Chapter 40: Zhang Tianshuo

In the entertainment industry, there is an endless stream of people who drink, gamble, visit prostitutes, and smoke; speaking strictly of the "black" side, this Zhang Tianshuo counts as one.

As early as 1995, when Anita Mui held a concert in Beiping, Zhang Tianshuo, who was a big shot in the mainland rock scene at the time, was extremely displeased.

Because this "dragon crossing the river" didn't follow the rules—how could she come to Beiping to hold a concert without first paying respects to Master Zhang's turf?

An old rock veteran is not someone to be trifled with; he gathered his fangs to confront her, threatening to destroy equipment and obstruct the event, leaving Anita Mui with no choice but to pay up to avoid disaster.

Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river.

Later, when Master Zhang went to Xiangjiang to attend an event, Chen Yaoxing, who had a deep friendship with Anita Mui, captured him and prepared to give him a taste of his own medicine.

Zhang Tianshuo found a powerful mediator to plead his case, and the matter only ended with an apology and compensation.

Chen Yaoxing is the prototype for Chen Haonan.

However, in Beiping, it had become an invisible rule that one must use Master Zhang's sound equipment, lighting, stage design, and security/ticketing services for concerts; Anita Mui was far from the only one to suffer for clashing with this local snake.

Jackie Chan, Wong Ka Kui, Andy Lau, Liu Jialiang, and so on...

It could be said there was no one he dared not extort!

By 2002, Master Zhang had basically retired from the rock scene and gone into business.

Fan Bingbing’s face turned pale; she knew what kind of person he was and wanted neither to befriend him nor to offend him.

Seeing him use foul language to insult Lu Kuan, she didn't know how to intervene for a moment.

How could Boss Lu endure this insult: "Zhang Tianshuo, your family is from Dunhuang, right?"

The latter looked at the smiling pretty boy, stunned for a few seconds, not understanding his train of thought.

"Don't understand! What the hell kind of nonsense are you spouting at me?"

"Too much bullshit!"

Fan Bingbing and Zhou Xun burst into laughter, and the surrounding onlookers couldn't help but chuckle.

Gao Yuanyuan frowned as she looked at the foul-mouthed Lu Kuan; she wasn't very into this type, as the extreme literary youth style of someone like Zhang Yadong was her favorite.

Master Zhang’s fat face, which looked like the surface of the moon, twitched, and he grabbed a wine bottle from his side and rushed over.

"Hey! Hey! Master Zhang, calm down, we're all our own people, don't resort to violence!"

Even as socially awkward as Zhang Yadong was, he knew he had to step in to smooth things over; he was familiar with Dou Wei, and Dou Wei was a close buddy of Zhang Tianshuo, so there was some connection there.

Zhang Tianshuo looked at the growing crowd of onlookers and gritted his teeth; with his current status in the underworld, acting out casually would make him lose face.

"What's going on? Coming to a bar to fight instead of drinking? Let me see who it is?"

A middle-aged man with a refined, ruffian style wearing a white suit walked over; this was Li Henry, the proprietor of No. 88.

"Yo! Master Zhang, what an honor to have you here!"

Zhang Tianshuo shook hands with him, his stern expression softening, and he said with an air of magnanimity: "A pretty-boy bumpkin, I won't lower myself to your level."

"Don't come to the bar next time, and don't go around bragging about writing songs; what do you know about rock, anyway!"

At this point, Zhou Xun couldn't watch anymore; Lu Kuan was someone she had invited, and with her current status, she couldn't just let someone slap her own people in the face.

"Isn't Master Zhang being a bit excessive? We are strangers, why be so aggressive?"

She felt indignant at the other party's bullying; once upon a time, when she was singing for money in Beiping bars, she had also had a tooth knocked out by a boorish customer.

Fan Bingbing didn't know why she trusted the sense of security Lu Kuan brought her, so she chimed in: "Thank you, Master Zhang, but there's no need to trouble yourself with the songs."

This was the final spark; there hadn't been a woman Zhang Tianshuo set his sights on that he couldn't get—from the closer ones like Siqin Gerile to the distant ones like the later Kathy Chow, they were all his prey.

"Alright, kid, you know it's safe to hide behind a woman, right?"

Zhang Tianshuo suddenly asked: "Boss Li, how many flower baskets were collected in the dance hall today?"

