Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
D*mn it, am I really going to die like this? A jumble of images arose in Wang Yang’s head, coalescing with line after line of indiscernible dialogue, floating upward through a confusion of light and sound. It was as if an infinite number of movies were being projected into his mind’s eye at high speed, like a surreal marathon.
Movies? The accident must’ve made me lose my mind. Or am I seeing what people see when they’re close to death? The light at the end of the tunnel, as some call it… Wang Yang thought to himself as the sounds and sequences washed over him. Before he knew it, he was completely immersed in the fantasia of movies, as it was undeniably brilliant!
“Hey, sir, are you all right?” Scared out of her wits, the champagne-haired, rich woman rushed to his side and picked up her baby, breathing a sigh of relief as soon as she realized it was unharmed. Then, she bowed down to look at Wang Yang, who lay sprawled on the ground, with the utmost concern and gratitude on her face.
However, none of the onlookers were particularly worried about Wang Yang. After all, he was only knocked down from behind by a baby stroller covered in stickers. It wasn’t as if he was an old man who needed a cane to walk. What was the worst that could happen?
As Wang Yang lay motionless on the ground, not answering, the rich woman couldn’t help but worry. “Sir, sir, are you all right?” she asked.
Suddenly, what seemed like an endless screening of movies came to a halt as the final stretch of film sped past the projector’s lamp. With a loud clack, all the sounds and images vanished, and Wang Yang was transported back to the real world. He let out a yell and kicked himself up from the ground reflexively like a martial artist. Patting the dirt off his body, he replied, “I’m fine. Never better, actually!”
When Wang Yang looked behind him, he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. It turned out the vehicle that had hit him was just a baby stroller! He saw the stunned rich woman and asked, “Is your baby all right?”
“Thank God he landed on your head when he fell down! He’s fine,” said the champagne-haired woman as she pacified the baby in her arms caringly. Embarrassed, she apologized to Wang Yang. “I’m sorry, my hand slipped just then. Thank goodness you’re not injured.”
“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Wang Yang said and smiled. At that moment, the drivers at the traffic light, who’d been held up by him, began to sound their horns as soon as they saw that he was fine. Wang Yang gave the drivers a “just a second” gesture and scrambled to gather his stuff, which was strewn on the road, into his cardboard box. Most of them were books on directing films. The rest were photography equipment, toys, and models.
Wang Yang’s mishap didn’t cause much of a stir, for, soon after that, cars were cranking along the road, and that particular section of Los Angeles has resumed its normal rhythm like a well-oiled machine. After apologizing profusely, the rich woman pushed her baby stroller and left. Wang Yang was the only person who had any recollection of the incident.
What was up with those sounds and images? Wang Yang found a bench by the street and sat down to clear his head. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to recall what he’d seen a moment ago. And in the darkness he created, he saw himself opening a door to a room, and inside the room was a mountain of film reels, where any film he wished to see would be projected clearly inside his mind, frame by frame, dialogue by dialogue…
“Oh God, can someone tell me what’s happening? Am I going crazy?” Wang Yang gave his head a few good smacks and rubbed his hair furiously. But, instead of going away, the images lingered more vividly than ever! Fragments of movies and television shows lay before his mind’s eye, from the most immersive sequences to the most captivating scripts…
As an aspiring director, Wang Yang knew what he saw was cinematic gold! But strangely enough, although he’d seen almost every classic movie in the world, he couldn’t recognize any of the images inside his head! Even their sounds were fresh and unfamiliar!
Weird! Wasn’t that Titanic’s male lead, Leonardo DiCaprio? Why did he look so different? He was so fat and old. Oh, God, and what’s this movie? I can’t believe my eyes… Inception? A movie released in 2010? But we’re still in 1998 for God’s sake!
It was too much for Wang Yang to take in. He stood stumped like a statue, while his heart pounded furiously in his chest. But it didn’t take much for his imaginative mind to realize that what he saw were glimpses of movies from the future!
After a while, it all began to make sense to him.
He figured that, when he was knocked down by the baby stroller, all the films and television shows that ever were–or ever will be–somehow entered his brain. He didn’t know exactly where they came from. All he knew was that they were stuck in his head.
