The birth of an actor

Chapter 106 A Broken Drum Beaten by Ten Thousand People

After An Xin made it clear that she couldn't help, the meal became like chewing wax for Xu Jinglei.

He was clearly somewhat distracted.

Xu Fan remained calm, only discussing how An Xin had become a shamanic disciple.

There's nothing wrong with sharing these experiences. I had a dream where someone recognized me and asked if I wanted to come home for dinner. I went, ate a few bowls of rice, and felt a connection with the two elderly people, so I addressed them as elders. Then, when I woke up, I suddenly developed a high fever, so severe that the county hospital almost issued a critical condition notice.

The high fever persisted for three days without subsiding. In desperation, the grandfather sought out a local shaman. The shaman came to the hospital, examined the patient, and said he would take over... (Note 1)

These experiences are just a small part of Anxin's past growth.

Xu Fan, however, was amazed.

However, when it comes to discussing more topics, the conversation didn't actually linger too much on Wang Shuo or fortune telling.

They tend to ramble on about one thing at a time, then chat about another.

The meal lasted for more than half an hour before it was over.

After they finished eating, as the three of them left the restaurant, perhaps because she was too distracted, Xu Jinglei tripped and almost fell.

With quick reflexes, An Xin caught her in her tracks.
"Sister Leilei, are you alright?"

"……fine."

Xu Jinglei supported herself on the boy's strong arm, straightened up, and calmly shook her head.

Seeing this, An Xin sighed helplessly.

"Sister Leilei."

"Ok?"

"Old Immortal's divination is naturally accurate. The divination for Brother Wang is right there. When it comes true, just follow what he says. If you do it right, you can get through this calamity. There's no need to worry too much."

"...Couldn't you have been more explicit?"

Seeing the renewed annoyance on Xu Jinglei's face, An Xin shook her head:

"The secret cannot be leaked."

After saying that, he waved his hand in silence between the two of them.

"I'm leaving now, Sister Leilei, sister-in-law. Call me again if you need anything."

As the motorcycle sped away, neither Xu Jinglei nor Xu Fan spoke, the atmosphere heavy. Just then, Xu Jinglei's phone rang. She answered it immediately:
"Hey?"

Then a polite smile appeared on his face:

"Yes, Brother Lu, please go ahead."

"...He definitely hasn't gotten up yet. Don't you know he usually sleeps until the afternoon? Is something wrong? Just tell me directly."

As she spoke, Xu Jinglei walked toward the company.

But after taking a few steps, he suddenly stopped:
"What!?"

Xu Fan was taken aback and subconsciously turned his head, only to see that Xu Jinglei's face was full of surprise and confusion:

"Why...why? Brother Lu, this isn't his book, it's Chi Li's book. He just wants to film it."

"...What does it mean to promote a cynical view of life?"

"Brother Lu, we already wrote it when we submitted it. We wanted to explore the contradictions in Chinese families, present the process of women's awakening of their subjectivity under cultural pressure, and explore the indispensability of family relationships and the autonomy of life attitudes... How is it promoting a bleak view of life?"

"...Brother Lu, tell me the truth, is it that this story is no good, or... is it that anything about him is no good?"

"..."

It is unknown whether Xu Jinglei has received a response to this question.

In short, she hung up the phone a few seconds after asking the question.

A hint of sarcasm appeared on her face as Xu Fan looked on with puzzlement:
"Sister, the movie he wanted to remake, Chi Li's 'Never to Return,' has been banned."

The answer to who this "he" is is self-evident.

Xu Fan remained silent.

Because she had no idea what to say.

……

Since that day, An Xin has not received another call from Xu Jinglei.

After two rounds of auditions, the crew of "That Dog" did not contact Wang Jinghua.

It seems that both of them were eliminated.

However, it doesn't seem to matter much to either of them. An Xin feels this way, and so does Fan Bing.

The reason is also very simple...

"Ah!!! I'm relieved!!! Guess how many there are! How many!!!"

In early April, just after April Fool's Day, Anxin received a pager message saying, "Call back quickly, it's extremely urgent, Fan." She immediately called back and heard the brat yelling and shouting on the other end.

