Back to 1997, I became the originator of online literature

Chapter 440 Watching "The Legend of Shushan" and "The Mistake of Deception"

The question resurfaced in Cao Sheng's mind: Was this scandal actually fabricated by Jiang Xiaoshuang?

After all, this scandal was first broadcast by the TV station she works for.

On New Year's Eve, as they walked down the street, it was she who took his hand first.

Now, her identity has been exposed by netizens...

Was it really discovered by netizens?
Or did she expose it herself?

In the photos reported by the media, her face was very blurry, and even people who knew her very well might not be able to recognize her.

So, was this scandal actually fabricated by her?

If so, what was her motive?
Are you trying to provoke Huang Qingya? To make her unable to take it and break up with me?

Or... is she unwilling to be alone? Does she want to appear in front of the world as a rumored girlfriend?

In front of the computer.

Cao Sheng squinted and pondered for a moment, then picked up his phone, found Jiang Xiaoshuang's number, and dialed it.

After a while, the call was connected.

Cao Sheng: "Hey? Are you still in Huizhou?"

Jiang Xiaoshuang's somewhat deep voice came from the phone, "Yes, you're still here. Why haven't you answered my calls or replied to my messages these past few days?"

Cao Sheng was silent for a few seconds. "After something like this happened, it's hard to explain over the phone or text message. Are you free right now? Let's meet up?"

This was, of course, a reason he made up on the spot. In fact, because he suspected that she had orchestrated this scandal, he didn't want to talk to her for the past few days.

Of course, this was also partly due to Huang Qingya's recent breakup with him.

Having just broken up, he hasn't been in the mood to talk to Jiang Xiaoshuang for the past few days.

But at this moment, he wanted to see her.

Listen to her explanation, and observe her expression to see if she really started this scandal.
Jiang Xiaoshuang: "Sure! Where shall we meet?"

Cao Sheng: "Tian Tian Fitness Center, right? You've been there before. It's not open for the past two days, and there's no one else around."

That was the fitness center he invested in.

There is a holiday during the Chinese New Year.

It has not reopened yet.

Jiang Xiaoshuang: "Okay! See you in a bit?"

Cao Sheng hummed in agreement.

Hang up the call.

He had originally planned to continue writing tonight, but now he has changed his plans at the last minute.

But there are some things he wants to deal with as soon as possible.

He turned off his computer, took a wool coat from the closet, put it on, went downstairs, got in his car, and drove to the Tiantian Fitness Center.

……

In the dormitory of Huizhou TV station.

After finishing the phone call, Jiang Xiaoshuang opened her wardrobe, picked out an outfit to change into, and before leaving, she sat down at her desk, faced the mirror on the desk, and carefully applied heavy makeup to herself.

This was her first time trying heavy makeup.

Because of the scandal, she hasn't slept well for several days, and she has noticeable dark circles under her eyes, looking very unwell.

Heavy makeup can cover these up.

When she walked out of the dormitory, she looked radiant.

At least, that's how it seems at first glance.

She waited for a long time after arriving at the roadside before finally getting a taxi.

It's really hard to get a taxi during the Chinese New Year.

When she got on the bus, her arms and legs were freezing cold.

"Master! Could you turn the heating up a bit?"

She told the driver.

The driver responded and adjusted the air conditioning temperature.

When she arrived at the Tiantian Fitness Center, more than an hour had passed since Cao Sheng called her.

When she arrived at the entrance of the fitness center, she saw that the door was half open.

The lights were on inside, but they weren't very bright; it seemed like only one or two lights were on.

It was very quiet inside, without any movement.

She walked to the door, peeked inside, and saw Cao Sheng sitting on a bench, holding a cup of tea and drinking it. He must have heard the footsteps at the door, because his gaze was fixed on her.

Jiang Xiaoshuang felt relieved and immediately stepped inside. She paused slightly, then turned and closed the door.

She walked briskly towards Cao Sheng, the sound of her high heels on the ground clearly audible in the quiet gym.

"Sorry! I waited for the bus for a long time, so I'm late."

She apologized as she walked.

Cao Sheng looked at her and nodded slightly. After she approached, he pointed to another cup of tea on the bench and said, "This one is yours."

Jiang Xiaoshuang smiled, whispered a thank you, picked up her teacup, and sat down beside him.

The tea, served in a disposable paper cup, was still warm when it reached her hands.

She started a conversation, "Did you boil water here just now?"

Cao Sheng nodded, "There's a water dispenser, just turn it on. There's also tea in the bar."

Jiang Xiaoshuang: "Oh, that's good."

