Chapter Eighty-Five: A Crucible of Suffering — Wu Ming versus Qiao Hong!

After a frantic burst of spending, he drew a heap of worthless junk from twenty-four consecutive pulls. Li Shixin rubbed his old eyes, dazzled by a blur of canes and dentures, and pressed his aching temples.

How could I let my hand get away from me?

How could I let it get away from me?

More than fifty thousand cheers—more than fifty days of life—gone on this?

This garbage lottery is ruining my twilight years.

Goodbye!

He shut the lottery screen in disgust and returned to the set with a dark expression.

The previous afternoon, Li Shixin had stayed home instead of going out to play and had casually given An Xiaoxiao a lesson, rehearsing all of today’s scenes in advance. With her confidence bolstered, the girl was in good form; combined with Li Shixin’s usual steadiness, the entire morning’s shooting went through in one take after another.

The two of them had been having a grand time, but the crew had been worked to the bone. After lunch, Qiao Chendong even specially allowed a half-hour break.

When Li Shixin returned to the set, the crew and background extras were gathered in small groups, idly playing with their phones and smoking.

“Mr. Li, someone’s here to see you on set!”

At that moment, a call came from the entrance of the gymnasium. Li Shixin looked up and immediately saw Grandma Wu Ming and the rest of the fan club beaming at him from outside the set, waving cheerfully.

“Brother Shixin!”

There were no big names in the Wind-Borne Flight production. Since filming began, this was the first time fans had come to visit the set. Seeing the dense crowd at the entrance, even An Xiaoxiao and the extras were green with envy.

“We told you not to come, didn’t we? It’s freezing out there, and you’re all so old—why make the trip?”

Seeing his fans, Li Shixin’s sour mood from the lottery improved quite a bit. He walked over with his hands behind his back.

“Well, Brother Shixin, you know how it is. Once winter sets in, we old folks suffer. The weather’s been bad these last couple of days, and everyone’s been cooped up at home with thoughts of jumping off a building. Then yesterday we saw that your son was making trouble on the news, and we all thought we ought to come cheer you on!”

An old fan answered at once.

“Exactly, little brother Shixin. Are you all right? Can you still hold up?”

To Li Shixin’s surprise, Liu Feng, the oldest and most senior of the fans at eighty-four, was there too.

Seeing the old man trembling, supported by his grandson, Li Shixin quickly set his lunch box aside and took the elder by the arm.

“Don’t worry, Brother. I’ve already weathered life and death. What’s this little thing compared to that?”

“Good!” Liu Feng patted Li Shixin’s shoulder twice with his withered hand and nodded in satisfaction. “That’s the spirit. This old man likes that about you. Keep your backbone straight!”

Please don’t keep your backbone so straight.

Seeing the old man’s unsteady frame, as if a puff of wind could topple him, Li Shixin hurriedly asked An Xiaoxiao to bring a small stool and helped him sit down at the entrance to the set.

In a city where one could see filming on the streets three hundred days out of the year, the elderly of Rongdian were not especially surprised by a film set. They were all, however, extremely concerned about Li Shixin.

Besides Grandma Wu Ming, who brought a whole box of boneless ribs and delicate side dishes, the other old ladies presented little gifts as if they were treasures: knee warmers, heat packs, thermoses, hand-knitted scarves, and the like.

Holding his chopsticks, Li Shixin looked at all these trinkets with both amusement and helplessness, and could only ask the elders to leave them at the entrance to the set.

That little mountain of gifts once again made the extras inside the set even redder with envy.

What the hell kind of fans were these?

They were practically his real parents!

Looking down at their thin army coats and the lunch boxes already gone cold in their hands, the extras turned away with faces twisted by a kind of envy that bordered on ruin.

Amitabha.

All form is emptiness.

Heh heh heh—

Fake.

What loving lunch, what heat packs, what knitted scarves... what fans... all fake.

They do not exist, do not exist, do not exist...

After a satisfying lunch, Qiao Chendong called everyone back to work.

The afternoon scene had been hastily added by Qiao Chendong and the screenwriter. It told of Qiao Hong and her teammates secretly listening to Sweet Sweet in their dormitory, only for the stern Coach Liu to confiscate the tape.

It was a last-minute addition, with no script, so before filming, Li Shixin, An Xiaoxiao, and the minor extras were gathered together for a briefing on the emotional beats.

The old ladies did not leave.

They had seen plenty of acting by others, but now that it was their idol filming, how could they possibly miss it as die-hard fans?

Watching Li Shixin holding the script and seriously rehearsing lines with An Xiaoxiao, Grandma Wu Ming could not help but grow dazed.

Such spirit!

“Eh? Qiao Hong, isn’t that Qiao Hong?!”

Just as Wu Ming was lost in thought, she heard a clamor from the other old ladies.

Turning around, she saw a kind-faced elder, even seated in a wheelchair and wrapped in a thick down coat, still unmistakably elegant in bearing, being pushed toward them by a young man.

“Oh my! It really is Qiao Hong!”

Now that she was closer, the group of old ladies finally confirmed that they had not mistaken her. And in truth, they could not have mistaken her: as the darling of the gymnastics team, Qiao Hong had been tremendously famous after winning Olympic gold in the eighties.

Back then there were celebrities too, but compared with the sports stars from the women’s volleyball, gymnastics, and table tennis teams who brought glory to the nation, those entertainers fell a good deal short in popularity.

Many of those present had once pasted Qiao Hong’s posters on their dormitory walls when they were young, and countless nights had they dreamed of standing on the Olympic stage in a leotard, bathed in the gaze of the crowd.

