Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 36 Synchronized Swimming Team

Inside a hotel suite.

Zhang Yan came out of the inner room after tidying himself up. He saw his mother sitting by the phone, muttering something to herself. He comforted her, "Mom, there's no need to be so nervous. If someone calls, just do as I say."

Zhang Yan rented this suite out of his own pocket for the convenience of communication, specifically because there was a landline phone in the outer room.

Since the flyers were distributed, I've received dozens of calls over the past two days, but they've all been either scammers or random people; I haven't received a single useful message yet.

Because the crew was going to the synchronized swimming team today to select roles related to the third case, Zhang Yan specially called his mother and sister to stay by the phone.

"Yes sir!"

At this moment, Zhang Fang jumped up from the sofa and gave a triumphant military salute: "If you receive another call expressing your love, I'll definitely help you find out your height, weight, and measurements!"

Perhaps moved by Zhang Yan's devoted lover persona, people have been volunteering to replace Zhou Nan every now and then these past few days.

Of course, it's also possible that they came for the film crew, trying to overtake them by taking a shortcut.

"You brat~"

Zhang Yan habitually ruffled his younger sister's hair and said irritably, "You've been in the capital for over a month, and all you've learned is how to talk nonsense, haven't you?"

After saying goodbye to his mother and sister, Zhang Yan hurriedly went downstairs to meet up with the others.

It wasn't his suggestion to go to the synchronized swimming team; it was Ma Huiwu's idea. After all, he only wanted to see the swimsuits and didn't care whose swimsuit it was.

Of course, the kind that's too offensive to look at is definitely out of the question.

Yan Xiaoming had no objections. After all, Chen Daoming was in seclusion reading the script, and the female lead's situation would have to wait for the promotional materials to circulate for a while longer. It was good to take advantage of this gap to gather the important supporting actors first.

Wei Liben was on high alert and convened a meeting with everyone overnight to emphasize organizational discipline, fearing that someone might be blinded by lust.

I thought we were going to Taoranting Park.

It wasn't until they got on the bus that they learned the swimming team had moved to Muxiyuan Sports School at the end of September, since Taoranting Sports School was an open-air gymnasium, making it impossible to conduct normal training in winter.

Upon arriving at the swimming pool of Muxiyuan Sports School, the leader and head coach of the synchronized swimming team were already waiting at the gate, which made the entire crew feel somewhat flattered.

After shaking hands with the head coach, Yan Xiaoming kept assuring him that if a member of the swimming team was indeed selected, they would definitely hold a group photoshoot after reaching an agreement, and try their best not to affect the swimming team's training and competitions.

"There's no need to go through all that trouble."

The head coach, however, said the opposite: "If they are selected, let them train more in your crew, and it would be best if they could learn some real skills."

"what?!"

These words greatly surprised Yan Xiaoming, leaving him momentarily speechless.

Seeing this, the team leader took the initiative to explain: "Last year, many sports started to lay off people, saying that they were preparing for market-oriented reforms. Our synchronized swimming team usually receives little attention and has high recruitment fees, so who knows when... Sigh, it's a good thing to find a way out for the girls in advance."

No wonder.

Since the synchronized swimming team had this attitude, both sides naturally hit it off immediately.

As soon as the bustling crowd entered the swimming pool, they were hit by a wave of heat. Upon asking, they learned that the temperature inside was a constant 28 degrees Celsius.

No wonder people say that choosing a car is expensive. These days, let alone central air conditioning, many people can't even afford to turn on an electric fan.

Zhang Yan was hesitating whether to take off his coat when he suddenly heard a whistle from the side of the swimming pool, followed by a splash as twenty-four legs emerged from the center of the pool.

Those thighs, some open, some closed, some bent, some spread apart, formed a pattern that Zhang Yan couldn't name, but which was pleasing to the eye.

"Hey~"

Wei Liben exclaimed in surprise, instinctively covering one eye, while his other eye bulged out through his fingers.

But no one paid him any attention; everyone was focused on the water.

After the thigh dance lasted for more than ten seconds, the girls finally turned upside down and nimbly built two human towers in the water.

Then, the two smallest girls suddenly emerged from the crowd, leaping high with the help of the others, and like two mermaids, they crossed over on the water.

