Back to 1997, I became the originator of online literature

Chapter 528 Preparations for "Crazy Stone"

After exchanging pleasantries, Cao Sheng, Shi Mengping, and Xiaoying, the teacher's wife, went to a private room on the second floor.

When it came time to order, Xiaoying said with a big smile, "You two order! I have something to do in a bit and I'll be leaving soon, so you two can just order what you want to eat."

Shi Mengping looked at Xiaoying and smiled, "Really? That's such a pity."

Cao Sheng also looked at his master's wife, Xiao Ying, guessing that she was deliberately creating opportunities for them to be alone. He had seen this kind of tactic before when he went on blind dates before his rebirth.

He had no interest in Shi Mengping, who had returned from studying abroad.

I'm here today for a blind date purely out of respect for my teacher, Lu Xiangwei, and his wife.

So Cao Sheng smiled and said, "Master's wife! I also have something to do, why don't we go together?"

He didn't want to be alone with Shi Mengping, so naturally he had to leave his teacher's wife as a third wheel.

Upon hearing this, both the teacher's wife and Shi Mengping looked over.

Shi Mengping frowned slightly. Her teacher's wife was a little speechless. She pursed her lips and said, "Why are you leaving? You just met, shouldn't you at least have a meal together?"

Cao Sheng: "If you stay, I will stay."

Perhaps the words sounded ambiguous, because Shi Mengping frowned again, looked at him, then at Xiaoying, and really wanted to ask what "If you stay, I'll stay" meant? What's your relationship?
With a quick thought, Shi Mengping smiled and persuaded, "That's right! Sister Ying, why don't you stay and eat with us? It'll be more lively with more people. If you leave, it'll just be Cao Sheng and me in this private room, which will be too awkward, don't you think?"

Actually, she hoped that Xiaoying could leave as soon as possible.

But since Cao Sheng had already said that, she could only help him persuade Xiao Ying.

Xiaoying looked at her, then at Cao Sheng, and said with a wry smile, "Fine! Then I'll stay and eat with you all, is that alright?"

Cao Sheng nodded with a smile.

Shi Mengping, who returned from studying abroad, is petite but has a generous and outgoing personality, which is evident when she orders food.

"Hey beautiful! Any recommendations? What are your restaurant's best dishes? Please give me some suggestions!"

The waiter recommended several dishes, and Shi Mengping ordered one of each.

Then the menu was handed to Cao Sheng so he could order.

Cao Sheng casually ordered two stir-fried dishes and handed the order slip to his teacher's wife, Xiao Ying.

After ordering, the waiter left the private room.

Shi Mengping's aggressive chat style is evident.

She enthusiastically bombarded Cao Sheng with questions, occasionally asking Xiaoying a question or two, and she basically dominated the conversation.

Cao Sheng was happy to relax, so he chatted with her casually.

With Xiaoying's support, the atmosphere in the private room remained quite good.

At first glance, the three of them seemed to be having a lively conversation.

Shi Mengping asked Cao Sheng many questions about writing, and they also talked about some famous writers and works from England, and so on.

During this time, food and drinks were served.

Cao Sheng said from the beginning that he doesn't usually drink alcohol and has a very low alcohol tolerance, so he naturally wanted to drink less today.

Actually, Shi Mengping is not ugly.

Although she was petite, she had a small face and delicate features, making her a pretty girl, but Cao Sheng just didn't feel anything for her.

As a reborn individual, he doesn't have any bias towards those who return from overseas.

Unlike most Chinese people of this era, who look up to those who have studied abroad.

He not only didn't envy Shi Mengping's overseas returnee status, but he also found her stylish attire and the occasional English words she would utter quite distasteful.

In particular, Shi Mengping's unintentional display of superiority left him speechless.

Are international students superior to others?
These days, it seems that domestic companies, matchmaking markets, and other places give overseas students a higher regard.

But Cao Sheng wondered, did she really learn anything profound while studying in England? During her years there, did she spend most of her time and energy on studying, or on eating, drinking, and having fun?
He would admire her if she truly learned advanced knowledge that couldn't be learned domestically.

Otherwise, do you think you can make him look up to you just because you're a returnee from overseas?

Feel sorry!

Before his rebirth, he had heard countless times about how most international students lived abroad.

Today, when he listened to Shi Mengping speak, he didn't sense any academic prowess from her.

What are top students like?
It's not like he hasn't seen it before.

In high school, Qian Zhenyu was the top student in their class, as was Fang Zhui, who later got into Peking University.

In his first year of high school, before the division into arts and sciences tracks, he saw even more top students.

Among them are many who were admitted to the top universities in the country through the national college entrance examination.

