Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 65: Competing for a Job
Noon on September 7th.

"I'll emphasize it again: make sure you have your exam admission ticket ready!"

In the classroom of Class 7, Grade 12 at Hengzhong High School, the homeroom teacher was shouting at the top of his lungs on the podium, while Zhang Fang was whispering to her small group in the middle of the back.

"Look, it's an autographed photo of Feng Gong and Niu Qun."

She hunched her shoulders and held her head high, striking a pose that was both timid and arrogant, and boasted, "My brother just wrote a crosstalk routine for them. Just wait and see during the Spring Festival Gala!"

The autographed photo circulated around the neighborhood, and everyone was incredibly envious when they saw the college entrance exam blessings written on the back for Zhang Fang.

Previously, Zhang Fang was not particularly special in the class except for being pretty; in fact, she was considered a backward student by the teachers.

But since last summer, her brother has suddenly transformed from a printing factory worker into a famous writer, and Zhang Fang's living conditions have also improved accordingly.

When she returned from Beijing in March of this year, she was completely transformed. With her professionally trained demeanor, she became a well-known beauty among the senior students at Hengzhong High School, receiving one or two love letters almost every day.

Jingle bell bell~
As the school bell rang, the homeroom teacher on the stage gave one last instruction: "During this last day and a half of holiday, study if you can, but don't force yourself if you can't. The main thing is to adjust your mindset."

Then he looked around, waved his hand with a hint of sadness, and said, "Alright, let's dismiss."

This is probably the least enthusiastic holiday ever for students. Many people wandered around the classroom and playground, as if mourning their soon-to-be-gone high school life.

Zhang Fang showed no sign of lingering and rushed out of the classroom, leaving the two boys who were trying to confess their feelings behind.

We arrived at the school gate.

She looked around and saw Zhang Yan pushing a bicycle and chatting with a parent she knew. She quickly ran over with her schoolbag on her back and sweetly called the parent "Uncle".

After receiving several compliments, the brother and sister managed to break through the encirclement.

Seeing that no one else was around, Zhang Fang's smile vanished instantly: "Brother, why didn't you drive here?"

"Go~"

Zhang Yan flicked her on the forehead and said irritably, "How can you be so vain at such a young age? Besides, that car isn't mine—let's go, I've ordered a huge table of food at the guesthouse, all of your favorite dishes."

This time, he learned his lesson and didn't go back to the company's staff quarters. Instead, he booked two suites at the municipal government guesthouse and brought his parents over.

As soon as Zhang Fang heard there was something delicious to eat, she quickly grabbed her brother's waist and jumped onto the back seat.

"Have you gained weight again?"

"What do you mean you've gained weight? This is called composure, composure, don't you understand!"

"By the way, would you like to have a room by yourself, or a room with Mom?"

"Give me a room by myself, so Mom and Dad can have some alone time—I want a room with a big bed, I want to roll around on it, hehe~"

Seeing that the girl was still carefree, Zhang Yan didn't know whether he should relax or be nervous.

Fortunately, the required scores for art exams are low. Last year, the cutoff score was only 380, which was 118 points lower than the junior college cutoff score. In 1990, the junior college cutoff score in Hebei was 498.

As long as Zhang Fang performs normally, there shouldn't be any major problems.

The brother and sister returned to the guesthouse chatting and laughing, only to find Zhang Xingguo and his wife Sun Xiaohong taking a stroll at the gate.

"Dad, Mom?"

Zhang Yan asked in bewilderment, "On such a hot day, why aren't you upstairs using the electric fan? What are you doing at the gate?"

"Your mother isn't used to suddenly moving into a guesthouse."

"Nonsense! It was you who was restless that made me suggest we go for a walk!"

Seeing the elderly couple passing the buck, Zhang Yan laughed and said, "I also feel uncomfortable living in a guesthouse—how about this, you two hurry up and find a place to live in the second half of the year, and we'll try to move in before the end of the year."

"Didn't you want to buy a house in Beijing?"

"It's not like we're missing out on a few measly coins."

After the family enjoyed a hearty lunch, Zhang Yan drove them for a drive.

When I returned to the guesthouse in the afternoon, I received a call from Dou Wei.

Because he had been doing a lot of bad things in Dou Wei's car recently, Zhang Yan felt a little guilty and thought that if Dou Wei cursed again this time, he would comfort him.