No way, no way! Was it real? Wang Yang stood aghast with his mouth open, not knowing what to do next. Was he becoming deranged, and all the “classics” he saw was just his imagination? Or… was it all real?
Wang Yang lifted his head, gazed at the blue Los Angelean sky, and took a deep breath. Fine. Let’s find out if I’m really crazy!
Out of all the films that he’d just acquired in his mind, there had to be something from 1998. Wang Yang’s idea was simple. He’d go and watch a movie that he’d never seen before, and if it matched the version inside his mind, it must mean his newfound ability was real.
There was no lack of cinemas in Los Angeles, and USC was located in the heart of the city. As Wang Yang hadn’t ventured far from the campus and was still in familiar territory, he was able to locate a medium-sized cinema in no time. A slew of movie posters hung on the wall behind the ticket counter. A romantic poster of Titanic, where Jack grabbed Rose’s arms on the bow of the ship as she extended them out like a pair of wings, was still featured on a conspicuous spot. It was already the 17th week of Titanic’s screening. Though it had grossed over 500 million dollars in North America, it was still going strong! Only God knew what heights it’d reach.
The information inside his head told Wang Yang that Titanic would gross a spectacular 600 million in North America, as well as 1.2 billion overseas, giving a grand total of 1.843 billion in box offices worldwide! It was a legend. An epochal legend! It was also Wang Yang’s dream.
But Wang Yang had already watched Titanic when it premiered. So, he decided to skip it. After surveying the films in his mind as well as the posters on the wall, Wang Yang chose the week’s new release, City of Angels.
“I’d like to buy one ticket for City of Angels. Thanks.” Since it was daytime, the line at the ticket counter wasn’t very long, and Wang Yang was able to buy his ticket with relative ease. He then purchased a bucket of popcorn as usual and walked into the theater, popcorn in one hand and the cardboard box in the other.
As the lights went down and the curtains opened, everything was pitch dark in the theater, save the magical glow of the big screen. The audience was sparsely seated, and one could sit wherever he wished. Wang Yang settled down in a pretty good spot. He ate casually from his bucket of popcorn as he waited for the commercials to end and the movie to start.
Soon, the commercials ended, and the movie started. City of Angels, starring Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan, was a romance movie. In summary, it was about an angel named Seth (played by Nicolas Cage) who fell in love with a female doctor named Maggie (played by Meg Ryan). In order to live the rest of his life with Maggie, Seth was willing to give up his divine status and become a mortal. The couple’s beautiful time together was cut short when Maggie died in a car accident in the end.
Thick, velvety silence enveloped the theater. Only the voices of the actors on the silver screen stood out. Wang Yang gazed at the big screen with considerable interest. Nicolas Cage put up a spectacular performance, but Wang Yang’s attention was focused on the camera work, the cinematics, and the dialogue.
As he watched Seth about to speak to Maggie on the big screen, Wang Yang muttered under his breath, “Why do people cry…”
“Why do people cry?” said Seth to Maggie on the big screen.
Strike… Wang Yang continued to mutter. “What do you mean? I mean, what happens? Physically? Well, um… Tear ducts operate on a normal basis to lubricate and protect the eye. When you have an emotion, they overreact and create tears.”
“What do you mean?” said Maggie, perplexed. “I mean, what happens? Physically?” Seth was genuinely curious. Maggie thought for a moment and replied, “Well, um… Tear ducts operate on a normal basis to lubricate and protect the eyes. When you have an emotion, they overreact and create tears.”
The dialogue that came out from the big screen was exactly as Wang Yang had muttered, word for word. Even the scene in the movie mirrored the picture in Wang Yang’s mind! That meant the “City of Angels” inside his head was the very same movie he was watching. He wasn’t deranged after all.
“When they ask me what I liked the best, I’ll tell them… It was you.” As Maggie passed on, the movie came to an end. Wang Yang sat glued to his seat, amazed. Throughout the movie’s 114 minutes, he hadn’t mispredicted a single frame or got incorrect a single line of dialogue…
All the things he’d seen inside his head were from the future!
I-It was true…