Chapter 255: Li Ye: Cannot be said, cannot be said

The wind in mid-May, carrying a hint of summer, blew across the capital, as if telling everyone that the northern summer was about to arrive.

And several extra-large mail packages from Hong Kong arrived at the Jingda Solitary Army Literature Society, making the Jingda students here feel the heat of the dog days in advance.

"Whoa~, there are actually so many good things. This cassette is even in English. That A-Qiang is really a good friend; it wasn't in vain that we took him to eat so many delicious things..."

"Look quickly, there's a photo of Mayumi here. It's actually this big and this clear. A-Qiang still remembers the promise he made to us..."

"But... what about Ken Takakura? What about my favorite Ken Takakura?"

Li Ye looked at the group of joyful and leaping classmates, hesitating whether he should remind them that as future elites and big shots in various industries, they shouldn't thank that A-Qiang to such a high degree for these little things.

But thinking back to how A-Qiang was all alone, trembling as he headed north to the capital, seeing the Jingda students and acting timid as if facing a dinosaur or giant beast, and later interacting enthusiastically with the classmates, he felt the other party was worthy of this friendship.

A-Qiang was also a bitter child, struggling to survive at the bottom of Hong Kong society since childhood. His difficult experiences and repressed past made his personality somewhat reckless and also somewhat extreme.

A-Qiang craved people's recognition and craved the warmth of society, but children with such experiences are often the most likely to become arrogant and forget themselves once they gain power.

Li Ye still remembered the astonishment and pride on A-Qiang's face when the Jingda students discussed "how much is your salary" with him.

Because A-Qiang had received Li Ye's reminder in advance, he didn't say his monthly salary was 3000 Hong Kong dollars, only saying "private privacy" to brush it off.

A monthly salary of 3000 Hong Kong dollars, although the exchange rate of the Hong Kong dollar was lower than the Renminbi, it was actually higher than the Renminbi on the black market, so the true value exceeded 3000 Renminbi.

In other words, A-Qiang's monthly salary was equivalent to the wages of dozens of mainland workers.

But A-Qiang was only arrogant for a few minutes, and then he interacted with the Jingda students again, not feeling at all that he was a big deal, and certainly not putting on any "big shot airs."

Think about more than a decade later, those big shots in the "second-wife villages" of Pengcheng only had monthly salaries of ten thousand Hong Kong dollars, but their character was much worse than A-Qiang's.

During the time A-Qiang stayed in the capital, he not only did his best to teach others what he knew but also humbly accepted others' opinions. On this point, Li Ye still approved of him.

In the mail packages sent this time, A-Qiang basically packed everything that could pass the review; instead, the manga drafts that needed Li Ye and the others to review and finalize only occupied a very small part.

"Alright, everyone, distribute the gifts first. Hurry up, don't dawdle!"

"Great, President is still wise and generous."

"Get lost! I just realized that you guys won't work properly unless you've had your fill of benefits."

"Old Li, what you said... is too right. I'll save a Mayumi photo for you to hang on your headboard tonight to appreciate..."

"Get lost! You want to frame me so I can't sleep well."

"Hahahaha~"

Li Huaisheng shouted, and the crowd immediately laughed and joked while modestly distributing the gifts.

Li Ye also followed the crowd and took a small gift, then picked up the manga draft to flip through.

Li Huaisheng walked to Li Ye's side, waiting quietly for him to finish reading one, before asking somewhat nervously: "How is it? Are there any problems?"

Li Huaisheng would "pass on" the Literature Society to Li Ye in a few months, so this "Solitary Army Looking Toward Home" was his final answer sheet, and it truly concerned his future.

"I think it can basically be finalized," Li Ye said: "But in the three places of 11, 17, and 21, the art style needs to be changed. Remove the softness from the Tang soldiers; soldiers who have fought in the Western Regions for many years must be rough and masculine..."

Li Ye pointed out several places, attracting everyone's attention.

However, after everyone finished looking, they all felt there was no problem, and many people even said "it looks pretty good."

Especially several girls, whose gazes toward Li Ye were strange, and they whispered to each other while giggling.

Li Huaisheng immediately shouted with a stern face: "If you have something to say, say it directly. You are not allowed to talk about people behind their backs."

Li Ye was the next person in charge of the Solitary Army Literature Society. Li Huaisheng had started maintaining Li Ye's status several months ago. Whoever spoke ill of Li Ye behind his back would invite his severe reprimand.

