Winter Begonia

Chapter 49

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Shang Xirui's "The Legend of the Qianlong" was sung for three days in a row, and after three days the box was sealed for the New Year. However, it is impossible to have a peaceful Spring Festival in Beiping. "The Story of the Qianlong" is like the expected one stone to stir up a thousand waves, and the reviews are polarized, with mixed reviews. Body, eye, footwork, singing, reciting, fighting are naturally impeccable, Shang Xirui and Yu Qing, alone can provoke a big drama, let alone a strong team. At that time, several prominent seniors and famous tickets were tasting in the audience, and they all said that Shang Xirui had improved by leaps and bounds compared to the previous few years when he first arrived in Beiping, so they didn't dare to recognize each other. If Ning Jiulang were here, he would be amazed and relieved that he did not pay the wrong effort. Especially Shang Xirui's sword dance, can be regarded as a thriving talent in the theater world, outstanding among all actors. Unexpectedly, Shang Xirui still has such a little-known skill after listening to the dramas these years, I don't know if he had it in Pingyang, or he practiced it after he came to Peiping, how can it not be a surprise

Those who listen to operas in Sijiu City and those who don't, their interest in exploring Shang Xirui increases year by year with his fame. By this time, his prestige had reached a peak, and it was also a height that opera actors never dared to hope for since ancient times. Everyone was talking about Shang Xirui, about Shuiyun Tower, about a lot of gossip that could not be verified, a little bit of news about Shang Xirui that was oblique to the point, could make people chew for a long time. For example, on the other side of the ocean at that time, Westerners were enthusiastic about movie stars. Those who admire him can't wait to kneel down and kiss the tip of his shoe. Some of Shang Xirui's used bracelets and fans left behind in the background were stolen by handymen and sold for a high price. Shang Xirui is still alive and well, but seven or eight non-existent versions of his life have been deduced and published in newspapers and newspapers. As soon as "The Legend of the Qianlong" started, it exploded the next day. Needless to say, those who studied the secret history of the Qing palace. Needless to say scolding Shang Xirui's yellow-haired child full of nonsense. It is only said that a tabloid wrote such a side story, saying that Shang Xirui is actually the descendant of the illegitimate son left by the emperor in the play, otherwise, how could he know such secrets so clearly? A few days after this news was published, another insider revealed that this "The Story of the Dragon" was originally a story told by Ning Jiulang, so Ning Jiulang should be that illegitimate son, and Shang Xirui is Ning Jiulang's illegitimate son. It includes Ning Jiulang's and Shang Xirui's age calculations, and a practical test of their backgrounds. He also said that the reason why Liyuanxing has obtained such a real dragon vein is that it can be prosperous like never before.

Because Shang Xirui is young, because he is outstanding, because he has been used to being praised since he was a child, because the days are colorful and lively, he has the arrogance that young heroes usually have. Entering the theater on the stage becomes an obsession. I don't know what year it is and where I am. After stepping off the stage, every bit of honor and disgrace is in my heart. He himself probably knows that collecting reviews is a shy thing, so he never does it blatantly. However, there are people around him who flatter him and spread rumors to him. Shang Xirui was in a good mood after hearing the nice words, naturally he would respond to every request, it's a clever thing to offer ten for one. No one dares to tell him what to criticize him, he can only find it by himself. Shang Xirui taught Xiao Lai to buy all the gossipy newspapers and read them behind closed doors. When he encounters a compliment, he often has to read it again, so that he can experience the happiness again happily. When encountering criticism or spreading rumors, he looked at Xiaolai with wide eyes and said: They are talking nonsense again! I am not like this! Xiao Lai folded the newspaper and put it away, echoing: Of course Boss Shang is not like this.

Shang Xirui was a little overjoyed by the recent gossip in the newspaper. Normally, those reporters would write a few outdated romantic anecdotes about him and create rumors about his grievances with his colleagues. Shang Xirui was gossiped by them, but left to communicate with a few senior sisters in Shuiyunlou. Later, there was another Cheng Fengtai. Cheng Fengtai didn't know much about the rumors in the theater world, he always told Cheng Fengtai to listen to them, and let Cheng Fengtai hear all about their actors stealing women and prostitutes. This time it was very easy to catch Yu Qing. Shang Xirui and Yu Qing hit it off immediately, and after a few scenes, they got to know each other well. Yu Qing has been to more places than him, and has a lot of contacts and knowledge. The two of them chatted to the newspaper, and they were very happy. For a while, I will talk about the secrets of the emperor's palace, and for a while, I will talk about the fact that this reporter was bribed and splashed dirty water, and his remarks are inconsistent. One can't help but feel that the matter of gossip actually has nothing to do with the difference between men and women in terms of knowledge, it just depends on whether the other party treats you as one of their own and whether they put on airs in front of you.

Shang Xirui slapped the table and laughed loudly: "According to their calculation, when Jiulang gave birth to me, he had already met Lord Qi. If Lord Qi knew that Jiulang and a woman raised a child... Wow! Wouldn't it be a disaster? !"

Yu Qing was very interested in this, and begged him to tell the story of Jiulang and Prince Qi in detail. Shang Xirui refused one or two as usual, Yu Qing begged again and again, saying that he would rather die than talk to others, Shang Xirui babbled on without any psychological barriers. Anyway, Ning Jiulang never forbade others from talking about him, not to mention Yu Qing was already one of his own.

Speaking of excitement, Cheng Fengtai came to visit, met Yu Qing, and said with a smile: "Hey! Boss Yu! Talk to Boss Shang! It's almost Chinese New Year, and I'm still busy!"

