Global Film Emperor

Chapter 441 Rainy Night
In autumn, the sun sets earlier. By five o'clock in the evening, the sky begins to darken, and slowly, raindrops fall, suppressing the willow leaves that have been blown into the sky by the early wind.

Under the lights of thousands of homes, the rain curtain gradually thickened, and cars began to honk their horns on the road. The silver stripes on the back of the sanitation worker's orange uniform were dazzlingly bright under the lights. Rainwater flowed down his body, past his arms, and reached his fingers, condensing into larger droplets that fell, covered with countless dust particles, and coalesced into a patch of sand.

He stood by the window, watching the people running frantically in the rain. Each autumn rain brought a chill, and he guessed these people must be shivering. The record player was playing "Piano Nocturne," which suited the surrounding environment quite well. He pushed open the door and called out to the sanitation worker, intending to invite him in to rest and have a cup of hot water, but the sanitation worker declined, saying he had already gone off duty and didn't seem to recognize Lu Ze.

A gust of wind blew, instantly raising goosebumps all over his body. Seeing that the sanitation worker refused, he didn't invite her again, closed the door, turned around and turned off the drip coffee on the bar, poured himself a cup of coffee to warm himself up.

"Boss, is it raining?"

"Ah."

She sat by the glass at the corner table, listening to music. When Lu Ze opened the door, the rain started pouring down, and she could hear it clearly. She was worried about how she would get home without an umbrella. The reason she asked was simply to hear Lu Ze deny her guess and give her the answer that it was just a passing water truck. But she was ultimately disappointed.

With her head down, she sighed inwardly, her expression turning somewhat melancholy. Now, she could only hope that the rain would stop soon so that she wouldn't have to go home too late. She hadn't considered asking Lu Ze for help; such an option simply didn't exist in her mind. Her slender, white fingers interlaced, holding a still-warm water glass between her hands, she pressed her ear close to the glass, beginning to pay attention to the sound of the rain.

She was facing away from Lu Ze, who didn't notice her facial expression. He returned to his seat, opened the document still smelling of ink, analyzed it line by line, and finally signed his name on the document.

The document, in duplicate, is the contract for the male lead in "Atonement." Once he returns to England and hands the document over to Fatini, the contract will officially take effect, and Lu Ze will officially join the "Atonement" cast.

The script for "Atonement," adapted by Mickey, was sent to Lu Ze's email a few days ago. He took some time to look at it these past few days. The script is roughly the same idea: a lonely, elderly assassin. Lu Ze has never denied the creativity of the script, but the initial plot is really a bit cliché.

But now, after Mickey's adaptation, the film's creativity has begun to exude its inherent charm. It incorporates some thought-provoking elements and makes the killer more neurotic and cold-blooded, resulting in a very full and three-dimensional character. The story is also highly controversial. Overall, Lu Ze is very optimistic about the potential of the second version of "Atonement".

However, this film is different from Mickey's own films. It is more commercial and has a stronger ability to attract casual viewers. Unlike Mickey's works, it does not have every segment that is worth savoring. If Lu Ze were to give his evaluation, he could only say that "Atonement" is a popcorn movie with a lot of substance.

The only thing that made Lu Ze somewhat skeptical was the method of assassination, which was also the key factor that distinguished "Atonement" from other assassin movies. It was too fantastical, to put it bluntly, it was far-fetched. It went beyond the most conventional assassination methods of guns and cold weapons in assassin movies, and was more like the bizarre, seemingly coincidental killing methods in "Final Destination".

As a result, it's difficult for this movie to get the audience's blood pumping and get them excited to the point of being unable to extricate themselves due to common forms such as large-scale gunfights. On the contrary, its suspense is stronger, making the audience more tense. Even Lu Ze would temporarily forget how to breathe while watching certain scenes.

If paired with a slow, slightly eerie piece of music, the effect would be even more outstanding. Lu Ze could foresee the extent of the psychological impact on the audience after the combination of visuals and sound.

If Atonement is well-made, it will definitely be a highly acclaimed film, and if there are no major IP competitors, its box office performance is also promising.

This is indeed quite attractive to an actor like Lu Ze who only earns reputation but not money. After all, no one would mind earning more money while maintaining a good reputation.

Furthermore, the contract offered Lu Ze very favorable terms: a salary of two million euros plus an 8% share of all revenue, not just box office revenue.

Eight percent of the revenue generated by "Atonement," including box office, merchandise, and streaming sales, is indeed a high price, considering Lu Ze's popularity in Europe.

Even though Lu Ze now has a certain fan base in Europe, and a large number of art film enthusiasts have a positive attitude towards him in Europe, the largest market for art films, he is still labeled as an Asian actor in a niche market, which puts him in a rather awkward position.

