Against the Current Hong Kong 1979

Having a cheat code would be fantastic!

Zhang Shuai'an felt a warm current instantly flow through his limbs and bones. His muscles, which had been a little sore, seemed to be infused with a pure power, and even his breathing became long and powerful.

Is this what "Bruce Lee's physique" is like?

Just 20% made him feel like he had been reborn; he could clearly feel that his body's coordination and explosiveness had improved to a new level.

"Um, Mr. Zhang, could you please let go of my hand?"

Miao Kexiu noticed that the man in front of her had taken her hand and then started to stare blankly, as if he were in a daze.

"Sorry, I was daydreaming."

Zhang Shuai'an snapped out of his daze and smiled apologetically at Miao Kexiu: "I was just a little dazed because I saw my dream goddess. Please forgive me."

"What goddess? That's an exaggeration!" Miao Kexiu chuckled, immediately forgiving Zhang Shuai'an's earlier offense. "I'm just an ordinary actress."

"No," Zhang Shuai'an said sincerely, "I am your most loyal fan. I have watched every one of your movies, such as 'The Blade of Fury,' 'Fist of Fury,' and 'Way of the Dragon,' several times."

As he spoke, he still held Miao Kexiu's soft, boneless hand, showing no intention of letting go, and even covered it with his other hand.

Zhang Shuai'an fabricated lies without batting an eye, "Bruce Lee is my idol, and you are my dream goddess. I used to have a tough life, and when I felt like giving up, it was your movies that gave me renewed courage!"

At that moment, a voice echoed in my mind again: "[Contact Miao Kexiu, trigger emotional resonance, gain 10 Star Points.]"

"You're exaggerating more and more!" Miao Kexiu said with a hint of resentment, glaring at Zhang Shuai'an with her beautiful eyes. "And shouldn't you let go of my hand?"

"I'm sorry!" Zhang Shuai'an reluctantly let go.

Miao Kexiu withdrew her hand and asked calmly, "I'd like to ask, where did you learn Wing Chun?"

"I never had a teacher; I learned by watching Bruce Lee's movies."

Zhang Shuai'an couldn't very well say that he learned it from "Ip Man," so he had to come up with a somewhat passable excuse.

"I'm leaving now, I won't disturb your meal." Miao Kexiu gave Zhang Shuai'an a meaningful look, clearly not quite believing his words, but she didn't ask any more questions and turned to leave.

After Miao Kexiu left, He Jiatong said with no small amount of envy, "Wow, Shuai An, you can talk to such a beautiful woman without stuttering at all. I can't even utter a single word."

Zhang Shuai'an said dismissively, "Even the most beautiful woman is still just a person. What does her word mean?"

Now, he wants to get closer to Miao Kexiu as much as possible to see if he can get more star points or improve his physique.

A short while later, the short-browed young man returned and threw two sets of clothes in front of them: "These are for you. Remember to change into them. After you finish eating, find a place to wait. We'll call you if there's any filming!"

"Thank you, Brother Kang," Zhang Shuai'an said, watching the short-browed youth leave.

These two outfits were just ordinary white shirts and black trousers, but they were much more presentable than the clothes the two of them had worn before, which were wet and then dried and covered in mud and sand.

Holding the outfit, He Jiatong was overjoyed: "Wow, Shuai An, am I dreaming? I just got ashore and I already have food, new clothes, and I can even make a movie. Hong Kong really is paradise."

Zhang Shuai'an grinned: "Don't imagine this place to be too glamorous, or you'll suffer the consequences."

After finishing their meal, the two changed their clothes and sat in a dimly lit corner near the entrance.

Previously, he would just look for resources online and watch old Hong Kong movies. Zhang Shuai'an had always been curious about how people in that era made movies.

Zhang Shuai'an specifically asked a few people about the plot of "Handcuffs" and found it to be a very clichéd and boring story. It's roughly about a gangster assassin, played by Chen Huimin, who, while carrying out a mission to assassinate a rival gang leader, is seen by Ah Xia, played by Miao Kexiu, and knocks her unconscious. Later, his employer forces him to kill Ah Xia to silence her, but he gets caught by the police. At the police station, he encounters Ah Chang, a former smuggler who had crossed the border with him years ago. Ah Chang has become a police superintendent and happens to be in charge of his case. With Ah Chang's help, he temporarily clears his name. Qinglong returns to his hometown and begs the gang leader, Uncle Kuan, for shelter, working as a bouncer at a nightclub. He marries a dancer, but is soon betrayed by her and hunted by a rival gang. He escapes the encirclement and goes to find Uncle Kuan, only to discover that Uncle Kuan is dead. He is then pursued by both gangs simultaneously. Finally, he discovers that everything was Ah Chang's conspiracy, and ultimately dies at Ah Chang's hands.