"..."

Anxin's lips twitched:
"That's all? You call this extremely urgent?"

"Hehe, yeah! Thirty-eight!! Ah!!!! Thirty-eight!!!"

The price has risen from just over seven yuan when I bought it to thirty-eight yuan now. That's more than five times the profit, driving Fan Bing almost crazy.

I invested 22,000, and now it has grown to 110,000.

That's 110,000!
She's already planning when she'll go eat at Quanjude.

Hearing this number, however, brought Anxin a calm feeling:

"Alright, stop shouting. Let's wait a few more days before we sell it again."

"Hehe, yes! If you sell it, I'll treat you to Quanjude!"

"what."

Anxin chuckled softly:
"Is there anything else?"

"That's all. That's all... Hehe, I'm going to do voice acting now."

"Okay. I'll hang up now."

"it is good."

After hanging up the phone, Anxin quickly walked into the classroom.

But before I could even sit down, the pager beeped again:
"Don't worry, call back, Sister Qing."

Anxin's lips twitched...

I thought to myself that when I have money, I'll definitely buy a mobile phone. This era of using public phones is just so annoying.

But by then, the teacher for the second period in the morning had already entered the classroom.

have to.

"Teacher, my stomach hurts and I need to go to the toilet again."

The old professor rolled his eyes at An Xin:
"You're such a busybody, hurry up!"

"Ok."

Anxin quickly ran out of the classroom, returned to the phone, and dialed Xu Qing's number:
"Hey, Sister Qing, we're in class. Is there something you need?"

Are you at school?

"Correct."

"Okay, I'll pick you up from your school, and I'll take you out for a nice lunch."

"You're back?"

"Yes, I just got off the plane. Go to class, and come find me after class."

"Okay, I'll hang up now."

He quickly hung up the phone and rushed back to the classroom.

After another class, I walked straight to the school gate. Then I saw that Honda by the roadside.

Xu Qing, who was wearing large sunglasses, also saw him and waved to him with a smile.

"Sister Qing."

After getting on the bus with peace of mind, I greeted them with a smile.

"Okay." Xu Qing responded and started the car.

"Shall we go eat hot pot?"

"Anything's fine. Just got back? Is it hot in Shanghai?"

"It's much hotter than here."

When does the show start?

"I estimate it will be in the second half of the year. This time, it's mainly to meet with the film crew and have a rehearsal. The clothes you wore last time were nice, so I bought you a few more outfits this time."

Following the direction she pointed, Anxin turned around and saw several shopping bags, leaving her speechless.
"I have so many clothes that I can't wear them all."

"Clothes make the man, and having more clothes is never a bad thing. But I think that certain heartless person really doesn't care about me, otherwise he wouldn't have called me after I've been gone for so long."

"..."

Anxin's lips twitched.

I felt there was something strange about what she said.

He could only give an awkward laugh and say:
"I was just worried about holding Sister Qing back."

"You're just trying to fool me."

Anxin's cheek was pinched again.

An Xin didn't mind. This older sister really liked to hit him. She would pinch his face all the time, or like now, after pushing his head to the other side, she looked at the back of his head and rubbed it a couple of times.

"Hmm, I can't feel any bulges anymore. How have you been feeling lately?"

"I already told you, everything's fine now."

"Don't try to fool me. If you're feeling unwell, just say so. Like, do you have a migraine or something?"

"No, I'm fine."

"Okay... Oh right, here, this is for you."

She laboriously reached behind the car seat and took out her bag.

Anxin subconsciously placed her hands on the steering wheel to straighten it.

"Sis, watch out for cars..."

"I'm watching...you see for yourself."

A magazine was suddenly tossed into Anxin's arms.

"This is?"

Looking at the magazine title "Magic City Literature" above, An Xin was a little puzzled.

"I folded one of the pages; you can see for yourself."

I opened the book with peace of mind and quickly found the folded page.

Ruins in the Wilderness: A Crisis of Literature and Humanistic Spirit (Note 2)

After subconsciously reading the article title, he asked in confusion:

"This is?"

Do you know this magazine?

