Chapter 352: Returning home without glory?

Wang Aiping hung up the phone, his expression not looking very good.

The call had been from his daughter, still talking about the matter from this noon.

She said there were many things to do at her workplace this morning, so she would go directly to the restaurant where they were eating, and Zhang Mingrui would drive over alone to pick him up. She told him to wait at the school gate at 11 o'clock and not to miss the time.

Zhang Mingrui was his daughter's boyfriend, a man from Long'an City. His family conditions were very good, and he was quite handsome. Having been with his daughter for over a year and having eaten at his home twice, Wang Aiping couldn't find any faults, so they had successfully entered the stage of discussing marriage.

This noon was the day for the parents of the Zhang and Wang families to meet for the first time to eat and discuss the wedding arrangements.

In fact, making a special trip to pick him up was also a way for the man's side to express their respect for him.

However, Wang Aiping's self-esteem got the better of him, and he just felt a bit uncomfortable.

It was still early, and with the semester ending, Wang Aiping had nothing to do, so he continued to scroll through Weibo.

He saw a blogger called "Entertainment Gossip Sister" reposting a screenshot of a post and replies from the Tianya Forum.

The first screenshot was the original post, made by a user named "Where to Find Joy 1990".

The title was: "Chen Nuo is indeed an excellent actor, but I feel he is being somewhat over-deified."

The content below was very simple, still talking about the incident from two days ago.

"Having seen some photos from the premiere of 'Ocean Heaven' and some Weibo posts from the audience, I felt compelled to speak."

"Chen Nuo has won quite a few awards in recent years, but compared to Li Lianjie, Zhang Ziyi, and others, he is still a junior after all."

"Wouldn't the audience in the cinema feel awkward? It feels a bit rude."

"If I were at the scene, I definitely wouldn't leave the protagonist of the event out in the cold."

"I really don't understand."

The following few images were replies to this post from various netizens on Tianya.

Dongshan Second Young Master: "If the original poster were at the scene, they would probably already be licking his boots."

Still Fantasy 11: "The original poster must be jealous, everyone forgive them."

x Nuonuo's Warm Sun: "I don't feel there is any deification. Many people like him, so there must be a reason. No one is forcing you to like him. So, what is the problem?"

Light Smile Awaiting Nuo's Return: "No one is deliberately deifying him either, but he is just likable, what can you do? When he was dating Liu Yifei, I was one of those who unfollowed him, but now I've followed him back. Can't find a substitute, sigh."

hana Chen Xiaohan: "Whoever can win the awards Chen Nuo has won all over again will also become a god."

I Am Your Uncle: "To the one above, where did they become a god? In your dreams? o(∩_∩)o Haha~"

I Really Don't Care: "It's just the 'Nuo Rice' fans stirring things up. He's just an actor. The real gods are those who protect the country."

Rosa in Milan: "Two years ago, before I went abroad to study, Chen Nuo wasn't as popular as he is now, and I wasn't his fan either. After going abroad, because of him, I made friends from many places, from all different countries. If you were alone in a foreign land and found that the only topic you could talk about with foreign classmates was Chen Nuo, you would deify him too."

Kun Is My Life: "Finally saw a clear-headed person. Actually, the most disgusting thing is the 'Nuo Rice' fans. Even acting with Chen Nuo gets you categorized by status. I have no opinion on Chen Nuo, but his fans really bring him hate."

Tianya Trash Station: "To the one above, who categorized your Chen Kun? We are all looking forward to their scenes together."

Leek Stock God: "The original poster is right! On foreign websites, he's already being cursed as a bloodsucker, and even Chinese people are being called greedy. The growth rate of his Facebook account followers has slowed down significantly after 20 million. After such a big incident, not a single person on the whole internet has stood up to speak for him. Isn't it said that Leonardo DiCaprio has a great relationship with him? Didn't Emma Stone say he was her Chinese man? Why aren't they coming out to speak for him? Haha. Bragging that 'Nuo Rice' is number one in the world."

