Everyone Has Their Awkward Days

"Xiaoqing!"

"Xiaoqing!"

The footsteps in the corridor drew closer and reached the doorway in the blink of an eye. The door had been left open to avoid any questions of impropriety, and that proved crucial: the newcomer turned his head, took one look, and barged in.

He was a man of about thirty, reasonably good-looking, but drawn and unusually agitated. He seemed emotionally unstable.

"So you're here. Why are you staying at the guesthouse again? Come on, come home with me!"

He immediately grabbed Liu Xiaoqing's arm. She shook him off hard and said, "I already told you, I'm here for work. Staying at the guesthouse makes filming more convenient."

"I asked around. You don't have any work at all right now. Stop making a fuss. I've already cooked dinner. Come home!"

"I'm not going back! Get out of here!"

"Ahem!"

Seeing this, Chen Qi cleared his throat twice and said, "Excuse me, but this is my room. Could you please take your discussion outside?"

"Sorry, sorry. We're leaving right now!"

The man was surprisingly polite, but he started tugging at Liu Xiaoqing again.

Their voices grew louder and louder, drawing attention throughout the floor. Even Chen Huaikai came running out of the next room to watch.

"What a mess!"

Chen Qi had been disturbed for no apparent reason. He had no choice but to step closer, and had just opened his mouth to intervene when Liu Xiaoqing flung the man's hand away. Its momentum sent it flying upward, out of control...

Chen Qi fell flat on the floor with a thud.

That was experience!

Strike back, and it became a mutual fight!

"Comrade, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."

The man apologized, bewildered. Did I touch him? I don't think I did. If I didn't touch him, how did he end up on the floor??

"Wang Li!"

Liu Xiaoqing couldn't help shouting, "Are you trying to make me lose every last shred of face in front of the whole studio?"

"That's not what I meant. Don't be angry, don't be angry! I just want you to come home with me."

"Home! Home! Fine, I'll come home with you! Get out, get out!!"

Liu Xiaoqing grew frantic too, shoving him out the door. The moment they were gone, Chen Qi scrambled up and clung to the doorway to keep watching, leaving Liang Xiaosheng utterly dumbfounded.

"I'll go home with you. Just stop making trouble for me!"

"All right, all right. As long as you come home, I'll do anything you ask!"

As the two continued their entanglement, one or two heads popped out of nearly every room. Everyone watched them go downstairs with gleaming eyes, and a buzz immediately rose, like melon-eating critters darting around a melon patch, chattering animatedly.

Chen Qi clicked his tongue too and asked, "That's her husband?"

"Yeah, his name's Wang Li."

"How did things get like this?"

"That woman's a lot of trouble. That's why I told you to stay away from her."

So said Liang Xiaosheng.

Liu Xiaoqing had formerly belonged to the Chengdu Military Region Drama Troupe, while Wang Li was with the General Political Department Opera Troupe of the People's Liberation Army. They had met through a mutual friend.

To put it nicely, she was extremely ambitious. To put it bluntly, she would use any means to climb the ladder.

While most people were stuck where they were, whether willingly or helplessly, Liu Xiaoqing was single-mindedly determined to rise in status through filmmaking. But the drama troupe had too many restrictions, so she came up with a plan and began courting Wang Li.

She knitted him sweaters and long johns, wrote him letters full of sweet nothings, and then proposed marriage herself. Since Wang Li was in Beijing, Liu Xiaoqing thought she could transfer there after they married.

What man in those days could withstand a woman being so straightforward?

Wang Li was overjoyed, and they married. But Liu Xiaoqing's transfer didn't go through. She had never liked him to begin with, and now she grew even colder, hating even the intimacy between husband and wife.

As time went on, Wang Li became suspicious of everything, constantly afraid that Liu Xiaoqing would run off with someone else. Even when he went out to buy vegetables, he would lock her inside the house.

Liu Xiaoqing, meanwhile, often used filming as an excuse to stay at the guesthouse. Arguments between them had become commonplace.

What were people's views on relationships in those days?

Once a couple made their relationship public, they had to get married, or else they were hooligans. Once married, they almost never divorced. If anyone did get divorced, it was an earth-shattering affair that people around them could talk about for three years.

Liu Xiaoqing, on the other hand, had used her own marriage as a wager, gambling it all on a future.

"What a badass woman!"

Chen Qi could only give her a thumbs-up. Comrade Huang Zhanying was right: the arts and culture front was far too fickle!

Liang Xiaosheng sighed too. "There's nothing wrong with Little Liu's ability to do her job, but her personal life is rather troublesome... Oh, do you know how much Director Wang spent to get her transferred here?"

"How much?"

"Eighty thousand!"

Liang Xiaosheng held up his fingers to show the number. "When we went to negotiate, the people in Chengdu opened their lion's jaws wide and demanded a transfer fee of eighty thousand. The director paid it on the spot without another word!"

