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

On the day his salary for "The Legend of Chu and Han" arrived in his account, Chen Mo stared at the numbers on the bank's app for half a minute.

It's not because there are too many.

This was because it was the first time in his 23 years of life that he had earned a decent amount of money through his own abilities.

It's not really that great, but after tax I got 180,000.

In the entertainment industry, this number is roughly equivalent to one-fifth of the number of times some popular celebrities post a blog post that ends in failure.

But for an unemployed actor who only had 20,000 yuan in his bank account three months ago, this was already a huge sum of money.

Chen Mo's first decision was to move.

I simply couldn't live in that rented room anymore.

The guy next door has been improving his snoring skills day by day. He has evolved from "simple snoring" to "snoring with a vibrato". Sometimes in the middle of the night, it sounds like someone is playing the accordion on the other side of the wall.

Chen Mo endured it for five years.

Now he has the right to be intolerant.

The new apartment is in an old neighborhood outside the Fifth Ring Road. It's a one-bedroom apartment on the sixth floor with no elevator. The monthly rent is 3,500 yuan.

It's not great, and it's expensive, but it's a generation better than the previous one.

Most importantly, it faces south, so it gets plenty of natural light.

What he had his eye on was that window.

The sunlight shines from eight in the morning until three in the afternoon, which is just enough for him to read and write notes.

On the day of the move, only one person came to help.

Xu Zhinian.

Xu Zhinian, a classmate of Chen Mo from the Central Academy of Drama's acting department, tried to make a name for himself for a year after graduation but failed, and then switched careers to become a screenwriter.

I currently work as a ghostwriter at a film and television company, writing scripts for others without necessarily being credited. My monthly salary is 8,000 yuan, which includes overtime pay and compensation for loss of dignity.

The "damage to dignity" fee was a name he came up with himself.

Xu Zhinian's most notable characteristic is that he talks a lot.

He's not just talkative in general, he's the kind of person who can talk to you with his eyes even if you shut him up.

He spoke about 300 sentences as he walked from the entrance of the residential complex to the sixth floor, a total of 128 steps.

"Why do you insist on renting the sixth floor? Do you have a grudge against elevators?"

"Cheap."

"How much cheaper?"

"The sixth floor is 500 yuan cheaper than the third floor."

"You made me climb six flights of stairs just to save five hundred yuan?"

"You don't have to come."

"You think you can move it all by yourself if I don't come? You only have two arms?"

"I once played Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King of Western Chu, with those two arms."

"Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King of Western Chu, didn't move house! He just set Xianyang ablaze after conquering it; there was no need for him to move!"

Chen Mo thought for a moment and nodded.

"You're right. I'll burn some next time too."

"...Can you please have a normal conversation?"

Chen Mo didn't have much luggage.

A suitcase, a backpack, and a cardboard box filled with books.

The suitcase contained all the clothes.

Xu Zhinian picked it up and weighed it in his hand, his expression subtle.

"Is this all the clothes you own?"

"That's enough."

How many formal suits do you own?

"Component."

"Parts? You're someone who just trended on social media, what if you have to walk the red carpet at some event someday?"

We'll see when the time comes.

"What will you wear then? Your cheap 9.9 yuan slippers?"

"That's called being down-to-earth."

That's called the Ground Palace.

The cardboard box is the heaviest.

Xu Zhinian almost strained his back when he moved to the fourth floor.

"Old Chen, what's in that box? Bricks?"

"Book."

"You're moving and only taking books with you?"

"Books are the most important thing."

"More important than clothes?"

"Clothes can be bought again when they're worn out. But once books are worn out, the notes and annotations can't be bought back."

Xu Zhinian opened his mouth, wanting to refute, but found that he couldn't.

Upon reaching the sixth floor, the two carried their belongings inside, and Xu Zhinian collapsed onto the floor like a fish that had been pulled ashore.

"I think I might die in your new house. Your housewarming celebration is my death day."

"Then you died a worthy death, moving to a new house."

Xu Zhinian raised his head from the ground and looked at Chen Mo for three seconds.

"You're here again."

"What, again?"

"Phonetic puns. Can you please fix this habit of yours?"

"It's incurable. It's a side effect of the Central Academy of Drama."

"The Central Academy of Drama doesn't teach puns."

"The Central Academy of Drama teaches dialogue. The foundation of dialogue is sensitivity to language. Puns are the highest expression of language sensitivity."

"Is talking nonsense your highest form of expression?"

Chen Mo smiled but didn't reply.

He walked to the window and opened it.

Sunlight suddenly flooded in.

The warm sunlight shone into the empty room, making the dust on the floor sparkle.

It's not big, not new, but it's bright and spacious.

He stood by the window and took a deep breath.

The air smells of locust blossoms.

There were a few old men playing chess in the park downstairs, and cars were coming and going on the road in the distance, the buzzing sound like a low background music.

Xu Zhinian got up from the ground, walked to his side, and also looked out the window.

"Sure, the lighting is really good."

"Um."

"You chose this house just because of this window?"

"Yes. Good lighting is needed for reading."

Xu Zhinian looked at his profile and suddenly felt a pang of emotion.

They were classmates.

Four years ago, when we graduated from the Central Academy of Drama together, there were thirty-two people in the class. Some were full of vigor, some were confused and anxious, and some were determined to make a name for themselves.

Four years have passed.

Some people changed careers, some went back to their hometowns, some spent three years in Hengdian running bit parts and still ended up running bit parts, and some joined short drama crews to film those vertical 90-second episodes.

