Chapter 41 Oriental Doll

Look at the little girl with heterochromia who is staring straight ahead, as if she is in a trance but also innocent and cute. Iwasaki Mineko, who is standing in the shadow on the other side and looking at this place, lowered her eyes again and chuckled.

It was just like when she first entered Hanami-koji and was stunned by the ancient and prosperous atmosphere. She wanted to take in everything with her eyes, but at the same time she couldn't help but let her mind wander, intoxicated by the beautiful scenery.

It's rare to see such a dramatic little girl. She is beautiful and has a unique beauty and charm that is rare in both the East and the West. Unfortunately, she doesn't look like she is Japanese...

Otherwise, the "heir daughter" who succeeds her will definitely not need to think about him anymore.

"Ms. Iwasaki, Mr. Gordon is waiting for you." A man who looked like a guide came over.

Iwasaki Mineko nodded slightly to show that she understood, then she put away the folding fan in her hand and followed the guide.

For a long time, Japanese geishas and their geisha industry have always been full of ancient and mysterious meanings in the eyes of Western countries and Westerners.

It's not that no one has come to interview her, like her great predecessor, Haruki Nakamura, who was not only famous throughout Japan when she was a geisha, but even the legendary movie star Charlie Chaplin, baseball giant Bob Ruth, and French painter Jean Cocteau who visited Japan at that time were once fans of Haruki Nakamura's performances.

Such a famous geisha who can be regarded as the embodiment of Japanese culture naturally has some people fascinated by her, some people admire her, some people visit her, and some people love her.

However, most of those people, in order to satisfy Westerners' curiosity about the mysterious and ancient East, ignore the real interview information and make up some gossip to attract attention, discrediting geishas who perform with their artistic cultivation as prostitutes who sell their bodies.

After retiring, the senior Nakamura Yoshiharu moved to the United States and worked as a university professor on Japanese culture. He was still committed to correcting the negative views of outsiders on geishas who were confused by rumors and promoting the geisha culture of Japan. Although he is currently very popular, he also has the idea of ​​retiring in a few years...

Well, it is a rare opportunity to meet an interviewer who seems to be relatively rational and well-organized. She should also make a small contribution to promoting the geisha culture and let someone write a true "Memoirs of a Geisha" to let the world see the true face of geishas.

For this purpose, Iwasaki Mineko was invited to the place where the reporter named Gao Dun was.

She thought that after finishing the interview, she could also visit her senior, Haruki Nakamura, who settled in New York.

I don't know how many times Iwasaki Mineko's mind had turned inwards during this brief encounter; Su Yun, on her part, had just managed to regain her shaken consciousness with great difficulty.

So, you can’t judge a person’s age by their face. Obviously, this brother named “Zhuang Long” is two months older than Uncle Ying and entered the sect a year earlier than him, but at first glance, the contrast between Zhuang Long’s young face and Uncle Ying’s mature face is so stark that someone who doesn’t know would think that the two brothers are uncle and nephew…

It’s not that a mature uncle’s face is bad. After all, although an uncle’s face looks old when young, it will become more and more “young” as time goes by. It will look the same for decades, making it easy to recognize and durable.

The main reason why Su Yun felt so incongruous was that the two people's film and television images were too different from their real information: Zhuang Long's most classic film and television photos were the androgynous, beautiful and charming Butterfly King and the cool and majestic last emperor, while Lin Jingying's film and television photos were Uncle Jiu, Uncle Ying, and the zombie Taoist priest...

Those who used to learn to play the role of old men in movies and TV shows all have the image of young men, while those who used to learn to play the role of female actors in movies and TV shows basically have the image of uncles or even grandfathers. The difference is just a little bit, but it seems like a whole generation. The visual gap is naturally confusing.

Not to mention that she had just imagined a two-meter-tall, burly, and handsome senior brother, but the one who came out was the handsome and gorgeous Butterfly-kun senior brother...

This made Su Yunfeng very confused.

But after the chaos, we still have to accept reality.

Zhuang Long had not seen his junior fellow apprentice for many years, and was very happy to see him today. He simply decided not to put on another night show, and quickly packed up his things, ready to invite Lin Jingying and Su Yun for dinner.

Lin Jingying glanced at Su Yun and shook her head in embarrassment: "No, Brother, we are here for a mission and we are in a hurry. I am also taking time out to come and see you this time."

"If you have anything to say, please tell me and see if I can help you." Zhuang Long said, then he became a little shy, "Because learning acting cost a lot of money, I may not have much money on me, but as long as it requires effort, as a senior brother, I will definitely do my best to help!"

