When Chu Zhi landed at Kingsford Smith International Airport, the staff waiting for him was a guy named David, whose build really did look like a kangaroo. It wasn't Emperor Beast's imagination. His arms and legs bulged with muscle, like he worked out a lot, but his belly sagged back down to balance it all out. Add a small head on top, and the man looked exactly like a kangaroo turned human.
"Mr. Chu Zhi, we've got tons of Little Fruits in Australia. My current boyfriend and my ex-girlfriend both love you," David said, then added the real kicker, "And Sydney's Olympic Stadium can hold a hundred thousand for a concert."
Something about that phrasing sounded odd, but he didn't have time to think about it. The Sydney concert idea immediately pulled his attention. When they'd planned the world tour, they hadn't considered Australia at all, only cities like New York and Tokyo.
Back then, his international popularity wasn't this explosive. It was only after the American version of The Masked Singer that his name skyrocketed two levels worldwide.
David grinned. "My ex-boyfriend and my current girlfriend are both dying to see you."
"I'll think about it," Chu Zhi replied after a moment of thought. He planned to bring it up with the team tonight. Since his global popularity had already reached this point, maybe they should add more stops abroad. After all, overseas fans were waiting to be harvested too.
The tour spanned three or four months. Even if they added a few more shows, time wouldn't be an issue.
"That's fantastic news," David said, beaming.
Of course, he didn't take "I'll think about it" literally. He wasn't stupid. Tour schedules were announced ages in advance. They couldn't just add a city because he asked. He was only trying to get closer to the superstar.
Smart move. David, John, Peter… those were the most common names in Australia. Toss a brick on a Sydney street and you'd hit three of them. This particular David worked as crew on The Matrix set. "Crew" basically meant doing every dirty and heavy job around, and picking up a celebrity from the airport definitely counted.
The movie The Matrix had actually gotten its name after Chu Zhi chatted with director Davis, changing it from The 22nd Century Killing Network. Not exactly a genius title, but at least it didn't scream flop anymore.
They headed to the Fullerton Hotel at Martin Place, right next to George Street. The sandstone building looked gorgeous, and since the hotel was inside the Sydney General Post Office, a world heritage site, the architecture was stunning.
This was Chu Zhi's second meeting with the main cast. First was Gregory Walker, a bald Black man with sharp, intimidating looks. His cheeks were rough and fatty, so when he smiled, he looked even scarier. He was playing the captain of the Nebuchadnezzar, the one searching for the savior.
Next was Gwen Tonna, a striking beauty cast as Trinity, one of the ship's fighters and a key figure helping others escape the Matrix. Judging from the script, she was clearly the female lead.
Then there was the villain Smith, the Matrix's killer program, played by Rupert Russell, Hollywood's golden supporting actor. The cast wasn't exactly A-list compared to Unsinkable, but it wasn't bad.
They were fun to be around too. Gregory was hilarious, cracking American jokes that had everyone laughing, even Chu Zhi, who normally wasn't easy to break. Rupert was a total social expert, subtly flattering Chu Zhi in a way so smooth it actually impressed him. Emperor Beast had met plenty of sweet talkers, but Rupert definitely ranked top three.
The first time they'd met was in Los Angeles, but that was just a quick hello since Chu Zhi had been rushing schedules. This time, they had more time to chat and even swapped contacts.
Later, when he had a break, he pulled up his notes app. These people were all big names, so finding their birthdays wasn't hard. Wikipedia plus Twitter birthday posts did the trick.
"Hm? Rupert's birthday is July 5. Perfect, that fills the last gap!" Chu Zhi grinned. His "perfect" meant that his notes now had a birthday for every single day of the year, so he could always send greetings to someone.
"Achievement unlocked."
While they were chatting, Gwen suddenly slid into the seat next to him. Emperor Beast immediately assumed she was making a move, and his brain started prepping excuses to reject her. But her first words completely blindsided him.
It went nothing like what he imagined.
"Captain Zhi, Laura asked me to apologize to you," Gwen said.
"Uh… who the hell was Laura?" Confusion flashed in his eyes as his brain started spinning.
Only Russian fans and a few close friends ever called him Captain Zhi. That clue narrowed it down immediately… Aurora. She'd once been his teammate on Journey Among the Stars.
"I didn't realize Ms. Gwendolyn and Laura were friends," he said. "It's been ages since I've seen her. Why's she apologizing?"
"Laura's my boyfriend," Gwen explained.
"Boyfriend? Wait a second. If he remembered right, Aurora was a girl." Emperor Beast paused, wondering if he'd misremembered someone else from Russia.
"She's been busy. Her father, Mr. Vadim, has been very sick and hospitalized. Laura's been caring for him, so when you were injured, she didn't get a chance to check on you."
The pronoun she used was "her father," not "his father." Alright then… Aurora was gay. Chu Zhi realized it a beat late.
"If her father's in the hospital, handling family matters must be exhausting," he said, then asked, concerned, "Is Mr. Vadim doing alright?"
They talked about Aurora a bit longer, then the topic shifted back to the movie. This was Gwen's first time working on a major film. She was nervous and wanted advice.
Although he was only making a cameo, since she asked, Chu Zhi shared what he knew. "I've done a drama series before. The biggest difference between series and movies is how you show character.
My explanation's kinda rough, so let me spell it out," he continued. "TV shows have plenty of time to show a character's personality and backstory. Movies don't, so you've got to slip that into your performance through small details.
For example, in Unsinkable, I played Li Dang, a wandering painter. The script didn't give much about his past, so I designed a few subtle touches myself to bring it out.
Just my personal view, not sure how useful it is," he added.
It was a bit unorthodox, but it was honest advice from experience. Gwen was grateful regardless.
Of course, Chu Zhi couldn't start filming right away. He was still in the middle of his world tour. Today he was only here for the opening ceremony. His own scenes would be shot three months later.
Warner Bros had spent big to bring him into the movie, so they had to use him to the fullest. Even just attending the opening ceremony meant they could ride his popularity.
The Fullerton Hotel's grand hall was packed for the banquet, with over twenty major media outlets present. Los Angeles Times, Global Times, Asahi Shimbun… all the big names had shown up.
Warner Bros wasn't wasting money either. The Fullerton Hotel doubled as a filming location, a residence for actors like Rupert, and now a press conference venue.
===
Yeah, david at first say "我的现男友和前女友都特别喜欢您." and then he next say "我前男友和现在的女朋友都特别期待."
"My current boyfriend and my ex-girlfriend both love you." changed into "My ex-boyfriend and my current girlfriend are both dying to see you."
The humor and insight come from the direct contradiction in the gender of David's partners between the two statements.
This is very likely an intentional "Freudian slip" written by the author. David might have accidentally told the truth in the first sentence (revealing his current boyfriend and ex-girlfriend) but then quickly "corrected" himself to a more traditionally expected heterosexual narrative in the second sentence (ex-boyfriend, current girlfriend).
A Freudian slip (also called a parapraxis) is a verbal or memory mistake that is believed to be linked to the unconscious mind. It's like a sudden, unintentional leak of what you're really thinking or feeling. The term comes from the famous psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, who proposed that these slips are not random errors but are caused by repressed thoughts, desires, or feelings.
This small verbal slip is suggests that David is probably bisexual and might be somewhat cautious about being fully open about it in a public setting.