And what about Shi Mengping?
So talkative!

Cao Sheng had never met such a talkative academic genius.

More than an hour later, Cao Sheng put down his chopsticks and suggested that we call it a day.

Shi Mengping was a little surprised, but her teacher's wife, Xiaoying, nodded. "Alright! We've almost finished eating, so how about we call it a day?"

Xiaoying was asking Shi Mengping.

Shi Mengping nodded, "Okay! Shall we contact each other by phone later?"

She was asking about Cao Sheng.

During the meal, she had already exchanged phone numbers with Cao Sheng.

The three of them came out of the private room and ran into Huang Qingya.

Huang Qingya and a short-haired woman came out of another private room.

Cao Sheng and Huang Qingya's eyes met, both quite surprised.

Walking beside Cao Sheng, Shi Mengping exclaimed in surprise, "Oh? Qingya-jie? You're eating here too? Long time no see!"

Huang Qingya and Cao Sheng both looked at Shi Mengping.

Cao Sheng was surprised that she knew Huang Qingya.

Huang Qingya paused, frowned, stared at Shi Mengping for a moment, and hesitated before asking, "You are... Mengping?"

Shi Mengping turned to look at Cao Sheng, then at Huang Qingya, and nodded with a smile, "Yes! Sister Qingya, it's been so many years since we last met, hasn't it? I didn't expect you to still recognize me, I'm so happy!"

Huang Qingya walked over with a smile. "Mengping, I heard from your cousin that you went to study in England, right? Are you on vacation now? Or are you back? Will you go to England again in the future?"

Shi Mengping: "Yes, that's right! I went to study in England, but I've graduated and come back now. I'm not going back!"

Huang Qingya nodded and asked, "So what are your plans after coming back this time? Have you made any work arrangements?"

Shi Mengping smiled and nodded. "I've already got my job sorted out. I just reported to the Finance Bureau recently. What about you? It's been so many years. What are you doing now?"

Huang Qingya: "Me? I work at the Writers Association. I also write some novels to earn some extra money. By the way, how's your cousin doing lately? I haven't seen her in a long time."

Shi Mengping chuckled, "She works at the Civil Affairs Bureau. She got married a few years ago to a nouveau riche, and she's living a good life. What about you? You and my cousin were classmates, so you must have gotten married a long time ago, right? Have you had any children? Boys or girls?"

Huang Qingya still smiled and said, "Hehe, your cousin and I can't compare in this respect, we're not even married yet!"

She paused, then looked at Cao Sheng and asked Shi Mengping, "Is this... your boyfriend?"

Shi Mengping finally looked at Cao Sheng. When she was chatting with Huang Qingya, neither of them had glanced at Cao Sheng, as if they didn't know him at all.

But she nodded and smiled, "Him? My family arranged it for me, and we're still getting to know each other. Hey, Qingya, are you free this afternoon? How about we go shopping together? I've been abroad for a few years, and I'm not familiar with many places now that I'm back. Could you come with me? Or maybe we can go have coffee with my cousin?"

Huang Qingya's expression changed slightly. She glanced at Cao Sheng, then smiled and shook her head. "Sorry, Mengping, I don't have time today. Look, my friend is still waiting for me over there! I have plans with a friend this afternoon." Shi Mengping looked at the short-haired woman who had just come out of the private room with Huang Qingya and nodded with a smile. "Oh, is that so? Okay, then let's reschedule?"

Huang Qingya: "Okay! Let's make another appointment later."

After saying goodbye, Huang Qingya turned around and left with the short-haired woman.

Shi Mengping asked Cao Sheng with a smile, "Cao Sheng, shall we go too?"

Cao Sheng had no objection.

When they went downstairs to pay the bill, Shi Mengping waved her hand and smiled, "No need! I already bought it when I came out to use the restroom. If you want to buy it, next time? I'll definitely let you buy it next time."

Cao Sheng finally realized the difference between her, a returnee from overseas, and most girls in China.

She actually paid the bill herself.

"Okay! Then next time."

……

Sitting in the car on the way back.

Cao Sheng received a message from Huang Qingya.

"Not bad! Someone has introduced you to someone like Shi Mengping. Congratulations!"

Cao Sheng pondered for a moment, then replied, "What? Is this Shi Mengping something special?"

Huang Qingya replied: "You don't know?"

Cao Sheng: "What?"

Huang Qingya: "She has a lot of relatives. Her parents' relatives are spread all over the local departments. There are also quite a few wealthy relatives. Being with her is much better than being with me."

Cao Sheng smiled wryly. As a straight man, he occasionally had the thought of living off a woman, but he knew very well that he was too hard-hearted to accept such a life.

