Chapter 820: Zhang Ye and Old Wu get caught in action!
Translator: Legge Editor: Legge
At night.
It was still very lively on the news, with various reports being constantly published!
The variety shows' defensive battle has started?"
"Zhang Ye forces variety shows to an impasse!"
"Next week's highlights, Rise to the Dance and A Bite of China to battle it out for top spot!"
"The documentary genre strikes back, but whose face has it slapped?"
However, as one of the parties involved in this matter, Zhang Ye had already driven out to the vicinity of Taoran Pavilion. He called Old Wu at the roadside before driving to Wu Zeqing's villa.
Before his car could even come to a stop, the door to the villa opened.
Wu Zeqing came out gracefully."You're here?"
"Yes, I just got here. You just got off work too?" Zhang Ye got out of the car.
Old Wu nodded and said,"I got back a while ago and was just reading the newspapers inside."
"What news are your reading about?" Zhang Ye asked as he walked inside the house.
"The news about your A Bite of China of course. I flipped through a few pages and saw that all the reports were about your Department 14's documentary. But I can't blame the media reports for working so hard, since I have also watched your documentary and find it to be really good. The camera framing and angles are nice, the human and cultural back stories are also interesting. I feel that this could be used as teaching material for all documentaries to learn from," Old Wu commented.
Zhang Ye replied happily,"I'm flattered, I'm flattered."
Wu Zeqing hadn't changed clothes yet since she had just gotten home as well. She was dressed in her work clothes, a pair of heels, and a pair of black pants. Her top was a gray knitted sweater with a white shirt underneath. This outfit exuded her sense of capability very well, but did not overemphasize it. Old Wu had always radiated a soft charm from the way she carried herself.
Zhang Ye had not seen her in a long time now, so after he went into the house, he couldn't help but take a few more looks at her. He sat down and took out a tea caddy from his bag carefully. Then he graciously handed it to her and said,"Have a taste of this tea first. This is Wuyi Mountains' Da Hong Pao that I told you about before. Don't underestimate these tea leaves. I guarantee that you've never tried it before. Since you like drinking oolong tea, I'm sure you'll like this tea." He added,"Oh yes, you must never give this to anyone else. Just keep it for yourself to drink."
Old Wu smiled and said,"OK, then I'll give it a try."
She boiled water.
Then made the tea.
Very quickly, the inside of the house was overflowing with the fragrance of the tea.
Wu Zeqing sniffed the scent of the tea and gave a slight look of surprise. She raised the cup and lightly pressed her lips on the edge of the cup and took a small sip. She couldn't help but smile and say,"It's indeed good. This is truly my first time trying this. You can't get this outside?"
Zhang Ye smiled and replied,"Of course you can't. Even if you have money, there's no place to get it from. There are only a few trees in the entire world that produce these tea leaves, and I have bought all of the parent trees. That's why only I have access to this tea. Others won't even have a chance to try it. Ration them well. If you like it, I'll bring some more over when they're gone." Giving them to Old Wu did not make him feel bad, but he wouldn't give it to anyone else.
Wu Zeqing nodded and took another sip."It tastes even better with the second sip. It's really good."
"What's more, this tea can be brewed five to six times and the flavor will still remain."
"You want some too?"
"I don't want to drink it for now."
Zhang Ye couldn't bear to drink it. He just sat there and gazed at Old Wu, enjoying the view as he watched her slowly sip the tea. Old Wu was beautiful and gorgeous. No matter how he looked at her, he did not get tired of it. Sometimes, he even felt that if he sat there doing nothing for the entire day and just looked at Old Wu, he would still find it enjoyable.
Old Wu asked,"Stay over for dinner tonight."
"Of course. I've been craving for your cooking all this while." He immediately felt hungry at the mention of eating.
Old Wu went to the open kitchen and started cooking dinner. As she washed the raw food, the two of them chatted."This year's television awards ceremony will take place soon. It'd be great if you could give A Bite of China a little push to get a higher viewership rating. If it doesn't end in a draw again with your show getting the number 1 spot nationwide, it would aid you in getting the prize for sure. If the viewership rating could hit 1.5%, then that most prestigious award for documentaries is as good as in the bag."
Zhang Ye said,"Why would it still have to depend on the viewership ratings?"
