Back to 1997, I became the originator of online literature

Chapter 496 Happy Hour
"Am I thinking too much?"

Qian Zhenyu's eyes flickered slightly, a hint of joy in her heart. She stared intently at Cao Sheng. "You mean this song wasn't written for Huang Qingya?"

Before Cao Sheng could answer, she chuckled and asked jokingly, "Don't tell me this song was written for me! I can't believe it!"

Cao Sheng picked up a piece of stir-fried bamboo shoots with meat and put it in his mouth. After hearing Qian Zhenyu's words, he couldn't help but chuckle and looked at Qian Zhenyu.

A phrase flashed through my mind: Time cannot defeat beauty.

He knew that statement was false.

Those Hong Kong and Taiwanese actresses from the original timeline were all incredibly charming and beautiful in their youth. But as time goes by, which of them can retain their youthful beauty?

However, the Qian Zhenyu in front of him, who was in her early twenties, was quite different from the Qian Zhenyu he remembered from his senior year of high school.

During her senior year of high school, she was incredibly youthful and beautiful. Not only was she stunningly beautiful even without makeup, but she also had a figure comparable to a supermodel. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen in real life.

At that time, he felt that even among the Hong Kong and Taiwan stars on TV, none could surpass Qian Zhenyu in terms of looks and figure.

That's why, even though there were dozens of pretty girls in his class at that time, the one he always liked was Qian Zhenyu.

only……

At that time, he knew he was not good enough for her.

Aside from looks, he's barely a match for her.

other……

He felt ashamed of himself in every aspect, including academic performance, temperament, and family background.

At that time, he truly understood what it meant to be willing but powerless.

He wanted to make up for his weakness in learning English. He knew that as long as he could improve his grades in this subject, getting into university would be a piece of cake for him, and the chances of failing would be almost nonexistent.

But it was too late. By the time he finally figured out how to learn English, he was already in the second semester of his senior year. He had endless tests to do every day, studied until 10:30 pm every night, and had to get up early every morning. He simply didn't have enough time to make up for his weaknesses.

They could only watch helplessly as the college entrance examination drew ever closer.

He still remembers the disappointment he felt when his college entrance exam scores came out.

The unprecedented sense of defeat almost completely destroyed his self-confidence.

Therefore, after the college entrance examination, he gave up on his feelings for Qian Zhenyu.

What other ideas could there be?

She went to Fudan University, and he came to Huizhou Teachers College. He saw no hope in his life, and even if she confessed her feelings to him, he would refuse to be with her.

And what about Qian Zhenyu in front of us?

In her early twenties, she has shed the naivety of her senior year of high school. Having learned to apply light makeup, her skin is whiter than before, her eyebrows are more beautiful, her eyes are more expressive, and her temperament exudes a more mature aura.

Compared to her high school days, she was slightly plumper, which suited his aesthetic preferences better.

He has never liked thin women.

I can only feel friendship towards thin women, not romantic feelings.

At this moment, Cao Sheng looked at Qian Zhenyu in front of him, and her appearance in high school flashed through his mind. He still liked her looks, figure and temperament, but he no longer had the same infatuation he had in high school.

The many years before and after his rebirth took away his feelings for her.

So, at this moment, he smiled and shook his head, "You're overthinking it! This song is for a character in the book."

Qian Zhenyu was stunned, feeling a sudden pang of sadness, a bitter and astringent feeling in her heart, and a chill seemed to rise within her.

This was the first time in her life she had experienced this feeling.

She thought to herself with a self-deprecating smile: Is this what it feels like to miss out? If I had given him a little response back then, if I had chosen to be with him then, things wouldn't be so difficult now, right?

Yes!

She sensed the difficulty.

She wanted to make Cao Sheng fall in love with her again, but now she found it very difficult.

Looking back now, she didn't give him any hints back then, but he always unconsciously kept looking at her. So now, she wants to make him like her again, but she doesn't know how.

"Written for a character in your book?"

She forced a smile and pressed on with her question.

Cao Sheng nodded, looked away from her, and raised his glass to invite her to drink again.

