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Some timelines in this article will be slightly modified. The vast majority are based on reality, and some story accounts come from the internet and what the author has heard. Please correct any inaccuracies, esteemed readers.
Most of the questions from the previous text will be answered later in the article. Let's conquer the world with Old Liu!
A ray of sunlight streamed through a gap in the curtains onto the young man's face. The handsome young man's long eyelashes fluttered slightly, and he slowly opened his eyes, waking up.
"Huh, where am I? A hospital?" The young man stared blankly at the unfamiliar surroundings. At this moment, a flood of memories rushed into his mind.
"Did I transmigrate? Or did I go back to the last century?" After briefly receiving and sorting through the memories, he realized that the original owner was named Han Zhiyan, the same as him.
Before transmigration, Han Zhiyan was an ordinary graduate from the Central Academy of Drama's directing department. Due to a lack of resources, connections, and average grades, he had been working as a director's assistant in a web drama crew for six years since graduation. He was almost thirty now. Though called a director's assistant, he was essentially the director's secretary, a workhorse who had to do everything.
To become a real director as soon as possible, Han Zhiyan would watch a movie whenever he had time, meticulously analyzing its cinematography, color, costumes, props, and so on.
He had persisted in this for six years, from graduation until now, regardless of how busy or tired he was. He had watched over 1,500 movies, including both classics and bad films.
One day, on the way back to the hotel after filming, he was choosing a movie to watch on his phone when he heard a honking sound behind him. Han Zhiyan turned around to see a truck, a transmigration artifact from another world, speeding towards him. Before he could react, his vision went black. When he woke up again, he had transmigrated.
"Daxier (Dashiell, from French 'sublime ideal'), wake up quickly. We need to go arrange your transfer to a new school soon." Han Zhiyan sat blankly on the bed, remembering that the original owner was 13 years old and only in junior high. He had previously lived with his father in Los Angeles, but because his father was too busy, he had come to New York to live with his mother. Today was Monday, and he needed to go to the new school to register.
The original owner's father, Han Guohua, graduated from the Beijing Film Academy's cinematography department. He came to the United States during the wave of people going abroad in the 1980s and is now an associate professor of cinematography at the USC School of Cinematic Arts.
His mother, Mia von Humboldt, is German, a visiting professor at the New York Film Academy, and also an excellent screenwriter who has won Best Screenwriter awards at the three major film festivals.
"Okay, Mom, I'm already up. I'll come down after I get ready." Han Zhiyan replied, his head still in a daze. He didn't know what this counted as—did he possess this body?
He shook his head, thinking, 'Since I'm here, I'll make the best of it.' This was a perfect start. With such parents, he was already a director, just waiting to grow up. This time, he was determined to make a good film himself and strive to win awards!
Han Zhiyan washed up and went downstairs, seeing a plate of open-faced bread and sausages on the table, which gave him a headache.
"I can't just eat this 'white people food' forever, can I? I didn't cook much in my last life, so I need to learn properly now." As Han Zhiyan stared at the food on the table, someone lightly tapped his head.
"What are you spacing out for? Eat quickly! After you finish, we'll go handle the transfer. I've already arranged it with Principal John, so we can't be late." The original owner's mother urged him as she spoke.
"Got it, Mom." After Han Zhiyan finished breakfast, he followed Mia to the new school by car. Watching the buildings constantly receding along the roadside, Han Zhiyan couldn't help but fall into a trance.
"Other transmigrators get systems and golden fingers, but why do I have nothing? Do I need to activate something? But how do I activate it!" Suddenly, Han Zhiyan realized that all the movies he had watched in his previous life were crystal clear in his mind, as if playing vividly.
"This is great!"
"Why are you shouting? You scared me to death. Be more composed when we get to school; don't be so jumpy. This time, I chose a school with more Asian students for you, so you can make some friends. You've been glued to books since you were little, and that's not good. You still need to make more friends and go out more." Mia said, stepping on the brake.
