Chapter 43: Even Making a Wish at the Temple Won't Make It Come True

On January 10th, Li Wenyu was chatting with a few South Asian men outside the Mountain City Building in Tsim Sha Tsui, accompanied by his assistant, Xiao Hu. In the distance, a van pulled up and came to a smooth stop. Michelle Lee stepped out wearing sunglasses, looking surprised. "Director Li? It really is you!"

Having just turned thirty-two, Michelle Lee still exuded an arresting charm, her mature feminine aura exceptionally vibrant.

She spoke in Mandarin.

Previously, she and Li Wenyu had no intersecting paths, but ever since Old Li attended the global celebration for The Shallows grossing over 300 million Hong Kong dollars, his photos had been circulating widely across both traditional print media and the internet.

Li Wenyu smiled and shook hands with Michelle Lee. "Your Mandarin is really good, Sister Xin."

During the handshake, Sister Xin lightly scratched his palm with her fingertips. He suddenly felt a sense of bemused resignation that such a situation was entirely normal.

It was no surprise that upon hearing certain rumors, she would want to find an opportunity to stir up some trouble—especially since Michelle Lee was currently single!

After an on-and-off relationship with Big Liu the Fan Magnate that lasted for eleven years, they had finally broken up completely just over a year ago.

Ever since her debut, she had been constantly surrounded by scandals, but what was her actual record of definite romantic history up to this year? She was even cleaner than Sister Zhi.

It was simply that Big Liu the Fan Magnate played too wildly.

Michelle Lee's biggest blotch was the exposed incident where she cursed Big Liu's primary wife, making her look like the worst kind of third party trying to drive the legal wife to her death, along with the leaked audio of her cursing Hung Xin and others.

In reality, without Big Liu the Fan Magnate indulging and instigating it, she could never have become that arrogant. Could a capitalist who fought his way through the business world to amass tens of billions truly be that spineless and kind-hearted?

This was Big Liu the Fan Magnate, a master of bribery and money laundering.

As a major capitalist, Big Liu's ability to paint grand visions and use psychological manipulation was far stronger than ninety percent of black-hearted bosses. Michelle Lee had been subjected to his psychological conditioning since she was nineteen years old.

Just count how many female celebrities he courted, and then choose whether or not to believe it was all part of a set-up.

Big Liu the Fan Magnate most likely indulged and deceived her into becoming a scapegoat just to facilitate his divorce, shifting the public's condemnation of his desire to abandon his primary wife. This wasn't to whitewash Michelle Lee, as she herself was certainly no simple character.

Li Wenyu felt that she had always carried the heaviest blame; the discarded primary wife hated her the most, while Big Liu turned around to keep a whole harem of newcomers, enjoying himself so much he practically wrecked his kidneys—a real-life instance of black humor!

The primary wife in question had started the fan factory alongside Big Liu, yet only walked away with around one billion in assets during the divorce. Considering Big Liu's net worth in 1992, what she took wasn't very much.

Michelle Lee driving the primary wife to her death was even more absurd. Big Liu divorced in 1992, while the former wife passed away in 2003. Aside from the fact that Big Liu's primary wife was rather unfortunate to contract cancer, this was actually no different from how certain legendary beauties repeatedly broke up marriages and couples.

Meanwhile, Leslie Cheung, who had always been praised, remained close friends with Michelle Lee for decades, maintaining an exceptionally good relationship, while she shouldered over a decade of infamy, earning the reputation of being the most notoriously reviled mistress among all those from Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan!

Yet, despite all this, she was fairly intelligent and eager to learn.

Compared to Yammie Lam and Vivian Chow, Michelle Lee was vastly smarter. In the future, actresses like Yang Mi and Liu Yifei would never endure as much malicious slander as she had.

Michelle Lee didn't stop there. "Director Li, why are you here? Bingbing is so lucky; who among us doesn't envy her to death? Do we have time to grab a meal together?"

***

Fat Bing was busy filming today. Old Li was here to understand the local South Asian community, laying the groundwork for future travels there and the subsequent creation of his book, Slumdog Millionaire.

All the attribute points he had accumulated were poured into writing, bringing it to (92/100). This gave him a much firmer grasp on recreating a global bestseller.

Li Wenyu chuckled. "We can exchange numbers, but Sister Xin, you're too famous. If you stay here any longer, you'll be snapped by the paparazzi."

Michelle Lee readily exchanged contact information with him. "Is Director Li doing research or looking for inspiration? Does your new work need me for a cameo? I won't charge a fee."

She looked down on petty cash. Big Liu the Fan Magnate had used her, but the villas and jewelry he gifted her could easily be cashed out for one or two hundred million.

Facing a newly emerged super-director like Li Wenyu, she didn't mind forging a connection. At thirty-one, she had seen through many things.

She wouldn't sink to the level of being kept by someone like Rosamund Kwan, but if a spark developed while hanging out, they could mutually utilize each other's idle resources without involving emotions or money—a win-win situation. Deep down, she remained firmly determined to marry into a wealthy conglomerate!