"It's not about money," Su Yun interrupted. "We came here to discuss a project with someone, but that person has a weird temper and doesn't meet strangers recently, so we can't approach him in a normal way."

"And we only have three days left." Su Yun concluded.

"This is indeed a difficult problem. How about trying our luck by going to places he frequents?" Zhuang Long thought about it and made a suggestion.

"No, he prefers... prefers to stay at home and think about things, and doesn't like to go out very much." Su Yun almost said the word "relatively a homebody", which is a description that people nowadays cannot understand at all. She quickly changed the wording to mean something similar.

"Is there anyone else in his family? Can we get close to him through the people around him?" As someone who accepted funding to go abroad and make a living at such a young age, Zhuang Long immediately gave Su Yun another suggestion.

"We tried, but his nanny is on the same side as him and it's hard to persuade her." Seeing Su Yun fall into deep thought after hearing what Zhuang Long said, Lin Jingying helped to explain.

"Not necessarily!" Su Yun was reminded by Zhuang Long's words and had an idea. "We all overlooked that there is actually another person who might be able to help us!"

When we were riding back to the hotel with Zhuang Long and Lin Jingying, the tour guide who had also taken the same bus to the hospital had already returned.

If Lin Jingying's English was not so good and she needed someone to accompany her, Su Yun should have gone to the hospital where Kubrick's daughter was staying with the guide to inquire about the situation.

However, the guide who went there alone did not disappoint her expectations: taking advantage of his injury, he went to the hospital to rent a wheelchair and sneaked into the children's ward with an appearance of being disabled but strong-willed.

The eloquence of the guides is not bad at all, and the guide uncle looks kind and friendly. Moreover, he comes to visit his "granddaughter" in a wheelchair, so many parents do not have the usual guard against him and are not afraid that he is a bad person who steals children.

After chatting all the way to the little girl in the bed next to Vivian Kubrick, the guide brought back a piece of news: tomorrow afternoon, Vivian and the little girl in the bed next to her, who were discharged from the hospital at the same time, will go to the amusement park they went to today.

"Thank you, this is really very useful good news." Su Yun thanked the guide uncle who worked despite being sick, and then gave him a well-deserved tip.

After the guide uncle happily went back to his room to rest, Su Yun turned his eyes to Zhuang Long who was eating salad opposite him.

"What's wrong? Do you want to eat this?" Zhuang Long noticed Su Yun's gaze and looked up and asked.

"No, I was just thinking that your English is really good." Su Yun said.

Lin Jingying smiled and nodded: "Brother has been smart since he was young. If he hadn't been fascinated by stage drama and received a grant to study part-time at the drama academy, he might have been a martial arts stuntman like the rest of us."

"By the way, I heard that you were acting in a Hong Kong kung fu movie, and you were in the crew of the legendary Lu Shaolong?" Zhuang Long looked at him.

"Yes." Lin Jingying briefly mentioned that he and Lu Shaolong were good friends, and then, with Su Yun's tacit approval, he told the real reason why the two of them came here, "Shaolong is estimated to need to rest for a few years before he can practice kung fu again, so Su Su stepped forward to 'repay the debt' on behalf of his master."

"It's hard for you. You have to endure so much at such a young age." He didn't expect that Su Yun, who looked like a little girl brought out by his junior, was already the leading lady of a movie with a box office of one million Hong Kong dollars. She was also planning to shoot a Hollywood-level movie... Zhuang Long couldn't help but look at Su Yun with pity but also praise.

"It's hard to make money, so it doesn't hurt to start a family early. In the early years, people like Feng Baobao, Xiao Fenfen and my master Lu Shaolong started filming movies at a very young age to make money to support their families." Su Yun said carelessly.

"So what are you going to do next?" Seeing that Su Yun was in a good mood when facing the difficulties, Zhuang Long asked again.

"I really have thought of a way, but I need someone who is good at English and acting to help me." So Su Yun gradually began to reveal her true intentions.

"How do you want me to help you?" Zhuang Long laughed after knowing that her target was him.

"Aren't you setting up an ice cream stand to earn a living recently? How about holding a lucky draw tomorrow?" Su Yun looked at him with a smile, "After that, I will do my best to help you get a role as the second male lead in a movie."

Zhuang Long couldn't help laughing: Su Yun's pretending to be mature in this "transaction" was really due to her young appearance. This kind of unspoken rule of mutual benefit among adults was not offensive at all. Instead, it felt like a child coming with an unknown valuable item to exchange for a small flower with a silly look on his face, which was funny and cute.

