After several articles were rejected by Baoyi Music Magazine, Dylan directly chose to vent on his personal blog.
"Shitty song, shitty MV, Raymond is desecrating music! Director Ethan is desecrating the MV too! Look at what they've done—meaningless outbursts, killing all the music critics! And then what? Without criticism, praise is meaningless!
"Even if they kill me in the MV, I will still use my voice to shout out the rebellious notes! This is a pile of tasteless shit! I can't stand seeing such music being worshipped. Think about those young people, think about their future—immersed in this kind of music, they will only become extreme, unable to listen to others' opinions! Over time, the music industry will become low-quality!"
However, the day after Dylan posted his views, his fans suddenly found that their once unyielding idol had changed his tone. He began to apologize on his blog for the attacks on Raymond and Ethan.
"Sorry, I regret my arrogant mistake. Raymond's new song is amazing. Whether it's his voice or the lyrics, it proves his strength and is worthy of a Grammy."
These words undoubtedly shocked everyone. Soon, with the gossip circulating, it was revealed that Dylan changed his tune because he had received a substantial sum of money.
This caused his reputation to plummet, and magazines banned him from publishing articles and reviews, while he stopped posting anything on his blog.
However, while others didn't know the reason, Ethan knew exactly what had happened. It was simple—Davis had intervened.
Still as fearless as ever, he had tracked Dylan secretly with a gun and threatened him at gunpoint to post an apology on his blog.
If it weren't for Slo and Bardman helping with the aftermath, using money and threats, Dylan would have had Ethan locked up for life.
Ever since his brother Raymond's death, he could no longer tolerate any criticism of his brother.
After this incident, music critics stopped discussing the song.
In just a week, Everything Above skyrocketed to No. 12 on the Billboard charts and then shot up to No. 3. While its ranking wasn't as high as Ethan's previous works, the profits were far greater than those of his other pieces. It's estimated that in the coming year, it would bring Ethan millions of dollars in revenue.
This was all income that belonged solely to him.
When Ethan heard this good news from Giorgio, he was quite excited and clenched his fist.
"Ethan! You have a phone call!" Suddenly, a staff member from the crew reminded him.
"Who is it?" Ethan asked, confused. If it was a friend, they would've called his cell, not the crew.
But once he answered the phone, everything became clear.
"Ethan! It's Quentin!"
"Quentin Tarantino?" Ethan recognized the voice immediately, having watched his famous video in which he spoke Chinese.
"Yeah, Ethan! I didn't know your number, so I found the crew."
"What's up?"
"Ethan! I saw your MV! The colors are amazing! You've added exactly what I needed! So Ethan! I need some help!"
When Quentin finished speaking, Ethan raised an eyebrow, surprised that the MV had brought him such unexpected rewards.
Becoming a temporary art director for Quentin's crew?
It didn't sound bad, so Ethan immediately agreed: "No problem, but The Mistress is about to start shooting, and I have limited time—only one week."
"Hmm, that's a bit tight, but it's okay! Ethan! I just need you to shoot one scene!"
"Alright, then it's fine."
"Great! Ethan, I'll have someone buy your ticket."
The scene Quentin was referring to was the classic mass slaughter scene, which hadn't been filmed yet. When he saw Ethan's work, he was immediately captivated.
This was the effect he had been dreaming of, and it added a new feeling, especially with the high-contrast colors. If he could incorporate this into his film, it would definitely enhance the viewing experience.
After receiving Quentin's invitation, Ethan didn't hesitate. After handling the matters on The Mistress set, he boarded a plane to join Quentin's crew.
The filming locations for Kill Bill included a few places: Tokyo, China, and America. At this point, Quentin's team had finished filming in America and had moved to Tokyo to set up the mass slaughter scene.
The flight from New York to Tokyo was quick. As soon as Ethan landed, he saw a slender man holding a sign reading "New York, Ethan," waiting for him at the exit.
"Hello." Ethan approached and extended his hand to greet the man, who immediately bowed deeply and greeted him in classic Japanese English: "Welcome to Tokyo, I am the crew's assistant, Ogawa Sugi."
Ethan raised an eyebrow; it felt good to be treated like this. He hadn't experienced such hospitality the last time he came to Tokyo.
Seeing Ethan silent, Ogawa Sugi lifted his head, beaming with a warm smile, and extended his hand to guide: "Mr Ethan! This way, please!"