After chatting for a few more moments, Michelle Lee boarded her van and left.

Assistant Xiao Hu smiled and asked, "Brother Yu, shall we continue?"

Li Wenyu nodded. "Let's continue."

By evening, he had Xiao Hu treat some South Asian locals to dinner while he took a taxi back to the hotel. He never expected that as soon as Fat Bing returned, she would exclaim directly, "That most arrogant mistress wants to ask you out?"

Li Wenyu was stunned, and Fat Bing explained, "You two were street-paparrazzised, and Brother Wah bought the photos. I only found out through gossip among the crew."

This was one of the most rampant eras for tabloid paparazzi.

Li Wenyu was left speechless. "Brother Wing, Brother Wah and the others... they really look out for us quite thoughtfully."

Fat Bing was his woman, and many in the industry knew about it. The absence of various leaked reports could only be attributed to the veteran seniors in the circle protecting them.

To this day, Brother Wah still kept the wife who had accompanied him for over a decade completely hidden from the public eye!

Fat Bing nodded. "It is thoughtful. By the way, did she hit on you?"

Li Wenyu laughed in spite of himself. "What do you think?"

Fat Bing circled Li Wenyu a few times. "How about this: when your urges run high, you can ask her for a favor? I can accept it. This most beautiful Miss Hong Kong fought an entire era just to marry into wealth; eleven years of sunk costs make it impossible for her to willingly admit defeat. The next place she wants to marry into will definitely still be a wealthy tycoon family in Hong Kong, Macau, or Taiwan."

"She's so much older than us, so I can genuinely accept you two sparring in martial arts. It'll just give me a break. Compared to Sister Zhi, who has ambitions to usurp my position as the rightful queen, she poses no threat at all!"

Li Wenyu, "???"

He wanted to ask if Fat Bing had been drinking fake liquor?!

Fat Bing let out a helpless sigh. "You're just too much of a beast. Besides, isn't it like this both inside and out of the entertainment circle? From Director Feng and President Wang in the Mainland, to the Heung family and Emperor Group's Chairman Yang in Hong Kong, and all the way to Jackie Chan, it's everywhere."

***

"I feel like I'm already blessed enough."

"Wanting a man to be handsome, tall, talented, wealthy, and on top of that, always coaxing me, being devoted, and staying passionately faithful to me for a lifetime—if I went to a temple and wished for all that, even the Bodhisattva would scold me for being too greedy."

"I'm pretty, but compared to them and Sister Hong, I'm just average."

These were topics she and Manager Hua had discussed multiple times during their private chats. She simply surrendered herself completely into Li Wenyu's arms. "If an older woman like Sister Xin is around and you still have energy left when you walk out my door, then it's my fault. Let's pinky promise, my fault and I'll accept the penalty. I really don't mind you having a few takeout feasts outside."

Previously, she had been full of insecurity simply because Old Li was too outstanding, and she constantly trailed after him.

Her body had long since started to struggle under the demands, and plenty of senior wives both inside and outside the industry lived their lives this way.

What could Li Wenyu say? He proved with actions that he still wasn't tired of Fat Bing in the least. Having been reborn for over half a year at this stage, he was still a very long way from the traditional seven-year itch.

Fat Bing was moved to tears of happiness as well. Only in the heat of passion could she physically feel that Old Li still poured all his vigor and emotion entirely into her.

..........

On January 15th, Fat Bing wrapped up her filming on the set of Boy Wonder. Li Wenyu chose to stay and continue his activities in Hong Kong to further engage with the local South Asian community.

The theatrical run of The Shallows had now lasted for over twenty days. In its fourth week, apart from the Mainland which stubbornly churned out another 21 million at the box office, the total gross in the Mainland reached 64 million.

From Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan to South Korea, Japan, and Western markets, box office momentum was beginning to flag.

Hong Kong contributed 11 million last week for a cumulative total of 54 million Hong Kong dollars, a sharp halving compared to the previous week, while Taiwan also saw a fifty percent drop, adding only 5 million Hong Kong dollars.

The total for the Chinese region powerfully surged to 140 million RMB or Hong Kong dollars, as the current exchange rate stood right around one to one point zero something.

The total gross in Europe and America broke 40 million US dollars. Leaving aside how much Leslie Cheung earned, film distributors who originally bought the rights for 6 million walked away with at least a 150% net profit.

Distributors in East and Southeast Asia started at a minimum of 300% net profit.

When Li Wenyu brought breakfast back to the hotel room for Fat Bing, the girl directly used her foot to chase him away. "You beast, hurry up and go eat your takeout. My poor waist, arms, and legs are practically broken."

All the attribute points accumulated from the 10th until today had been poured into physical fitness, raising his stamina stats up to a towering 107.

After all, with a writing skill level of 92, and the original film available to copy and translate... that was more than enough!