"It's just a small favor, no need to thank me." Zhuang Long said with a smile.

"No, this is my promise. I will try my best to do it. Don't underestimate me, A Zhuang." John is Zhuang Long's English name, and in Cantonese, "John" is usually translated as Zhuang or Zun, so Su Yun really frowned and called his name very seriously.

"Okay, then thank you first." He has studied acting for so long, but he can only play the role of a passerby in a stage play. In fact, he is somewhat unwilling.

But what roles can Hollywood give to Chinese people now? Thieves, liars, drug sellers, or "zombies" dressed in long gowns and jackets to embarrass the image of Chinese people...

Therefore, he would rather play the role of a passerby in theaters and stage plays, and work hard to make a living by delivering takeout or setting up a small stall in his spare time, rather than become a figure used by Westerners to vilify the Chinese.

After finalizing the plan for tomorrow, the three of them went to bed peacefully, gathering their energy for tomorrow's battle.

It was a sunny Saturday in the amusement park, and the children were laughing and talking happily.

Because Lin Jingying's face had already been seen by the nanny, Su Yun asked him to prepare in the dark in case of emergency. She herself put on a thick layer of BJD doll makeup and wore a floral dress, really disguising herself as a large doll.

Such a large oriental doll that mixed Eastern and Western aesthetics was placed on the ice cream stand and immediately attracted a large group of little girls who loved dolls.

"It's not for sale. This is the grand prize of the lucky draw." Zhuang Long explained seriously, while his hands were busy making ice cream. "It took me a lot of effort to make this."

"Her blue-purple eyes are so pretty. What are they made of?"

"Her long black hair is also very beautiful. Is it real hair?"

"Where can I buy this dress? I want to buy one for my daughter!"

"Oh my god, she looks so much like a real little girl. If I hadn't stood here and watched her for half an hour without her blinking, I would have thought she was a real person!"

Little girls and their parents gathered in front of the ice cream stand and exclaimed in admiration. As time went by, more and more people were attracted to come and see this beautiful "Oriental Doll".

It is said that Oriental people have superb skills in making beautiful porcelain. I never thought that this young mixed-race boss actually has such great skills.

Some people even asked about the price of custom dolls, but Zhuang Long still acted flawlessly: "Not for sale, and not for customization. Making her is too labor-intensive, and I have no plans to do so for the time being."

"It will definitely be delivered today. It's not just placed here to trick you into buying ice cream."

"One ticket for each serving of ice cream, limited to one per person."

Ignoring the wailing of the black men who drew the blank slips, Zhuang Long looked calmly at the two little girls who came over hand in hand to buy ice cream.

Target confirmed, Vivian Kubrick and her discharged patients.

Zhuang Long remained calm as he made the ice cream while using the tricks he learned in the opera troupe as a child to skillfully manipulate the scene. In an instant, he slipped the winning note into Vivian's hand.

"I, I won a prize! Aaaah——" Vivian opened the note and screamed in surprise.

Seeing that someone actually won the grand prize, the eyes of several people around them immediately fell on the lucky pair of little girls who looked only twelve or thirteen years old.

After rejecting many people's inquiries about whether she was selling the doll or not, Vivian proudly basked in the envious and jealous gazes of the children around her, and wanted to come over with her fellow patients to move away the Oriental doll dressed up by Su Yun.

"Don't be so impatient, can you move it?" Zhuang Long hurriedly tried to stop them.

"My dad drove here!" Fearing that Zhuang Long would refuse to give her the money, the little girl, who was also a patient, quickly pulled her father over to help.

"Brother, give it to me." The father of the little girl who was a fellow patient also said this as he started to move it.

"Let me watch her for a while..." Zhuang Long looked at the "Oriental Doll" reluctantly, then picked her up and said, "Where is your car? I want to give her a ride one last time."

"Okay." Making such a big doll must have taken a lot of effort and energy. The father of the little patient girl, who felt that he understood the craftsman's reluctance, generously pointed and said, "It's there."

At a moment no one could notice, the "Oriental Doll", which had not blinked for more than an hour, naturally tilted its face to a more comfortable position, as if it had been tilted by its owner's movement.

Zhuang Long quickly hugged her tighter, fearing that Su Yun, the naughty girl, would fall off.

Amused by Zhuang Long's worry, Su Yun didn't make any big moves. She just held his shoulders steadily and secretly gave him a wink with a smile.