The story seems complicated, but upon closer inspection it's quite boring. It lacks a clear core and has little to offer in terms of selling points.

They cast Miao Kexiu as the female lead, but not only was her screen time pitifully small, she was essentially just a pretty face. And instead of dressing her up nicely, they made her wear country clothes and play a silly girl – what a waste!

Furthermore, Chen Huimin's portrayal of Qinglong is clearly a copy of some of the character's traits from Bruce Lee's films. He's the kind of person who's highly skilled and daring, but ultimately destined to be a lone wolf. Unfortunately, Chen Huimin doesn't have Bruce Lee's looks, and while her boxing skills are decent, they're not particularly entertaining.

Moreover, Qinglong's role is a bit too much. From the assassin at the beginning, then the suspect, then the nightclub security guard, then the fugitive, then the righteous man avenging the boss... to the ruthless bandit who is finally killed by the police, there are too many changes in the same movie.

Zhang Shuai'an felt that such a complex structure was completely unnecessary, as many of the characters' identities were useless to the plot and slowed down the pace, making the middle part of the film extremely boring. Furthermore, it reduced the screen time of other characters, making the supporting roles essentially mere plot devices, including the female lead, Miao Kexiu, who became almost superfluous.

"Brother Kang, who is the screenwriter for this play?" Zhang Shuai'an couldn't help but ask Ah Kang.

Ah Kang glanced at him: "It's just Brother Min himself."

Okay, now everything makes sense.

With the boss personally involved, acting as an actor, screenwriter, producer, and supervisor, it's understandable why he would go to such lengths to add scenes for the male lead.

After watching for a while, Zhang Shuai'an became even more disappointed with the fight scenes between Chen Huimin and the extras.

They still followed the moves meticulously, pausing for half a second after each move, specifically to allow their opponent to react, making the fight seem quite fake.

That's not how the script was written, and that's not how the movie was filmed!

Zhang Shuai'an shook his head inwardly; it would be a miracle if this movie didn't flop.

"The pace is too slow, and the camera doesn't even give close-ups, wasting Min-ge's skills."

Zhang Shuai'an muttered under his breath, "This is supposed to be an action movie? It's like a theatrical performance, so awful."

Miao Kexiu, who was standing not far from him, twitched her ears, turned around and looked at him with some surprise: "You know about acting?"

Zhang Shuai'an smiled and said, "I know a little bit. I think action scenes should be fluid and natural, making use of the environment and creating a sense of impact, rather than just two people standing there posing and rehearsing moves. That looks too old-fashioned."

Miao Kexiu looked thoughtfully at the scene, then at Zhang Shuai'an, and felt that this young man from the mainland seemed to be no ordinary person.

At this point, the scene was finished filming.

Wu Ma walked over with a few pages of paper in his hand. He stood in front of Chen Huimin and said, "The scenes have been added, but it feels a bit redundant. Maybe we should just leave it at that, since our budget isn't very big."

"If the budget is tight, a few dollars won't make a difference."

Chen Huimin wiped her sweat and casually said, "Giving a newcomer like him a hundred yuan is already showing him respect."

"That scene just now felt a bit lacking; the plot was a bit dry."

Wu Ma pointed to the script and said softly, "Then let's add a cameo character. He'll say he was also a companion who smuggled in with you and A-Chang back then. He was originally an informant for A-Chang, but he couldn't stand A-Chang's ingratitude, so he came to warn you. Unexpectedly, an assassin came to harass A-Xia. He fought the assassin for three minutes, then was ambushed and killed. You just arrived and learned from him that A-Chang betrayed you. How about that?"

Chen Huimin considered it for a moment and nodded, saying, "Okay, let's arrange it this way."

As he spoke, he waved to Zhang Shuai'an: "Mainland boy, come here for a second."

Zhang Shuai'an immediately stood up and went over: "Brother Min, what did you call me for?"

"I'll arrange a role for you." Chen Huimin repeated what Wu Ma had just said. "Just listen to the action director. Just act however he tells you to. Don't be afraid. Acting is actually very simple."

Wu Ma squinted his small eyes, pointed at Zhang Shuai'an and said, "Look at you, so refined and handsome. Let's give your character a nickname, 'Handsome An'."

And so, Zhang Shuai'an somehow landed his first role in Hong Kong – "Handsome An".