Chapter 264: The First Shock of the Bloodbath

Zhang Yu began her career in Xie Jin's films, starring in three: Spring Seedlings, Youth, and Ah! Cradle, but always in supporting roles.

At eighteen, she stood beside Li Xiuming and Chen Chong like a henchman.

This year, with two hits—Bashan Night Rain and Lushan Love—she was propelled to the top spot among national actresses, unmatched in popularity.

The moment she appeared, the venue erupted in commotion; Gong Ying and Zhu Lin both turned their gazes toward Zhang Yu.

As for the two of them, Zhu Lin's film debut was essentially ineffective, and Gong Ying's Good Things Take Time did well enough, but its uproar in Beijing paled beside that in Shanghai—few here recognized her.

In this era, it had to be Zhang Yu—and as for why Zhang Yu was here…

Originally, Gong Ying was to take the train back to Beijing for her report, and Zhang Yu from Shanghai Film Studio was also coming to Beijing to film Zhiyin; they could have traveled together.

But Wei Ming got her an airplane ticket, and she landed effortlessly in Beijing—though Wei Ming learned of Zhang Yu's arrival.

The day after their return to Beijing, Zhang Yu finally arrived and checked into the Beijing Film Studio guesthouse; Zhu Lin also heard the news of the hottest actress coming to the capital.

Before this, she'd learned from some gossips at Beijing Film Studio that the New World posters had been replaced with Chen Chong and Zhang Yu—she had no idea when these two had become friends with Wei Ming.

She assumed the poster models were all Wei Ming's responsibility, but actually, these two were handled by Mei Culture Development.

Because of this connection, Wei Ming hatched a plan: have Mei Culture invite Zhang Yu to the wedding of New World's two bosses.

To avoid her refusal, Mei Culture subtly hinted that their good brother, the famous writer Wei Ming, would also attend.

Zhang Yu agreed mainly because of Wei Ming.

She had played three supporting roles in Xie Jin's films—no credit, but plenty of hard work—and she felt the female lead in The Herdsman should have been hers, but Wei Ming gave it to Gong Ying, an outsider.

Though resentful, she recognized Wei Ming's growing influence in the literary world over cinema, so she gladly accepted the invitation, hoping to make a friend—she was twenty-three and single.

But when she arrived, she didn't see Wei Ming at first; she was hosted by Mei Culture's sister-in-law and Biao's mother. Seeing this major star attend, both families felt immense pride.

At that moment, Mei Culture had just carried Yunyun to the second floor and paused, gripping the staircase railing.

Wei Ming teased him: "Want me to carry her for a bit? In some places, the brother-in-law carries his sister to her wedding."

Others joined in the teasing, especially the Peking University girls, stifling giggles as if to say: Can you even do it, little dog?

Xiao Mei straightened his back sharply: "No need! Yunyun, let's keep going!"

Yunyun felt guilty—had she been eating too much lately?

Finally, they reached the third floor. Room 301 was already lively, laughter echoing from inside—if it weren't his own wedding, Mei Culture would've gone in to tease Biao and his wife.

Mei Culture's home was Room 304; the two apartments were on opposite sides, both nearly seventy-square-meter units.

Watching Xiao Mei carry Yunyun inside, Wei Ming, as the elder brother-in-law, sighed in relief, then entered Room 301 to check on Biao's progress.

Inside, the room was packed with testosterone-fueled martial arts athletes—young men and women all looked sharp, and you could hear girls whispering in admiration.

To own your own apartment under twenty, not live with in-laws, and not pay a mortgage—this was the dream life!

Huang Jiaoyan was undoubtedly enviable.

Wei Ming also spotted the little guy Wu Jing darting through the crowd; today was his "bride's" wedding day, and he'd come to join the fun.

Before filming, Wu Jing had been accepted by Shichahai Sports School; after returning from Sichuan, he officially enrolled.

Wei Ming grabbed the little bald head: "Little Wu Jing, what are you doing?"