If a price tag commensurate with Lu Ze's worth were to be given, 600,000 to 1 million euros would be appropriate. As for the box office share, 8% would be quite reasonable for the male lead, neither too much nor too little.

Is Fatini just throwing money away? Definitely not. It's simply that as the assistant director of *Exile*, he participated in the filming and made this choice because he was confident in the upcoming movie. He believed *Exile* would be a hit, so he proactively pre-emptively capitalized on Lu Ze's increased value after the film's release.

A blockbuster movie can cause the lead actor's value to skyrocket several times, and it's not impossible for it to even add a zero to the original salary. As expected, although it's unlikely that the value of "Exile" will be increased by a zero, it should be no problem to increase it by a few hundred thousand.

Now, the release of "Exile" is at most five months away, so it's better to be more realistic and raise the price to two million. This would show that we are eager to recruit talent and that we respect Lu Ze's abilities. Otherwise, Lu Ze might think that his salary will double in five months and that there's no need to sign now. If we wait until five months have passed and then ask for a higher salary, what if it increases by more than double by then?

Lu Ze didn't mind Fatini doing this. Friends are friends, and business is business. Lu Ze understood the Italians' attitude towards business very well. When dealing with business with friends, it's best to handle business professionally so that personal matters can remain private. Besides, this was actually a gamble for Fatini. If "Exile" flopped, he could also lose money. So, with the contract here, signing it with utmost sincerity was not a bad idea.

After the contract was signed, Lu Ze put it into a brown paper bag and locked it in the safe. The CD playing on the record player was about to finish playing. Lu Ze got up, took another CD from the bookshelf, opened it, and was about to put it back into the record player when she suddenly interrupted him.

"Boss, actually I also brought a CD... the kind that's quite rare, so I'd like to invite you to listen to it with me. Please don't mind..."

She brought the CDs with the pure intention of sharing, so she was a little uneasy because she was afraid that Lu Ze would think that she thought the music he collected was not good. In fact, this is normal. It is a very pleasant thing to bring out some good niche works to appreciate.

She handed him the CD, which was covered in Russian. Lu Ze couldn't recognize many of the words. He took it and examined it carefully. The CD seemed to be quite old, with scratches all over the outer packaging. He turned it over and looked at the production date below the barcode. It was produced in 1988, so it didn't seem like a pirated CD. It was probably a pirated copy.

Cut-out tapes are genuine CDs that couldn't be sold overseas and were disposed of in a unified manner. The outer packaging was cut open to ensure that they would not re-enter the market, and then they were shipped to China, which was not as developed at the time, for unified destruction.

Although these CDs were not resold abroad, they were picked up by some scavengers or vendors in China during their destruction process and flowed into the Chinese market, becoming the first batch of low-priced genuine music CDs to appear on the market. Even today, they can still be found in secondhand markets.

These items were not popular abroad, but in China, where the entertainment industry was not yet developed, they became highly sought after. Fashionable young people bought them and enjoyed them in turn. To a certain extent, bootleg tapes were the mentors of many early Chinese musicians, including many well-known rock bands, who embarked on their musical journeys by listening to bootleg tapes.

Lu Hua had worked in the Su Lian garbage disposal business decades ago, so these kinds of CDs were quite common in Lu Hua's market back then, including CDs by The Beatles, AC/CDC, Queen, and others. If Lu Ze goes home and looks carefully, he can probably still find a few.

"A bootleg tape? Wow, Anton Rubinstein, his CDs are hard to find."

"Boss, you know...?"

If this disc hadn't been pressed by a Dutch production company, and if there hadn't been a yellowed English note on the back of the CD case, Lu Ze really wouldn't have been able to tell from the cover whose work it was. This kind of thing is indeed rare, and Lu Ze had never had the chance to come across it. He never expected that she would have a copy in her possession.

Furthermore, while Anton Rubinstein is not exactly unknown, he certainly doesn't stand among the top-tier pianists in the history of world piano in the eyes of today's piano enthusiasts.

There are many reasons for this. For example, his brilliance was always overshadowed by Liszt, and his compositional ideas clashed with the collective of the time, leading to constant criticism. In short, his life was not smooth. When he was poor and destitute, no one lent him a helping hand. Since his death, he has rarely been mentioned. It seems that people have forgotten him, his family, and the contributions of his students.

His bootleg CDs were rare and precious, at least to Lu Ze. So he couldn't help but place his palm on the CD case and gently wipe it for a while, but it had no effect. It was still covered in scratches and the cover was still faded. Fortunately, when he opened the case, the CD inside was still as clean as new.

