Huayu: Starting with Xiang Yu, the Hegemon of Western Chu

When Luo Yifeng announced a three-day filming halt, Chen Mo was holding a bowl of millet porridge in the canteen at the residence.

His phone vibrated. He opened it and saw a group message from the assistant director: filming of the young Zhu Zhanji segment was complete. The crew would have three days off, and the actors were free to make their own arrangements.

Chen Mo finished his porridge, went back to his room, packed a backpack, and came out again.

There wasn't much stuff: two sets of clothes to change into, a well-worn copy of the History of Ming, a charger, and a toothbrush.

After finishing, he wandered around the entrance of the garrison, pondering how to get back to Yanjing.

The film crew's bus ride was a twelve-hour journey through mountainous terrain, and he didn't really want to take it again.

Renting a car and driving himself is fine, but he hasn't been sleeping well these past two days, so it's not safe for him to drive.

Just then, Lao Li, the lighting technician from the film crew, walked past him carrying his toolbox, glanced at him, and stopped.

"Xiao Chen? Back to Beijing?"

"Oh, Brother Li, you're going back too?"

"I'm driving back. I know the road to Zhangjiakou well; it should take about six hours. Want to ride with me?"

Chen Mo's eyes lit up: "That's great!"

Old Li chuckled and said, "Get in the car, enough talk."

Old Li is from Daxing, Yanjing. He's in his early fifties and has been working in lighting for thirty years. Chen Mo had met him on set but hadn't spoken much. It wasn't until he got in the car today that he realized this guy was a real chatterbox.

As soon as the car started, Old Li began to chatter.

He chatted about everything from the weather in Bashang to the weight loss exercises his wife had seen on a short video a couple of days ago, from the road construction on the national highway to his daughter's college application this year, and even interjected about how his uncle grafted an apple tree into the jujube tree in his yard last year.

Chen Mo initially responded with a few words, but later realized there was no need to; Old Li could chatter for three hours straight.

He simply leaned back in the passenger seat, listening to these mundane family matters that had nothing to do with Zhu Zhanji, and gradually relaxed.

The tension I've been under for the past two months on set has finally eased a little.

After driving for an hour and a half, Lao Li suddenly stopped the car at the service area.

"Xiao Chen, I need to video call my wife. She wants me to report where I am today."

"Okay, go ahead and call."

Old Li picked up his phone and dialed. The call was answered quickly by a middle-aged woman: "Old Li, you haven't eaten on time again, have you?"

"I've eaten."

"What did you eat?"

"...we'll eat at the next service area later."

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone, then the nagging began. Chen Mo suppressed a laugh and looked out the window.

Halfway through his rant, Old Li suddenly turned his phone camera towards Chen Mo:

"Look, honey, who is this?"

Before Chen Mo could react, a scream came from the other end of the phone.

"Xiang Yu! My God, Lao Li, are you with Xiang Yu?"

Chen Mo: ......

He gave a polite smile to the shocked middle-aged woman in the camera's view.

"Hello, sister-in-law."

"Oh, hello, hello, could you please give me a heart gesture? My daughter is your fan."

Chen Mo scoffed inwardly and resignedly made a heart shape with his hands towards the camera.

"Sister-in-law, could you please tell your daughter to do well on her college entrance exam?"

"Hey, did you hear that? Xiang Yu is telling you to do well on your college entrance exam!"

I don't know who the person on the other end of the phone is shouting to.

Old Li hung up the phone, turned to look at Chen Mo, and grinned: "Thanks, Little Chen."

Chen Mo sighed: "Brother Li, you came prepared, didn't you?"

Old Li laughed heartily: "Little Chen, don't mind me. My daughter was crying in front of me the other day, saying that her dad has been on film sets for so many years and has never let her meet any celebrities. I'm just giving my daughter a lesson."

Chen Mo smiled and didn't say anything more.

He was actually quite happy inside; this forced performance was much more comfortable than a formal book signing.

After a six-hour drive, we arrived in Yanjing in the evening.

Old Li dropped Chen Mo off at the subway station near the Third Ring Road, waved goodbye, and left.

Chen Mo got off the subway with his backpack, transferred two more stops, and arrived at Yinhe Beili Station just in time for the evening rush hour.

He left the station with the flow of people, and no one looked at him.

That's good about BJ, nobody cares who you are.

He bought some frozen dumplings from the supermarket and carried the plastic bag home.

He could walk through the Yinhe Beili residential area with his eyes closed. The asphalt road leading to the entrance was covered with fallen yellow leaves from the poplar trees on both sides. The property manager was listening to Peking Opera in the gatehouse, with a pot of tea steaming in the air.

When I got to the building where he lived, I bumped into the old lady from the next unit.

The old lady was over seventy years old, surnamed Liu, and lived alone. She had six cats. Chen Mo had helped her carry the TV twice before, and they had a pretty good relationship.

Today, the old lady stood shakily at the entrance of the building, carrying a bag of groceries in each hand, looking at the stairs with a worried expression.

"Grandma Liu."

The old lady looked up, saw him, and her eyes lit up with a smile.

"Hey Chen! You're back!"

"Yes, you're back. Let me get it for you."

Chen Mo took the two bags of vegetables, one in his left hand and one in his right.

The old lady lived on the fifth floor. There was no elevator in the building, so Chen Mo followed behind her as they slowly climbed up. The old lady would rest every two floors, but she never stopped talking.

"I heard you're filming a big movie lately?"

"Yes, a serious drama."

"Who are you playing?"

"An emperor of the Ming Dynasty."

