Chapter Seventy-Four: Are You a Goldfish?

Ding!

You have received an additional 23,313 points of admiration imbued with “respect”!

Harvesting a huge wave of acclaim with a single cockroach, and now surrounded by the adulation and praise of the entire crew like the moon encircled by stars, every crease on Li Shixin’s face smoothed out.

Look at these film industry professionals—so articulate and talented. Being around big-name stars all the time, they sure know how to flatter in the most pleasing way.

Indeed, this path was the right one for me.

I absolutely love acting!

Grinning cheerfully at the group of eager bootlickers before him, Li Shixin waved a dismissive hand and said, “The good performance is the result of everyone’s joint effort. You all are the ones working hard!”

Li Shixin responded with a practiced bit of flattery of his own, warming the hearts of everyone in the crew.

After collecting another small wave of admiration, Li Shixin called the staff back to their positions—according to the shooting schedule, there were still plenty of shots left for this morning’s scene, and time was tight.

While the crew prepared, Jiao Chendong, having witnessed firsthand the value of having an experienced elder on set, brought the aggrieved An Xiaoxiao over to Li Shixin, asking him to help guide the young girl’s emotions and run through the lines with her.

Although An Xiaoxiao was a bit slow-witted, at least she had the right attitude, which in Li Shixin’s eyes was far better than Liu Xin.

It was fine to shine on set, but when it came down to the real work, Li Shixin always played his part with integrity.

“Riding the Wind” was different from “The Last Days of the Forbidden City.” Back then, Li Shixin did steal the spotlight, but what choice did he have? With no real protagonist, he had to be the protagonist himself!

But not now.

Off camera, it was fine to stand out. But in this female-centric story, An Xiaoxiao was the undisputed lead, and he had to play the supporting role.

If he were to steal the show as he did before, the whole production would be ruined.

With that in mind, under Jiao Chendong’s arrangement, Li Shixin carefully explained his interpretation of his character in the upcoming scenes to An Xiaoxiao, step by step.

...

At the edge of the set, watching Li Shixin slip into character and sternly coach An Xiaoxiao, Qiao Hong, seated in her wheelchair, became lost in thought once more.

“Ms. Qiao, are you alright?”

Noticing her distracted expression, a nearby entertainment reporter asked with concern.

Qiao Hong shook her head and pointed at the pair by the set. “I’m fine. It’s just that seeing the two of them always reminds me of my own youth with Coach Liu.”

“Ms. Qiao, could you tell us about it? In your autobiography, we saw that Coach Liu was a very important figure in your life. But in your writing, the descriptions about him are a bit vague, as if you didn’t quite dare to put it down in words...”

“That’s right.” Qiao Hong smiled gently at the question, a hint of shyness on her face. “Back then, I was a bit reserved, so I didn’t dare write it out. I officially joined the gymnastics team at fifteen; he was forty-five. I was just awakening to love, and he was in his prime. I’d lost my father, and... his wife had passed away long before...”

Ha!

A few of the entertainment reporters widened their eyes at the story.

“At that time, my feelings for Coach Liu were complicated. There was the admiration of a disciple for her teacher, the worship of a daughter for her father, and... perhaps the secret crush of a young girl.”

Scandalous!

Absolutely explosive!

The reporters hurriedly readied their cameras.

Ignoring them, Qiao Hong smiled softly, as if speaking to herself. “There were strict rules prohibiting relationships between coaches and athletes. If I had spoken out, it would have hurt Coach Liu. And... the age gap was just too great. With his character, it was impossible between us.”

“So, Coach Liu was a very rigid and principled person?”

At this, Qiao Hong let out a chuckle.

“On the surface, yes. During training, you’d hardly ever see him smile, and he showed no emotion besides sternness. The team joked behind his back that he might be a machine. But that’s not true; he was actually a very gentle person.

I wrote in my memoir about my first period. During training, I suddenly felt a cramp, then blood. I was too young to understand and just stood there, scared and not knowing what to do. Coach Liu came over, took one look, told me to step aside, and then fetched the team doctor from the clinic.

I thought that was the end of it, but that night he came to my dorm and brought me a book about physiology. All the sections on menstruation were carefully folded and highlighted. He even found a female coach to teach me how to use sanitary products.

Beyond that, he was quite endearing in daily life. The year I joined the team was 1979, and Teresa Teng’s ‘Sweet Honey’ was all the rage. We secretly bought a tape and smuggled the training room’s tape recorder into the dorm to listen under the covers. He found out, confiscated the tape, and that was that. Later, when I brought him some documents, I heard music coming from his room. But when I knocked, there was nothing inside. Guess what happened?”

