Rebirth 08: Equipment God

Chapter 229 What is CNKI?
On the evening of the 17th, Zhai Da did not participate in any activities, even though Li Tiantian and Gao Yuanyuan both expressed their desire to have another drink with him.

Gao Yuanyuan even said that she would introduce other female celebrities to him, including her good friend, Jia Jingwen, who is from Taiwan. Bringing in a third person is a common way for celebrities to avoid scandals.

But Zhai Da still refused, as Gao Yuanyuan had already revealed her true intentions.

Zhai Da is not opposed to adapting "The Long Road of Lü" into a film or television series; adapting literary works into film and television is a natural progression.

It's like falling in love and then the next step is to act like a scoundrel.

However, Gao Yuanyuan is not a suitable choice, neither in terms of role fit nor in terms of her status as an actress.

If he's a reliable director, then we can sit down and have a proper chat.

After returning to his room and taking a good shower, Zhai Da reported the situation to Xiao Mutou, telling Lu Wei in a humorous way who he had seen that day, and then went to sleep.

The next morning, after waking up, Zhai Da tidied himself up and went to the lobby to pick up Lu Siwen, who had come specifically to join in the fun as a member of the "Zhai Da team".

Lu Siwen was dressed appropriately today, perhaps because she felt the occasion was important. She wore a Chanel-style top and wide-leg black trousers, which looked very fashionable.

Upon seeing Zhai Da, the lively, deer-like girl waved from afar and playfully exclaimed, "Teacher Zhai! Your little assistant has arrived!"

Zhai Da smiled and asked, "How did you sleep last night?"

"She slept very soundly."

To be precise, the fragrance was too strong. She slept from 6 pm to 6 am, and when she woke up, Xiaolu realized how strange her behavior was last night, and blushed for a long time.

But the blanket smelled really good, not like perfume, but like...human scent. It was the first time she had ever felt this way.

Zhai Da was unaware of Lu Siwen's little pigtails, and the two set off together to the tenth floor.

This floor has been temporarily used as a work area, with each room serving its own purpose: preparation, makeup, and rest.

The elevator lobby was already packed with people. As soon as the door opened, a chubby girl with a list came up to greet us: "Hello, Teacher Zhai, your interview is at 12 o'clock."

Zhai Da glanced at his watch; it was only ten o'clock. "Shall I leave?"

The staff member quickly replied, "No, no, no, we still need to do makeup and go over the procedures. We're already very pressed for time."

Zhai Da:
What he didn't know was that the operation here started at six in the morning, and some minor figures had to get up before dawn to wait.

The man looked at Lu Siwen and subconsciously searched the list as well: "Excuse me, who are you? Let me see which dressing room you are in."

Lu Siwen quickly waved her hand: "No, no, no, I'm Teacher Zhai's assistant."

The staff member was taken aback, thinking to himself, "This assistant is so beautiful! She's prettier than many celebrities!"

Is this a legitimate assistant?
Oh well, it's not uncommon in the industry for people to bring their boyfriends or girlfriends along and pretend to be assistants, so it has little to do with her.

The two were then led to a suite, which was converted into a dressing room for four people. Zhai Da guessed that there might also be single rooms and eight-person rooms, and that big stars would bring their own makeup teams.

This shady circle cares more about seniority than anywhere else. A room, a seat, or even the order of a handshake can all turn into enmity or resentment.

Fortunately, he's an outsider and doesn't care. He welcomes all kinds of celebrities to try and piggyback on the fame of the top-scoring college entrance exam student and writer.

If you're so capable, put pressure on Harbin Institute of Technology.

Lu Siwen followed behind, slightly nervous, secretly tugging at Zhai Da's clothes, but everything seemed strange to her, and she would occasionally glance at a few celebrities for a second or two.

Finally, a conclusion is reached.
Celebrities wear such heavy makeup! It's the kind of makeup that would leave ordinary people speechless if they walked down the street.