"Want to hear it?"

He didn't respond to her words, and even her questions were just perfunctory. A second before she answered, he had already put the CD into the turntable. After a moment of operation, the top-of-the-line speakers perfectly reproduced the sound quality, without any trace of time. Even though Lu Ze knew that this CD could not have been recorded by Anton Rubinstein, it was the most precious thing. It brought people a feeling of... a spiritual communion across a hundred years.

Romance

At this moment, a glass of whisky is needed, and there should be a glass of whisky, not too strong, but with a long enough aftertaste, so Lu Ze chose a Hibiki 21-year-old.

A square whiskey glass glided across the bar counter and stopped in his palm. A few ice cubes were picked up and tossed into the glass with a clinking sound.

The bottle was opened, and before the aroma of the liquor could waft out, it was poured into a glass about a third full. He picked it up, took a gentle sniff, and savored the unique aroma that distinguished it from Scotch whisky. He took a small sip, feeling a cool sensation at first, before tasting the flavor of the spirit itself. It was very easy to drink and not too spicy.

"This CD is rare; keep it safe."

He held his wine glass, pulled out the chair opposite her, and sat down. The dim light shone on the diamond-cut wine glass, making it look beautiful and giving the wine a deeper brownish-gold hue.

"it is good……"

She started to worry. Lu Ze clearly liked this CD. Her imagination started running wild, and she was already thinking about whether she should give it to him for free if Lu Ze tried to steal it away.

She couldn't see, so naturally she didn't know how to hide her expression. What she was thinking was clearly written on her face. Lu Ze didn't interrupt her thoughts. He held the glass with both hands, trying to melt the ice faster so he could feel what flavor the diluted wine would produce. His gaze was fixed on the window, where the rain still hadn't stopped. "If you like it, boss, please accept it... I've caused you a lot of trouble all this time, and I don't have a good way to thank you. This CD... is for you."

You could tell from her words how reluctant she was, but she still gritted her teeth, enduring the heart-wrenching pain, and pushed the CD case in front of Lu Ze.

"No need. It shouldn't be traded. It should be kept as a family heirloom. It's a rare item. If it's traded, it won't be as pure. I'll borrow it from you if I need it."

Lu Ze pushed the CD case back, and after a few arguments, they stopped. She obediently put it away, not because she pretended not to want to give it to him, but because Lu Ze genuinely didn't want to accept it.

"Well... boss, if you need it, just take it."

"We'll talk about it when we need to."

After a moment of silence, she spoke again: "I didn't expect you to know Anton Rubinstein, boss."

"Well, he's not exactly obscure, but he's not exactly niche either. It's just that it's hard to find his songs online."

"Really... This is the first time I've heard someone mention him. I thought very few people knew about him."

She wasn't the type to collect her favorite songs, never share them with others, or treat them like treasures. Unfortunately, among the people she knew, very few understood music, and even fewer knew Anton Rubinstein.

"People in Russia probably know a lot about him, since he's Russian. The Moscow Conservatory was founded by his brother. But he's not often mentioned in China. Of course, many people don't have a good impression of him, since he's not very detail-oriented, which makes many stubborn people dislike him. But there are always people who like him, like me..."

Gradually, the conversation flowed freely, and the two chatted enthusiastically about the piano giant. Unfortunately, she didn't know much about Anton, and her knowledge was indeed no match for Lu Ze's. In the end, she could only listen to him talk, nodding occasionally to show that she was listening attentively.

"Boss, you know so much..."

As time passed, she gradually came to admire Lu Ze. She was a girl with little knowledge and no ability to accumulate much knowledge, while Lu Ze was like a vast treasure trove of knowledge, containing not only musical knowledge but also a great deal of literature, philosophy, and life insights. At this moment, in her eyes, this boss she had never met seemed to know everything.

Actually, her understanding is not wrong. After all, if he really gets into a conversation, even an eighty-year-old man could be confused by his ramblings and learn from him how to enjoy his old age.

His reputation as a friend of elderly women wasn't just because of his pleasing appearance to older people. It came from his ability to get along well with old men and women, to have a group of elderly people follow his lead, and to have him make all the decisions.

In other words, if he really had no shame and went to seduce some rich old woman, he could win over any old lady in the world within three days, making her secretly fall in love and immediately write a will bequeathing her entire fortune to him.

After all, besides being able to read people's minds, he's also an actor, an extremely powerful and almost superhumanly skilled actor...

On the other hand, if he could charm an old lady, what chance would he have over a naive young girl? He didn't need to act at all; he just needed to casually reveal his erudition, coupled with his deep, resonant voice honed from years of studying scripts, and that would be enough to make countless girls swoon.

