Chapter 209: An Unexpected Surprise
In the penthouse of Crystal Dock, Li Chen and Liu Yifei's love nest.
Liu Yifei was wearing a loose men's white shirt.
Her long, fair legs were exposed, gleaming brightly.
Her thick, dark hair was neatly tied into a short ponytail.
Between her neck and the collar of her shirt, a faint strawberry mark was still visible.
Liu Yifei looked at herself in the mirror, her face filled with contentment, but she said, "There are marks now, how can I face people!"
Li Chen, feeling refreshed, wrapped his arms around her waist from behind: "Let me see, what is this!"
"It's just one spot, what about all these on my neck?"
"Anyone who doesn't know would think I have an allergy! Are you not embarrassed to see Auntie later!"
Liu Yifei's face flushed, she turned around, her beautiful eyes full of smiles, and wrapped her arms around Li Chen's neck.
"I don't know why, I just wanted to bite you!"
Li Chen chuckled: "It's just that I won a Golden Lion. What if you win an Oscar someday?"
"I'm afraid I really won't be able to face people then."
Liu Yifei was delighted: "It's still the middle of the night in China. In a few more hours, it will probably be restless again."
Li Chen glanced at Miss Liu's lower body.
A thought came to his mind, and he unconsciously uttered it: "Indeed, below the shirt, it's all legs."
"You should put on some pants, Xixi."
Miss Liu smiled triumphantly, very satisfied with Li Chen's reaction: "I won't wear them. If someone can't resist, it's not my fault."
With that, she turned nimbly and entered the bathroom with a melodious laugh.
Early in the morning in China, people in the industry woke up from their dreams and subconsciously checked the results from Venice through various channels.
Oriental Morning Post News:
"Li Chen Captures Lion, Man Shen Crowned Queen, Setting Multiple Records for Chinese Filmmakers!"
Sina Entertainment News:
"Li Chen Becomes the First Chinese Director to Win Both the Golden Palm and Golden Lion."
"Maggie Cheung Crowned in Venice, Becoming the First Actress Globally to Win Europe's Three Golden Awards, Her Acceptance Speech Was Thought-Provoking."
Beijing Daily News:
"Following 'painted skin,' Li Chen's 'pieta' Produces Another Silver Lion Best Actress, the Duel of Two Golden Lion Best Actresses from 'the message' is Unprecedented."
Forever Enthrallled Crew
Today, many actors, including Leon Lai, noticed Director Chen's absentmindedness.
During the lunch break.
Producer Chen Hong took the initiative to sit beside her husband.
A well-maintained, soft small hand silently held her husband's hand.
Chen Kaige turned his head and saw his wife smile slightly, like Man Shen in "The Promise."
No, not like, it was exactly her.
This made his turbulent heart calm down again.
Their eyes exchanged glances, seemingly a silent dialogue.
"Ge, don't think so much, focusing on 'Forever Enthrallled' is what matters."
"Hong, thank you. With you, I wouldn't trade you for an Oscar!"
Chen Kaige held Chen Hong's hand with his other hand, and a confident smile returned to his face.
The actors of the Forever Enthrallled crew noticed that after the midday break,
Director Chen seemed to have returned to his 'I am who I am, Chen Kaige of farewell my concubine' self.
Not only was Chen Kaige distracted, but the two Huayi Brothers, especially Wang Zhonglei, also exclaimed that heaven had no eyes and Zhang Yimou had no backbone.
Zhang Weiping even called Zhang Yimou.
"Yi Mou, what did you do? How could the Golden Lion be given to Li Chen!"
"Were you scared by those online comments!"
"Didn't I tell you, the Golden Lion absolutely cannot be given to Li Chen!"
"If you do this, that little bastard will become even more arrogant and won't put us brothers in his eyes anymore!"
"What were you thinking!"
Zhang Weiping barraged him with questions, but Zhang Yimou said nothing, listening quietly.
It wasn't until two minutes later that Zhang Weiping caught his breath: "Are you listening, Yi Mou, hello?"
"I'm listening, Weiping. This is the unanimous result of most of the judges, and I was powerless to change it."
Zhang Yimou didn't explain much to Zhang Weiping.
He was Zhang Yimou, his mind wasn't that narrow.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have cooperated with Zhang Weiping for so many years.
He and Li Chen had no deep hatred, and besides, Ang Lee already had a Golden Lion.
Should he give him another one, making him also join the club of double-lion directors?
Moreover, Li Chen winning the Golden Lion was not only the opinion of mainland netizens and local film critics and media in Venice.
It was also the trend of the times!
Although the higher-ups didn't explicitly greet him,
the content of all the phone calls asking about it was, "How is 'pieta'? What is it about?"
Isn't that obvious?
This was also why he said on the awards stage that he could finally get a good night's sleep.
The bigwigs in the industry all sent their congratulations to Li Chen during the day.
The artists of Rongchen Film and Television were jubilant.
"Senior brother is probably the number one person in China after Director Zhang, right? The Golden Palm plus Golden Bear cancels out the Golden Bear plus Golden Lion!"
"Awards can't compete, but box office is a complete victory. Without 'Hero' as a foundation, Director Zhang would be crushed by Director Li!"
"This Venice Film Festival is truly amazing; people who didn't even attend swept half of the major awards."
"I wonder how high the box office for 'the thieves' will be today. I heard the midnight premiere last night had a high attendance rate."
"That's for sure, after all, it's the weekend. I also heard that Director Jiang's 'The Sun Also Rises' and Ang Lee's 'lust, caution' are both changing their release dates."
"I heard they've all been postponed until October, just to avoid 'the thieves'!"
"That makes sense. Director Jiang's 'The Sun Also Rises,' he's the investor himself, and I heard he even borrowed a large sum of money from his brother, so he can't not care about the box office."
Li Chen, far away in Los Angeles, had his phone ringing non-stop all day.
Han Sanping had first-hand information in China.
Judging from the pre-sale box office results, it was a foregone conclusion that the first day's box office would surpass the record set by transformers.
After all, it was a weekend, which offered a huge advantage compared to transformers' weekday release.
Coupled with the hype of being the first Sino-American co-production, and the overwhelming publicity.
There was also the popularity boost from Liu Yifei, Li Chen, Tony Leung Ka-fai, Charlize Theron, and the 'Earth's Flower'.
And now, with the good news of Li Chen capturing the Golden Lion, the box office was expected to explode.
In Los Angeles, Richard's assessment from all the aggregated information was that "the thieves" was very likely to outperform Lionsgate's "3:10 to Yuma" and take the top spot at the box office this week.
Li Chen was busy during the day and still couldn't rest at night.
Miss Liu was incredibly energetic, pulling him into an all-night discussion about life.
Late at night, as silence fell, their affection stirred, and their hearts surged.
Miss Liu's fair skin, exposed to the air, glowed with a crystalline luster.
Li Chen's fingertips caressed her smooth, shapely buttocks.
Miss Liu, like a gentle kitten, enjoyed her lover's caresses.
She murmured as if in a dream, "I feel like there will be an unexpected surprise tonight?"
Li Chen also closed his eyes and casually asked, "What?"
Miss Liu snuggled into Li Chen's arms, her voice dreamy and ethereal: "What do you think?"
But her left hand grabbed Li Chen's right hand and placed it on her lower abdomen.