Huayu 02: The Days of Extreme Pulling and Rolling with the Fairy

"Ladies and gentlemen, the fluctuations in realism and humanistic thought have always been a key focus in Berlin, and the Berlin International Film Festival jury has decided to award the Silver Bear Jury Grand Prix."

Awarded to NING HAO for directing "Incense"

"The work, written with a simple and realistic documentary style, tells the story of the monks' impoverished circumstances in raising money to repair the temple, dissecting the true fabric of rural society. Lead actor XIE JIN sheds his dramatic performance, displaying restrained and delicate emotional control, and accurately presents the struggles and helplessness of ordinary people caught between livelihood and faith with a very down-to-earth acting style."

When the spotlight shone on him for a moment, Ning Hao was momentarily dazed, and his legs went weak as he walked up to it, grinning like a foolish son of a landlord.

Thanks to Chinese-language films, which have a certain influence in the history of the Berlin Film Festival, the organizing committee has specially assigned Chinese-language translators.

Ning Hao read his award speech haltingly, rambling on for two minutes before abruptly changing the subject at the end.

"...Finally, I want to thank my dear friend, Mr. Xie Jin, who is also the male lead and investor of this work...during the creation process...he was actually working in isolation..."

The spotlight immediately fell on Xie Jin, and at this moment everyone was watching.

Xie Jin stood up, looked around, smiled, waved, and shook hands with several European artists she didn't recognize.

The flashes from distant cameras were so bright they made Xie Jin's eyes water.

Although the older white men smiled politely, they didn't like Xie Jin at all. They just smiled and clapped, but there was resentment and something else in their eyes.

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There is no other reason.

Xie Jin, who is 1.85 meters tall with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, does not fit the Asian characteristics of buck teeth, shortness and thinness in their eyes.

In their eyes, Asians cannot be like this.

On the contrary, some of the wealthy ladies beamed with enthusiasm, licked their lips, and their eyes were full of surprise.

After all, seeing such a young man with delicate features, a hint of wickedness in his eyes, and a tall and sturdy build was quite a sight.

What wealthy lady wouldn't like that?

Just by looking at his white shirt, which made his pectoral muscles bulge, you knew this kid was absolutely effective and would definitely quench your thirst.

After sitting down, Ning Hao floated back...

After a moment of stunned silence, Ning Hao blurted out a sentence

"Like a dream... right?"

Xie Jin nodded mechanically and pinched her thigh.

"How come it doesn't hurt? Damn, is this some kind of dream?"

Ning Hao's face changed: "You fucking pinched me! You almost pinched my basket!"

Phew... I was wondering why it didn't hurt. I guess that's why the passion was released on Lao Ning.

Xie Jin breathed a long sigh of relief. After being reborn for so long, she had finally made the most of her time...

The two of them simply applauded for the next award; the aftershocks in their minds hadn't yet subsided.

The moment the awards ceremony ended, the reception began as normal in the front hall. The two had no female companions and could not communicate in the language.

With the help of a translator, the two managed to walk around the area.

After handing out a small stack of business cards, I found myself with an extra stack of business cards in my pocket.

Xie Jin's palms were scratched several times by different wealthy ladies.

But then I think about how weird Old German's ways are; what if he ruins the whole Prague house and locks himself in the basement? That would be a disaster...

Xie Jin casually tossed the small note with the phone number in her pocket into a corner.

Feeling hungry, the two of them sneaked away.

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With the support of the Silver Bear, top European art film distributors immediately contacted director Ning Hao.

The Match Factory, known in the industry as Match Factory Film Company, is the world's largest distributor, promoter, and agent of art films.

The match factory quickly provided a quote: 47 euros for the European full-channel copyright and 90 euros for the global channel.

Normally, the price quoted for a film that wins a Silver Bear or Gold Bear award is between 60 and 300 million euros across all global channels.

This depends on the fame of the director and actors.

If this Silver Bear award had been won by someone of Zhang Yimou's caliber, paired with a star like John Lone, then the 300 million across all channels would have been unthinkable.

Unfortunately, both of the actors in "Incense" are newcomers, so they could only get a price that was slightly higher than the industry's lowest, even though European film companies prefer realistic themes.

However, the two were quite satisfied with this arrangement... at least they didn't have to look at the price when eating sausages...

The first thing Ning Hao did after getting money was to find a small restaurant and feast on sausages and German sauerkraut pork knuckle.

After giving themselves a good boost of nutrients, Xie Jin dragged Ning Hao shopping.

"Seriously, you've burned through so much stuff, how much stuff did you buy?"

"Since you're already here, aren't you going to bring something for your senior sister?"

