Literary Master: Starting with Refusing to Be a Child Star

The day "Saw" was released was a Friday. Li Zihang bought two tickets a week in advance, for a prime-time showing, right in the middle. His girlfriend, Zhou Wei, had a subtle expression when she saw the tickets.

"A horror movie?"

"Suspenseful and thrilling, but not the scary kind," Li Zihang said, carefully choosing his words as he handed over the tickets. "Produced by Early Spring Culture, the same company that made 'Strange Tales'."

My boyfriend is great in every way, except for his liking for horror movies... that's a unique taste.

Zhou Wei took the ticket and glanced at the movie title. The four words "Saw" were printed on the ticket stub, the font of which was somewhat sharp. She didn't say anything and put the ticket into her bag.

Li Zihang knew that Zhou Wei didn't really like horror movies. It wasn't that she was afraid of them, but she felt that those kinds of things were "meaningless," full of jump scares, and she would forget them after watching them.

He had previously tried to recommend "The Hidden Corner" to her, but she said it was "too depressing"; he had also recommended "The Long Season," but she said the pacing was too slow.

I had recommended "Tales of Wonder" before, and Zhou Wei actually watched it this time. She gave it a very high rating. This show made her understand why her boyfriend was so obsessed with the works of Early Spring Tea.

Once you find your match, you'll fall madly in love. No one can truly leave the town depicted in "Tales of the Strange" after watching it.

Although he knew his girlfriend wasn't a big fan of Early Spring Tea's works, Li Zihang felt this time was different. He watched the trailer for "Saw" three times, noting the bathroom, the two saws, and the line "Let's play a game."

Every frame sent chills down his spine.

He didn't believe Zhou Wei wouldn't worship his god after watching it.

The two arrived at the movie theater at 7:40 p.m. on Friday.

Li Zihang bought a large bucket of popcorn and two cups of cola. When Zhou Wei took the cola, she said, "If it's scary after watching, you'll be responsible."

Li Zihang said, "Okay, I'll take care of it." When he entered the theater, Li Zihang noticed that there were quite a few people in the theater, and the occupancy rate was higher than he had expected. Some people were discussing that this was a movie produced by Early Spring Culture, some were saying that they were readers who had followed the movie since "Story Club", and some were taking pictures of their tickets on their phones to post on WeChat Moments.

After Zhou Wei sat down, she adjusted the armrests of her chair and placed the popcorn between the two of them, seemingly ready to complain at any moment.

The movie begins.

The scene is dark, with the sound of water first, followed by the rattling of chains, and then the scene slowly brightens—a dilapidated bathroom with yellowed tiles, rusted pipes, and an unconscious man lying on the floor.

There was no background music, no narration, only the sound of dripping water and breathing echoing in the empty space. Li Zihang noticed that Zhou Wei, who had been leaning back in her chair, sat up a little in the first thirty seconds of the opening. It was subtle, but he noticed it.

Adam wakes up, Gordon wakes up, and the two exchange names, information, and confusion.

When Gordon said, "I don't have my phone on me," Zhou Wei gave a soft "Mmm."

When the cassette tape was pulled out and the altered mechanical voice rang out in the dark bathroom, the theater was so quiet that you could hear someone in the back row gasp.

Li Zihang glanced at Zhou Wei, who was staring at the screen with her hand on the popcorn bucket but not picking it up.

After the secret of the tape was revealed, the two began searching for clues in the room.

The marks on the wall, the note in the pipe, the locked safe.

While Gordon was guessing the password, Zhou Wei whispered that the password should be 327, and the safe was opened.

Inside was the key, but not the chains they were wearing.

After much searching, Adam found two saws.

Someone in the theater gasped, and Li Zihang heard someone next to him whisper, "No way."

Zhou Wei didn't speak, but the hand she had placed on the popcorn bucket didn't move again.

Because of this saw, the two people whose legs were bound by chains had another option—to saw off their legs.

The plot is developing rapidly.

To save his captured wife and daughter, Gordon picked up the saw and looked at his ankle.

The camera cut to his face, and as sweat streamed down his forehead, Zhou Wei leaned forward slightly, her shoulders tightening at that moment. Li Zihang didn't turn to look at her, but he sensed the change in her intense gaze.

The scene of sawing off the ankle was devoid of screams or embellishment; the sound of metal rubbing against bone was amplified in the empty bathroom, like a rusty gear struggling to turn.

This should have been the most basic "physical pain" in a horror movie, but because of the build-up in the earlier parts, it suddenly erupted and became a classic scene in horror films.

Zhou Wei turned her face away, to the side of Li Zihang's shoulder, but she didn't close her eyes; she just looked at it from a different angle.

Her fingers grasped Li Zihang's sleeve and gently touched it.

Li Zihang didn't move, letting her ride on it.

She's watching, she's still watching.

Gordon dragged his broken leg out of the iron gate, and the scene cut to Adam lying on the ground. The camera slowly zoomed out, and the "corpse" was still lying on the ground, motionless.

The music starts, the screen darkens, and the subtitles begin to scroll.

Someone in the theater let out a long sigh. Li Zihang also let out a sigh and leaned back in his chair. He hadn't decided whether to tell Zhou Wei about the twist at the end when the credits on the screen paused.

The screen lit up again.

The "corpse" sat up from the ground. At that instant, the entire audience simultaneously let out a suppressed gasp, a gasp that seemed to rise from a deep abyss, a collective sound like a breath that had been trapped in the chest for a long time finally finding its outlet. Li Zihang heard someone shout, "Holy crap!" He wanted to say it too, but didn't, because Zhou Wei next to him froze in her seat, the popcorn bucket tilting on her lap, but she didn't steady herself.

The "corpse" stood up, straightened its clothes, pushed open the door, and before leaving, tilted its head and said, "Game over." The screen went dark again, this time showing the actual end credits—a black background with white text, like some kind of old notice. The theater lights came on.

Li Zihang turned to look at Zhou Wei. She remained seated, her hand still on his sleeve, her gaze fixed on the now-black screen, as if waiting for something to happen next. After a while, she blinked and turned to look at him: "Was Jigsaw in that room the whole time?"

"That must be it, ah, early spring tea is divine...!"

She put the bucket of popcorn, which was half-spilled, back down, stood up, and said, "Let's go."

After leaving the theater, Zhou Wei didn't say "It was pretty good" or "It was alright." Standing in the corridor outside the theater, she said something that Li Zihang didn't expect: "That Jigsaw, who exactly is he?"

Li Zihang said, "If you want to know, I can show you the original novel, which is more detailed than the movie."

Zhou Wei glanced at him. "Do you have the original copy at home? The original copy of 'Early Spring Tea'?" Li Zihang said, "Yes." Zhou Wei said, "Then go back and get it for me."

On that winter night, Li Zihang stood under the movie theater lights, looking at Zhou Wei's expression—there was a light in her eyes.

He silently thanked the early spring tea, then reached out and took the empty Coke cup from Zhou Wei's hand, and walked towards the trash can.