Chapter 62: Starting a Legend

Seeing Xiao Ran’s pitiful expression, Fa Ge couldn’t help but shake his head gently and advised him earnestly, “A Ran, she really isn’t right for you. A self-centered little princess like that isn’t someone you’d truly like. And… do you really like her? Ask yourself!”
“Of course I do! There’s no doubt about it!” Upon hearing Fa Ge doubt his feelings, Xiao Ran replied loudly without hesitation, “From the first time I saw her, I’ve liked her ever since!”
Fa Ge laughed, Hong Gu laughed, and Zhang Wanding also laughed—boldly, as if they didn’t see him as their boss, knowing full well that Xiao Ran disliked such formalities the most. Amidst their laughter, Xiao Ran became extremely flustered, his mind in complete chaos. Yet he still tried to defend himself, “I’ve always liked her!”
But even a fool could tell the weakness hidden beneath his tough tone—perhaps only Xiao Ran himself couldn’t see it. Zhong Chuhong showed sympathy in her eyes and sighed softly, “A Ran, I’m telling you this as a friend. No one else can help you with this. Ask yourself carefully whether you really like her.”
Xiao Ran felt his head about to explode. Like her? Not like her? Those five words kept flashing through his mind, eventually mixing together. It took him a long time to regain clarity. He said nothing, merely gave Fa Ge and the others a deep look before leaving.
It was almost April now, yet *Autumn’s Fairy Tale* hadn’t been finished filming yet—Zhang Wanding’s usual pace was slow. It wasn’t because she shared Wang Jiawei’s flaw, but because she preferred meticulous work. Facts had proven that before Du Qifeng found his own style, female directors like Zhang Wanding and Zhang Aijia were the best at paying attention to details.
The prequel to *Heroes* had already been released during the Spring Festival holiday, and filming had just concluded recently, with local box office earnings exceeding 30 million. This time, New Art City achieved a decisive victory in the competition among the three major studios, defeating Debao’s *Wealth Forces People* and嘉禾’s *Brothers in Arms* both in terms of box office sales and public reception with *Eight Stars Bring Good Luck* and *Heroes 2*.
Moreover, fearing that too many films released during the Spring Festival would harm the market, *Dragon and Tiger*—which was originally scheduled for that time—was postponed by nearly two months. It wasn’t released until a couple of days ago. After thinking it over, Xiao Ran greatly admired New Art City’s strategy.
The 6th Golden Horse Awards were approaching. Given *Dragon and Tiger*’s strength, it was certain to win awards, which undoubtedly helped the film gain a good reputation. And after a good reputation came excellent box office results. Historically, it had only earned 20 million, but after the Golden Horse Awards, it surged to 24 million.
Of course, that was later. When Cheng Long lost to New Art City during the Spring Festival season, he complained more than once about Xiao Ran—why didn’t he come to嘉禾 to direct or write scripts for them? Of course, these were just complaints among friends.

“The God of Gamblers” hadn’t been released yet, simply because Xiao Ran had already learned from Future Film Company’s tactic—releasing movies at times when box office sales were high. He also knew well that if the movie wasn’t good, no timing would matter. “The God of Gamblers” could have been released during that period and still earned at least 20 million in box office revenue, but he didn’t want his first venture to end in failure; it had to become the top-grossing film of the year at the very least.

The 6th Hong Kong Film Awards ceremony was approaching soon, and Xiao Ran arrived there joking and chatting with Fa Ge and Wu Yusen. Before reaching the red carpet on Star Road, he met Lin Qingxia, who was extremely charming in her attire.

Fang Ruoxin was also supposed to come, but Fang Ruohai and Xiao Ran jointly dissuaded her. Since their last encounter, their relationship had progressed by leaps and bounds. Although she was still often played around, she seemed to enjoy it, given Xiao Ran’s rather abnormal mindset.

So, Xiao Ran was undoubtedly in a good mood. As for why, he wasn’t quite sure. His happiness grew even more when he saw Lin Qingxia. As usual, he walked up with a smile and took her arm, saying, “Sis Lin, let’s go together!”

“Why haven’t I seen you come to see me lately?” Lin Qingxia laughed happily, her beautiful voice captivating. While posing in various ways, she asked softly, “Don’t you know I’m exhausted from dealing with those suitors these days?”

“Well…” Xiao Ran glanced at Fa Ge, who was laughing and chatting with some reporters, wondering if they hadn’t told Sister Lin that he was in a relationship. Of course, he didn’t dare say so and also felt reluctant: “I’ve been too busy with work. How about we go fishing together tomorrow? Is that okay?”

“Being busy with work isn’t an excuse!” Lin Qingxia smiled but snorted coldly. “But you also need to take care of yourself. Continuing like this isn’t sustainable. Just delegate tasks to your subordinates—why do everything yourself?”

Xiao Ran changed his posture and unknowingly got very close to Lin Qingxia, even placing his hand on her waist, which was absolutely stunning and could make anyone’s heart flutter: “I wouldn’t dare ignore what you say, Sis. How about I bring Xiao Han along tomorrow?”

Just as they were taking photos, some reporters crowded over, shouting, “Cheng Long is here!” Xiao Ran looked outside and saw Cheng Long, He Guanchang, Zhang Manyu, and several familiar members of the Cheng family’s troupe. However, Cheng Long’s gaze swept around before settling on Xiao Ran’s hand.

Following his gaze, Xiao Ran broke into a cold sweat—he didn’t even realize when his hand had ended up on Lin Qingxia’s slender waist. Lin Qingxia also noticed Cheng Long’s gaze and, seeing Xiao Ran trying to pull his hand away, smiled slightly. In fact, she had already known Xiao Ran was holding her waist, but for some reason, she didn’t want to pull away.

