1979: The child's mother is a celestial being.

Chapter 61 Open and Covert Struggles
Chen Chong was born in 61 and is 19 years old this year.

He joined the Shanghai Film Studio in 75 and began to study while receiving training.

She debuted in 76 with director Xie Jing's film "Youth", in which she played the female lead, Ya Mei.

He was admitted to Shanghai International Studies University in 78, majoring in English and American Literature.

In 79, she co-starred with Tang Guoqiang and Liu Xiaoqing in "Little Flower" directed by Zhang Zheng.

In May of this year, Chen Chong won the Best Actress award at the newly reinstated 3rd Hundred Flowers Awards for Popular Films for her role in "Little Flower".

If Zhang Yu hadn't overshadowed her with her popularity from "Romance on Lushan Mountain," she would now be a rising star actress at the Shanghai Film Studio.

Chen Chong grew up in the role of the "other people's child" that her parents always talked about, and she was a very proud person at heart.

She was naturally resentful that Zhang Yu had outshone her, believing that Zhang Yu was just lucky.

The key thing is that she heard a rumor today that Commander Zhang wanted to get her the lead role in that movie that was supposedly about generating foreign exchange, but Zhang Yu suddenly appeared and seemed to want to steal the role from her. How could Chen Chong sit still now?
Chen Chong's counterattack was also very direct. She thought to herself, "Since you, Zhang Yu, are familiar with the assistant director, then I will go directly to the director and that Comrade Fusheng and see who is more willing to go all out."

Moreover, she not only thought it that way, but she also did it directly.

At noon, Chen Fusheng had just woken up from a nap when he opened the door and saw a young woman standing there. Both of them were so startled by each other that they took a half step back.

"Who are you?" Chen Fusheng had just woken up and was still a little dazed. He felt that the face in front of him was somewhat familiar, but he couldn't quite place it.

"You must be Comrade Fusheng? My name is Chen Chong. I am a fan of your books and also a fan of your movies."

It turns out to be you!
Chen Fusheng had no liking for this woman who would later become a Westernizer, so he didn't even offer a smile and simply asked, "Is there something you need?"

"Actually, it's nothing much. I just heard that Comrade Fusheng came to our Shanghai Film Studio and thought I'd like to get to know you, but I didn't want to come empty-handed, so I bought you some fruit. I hope you don't mind."

As he spoke, Chen Chong handed over the fruit he was carrying.

However, Chen Fusheng dared not accept it.

He waved his hands repeatedly and said, "No, no, no, I appreciate your kindness, but how can I accept your gift for no reason? You should take it back and eat it yourself."

Seeing that she couldn't give the gift, Chen Chong seemed to have expected it and continued, "Comrade Fusheng, actually I am also an actress. I starred in Xie Jing's 'Youth' and last year I also acted in Zhang Zheng's 'Little Flower'. In May of this year, I won the Best Actress Award at the Hundred Flowers Awards for Popular Films for 'Little Flower'. I heard that you are looking for actors for your new screenplay. I would like to recommend myself. If there is a suitable role, I hope you can consider me. Thank you very much."

After saying that, she handed the fruit over.

Chen Fusheng, of course, still did not reach out.

"Okay, comrade, you are excellent, and I understand why you came. We will consider you if there is a suitable role. As for this gift, I really cannot accept it. You should take it back and eat it yourself."

At this point, Chen Fusheng didn't want to get into a fuss with an actress at the dormitory entrance, as it would easily lead to gossip, so he continued, "Well, I have to go to the film set now, that's all for now, you go ahead and do your work."

Chen Chong wanted to say something more, but to her utter surprise, the man turned around, closed the door, nodded at her, and left, leaving her standing there, completely ignored.

After a long while, Chen Chong finally reacted, staring resentfully at Chen Fusheng's retreating figure as he disappeared at the stairwell, and snorted coldly: "He has no gentlemanly manners at all, what a waste of such a handsome man!"

……

After Chen Fusheng arrived at the office space assigned to their film crew by the Shanghai Film Studio, it took another ten minutes before director Han Sanping finally arrived, and he couldn't help but make a joke:
"Old Han, your work attitude is not good. Our movie hasn't even started filming yet, and you're already feeling weak."

"Go away, stop spreading rumors about me. I was just held up by something."

"What is it?" Chen Fusheng asked casually, as the conversation had progressed to this point.

I didn't actually take it seriously.

But Han Sanping's next words surprised her.

“An actress named Chen Chong came to me, wanting to act in our movie. She came to me and offered herself up…” Han Sanping was halfway through his sentence when he noticed that Chen Fusheng’s expression was a little off. He asked in surprise, “Wait, what’s with that expression? Did she come to you too?”

"Are you also carrying some fruit?"

Chen Fusheng's answer left Han Sanping with a complicated expression... fearing he might make some promise, he then asked:

"You wouldn't be bribed by some fruit, would you?"

"Am I that kind of person?"

"That's good."

Seeing Chen Fusheng breathe a sigh of relief, Han Sanping, who knew him well, was rather surprised.

