Chapter 337: Rain and Dew Shared Equally, a New Work Emerges

After leaving Changchun Film Studio, Wei Ming immediately went to buy a plane ticket; the Dafangshen Airport wasn't far, so he took a rickshaw there.

While chatting with the driver, Da Hai, Wei Ming also inquired about where in Changchun to buy high-quality tiger bone wine and ginseng, cross-verifying the locations with those provided by Producer Su Yun.

Dafangshen Airport was a military-civilian dual-use airport with only one route: Heilongjiang–Changchun–Shenyang–Yanjing.

Wei Ming bought a ticket for tomorrow; the staff first recognized his name, then him personally, naturally leading to another round of lively conversation.

Wei Ming mainly asked about baggage allowances.

Next, he went shopping; today, Wei Ming was a buyer of Jilin specialty goods: tiger bone wine, ginseng, deer antler, and various delicious mountain delicacies and wild mushrooms.

Taking advantage of the fact that genuine, high-quality items were still plentiful, Wei Ming bought as much as he could—but in the end, he spent only a thousand-odd yuan and filled two large sacks with Jilin specialties.

As for the junzilan flowers now trending in Changchun, Wei Ming didn't even glance at them; every era has its own labubu.

Back at the Changchun Film Studio guesthouse, he happened to see Zhu Lin returning with someone else.

After arriving at the studio, the two went their separate ways: Zhu Lin went to report to Director Zhou Yu and then met the other actors from "Du Shiniang."

The woman beside her was Jin Yaqin, whom she had known before; this little old lady was fifty-six this year and would later win countless awards for the film "We Two."

Jin Yaqin wasn't a professional film actress; she was a Peking Opera Theater stage performer. Because Wei Ming had deliberately arranged for Zhu Lin to be affiliated with the Peking Opera Theater system, he had her regularly attend rehearsals and classes, so she quickly became close with the theater's people and had already interacted with Jin Yaqin before.

Now they were both in the same production: Zhu Lin played the courtesan Du Shiniang, and Jin Yaqin played the madam.

Jin Yaqin was surprised to see Wei Ming here; everyone around her had been talking about him these past two days, and as one of the few people who had actually met Wei Ming, she said: "This young man really has talent."

Wei Ming repeated his usual "field research" line, then added: "Jin Laoshi, you stay put—let Comrade Zhu Lin help me carry my luggage. I won't let you do it for free."

"What's in it for me?"

Wei Ming: "I'll treat you to something delicious later."

Zhu Lin silently spat inwardly: shameless, it's not even tasty!

After they brought the items inside, Wei Ming pulled out the sachima he'd just bought—authentic Dingfengzhen brand local pastry, not the Sarmalanchi kind.

Zhu Lin: "That's it?"

But it was actually sweet; Wei Ming shared some with Jin Yaqin, who took it and returned to her room—she knew well how close Wei Ming and Zhu Lin were.

Now only the two of them were left in Wei Ming's room. He asked: "Will you come to me tonight, or will I come to you?"

Zhu Lin, still eating the sachima, paused: "Don't even think about it. This is someone else's place—can't you, as a youth role model, mind your reputation?"

Hearing this, Wei Ming's rebellious streak flared up; he immediately kissed her lips.

Indeed, sachima tasted better coming from someone else's mouth.

So sweet!

Wei Ming had tasted a bit of sweetness but didn't go further—after all, everyone was still awake.

Soon after, several people came to visit Wei Ming, including Tong Ruimin, the male lead of "Du Shiniang," and several veteran actors from Changchun Film Studio; all held him in high esteem.

Too bad he didn't see any handsome young men from the neighborhood—he was probably still performing in theater.

After Wei Ming had seen off all the visitors, the guesthouse lights were mostly out; he tapped on the left wall.

On the other side was Zhu Lin's room.

After more than ten minutes, assuming Zhu Lin had psyching herself up, she quietly pushed open Wei Ming's door, which he hadn't fully closed.

They hadn't seen each other for half a month; she missed this infuriating man terribly.

The moment Zhu Lin touched Wei Ming, she said seriously: "Don't make any noise."

She didn't want to become the studio's laughingstock during filming.

Wei Ming said: "This bed won't do—it's a metal bed, always squeaking."

Zhu Lin glanced around the room, spotted a sturdy wooden table, and, though embarrassed, had no choice but to use it.

"You—you seem different today. Is it because we're not at home?" Zhu Lin asked, turning back with difficulty.

Wei Ming focused: "Maybe."

Or maybe it was because the shopkeeper had let him taste a small cup of tiger bone wine earlier—he felt boundless energy coursing through him.

The next morning, Wei Ming woke to an empty bed; Zhu Lin had returned to her room last night, too afraid to stay overnight.

Wei Ming checked the time, rose leisurely, packed up, and even had breakfast at Changchun Film Studio before leaving.

Zhu Lin saw Wei Ming off at the studio gate, carrying two large sacks; Wei Ming promised: "I'll come see you whenever I can."

