In fact, old man Song didn’t sleep for long before Tao Mu carefully woke him up.

“Grandpa, we have to go to the grave.”

According to the rules of the Song family, the ancestors would be brought home on New Year’s Eve and then sent off on the first day of the new year. When sending off the ancestors it must be directly according to the auspicious times, and before sending off the ancestors, thirty-six dishes must be made by the Song family to pay tribute to the ancestors. In order to prove that the Song family line had been inherited continuously, so that the ancestors could go back with confidence.

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To make thirty-six dishes, it naturally took some time. Although before this, the basic preparatory work had been done. But it still took at least an hour or two on the stove alone. If it was before, when there were many children in the Song family, each person may only have to be responsible for one or two dishes, and it would be faster. But now there were only the old man and Tao Mu, and the old man had to cook twenty-eight dishes by himself. This was a big project.

When Song Daozhen was woken up, he felt a little dazed. After being dazed for a long time, he came back to his senses.

Tao Mu turned on the hot air conditioner, placed the jacket hanging on the radiator over the old man, and pulled out the cotton trousers covered by the quilt. When putting on shoes for the old man, he frowned and said, “Why is this room still so cold? Should we hire someone to set up floor heating?”

“Don’t bother with such an old house.” Song Daozhen waved his hand. This ancestral house of the Song family was handed down since from the Qing Dynasty. It was said to be an antique, and it indeed looked very impressive. But whoever lived in it knew what it was truly like. Cold in winter and hot in summer, and in addition the lighting was not good either. A few years ago, the water, electricity and heating was finally set up with difficulty, but over the years, the pipes had aged, and there were always problems.

Last year, Tao Mu made money in H Town, and when he came back, he overhauled the pipelines of the orphanage and the Song family residence. In particular, the east and west wing rooms of the Song family residence. He also specially went to Liulichang Cultural Street to hire an engineering team that repaired cultural relics and historic sites. From the windows and walls to the interior decorations. At that time, the yard was full of chaos and noise, annoying Mr. Song terribly.

He survived that period with great difficulty, and he was not willing to suffer it a second time.

“But you don’t like the hot air conditioner.” Tao Mu squatted on the ground and put on the old man’s shoes for him: “Electric hot air is an open flame, which is too unsafe. And after a long time, you’ll feel dry in the mouth. We should at least find a way to warm up the house.”

“Blowing the air conditioner makes me sick.” Old man Song waved his hand. He was too old to enjoy the blessing of the air conditioner: “Besides, it’s quite warm in this room. I’ve been here for so many years, and I’m used to it. It’s all you young people, who look very strong and hotblooded, but in actuality are not resistant to the cold at all.”

As old man Song spoke, his eyes fell on Tao Mu’s long, slender and straight legs. Only a thin pair of jeans wrapped Tao Mu’s legs, giving him a shockingly out of place thin look. Old man Song frowned and found that things were not that simple: “You are not wearing cotton pants again?”

“We are taking the car when we go out, and there is heating in the house.” Tao Mu blinked, pointed to the basin of warm water on the washbasin rack, and said, “I’ve filled it up with wash water. I’m going out now——”

“Stinky boy, not wearing cotton leggings in winter, and it’s minus fifteen or sixteen degrees outside…..why don’t you freeze to death!”

Tao Mu hurriedly fled but still could not avoid the scolding. The loud scolding from Mr. Song standing at the door directly awakened the others in the courtyard. Everyone grinning and wrapped in down jackets and large cotton-padded jackets to stand on the veranda to watch the scene.

When the old man finished washing and entered the kitchen, Tao Mu was still squatting in front of the stove, silently guarding his dignity as an idol——resolutely refusing to wear cotton leggings.

“It’s minus fifteen degrees outside, and the northwest wind is blowing harshly. If you don’t wear cotton leggings today, we won’t send off the ancestors.” Old man Song angrily stood on the other side of the stove: “I imagine the old Song family ancestors also don’t want to see the direct disciple of the Song family freeze to death outside because of their stinky vanity.”

“We’re taking the car when we go out, and there is heating in the house…..” Tao Mu still said, “I don’t feel cold either.”

And besides, how could celebrities wear cotton leggings to keep warm? Do you still have the dignity of an idol? Especially when walking the red carpet or watching a fashion show, how could you put on a layer of cotton leggings because of the cold? Those female stars even bare their thighs and show their shoulders. Us men were already much better off, alright?

“And I have heat packets inside my jacket.” Tao Mu said cleverly, “It’s really not cold.”

“You know that old Liu at the entrance of the alley, who drank too much outside on the 28th of the twelfth lunar month, stumbled and slept by the street lamp, that drunkard?” Mr. Song gave an example to tell Tao Mu of the consequences of not wearing cotton leggings in the north: “When the street sweeper found him the next morning, he was already frozen to death, purple and blue all over. Frozen stiff and didn’t look good at all.”

“Also, Principle Yun came to Song Ji for dinner two days ago, and told me that some little girls are now learning to dress up like those in Korean dramas, wearing cotton clothes on top, no cotton leggings underneath, just bare legs and skirt. In the end freezing so bad they urinated blood…..”

Tao Mu was about to explain that he was different from them, only to look up and see old man Song’s firm gaze. Got it. Nothing to say now.

“I’m going to wear cotton leggings.” Tao Mu went back into his room gloomily, and pulled out a pair of thin cotton leggings. Old man Song followed and stared: “Wear thicker ones.”

Tao Mu was even more unhappy. When he put on thick cotton leggings with jeans, he felt very bloated. This time, old man Song was satisfied: “That’s right. In winter, you have to wear thick clothes that will make people feel warm just by looking at them.”

Despite his desperate struggles he still failed to keep his idol’s dignity of never wearing cotton leggings. Tao Mu turned on his phone gloomily. He had always been a person who liked to share his bad mood with others. This new year, he originally wanted to show kindness and turn a blind eye to the actions of a certain old bastard. But now…..this baby was not happy anymore, so what did he still care if the old bastard was happy or not?

Tao Mu harrumphed twice and messaged FlyNews Entertainment to send two reporters to squat outside the Song family’s ancestral tomb. By the way, he also had drother Da Hui go over in advance to make some preparations as well. Although it was New Year’s Day, the entertainment industry always celebrated the New Year when there was gossip, and not when there was no gossip. Therefore, entertainment reporters, gossip magazines and paparazzi were also the same as the special types of work in the country. They only have shifts and no holidays. Of course, as a CEO who was keen to go home for the New Year, Tao Mu treated those who couldn’t go home for the New Year, or who couldn’t rest during the New Year, such as the employees of FlyNews Entertainment who need to always devote themselves to the cause of gossip very well. The overtime pay for the New Year’s holiday, which was ten times the daily salary, and the luxury New Year’s Eve dinner delivery ordered from a five-star hotel were provided, and as a result the reporters of the FlyNews Entertainment Department nearly fought over who could take the New Year’s holiday shift——

So long as your family was by your side, you could celebrate the New Year every day. But ten times the overtime pay was only available for a few days of the year!

Not knowing that his grandson wanted to find someone to vent his annoyance, old man Song supervised as Tao Mu changed into the thick cotton leggings, and only then did he slip back to the kitchen to prepare dishes for ancestor worship in peace.

When the dishes were ready, one old and one young solemnly placed thirty-six Song family dishes one by one in front of the ancestral tablets, making three bows and nine kowtows, and then respectfully invited the ancestors to have a taste. After that was the journey to send the ancestors back to the ancestral grave.

Tao Mu noticed that old man Song also held a red sandalwood box containing the “Song Family Cookbook” and felt a little curious.

Facing Tao Mu’s curiosity, old man Song didn’t say anything. He sat in the back seat with a gloomy face, the shadows on both sides of the driveway flickering past and causing old man Song to look like he was about to melt into the darkness.

By the time Liu Yao and Meng Qi drove them to the Song family’s ancestral tomb, it was already more than six o’clock in the morning. There was a smear of white in the sky.

Yao Shengan, who arrived at the Song family’s ancestral tomb on time at four o’clock, waited in the car for more than two hours before seeing their car. Immediately, he got out of the car with a dark face: “Didn’t you say four o’clock?”

Old man Song held the ancestral tablet and glanced expressionlessly at Yao Shengan, who had a very ugly expression on his face: “Didn’t you say that you want to kneel in front of my father’s grave for a day and a night? I’m worried that your old bones won’t be able to stand it, so I prepared for you to kneel for two hours. Yet you didn’t kneel in the end at all.”

“Then why have you come here so early?” Song Daozhen looked at Yao Shengan with a puzzled expression.

Yao Shengan was almost angered to death by Song Daozhen’s remarks. He almost forgot, Song Daozhen had always been such a person who liked to make bogus accusations since he was young.

At that time, the Song family hadn’t fallen yet. The patriarch of the Song family accepted a total of two disciples, one was him, and the other was Wang Yipin. Song Daozhen was the only son of the old patriarch of the Song family, and the only heir of the Song family’s generation. His age was also young, so he was naturally spoiled by everyone. Therefore, Song Daozhen was also a hell child since childhood. He had a lively personality that did not allow him to sit still. He was always full of bad ideas and tricks, often angering the Song patriarch into using the family punishment on him, punishing him to kneel in the ancestral hall.

Later, after going through that special era, the whole Song family died out or scattered, and Song Daozhen was hit hard and unable to recover after many years.

Thinking of these past events, Yao Shengan couldn’t help but sigh: “I didn’t expect you to think so. If you explained it to me, I would naturally keel here willingly and ask my teacher for forgiveness.”

Song Daozhen sneered: “What I think is my business. It has nothing to do with your actions. If you truly have the heart, since you have arrived in front of the Song family’s grave, you should kneel and cry for forgiveness. It’s not like the ancestors of the Song family would jump out from their coffins to stop you. Why do you still need to ask for permission?”

Song Daozhen, when either speaking or doing things, never bothered to show face to others. Speaking whatever was on his mind: “You insist on kneeling in front of others to apologize, and have others watch you kowtow and offer incense. Whether you really have the heart to apologize or this is all just a pretense, you know it yourself.”

Song Daozhen said, looking coldly at the two reporters who got out of the Yao family’s car carrying cameras: “It seems like it is me who thought too highly of myself. Looks like it is not me you want to put on an act in front of.”

Song Daozhen placed the tablets of the ancestors of the Song family on the grave. In front of the ancestors, he returned the sandalwood box that Yao Shengan had sent back: “When I was sorting out the “Song Family Cookbook”, I found that there were more than ten extra recipes in the back, which should not belong to the Song family. Now what should be returned is returned to the rightful owner.”

At that time, when patriarch Song was still alive, Song Daozhen had not inherited Song Ji, so he was not qualified to read the ancestral recipes. Song Daozhen based it on the time——the day Yao Shengan took someone to seize and confiscate the Song family, stealing the ancestral recipe. From that day onwards, Mr. Song tore off all the dishes recorded in the “Song Family Cookbook” and returned it to Yao Shengan together with the sandalwood box.

