Chapter 41: The Final Night of 1996... Romance

"The talented young director Chen Hong has a new project; she will play a major role in The Soong Sisters."
"After successfully transitioning to a director with the film Hear Me, Chen Hong is changing roles once again!"
"Chen Hong: Being an actress this time feels completely different from before..."
The year 1996 was about to pass.
Another piece of good news found Ma Xun.
Sister Hong called to report her gains in Hong Kong.
The Soong Sisters secured!
The Mad Phoenix secured!
She was truly ambitious, wanting to try both.
Moreover, she was going to star in the movie The Soong Sisters.
"Guess who I'm playing?"
You have to admit, Sister Hong knew how to play games now.
Who was she playing... probably the one who married the bald guy.
That seemed the most likely possibility.
Yet, this fellow Ma Xun gave an interesting answer.
"I can't guess."
This reply made Sister Hong chuckle playfully.
Sometimes, not being able to guess was the best answer.
And Sister Hong didn't reveal who she was playing.
Clearly, she wanted to keep it a secret and give Ma Xun a surprise.
Next, Sister Hong shared an even more interesting piece of news.
"I know who that little vixen Xu Qing has hooked up with."
"Oh, you saw them?"
"Of course! It's that disciple of the National Studies master..."
Well! Sister Hong really managed to get the inside scoop.
Ma Xun was also somewhat surprised.
However, Sister Hong didn't know many details, having only seen them shopping together in Hong Kong.
Ma Xun naturally advised her that since we've got the gossip, let's just keep it to ourselves.
Don't go spreading it around.
Sister Hong replied that of course she understood.
The two of them left it at that.
Sister Hong still had many matters to attend to in Hong Kong.
At the end, she wished Ma Xun a Happy New Year in advance.
So 1996 was about to end.
Ma Xun couldn't help but reflect on his past year...
Damn it, he was so awesome!
Yet despite being so awesome, he still had to ring in the New Year alone.
...
Traffic flowed endlessly down below.
Crowds bustled all around above.
Ma Xun stood on the pedestrian overpass, observing it all through the lens of his Nikon F3.
He intended to record the final moments of 1996.
This was his first year since time-traveling.
It was worth commemorating.
Click, click went the shutter.
Though the photos hadn't been developed yet, the atmosphere of the nineties was thick enough.
Suddenly, Ma Xun stopped.
Through the lens, he spotted a man and a woman.
Xu Qing and a man.
Well, it had to be Liu Bo.
Back from Hong Kong?
That was a high-end Western restaurant, and shortly after...
The two of them seemed to be arguing.
Eating melons from a distance?
Zoom in!
The faces of Xu Qing and Liu Bo grew larger in the frame.
Although Ma Xun hadn't fully mastered the skill of lip-reading, he was someone who had directed Hear Me, after all.
He could roughly guess what the two were saying.
...
"You must know plenty of leaders in the cultural circle; just help me out with this."
"Help you? Is this the kind of matter that can be solved just by asking for help? They're making things up out of thin air, what can I do?"
"But don't many historical films require adaptation?"
"Adaptation isn't random fabrication. Who knows what's wrong with that guy Lu Wei's brain to actually pull something like this."
"Don't talk about Teacher Lu like that."
"You're still defending him?"
"But we also consulted some teachers; strictly speaking from the perspective of adapting history, it's not that serious."
"Then go ask them to help you... I have things to do, I'm leaving."
Xu Qing hadn't expected Liu Bo to reject her outright.
And moreover, he just walked away like that.
How did everything change?
Where were the sweet words from before?
Watching Liu Bo's retreating figure, Xu Qing was on the verge of tears.
Still, she held back.
Even though she didn't cry, tears were swirling in her eyes.
Right at that moment, a man sat down across from her.
Then he handed her a tissue.
"You..."
"No need to hold it in, just cry. Otherwise, it's bad for your health."
Ma Xun's sudden appearance startled Xu Qing for a moment.
Even so, she took the tissue.
And wiped away her tears.
Naturally, Xu Qing wasn't an idiot; she knew what should be said right now.
"Can you keep this a secret for me?"
That Liu Bo was a married man, and a formal disciple of a National Studies master. Meanwhile, Xu Qing was a well-known actress and a legitimate member of the red-descendant elite.
Ma Xun didn't agree immediately, instead uttering a particularly odd statement.
"Your current situation is extremely dangerous."
???
Xu Qing was somewhat dazed.
Where did that come from?
But immediately following:
"I bet that in about ten minutes, he'll call you."
???
Xu Qing was even more bewildered. "What, what do you mean by that?"
Seeing her state and her innocent eyes, Ma Xun couldn't help muttering to himself: A woman this easy to fool shouldn't be left to that bastard Liu Bo!
"Miss Xu Qing, this is only the second time we've met, starting from our first encounter in Yangcheng, right?"