Now, seeing the idol of their youth, the old ladies erupted.

“After all these years, we’re finally seeing the real thing! Little Sister Qiao Hong, I still remember the year you competed hurt at the Asian Games, your foot wrapped in bandages as you gritted your teeth through the routine and scored so high to win the gold. Oh my... and now so many years have passed?”

“Exactly. The year Sister Qiao Hong won Olympic gold, I was working at the factory and couldn’t watch television. My dead husband was working at a video hall then, and knowing I adored Sister Qiao Hong, he specially recorded it for me. I was so moved—why am I even bringing this up? That dead man of mine has been gone seven years.”

“Big Sister Qiao Hong, please give me an autograph!”

Surrounded at once, hearing everyone speak of the admiration they had felt in their youth, Qiao Hong’s eyes shone with nostalgia as she asked with curiosity, “Ladies, this is...?”

“Oh, we’re all fans of Li Shixin! We came to visit the set!”

At that, Qiao Hong smiled. “I came especially to watch Mr. Li act.”

“Oh?”

Grandma Wu Ming froze. Hearing that her youthful idol was also a fan of Li Shixin, she rolled her eyes and took out her phone, opening the fan group chat.

“Qiao Hong, since you like watching Shixin act too, why not join the fan group?”

“Oh?” Qiao Hong glanced at the group chat titled Li Shixin Fan Support Club and smiled. “All right.”

Watching Qiao Hong take out her phone and join the support family, Wu Ming forcibly suppressed the excitement in her heart.

I really am an excellent fan club president!

If news spread tomorrow that Qiao Hong had joined and become a fan of Shixin, wouldn’t the whole city’s old folks rush to join like mad?

Thinking of the fan club gaining another heavyweight member, Wu Ming could not help but give herself a fierce thumbs-up.

At that moment, filming officially began inside the set.

The old ladies quieted down and watched carefully as Li Shixin stepped into frame.

Seeing that familiar scene, Qiao Hong froze. Then, with a look of remembrance, she smiled to the elders nearby as if talking to herself.

“It’s wonderful acting. I remember Coach Liu was exactly like that back then. So strict, so intimidating.”

Hearing the original author of the work acknowledge their idol, Wu Ming broke into a blooming smile.

“Exactly, exactly. Shixin is outstanding!”

Qiao Hong smiled faintly and nodded.

“Yes... Mr. Li is a very fine actor. Watching him perform reminds me of so many things from before...”

She had not even finished speaking when the crucial soundtrack cue in the prop tape recorder began to play: Sweet Sweet.

Ding-dang, ding-dang, dahn-dahn-dahn~~

Sweet sweet, your smile is so sweet~~

Like flowers opening in the spring breeze~~

“Hm—”

As that classic tune rose, Qiao Hong went still.

Then her gaze grew hazy, and a flush spread across her cheeks.

Watching Qiao Hong—like a little girl, palms cupped at her chest, eyes fixed intently on her Brother Shixin, nearly sending hearts flying out of them—Wu Ming stared wide-eyed.

Wait!

What’s with that expression?

This is obviously, clearly, a problem!

“Cough, cough!”

She coughed heavily and patted Qiao Hong on the shoulder.

“Oh,” Qiao Hong came back to herself at once. “Sister, did you need something?”

“I say, little sister Qiao Hong, you can’t be...” Glancing at the old ladies around them, Wu Ming lowered her voice. “You can’t be taken with our Shixin, can you?”

“Sister, you’re joking,” Qiao Hong said, looking at Wu Ming’s sour expression and shaking her head with a smile. “I won’t even remember what happened today by tomorrow, let alone have the mind for that. I only admire Mr. Li purely as an actor; his performance is especially moving. Please don’t overthink it.”

“Oh.”

The stone hanging in Wu Ming’s chest finally fell.

Pure admiration, then.

Thank goodness.

After all, our Shixin is that outstanding, right?

Heh heh heh...

“An Xiaoxiao, your emotion isn’t right. Do that take again. Action! Music, roll!”

At that moment, Qiao Chendong roared from inside the set.

Ding-dang, ding-dang, dahn-dahn-dahn~~

Sweet sweet, your smile is so sweet~~

As the music began again, Qiao Hong froze once more.

The calm on her face vanished in an instant. Her eyes went dreamy again, both hands clasped over her heart, and the coy shyness in her expression made her seem all at once sixteen years old.

“Coach, I, I like you!”

Ha!!!

Watching Qiao Hong transform in an instant from a fifty-six-year-old elder into a sixteen-year-old girl, gazing at Li Shixin in the set with a scorching look that seemed capable of melting a person, Wu Ming’s jaw dropped.

You say there’s no problem after you’ve brought out my own maiden heart?

If this is pure admiration, I’ll do a handstand and dance, all right!

“Hey, hey, hey!”

Wu Ming hurriedly patted Qiao Hong’s shoulder again.

“Qiao Hong, you...”

Her reverie broken, Qiao Hong frowned faintly.

“Hello. Who are you?”

Ha!!!

“Qiao Hong, it’s me, Wu Ming! Sister, what did you just say to me? This... why lie like that?”

“Lie?” Qiao Hong tilted her head. “What did I say? Do we know each other?”

Looking into Qiao Hong’s innocent, bewildered eyes, Wu Ming felt that recruiting this possibly addled gymnastics queen into the group might have been a terrible mistake.

This wasn’t adding a heavyweight fan at all...

This was letting a wolf into the house, damn it!