Chapter 190: Her Face Is So Tender, So Smooth (Guaranteed First Chapter)

"One, two, three…" Mei Wenhua counted Wei Ming's and Biaozi's award certificates: Wei Ming had four, Biaozi only three.

"Looks like Ming-ge still has the upper hand!" Mei Wenhua concluded.

Zhao Debiao objected: "I got two firsts and one second in my three events; Ming-ge got one first and three thirds—so I'm still better."

Wei Ming waved his hand: "Fine, you're the best."

Biaozi immediately brightened up—this praise was extremely high.

In high spirits, Biaozi decided to treat everyone tonight and introduce Wei Ming to his Yanzi.

Yanzi had originally planned to come in person to cheer him on, but their martial arts team had a performance duty today, so she could only come in the afternoon.

Biaozi declared: "If Yanzi shows up, all three events will be first place."

Wei Ming believed him—if Xue-jie or Lin-jie came to cheer for him, he could win all four firsts; male competition in front of women and female competition in front of men were normal phenomena, nothing to be ashamed of.

Counting the days, if there were no reshoots, the "Herdsman" crew should have returned to Beijing by now, right?

Just as he was thinking this, the gate guard's colleague called out excitedly from above.

"Biaozi, your Yanzi's here!"

Biaozi always talked about Yanzi, so when Huang Jiaoyan mentioned Zhao Debiao's name, the guard immediately understood.

Huang Jiaoyan was perfectly at ease, showing no embarrassment; as soon as Biaozi came out, she took his hand and asked about his results at the sports meet.

Biaozi was proud, feeling quite honored—but it would've been better if Yanzi's eyes weren't fixed on Ming-ge.

Yanzi: He's truly handsome—tall and good-looking; back in school, the cutest boy, Little Li, paled in comparison.

"Yan-zha, let me introduce you—this is Ming-ge, the righteous, loyal friend I've told you about so often."

Biaozi emphasized "righteous and loyal"—this was a subtle warning to Ming-ge: Don't you dare spread your charm just because my girl's pretty—pull it in!

Yanzi had already met Mei Wenhua; this time the main introduction was for Wei Ming, but really, she was just admiring him—deep down, Biaozi still felt more solid and reliable to her.

Besides, Biaozi had an advantage no ordinary man had—though she'd never seen it herself, the boys all whispered about Biaozi's donkey-sized equipment.

The four headed straight for the Long March cafeteria, chatting as they walked; soon after they sat down, Qiao Feng arrived, and Biaozi immediately reintroduced everyone, asking: "Brother Feng, why isn't Sister-in-law here?"

Qiao Feng shook his head: "She had terrible morning sickness recently; though it's improved, she still can't stand greasy or meaty food, so she didn't come."

The restaurant's signature dishes like braised tripe were all things she couldn't tolerate—no point ruining everyone's appetite.

Yanzi was a bold, spirited woman; when the men ordered alcohol, she drank just as much as they did—her personality was truly likable.

Originally, Biaozi was treating everyone today to introduce his girlfriend to the brothers, but the conversation soon turned to Wei Ming, and Brother Feng showed deep concern about his housing situation.

If money could buy a house, he'd have to consider this too—for the sake of his future family's happiness.

Although the school could assign housing, at his rank, he'd likely get only a one-bedroom, one-living-room unit—better than his current place, but cramped once his parents came over.

This was just his mother-in-law coming; if his own mother came too, plus the baby soon to be born—how could they possibly fit?

Wei Ming made a bold prediction: "If you can, try to earn as much money as possible over the next two years—in just a few years, all those housing purchase restrictions will be lifted significantly; then buying a home will be far freer. Even in the four-ninth city, if you have the money, you can just buy a Sihe Academy outright."

Before large-scale commodity housing developments took off, owning even a small Sihe Academy alone—without having to crowd with others—was already a real achievement.

All three men at the table listened carefully, but Biaozi and Xiao Mei were temporary workers who'd risk salary deductions to head south for goods—no problem for them; Brother Feng, however, was troubled—he was now a section chief and couldn't take frequent leave.

