Chapter 1565
Breakup
"Finally home!"
After a flight of dozens of hours, Zhang Yuan returned to the courtyard with his assistant and bodyguards.
Being young is great. Even though he needed to adjust to the time difference and had barely slept for 24 hours, Jiang Yilang was very energetic and had a great appetite throughout the journey.
But once I get home, I can fall asleep the moment my head hits the pillow.
I slept for a full 12 hours until the next day.
The next day at noon, Ms. Jiang woke up and rubbed her eyes as she went to the yard.
The first sound I heard wasn't the distinctive pigeon whistles of Beijing, nor the chirping of birds or insects, but a young woman's voice with a distinct Beijing accent, her sentences always ending with a drawn-out syllable.
When she arrived at the restaurant, she saw Guan Xiaotong sitting on Zhang Yuan's lap, with her arms wrapped around his neck.
"Are foreign countries fun?"
"You're not taking me with you."
"You only took Ichiro to play with, but didn't bring me any gifts."
This girl from Beijing was very resentful about Zhang Yuan taking her best friend to film abroad.
So when I heard he was home, I rushed over and became very clingy.
Even when Miss Jiang arrived, she didn't get off her lap.
She even slightly raised her chin.
He seemed to be saying, "I can sit on my brother's lap, but can you...?"
Jiang Yilang smiled and didn't take it seriously.
I thought to myself, "I can sit on his third leg, you're so childish."
"Get down, I've told you so many times."
"Don't keep doing this, what if someone sees us?" Zhang Yuan asked Gege to leave when he saw the mixed-race girl arrive.
"I have nothing to do at home."
As she said this, she glanced at Jiang Yilang.
"I have something to tell you," Miss Jiang said, crossing her arms and glancing at him.
“Okay.” Zhang Yuan then got up and went with him to the study in the backyard.
“Xiaotong has always been like this. She’s been like this ever since we first met a few years ago. She’s the same way at home.”
Seeing that the other person had no expression, but the tone of their voice when they called him earlier was somewhat serious, he explained in advance.
But the other party seemed completely indifferent.
"I do not mind."
"Last time, I went swimming with her in your big courtyard, and we took a shower together afterward."
“She hasn’t even grown all her hair yet, and her body isn’t fully developed. I wouldn’t care about a little girl like her.”
“However…” Jiang Yilang rested his chin on his hand and recalled for a moment.
"She's quite pretty and has long legs, but she's a bit thin."
"Alright," Zhang Yuan quickly interrupted.
Are you going to give me a product presentation?
I feel like you're observing a little too closely, almost like a henpecked husband.
If I keep talking, my train of thought will get sidetracked.
The key is that there are ancestral precepts, which are incompatible with tradition.
"Let's not talk about these things, at least let Xiaotong have some privacy."
"Okay, let's get down to business." Miss Jiang waved her hand.
"I was very happy during the time we spent abroad together."
"Because you gave me a completely different life experience."
"I met many interesting people and things, which broadened my horizons."
"However... it wasn't all interesting; there were good and bad things." She recalled her past experiences of observing accidents up close.
"The good part is that you fulfill all my expectations of a high-quality Chinese man."
"Whether it's appearance, intelligence, personality, or physical ability, you are outstanding."
"Shouldn't we say 'but' now?" Zhang Yuan said, sitting up straight.
"Yes, but it's not all good." Miss Jiang tilted her head and commented.
"You focus most of your energy on work."
"You possess wealth, but excessive wealth and the desire for it affect your emotional investment."
"Also, being with you does satisfy some of my vanity; it's pleasant to be around a big star."
"According to Chinese tradition, this is very prestigious."
"But I don't like the price that comes with saving face."
"For example, the overwhelming amount of abuse online."
"It brought me tremendous, unprecedented pressure."
“I don’t like the feeling of being scrutinized by strangers. I just want to be close to my family and friends and keep my distance from most people in the world.”
"This intense negative experience overshadowed my affection for you."
“So, I think we should separate.” Jiang Yilang said casually with a maturity far beyond his years, without much emotion.
Despite her young age, she has quite a rich romantic history.
I'm sorry for the impact this has had on you.
"You're right, I'm glad you told me all this directly." Zhang Yuan smiled and accepted it all calmly.
"But I have a question: when did you come up with this idea?"
"It was already there when I was in Bulgaria," Jiang Yilang said calmly.
"That must have been at least a few weeks ago."
“Yes, but you’re working, and I don’t want to bother you.” She pursed her lips and said, “After all, you’ve done a lot for me; just arranging things on set takes a lot of money and time.”
Zhang Yuan was somewhat moved when he heard this.
Look, this mixed-race girl is developing early and is quite sensible.
"And you were excellent in bed, I haven't had enough," Ms. Jiang added.
