Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 413 Special Program
7:30 p.m., Guomao Courtyard.

Jiang Shan nestled in Zhang Yan's sweaty arms, and it took her a long time to recover from her daze.

She nudged Zhang Yan, who was watching TV, and asked, "How many days will you be able to stay in Beijing this time?"

"It will probably take another two or three days."

Zhang Yan replied absentmindedly, "I'm waiting for news; there are still a few advertising contracts to discuss."

The lunch didn't go very well, so Zhang Yan didn't contact Zhou Tao and Tao Hong that evening. Instead, he called Jiang Shan, his casual sex partner.

Jiang Shan's eyes lit up, and she clung to Zhang Yan like an octopus, tracing circles on his chest with her finger as she said in a seductive tone, "I happen to have nothing to do these days."

Zhang Yan calmly uttered two words: "I have."

Although this woman wasn't as unfathomable as Aunt Liu, Zhang Yan didn't want to waste all his energy on her.

"嘁~"

Jiang Shan's radiant expression vanished instantly, and she pinched Zhang Yan's tender breasts as if to pinch them.

"Don't make trouble."

Zhang Yan slapped her hand away and casually asked, "Haven't you taken any work lately?"

"I just finished filming a rural drama in Guangdong Province."

Jiang Shan didn't really want to talk about this topic. She originally thought that after becoming famous with "Addiction" and "Dreamy Water Town", her status in the film and television industry should have risen a lot, but who knew that she still couldn't get any big jobs.

Sometimes she thought about asking Zhang Yan to pull some strings, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.

Anyway, life isn't unbearable, so whatever.

So she changed the subject and asked, "Did anything interesting happen to you in Venice?"

"I didn't encounter anything particularly interesting, but a French director talked about some British customs, which I found quite interesting."

What custom?

"It is said that the British particularly like to graze sheep on the edge of cliffs because as soon as they push the sheep down the cliff, the goats will shrink back in fear..."

Jiang Shan didn't understand at all until Zhang Yan demonstrated it himself, and then she understood what it meant.

Half an hour later...

"These foreign devils are really perverted!"

Jiang Shan rubbed her arms, which were numb and sore from sitting on the edge of the bed for so long, and complained weakly.

"Shh~"

At this moment, Zhang Yan made a shushing gesture and turned up the volume of the movie.

Then I heard the classic theme song from "A Native of Beijing in New York" playing on TV: "I've been searching for you for thousands of miles, but you don't care..."

Jiang Shan asked in bewilderment, "Why is Tianjin TV airing 'A Native of Beijing in New York' again? Didn't it already air last year?"

"You'll find out if you look down."

As the song faded from its high pitch, the finale of the TV series appeared on the screen. Jiang Wen, playing the male protagonist, took his friend who had come to seek refuge to the basement, gave him $500, and completed the scene of their destined cycle.

Then the scene freezes, and a line of large text appears above Jiang Wen's head: October 1992, Lower Manhattan, New York.

Then the camera started shaking and flipped upwards, switching to a shot of another man. This man's face was blurred out, and above his head were two lines of large, eye-catching text: August 1994, Tianjin Economic Development Zone—Mr. Cao, the author and prototype of the protagonist in "A Beijing Man in New York".

Seeing this, Zhang Yan couldn't help but laugh out loud. Cao Guilin's entrance made it look like he had just been caught.

However, this was Cao Guilin's own request. Although he couldn't refuse the Economic Development Zone's invitation to appear on camera due to the conflict of interest, he insisted on not showing his face.

After all, he didn't want to be stopped by a stranger on the street and suddenly asked what it was like to be a black old lady.

On television, Mr. Cao began to describe how he made up his mind to return to China to start a business, and how he quickly gained a foothold with the help of the Economic Development Zone Management Committee.

Jiang Shan asked in surprise, "Isn't this the person who chased after you on CCTV back then?"

This woman really knows how to bring up the most sensitive topics.

Zhang Yanqi was furious and decided to completely block her path. …………

The dormitory building between Beijing and Taiwan.

Zheng Xiaolong returned home reeking of alcohol, only to be asked by his wife, "The station confiscated your pager, why didn't you call back?"

