Against the Current Hong Kong 1979

"Your timing is quite good."

Wang Qing smiled and led them towards dormitory building number four: "We just finished filming a few movies, so there are quite a few decent rooms available. You can choose one."

Zhang Shuai'an and He Jiatong followed behind Aunt Wang.

"Auntie, I heard that a lot of big celebrities live here, is that true?"

He Jiatong would try to find topics to talk about, hoping to get some gossip out of her.

"Of course it's true." Wang Qing's smile widened as she pointed to dormitory building number three. "However, most people live in building number three. It's all suites there, and the rooms are big and beautiful. For example, the famous director Zhang Che and his wife live on the eighth floor. Eight, eight, eight, sounds like 'prosperity' in Chinese."

"There are some celebrities in this Building No. 4, but they're all single men, like the two of you."

Upon hearing this, He Jiatong was immediately speechless and lost interest in asking any more gossip questions.

"It's rare to see someone as handsome as Mr. Zhang." Wang Qing turned to look at Zhang Shuai'an from time to time. "In all these years at the film studio, only Ti Lung and Ling Yun in their younger days could compare. You're sure to become a huge star in the future."

Zhang Shuai'an repeatedly said he dared not: "They are all seniors, how can I compare to them?"

"I, Mrs. Wang, have seen so many people, and I've never made a mistake in my judgment."

Wang Qing, however, assumed Zhang Shuai'an didn't believe in her face reading skills and was about to argue with him: "Do you know that my name, 'Face Reading Master Wang,' is famous throughout the entire Clearwater Bay..."

"Mrs. Wang, you're just fooling the newcomer again."

Just then, a voice came from upstairs.

Zhang Shuai'an and the others looked up at the clouds and saw a young man of about thirty years old walking down with a smile on his face, wearing a Western cowboy hat.

Wang Qing glared at the newcomer with some displeasure: "You little rat, what are you saying? When have I, Mrs. Wang, ever bullied anyone?"

"Hello, my name is Zhang Shuai'an. May I ask how this gentleman is addressed?" Zhang Shuai'an looked at the man and felt that he looked vaguely familiar, but he didn't have a deep impression of him.

"My name is Lan Naicai, and I'm a photographer." The man smiled and said to Zhang Shuai'an, "Hey, handsome, you're really good-looking. I'll take some photos of you sometime, and you can get them in magazines and earn some extra money."

Zhang Shuai'an immediately came to mind upon hearing the name. This person is the future director of "Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky" and "The Peacock King," with an independent and highly recognizable style.

Zhang Shuai'an smiled and nodded: "Okay."

"Little rat, don't run away!" Wang Qing still wanted to cause trouble for Lan Naicai.

However, the other party was agile and dodged her attack in a few moves, then ran downstairs.

Wang Qing caught his breath a few times, then led Zhang Shuai'an and the others upstairs, muttering to himself, "That little rat, he's been working in the movie theater since he was fifteen. He's quite diligent, but he's always causing trouble. You guys better behave yourselves from now on, and it's best not to cause any trouble. That way, I'll have some peace and quiet, and you'll all be comfortable, right?"

He Jiatong found that this woman was even more talkative than his aunt, so he could only nod repeatedly and stop talking.

Upon reaching room 06 on the sixth floor, Wang Qing stopped, unlocked the door with his key, and gently pushed it open.

Wang Qing led the two inside, her mouth still chattering: "Look, this room used to be where Ti Lung and David Chiang lived. Now they're big stars and have bought big houses elsewhere, so this room has been empty, which is a good deal for you two."

That's obviously false; Building No. 4 is newly built. Dillon and David Chiang had a falling out years ago, how could they possibly have lived here together?

The room was fairly clean, and it was clear that it was cleaned regularly.

However, there were still traces of other people using the room.

For example, one wall is covered with murals and stickers, and there are some remaining marks; the other wall is as white as snow, with nothing on it.

"This is where Dillon slept," Wang Qing said, pointing to the white wall.

He then pointed to the bed on the other side and said, "This is Jiang Dawei's area. How you two divide it is up to you."

"I'll leave the spare key here; it's up to you who decides to take it."

Wang Qing continued explaining in detail: "If you want another key made, you can go to the back entrance of the cinema and turn left to find Old Ma. It's cheaper there, and it's safer. As for other daily necessities, there are several convenience stores inside the cinema; you can buy them yourself."

