Chapter 156: Like an Old Friend Returning (Two in One)
It was the end of another day. The bell of Our Lady of the Rosary College, a girls' school, had just rung, and many young female students in school uniforms had already walked out of the classroom, chattering, and walked towards the stairs in groups of two or three.
Hong Jialan, who is now in Form 4, walked down the stairs with her friends Zhu Qingting and Fang Ziyao, and walked towards the roadside cart stall, chatting and laughing, ready to buy some street snacks and drinks to reward themselves for a day of study.
"Hey, do you have any show tonight?" Zhu Qingting bit the straw and turned to look at the other two.
"No, the recent TV series and movies are so boring. Alas, since Jiayi closed down, there are only two old companies TBB and Liying left. They are either Shi Nai dramas or martial arts movies. A little bit They are not suitable for the tastes of young children like us." Fang Ziyao groaned in pain, "The movies in the past two years are not very good. The only way I can relax now is to listen to songs on the radio..."
"That may not be the case!" Hong Jialan's words attracted the attention of her two friends. She then slowly took out a newspaper with the list and schedule of TV series to be broadcast that night and shook it. "Look, TBB seems to want to learn from Jiayi's previous experience and bring in TV series from Japan to broadcast!"
"Really? Really?! Let me see it!" Zhu Qingting and Fang Ziyao were excited when they heard it. They quickly snatched the newspaper from Hong Jialan's hand, quickly scanned the list of TBB's various channels, and then saw a name in the column of Jade Channel, "Wow, 9:30 prime time slot - TBB is willing to use it to broadcast imported dramas? Let me see... "The Thousand Faces of the Girl"? "
"I've seen this name in a magazine. I heard it's the most popular TV series in Japan in the past two years. The male lead is especially handsome! There are also many big-name Japanese stars in it!" Zhu Qingting shouted.
"Really?" Fang Ziyao asked hurriedly.
"Even pearls are not that real. My sister works as a secretary in a Japanese company. She often flies to Japan with her manager. She said this drama is very popular there. It's a pity that Jiayi doesn't make it anymore, otherwise it would definitely be imported as an imported drama!" Zhu Qingting explained confidently, "If it wasn't only in Japanese, I would have asked my sister to buy me a video tape to watch!"
"This is perfect. Now that it's been introduced, there will definitely be a Cantonese version with dubbing. Is it on Jade Channel tonight at 9:30?" Fang Ziyao thought for a moment, "Jia Lan, my mother is at home right now. She will definitely want to watch Li Ying's early Republican drama. Can I go to your house tonight to watch it?"
"No problem, my mom is working overtime tonight and won't be back until at least 11 o'clock, so you can come over!" Hong Jialan said readily.
"Then I want to go too. It would be too boring for me to watch it alone at home." Zhu Qingting quickly interrupted: The economy has been good in recent years, and even every household in housing estates has started to buy televisions, whether black and white, color, large or small screens. As long as every family has enough money, the first home appliance they buy is definitely a television.
Even those cage dwellers who live in the cage house will usually pool their money together to buy a black-and-white TV or a second-hand color TV and put it in the cage house as a way of entertainment and leisure for everyone in the cage house in the evening.
Due to the habit of watching plays and movies in groups in the past, most people now prefer to watch TV with their family or a few friends rather than watching it alone, so that there is always someone to accompany them whether they are crying or laughing.
Especially for those dramas with supernatural or horror themes, it is even more necessary for multiple people to hug each other and tremble in fear in order to build up courage...
While watching her two friends excitedly discussing what snacks to buy tonight so they could go to her house to watch "The Thousand Faces of the Girl", Hong Jialan glanced at the cast list behind the title with satisfaction.
One of the leading actors is Su Yun, Mary Sue!
It had been three whole years since I last saw Su Yun on the screen—of course, the “meetings” I had with her by frequently rewatching movie tapes were not counted in this number.
When she was in primary school at Sham Shui Po Government Primary School, Hong Jialan was already a fan of the movie "The Perfect Match". Later, as Su Yun produced many excellent works, it was natural for her to become a loyal fan of Su Yun.