Nuonuo Returns to One: "Every few days someone starts a post like this, I'm impressed. Someone above said Chen Nuo relies on fans to stir up deification. I'm dying of laughter, he's been filming abroad for years, why don't other people's fans create gods, are their idols not worthy?"

Little Gege: "Chen Nuo is occasionally high-profile, and the haters start jumping and going crazy. Please support Nuo's two movies in the second half of the year, the sci-fi blockbusters by Director Jiang Wen and Director Nolan, thank you."

Jinhua Little Farmer: "If you don't understand, then don't try to."

Where to Find Joy 1990: "I don't want to understand, okay? ^_^ Isn't he just a human-shaped stud?"

Wang Aiping tirelessly finished reading these arguments on Tianya.

Seeing the original poster's last reply, he was very angry, thinking, sure enough, everyone says all the "Nuo-haters" are on Tianya.

He immediately clicked on the Weibo comment section and started typing away: "Objectively and fairly speaking, it's not deification, but from an actor's perspective, in a short five-year career, he can indeed be crowned a god! Several solid European Best Actor trophies, the first Oscar acting trophy for an Asian, and helping Korean cinema win their first Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Such achievements are unprecedented and will likely remain unsurpassed..."

Director Wang typed eloquently for a long time, then suddenly saw the four words "human-shaped stud," and looked at what he had written.

Director Wang, who had taught Chinese for almost a lifetime, sadly discovered that he had gone off-topic.

After deleting the reply he had worked so hard to type, Director Wang thought for a moment and simply decided to look at the next Weibo post.

After lingering in the office until around 11 o'clock, Director Wang locked the door and went downstairs.

Although this counted as leaving early, as the Dean of Students, this little privilege was naturally not worth mentioning.

Walking from the third floor where the Dean's office was located to the ground floor, the late June sun was bright and dazzling, to the point that the red banners with white characters hanging outside the corridor of the main teaching building facing the school gate were a bit hard to see clearly.

Wang Aiping squinted and looked up for a while, thinking it might be marks left by the rain from a few days ago, as the banners were stained with some dirt and looked gray.

The one that said "Warmly congratulate our school's 2002 alumnus Chen Nuo for winning the 62nd Cannes Best Actor" had been hanging since last May, and having been replaced three times in between, it was time to take it down now.

Perhaps it could be combined with the banner below that said "Congratulate our school's alumnus Chen Nuo for once again winning the 60th Berlin Best Actor" into one,

written as... "The only Asian to win international Best Actor three times" or something?

Wang Aiping scratched his head and muttered: "Haven't taught for a long time, my brain isn't turning."

He decided to bring it up at the next meeting; brainstorming would always produce a catchy phrasing. When he told the principal then, he should agree, right?

After all, it wasn't touching that "lifeline" banner.

Pausing his steps, he continued walking forward, passing the bulletin board by the playground. The few red congratulatory notices on the board had also been faded by the rain, the ink mottled, and only intermittent words could be vaguely seen,

like "Chen Nuo," "Best Actor," "Honor," and the specific content was already blurred.

The sun made Director Wang's forehead sweat, and he was too lazy to look much, walking straight toward the school gate.

The school gate was much wider than it had been a few years ago.

Here, there was the principal's "lifeline" banner.

Spanning across the facade of the school gate, even from 50 meters away, the handwriting could be seen clearly.

"Warmly congratulate our school's 2002 student Chen Nuo for winning the 80th American Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor."

How many years had it been?

3 years or 4 years?

Director Wang couldn't quite remember; in short, after this banner was hung up, regardless of wind, rain, frost, or snow, it had always been firmly hanging behind the school gate, watching the vicissitudes of life and experiencing the winds and clouds.

Even two years ago, when the number of enrolled students for that year first broke the 2,000 mark,

even when the original principal was transferred to be the vice-principal of the First High School, and the current principal descended from who knows where to take the full-time position here,

even when he, old Wang, had bid farewell to the days of eating chalk dust before retirement and sat in the leader's chair, spending all day scrolling through posts in the office,

this banner had only been replaced repeatedly, and no one had ever thought of taking it down.

