Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 59 Long-term Planning
Tianjin is a coastal city.

Now that it's the height of summer, swimwear shops are everywhere. Zhang Yan didn't know if they were good or bad, so he chose the one with the best decor.

"Isn't this too expensive?"

Chen Hong randomly picked out a piece of clothing, glanced at the tag, and exclaimed in surprise, "This little bit of fabric costs two or three hundred yuan? Will the production crew reimburse us?"

The female shop assistant next to her hurriedly said, "Madam, this is an international brand. You'll know once you try it on. It's especially slimming and flattering."

Zhang Yan's gaze was fixed on a two-piece swimsuit with black and white patterns. He said decisively, "It's okay. The production team won't reimburse us, so we'll just buy it ourselves. We'll need it eventually anyway."

These days, most swimsuits in China are one-piece. I used to only see two-piece swimsuits like this in dubbed films and Hong Kong movies.

The female shop assistant quickly chimed in, "Yes, yes, we use special fabrics here that won't break even after ten or eight years."

Chen Hong glanced at Zhang Yan, then followed his gaze to the two-piece swimsuit, and immediately understood what he wanted to use it for.

"Humph~"

She gave a soft hum, put down the swimsuit in her hand, and began to wander back and forth between the rows of shelves.

Seeing her picking out one piece after another, all of which were common onesies, Zhang Yan secretly became a little anxious, but he was too embarrassed to say it out loud in front of the waiter, and even more embarrassed to take the initiative to touch them.

Actually, he was already considered very bold. The other male guests only dared to hide in the corners and didn't dare to approach the women's clothing area at all.

"May I try these on?"

"of course can!"

The female shop assistant was very easy to talk to. The main thing was that Zhang Yan and Chen Hong had driven there, and their demeanor and attire clearly indicated they were not ordinary people.

Chen Hong, carrying several one-piece swimsuits, made as if to head to the changing room. Just as Zhang Yan was feeling disappointed, she suddenly turned back and took off the two-piece cow-print swimsuit.

Zhang Yan was overjoyed and hurriedly followed behind.

"gentlemen."

Seeing this, the female shop assistant blushed and whispered a reminder: "You can go in and help, but it's best not to stay too long—and if there are any stains, you have to buy them according to our rules."

So what if it takes a long time?!

Does working longer hours mean facing discrimination?!

While mentally complaining, Zhang Yan followed Chen Hong into the changing room without hesitation. He then saw that Chen Hong simply put her swimsuit over her T-shirt.

Zhang Yan was dumbfounded. With all these layers, what was there to see?

"I don't even know how many people have touched this."

Chen Hong rolled her eyes at him and said, "I can't just wear it directly against my skin, can I? I'll wear it for you to see after I wash it."

"When will that be?"

"It'll have to wait until tomorrow night at the earliest."

Zhang Yan was greatly disappointed and reluctantly left the dressing room. He was then met with a look of shock and disdain from the female shop assistant, who seemed to be saying: "How can someone so tall and strong be so short and stocky?"

…………

"Don't throw apples at me!"

"Wait a minute, wait a minute!"

"No, no, no, no..."

"Ahhh! It's coming! It's coming!"

Because it was not even eight o'clock when they got back to the apartment after eating out, it was a bit too early to get straight to the point—mainly because Chen Hong had already thrown all the swimsuits into the washing machine, so they missed out on the most direct sensory stimulation.

So Zhang Yan took out his newly bought Famicom and started a game of Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers... well, actually it was more than ten games. The main problem was that Chen Hong always treated it as a voice-controlled game, shouting loudly but forgetting to operate it with her hands.

Zhang Yan turned off the game around 9 p.m.

It's not that I can't stand Chen Hong's voice control; these days, it's already quite a luxury to have a girl—especially such a beautiful one—willing to play games with you.

He was mainly worried that Chen Hong would lose her voice from shouting and wouldn't be able to continue filming tomorrow.

Chen Hong climbed up from the cushion and stretched: "I didn't expect playing games to be so tiring."

That's because you do more things in real life than you do in the game.

While complaining, Zhang Yan wrapped the cable around the controller and the console, stuffed the game console into the TV cabinet, and then got up and said, "Want to watch some TV?"

