The price Luke casually mentioned instantly stunned everyone in the Hero film crew.
In fact, he was being conservative. If Mr. Eisen had been there, he would've told them that the real price of the mansion was closer to $86 million.
Converted to yuan, that was about 650 million RMB—an almost unimaginable number.
"This price is insane! You could make two Hero movies with that money. I'll probably never afford a house like this in my lifetime," Director Zhang sighed.
Even though Luke had quoted only $60 million, it was still way beyond what Zhang had imagined. His perception of Luke's financial power deepened yet again.
Gao Yuanyuan pressed her lips together, saying nothing.
Li Renjie, on the other hand, spoke up with a complicated look. "I used to think that if I tightened my belt, maybe—maybe—I could afford something like this. Guess I was way off."
He wasn't being modest. He really didn't have that kind of money.
When Brother Chen Long's movie Rush Hour 2 became a global hit, he received around $41 million in profit sharing.
To buy Luke's mansion, he'd basically have to make two more Rush Hour 2s.
If even Chen Long would find this house a stretch, it was completely out of reach for Li Renjie.
"No matter how big or expensive a house is, you still only sleep in one bed," Luke said with a smile. "What really matters is that everyone enjoys staying here—that's what gives it value."
And he genuinely meant it.
He still remembered when he first arrived in Hong Kong, Brother Chen Long had warmly invited him to stay at his Kowloon Tong villa.
That thoughtful gesture had always stayed with him. So now, he was returning the favor—welcoming the Hero crew with the same kind of hospitality.
"You said it! Then we're really going to make the most of it these next few days," Zhang Ziyu said, laughing. "Still, I can't help but envy you. Imagine living here all the time."
"Me? Hardly," Luke chuckled. "I'm shooting movies all year round. I'm barely home. But if you like it here, Ziyu, I'll give you a key. Come stay anytime you want."
"Oh? Give me a key? Won't Qian Qian get jealous?" she teased.
"You're like my sister—she knows that. Wait, you call her Qian Qian?"
"Yeah. Ever since you went public with your relationship, I looked her up. She's your girlfriend—I had to meet her, right? We actually became good friends. Don't worry, I'm looking after her while you're away," Zhang Ziyu said warmly.
"Thank you, Sister Ziyu," Luke replied sincerely.
He knew her well—soft on the outside, but strong inside. She wasn't the kind of person to say nice things she didn't mean.
If she said she'd look out for Yuffie, then she'd really help her—handle things Yufei might not even mention out loud.
"What's there to thank me for? If I can't take care of you, at least I can look out for your girl," she said with a smile.
Luke nodded, letting the topic drop there.
He led everyone to the grand, three-story mansion. "Each floor has ten rooms. Pick whichever one you like. Once you've settled in, come downstairs for dinner. The butler's already prepared a feast to welcome everyone."
"Alright! I'm calling dibs on the south-facing room on the second floor!" Zhang Ziyu shouted, sprinting off with a grin.
The rest of the crew quickly followed, the earlier awkwardness replaced by excitement as they picked out their rooms.
Luke waited downstairs until everyone had finished choosing.
Before long, the crew gathered again in the living room.
Seeing Director Zhang looking a bit worried, Luke asked directly, "Still waiting on the confirmation letter? Don't worry—it'll be fine."
The so-called confirmation letter was actually a second invitation from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences—an unspoken rule.
Essentially, if a film crew received this second invitation before the Oscars ceremony, it was a subtle hint that they'd won something.
It made sense.
A nomination notice was one thing, but it didn't mean you'd actually won.
Luke himself had been nominated for Best Actor, but did he really have a shot at taking the award?
When a movie did win, the Academy quietly sent a second invitation to ensure the winners showed up for the ceremony.
It didn't reveal which award they'd won, but it guaranteed that at least one prize was coming their way.
If a crew didn't receive the confirmation, it meant—plain and simple—they hadn't won anything.
Some crews chose not to attend at all; no one wanted to show up just to lose publicly.
It was the Academy's discreet way of giving people a heads-up, while letting them decide whether to attend.
Of course, smaller actors and indie directors didn't care about that—they were happy just to walk the red carpet and bask in the Oscars spotlight, win or lose.
So it was no wonder Director Zhang looked nervous—they still hadn't received the confirmation letter.
"I just want to get it early so I can finally relax," he said with an embarrassed smile.
"Don't worry," Luke assured him. "It's probably just taking a little longer at PricewaterhouseCoopers—they handle the vote counting. You'll get it soon."
The Oscars' results were kept extremely secret. The accounting firm PwC oversaw the entire vote-tallying process, splitting the work into several small, independent teams. None of them knew the others' results.
Usually, the final tally came in the day before the ceremony, and the results were sealed in two identical envelopes under tight security.
Today was the day before the Oscars, so it was only natural that things were moving a bit slowly.
Ding-dong!
Just then, the doorbell rang.
Director Zhang instantly stood up.
"Don't get too excited," Luke said with a grin. "If it's the confirmation letter, the butler will bring it over."
Sure enough, a few moments later, the butler walked in holding an envelope and handed it to Director Zhang.
"See? I told you it'd be fine," Luke said, smiling confidently.
He had good reason to be calm—after all, he'd already won over Nick and gotten access to his records.
Whether or not Hero would sweep the major awards was another matter—but going home empty-handed? Not a chance.
The confirmation letter meant only one thing: Hero had definitely won at least one award.
How many, and which ones? That would have to wait until tomorrow night.
"Yeah, yeah, I know you said it'd be fine—but now that I'm holding this, I can finally breathe easy," Director Zhang said, gripping the envelope tightly.