She paused, then looked at Cao Sheng, her expression complicated, and asked, "You called me here at this time because there's something you want to say to me?"

Cao Sheng turned to look at her, his face expressionless and calm. He stared directly into her eyes and watched her quietly for a while. Seeing that her eyes did not flicker but she was looking at him with confusion, he finally spoke: "Your eyes are bloodshot. Have you not been sleeping well these past few days?"

Jiang Xiaoshuang gave a bitter smile. "What do you think? Someone online has revealed my identity. They not only said my name but also my workplace. In the past few days, many colleagues have been trying to find out about my relationship with you. Even my parents, relatives, and some former classmates and friends have called or texted me about this. How can I sleep well?"

Cao Sheng stared intently at her expression.

Listen quietly to what she has to say.

He couldn't detect any signs of lying or guilt in her expression.

He nodded slightly and then asked, "What did you tell them?"

Jiang Xiaoshuang said self-deprecatingly, "What else can I say? Of course, I'll say we're just friends! Isn't that right?"

After asking the question, she looked at Cao Sheng with a smile.

They seemed to be expecting him to refute them.

But it disappointed her.

Cao Sheng nodded and then asked, "Will this affect your work? I mean—has any supervisor asked you to write a self-criticism? Or advised you to resign?"

Jiang Xiaoshuang shook her head. "Not yet. The deputy director on duty did call me over and asked about my relationship with you. After I denied dating you, he didn't say anything. Of course, maybe after the station's holiday ends and all the leaders come back to work, there will be some punishment for me. Maybe they will really advise me to resign. Maybe! Anyway, there's nothing yet."

Cao Sheng looked at her for a while before looking away, raising his teacup and taking a sip of tea.

He didn't see any signs that Jiang Xiaoshuang was lying.

He wasn't sure if Jiang Xiaoshuang truly had nothing to hide, or if her acting was so good that she had fooled him.

He was naturally confident in his judgment.

With his over forty years of experience, he knew that a girl in her early twenties like her couldn't fool his eyes, no matter how good her acting was.

but……

Despite his confidence, he wouldn't conclude that he hadn't misjudged the situation.

After all, she was hailed as the most talented woman at Huizhou Teachers College when she was in school, so she must have been a smart person, and smart people usually have better acting skills than most people.

For example, in order to deceive everyone when needed, he would consciously pretend to be honest and dull in ordinary times.

When everyone around him thought he was an honest person, he could occasionally tell a small lie without anyone noticing. Therefore, when everyone around him thought he was very honest, he secretly considered himself a clever person.

Putting himself in others' shoes, he believed that a smart girl like Jiang Xiaoshuang would also have excellent acting skills.

At this moment, Jiang Xiaoshuang leaned slightly closer to Cao Sheng and asked in a slightly curious voice, "Hey! About this scandal... what was your girlfriend's reaction? Was she very angry? Did she argue with you?"

Upon hearing this, Cao Sheng turned his head slightly and looked at her expression again.

Her eyes seemed to hold only curiosity.

Cao Sheng smiled faintly, "Don't pry into other people's privacy!"

Jiang Xiaoshuang pursed her lips slightly and smiled wryly, "Alright! I admit I was wrong, but if this really affects your relationship, I apologize to you here! You know I didn't mean to."

is it?

Cao Sheng neither agreed nor disagreed, but simply smiled slightly.

The two sat and chatted for a while longer before ending their meeting.

Throughout the entire process, Cao Sheng never mentioned that he had broken up with his girlfriend.

Because he didn't want her to see any opportunities.

Although he had ruled out some of her suspicions after meeting her, he still harbored some doubts about her.

Moreover, his decision to stop dating girlfriends remains unchanged.

After leaving the gym, he drove her back to the TV station.

A few minutes after the car started driving, Jiang Xiaoshuang, sitting in the passenger seat, asked another question, "Hey! Did you visit her family for the New Year?"

Cao Sheng: "Whose house is this?"

Jiang Xiaoshuang: "What do you think? Your girlfriend's house?"

Cao Sheng: Not yet.

Jiang Xiaoshuang smiled with a complicated expression, "Not yet means... you'll be visiting relatives for the New Year in the next couple of days, right?"

Cao Sheng did not respond this time.

Since they've already broken up, of course he won't go to visit relatives for the New Year.

But he didn't want to tell Jiang Xiaoshuang about this.

After a moment, Jiang Xiaoshuang changed the subject, "I'll be going home for vacation soon. Do you need me to bring you some local specialties from my hometown when I come back?"

Cao Sheng: "What are some local specialties from your hometown?"

Jiang Xiaoshuang chuckled, "To be honest, I don't know either, but if you want some, I'll go back and find out, and then I'll buy you some."