Wu Jing sighed: "Yanzi told me to roll on the bed and gave me a red envelope, but I can't squeeze in."

Hearing this, Wei Ming realized his assigned child bearers—Xizi, Lele, Pingping, and Fangfang—hadn't followed; he hurried back to find them.

Before leaving, he told Wu Jing: "See that Room 304 over there? You can roll there too—you'll get a red envelope."

Wu Jing's eyes lit up: "$$!"

Coming downstairs, he bumped into Biao's father, Uncle Zhao Tiezhu.

Tiezhu had been looking for him.

"Little Wei, the big star's here—your aunt told me to find you, to host her. You're both from the arts world, after all."

Oh, his useful tool had arrived—Wei Ming couldn't help but smile.

"Alright, I'll go see her."

Wei Anping and his wife finally arrived with their twin boy and girl, delayed on the way by a vendor selling candied haws.

When they arrived, guests were buzzing about Zhang Yu's arrival.

"The Zhao family really is impressive—big stars are coming to support them!"

"How do you know she's here for the Zhao family? Maybe she's here for the Mei family."

"Didn't you see Aunt Qian chatting with her? Clearly they know each other."

"Do you think you have to pay a star to attend a wedding?"

"What kind of talk is that? A people's performing artist attending a people's wedding—and you charge her? Reform and opening-up isn't about sinking into money!" barked an old-fashioned man.

The concept of "zouxue" had begun budding in Guangdong, but hadn't reached the north yet—Liu Xiaoqing hadn't even started.

Lu Xiaoyan heard Zhang Yu had arrived and asked: "Where? Where?"

Then Xizi pointed: "There! There! There!"

He ran off, and they followed—and saw Gong Ying.

"Snow Mom!" Xizi shouted excitedly.

Gong Ying, immersed in marveling at Zhang Yu's popularity, heard the familiar voice and turned to see Xizi holding a string of candied haws.

Gong Ying's face lit up: "Xizi, you look so adorable today."

She scooped up the round, plump Xizi and he generously shared his candied haws; then she greeted Lele and Wei Anping and Lu Xiaoyan.

"Uncle Ping'an, Sister Xiaoyan."

Wei Anping's expression turned odd—why am I "uncle" and she's "sister"?

Lu Xiaoyan was delighted—she felt younger, and rightly so; she and Gong Ying were nearly the same age, and they'd once lived and eaten together in the northwest, forging deep friendship.

The whole family of four sat with Gong Ying and Liu Rulong—even though strictly speaking they were Mei family guests, it didn't matter; both families had given gifts.

Gong Ying ate the sweet-sour candied haws and thought of the little gourd in Mom, Again, I Love You; she looked down at Xizi, and her eyes suddenly grew damp.

Lu Xiaoyan, still smiling, felt a pang: "Little Xue, what's wrong?"

Gong Ying waved it off: "Nothing—I just thought of a script, a very touching one."

She felt Xizi, in both age and appearance, perfectly matched the little gourd in the script, and an idea struck her.

Could she and Xizi play mother and son together?

Though it might feel awkward later when she had to call him "sister-in-law," at five or six, there were hardly any boys with such talent.

Hmm, I'll mention it to Xiao Wei later.

Just as she thought of Xiao Wei, Xizi pointed ahead: "Big Brother's here!"

Gong Ying looked forward and saw Wei Ming walking up to Zhang Yu, chatting with her.

Seeing Snow Sister looking over, Wei Ming immediately waved at their table: "Sister, you're here—I'm relieved. I've got other guests to attend to."

You're a guest; I'm family!

Because Zhang Yu was drawing attention, Zhu Lin didn't notice Wei Ming exchanging glances with Gong Ying—her eyes were fixed only on Zhang Yu's demure smile.

Soon Wei Ming changed direction and greeted Zhu Lin and Long Xiaoyang's table; Gong Ying didn't notice either—her focus remained on Zhang Yu's gaze toward Wei Ming.