Zhang Yuan: ...
So you're treating me like a sex toy... no, a sex bell, right?
Seeing the other person's carefree attitude, Zhang Yuan recalled the question that Brother Qian had asked him many years ago.
Who's messing with whom between you two?
"I didn't mean anything by it. You are very outstanding and considerate. I felt happy when we were together."
Seeing his embarrassed expression, Jiang Yilang comforted him.
This made him feel even worse. Damn it, I have to be comforted by a girl who's not even 20 yet.
"It's okay, I know who I am, and I know what you are like."
"Dandan!" he called to his assistant, turning around. "Bring the things here."
I have a gift for you.
The assistant quickly and carefully carried a large rectangular gift box into the house.
After placing it on the table, Zhang Yuan personally opened the packaging and flipped open the lid of the gift box.
"Wow!" Miss Jiang's eyes lit up when she saw what was inside.
"This is for you. I wish you can achieve your dreams and become the person you want to be," Zhang Yuan said sincerely.
The box contained a lens.
But it's not an ordinary lens; it's Canon's EF 1200mm f/5.6 L USM.
This thing is not sold publicly; it is usually only made for custom supply to media outlets such as Sports Illustrated and Discovery Channel.
A top-of-the-line super telephoto lens, weighing over 30 kilograms.
It's perfectly suitable for shooting fast-moving wildlife or astrophotography.
It was so powerful that even Canon's flagship camera at the time, the EOS-1DX, couldn't unleash its full potential.
For a photographer, it's even worth keeping as a family heirloom.
The price is also astonishing, at 10 euros.
It's like mounting a Mercedes-Benz S-Class on a camera.
The key is customization; ordinary people can't buy it.
He only managed to get one from Canon headquarters after asking Uncle Long, a Canon spokesperson, for help.
Uncle Jackie Chan has a lot of influence, plus he booked several screenings of "Chinese Zodiac" and promoted it on Weibo, so the other party is returning the favor to him.
Anyone involved in photography, whether professional or amateur, would react to this thing in a way similar to a man who has abstained from sex for a month seeing Megan Fox, the female lead in "Transformers 1," completely naked.
The light emanating from his eyes was no less than that of Superman.
"Didn't you say when you were in Bulgaria that your equipment and lenses weren't very good at capturing nature and animals?"
"Using this should make things much better."
Jiang Yilang reached out and touched it a few times; the camera lens was cold, but his heart was burning with passion.
"Even though I just said I wanted to break up with you, you still gave it to me?"
"I'm giving this to you, the future outstanding photographer, it has nothing to do with whether you're with me or not." Zhang Yuan didn't care about the money. Besides, it wasn't about the money.
After thinking for a moment, Miss Jiang spoke again.
"How about I spend some more time with you?"
"Or we can go a few more rounds, just to give you a taste."
"Otherwise, I'll always feel guilty accepting it."
"No need. I'm happy as long as you like it. That's enough."
"Actually, I was lying to you." She got up and sat on his lap just like the princess had done before, then whispered in his ear.
"Even if you don't give me a gift, I still plan to have sex with you a few more times before we break up."
"I started thinking about it after I saw that girl from Beijing sitting on your lap."
Zhang Yuan wanted to say that female rivalry was unacceptable, but he also intended to follow the advice.
After several cannon salutes, everything returned to calm.
She said she planned to go to Africa for a trip and take some photos with the lens he gave her.
"I wish you become the best photographer." They hugged each other before leaving.
"I also wish you find the person you're looking for... or a few people?" the girl added after saying that, nodding seriously at the same time.
"Maybe when I come back next time, we can get to know each other again, or maybe we can meet up occasionally," the French girl said, not giving a definitive answer.
"Alright, it's better for you to live your life well than anything else."
"Au revoir!" the mixed-race girl said goodbye in French after kissing him on the cheek.
He then strode confidently out of the yard.
Zhang Yuan turned around and walked somewhat forlornly towards the backyard.
The assistant glanced at the door, then at him, and said something beside him.
"Brother Zhang Yuan."
"Ok?"
"You got dumped by a young girl, right?"
Zhang Yuan: ...
Lies don't hurt, truth is the knife.
Who told you to speak such blunt truths!
Zhang Yuan glanced at her, then returned to his study without saying a word.
That is to say, he doesn't hold grudges. If it were someone else, they would definitely have given their assistant a good scolding.
The next day, Zhao Dandan was fined a month's bonus for not clearing the table after breakfast.
A day later, he arrived at an office building in the western district of the capital.
This is the office of ZhenFund, a private equity firm that was established just one year ago.
Zhang Yuan made an appointment in advance and waited for a long time before finally meeting the company's boss, Xu Xiaoping, one of the original three driving forces of New Oriental.
