Chapter Twenty-Nine: Born Beautiful

The very next day, Zhang Zien took the initiative to call him, and they met at the New Metropolis Hotel.

They went over the script and discussed their ideas. Zhang quickly understood what Lin Jianlu wanted. It was not complicated: a little story lasting just over four minutes. The main plot was actually rather thin, nowhere near as substantial as “Fairy Tale,” but for a music video, it was enough. Zhang immediately thumped his chest and promised that he could assemble a crew, start shooting in two or three days, and finish in about three days as well.

They could rent a camera from the Beijing Film Studio. As for the location, two days at the Feiteng Studios in Huairou would be sufficient. It would be far cheaper than renting a soundstage and building everything themselves. The studio even had period costumes and props available for rent.

He said that when he filmed “The Grand Chancellor Liu Luoguo,” many of the scenes had been shot there.

Lin Jianlu had no objections and agreed to everything.

In truth, it was the same as always: film stock was the major expense. All these other matters were merely minor details.

But Lin Jianlu no longer cared about the budget. He did not have to worry about it anymore. Xue Zhongding would certainly serve as producer again, handling the finances, while Rock Records would foot the bill. Within the bounds of ordinary expenses, there was practically no ceiling.

There was one other matter.

“Old Zhang, you’re the director, and you know plenty of people. Recommend me a pretty girl. She absolutely has to have a pure, innocent feel—young is all that matters! I mean… once she puts on ancient costume, she needs to look like a refined young lady from a noble family. Fresh and tender!”

Zhang thought for a moment. “Does Chen Hong count? Diao Chan. She’s pretty fresh-faced.”

Lin Jianlu stared at him in surprise. “What? Chen Hong? How old is she now?”

This time it was Zhang’s turn to be surprised. “How old could she be? She’s… twenty-six or twenty-seven? Definitely under thirty! Oh, I get it. Let me think. Someone young… There’s a girl at the Beijing Film Academy named Jiang Qinqin. She’s either a sophomore or a junior. CCTV really likes her, and Director Yang Jie cast her in a production called ‘Xi Shi.’ Beautiful, youthful! Oh, right—she should also have some Peking Opera training. I think she studied either the martial female role or the qingyi style. She absolutely fits your requirements!”

Lin Jianlu thought about it. He seemed to remember her somehow. In his previous life, he had probably seen her on some variety show.

Then it came to him. In his previous life, he had once come across a short-video series along the lines of “How stunning old aunties were when they were young.” Jiang Qinqin must have appeared in one of those clips. That settled it.

Besides, she was still only a sophomore or junior. Her age alone guaranteed that she would look young and fresh.

“Then tentatively book her. Get in touch with her later and bring her over so I can take a look before we make the final decision.”

Once everything was settled, they split up to handle their respective tasks.

Xue Zhongding and Zhang Zien would be busy renting equipment and inspecting locations. Before filming began, however, Lin Jianlu remained completely at leisure. He left the New Metropolis Hotel, wheeled out his old twenty-eight-inch bicycle, and, after many days away, once again pedaled leisurely through the capital.

He was not in a hurry to see his friends. First, he would go visit his brothers.

He had three sworn brothers. Of course, all three had originally been friends of his former self, but by now there was little point in distinguishing whether they belonged to his former self or to him. It was not easy for a person to have even a few close brothers who would risk their lives for him. Childhood companions and friends who had shared poverty were especially precious, and Lin Jianlu cherished them.

Take Zhao the Monkey, whose real name was Zhao Fang. He was thin, and his family ran a small restaurant serving ordinary home-style stir-fries. After graduating from high school, the fellow had been hopeless academically and returned home to work in the family business. By the time Lin Jianlu came back from military service, Zhao’s cooking had become genuinely good, and he had already taken charge of the wok. Since Lin Jianlu had been treating people to meals so often lately, he frequently went to Zhao’s restaurant.

That was about all he could do to help him back then.

Then there was Hu Jianlin, a hard man who would gladly take a knife in the ribs for Lin Jianlu. He claimed that, apart from Lin Jianlu, there was no one in the world he feared. These days he worked as a security guard, earning three hundred and fifty yuan a month.

And there was Lu Xiaoming. His father made a living from a roadside stall repairing bicycles, patching tires, and mending shoes. Lu had failed to get into college and had no other options. He also felt that tire repair brought in too little money, so through a personal connection, his father managed to get him into an automobile repair shop.

As it happened, more and more cars—including privately owned passenger cars—were appearing on the streets of the capital. Auto repair was a promising trade: business was good, and workers were in short supply. Lu had genuinely learned a skill there. By now, he could diagnose and solve most problems on his own. The work was dirty, but it paid well. He earned more than a thousand yuan a month, considerably more than many people sitting in offices.