Influenced by his parents, the original owner loved movies from a young age. Since elementary school, he would carry the Leica R7 his father bought him and take pictures everywhere. Coupled with his quiet nature, this led to young Zhiyan having very few friends. Mia hoped that this transfer would help him make more friends.
There wasn't much traffic, and they arrived at the new school in about 15 minutes. Han Zhiyan looked at the words above the gate: "Louis Pasteur Middle School 67."
As Han Zhiyan followed Mia into the principal's office, he was still wondering why the school's name looked so familiar. Perhaps he had seen it somewhere in his previous life. Mia said it was the best junior high in Queens, so he probably heard someone mention it.
"Long time no see, Mia. This must be Daxier. He looks just like you." Principal John smiled and patted Han Zhiyan's shoulder.
"Yes, it's been five years since we last met. And in the blink of an eye, you've grown a beard!" Mia responded with a smile.
"After Daxier's paperwork is done, let's gather at my place. Anceline misses you too and ordered me to bring you back for dinner." John said to Mia while organizing the documents in his hand.
"It's too late to transfer this year. Let Daxier join the sixth grade next August. That leaves more than half a year for Daxier to have fun." John squinted at Han Zhiyan.
"Okay, Uncle John, I'll listen to you." Han Zhiyan said cheerfully to John.
"There's no way to transfer him now? Daxier already completed half a year of sixth grade in Los Angeles. If he has to wait until next year, I don't know how wild he'll get in these next six months." Mia said with a slight frown. Han Zhiyan had perfectly inherited Mia's beauty, and Mia's frown actually left John stunned.
"John! Are you listening to me?"
"Oh my God, Mia, you truly are the most beautiful person in our school. I'm almost captivated." John awkwardly touched his receding hairline.
"Well, you don't have a chance now, my son is already so big." Mia said to John with a smile. Anyone would be happy to be complimented on their looks.
"Hahaha, I had no other intentions. Daxier, there really is no way around it; he'll have to wait until school starts next year. However, if he's free, he can come to the school to find me. We have quite a few books here." John apparently knew about the original owner's love for reading... After Han Zhiyan and Mia finished the paperwork, they went to John's house for dinner. John's wife, Anceline, was a teacher at the school, and they were both Mia's university classmates. After dinner at their home, chatting for a while, and agreeing to meet again, Han Zhiyan returned home with Mia.
"Daxier, Mom still has to teach tomorrow. Do you have any plans?" Mia asked, looking at Han Zhiyan after he had finished washing up.
"Mom, can I come to class with you? I promise not to disturb you. I'm also interested in writing now. I've read your scripts, and I really like them." Han Zhiyan thought about cultivating his screenwriting abilities from a young age so he could write down the movie scripts in his mind. Otherwise, just knowing how to film wouldn't be enough.
Mia looked at Han Zhiyan in surprise, "Alright then, but you'll have to get up early tomorrow, no sleeping in. If you're late, I won't take you."
"Don't worry, Mom! I'm going to sleep now."
When Mia had classes, Zhiyan would follow her to audit. When she didn't have classes, he would stay home and furiously write the unfilmed scripts from his mind. When he was unsure, he would even ask Mia, leading Mia to exclaim that her son was a genius.
Mia would sometimes wonder how Han Zhiyan came up with those stories. Han Zhiyan could only vaguely say that he read a lot of books and got some inspiration from stories he saw online.
At such times, Han Zhiyan was very grateful that the original owner loved reading so much, and that he had such wonderful parents.
"Mom! Wake up! Mia! I'm going to be late!" In the blink of an eye, it was August 1997, and time for school to start. Mia had gone out for dinner last night and returned very late, saying she had sold a script and they could soon get a luxury car. As a result, Han Zhiyan was already ready, but Mia was still not awake.
"I'm sorry, darling, I forgot today was your first day of school." Mia quickly got up and got ready to take Han Zhiyan to school.
"Bang!" The car door was pushed open violently. Mia rushed towards the classroom with Han Zhiyan.