This woman has ill intentions!

This was precisely why Wei Ming insisted on inviting Zhang Yu—she was a big enough target to draw fire; let Snow Sister and Lin Sister grow jealous of Zhang Yu—it didn't matter, since he had no real relationship with her, and he could explain it away.

But with them? He truly had something with them—if Snow Sister and Lin Sister clashed directly, he'd be in deep trouble.

Anyone who's ever been a player knows: multitasking is our basic skill.

Wei Ming now kept one eye on Snow Sister and Lin Sister while still chatting with Zhang Yu.

"Comrade Zhang Yu, when does your Youthful Intellectuals crew start filming?"

Zhang Yu blinked, then laughed: "Youthful Intellectuals? It's Zhiyin."

"Right, right, Zhiyin—I've been obsessed with Years of Wandering lately," Wei Ming chuckled.

Zhang Yu smiled as she answered: "Probably around Spring Festival—we're currently experiencing life and learning customs."

Wei Ming paused: "How do you experience life for this role? That sounds difficult."

She was playing Xiao Fengxian—a prostitute, essentially—could he really mean…

Zhang Yu laughed harder, blushing slightly; she guessed what he was thinking and explained: "The director asked me to read articles or books about the Republic era or famous courtesans—I haven't made much progress yet, so I'll start with materials on Xiao Fengxian."

Wei Ming immediately suggested: "You should read Chen Yinke's A Biography of Liu Rushi. I'm sure the director drew some inspiration from Liu Rushi in shaping Xiao Fengxian—and Chen Yinke's work is among the finest in this genre."

"Oh, really? There's a book like that?" She knew of the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai, but they were famous courtesans—could someone really write a book about them?

Wei Ming smiled: "I saw this book at the national book fair just recently—it was published this year, and Xinhua Bookstore should still have copies."

Chen Yinke's book was written long ago, but due to well-known reasons, it was only officially published this August.

Hearing Wei Ming's recommendation, Zhang Yu smiled and thanked him.

Li Chengru, a young man with hair, arrived too; he immediately spotted Wei Ming chatting with Zhang Yu—how enviable! Such an outstanding man surely had no shortage of partners.

Li Chengru had given gifts to both sides; he handled business between Jingshan Clothing Factory and New World, and New World's rise had made him a good profit—he'd even considered switching careers if not for his dream of acting.

Looking at the two camps, wondering where to sit, he suddenly spotted a familiar face.

Hey, what a coincidence!

Li Chengru walked straight to the Mei family side: "Excuse me—are you classmate Zhu Lin?"

Zhu Lin glanced at Li Chengru—he looked familiar: "Who are you?"

Was he a classmate from elementary or middle school?

Li Chengru sat down beside him, making Long Xiaoyang wary.

He was instantly familiar: "I'm Li Chengru, from the Film Academy's amateur acting training class—we both signed up back then. I got in—did you get in too?"

Zhu Lin now remembered: "Oh, Li Chengru—I recall now. Yes, I got in too."

"Then we're classmates now—hope you'll look out for me! Who'd have thought we'd meet here, haha!"

Zhu Lin asked, "Are you a friend of Mei Wenhua or Zhao Debiao?"

Li Chengru said, "I'm more familiar with Mei Wenhua, but even more so with Zhao Debiao's mother. Still, the person I know best is Wei Ming—Teacher Wei. He's not the groom today, but he's the elder brother to both grooms, and also my good friend."

Li Chengru shamelessly plastered himself with false prestige.

Zhu Lin grew interested, no longer paying attention to the unpleasant sight of Wei Ming and Zhang Yu, and asked, "You're good friends? How did you meet?"

Li Chengru: "First off, I'm sort of an outsider at the Beijing People's Art Theatre. Teacher Wei was acquainted with my master, and I was the one who helped him find his home—we're still neighbors now."

"You live in the Overseas Chinese Apartments too?"