“In the Song family’s teachings, what is not my Song family’s things, we must not be greedy and covet it. If there are descendants in the family who studied outside the art of culinary, and want to record the dishes they have learned in the “Song Family Cookbook”, they must obtain the consent of the other party. Either exchange recipes, or buy them with money, and if necessary, they could provide for the other party’s retirement. If in the future, the descendants of the person who gifted or taught them the recipe lost their ancestral recipes and asked the Song family for it, the Song family can’t shirk the request. They must not hold an overly sentimental attachment to it. They must remember their gratitude…..”

Song Daozhen stood in front of the Song family’s ancestral tomb and recited a paragraph of the Song family’s family motto. Then he looked at Yao Shengan with a blank expression: “Mr. Yao had betrayed his teacher to set up his own business. Since then, he is no longer a member of the Song family. The Song family also doesn’t want to have a good relationship with Mr. Yao, nor do we want to hold gratitude towards you for passing on your art. So I return to you everything that belongs to Yao Shengan. You can check it over yourself.”

Yao Shengan looked at Song Daozhen with a complicated look. This was the character of the Song family. Even if they had been ravaged by wind and rain, they would never veer off from its original intention.

“This is my kind regard. It is also my compensation to the Song family. I hope you can accept it.” Yao Shengan smiled in self-ridicule when he said this: “After all, I also learned this skill from the Song family.”

“I already said, so long as the Song family’s recipe collection is completely returned. Since it is complete, whether it is one dish missing or a dozen new dishes added, it will not be complete.” Song Daozhen’s mindset were very clear: “Although your cooking skills are learned from the Song family, you also betrayed your teacher and deceived the ancestors. Therefore, there is no longer any kindness between you and the Song family. If you want to mention the word relationship, then this relationship is that of enmity. “

“If you still have face and conscience, you should stop using the Song family recipes to benefit your Yao family. After all, you have established your own business. Instead of continuing to use Song family recipes like a thief, you might as well find a way to promote the Yao family cuisine, which can also be considered as proving your Yao family name.”

Song Daozhen lit three sticks of incense while talking: “Now, kowtow to make amends. After kowtowing, you can leave.”

Yao Shengan didn’t expect that Song Daozhen would actually respond like this before he could even find a chance to make scene. In just a few words, all his previous plans were shattered.

That was why he hated people like the Song family the most. No matter what the temperament of the family’s descendants was like, they all possessed such an old-fashioned and sour temperament down to their bones. Everything had to be according to the family rules. Please, what era is it now? Everyone paid attention to interests and profit first, yet Song Daozhen holding the “Song Family Cookbook” and guarding such a Song Ji that had fallen to disrepair, what kind of accomplishment could he even achieve?

After another ten or eight years, when Song Daozhen also died, the Song family would face the danger of losing the family art and the breaking of the family bloodline. Instead of watching these things get lost, why not let him use them instead. It could not only solve the crisis of the Sheng’an Group, but also promote the Song Ji brand.

What was more, Song Daozhen was now a major shareholder of Sheng’an Group. It was useless for him to guard an empty Song Ji, and it was better to leave it to the Sheng’an Group to take care of it instead. Else the brand of the Song family also completely declined with the end of the Song family bloodline.

Song Daozhen didn’t expect that Yao Shengan still had plans on Song Ji, and immediately became angry: “Get out of here!”

Song Daozhen picked up a stick and directly beat Yao Shengan and the bodyguard and reporter he brought with him out of the Song family’s ancestral tomb. Watching Yao Shengan hide pathetically behind the bodyguard.

“Think about it. Don’t be so impulsive when you are already at such an advanced age. Although you hate me, you don’t want Song Ji to disappear in your hands, do you? When the time comes, you will have no face to meet the ancestors of the Song family. How will you explain to the ancestors of the Song family!” Yao Shengan knew Song Daozhen’s weakness, and every word he spoke stabbrd at Song Daozhen’s heart.

Yao Shengan saw that Tao Mu didn’t bring reporters here, and the only two cameramen present were those he brought with him and were naturally on his side. So his speech and demeanor instantly relaxed a lot. In front of Song Daozhen, Tao Mu and the others, he brazenly said some harsh words, and then got into the car surrounded by bodyguards and drove away.

Song Daozhen clutched his chest angrily and cursed loudly. He had never seen such a brazenly shameless person. He ruined the Song family, and now he still had the nerve to covet Song Ji. Even if he brought the plaque of Song Ji into the coffin with him, he would never let Yao Shengan succeed.

“Grandpa, don’t be angry. That old bastard won’t succeed.” While Tao Mu comforted his old man, he looked at the two FlyNews Entertainment reporters who suddenly appeared out of nowhere, as well as brother Da Hui, who came to make arrangements ahead of time.

“Everything was filmed?”

The two reporters nodded viciously. Yao Shengan really was a shameless bastard. Even two onlooking outsiders like them couldn’t stand it any longer.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

Da Hui walked behind the Song family’s ancestral tomb, and took out a few pinhole cameras hidden in the corners that had been secretly recording everything. The sky was still hazy, and it was dark everywhere. Yao Shengan and his people didn’t notice these “mechanisms” at all.

Tao Mu sneered. His days had been spent too happily, and he had been more willing to put on a kindly appearance, so it seemed some people forgot and really regarded him as a holy father.

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Recently, Tao Mu had been living his days quite happily. So much so that when he received a call from Yao Shengan on New Year’s Eve, Tao Mu almost didn’t react at all.

“I’ve already arrived in Beijing.” On the phone, Yao Shengan’s voice was dry and heavy. He knew what he was going to face.

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“Today is New Year’s Eve. According to the old rules of the Song family, we have to go to the grave to invite the ancestors home for the New Year. And prepare dishes for ancestor worship. Should I go there today?”

At that time, Tao Mu was in Song Ji, and together with Mr. Song, he was preparing various incense candles and offerings that they would use when they went to the grave to worship the ancestors. Hearing these words, he frowned: “Didn’t I say to come over on the first day of the New Year?”

The Song family did have a rule of inviting their ancestors home for Chinese New Year on the New Year’s Eve. But the old man said that the ancestors of the Song family have been suffering for so many years and it was with much difficulty that they could raise their heads high so this New Year’s must be celebrated well. On the first day of the New Year, after the ancestors were sent back home, it would not be too late to let Yao Shengan, the bastard who betrayed his teachers and deceived his ancestors, kowtow to make amends.

Of course, Yao Shengan could also guess the old man’s thinking. If it had been a few months earlier, Yao Shengan would not be willing to come over——he cared about face the most in his life, but Tao Mu forcing him to kowtow in front of the Song family’s ancestral tomb was practically the same as completely tearing off Yao Shengan’s and even the Yao family’s face and stomping on it hard with his feet.

But the current situation of the Yao family was not the same as before.

Ever since Tao Mu and Li Xiaoheng attacked Sheng’an Group in the stock market, forcing the Yao family to take out 20% of the shares for a settlement. The Yao family’s control over the board of directors of Sheng’an Group was not as good as before. Later, the media exposed the scandal that the son-in-law of the Yao family used waste oil to embezzle the procurement funds because he owed huge debts to loan sharks, which caused the reputation of Sheng’ann Group to plummet. The stock price fell sharply, and its vitality was greatly damaged.

The board of directors would naturally have the management level account for the damage. The first to bear the brunt was the Yao family who once held important positions in various important departments of the Sheng’an Group. After all, Tao Mu and Li Xiaoheng attacked Sheng’an Group in the stock market because of old grudges between Yao Shengan and the Song family, and the party involved in the waste oil incident was the Yao family’s eldest son-in-law.

Some shareholders believed that the Yao family was to blame for the reason why Sheng’an Group had fallen into today’s situation. Some people wanted to hold the Yao family accountable, so they forced Yao Shengan to resign as chairman on the grounds that his virtue did not match his position. As for the eldest son-in-law of the Yao family who dared to embezzle public funds and use waste oil, he should be handed over to the relevant departments and be severely punished by the law.

Those who could make this kind of suggestion were naturally the victims who were forced by Yao Shengan into bankruptcy and left their hometowns by means of unfair competition. Because of Mr. Song’s decision, these people now also held 10% of the shares of Sheng’an Group. This was not a small amount, at least enough to initiate a shareholders meeting.

Karma is always paid back. When Yao Shengan drove these defeated losers out of Shanghai City, he probably never thought that these people would be able to come back, or even enter the Sheng’an Group, and sit grandly at the shareholders’ meeting.

However, winners take all, when Yao Shengan could no longer control the overall situation, the former losers and victims naturally want to step forward and take revenge.

They want Yao Shengan to be met with misfortune and the Yao family to be driven into decline. Therefore, whatever decision Yao Shengan insisted on, these people would definitely oppose it. Later, it was natural to join other shareholders to remove Yao Shengan as the chairman. And all the rest of the Yao family were kicked out of the management level.

As soon as the victims’ fortune changed for the better, they were naturally qualified to beat the wet dogs.

Many shareholders of Sheng’an Group were originally old friends of the Yao family. However, the attitude of the Yao family was really disappointing. Shares of Sheng’an Group fell sharply. The catering chains were empty of customers. The loss of business meant naturally the loss of interests of the shareholders. As the saying went, wealth shook people’s will. After several exchanges, some people were naturally persuaded by the new shareholders that Yao Sheng’an and the Yao family should indeed be responsible for the current state of the Sheng’an Group. They want Yao Shengan to take the blame and resign. Even a general meeting of shareholders was launched for this purpose.

At the critical moment, it was actually the Shen family who stood up and temporarily retained Yao Shengan’s seat——one had to admit that although the Shen family had ill intentions in the matter of the Sheng’an Group, they also knew Yao Shengan’s ability better than anyone. With the current situation of the Sheng’an Group, if there was no Yao Shengan to stabilize the situation, even if the Group did not fall apart, it was very likely that it would fall out of the ranks of the top food groups in Shanghai.

The father and son of the Shen family went to so much effort and made so many calculations to take 25% of the shares of Sheng’an Group. So they didn’t want to see their money being wasted. They had already suffered heavy losses because of Xiaoheng Capital’s sniping at Sheng’an Group’s stocks. The Shen family didn’t want to deal with any more trouble.

Therefore, Yao Shengan’s seat must be temporarily retained. At least until the Sheng’an Group re-consolidated its status as a Shanghai catering giant, Yao Shengan, the chairman and founder, could not leave. As for the idiot who embezzled public funds to pay usury, naturally no one would care about him.

However, while Yao Shengan’s chairman seat was temporarily retained, he also had to show his ability to the shareholders, turn the tide, and reassure the board of directors trust in him.

But Sheng’an Group’s reputation had become so bad, Yao Shengan couldn’t think of how to turn things around at all. He locked himself in the office for a long time. After thinking about it, the only way for the Sheng’an Group to find a means of survival depended on the Song family.

