I am a Big Player
Chapter 625 - 616, A Chinese Odyssey Part One

Chapter 625: 616, A Chinese Odyssey Part One

In the United States, teacher-student romances are met with strong condemnation. There was once a test video where a female teacher was seen at a restaurant with a younger male student. The moment the actress playing the teacher showed any intent to seduce the student, people stood up to denounce her and even called the police.

Joseph didn’t know about Ren He’s relationship with Yang Xi; he only knew Yang Xi was Ren He’s student, nothing more. During their time at the Juilliard School of Music, Ren He and Yang Xi were very careful about this because they knew what kind of media narrative a teacher-student romance would spark in the States. Moreover, he didn’t want to reveal his identity as Knight, so it was normal for Joseph to be in the dark.

Now seeing Yang Xi in Ren He’s home, acting as if it was her own, Joseph naturally realized the two were in love, and what’s more, it was a teacher-student affair!

No wonder back when Yang Xi took a leave for over a month, the young professor took time off too. At that time, how could Joseph have thought anything of it? For example, in everyday life, would you think that a teacher and a student taking leave at the same time were off having a romance? Of course, that wouldn’t be the obvious conclusion.

Wait a second, Joseph paused, Yang Xi was also an international diva in the United States, always the center of attention. Furthermore, her love story with Knight remained a tale of many versions even now, and people often shared screenshots of their interactions on Qinghe’s Weibo on American social platforms. As soon as these posts went up, they went viral, full of uniform envy...

Joseph was no old-fashioned guy; he certainly knew about this!

So... Ren He was Knight?! What on earth was going on with the world...

At that moment, Joseph suddenly realized something. Foreigners also knew that Knight had gone to the United States to challenge the Moonlight Cliffs and the like because Yang Xi was in the States. Their romance had actually started a long time ago, so... did the young professor become a professor at the Juilliard School of Music because of Yang Xi?

"Did you go to the Juilliard School of Music because of Yang Xi?" Joseph asked tentatively.

"Yes," Ren He nodded affirmatively, "Actually, I was planning to study, but since you needed an interview and I couldn’t get a study visa without an invitation, I had to become a professor instead..."

Joseph suddenly felt this explanation was a bit awkward... what did it mean that if you couldn’t become a student, you just became a professor instead...

But upon reflection, Ren He, being Knight, had gone to the United States to be with Yang Xi, so whatever role he took on was merely an addition. He could be thankful that he had not rejected the employment offer back then.

He still remembered that day in the rehearsal room, when Ren He had walked in, travel-weary, and then dazzled everyone with his brilliance.

Everyone thought the young professor was already dazzling enough, but today Joseph understood that the young professor did all that as a side project...

"My heart isn’t very good, so I only watched your cycling video..." Joseph explained, "You truly are more excellent than I imagined, almost unbelievably so."

Joseph now understood that he had thought the young professor’s main occupation was music, which is why he believed the professor could best showcase his talent on a platform like the Juilliard School of Music.

But now it was different; he felt that one of the most distinguished figures in the contemporary classical music field, the young professor, only took it as a secondary endeavor.

It’s like when you think climbing Mount Everest is an incredible feat, someone casually tells you they pass by there every day... What kind of feeling would that be? Joseph felt a bit of an ache in his teeth...

However, Joseph was someone who could let go when it was time. Now, witnessing the legendary romance first-hand, he felt it indeed seemed quite remarkable, unaware of just what Ren He had done to be with Yang Xi.

What is a legend? Perhaps it’s that every story of his is sung in different versions, Joseph felt that Ren He was just such a legend.

Joseph left, departing with unspoken emotions...

At this time, Zhang Ming suddenly called Ren He. After the New Year, the crew was set to rush to Karamay in Xinjiang to film "No Man’s Land," asking Ren He if he wanted to come along. Ren He thought it over, Qinghe Film and Television was now on the right track, and he didn’t seem to need to meddle anymore, so he declined.

Then Zhang Ming stated his main purpose, "The ’No Man’s Land’ script will take about 5 months to shoot. When can you give me the next script?"

Ren He was taken aback by what he heard; Director Zhang was now asking for scripts with no hesitation whatsoever...

There was only a week left before Yang Xi’s exams, Ren He thought for a while and replied to Zhang Ming, saying he was already writing it and would deliver it as soon as possible.

Yang Xi started to review earnestly, while Ren He began his third script, not just writing, but also storyboarding.

However, this sort of thing had become routine for him. The only thing to consider was, what work should he bring out this time?

What work from his past life left the deepest impression on him? It seemed to be... "A Chinese Odyssey"!

In his previous life, "A Chinese Odyssey" had a mixed reception when it first came out, or more precisely, more derogatory. Some said it was shoddy, others found the plot boring and incomprehensible. There were all kinds of opinions.

Yet, it is one of the few films in the Chinese film industry that, despite the passage of countless years, is still remembered by countless people. Even after many years, it remains a huge IP.

Perhaps because... the love story between King Treasure and Purple Haze is probably the most tragic and beautiful regret in the human world.

Some say tragedy is to destroy something beautiful before your eyes, and there’s no shortage of such actions in "A Chinese Odyssey".

Now, Ren He’s recollections of the lines from the "A Chinese Odyssey" series are definitely not the likes of "I will love you for ten thousand years," but those most ordinary yet deepest moments, "There’s also someone named Purple Haze, who you’ve called for 784 times."

Zhou Xingchi, in his nonsensical way, explained to people what is called a lifelong love, an emotion that arises from nowhere and grows steadily deeper.

Why do so many people love it? Perhaps it’s only when they realize they will never cross paths with their loved one again, and watch this movie again, that they understand what Purple Haze’s tear left in King Treasure’s heart feels like.

All of these seem like tracing back their own love story, like a beautiful scene temporarily glimpsed, never to return once left behind.

Ren He felt that every man was like King Treasure in his youth, mischievous, irresponsible, muddleheaded, and nonchalant. Having nothing, destitute and down-and-out.

But the image of the Monkey King setting off toward West Heaven, dressed in golden armor, riding the Seven-colored auspicious cloud, and carrying the Golden Cudgel, is so lonely it aches the heart, yet it seems to tell people that one never needs to regret having loved passionately.