But several girls laughed out loud, laughing so hard they couldn't close their mouths, making Li Ye feel baffled.

Finally, it was Bian Jingjing, who was very familiar with Li Ye, who said: "Li Ye, you keep saying that A-Qiang's drawings are soft, but we feel he imitated you!"

"Hahahaha~"

Several girls laughed until they couldn't stop, causing others to follow suit.

Soft?

Go to hell, you actually say that I, the future boss of this literature society, am soft? Is this a rebellion?

Li Ye originally wanted to laugh too, but looking at everyone's playful gazes, he felt he should do something; otherwise, this team would be hard to lead in the future!

"Who is soft?"

"Bang~"

Li Ye was "furious," raised his leg and swept horizontally, "crack," sweeping the table next to him into a three-legged one.

Silence, true silence.

Everyone stared blankly at the table that had lost a leg, and then their gazes toward Li Ye became even stranger.

Li Huaisheng was also stunned for a long time before hurriedly grabbing Li Ye's leg to check.

"Does it hurt? Does it hurt? Why are you so reckless? You'll break a bone. We have to go to the hospital..."

Li Huaisheng's face was full of anxiety. He had also laughed a few times just now, but now thinking that Li Ye's foot bone might have a problem, he was anxious to death.

"What hospital? I know what I'm doing."

"Really okay?"

"Really okay."

Seeing Li Huaisheng so anxious, Li Ye felt somewhat sorry.

He was actually using the situation to "intimidate" this bunch of guys; otherwise, if the label of "soft" was stuck on his forehead, how could he hold his ground in the future?

"Creamy boy" wasn't a good term in the eighties, and "soft" was even worse.

If you go to a unit and the big shot of the unit hears in advance that a boy is actually "soft," they definitely won't have a good impression.

Zhao Mengsheng in "Garland on the Mountain" is an example of how many viewers were indignant before he transformed into a true soldier.

Bian Jingjing came over very embarrassedly, and after confirming he wasn't injured, she said awkwardly: "Li Ye, we really didn't mean it. Everyone was just joking. You are definitely not soft; you are handsome..."

"Yes, yes, yes, handsome. Li Ye is handsome, but wasn't the word 'soft' said by Li Ye himself?"

"."

"Hahahaha~"

"Li Ye, your kung fu is pretty good! Did you practice it from the movies?"

"Not at all, just country-style moves; I liked fighting when I was a kid because I was reckless..."

"You actually like fighting? I really couldn't tell!"

"Of course, of course, I turned over a new leaf long ago."

"Eww~"

The atmosphere became active again, but everyone's attitude toward Li Ye had undergone a subtle change.

Li Ye's age was on the younger side, and many people used to look at him with a "little brother" mentality, but now he was still a little brother, but it was clearly different.

"Alright, let me explain to everyone why modifications are needed here."

Li Ye took the manga draft and said sternly: "Although we have had metaphorical comparisons like Pan An and Song Yu since ancient times, it is absolutely inappropriate to use them on soldiers.

You shouldn't feel that these details are unimportant, but there might be malicious influence from Western consciousness. Hong Kong manga has deep connections with Japan, and Japan is infiltrated by the Lighthouse..."

What Li Ye said was actually something that was only confirmed decades later.

In the years 59 and 60, large-scale resistance events known as the "Security Struggle" occurred in Japan, winning some equality between Japan and the Lighthouse.

After the event, the Lighthouse discovered that the "Showa men" in Japan still retained a bit of blood, so they started an ideological infiltration like boiling a frog in warm water.

Ultimately, Japanese boys learned what a "flower boy" was, and even developed various interesting things.

Later, this consciousness spread to the Korean side, where it was thoroughly carried forward. The Korean wave raged and fiercely impacted the mainland of China, creating a new term—'sissy.'

Later, when some people pondered that history, they discovered that before 1960, the red forces in Japan were very strong, and many young students had selected works in their schoolbags, with many, many admirers.

But after the sixties and seventies, this situation disappeared.

Those hot-blooded youths, after winning limited benefits for Japan, were very cleverly castrated by the Lighthouse.

Actually, they shouldn't wonder why Hollywood doesn't have so many 'sissies'?

So during A-Qiang's one month in the capital, Li Ye instilled a lot of ideas into him and corrected a lot of habitual wrong drawing styles.

Now it seems the effect is okay; there are only a few inconspicuous deviations in the draft, and it will be fine to correct them.

