Chapter 86: Mysterious Instructions

They didn’t rush back to Hong Kong right away but stayed in Prague for a few days. During those days, they explored every corner of the city—a place entirely rooted in classical charm, free from giant neon signs or flashy billboards, with only greenery and well-preserved architectural styles.

Prague had countless towers, so many that it was impossible to count them all. But Xiao Ran and the others weren’t focusing on the towers at the moment; instead, they were admiring the famous St. Vitus Cathedral. After touring it and looking back at this magnificent church that embodied pure classical beauty, Xiao Ran leaned close to Lin Qingxia’s ear and said with a smile, “Do you like it? How about we get married here someday?”

Although they were already together, Lin Qingxia blushed slightly at his sudden words but said nothing, merely moving a little closer to him. The two left the cathedral while turning their heads back…

The next day, Xiao Ran and Lin Qingxia returned to Hong Kong. Only then did Xiao Ran remember he needed to call Brother Fa to update him on his situation. Having spent those days with Qingxia, he had completely forgotten about it, leaving him extremely embarrassed.

He dropped Lin Qingxia off at home and then returned to his own place. As soon as Wei Dongling saw him, he excitedly rushed over and punched him hard. After taking that punch from Wei Dongling, Xiao Ran looked at Guan Xin in terror, fearing Guan Xin might punch him too—otherwise, he would be in trouble.

“What have you been doing these past few days?” As soon as they sat down, Wei Dongling couldn’t help but ask, “You didn’t even let me know! Do you still consider me a friend?”

“Nothing much. I just forgot for a moment. Prague is beautiful!” Thinking about how he and Lin Qingxia were now together, Xiao Ran was in high spirits and happily told them everything that had happened over those days.

“Prague is beautiful? I think it’s Lin Qingxia who’s beautiful!” Wei Dongling couldn’t resist teasing him. He was happy for Xiao Ran, who had found true love. “But suddenly leaving a few days ago and then announcing the cancellation of the wedding made it the biggest news story.”

After saying that, Wei Dongling handed Xiao Ran a pile of newspapers. Each newspaper featured headlines like “The Highly Anticipated Wedding Canceled” or “A Shocking Scandal in the Engagement” to highlight how absurd the situation was. Since Fang Ruohai was the one who spread the news of the cancellation, public opinion wasn’t very negative toward Xiao Ran.

Xiao Ran carefully read the reports in the newspapers and magazines. Almost no one guessed the true reason behind the incident. At most, they speculated that Xiao Ran was handsome and talented, possibly a playboy, which was why the Fang family had canceled the engagement. Of course, everyone in their circle applauded—after all, they all knew Xiao Ran was a responsible person; there was no way he could be a playboy.

After learning about the whole situation, Wei Dongling scratched his head and asked, “Why did the Fang family rush to release this news instead of saying it was you who wanted to cancel the engagement?”

After browsing the newspaper, Xiao Ran sighed in relief and couldn’t help but smile bitterly. He really did seem a bit of a playboy—first flirting with Yang Wei, then Fang Ruoxin; who knew what might happen next? Hearing Wei Dongling’s question, he couldn’t help but laugh: “Do I really need to explain? Of course it’s for face that I act so vaguely. Thankfully, Fang Ruohai isn’t stupid—he knows such actions harm reputation. Otherwise, Fang Ruoxin would definitely claim it was she who dumped me.”
“By the way, three days after the wedding, Fang Ruohai announced the bankruptcy of the financial investment company, and our contract with them was terminated!” Wei Dongling’s expression turned serious. He wasn’t sure what tricks Fang Ruohai had used, but faking bankruptcy wasn’t very difficult. Now he wanted to hear Xiao Ran’s thoughts.
“I expected it!” He had indeed thought about it earlier. With such an incident, Fang Ruohai, who always doted on his sister, would never cooperate with him again. Ending the partnership was inevitable. The reason he stayed in Prague for a few days was also to avoid the Fang siblings, giving them enough time to return to the United States.
Xiao Ran sighed. He didn’t blame Fang Ruohai. In fact, he felt it was already very kind of Fang Ruohai not to take the chance to harm him. A situation like the groom not showing up at the wedding might seem dramatic in movies, but in reality, it would be a lifetime shame for anyone.
Under such circumstances, Xiao Ran even thought it was a blessing that Fang Ruohai hadn’t hired professional killers to kidnap him and take revenge on Fang Ruoxin. But after thinking it over, his mind gradually relaxed.
Actually, Fang Ruohai’s decision to terminate the contract through fake bankruptcy wasn’t entirely bad. From now on, the profits from Shadow Company could go straight into his own pocket, without having to share them with anyone else. Other film companies might need to raise funds to reduce risks, but Xiao Ran didn’t need to—his insight told him which films would succeed and which would fail.
“The share due to the ‘God of Gambling’ has already been given to Fang Ruohai, so the company currently only has 20 million in funds!” Wei Dongling regretted it a bit. If he had known, he could have delayed the transfer. Otherwise, they might have lost a lot of money. “Fang Ruohai is really shrewd. As soon as we transferred 50 million to him, he immediately faked bankruptcy.”
So far, Fang Ruohai had only invested about 20 million in Xiao Ran, yet the returns were 50 million—doubling in just a few months. Making movies was truly profitable. Wei Dongling glanced at the deep-thinking Xiao Ran. “The siblings have both returned to the United States, leaving no words behind! But I really don’t understand. He shouldn’t have just left like that!”
Xiao Ran understood what Wei Dongling meant—that Fang Ruohai had no reason not to destroy Xiao Ran. Though he certainly didn’t want such a thing to happen, he also noticed this anomaly. From every perspective, even just considering Fang Ruohai’s love for his sister, there was no reason for him not to retaliate after Xiao Ran hurt Fang Ruoxin.
Xiao Ran felt he needed to be more careful from now on. Maybe Fang Ruohai was watching him from somewhere. Suddenly remembering something, he quickly asked, “A Dong, is there any place that needs money right now?”