"It's fine if you don't come—I need to focus on my work too."

"Your body's more honest than your mouth," Wei Ming laughed, slinging his bag over his shoulder and walking off.

Wei Ming's luggage was excessive; the airport inspection took a long time, but fortunately, there was no wildlife protection law yet, so the tiger bone wine didn't raise any alarms.

Or perhaps his celebrity status was at work—the newspaper blitz was still ongoing, and the radio was now ramping up.

In Wei Ming's hometown, Accountant Jia listened to the radio broadcast and immediately began publicizing Wei Ming's achievements over the loudspeakers.

In Ya'an, Wei Ming's uncles and aunts, hearing the broadcast, began eagerly awaiting his arrival with supplies to aid Sichuan's disaster victims, even fantasizing he'd become an imperial envoy.

Meanwhile, middle school student Xia Lin (Wang Fei), struggling with her summer Chinese homework, chose Wei Ming—the man she'd met only a few times—as the subject of her essay, "A Person I'll Never Forget."

The plane stopped in Shenyang for an hour, where Wei Ming had lunch, then continued flying; from above, he saw Shanhaiguan.

Who was he supposed to meet after Shanhaiguan?

When the plane landed in Yanjing, the weather was clear, the sun blazing.

Only then did Wei Ming remember he hadn't been home in two days; he quickly called the Overseas Chinese Apartment from the airport.

His mother answered; Wei Ming said he'd be home tomorrow.

Xu Shufen breathed a sigh of relief—he was still alive.

Seeing rickshaws outside the airport, Wei Ming didn't bother Biaozi and the others—he simply took a rickshaw straight to Tuanjiehu.

"Bro, what's all this stuff?"

Wei Ming smiled: "Specialty goods from Northeast China."

"Oh my, you're a daoye! I can tell you're wealthy!"

Daoye were already gaining traction; everyone knew they made money.

Wei Ming didn't deny it; it was rare to meet someone who didn't recognize him and didn't immediately call him "Teacher Wei"—such people were precious.

"Stop here," Wei Ming said when they reached the Tuanjiehu bus stop.

Then he shouted: "Damn it, where's my bike?!"

The bike and lock were both gone.

He returned gloomily to his Tuanjiehu home, standing outside the door nervously, unsure if Xuejie was waiting for him.

Without knocking, Wei Ming pulled out his key.

But the apartment was eerily quiet—no one was home.

Wei Ming placed the two large sacks on the floor, slumped onto the sofa, wondering if he'd lost Xuejie for good.

Suddenly, he noticed several newspapers on the coffee table—all from yesterday and today, reporting on him—so Xuejie had definitely been here today.

Over an hour later, the sound of a key turning in the lock came from outside.

Gong Ying opened the door, saw the two large sacks, jumped in surprise, then relaxed when she spotted Wei Ming on the sofa.

Wei Ming felt the joy of something regained; he rushed forward and embraced her: "Xuejie!"

Gong Ying stood motionless as he held her, then softly said: "You didn't change your watch today."

Wei Ming looked at his wrist—it was still the electronic watch Zhu Lin had given him.

He felt embarrassed: "I was flustered seeing you—I didn't pay attention to details."

Gong Ying gripped Wei Ming's wrist, studying the Japanese watch: "Then pay attention next time."

Wei Ming's heart leapt: "Good sister, you forgive me!"

"Never forgive," Gong Ying declared firmly, then added, "but I can't bring myself to ignore you either."

Then her eyes turned red, and she began whispering sobs, releasing all her pent-up grievances.

She had once dreamed of a lifelong, exclusive love—but now she was forced into this complicated, three-or-four-person relationship; yet her longing for this man kept her from walking away decisively, leaving her now trapped in this awkward, unavoidable situation.

Wei Ming apologized, but his words fell flat; Gong Ying wasn't ignoring him—she just needed to release her pain.

So Wei Ming, without hesitation, lifted her into his arms; she seemed even slimmer than when he'd left Hong Kong.

Soon, Xuejie stopped crying—but soon she began crying again, this time from joy.

Until night fell completely, Xuejie had calmed down, and Wei Ming told her his story with Zhu Lin—even though she might have already heard it from Zhu Lin.

"That's the truth—I'm greedy, I can't let go of either of you. Since you two have a three-year agreement, why not maintain the current situation for now? What do you think?"

Gong Ying gave a shy, quiet "Mm-hmm," but bringing such a thing into the open was still deeply embarrassing.

Even more embarrassing was when Wei Ming added: "From now on, you can live here openly—it's better than the Beiyingchang guesthouse. Even if Zhu Lin comes back, there are two bedrooms—she takes one, you take one, and I'll be the guerrilla."

Gong Ying lightly punched this mischievous boy: "What are you thinking?"

But just imagining that scene made her cheeks burn.

With such a radiant face, Wei Ming couldn't help whispering softly in her ear: "Again!"

The next morning, Gong Ying felt embarrassed: "Again? Tonight, okay? I have to go back to the studio."

"What work do you have?"