"what?"

Zheng Xiaolong paused for a moment, then pulled out his pager from his waist to check. Sure enough, there were several pagers from the station. Looking at the time, he realized they had been calling right after he finished drinking and the party.

At the time, several drinking buddies were shouting and yelling at the door for quite a while, and given that they were somewhat drunk, it's normal that they didn't hear the warning sound.

So he walked toward the landline at home, asking his wife, "What does the station want with me so late?"

"I don't know, but it seems to be urgent."

Upon hearing his wife's words, Zheng Xiaolong immediately dialed the office number. As soon as he gave his name, the person on the other end told him to wait a moment.

A few seconds later, the deputy director in charge came through the phone, questioning: "Director Zheng, did you watch the special interview program on Tianjin TV tonight?!"

Upon hearing the words "Tianjin TV," Zheng Xiaolong's heart skipped a beat. He felt a sense of déjà vu about this scene, so he cautiously asked, "Director Chen, is something wrong?"

"Humph~"

Deputy Director Chen snorted coldly: "You come to the station first—this matter has put the station in a very passive position, and your production center must give me an explanation!"

After saying that, he hung up the phone directly.

Zheng Xiaolong was very frustrated and wanted to find someone to take the blame, but you should first tell us what happened!

However, he didn't dare to delay and prepared to return to the station after telling his wife a few words.

Just before he was about to leave, he suddenly remembered something and hurriedly called Feng Xiaogang again—Feng Xiaogang had just gotten a new mobile phone before leaving Beijing, and it was a second-hand one that he had asked someone to buy for him.

"Gangzi, I heard that Tianjin TV broadcast a special program tonight. What was it about?"

Upon hearing that it was Zheng Xiaolong on the phone, Feng Xiaogang remained silent for a long time before saying, "Director, I'm sorry for what happened, but they specifically told me to keep it a secret... I've only just arrived in Tianjin, I can't afford to cause trouble right away, can I?"

Hearing this, Zheng Xiaolong's heart sank again.

This suggests that the matter is related to Feng Xiaogang, and although Feng Xiaogang went to Tianjin, his official position is still affiliated with the production center.

No wonder Deputy Director Chen asked the production center for an explanation.

"what happened?"

He calmly pressed on, "Now you can tell me, right?"

Feng Xiaogang explained, "Actually, it's nothing. It's just that General Manager Zhang came up with another idea to use our 'Beijingers in New York' to promote Tianjin."

Cao Guilin came to Tianjin to do business, right? He basically said that a Beijing native made money in New York and then came back to Tianjin to invest and build a factory, while also praising Tianjin's business environment.

"And this program was filmed by me and my team..."

"I...you..."

Zheng Xiaolong almost spat out a mouthful of blood. His biggest achievement in the past two years was "A Native of Beijing in New York". He has won several awards since last year and can be described as having unlimited glory.

Who would have thought that Feng Xiaogang would betray him with this drama!

"Gangzi!"

He gritted his teeth and said, "I know you're unhappy with the station, but we've been brothers working together for so many years. It's really disloyal of you to do this!"

Feng Xiaogang remained silent for a long time, then sighed and said, "Director, I have to live too, I have to live like a human being! I've been in this station for so many years, it's not that I haven't tried, but what have I gotten in return?"

From the end of last year until now, who doesn't know that I, Lao Feng, have been having a run of bad luck? But has the station even considered giving me a hand? I'm afraid everyone is laughing at me, saying that I'm a toad trying to eat swan meat, and that the success of "A Native of Beijing in New York" is because I'm riding on your coattails, Director Zheng!
On the other hand, look how Mr. Zhang treated me! I've only been here for a few days to realize my dream, and he's already provided me with a car, a house, the money, and a chance to get ahead. Do you think I wouldn't do what he wants?!

"I do feel guilty towards you, Director, but towards the station, I have a completely clear conscience!"

Listening to the busy tone on the phone, Zheng Xiaolong didn't make any move for a while.

It wasn't until his wife noticed something was wrong and reminded him that he finally put down the phone, angrily saying, "Fuck whoever it is! You only panic when something happens, where were you before?!"

(End of this chapter)