81: Chapter 81 Chen Mo's Status in Hollywood

Marcus stood up and walked toward the door.

Luc walked in front, followed by Vin Diesel, Donnie Yen, and Kris Wu.

"Mr. Chen Mo, Director Luc." Marcus looked back and said.

Chen Mo was still doing a plank, his voice squeezed through gritted teeth: "One moment, one minute and ten seconds."

Luc stood at the door without moving forward. Vin Diesel stood beside him, Donnie Yen had his arms crossed over his chest, and Kris Wu stood at the very back.

One minute and ten seconds later, the stopwatch beeped.

Chen Mo stood up from the yoga mat, wiped his face and neck with a towel, and then walked over.

His black training T-shirt was more than half soaked with sweat, clinging to his body.

Luc reached out his hand and said: "Chen Mo, I'm Luc Besson."

"I know, the one who directed 'Léon: The Professional'." Chen Mo shook it.

Luc's hand was dry and firm.

"I brought the leads of 'xxx' to meet you today, Vin Diesel."

Vin Diesel reached out his hand. The grip was much stronger than Luc Besson's, and his shoulders were as broad as a wall.

"Chen Mo, my daughter can sing 'See You Again'. Every time I play it in the car, she sings along. She even said she wants to go to your concert."

The two held hands for a moment, then released them simultaneously.

"Thank her for me."

"Donnie Yen." Donnie Yen reached out his hand; his grip was neither too light nor too heavy.

"Ip Man," Chen Mo said, "I've seen it."

Donnie Yen smiled, the lines at the corners of his eyes deepening. "You've seen it?"

"I have. Wing Chun, Tan Sao, Bong Sao, Fook Sao."

Donnie Yen raised his eyebrows. "You know Tan Sao, Bong Sao, Fook Sao?"

"I do. Tan Sao is to receive, Bong Sao is to deflect, Fook Sao is to control."

Donnie Yen was silent for a moment, then nodded without saying anything.

Luc turned to the side, letting Kris Wu, who was standing at the back, come forward. He introduced him: "Kris Wu, he plays an agent in 'xxx', and he is also Chinese."

Kris Wu reached out his hand and bowed slightly. "Hello."

"Hello."

Kris Wu is Canadian, but in reality, no one treated him as a Canadian.

The two hands touched and pulled away immediately.

Kris Wu kept a standard smile on his face; the arc of his mouth was just right, his gaze was just right, and his posture was just right.

But Chen Mo noticed his back was very tense.

Luc didn't waste any words and stated his purpose directly.

"xxx: Return of Xander Cage" needs a theme song—a song with melody, power, and the ability to be played on global radio stations.

He had searched for several producers in Hollywood, but what they produced was too "Hollywood."

"I don't want American muscle; I want that drive—the drive to charge up from the bottom. No matter who you are, no matter where you come from, as long as you dare, you can charge up."

He looked at Chen Mo, eyes narrowed with a smile. "Your songs have that kind of thing."

Chen Mo draped the towel over his shoulders and said calmly: "The schedule depends on how Scott arranges it. I can write the song, but I have one condition."

"Go ahead."

"The theme song is not background music. I want to see the rough cut of the movie before I write it."

Luc looked at him and then laughed, praising him: "Good, no wonder Léa praises you."

"What did she praise me for?" Chen Mo raised an eyebrow, curious.

Luc used a poetic tone and said in French: "Esthétique française."

（French aesthetics）

Chen Mo opened his mouth in surprise, then laughed, saying generously: "I'm flattered."

Vin Diesel spoke up from the side: "Chen Mo, are you interested in a cameo? One character, a few lines, no acting experience needed. You play yourself."

Chen Mo looked at him, puzzled. "In the movie?"

"In the movie, a superstar invited by the agent team to help. No fighting needed, no stunts needed. You just stand there, and you are yourself."

"Is this a character you just made up?" Chen Mo joked. "Did the director agree?"

