1novels Chapter 123 Did you think you were the only one who could start over?
Chapter 123 Did you think you were the only one who could start over?
Chen Yan pushed open the iron door with the portrait of the deceased hanging on it.
The door hinges emitted a harsh, screeching sound.
Wu Gang's beam of light swept in, illuminating a darkroom used for developing photographs.
The enlarger, the developing disc, the empty photo clips hanging on the wire—everything was covered in a thick layer of dust.
The acidic smell of chemicals in the air was even stronger.
An old cassette recorder sits on the table in the center, with a cassette tape next to it.
Chen Yan walked over, picked up the cassette tape, and put it into the tape recorder.
He pressed play.
……
Outside the west gate of the Beijing Film Academy.
The sidewalk was completely blocked off.
Students, reporters, and passersby holding up their phones crowded the small open space, making it almost impenetrable.
Lin Qingqiu stood in the center of this noisy scene.
There was no podium, no microphone, and behind them was a constant stream of traffic.
"The school canceled my presentation, saying I was not worthy of being a role model."
Her voice wasn't loud, but it drowned out the surrounding noise.
"They say I exploit my scars and suffering to gain sympathy and trophies."
A reporter squeezed forward and held a microphone to her mouth.
"Ms. Lin, how do you respond to these accusations? Did Director Chen Yan plan from the beginning to use your injury as a marketing gimmick for the film?"
Lin Qingqiu looked at the reporter.
She bent down and gently placed the heavy Best Actress trophy in her hands on the cement ground at her feet.
The movements are very slow.
The metal base of the trophy made a soft sound as it rubbed against the rough ground.
Then, she straightened up and, in front of all the cameras, lifted her skirt to reveal the hideous scar that ran from her thigh to her knee.
"This is neither suffering nor a gimmick."
Her hand traced the uneven scar.
"This is the end of my career."
"It is proof that I crawled off the operating table and endured excruciating pain every day, yet I still managed to complete a thousand leg raises."
"Director Chen Yan told me that this scar is not my shame, but my weapon."
She withdrew her hand and glanced at everyone present.
"The trophy was given to me by Cannes. But the right to stand here is something I earned myself."
"I'm not here to teach you how to win awards."
"I want to tell those who, like me, have fallen down, been abandoned, and felt that their lives were over."
"As long as you want to stand up, no one can keep you kneeling forever."
"This road was paved with my own two legs. It's called a pass."
The scene was completely silent.
Only the camera shutter was clicking frantically.
The live stream chat paused for three seconds before exploding.
……
Yanying Culture Office.
Su Wan turned off the tablet in front of her, and the live stream screen froze on Lin Qingqiu's calm face.
Three uneasy young people sat in front of her.
They were among the first to submit their scripts in response to the "New Directors Midnight Unit" support program.
Su Wan pushed three drafted contracts in front of them.
"Yan Ying's first batch of directors."
"Sign it."
The young man at the head of the group picked up the contract in disbelief, his hands trembling as he looked at the support amount far exceeding the market price and the clause that "the director retains the final cut rights."
"President Su... this..."
"What Director Chen means."
Su Wan interrupted him, "His theaters need more than one 'Thunder' film."
"He needs a group of Chinese directors who can stand up and create their own works."
"We'll provide the money and the channels."
"What you have to do is make the movie and live up to your name."
……
Tianjin, underground darkroom.
After a buzzing sound from the tape recorder, Liang Qinian's extremely exhausted voice came through.
"Chen Yan, by the time you hear this recording, I may no longer be around."
"I lied to you, and I lied to them."
"The people with the red cross contacted me, using my sister's cause of death as bait to get me to provide your whereabouts."
"I gave them a fake route map in exchange for their trust."
Wu Gang's body tensed up.
"That old bastard..."
Chen Yan raised his hand, signaling him to continue listening.
"I am not a traitor."
Liang Qinian's voice was tinged with bitterness and panting. "I'm just a policeman who wants to get justice for my sister. I need to get their core intelligence."
"I've found out. The eighth person in the clock tower collapse case, Shen Fusheng, is not dead."
"He was sent to Kuala Lumpur by the Red Cross organization to handle all the overseas transit of illicit money."
"The Tianjin Bell Tower was a setup from the very beginning. A setup to specifically eliminate a few disobedient workers, to remove my sister's liver, and to launder two million yuan of construction funds into overseas investments."
On the tape recorder, Leung Kai-sang's breathing became increasingly rapid.
"He Ping's trophy and Lu Haiming's company were both obtained with this money."
"Shen Fusheng is the key, but there are others behind him."
"I found that person's name..."
"He was the starting point for everything that happened in Tianjin twenty years ago, and he was also Red Cross's agent in China."
"careful……"
The voice in the recording suddenly lowered, filled with fear and despair.
"Watch out... Gu Changchuan."
"Bang."
The tape recorder in Chen Yan's hand fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.
Gu Changchuan.
This name, like a rusty key, unlocked all the long-sealed memories of his past life.
That smiling face at the dinner party when he announced the cancellation of "The Sound of Rain in the Old City".
Those eyes, looking down at him drunk and passed out on the street through the car window, were full of contempt.
That capital manipulator who orchestrated and completely destroyed his 23 years of hard work.
How did he end up here?
How did he get involved in the Tianjin case from twenty years ago?
Wu Gang noticed something was wrong when he saw Chen Yan's pale face.
"Brother Yan?"
Chen Yan did not answer.
His gaze was fixed on something in the corner of the darkroom.
It was a rolled-up poster, pinned to the damp wall with thumbtacks, its edges already moldy.
He walked over and tore down the poster.
Unfold.
The poster depicts a dilapidated old town shrouded in rain, with a solitary figure holding a black umbrella walking on the wet cobblestone street.
At the top of the poster were four characters printed.
The sound of rain in the old city.
It's the concept poster for his buried movie from his past life, which has never been released before.
Chen Yan's fingers traced those four characters, his fingertips icy cold.
He flipped the poster over.
On the back of the poster, a line of arrogant words was written in bright red ink.
He recognized the handwriting.
The signature was exactly the same as the one on the termination agreement from my previous life.
"You think that in this second life, you're the only one who remembers the past?"
Chen Yan's pupils contracted.
His gaze slowly moved down and landed on the end of that line of text.
There was a date marked there.
November 3, 2025.
It was the third day after he died drunk on the street in his previous life and was sent to the morgue.