Old Wu explained gently,"That might not be the case for others, but for your show, it's necessary. You have offended too many people within the industry, so unless you produce something that give people no chance to argue against, if there's another candidate for the award, they definitely won't give it to you." Then she glanced at him and asked,"Otherwise, how do you think that A Bite of China would get nominated for the awards at the last minute? It was because I got my secretary to recommend your show's nomination to the selection committee. The SARFT is the overseeing authority, so they cannot reject the recommendations that we suggest."
Zhang Ye was taken aback."It was you who helped recommend the documentary? Hai, I should have known! I was still thinking why we would get nominated when we have just started broadcasting!"
Old Wu laughed."This nomination was deserved anyway, but it was just because there were people who did not like you that they picked on and criticized the documentary. I was only helping to lay the path for you, but you'll still have to depend on yourself in the end."
"Who picked on and criticized us?"
"Xu Wenzong."
"Who is that?"
"The honorary vice president of the Television Association."
"But I don't know that person."
"You know his brother-in-law though, that famous crosstalk artist named Tang Dazhang."
"Him!"
Zhang Ye immediately understood. His feud with Tang Dazhang was indeed a big one, but how could Zhang Ye have known that his wife's brother had actually obstructed him without him knowing?"Old Wu, if you didn't tell me about this, I wouldn't have known at all. Is that Xu Wenzong one of the judges? When the time come, if he still attempts to stop us with some underhanded ways, then the award will—"
Wu Zeqing interrupted,"That won't happen anymore. As of this afternoon, I have already stripped him of his qualification as a judge."
Zhang Ye was stunned."You removed him from the panel?"
"Yes, I did," Old Wu replied calmly.
Zhang Ye was dumbfounded."You can even do that?"
Old Wu said,"Why can't I do that? As one of the highest qualified judges, he has lost his most basic principle of fairness. Since I know about it, I definitely won't tolerate it."
This was who his girlfriend was!
How appropriate!
When Zhang Ye heard about what she did, he felt very touched. He never thought that in a situation unknown to him, Old Wu would still step up to help him with so many things and help him prevent sneak attacks from others."Look at you. You're very busy, but you still worry over my problems. I feel so bad about it now, so, Old Wu, why don't I make dinner instead?"
"That's not necessary." Old Wu waved him off.
But Zhang Ye had already walked up to her."That won't do. I need to show my gratitude."
Old Wu gently fended him off."It's not like you know how to cook, so why don't you just wait to eat?"
"Even so, I can learn." Zhang Ye folded up his sleeves."You can teach me!"
Old Wu glanced at him."Are you really serious about learning?"
"Of course I am!" Zhang Ye said determinedly.
Old Wu nodded her head."Alright then, hur hur. You want to start off with cutting the vegetables?"
Following that, Wu Zeqing walked behind Zhang Ye and leaned across his back. From behind, she held Zhang Ye's hand holding the kitchen knife, while her other hand gripped Zhang Ye's left hand."Bend your left hand a little bit more, then support the knife by letting it rest against your wrist. As long as you pay attention to your thumb, you won't cut your fingers. Right, this is the way."
With the hands-on teaching, Old Wu was almost hugging Zhang Ye from behind.
Zhang Ye was enjoying this quite a bit. He had always been too lazy to cook meals for himself, but this was so enjoyable that it felt fun. Little by little, he learned from Old Wu as he occasionally took advantage as well.
...
After dinner.
The two of them drank some hot tea.
"Little Ye, shall we go out for a stroll?" Old Wu suggested.
Zhang Ye agreed without even thinking."Sure."
Old Wu looked outside and said,"But the air isn't very good."
"There's a lot of smog. We should both wear face masks."
"Do we need to? It seems fine to me."
"Of course we need to. The air pollution is getting very serious and can easily lead to lung cancer and other respiratory diseases."
"Is it that severe?"
"Don't you know that, Old Wu?"
"I've heard about it, but it doesn't seem to be severe to me. If the effects are really that great, the newspapers would've had a field day already. Hasn't the news of the dangerous effects of the smog only been raised in the past two years? If there's some governance regarding this, it should get better within two years."
"Uh, we should just wear our face masks anyway."
Zhang Ye couldn't respond to that. It was only now that he started to realize the citizens' understanding of PM 2.5 in this world, which was totally different from his previous world, and that the concept of PM 2.5 was only brought up within the past two years. Compared to his world, it seemed to be late by many years. Everyone still did not have a clear understanding of the dangerous effects of the smog, and if someone like Old Wu who worked at the SARFT as one of its leaders even did not understand it well, it was needless to mention other citizens.[1.]
