2001 Media Godfather

Chapter 29 Why is this thing so addictive?

What does "disgusting" mean?! What does "disgusting" mean?!
Chu An was furious!

Not only can I do hair, but I can also sleep in a bathtub and buy sanitary napkins!
She even gives foot massages! Am I proud of myself?

Well, these are things we can only keep to ourselves; whoever says them out loud will die.

but
Endure it!

For Geng Geng.
In order not to delay the filming schedule of "With You".

We need to appease this young lady and get her to act willingly.

Show me the script, "You've lost your script."

Xu Shu: "Oh!" Only then did she realize that the script was in Chu An's hands.

Chu An shook his head speechlessly, then thought for a moment, handed her "The Best of Us," but casually put away "My High School Days."

"Take this one back. The other one is useless anyway, so I'll throw it away for you."

Xu Shu: "Oh."

Chu An: "So I'm leaving? What are you going to do next?"

Xu Shu's eyes darted around. "I... I came out for a walk!" she quickly added, "I already told Sister Yuan!"

Chu An sneered, thinking to himself, "If you can't lie, then don't lie!"

Pretending not to know, she said, "I'm going to have lunch. Do you want to come with me?"

Okay, actually, since it's a day-night reversal, this should be considered breakfast.

Xu Shu wanted to refuse, but her belly wouldn't cooperate.

She had no money and wanted to throw a tantrum and wander around for a few days.

Thinking of all this, Xu Shu straightened her body slightly, her face serious, yet with a hint of reluctance and coquettishness, "The company doesn't allow me to eat alone with male actors."

"However," she pouted, "never mind."

"I happen to have a script issue I'd like to discuss with screenwriter Chu Chu!"

Hsu Shu-hsin said, "I'm so clever, screenwriters aren't male actors."

Chu An remained expressionless. An actor is an actor; he acted superbly!

They took her to a small street outside the north wall of the agricultural machinery factory. This street was also separated from the No. 1 Middle School by a wall, and the houses were divided by residents into many simple houses used as shops. There were all kinds of shops, such as convenience stores, snack shops, and stationery stores.

Normally, besides the residents of the agricultural machinery compound, the place mainly caters to students, making it one of the more bustling areas in the northern part of the city. However, since it's summer vacation now, there are far fewer people.

The two arrived at a small shop. Chu An had Xu Shu sit down at a small table on the street and called out to the shop, "Aunt Chen, four chicken frames to be roasted, with lots of sugar and vinegar! Two bowls of pulled noodles and a bottle of Da Bai Li."

Only one response came from inside: "Wait!"

After a while, the food was served.

Aunt Chen thought Chu An had come with Zhao Yang or Li Chunming, but when she came out, she found a pretty girl sitting next to her.

"Hey! Whose little girl is this? Why is she wearing a mask in this heat?"

Chu An gave a perfunctory reply, "My classmate has a cold."

"Oh~~!" Aunt Chen's tone was deliberately obsequious as she gave Xu Shu a good look. Even though she was wearing a mask, it had to be said, she was really pretty!
Half-jokingly, half-seriously, "Xiao An, watch your step, or I'll tell your dad!" Daring to have a relationship at such a young age?
Chu An didn't care, "My dad ran away from home, you can't sue him!" He shooed Aunt Chen away, "Alright, stop looking, he really is just a classmate!"

After chasing Aunt Chen away, he explained to Xu Shu, "She's a neighbor; she just loves to gossip."

I pushed a bowl of pulled noodles towards her and poured her a glass of white pear soup.

As it turned out, Xu Shu didn't care about Aunt Chen or anything about puppy love. What did it have to do with her? Her attention was all on the noodles and the chicken frame.

With a blank expression and no movement in his upper body, he watched as Chu An handed him the noodles, poured him a soft drink, and then dismantled the chicken carcass.

"Sigh!" With a reluctant sigh, she said in a cool and indifferent tone, "I mainly came to discuss the script with you, so I don't feel like eating."

Chu An, “???”

Stubborn to the end! This is the epitome of a "tsundere" (a girl who says one thing but does another).

While the upper body of the celebrity Xu was indeed very aloof, his hands were quite honest. He had already picked up the disposable chopsticks, broken them in two, pulled down his mask, and stretched the chopsticks towards the pulled noodles.

The movements were incredibly skillful.

Chu An, on the other hand, was using two chopsticks to painstakingly dismantle the chicken carcass.

This thing is usually handled directly, but with celebrities around, it's not appropriate to be too rough, right?
She's a bit delicate.

"Everyone knows that Yangcheng chicken frames are famous, but few people know the rich history behind them."

Chu An spoke eloquently, recounting the story behind Yangcheng Chicken Frame.

"Back in 1950, during the Korean War, a chicken slaughterhouse was built in Nanta, Yangcheng. Chicken legs and breasts were given priority to supply the Air Force pilots, while the remaining chicken carcasses, which had little meat, became a rare source of meat for ordinary citizens."

"It gradually became a dietary habit, but it wasn't as popular as it is now. Then in the 90s, with the wave of layoffs in Northeast China, laid-off workers used scraps from factories to weld furnaces, iron plates, and the like, which led to the situation where chicken frames can be found all over Liaoning Province today."

"So..." Chu An was still picking at the chicken carcass with a chopstick in each hand, "Don't underestimate this little chicken carcass; it bears witness to the contributions and rise and fall of Northeast China."

This set of words is standard drinking conversation script, guaranteed to win applause and praise "President Chu" for being knowledgeable, worldly-wise, and insightful!
But big stars are different; they're definitely not like the usual straight men in comedy.