For an ordinary vocational high school, this might be inappropriate.

However, just like at the beginning of this year, when the principal, in response to certain remarks, slammed the table and said very firmly: "What's inappropriate? Who said it's inappropriate? People from the First High School or the Second High School? If they feel it's inappropriate, trouble them to go find the leaders of the Education Bureau!"

"I'm not being unreasonable, it's because our Anxiang Vocational High School is a vocational school. Students in ordinary classes are only a minority; most students come here to learn a skill."

"I'll just ask one thing: does acting count as a professional skill, and is being an actor an employment path?"

"What we need to think about now is not taking down the advertisement; on the contrary, everyone needs to start researching what prerequisites are needed if our school opens a film and television performance vocational training class!"

"Hehe, whoever from the bureau comes, I'll tell you, wanting me to take down the banner is impossible!"

Of course, later Director Wang learned that the principal's connections came from a certain deputy department-level official in the province, but that was a story for another time.

Wang Aiping hadn't waited long at the school gate, around 2 minutes past 11, when a tall, new car without a license plate stopped beside him.

Wang Aiping didn't drive, didn't like cars, and naturally, there was no car at home.

He knew very little about cars.

However, he happened to recognize this one.

He knew this car was very expensive.

Come to think of it, this was the first time he had seen this car logo in Anxiang.

The window rolled down, and a very handsome young man sat in the seat, waved at him, and said: "Uncle Wang, get in."

Wang Aiping felt even more uncomfortable.

His daughter said he was old-fashioned.

But he just felt that this Zhang Mingrui always had an indescribable arrogance when facing their Wang family.

It wasn't that he was impolite, but in his demeanor, he didn't really take him seriously, without any of that trepidation one should feel when meeting their father-in-law.

It had been like this since the first meeting.

It was as if bringing a few bottles of Moutai, a few cartons of Zhonghua cigarettes, and a few large bags of health supplements was enough to make him sell his daughter, as if marrying him was Wang Yue's good fortune and the Wang family's luck, not fearing at all that he, the father, would object.

Including now, it was the same.

Wang Aiping recalled the feeling of caution when he first met his wife's father, and seeing Zhang Mingrui acting so brazenly, waving at him as if he were some pet dog... he really almost turned around and left.

However, thinking of Wang Yue and the look on his wife's face, Wang Aiping swallowed his anger and got into the car.

Perhaps noticing Wang Aiping's bad mood, as soon as the car moved a bit, Zhang Mingrui smiled and took the initiative to start a topic: "Uncle Wang, this car is one I bought specifically for Xiao Yue. After we get married, I plan to let her drive it. She's had her driver's license for several years but hasn't used it; it's a bit of a waste."

Wang Aiping said blandly: "According to the rules, for this marriage, your family provides the house, and we should buy the car."

Zhang Mingrui laughed: "No need, Uncle Wang. You and Auntie Liu should keep your money for retirement. My dad said, the house and the car, our family will provide everything."

Wang Aiping said: "There is no such saying."

Zhang Mingrui said: "Really no need."

Wang Aiping said: "It's a must."

After a moment of silence, Zhang Mingrui chuckled: "Alright then, we'll add a little more and buy another one."

"Add a little more?"

Zhang Mingrui said: "Uncle Wang, you don't drive, so you might not know, but cars have good and bad qualities, and safety performance is also different. For example, those domestic cars that cost tens of thousands, the safety performance isn't good. I won't let Yueyue drive that kind of car. If you really want to spend money, then I can only give a little more and buy another car. Let's just say this car was bought by you, okay?"

Wang Aiping's breathing became heavy and coarse, as if a fire was burning in his chest, yet he didn't know how to vent it for a moment.

