From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

"Time for school!"

"Stop daydreaming, you're going to be late!"

Early morning in an ordinary San Francisco neighborhood. A luxurious, extended limousine sped past. The escorting guards and the diplomatic flags on the hood made its occupants' status clear. But all of this had nothing to do with Mia, who was about to turn sixteen.

Mia was an ordinary middle school student with a troublesome explosion of curly hair. Black-rimmed glasses paired with caterpillar-like eyebrows created a built-in comedic effect, and with braces on top of that, one could imagine what kind of life this kid would experience in middle school without saying a word.

In fact, that was exactly the case—

No one knew her name, no one noticed her existence, and some people couldn't even see her, accidentally sitting on her.

At school, besides her good friend Lilly and Lilly's younger brother Michael, Mia was a complete invisible person, a freak.

Oh right, Lilly and Michael were also weirdos.

Lilly had a strange hairstyle, with a punk-like rebellion, seemingly exploring her own style.

Michael was a nerd with a Beatles haircut, always holding a stack of thick books to read.

Pfft.

When Gloria saw "Michael," she couldn't help but doubt her eyes. Although she had already burst out laughing at Anson's mushroom head hairstyle in the trailer, seeing it in the movie was still too much—

Too funny!

However, the problem was that even like this, Anson was still handsome.

A unique temperament that was rebellious yet refined. Just standing in the crowd, his height, build, proportions, and aura would firmly grab attention.

At least, that's what Gloria thought.

Anyway, Anson completely matched Gloria's aesthetic preferences, easily stirring Gloria's heart and causing her to sink uncontrollably:

Such a classmate, even if he carried a backpack, even if he was immersed in the world of rock and roll, even if he was always reading thick books, even if other middle school students thought he was a freak and a bookworm, Gloria still refused to believe that he was an outcast.

Not convincing at all!

Hmph!

At the school gate, those giggling and noisy popular kids looked like circus clowns. Gloria always keenly searched for that figure in the crowd.

It's just… Michael's gaze followed Mia like a shadow. Those bright eyes flickered slightly because of Mia's every move.

What a pity.

Mia didn't notice Michael. Her gaze followed Josh, the school's popular figure, like a magnet, and Lana, the cheerleading captain who was constantly exchanging saliva with Josh. The two of them stuck together in public, exploring the mysteries of curves and temperature without regard for others.

Mia couldn't help but imagine what it would be like if she were Lana…

Imagination was just imagination.

The reality was that Mia was "Fuzzball," Mia was the girl who vomited on stage while giving a speech and became the laughingstock of everyone, Mia was the coward who didn't dare to sing loudly in the choir—

However, Michael gave her courage.

Mia was a little surprised, her gaze flickered slightly, but she didn't dodge. She looked at Michael, and slowly, slowly, she began to open her mouth and sing loudly, regaining some confidence, and a shallow smile gradually crept onto the corner of her mouth.

The tacit understanding between childhood sweethearts surged in the air.

It must be said that Garry Marshall really had some tricks up his sleeve:

His narrative efficiency was superb, using the simplest and most efficient shots to complete the narrative. Without too much fancy stuff, the characters' personalities and relationships were presented before your eyes, and the attention was firmly grasped in an unremarkable story.

At first, Gloria thought this was an ugly duckling story; then she thought it was a Cinderella story, and now it seemed like a fairytale version of "When Harry Met Sally." The seemingly cliché character settings subtly broke the framework, and familiar stories were being opened in slightly different ways, and the focus was cut to before the audience lost attention.

Pfft!

On the screen, Mia was about to spit out water in dismay.

Hah!

In the theater, the audience gasped.

Mia was a princess. Mia was actually the lost royal heir. The bold fantasy in fairy tales had evolved into reality.

An ordinary, even inconspicuous sixteen-year-old middle school student suddenly became the sole heir to a kingdom. It was a little exciting.

It turned out that the diplomatic vehicle at the beginning of the movie came from Genovia, a small European country. The Queen of this small country personally came to San Francisco to find Mia—

Her granddaughter.

Years ago, a Genovian prince met a woman named Helen while studying abroad, fell in love, and got married. However, when Helen realized that the man she loved was a crown prince, she chose to turn around.

Helen was an artist. She longed to paint, longed for freedom, longed to be herself, rather than entering the palace and becoming a canary. So they divorced, she stayed in San Francisco to raise her daughter, allowing her daughter to enjoy an ordinary life; while the prince returned to Genovia to inherit the throne.

Originally, they planned to tell her this secret when their daughter turned eighteen, but they didn't expect the prince's early death to disrupt the plan. Now the responsibility of royal bloodline inheritance fell on his only daughter who was living abroad.

That was Mia.

When Queen, played by Julie Andrews, told Mia that she was a princess, Mia's first reaction was:

"Shut up!"

The screening room erupted in laughter.

At this time, the movie had only just begun for fifteen minutes, and the curiosity and expectation of the entire audience had been fully ignited.

A rustling surge rippled through the Chief Theater, excitement was simply irresistible—

More than one girl must have fantasized that she was a princess, wearing a beautiful dress and a diamond crown, elegantly and beautifully receiving the baptism of gazes.

Even if there was no "prince," it didn't matter. The point was that the girl wanted to be a princess. Just look at today's premiere princess tea party, regardless of age, the "princess dream" was a magnificent fantasy.

And now, this scene was being staged before their eyes, the most gorgeous and happiest imagination becoming reality, the princesses in the audience couldn't restrain their emotions.

This was what they wanted to see in the movie.

However.

For Mia, who had always been an invisible person, afraid of any form of attention, preparing to continue being an invisible person, and happy to hide out of sight:

This was a shocking message, without joy, without excitement, without agitation, let alone happiness.

Only deep fear and boundless panic.