people, both actively and passively, and considered herself to be quite knowledgeable, but she had never encountered such a contradictory person as him.

Sometimes childish, sometimes composed, sometimes profound, sometimes carefree... It feels like it has several faces, yet they all seem genuine.

"That's really interesting..."

Gao Yuanyuan muttered something to herself, when her phone suddenly vibrated.

She glanced down at the caller ID, her eyes immediately lit up, and she answered the phone:

"Comrade Zhang, are you done with your work?"

A refined male voice came from the other end of the phone, tinged with weariness yet also with a hint of amusement:

"Not yet. EMI called and asked me to help Faye promote her new album. We also have several movie scores to prepare."

Gao Yuanyuan's eyes dimmed upon hearing this, and she muttered:

"So, you can't come home for a few more days?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.

When the man's voice rang out again, it carried a hint of coaxing:

"I'm the album producer, so I can't miss the promotional activities. I'll spend more time with you after this busy period, okay?"

Gao Yuanyuan pursed her lips, her tone tinged with dissatisfaction:

"You always say that."

"This time it's for real."

"You said the same thing last time."

A bitter laugh came from the other end of the phone, followed by a rustling sound, as if someone was rummaging through something.

"There's nothing we can do about it; that's just how our line of work is."

Gao Yuanyuan was speechless for a moment.

She felt like she couldn't find a reason to get angry.

She tightened her grip on her phone slightly, leaned back on the sofa, and looked up at the chandelier on the ceiling. The light from the incandescent bulb made her eyes sting.

After a few seconds of silence, she said softly:

"Okay, then take care of yourself."

"Yes, you too."

"By the way, there's something I want to ask you..."

Gao Yuanyuan recounted Lin An's story.

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone.

"Could it be a scam?"

"I've seen everything in the warehouse. It's worth more than 170,000, let alone 70,000."

There was another silence on the other end of the phone.

"That's interesting."

The man's voice carried a hint of amusement.

"What was his name again?"

"Lin An".

"Never heard of it."

The man said in a low voice, "But someone who can make you care so much must be no ordinary person."

Gao Yuanyuan frowned: "What do you mean by that?"

"What could I possibly mean?"

The man's voice on the other end of the phone remained gentle, with a hint of nonchalance:

"I just noticed you seemed a bit different lately, it was just a casual remark."

Gao Yuanyuan's brows remained furrowed, but her tone softened:

"Don't overthink it, he's just a pretty interesting kid."

"Child?"

Compared to you, I am indeed a child.

Upon hearing this, a low chuckle came from the other end of the phone, and no further questions were asked.

Gao Yuanyuan wanted to explain a few more words, but suddenly the sound of a door opening came from the other end of the phone, followed by a series of whispered conversations that came from afar but were not clearly audible.

She held her phone and waited for a while.

They're still talking over there.

She waited a little longer.

The conversation showed no signs of ending; on the contrary, it grew increasingly lively, occasionally interspersed with bursts of laughter.

Gao Yuanyuan's breathing became heavy.

She took the phone away from her ear, hovered her thumb over the hang-up button, and pressed it hard.

After the screen went dark, she threw her phone on the sofa cushion, curled up her legs, and buried her face in her knees.