At this moment, Yao Shengan was very grateful to himself for his soft-hearted moment, inexplicably writing the recipes he had created over the many years into the “Song Family Cookbook”, and returning it together with the “Song Family Cookbook” to the Song family.

Back then, the old patriarch of the Song family taught his children to “do good deeds, don’t ask about the future”, Yao Shengan used to sneer and disapprove. Thinking about it at this moment, it really was true that there was always a light at the end of the tunnel. Perhaps the reason why the old grandfather of the Song family taught his children “do good deeds, don’t ask about the future” was to enjoy this moment of joy in finding a life-saving rope in a desperate situation.

Yao Shengan wanted to pin his hope of whitewashing the Yao family’s reputation on his journey to kowtow to the Song family’s grave to make amends.

Tao Mu was naturally aware of this kind of thinking. Although after his visit to Shanghai, Tao Mu seemed to no longer pay attention to the Sheng’an Group and the Yao family. But the victims who had received the kindness of old man Song had always been thinking about repaying Tao Mu and old man Song for their kindness——of course, as well as show good will to Li Xiaoheng who stood behind Tao Mu. Therefore, it was understandable that they would make calls from time to time to report the current situation of the Yao family.

Thus, Tao Mu also knew the current situation of the Yao family very well. Judging others with himself, he could think of why Yao Shengan was so active to make amends. If he was Yao Shengan, it was likely that he would not miss such a good opportunity to whitewash himself and gain sympathy from others.

He said before that the world admired the strong and pitied the weak. This was actually not necessarily a good thing. Tao Mu had used this human habit himself, but now that Yao Shengan met a similar situation, this old bastard would naturally not let go of such an opportunity. He was sure that there would always be some keyboard holy mothers on the Internet who did not know the truth but still always stood indiscriminately on the side of the weak.

For example, the Tao Haiguo couple who tried to force Tao Mu using the moral high ground at the beginning. Another example was Yao Shengan, who was now a ‘hero in his old age’.

He still remembered when the Sheng’an Group bullied Tao Mu and the Song family. At that time, the Sheng’an Group was one of the top catering giants in the country. Tao Mu and the Song family were in a disadvantaged position. So a group of people sympathized with Tao Mu and the Song family while scolding the Sheng’an Group.

Today, the Sheng’an Group’s vitality was nearly completely damaged and barely holding on. Yao Shengan was also an old man, dragging his white-haired and sickly body over thousands of miles from Shanghai to the capital, just to kowtow to the Song family’s grave to make amends. It was likely that if someone saw this scene, they would forget the many lives of the Song family who died tragically in the past, as well as Yao Shengan’s endless dirty methods. And then easily begin to sympathize with Yao Shengan’s difficulty in his old age.

What was more, even if no one came out to sympathize with Yao Shengan, the Yao family could hire a water army to lead the discussion online.

Tao Mu, who had fought against Yao Wenxiao countless times in his last life, could almost think of what Yao Shengan could do even with his eyes closed. He was afraid that Shen Yu’s brain-dead guess earlier might really come true. It was just that the person who brought a camera to film the scene of Yao Shengan kowtowing and making amends was Yao Shengan himself.

Sure enough, after hearing Tao Mu’s question, Yao Shengan was silent for a moment, and then said in a dry voice: “I just want to say, if Mr. Song can forgive me, I am willing to kneel before my teacher’s grave for a day and a night.”

In such low temperatures, yet you want to kneel in front of the Song family’s grave for a day and a night. What are you planning?

Going to such an extent in order to act out such a dramatic scene!

Even though Tao Mu was prepared, but at this moment he couldn’t help but laugh in anger: “Grandpa, Yao Shengan said that he want to kneel in front of the Song family’s ancestral tomb for a day and a night to express his repentance to the Song family?”

Because he was going to pay homage to his ancestors, Mr. Song was packing incense candles and offerings while discussing with everyone enthusiastically the New Year’s Eve dinner and the dishes to be sacrificed to his ancestors in the morning. Liu Yao, Meng Qi, dean Tao, Feng Yuan, Gou Rixin and his mother, Qin Miaoru and her brothers were all in the courtyard. The large group of people were busy packing up the things, and they were discussing how many tables of mahjong they would need while watching the Spring Festival Gala in the evening, only to hear such mood dampening words.

The atmosphere of the whole Song Ji sank slightly, and they all looked at the old man inadvertently.

In order to set off the atmosphere of the Chinese New Year, everyone pasted new couplet blessings outside the door early in the morning, and hung all kinds of red lanterns in the restaurant. The old courtyard had high beams and deep eaves, and the lighting was not very good so Tao Mu asked people to light all the lanterns. The antique styled nine-grid palace lanterns swayed above their heads, and half of old man Song’s face was immersed in the red light, seemingly frozen for a while.

After a long silence, old man Song said slowly, “Have him go directly to the Song family’s ancestral tomb at four o’clock tomorrow morning.”

Tao Mu responded and conveyed the meaning of old man Song through the phone.

According to Yao Shengan’s thinking, he actually wanted to visit Song Ji with a camera. It would be even better to record the scene where he endured humiliation to plead for forgiveness only for the Song family to refuse to forgive. But he also knew that according to Song Daozhen’s temper, he would not accept his visit anyway. More importantly, Yao Shengan was not sure whether Tao Mu would let Song Daozhen fall into his calculations. Yao Shengan had a headache when he thought of that tough little bastard.

Now, the Yao family was already at risk and cornered from all sides. At this juncture, Yao Shengan was not afraid of being snubbed. But he also didn’t want unexpected troubles cropping up either.

So, after hearing Song Daozhen’s instruction, Yao Shengan waited obediently at the hotel, preparing to go to the Song family’s ancestral tomb early the next morning.

Because of this phone call, Mr. Song’s mood had dropped significantly. Just now he was telling everyone that he would also play two rounds of mahjong this New Years Eve. But now he did not speak a word, squatting in the kitchen and staring silently at his pots and pans instead. The fire on the stove was burning quietly, emitting a faint blue flame that illuminated people’s faces.

The large group of people looked at each other in dismay, and it was Tao Mu who went into the kitchen to coax the old man, and finally made the old man happy.

That’s right. Injustice would be revealed, and great hatred would be avenged. From now on one should live one’s days happily. There was no need to spoil one’s own New Year’s mood just because of a beast.

Whether he really thought it over or just didn’t want the youngsters to worry about him. Anyway, when Liu Yao took old man Song and Tao Mu to the grave to invite the ancestors, old man Song was very calm. When they came back for the New Year’s Eve dinner, the old man was also very happy. After playing mahjong, Tao Mu and his Yao Dad and Xiao Qi Dad joined hands and cooperated unabashedly to help the old man win.

In the end, the old man became embarrassed himself and no longer wanted to share a mahjong table with the three of them, insisting on a fair game. As a result, he went to Qin Miaoru and Gou Rixin’s table, only for the three young people who didn’t know how to respect the elderly win all his spare change.

But the old man was still very happy. Until the bell of the Spring Festival Gala rang, the old man barely even reacted. After being stunned for a while, he came back to his senses under the commotion of the group of youngsters making dumplings. It turned out that midnight had passed.

The old year was finally over and a new year was about to begin. In the room full of steaming delicious scent of dumplings, the old man silently drank two cups of warm wine.

This year had gone by so fast. The old man still remembered that in the summer, he and Tao Mu were angry with each other, this little bastard, worried that this kid was walking off the right path and would not have a good future. Who would have thought that the stinky boy came back from H Town, and not only started his own company, but also found two fathers for himself. Now, he had both a family and a career, and even got back the recipe book for the old Song family.

Why, it was like a dream.

When Mr. Song was helped by the youngsters to sleep on the bed in the main room, he was feeling a little tipsy. He remembered that at this time in previous years, he was alone in the empty courtyard with just the old TV as company, faced with the long night that would never end. On the TV, the whole family was reunited, year after year, but he was the only one left in the Song family, watching the New Year’s Eve dinner going from steaming hot dishes to cold dishes and cold bowls on the table.

The sound of falling snow rustled outside the window, the northwest wind whistled by, making howling sounds as it passed through the branches of the old locust tree, rolling the remaining snow on the branches, seeping into the old window cracks, to be swallowed along with the cold white wine down the stomach, causing the heart to also feel empty.

But this year, the courtyard, which had always been lonely and deserted, was full of people. A large group of shameless lads squatted outside to throw snowballs and make snowmen. A large group of people gathered around the dinner table to make dumplings. In previous years, the New Year’s Eve dinner, which was set out on the table as steaming hot only to grow cold, was now almost not enough for everyone to eat this year. The originally long and lonely night passed quickly in the time it took to play two rounds of mahjong. Even the wine he drank every year was now warm and steaming.

Warming the heart and bringing on a sense of intoxication.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

Old man Song was half lying on the carved wooden bed. Feeling the warm wet blankets rubbing gently on his face, neck and hands. A teardrop tumbled down and disappeared into the gray temples.

Truly, he had become old. Getting drunk with so little alcohol. So drunk that he never wanted to wake up from this dream.

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Beijing Film stipulated that freshman and sophomore students were not allowed to go out to take acting jobs, which meant that they were not allowed to ask for leave from classes to film because Beijing Film implemented the attendance system and the classroom assessment system. The weight of attendance and in-class assessment was 50% of the final exam. That was to say, if a student’s attendance did not meet the standard, no matter how many points they scored in the professional course test at the end of the term, it would be considered a failed class.

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But in fact, if students used weekends or winter and summer vacations to go out to film or take up other jobs, Beijing Film didn’t mind at all. Because the school had no way to restrict what students do in their spare time. Students were even encouraged to use their spare time to film. For a well-known reason——training one’s acting skills and camera sense.

As everyone knows, although theory and practice were equally important, they were never the same thing. What Beijing Film students learn in school was only theoretical knowledge, including the usual rehearsals and end of term drama performances. All their studies and practice was to prepare them for when they truly stood in front of the lens.

But camera sense was not something that could be learned by practice. Lighting, movement, drama feel, these subtle details that would be concentrated and magnified in front of the camera, all required the actors to hone their skills in front of the camera again and again to eventually reach the point where it was natural and perfect.

And this kind of opportunity could not be given by classroom rehearsals. Therefore, Beijing Film also hoped that students could find opportunities to act in their spare time——whether it was to join a crew or to act in stage dramas. They must experience and become familiar with what it was like to actually shoot a film or perform on stage.

It was just that in order to control the filming quality Beijing Film students received, students must report to the school after receiving the film offer. Some scripts that not only couldn’t hone their acting skills, but may also have a bad influence on the students——for example, some idiotic idol dramas, even if the students want to take it, the school would not agree.

But “The Great Wall of Flesh and Blood” was definitely not within the scope of the school’s rejection.

But even so, when Sun Yi, the head teacher of the 2008 class of Beijing Film, received the filming application from Tao Mu and Wen Bao, and learned that Tao Mu had been persuaded by Director Zhou Hong to invest 9 million yuan in order to act in such a role, he was still extremely incensed.