Therefore, when he was looking for a partner, he never cared about the woman's family background.

He will work hard to get what he wants.

If he can't win it, he'll accept his fate.

Relying on women?
Should I try to please this woman? And her family? Relatives?

He knew in his heart that he couldn't bend down or endure that kind of treatment.

"I'm not with her."

Cao Sheng replied with this sentence.

A moment later, Huang Qingya replied: "Really? This is the first time you've met? You didn't like her? Or did she not like you?"

Cao Sheng: "Yeah, it's the first time we've met. My teacher introduced us, it's just a formality."

In another car.

The short-haired woman was driving, and Huang Qingya was sitting in the passenger seat, looking down at the message Cao Sheng had just sent her on her phone. A smile finally appeared in her eyes, and the corners of her mouth turned up slightly.

As she started replying to messages, the short-haired woman driving glanced at her and asked with a smile, "You can still laugh? Your ex-boyfriend is with someone else, aren't you sad?"

Huang Qingya glanced at her, "What's there to be sad about? Do you think I'm a teenage girl?"

The short-haired woman chuckled, "Oh? Really? Who was it that got on the bus with such a long face? Eyes that don't look like eyes, nose that doesn't look like noses?"

Huang Qingya rolled her eyes at her, "How would I know who it is? I don't even understand what you're saying."

As she spoke, she sent Cao Sheng a message: "Really? Just going through the motions? Do you think I believe you?"

However, Cao Sheng did not reply after sending the message.

"I don't care whether you believe it or not."

Cao Sheng chuckled softly, muttered to himself, and put away his phone.

……

the same day.

Stephen Chow's Star Shine Company sent audition invitations to many film and television companies, talent agencies, and artists in mainland China.

Stephen Chow has a habit when making movies in mainland China.

Invite whoever is popular.

In any case, for him, the pay of mainland artists is not high, so hiring the most popular mainland artists to participate in his films is very cost-effective.

In particular, the current salaries of mainland actors are still far lower than those of Hong Kong and Taiwan actors.

Therefore, on this day, many popular artists in mainland China received audition invitations from Xinghui.

It alarmed most of the film and television industry in mainland China.

The names of the movies they auditioned for naturally reached their ears.

—Crazy Stone.

Chen Daoming received the invitation and remembered the name.

Gong Li received the invitation and not only remembered the name, but also noticed that the screenwriter's name was Zhongyuan Yidianhui.

Fan Jinshuo, Wei Zhentian, Li Bingbing... all received audition invitations.

A number of celebrities also received audition invitations.

Even Feng Xiaogang received an invitation.

Feng Xiaogang, who was attending a dinner party, was surprised to receive a call from Stephen Chow himself.

Because Stephen Chow invited him to play a role.

Feng Xiaogang considers himself a director.

He rarely gets asked to act.

Stephen Chow actually had the audacity to ask him to act in a movie?
What surprised Feng Xiaogang the most was the name of the movie – "Crazy Stone"?
"No! Mr. Zhou, I'd like to ask, was this script written by Cao Sheng? Was it written by him?"

Stephen Chow: "Yes, that's right, Director Feng. This script was written by Cao Sheng. I'm honored to have received it. Don't worry, the script is of excellent quality and you're worthy of playing the role. If you're interested, I can send you the script for your role to take a look. Is that alright?"

Feng Xiaogang: "..."

He never dreamed that he would not have liked the script, but Stephen Chow would.

What did Stephen Chow see in such a fragmented plot in the script?

Just because of the name "Zhongyuan Yidianhui"?

I had heard long ago that Stephen Chow had offended the Xiang family and couldn't make it in Hong Kong, so he had to come to the mainland to make a living. He couldn't find any good scripts, so he wanted to film any script that was even remotely dark in the mainland.

"Director Feng? Are you interested? Would you like to take a look at the script first?"

A puzzled voice came from the phone.

Feng Xiaogang really wanted to give Stephen Chow some face.

After all, Stephen Chow's status in the Chinese film industry is undeniable. Although he is having a hard time in Hong Kong right now, mainland movie fans love his films.

Therefore, if he could be on good terms with Stephen Chow, it would definitely be beneficial for Feng Xiaogang.

However, when he thought about how the script was written by Cao Sheng, and that it was the same script he had previously rejected, Feng Xiaogang sighed. "I'm sorry, Mr. Zhou, I'm not very good at acting, and I haven't had the time lately. How about next time? If you have a suitable role for me next time, I promise I'll take it. Is that alright?"

Stephen Chow was silent for a moment, then sighed, "I see. Alright then! Next time."

(End of this chapter)