Huayu 02: The Days of Extreme Pulling and Rolling with the Fairy

The year 2002 marked Zhang Yimou’s ushering in of the blockbuster era, the year private enterprises were first permitted to produce films, and the year Xie Jin was admitted to the Film Academy. As he drifted back to that time, Xie Jin carried not only his ambitions for the future but also a faint, lingering desire for Liu Yifei. Yet he swore—if it weren’t for her, who would ever choose to be a simp? Then again, even if it were her, he would never be one. And so began the ultimate tug-of-war. One night, with drunken, hazy eyes, Liu Yifei demanded, “Take me off your blacklist, now.” Xie Jin shot back, “Have you been drinking again? Where did you even get all these numbers?” She urged him on, telling him not to worry about her. Helpless, he replied, “So I’m just your drunk-dial go-to?” Her retort came without hesitation: “I used to be your girlfriend—I didn’t break any law, so what’s there to fear?” Years later, Liu Yifei would ask him again, “Xie Jin, what exactly did your mother mean by what she said this afternoon?” To that, Xie Jin had no answer at all.