Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 433 The fickle woman

the next morning.

In the western part of the Second Ring Road, Zhou Tao, carrying soy milk, fried dough sticks, and a dozen newspapers, followed the wall of the three-courtyard house and turned into the small square in front of the gate, shaped like the character "八" (eight).

This is the house Zhang Yan bought last year. It's a bit further out than Li Chengru's, but it's more convenient to get in and out and has parking.

After more than half a year of maintenance and renovation, the house is finally habitable, so yesterday Zhang Yan specially invited Zhou Tao over to perform the consecration ceremony together.

Under the cover of night, the two of them moved from the front yard to the back yard and re-patinaed several pieces of antique furniture.

That's why, when he stepped over that threshold that was more than a foot high, Zhou Tao unconsciously frowned and slowed down.

When she found the second courtyard, Zhang Yan had already gotten up and was playing around with the stone locks in the yard for exercise. There was also a weapon rack next to him, but because of the control of knives, it only contained sticks, whips and the like.

As Zhou Tao walked into the house, he called out, "Wash your hands and eat—I saw in the newspapers that they were reporting on what happened yesterday, so I bought one of everything."

"Oh."

Zhang Yan put the stone lock on the ground, stretched his back, and then went inside to wash his hands in a copper basin. He shook the water off his hands and walked to the dining table: "It seems we still need to buy more things. We don't even have towels or soap. By the way, have you found any bowls and chopsticks?"

Zhou Tao was taken aback. The two stared at each other for a moment, then looked at the soy milk and fried dough sticks on the table.

"Never mind, let's just eat this."

Zhang Yan sat down in the main seat, picked up the newspaper and flipped through it. Sure enough, he saw many reports about yesterday's speech.

"Provincial TV Stations Rise to Power – Zhang Yan Boldly Predicts: Whoever Wins in Variety Shows Will Win the World" – This is a content-oriented report.

"Analyzing the Great Collapse of State-Owned Film Studios Through a Speech by a Private Entrepreneur" — This is from someone who likes to advocate for the withdrawal of state power and the advancement of private enterprises.

"Shocking! The Central Academy of Drama and Beijing Film Academy are deserted, why are young actors gathering at the Broadcasting Academy?!" — This is a sensationalist article, but it's far inferior to the UC Shock Department of later generations.

"Dream Realization Pictures - Is it State Retreat and Private Advancement, or Just Left Hand to Right Hand?!" - This is...

Zhang Yan flipped through the list and, unsurprisingly, it was an old acquaintance. During the big debate at summer camp, this person hadn't performed particularly well, but the plot about the black woman sleeping with the new immigrant had made him break down hysterically.

This person usually likes to advocate for the withdrawal of state power and the advancement of private enterprise, but he applies a different standard when it comes to Zhang Yan.

Zhang Yan glanced at it briefly and found that it was the same old story, only the jade-using scholars had been replaced with jade-using merchants, or rather, red-hat merchants.

He casually tore the newspaper in half, folded it, wrapped it in oil paper, rolled it up with the fried dough stick, and handed it to Zhou Tao, only to find Zhou Tao looking listless and lost in thought.

"what happened to you?"

Zhang Yan held the fried dough stick up in front of her and waved it.

Zhou Tao then came to his senses and sighed, "It's rare to have such a big mansion, but we can only eat fried dough sticks and soy milk. It just feels weird."

"What would you like to eat, some delicacies?"

“The important thing is to have two more maids and an old woman to serve us.” Zhou Tao looked around at the scene and said, “When I watched the TV series ‘Dream of the Red Chamber’ back then, I fantasized about living in such a big village, with Zijuan and Xueyan by my side.”

"Come on, Lin Daiyu doesn't have such a loud voice. Last night, you even startled the dogs on the back street."

"Pah~ So it's no wonder you don't know how to cherish women!" Zhou Tao spat angrily, then suddenly said, "How about I divorce Yao Ke and become your mistress?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yan, who had just taken a big bite of a fried dough stick, froze on the spot. After a long while, he hurriedly untied the soy milk bag, awkwardly gulped down two mouthfuls, and then asked suspiciously, "Really?"

"What if it's true?" "Then..."

Zhang Yan subconsciously took another bite of the fried dough stick, but this time he didn't dare to eat too much. As he chewed, he kept wondering to himself.

This is too sudden. Zhou Tao had never shown any interest in becoming my mistress before, so what's going on today...?

Could it be that they've set their sights on this house?

Thinking of this, Zhang Yan tentatively asked, "So what do you want then?"

Seeing his wary expression, Zhou Tao suddenly lost interest.

She originally intended to use these words to test whether Zhang Yan had any special hobbies, but instead of achieving her goal, she revealed Zhang Yan's wariness of her.

Does he think of himself as the kind of woman who would do anything for fame and fortune?

Thinking of this, Zhou Tao, who clearly lacked self-awareness, suddenly turned cold and changed his mind, saying, "Then why don't we just break up!"

"what?!"

Zhang Yan was increasingly bewildered. What did this strange behavior—one foot in the sky and one foot on the ground—mean? Could it be that he was possessed by an evil spirit?

He tossed the fried dough stick back into the plastic bag, frowned, and stared at Zhou Tao across from him: "What do you mean? Are you planning to go your separate ways from now on and not care about each other?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Tao's melancholy vanished instantly. After all, she was a realistic person. Putting aside Zhang Yan's endless variety show innovations, the upcoming 'light luxury clothing' business alone was something she found hard to give up.

"me……"

She panicked for a moment, then suddenly lowered her head and murmured, "I'm just so confused. Ever since Chen Hong got pregnant, I've been worried about what will happen to us in the future."

This was indeed her worry, but she brought it up now just to smooth things over.

But Zhang Yan misunderstood, because he had heard similar words from Wang Luyao before, and before saying these words, Wang Luyao had made a request.

Zhang Yan hesitated for a moment, then reached out and placed his hand on Zhou Tao's soft hand, asking uncertainly, "You...you don't want a child too, do you?"

This time, Zhou Tao was caught off guard. Luckily, she was looking down, otherwise the surprise and astonishment in her eyes would have been impossible to hide.

She had never considered having a child with Zhang Yan. Not to mention that she was currently married, even if she wasn't, she was in the prime of her career.

If she has a child now, will she be able to keep her position at CCTV when she comes back from maternity leave?
However, directly refusing would not be appropriate, as it would seem as if one's feelings for Zhang Yan were less important than one's pursuit of career—although this is true, it is not something that can be said casually.

She hesitated for a moment, then shook her head and said, "Of course I want to, but the current situation really doesn't allow it—although my relationship with Yao Ke has long been dead in name only, it still has to do with each other... and if Chen Hong finds out, you won't be able to explain it to her either."

At this point, she grasped Zhang Yan's large hand in return and said sincerely, "How about we have a child when the time is right?"

Zhang Yan felt a little regretful upon hearing this, but more than that, he felt relieved—he did not deny that he had some sordid and dark thoughts, but compared to the consequences and future troubles, these thoughts did not dominate his mind.

The two finished breakfast amidst their scheming and intrigue, and by the time they left and got into the Crown, the storm had passed.

After dropping Zhou Tao off at the TV station, Zhang Yan arranged to meet early Sunday morning to go to Tianjin to see the samples. Then, Zhang Yan drove alone to Sanlitun.

Long Wu's bar was already taking shape, and Zhang Weijian happened to be in Beijing, so the three of them decided to meet at the bar.

Zhang Yan has never had a good impression of the people of Hong Kong Island, but he has to admit that these days the people of Hong Kong Island are really efficient and rarely drag their feet when doing things.

(End of this chapter)