When I answered the phone, Dou Wei excitedly said, "The date is set! The album will be officially released on the first of next month, with a total of ten songs!"

"Really? Congratulations on achieving your dream."

"There's one more thing. You need to sign a copyright contract for 'Dream Back to Tang Dynasty.' The agency will pay the fee, but it shouldn't be much."

"Really?" Zhang Yan hesitated for a moment, then asked half-jokingly, "Won't signing this song affect my ability to use it for gigs? Maybe we should just change it to a license agreement. This song is my debut work, after all, and it's quite memorable."

"Can you even sing? Why are you doing gigs like that..."

Dou Wei was somewhat speechless, but still readily replied, "I'll talk to them, it shouldn't be a big problem."

"Why don't you just change it to licensing too? Then we can sing a duet together."

"Why are you so slow..."

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Yan thought to himself, "You're complaining now, but once you break up with Black Panther, you'll know the benefits of having the copyright."

He was about to go back upstairs when his pager went off again.

Seeing the notification was a landline number from Beijing, Zhang Yan initially thought it was Feng Xiaogang calling, but when he dialed back, he found it was Jiang Shan.

"Our internship is over!"

Jiang Shan cheerfully said on the phone, "Now I'm just waiting to receive my graduation certificate. I'm free these days, so how about I come to Tianjin to visit you?"

"This……"

Zhang Yan felt a chill run down his spine. After the Tao Hong incident, he felt somewhat guilty towards Chen Hong, and Jiang Shan, with her personality, certainly wouldn't back down like Tao Hong.

"Why, is it inconvenient?"

"That's not it."

Zhang Yan quickly replied, "I'm not in Tianjin right now, I've gone back to my hometown—my sister is taking the college entrance exam the day after tomorrow, and I estimate I'll have to stay there for a while longer."

"Then we'll wait until you get back to Tianjin."

Jiang Shan persisted: "Isn't Tianjin close to the sea? Let's go swimming together then, which will also be a good way to escape the summer heat."

In the past, Zhang Yan would have definitely agreed.

But now he's desensitized to swimwear, so he still hesitated and said, "I don't know when that will be, will it interfere with your business?"

"Great writer, are you really having trouble making excuses? What, is someone trying to steal your man? Well then, bring that vixen out here and let me see who dares to try and steal my man!"

This woman is so straightforward and fierce.

Zhang Yan decided not to hide anything anymore: "Look at what you're saying, as if we have something going on—but I do have someone recently, Chen Hong, who replaced Xu Fan in 'Tianjin Wei,' and we... hehe, we're just getting closer."

"Oh, so that's why you were so determined to stop me from playing the lead role—it turns out you already had your eye on someone else!"

Upon hearing that it was Chen Hong, Jiang Shan recalled what had happened back then. She was already feeling resentful, and this only made her more unwilling to accept it.

When I auditioned, that pretentious vixen was ahead of me in line, but this time she beat me to it again!
No, this time I was clearly in front, it was that sly fox who broke the rules and cut in line!

Thinking of this, she changed the subject, saying, "Even if there's nothing between us, what you're doing isn't very friendly, is it? Shouldn't you do something to show your appreciation?"

"How do you want me to express myself?"

"At the very least, you have to treat me to a big meal, right?"

Thinking that it was just a meal, Zhang Yan readily agreed, "Okay, I'll treat you to a big meal when I go to the capital in a while."

…………

Beijing.

Seeing Jiang Shan hang up the phone, Xu Fan, who had been holding back for a while, immediately complained, "He's already laid his cards on the table, why are you still..."

"what else?"

Jiang Shan said dismissively, "He's not married and I'm not married. The fact that a vixen has her eye on him proves he's in high demand. If I just let him go like this, wouldn't I be letting that vixen get away with it for nothing?"

"But if you do this, what if in the end..."

"I'll accept it even if we lose in the end."

Jiang Shan said, "But I can't get over this hurdle if I don't try—now that the female lead has to compete for the position, my girlfriend can naturally compete for the position too."

Xu Fan shook his head speechlessly, but also felt a little envious.

If she had Jiang Shan's relentless persistence, she wouldn't have been caught in a dilemma last year, ultimately ending up with nothing.

(End of this chapter)