Sun Yi immediately called Zhou Hong and scolded the old guy for being immoral——putting aside that you cheated investment funds from a student of Beijing Film, in any case, this kid Tao Mu was quite rich now. But in order to attract investment, you actually shamelessly used such a role to lure in 9 million yuan in investment, just for such a traitorous character who was dislikeable and had limited screen time. Aren’t you being a bit of a bully?

Even if Tao Mu was an orphan, Beijing Film would not allow outsiders to bully their Beijing Film students like this.

Zhou Hong on the other end of the phone could only chuckle ingratiatingly. And he also repeated the words Screenwriter Fan used to persuade Tao Mu before (the role of Su Dingbang was very important, highlighting the depth of the script) to persuade Sun Yi.

However, Sun Yi was not as easy to fool as Tao Mu: “Stop talking nonsense with me. You could try to find an investor with your shabby script, and use the role you said was very important to fool others and see if other investors will even spare you a look?”

“I say, old Zhou, one must be kind. You can’t fool our child just because he is young. Although he is still young, 9 million yuan is quite a lot. With the 9 million yuan, even if he gathered a crew to support himself as the male lead, the funds are more than enough, let alone a crew like yours?”

Zhou Hong was lectured speechless by Sun Yi. After a long while, he said with embarrassment: “I say, old Sun, how did you learn this habit. Being an investor means supporting the male lead? But you have also read our script, the age of the male lead character is not young. Besides, we have already found the male protagonist, which is Zhan Bin. Old Fan and I went to great lengths to get him to agree to play the role. And just to support our crew, Mr. Zhan also reduced his salary. I say, old Sun, you should try to understand me too. This script is originally unpopular, and if we don’t find a male lead who has some influence, who would watch it when it airs?”

Of course Sun Yi knew what Zhou Hong was talking about. But he had to make it clear: “Then you can’t give us such a role for 9 million yuan. You also know that Tao Mu will be acting for the first time, and you let him play a traitor when he first came into contact with a TV series. After the TV series aired, the audience’s image of Tao Mu will be set. What if in the future it will only be this kind of role that will look for him. Aren’t you ruining this child’s acting career!”

“Aiyo, old Sun!” Zhou Hong chuckled exasperatedly: “Don’t tease me. Who is Tao Mu? You already said, he could come up with a nine million yuan investment for a script, even if there aren’t any good roles looking for him, he could also invest in himself to be the male lead. Towards this kind of thing you don’t have to worry about it, right?”

Sun Yi paused when he heard the words, and then he recalled that Tao Mu was also a CEO, at an investor level. He really didn’t have to worry about having no good filming jobs at all.

“But you still can’t deal with the investor like this.” Nine million yuan in investment in exchange for a cannon fodder traitor character.

“I want to give him another important role. I have seen his acting skills too. But don’t you have rules in Beijing Film? The winter vacation is only a few days, and after the New Year, you count how many days are left. If I give him a role with mire scenes even if he agrees, will Beijing Film agree?”

Back then in H Town, several brokerage companies were optimistic about Tao Mu and wanted to sign him to their label, but Tao Mu refused on the grounds that Beijing Film rules do not allow freshman and sophomore students to film during school. It was no secret in the entertainment circle. Especially after Tao Mu created FlyNews.com and became famous. Everyone didn’t say it, but they knew that Tao Mu had ability, so he definitely wouldn’t put small brokerage companies in his sight, and instead create his own company and use all the resources on himself.

Furthermore, Tao Mu was so close to Longteng Entertainment and Summer Star Entertainment, especially as the three jointly held the “National School Beauty and Hunk Selection Competition”. Tao Mu had the ability to put contestants into the two companies. If he really wanted to film, he only needed to tell those two companies, and it was very likely that the two companies would be very happy to hand over good scripts for Tao Mu to choose. But Tao Mu made no movement at all, showing that he really wanted to abide by the school rules.

Indeed this was the case. When Tao Mu put forward this attitude at the beginning, one reason was to refuse those brokerage companies and agents, and the other was to aim at the big drama that Beijing Film would shoot two years later. In addition, Tao Mu had an unspeakable psychological shadow. He just wanted to use these two years of study time to reshape his acting skills, so that there was no trace of Yan Sheng anymore.

But people’s mindset would always change. With Tao Mu’s creation of FlyNews.com and the accumulation of hundreds of millions of dollars in Xiaoheng Capital, his vision had not been limited to the original vision for a long time. Coupled with the conversation he had with Wen Bao——he didn’t dare to say that he could unravel the knot in his heart, but at least Tao Mu really wanted to try to step out of the shadows.

As Wen Bao said, his acting skills were also honed by himself bit by bit. It wasn’t that he stole from someone or robbed it from someone, so he didn’t need to hide it at all. It was displayed generously, and it should be acted how it should be acted. He just liked acting. If he had to worry so much about doing what he liked, if he didn’t even have the courage to stand in front of the camera because he was worried about other people’s evaluations, then why did he insist on acting?

Wasn’t it better to obediently be his domineering CEO!

Thinking of this, Tao Mu suddenly felt much more at ease. He filmed, not for others or for other things, but just because he liked it.

He really liked the role of Su Dingbang. He admitted that he was really fooled by Director Zhou and Screenwriter Fan, and wanted to try such a role that challenged humanistic characteristics. He also didn’t know if he could act out the complexity of the role, but he wanted to try.

Do what you want. Don’t consider whether the role of Su Dingbang was upright or not, whether it would affect his image in the eyes of the audience, and whether it would limit his future acting career——anyway, he did not rely on filming to support his livelihood. Just like young master Wen, wasn’t he also going to act as a traitor? When the time came, the two of them would be comrades, filming their scenes together and finishing filming their respective parts together, and also have company in each other.

But Tao Mu was also very grateful for Professor Sun’s kindness. He was an orphan since he was a child, and after finally recognizing his birth parents and returning to his birth family, he encountered such a mess in the Shen family. Therefore, his experience of being protected by others in his two lifetimes was very little. This also caused Tao Mu to be extremely grateful now.

Let’s not say that the grace of dripping water was reciprocated by the spring. But Tao Mu was still very happy to give back within his ability. Only through respectful exchanges could friendship last long.

So he took Professor Sun Yi’s cell phone and asked, “Director Zhou, I remember that in our crew, not all the roles are found, right?”

“Our crew didn’t even get all the funding for the filming before. Those actors were afraid that the filming would halt mid way, and no one dared to sign on. Just me and old Fan shamelessly persuaded the actors in the main roles, and this was also so that when we see the investors it would be better to talk business.” Zhou Hong heard Tao Mu’s words and thought that Tao Mu was also dissatisfied with the character, so he quickly said: “CEO Tao, you have also read the script. If you are dissatisfied with this role, and want to change, please speak freely.”

Nine million yuan! Zhou Hong was just simply that unprincipled. If you can come up with the money, then you are my father, my ancestor. Except for the male lead, even if you want the second male lead. I dare to bring the funds and old Fan to go and argue with the other investors. Just tell me your orders, sir.

Unexpectedly, Tao Mu didn’t want to change his role: “I think the role of Su Dingbang is very interesting. I don’t want to change, I just want to give you a suggestion. You see, the other characters in the script…..”

Tao Mu chose a few roles that he remembered deeply——and the good actors who played them and left an impression on the audience after the TV series aired. Tao Mu didn’t want to change actors, afraid that changing people would affect the feeling of the TV series, as for the remaining unimportant characters: “…..I hope you could choose the actors of Beijing Film. My senior brothers and sisters. They are all very professional and have very good acting skills. You could bring screenwriter Fan to Beijing Film and ask our school teachers to recommend some people, or you could directly audition, and you could choose whoever you like from among them.”

“Isn’t it said that investors could put people into the crew? I don’t want the protagonist role, I don’t want important roles, I just want these corner characters for my senior brothers and sisters, and classmates to have a chance to build experience, Director Zhou would not disagree with this suggestion, right?”

Of course Zhou Hong would not disagree, Zhou Hong was even overjoyed. Not mentioning the fact that the actors Tao Mu put forth for casting were the same as his. But just that Tao Mu wanted to put people in the crew who were all from Beijing Film. Those were students of Beijing Film after all, even if they have no fame, they at least were professionals and their acting skills would not be too bad. At least it was definitely better than some unreliable investors who like to stuff in their mistresses.

Zhou Hong originally thought to hand those roles over to the casting director, and even went to H Town to find a few special actors. Now it was even better, they could directly draw from Beijing Film.

It was practically like a mouse that fell into a rice jar. Zhou Hong on the other end of the phone was about to float happily up into the clouds.

Tao Mu returned the phone to Professor Sun and asked shyly, “Professor Sun, you don’t blame me for going ahead and making such a decision on my own, do you?”

Of course, Sun Yi wouldn’t blame Tao Mu for making the decision on his own. On the contrary, when Sun Yi looked at Tao Mu now, his heart was full of churning emotions. The reason why he called Zhou Hong was because he felt that Tao Mu was being taken advantage of. Even though he invested 9 million yuan, he was fooled into playing such an insignificant character with a bad image. It was simply bullying.

But he didn’t expect that even though Tao Mu knew that he suffered a loss, he didn’t fight for a better role for himself. Because Tao Mu also always kept in mind the school rule that filming should not delay his class time. Then he transferred his due benefits to Beijing Film’s senior brothers and sisters.

How could this child be so…..so adorable!

Sun Yi took a deep breath and looked at Tao Mu with a very kind expression: “Have you really decided?”

Tao Mu was a little puzzled, he had already explained everything. What else was there to do if he didn’t decide this? Besides, it was just some corner roles, it didn’t matter who was chosen. Pushing it all to Beijing Film could not only control the quality problems of some cast members, but also attract people’s goodwill on both sides of the crew and the school. He spent 9 million yuan, and made the most profit from it.

Besides, what their crew was handing over were small roles, that was for students who have never filmed much before. As for the senior brothers and sisters who already have some fame, it was estimated that they would not put these small roles in their sight. Therefore, the favors Tao Mu could do were limited.

But how do you say it, no matter how small a mosquito is, it is still meat. He had spent his money, and now he just wanted to maximize his profits.

“Alright then. I’ll thank you on behalf of your senior brothers and sisters.” Sun Yi looked at Tao Mu with a smile, and felt that this student was really endearing no matter how he looked at him. The appearance was good, the acting talent was not bad, able to make money, and if there were opportunities, he also knew to take care of his classmates.

Why was he so adorable!

Tao Mu and Wen Bao, who had little sense of existence the whole time, walked out of the office bathed in Professor Sun Yi’s loving gaze.

On the second day of the winter vacation, the fast-legged classmates returned to their hometown with their luggage. But now, after being notified by Professor Sun Yi with the phone book one by one to come back to audition for a role, wonder know what kind of mood they were in.