“It’s the videotape you mentioned last time. We haven’t spent the money on it yet. But I really don’t understand. The profit from it isn’t that big—why go through the trouble of doing it ourselves?” Wei Dongling’s eyes were indeed sharp, but he still fell short of Xiao Ran in some aspects.

“Good. Then let’s pause for now and sell the distribution and production rights of the videotape to the next party—just for two years!” Xiao Ran nodded. The rights couldn’t be sold for too long, as videotapes would become popular in a few years. “We need to keep the money for other purposes. Once the next two films come out, we can start working on this!”

If it weren’t for Xiao Ran, he wouldn’t have known how VCDs were made, who created them, or even what era they originated in. He would definitely have gotten involved in it. Thinking about the stock market crash at the end of the year, Xiao Ran thought it might be time to prepare.

That day, Liang Jiabao somehow received news and found out that both Xiao Ran and Lin Qingxia had returned. He hurried over to interview Xiao Ran first. Looking at this reporter with such keen senses, Xiao Ran was extremely impressed. He thought Liang Jiabao definitely had potential to be a paparazzo.

However, Liang Jiabao was a special correspondent for several publications, which was enough to show his status and abilities. Seeing through Xiao Ran’s helplessness, Liang Jiabao smiled and consoled him, “A Ran, this time, it’s better to give it to me rather than others. Just tell me!”

Of course, Xiao Ran knew what Liang Jiabao wanted. With no choice, he smiled helplessly, rubbed his nose, and said, “Regarding this matter, I really can’t say anything. It doesn’t even matter if you think of me as a playboy!”

Two days later, Guan Xin finally started fulfilling his master’s duties by teaching Wei Dongling and Xiao Ran how to train. But it was truly a tough task. Imagine having to get up early every day to run and practice kicking wooden stakes—it could easily exhaust a person.

A few days later, Huang Zhan called and asked Xiao Ran to go to his house. When Xiao Ran arrived, he didn’t see Lin Yanni. Huang Zhan smiled and said to Xiao Ran, “A Ran, you promised last time to be my disciple. I’ve been free these days, so I’ve come to teach you now!”

Remembering his promise at the Golden Horse Awards, Xiao Ran complained bitterly. He had never thought about learning music or anything like that—it was completely unnecessary. Why would he learn it? Was he really supposed to compose music for a film himself?

“Writing lyrics is a simple thing, but it’s by no means easy,” Huang Zhan said seriously, taking it very seriously. “Don’t make them full of love stories like most lyrics nowadays—that’s not a wise decision.”

“But, Uncle Zhan, I really haven’t thought about learning to write lyrics!” Xiao Ran wanted to refuse, but seeing Uncle Zhan’s stern look, he quickly changed his tune. “I think if I have to learn something, it’s better to learn your skills in composing and scoring music!”

“It’s all the same. In short, if you want to write good lyrics and compose good music, you need to read a lot of books!” Huang Zhan nodded, lit a cigarette, and said, “Only with enough cultural knowledge and experience can you quickly draw on what you need when the time comes!”