"He was that decisive?" Chen Qi was astonished.

"Of course. Director Wang values talent above all else, especially promising young people like you. Write this script well, and you'll definitely have opportunities to show what you can do in the future."

The next day, Liu Xiaoqing came by again.

She brought a box of assorted pastries to apologize for what had happened the day before. It came from Daoxiangcun, Beijing Daoxiangcun. There was also a Suzhou Daoxiangcun, and the two often fought.

Walnut crisps, date-flower cakes, sachima, sponge cakes, and other pastries made up eight varieties in all. Packed in a wooden box tied with string, they were the ideal gift in those days for visiting relatives and friends or discussing marriage arrangements.

Families with a little money to spare would also buy some for the New Year.

But children craved sweets and couldn't keep their hands off them. They would often sneak a piece, since no one could tell from the outside. By the time the adults opened the box, it would already be empty, and a vicious beating would naturally follow.

By bringing this as an apology, Liu Xiaoqing showed a thorough grasp of social niceties.

Chen Qi remained perfectly courteous. He felt neither fondness nor dislike for her. They were all making their way in the jianghu, so who couldn't put on a smiling face? Besides, Grandma Liu was excellent at her job, and they might even work together someday.

The days spent revising the script were mostly uneventful, much like his days slacking off at work.

One evening, in the canteen.

Chen Qi noticed that everyone was in a state of inexplicable excitement. They ate quickly, whispering among themselves. Liang Xiaosheng was busy too, urging him on. "Eat up! Once you're done, move the tables!"

"Why are we moving the tables?"

"They're showing an internal reference film tonight!"

"An English-language film or a Hong Kong film?"

"Huh? You know quite a bit about them!" Liang Xiaosheng said in surprise.

"I've only heard about them. I've always wanted to see one. How often do you show them?"

"About once every half month. Today it's a Hong Kong film, with martial arts."

"Oh, martial arts are fun to watch!"

Chen Qi quickly finished dinner and helped everyone move the tables. They stacked the canteen tables neatly along both sides, left a large open space in the middle, and filled it with stools. Just like that, they had a makeshift cinema.

Internal reference films were films intended for internal viewing and reference.

In fact, they were simply a form of special film supply, like cigarettes, liquor, and tea. From leaders at the top to military compounds, film studios, and various arts organizations, all had screenings of internal reference films.

People had never been equal. In this era, for example, while most people were worried about having enough food and clothing, certain groups were already listening to rock, jazz, and Teresa Teng.

Of course, they couldn't watch internal reference films openly. They had to keep a low profile.

So when the sun went down, the Beijing Film Studio looked very much like a spy base. Everyone lined up and tiptoed into the canteen, with someone posted at the entrance to keep watch and even a hidden lookout. Conditions were still poor at this time; later on, they would have a dedicated screening room.

Chen Qi entered with the crowd. The light was dim, and a sea of heads stretched out before him. While he was still trying to get his bearings, he heard Liang Xiaosheng call, "Over here, over here!"

In the middle, the literary department's editors and their families had already gathered in a group.

"Director Jiang!"

"Teacher Shi!"

He greeted them one by one, found a seat at random, and glanced to either side. He was amused by what he saw.

On his left was a young man in his early twenties. His excessively thin body made his head look large; he had small eyes and an already receding hairline. He was utterly ordinary-looking, with an air of shyness.

On his right was a little girl who looked about eleven or twelve, with a broad forehead, open features, and a cute flower in her hair.

"This is my daughter, Jiang Shan, and this is big brother Little Chen."

Jiang Huaiyan introduced them with a smile.

The little girl looked at him, apparently finding him quite handsome, and only then said, "Hello, big brother!"

"Hello to you too. Are you in elementary school?"

"Yes, I'm in elementary school. Big brother, what do you do?" Jiang Shan asked in a clear, bright voice.

"I sell big bowls of tea."

???

Jiang Shan's head was full of question marks. Jiang Huaiyan laughed and explained it to her.

Meanwhile, the shy young man seemed finally to have mustered his courage and spoke up. "Hello, my name is Ge You. My mother has mentioned you to me."

"Hello, hello. Nice to meet you!"

Chen Qi extended his right hand. Ge You tried to extend his as well, but the space was so cramped that he couldn't bend his arm around. He gave a brief handshake, looking as if he had polio, and nodded repeatedly. "A pleasure, a pleasure. I heard you're here to revise a script?"

"That's right. I'm staying at the guesthouse for now. What do you do?"

He had brought up the very thing best left unmentioned.

Sure enough, Ge You looked embarrassed and a little self-conscious. He said quietly, "I'm preparing for an exam. An exam."

Ha!

The more he acted like that, the more Chen Qi wanted to tease him. He wanted to tease the little girl named Jiang Shan too.

(Thanks to Qi Wang_Yue for becoming an alliance leader!

No more..."

(End of chapter)