"Forget it, there aren't any new dramas now. It's either old dubbed films or reruns of last year's 'Aspiration' and 'Investiture of the Gods'."

As Chen Hong spoke, she shifted the topic to "Tianjin Wei": "When do you think our show will air?" "I estimate it won't be until at least October, right?"

These days, post-production for TV dramas usually takes six months to a year. However, due to instructions from higher-ups, the production time for "Tianjin Wei" is expected to be reduced to three or four months.

"After October..."

Chen Hong murmured the same sentence over and over again, seemingly lost in thought.

Zhang Yan touched her smooth face and asked, "What's wrong?"

"nothing."

Chen Hong sighed, "I just feel that my parents would like this drama, especially the part where the female lead 'returns to the right path' and decides to give up being an actress."

It seems her parents weren't very supportive of her becoming an actress.

That's normal. Which family with good financial conditions would want their daughter to be in the public eye?
If some feudalistic ideas remain, it is common to regard actors as performers or as the lowest of the low.

Zhang Yankuan comforted them, saying, "Each generation has its own ideas, but old ideas will gradually be changed."

That's what they say, but judging from information from later generations, it seems that the public's perception of 'actors' will only continue to decline.

So he quickly changed the subject and brought up the idea of ​​buying an apartment in Beijing.

"Is now a bad time to buy a house?"

To everyone's surprise, Chen Hong disagreed: "I heard that housing reform is coming soon. Wouldn't it be much better to just buy an apartment building instead of those old, secondhand courtyard houses?"

Nowadays, young people generally yearn for skyscrapers, feeling that they are the symbol of city dwellers, and even wishing for them to be as tall as possible.

"We can just buy a new one later."

Zhang Yan said shamelessly, "It might take several years for the policy to be implemented. My idea is that we should buy a nice courtyard house first, renovate the water, electricity and heating systems, and live there temporarily."

Chen Hong actually didn't approve of wasting money like this, but she keenly noticed the word "us".

She had, after all, offered herself up for the role, and she understood that Zhang Yan was mainly after her body. She had no idea how long this 'relationship' could last.
Therefore, Chen Hong was particularly enthusiastic about this kind of 'long-term' planning, and immediately said, "If you really want to buy, I still have more than ten thousand on hand..."

"No need."

Without a second thought, Zhang Yan refused, saying, "It's not like I'm short of money, why should I take yours?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Chen Hong walked into the master bedroom on her own.

"what happened?"

Zhang Yan followed her, puzzled, and saw her pick up the bedding and pillows, her face cold as she prepared to leave.

"what happened?"

Zhang Yan didn't understand what he had done to offend her, so he blocked the doorway and asked, "Where are you going with that blanket?"

"Go sleep in the guest room."

Chen Hong said with a stern face, "Since you've made such a clear distinction between us, I'll naturally be sensible and take the initiative to distance myself from you."

"do not!"

Zhang Yan found this woman a bit strange. These days, isn't it usually the man who pays for the house? How come it's considered "drawing a line" when it comes to him...

Wait ~
The phrase "drawing a clear line" suddenly made Zhang Yan understand what was going on.

Although he hadn't really thought about a long-term relationship with Chen Hong, he couldn't reveal it at this moment, so he immediately smiled and said, "If you insist on adding some money, I won't stop you, but I think it's best to keep it for expenses."

Even if I buy a house, I definitely won't be able to move in anytime soon. I'll have to stay at your rented place for now—you might as well use this money to pay for my food, drinks, and entertainment, and let me experience what it's like to be kept by a female celebrity.

"Bah~"

Chen Hong calmed down a little, but still stubbornly asked, "Since it's the two of us living in the house, what's wrong with me paying for it?"

"Go, go, go."

Seeing her insistence, Zhang Yan had no choice but to surrender: "If you're willing to pay, then pay. It's no big deal."

Chen Hong's anger turned to joy, and the two lay on the bed and began to discuss where it would be appropriate to buy a house.

Chen Hong had only been in Beijing for half a year. Although he knew a little more than Zhang Yan, his knowledge was still limited, like a blind man touching an elephant, seeing only a part of the whole picture, or shooting at a target in the air.

So after a fruitless discussion, they eventually turned to the idea of ​​a close friendship like that of Guan Zhong and Bao Shuya.

(End of this chapter)