Xiao Ran helplessly pulled back his head. Writing lyrics was definitely not something he could handle, and even composing music wasn’t guaranteed for him. The only area with some hope might be soundtrack creation—he had always admired the soundtracks of those top experts.

Movie songs and soundtracks are the essence of a film. A typical example is “Stealing Hearts”; the music at the beginning and end of that independently produced Hollywood art film is undoubtedly the essence of the whole movie. Just listening to it allows one to experience the core of the film.

However, compared to movie songs, soundtracks are undoubtedly much more important. Yet, Hong Kong’s film industry currently doesn’t place much emphasis on soundtracks, while movie songs are highly valued.

When it comes to soundtracks, a classic example is the scene in “PTU” where Ren Dahua and several other police officers go upstairs—the ethereal music perfectly conveys the sense of camaraderie the film aims to express, fitting the movie almost perfectly. Another example is the scene in “Dark Battle” involving the bus, which becomes even more romantic and enchanting thanks to its soundtrack.

After listening to Huang Zhan for a long time, Xiao Ran finally couldn’t help but ask, “Uncle Zhan, I think there are many ways to choose a soundtrack. For example, for a classical wuxia film, one could choose a powerful classical piece that would match the film perfectly!”

“You’re teachable!” Uncle Zhan nodded proudly. He hadn’t misjudged Xiao Ran after all. “But you need to note that different instruments can create vastly different musical effects. Also, the rhythm must be well-controlled, and the overall music must align with the film’s theme to make it more impactful!”

Thinking of the soundtracks of many films, Xiao Ran had to admit he was impressed. Uncle Zhan truly lived up to being one of the Four Talents of Hong Kong. However, Uncle Zhan hadn’t anticipated that electronic soundtracks would soon dominate the market, leaving traditional instrumental soundtracks almost obsolete.

At this thought, he felt deeply saddened. This skill of using purely instrumental music shouldn’t just disappear like that. He thought that if possible, it would be best to find some smart people to learn this here. Otherwise, when no one could create music like “A Laugh in the Sea” anymore, he would regret it deeply.

Things at the company were stable, so Xiao Ran didn’t need to worry about much. One day, while at Zama, he saw someone delivering a letter to Guan Xin. Guan Xin took the letter and went into his room. Xiao Ran became very curious. Guan Xin often received quite a few letters, but he always hid them from others, as if there was some secret.

Moreover, Xiao Ran had heard from Wei Dongling that during his few days in Prague, Guan Xin had disappeared for a few days before returning. His curiosity about this half-mentor, half-bodyguard figure was almost unbearable.

Guan Xin returned to his room, glanced at the letter, then took out a very ordinary book and compared it with the letter. After piecing together the words he found, the message he obtained shocked him greatly!

This highly mysterious letter was an instruction to have Guan Xin stay by Xiao Ran’s side to observe him. Guan Xin was very surprised, as his initial reason for becoming Xiao Ran’s bodyguard was merely to have an identity to conceal temporarily, plus he found Xiao Ran a pleasant person. During a report to his superiors, he mentioned Xiao Ran, as well as Xiao Ran’s favorable view of the current Chinese government and his certain inclinations. He originally thought it was another task, but to his surprise, it was still to stay by Xiao Ran’s side as a bodyguard, which really puzzled him. Guan Xin didn’t understand what the higher-ups were thinking; in fact, according to his understanding, it was something he couldn’t possibly fathom. After resolving the Hong Kong issue, the Chinese government had been closely monitoring various opinions in Hong Kong regarding the mainland. Clearly, Western countries had portrayed the mainland as a major villain, and everyone knew the attitude toward villains. Therefore, the government needed forces that could speak on behalf of the mainland and convey its true situation, so as to prevent Hong Kong residents from continuing to hold certain misconceptions about it. The influence of the entertainment industry is actually quite significant. Although Yindu Company is wealthy and powerful, it lacks sufficient influence because many people are aware of its political stance.
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Yindu Film Company
This company was formed a few years ago when some pro-Communist Hong Kong film companies merged after the economic downturn during the Cultural Revolution. The head of Yindu Institution is appointed by the mainland government, and filming in the mainland allows for direct production and release without script approval, which clearly shows that Yindu is essentially a pawn of the Chinese government in Hong Kong. Over the past twenty-odd years, it has invested in producing many good films, though it’s difficult to list them all.