From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

Excitement gleamed in Matt's eyes. He preemptively unleashed his full power, catching Anson off guard and instantly breaking the balance. He could almost see the look of bewildered innocence on Anson's face. Toppling Anson with his strength—wasn't that a piece of cake? …

Uh.

How… how did this happen?

Matt realized his power had lost its support, failing to overwhelm Anson. Instead, it disrupted his own center of gravity. After exerting force, he couldn't control it anymore. He unleashed the core strength of his waist and abdomen, attempting to regain control, but a gentle tug came from his right hand, guiding him like a flowing stream.

And then.

There was no then.

Matt stumbled, flying forward.

Thump.

In a humiliating face-plant, he landed heavily on the ground.

Matt could clearly hear his bones groan, every muscle protesting. The powerful reaction force crashed over him, instantly engulfing him. If the ground hadn't been padded, his chin would probably be gone by now.

"What?"

"What!"

"Wh… what…"

Matt stammered, turning and scrambling to his feet, his eyes filled with confusion. He curiously and excitedly sized up Anson.

Anson was unscathed, not even slightly out of breath.

He looked as if he had only felt a gentle breeze.

But Matt knew his own strength. He had truly used all of it.

Nick saw something amiss and tried to offer a reminder, "Matt…"

But Matt raised a hand to stop Nick, quickly returning to face Anson. "How did you do that? I just used all my strength, but what happened? Could it be I didn't stand firm enough? It doesn't feel like it. No, no, I have to try again."

Without annoyance or shame, even after boasting and then immediately being proven wrong, Matt wasn't angry or embarrassed. Instead, he had a face full of eagerness.

Moreover, without waiting for Anson's reply, Matt closed his eyes to adjust his breathing, calming down and organizing his thoughts. When he opened his eyes again, his state was different from before.

Anyone could see that Matt was truly getting into the zone this time.

Taking a long breath, Matt nodded to indicate, "I'm ready."

Looking at the energetic Matt in front of him, a smile crept onto Anson's lips. This was different from the Matt on the big screen.

Originally, Anson was prepared to explain the principle, but it seemed Matt preferred to learn through practice, relying on his own experience to feel, ponder, and test. So, Anson closed his mouth and let Matt explore freely.

Therefore, Anson also raised his hand again, adopting the starting stance.

Matt looked at Anson's right hand, gradually raising his own. The two hands intertwined, Anson remaining unhurried and patient.

Matt glanced at Anson, confirming he was ready. He used his wrist to engage Anson's right hand, using a hooking and pulling motion, suppressing Anson with an eagle claw technique, then pushing straight towards Anson's chest.

Straight line, push, force—

Suppression!

Clearly, Matt had used his brain, considering the reason for his fall earlier. So, this time, he didn't rashly move forward, always maintaining the verticality of his power, trying to pursue a head-on confrontation, a contest of strength against strength.

The idea was correct.

But in push hands, the focus isn't on head-on confrontation, but on guiding, smoothness, integration, using the opponent's force against them. Absolute suppression of power isn't necessary to complete a counterattack and suppression.

Anson didn't panic or rush.

He stood firmly in place, feeling the layers of power coming from Matt. He kept his upper body straight, waiting and observing, catching a gap. His right hand flipped over, escaping Matt's grip, the palm pressing against Matt's arm, grabbing his wrist in reverse.

Then, without warning, he shifted to the left, pulling and tugging with his right hand.

Zhang Sheng stood to the side, full of interest. Although not as good as Tetris, it was still quite exciting, and he earnestly offered applause to Matt.

"Progress. There's progress."

Noticing Nick's gaze, he quickly adjusted his expression as a spectator, trying his best to squeeze out a sincere and friendly smile.

And Matt?

He wasn't discouraged. Instead, he became more interested, scrambling up in a flash, quickly rubbing his hands and legs to relieve the numbness, and hopping back like he was playing hopscotch.

Standing in front of Anson—

Stare.

Matt didn't say a word, just staring at Anson like that, completely ignoring that this was only their first meeting. Was this really okay?

Anson looked at Matt with clear and upright eyes, open and unmoved.

After a moment of silence.

Matt gave in. Judging by the numbers, the height difference between the two was only ten centimeters, which seemed "not that much," but in reality, it was very obvious, so much so that Matt had to look up at Anson.

Literally, looking up.

His neck couldn't take it. Matt grimaced and rubbed his neck, muttering in complaint, "I hate you tall guys the most. Why are you so tall for no reason? You're not giraffes, are you trying to grab the tenderest leaves at the top of the trees?"

Anson blinked. "Don't you know? The air is fresher up there."

That earnest and serious look was truly genuine.

Matt was suddenly choked, taking half a beat before he couldn't help but laugh. The more he laughed, the happier he became, and he blurted out a joke, "Haha, you're an interesting guy. You should be in a comedy."

Anson followed up, "You're welcome to strongly recommend me to Universal Pictures."

Clapping his hands and laughing, Matt laughed heartily without any restraint—

Although the seven major Hollywood film companies and countless small companies all liked to produce comedies, Universal Pictures, which had always been keen on making big profits with small investments, was undoubtedly the best among them.

Moreover, Universal Pictures had always been stingy and petty, even when shooting comedies, they were unwilling to spend a lot of money, always adhering to the principle of good quality and low price.

Of course, in terms of cost control, Universal Pictures performed exceptionally well, but also because the scale was not enough, it always lacked works that could detonate the market.

Among the companies at the top of the pyramid, the stingy Universal Pictures was also known as the "company that is least likely to shoot sequels," unchanged for thirty years, even until the distant year of 2023.

This was the subtext of Anson's special mention of Universal Pictures.

Matt understood in an instant and laughed heartily.

He didn't expect that Matt would just throw out a joke, and Anson would catch it all—

Not just catching it.

This was definitely an unexpected discovery. Matt's mood became completely bright, wiping away the tears that had leaked from the corners of his eyes, and regaining his poker face.

Matt began to move his neck, wrists, and ankles again, once again looking up at Anson, like Rocky, starting to liven up his steps in place, and constantly making jab-like movements.

"You see, things don't happen more than three times. The third time is the real deal."

"The previous times were all probes. Now I'm ready. You probably don't know my nickname in Boston, One-Punch Man."

"How about it? Are you ready to face my 100% power? Don't blame me for not reminding you."

That exaggerated bluster, the bragging was so loud, Anson never knew he was such a Matt Damon.

Fourth update.