My Years as a Copyist in Taiwan

When it came to the issue of addressing him, Zhao Wen spent several dozen seconds mentally preparing himself before he could comfortably call him "Wah-zai" and "Tai-zai." In terms of age, Andy Lau had just turned 21 a few days ago, a little over a year older than Zhao Wen, so calling him "Wah-zai" was perfectly normal.

At this time, Lau Fuk-wing was truly shrewd and charming, the complete opposite of Tony Leung. When Andy Lau toasted him, he said, "Brother Deng, thank you for your care. Mr. Man, you gave us such a great film. I'd like to toast you."

When Tony Leung offered a toast, although he smiled, he always seemed a little uncomfortable: "Mr. Man, I'd like to toast you."

Zhao Wen was completely defenseless against these memories of his youth. He drank every toast offered to him in his entire glass. As long as it wasn't foreign liquor, Zhao Wen's alcohol tolerance was still quite high at this time. He could easily down seven or eight ounces of 53-proof Maotai.

Ever since Wu Deng learned that his younger brother liked to drink Maotai, he ordered a lot from merchants in Hong Kong. The supply from Hong Kong merchants was clean and stable. A bottle of Maotai in an ordinary milky white glass bottle cost 1200 NT dollars, which was only slightly more expensive than the ones smuggled by fishermen.

There's a lot of truth to the saying that you can talk business at the dinner table. After a few drinks, the atmosphere is completely relaxed, and there's nothing you can't say.

Of the six actresses, Yang Panpan's status overwhelmingly surpasses the other five. Her personality is completely different from the somewhat repressed character of Mu Nianci that mainland audiences are familiar with. At this moment, her bright and expressive eyes reveal her true nature.

"Ah Wen, I'm your... oh no, you're my idol! I may not be good at reading, but I really love your songs! Let's not talk about who's toasting whom, cheers!"

Only Yang Panpan responded to Zhao Wen's call and called him "Awen" directly. Of course, this was also because she had a very good relationship with Wu Deng and was not as reserved as Liu Furong and the others.

Huang Rihua, on the other hand, has always maintained a kind and honest image. He toasted Wu Deng and Zhao Wen twice, then smiled and used his eyes to create an atmosphere, occasionally clinking glasses with Ziwei and Jin Suo.

Yi-an couldn't drink alcohol, so she could only keep Huang Ri-hua company with her eyes and a cute smile.

Chen Erfeng didn't offer anyone a toast, focusing instead on eating the food Zhao Wen put on her plate. But when someone offered her a toast, she would stand up with a touch of江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry), solemnly wipe the cup to her lips, and the wine was gone...

Zhao Wen once tried to learn this at home, without tilting his head back and just inhaling... and almost choked to death!

Wu Deng leaned closer to Zhao Wen, but her eyes were fixed on Aunt Sha: "Sister Feng, shall we have a drink?"

Chen Erfeng didn't even look up, picking up lobster meat with her chopsticks and dipping it in the sauce: "Call me Auntie."

My brother Deng paused for two seconds before bursting into laughter: "Of course! If Awen calls you 'Auntie,' I have to do the same! Come on, Aunt Feng, let me toast you!"

Looking at the allure of Chen Erfeng's lips, Yang Panpan felt a growing sense of awe towards this older sister.

Other celebrities like Andy Lau and Tony Leung secretly sized up Auntie Silly with the same look they had of a god. After all, the reputation of "Ghostly Sorrow" had already spread throughout Hong Kong Island, where the atmosphere was more like a gangster's den. At this time, Hong Kong entertainment was living in a dark yet vibrant environment.

Zhao Wen served food to the two of them, and listening to their bickering, he turned to Yi An and said, "You have to eat your fill."

Yi'an glanced at Wu Deng, then at Chen Erfeng, a smile playing on her lips. She grunted "Mmm" at Zhao Wen, then lowered her head to focus on the remaining shrimp legs.

The room was filled with people clinking glasses and chatting, the atmosphere lively, when there was a gentle knock on the VIP room door. A waiter was waiting by the door, and Golden Horse Award-winning actor Ke Junxiong, holding an XO bottle and glass, smiled at Wu Deng: "Brother Deng, may I offer you a toast?"

Ke Junxiong was in the next private room. He and Wu Deng had a slight familial bond. Hearing that Wu Deng was holding a small celebration banquet for "Princess Pearl" and that the screenwriter was also there, he planned to come over and make some connections.

Wu Deng had never been fond of him, but one shouldn't hit a smiling face. Since the other party had come to offer a toast and was someone deeply connected to Wang Yu, according to the rules of the underworld, unless there was a major grudge, one should still greet him with a smile.

"You're being too kind by offering a toast to the movie star, aren't you?" Wu Deng stood up, and the others followed suit, showing Ke Junxiong a great deal of respect.

Ke Junxiong was 39 years old at this time, six years older than Wu Deng, but rules are rules. He had to call Wang Yu "Brother Yu", and in front of Wu Deng, he called him Brother Deng. He toasted everyone from Wu Deng to Zhao Wen before saying "I'm sorry to bother you" as he left the private room.

Throughout the entire process, Zhao Wen only wore a slightly aloof smile and didn't say a single word to the movie star.

Once the door to the private room closed, Wu Deng immediately put her arm around Zhao Wen's shoulder and whispered, "Did you have a grudge against this guy before?"

"There's no grudge, but I don't like it." Zhao Wen patted Wu Deng's hand on his shoulder, indicating that Wu Deng shouldn't take it to heart.

"Yeah, even if we have a grudge, I'll still support you!" Wu Deng rubbed Zhao Wen's shoulder, turned her face away, and started accepting everyone's toasts again. It seemed like tonight would be another night of drinking until everyone was drunk.

In fact, in Hong Kong and Taiwan in 1982, romantic entanglements and messy relationships were commonplace in the entertainment industry. Even if Ke Junxiong ruined ten more Shuqi, Zhao Wen wouldn't care at all.

What truly haunted him was one incident—two years ago, when the great master Gu Long was enjoying drinks and singing at Yinsong Pavilion, this guy insisted on having him join him in his private room. Gu Long, of course, refused, and as a result, he was punched in the face.

At that time, Ke Junxiong had just won the Best Actor award, and with Wang Yu backing him up, he felt like he was invincible, capable of handling anything in the world! And later, he actually succeeded in doing just that...

Because of this flat diamond, the hero will ascend to immortality in three years.

This is Zhao Wen's lingering regret, because Gu Long represents a sentiment in his heart, a sentiment that is even deeper and more profound than that of Jin Yong.

...

When Zhao Wen woke up the next day, he felt refreshed and did not have the hangover symptoms of dry mouth and headache. It must be because the Maotai of this era tasted so good.

Breakfast was delivered to my room by the Grand Hotel, along with several newspapers.

Before 1988, the front page of major Taiwanese newspapers only featured "Chu Liuxiang" once, even the United Daily News.

But in today's newspapers, the front page headline of the United Daily News—

A single episode's ratings surged by 30 points! "My Fair Princess" swept the entire island, drawing massive audiences.

The period drama "My Fair Princess" aired its second episode last night at 8 PM. According to overnight statistics from three television rating agencies, the average viewership rating across Taiwan soared to 68%, directly challenging the 70% record set by "Chor Lau-heung" this summer, once again igniting a nationwide drama-watching frenzy...

—Industry News Brief: United Literature Publishing House announced that all single volumes related to Mr. Snail are out of stock in major bookstores across the island, and 24-hour express printing has begun today...