I originally thought that Su Yun had "retired" like those heroes in martial arts novels. Unexpectedly, although there was less news about her because of that hateful reason, Su Yun still did not give up filming. Instead, he found another way to go elsewhere and continued to devote himself to the film and television industry.
She also used her connections to attract many big stars from Japan to make guest appearances. In addition, this TV series is said to be a big investment and Su Yun has always produced high-quality products. After the broadcast, Japan has been very popular for so long, so this TV series must be super good!
It’s just right, I’ll recommend it to my good friends and help Su Yun get some ratings and support!
Hong Jialan was calculating everything in her mind, but when she accidentally looked at the time on her watch, she immediately called out impatiently, "Hey, Yudanzi, why aren't our fish balls ready yet?"
"It will be ready soon!" Chen Shaoqin, who was asked by the uncle who was temporarily making fish balls to help, responded, packed up the three strings of fish balls neatly, and handed them to the front with a smile.
"Thank you for your hard work!" Hong Jialan took the fish balls, turned around and gave a skewer to Zhu Qingting and Fang Ziyao respectively, then stood in front of the road sign nearby and started discussing tonight's plans while waiting for the bus.
"Is it really Marie Sue? I haven't heard from her for a long time. I didn't expect she's still filming!" When Hong Jialan said that Su Yun was starring in "The Thousand Faces of the Lady", Fang Ziyao and her husband sighed, "And it was actually broadcast on TBB, which has always been at odds with her. It's really unexpected."
"Tsk, what's so strange about that? She's pretty and has great acting skills. If it weren't for the Taiwanese people's mischief, there wouldn't be any news about her in the past few years. We all like her "The Perfect Match"!" Zhu Qingting ate fish balls and denounced the idiots in Taiwan. She then added, "As for the cooperation, those people can't always be enemies. It's not surprising that they suddenly cooperate sometimes. After all, many people from TBB and Liying suddenly jumped to Jiayi, and then Jiayi collapsed, and these people followed Jiayi's people back to their old employers in disgrace!"
"That's right, just like those celebrities, they suddenly announce they are dating, and then suddenly announce their breakup. If you read one less day in the newspaper, it's as if the world has changed without you even realizing it..." Fang Ziyao nodded thoughtfully.
The three girls were chatting animatedly, and Chen Shaoqin, who was standing aside, also pricked up his ears and listened to their words: Su Yun...is she the girl who saved him back then?
When she was taken to the Longwu area by her driver to reunite with her family, everyone in Longwu said that she was very lucky to be rescued by a big star and did not have to be deported.
This TV series will be broadcast tonight on Jade Channel, which is the channel that everyone in the Cage House watches the most. In that case, we should ask everyone in the Cage House to support her TV series tonight!
Chen Shaoqin made up his mind.
Time passed in a flash. At 9:25 in the evening, Hong Jialan, Zhu Qingting and Fang Ziyao gathered in the living room of the Hong family, either sitting or half lying, waiting for the theme song to play.
The strange thing is that after GG finished airing and a poster flashed across the screen, this drama “The Girl with a Thousand Faces” actually started straight away!
"What's going on? There's no opening theme song?" TBB's TV series usually have a theme song at the beginning and an ending song at the end of the series. Why doesn't this TV series have one?
"Maybe there's something going on between TBB and Marisue, so..." Fang Ziyao thought of an explanation.
"If there was really something to worry about, TBB would not have given her the 9:30 slot on Jade Channel. Maybe they were pressed for time and couldn't finish the theme song in time, so it's not in the first few episodes. They'll air it after it's done." Zhu Qingting was very calm: Recently, TBB and Liying have been competing for ratings and rushing to produce major dramas. Sometimes the theme song or ending song can't keep up with the production progress, so they will just broadcast a few episodes first and then arrange the matching music.
This argument made sense, so Hong Jialan and Fang Ziyao stopped arguing with it and started watching the TV series seriously.
The show begins with the heroine Maya Kitajima, played by Akina Nakamori.