Of course, in the end, all attention was on Zhai Da, watching him with his eyes closed as his face was gradually being retouched.

Noticing Lu Siwen's gaze, Zhai Da said softly, "What are you looking at? Is it something you like?"

Lu Siwen: "It doesn't look good."

Zhai Da: ?
Lu Siwen said seriously, "It's weird. You don't look like yourself with makeup on. I still prefer you the way you are normally."

Zhai Da said helplessly, "Everyone else is getting their photos done. If I don't, it'll look like I'm not on the same level as everyone else in the shot. I guess I'll just have to put up with it."

A few minutes later, a voice came from behind: "Teacher Zhai, we meet again!"

Zhai Da glanced at himself in the mirror and didn't see anyone, but there was a chair behind him.

A pair of legs dangled below, unable to touch the ground.

Yes, it should be Guo Jinming.
They had a joint interview, so it wasn't surprising that they met at the same time. But then Zhai Da remembered something.
What about Han Han?
Sure enough, problems soon arose. After putting on makeup, Han Han went over the script in the lounge, but still did not appear.

I overheard passing staff discussing this, and they seemed quite anxious.

Half an hour later, Zhai Daxian conducted a personal interview. In the bright and cozy room, a large group of staff members surrounded him, some even sitting on the floor.

While it may appear that only two people are in the frame, there are actually about ten people watching intently, which might make those who are not used to it feel very uncomfortable.

The opening questions were relatively simple, and Zhai Da and the host from Xinglang chatted freely.

When did you first start writing?

"The second semester of senior year."

"So, it's been less than a year?"

"At first, it was just something I wrote for fun with friends. It was only by chance that we decided to publish it. At that time, I was under a lot of pressure in my senior year of high school, so I treated it as a form of entertainment."

At this point, Zhai Da subconsciously glanced at Lu Siwen, and the girl hiding behind the camera smiled knowingly.

Many memories flooded my mind.

She may not have been the streetlamp that accompanied Zhai Da, nor did she have the opportunity to wait for him to come home every day to light his way in the dark. But her pen was always there for Zhai Da.
Afterwards, Xinglang prepared some questions from netizens, most of which were selected from Zhai Da's blog, but Zhai Da himself never reads them, so each one was very fresh.

He eagerly awaits someone asking him, "Do you know what CNKI is?"

Then openly say, "I don't know, I'm a freshman!"

"A netizen asked, 'Teacher Zhai, do you have any study tips?' I believe this is a question that many students and netizens are concerned about, after all, you achieved the top score in the college entrance examination."

Zhai Da thought for a moment and said sincerely to the camera: "Learning is something that cannot be copied. 99% of people can achieve good results by working hard. There is no need to always think about any so-called 'fixed techniques'."

"I understand. What Teacher Zhai means is that your biggest secret is hard work, right?"

"No, I rely on my talent."

host:
"Ahem, now for the second question, a netizen asked: Did Professor Zhai have any romantic relationships during her student days? What was her ideal type?"

Zhai Da shook his head: "I didn't date during high school. As for my ideal type, I generally don't make any preconceived notions. It mainly depends on what the two of us have been through together. Just like writing a novel, appearance and personality are just secondary; the story is the main theme."

"I understand. You value the spiritual aspect more, so you don't care about appearance at all?"

"I like girls with thin legs."

host:
I looked around and wondered if I had misheard.

This writer is beyond her ability to handle.

Zhai Dapi said, "Don't ask why, the answer is that [Clown Poker] has never had its effects turned off."

Anyway, it's 08 now, and this lousy circle dares to say anything.

"One last question, from a netizen: In the early days of his blog, Teacher Zhai mentioned many times that he could do magic tricks. Could you demonstrate it for everyone on the spot?"

Zhai Da hesitated for a moment. This sudden turn of events seemed a bit rushed. He'd just play a simple card game instead.