Only Chen Mo truly made a name for himself.

Moreover, the first thing he did after making a name for himself was to rent a one-bedroom apartment for 3,500 yuan a month.

It's not a luxury house, not an apartment, just an ordinary one-bedroom apartment in an old neighborhood.

Xu Zhinian felt that this person was sometimes really hard to understand.

But it is precisely because it is difficult to understand that people admire it from the bottom of their hearts.

"Alright, stop looking." Xu Zhinian patted Chen Mo on the shoulder. "Hurry up and pack your things. Where's your desk?"

"I haven't bought it yet."

"Didn't you buy the furniture before you moved?"

"All I need is a desk and a rice cooker. I bought the desk online and it will arrive tomorrow. I'll bring the rice cooker with me."

Xu Zhinian's expression became even more subtle.

"Your first priority when moving is your desk, second priority is your rice cooker, what about your bed?"

"The landlord left one."

"Where's the cabinet? Where's the sofa?"

"No need. I don't have many clothes, so I can just leave them on the floor. I don't need a sofa either. At home, I either sit at my desk or lie in bed."

Xu Zhinian took a deep breath.

"What kind of life are you living? Like an ascetic?"

"An ascetic monk is also a monk (ascending), someone who is moving upwards."

"If you use a pun again, I'm leaving."

"No, please stay for dinner tonight, I'll cook."

"Can you cook?"

"I can cook rice."

"Just rice? What about vegetables?"

"Order takeout."

"So you bought a rice cooker just to cook rice?"

"Yes." Chen Mo was already washing the rice, his movements were very skilled. "I have a particular way of eating rice. It has to be soaked in soup to soften it before eating. Rice from outside is no good. It's either too hard or too sticky. Homemade rice is the best."

"Soak it in broth until it softens?" Xu Zhinian's face was full of disbelief. "Why don't you just eat the porridge directly?"

"They are different. Congee is congee, and rice porridge is rice porridge. The rice in congee is loose, while the rice in rice porridge is whole. It's just that the outside is softened by soaking, while the inside is still a bit chewy. The textures are completely different."

"You have a deeper understanding of a bowl of rice porridge than of a character."

"About the same depth."

Chen Mo explained the origin of this habit while cooking rice.

During his four years at the Central Academy of Drama, he spent almost every day in the rehearsal hall or library, often working until very late before going to the cafeteria.

By the time he arrived, the rice was already cold.

It's hard and chewy, like chewing pebbles.

He couldn't bear to throw it away and buy a new one, so he poured some hot soup into the bowl to soften the rice and ate it anyway.

At first, it was just passable.

It becomes a habit after a while.

Later, even when freshly cooked hot rice was placed in front of him, he would subconsciously pour a spoonful of soup into it.

If there's no soup, use plain water.

The rice must be soft.

After hearing the story, Xu Zhinian remained silent for a few seconds.

There were things he didn't say in those few seconds of silence.

He thought back to his four years at the Central Academy of Drama.

Other students go out to eat, go shopping, make short videos, and date after class.

After class, Chen Mo would go straight to the rehearsal hall and sometimes stay there for seven or eight hours, until it was dark when he came out.

His dinner was always cold rice and hot soup from the cafeteria.

Four years have passed as usual.

"Alright then." Xu Zhinian's tone suddenly softened. "A tyrant living off a woman, a timeless tale."

Chen Mo was stunned when he heard those five words.

Then he laughed.

"This is a good joke, I'll take it."

"Don't even mention it. I'm just stating the facts. The actor who plays Xiang Yu, the King of Western Chu, has to soak his food to soften it before he can eat. If his fans find out, his image will collapse on the spot."

"It won't fall apart; this is called 'gap moe' (a cute contrast between the two characters)."

"Gap moe? You, a 1.83-meter-tall man, are talking to me about gap moe?"

Height and cuteness are not mutually exclusive.

"Chatting with you is exhausting."

The two of them sat on the living room floor to eat dinner that evening.

Since there was no dining table, a moving box was used as a table.

I ordered two dishes for takeout: Kung Pao Chicken and Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes.

Chen Mo held a bowl of rice, poured two large spoonfuls of tomato and egg scrambled egg sauce into it, and stirred it.

White rice instantly turned into bright red tomato porridge.

Xu Zhinian looked at the bowl of food and silently picked up a piece of diced chicken.

"Seriously," Xu Zhinian chewed on some chicken, "what are your plans for the future?"

"wait."

"What are you waiting for?"

"Waiting for a good role."

"Aren't you in a hurry?"

"What's the rush?" Chen Mo took a bite of rice porridge. "A good role is like good rice; rushing it will only result in a half-cooked dish, while slow and steady wins the race."

"You're using rice as an analogy again."

"Because the logic makes sense."

Xu Zhinian looked at him and couldn't help but smile.

"Alright, then I'll toast Bawang." He raised the Coke can.

"To the screenwriter." Chen Mo also raised his Coke.

The two jars bumped into each other.

The sound was very soft, like a "ding".

The night outside the window was extremely quiet.

The warm lights in the new house illuminated two young people sitting cross-legged on the floor.

One is a new actor who just finished playing the role of Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King of Western Chu.

One was an unknown screenwriter who worked as a ghostwriter for film and television companies.

Sitting next to a cardboard box, eating takeout and drinking cola.

They were a bit poor.

But I'm living a pretty stable life.