Global Film Emperor

Chapter 370 Berlin
"The nominations have been announced, and unsurprisingly, you and I both won. The film was a huge success, and many people voted for us. I have some connections with Kane, a member of the judging panel, and I got some inside information. Although they didn't reveal the specific winners, it's clear that the judging panel favors us. By the way, what time is your flight? I'll arrange a car to pick you up."

"The flight schedule shows it will land at 3:17, but there was just a sleet today, so I don't know if the flight from Liverpool will be delayed."

The pencil wandered aimlessly across the notebook, not confined to a single line, drawing a tangled mess of black lines. The lead stains on the bottom of my palm evenly darkened the entire sheet of paper by several shades.

The discarded drafts scattered across the table gave the room a slightly cluttered feel. His left hand was resting on his ear, holding his phone, while his right hand continued working on this meaningless drawing. His head, however, was fixed on the stationary fan on the ceiling. Clearly, his thoughts were not on this end of the phone, nor on the other end…

There is nothing wrong with his mind. As his relationship with the people in the city continues to warm up, they will take care of any obstacles that might disturb his mind. He is just in this state now because he is overly immersed in the absurd world he writes. The people in the city can't control that. He can be depressed, but he can't go crazy, so he is depressed now.

"Okay, I have a screening and an interview at 4 pm this afternoon, so I can't pick you up. But the car is already arranged. I'll send you the phone number via text message. Just call the person who's picking you up when you get to Berlin. I have something to do here, so I'll hang up now. Bye."

"Dong dong dong..."

As noon approached, the pendulum of the standing clock began to swing, making a loud noise, reminding Lu Ze that it was time for him to set off.

There was no clock in the office originally. This clock was bought from a second-hand antique shop near Mickey's apartment. It wasn't expensive because you can buy new ones in Britain these days. Second-hand old models without any proof of being used by a celebrity don't fetch a good price.

However, Lu Ze was quite satisfied with the clock. Although it looked a bit old, there was nothing wrong with it. Most importantly, the Lu family used to have a similar clock. Although it was a smaller version compared to the one he bought, it could only be hung on the wall, but it still needed to be wound up and would chime the same sound at twelve and six o'clock.

The main purpose of buying this clock is not to tell time or decorate the office, but as a memory, a memento, because when he was a child, his favorite thing was to wind the clock and listen to the ticking sound of the mainspring turning.

Although this clock lacks the mandarin duck pattern and the rooster motif, thus losing much of the traditional Chinese flavor, it is simply solid wood painted with brown varnish, giving it a rustic and dignified appearance. At least it evokes a sense of returning to childhood.

As you get older, when you see things that were common in your childhood but are not so common now, you always stop and look at them more, and even hope to own them. This nostalgia, appearing at the right time and in the right place, can break the shackles of time and release those beautiful memories that belong only to you. So... it's not bad to be sentimental once in a while.

He tore off the page covered in black lines, crumpled it into a ball, picked up the trash can and cleaned up all the scraps. He got up, opened the window, and saw that the sky had cleared after the sleet. The breeze was slightly cool, making the collar of his white shirt sway. His worries were behind his head. He wanted to stop the wind, but he restrained himself, letting the wind pass through without lingering.

The old man who looked after the prop warehouse cleared away the snow, occasionally taking out a warm iron liquor bottle from his pocket, taking a sip of whiskey, tightening his cotton coat, and continuing to work expressionlessly.

A girl was waiting by the roadside outside the courtyard when an older model car stopped. The boy considerately adjusted the passenger seat for her, and then the two kissed inside the car, oblivious to everyone else.

A Black mother from a poor family was angrily berating her three young children until she cried, holding the three little boys with peanut butter on their faces and blank expressions as she wept.

The advertisements posted by previous residents will be cleaned up by community cleaners, refugees and robbers will be arrested by the police, and homeless people will use the spare change they are given to buy hamburgers. However, the cleaned-up community message boards will still be covered with advertisements. Refugees will continue to rob after being released from prison, and homeless people will lie there waiting for the next spare change after finishing their meal. So, is this world changing or unchanging?
Is it as clear as a sunny sky, or as filthy as described in "Rebirth"?
He stood by the window for a long time, then turned and went to the boss's office to wash the lead stains off his hands. He picked out a gray tie, put it on, and put on a blue suit. He returned to his desk, put the black-covered notebook and script into his briefcase, closed the window, picked up his luggage, and left the office, leaving only the second hand of the clock still moving steadily toward the next second.