While huddled up eating noodles, she stared intently at Chu An as he divided the chicken carcass.

After President Chu finished speaking, everyone waited for the big star Xu's response, but all they received was:
"You're so delicate!"

"Me!?" Chu An was stunned. "Me, delicate!?"

The next second, the famous Xu put his chopsticks on the bowl, and with a snap, he quickly dismantled the chicken carcass.

Then, assuming a proper posture, he gestured to Chu An, "Eat!"

Like a living Li Kui from Liangshan, a modern-day old rogue, he has the feel of a Peking Opera martial arts performer making an appearance.

Chu An is about to lose his temper again.

I think it's better for her to be aloof; at least he can maintain that aloofness. This sudden, unexpected thing is really hard for An Ge to handle.

Watching her begin, slurping noodles with one hand and gnawing on a chicken frame with the other, occasionally putting down her chopsticks to drink a drink made from artificial flavorings and colorings.

Chu An was a little uncertain again, "Are you from the South?"

Xu Shu replied aloofly, "Yes."

Not spicy?

Xu Shu: "It's very spicy, it doesn't taste good."

Chu An: "Then let's not eat, let's discuss the script?"

Ahem! Xu Shu's rhythm is a bit off.

After swallowing the noodles and calming down for a while, I suddenly felt less troubled. I started eating the chicken frame even faster.

Seeing her embarrassed expression, Chu An felt a strange sense of accomplishment, finally winning back a point.

After finishing her meal, Xu Shu was very satisfied, but a little worried that Yuan Jie must not know that she had eaten so much.

We absolutely cannot let her know that we ate at this kind of roadside stall.

So now, it's time to get out of here!

How could Chu An let her go like that?

After paying and returning, he asked out of the blue, "Have you ever been online?"

Xu Shu was puzzled, but still answered, "I've been there, but not often."

Chu An, "Do you know how to play games?"

Xu Shu shook her head again. The company did provide her with a laptop, but she hadn't used it much, nor had she had time to use it, let alone play games.

But to my own conscience, is the game fun?

Chu An could tell from her expression that she had taken the bait.

That's right! A seventeen-year-old girl who has done nothing but acting, how could she resist the temptation of games?
"Then, come play games with me!"

Chu An had already analyzed it. A big star who ran away from home couldn't go to crowded places, dared not go to sparsely populated places, and didn't have much money on him.

Where can she go?
Chu An needed to ensure that Tian Du couldn't find her for a while, and also use this time to build a good relationship with the big star and win her consent to star in "With You". That way, even if Tian Du tried to obstruct her, Chu An would have a way to deal with it.

Then again, we can't go anywhere, so we can't exactly take her to a hotel, can we?

There was only one place to go—an internet cafe.

Overnight stay.

In other words, the two of them spent the entire afternoon and evening together. With Mr. Chu's eloquence and personal charm, how could he not win over a young girl?

And you know what, taking a big star out for an all-nighter is kind of exciting, huh?

So, 30 seconds later
The two walked into the internet cafe side by side.

Yes, it's right across from that roasted chicken rack place. Mr. Chu is a master strategist; his decision to eat here was all planned out.

Upon arriving at the front desk, Chu An feigned concern and asked Xu Shu for her opinion, "Shall we sit in the lobby?"

Xu Shu had never been to a place like this before, but she knew what it meant to sit in the lobby, and subconsciously glanced at the somewhat noisy lobby.

Before she could even consider whether sitting in the lobby was appropriate or whether she would be recognized, she was already worried.

Chu An replied, "Yes! I understand."

He turned to the network pipes with a serious expression and said, "Let's get a private room, somewhere quiet."

Xu Shu: "???"

The internet cafe manager, a young man with blond hair, glanced at the two of them. "Handsome guy and beautiful girl, and you're in a quiet private room?"
What do you want to do?
How can you be so shameless?
He tossed two cards to me and said, "6 yuan an hour, 30 yuan deposit, second floor, room number four."

Six yuan is the price for two machines, but that's not cheap. Who told you to want quiet?

Normally, a machine costs only 1.5 or 2 yuan.

As for those two cards? Inserting them into the machine? You're overthinking it.

The card has a handwritten password that I change every day; it's that simple.

Of course, don't expect the private room to be any nice.

The internet cafe next to the school wasn't an illegal one, but it wasn't particularly fancy either.

It's a very simple little cubicle, with no door, just a curtain.

Two computers, bulky CRT monitors, and a nearly new two-seater sofa. They charge you 6 yuan an hour for that; no wonder internet cafes are so profitable these days.

Xu Shu didn't complain about the poor environment. She wasn't a delicate person to begin with. She had been sleeping on set while filming since she was a child, so she had developed the ability to "make do".

Besides, she had run away from home, and with the silly screenwriter Chu providing meals and a place to stay at night, she was already quite content.

As for whether Chu An had ulterior motives towards her.
As someone once said, actors all look similar, so there's no need to target yourself. Celebrity Xu thinks that makes sense.

As for Chu An's suggestion to play games, I've never played any before, so why not give it a try!
This timeline doesn't have "Legend of Mir," but because the gaming industry is more developed than the other timeline—about three to five years ahead—there's a wide variety of online games.

Chu An randomly picked a martial arts MMORPG, similar to another version of "Swordsman Love 1". With its traditional Chinese style graphics and melodious background music, the two of them each played their own roles, venturing into the martial world together.

Hey!

So, Xu Shu and I registered an account together.

then
You know what, this stuff is surprisingly addictive!

.

(End of this chapter)