Zhang Mingrui glanced at him sideways, then turned back to continue driving, saying: "Uncle Wang, I really don't mean anything else. This is a fact. You two have worked hard for a lifetime; to be honest, the money you've earned might not be as much as what my dad makes selling two houses. What I like about Yueyue isn't the money. I've studied abroad for several years and have seen the outside world, but I still feel that Chinese girls are suitable for me. Why? Gentle, kind, family-oriented, willing to take care of children. Two people being together, that's the most important thing. Material conditions, those aren't important. I don't value those at all."

"Besides, our Xichuan is not like other places; there is no such thing as a bride price, and I already feel bad about that. If I ask you to spend money to buy a car, I feel even more uneasy."

"I don't want Yueyue to drive cheap cars. And expensive cars, like this Cayenne, cost over 2 million on the road; you two old folks definitely can't afford it. Really, Uncle Wang, just keep your money for retirement, eat well and live well in the future, and take care of yourself; that's the blessing for us juniors."

Wang Aiping only felt his self-esteem being trampled underfoot, step after step.

However, he had to admit that every word his prospective son-in-law Zhang Mingrui said was correct.

He had taught for a lifetime, and in a school like Anxiang Vocational High School, the salary was low, and no one asked him to tutor; after teaching for decades, apart from the two-bedroom apartment in the old residential area where he lived, he could be said to have saved nothing.

Including the little savings he had painstakingly accumulated in the bank, it really might not be as much as what others earned selling two houses, and he couldn't even afford one tire of this car.

Come to think of it, he was a Dean of Students now, but what did that count for?

Compared to a mere teacher, how much straighter could his back be?

Just about to sit down and eat with a big real estate boss, what could make the other party look at him with respect?

Wanting to support Yueyue, wanting his daughter to have some confidence when she marries over, wanting to scrape together a decent dowry... what could he, Wang Aiping, do?

Unless he sold the house!

Perhaps because he knew he had said too much, Zhang Mingrui didn't speak for the next few minutes, letting Wang Aiping's mind wander wildly.

But, after selling the house and taking out over 200,000 to buy a car, what then after putting on a brave face? Would it really have any effect? Perhaps in their eyes, it would still count for nothing.

Wang Aiping thought back and forth, and for a moment, he felt completely disheartened.

He only felt that he had lived his life achieving nothing, a total failure, and even when marrying off his daughter, he couldn't let her hold her head high in front of her in-laws.

At this moment, Director Wang really had a fleeting thought of wanting to jump out of the car and be crushed to death.

However, at this time, a harsh Nokia ringtone sounded, breaking the awkwardness and silence in the car.

Wang Aiping took out his phone and saw it was a teacher surnamed Li who worked under him.

His heart couldn't help but skip a beat.

Just said, Teacher Wang had a suspicion of leaving early when he left today. Although he was senior and his position wasn't low, he wasn't truly untouchable in the school.

Especially that iron-faced principal who had heaven-reaching connections and wanted to make Anxiang Vocational High School strong.

If he were caught leaving early, he might really do something that would make him lose face.

Wang Aiping forgot the humiliation and depression from just now, and immediately picked up the phone: "Hello, Li Gang, what's wrong? Is it the prin..."

Before Wang Aiping finished speaking, he was interrupted by the voice coming from the other side, and his expression suddenly froze.

Zhang Mingrui in the driver's seat looked at his appearance and couldn't help but secretly find it funny.

After Wang Aiping hung up the phone, he took the initiative to ask: "What's wrong? Uncle Wang, is there something at school?"

"Yes, something happened." After Wang Aiping hung up the phone, his brain was buzzing, and for a moment he really couldn't come back to his senses. If it weren't for Li Gang being extremely excited and adamant, and today not being April 1st, he would really think this was an April Fool's joke.

"Xiao Zhang, turn back and take me back to school." Wang Aiping steadied himself and said.

Zhang Mingrui thought to himself, sure enough, and couldn't help but chuckle: "Uncle Wang, look, we are almost there; whatever it is, let's talk after we eat."