The old lady said "Oh," and then said, "That's good, you've made something of yourself. My little fourth son saw you on TV the other day, that Xiang something-or-other Yu, right? You acted so well, I even cried."

Chen Mo smiled and said, "I'm glad you enjoy watching it."

"I love watching, I love watching," the old lady said between breaths. "Xiao Chen, you're a good kid, I'm telling you, you helped me a lot during those two years when you lived across the hall."

Chen Mo didn't respond; he wasn't used to being praised like that.

When they reached the fifth floor, the old lady opened the door, first settled the six cats, then turned around and took out a large cabbage from a bag of vegetables, insisting on giving it to Chen Mo.

"Here you go, Xiao Chen."

"No need, Grandma Liu, I just bought groceries."

"Here! This was sent by my daughter from our hometown in Shandong. It's especially sweet. You're filming alone out there, so have a bite of home-cooked food."

Chen Mo couldn't refuse, so he had no choice but to accept.

The old lady was satisfied and then added, "My daughter will bring my grandson over tomorrow. If you're not busy, I'll have her make you some dumplings."

Chen Mo felt a warmth in his heart and said, "No need to trouble Grandma Liu, I can wrap them myself."

"Oh, you can even wrap them?"

"meeting."

The old lady shook her head: "You young man, you can do everything."

Chen Mo returned to his apartment, opened the door, and tossed his backpack onto the sofa.

The room had a musty smell from being stuffy for almost two months, so he opened all the windows to let the evening breeze in.

Standing in the center of the living room, he looked around the small house.

An old sofa, an old TV, character notes he drew himself with markers on the wall, and a half-empty bottle of mineral water he hadn't finished before leaving the house last time.

Everything was exactly the same as when he left.

A thought popped into his head: Hey, this is really good.

This place is more comfortable than the base.

He put the large cabbage that Grandma Liu had given him into the refrigerator, along with the frozen dumplings he had just bought. Then he thought for a moment and decided not to eat the frozen dumplings; he would go downstairs to eat noodles instead.

Fifty meters to the left after exiting Yinhe Beili, there is a Lanzhou noodle shop.

This shop has been open for twenty years. The owner's surname is Ma, and he is from Gansu. He runs the business with his wife and son. Chen Mo started eating here the year he graduated, and over the past five years, he has eaten here at least three times a week.

He pushed open the door and went inside; there weren't many people in the store.

Boss Ma was kneading dough when he looked up at him.

"You're here?"

"They're here."

"Still the same as before?"

"Okay, add an egg."

"Alright."

Chen Mo sat down at the old table by the window.

He sat in that position for five years, and there are two small dents on the table that he poked with his chopsticks.

The old TV in the shop was on, playing a TV series. Chen Mo glanced at it and stared blankly.

The screen was showing a rerun of "Xiang Yu".

At this point in time, the show was airing the scene where he played Xiang Yu at the Feast at Hongmen.

Boss Ma clicked his tongue as he watched TV while making noodles.

"This young man who plays Xiang Yu is really good."

Chen Mo lowered his head and drank water without saying a word.

Boss Ma continued, "Look at his eyes, so upright. Nowadays, many young actors get carried away while acting, but this young man is steady."

Chen Mo was secretly pleased.

Mr. Ma's wife peeked out from the kitchen and looked at the screen: "Old Ma, are you watching this again?"

"I said that young man acted well."

Boss Ma's wife rolled her eyes, then turned her gaze to Chen Mo sitting by the window. Just as she was about to return to the kitchen, her hand suddenly stopped.

She stared at Chen Mo for three seconds.

He turned his head and glanced at the TV again.

Then he turned to look at Chen Mo.

Oh my god.

She took small steps over, tugged at Boss Ma's sleeve, and lowered her voice.

"Old Ma."

"What?"

"That young Chen by the window..."

"What's wrong?"

"Take a look."

Boss Ma looked up, glanced at the TV, and then at Chen Mo.

The noodles in the pot almost burned.

After a few seconds of hesitation, Boss Ma quickly scooped out the noodles, carried the large bowl over, and placed it in front of Chen Mo.

He didn't leave immediately; he stood by the table, holding back his thoughts.

Finally, he asked a question in a low voice.

"Xiao Chen...is that you?"

Chen Mo looked up and smiled at him.

"it's me."

Boss Ma almost blurted out the words "I'll fuck you!" but he forced them back down and coughed twice.

"Okay, okay, eat slowly."

He turned and went back to the kitchen. Chen Mo heard him mutter a long string of something in Gansu dialect in the back kitchen. He couldn't hear it clearly, but he could feel the excitement in his voice.

After a while, Boss Ma's wife brought over a small dish of pickled vegetables.

"Xiao Chen, you can have this pickled vegetable."

"Sister-in-law, I don't want her."

"Take it!"

Chen Mo held the pickled vegetables and bent down to eat his noodles.

There was an extra spoonful of beef than usual.

The egg has two yolks.

Chen Mo felt particularly comfortable while eating the noodles.

After he finished eating, he went to pay the bill.

Boss Ma refused to accept the money, so Chen Mo placed the money on the counter and said, "Brother Ma, if you don't accept it, I won't come back next time."

Mr. Ma was so frightened that he quickly took the money.

Chen Mo went out and started walking back.

The night breeze was cool, and the streetlights were on one by one. He carried his coat, which he had taken off, over his arm and slowly walked home.

As I passed by the property management office, the Peking Opera performance inside was still going on.

Chen Mo stood at the entrance of his apartment building and looked up at his window on the sixth floor.

Another thought popped into his mind:

That's really good.