"I know. It was one of the earliest literary newspapers and magazines after the founding of the People's Republic of China. I studied it in school. It was founded by Mr. Ba Jin and was originally called 'Literary Monthly.' It was a miscellaneous publication that collected various novels and poems. It was one of the authoritative publications in the news media. As an academic journal, it not only published literary works but also paid attention to literary theory and criticism, reflecting the academic dynamics of the literary world. It was very famous."

Seeing that An Xin had correctly explained the magazine's status and function, Xu Qing smiled and nodded:
"It seems that reading this book was worthwhile."

"...So what's the purpose of this article?"

"In official terms, it was a reflection by intellectuals after the opening of the market economy, under the impact of various new ideas."

"...?"

An Xin was taken aback by the sudden official tone and subconsciously asked:

"Then... how about being more straightforward?"

"To put it bluntly... Starting in 93, the Youth Daily launched a column titled 'What Has Wang Shuo Brought Us?' to describe the values ​​influenced by his books. After that, which was named the 'Wang Shuo Phenomenon,' his biggest criticism began."

"meaning is……"

"As you said yourself, Shanghai Literature is one of the most authoritative academic journals. Now that academic journals have all entered the fray, his reputation has reached the point where everyone is pounding on it."

……

"Director Feng, in short... I suggest you sever ties with him. Otherwise, this fire will definitely burn you as well."

Doodle.

He hung up the phone from a media friend with whom he had a good relationship.

At the dinner table, after hanging up the phone, Feng Xiaogang, under the questioning gaze of Xu Fan across from him, placed his trembling hand on the cigarette pack.

As a result, he found that he even had difficulty taking out a cigarette.

Just then, Xu Fan silently took out a cigarette for him, lit it himself, and handed it to him.

"Hiss~~~Whoosh."

"Hiss~~~~"

"call……"

He took deep drags on his cigarette.

Not a word.

Xu Fan didn't ask any questions, he just kept putting food on his plate.

After finishing his cigarette, Feng Xiaogang suddenly said:
"Let's go, we're not eating anymore, let's go find Wang Shuo."

What did they say to you on the phone?

"Let's talk in the car later."

"it is good."

So, the meal ended hastily, and Jetta quickly arrived at Wang Shuo's house, where Xu Jinglei opened the door.

"Where's Master Shuo?"

Hearing Feng Xiaogang's words, Xu Jinglei shook her head slightly and pointed into the room:

"She's sleeping, she just fell asleep a little while ago."

"...Why is he sleeping so late? Did he stay up all night writing something?"

"No."

As Xu Jinglei spoke, she invited the person in, closed the door, and explained:

“Last night, someone faxed him an invitation.”

Under Feng Xiaogang's questioning gaze, she explained:
“A publisher in New York sent me an invitation to publish his book in English and invited him to the United States.”

"Uh……"

Upon hearing this explanation, Feng Xiaogang was still confused when he noticed that Xu Jinglei's gaze was fixed on Xu Fan.

He instinctively turned his head.

At first, his girlfriend didn't seem to react, but then she seemed to realize something, and her eyes suddenly widened:

"That's not... peace of mind!?"

Peace of mind?

Feng Xiaogang was taken aback.

What does this have to do with the child?
But right away...

"!!"

He stared wide-eyed at Xu Jinglei:
"That half-divination?"

"That's why he... stayed up all night."

"..."

"..."

(Note 1: The story of being born with divine inspiration for spirit mediumship is based on my maternal grandmother's experience. That's how she became a spirit medium. Most of my understanding of spirit mediumship is also inherited from her, except that she was a wild spirit medium. Every time she treated someone's illness, she would fall ill herself. So she stopped doing spirit mediumships in her old age. But all of this is what I learned from her since I was a child, and it is not made up.)

Note 2: Actually, this article, "Ruins in the Wilderness—A Crisis of Literature and Humanistic Spirit," was published in 93. The criticism of Wang Shuo's literature also began around that time. However, this storm didn't start off fiercely; rather, it intensified with each of his works. (The timeline has been slightly altered here. It's also time to give our fortune teller, An Bansian, a boost.)
(End of this chapter)