Chapter 11: Future King
"Hmm?" Li Sishi raised an eyebrow.
"Don't worry, this time it won't cost any money, just a little effort!" Zhou Huichang hurriedly explained, "I'm going to see the opening parade tomorrow night, and a female classmate of mine also managed to get tickets and wanted to go with me, but she just called to say she suddenly fell and was hospitalized and can't go, so she wanted me to ask you to help her get Leo's autograph at the event..."
"Shouldn't many female students who didn't manage to get tickets be willing to help?" Li Sishi asked doubtfully.
“Oh dear, everyone we know is a Leo fan, and getting an autograph at the event requires squeezing and fighting. What if one of our classmates ‘embezzles’ the ticket?” Zhou Huichang waved her hand. “They might give the ticket to someone else to have fun, then take their own poster to get Leo to sign and keep it, and then say they didn’t get to squeeze in or get an autograph—that’s hard to verify.”
"Oh, so that's it. Rather than getting entangled later, it's better to find someone who doesn't have any feelings for your Leo. That way, it'll be easier to talk things over whether you get the girl or not..." Li Sishi let out a long "oh".
"Cousin, I know you're the kindest person, and it's free to go! Please take pity on her, she used to be one of our 'big clients'!" Zhou Huichang pleaded repeatedly.
"Alright, for your sake, I'll make the trip." Li Sishi nodded.
Speaking of which, this opening parade seems to be the first time that the four future superstars who excel in both singing and film will perform together on the same stage, which is quite "commemorative".
While these four individuals were indeed multifaceted and achieved outstanding results, and their combined popularity and influence were unparalleled, it was a rather unpleasant memory for others of the same era. Under such extreme resource saturation, both male and female artists of the same period were overwhelmed and struggled to breathe.
Especially in the music scene of the 1990s, these four people took more than half of the ten Golden Melody Awards, while everyone else competed for the other half or even less than half, which was simply terrifying.
While thinking about things, Li Sishi agreed to Zhou Huichang's arrangement to first go to her female classmate's place to get the tickets, and then go to Xunhe to get the game console. She then turned over and climbed onto the upper bunk to go to sleep.
The next day, after receiving the tickets and the poster that Zhou Huichang had carefully prepared from her classmate, Li Sishi and Zhou Huichang continued their journey to Xunhe Plaza to pick up the game consoles that had arrived that day.
"You came just in time, this is the last one. The next batch won't be available for another two weeks." The shop owner said, holding up the box containing the game consoles.
He took the box out and casually said something else.
"Didn't we pay a deposit? Is there such a thing as first come, first served?"
Li Sishi asked.
"The deposit only determines the quantity I need to order, but the original products have to be shipped all the way from Japan, and the manufacturers there often delay production or don't produce enough stock. So even with a deposit, it's easy to encounter situations where you have to wait a long time for the goods, or there simply isn't any more stock coming." The shop owner's tone, besides the "pride" of a seller's market, also revealed considerable sighing and dissatisfaction.
“We were really lucky to get the last one.” Li Sishi nodded, and then walked out of the store with Zhou Huichang, who was carrying the game console box, and headed home.
I had just stepped out the door when a gust of wind suddenly blew past me from behind.
"Boss, I...I ordered a game console..."
"No, no, the last one was bought by those two girls. I didn't have any left for myself. I'll come back in two weeks!"
Upon hearing this, Cheng Erjian glanced at the two girls at the door and felt a pang of annoyance: he rarely saw girls buying game consoles, so why did he have to run into them today?
He practically flew over from the TV station right after work to try and snag this latest game console, but he still missed it by just one step...
He had been longing for this game console ever since it was advertised for pre-order in a magazine, and when the pre-order finally started, he was incredibly excited!
Perhaps it was his overwhelming urge to play games that finally overcame his social anxiety. Cheng Erjian gritted his teeth and mustered the courage to catch up with the person: "Excuse me..."
The two girls in front turned around at the sound. The one on the left, holding a game console box, was petite and cute, while the one on the right, holding a poster, was captivating at first glance.
Unexpectedly, there are girls in real life who are even more fresh and beautiful than TV actresses. Cheng Erjian subconsciously admired the beauty's face for a moment before turning his attention back to the game console.
For these hardcore gamers who love playing games, while beautiful women are certainly valuable, games are priceless...
Moreover, given his personality—he becomes tongue-tied around strangers—even the most beautiful woman wouldn't have the courage to approach him and ask for his phone number.
Only a game console that he found incredibly appealing could embolden him to ask if it was for sale.
"No, this is a birthday present for my younger brother!" Zhou Huichang immediately said.
He hugged the box tightly in his hands.
"Then, can I borrow it for a while...?" Cheng Erjian asked cautiously again.
"Then you'll have to ask my younger brother." Zhou Huichang pulled Li Sishi and prepared to leave.
Seeing the poster in Li Sishi's hand flutter in the wind, Cheng Erjian seemed to have caught something and immediately called out to the two of them again: "I, I can take you backstage to get Ling Chen's autograph! I know him! Really!"