"No, I live in Nan Chi Zi; he lives in Bei Chi Zi. Not far apart."

Zhu Lin: "Bei Chi Zi? Next to the Forbidden City?"

Long Xiaoyang saw the confusion on Zhu Lin's face and knew she had no idea about the Bei Chi Zi Sihe Academy.

He quickly said, "Oh, my brother recently bought a Sihe Academy to settle us in."

Zhu Lin nodded. Though he hadn't told her about it, she assumed he'd bought it hastily to host relatives—and given his income, buying a house wasn't a huge deal; he probably just thought it wasn't worth mentioning.

By vaguely framing the purchase timing and purpose, Long Xiaoyang had steered Zhu Lin away from suspecting anything else—but Xiaoyang knew he'd have to warn his cousin right away.

"And you are?" Li Chengru looked at Long Xiaoyang.

Long Xiaoyang: "Wei Ming is my cousin; Mei Wenhua is my brother-in-law."

"Oh my, a distinguished family! My apologies, young man—where do you make your fortune?"

"I raise quails back home."

Hearing this, Li Chengru instantly lost interest and turned back to Zhu Lin, wondering if she was the woman rumored to be the female lead in Shui Hua's film *Shang Shi*—and by whose connections she'd landed the role.

But before he could speak, Zhu Lin called out in a direction: "Mu Rong, over here, over here!"

Qiao Feng, Mu Rong, their daughter Qiao Shanshan, and the child's grandmother—all four had come.

Mu Rong had originally planned not to come; the baby was only two months old, the journey was long, and it was already winter.

But Qiao Feng borrowed a covered tricycle, and since these two young brothers had always helped his family, they all pitched in—Qiao Feng even gave them two big red envelopes.

With this family present, Zhu Lin chattered nonstop about the baby; Li Chengru couldn't get a word in.

Zhu Lin even held Qiao Tou Bao—Qiao Shanshan's nickname, given by a cruel uncle surnamed Wei.

"I held my sister's nephew before, and I've had to hold babies during filming," Zhu Lin cradled the child carefully, an uncontrollable surge of maternal love rising within her.

She glanced at Wei Ming on stage and thought: if she and Xiao Wei ultimately couldn't be together, she wouldn't take his money or his house—but she'd take a child. This little dumpling was too adorable!

She had to have one in this lifetime, or her life wouldn't be complete.

Hearing this, Li Chengru immediately said, "Miss Zhu Lin, are you filming a movie now?"

Zhu Lin puffed out her chest proudly: "Yes."

Mu Rong chimed in: "Miss Zhu is the female lead in Shui Hua's film! You know Shui Hua, right?"

"Of course! Isn't this movie an adaptation of Lu Xun's *Shang Shi*?"

Zhu Lin: "You've heard of it?"

"I read about it in the papers. There've been a lot of classic adaptations lately. I even heard a young man from Beijing Film Academy got cast as Xiangzi by Director Ling Zifeng before he even graduated," Li Chengru said, all-knowing.

They then began discussing the much-anticipated film *Shang Shi*. When Li Chengru asked how Shui Hua had chosen her, Zhu Lin mentioned the Dongfang Xintiandi poster.

"The head of the Beijing Film Studio's Literature Department saw the poster while shopping and recommended me to Director Shui Hua. I never expected it to actually happen."

"Ah, Miss Zhu Lin, your own talent and solid foundation made this possible—you were ready when opportunity came. Otherwise, such luck wouldn't have landed on you, let alone been seized."

Li Chengru grinned: "I know Dongfang Xintiandi too. The other person on the poster was Gong Yu, right? Her film *Good Things Take Time* has been really popular lately…"

Hearing this, Long Xiaoyang's nerves tightened again. Last night, his cousin had confided in him about this very task—how could he possibly mention Gong Yu in front of Zhu Lin?

This was a forbidden topic!

"Do you know what dinosaurs are?"