After dinner, back at the South Gate, Biaozi prepared to take Yanzi home when the gate guard told Wei Ming:

"Ming-ge, a man claiming to be Director Xie Jin called you—he said he's back in Beijing and is filming at the Yanjing Hotel."

Wei Ming's expression lit up: "Got it!"

Xue-jie was finally back! The next day, Wei Ming skipped lunch at school, hopped on his motorcycle, and rode straight to the Yanjing Hotel, finding the "Herdsman" crew shooting the father-son scenes.

Xie Jin introduced Wei Ming to the two main actors in this segment: Liu Qiong, playing the father, and Chen Xiaoyi, playing his secretary.

Old Man Liu Qiong was also a director himself—more senior than Xie Jin.

His famous 1960s film "A Shi Ma" had only been released last year; though it received huge acclaim, the lead actress Yang Likun had since gone mentally unstable. Wei Ming patiently watched them film for hours—the father-son scenes were crucial, a clash of two ideologies; Old Man Liu Qiong raved over Wei Ming's dialogue, calling it deeply flavorful.

After they wrapped up in the afternoon, Wei Ming chatted casually with Director Xie and learned that Gong Ying had taken the role in Shanghai Film Studio's "Good Things Take Time"; Director Song Chong hadn't found a suitable actress, and upon hearing Gong Ying was about to finish filming, he re-extended the invitation.

He felt more confident using Xie Jin's female lead for his own film.

"Pity I didn't get to meet her," Wei Ming thought—he still wanted to ask how the Revlon lipstick had worked.

Xie Jin: "Pity? She hasn't left Beijing yet."

"O~"

So while it was still not fully dark, Wei Ming rode over to the General Political Department Drama Troupe and brought her out.

Too bad the street had no streetlights—he couldn't see how it looked.

"So this is your motorcycle?" Gong Ying had never seen one before—it looked impressive.

"Yeah, want a ride?" Wei Ming started the engine; the headlights shone directly on Gong Ying's face—her complexion looked much better.

Gong Ying thought for a moment: "Alright."

!

But once on, she only gripped the seat with both hands, not touching Wei Ming; and Wei Ming didn't speed up or suddenly slow down.

In a flash, Wei Ming took her to the riverside, parked, and they strolled; other couples were there too, somewhat like Shanghai's Lover's Wall.

Seeing Wei Ming stare intently at her face, Xue-jie brought up the makeup topic herself: "The Revlon you gave me is amazing—after just a few days, my skin already feels like it did before I went to the northwest."

Wei Ming smiled: "So if you keep using it, will your skin go back to how it was years ago?"

Gong Ying laughed: "Impossible." Old is old.

Wei Ming countered: "Why impossible? I heard some female stars in Hong Kong do it."

"No need—it's probably expensive, and is your friend trustworthy?"

"An unseen pen pal—a Hong Konger. But Hong Kong people are rich; they wouldn't cheat me out of a few bucks."

Gong Ying still shook her head—she'd used up the tube already; her salary couldn't afford such bourgeois luxuries.

But she was curious about Wei Ming's Hong Kong pen pal and started asking if it was a man or woman.

"She's a junior high girl—curious about mainland China, and I was curious about Hong Kong, so we started writing."

Hearing it was a junior high girl, Gong Ying unconsciously relaxed.

Then Wei Ming asked when she was leaving.

"I've already submitted a request to my superiors—once approved, I'll go," Gong Ying replied, sounding a bit melancholy.

But Wei Ming shattered her melancholy with two sentences.

"Xue-jie, what does it actually feel like when you put on that Revlon?"

"Hmm… cool and comfortable—I just applied it before coming out."

Wei Ming asked: "Can I touch it?"

Gong Ying's heartbeat quickened; she didn't say yes or no, just lowered her head.

So Wei Ming reached out.

Her face is so tender… so smooth…

(Please vote for monthly tickets! Old Buddha will stay up all night to write another chapter! Please give me your guaranteed monthly votes~)

(End of Chapter)