"Puberty? Boys need to protect themselves too!"
Although Liu Yifei knew that definitely was not the truth, it did not stop her from taking the chance to throw him a few disdainful looks.
"What are you thinking?" Lin Yuan was speechless too. Did this era already have slash culture?
"Then explain yourself."
"Do you know when people start to feel old?"
Without waiting for Liu Yifei to answer, Lin Yuan continued:
"Aging is not entirely determined by age. When everything in your life has already taken shape and there are no longer any possibilities left, that is when you are truly old."
Seeing the confusion in Liu Yifei's eyes, Lin Yuan explained:
"When we are still young, standing in the hallway between classes and gazing into the sky, we imagine: Which university will we attend? What major will we study, and what job will we do? Who will we fall in love with? And who will we hold hands with for the rest of our lives?"
"All of it is unknown, like cards still waiting to be turned over."
"That is youth. Nothing has taken shape yet, and our future holds infinite possibilities."
"As time passes, we go to school, work, marry, have children... One card after another is turned over, and our lives gradually take shape."
"When all the major events in life have taken shape, when the future holds no possibility of surprises and you can see the end at a glance, that is when we are truly old."
"That feeling of helplessness is what aging truly feels like. It is far sadder than physical weakness."
"That is Mr. Eisen's current situation. He has already made enough money."
"He has not invested in movies these past few years because, to him, what difference would one more successful film make?"
"There is no longer anything in his life worth looking forward to."
"A few days ago, I wrote him a letter and told him that life still held many possibilities, that there were still things worth challenging."
"For example, trying to personally create an unprecedented Legendary Action Superstar and leaving a deep mark on the history of human cinema."
"He believed you?"
Liu Yifei understood how Lin Yuan had moved Mr. Eisen.
When hope was rekindled in one's life and one faced a brand-new challenge of the unknown, it really could shake off that air of decline and bring back the vitality of youth.
"Not completely, but he probably thought it was worth trying."
In truth, persuading Mr. Eisen had been far from as simple as Lin Yuan made it sound.
Without those action videos Lin Yuan had sent along with the letter, Mr. Eisen would never have believed in such a crazy goal as an unprecedented superstar.
And even today, after they had officially met, Lin Yuan had only gained his initial approval.
He would still need to keep proving himself with results in the future before he could earn Mr. Eisen's continued support.
"You are not that old, so how do you understand old men's thoughts so well?" Liu Yifei immediately spotted the issue.
How was he supposed to answer that?
Lin Yuan could not exactly say: Because I really have been old before, right?
Although he had only been forty-two in his previous life, he had already been at death's door. He had truly experienced that feeling of having no possibilities left in life.
That genuine helplessness when old age came.
No matter how hard you struggled, this was all your life would ever be!
When people were young, most believed: My fate is in my own hands, not Heaven's.
But by middle age, they often came to agree: My fate is in Heaven's hands, not my own.
Youth was wonderful. Lin Yuan once again felt grateful that he had been given a second youth.
Faced with the Celestial Fairy's question, he could only brush it off. "Maybe I suddenly figured things out?"
"You suddenly became so amazing. Not only are you better at talking, you understand people's hearts better too."
"Because I have to mature faster, so I can protect the people I want to protect," Lin Yuan answered sincerely.
He did not say who he wanted to protect, but the burning look in his eyes made the answer obvious.
Liu Yifei did not lower her head shyly to avoid his gaze, nor did she respond directly.
They both understood, but they were still too young. Some things would have to wait until they were more mature.
"Right, didn't Director Cohen say the new plan only needed another 10 million dollars? Why did you ask for 15 million?" Liu Yifei suddenly remembered.
"Because 10 million definitely would not be enough. We need room for error."
"Hm?"
"What if an expensive prop gets damaged? What if an actor has an accident and needs compensation?" Lin Yuan explained.
Liu Yifei immediately understood. "It is not that Director Cohen does not understand that. It is just that 10 million dollars is already his limit. If he included room for error too, then he would have no choice but to give up."
"With only 10 million dollars, this project would be extremely risky. Any accident could sink it completely, so I absolutely cannot use Director Cohen's money. I cannot gamble with his life savings."
"You're shining." The Celestial Fairy smiled at him.
Lin Yuan smiled as well. "Good-looking people are fulfilled and confident inside, so they are more likely to notice the shine in others."
"I'm 'others'?"
"Of course you aren't." Lin Yuan immediately tried to save himself.
"Then take this. The PIN is my birthday. You have many places where you need money now. The money Mr. Eisen gave you is investment capital, so it can only be used for official business. It is inconvenient to use when you need money privately."
Liu Yifei took a bank card from her trench coat pocket and handed it to Lin Yuan.
"You are still a student. How could I spend your little allowance?" Lin Yuan pushed the bank card back.
"There's 300,000 USD on the card..." The card was handed back to him again.
"What?" Lin Yuan was stunned. "Where did you get that much money?"
"I saved 60,000 USD in allowance over the past few years. Before the internet bubble burst this year, I turned it into 300,000 in the stock market."
Lin Yuan was completely speechless. She had actually saved 60,000 USD in allowance as startup capital...
How many people could have that much allowance while they were students?
And 2000 had been the year the American internet bubble burst, when countless people lost everything.
Not only had Liu Yifei not lost money, she had successfully cashed out at the peak. That was simply absurd.
She handed this windfall over to him without a moment's hesitation.
It made Lin Yuan involuntarily think of his previous life, when Liu Yifei had also given the bedridden him selfless financial support.
In his previous life, he had rejected it out of pride and even cut off contact with her bluntly.
In this life, she had once again sincerely offered money to help him.
Lin Yuan's gaze suddenly went unfocused. The Liu Yifei from both lives seemed to overlap. She had always been by his side.
Should he accept this money in this life?
Although Liu Yifei was right that he needed money in many places, he still did not want to take hers.
Perhaps he still had some male chauvinism in him. Taking a woman's money always made him uncomfortable.
Seeing that Lin Yuan still seemed to want to refuse, Liu Yifei said seriously, "The Lin Yuan I know is a truly open-minded person. If he still clings to that little bit of male chauvinism, I will think less of him."
"You said it yourself. I'm not 'others'!"
Well, she had blocked off every possible excuse. What else could Lin Yuan say?
A gift of papaya deserved a return of precious jade.
He silently remembered everything Liu Yifei had done for him, determined to repay her with a brilliant future!
"Fine. I never thought I would have a day when a rich lady fed me. Rich lady, treats, so yummy!" No longer being awkward about it, Lin Yuan smiled and accepted the bank card.
"That's more like it! But what the heck is a 'rich lady'? I'm still a young girl!"
"The important part is 'so yummy.'"
Their playful bickering was filled with laughter...
Before you continue