As he spoke, he reached into his pocket and the [Clown Poker] cards, which were stored in the pocket of his "magic vest," appeared in his hand. He then opened them in front of everyone.

At this moment, Zhai Da hesitated for a moment, wondering whether he should turn off the equipment effect, but then he thought, wouldn't that be like burying his head in the sand?
You've already come to the awards ceremony, why are you trying to fool yourself into thinking you're keeping a low profile? If you want to keep a low profile, you shouldn't have come at all.

They simply started performing, letting the cameras capture the "Clown Poker" game. Immediately, a dozen or so staff members witnessed what truly dazzling techniques looked like.

These uniquely textured playing cards, reflecting the light from fill lights in all directions, looked exceptionally mysterious before quickly moving between Zhai Da's hands.

Each image seems to be connected by threads, spanning a distance of more than a meter, like dragons and snakes dancing wildly.

Everyone stared in disbelief, countless names of Hong Kong movies flashing through their minds.

Some people have watched it multiple times and can even imagine the background music in their minds.

The entire deck of cards landed in his left hand like a relay race, and then Zhai Da quickly flicked his wrist, and the deck of cards completely disappeared.

He even showed his empty hands to the camera.

Then, with a snap of his fingers, a deck of cards appeared out of thin air in his right hand.

One by one, the metal playing cards flew out, then returned from mid-air like swallows nestling in one's arms, landing neatly back in the palm of one's hand.

It was rubbed open like a peacock spreading its tail feathers, and then the whole hand was thrown upwards, but the cards did not fly up, but disappeared again.

Zhai Da looked at the host: "That's about it?"

The host was stunned.

Immediately afterwards, the staff began to applaud wildly, and even Lu Siwen couldn't help but clap her hands.

"Set Effect 3: Center Stage (Permanent): You are more likely to get applause, even if you just wave."

The applause was particularly abrupt and had a strong penetrating power, causing some other celebrities being interviewed next door to look at the wall in confusion.

The reporter exclaimed in surprise, "That's amazing! I'm starting to doubt my eyes!"

Zhai Da thought to himself, "This is nothing. If I suddenly conjured up a Panamera, you'd not only be shocked, you'd be questioning your entire life."

The solo interview went smoothly and pleasantly, but the joint interview encountered some problems. Zhai Da waited in the lounge for a full hour, dealing with countless actors and singers who came over to greet him and socialize, and was forced to add a lot of random contact information, only to be notified in the end.

Han Han can't come.
"Is the flight delayed?"

The staff member shook his head helplessly: "They said there was a minor accident at the racetrack, and the person is currently in the hospital."

The incident happened last night, but Xinglang only found out today, and they seem quite annoyed.

This writer, known for his rebellious nature, has certainly gone too far; it's just unknown how serious the damage will be.
So only Zhai Da and Guo Jinming were interviewed. Guo Jinming didn't look well, perhaps because of Han Han's absence.

He was clearly out of sorts, with a blank face, and wasn't very enthusiastic about answering questions. In the end, Zhai Da became the main character again.

He was forced to perform another magic trick.
This time it was even simpler, just flipping a few coins. It was more of a skill demonstration than a magic trick, but it still drew a lot of applause.

That evening, Starwave released a large amount of material as a warm-up, and all of its own platforms followed suit, with some partner platforms also reporting on it.

As the current top internet figure, once he sets his mind to something, he can practically cover the entire internet.

The celebrities are willing to come and support the event, all for the sake of exposure, you could say for the sake of this vinegar-loving sister-in-law.

Among all the content, one video stood out: "He is a top scorer, a writer, and a magician."

In this era, video materials were not mainstream on the internet due to compression technology and cost issues, but they quickly became popular online due to their visual effects comparable to video effects and their incredible combination of identities.

Even without Sina's promotion, it was quickly uploaded to Youku, Tudou.com, and various QQ groups.

"Come out and see the immortals!"

"God of Gamblers? The Saint of Gamblers? The God of Gamblers? The God of Gamblers?"