In a ramen restaurant on Chinatown, a girl who loves watching TV dramas always keeps an eye on the TV and is not focused enough when working, so she always breaks or crashes various things and is scolded by her mother and the boss lady.
Every young person has had this experience of being addicted to TV and making mistakes. Hong Jialan and the other two couldn't help but laugh out loud at the daily misfortunes of the silly and cute girl in the play.
However, Kitajima Maya is not the kind of girl who indulges in drama just for relaxation and entertainment, but she truly loves drama - even when delivering takeout, she can't help but walk into the cinema and immerse herself in the world of the drama, forgetting the original purpose of her going out.
This movie is none other than the version of "The Dancing Girl of Izu" starring Tomokazu Miura and Momoe Yamaguchi. Su Yun deliberately arranged this version, apparently as an easter egg: Tomokazu Miura and Momoe Yamaguchi did not have cameo appearances in this movie, while Sayuri Yoshinaga had a cameo role as Utako Himekawa, the star mother of Ayumi Himekawa, and had a certain number of scenes.
Therefore, Su Yun had to reluctantly give up Sayuri Yoshinaga's version of "The Dancing Girl of Izu" and choose Momoe Yamaguchi's version of "The Dancing Girl of Izu" to add a little more star power.
一場電影播完，外賣箱子裏面的拉面已經糊成一團。
到最後，真夜就是因為沒有及時送完外賣，而被空等一場的客人投訴。
“你就只會讓媽媽丢臉，你這樣以後怎麽成才，怎麽有好日子過……”真夜媽媽氣得對真夜又罵又打，言辭和下手之重不但讓當時演戲的中森明菜身同感受，就連戲外的觀衆都不好受。
因為自己本身就有過這樣的經歷，所以中森明菜在演這場戲時是特別的真情流露，再加上她本來就長得一副楚楚可憐的模樣，電視機前面的觀衆們看她強忍眼淚受着打罵，不禁紛紛罵了起來：“一時犯錯而已，至于這樣打嗎，真是的……”
陳少秦有些愕然地看了看身邊那些聲讨真夜媽媽的籠民鄰居們：剛才他們還說真夜這孩子真是又蠢又愛偷懶，得打打才聽教聽話，這才不到幾分鐘，怎麽就變了一個風向？
以他這樣的年紀，當然是不明白大人的心思的：面對孩子不聽話、出錯時總是忍不住生氣，但真要下手，卻是沒幾個人下得了這樣的狠手。
當然也有和戲裏同樣做法的人，只是在現實世界他們不覺得這有什麽，但看着這樣的場面，他們卻是會下意識地譴責。
不過真夜顯然是個能吃苦的，畫面一轉，她又在孩子們圍聚的公園裏表演起她所看到的戲來，從主角到配角，臺詞神态完全沒有記不住的。
這一個人就是一臺戲的戲精姿态，逗得孩子們哈哈大笑。
突然，一個穿着黑色長款連衣裙、披散着長卷發以至于看不清楚完全模樣的女人沖了出來，緊緊抓住了真夜的手，連連直呼“我終于找到了像你這樣的人”，無比激動地追問真夜的名字住址，吓得真夜掉頭就跑。
正當觀衆們疑惑着這疑似人販子的黑衣瘋女人是什麽情況時，黑衣女人卻只是凝望着真夜的背影，緩緩勾起了唇角。
“我終于找到了……擁有千個面具的女孩。”她這一聲呢喃幾乎輕不可聞。
雖然黑衣女人的話點了題，但是觀衆們卻是開始根據這樣的變故，從而發散起了腦洞：這看着倒是像武俠小說的情節，平平無奇的主角被瘋瘋癫癫的世外高人看中，收為弟子最後成為一代傳奇什麽的……
是這樣的思路吧？
