"Taking time off?" Li An's puzzled voice came from the other end of the phone.
"Yes, you and Mr. Ba recommended that I try my luck with WMA, right? Well, I came here today and met Mr. Wayne Anderson's agent, Mike Jones. It turns out they see potential in me and signed me right away. Mr. Anderson himself also wants to meet me, so I'm asking for a few days off to go to Europe."
As Yang Ziqiong and Mike had said, many of the hidden rules in other entertainment industries are open secrets in Hollywood. There's no need to hide anything — it can even enhance one's reputation. So, Zhang Ziyi didn't hide her real reason for taking time off and explained it directly.
Sure enough, Li An on the other side didn't think much of it. How long had he been in Hollywood? He was more than used to things like this! Before he was married, he had done plenty of similar things himself.
"Alright then, go ahead!" Li An laughed and readily agreed.
If he still owned the rights to *Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon*, he might have been a bit upset. But the rights had been sold, and Sony Classics didn't care much for the film. They were only opening in 16 theaters for its official release, and there wasn't even confirmation of a premiere. No matter how much he cared about the film, he couldn't possibly make everyone wait in Hollywood for over twenty days.
"However, if Sony has any demands, you'll need to hurry back," Li An added.
"Of course, Director Li, don't worry," Zhang Ziyi quickly assured.
It wasn't like she had Wayne firmly on her side yet. Even if she did, she wouldn't want to offend a big director like Li An or a distribution company.
After hanging up, Zhang Ziyi immediately started booking her flight.
On the other side, after putting away his phone, Li An couldn't help but smile and shake his head, muttering to himself, "Young people these days are truly impressive."
He then turned to Mr. Ba and Jackie Chan, whom he had just met through Mr. Ba, and told them about Zhang Ziyi's situation.
"Huh, that girl Zhang sure works fast!" Mr. Ba raised an eyebrow, shaking his head with a smile.
Jackie Chan, overhearing this, showed a look of surprise as well. "Wayne Anderson? The owner of Hemera Studios, Wayne Anderson?"
"That's right."
"Wow, that girl from your crew might really hit it big!"
Li An and Mr. Ba knew exactly what Jackie was implying and subtly nodded in agreement. But this gathering wasn't just the three of them.
Seeing the curiosity on the faces of others in the room, Jackie smiled and explained, "There was big news in Hollywood recently. Someone spent a whopping $16 million to have Nicole Kidman, Kate Winslet, and Julia Roberts all appear in supporting roles for a movie — just to support his girlfriend. Can you guess who that person is?"
Everyone gasped, and someone blurted out, "No way! It's Wayne Anderson, isn't it?"
"$16 million?! That's over 100 million in local currency! That's insane!"
Jackie laughed and continued, "Not only is he generous to his girlfriend, but he's also extremely generous to his mistresses. Charlize Theron, a once relatively unknown B-list actress, landed a lead role in a female-driven sci-fi thriller, with the first movie's budget exceeding $30 million, all thanks to Wayne."
Mr. Ba chimed in, "That's right. The movie I signed for this morning has an even bigger budget than $30 million, and they signed me for seven films in total."
Jackie continued, "And the women involved with him are all getting great opportunities. The worst of them still land supporting roles in independent films with million-dollar budgets. In Hollywood, Wayne Anderson is like a hot commodity — so many women are dying to get close to him."
He shook his head in disbelief, just like Li An and Mr. Ba had earlier. "If that young lady from your crew gets close to Wayne, she might not shoot to the top, but at least she'll never lack resources in Hollywood."
The others couldn't help but marvel at the story.
Fortunately, this was a respectable gathering that Li An had asked Mr. Ba to arrange, held in a tea house in Chinatown. The only actress present was Zheng Peipei, who was also from Hong Kong. So, after expressing their amazement, they quickly moved on from the topic.
Mr. Ba, however, decided against introducing Zhang Ziyi to Jackie Chan.
In his view, some alliances shouldn't be made carelessly. Since Zhang Ziyi was already in with Wayne, it was better to leave Jackie's resources for their own circle.
As a result, it was uncertain whether Zhang Ziyi would still land the role in *Rush Hour 2*.
Of course, Zhang Ziyi had no idea about this. After getting permission from Li An, she immediately booked the next flight to Switzerland and headed there with her assistant.
The next day, just as Wayne returned to his hotel after wrapping up work, he received a call from the front desk.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Anderson, this is the front desk. A Ms. Zhang Ziyi from the U.S. is here, claiming to be a friend of yours and would like to see you."
Ten minutes later, in a freshly opened luxury suite, Wayne sat on a lavish leather sofa, somewhat surprised as he looked up and down at the slightly nervous Zhang Ziyi sitting across from him.
At the same time, Zhang Ziyi was equally struck by Wayne's youth and handsomeness, even though she had already looked him up and seen his work.
Of course, her biggest concern was whether Wayne would take a liking to her and honor his promise.
Fortunately, Wayne didn't intend to let her visit go to waste.
"Wow! Ms. Zhang, you're even more beautiful in person than Mike said you were in your movies—"
Hearing this, Zhang Ziyi breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Wayne continued, "Mike must have mentioned it to you already. Hemera Studios is planning to shoot *Resident Evil* soon, likely filming both parts at once."
"In the second part, there's a supporting female role, a journalist, and with your looks and talent, it's almost a sure thing for you."
"But there are two major male roles in the second part, so this journalist role would only rank fifth in screen time."
"As for the second female lead in the first part, a mercenary, her screen time ranks in the top three, but it could be a challenge for you. You do seem a bit delicate."
"So, Ms. Zhang, how would you like to proceed?"
Zhang Ziyi was clearly surprised, as she hadn't expected Wayne to give her such an important choice.
But as an ambitious and capable woman, she quickly composed herself and made a decision that didn't surprise Wayne: "Mr. Anderson, I love a challenge."
"Call me Wayne," Wayne smiled slightly, getting up and approaching her. "In that case, let's first see if you're up to the physical challenge."
"Alright, Wayne, I'll give it my all."
Zhang Ziyi gave him a charming smile, looking at Wayne's tall, muscular figure and his classically handsome face, her breath quickening involuntarily.
Plus, Wayne was the bigger star right now, far more famous than she was. She suddenly realized that just being with a handsome man like him might be worth it, even if she gained nothing else from this.
And soon, she would discover her third great surprise — Wayne's strength in certain "activities" was truly exceptional, making her even more grateful for her choice.
As a result, she spent the next few days almost entirely in the hotel room, too exhausted to do much else, with even her meals ordered from room service.
(End of Chapter)