Cheng Long strode over to Xiao Ran, greeting Fa Ge and Wu Yusen along the way. When he reached Xiao Ran, he stared at him for three full seconds. Xiao Ran even thought Cheng Long might lose control and beat him up, but then Cheng Long smiled and slapped him hard on the shoulder. “A Ran, you’re really amazing—making it onto the list again! Your reputation as a top screenwriter is well-deserved. Write a script for me sometime.”

“Ow! Brother Long, you’re very skilled, but you don’t have to use me as a demonstration!” Xiao Ran thought to himself as his shoulder felt soft. He knew why Cheng Long had hit him so hard. But in front of so many people, it seemed unnecessary for him to explain anything. “Hehe, Brother Long, that’s too kind of you!”

“What’s too kind?” Cheng Long glared. He didn’t like people who were too modest; strength was strength. “Last year, five of the top ten highest-grossing films had scripts written by you. Isn’t that impressive?”

Weren’t it four? Xiao Ran quickly remembered that Wang Jing’s film *Romancing the Girls* was still in theaters at the time, so it wasn’t included. But in reality, that movie’s final box office revenue exceeded 20 million, pushing Hong Jinbao and Zhang Xueyou’s horror film *Thundering Trumpet* off the list.

For a single screenwriter’s scripts to account for half of the top ten highest-grossing films of the year—what kind of sensation was that? Xiao Ran didn’t know, but he was clear about one thing: In the 7th Golden Horse Awards, Fa Ge received three nominations for Best Actor, forcing the awards committee to introduce seven nominations in total—a feat that would go down in film history.

No one dared to underestimate this young screenwriter, who had been in the industry for less than two years. Seriously, who could make every script they wrote so successful, with box offices consistently over 20 million? Back then, 20 million was equivalent to at least 100 million today. And by now, the total box office revenue from all of Xiao Ran’s scripts had reached 200 million.

That was an absolutely terrifying figure. Most screenwriters might not even achieve such high box office numbers in their entire careers. Reminded by Cheng Long, the reporters who had initially seen Xiao Ran only as the owner of a film company finally realized he was not only the owner but also a screenwriter and director. They quickly turned their cameras toward him.

“Mr. Xiao, why are you able to write so many successful films…” one reporter asked. “Also, what are your thoughts on attending the Golden Horse Awards? Do you think you can win an award?”

Xiao Ran swore the reporter in front of him must be an idiot. Why could he write so many successful films? Creativity was hard to describe in words. Even though Xiao Ran had plagiarized future works, he couldn’t admit that.

“The Golden Horse Awards… there are so many strong contenders these days. Just being nominated is a victory!” Xiao Ran said, smiling slyly. “But you might not know—my motto is to keep pushing forward after achieving success!”

The reporters surrounding Xiao Ran were amused by his interesting reply. Xiao Ran looked around and saw Fa Ge and the others waving at him and heading inside first. Lin Qingxia gave him a slight smile before also going in.

“Writer Xiao, you’ve written quite a few scripts already. What’s the total box office revenue from them?” One of the reporters asked curiously, “Is this figure a record among Hong Kong writers?”
“I’m not quite sure about that!” Xiao Ran truly didn’t know; he hadn’t had time to think about it. After a moment, he looked at Cheng Long, who was smiling and posing for photos and interviews nearby, and said, “Twenty years ago, this figure might have been a record, but twenty years from now, it definitely won’t be!”
The reporters understood what Xiao Ran meant—there was the factor of rising prices, so many box office figures might not be reliable. After accounting for inflation and other factors, the actual box office revenue might not even be as high as it was twenty years ago.
In fact, Xiao Ran remembered that a Hong Kong film fan had made a rough calculation. Excluding price increases and inflation, the real box office champion should be “Best Partners.” That film had the highest attendance in Hong Kong’s film history, with over half of the population at that time going to see it in theaters. So, that film was the true hero.
“Actually, I’ve always been grateful to Xu Ke, Brother Cheng Long, and Huang Baiming!” At this point, Xiao Ran glanced at Cheng Long, who was listening attentively, and smiled sincerely, “When I first started, it was they who supported me and trusted in my abilities, which allowed me to reach where I am today!”
Although it might sound a bit presumptuous for Xiao Ran to claim he’d come this far just two years after starting, the reporters clearly saw no problem with it. After all, his achievements were obvious—over 200 million in box office revenue in just two years, more than a dozen hit films on the box office charts, and a film company that still didn’t seem to have much strength yet. That wasn’t something an ordinary person could achieve.
Thinking of this, the reporters became excited. Such a person was undoubtedly legendary. Even if not now, there was a good chance he would become one in the future. As the reporters eagerly asked questions, Xiao Ran showed his sincere smile from sales pitches: “How about this? If you’re interested in me, we can talk about it later. Right now, I really want to build on this success!”
The reporters smiled in understanding again. They all remembered that Xiao Ran had never won the Best Writer award. For a writer, this was undoubtedly a shame, just like how Xiao Ran used to complain about Wei Jiahui and You Hai never winning the Golden Horse Awards before the 23rd edition.
*****
Fictional name: Huang Yongheng
Real name: Huang Yongheng
Occupation: Photographer
Huang Yongheng is a highly skilled Golden Horse Award-winning photographer, adept at capturing sharp and tense images. He was once Wong Kar-wai’s favorite photographer, handling the cinematography for almost all of his films. He also collaborated with Xu Ke on films like “The Ghost Story,” and later worked with directors like Derek Yee, becoming one of the top photographers in the eyes of renowned directors.
Films: “A Hero’s Heart,” “The Ghost Story,” “The Birth of a Word,” and more