As Li Chengru mentioned Gong Yu, Long Xiaoyang abruptly changed the subject to dinosaurs.

Qiao Feng eagerly joined in: "Isn't that some kind of ancient creature?"

With a good prompter, Long Xiaoyang rolled up his sleeves and began recounting his and Wei Ming's and Biaozi's experience discovering a vast dinosaur fossil site in Sichuan, drawing everyone's attention away.

Besides the clearly separated Zhao and Mei family tables, there were three VIP tables—larger, with more dishes—reserved for the main relatives and key guests of the four families.

For example, the street director from Xidan Street and Biao's mother's factory director sat at these tables.

Xu Shufen and her mother were also seated here; Wei Jiefang was mingling everywhere like a colorful butterfly.

Xu Shufen adored this butterfly, her neck aching as she followed him—but then she saw one table and quickly looked away.

"How did she get here!"

Gong Yu—definitely Gong Yu. Such a beautiful girl, she couldn't possibly be mistaken.

That brat brought the girl to his cousin's wedding and didn't even say a word—so rude!

In her view, since Wei Ming had brought Gong Yu to his cousin's wedding, their relationship must be stronger than with Zhu Lin—he'd clearly made his final choice.

Fine, a Shanghai girl is nice too—refined.

Wei Jiefang had been talking with Anping and others, then awkwardly met Gong Yu. His usual eloquence vanished under her repeated "Uncle"s.

Xu Shufen rose to help—but standing up gave her a better view.

As she stood, she saw through the bustling crowd: Zhu Lin at the Mei family table, beside her nephew Long Xiaoyang.

My goodness, what's going on?!

How could these two be here together?!

Wei Ming, what on earth are you doing?!

Just as she was about to find her son, she saw him inviting Zhang Yu: "Comrade Zhang Yu, sit here."

"Ah, this… this isn't appropriate," Zhang Yu realized this was the VIP table.

Wei Ming smiled: "What's inappropriate? Your presence today has honored Mei and Biao's wedding. Old Zhang, let's take a group photo."

Zhang Yimou was here again—another big job today. Thank you, Uncle Wei.

Wei Ming's treatment of Zhang Yu drew attention from both Gong Yu and Zhu Lin, but Gong Yu, who knew Wei Ming's father, was in good spirits and didn't care much.

Xu Shufen thought for a moment, stood up, and positioned herself between Zhu Lin and Gong Yu, greeting Zhu Lin.

"Little Zhu, we meet again!"

Zhu Lin, who had been feeling down, immediately stood up and warmly called out: "Auntie."

Xu Shufen smiled: "With two couples getting married today, Xiao Ming is overwhelmed. If he's neglected you in any way, please be understanding—we're all family. Don't pick on him."

Family.

The word echoed in Zhu Lin's mind: "Auntie, I understand."

Xu Shufen: "Xiaoyang, if Zhu Lin needs anything, tell your brother."

Long Xiaoyang promised: "No problem, Second Aunt."

When Xu Shufen returned to her seat, Old Wei had just come back, wiping sweat: "Guess who I just saw?"

Xu Shufen whispered in his ear: "No need to guess. Go to Xiaoyang's table—Zhu Lin's there. Go say hello. I'll go greet Gong Yu."

Not knowing which girl would become their daughter-in-law, the old couple could only try to balance both sides.

Hearing this, Wei Jiefang stared in shock: "…."

He slapped his thigh: "What a mess!"

They changed direction, approaching the two girls with apologies and making introductions—a scene that did not escape Wei Ming's notice.

He'd planned to handle this situation alone, but now his parents had quietly lent a hand. He felt touched—and because of this, he'd make sure his father and grandfather reunited, help his mother find her younger sister, and give them a carefree second half of life.

Then, grandchildren galore.

As he thought this, Wang Gang's distinctive voice rang out: the two couples were entering!

