Chapter 151: Film Preparations
Chapter 151: Film Preparations
“Xuanrong, do you really not get it, or are you pretending not to?”
Song Yuru asked with a smile.
“I really don’t understand! What does it actually mean?”
Ling Xuanrong looked very anxious.
“That awful A-Mu was taking advantage of us! That so-called ‘Ecstasy and Sorrow Art’ he mentioned… it’s actually about that thing between men and women. Understand now?”
Song Yuru couldn’t hold back anymore and burst out laughing.
“How annoying!”
Ling Xuanrong finally understood and immediately shot Lin Mu a look, then lowered her head with a reddened face.
“Hey, I object to what Yuru said! How can this be called taking advantage? This martial art really exists! I wasn’t fooling you all! And when practicing this kind of martial art, your cultivation improves very quickly!”
Lin Mu immediately complained.
“Isn’t this just an unorthodox path? I’ve heard about this kind of martial arts that extracts yin to nourish yang or extracts yang to nourish yin. Practitioners never come to good ends. Moreover, such practice requires sacrificing others to benefit oneself. It’s certainly no good martial art. You absolutely must not practice it!”
Ye Zixi frowned and said. She suddenly worried that Lin Mu’s rapid cultivation progress was due to practicing such unorthodox martial arts.
“This is not an unorthodox path. What you described are not proper dual cultivation methods at all. True dual cultivation harmonizes with the heavens and earth, balances yin and yang. It possesses miraculous effects that can seize the creation of heaven and earth.”
Lin Mu said with a smile. He had personally witnessed the power of such dual cultivation techniques. Back in the Cultivation World, there was a celestial couple. Though their individual cultivation levels were inferior to his, when they joined forces, they could hold their own against him without being defeated. It was truly astonishing.
“If everyone practiced this technique, wouldn’t everyone’s cultivation improve quickly?”
Seeing that Lin Mu wasn’t lying, Ye Zixi asked in confusion.
“Of course not. If it were really like that, experts would have emerged everywhere long ago. Practicing this technique has many restrictions. The most important point is that both parties must be in perfect spiritual harmony to achieve the state where cultivation levels complement each other.”
Lin Mu shook his head. There were similar techniques on Earth too, but those were unconventional shortcuts, not the true orthodox path. Forget achieving immortality through them, even reaching the Golden Core Stage would be a problem.
Of course, the Cultivation World did have powerful demonic absorption techniques. Some heaven-defying methods even had the potential to reach the Great Dao, provided one had enough cultivation vessels.
The Great Dao was merciless. It did not care about ethics or morality, only whether one’s comprehension of the Dao was sufficient.
“Do you know this kind of martial art?”
After thinking for a while, Ye Zixi suddenly asked.
“Of course not. If I did, wouldn’t I have taught you all already?”
Lin Mu laughed and shook his head.
The three girls’ faces immediately turned red, and they all shot Lin Mu a look together.
Dinner ended in this “pleasant” atmosphere. Lin Mu, having a rare moment of free time, was watching TV in the living room, catching up on domestic and international current affairs. Just then, his mobile phone suddenly rang. It was actually a call from Yao Xianxian.
“Hello, big star. What brings you to call me?”
Lin Mu answered the phone and asked with a smile.
“You’re the male lead of the movie! Who else would I think of if not you? Are you free now? If you are, come over. The preparatory work for the movie is almost done. We plan to start shooting in a couple of days.”
Yao Xianxian on the other end of the line sounded very anxious. She had received news today that Lin Mu had returned to the country, so she hurriedly called him in the evening.
She had never encountered a male lead like Lin Mu before. He just inexplicably ran off to the United States. Luckily, he returned in time for the film’s shooting schedule. Otherwise, the entire crew’s progress would have been delayed because of him.
“Right now? Okay then, I’ll head over right away.”
Lin Mu hung up the phone, then went into the kitchen. The three girls were there, washing up and tidying the leftovers from the meal.
“Yao Xianxian asked me to go over. The movie they’ve been preparing is about to start filming.”
Looking at the busy girls, Lin Mu briefly explained the situation.
“So soon? They prepared quite quickly!”
Song Yuru said in surprise.
“A-Mu, give me your autograph quickly! That way, when you become famous, I’ll be the first person to get your signature!”
Ye Zixi giggled and blinked.
“Why bother with an autograph? If you’re willing, I myself am all yours!”
Lin Mu laughed heartily, earning him a big eye-roll.
“I’m off!”
After changing clothes in his room, Lin Mu picked up his keys, drove away from Huacheng Mingyuan.
He hadn’t driven his own Maybach for a long time. Lin Mu felt a special fondness for it. After all, his own car was more comfortable to drive. In less than twenty minutes, he arrived at the entertainment company’s building. Yao Xianxian and the group weren’t upstairs; they were all waiting downstairs.
Many entertainment reporters surrounded them, with flashes constantly going off. It turned out the film crew was holding a brief press conference.