Qian Zhenyu lowered her head slightly, picked up her wine glass, and clinked glasses with his. When she brought the glass to her lips, she instinctively tilted her head back and drank the wine in one gulp because of her mood.

When Cao Sheng put down his wine glass, he noticed that her glass was empty. He smiled slightly, picked up the bottle, and poured her a drink. As he poured, he casually said, "Well, when I was writing the script, I suddenly had a whim and wanted to write a theme song for the female lead. So I wrote these lyrics. After the New Year, when Asa came to Huizhou for tourism, she invited me to dinner, and I gave her the lyrics. I didn't expect her to like the lyrics so much. We sang it together."

Qian Zhenyu's curiosity was piqued. "Asa? Partner? You mean Chunsi, who sings this song?"

Cao Sheng smiled and nodded.

After that, Qian Zhenyu did not probe Cao Sheng's feelings for her again.

Instead, she followed Cao Sheng's lead and asked him about people and things in the entertainment industry out of curiosity. She knew that he had developed a deep connection with the entertainment industry over the past few years and must have come into contact with many people in the industry while selling scripts.

For example: Cheng Long, Zhao Wenzhuo, Feng Xiaogang, Andy Lau, etc.

She could easily find plenty of topics to talk about with him about these people and events.

After meal.

Cao Sheng personally brewed her a cup of tea, and also brewed one for himself, before taking her fishing on the banks of the Xin'an River next to the villa.

The reason I took her fishing wasn't because she liked fishing, but because during dinner, she asked me what hobbies he had besides writing.
Cao Sheng casually mentioned that he liked fishing.

She became interested and asked him where he usually fished, and if he could take her fishing too.
So, after dinner, Cao Sheng took her to fish on the banks of the Xin'an River next to the villa.

As a seasoned angler, he has a lot of fishing gear.

There are more than a dozen fishing rods of various kinds.

There are ordinary fishing rods that cost two or three hundred yuan each, as well as expensive ones that cost more than ten thousand yuan each.

Riverside.

Sun Liang and Lei Zhen helped set up two parasols.

Cao Sheng prepared four fishing spots and mixed a batch of bait. While choosing hooks, lines, and floats, he smiled and explained to Qian Zhenyu, "You've come at the right time. Fish are quite easy to catch this season. The weather is gradually warming up, and the fish in the water are starting to feed. However, the Xin'an River is too large. I didn't prepare any spots in advance, and it's difficult to attract fish by just making them at the last minute. Let's see how lucky we are! If we're lucky, we should be able to catch some today. If we're unlucky, we'll come back empty-handed, haha."

"Air Force? What do you mean?"

Qian Zhenyu was initially quite interested, but the word "air force" puzzled her.

Cao Sheng: "If you can't catch any fish, you'll be empty-handed."

Qian Zhenyu chuckled to herself.

A moment later, Cao Sheng helped her set up the fishing rod and hook, baited the hook, threw the hook into a previously prepared fishing spot, and then handed the fishing rod to her.

Only then did he get his own fishing rod.

The river surface rippled, and a gentle breeze blew from the river, caressing their faces and bodies. As Cao Sheng baited his fishing hook, his gaze fell on Qian Zhenyu beside him. He watched as her hair was blown backward by the wind, making her beautiful eyes slightly narrow. A complex feeling arose in his heart.

Because this scene before him had only appeared in his dreams before his rebirth.

He remembered a dream in which he was fishing and Qian Zhenyu was sitting next to him, fishing with him.

After waking up from the dream, I felt a sense of loss.

Because at that time he knew he would never have such an opportunity in his life.

And now?
She actually sat down next to me and fished together.

Do I still like her?
As the thought flashed through his mind, Cao Sheng chuckled to himself and threw the baited fishing hook into the river.

For a reborn person like him, even though he looks very young now, his mindset is still that of a middle-aged man.

There's an old saying: A man is no longer confused at forty.

that……

What are the things that men often struggle with before the age of forty?

Young men often feel that men in their forties and fifties are old at heart, have a heavy sense of lifelessness, and lack passion in their lives.