Wen Bao elbowed Tao Mu with a thievish look on his face: “Hey, do you think that Xiao Chuzi and Du Kang would call and scold us when they receive a notice from old Sun?”

Before he finished speaking, Tao Mu’s cell phone rang. Tao Mu glanced at the caller ID and handed the phone to Wen Bao: “You answer?”

“I refuse.” Wen Bao’s smile became more and more gloating.

Sun Yi also knew that the four people in dormitory 301 had a very good relationship. For the crew that Tao Mu found, even if Sun Yi wanted to notify the students to come back for the audition, the first people to notify would have to be the people in dormitory 301.

So Du Kang called Tao Mu to complain, and Wen Bao also received a call from Chu Sui’an——the line was busy when he called Tao Mu, so he immediately turned his complaints to Wen Bao. Anyway, these two people lived in the capital, so they must be together.

So without surprise Wen Bao became implicated by classmate Tao Mu, and the two were met with the crying of the other two dudes in the dormitory: “I just got home! More than ten hours on the train, two hours by car, and I just barely sat down at home. Then old Sun called me…..speak, how can there be people like you?”

The situation with Chu Sui’an was similar. He took the plane to Shanghai City. Two days after returning home, and before he could eat all the food in his hometown, he received a call from the head teacher who asked him if he had any intention to come back to film——Sun Yi didn’t say the word audition. Because he knew that with Tao Mu’s relationship, as long as Chu Sui’an and Du Kang were happy, they would definitely be able to join the crew and could choose any good role.

How could Du Kang and Chu Sui’an not be happy? The key was that the two of them just got home. Even if it was a good thing to have filming during the winter vacation of freshman year, the baby was reluctant to leave home.

“You two don’t have to worry, the Chinese New Year is coming soon. Even if the crew wants to start filming, they have to wait until after the New Year. You can stay at home in peace, and after the seventh day of the first lunar month, just join the crew then.” Sure enough, Tao Mu immediately promised.

In view of the fact that “The Great Wall of Flesh and Blood” had been re-aired many times in his previous life, although Tao Mu had not specially analyzed this TV series, he still had an impression of the characters in it. He was also familiar with Du Kang and Chu Sui’an’s future acting road and performance styles. So he directly read the script and set two roles for the two who very much echoed their image. Take the pen and circle it. On the other side, Zhou Hong and Screenwriter Fan would know what he meant.

The two giant babies who had already returned to their hometown turned their anger into joy. After being sappy with Tao Mu for a while, they promised to bring hometown souvenirs back to bribe Tao Mu after the New Year. Oh, and Wen Bao too.

On the other side, Tao Mu also asked Zhou Shenxing to sign an investment contract with the crew in the name of BulletScreen.

Before that, Zhou Hong was lulled into safety by Tao Mu, and really thought that Tao Mu was a pure white, innocent, soft-hearted, kind, easy-going, and rich——to put it simply, a white lotus flower that had a lot of money but was a complete airhead. He also expressed emotion with his old partner Screenwriter Fan. Only to encounter the weak, pitiful and helpless Lawyer Zhou, who was especially talented in managing his clients’ money. It really made the two old artists realize how terrifying a capitalist hired economic lawyer with an annual salary of tens of millions was.

After the signing of the contract, Zhou Hong hurriedly escaped while clutching the freshly released investment contract, as well as the 9 million cheque that seemed to be light but actually weighed more than 1,000 pounds. Inexplicably, he felt that both himself and the “Great Wall of Flesh and Blood” crew were fooled. For some reason he had the illusion of signing a slave contract.

“So it’s really an illusion, right?” Zhou Hong looked at his partner old Fan with the face of someone having a mental breakdown. Through so many years of filming, he had never seen such a ruthless and shameless investor!

“It’s really an illusion.” Screenwriter Fan also had an expression of mental collapse. He should have known, a young CEO who could create FlyNews.com from scratch at the age of 18, and cooperate with Xiaoheng Capital to win tens of billions of dollars in the international futures market, turning from a stock market genius into a senior partner of another investment company, how could he be so pure and kind, flawless as a white lotus.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

Sure enough, it was all lies! A big liar! Return their feelings! Also their tender emotions!

That night, Director Zhou Hong and Screenwriter Fan, whose minds were severely ravaged by Lawyer Zhou, hugged the script in their arms and let out a deafening roar to the sky.

Even the ceiling was about to shake and crumble down. ╮(╯_╰)╭

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The drama Wen Bao mentioned was called “The Great Wall of Flesh and Blood”. It was a mainstream drama set in the Republic of China that told the story of countless heroes and martyrs fighting on the front lines and behind enemy lines, building a Great Wall with flesh and blood to resist the invaders under extremely difficult conditions during the Anti-Japanese War.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

Although the plot sounded very dry and looked very old-fashioned and orthodox, in terms of character image, “The Great Wall of Flesh and Blood” boldly adopted richer description methods no matter whether it was the male and female protagonists or supporting roles. The protagonist was no longer a stereotyped righteous hero, full of party constitution and discipline, and the supporting characters were no longer stereotyped 2D characters that come out of the same mold. For example, the role that the director wanted Tao Mu to audition for was Su Dingbang, an elite student who had studied abroad. This Su Dingbang was exposed to advanced ideas and knowledge while studying abroad. After returning to China, seeing his devastated motherland and the invaders who oppressed the people of China, he wanted to join the revolution and serve his motherland.

Unlike Wen Bao’s character, who was a traitor in the beginning who then turned to the side of the hero, the role Tao Mu was about to audition for first appeared as a progressive young man with a particularly positive image. He was handsome, dignified, and had an extraordinary family background. He was knowledgeable, possessed ideals and hot blood and was always ready to devote himself to his ideals. He even held several student demonstrations after returning to China to protest the inaction of the Nationalist government during the war. Because his father was the president of Shanghai Commercial Bank, Su Dingyuan also used his father’s relationship to secretly deliver medicine and supplies to the underground party and even acted as a cover for the underground party several times.

It was precisely because of this reason that Su Dingyuan later got acquainted with the second male lead in the drama and became the second male lead’s connection.

Up to this time, Su Dingyuan’s image was very positive. Until the Japanese inadvertently found out the transportation channel of the Su family used to deliver medicine for the underground party when they were investigating the underground party. The Japanese became suspicious towards Su Dingbang. But they did not make a move, but continued to investigate the actions of the Su family, and finally caught everyone as Su Dingbang was arranging for the underground party to evacuate.

Su Dingbang was imprisoned in the base camp of the enemy. There, Su Dingbang witnessed how the brutal Japanese treated the underground party. Of the original tough and brave comrades-in-arms three of them were lost in less than half a day under the torture methods of the Japanese.

When it was Su Dingbang’s turn, Su Dingbang was very frightened. The hot-blooded devotion to the revolution was wiped out under witnessing the severe torture of the enemy. What was more, the Japanese also threatened Su Dingbang with the lives of the Su family.

Su Dingbang finally defected. Under the instruction of the Japanese, he sent intelligence to the second male lead who was not yet aware of what had happened, tricking the second male lead to come out for a meeting. And the meeting place was already set up by the Japanese with heavy manpower lying in ambush. As long as the second male lead came to the appointment, he would be surrounded by enemies.

In order to rescue the second male lead and the male protagonist, the chief of a police station in Shanghai, who had always been a cowardly character——the traitor played by Wen Bao wanted to inform the male protagonist and the second male lead before the Japanese succeeded in their plan. Only to be discovered by the Japanese dying tragically under the gun of the enemy.

But because of Wen Bao’s tip-off, the male lead and the second male lead managed to escape in the end. However, half of the comrades they brought with them died tragically under the guns of the Japanese, or were caught by the Japanese.

The male lead and the second male lead swear to avenge their comrades and kill the defector Su Dingbang.

They made a detailed and well-planned plan, sneaked into the base camp of the Japanese, and found the traitor Su Dingbang. But they were stunned to find that the originally handsome and dignified elite student now sported a disfigured face and ten fingers that were crippled.

Su Dingbang knelt under the gun of the male protagonist, crying bitterly that he didn’t want to be a betrayer, but he couldn’t stand it anymore. He didn’t want to die, and he didn’t want the Su family to be destroyed because of him.

But he didn’t know that the Japanese used his capture as an excuse to raid the entire Su family as early as the moment he was arrested. All the male members of the Su family were killed, and the female members were snatched into the military camp. The Su family, once famous all over the Huangpu River, had already disappeared.

Su Dingbang was instantly stunned, wailing heartbreakingly. In the end, he died tragically under the gun of the male protagonist.

He died a traitor.

“…..When writing this character, what I want to express is human nature and the cruelty of war.” When Tao Mu went to see the director and screenwriter of “The Great Wall of Flesh and Blood” under Wen Bao’s persuasion, the director said: “Su Dingbang, a student studying abroad who possesses progressive thinking could be considered a moral and noble character. In our times now, he would be a college student in his prime. His character is actually very commendable. But at that time, he had to endure, he had to face far more cruelty than those of our time.”

“If the country perishes, how can the people enjoy freedom and independence? In that chaotic era, countless heroes and predecessors shed their blood for our stability today. Some of them were revolutionary martyrs, and they died heroes. But some people, for various reasons, defected mid way.” The director said: “I wrote such a character, not to whitewash anyone. I just want everyone to know the cruelty of war. An ordinary person when facing the cruelty of war, when dealing with a brutal aggressor, he may be weak and cowardly. But his weakness can only lead to a more tragic ending. Because the aggressor is not a human being. He is a beast. The more you are weak the more brutal they are. So the only thing that could save us from their brutality is to take up arms and fight. Thus this shows the value of heroes.”

“Heroes are precious, but the compromises and cowardice of ordinary people in the face of oppression can better reflect the complexity of human nature.”

“Yesterday, old Fan and I went to the end of term performance of the Beijing Film Academy. We were fortunate to see CEO Tao’s performance. We felt that the image of CEO Tao’s role of Wang Junqing actually matches very well to the Su Dingbang we wanted.”

Hearing this, Tao Mu’s face darkened. What do you mean? You can see the image of a traitor from Wang Junqing, who was full of sexy and handsome pheromones…..was this a sarcastic remark of his poor acting skills, or do you want to say that his image and aura were too bad? Too similar to a traitor?

This was simply a grievous wound to his pride.

“No, no, no, CEO Tao, please don’t misunderstand.” Screenwriter Fan, who had been sitting on the side and hadn’t said much, noticed Tao Mu’s expression and quickly said, “Old Zhou didn’t mean that. He just wanted to say that your Wang Junqing gives people a splendid and noble feeling, which is very in line with the impression that Su Dingbang’s role gave people at the beginning.”

“The so-called art is to destroy the most beautiful things for people to see. The better the initial impression, the more sad and profound the final tragedy. Su Dingbang is a key role in our script that represents our anti-war sentiments. The success of the character can directly affect the ideal of ​​the script…..” Screenwriter Fan laid it on thick, trying his best to make Tao Mu understand how important Su Dingbang was as a small cannon fodder who only appeared in less than three episodes.

