Talent is an elusive concept, but it undeniably exists. Zhou You had one such example right beside him.
A colleague of his took his five-year-old child to learn swimming and signed up for a training class. By the second lesson, the little boy was already swimming freely in the water. The coach told him, "Your child might have a talent for swimming. I suggest taking him to the city swim team for a test. When you get there, just say I recommended him!"
So the colleague brought the child for the test, and sure enough, he showed some talent. From then on, the kid started on a semi-professional path. From elementary school through middle school to high school, he followed the special talent track, and things went smoothly. His best achievement was third place in a national youth competition. As the colleague put it, at least a spot at a top 985 university was guaranteed. As for anything better, he didn't dare to hope.
Now Zhou You wondered if his own talent lay in combat sports. His swimming was average, but his progress in Sanda and fighting was remarkable. Many people go their whole lives without discovering their talent, unable to leverage their strengths, drifting aimlessly through the crowd. Not knowing is one thing, but the worst fate is realizing your talent too late, only to end up bitter and regretful.
In his past life, Zhou You never had the chance to try Sanda. In this life, he did, and he uncovered his talent. Still, starting at this age was late; he could only achieve modest success. But that was more than enough for Zhou You. He wasn't relying on Sanda to support a family. Just enough to get by!
Days passed like flowing water. If not for his rapid progress in Russian, Zhou You wouldn't have noticed time slipping by. He was content here, with no desire to return. He didn't even bother watching new movie releases. What was there to see? They weren't comedies, and he knew everything about the lead actors anyway.
But others didn't feel the same. Shi Wenxiu watched the box office climb higher and higher. "Brother You, I'm famous! My parents saw me!" "Huh? Didn't they watch your last movie?" Zhou You was puzzled. "That one had too few scenes; most people forgot about it. This time I'm a supporting role with lots of screen time." Shi Wenxiu was grinning like an idiot in her rented apartment with her roommate. "Alright, alright, you're famous. Keep it up, and aim for the lead role someday." Zhou You couldn't bear to discourage her, but he knew that if he ever invested in a movie, he definitely wouldn't let her be the lead—what if it flopped?
Shi Wenxiu hung up, and Chen Baizhen, standing nearby, looked anxious. "Did you forget to ask Brother You when he's coming? I'm an actor this time, so I can finally see him. Last time at the wrap party, I didn't get a chance to talk. You have to introduce me this time!" "Fine, fine, I'll introduce you. But don't get any funny ideas—you'll be the one to suffer." Shi Wenxiu could only warn her. This kind of thing was all too common in the entertainment industry, like moths drawn to a flame.
Xue Xiaolu was also riding high lately. As a legitimate director from a formal academy, never having made a high-grossing film had been a blow to her reputation. Now she had finally broken through. Not only was she more popular teaching at school, but outside, major entertainment companies were throwing offers her way. She felt even more grateful to Zhou You, knowing the film wouldn't have been possible without his strong support. She called him specially. "Teacher Zhou, thank you. We've turned things around this time." "It's all thanks to your skill, Teacher Xue. And no need to thank me—I got something out of it too, didn't I?" Zhou You didn't take any credit. If he hadn't known the box office would explode, he wouldn't have invested a cent.
Tang Wei didn't call but sent a message instead: "This humble girl has no way to repay you. I'll await good news in the capital." Zhou You chuckled and replied, "I'm not the type to demand repayment for favors." Tang Wei: "..." She hadn't seen someone so shameless in a long time. Truly a refined scoundrel.
Zhou You laughed at her reply and didn't respond further. Some things were worth tasting once, but not everything needed to be bought. Better to spend that time practicing Sanda with Ina. She was even more addicted to it than Zhou You now, practically living at the training hall. Her enthusiasm indirectly brought in more students. Many newcomers wanted to spar with Ina, and she never turned them down. Relying on her long legs, some Sambo basics, and the fact that most trainees were beginners, none could beat her. She defeated them all, further spreading the training hall's reputation.
Zhou You asked Ina curiously, "Why do you like Sanda so much?" Ina lifted her chin. "A girl needs to protect herself out there!" "..." Drinking less would be a good start.
As the box office kept climbing, another piece of good news arrived. Xu Zheng: "Boss Zhou, the box office dividends are in. Congratulations! Hope you'll keep supporting us in the future!" "No problem. Did you make sure the actors' salaries were fully paid?" Zhou You asked. "Yeah, all settled. Everyone in the industry is praising you for being generous and straightforward." Xu Zheng meant it sincerely. People like Zhou You were rare, but he'd also indirectly offended a few—by setting the bar high, he made others think twice about exploitation.
Zhou You knew this but didn't care. As a future big shot, why would he worry about nobodies in the entertainment industry? When everyone around you does evil, not doing evil becomes a sin in itself.
Dingdong. A bank message arrived: 190,000,000. Zhou You counted several times. 190 million. A massive windfall.
Ever since Wang Baoqiang played the role of Tree Man, Zhou You had been planning this. His earlier loss-making investments were all for today. Thankfully, nothing went wrong. From now on, the sky was the limit.
For now, this was his biggest haul. Everything else was small change. His stocks had only doubled. Moutai was in a low downturn and would likely fluctuate for a while, but he could start buying gradually. If he had no other needs, he'd just leave it there. Diversify his assets. Buy some U.S. stocks. 10 million RMB in Microsoft. 10 million RMB in Facebook. 10 million RMB in Apple. Except for Facebook, the others were long-term holds. The rest would be spread across Tencent, BYD, and a few other companies.
With this kind of capital snowballing, it was a different league from before. As long as Zhou You didn't do something catastrophically stupid, he could really do whatever he wanted. Even if the companies he invested in somehow failed to grow, it wouldn't change his life.
A celebrity? Why bother being a celebrity, with all its restrictions? What's the point of being famous? You're just a fattened pig, ready for slaughter when the time comes. No one escapes.
Now, at last, he couldn't help but recall a line from *Water Margin*, slightly tweaked to fit himself perfectly: *In life, I do no evil, only accumulate virtue and do good deeds.* *Suddenly, the golden rope snaps; here, the jade lock breaks.* *The tide comes in on the Qiantang River—* *Today, I finally know who I am.*