"So we must face these problems squarely in the future and promote the correct image of Chinese men. They can be masculine, they can be elegant and handsome, but they absolutely cannot be soft."

Li Ye didn't go too deep with the people in the literature society, but some people still felt he was being alarmist. However, Li Ye had just revealed his strength, so no one expressed opposition.

It was just that several classmates were worried, looking at Li Ye and asking: "Li Ye, you say it's so serious, then A-Qiang..."

Li Ye immediately said: "This has nothing to do with A-Qiang; he was just influenced by Japan. Besides, you interacted with him for those days, don't you know what kind of temperament he has?"

"Yes, yes, yes, A-Qiang is still pretty good. He listens to advice and loves to learn..."

"Hey, I don't know when we can see A-Qiang again, but we accepted his gifts, so we have to return the favor, right?"

"You're right. Let's discuss later what gift is good to return to him."

"Ring ring~"

The sound of a bicycle bell suddenly rang outside the literature society activity room, and then Sun Xianjin walked in hurriedly.

Several society members immediately teased: "I say, Sun Xianjin, what did you go do? If it weren't for your Jingjing being quick-witted just now, the gift A-Qiang gave you would have been snatched away by someone else."

"Ah?"

Sun Xianjin was stunned for a moment, then said excitedly: "I just went to watch people arguing. Those people who always came to find trouble the past two days all went to scold Lu Zhizhang today."

"Heh, I was wondering why no one came to make trouble today! So they found a new target?"

Because Li Ye slapped a poet and "spouted nonsense" at the debate, some people had been coming to debate and argue with him these past few days.

The members of the Solitary Army Literature Society were naturally united against outsiders. These days, they didn't know how many waves of opponents they had scolded away, and they were becoming more courageous as they fought, all looking forward to someone coming to find trouble.

And today no one came, and everyone thought the other side had surrendered, not expecting they had gone to find Lu Zhizhang.

"This is going to be lively. I really couldn't tell that Lu Zhizhang was that kind of person. But I heard people say there was a woman involved with him, only Lu Zhizhang was stubborn and didn't admit it."

"What's the use of being stubborn? The truth will come out sooner or later. I heard Lu Zhizhang was pursuing a girl from the sociology department..."

"Tap tap tap~"

Li Ye tapped the table lightly and said very seriously: "Please be quiet, everyone, and listen to me say a few words."

Seeing Li Ye's serious expression, everyone immediately stopped their gossiping discussions and obediently listened to Li Ye's "instructions."

The new boss would make a move if things didn't go his way. There were only a few tables in the literature society; they couldn't all be made into lame ones, right!

Li Ye said: "Seniors, you all enrolled earlier than me and have experienced more things, so can you guess what kind of pain that girl in the rumors is experiencing if she really exists?"

"Lu Zhizhang brought this upon himself and naturally should be punished, but does that girl really have any fault?"

"The school has never pursued that girl, which actually already indicates the truth. That girl is a victim; she needs our tolerance and love..."

"I think, can we not discuss that girl anymore in the future, or even not discuss Lu Zhizhang, and just let time wash everything away..."

"."

Yang Yumin said: "Li Ye makes sense. I heard people say that when the joint defense team caught Lu Zhizhang, a girl had just left crying, so that girl is a victim; we cannot let her be humiliated and hurt again."

Li Huaisheng also said: "From now on, no one is allowed to say such things! If a man makes a mistake, don't involve the woman. Our literature society cannot have this kind of atmosphere."

"Mm-hmm, President is right."

Everyone nodded repeatedly in agreement, but many people also looked at Li Ye strangely again, always feeling that today's Li Ye was shedding his "little brother" image and revealing the demeanor of a "big brother."

And Bian Jingjing and several other girls looked at Li Ye with praise: "A few days ago, Lu Zhizhang argued so fiercely with you, Li Ye, but now you are so tolerant and generous. We really admire you..."

Li Ye: "."

【You say it like that, how can I be embarrassed?】

【Actually, this was all orchestrated by me, okay?】

Li Ye actually wasn't generous at all; this time he just didn't want to hurt the innocent and harm that girl named Xiaoxiang, which was why he didn't nail Lu Zhizhang to the wall in one go.

Although Lu Zhizhang was stubborn and the school had the intention to downplay the matter, so they didn't expel Lu Zhizhang for the time being.

But was being stubborn useful?

Lu Zhizhang's future was destined to be bleak.