"Go tell Wong Jing, this needs to be made into a sequel!"

"Are you sure this isn't special effects?"

"Does anyone have a high-definition video? I'm a magician, and I want to study how this person did it."

What was originally just a minor incident during the interview turned out to be Zhai Da's first time performing magic in front of a large audience.

Although he thought it was just a casual show of skill and he didn't actually perform any "magic tricks".

In 08, even long-form video platforms were still in their infancy. Apart from movies, netizens really had nowhere else to watch these "technically advanced videos," and the visual effects were absolutely stunning.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Harbin Institute of Technology, Student Activity Center.

Jiang Xiaobai held an envelope, utterly speechless.

"Due to the student's participation in scientific research projects, the examination arrangements should be postponed or the student exempted, as appropriate. This student possesses a strong foundation in the engineering field."

"Signature: Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yu Hongru"

I checked, he's an academician.

The letter was sent directly to the Academic Affairs Office of Harbin Institute of Technology, which was quite formal, and it was eventually handed over to her.

She thought it was already outrageous that the principal would personally request leave for someone, but she never expected there to be such a mastermind!

Approving leave was inevitable; she'd have to be hanged and whipped even if it meant it. Jiang Xiaobai just felt increasingly that being her personal counselor was no easy task.
Will I receive even more outrageous "leave requests" in the future?

One day
Just as I was pondering this, a message popped up on my computer. It was from my best friend on QQ: "Take a look at this. Is he your top student?"

Jiang Xiaobai clicked on it with a puzzled look, then his eyes widened.
It wasn't that I was surprised by Zhai Da's presence there or his magic tricks, but rather...
He was already quite handsome, but with makeup, he looks exactly like a celebrity!

On the other side, there's the Yueda Food and Craft Beer Base.

Large barrels of craft beer were loaded onto the truck one after another, and the total number of people here has risen to nearly forty, which can be said to be growing stronger.

The store already has 15 craft brewing machines, and the number is increasing rapidly. Daily craft beer sales are close to 2 liters, covering all the surrounding bars, nightclubs, and high-end restaurants.

It even boosted the night economy of an entire area. Bars and nightclubs outside Nangang District found that customers were no longer coming and "Qingdao" (a popular night market in Qingdao), and had no choice but to come back to Nangang District to ask for supplies.

Wu Yue was tallying and calculating accounts, which had become his most troublesome task every day.
The daily revenue is two to three hundred thousand yuan, with dozens of customers, each with different product categories and payment terms.

Why hasn't the senior accountant we hired started work yet? Did he get arrested and sent back to jail?

With supply in short supply again, the only solution is to rob Peter to pay Paul, and see which supplier isn't actively settling accounts, then cut off the supply altogether.
Huh? You paid an hour late at this bar. You're out of drinks!

Just as he was racking his brains, Qin Yang, the current deputy captain of the delivery team, came running over excitedly: "General Manager Wu! Look! The big boss is on the show!"

Wu Yue took it, glanced at it, and smiled knowingly: "This guy is showing off again."

But Qin Yang and his group were completely unsettled. They shouted and yelled as if they had discovered a new continent, and soon a group of people gathered together.

They knew their boss was a top scholar and a writer, but since they were all people who didn't read much, it didn't really feel real to them.

All I knew was that the big boss was cultured.
Now, when you see news about Star Wave, it's a completely different story.

A thousand words can be summed up in one sentence:

The big boss is awesome!
Wu Yue laughed and said, "He started practicing magic in high school. I watched him figure it out little by little. At first, he only knew how to do it."

Yeah, it'll just turn into a tissue for one poor soul.

Wu Yue suddenly recalled some unpleasant things.

How he got out of the bathroom that day is a secret he'll never tell anyone.
　I didn't allocate the space well; the first update was accidentally too long.
　　There will be a second update, but it will be a little later. I'll finish talking about what happened today.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)