"This room has a kitchen and a small shower stall, but no private toilet. You'll need to use the communal restroom in the hallway. Although you don't have to pay for water and electricity, please be careful with them. There's a telephone in the room; you can make calls, but please avoid long-distance calls, as they are very expensive..."

"There's a public restaurant on the third floor of the main building. It's free. If you don't like it, you can go out to a restaurant to eat."

"..."

He Jiatong put all her bags on the ground as soon as she came in.

Wang Qing rambled on for a while longer, then, feeling there was really nothing more to say, he left reluctantly.

After seeing her leave, He Jiatong immediately lay down on the sofa, panting heavily: "Ugh, that gossip is really good at talking. She didn't stop talking the whole way. I feel like her teeth are almost tanned from the sun."

"Don't talk nonsense, what if they haven't gone far?" Zhang Shuai'an reminded him.

He Jiatong quickly covered her mouth, quietly opened the door to look outside, and thankfully did not see Wang Qing, so she breathed a sigh of relief.

"I have to go down for a meeting in a bit, so please tidy up the room."

Zhang Shuai'an took out all the manuscripts of "Young Detective Bao Qingtian" from his backpack and instructed He Jiatong, "If you want to make a living this way, you need to be more serious and learn more skills. I'll need them when I start my own company."

He Jiatong asked with some surprise, "Brother An, don't you want to stay with Shaw Brothers?"

"Shaw Brothers is too small a pond, and the wages are too low." Zhang Shuai'an shook his head. "I'm just using Shaw Brothers as a stage to become famous as quickly as possible. Once I'm famous, I'll start my own company and make movies. Isn't that much better than begging for food under someone else's roof?"

He Jiatong immediately patted her chest and said, "Wow, Brother An, that's great ambition! I will definitely work hard and won't hold you back."

"Let's go eat first, then I'll go make copies of these manuscripts."

Zhang Shuai'an patted He Jiatong, signaling him to get up.

After being busy for most of the day, it was indeed past noon.

He Jiatong revealed a pained expression and pleaded, "Boss, my back injury hasn't healed yet. Let me rest a little longer, okay?"

Zhang Shuai'an said lightly, "Your injury wasn't that serious to begin with. It's because you've been lying down all the time that you've easily damaged your back."

The two went downstairs together to the restaurant in the main building, where, sure enough, there were quite a few people eating.

He Jiatong's eyes kept darting around, hoping to bump into one or two female celebrities, but instead she saw a large group of ordinary employees, mostly men.

Zhang Shuai'an rolled his eyes and said irritably, "You're overthinking it. Female celebrities all have their own private kitchens; how could they possibly eat the same food as everyone else?"

"Huh, I didn't expect to run into you guys again."

A short while later, a somewhat familiar voice rang out. Lan Naicai, whom I had just bumped into in the hallway, had also arrived at the restaurant.

He was accompanied by several other people, each of whom looked roughly human and could frighten children to tears if they went out at night.

Although they were somewhat curious about Zhang Shuai'an and He Jiatong's identities, they weren't particularly interested in striking up a conversation.

Lan Naicai simply greeted them and then sat down with the others at a distance.

"Little Rat, who are these two?" asked one of the middle-aged men, who had a full beard and a sinister look on his face.

"I don't know, I just moved in today." Lan Naicai shook his head. "But it might be from TVB. You know the boss has been having a headache lately because of ATV's 'Reincarnated'. This morning, news came out that he's planning to shoot a period drama with a fresh theme to compete with ATV."

Another chubby director couldn't help but scoff: "Those two pink sausages? They think they can take down RTV?"

"I heard he received a script with excellent market potential." Lan Naicai didn't know much about the inside story, so he could only guess: "Maybe that handsome guy is the male actor they're going to promote in the future. He looks even more handsome than Ti Lung and Ling Yun when they were young."

"What's the use of being handsome?" The bearded director sneered. "Can good looks put food on the table? In this world, what matters is talent and ability!"

Before the words were even finished, a female celebrity they all recognized, carrying a tray, slowly walked over to the handsome young man and asked loudly, "Is anyone with you? You don't mind if I sit here, do you?"

The older men exchanged bewildered glances. It seemed that being handsome could not only put food on the table, but also provide the best opportunity to be a kept man.