This was a rather wide-ranging topic that even three days and nights of discussions wouldn't be enough to cover, so Zhang Ye said no more, except to remind Old Wu that if the PM 2.5 readings were high, she should remember to wear a face mask.
Outside.
His mother called.
"Why aren't you back yet?"
"I have something to take care of."
"What is it? It's already past 8 PM."
"Aiya, I will go home once I'm done. I gonna hang up now, Mom."
The two of them strolled along the path leading to Taoran Pavilion Park's gate. Old Wu was wearing a face mask, while Zhang Ye was fully geared up. He even covered his head with the hood of his down jacket, afraid that they would get recognized.
They chatted as they strolled.
Laughing and talking.
Zhang Ye hardly had a chance to spend time alone with Wu Zeqing, so he naturally treasured every second of it. They walked from Taoran Pavilion to Nanheng Street, then from Nanheng Street to Caishikou.
Zhang Ye looked around and remarked,"We're almost at my place. Let's walk back to where we came from."
Wu Zeqing held his arm and returned a smile."OK."
The two of them turned around, ready to head back.
But at this moment, an unidentified person had come up a distance not too far from them, carrying a large bag which seemed to indicate that the person had just bought something from the mall across the way. Zhang Ye subconsciously caught sight of that person which made his legs tremble. He could only mutter an "uh" at that.
Mom?
What was she doing out here at this time of night?
Didn't she just call me from home a while ago?
His mother also noticed that there were two people walking in front of her. Even if other people couldn't recognize Zhang Ye, she couldn't possibly not recognize him, right? Moreover, even though she couldn't see his face, she still recognized what he was wearing. Zhang Ye's shoes and the down jacket that he was wearing were bought by her from the mall.
"Son?" his mother said, slightly taken aback.
Zhang Ye pretended not to hear and pulled Old Wu along and walked ahead. He still did not want his parents to know about him and Wu Zeqing yet.
Wu Zeqing also stopped in her tracks and looked at Zhang Ye.
His mother was calling out behind him,"Little Ye!"
Zhang Ye could no longer pretend not to have heard, so he turned his head blankly and exclaimed in surprise,"Eh, Mom? What are you doing here?" He stood quite a distance away and did not go over to her.
His mother stared at the woman beside him and said,"I came out to buy a sweater. When I called you just now, I had hoped that you'd come back earlier to give me some advice. Alright then, go where you're going. Don't come home too late!" Having said that, his mother did not question him further and just turned around to go back home. But just before she left, she had one last look at the Old Wu standing beside Zhang Ye.
Only then did Zhang Ye breathe a sigh of relief.
Wu Zeqing had already taken her hand off Zhang Ye's arm. She asked,"Is that your mother? Is it alright that I don't go and greet her?"
"It's fine, it's fine." Zhang Ye said,"We'll let them know when the time is right. Let's go."
...
Caishikou.
At home.
His mother opened the door with her keys and then shut the door behind her after entering the house.
Chenchen was playing games, while his father was in the living room watching television. When he looked up, he could only see an angry face."What's the matter? Which neighbor did you argue with this time? Didn't you go out to get a sweater?"
His mother sat down angrily on the sofa and threw the newly bought sweater down."Don't talk about it. I saw Little Ye outside the mall entrance just now. He was with a woman talking happily and laughing. The two of them were even locking arms, looking close. When I called to him from behind, he even pretended not to have heard me!"
His father said curiously,"Locked arms?"
"Yeah!" His mother said,"They were quite intimate!"
His father said rather happily,"Little Ye has a girlfriend? That's a good thing. He's already in his twenties, so what's wrong with him having a girlfriend? Look at you, weren't you always anxious about introducing someone to our son?"
His mother said angrily,"It's good that he has a girlfriend, but why was he avoiding me? I think there must be some problems there."
His father quickly asked,"What does the girl look like? How tall is she? How old is she?"
His mother said,"I couldn't see clearly because she was wearing a face mask, but she's rather tall and she wasn't even wearing very high heels, though if she did, she would likely be taller than him."
"It's good that she's tall! That's good!" his father said satisfied."Our family has always been short, so I've been hoping that Little Ye would find someone taller!"
His mother curled her lips."Her height is tall, but her age is even older."
"How old?" His father was stunned.
His mother shook her head."I don't know, but from the way she dressed and her demeanor, she's definitely older than Little Ye."
But his father seemed fine with it."If she's older, so be it. A mature wife ensures a joyful life, so long as our son likes her, it's fine with me."