Seeing that no one was around, he lowered his voice and asked, "You seem to have some issues with that Comrade Chen Chong?"

"I didn't even know them before, so what opinions could I possibly have?" Chen Fusheng chuckled awkwardly, but he remained stubbornly defiant.

"What did you mean by 'no' just now?" "I was afraid you would easily promise the female lead off."

"No way, the female lead is so important, we have to arrange an audition and then discuss it with you."

At this moment, assistant director Bao Qicheng walked over, overheard their conversation, and smiled, saying, "I think I heard you two discussing the female lead. So, have you found someone yet?"

Han Sanping replied, "It won't be that fast. We just arrived and don't know many of the actors in your factory. But if we get the crew's work arranged this week, we can arrange auditions next week."

Chen Fusheng nodded in agreement; they had naturally discussed these work processes beforehand.

“That’s true.” Bao Qicheng echoed Han Sanping’s words, then continued, “Actually, I have a recommendation for the female lead; you two might want to take a look.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Fusheng and Han Sanping exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise in each other's eyes.

However, they still had to give the assistant director face.

Han Sanping asked again, "Who would Director Bao recommend?"

"You probably know her too. Her name is Zhang Yu. She's the female lead in 'Romance on Lushan Mountain.' Right now, her popularity in China is unmatched. So I'd like to recommend her for the role of Su Manqing in our show. What do you think?"

Seeing that Han Sanping was deep in thought, Chen Fusheng took the initiative to say, "Since there is an audition scheduled for next week, we can let her audition. If she is suitable, it will be no problem to let her play Su Manqing."

Bao Qicheng's intention was naturally to hope that Zhang Yu could skip the audition and directly get the role of Su Manqing. He believed that Chen Fusheng must have understood his opinion, but he said these words without even thinking about it. He was not sure if this was a polite refusal or if he needed to think about it further.

However, he felt that considering his previous collaboration with Zhang Yu, he had already done more than enough to help her, so he didn't say anything more on Zhang Yu's behalf.

After get off work, Chen Fusheng heard from the crew that he saw his name on the notice board in the guardhouse, so he went to the guardhouse without even eating dinner.

He guessed that his letter had arrived.

This is indeed the case.

"So your name is Chen Fusheng, right?"

"Yes, sir."

"Young comrade, you look unfamiliar. Are you a newcomer?"

"I guess so." Chen Fusheng took the letter from the old man, thanked him with a smile, and then turned and walked towards the cafeteria.

Unexpectedly, on the way back, I ran into Gong Xue, who was as famous as Zhu Lin in the 1980s.

Gong Xue also recognized Chen Fusheng. Of course, she didn't expect Chen Fusheng to know her, and she started to hesitate from afar about whether to greet him.

Just as the two were about to pass each other, a soft, subtle voice suddenly reached Chen Fusheng's ear:

"Hello, are you Comrade Fusheng?"

Chen Fusheng thought Gong Xue wouldn't greet him first, so when he stopped, he had to turn around and say, "It's me. Are you also an actor from the Shanghai Film Studio?"

"Yes..." Gong Xue was a little nervous and blurted out the wrong thing, so she quickly corrected herself, "No, no."

"Uh?"

"My name is Gong Xue... I am from the General Political Department Drama Troupe, but I was temporarily transferred to Shanghai Film Studio to act. I just finished acting in Song Cong's 'Good Things Take Time'."

"Hmm." Chen Fusheng nodded. Seeing that Gong Xue seemed hesitant to speak, he thought that her face would look better on camera, so he took the initiative to invite her: "Since Comrade Gong Xue, your filming has finished, our crew will be arranging an audition next week. You are welcome to come and give it a try."

"Okay, thank you, thank you, Comrade Fusheng. I will definitely come on the day of the audition." Gong Xue took a second to react before replying.

His tone was clearly excited.

Because she knew that Chen Fusheng was a screenwriter, an audition invitation from a screenwriter meant that there was at least one role in the play that was suitable for her. Although she didn't know how big or small the role was, she had heard that even the most famous actors in the factory were vying for such roles. She thought that she was lucky to even get a role, so she had no right to be picky.

But what Gong Xue didn't know was that Chen Fusheng actually wanted her to audition for the role of Su Manqing.

However, Chen Fusheng wasn't actually worried about finding an actress for the naive and innocent female lead, Su Manqing. On the contrary, it was Lin Meifeng, a woman who was both beautiful and charming, who was more of a headache for Chen Fusheng.

"Let's wait until after the audition next week. Maybe we'll find a suitable actor then."

Chen Fusheng shook off his distracting thoughts, went to the cafeteria for dinner, and decided not to go for a walk today. He returned to his dormitory and opened the letter that had been sent from Jiangcheng.

"My wife finally decided to quit her job? Not bad, a wise choice."

　P.S.: This chapter is 3k words long, full of sincerity, please give me a monthly ticket to encourage me!

　　I also saw some book reviews saying that the pacing is slow. What do you all think?
　　
　
(End of this chapter)