Her face was slightly flushed, but Lu Ze didn't notice it under the dim light. She cared a lot about her voice because she couldn't pay attention to her appearance, so a pleasant voice was more likely to attract her attention. In addition, she liked the content she was listening to, and gradually, she started to feel dizzy even without drinking.

Perhaps it was also related to the time that the two of them didn't notice, but she gradually lowered her head, slowly nestled it in her arms, and unconsciously closed her eyes.

"So... you fell asleep? Wake up, it's already nine o'clock."

"Hmm? Sorry boss... I was a little sleepy, so I fell asleep... It's... nine o'clock? No, I have to hurry back, the school is about to lock up."

She hurriedly packed her things, though there wasn't much to pack. Lu Ze didn't reply, but simply peeked out from behind the blinds. Under the streetlights, the raindrops were especially noticeable.

"The rain hasn't stopped yet, let me give you a ride."

"No need, boss. I've already caused you a lot of trouble. Could you lend me an umbrella? I'll return it to you tomorrow..."

"It's raining so hard, it's not safe for a girl like you to go home alone..."

"It's okay, I often do it when it rains..."

"Don't refuse, pack your things, I'll take you."

His words were firm, and she couldn't detect a hint of perfunctoriness in his tone. She could only lower her head, put her phone back in her bag, pick up her cane, and walk towards the door, to Lu Ze, who was waiting for her there.

After locking the door and opening the umbrella, the rain outside wasn't heavy, but the wind was cool, making the two of them a little cold. However, they maintained a safe distance from each other. Only then did Lu Ze realize her special ability: she could avoid puddles on the road without him having to remind her. Although she wasn't so precise as to avoid stepping in water at all, she would never get her shoes wet. Even if there were puddles that she couldn't avoid because Lu Ze was there, she could jump over them directly.

She could remember the distance on the ground, but she didn't know if there was any trash on the ground. There was another puddle. She stepped over it and stepped on a trash bag. Her foot slipped and she was about to fall backward. Fortunately, Lu Ze was quick and caught her, preventing her from falling face-first into the puddle and making a fool of herself.

But... this was the first time someone had put their arm around her shoulder.

My face turned red, really red, so red that I forgot to say thank you. I just kept walking forward with my head down, not hoping that this road would never end, but rather hoping that the next step would be the school gate.

Things went as she wished. She arrived at the gate, a distance of a few hundred meters. In the guardhouse, the security guard stuck his head out, wanting to see the man's face, but he kept his umbrella low, preventing the gossipy guard from getting his way.

"I am leaving."

"Well... goodbye, boss."

He didn't hear the security guards' teasing and jokes about her, nor did he want to hear any rumors about her and him. She was a very pure girl, so in Lu Ze's opinion, the two of them should have nothing to do with any other feelings besides being friends. This was not the first time he had escorted the girl back to school, but he didn't want to do it again afterward, which had nothing to do with whether she could see him or not.

He strolled along the deserted street, a black umbrella in hand, accompanied by a light drizzle. A gust of wind blew up the hem of his unbuttoned trench coat. With one hand in his pocket, he pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and as the wind blew again, the drifting smoke seemed to be pulled along, forming a gradually dimming line in the air.

When he arrived at the store, the roller shutter door wasn't electric, the streetlights weren't bright enough, and he couldn't find the keyhole. A car parked on the side of the road kindly turned on its high beams. He lifted the iron gate, and the accumulated rainwater splattered onto his umbrella. He nodded to the man who had been sitting in the car for a long time, but didn't ask him why he wasn't home yet.

He simply opened the door, went inside, and, with the door still open, vigorously shook the closed umbrella. Then he took a bottle of beer from the cabinet, wrapped it in a plastic bag, placed it at the door, and then closed the roller shutter door again.

I took off my coat, walked past the table, picked up the whiskey glass I had just finished drinking from, and turned my head to see a CD lying alone on the table. Alone... it didn't seem quite right.

"This child..."

He took it, looked at it, smiled, and put it on the bar counter. The cripple was still lying lazily on the bar counter. He struggled to pick up the cripple, sniffed it, and with a look of disgust, went into the bathroom.

"..."

P.S.: I suddenly had a brilliant idea (a sudden whim) to make a strategy game where the goal is to seduce an old lady. The challenge is to successfully get her to make a will, leaving all her assets to the player, despite her children's strong opposition. I think it's a great idea! Friends who know how to make visual novels can contact me; I can provide the script!

Please don't ask me about the female lead via QQ! It might be Teacher Zhang, or it might not. The ending might be good, or it might be bad. In short, it's a secret!

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(End of this chapter)