東瀛那邊的觀衆看到這個情節時，因為骨子裏的中二誇張性格所以淡定接受；而香江的觀衆看到這個情節，則是下意識地用了這個年代的慣性思維，因此也是很快就接受了——不得不說，香江觀衆還真的差不多猜到了故事的大致走向。
關注點再次回到劇情之上，真夜看到了大明星姬川歌子主演的舞臺劇《茶花女》即将上演，心動不已，滿眼星星的可愛模樣看得兩地觀衆都是忍不住開懷。
可惜的是，《茶花女》的票價十分高昂，真夜再怎麽心動，也只能看着報紙的介紹而感嘆唏噓。
此時，由中森明穗飾演的面館老板娘女兒杉子，不懷好意地湊了過來：“哦，這個票啊？我有啊！”
看着杉子炫耀這是她男朋友買來送她的票，真夜無比羨慕。
“你想要嗎？”杉子問。
真夜拼命點頭：“我想要！”
觀衆們正要猜測這個之前就一直欺負真夜的壞女孩打算提出什麽條件時，畫面突然就是一轉。
“除夕夜所有拉面外賣的外送，全部交給真夜？！”老板娘聽到這個，很是吃驚。
“是呀，她和我說好了，絕對會在12月31號之內送完。”杉子舉着戲票，優哉游哉地看着真夜不斷提着外賣箱子到處奔走，“橫濱港口的船只在午夜十二點準時鳴笛，你可要在鳴笛之前送完這99家的外賣哦！”
“我一定會的！”真夜氣喘籲籲地看了一眼她手裏的戲票，又趕緊裝了六碗打包好的拉面放到外賣箱子裏，一手提一個箱子以雙箱流的姿态匆匆出了門。
天空逐漸飄起了雪花。
瘦小的女孩提着兩個各有半個她高大的箱子，吃力地奔波在大街小巷之中，雪越下越大，她的步履也越發的艱難。
四處燈火鼎盛一片繁華，唯獨她所處的位置寒冷黑暗遍布雪花。
明與暗的光影交錯，熱氣騰騰的拉面送到客人手裏，提起外賣箱子的那只手卻是凍得發青。
“這可真是擁有千面的女孩了，千份拉面！”有調皮的孩子抖機靈喊了一聲，立刻引來不少人的教訓。
那樣的苦，孩子還沒有見識過，但居住在籠屋裏面的人，卻是無一不見識過并且親身經歷過。
別人開心溫暖，自己疲累寒冷——但他們亦無怨無悔。
因為這些苦，終會化成維持生活的金錢，養活自己和親人，讓他們在未來的某一個寒夜，也能享受到這樣的開心和溫暖。
在觀衆們的殷切期待下，真夜終于在最後一分鐘送完了所有的外賣，上氣不接下氣地來到了橫濱港口，向杉子索要約定的回報。
“杉子，這不是我們約好一起去看的嗎？”面對男友的疑惑，杉子沉下了臉。
她臉上的表情很是複雜，似是覺得不可思議又似是不甘心，看得觀衆們心裏一個咯噔。
“這樣的票給個一、兩張我都不會在乎，你過來拿吧。”冬夜的寒風裏，杉子高高舉起了戲票。
真夜不疑有他，高興地伸出了手往前走。
戲票随着越來越大的風彎折出一個往後仰倒的弧度，呼嘯聲一起，那張戲票就被風吹到了空中，飄然落入海面。
“茶花女的票！”真夜急忙沖到了岸邊的欄杆處。
“不關我的事，是風、是風把它吹走的！”杉子一臉焦急地向男友解釋了一句，然後又看向依舊盯着海面的真夜，“你死了這條心吧，你這種人沒資格看這種高級的舞臺劇的……”
話音未落，一聲跳水聲已起。
大冬天的居然有人跳海，岸邊的人一下子圍到了欄杆處，衆目睽睽議論紛紛之中，真夜拼命地游着。
在觀衆們的揪心不已裏，她終于伸手抓住了那一張夢寐以求的戲票。
被好心的路人和看不過眼的杉子男友合力救上來之後，真夜捧着半幹不濕的戲票，目光中是一種難以形容的亮光：“我拿到了……這張票、是我的了……對吧……”
“你是哪裏有問題啊？！”杉子震驚不已，“為了這樣一張票，居然敢這樣做……”
到底為了什麽？
不止是杉子和路人，就連聞訊而來的真夜媽媽，都在心裏忍不住發問。
然而，風暴裏的主角只是欣慰而激動地看着手裏的戲票，心神已經沉浸在了戲劇的世界之中，再也聽不到任何東西。
即使身不在舞臺，但她卻似乎已經身處舞臺之中，成為了戲劇故事裏面的主角，再也不是那個世人眼中一無是處的自己。
那種仿佛能燃盡生命的、不瘋魔不成話的執着和癡迷，正是一個異類天才的根本。
為了熱愛的目标而付出自己所有，也許有人仍不能理解這樣的行為，不過，當看到那個瘦小的身影半伏在地上的時候，不由自主的，忽然就起了雞皮疙瘩。
沒有什麽詞句能準确形容此時的心情，唯獨只有親身見識到，才能真切地明白到。
盡管沒能看到期待的蘇韻的角色，但這樣激昂的起轉承合也已經足以說清楚一集的故事內容，感覺時間差不多了，觀衆也都開始準備放松舒展一下身體，靜待這一集故事的結束。
顯然，這部戲是打算在激昂的後面，相對地接上一個輕松一點的收尾。
劇院裏，拿到票的真夜因為沒去過這樣的高級劇院，不太懂得位置安排，左轉右轉的，不小心就撞到了一個高大帥氣的西裝青年。
而西裝青年不但帥氣還十分和藹，順手就叫來了一名工作人員，帶真夜前往她的座位。
從工作人員口中得知，這個名叫速水真澄的西裝青年不但是這一間大都劇場戲院、而且還是大都電影院和大都演藝公司的下一任社長時，真夜不禁臉露微紅心神向往：這樣厲害的人，居然還這麽和善可親的嗎？
正想着速水真澄的事，突然場內的小聲驚呼又拉回了真夜的思緒。
“你們快看，那是大明星姬川歌子的先生和女兒，電影導演姬川貢和號稱天才少女的姬川亞弓！”
“我聽說姬川亞弓5歲時就已經是童星了，天生就有演戲的細胞，大家都說她以後的成就會超越她的母親……”
因為位置在後方高處的山頂位，真夜沒能看清楚姬川亞弓的模樣，只模模糊糊見到一個美麗的倩影緩緩而去，最後落于整個場內前方中間的最佳觀影區。
不知道為什麽，真夜牢牢盯了那個完全遮擋住姬川亞弓的座位許久，直到舞臺劇開場，她這才把注意力放在了舞臺之上。