The truth was that all of them had been bullied back in school. Their families were poor, their parents were not state employees, and they themselves were weak and insignificant—any of these could serve as an excuse to pick on them. Even Hu Jianlin, who feared nothing and no one, had once been surrounded by more than a dozen men and beaten until his head was split open and he needed seven or eight stitches.

Lin Jianlu, by contrast, had fought his way through life almost entirely with his fists. His former self had been ferocious in a fight from childhood. He could eat a great deal, had always been unusually strong, and had grown both quickly and tall. At ten, he was already taking on middle-school students; by thirteen or fourteen, he was beating up high-schoolers.

He had protected and helped Zhao the Monkey and the others, and they respected him. They followed him around, and in time they became sworn brothers.

Lin Jianlu cycled around the city, notifying them all. That evening, they would find somewhere to gather and drink.

After that, he rode to Fragrant City Gardens.

He had been thinking about the apartments there for quite some time. The reason was simple: they were among the few commercial residences in the capital of that era that could be purchased outright with money.

But after looking inside, he was bitterly disappointed. He was barely even willing to sign the saleswoman’s paperwork. The apartment was only eighty-one square meters, yet had been divided into three bedrooms. The interior layout was truly awful. Worse still, the building was nine stories high and had no elevator.

A place like that would be considered an old, dilapidated apartment in little more than a decade.

Of course, its price would still rise. During the surge in capital-city property prices after 2008, if he sold it around 2011 or 2012, getting tens of thousands of yuan per square meter would certainly have been possible.

But he had little interest in living there himself.

* * *

He arranged to meet his brothers and drink with them.

Lu Xiaoming had a way to obtain a driver’s license. He told Lin Jianlu to bring money to his family’s house later and he would buy one for him.

After that came his friends—far more numerous than his brothers. During the month he had spent recording, he had made at least a hundred acquaintances in the capital’s social circles. He did not need to meet all of them. He simply picked out the people he genuinely got along with and enjoyed talking to, then invited them to meet and spend time together.

In between, he found time to look at more apartments. He also asked friends to ask their friends to keep an ear out for a suitable courtyard house.

He even found time to meet Jiang Qinqin.

Good heavens. He had to admit it: she was truly damn beautiful. And truly damn young.

He made the decision on the spot.

There was something strangely youthful yet radiant about the girl.

How should one put it? Some girls only look attractive after they have dressed up a little. But there are others who, whether they make themselves up or not—even if they are dressed in rags—make you realize at a glance that they have been beautiful all their lives.

Jiang Qinqin belonged to the latter kind.

* * *

“Of course there is. You may not be in Hong Kong, but you’ve been on the front pages for several days in a row! That photograph of you with your arms around Miss Brigitte Lin and Miss Sylvia Chang has appeared in newspapers everywhere. Everyone says you’re ‘a true gentleman, naturally romantic,’ and that you’re ‘young and already a lover of romance.’ They’ve even reported that Mr. Leslie Cheung praised your creative talent, saying that a work like ‘Ten Years’ appears only once every five years across all of Hong Kong. In short, the newspapers absolutely adore you!”

“And there’s more. When Mr. James Wong gave an interview, he praised you too. He said you were the most interesting young man he had met in the past ten years—talented, and someone who knew how to enjoy himself!”

Out of nowhere, Lin Xilei called him. Every word she spoke was either flattery or coquettish pleading. Lin Jianlu believed her and did not believe her, but there was no way he would take everything she said at face value.

“Really? Is it all praise? There haven’t been any negative reports? Don’t make things up. You know I have plenty of informants in Hong Kong! If you lie to me, I’ll have Sister Ge fire you!”

“Don’t! I’m really not making anything up. Well… of course there have been some negative reports, but they’re all from tiny newspapers. They’ve been digging into rumors about a love triangle between you, Miss Brigitte Lin, and Miss Maggie Cheung. But they have no evidence at all. Anyone can see that, from beginning to end, it’s nothing but wild speculation. Nobody believes it.”

“Brother Lu, I don’t have any work right now. I’m guessing Sister Ge is probably going to send me back to Taiwan. Could you show me some mercy and let me continue working as your assistant? Can I come to the capital?”

Heh. Come to the capital…

His entire home consisted of two rooms totaling thirty square meters, squeezed into a two-bedroom apartment with a living room. He could not even afford to stay in a hotel himself. If she came, where would she sleep? Was he supposed to rent her a hotel room?

The real problem was that she was a Taiwanese compatriot. She would have to stay in a hotel licensed to accommodate foreign guests.

“All right, all right. Stop acting spoiled. I’ll call Sister Ge and tell her not to send you back to Taiwan just yet. But there’s no point in your staying in Hong Kong either. No production company has any work for you!”

“Hey, Brother Lu, don’t discourage me!”