Chapter 104: How come it's you?

After the intimate hand-holding in Happy Valley, the relationship between Lin Mingyang and Kate went even further. But after attending the press conference for Legend of Darkness, director John Woo seemed to have disappeared and never set foot in the hotel again.

Hong Kong was an internationalized metropolis with good news. Lin Mingyang, Kate and her party had made such a big commotion at the Hong Kong International Airport that all of Hong Kong knew about it the next day. The hotel they were staying at was also shaken up by the media, and the next day there were quite a few people, both fans and journalists, all gathered outside the hotel door. Lin Mingyang and Kai especially said that when they went out, even if they stayed in the hotel, they would run into reporters who pretended to be waiters to blend in.

During this time, Kate attended an endorsement event held by a British jewelry company in Hong Kong, while Lin Ming Yang basically stayed in his room. During this time, he finally remembered that he had fallen behind in his homework, and in April he was going to take the SAT, the so-called "Advanced Placement Test" for high school students in the United States, which is organized by the U.S. College Board and is held seven times a year on U.S. soil.

Whether or not you can attend a four-year college in the United States does not depend on a SAT score, but many universities accept applications, SAT scores are an important reference standard. SAT test is divided into English and math two parts, each part of the minimum score of 200 points, full of 800 points, to do the wrong questions deducted points. This test, once known as the Academic Intelligence Test, originated at Harvard and was originally just a pure intelligence test. Later, the president of Harvard University, who proposed this testing program, became the first chairman of the U.S. ETS (Educational Testing Service), which provides college entrance exam services as a contracted party to the College Board. Since then, SAT scores have become one of the most basic entrance requirements for most universities.

Lin Mingyang wasn't worried about his academic performance, in his previous life he had stood out from the college entrance exams of test-based education, and now with a very strong brain, this kind of exam wasn't difficult for him. What really made him a little hesitant was how many points he should score on the exam before it was considered excessive.

In addition to revising his homework, in her spare time, Kate pulled Lin Ming Yang to play Marvelous Cards. This game was very popular in the West, and was said to be the first collectible card battle game on the market. There was a card club at Moss Middle School, but unfortunately, American boys of Lin Ming Yang's age were more attracted to RPGs on computers that were highly maneuverable and had dynamic and exciting graphics, and Marvelous Cards became more of a puzzle game for girls to spend time with each other.

"In this game, your identity is that of a traveling mage, playing against his mages for honor, knowledge and adventure. Your set of cards represents an assortment of weapons in your arsenal. Included in it are the spells you can cast, as well as the creatures summoned to do your bidding." Because it was Lin Mingyang's first time playing, Kate had to introduce him to the basic gameplay and rules.

"The two opposing sides must have their own deck of cards, and its composition is limited by a number of rules. Each side has 20 life points at the start of the duel. The object of the game is to use the cards in your hand to try and reduce your opponent's 'life' to 0 or below, or to force your opponent to run out of cards to grab, or to utilize a special spell that will cause him or her to lose this game."

"You know I've never been a fan of playing by the rules, so I hate card games!" Lin Mingyang had just finished listening to Kate's introduction and had already lost all interest in this game. This had to do with his personality, whether it was in the game or in real life, he liked to take the initiative and press his opponents to death, not giving any chance to return the favor and flip the game. Just like the motto he believed in: in the face of absolute strength, any plotting and scheming was superfluous.

Kate angrily wiped out the spread and beamed, "You don't want me to teach you if you don't play?"

Lin Mingyang lay on his side, his hand propped up on his head, and said roguishly, "I just like to see the expression on your face when you talk."

Kate glared at him angrily and collected the cards laid out on the bed by herself, just then, the doorbell suddenly rang.

The two of them looked at each other helplessly, and in their hearts, they both wondered in unison, "It can't be another reporter, can it?"

This was in Lin Ming Yang's room, but Kate was sitting on his bed holding a pillow, then Lin Ming Yang was lying diagonally on one side, although the two of them hadn't done anything, but anyone who came in and saw such a scene would involuntarily visualize it in that direction.

"Not going to evade it?" Lin Ming Yang helplessly sat up from the bed and prepared to open the door.

Kate hesitated with the pillow in her arms, "I'll hide in the closet?"

Lin Ming Yang thought about it, but finally shook his head. The two of them weren't doing anything in the first place, and hiding would instead be a cover-up. No matter what person knocked on the door, he planned to stop the other person at the door so that all problems would be solved.