This was immediately followed by another fast-paced thigh dance...

The entire performance lasted about three minutes. As the coach waved the flag vigorously on the shore, the girls came to the shore one after another. Some climbed up the ladder, while most of them braced themselves with their hands and twisted their bodies to sit directly on the shore.

Zhang Yan's gaze quickly fell on one of the girls, not only because she was the most developed and had a graceful figure, but also because the girl looked somewhat familiar, and her name seemed to be Tao Hong.

Zhang Yan had thought the girl was quite pretty then, and now, in her swimsuit, she was even more stunning, like a lotus emerging from the water. While not exactly standing out from the crowd, she was certainly among the most beautiful. The head coach, seeing the girls chattering on the shore and occasionally pointing in their direction, went over and clapped his hands, saying, "Girls, hurry up and take a shower, then change your clothes and come out... Coach Ma, what's this called again?"

"Audition".

"Yes, yes, come out for the audition!"

Seeing the girls walking towards the lounge in groups of three or five, Zhang Yan didn't want to watch any longer. He looked away and asked curiously, "Do you need to take a shower after coming out of the swimming pool?"

"Of course."

The head coach scoffed, "The water in this swimming pool is precious; it's common for it to be used for several days in a row—when we first arrived, there was already moss on the bottom of the pool."

To put it bluntly, it all comes down to money.

"It's really you!"

Just then, a voice suddenly rang out behind him. Zhang Yan turned around and saw the little girl who had mistaken him for a stalker, standing with her hands on her hips, looking at him with curiosity.

"Hello~"

Seeing Zhang Yan turn around, the young girl immediately asked, "Who is the screenwriter for your production team?"

Why are you looking for a screenwriter?

"It's nothing, I just wanted to see what such a devoted man looks like." The young girl said, casually reaching behind Zhang Yan, then frowning more and more as she looked: "Why are they all old men?"

Actually, most of the people in the team are in their early thirties.

However, for a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl, this does indeed fall into the category of the previous generation.

Zhang extended two fingers, pointing them at her eyes. Once the girl's attention was drawn, he turned them back and pointed at himself: "Look, you see now."

"It's you?!"

The little girl first opened her mouth in surprise, then stared at Zhang Yanmeng for a couple of seconds, and finally ran away in a flash.

"Xiao Zhang."

Seeing this, Ma Huiwu asked curiously, "Do you know that little girl from earlier?"

"It's not even close to knowing each other."

Zhang Yan said, "When I went to Taoranting Park in September, I happened to meet this girl once—the inspiration for the third case in the script actually came from this."

"Then you didn't tell me earlier."

Ma Huiwu glared at Zhang Yan, but didn't seem inclined to pursue the matter further. Instead, he pulled Zhang Yan and Yan Xiaoming aside to discuss how to conduct the audition.

"There are quite a lot of people."

Yan Xiaoming suggested, "Why don't we divide them into groups first? Let Teacher Zhang write three lines for each of them, let them act out the scenes together, and then pick out the best performers for individual interviews."

Ma Huiwu agreed, so Zhang Yan lay on the diving platform and wrote a few lines on the spot.

"Tao Hong, come back! Don't bother Writer Zhang!"

As he was writing, he heard someone calling from not far away. Zhang Yan looked up and saw that it was the girl named Tao Hong, who had come alone for some reason.

Seeing Zhang Yan look up at her, the girl became visibly flustered. She hesitated for a moment, biting her lower lip, but instead of backing away, she mustered her courage and took a few steps closer, stammering, "Teacher Zhang, is... is what's written on the missing person notice... true?"

"of course it's true."

Zhang Yan shrugged and said, "Unrequited love isn't something to brag about. I'm not going to reveal my embarrassing secrets for no reason, am I?"

"No no no!"

Tao Hong shook her head vigorously, like a rattle-drum: "I think this is especially romantic, especially, especially..."

She got stuck on the second one, blushed, and suddenly raised her little fist and waved: "Go for it!"

Then he turned around and ran away.

Tsk~
It seems that young girls these days are quite susceptible to this kind of thing.

Of course, this is also because Zhang Yan is a bestselling author and is tall and handsome. If it were someone poor, ugly, and short, it wouldn't be romantic, but rather relentless pursuit.

(End of this chapter)