Against the Current Hong Kong 1979

Chapter 148 How Did I Become Teresa Teng's White Moonlight? (4th Update, Please Subscribe)

(This chapter is nearly 3400 words long, with lyrics only about 300 words. It's just that the number of lines is too high. If all the lyrics are removed, the main text is still 3000 words.)

(Note: No extra subscription fees will be charged if the word count is less than 500 words.)

Monica Gabriel lay on her back on the bed, letting Zhang Shuai'an's hand swing back and forth.

"You're a real beast."

Apollonius said with a look of satisfaction mixed with lingering fear, "I thought my heart was going to jump out of my throat just now."

Zhang Shuai quickly got dressed and smiled at Monica Gabriel, saying, "The number I wrote down is still valid. However, I may not stay here for long, so it won't be available after that."

"9

After saying that, he said to the two women, "I have something to do, so I'll be leaving now. You two take care and rest. All expenses will be reimbursed."

After Zhang Shuai'an walked away, Monica Gabriel turned over, revealing the red plum blossoms on the bed sheet.

"Pat, do you think I need to make this call?" Monica Gabriel asked softly.

"Fight, of course we must fight." Apollonius nodded decisively. "You have no other choice!"

Monica Gabriel was still somewhat hesitant.

She turned to Apollonius and said softly, "But I don't even know what he does for a living. What's the point of making this call? He's not American, so he won't be of any help to my career. And if it's only a few thousand dollars, it won't be enough for my family—"

"Who said that?" Apollonius said with a laugh. "Look how easily he befriended Jack Nicholson in just a few words. Who, besides insiders, could know so much about Hollywood gossip?"

Monica Gabriel was filled with doubt, and after a while she said, "You suspect he has a special background? But that shouldn't be the case, I've never heard of any Chinese people in the upper echelons of Hollywood."

Apollonius laughed and retorted, "We're all stuck at the bottom, how can we be sure who's at the top?"

"That's true." Monica Gabriel nodded, then said, "However, in my heart there's still—"

Apollonius said, "That kid is so handsome, even without any background, he's good enough to be a lover. Anyway, his kung fu is so good, it took the two of us to barely hold him off."

Monica Gabriel finally made up her mind: "I'll contact him tomorrow and see what he's up to."

"If he really is an important person, I'll call a few more of my sisters over."

Apollonius bit his lower lip and said, "I refuse to believe that we combined can't defeat him."

Monica Gabriel smiled, looking at her with some curiosity: "You really want to be someone's mistress?"

"Otherwise," Apollonius sighed softly, "small fry like us can't make it in Hollywood. We can only do B-movies, like Lulu Yukiko; or go to the San Fernando Valley—"

When they get old and lose their beauty, no one will want them anymore. But if they could become the mistress of a powerful figure, they could avoid a decade or two of hardship.

Although Monica Gabriel is only eighteen years old, she has long been aware of the cruelty of Hollywood, and she also knows some of her sisters who have fallen into the fire.

At this moment, she also had some hope in her heart: could that big Chinese boy really change her fate?

Zhang Shuai'an discovered that in addition to obtaining some scattered starlight points, he also had a blank entry in his mind.

No matter how he touched the word, there was no reaction.

I tried a few more times, but still received no feedback whatsoever.

Zhang Shuai'an left it aside for the time being. He waited at the door for a while, but when he didn't see Jackie Chan and the others come out, he took a taxi back to his villa in Beverly Hills.

At this moment, the villa was brightly lit.

After Zhang Shuai'an returned, he first went to his room to take a shower and change his clothes.

Then, he brewed a cup of tea, took the teapot and a tea set, and sat in the courtyard to drink tea and admire the moon.

-

"Why are you back?"

A rather cold and unexpected voice sounded from behind.

Zhang Shuai'an didn't even turn his head, simply saying, "If you want tea, pour it yourself."

The man chuckled softly, picked up a recliner, and lay down next to Zhang Shuai'an.

Deng Lijun chuckled and said, "I thought you'd be like Ah Long and the others, staying out all night before coming back."

Zhang Shuai'an took a sip of tea and asked casually, "Does he often stay up all night playing games?"

"He's just a child who never grows up."

Deng Lijun looked up at the sky, her round face as bright as the moon. "Mischievous, playful, immature, impatient, and full of energy—"

Zhang Shuai'an turned his head and gave her a meaningful look: "You're neither praising him nor scolding him."

"It seems so." Teresa Teng chuckled and patted her head. "I don't know whether to praise him or scold him. In short, he's like my friend, like my younger brother, like my older brother—but definitely not like my boyfriend."

Zhang Shuai'an knew that the two of them were simply incompatible in terms of values, and that their personalities, habits, and hobbies did not overlap much.

The two came together simply because they had come to the United States to avoid trouble and felt a sense of shared suffering, so they huddled together for warmth in a foreign land.

Zhang Shuai'an didn't say anything, but just drank his tea and listened quietly.

"Maybe we were never meant to be together."

Deng Lijun really needed a male listener. There were some things she couldn't say to Jackie Chan, nor could she say to Brigitte Lin, but she could say them to Zhang Shuai'an, who was relatively unfamiliar with her.

"The wind is so lovely, blowing in gusts."

Can anyone tell me where the wind comes from?

Love is like a gust of wind, its origin unknown.

No one can tell me where love comes from, how it comes so quickly, and how it goes so fast.

There was laughter, and there was sorrow.

Is this what love is?