But outside the room is standing in the two days has been playing "missing" director John Woo, this Lin Mingyang really can not stop.

In Lin Mingyang's room to see Kate Beckinsale, Wu Yusen face did not two people imagine that kind of unexpected expression. Wu Wusen lived so old, Lin Mingyang and Kate in the crew that little action how can hide his eyes. Open the door when Lin Mingyang see Wu Wusen just feel surprised, there is no panic in the eyes, and Kate, despite sitting on Lin Mingyang's bed, but see Wu Wusen only nervous smile, two people are so frank, Wu Wusen will not be special to think about it.

"Is there any news about the martial artist you said was proficient in Xingyi Quan?" Wu Yusen hadn't shown up in the past two days, and Lin Mingyang asked about this when he was pouring him coffee.

"There's been some changes in the situation, I'm here to explain this matter to you!" Wu Yusen treated people more gently, and his tone of voice didn't treat himself as a high and mighty director, but instead carried some tone of consultation.

Kate on the side asked curiously, "That action director is not in Hong Kong anymore?"

"He hasn't left Hong Kong, but he's had a bad time in the past two years, and the action team he pulled together just broke up not long ago. That person is also a good gambler, lost the house his wife bought in Kowloon, now the family lives in a public housing estate, life is a bit down and out." The public housing that John Woo refers to is a silo where a floor of people share a toilet, and that place is the equivalent of a slum in Hong Kong.

"Then are there any other martial artists in Hong Kong who know Xingyi Quan?" Lin Mingyang also felt that this question was a bit tricky.

"There are, but they are all empty tricks, knowing a few stances but not being able to get the hang of it. A true master of Xingyi Quan can only be found by going over to the mainland." Wu Yusen frowned, he realized that he didn't expect the situation to become like this.

Lin Mingyang hugged his hands and considered for a moment, "Temporarily going to mainland China will also require a new visa, the procedures are quite troublesome. Why don't we go to meet that Xingyi Quan expert you mentioned first, as long as he has real skills and can help us, you will be able to support your old friend in passing when he is in trouble, and you will also be able to fall into a good reputation, which will be beneficial to everyone."

----

Since moving into this silo, Chang De Sheng has been subjected to his wife's blank stares and the ridicule of his neighbors, thinking that back in the day, he was also a ranked dragon and tiger martial arts master in Shaw's company, and now reigns supreme in Hong Kong with several big directors have worked together. Every time his wife pointed at Chang De Sheng's spine and scolded him for being unproductive, he would always bring up the old records that he had once worked with such and such a big director, and then he would be mocked by his wife again.

The most often talked about by Chang De Sheng, or his experience working with the great director John Woo. When John Woo was still filming in Hong Kong, there was contact between the two from time to time, but since Woo went to the United States, there was less and less interaction between the two. After coming out from Shaw Brothers, Chang De Sheng also got himself an action team, in the Hong Kong film kung fu theme of the most popular years, with their own skills, he also earned a little money.

But the good times do not last long, these years the decline of Hong Kong films, kung fu movies are also declining, the Asian financial crisis and so a shock. Although the Hong Kong economy in the mainland government's support to withstand the pressure of the crash, but Chang De Sheng's action team began to make ends meet, most of their own hard-earned money are lost, he had no choice but to give his men sent severance pay, the team to remove.

Originally, Chang De Sheng still have some savings, bias him this person good gambling horse, and finally lost the remaining wealth, had to take his wife and children to move into this building built in the 1980s years of public housing, relying on his wife's meager wages barely make ends meet.

John Woo went to Hong Kong to do publicity for his new film in Hollywood, which was published in all the major newspapers in Hong Kong. When I saw this news, Chang De Sheng was squatting in the toilet, cigarette in his mouth, holding a stack of yesterday's newspaper, which he had the cheek to bring from his neighbor.

Chang De Sheng used to smoke with his fingers on the filter facing upwards, he read the report somewhat absorbed, did not pay attention to the hand of the cigarette burned over the head, and then reacted only when it burned his hand. He was too busy to throw away the cigarette, cursing and saying bad luck.

At this time, his wife's pig-like roar sounded in the hallway, "betting on the dead, there is a phone call for you!"

Chang De Sheng while lifting his pants, while complaining, take a shit can not be peaceful, this day is really fucked.

With a stench from the toilet, Chang De Sheng was beaten out of the house by his wife with a rolling pin, and was only able to listen to the phone in the hallway.