Director Zhou also echoed continuously on the side. Tao Mu was a little surprised by their too serious attitude.

“I think I understand. Listening to Screenwriter Fan’s words, the role of Su Dingbang is indeed very important.” Tao Mu blinked and tentatively probed: “Director Zhou and Screenwriter Fan should just call me Tao Mu. I feel very embarrassed to be referred to as CEO Tao.”

“CEO Tao is really too polite. You became a CEO based on your ability, what is there to be embarrassed about?” Director Zhou chuckled dryly, looked at screenwriter Fan, and also tentatively probed: “CEO Tao, you just had a look at the script. What do you think of our script?”

“This script is very good.” Tao Mu said without hesitation. Tao Mu, who had memories of his previous life, even knew better than the two before him what kind of response this TV series would cause in the TV circle when it was released.

“Then…..” Director Zhou and Screenwriter Fan looked at each other again and asked cautiously, “I wonder if CEO Tao is interested in investing?”

Ah?

Tao Mu was stunned for a moment. He suddenly thought of the ratings of this classic anti-Japanese war drama in his previous life. The highest ratings of the premiere drama exceeded 15%, and even the replay drama ratings broke 10%. A few years later, the ratings of the drama even after countless rounds of rebroadcasts still broke 1%. But such an impressive drama was rumored that there was a shortage of funds when it was first preparing to be filmed, and the conditions of the crew was particularly poor during the filming. At one point, they were so poor that there were only two horses used when shooting a cavalry company, and by the later stages of the filming their funds were not enough to continue filming, to the point that the male protagonist gave up his own salary for the crew to use in filming. 

So…..

Tao Mu’s dark and clear eyes landed thoughtfully on Director Zhou and Screenwriter Fan.

These two people not only wanted to trick him into playing a traitorous character that lasted less than three episodes, but also wanted to trick him into investing in the crew?

Talent!

Noticing Tao Mu’s admiring expression, Director Zhou and Screenwriter Fan looked at each other a little embarrassedly. Director Zhou rubbed his hands together and explained very embarrassedly: “This script of ours, because the images of the characters are not quite the same as the previous Anti-Japanese War drama, so not many are optimistic about it. Originally, it was already not easy to attract investment for war dramas. Nowadays, those coal boss investors would rather invest in idol dramas than war dramas because they feel that war dramas are old fashioned and won’t attract viewers. But I really want to film this drama well. Old Fan and I have been working on this script for seven to eight years. Really, I just want to film a good war story. All the characters have flesh and blood, possess human traits, points of struggle…..”

“Of course, you may also not be optimistic about this subject, CEO Tao…..”

“How much?”

“…..But I really hope you can think about it…..ah?” Director Zhou said, suddenly realizing that Tao Mu had just said something, and raised his head in a daze.

“I’m saying I’m very optimistic about this drama. I also think the script is very well written.” Tao Mu also looked a little strange. He really didn’t expect that the money would fly over by themselves while he was just sitting at home.

“Tell me, how much investment do you want?”

Before Director Zhou even came back to his senses, Screenwriter Fan spoke quickly as if he was afraid that Tao Mu would regret it in the next moment: “I have done the math with old Zhou. About 300,000 yuan per episode is enough, and we’re planning to shoot 30 episodes which is less than nine million yuan in total. Now we have already brought in five million yuan of investment funds. CEO Tao, you only need——”

“I’ll give you nine million!” Tao Mu directly interrupted Screenwriter Fan’s words: “But I have a request. After the filming of the TV series, my BulletScreen.com will have exclusive network broadcasting rights——”

“No problem!” Without waiting for Tao Mu’s voice to fall, Director Zhou agreed directly. So eager he was that he couldn’t help but hiccup.

Tao Mu blinked: “Deal.”

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

Wen Bao, who was sitting next to him and had watched from the beginning to the end had a dazed expression: What’s the situation? Didn’t we come to audition?

#The roommate who auditioned with me immediately became the biggest investor in our crew. What to do! Waiting online! Extremely urgent!#

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After the end-of-term extravaganza was over,  winter vacation arrived. That night, Tao Mu led the group of classmates to play in Night until the second half of the night. Early the next morning, everyone staggered up from all corners of the private room. It was like a scene from “The Walking Dead”.

“Brother Mu, you’re awake.” Everyone in Night knew about Tao Mu’s relationship with the two bosses. Last night, Tao Mu brought his classmates to play, and brother Yao made a special call to tell them to take good care of Tao Mu’s classmates.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

So last night, after Tao Mu’s classmates let loose and were running around all over the place, it was the staff in Night who dug them out from various corners and sent them back to the private room opened by Tao Mu. Otherwise, the boys were fine, but the girls very likely might end up being “picked up”.

“Be careful in the future!”

Night’s staff were all old fried dough sticks (TN: slang for experienced, street smart), so it was natural to see that some of Tao Mu’s classmates, probably for the first time in their life, came to a nightclub to play, and they got so excited they threw all caution to wind. It was fine here, but if they went to another place, it was very possible to might get involved in an unfortunate circumstance and suffer a loss.

“There is no breakfast restaurant nearby. If you want to have breakfast, go to the kitchen to make it yourself. Or go back to school to eat. I won’t accompany you anymore.” The manager of Night who was talking to Tao Mu yawned. He hadn’t slept all night last night, and now it was time to go upstairs to rest.

“Thanks, brother Ting.”

Zhang Ting patted Tao Mu on the shoulder, so sleepy he couldn’t keep his eyes open. Sure enough, when people got older, their energy was not enough.

Tao Mu grabbed out two packs of sobering pills at the bar.

There were a total of twenty-five people in class 1 of Beijing Film’s 2008 class. Tao Mu called seven cars and sent them all back to school. They then had breakfast in the cafeteria. During this period, Tao Mu emphatically advised the girls who were running around after getting drunk last night, and almost entered other private rooms. He told them a few examples of girls who got raped in nightclubs and were taken advantage of and threatened with naked photos. This frightened the girls into turning a chalk-white paleness.

Tao Mu had a good memory and a careful observant mind. He still remembered how many glasses of wine each girl in the class had last night and counted the numbers in front of everyone. At the end, he said: “Remember your alcohol limit. In the future, if you go out for work meals or play with friends, keep it in check a bit. You are all people who want to be big stars. Don’t end up ruining yourselves with this kind of thing. It’s not worth it.”

Speaking of which, Tao Mu also told everyone a lot of examples of how men got girls drunk at wine gatherings, and even deliberately added drugs to the drinks. All in all, don’t drink anything that goes out of your sight for even a second. Don’t drink beverages or mineral water that have been twisted open by others.

“Don’t think that boys are just being considerate when twisting the bottle cap for you.” Tao Mu picked up a bottle of mineral water and took out the hangover medicine he had just brought with him from Night from his pocket. Then he unscrewed the bottle cap in front of everyone, and after he finished twisting it, he shook the bottle in front of everyone.

It was only then that everyone discovered that the hangover pill had fallen into the mineral water bottle at some point. Instantly everyone broke out in exclaims.

Tao Mu took a sip of mineral water mixed with hangover medicine: “So, girls should pay attention to safety.”

Glancing at the male compatriots who were shocked into a pile of startled huskies, he paused and added: “Of course, boys should also pay attention to safety.”

“How can one even pay attention to safety!” The group of children who had never seen the darkness of this world suddenly went crazy. With a look of “this baby is afraid”, they screeched: “The world is too sinister. I don’t even dare to go out to clubs in the future.”

Tao Mu chuckled: “If you don’t dare to, then go to Night. Report my name to the manager. Let them take care of everything. Of course, it can’t be guaranteed completely. The most important thing is to be careful yourself.”

After teaching safety knowledge to the group of boys and girls who were not yet deeply involved in the grown-up world, Tao Mu threw the rest of the hangover medicine in his pocket to everyone: “Have you finished your meal? Take the hangover medicine after breakfast. When you go back it is best to drink another glass of milk or honey water. Those who need to catch a train or a plane later should remember to buy motion sickness medicine. You may get motion sickness in the car after drinking too much.”

The group of people all looked at Tao Mu like chirping little baby birds that just flew out of the nest. After being comforted by Tao Mu’s head patting one by one, they each left and went back to their dorms to catch up on some sleep. After waking up, basically those who live out of town have to catch the train and the plane.

Tao Mu, whose hand was now covered in hair oil, didn’t go back to the dormitory. He still remembered his promise that “when reaching over 100 million registered users of FlyNews.com he will dance in women’s clothes”. There were now more than 98 million registered users. Posts by netizens reminding him to fulfill his promise have also been posted on the homepage of FlyNews.com.

Tao Mu had no plan to ​​renege on his promises. So these days, in private, Tao Mu was also practicing his dance performance secretly.

But it was not the kind of dance everyone imagined, what Tao Mu would be dancing was not the kind of sexy, provocative or sizzling dance routine, but one of the traditional Chinese classical dances——water sleeves.

Just in time for the Chinese New Year, Tao Mu also specially ordered a bright red ancient costume dress. Because when Tao Mu was an extra in H Town before, he specially asked a dance teacher to teach the water sleeve dance. So he could be considered to have a solid foundation. In addition, he was a man and had a greater physical strength, so when making the water sleeves part of the costume, he directly had it made to a length of seven feet.

On the first day of the winter vacation, the originally lively dance studio was quiet and still. Only Tao Mu himself, wearing a bright red ancient costume dress and holding seven-foot long water sleeves, practiced diligently in front of the mirror for a whole day. Shaking the sleeves, tossing the sleeves, sweeping the sleeves, flinging the sleeves, throwing the sleeves…..hook, throw, dash, toss, sweep, strike, raise…..

Tao Mu was a very focused person. He could also be very ruthless towards himself and endure much hardship. Many people only pay attention to Tao Mu’s good appearance and good acting talent. Every time he made an appearance, whether it was interpreting a role or dancing and singing, people would be delighted by his above the standard performance. But in fact, not many people have paid attention to how long Tao Mu had actually been practicing in private.

Including this final performance drama, everyone only noticed that even though Tao Mu took a half-term leave, he didn’t fail at all to satisfy during the rehearsal of the big play. But in fact, few people paid attention to the fact that after each rehearsal, when everyone went back to the dormitory to rest and chat on the Internet, Tao Mu still stayed in the rehearsal room to practice alone.

Except for Tao Mu’s three roommates.

As Wen Bao said when teasing Tao Mu, a person with a heavy idol baggage was like a white swan floating on the water. You look at him and he appears quite easy and elegant, but you don’t see how diligently his two feet were paddling under the water.

Just like everyone only knew that Wen Bao led a yangko sensation at the end of the play, but no one cared that Wen Bao did not know how to dance yangko at all before the filming of the end-of-term drama performance. Just because Du Kang, the part-time director, made a casual remark——that dancing yangko echoed the character of Mama Ruan, and it could set off the atmosphere. So Wen Bao found a video and a teacher in private, practicing diligently for half a month. Only then on the official day of the performance did his yangko dance have the power to infect everyone.

