No one understands rebirth better than me

Chapter 129 The Supreme Luo Xiaobei

Chapter 129 The Supreme Luo Xiaobei
The old neighborhood in Guanren.

Inside the guardhouse.

A young Deng and an old Deng are playing Animal Chess.

While they were eating, they each had a plate of sliced braised beef and a bottle of cola.

Of course, the two of them never stopped talking about eating, drinking, and having fun.

But unlike in the past, today not only Grandpa Lin, but Guan Ren himself was also having a great time chatting.

The reason is that today they unusually didn't discuss Voltaire, Luc Besson, or Louis XVI.

Instead, they started talking about domestic arts and culture at some point.

And it's a martial arts story.

……

"Is Xu Zhu really not as strong as Qiao Feng?"

"Ridiculous! How could this be! Who in the Free and Unfettered Sect isn't ruthless? Aren't they the number one sect in the martial arts world?"

"The number one of the Free and Unfettered Sect? You're underestimating the Shaolin Temple's strength. The Sweeper Monk hasn't even spoken yet."

"Could the Sweeping Monk defeat Wuyazi?"

"Anyway, beating Xu Zhu is no problem."

……

As we all know, whether in novels, movies, or anime, discussions about combat strength involving "cricket fighting" never yield a truly convincing conclusion.

The same applies to Guan Ren and Grandpa Lin.

However, on another matter, the two friends, despite their age difference, agreed on the same thing:

"Many people have too much of a nostalgic filter when it comes to TVB's adaptations of Jin Yong's novels!"

"Oh? Kid, you think the same way I did. Back then, there wasn't much to watch. If you wanted to see martial arts films on TV, it was only TVB. But the costumes, props, and sets were really not as good as the CCTV version produced by Zhang Jizhong and others later on."

"Yes, the filter of the times is too strong, which leads many people to praise the acting of the TVB version too much. In fact, it is just normal acting. In fact, the TVB version's performance and dialogue have more dramatic traces and are far less natural than the CCTV version."

Needless to say, the location shooting was also excellent.

TVB's plastic sets are not even as good as ATV's, let alone CCTV's.

A prime example is the two versions of "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" and "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer." Comparing the TVB version with the CCTV version, it's clear which one has more of a martial arts flavor and more artistic conception.

……

"But then again, the song 'Hard to Recite Sutras' is really good. Do you know how to sing it, sir?"

"Me? You little brat, don't make fun of me. Do you think I'm that young?"

"But grandpa, you have a really youthful mindset."

Guan Ren pointed to the Coke in Grandpa Lin's hand:
"For example, most old men love baijiu (a type of Chinese liquor), but you drink cola."

"Harmful."

Grandpa Lin waved his hand:

"I also drink baijiu, but I got used to drinking cola when I went to France. Back then, there were glass bottles of cola everywhere on the streets of France. I haven't seen it much since I returned to China."

Guan Ren thought about it and realized that there weren't many glass-bottled Coca-Cola bottles available in the county.

So much so that his impression of glass bottled cola is basically the scene in the movie "Young and Dangerous" where thugs smash it on the head.

"Sigh, back when conditions were tough, my biggest dream was to have a plate of braised beef with cola every month. I never thought that wish would ever come true."

Grandpa Lin sighed and casually asked Guan Ren a question:
"Guan Ren, what's your wish?"

"me."

Guan Ren certainly has these qualities, but it's difficult to summarize them in a short time. After much thought, I'll use an example from a novel:
"Sir, have you read 'The Deer and the Cauldron'?"

"Of course I've seen it. Oh right, 'The Deer and the Cauldron' is also an exception among TVB dramas. The version starring Jordan Chan is so much better than the one starring that guy surnamed Wong in 08..."

As Grandpa Lin spoke, his old eyes narrowed:
"Little Guan, your wish isn't to marry seven wives like Wei Xiaobao, is it?"

"No no no..."

Guan Ren quickly shook his head and denied it:

"Sir! It's too small!"

"What's too small?"

"Your vision is too narrow!"

Guan Ren downed half a can of cola, displaying his upright character.
"I'm not aiming to have seven wives. I just want to be like Wei Xiaobao, ending up with no shortage of money, far from troubles and grudges, living a harmonious and carefree life with my family. Plus, since it's a martial arts world, I don't have to worry about my health. Who wouldn't want that kind of life?"

