Chapter 8: Young Master Zhang's Father: Zhang Jian

"Yes, we're in the same class," Qi Hui said with a chuckle.

Not just Yang Mi, but also Yuan Shanshan, as well as "White Shoes," "Long Legs," and the blind-date fanatic Zhang Xiaofei.

They were all in the same class as Qi Hui.

Of course, the most popular among them was naturally Yang Mi.

*Palace* was a massive hit upon release, and the character Tang Xuejian, played by Yang Mi, gained countless fans.

It was the first time she was truly known to the audience in a meaningful sense.

Yang Mi, Huang Shengyi, Wang Luodan, and Liu Yifei were known as the Four Dan Actresses.

But right now, whether it was Yuan Shanshan, Zhang Xiaofei, or he himself, Qi Hui, they were all unknown nobodies.

They couldn't be compared to Yang Mi at all.

"Hmm, not bad," Zhang Jian nodded and said.

"Dad, why is the role you gave me a few days ago not starting filming for another three months?" Zhang Ruoyun brought up the serious matter.

The production was starting in three months, and there was no telling when that supporting role would even begin filming.

If his senior brother hadn't landed the lead role, he would probably have starved to death.

This was a bit underhanded.

Zhang Jian glanced at his son, his expression unchanged: "Is that so? I'm not sure."

"It must have been a mistake."

He shirked all responsibility, clearing his name completely.

"Then give my senior brother a new role," Zhang Ruoyun suggested. "He has plenty of time right now anyway."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jian opened the pack of soft-pack Zhonghua cigarettes that Qi Hui had brought, took a slow look at Qi Hui, and then said:

"Let me make a call."

As he spoke, he made a move to take out his phone, though his movements were equally slow and leisurely.

Sure enough, Old Zhang didn't really care for him... A flicker of light passed through Qi Hui's eyes, and he quickly stopped him:

"No need, no need. I need to prepare for the lead role; I don't have the energy right now."

With that, he pulled Zhang Ruoyun away quickly.

Zhang Jian exhaled a puff of mellow white smoke, watched Qi Hui and Zhang Ruoyun leave, and flicked the ash off his cigarette with a casual tap.

He didn't actually like his son that much.

And he couldn't muster any interest in his son's friends either.

On the other side.

Qi Hui and Zhang Ruoyun stopped.

Zhang Ruoyun pulled his hand away from Qi Hui: "Senior brother, what are you doing?"

"I should be asking you that," Qi Hui glared at Zhang Ruoyun, annoyed.

"That... my dad was indeed a bit underhanded," Zhang Ruoyun said, feeling somewhat helpless.

He hadn't seen what his father was planning, but he knew he had inadvertently set Qi Hui up in this matter.

If he didn't do something, he wouldn't feel right.

"Nonsense, nothing of the sort," Qi Hui said irritably, immediately changing the subject to prevent the kid from messing around again:

"What is this show *Snow Leopard* about?"

The topic change was a bit abrupt, but Zhang Ruoyun began to explain it to Qi Hui with great enthusiasm.

*Snow Leopard* was adapted from an internet novel and told the story of a wealthy young master, Zhou Wen, who joined the army and formed a special forces unit to fight the Japanese invaders and serve his country.

Qi Hui scratched his cheek, his expression somewhat strange.

Whether in the show or the original novel, it told the story of Zhou Weiguo learning special operations in Germany and befriending his special operations classmate, Takeshita Shun.

But in reality, German special operations started very late.

The Junker aristocrats of the Old Berlin Black Flag initially looked down on so-called special operations.

They felt that a real man should fight head-on; those who engaged in petty theft or backstabbing were just vermin.

Besides, was special warfare as useful as Blitzkrieg?

Could it make France surrender?

The true special forces were actually created by the British, but why did everyone think the German special forces were so powerful?

Because of that man:

Otto Skorzeny.

The most dangerous man in Europe!