"Alright." Ethan put on his sunglasses again, watching Ogawa Sugi take his suitcase and lead him to the parking lot.
"Please get in the car!" Ogawa Sugi opened the car door for him and placed his hand on the frame to prevent Ethan from bumping his head.
"Thank you." Ethan sat in the car, satisfied. Ogawa Sugi placed the suitcase in the trunk, got into the driver's seat, and began driving toward the set.
Along the way, Ogawa Sugi frequently checked in with Ethan, asking if the ride was smooth, if he needed water, showing attentive care that made Ethan admire the impeccable "education" of the Japanese.
Instead of going directly to the set to film at the Kyu-hachi Tavern, they first checked into a five-star hotel.
After Ogawa Sugi arranged Ethan's luggage, and at Ethan's request, the two finally headed to the set.
As soon as they entered the tavern, Ethan was immediately struck by the familiar environment.
The old, dark Edo-style décor, with artificial bamboo groves, black leather cushions, and low eaves formed the overall look of the tavern, giving an oppressive and cold atmosphere.
Upon entering the set, Ethan also saw some familiar faces.
For example, Uma Thurman was practicing with a sword on the white stage, wearing a yellow training outfit, and not far away, Lucy Liu, dressed in black, was rehearsing.
They were both practicing with the martial arts director, wearing wires to perform aerial stunts.
Quentin, sporting his signature high hairline, came over to enthusiastically greet Ethan the moment he saw him.
"Hey! Ethan?"
"It's me." Ethan nodded, and the next moment, Quentin embraced him warmly. "Oh, great! I love the MV you directed, and Chicago—the shots were super cool."
"Thanks." Ethan smiled, it seemed that Quentin had done his homework and checked out some of his past films.
After exchanging pleasantries, Quentin continued, "You arrived just in time, Ethan, we have a little problem to solve."
"What problem?" Ethan didn't expect to be thrown into a task right away; Quentin was truly straightforward.
"Here! Look, I want to use big color blocks to highlight Uma Thurman's outfit, but…"
As they discussed, the crew and Uma Thurman, who had just finished rehearsing, also noticed the unfamiliar face.
"Who's this?" she put down her sword, puzzled. In her impression, Quentin was usually excited on set, but now he seemed more like he was asking Ethan for guidance, as if Ethan were some sort of teacher.
Ogawa Sugi politely stepped forward and answered, "This is the art director Quentin invited, Ethan Li, but everyone calls him 'Ethan"
"Ethan?" Uma Thurman nodded. "Thanks."
"No problem! Miss Thurman, it's my honor." Ogawa Sugi's respectful attitude made Uma Thurman feel a bit uncomfortable. She hadn't gotten used to the overly enthusiastic hospitality of the Japanese.
Turning her head, she saw Lucy Liu walking quickly toward them in wooden sandals.
Lucy Liu recognized Ethan and immediately introduced him to Uma Thurman: "This is Ethan, he was the cinematographer for Chicago. I had a small role in that movie."
"Chicago? I remember that film had a lot of controversies." Uma Thurman, having been in closed training for months, wasn't very familiar with Hollywood news.
"Exactly, but Chicago turned out to be a great movie. Ethan is an amazing cinematographer, and I really think he'll win the Oscar for Best Cinematography this year." Even though Lucy Liu hadn't worked much with Ethan, she had a great impression of him.
"Really?" Before Uma Thurman could finish speaking, Quentin, from a distance, excitedly shouted in Chinese, "Niubi!"
"What?"
Both she and Lucy Liu turned to look and saw Quentin eagerly consulting Ethan.
"Ethan! Niubi… Is this pronunciation correct? Ethan, you're really niubi! Is that right?" Quentin was as excited as a child with a new toy.
"Hahaha, Quentin, your pronunciation is pretty good. Yes, it's niubi!"
"So, when I go to China, if I think something or someone is impressive, I just say these two words?"
"Of course!" Ethan had already checked off teaching Quentin some Chinese from his list of accomplishments. After solving Quentin's confusion, they started chatting about China and customs. It was then that Ethan suddenly thought of telling Quentin about this phrase.
As a result, Quentin was extremely happy and kept repeating the phrase, "Niubi."
Quentin was ecstatic, repeatedly muttering the phrase "niu bi."
"In America, if you want to say someone is amazing, you'd say 'super cool.' I didn't expect that in China, people would use the term 'niu bi.' But what exactly does 'niu bi' mean, Ethan?"