June 21 — Los Angeles.
That night, The Fast and the Furious and Jurassic Park III were both set to premiere at midnight.
The two movies had been jointly promoted, but their red-carpet premieres were still held separately — Hollywood wasn't that into bundling things together.
At The Fast and the Furious premiere, Luke had assumed he could take it easy. After all, his role wasn't huge — more of a flashy supporting appearance, a "cool scene" kind of part.
He figured he could just hang back behind Director Cohen, Paul Walker, and Vin Diesel, doing the bare minimum — just being part of the event.
But he'd forgotten one little detail: he was the link between the two films' joint marketing campaign.
Several promo videos had used his action scenes as the key highlight.
So Director Cohen dragged him right out of the background and into the spotlight, working him hard to maximize his value. There was no chance of quietly coasting through this one.
And who could blame him? Thanks to the wildfire success of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and all those jaw-dropping promo clips, Luke's name recognition had actually surpassed that of Paul Walker and Vin Diesel — the stars of the movie.
When that premiere finally wrapped, he barely had time to breathe before rushing to the next one — Jurassic Park III.
This time, as the lead actor, the responsibilities doubled.
The Jurassic Park III premiere went smoothly. Guests and media outlets showed up in full force, drumming up excitement and setting the tone for a strong opening.
Luke wasn't a fan of these events — the constant smiling, the interviews, the fake enthusiasm — but he went through the motions.
By the time everything wrapped up that afternoon, his face felt stiff from smiling so long.
Exhausted, he said goodbye to the crew, went home, and crashed hard.
When he woke again, it was already past 9 p.m.
That night, he drove alone to a small, local theater in the city, bought a ticket for Jurassic Park III's midnight premiere, and slipped quietly into the dark screening room.
He wanted to experience what real audiences felt — up close and unfiltered.
The lights dimmed as he made his way to a seat in the back corner — perfect for observing everyone's reactions.
To his right and behind him were walls; to his left sat a young white couple, probably in their early twenties.
Judging by their body language, they weren't officially dating yet — somewhere in that hazy "more than friends" stage.
Luke chuckled inwardly. He understood perfectly why the guy had picked the last row. Some things — like flirty movie dates — really are universal.
In the dark, the guy hesitated, then slowly reached out to hold the girl's hand.
Just then, the movie screen lit up, flooding the room with light.
"Damn it! Of all times…" he muttered under his breath, startled.
"The movie's starting! I've been waiting for this!" the girl said excitedly.
"If it weren't for her, I wouldn't even bother watching this," the guy whispered to himself. "Hope it's at least scary."
Luke heard it clearly and smiled to himself, remembering something Yuffie once said:
"Guys like taking girls to scary movies because they think it makes them the hunters. But the girls who agree to go? They're the real hunters, just disguised as prey."
He smirked. Yeah — those two definitely had potential.
On screen, the first scene opened with a bright blue ocean. A white speedboat cut through the waves, towing a parasail high in the air — like a kid running with a kite.
The camera panned up. A handsome young man sat in the parasail harness, grinning with excitement. "That's Isla Sorna! I hope we can see the dinosaurs for real!" he said eagerly.
The shot zoomed in — it was Luke. His sharp features and calm confidence filled the screen.
"It's Luke! Oh my God, he's so handsome. He's the reason I came to see this movie," the girl beside him whispered, thrilled.
The guy scowled. "I don't get what's so great about him. No manliness at all."
"What did you just say?"
"I said, he's the main character? Why would they cast an Asian guy?"
Luke, sitting quietly beside them, caught every word.
Exactly as he'd expected — the first reaction many American viewers had wasn't about the movie itself but about why the lead was Asian.
It wasn't always racism; it was more about familiarity. If a Asian audience suddenly saw a Black or white actor headlining a local blockbuster, they'd probably feel a bit thrown off too.
It's just human nature.
"Why not an Asian lead?" the girl shot back. "Luke's amazing."
"Yeah? We'll see if he can really pull it off," the guy replied dismissively.
On screen, Luke's character looked toward the horizon. In the distance, a massive green island loomed — lush, wild, teeming with life. Tiny dark shapes flitted through the sky, too far to tell whether they were birds… or something else.
That was Isla Sorna — home of the dinosaurs, the same island from the first two movies, now a government-protected nature reserve off-limits to humans.
But of course, some thrill-seekers still found ways to sneak in — like Luke's character, gliding above the island to get a closer look.
"Closer… I can't see from here," he said, pulling out a pair of binoculars.
Suddenly, a dark shape burst from the water — a massive creature lunged upward, swallowing the boat's driver whole.
The unmanned speedboat went berserk, jerking wildly. Luke was flung around in the air, his parachute swaying dangerously until the rope snapped in half.
He plummeted toward the jungle, crashing into the trees before getting caught high up in the branches.
Hanging there, swinging violently, he looked seconds away from falling — but he stayed calm.
As an extreme sports expert, he pulled out his knife, sliced through a few lines, and timed his drop perfectly.
In one swift move, he grabbed a thick branch mid-fall, swung forward, and landed gracefully on his feet.
He moved like he belonged there — quick, light, almost catlike.
A few agile jumps later, he made it safely to the ground and immediately ducked into the bushes, scanning his surroundings with sharp eyes.
"Those stunts — he did them all himself," the girl whispered, impressed. "Pretty cool, right?"
The guy hesitated, then admitted, "Okay, yeah, he's got skills. Not just a pretty face. But still… nothing special."
"Oh, just keep watching," the girl murmured with a knowing smile. "You'll see."
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