Cao Sheng smiled and said, "Then it's not necessary."

Jiang Xiaoshuang chuckled softly again and said nothing more.

She didn't speak again until the car stopped in front of the TV station's dormitory, "So I'm getting out now? Is there anything else you want to tell me?"

Cao Sheng turned to look at her.

After a moment of silence, Cao Sheng said, "If you get fired from the TV station this time, just let me know and I can help you find a job."

He can help with this small favor.

Jiang Xiaoshuang smiled and said, "Okay! I will."

She got out of the car and left.

Cao Sheng watched her walk into the gate of the residential area before driving away.

……

On the morning of the eighth day of the Lunar New Year.

Cao Sheng drove alone to a movie theater near his home, bought a ticket and went in to watch "The Legend of Zu Mountain".

He had originally planned to watch this movie with Huang Qingya during the New Year period.

Although he estimated that the film's box office performance would likely be as dismal as in the original timeline, he felt that it was the pinnacle of domestic fantasy films, and seeing it in the cinema would be a rare experience.

Moreover, he also wanted to see how different this version of "The Legend of Shushan" was from the original version.

I wonder if the advice I gave to Tsui Hark back then is reflected in this version of "The Legend of Zu".

only……

After watching the movie, he didn't see much difference between it and the original "Legend of Zu Mountain".

The special effects were still amazing, the kind of special effects that no domestic fantasy film could surpass for the next twenty years.

The cast remains incredibly strong.

Many supporting roles were played by big stars, including Zheng Yijian, Zhang Komaji, Hong Jinbao, Zhang Ziyi, Gu Tianle, Wu Jing, and others.

In the movie, all the actors used flying as a means of transportation, never walking.

It has a strong fantasy/martial arts feel.

However, the wildly imaginative plot is too unfriendly to audiences of this era, and the villain, Blood Demon Youquan, who lacks sufficient anthropomorphism, also makes it difficult for viewers to empathize with him.

The showdown between the two sides is a bit too stream-of-consciousness.

The sense of tension and excitement was insufficient.

As Cao Sheng sat in the movie theater watching the film, he couldn't help but think: if the main villain, Blood Demon Youquan, had been played by a better actor, the film's effect would probably have been much better.

However, the Blood Demon Ghost Spring in this movie, although it appears in human form several times, is completely unrecognizable as to who is playing it. It looks strange, but it is not particularly scary.

I always felt that the villain, who was being fought against by the good guys, was a very strange thing. He seemed fake, like a soulless thing created by computer effects.

The whole story seems very fake.

As for the box office of this movie?
When the movie started, Cao Sheng noticed that there were only a handful of other viewers in the theater besides him.

Moreover, these audience members weren't paying attention during the movie.

Two audience members in the front row got up and left after watching half of the performance.

There was a couple in the back row whose attention wasn't on the movie at all. At first, the couple sat side by side, but halfway through the movie, Cao Sheng turned around to look at them and found that the woman had sat on the man's lap, and the two of them were hugging each other's heads and kissing endlessly.

Is this some kind of movie theater being used as a hotel?

……

After watching the movie, Cao Sheng bought a ticket for "Drishyam" and went into another screening room.

Compared to the few audience members in the screening room for "The Legend of Zu Mountain", more than half of the seats in the screening room for "Drishyam" were occupied.

As the movie progressed, the audience gradually quieted down. No one left halfway through, and Cao Sheng noticed that most of the audience members were watching very attentively.

When the male protagonist, played by Andy Lau, and his family repeatedly fooled the police, the audience would gasp in surprise.

Clearly, many parts of the movie's plot took most viewers by surprise.

As the movie progressed into its second half, the frequency of gasps and exclamations from the audience in the theater increased.

Because of the foreshadowing laid in the first half of the movie, the mysteries are frequently revealed as the movie approaches its end.

The police boss is very clever, frequently breaking through the layers of defense set up by the protagonist, but... the protagonist has set up far too many layers of defense, predicting the police boss's breakthroughs time and time again, thus gradually leading the police into his trap.

When the movie ended and the protagonist's family actually managed to cover up the crime and escape punishment despite having committed murder, the theater erupted in gasps of surprise.

"Holy crap? This works?"

"Damn! This is the ending?"

"No way? This actually passed the censorship?"

"Accused? It's over? Really acquitted?"

……

Domestic audiences, who are used to the plot where murderers are brought to justice, can hardly believe that this movie could have such an ending.

In the end, it was the police who lost?

What happened to the saying that justice will prevail and nothing escape its reach?

(End of this chapter)