Rebirth 2004: A lone figure in the literary world

Chapter 103 The Intoxicating Night
Zhang Chao was stunned. He didn't expect it was her, but he still answered: "I'm at home... I don't have any special activities. I'll write something in the evening and then I'll go to bed."

Little Song Jia was stunned for a while on the other end of the phone before he asked tentatively, "There are New Year's Eve events in Sanlitun and Shichahai tonight, and there will be a blessing ceremony at Lama Temple tomorrow morning. Do you want to..."

Zhang Chao said cheerfully, "Let's go to Sanlitun. There are a lot of people there, and it's lively. Where are you? I'll drive to pick you up."

Little Song Jia said: "...No, I can just take a taxi there."

Zhang Chao said, "I just got my driver's license not long ago, so you should just give me some courage so I can practice driving."

Little Song Jia laughed and said, "That's fine. I live in Huilongguan, Tiantongyuan North District 2. Do you know how to get here?"

Zhang Chao said, "I know. Take the North Fifth Ring Road. I'll check the map for the exact intersection to turn at."

Nowadays, car navigation systems are generally installed later. Even the center console of a BMW is just a radio plus a bunch of buttons. If you want to install it, you have to remove the radio. Zhang Chao didn't do it because he thought it was troublesome.

The Fifth Ring Road was the first project to be completed in the Olympic Games. It was completed in 03, and there was no traffic jam at that time. Zhang Chao was driving while humming a song: "Ah ~ Fifth Ring Road ~ You have one more ring than the Fourth Ring Road ~"

After more than 20 minutes, Zhang Chao arrived at the gate of Tiantongyuan community.

Another 20 minutes passed before Zhang Chao found the building that Xiao Songjia mentioned among the maze-like buildings. Xiao Songjia was waiting for him downstairs.

It was a very cold day, but he was sweating profusely while driving. It is indeed a paradise for "Beijing Drifters" known as the No. 1 community in Asia.

Song Jia was dressed very simply today, wearing a white turtleneck sweater with a gray down jacket, black jeans, and a pair of brown fur boots. Only a red wool hat on his head made him look festive.

She looked into Zhang Chao's car first before asking, "Where should I sit?"

Zhang Chao said, "Sit in the passenger seat and consecrate it."

Little Song Jia then smiled, opened the car door, got in, fastened his seat belt, and said to Zhang Chao, "Why didn't I notice you were so humorous when I was on the set?"

Zhang Chao said, "It's a work situation." Then he asked, "Have you had dinner?"

Little Song Jia shook her head, and Zhang Chao said, "Then let's go eat first."

Both of them had only been in Yanjing for a short time and didn't know much about the delicious food. They drove down the road and saw a busy copper pot hot pot restaurant with a spacious open space at the door for parking, so they decided to satisfy their hunger there.

After eating a few plates of meat, Zhang Chao and Xiao Songjia's faces regained color and the conversation was not so awkward anymore.

Zhang Chao asked Xiao Songjia how the filming of the movie was going. Xiao Songjia said, "I have almost finished filming my scenes in school. Now the crew has gone to the location in Chongqing. Xu Miao and I will go there later."

Zhang Chao hasn't asked about the progress of the film since the book reading session. The crew has the great screenwriter He Jiping as the producer, so there is no need for him as a screenwriter to follow the crew.

Little Song Jia added: "I haven't said thank you yet."

Zhang Chao said, "You mean the extra scenes? You should thank Director Zhang Aijia. I am just following orders."

Little Song Jia said: "I should thank you for the extra scenes, they are so wonderful. After the two scenes were filmed, the staff applauded - but that's not what I'm talking about. The director told me that she chose me because of your recommendation."

Zhang Chao heard this and gave a brief account of the casting process that day. Little Song Jiaqi said, "Have you seen my play? I thought not many people watched it. Besides, they were all vase roles..."

Zhang Chao said: "I think you have a lot of explosive power, and you played those roles very attentively. There are only bad actors, not bad roles."

Xiao Songjia said sincerely: "Thank you!"

Zhang Chao asked, "Why did you think of coming to Yanjing from Shanghai? Aren't you doing well there?"

Little Song Jia's eyes dimmed at first, and after a while he said, "In our industry, the combined influence of other places in the country is not as great as that of Yanjing alone. Only when we become famous in Yanjing can we be truly famous."

Zhang Chao said: "This is quite similar to the old Peking Opera industry - learn the art in BJ, become famous in Tianjin, and make a lot of money in Shanghai."

Little Song Jia said with some self-mockery: "Yeah, actors are all the same."

Zhang Chao said hurriedly: "I didn't mean that - otherwise I wouldn't have written the script."

Little Song Jia tilted her head, squinted at him, and then smiled and said, "I know."

When it came time to pay the bill, Xiao Songjia insisted on paying for it herself, so Zhang Chao didn't fight with her for it.

Not long after the two got in the car, Zhang Chao saw a sea of ​​lights as bright as day and a stream of people in front of him. He knew they had arrived and quickly found a place to park the car.

Sanlitun at this moment is much more lively than usual, with balloons, lights, and loud music. The minus 5-degree weather in Yanjing did not extinguish people's enthusiasm. Men and women were walking around, and everyone had a smile on their face.

Zhang Chao and Xiao Song Jia were strolling along the street with the crowd, and unknowingly came to the door of a bar called "Moonlight". It was very lively here, with a big clock counting down to 0 o'clock.

There are many foreigners coming in and out of this bar.