Luc spread his hands. "It can happen. You are very photogenic."

"If you come, our movie will be even more successful, just like James Mangold said, the destruction of Asgard needs you."

Chen Mo rubbed his forehead and laughed, patting Vin Diesel on the shoulder. "You are already a huge success."

Donnie Yen had been quiet the whole time, but spoke up now.

"You said earlier that Tan Sao is to receive, Bong Sao is to deflect, Fook Sao is to control. Which 'Ip Man' have you seen?"

"I've seen all three. In the third one, Ip Man duels with Zhang Tianzhi and uses Bong Sao to deflect the opponent's force and then returns it."

"Have you practiced it?"

"I've studied it, but I can't practice it. The force of Wing Chun doesn't charge forward; it rotates."

Donnie Yen looked at him and then reached out his hand for a fist bump.

After Luc and his group left, the gym became quiet again.

Chen Mo took the towel off his shoulder and walked back to the squat rack.

Marcus stood by, still holding the clipboard, and asked: "That guy just now, Luc, the one who directed 'Léon: The Professional'?"

"Yeah."

"He came in person to ask you to write a song."

"Yeah."

"Vin Diesel added a role for you on the spot."

"Yeah."

"You still have two sets of planks left."

Chen Mo squatted down, grabbed the barbell with both hands, and relaxed: "I know."

That night, Chen Mo returned to his apartment and posted the only photo he took in the gym to Instagram.

A selfie in the gym mirror.

The black training T-shirt was more than half soaked with sweat, his hair stuck to his forehead, the squat rack stood empty in the background, and the barbell plates hadn't been unloaded yet.

The caption was just one sentence: "Nominations are rewards, physical fitness is the foundation, keep going."

Less than ten minutes after posting, tens of thousands of comments flooded in.

The top comment was just two words: "Grind King."

Lay Zhang replied underneath: "Momo, how long do you plank?"

Chen Mo replied: "Five."

Lay Zhang replied: "I'm adding a training session tomorrow."

Lu Han replied under Lay Zhang: "Why are you adding a plank session? You don't even write songs."

Lay Zhang replied: "Physical fitness is the foundation."

Shawn replied with a line in English: "The arc of his jump shot is the same as the trajectory of his squats; both are straight."

Charlie replied: "Why are you studying this?"

Shawn replied: "Because you can't defend against it."

Chen Mo replied with a string of laughing emojis.

Kris Wu returned to the hotel, closed the door, and sat on the sofa.

The phone screen was lit up, and Chen Mo's gym selfie was at the top of Instagram's trending list, with the likes already exceeding two million.

He put the phone on the coffee table, screen down.

Luc's words from today were still spinning in his mind: "Chen Mo said one sentence, James gave the cameo opportunity, and it was decided right after talking."

He had auditioned five times for the role in 'xxx', waited for months, pulled many strings, and flown to Los Angeles three times.

Chen Mo said one sentence, and Huang Bo's role was decided.

It wasn't because people's acting skills were so top-notch, or because Chen Mo was so good at socializing; it was because the top circle of Hollywood wanted to work with him.

Kris Wu flipped the phone over and opened the comment section of Chen Mo's Instagram post.

The top comment was still those two words: "Grind King."

He stared at these two words for a long time, then exited and sent a message to his manager: "Add a physical training session tomorrow."

The manager replied in a second: "You want to plank for five minutes too?"

Kris Wu didn't reply. He put his phone on the nightstand, screen down.

The humming of the air conditioning vent on the ceiling was very soft, and he closed his eyes.

He sent another message to his manager: "Cancel all public appearances, focus on filming."

The next morning, Chen Mo received a WeChat message from Huang Bo.

"Little Chen, my scenes for 'logan' have wrapped up. Director James asked me to tell you that for the theme song, he is waiting for your schedule. No rush, but don't make him wait too long."

Chen Mo replied: "Brother Bo, how was the acting?"