But they forgot that these middle-aged men also came from youth, and since ancient times, it has been said that a man is no longer confused at forty.

What exactly do "confusion" and "clarity" refer to?
"What were you laughing at just now?"

Qian Zhenyu, who was standing next to Cao Sheng, turned to him with curiosity and asked.

Cao Sheng smiled and said, "It's nothing, I just think you're still as beautiful as ever."

He casually complimented her.

Qian Zhenyu smiled broadly, clearly pleased. "Really? Thank you!"

Cao Sheng believes that the phrase "a man's wisdom at forty" refers to the maturity of a man after the age of forty. A mature man can see clearly what is most important to him amidst all the temptations of the world and can devote most of his remaining time and energy to these most important people and things.

As for those unimportant things, they were unwilling to devote any more energy to them.

And love?
In the original timeline, he lost interest in things after the age of forty.

This mindset has carried over to the present. Although he still has some feelings for Qian Zhenyu, he is no longer willing to spend much time and effort on her.

Women... will only slow down my speed of drawing my sword.

After breaking up with Huang Qingya, he had this state of mind again.

The fish are biting really well today.

Cao Sheng's float kept bobbing. He was a decent angler and caught seven or eight small fish in no time, including small whitebait, small crucian carp weighing one or two ounces, and catfish weighing two or three ounces. Occasionally, he would catch a small miscellaneous fish the length of a toothpick.

In contrast, Qian Zhenyu, who was fishing for the first time, could not catch any fish despite her float occasionally bobbing. This made her increasingly frustrated.

Just as her fishing float was suddenly dragged completely underwater by the fish, Cao Sheng noticed and quickly reminded her, "Lift the rod! Lift the rod!"

Qian Zhenyu hurriedly lifted the fishing rod with both hands, and the fishing line immediately taut. The hooked fish suddenly darted forward under the water, and the taut fishing line cut rapidly across the water, making a "whooshing" sound as it cut through the water.

The fishing rod is bent into an arc shape.

Qian Zhenyu's eyes widened in shock. She felt like she was about to lose her grip on the fishing rod. She instinctively stood up and gripped the rod tightly with both hands, but the fish still pulled her so hard that she stumbled and almost fell into the river.

Such a big fish?

She had already been letting out gasps of surprise.

"Ah, ah... so strong? Cao Sheng! Cao Sheng! Help me! Come help me! Ah... ah... Oh no! I can't hold on anymore, I can't hold onto the fishing rod..."

Cao Sheng, who was standing nearby, immediately got up and rushed over. He came up behind her, grabbed her fishing rod with both hands, and unintentionally pulled her into his arms.

At that moment, neither of them noticed this.

Her exclamation attracted the attention of the four bodyguards in the villa, Aunt Qin Xiyue, and others. They came to see what was going on and naturally saw Cao Sheng "holding" Qian Zhenyu. The two of them were holding fishing rods with all four hands by the river, and the fish were pulling them so that they staggered as they approached the water.

Sun Liang, Lei Zhen, and others were very surprised.

They immediately realized what was happening and rushed over.

Sun Liang: "Boss! Do you need any help?"

Huang Lijun: "Boss! Should I go into the water to help?"

Lei Zhen: "The net? Where's the net? I'll scoop up the fish!"

……

Qian Zhenyu kept exclaiming in surprise, completely ruining her aloof goddess image.

But at this point, she no longer cared about her image.

With an excited smile on her face and her eyes shining as she looked at the water, she gripped the fishing rod tightly with both hands and played the fish with Cao Sheng. She never expected that she would catch such a big fish on her first fishing trip.

But she hadn't yet seen what kind of fish she had caught, so she kept her eyes glued to the water, hoping to see what it was soon.

Cao Sheng was also laughing, thinking of the novice's rule in the fishing world—novices often catch big fish.

A moment later, they finally saw what kind of fish they had caught: a large carp with golden scales. No wonder it was so strong. Cao Sheng estimated that the carp weighed at least ten kilograms.

He used bait specifically for crucian carp today, yet he caught such a big carp.

(End of this chapter)