"Not eating for now. You take me back first." Wang Aiping said.

Zhang Mingrui laughed: "It's right ahead, Uncle Wang; my dad and the others have all arrived, and Yueyue is probably here too, so you..."

"I told you to take me back!!!" Wang Aiping suddenly roared, his voice like a thunderclap, carrying a majesty and urgency rarely seen on weekdays, hitting Zhang Mingrui's ears directly.

Zhang Mingrui was startled by this sudden roar, his hand shook, he almost lost his grip on the steering wheel, and the car swayed slightly on the road.

He subconsciously glanced at Wang Aiping, only to see this usually mild-mannered old Dean of Students, his face flushed, veins appearing on his forehead, his eyes full of uncontrollable excitement and anxiety, completely unlike the silent and depressed look from just now.

Zhang Mingrui swallowed, and for a moment didn't dare to say another word.

"Okay, okay, okay, Uncle Wang, don't be anxious, I'll turn around right now." Zhang Mingrui hurriedly softened his tone, forced a smile, and quickly turned the steering wheel, finding an intersection to turn back.

He muttered to himself, how did this old man suddenly become like a different person? Just now he was as wilted as a frost-bitten eggplant, but now he's like he ate gunpowder. What exactly happened at school to make him lose his composure like this?

After the car turned around, Zhang Mingrui tentatively asked: "Uncle Wang, is there some emergency at school? Should I call my dad first and postpone the meal?"

Wang Aiping didn't pay any attention to him, just stared fixedly out the window, his lips pressed tightly, his old-fashioned Nokia gripped so hard his knuckles turned white, as if he were trying to suppress something.

The car fell into a dead silence again, with only the low roar of the engine and the occasional sound of a horn.

Zhang Mingrui stole a glance and saw Wang Aiping's expression was very complex; although excited, it didn't seem like a bad thing. He opened his mouth, wanting to ask, but suddenly remembered Wang Aiping's man-eating look from just now, and felt a bit timid, not daring to say it out loud.

At this time, Wang Aiping suddenly spoke: "Drive faster."

Zhang Mingrui felt a chill like never before, and hurriedly stepped on the accelerator, the car speed suddenly increasing.

Finally, the car drove back to the gate of Anxiang Vocational High School. Wang Aiping jumped out as soon as the car stopped, without leaving a word, and rushed into the school. Zhang Mingrui sat in the car, blankly watching his back disappear into the school gate, his mind a mess.

He sat at the gate of Anxiang Vocational High School for a few minutes, not knowing what to do.

Caught in a dilemma, he ultimately did what he did with all past matters: asked his father what to do.

His father listened to him finish, didn't say anything on the phone, just told him to come over and talk.

After hanging up, Zhang Mingrui knew his dad must be angry.

The Long'an project was about to open, and as the boss, there were many things to do.

This time he made a special trip to Anxiang for his sake, but it looked like they couldn't even eat the meal now. If he just went over like this, maybe his and Wang Yue's matter would be ruined.

Although Zhang Mingrui had a bit of a rich second-generation playboy temperament and lacked much of his own opinion when doing things, to be honest, he didn't really look up to Wang Aiping, a poor teacher.

However, he really liked Wang Yue.

Knowing his old man was probably going to vent his anger on both of them because of Wang Aiping, and might even break up the couple, Zhang Mingrui hardened his heart and just threw the car on the side of the road and ignored it.

Anyway, getting a ticket from the traffic police was nothing to him.

He had to go in and see what Wang Aiping came back for.

If it was because he was caught by the leader and had to be fined, he would pay the money. Ten times, a hundred times, it didn't matter; in short, he had to drag Wang Aiping over to eat this meal no matter what.

The school guard saw Director Wang get out of his car, so Zhang Mingrui successfully walked into the school gate of Anxiang Vocational High School.

Naturally, the first thing he saw were those few banners.

He didn't pay any attention to them.