He wasn't lying. A few days ago, a batch of new toy guns arrived, and he and a few friends who also worked at the TV station secretly went to the ancient costume street to play all night. Ling Chen, who had just finished filming a night scene, was among them.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Huichang turned around abruptly and carefully examined the young man who had struck up a conversation with them from head to toe before she suddenly realized, "Oh, I recognize you! You're the host of 'Space Shuttle'!"
No wonder someone this old still enjoys playing video games!
"That's right, it's me!" Cheng Erjian nodded quickly after Zhou Huichang mentioned the name of the children's program he hosted.
Seeing his chicken-pecking-at-the-rice look, Li Sishi, who had already recognized him, found it amusing: of the three most famous "gamer" in Hong Kong's entertainment circle, Cheng Erjian had the biggest addiction. Whenever he had free time, he would play video games and model kits, to the point that many people sighed that if he could spend less time on this, he might be able to truly secure the position of "Fifth Heavenly King".
Indeed, after the four Heavenly Kings achieved great success by teaming up, titles such as "Heavenly King Killer," "Heavenly King Successor," and "Fifth Heavenly King" sprang up like mushrooms after rain. However, from the perspective of industry insiders, only Cheng Erjian truly met the hard requirements of the title "Heavenly King," which requires all-round development in singing, film and television, and a decent appearance.
"Can you really take us backstage to get Leo's autograph?" This time it was Zhou Huichang's turn to ask cautiously.
"I'll also be one of the dancers for the opening parade tomorrow night. I can only say I'll try my best if the opportunity arises, but it's not guaranteed," Cheng Erjian explained simply, adding, "If it doesn't work out tomorrow night, I'll try my best to get his autograph for you guys in the future..."
“Okay, deal!” Zhou Huichang hurriedly agreed. “I will also help you discuss it with my younger brother.”
Even if they can't go backstage to ask Ling Chen for an autograph in person, Cheng Erjian is a TV station employee and knows Ling Chen, so he definitely has a better chance of getting an autograph than the others!
This is something even Lok, who has already come out of prison and changed jobs to become a model manager, couldn't do—the small company Lok works for now mostly collaborates with fourth or fifth-tier singers when shooting music videos, they can't even touch the edge of the hottest stars.
Zhou Huichang's plan was very shrewd: even if she couldn't squeeze in and get an autograph during the opening parade at night, at least Cheng Erjian would be there as a backup, which made her feel more at ease.
Of course, it would definitely feel more fulfilling to grab it yourself...
Holding onto this idea, Zhou Huichang's hopeful girlish heart was shattered by the surging crowd amidst an incredibly excited scream.
Seeing that Li Sishi had already come out with an autographed poster and was waiting for him...
Zhou Huichang, who had been squeezed out of the crowd, looked at Li Sishi and then at herself, and her mouth immediately twitched.
"Didn't you manage to get one?" Li Sishi took the poster from her hand.
"I'm too short and my arms are too short to squeeze past them..." Zhou Huichang said pitifully.
Li Sishi looked up and saw that Ling Chen was still signing autographs for the posters sticking out of the railing not far away. So she rolled up the poster in her hand and said, "It's okay, I'll go again."
Amid Zhou Huichang's repeated thanks, Li Sishi, still clutching the poster, squeezed into the crowd that was still screaming excitedly. In such a crowded situation, height and strength were the main factors, so it was not surprising that her cousin, with her small frame, would be squeezed to the outermost edge.
Compared to her cousin, who is at a disadvantage in terms of physique, height, experience, and skills, she has all the advantages—not to mention her height, which is significantly taller than those around her, and her solid lower body, which she has developed through training, her "breakthrough" skills are honed in the entertainment and socialite circles!
Anyone who mingles in these two circles must cultivate a beautiful, noble, and elegant demeanor while subtly pushing everyone around them to the back to highlight themselves. As for her abilities... well, let's just say that before her car accident, as long as she didn't want to, no one could take the center position from her in a group photo!
Seeing those overly young girls next to her screaming and pushing forward, Li Sishi felt both helpless and amused by their behavior of losing half their strength before even making a move. She immediately took the opportunity to grit her teeth and squeezed her way to the edge of the railing at the very front.
Excellent timing! This time, the timing was even better than before, right in front of midnight.
She was standing at the junction of two railing sections, above which was a small round ball serving as a decorative element. Li Sishi pressed one hand against the ball to steady herself and resist the pushing force from behind, while extending the other hand to hand over the poster she was holding before she could react. Suddenly, she felt the support under her hand disappear—
"Ah! The railing over here—"
The screams from the girls behind changed from excitement to terror. Some of them who had recovered tried to reach out and grab Li Sishi, who was about to fall forward from the broken railing.
The screams and pulling happened in a split second, but Li Sishi fell forward so fast and suddenly that the hands that reacted and tried to help were undoubtedly a second or two too late.
Fortunately, although the rescue from the rear failed to arrive in time, the rescue from the front accurately and quickly caught her body as she fell forward.
Are you alright?
The chaotic sounds around her seemed to vanish into thin air in that instant. When Li Sishi looked up at the mellow and warm voice, she saw a pair of bright eyes that seemed to light up the night sky like morning stars.
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