“Miss Yao, why isn’t the male lead of the movie here?”
An entertainment reporter asked.
“Our male lead is on his way and will arrive shortly.”
Yao Xianxian smiled and replied.
“I heard the male lead this time isn’t from the industry. What made you choose an outsider to play the male lead in this movie?”
Another entertainment reporter rushed to ask.
“Well, it’s not convenient to disclose that for now, as it’s related to the script’s creation. We believe he is the most suitable candidate.”
Yao Xianxian didn’t speak; a manager next to her quickly gave the answer.
Just then, Lin Mu’s Maybach arrived at the company building. These entertainment reporters were all sharp; how could they not recognize a luxury car like a Maybach? Some immediately sensed there must be something more to the story and adjusted the angles of their cameras.
As soon as Lin Mu got out of the car, he was met with a glaring flash of lights. He immediately raised a hand to shield his eyes.
“As everyone expected, the film’s male lead has now arrived on the scene. Everyone can ask questions, but we only have five minutes, as we still need to go to the set to arrange the next filming matters.”
The producer smiled, introduced Lin Mu with a gesture.
“Mr. Lin, we heard you are still a student at Donghai University. May I ask how exactly you obtained this precious opportunity to film a movie with Miss Yao?”
A reporter immediately asked from below.
“It seems everyone already knows a bit about me. Indeed, I am still a student. I got this opportunity from a chance meeting. I ran into the director and the producer at a hotel. Of course, Miss Yao was also there.”
“They gave me this chance. I will do my best to perform and strive to make a film that satisfies everyone.”
Lin Mu nodded and smiled. He had seen many such formulaic responses on TV; now he was just copying them.
“Mr. Lin, you’re still a student, yet you can afford a luxury car like a Maybach worth tens of millions. May I ask if you are a second-generation rich heir?”
Another reporter asked a question completely unrelated to the movie.
“Well, to be precise, I am a first-generation rich person, because the money I spend, I earned myself.”
Lin Mu shook his head and replied with a smile.
“Could Mr. Lin tell us what exactly you do now?”
That reporter pressed further.
“That, I’m sorry, I cannot disclose.”
Lin Mu politely declined to answer.
After the press conference ended, Lin Mu followed the crew to the film set. After discussing various preparatory matters, about four hours had passed. Seeing that it was almost midnight, everyone dispersed to rest.
“A-Mu, let’s find a place to sit.”
Just as Lin Mu was about to leave, Yao Xianxian, carrying a pink clutch purse, came over from behind.
“Sure, let’s go to a nearby café.”
Lin Mu nodded with a smile. The two got in the car and drove straight away from the set.
“Miss Yao seems quite familiar with that guy. Could it be a secret romance?”
A staff member at the set, watching the departing Maybach, asked doubtfully.
“Who knows? Someone who can afford a Maybach surely doesn’t have a simple background. We’d better not meddle in other people’s business.”
Another person continued packing things on the ground, replying without looking up.
In Starbucks, Lin Mu and Yao Xianxian sat in a corner, casually ordering two coffees.
“You went to New York for something important, right? I saw you left in such a hurry, without even saying goodbye.”
Gently stirring the coffee in her cup, Yao Xianxian asked.
“From your tone, it seems you already know something, don’t you?”
Lin Mu smiled slightly. The expression on Yao Xianxian’s face clearly showed she had heard some news.
“Not too much. I just know you fought with some Superpower Users in New York. I heard you even soundly defeated two of their experts.”
Yao Xianxian giggled.
“I find your Yao Family quite mysterious. You even get news about such things.”
Lin Mu said curiously.
“The Yao Family is a genuine Ancient Martial Arts Family. Don’t look down on us. Even within the Dragon Protection Corps, there are members of our family.”
Yao Xianxian smiled proudly.
“No wonder. So you have people in the Dragon Protection Corps.”
Lin Mu suddenly understood. “This trip to New York was mainly to protect the Luo Family during their asset transfer. It’s said the United States authorities didn’t want to let them leave easily, so we went to help them out. Now the matter is finally properly resolved.”
“The Luo Family, as far as I know, their influence is quite formidable. It’s not necessarily true that they needed your help to leave the United States.”
Yao Xianxian, however, looked at Lin Mu with deep meaning.
“How so?”
Lin Mu detected the underlying message.
“Although the Luo Family rose to prominence relatively recently, not as long-lasting as families like ours, their strength is not inferior at all. Especially when they first rose, they acquired several advanced military-industrial enterprises.”
Taking a sip of coffee, Yao Xianxian said unhurriedly, “Such a prominent and powerful family, how could they not be able to hire experts to protect them? I guess when you arrived at the Luo Family, aside from the experts from the Dragon Protection Corps, all the bodyguards you saw were just ordinary people, right?”
Lin Mu frowned slightly. Hearing Yao Xianxian say this, he realized it was true. Such a large family actually hadn’t recruited any decent experts. It was really strange