For the rest of his life, never mind going to the Lighthouse to kill that mainland student; even in the mainland, it would be a miserable life.

Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was June.

Li Ye was smooth sailing, continuously obtaining one small harvest after another.

The first harvest: in the debate selection tournament that lasted half a month, Li Ye finally stood out and became the only freshman from the class of '82 on the school team, and also a main debater.

And Zhu Yonghe, who had always been full of confidence, was unexpectedly eliminated—a flash in the pan.

The second harvest: the first issue of the "Solitary Army Looking Toward Home" manga was released simultaneously in more than ten countries and regions, and it aroused enthusiastic pursuit.

After this news reached the capital, it produced an even stronger response in several colleges and universities.

So writing and drawing can also earn foreign exchange?

Consequently, not only at Jingda, but literature enthusiasts throughout the capital began to focus their interests on Chinese history, actually triggering a craze for ancient-style creation, suppressing the popularity of the most popular poetry.

So for a time, the reputation of 'Seven-Inch Blade' was mixed, with more and more people liking him, but those who hated him also hated him to death.

And the third harvest came from Sun Xianjin.

"Brother, Brother, we are going to be on TV~"

Sun Xianjin rushed into the literature society excitedly, waving his arms, his face flushed and glowing with excitement.

Li Ye was looking at the works of several literature society classmates. Seeing Sun Xianjin's appearance, he couldn't help but smile and say: "It's just being on TV, not getting married, why are you so excited?"

Sun Xianjin's expression froze for a moment, then he was silent for a few seconds before saying embarrassedly: "Brother, Bian Jingjing is also going to be on TV, going on with me."

"."

"Hahahaha~"

The surrounding classmates all let out good-natured laughter.

Although Sun Xianjin and Bian Jingjing hadn't established a relationship yet, they were together all day, and everyone teased them from time to time, indirectly promoting the progress of their development.

Li Ye thought for a moment and said: "You mean, your comedy sketch is going to be on TV?"

Sun Xianjin nodded happily: "Yes, our performance at the May Day gala was recognized. Next month, we will perform for people from all walks of life at the Great Hall, and then we will be on TV."

"Not bad, brother! This is walking toward the peak."

Li Ye patted Sun Xianjin on the shoulder, also feeling happy for this little brother.

During the May Day holiday, Sun Xianjin and the others rehearsed a sketch called "Wanderer Returns Home." The creative material was the various interesting things that happened after A-Qiang came to the mainland from Hong Kong.

At the time, Li Ye gave Sun Xianjin a lot of creative help and also knew that the sketch would be very successful, but he didn't expect it could reach the level of performing at the Great Hall.

Sun Xianjin was patted on the shoulder by Li Ye, but asked somewhat puzzled: "Brother, what is walking toward the peak?"

Li Ye thought for a moment and said: "In everyone's life, there are always a few most brilliant moments. This is like you climbing a mountain, climbing to the highest point,

It's just that some people climb many mountains in their lives, while some people only climb to the peak once."

"Then you are wrong, Brother," Sun Xianjin immediately said: "I am going to climb to a higher mountain on this path of comedy creation. The Great Hall is definitely not the end of this mountain."

Damn it, are you floating, kid?

Don't float when you are a person; if you float, you get cut.

The next day, Li Huaisheng called Li Ye to the literature society for a meeting.

Arriving at the Solitary Army Literature Society, Li Ye discovered that not only were there school teachers, but also some students from other societies.

Seeing Sun Xianjin sitting in the corner somewhat dejectedly, Li Ye walked over and sat down next to him.

"Looking so gloomy, what's going on?"

Sun Xianjin didn't make a sound, just looked at Li Ye with grievance, his mouth pouting enough to hang an oil bottle.

Bian Jingjing, who was on the side, whispered to Li Ye: "Li Ye, look over there. Those are students from the drama society. They feel they are more suitable to go to the Great Hall than us."

Li Ye was stunned for a moment, feeling it shouldn't be the case.

He had seen the May Day gala performance of Sun Xianjin and the others, and they performed quite well. How could they be replaced?

"They didn't say that."

Yang Yumin poked his head over and said: "Now we are just discussing how to perform this program to the best effect. After all, this matter is quite important."

Li Ye leaned over and whispered: "Then what is your opinion?"

Yang Yumin twisted his mouth and lowered his voice: "You are asking a redundant question. Of course, it's helping one's own people, not helping the reason."

