Reborn in the Entertainment Industry: Second Life

The monkey, a grown man, was crying and drinking at the same time. The proprietress, unsurprised, placed a pack of tissues on Bo Bing's table and clicked her tongue, "Look at this, so heartbroken."

The monkey must be a regular customer. The owner's little girl, with pigtails, was helping the woman packing up the stall by carrying trash bags. Her face was red from the cold, and she kept looking this way.

"So even the strong Uncle Hat can cry."

A childish voice.

Upon hearing this, Monkey burst into tears without stopping. He grabbed four or five sheets of tissue paper and smeared them on his face. He was just a lowly auxiliary police officer in the neighborhood; how could he be worthy of the sacred title the girl spoke of?

Guan Yinshan had invited them to this place a few times. Captain Guan was a nice guy; after closing a case, he would relax with his young men. Because he was on good terms with Monkey, he would also invite him to drink with them. The proprietress knew that Guan Yinshan was a frequent visitor, and seeing him with Guan Yinshan, she naturally assumed he was one of them.

He was grateful for Guan Yinshan's recognition, but the young men in the team, led by Guan Yinshan, always felt that he was too tactless. Wu Huan and the others were all graduates of reputable universities, unlike the slick Monkey. Naturally, they were somewhat arrogant and thought that Monkey was too old to be climbing the social ladder, that he was not ambitious, and that he was shamelessly trying to build a relationship with Guan Yinshan.

In addition, Monkey's mother was in poor health and often needed to take and buy medicine. Guan Yinshan couldn't bear to see this and would give Monkey some money, which made the team think even more that Monkey was a spineless man.

When Bo Bing saw the monkey's reaction, she knew she had touched a nerve.

He sighed, his composed demeanor making it impossible to believe he was a young man nearly eight years younger than the monkey, who had only recently entered society.

“Look how cold it is today,” Bo Bing called the proprietress over and gestured for her to take her daughter inside. “Go on, let’s warm the baby up on the radiator. It’s on our table.”

The little girl beamed with joy when she heard that the guest had given her a drink, and the red string on her pigtails bounced with her movements.

She ran sweetly to Bo Bing's side and said thank you, brother.

Bo Bing patted her head.

"Xiao Liu, take the baby inside, the baby's nose is running from the cold."

Other customers nearby joined in the shouting.

The young man who took the order quickly picked up the child and went inside.

The unshaven customer next to him drunkenly raised his bottle at Bo Bing, then shook his head and shouted to the proprietress, "I'll pay, give the kid another soft and fragrant pastry... and give me some New Year's money."

His companion quickly patted him on the shoulder, "Hey, you shouldn't be drinking like this. The New Year isn't over yet, and people are already receiving their lucky money."

Then the people at that table burst into laughter.

The monkey, exhausted from crying, started stuffing wine and meat into its mouth, pouring out its grievances as it did so.

"I've lived most of my life, and I've never thought of just wasting it," Monkey said, taking a swig of his drink. "This time, I was so close to getting in, so very close... Captain Guan even asked me how the exam went, how could I face him..."

“This isn’t your fault,” Bo Bing sighed as well. “That’s life. During the New Year, go to the temple with your family to burn incense and bring some good luck.”

“I don’t have many decent friends, and I never expected that I would end up having to listen to my troubles.”

The man's face and ears turned red from drinking, and he ordered another case of beer from the proprietress.

"Stop talking nonsense," Bo Bing seemed to be disturbed by the atmosphere as well. He put the two beer bottles together, opened one, handed one to Monkey, and took a couple of swigs himself. "I thought that after drinking this beer, we would be buddies."

Anyway, the filming is after the weekend, so he can sleep in the hotel for two days. His original plan was to check out the medicinal herb market in X City, which is why he arrived two days early. Now... he took a bite of the steamed bun and decided to drink it first.

Alcohol might be a good thing.

—It's not a remedy for regret, but it's better than one.

"it is good!"

The monkey's throat was hoarse. He touched his face and said, "When I was in elementary school, the village geomancer said that my name and fate were both bad. It was plain and unremarkable, and I was afraid that without the help of a benefactor, I would be destined to a life of toil. At the time, I was not convinced, but now it seems that he was right."

"Don't think like that," Bo Bing could only go along with the monkey's comforting words, "Think positively, hasn't Captain Guan been good to you?"

“Captain Guan is my benefactor, he’s a good man,” Monkey said sadly. “I’m sorry to him.”

"At first, I just wanted to be a low-level constable, preferably in the area around my parents' vegetable stall. That way, once I had a policeman, no one would bother with our stall," Monkey said, resting his chin on his hand, his eyes showing exhaustion after venting his frustration. "But less than two years later, my mom worked herself to the bone and had to go to the hospital for surgery. I begged each of my relatives to help, but they all ignored me... My meager salary wasn't enough, so my sister got married and brought some money back with her..."

“She works on the construction site and doesn’t have a good life. Sometimes she even comforts me, but I’m too ashamed to face her,” Monkey said, taking out a bag of Black Blue Ocean cigarettes and gesturing to Bo Bing. Bo Bing took it and tucked it behind her ear, while Monkey lit it himself. “I send almost all the money I have home to pay for my mother’s medical treatment. Captain Guan sometimes helps me out. My sister is a college student who works part-time, and sometimes she gives me a hundred or two yuan.”

“I said I was quitting,” Monkey flicked his cigarette ash. “I said I would go to my brother-in-law’s construction site to carry bricks and earn money. I still have strength and I can endure hardship. But Captain Guan kept telling me not to give up and to try taking the exam. My mom and sister both said that Captain Guan is my benefactor and told me to be good and take the exam.”

Even if he didn't say it, Bo Bing already knew what he was going to say next.

If you could achieve your goals simply by working hard, there wouldn't be so many people in the world with regrets.

While drinking heartily, Bo Bing also roughly investigated the monkey's background.

The two sat there until late at night, when Bo Bing stopped the monkey who was about to pay and paid for the meal herself.

In the dead of night, Monkey dragged Bo Bing to another noodle shop and sat down. He ordered a bowl of knife-cut noodles for one of the customers. The shop was full of night owls waiting to eat noodles to sober up, and the air was thick with the smell of alcohol.

There were people nearby discussing the second round.

"Let's go, we'll drink at the karaoke later."

“I’m not going, I’m not going, it’s settled,” a middle-aged man’s voice came out. “I have to work tomorrow.”

"You're the only kid in the whole city who needs to go to work; we're all just trying to make a living?"

It was a noisy scene.

Bo Bing was also drunk, but he hadn't drunk any baijiu (Chinese liquor), so he was still somewhat conscious. Alpha's [Fountain of Life] helped him sober up a bit. Monkey was also much better; he seemed to be able to drink more than Bo Bing.

"Monkey," Bo Bing said, taking a sip of her noodle soup, "what are you planning to do next?"

"Cold noodles," Monkey slurped up the noodles in one go. "After the New Year, I'll quit my job and find a way to work on a construction site. I'm still young and energetic enough to work hard and pay back my sister's money and Captain Guan's money..."

"Although I feel very sorry for Captain Guan and my family's expectations," Monkey said, picking up the jujube tea with a determined look in his eyes.

"But if I don't make up my mind now, it will be too late."