As she spoke, Teresa Teng suddenly began to sing, her voice plaintive and sorrowful, carrying a hint of the faint confusion and melancholy unique to love.

Listening to the singing, Zhang Shuai'an felt as if he were hearing celestial music, his ears ringing.

After Teresa Teng finished singing, he suddenly started singing along without thinking: "The cool breeze gently blows and quietly enters my clothes. Summer steals away without a sound. The days rush by, leaving me with a hundred feelings. I miss that colorful scene. It gently blows with the wind, and you step into my heart. In an instant, you change my life. I can't even count how much passion I've given. But I no longer need to fear the wind and rain. Let the wind blow and let it dry the bright tears in my eyes—"

Zhang Shuai'an sang the Mandarin version. He basically didn't have any singing skills or techniques; he sang purely with his voice. However, because of his sincere emotions, it sounded quite pleasant and moving.

At this moment, Deng Lijun's beautiful eyes lit up. She had never imagined that someone would actually respond to her emotions with a song.

She started singing just now because she was completely overwhelmed by emotion; words couldn't express the panic in her heart, so she sang softly.

After she finished singing, she was about to apologize to Zhang Shuai'an when, to her surprise, Zhang Shuai'an responded to her.

Deng Lijun found it somewhat unbelievable that the kind of emotional resonance she wanted, which she couldn't find in her boyfriend, was actually obtained from someone she had only known for less than a day.

Even more incredibly, Teresa Teng discovered that she had never heard this song before.

"Could this be his original work?"

Deng Lijun was startled, a look of surprise mixed with doubt flashing across her eyes. She thought to herself, "Isn't he a writer? Could he also compose music?"

After Zhang Shuai'an finished singing, he said with a smile, "I'm sorry, I got carried away and sang without thinking. It didn't sound very good, please forgive me."

Teresa Teng quickly praised her, "No, you sang very well just now. Your emotions were so rich that you could immediately immerse the listener in the music. You are simply a born singer."

"Miss Deng, your praise makes me a little embarrassed." Zhang Shuai'an chuckled and waved his hand in denial, saying, "I really just sang randomly. I don't have any talent in this area, and I've never practiced."

"Was this song your original composition?" Teresa Teng couldn't help but ask.

Zhang Shuai'an was stunned. Had the song not been released yet?

He only remembered that the song seemed to be sung by Paula Tsui, but he couldn't recall exactly when it was released.

"Occasionally, inspiration strikes, and sometimes a few songs will pop into my head."

Zhang Shuai'an pointed to his head, without explaining, but added: "For example, the Mandarin version of the theme song of 'Young Detective Bao Qingtian' and the theme song of 'Shanghai Bund' just suddenly came to mind. I sang them to Teacher Huang Zhan and Teacher Gu Jiahui and asked them to compose them."

Teresa Teng asked with some surprise, "You became their student?"

Uh?

Another misunderstanding arose.

These days, the term "teacher" hasn't become a general term in the arts and culture circles; it really refers specifically to teachers.

"Can you sing these two songs for me?"

Deng Lijun looked intently at Zhang Shuai'an, her tone gentle, filled with sincere pleading.

"All right."

Zhang Shuai'an cleared his throat and sang "With a Clear Conscience": "A clear blue sky above, a firm belief in my heart, it's not youthful ignorance, it's just fearlessness in the face of challenges————"

"The lyrics are really well written."

After listening to the song, Teresa Teng couldn't help but clap her hands: "Although I haven't watched this drama, just listening to this song makes me think it's a good drama. I can already feel Bao Zheng's courage and spirit of speaking up for the people and not being afraid of death."

Zhang Shuai'an took a sip of tea but did not reply.

"And the other one?" Teresa Teng then asked.

Zhang Shuai'an replied: "The theme song of 'Shanghai Bund' is a Cantonese song."

97

"It's not like I can't speak Cantonese."

Teresa Teng smiled and began to sing: "It's hard to tell what's real and what's fake; people's faces are often treacherous."

How many share in the glory and prosperity, yet the raindrops on the eaves are equally precious?

Zhang Shuai'an has heard this song before; it's Xu Guanjie's "The Heart of a Prodigal Son." The central idea is actually about "what is destined to be yours will be yours, and what is not, you shouldn't force," which is used to advise others to be open-minded.

After singing, Deng Lijun thought about her current awkward situation and couldn't be optimistic anymore. Instead, she felt a little self-pity and despair.

In that instant, she felt as if no one needed her.

Zhang Shuai'an sensed her slight sense of self-abandonment and suddenly thought of a song he had inspired with Teresa Teng, "I Only Care About You".

So he chuckled softly and began to sing, as a response.

"Where would I be if I hadn't met you?"

How are you living your life? Should you cherish it?

Perhaps you know someone and live an ordinary life.

I wonder if there are any love stories as sweet as honey.

No matter how time flies by, you are the only one I care about!

As Deng Lijun listened to the lyrics and looked at Zhang Shuai'an's face and eyes, she was suddenly captivated, as if an endless warm breeze enveloped her, dispelling the chill in her heart.

At that moment, a message popped into Zhang Shuai'an's mind: "Deng Liyun's favorability rating has instantly exceeded the threshold, [Ultimate White Moonlight] achieved!"

"Congratulations, host, you have become Teresa Teng's [Ultimate White Moonlight]!"

Zhang Shuai'an was shocked. How could this song have become Deng Lijun's ultimate white moonlight? Does this song have such great power?

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