In this era, group weddings were popular. Biao and Xiao Mei's wedding was between a private and group ceremony—a two-person wedding. Though hastily planned, money had smoothed the way, and it was lively enough.

But there were none of the flashy extras of later years, nor the rigid recitations of a few years ago. The two grooms each made vows to love their wives and families, followed by a slightly humorous "changing titles" ritual.

Dishes kept arriving at the tables—meat and vegetables, mostly meat. Even if someone gave only a few yuan as a gift, it was still generous by the standards of the time.

The banquet was led by several private restaurants, headed by Yuebin Restaurant.

After Yuebin, more individual restaurants had sprung up, and the government had offered favorable policies.

They were more flexible—state-run restaurants wouldn't have been so accommodating.

Finally came the toasting—but before that, Biao and Xiao Mei had a major announcement.

Biao's mother pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to them; each held two corners and displayed it.

Mei Wenhua said: "Yesterday, we received this individual business license. It's also the first such license issued in Beijing, meaning Dongfang Xintiandi is now on the right track—heading toward glory!"

Though Biao hadn't been fully involved, he was the third-largest shareholder and felt proud. He led the applause: "Shouldn't we clap now?!"

His voice boomed. Guests busy eating immediately clapped with their chopsticks.

Many felt their hearts swell—they realized the times were truly changing.

Wei Ming had already known about this. If he remembered correctly, this might be the first individual business license in the entire country—he'd unintentionally altered history.

This change might one day put Biao and Xiao Mei in history books.

As the largest shareholder, he had his name in Chinese textbooks—he wouldn't steal their spotlight.

But as their elder brother, he let them keep their wedding gifts, while the banquet cost was paid through Dongfang Xintiandi's public account—meaning he'd contributed 51% of the wedding!

Wei Ming didn't just spend money—he gave his effort too.

Next came the toasting. The newlyweds couldn't drink much, but the ushers could—and Wei Ming was the usher.

He held his cup to shield the two grooms from alcohol; they drank water, but he drank real liquor.

He started with Zhang Yu and the officials' table, sincerely thanking Zhang Yu for her help today—even though she'd been passive, he'd remembered.

In the future, when Zhang Yu saw Chen Chong washing dishes abroad and envied him, she'd go abroad to wash dishes too—and then Wei Ming wouldn't mind lending her some U. . dollars.

When Wei Ming walked over to Gong Ying and Long Aolong's table with the newcomers, he was already slightly drunk; Gong Ying, concerned, told him to drink less, which made Xiao Yan's aunt secretly delighted.

When Wei Ming and his group reached Zhu Lin and Long Xiaoyang's table, he was even more drunk and didn't notice Li Chengru winking at him.

Zhu Lin took on the demeanor of the household mistress and scolded Xiao Mei: "He insists on drinking—can't you stop him?"

Wei Ming waved his hand: "What nonsense—you're turning heaven upside down! He's the groom; only I can stop him. I'll drink this one—cheers!"

After Wei Ming lost consciousness, Qiao Feng, who had been waiting for this moment, called to his wife and mother-in-law: "Let's take Xiao Wei home first—we've got a blanket on our tricycle."

The mother-in-law said: "I can take the bus back; you two go ahead and take them."

Thus, Wei Ming skillfully left the scene, taken home by Qiao Feng to the Beichi Zi Sihe Academy, avoiding having to face them both at once.

At this point, the wedding was nearing its end, and guests began to leave one by one.

When Wei Ming slowly woke up lying under the bright red quilt, it had grown dark; Aolong and Long Xiaoyang were keeping watch beside him, and Aolong handed him a cup of warm water.

Long Xiaoyang recounted how he had quickly adapted to resolve the crisis at the Sihe Academy; Wei Ming praised him: "Xiaoyang, you'll amount to something great."

But Liu Rulong felt a bit embarrassed: "Aming, I've run into a small problem."

"What happened?"

Liu Rulong sighed: "Xue-jie and Zhu Lin ran into each other~"

…

(End of Chapter)