She watched the performance intently from the beginning to the end, and only when the curtain fell did she slowly wake up from the state of being completely immersed in the world of the play.
After she came to her senses, she subconsciously looked towards the position of the genius girl Ayumi Himekawa.
For some unknown reason, the genius girl Himekawa Ayumi, played by Su Yun, inadvertently raised her head and glanced back slightly when she stood up.
The moment their eyes met, time seemed to stand still.
The eccentric genius looking down has an inferiority complex that has never been released, while the traditional genius looking up has a proud and elegant attitude just like the first time they met.
Although these two people have a huge gap in identity, status, and acting skills, at this moment, they can feel the fiery passion in each other that is exactly the same as their own.
It's about acting, about acting skills, about the obsession and love for the world in the play...
At this moment, the narration also sounded in this century-long confrontation scene that was like a work of art: Kitajima Maya and Himekawa Ayumi at this time had never expected that in the future, they would become lifelong opponents and friends.
Afterwards, music that is clearly not in the style of an ending theme begins to play. It is filled with a passion like fighting spirit, yet it also carries a bright and relaxed flavor, just like after going through countless hardships and dangers, there is a sudden turn of events and a bright future ahead.
The theme song was placed at the end?!
Although they were somewhat skeptical, most of the audience at this time did not care about the special arrangement of the theme song - after all, the vast and brilliant starry sky reflected by those smoky purple eyes had been deeply engraved in the hearts and dreams of a generation since the moment they first saw it.
Close-ups of Su Yun are interspersed with the music of the theme song. This face, which has been familiar to us for a long time but always makes people feel surprised when they see it, officially returns to the eyes of the Hong Kong audience at this moment.