“What?”

“The next day, the guard said a flowerbed under his dorm window had been smashed by something. Then we found the tape recorder missing. For several days, there was no music during training. Only after he got paid did the team have a new tape recorder. Back then, tape recorders were imported from Hong Kong and cost a fortune. He ate plain noodles for a long time afterwards. Haha…”

As she spoke, Qiao Hong began to weep.

“In truth, calling it a secret crush isn’t accurate. When I retired, I confessed to him once. I was twenty-five; he was fifty-five. I’d never dated anyone. He’d lost his wife and daughter, and we were both alone. I asked if I could take care of him for the rest of my life. He was silent for a long time, then said, ‘Get lost.’ After that, he avoided me but secretly arranged for people to introduce me to potential partners. But you can’t understand—ten years as master and apprentice, my entire youth was filled with him.”

The weight of her memories hung heavy in the air. Two female reporters listened with tears in their eyes. “Ms. Qiao, what happened after that? How did you two get along?”

Qiao Hong shook her head slightly.

“After retiring, I was assigned to work in a textile factory. The man next door was a geologist, and through his introduction, I met my husband. We got our marriage certificate, but two weeks before the wedding, my husband died in an accident on a job.

It may seem unfair to my husband, but I suppose it was fate. Three years later, I went to the capital to look for him, but he had already taken extended leave and returned to his hometown. After that, I was laid off, found work again, then laid off once more... life was hard, and I never sought him out.

In 2000, an old leader heard about my difficulties and reinstated me as a coach. Still, there was no word from him. Then in 2002, a senior from my provincial team called to say he had passed away and asked if I would attend the funeral. Only then did I learn that when I retired, he’d already been suffering from severe cirrhosis.”

Amid quiet sobs, Qiao Hong smiled. “But he’s gone now. To this day, I don’t know if he ever felt even the slightest bit more for me than just master and apprentice.”

“So you waited for him your whole life?” A female reporter clung to Qiao Hong’s arm. “Was it worth it? Why didn’t you say anything earlier?”

Watching Li Shixin and An Xiaoxiao on set, reenacting the events between her and Coach Liu, Qiao Hong let out a long breath.

It was as if a great burden had been lifted; she smiled in relief.

“I used to think I’d take it to my grave. But my memory is getting worse. I’m afraid I won’t…”

As she spoke, Qiao Hong blinked, and the melancholy on her face was replaced by confusion.

She glanced at the female reporter beside her and tilted her head. “Dear, what did you just ask me?”

The female reporter stared at her, stunned, as Qiao Hong looked around at her surroundings in bewilderment.

“Where am I?”

“How did I end up here?”

“Why are you all gathered around me?”

0ДQ...0ДQ...0ДQ...0ДQ...

Ha!

She really does forget things as soon as she says them!

The tearful reporters’ jaws dropped.

Faced with these dumbfounded young people, Qiao Hong frowned again.

“Where am I?”

“How did I end up here?”

“Why are you all gathered around me?”

Ha!

The reporters were thrown into disarray again.

She’d just said all this a few seconds ago!

And now… she’s forgotten it all over again?!

Is she a goldfish?

“Ahem…” After a long moment, one of the entertainment reporters stood up and, glancing at Li Shixin filming on set, sought out Wang Hai.

“Mr. Wang, could you arrange for us to interview the actors after the opening ceremony?”

“No problem! We’d be happy to!” Wang Hai agreed enthusiastically.

“Will the veteran actor playing Coach Liu be attending as well?”

“Uh…” Wang Hai hesitated, then shook his head.

Attend? No way!

The pain Li Shixin had caused him hadn’t faded yet, and he was still on edge, terrified something would happen to this old man, forcing the whole crew to reshoot.

“Ahem… this old gentleman is a special case. He won’t be attending.”

Hmm?

The reporter frowned. “Mr. Wang, Ms. Qiao just shared so much about Coach Liu. I found it very moving. And she spoke so highly of the actor playing him, saying he’s just like Coach Liu. I’d really like to interview him for the publicity piece on ‘Riding the Wind’…”

Wang Hai glanced at Li Shixin on set, gritted his teeth, and said, “Alright, then. But let’s agree: make the section about this actor as short as possible. Deal?”

Puzzled by Wang Hai’s gritted-teeth expression, the reporter shook his head in confusion.

He thought the producers seemed to have a strange prejudice against this seemingly excellent veteran actor.