In fact, he had been thinking about it all week and had come to a conclusion, which was... no answer.

……

He was lucky; airport staff quickly cleared the snow, and the flight was not delayed. At 1:45, the plane took off and flew into the blue sky.

There was also a tall, blonde, blue-eyed British beauty with him. She exchanged a few words with Lu Ze, but then they went about their own business and didn't say goodbye until they got off the plane.

It is said that the ancestors of the British were the Anglo-Saxons of Germany, so there is a close connection between German and English, and even some words are shared, which is why Lu Ze still couldn't understand.

He dialed the number Mickey had sent him. Unlike the Germans he'd encountered at the airport who spoke broken English, the man on the other end spoke fluently and told him he was already waiting at the airport entrance. "I'm at the airport entrance."

"Mr. Lu, are you wearing a blue suit and carrying a black briefcase? Okay, I see you."

A middle-aged man of medium build jogged over and shook hands with Lu Ze, then handed him a car key and asked Lu Ze to show his driver's license, which was stamped and translated by the embassy. After all the formalities were completed, Lu Ze watched the man leave speechlessly, then looked at the gray Porsche 918 beside him and fell silent.

He crouched down to get into the car, adjusted the driver's seat to a comfortable position, and after hunching over for a while, finally managed to open the convertible top. Even so, when Lu Ze sat up straight, he was still about a head taller than the original position of the roof. With a light touch of the accelerator, the top-of-the-line sports car nimbly overtook the vehicle in front and followed the navigation instructions to enter the highway.

The unrestricted speed road was exhilarating enough, and with a high-performance sports car, Lu Ze didn't choose to go directly to the city hotel. Although the wind chilled his scalp, the roar of the engine, the 2.8-second 0-100 km/h acceleration, and the push-back feeling from flooring the accelerator in track mode made Lu Ze quite fond of the driving pleasure.

When he was young in Shanghai, he envied the supercars that appeared on the streets late at night. But now, even if he had the spare money, he wouldn't consider buying such a car. First of all, his height is not suitable, and secondly, he is a bit too old. He can't handle driving it too fast, and his heart will pound. Such cars are definitely fun, but he can only enjoy them for a while.

Even without a speed limit, Lu Ze only drove less than 180 kilometers per hour. He wasn't a professional race car driver, and occasionally when he exceeded 200 kilometers per hour, he felt that his vision ahead had shrunk into a small mess, which made him a little uneasy. Moreover, his fuel tank couldn't hold up, so he took the initiative to slow down and leave at the next highway exit.

When he returned to the hotel he had booked, it was nearly 5 p.m. There were quite a few people taking pictures of the car on the street, which made Lu Ze a little embarrassed. First of all, the car was not his own; he had just borrowed it to have some fun. Secondly, he was a very low-key person. After satisfying his driving comfort, the brand of the car itself was not attractive to him. Simply put, he would drive whatever was comfortable, since it was only for transportation.

Before getting out of the car, he quickly tidied his hair. Luckily, Lu Ze had his hair slicked back; if he had his hair combed forward, his head would probably have exploded. After parking the car and leaving, Mickey was already waiting at the hotel entrance. When he saw Lu Ze coming, he waved with a bright smile, only to be tossed the keys by Lu Ze.

"Return the car right away. If this kind of trouble happens again, I'll just take a taxi."

"This was just to let you have some fun, okay? If you don't want to drive it, then don't. This thing isn't really suitable for you anyway. By the way, how's the storyboard coming along?"

"It's alright, it's going quite smoothly. You've finished half of it, and I've written about a third of it this week. Time is too tight, I can't finish it, but I have the ideas. If I work hard, it will be done in another four or five days. I'll take a look at it for you later. Come on, let's go upstairs first."

"Wait a minute..."

Lu Ze was a little tired and wanted to go upstairs to take a shower and change his clothes, but Mickey grabbed his arm and stopped him. This made Lu Ze look a little unfriendly. He looked Mickey up and down and asked him a question.

"what?"

"It's five o'clock, let's go out for dinner."

"I just arrived, shouldn't you at least let me put my luggage upstairs?"

"Just leave it at the front desk and ask them to keep it for you. Let's go, I'm in a hurry, I have an appointment."

"Who?"

"Kamia Kidman Schigura, Silver Bear Best Actress, my leading lady!"

"..."

(End of this chapter)