Ning Hao looked conflicted. After hesitating for a long time, he gritted his teeth and bought Xing Na a coat and some things for his family.

"If she knew this dress cost a thousand euros, she'd probably tear me apart."

"Impossible, look how stingy you are."

Ning Hao consoled himself: "Let it be 1,000 euros. She's never been willing to wear nice clothes. She gives me all the money she has for her creative work. She should be able to wear something that costs 10,000 euros."

Xie Jin couldn't resist, so she gritted her teeth and spent five thousand euros on a shopping spree.

My mom had her eyes practically glued to the neighbor's wool coat.

She always says she doesn't like it, but she's actually incredibly envious. This time, I finally got her one no matter what.

My dad always envied the big steel watch his former boss used to wear.

Xie Jin gritted her teeth and bought her father a German mechanical watch so that her father could brag about it when he got home.

After a small shopping spree, the two looked at the money they had spent and their stinginess kicked in, causing them to feel the pinch.

I immediately bought a red-eye flight ticket back to China.

Just before boarding the plane, a message popped up on my phone.

"."

Looking at the dot Liu sent, Xie Jin felt an indescribable joy.

"I've bought the plane tickets, I'm going back soon. I'll come visit you on set after I've finished my leave."

On set, Miss Liu curled her lip. How dare that audacious idiot write a song to tease her! When he comes over, she'll give him a good beating!

Then I pressed a few buttons on my phone.

"Wrong number... Come or don't come, it's up to you."

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When Ning Hao arrived at school, he was in a hurry to report to his wife, Xie Jin, who was going to the department to cancel her leave.

Just as Xie Jin entered the school gate, a voice called out from behind, "Junior brother?"

When Xie Jin turned around, she saw Ma Su, the senior from the class of 01, along with several other seniors she didn't recognize, and Jia Nailiang, one of the "Eight Iron Hat Kings" and the "Green Hat King".

Ma Su patted Xie Jin on the shoulder and exclaimed, "Wow, you're really a junior! You're amazing, you've really brought honor to our department!"

"Why bother saving face?"

"Silver Bear," Ma Su said, pointing. Xie Jin looked up in the direction she pointed.

Holy crap!

A red banner was stretched across the school gate. Xie Jin stared blankly at it, while many classmates around him whispered among themselves.

[Warmest congratulations to Ning Hao, Class of '99, Photography Department, and Xie Jin, Class of '02, Performing Arts Department, for winning the Jury Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival for their film "Incense"]

Jia Nailiang looked at Xie Jin, his eyes filled with three parts envy, six parts congratulations, and a little jealousy: "Junior brother is amazing! Listen to your senior brother and keep it up, and perform well in every play."

"When are we going to have a get-together? Your senior will open a bottle of wine to celebrate."

Xie Jin's lips twitched twice: "Senior brother is so kind... I'll go and report back from leave first, and I'll treat you to a meal sometime."

"Okay, you go ahead and get busy! The celebratory drinks are always ready for you."

These words made Xie Jin's legs go weak with fear... She forced a smile.

From a distant corner, Zhou Yiwei observed for two seconds. "Is it really him?"

Zhang Songwen sighed and nodded. "Hey, you really have to become famous early. Why didn't we have that opportunity? Let's go. I heard they're recruiting extras in Huairou. Three hundred a day."

Xie Jin moved with lightning speed, afraid that her senior brother would open a bottle of wine for her. What if Sister Ma took notice of her again and collected all her photos?

Leaning against the stairwell, Xie Jin took a breath. He didn't know if it was the thrill of fame or a bit of social anxiety, but his heart was beating very fast.

The feeling of becoming famous is different... no... I'd say it's only minor fame. Compared to my creditor, I'm still a nobody.

I pushed open the door and entered the office. Teacher Wang was reading the newspaper, looking so pleased with herself that snot bubbles were practically coming out of her nose.

Many people may not know the name Wang Jinsong, the "King of Gas Shells".

But if you say something like "Take out the rubber band from your underwear to make a slingshot and shoot your windows" or "Increase the dosage," you can probably picture it.

Old Wang served as the head teacher for the Class of 02, mainly teaching "Performing Arts" and "Language Arts".

Of the three teachers in the 02 undergraduate class, Xie Jin was most familiar with Lao Wang. She would ask him for advice every few days and always went to him.

"Wow, the international movie star is back?"

Xie Jin blushed deeply: "Teacher, why are you teasing me? I'm so embarrassed!"

Wang Jinsong cheerfully pulled Xie Jin over and took out some jasmine flowers from the cabinet to brew a pot.

"You've really made the department proud this time. You can't be so thin-skinned. Look at all the graduates from our school, none of them are thin-skinned."