Li Ye nodded: "That's about right."

Because Sun Xianjin was a member of the Solitary Army Literature Society, and his sketch creation had a deep connection with the Solitary Army Literature Society, Li Huaisheng and the others also treated this matter as their own business to busy themselves with.

"Alright, everyone is here. Let me briefly explain the situation..."

"So today we are discussing whether it is appropriate to use the original cast, or if it is better to use students with richer performance experience. I hope everyone will speak generously..."

After listening to the teacher's words, Li Ye felt that this matter wasn't as Bian Jingjing said, that the students from the drama society came to snatch the peach; it seemed like a real normal discussion.

Now that China is negotiating with Great Britain regarding Hong Kong, it is at the most critical moment. Although the Iron Lady fell on the steps in front of the Great Hall, Great Britain's momentum is still quite strong!

So at this moment, this sketch story using A-Qiang as material was endowed with some special colors.

"Our drama society has more experience, but we also admire classmate Sun and classmate Bian..."

After the teacher's voice fell, someone from the drama society spoke up.

In such an occasion, Jingda students didn't have too much modesty. They would objectively state their advantages, not saying they were duty-bound, but neither humble nor arrogant.

It was just that for Sun Xianjin, Bian Jingjing, and the others, they felt very aggrieved.

Li Ye wasn't angry, because in the eighties, there were really many such things. If you encountered them, you just had to find a way to strive for them; being angry was of no use.

After everyone had said enough, Li Ye raised his hand to speak.

"May I ask all the teachers and classmates, from which aspect do you feel the original classmates didn't perform well enough? Or rather, in which aspect do you want to perform better?"

The crowd was quiet for a while, and began to communicate in low voices among themselves.

Li Ye actually pointed out a situation.

Everyone only stated their own advantages but didn't state the other party's shortcomings. Although this didn't offend anyone, wasn't it a waste of time?

Only if there are shortcomings is there a need for improvement. If there are no shortcomings, what are you blindly changing?

Finally, someone stood up to offend people.

"Let me say a few words first! The original classmates actually performed quite successfully, but the actor playing A-Qiang spoke Cantonese that wasn't authentic. People from Guangdong province speaking Mandarin also have unique accent characteristics, so I think..."

"There is another point: the actor playing A-Qiang was very nervous. During the May Day gala, he was obviously a bit restrained. Then when it comes to an occasion like the Great Hall..."

Sun Xianjin's face collapsed. He didn't expect that he, this "rising comedy star," was the biggest shortcoming.

Li Ye listened calmly to what everyone said, and then began to explain one by one.

"I think everyone has misunderstood, or rather, everyone hasn't understood what this sketch expresses."

Li Ye also began to offend people.

"The reason why the actor playing A-Qiang has an inauthentic Cantonese accent is because this sketch is a comedy. Exaggerated accents can achieve the greatest joy effect. We need to use a joyful way to weaken the political attributes of this sketch.

In the current environment, if we perform a rigorous, professional drama, will it cause misunderstanding, that we are deliberately expressing something?"

Li Ye ignored everyone's astonishment and continued: "As for saying the actor playing A-Qiang is nervous and restrained, that is even more on point, because when A-Qiang first came to us from Hong Kong, he was nervous and restrained!"

Li Ye said earnestly: "I was the first person to receive A-Qiang. When he first came, he looked at everyone around him and felt they were red soldiers..."

"If you don't believe me, ask the relevant classmates and teachers. At the time, A-Qiang spent at least a week to gradually adapt to our enthusiasm and changed the wrong ideas in his heart."

"."

After Li Ye's voice fell, sure enough, a teacher said: "It really is true when you put it that way. At the time, I felt that child seemed to be afraid. I asked him what he was afraid of, and he wouldn't say, but when he returned to Hong Kong, he was a completely different person."

"Yes, yes, he was very timid when he first came, and he was very careful when talking to us, nervous to death."

"It really is true. Then A-Qiang's process from initial fear to final enthusiasm isn't that a process of full recognition of us? This significance is too great..."

"."

Sun Xianjin was stunned.

Just before Li Ye arrived, he felt he was definitely going to be replaced. He was slow to warm up every time he went on stage, always nervous for a minute or two.

But now, looking at it, wasn't he the only candidate to play A-Qiang?

"Brother, when you helped me create the script at the beginning, did you think of these?"

"Cough cough, cannot be said, cannot be said."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 256 =====