This man was one meter ninety-two tall, strong, skilled in fencing, and survived being hit by a Katyusha rocket.

Marvel's Red Skull was modeled after him.

This man led glider air raids to rescue Mussolini and carried out a long-distance raid to capture the Hungarian Regent Horthy alive.

Especially the rescue of Mussolini; this event was known as the first special operation in human history.

Not only that, he also formulated a plan to behead Tito of Yugoslavia and prepared to go to Tehran to take out the Allied Big Three who were meeting there.

It was simply terrifying!

However... while it sounded incredibly impressive, in reality, Otto Skorzeny was just an ordinary guy.

He was best at slacking off, especially on the battlefield.

He never actually carried out the mission to take out the Allied Big Three, choosing to disobey orders instead.

Hitler also knew the mission was a bit too difficult, so he didn't pursue it.

As for the mission to behead Tito, Otto did go, but... he didn't succeed; he only managed to snatch back one of Tito's military uniforms.

This man, like Qi Hui, came from a "mule and horse kneeling" family—poor as a church mouse.

He originally wanted to study medicine to become a doctor, but his family had no money, so they made him study engineering.

Just like Qi Hui, this most dangerous man in Europe, the pioneer of world special operations, was actually an engineer.

Of course, there were also things different from Qi Hui.

For example, Otto was not only an engineer but also a live-in son-in-law.

If it weren't for the annexation of Austria and the blitzkrieg on Poland, this man might still be a capitalist in his father-in-law's factory, exploiting surplus value.

Listening to Qi Hui's account, Zhang Ruoyun was dumbfounded.

There was such a thing?

Qi Hui shrugged; this wasn't the era of the information explosion that would come over a decade later.

Even 3G networks had only just begun to roll out, and the public's channels for obtaining information were limited, so it was normal for young Zhang not to know.

The two chatted as they walked, inadvertently arriving at the set that was being prepared for filming.

From afar, Qi Hui saw a shiny, large head that looked fierce and menacing.

He was holding a director's megaphone; it was clear he was the director.

"Huh?" Qi Hui was a bit surprised: "Isn't that... that guy who always plays the big villain?"

Qi Hui couldn't recall the bald man's name for a moment, but he did know his role in *Snow Leopard*.

The bandit leader of Qingfeng Mountain in Hutou Mountain, Boss Zhu, Zhu Ziming.

"That is Mr. Du Yuming," Zhang Ruoyun explained. "He often plays bald villains alongside Mr. Ji Chunhua and Mr. Li Ming, but he's the director of our production team now."

"Haha..." Qi Hui wiped his sweat, remembering a photo on the internet of the three bald men together: "That's actually a bit scary."

"Indeed," Zhang Ruoyun laughed and told an interesting story:

"When Wen Zhang's wife, Ma Yili, brought their child to visit the set, the child was glanced at by Mr. Du and ended up crying in fear, hahaha..."

Hearing this, Qi Hui couldn't help but chuckle.

Sure enough, those who play villains really have some skills.

On the set.

Wen Zhang, having changed into his costume, was chatting about the scene with the lead actress, Tao Feifei, when he caught a glimpse of Qi Hui and Zhang Ruoyun chatting in the distance.

Looking at the tall, well-built, and handsome Qi Hui, Wen Zhang subconsciously raised an eyebrow:

"Another one with connections?"

He hadn't forgotten the time Zhang Ruoyun competed with him for the lead role.

If it hadn't been for the investors' strong support, he might have really lost that lead role.

Now, another fair-skinned, pretty boy had arrived, and he was on such good terms with the producer's son.

It was hard not to be suspicious.

Just as Wen Zhang was muttering to himself, he saw Zhang Ruoyun leading that pretty boy toward the director.

Wen Zhang frowned, a flash of disdain in his eyes.

Sure enough, another one using the back door.

Beside Wen Zhang, the lead actress Tao Feifei's eyes lit up slightly. *Ah... who is that person?*

*He looks quite handsome and strong.*