There were so many talented people in this world. But what really made a difference was not just talent, but in addition to talent, it took ten times and a hundred times more effort than ordinary people put in.

“Creak!”

The closed door of the dance studio was pushed open. Student Wen Bao, who was 1.75 meters tall, came in from the door, carrying the lunch he bought from the cafeteria in his hand. There were Tao Mu’s favorite mashed potatoes with roast lamb leg.

“Still practicing! Eat first.” Wen Bao walked barefooted to Tao Mu’s side and sat on the ground: “Du Kang and Xiao Chuzi just left. We wanted to call you out for lunch but were afraid of delaying your training, so we didn’t bear to call you. Anyway, it’s not that we won’t be able to see each other anymore.”

Between men, no matter how good the relationship was, it would not be too sappy. Wen Bao handed over Tao Mu’s lunch: “Do you have any plans for the winter vacation? I mean, do you want to film?”

“Someone looked for you to film?” Tao Mu detached the chopsticks and poured and mixed the mashed potatoes into the rice. He complained a little: “Why didn’t you add some coriander for me?”

“It’s in the pocket, packed alone. I’ve also put onions for you. There are no outsiders here. You can eat whatever you want. I won’t be disgusted by your eating preference.” Wen Bao saw that Tao Mu couldn’t find it after searching for a long time, so he got up and dug out the coriander pack himself and handed it to Tao Mu: “There is a crew, they invited me to act a small supporting role. It is estimated that the shooting time will not be long. It’s a war drama, I will play a traitor in it.”

As soon as Wen Bao said this, Tao Mu instantly remembered. It was indeed Wen Bao’s first drama. It was a particularly reliable war drama with big names gathered in it. Wen Bao played a small supporting role in which he appeared in less than three episodes. His scenes were mostly with the male lead and the second male lead.

The male lead was a well-known veteran actor in the industry, and the second male was a young actor supported by Longteng Entertainment. But the result was that, in the scenes, those between the male lead and Wen Bao were fine, the two actors with slick acting skills acted together, and had all the audiences excited when seeing it. But in the scene with the second male lead, Wen Bao’s acting skills overwhelmed the second male lead completely. The emotions acted were so natural, and all the audience immediately remembered the little traitor who appeared in less than three episodes.

Later, when the little traitor who was a natural coward was killed by the enemy in order to save the male protagonist, many audiences cried. When Tao Mu watched that scene for the first time, his eyes also felt a little wet. He finally understood what acting was.

“Actually, I think your acting skills are better than Yan Sheng, Wang Boyuan and the others.” But for various reasons, although Wen Bao won three best actor awards in his last life, his influence and remuneration were far less than the former.

Wen Bao grinned and said: “A thing like acting, I always think that it depends on the viewer. In fact, it doesn’t matter whether it is good or not, as long as it is enough to use. When acting, it mainly depends on the character. How the character should behave, we should just behave like so and that’s it. I found that you sometimes think too much, so you often go over the top when acting.”

When Tao Mu was acting, sometimes he would always worry that he was not acting good enough. But Wen Bao was not like that. His acting was acting, however the character needed to be performed he would perform, containing a certain degree of relaxation and freedom. He would not deliberately suppress others in the scene nor would he suppress himself on the count of others. On the contrary, when he acted, he liked to pull others into the scene itself. Therefore, when acting with Wen Bao, there was often a refreshing feeling of hearty pleasure.

Just like the final scene in the end of term performance drama, everyone was led and immersed into the scene by Wen Bao and had a lot of fun playing together.

“Actually, I think you were in very good shape during the end of term quiz performance. Don’t think about those unrelated things. Say, you are already a big boss with such a wealth of money. Why do you insist on acting when you can just be a domineering CEO? Wen Bao threw an arm around Tao Mu’s shoulder and patted him: “I think it should be because you are the same as me. Because it’s fun. Since it’s fun, you should forget everything and enjoy having fun. Don’t be afraid that others will always compare you with others. Actually, when you think about it carefully, it can’t be compared all that much.”

Wen Bao had naturally heard rumors that Tao Mu’s performance style was similar to that of others. He really felt it didn’t matter: “So what if it is similar? It’s not like this kind of thing has a trademark. It doesn’t mean that just because you have a similar acting style, you have to give half of your filming salary to the other for the scenes you shoot.”

Tao Mu instantly laughed. After laughing, he asked Wen Bao: “Then don’t you think that when I act sometimes, I not only fail but end up doing a poor imitation as well?”

Tao Mu was referring to his previous life, no matter what he did, fans of Shen Yu and Yan Sheng scolded him like that. If in the beginning Tao Mu was humiliating himself just in order to attack Shen Yu, then in the end, he really couldn’t change it even if he wanted to.

Some things, some encounters, some subtle influences have been integrated into the blood. These things penetrated inside bit by bit. If you want to pull it out, you have to peel off the skin, and even change the blood flowing in the body in order to make a brand new change.

“Who said that?” Wen Bao solemnly looked at his roommate, and squeezed the arm around Tao Mu’s shoulder slightly: “We say your idol baggage is heavy yet you don’t admit it. No one says that, you are the only one who thinks this. And I really don’t think your acting style has any resemblance to that of Yan Sheng’s acting style. Especially the scene you performed for the end of term quiz…..Film emperor Yan had never acted as ugly as you did.” Of course he had also never acted so simple and natural as Tao Mu did.

“Piss off!” Tao Mu glared at Wen Bao in annoyance, did he really think he didn’t want his idol baggage?

“Okay! Then I’m going to piss off now. Go ahead and keep practicing.” Wen Bao packed up the plastic bags and lunch box that he had eaten, and before leaving, he didn’t forget to shoot Tao Mu an eyebrow wagging look: “Hey, don’t mention it, but you look good in women’s clothes. Do you also plan to put on makeup and wig on the day of the video recording?”

Tao Mu looked coldly at Wen Bao’s particularly maliciously amused grin.

Wen Bao gave him a thumbs up as he walked: “Nice, very nice.”

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

Before he finished speaking, a coat flew towards his head. Tao Mu directly grabbed the down jacket on the ground and threw it on Wen Bao’s head. Wen Bao took off his coat and ran away. After running outside the door, he stuck his head in again: “I’m serious. About this script, should I accept it or not?”

“Yes!”

After Tao Mu’s response, he heard Wen Bao continue to ask: “There is also another traitorous character who has returned to China from abroad. The director intends to choose you. But he is too embarrassed to call you. He wants me to ask you…..do you want to take it?”

Tao Mu: “…..” Why was it another traitor!

TN: bonus chapters coming up!

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In “Modern Version of Flowers as a Matchmaker” directed by Du Kang, the role of the male protagonist Wang Junqing was played by Tao Mu, and the role of the female protagonist Zhang Wuke was played by Jiang Cheng, the class beauty recognized by everyone in the class——and the one who announced during the military training that in the future she will keep Tao Mu once she made it big in the entertainment circle. As for the male protagonist’s cousin Jia Junying, after some selection, the role was snatched by Chu Sui’an. Female number two, Li Yue’e, was won by another girl in the class called Yuan Di. Du Kang himself played the father of Li Yue’e, Li Maolin, a comedic character.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

And because Wen Bao had ‘tormented’ Du Kang, who happened to be the director and screenwriter. In order to retaliate against Wen Bao, Director Du strongly requested Wen Bao to play the role of Mama Ruan. He also personally designed a tacky floral dress and Liu Hulan hairstyle with flower hairpin look for Mama Ruan. Except for Wen Bao himself, the whole class clapped and applauded, unanimously giving the costume look a passing score.

In the modern version of “Flowers as a Matchmaker”, the story background and the relationship between the characters had slightly changed due to the different time and setting. The male protagonist Wang Junqing, played by Tao Mu, was a rich second-generation who returned from studying abroad. After returning to China, he attended the 60th birthday of his father’s friend and fell in love at first sight with his childhood friend Li Yue’e at the birthday banquet. The two wanted to instantly marry each other after falling passionately in love, but the Li family disagreed with the marriage. Because the Li family was a scholarly family, and Li Yue’e’s father hated vulgar businessmen the most.

Since the Li family disagreed with the marriage, the Wang family would naturally not lower themselves to beg either. At the same time, the Zhang family, who along with the Wang family was also the two richest families in the city, wanted to form a business alliance through marriage with the Wang family, entrusting a matchmaker to set up a blind date for their daughter Zhang Wuke with Wang Junqing, the son of the Wang family. The matchmaker was the director of the local committee of the Women’s Federation when she was young, and even after retiring, was particularly enthusiastic about setting up young couples——Mama Ruan.

Wang Junqing, an elite who returned from studying abroad, certainly did not agree to something as outdated as blind dates. Besides, he only liked his childhood friend with all his heart, so it was even more unlikely that he would agree to a business marriage with Miss Zhang, who he had never met before. However, Wang Junqing’s parents put pressure on him so Wang Junqing had no choice but to ask Jia Junying to go on the blind date in his place. The best case would be to find a way to mess up the blind date and have Zhang Wuke dislike him and take the initiative to ask her parents not to agree to the marriage.

But what happened afterwards, Zhang Wuke and Jia Junying fell in love at first sight when they met on the blind date, both developing good feelings for each other. However, Jia Junying was from an ordinary family, and he did not have the courage to tell Zhang Wuke his true identity. He could only try his best to belittle the character of ‘Wang Junqing’ and tell Zhang Wuke that he was not worthy of her and that Zhang Wu deserved better.

Unfortunately, the more Jia Junying belittled ‘himself’, the more Zhang Wuke admired him for his humbleness and talent. So when Zhang Wuke went home, she told her parents that she was particularly satisfied with the Wang family’s son and did not oppose the marriage.

On the other side, Jia Junying returned home and heard his mother tell him that his mentor called his home in the morning and wanted to arrange a blind date for him and his mentor’s daughter. It turned out that Jia Junying’s mentor was Li Maolin. Li Maolin had always wanted a gentlemanly son-in-law. It happened that Jia Junying was also his proud disciple. So this blind date was arranged.

Jia Junying lost his father as a young boy and was raised by his widowed mother. When he was in college, he received the favor of his mentor, so he had no way to refuse the good intentions of these two elders. He could only go on a blind date with Li Yue’e. Li Yue’e didn’t like Jia Junying either, but she was a gentle and obedient girl since she was a child, and she didn’t dare to go against her parents. She could only make her grievances known to Jia Junying, her senior brother. Jia Junying learned that Li Yue’e, his junior sister, actually already liked her childhood friend, so he agreed to explain to his mentor and dispel his mentor’s idea of turning him into his son-in-law.