"It's not fine with me. When he gets back, I must ask him. Why didn't he let us know he's in a relationship?!" his mother declared indignantly.
About 40 minutes later.
The door opened and Zhang Ye came home.
When his father saw him, he quietly winked at him and pointed his chin toward the sofa.
At that moment, his mother questioned,"What's going on? You'd better explain!"
Zhang Ye played dumb."What do you mean what's going on?"
"What's going on with that woman!" His mother said again,"When did you both start? What does she do? What does her family do?"
Zhang Ye laughed."Whoa, are you doing a household check?"
His mother stared at him and said,"I have to ask to be sure. If I did not bump into you, did you intend to never tell us?"
Zhang Ye gave a forced laugh."It's not that, it's just that the time is not right yet. I wanted to tell you guys when we were more stable. The main issue is that I still don't know what her family thinks, so why would I make you guys happy for nothing if it doesn't work out? Look at you, why are you getting angry over something like this? If you're not satisfied with her, then I'll just end things with her later and find someone else." He said that as though he would really do it.
Hearing that, his mother retorted,"Don't you dare! What are you talking about? Don't be unreasonable like that. Your dad and I haven't even taken a look at her yet, so when will you bring her home and introduce us?"
His father said,"Our son will bring her home when he feels the time is right, so stop worrying for nothing."
"How can I not be worried if this concerns my son's marriage!" His mother did not like hearing that.
After squabbling for a bit, Zhang Ye deflected all the questions back.
At this moment, the news channel on television suddenly reported about a piece of news."Yesterday, the SARFT's Deputy Chief Wu Zeqing attended the Chinese Editorial Society's 16th Annual Assembly and delivered a speech…"
Onscreen, it showed many participants of the assembly with Wu Zeqing standing behind the rostrum, smiling as she gave her speech.
His mother was taken aback."Eh?"
His father said,"Yo, President Wu's already the SARFT's deputy chief? She's such a high-ranking official?"
Zhang Ye helplessly said,"Wasn't she already one since a long time ago? I remember that I mentioned this to you before."
"Keep quiet, keep quiet!" his mother interrupted.
His father said in a speechless manner,"What's the matter?"
His mother wondered,"Why does she look so familiar?"
Zhang Ye raised his eyebrows and quickly coughed loudly several times.
His father smiled and said,"That was our son's boss when he was at Peking University. She often appears on television, so of course you'd find her familiar after seeing her so many times already."
"Is that so?" his mother said in confusion."But this figure of hers looks really familiar."
Zhang Ye dabbed at the sweat on his forehead.
His father looked at him and asked,"Little Ye, are you still in contact with President Wu?"
Zhang Ye cleared his throat and replied,"I guess so."
His father nodded."Do keep in contact often. Now that she's such a high-ranking official and a leader who oversees the entertainment industry, it's better that you be on friendly terms with her."
"Be on what friendly terms?" His mother shook her head and said,"Chief Wu is already the deputy chief of the SARFT. Which television station and film company does not need to give her face? Does she need to be on friendly terms with you? Stop overthinking it. Little Ye only taught at Peking University for half a year. What's that little bit of friendship good for? Chief Wu might not even know who our son is. After all, it's already been so long. Moreover, Little Ye caused such a big incident when he was still at Peking University, leading those students to scold the foreign dignitaries and creating so much trouble for them. Even the sky nearly came falling down, so who knows if Little Ye has already offended Chief Wu, so what friendship is there to talk about?"
His father gave a wry smile at that."That's true."
Hearing this, Zhang Ye rolled his eyes at them."What do you mean by I've already offended her?"
"With that temperament of yours, whoever you offend wouldn't surprise me." His mother snorted at him and continued,"I just that you'll start offending less people now so that your career can take off properly and then you can marry a sensible wife. Oh, but she won't do if she can't make it past your dad's and my criteria."
His father interjected,"As long as Little Ye thinks she's fine, I have no objections."
His mother said,"She'll still have to get past me then. She won't do if I'm not satisfied with her."
Zhang Ye quietly glanced at Wu Zeqing's figure on the television and said to them both,"Don't worry, hur hur. The two of you will definitely be satisfied when the time comes."
[1. PM 2.5 - Fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) is an air pollutant that is a concern for people's health when the levels in the air are high. PM 2.5 are tiny particles in the air that reduce visibility and cause the air to appear hazy when levels are elevated.]