"Call the electricity bill or water bill, I have no money now!" Chang De Sheng cursed.

"Mr. Chang, hello! I'm director John Woo's assistant, you can call me Kun!"

"Ah Kun, why don't you call yourself Brother Kun?" Chang De Sheng didn't have the good sense to grunt, his brain turned a little slow, he only reacted after cursing, "Wait, whose assistant did you say you are?"

"Director John Woo!" Ah Kun on the other end of the phone repeated again, but his tone was no longer as enthusiastic as before.

"John Woo? He's not in the US..." this time Chang De Sheng's reaction was sort of up to speed, remembering the news he had just read in the newspaper, "He's looking for me for something?"

Ah Kun told him very directly, "Director Wu wants to meet with you."

Chang De Sheng was a bit puzzled in his heart, John Woo has been in Hollywood for the past few years, and this time he came back not just to do publicity for his new movie, what was he looking for him for? But on the phone he did not ask so much, a mouth on the promise, no matter what to find him, is to go to chat, back to him also have to brag to the neighbors capital.

Appointed a good time and place to meet, he rummaged from the closet to put on his best formal wear, and then rubbed his shoes brightly, and finally did not forget to come from the hands of his son to the second-hand digital camera, to go to a trip to leave a little evidence, or others really think he only bragging skills.

----

Doing director people are very attention to detail, Wu Jusen know Chang De Sheng now mixed bad, so did not choose the meeting place in a very upscale place. Kate lacked enough interest in the matter, so for this meeting, the only two people who came were Lin Mingyang and Wu Yusen.

Since they were meeting to talk about business, Wu Yusen naturally found a very quiet private room, and when Chang De Sheng came in, the first time he saw Lin Ming Yang, he felt a little bit familiar, and Lin Ming Yang directly recognized him as the middle-aged uncle he had met at the racetrack.

"Why it's you!" The two of them coincidentally pointed at each other, even the surprised expressions on their faces were exactly the same.

"You're not here to ask me for money, are you?" Chang De Sheng violently covered his pockets, that day, if not for Lin Ming Yang "crazy" stuffed him with more than 30,000 Hong Kong dollars, he really did not know how to explain to his wife and children at home.

But Lin Mingyang's concern was not about money, "You won't really take all that money to bet on horse races again, right?"

Chang De Sheng did go to gamble again, but did not gamble much, and actually made a small profit, good thing he did not gamble his head off, see the good thing. Seeing the owner of the matter in such an occasion, Chang De Sheng was more or less a bit weak, "I didn't know that you were Director Wu's friend, I'll bring that money over to pay you back some other day!"

"I didn't know you were Director Wu's old acquaintance either, that bit of money will be taken as a meeting gift!" Lin Ming Yang said politely, but in his heart he couldn't help but mutter, he looked up and down Chang De Sheng, this guy is not middle-aged and fat, but he doesn't look like a practitioner who is proficient in Xingyi Fist, could this be the legendary high person who hides in the middle of the city?

Wu Yusen was confused by the circumstances of the two meeting, "You know each other?"

"The day before yesterday, I went to a horse betting track to try my luck, and I just happened to run into Mr. Chang." Lin Mingyang lightly told the story, he said it very subtly, but Wu Yusen still easily guessed the general picture of what happened. Chang De Sheng actually befriended Lin Ming Yang because he was a good gambler, this was also a strange story.

"Sheng, Felix is of mixed Chinese descent, and his grandfather was a master of Baji Quan. He followed the practice for a while when he was a kid, and he's very interested in Chinese martial arts. This time when he came to Hong Kong, it just so happens that you are also an expert in boxing, so I brought him here to spar with you." Wu didn't directly state his intentions at the beginning, but instead led the conversation to martial arts exchanges.

"My little stance is not worth mentioning in front of a true connoisseur, if you want to spar in kung fu you're looking for the wrong person!" Chang De Sheng quickly waved his hand, he had not practiced Baji Quan, but he also knew that this kind of boxing movement was extremely fierce, and in terms of technical combat techniques, it emphasized on inch-cutting and inch-taking, and hard hitting and hard opening. Lin Mingyang was strong, not to mention that he had the advantage of being young, and was a family heirloom of the Eight Extremes Fist, which was not comparable to ordinary street goods. If 20 years ago, he might be able to practice with Lin Mingyang, but now he is this body bones, not sure to be able to carry each other's fists.