This company was founded by him and another key figure, Wang Qiang, after they left New Oriental.
After selling their shares, Yu Minhong finally realized his dream of "dominating the market," while the two cashed out and officially entered the capital market.
Specializing in angel and seed round investments in high-tech startups, they have achieved great success thanks to their extensive industry connections.
However, its fund management scale is not top-tier, currently only a few hundred million US dollars, and will only reach a scale of one billion US dollars in the future.
It's far inferior to those private equity funds run by big capital or the children of wealthy families.
Today, he asked Lao Han to help him make the contact so that he could visit as a candidate for the lead role in "American Dreams in China".
The other person is kind-hearted and plump, and his smile resembles that of Maitreya Buddha.
But he speaks very directly.
"I think China Film Group has chosen the wrong people," Xu Xiaoping said, seemingly jokingly.
"You're too stylish and handsome; you can't portray the feeling of Lao Yu."
"He's so rustic."
Xiao Ming is suitable for this role because of his inherent rustic charm.
Actually, there's another point that matches.
Yu Minhong came from a humble background and has an element of inferiority in his bones, as does Xiaoming.
“But our job as actors is to portray a thousand different characters.” Zhang Yuan didn’t seem to care.
Actually, Lao Yu disagrees with the assessment that he is unsophisticated.
People tend to subconsciously idealize themselves and the people they like.
That's how the term "white moonlight" came about.
Old Yu always says that he worked very hard and is now successful in his career, but no girl looked up to him when he was in college.
He attributed the reason to his rural background and lack of money.
Later, he asked his college classmates if he had really been unsophisticated.
The student's answer was...
"You're not only unsophisticated, you're also disgusting."
They even shut Lao Yu up.
But he quickly accepted this reality and openly joked about it.
"Mr. Xu, I heard that you and Professor Tan Dun were classmates."
"I met Mr. Tan a few times on Feng Xiaogang's film set, and we exchanged piano techniques, which was very rewarding."
"He helped me a lot; he was my mentor in every word."
“You and he are classmates, so I think you must both be very talented in music. We can exchange ideas sometime.”
He found a starting point to strike up a conversation with the other party.
This person is a graduate of the Central Conservatory of Music. After his debut, he did many music-related jobs and started his own business, but all of them failed.
That's why I love it even more.
Upon entering the office, Zhang Yuan noticed that the walls were decorated with vinyl records.
When he mentioned that he also played vinyl records, the other person indeed became much closer to him.
"Your equipment is pretty good." After hearing his description, the guy got really excited.
"It's alright, come to my house sometime and we can enjoy it together."
"We call this a case of profound waters finding a kindred spirit."
“Yes, I’ll go take a look when I have time… But you look even more sophisticated like this, and even less suitable to play Lao Yu. He doesn’t know anything about music.” Xu Xiaoping’s words seemed to be directed at him, but he was actually mocking his old friend.
"But I have a lot of fans and viewers."
“If I act in it, more people will be able to learn about your story.”
"A person leaves a name behind, just as a goose leaves a cry in the sky."
"We put on this show just so people will know your story."
Upon hearing this, Xu Xiaoping nodded slightly.
If that's what you're saying, then you're right!
"I came here today to meet the real person who inspired the story and to experience what it's all about."
"When we act, we emphasize listening, seeing, and feeling genuinely."
“Then you should go see Lao Yu,” Xu Xiaoping said, then laughed, “The old man is ignoring you, isn’t he?”
"Hehehe, you're right."
Yu Minhong still opposes filming.
He also refused to meet with the actors, director, and other crew members.
In short, they are unwilling, unsupportive, uncomprehending, and distrustful.
"I'll try to communicate with Mr. Yu."
Xu Xiaoping discovered that Lao Yu was indeed difficult to deal with.
Having worked together for many years, I know all too well how stubborn this old guy is.
It's like a rock in a latrine, smelly and hard.
But his success also stemmed from this innate stubbornness.
Therefore, Xu Xiaoping had both grievances and great respect for his old partner.
But the young man in front of me didn't seem embarrassed when he talked about communicating with the other party; in fact, he exuded a genuine confidence.
I can't even get him to come, so what's he so confident about...?
"I actually have something else to discuss with you today," Zhang Yuan said gently, mentioning another company.
"Xiangxiang Film Industry is a company you invested in, right?"
"Um...yes, what's wrong?" Xu Xiaoping was surprised that he mentioned the company.
Because it has nothing to do with "American Dreams in China".
But it is related to Zhang Yuan.
The most valuable asset held by Xiangxiang Pictures, in which Xu Xiaoping has invested and holds a significant stake, is the copyright to Guo Jingming's "Tiny Times." (End of Chapter)