"Yes." Xu Qing naturally nodded.
"So I suppose we know each other, don't we?"
"That's right."
"And just now, I more or less caught the gist of your conversation. I apologize."
"This... what on earth are you trying to say?" Xu Qing was now both curious and baffled.
Knowing the time was ripe, Ma Xun stated: "You were just planning to ask that gentleman for help, right? Regarding the unbanning of the film The Emperor's Shadow?"
Xu Qing was startled upon hearing this, but since Ma Xun had already brought it up earlier, she had no choice but to nod.
And then, Ma Xun delivered a single sentence.
"In about ten minutes, that gentleman will call you, and he will probably say something like this:
I'm sorry, I was too harsh with what I said earlier. But this matter is truly difficult to handle, and I have my own hardships.
Yet after I left you... I found my inner self overwhelmingly empty.
Even for just a few minutes, I cannot bear not having you by my side.
I am calling you now simply to tell you:
I cannot live without you.
Therefore, no matter how difficult this matter is, I will help you!"
This...
Xu Qing was completely dumbfounded!
About ten minutes later...
"Qing'er, I'm sorry, I went too far earlier. But I also have my hardships; the matter you brought up is far too difficult to resolve.
And after leaving you, I realized I simply cannot live without you..."
After picking up the phone, Xu Qing heard precisely those words.
It was almost identical to what Ma Xun had predicted!
Then, unable to bear listening any longer, she hung up.
Tears welled up in her eyes once more.
When the phone rang again, she simply switched it off.
"Why is it like this? I mean, couldn't he have just agreed straight away?"
Actually, Ma Xun hadn't heard the phone's contents, but seeing Xu Qing's reaction, he knew Liu Bo would say exactly that!
Only a con artist truly understands con artists.
That being said, even by Ma Xun's standards, Liu Bo's tactics were beneath him.
This was called toying with emotions!
Ma Xun had never toyed with anyone's emotions when running scams.
Well, this guy didn't bother with romance, he went straight for the body.
A guy like Liu Bo could be summed up in one word:
Disgusting!
Xu Qing had now realized the truth, and she cried bitterly.
Ma Xun didn't rush to speak, letting her cry for a while.
"Why ten minutes?"
"If the interval is too long, a real rift will form between you two."
Xu Qing fell silent.
Ma Xun continued, "Still don't get it? If you make a request and he helps you right away, it implies the matter is trivial, and you'd likely forget about it soon after.
But by doing it this way—refusing first, and then offering help later—
torturing you a bit first, and then tossing you a sweet treat, you'll become utterly devoted to him."
Xu Qing understood everything in an instant.
So it had all been calculated!
Everything was fake!
Yet...
Seeing this foolish woman still hesitating, Ma Xun bluntly stated: "He is a married man. Why is he getting close to you? Isn't it after your background? Do you really think he loves you? Do you really think he'll divorce his wife and marry you? Heh... Are you prettier than Joey Wong?"
The killing blow of that last sentence was immense!
Just a short while ago, Hong Kong media had broken the news.
Joey Wong and Peter Lam had completely broken up.
A guy like Peter Lam was never going to get a divorce.
Joey Wong had finally seen through his true colors as well.
And Xu Qing understood Ma Xun's implication.
Someone as beautiful and famous as Joey Wong had met such a fate.
What about herself?
Right at that moment...
"Actually, Joey Wong's affair was also something I helped with."
Ma Xun said it with considerable pride.
However, Xu Qing rolled her eyes at him. "Liar!"
See? When you tell the truth, this woman refuses to believe it.
She deserved to be conned!
Still, Ma Xun was in a good mood today, so he figured he'd do a good deed.
"Believe it or not, I'm leaving."
Just as he wanted to leave, he was grabbed by Xu Qing.
"Do you know a good place for drinking?"
Well... spending the final night of 1996 drinking with a voluptuous beauty like Xu Qing didn't sound half bad.
Thus, Ma Xun took Xu Qing to Sanlitun.
At this time, the place was a true melting pot of dragons and fish; the bars here were chaotic yet cheap.
Xu Qing blended in extremely quickly.
As soon as she entered the bar, she danced wildly to the music, swaying her body.
Ma Xun had no choice but to accompany her, constantly supplying her with beer.
Eventually, she even started pouring alcohol over herself.
This was destined to be a wild night.
Until...
"I'm tired, I want to sleep."
"What? You want to sleep with me?"
The deafening music made it impossible for them to hear each other clearly.
"Anyway, I just want to sleep!"
"Sleeping upside down with me?"
Damn it!
She certainly knew how to play wild.
...
January 1, 1997.
When Ma Xun woke up, he felt a splitting headache.
His room was in utter disarray.
He couldn't help looking toward the windowsill; it seemed she had slumped over there.
Grabbed her waist.
Hard, thrust...