"Um…"

Hearing Guan Ren's words, Grandpa Lin slowly nodded:

"In this world, too many people cannot have both freedom and power. Wei Xiaobao's ending was indeed perfect, but..."

Grandpa Lin changed the subject, looking at Guan Ren with a mocking expression:

"You really don't want to have seven wives?"

"Oh, let's play chess."

That old Deng is really boring; he always nitpicks these lower-level issues.

In the end, Guan Ren simply couldn't be bothered with him.

After spending some time with him, I went home, turned on Kuaibo (a video streaming platform), and started reviewing the Chen Xiaochun version of "The Deer and the Cauldron" online.

It has to be said that good dramas can really make you feel good.

Guan Ren watched and chuckled from time to time.

Jingle Bell--

"Hey?"

Qingmei called, and Guanren was still laughing.

"Hey? You idiot! What are you doing? I've been trying to revive you in the game for ages."

"Oh, I turned off the sound in my client."

Guan Ren clicked on the League of Legends client and found that Luo Xiaobei had indeed been pulling him for a while. "Huh? Your game ID...did you change it?"

"No, it's always been the same as QQ, displayed as 'On the River Isle'."

"Yeah…"

That's probably a mistake.

Guan Ren vaguely remembered that when he first joined Luo Xiaobei, her ID was something like "circling the bed" or something...

I was just too busy adding it at the time to pay much attention.

Just like when he's on the phone with Luo Xiaobei right now, Guan Ren is very inattentive.

After agreeing to let her add him to the game, he was still looking at Kuaibo with a silly grin on his face and muttering to himself:
"Hey, so cute..."

"?"

Guan Ren was referring to Shuang'er, one of Wei Xiaobao's wives in "The Deer and the Cauldron".

Ke Luo Xiao Bei had no idea he was watching a TV series. Her heart skipped a beat, and she immediately became alert.
"Guan Ren! Who...who are you with now?!"

"ah?…"

Guan Ren was bewildered, somewhat confused by Luo Xiaobei's sudden question, and continued watching the TV series.
"I'm all alone..."

"So who were you saying was cute just now?"

"Uh...you."

"I'm cute!"

Luo Xiaobei was furious. Didn't that pig-head ever find her cute? Why did he have to say it on the phone all of a sudden?

"No, well..."

Guan Ren then came to his senses and explained somewhat helplessly:
"I said my wife is cute."

Luo Xiaobei was shocked:
"When did you get a wife?"

"Not mine, someone else's, a wife from a TV drama."

"His surname is Guan."

Since his childhood sweetheart is actually following Cao Cao's example, Luo Xiaobei needs to give him a serious talking-to:

"No matter how cute someone else's wife is, she's still someone else's. Don't you understand?"

"clear."

Guan Ren nodded over the phone:

"Even if your own childhood sweetheart isn't cute, she's still yours."

"You...you say that again!"

Even though she knew he was pretending to be weird on purpose, it was still the first time in her life that her childhood friend had told her she wasn't cute, and her eyes immediately started to itch.

"How about this, send me a selfie, and I'll see if you're cute or not."

"Oh."

After Guan Ren said that, Luo Xiaobei sent him a selfie.

Then, a short while later, Guan Ren sent back another one.

As a result, Luo Xiaobei in the picture had a lot of wrinkles and other things photoshopped on.

"Guan Ren!"

"Haha, I just downloaded an app that can make people age faster, it's pretty fun."

Guan Ren was referring to a currently popular photo editing app called Time Machine, which allows you to edit a person's appearance to look older by sliding a slider.

Although it later became a commonplace little gadget.

However, it's still quite interesting to use right now.

So Guan Ren sent another photo of himself that he had photoshopped to look older.

"..."

Luo Xiaobei swiped the screen, looking back and forth between "Old Lady Luo Xiaobei" and "Old Man Guan Ren" for a while.

That is to say...

If they grow old together in the future, will it be like this...?

Thinking this, Luo Xiaobei rubbed her eyes, smiled, and said nothing more.

"Hey, the game's started. Do you still need me to help you?"

"Hmm? Yes, why not?"

"Hmph... I'm not cute... Go find a cute support character..."

"..."