On the other side, Wang Junqing learned that Zhang Wuke was very satisfied by the blind date and actually agreed to the marriage alliance. Instantly, it was like a bolt of thunder hit him from out of the blue. However, both the Zhang family and the Wang family were rich and influential families in the city. Now that the happy news had been released to the public, marriage between the two families was imperative.

Learning that Wang Junqing was about to get married, Li Yue’e instantly fell ill. So Li Yue’e’s best friend came up with an idea, to crash the wedding. Arrive at the wedding wearing a wedding dress and ask: Wang Junqing, do you like me or not?

Li Yue’e had always been a rule follower since she was a child, and had never done anything that stepped out of the line. Now, in order to guard her love, she was willing to throw caution to the wind. On the wedding day, she really did wear a wedding dress to ask Wang Junqing that question. At this time Zhang Wuke also knew that the person she really liked was not the groom Wang Junqing, but the best man Jia Junying and refused to get married.

It happened that Li Yue’e also came to the wedding in a wedding dress. When the two brides met at the wedding, they sympathized with each other and developed a favorable impression of the other. So Zhang Wuke came up with the bold decision to have Li Yue’e marry Wang Junqing while she married Jia Junying. The best of both worlds and happiness for everyone.

Because the entire script was adapted from the Pingju comedy “Flowers as a Matchmaker”, the tone of the script had some absurd comedy in it. Du Kang captured the essence of Chinese opera during the writing of the script, and adapted the modern version of “Flowers as a Matchmaker” into a stage play with a hint of musical.

Tao Mu, the male protagonist, had a tango performance with Li Yue’e in the scene where  Wang Junqing fell in love at first sight, and hip-hop and jazz dancing during inner monologues. As for the lines sung while singing and dancing, they were adapted from popular current music.

The performance styles of other characters were also similar. The highlights included a dance between Wang Junqing and Li Yue’e when they fell in love at first sight, a dance between Jia Junying and Zhang Wuke during the blind date, and a dance between Zhang Wuke and Li Yue’e when they finally met at the wedding. These scenes were all performed through singing and dancing. Especially the final scene at the wedding, which was particularly lively.

Tao Mu was really emitting pheromones heartily when he was performing. Every time he appeared on stage, the girls below would all excitedly scream. However, after the whole performance was acted, the most brilliant role was actually Wen Bao, who played the aunt of the local committee.

This dude wore a wide and billowy floral old fashioned dress, a Liu Hulan hairstyle wig, and a pink Hello Kitty butterfly hairpin. Wide smile and squinty eyes, he could hold the entire atmosphere of the audience in just his first entrance scene.

Especially in the last big wedding scene, Wen Bao wore a big red skirt and danced a twisty Northeast Yangko (TN: popular rural folk dance) on the stage——and to the background music that was the kind of hot DJ club music. Wen Bao, this mad beat dancing demon, actually influenced all the actors to dance Yangko with him unconsciously.

That scene was simply just crazy. It was such a hit that it kept lingering in the mind after just watching it once, like 3D loop playback.

Anyway, after the whole performance, everyone was laughing crazily. Even Tao Mu, who was full of thoughts on other things, had a lot of fun. He really felt that it was a pleasure to perform with actors like Wen Bao.

“Cheers!”

After the end-of-term drama performance, the students in class 1 of the 2008 Beijing Film class were all brought to Wen Juxiang to eat Mongolian hot-pot by Wen Bao.

As one of the important members of class 1, Tao Mu certainly could not act the wet blanket. He originally wanted to take Mr. Song and the others to dinner and celebrate after the end of the term performance. But now he had to temporarily change the agenda.

Liu Yao and Meng Qi understood very well, and drove Mr. Song and dean Tao back to Houhai. Before leaving, they told Tao Mu to have a good time: “If you still didn’t have enough fun after eating, you can come to Night. At least there you don’t need to worry about safety issues.”

Tao Mu agreed with a smile. Watching his Yao Dad drive his family away before turning and apologizing to Li Xiaoheng: “…..I wanted to treat you to dinner. But I don’t have time today.”

“Don’t apologize to me.” Li Xiaoheng smiled slightly: “I am very happy today. I feel like I saw a different side of you on the stage.”

“It’s very different from the me you usually come into contact with, isn’t it?” Tao Mu twitched the corner of his mouth: “In fact, our circle is quite complicated. In the future, in order to film a movie, there may even be made up gossip and use of fake character images. You will see even more different faces of me. You may be disappointed then.”

“If I like the Tao Mu in my impression, then the changes you speak of may disappoint me. But if I like the real you, the more faces you show, I will only become more and more happy. Because I will be able to know a more complete Tao Mu.” Li Xiaoheng smiled warmly: “Completeness does not necessarily mean reality. If I like you, I will like the real side of you, and I will also feel that the false sides of you are also interesting. This lifetime can be very long, and we will have to get along for decades. If everything was the same, wouldn’t it be terrible?”

Tao Mu looked at Li Xiaoheng dumbly: “Did you study debate in university?”

“I studied finance.” Li Xiaoheng looked at Tao Mu with warm eyes: “So I know that no stock in this world is set in stone. It will not rise forever, nor will it fall forever. The same is true for people.”

“It’s getting late. Your classmates are still waiting for you.” Li Xiaoheng urged softly: “It’s cold outside, go in.”

Tao Mu looked helplessly at Li Xiaoheng: “CEO Li studied finance. Then you should know that even if two companies merge successfully, they may still face various crises in the future. For example, operational crises, such as internal management struggles. Some conflicts cannot be resolved by adjusting the structure or business strategy. In the end, it is very likely that the internal conflict within the enterprise will lead to a situation where both sides suffer.”

“Perhaps.” Li Xiaoheng smiled: “But the situation you mentioned has never appeared in the M&A projects led by me. I think that if there is a failure in the process of corporate mergers and acquisitions, it must be because the work in advance had not been done well. Te interests and needs of both parties had not been communicated well. If we compare our relationship to mergers and acquisitions, then my need is you. So Xiao Mu, what are your needs and interests?”

Tao Mu: “My needs and interests are independent management.”

Li Xiaoheng lowered his head and chuckled, “Xiao Mu, I’m very curious. You say this, or the reason you insist on operating independently, is it because you have no confidence in me or in yourself?”

Tao Mu said: “I have no confidence in time.”

“Time?” Li Xiaoheng frowned slightly, then chuckled, “This is indeed a problem.”

As soon as Tao Mu was about to breathe a sigh of relief, he heard Li Xiaoheng continue to say: “But I will figure out a way.”

“The weather is too cold, go in first. Your classmates may be getting impatient.” Li Xiaoheng looked at his sweetheart standing two steps away from him. The night was cold, and the orange street lights highlighted his features more delicately and beautifully. This reminded Li Xiaoheng of the first time he saw Tao Mu.

If at that time Tao Mu was just a stranger who fit his aesthetics from head to toe. Now, Tao Mu was the one he, Li Xiaoheng, wanted to take home and spend the rest of his life together with.

They still had a lifetime to get along. So Li Xiaoheng was not in a hurry, nor did he want to force Tao Mu too much.

When Tao Mu returned to the private box, Du Kang was holding a glass of wine and complaining again and again: “…..Student Wen Bao, did you do it on purpose? When we rehearsed, we clearly agreed that we would dance that kind of sophisticated dance style, musical. But, as soon as you showed up, you started to dance Yangko with all your energy, which led everyone off track. Did you do that deliberately? You deliberately made it so that our entire class will have no image left, and therefore won’t be able to find a significant other in the future?”

“What does it have to do with me?” Wen Bao squinted his crescent eyes with a smile: “I was just acting my part seriously. It’s you guys who were willing to go off track, alright?”

“What! You did it on purpose!” The female classmate who played Zhang Wuke waved the beer bottle in her hand at Wen Bao: “Do you know how long this sister has practiced the last dance? It was so hard during the rehearsal but I survived it. But in the end the dance was not used at all. You have to make it up to me.”

“Aren’t I treating you to eat Mongolian hot-pot!” Wen Bao grinned, pointing to Tao Mu and said: “You don’t need to feel wronged. Look at Mr. Tao, the one with the most idol baggage in our class, even he didn’t say anything, right?”

“What can he say? Except for you, in this scene today, Mu Mu was the one who most enjoyed twisting about on the stage. When dancing Yangko, he was happier than when street dancing and tango dancing in the scenes before, yeah?” Chu Sui’an was so excited, his tone carried the dialect of his hometown when he spoke: “Are you really planning to lose your idol baggage?”

Tao Mu laughed very happily.

Du Kang sighed with emotion that Tao Mu was the happiest when he was acting: “This is all thanks to me. If it wasn’t for my script that liberated our brother Mu, he would still be solemnly curled up in his idol baggage. How boring is that?”

“That’s right.” Tao Mu had a drink with Du Kang. He chuckled lightly, his eyebrows rising, and he even joked with a smile in his voice: “How can I thank you?”

“How about with yourself!” Du Kang was also a dude with no gate on his mouth. As soon as this was said, the whole class immediately clapped their hands and hooted.

The female classmate who had already become slightly titzy stood up unconvinced: “Why give himself to you? This sister is still waiting to make it big in the future and keep our Mu Mu. You think you’re so awesome cause you’re tall! Go and wait in line!”

“Yohoo!!” The large group of students continued to clap and yell: “Fight!”

“Fight! Fight!”

It took more than two hours to eat this Mongolian hot-pot. After dinner, the large group of people still planned on going to sing karaoke.

After the finals performance drama was over, it was winter vacation. The classmates who live in Beijing had it easier. But those who live in other provinces must pack their luggage and go home for the New Year. It would be another month and a half before seeing each other again.

The group of 18 to 19-year-old boys and girls came from all parts of the country to Beijing to go to university. Having left their parents’ side for the first time, the closest relationship they had was with their classmates. So now about to be separated, they all felt a bit of reluctance.

But these feelings would gradually dilute as they grow up and encounter more and more gatherings and separations. After they graduated, moved to various places, jumped from film crews to film crews, their minds would be gradually occupied by fame and fortune or other things. Finally becoming more and more numb after being soaked in the big dyeing vat of the entertainment industry. The enthusiasm and righteousness of the past and once ideals may gradually fade under the pressure of life, gradually forgetting the original intention on the road to success, and only the troubles of making a livelihood were left.

A piece of white paper may be dyed in colorful and dazzling colors, or it may become completely black due to the complexity of the colors being mixed.

Tao Mu didn’t know how long this process would take. But at this moment, he still cherished these simple and lovely friendships. If possible, he hoped to do his best to make it so that this group of children could have it much easier.

After all, there were not many fond memories that he could look back to in his two lifetimes.

There were too many things in this world that could go bad. As a wealthy person, Tao Mu couldn’t do much, but hoped that he could protect them as long as possible before the things he owned deteriorated.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

Because after those things had deteriorated, even if Tao Mu was regretful and reluctant to let go, he must still abandon it.

This was not a pleasant feeling. Even if in his previous life and this life Tao Mu was already used to making this choice, when this regret appeared again, he would still feel uncomfortable.

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