Little Song Jia asked, "Do you want to go in and take a look?"

Zhang Chao said: "I don't drink..."

Before he could finish his words, he was dragged in by Xiao Songjia. The bar was full of neon lights and bright lights. On the stage, a group of muscular men in cool clothes were dancing, and the men and women in the audience were screaming and whistling from time to time.

Zhang Chao followed Xiao Songjia to the bar. Before they sat down, they saw a tall and handsome man walking towards them with a cocktail in his hand. He said to Xiao Songjia very politely, "Madam, is the gentleman next to you your boyfriend?" Xiao Songjia looked back at Zhang Chao, and seeing that Zhang Chao did not respond, she shook her head as if with a little regret.

The handsome guy was overjoyed. He snapped his fingers at the bar and said to the bartender: "Give me a Mojito..."

Then he turned around, leaned against the bar, stared at Zhang Chao, and said affectionately: "Sir, can I buy you a drink?"

Zhang Chao: “!?”

Little Song Jia: “!?”

The two of them looked around again and, with the help of the dim lights in the bar, discovered that there were people in pairs here, and the gender composition was quite different from what people usually thought.

"Oh my God!" Zhang Chao exclaimed, turned around and ran, all the way out of the bar and stood on the street. He breathed the cold air outside without the smell of alcohol, and then he calmed down.

I've been to this bar before, but I've only heard of it. This is my first time here...

Xiao Songjia's voice sounded behind him: "Why did you run away alone!"

Zhang Chao said unhappily: "You are safe in there, but I am in danger, okay!"

After saying that, the two of them looked at each other and laughed out loud.

After laughing, Song Jiacai said, "Usually you look mature and calm, but you can also be so panicked."

Zhang Chao said, "How can I not panic? Looking at the guy's posture, if I hadn't run fast, he would have hit me against the wall!"

Little Song Jia asked curiously: "What is a wall dong?"

Zhang Chao explained it briefly, and little Song Jia laughed for a long time again, saying that this statement was quite vivid.

Zhang Chao said: "Let's not go to the bar, let's just hang out."

Xiao Songjia nodded, and the two of them walked towards the outskirts of Sanlitun. When they reached the vicinity of the embassy area, it became much quieter.

The two walked for a while, and Xiao Songjia suddenly took two quick steps, turned around and said to Zhang Chao: "Do you want to support me?"

Zhang Chao thought he had heard it wrongly, so he stopped and looked at Xiao Song Jia in disbelief without saying a word.

Little Song Jia continued: "Why don't you speak? Am I not pretty?"

Zhang Chao pointed at himself and said, "Why me? I'm still a student..."

Xiao Songjia laughed and said, "A student who can earn 1000 million yuan a year by writing books and then drive a BMW? Can you find another student like this in the whole country?"

Zhang Chao asked, "Are you kidding or are you serious?"

Little Song Jia asked: "Which one do you want?"

Zhang Chao said: "I don't want any of them."

Xiao Songjia asked: "Then why did you agree to come out with me tonight?"

Zhang Chao was silent. If he said that he didn't have any desire in his heart, it would be hypocritical. But if he said that he only had this purpose, he would never admit it.

Xiao Songjia said: "You are a 20-year-old young man, but you are as cowardly as a 40-year-old uncle. You have already taken a step forward, but you have to take a half step back before you are willing to move forward. There are too many inner dramas, and you always find various excuses for yourself in your mind. You will never face yourself honestly."

Zhang Chao laughed and said, "Can you see my inner thoughts?"

Xiao Song Jia said: "I am an actor, and one of my basic tasks is to observe life and understand people's expressions and actions in different psychological activities. I discovered when we were discussing the script in the hotel last time that you always subconsciously conceal your true reaction to me. Of course, I don't know if you are the same to other people in private."

Zhang Chao felt relieved at the moment and said, "You are quite accurate. So what you just said was neither true nor false, but a test for me, right? Do you know that stimulating me in this way can make me show my true reaction?"

Little Song Jia didn't know whether to accept the offer or not, but looked at the bright neon lights of Sanlitun and said, "Zhang Chao, I am actually a vulgar person, and I am vulgar to the core. I just like acting, and I want to be famous and popular. I came to Yanjing just to become famous!
But it's really hard to be famous - let alone famous, it's hard to live a good life. I've been here for half a year and have sent my resume to dozens of crews, but I haven't been successful once. No crew is willing to give me the role I want, not even the third or fourth female lead. But I'm not willing to start from a minor role.

If I hadn’t had the opportunity to star in “Youth Like You”, I don’t know how long I could have lasted in Yanjing. When I first came to Yanjing and hadn’t received any roles for more than two months, I even rejected an assistant director who wanted to sleep with me. He said that if I stayed with him for a month, he would give me the second female role.

But what if 2 months becomes 1 year? What if it becomes 2 years? What if dozens of failures become hundreds of failures? If someone says something similar to me at that time, will I still refuse? I don’t know…”

Zhang Chao said: "...Time and setbacks can indeed change a lot."

Little Song Jia turned around and said to Zhang Chao: "So "Better Days" saved me. Director Zhang Aijia is very good, Director He Jiping is very good, and even the actor assistant director Lu Jianqing from Hong Kong Island is very professional - of course, and you are also very good, and the most special one.

You showed me a less vulgar side of this circle. Thank you..."

Just as Zhang Chao was about to say something, a thunderous roar suddenly erupted from Sanlitun.

His second year in 2004 was over.

(End of this chapter)