He had heard that Chen Nuo was Wang Aiping's student until his ears were calloused. Anxiang Vocational High School was quite famous in all of Long'an.

Including when he first met Wang Yue, they talked about Chen Nuo.

It was precisely because he talked about how Chen Nuo was in the UK that he gradually opened the girl's heart, thinking he was a good person and very reasonable, unlike many domestic boys who were narrow-minded, impossible to communicate with, and unreasonable, always blackening Chen Nuo whenever they talked about him.

However, he didn't think Chen Nuo would have any relationship with Wang Aiping.

That person was either filming in the US or in Korea, and it was said his home had moved to Jingcheng.

For the past two years, he hadn't even returned to Xichuan, and he hadn't managed any family matters.

When "Under the Hawthorn Tree" was released, even for the Chengdu premiere, only Zhang Yimou and Liu Yifei came, and a video was played at the scene, saying a few words in Xichuan dialect to everyone and saying hello.

At that time, he and Wang Yue were at the scene, which made Wang Yue, who had originally thought there might be a surprise, disappointed for a long time.

If it weren't for this, his dad Zhang Ke wouldn't have wanted to compete with Xinnuo Real Estate for the position of Long'an City's real estate leader.

Not to mention Wang Aiping, this teacher who had only taught the person for about a year and whose relationship wasn't even that good.

After becoming successful, it would be strange if he still remembered him.

Precisely because he was thinking this, when Zhang Mingrui went upstairs and found the entire teacher office area empty, he was really quite surprised.

Afterwards, following the sound of voices, he groped his way up to the third floor and found that half the corridor was full of people. It looked like all the teachers in the school had come over, each one whispering and discussing excitedly.

And the center they were surrounding was the door of an office with a Dean of Students sign hanging on it.

Zhang Mingrui felt he shouldn't be able to squeeze through, so he asked a young man on the outermost edge who was standing on tiptoe looking inside: "Teacher, what's going on?"

The man looked at him, suddenly frowned, and asked with some vigilance: "Who are you? A reporter? How did you get in?"

Reporter? What reporter? Would a reporter come to this broken place? Could it be that a student jumped off a building?

Zhang Mingrui was a bit confused and explained: "No, I am... the son-in-law of Director Wang of your school's Dean of Students office. My surname is Zhang, and I'm here to pick up Director Wang for a meal."

The male teacher said with a sudden realization: "You are Director Wang's... what is Director Wang's daughter's name?"

"Wang Yue."

The male teacher relaxed all of a sudden and said: "Hello, hello, my name is Kong Xiangsheng."

Zhang Mingrui was really speechless. Was Wang Aiping some big shot? He even had to test him. Did he think someone would impersonate Wang Aiping's son-in-law? What a joke.

He forced a smile and said: "Hello, Teacher Kong. I want to ask, what's going on? What happened to Uncle Wang, why are there so many people?"

Hearing this question, Zhang Mingrui felt that Kong Xiangsheng's expression was hard to describe.

It felt very much like in the 90s, when his family had just made their first pot of gold through real estate, and an uncle who grew up with his dad came to his house to play. He asked how much money his dad made selling those buildings he built in Jianyang.

And then, hearing the number his dad reported, that kind of feeling of envy, jealousy, and hatred that permeated from the inside out, from every pore.

Kong Xiangsheng coughed and said: "Chen Nuo came half an hour ago; he came to find Director Wang."

PS:

In the early morning when I posted this, Ukraine signed it.

Someone's extreme pressure worked again.

Everyone go back and look at the chapters on the art of the deal, summarize those four steps, and combine them with the news from these two days; you should have some different feelings.

But personally, I feel that Donald's handling of this matter is a bit like winning but losing, short-sighted; in the long run, it may lead to "people's hearts being scattered, and the team being hard to lead."

Brothers who have monthly tickets, vote again, see if we can hit 3,000 votes in the last three days, let me draw another prize on the 25th of next month. Hehe.

The word count after the PS is not charged.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 353 =====