"About four hundred or so."

He then turned to Lu Kuan: "How about this, since you can write songs, why don't you show us this so-called original rock of yours?"

"No. 88 has people sending flower baskets; not counting our VIPs on the second floor, there are only about four hundred people in the hall downstairs. If there can be 150 flower baskets on the scene today, I, Zhang Tianshuo, will be convinced."

"If you can't, I won't say I'm bullying you; you drink this bottle of whiskey yourself."

This was the custom in bars and dance halls in the early years.

Lu Kuan sneered: "Who the fuck are you? You say sing, and I sing?"

Zhang Tianshuo didn't care if he sang or not; his goal of hitting on the woman, seeking attention, and exposing the pretty boy's incompetence had already been achieved.

He said to Fan Bingbing: "See that, Bingbing? He's already chickened out, don't you dare be fooled."

He had been listening from the next booth for a while; this pretty boy had just stated he was an art examinee for the Beijing Film Academy this year.

He wasn't from a professional music background, and he had to go through Zhou Xun to even get in touch with Zhang Yadong, so he clearly wasn't an insider.

Boss Lu remained sharp-tongued, intentionally teasing him: "How about this, since it's Boss Li's turf today, let's make friends through song and have a civilized bet."

"150 flower baskets, right? If I don't reach that, it's as you said; what if I do reach it?"

Zhang Tianshuo didn't think much of it and feigned generosity: "I'll be at your beck and call."

Lu Kuan raised an eyebrow: "Alright! Then you’ll take the microphone and shout it yourself: 'I, Zhang Tianshuo, am a big ugly freak!'"

The onlookers burst into laughter again, not for any other reason, but because there was a meme involved.

As early as 2001, NetEase held an event to select the top ten ugly stars in domestic entertainment, and this Master Zhang ranked third.

In a fit of rage, Zhang Tianshuo had been sparing no effort to sue NetEase for infringing on his right to reputation and portrait rights, with no results to this day.

"Fuck you, do you really think I don't dare to lay a hand on you?"

The local snake, fierce in appearance but cowardly at heart, grabbed the wine bottle again; in a small alley, he would certainly dare to act, but in public, he still had some sense of restraint.

Li Henry was a man who knew how to handle a scene, so he quickly intercepted him and gave him a way out.

"Since you've both decided to make friends through song, let's not do that fighting and killing stuff. How about this, I have a proposal!"

"First, let's invite our Master Zhang, who hasn't been out in a long time, to perform a classic 'Friends' for everyone."

"And later, we'll invite this little brother to show off his talents, how about that?"

The fun-seekers had no objections; they just felt that the drinks today were worth it, and they had seen plenty of excitement.

Under the flattery of a group of supporters, Zhang Tianshuo went to the first-floor stage and began his performance, while Lu Kuan lay on the sofa as if nothing had happened, drinking his wine on his own.

"Little Lu, should we leave?"

Zhou Xun had spent time in these venues in her early years and knew that these local snakes and ruffians loved to bully people, and they wouldn't let him off easily later.

Naturally, she didn't think Lu Kuan could write a rock song in ten minutes.

Fan Bingbing also decisively picked up her coat: "This person doesn't walk the straight path; even a person of great wealth shouldn't sit in a dangerous hall. Boss Lu, don't pay him any mind."

It was easy to pick a side today; Lu Kuan had come for her sake and was far more reliable and decent than Zhang Tianshuo.

Moreover, she had known about Lu Kuan's relationship with Zhang Jizhong and Anita Mui for a long time, so naturally, she had to support him firmly.

A friend in need is a friend indeed; now was the time for her to show her loyalty and invest in their relationship, and one could already faintly see the charisma of the future "Empress Fan."

Zhang Yadong had just hung up his phone and returned from the stairs with Gao Yuanyuan, his brow furrowed.

"I just called Dou Wei but he didn't pick up; I'm thinking about who else I can find to mediate."

Lu Kuan generously toasted with Zhou Xun and waved his hand: "No need. I’m the type who eats anything except a loss. Later, I'll ask Yadong to help me polish it up."

Gao Yuanyuan was somewhat skeptical about the authenticity of this "little immortal"; if he could have predicted tonight's scene in advance, how could he have let himself fall into such an awkward situation?

But hearing him say this, could it be that he was already confident of success?

(End of chapter)