Yu Qing is familiar with Shang Xirui, but not Cheng Fengtai. How can such a low-grade face of spying on people's privacy be exposed in front of outsiders. Yu Qing suppressed her wanton smile just now, and gently licked the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief: "Yes! It's rare to get together with Boss Shang, and we are discussing which song to sing on the day of opening the box. Second Master, you are here, I should go , bothering Boss Shang for a long time, and I have to catch a dinner."

Cheng Fengtai asked Lao Ge to drive Yu Qing off, as soon as Yu Qing went out, he turned around and hugged Shang Xirui, and patted his ass: "You are so big, why do you always like to gossip with women?" Woolen cloth?"

Shang Xirui never felt that there was anything wrong with this hobby, and was deeply proud of the Liyuan gossip collection: "How do you know that Yu Qing and I are gossip?"

Cheng Fengtai said with a smile: "I can tell from the expressions on the two of you that you are laughing so cheaply."

Shang Xirui snorted: "When you play mahjong, don't you always gossip about other people?"

"That's to know the details so you can do things better, you don't understand!" Cheng Fengtai patted his butt again: "Put on your clothes, let's go out to have a big meal, and eat your favorite veal steak."

Shang Xirui happily agreed and ran away.

Since Cheng Fengtai and Shang Xirui got acquainted, Shang Xirui went to Tianjin to walk through the acupuncture point, meet his sworn brother, and sang big plays for a few days. Cheng Fengtai also went back to Shanghai to handle the spinning mill affairs for Fan Lian. In addition, the two of them had to meet each other every day, otherwise they would feel uneasy and miss them very much. The longest day of separation is the Chinese New Year. As the head of the family, Cheng Fengtai stayed at home during the Chinese New Year as usual, and was going to visit relatives with his second grandmother, reconcile accounts, and hold an all-night poker game to entertain relatives and friends. After such a year, it is much busier than usual. Because the two people have a long street north and south, they are close at hand but can't meet each other, this yearning is even more tormenting. Shang Xirui doesn't play during Chinese New Year, he doesn't have anything to divert his attention, only lovesickness wholeheartedly. The first two Chinese New Years, Shang Xirui was tossing and turning listless, Xiao Lai became irritable looking at it, took out copper coins and asked the neighbor's children to take Shang Xirui to eat sugar cakes and pea yellow. Xiao Lai felt deeply relieved when Cheng Fengtai came to the door again after the year passed, and couldn't help being a little bit more pleasant for the time being.

This meeting, Cheng Fengtai mainly wanted to tell Shang Xirui that from tomorrow onwards he would not come to see him, and he had to concentrate on preparing for the New Year at home. This is Shang Xirui's unavoidable disappointment, so he wanted to mention it lightly when he was eating well and his stomach was full and his heart was in full bloom. After this Spring Festival, it will be the third year Cheng Fengtai and Shang Xirui have known each other. The relationship between the two is still vague between confidantes and lovers, hesitating in advance and retreat, but they both have the desire to stay together day and night. However, Shang Xirui's attachment to him is much deeper.

Cheng Fengtai first rambled a lot about his feelings about "The Legend of the Qianlong", then helped Shang Xirui cut up the steak, dipped the puff pastry bread into the creamy mushroom soup to soften. Shang Xirui told him the gossip in the newspaper, and told him the thoughts and reactions of everyone in the Liyuan store, and when it came to Yu Qing, he said: "When I open the box next year, I will definitely sing Da Deng with her." Hall. I haven’t heard her Beijing opera well yet, so I don’t know what it is. Do you think I’m coming to Wang Baochuan, or Princess Daizhan?”

Cheng Fengtai said with a smile: "What's the point of you singing Wang Baochuan all the time? This time, I'll change the role."

Shang Xirui nodded naively: "Oh, okay! I'll fight for you!"

Cheng Fengtai looked at his expression, and took the opportunity to say: "Yu Qing spends the New Year here alone, it's strangely deserted. I won't come for a few days after tomorrow, and you just invited her to come to your house to have fun. That's right. Let Xiao come Cook something sweet for you guys. On the day the box is unpacked, Boss Shang will let those blind people see and see what our Boss Shang is capable of!" After talking about it, he was flattering. "Once there was no comparison in the past, this time you and Yu Qing will both sing together, and you will definitely compare Boss Yu!"

Hearing Cheng Fengtai's statement that he would not come looking for him tomorrow, and automatically ignored all other flattery, he slammed the knife and fork in his hand, and the little face that was beaming just now suddenly became a little sad. He responded with a long "Oh", drooping his head, like a rabbit with its long ears folded, and he has a cute youthful appearance, which makes people feel distressed. Cheng Fengtai joked a few words later, but nothing came of it, and Shang Xirui couldn't make Shang Xirui smile. Anyway, Shang Xirui's heart went cold when he heard that he couldn't see each other for a few days, there was a cloud of darkness around him, his mouth was unwilling to eat, his heart was in a mess, he didn't know how he was going to spend these few days - he couldn't even think about it !

In fact, Cheng Fengtai's presence by his side may not mean that he will no longer be bored, and it may not be so interesting. Many noon, Cheng Fengtai sleeps soundly with Shang Xirui in his arms, when he wakes up, Cheng Fengtai goes to dinner to discuss business, and sends Shang Xirui to the theater to supervise the play. Sometimes we are not free during the day, and we only meet each other at night, have a supper together, and then go home and sleep separately. Cheng Fengtai is eloquent on the scene, but he is not a talkative person in private. When he calms down, he can sit still for an afternoon with a pack of cigarettes and a stack of newspapers. Because of living a nocturnal life, when Shang Xirui saw him during the day, he was always lazy; at night he started eating, drinking, whoring and gambling, but Shang Xirui couldn't accompany him. Even if it is so out of sync, there are discrepancies, and the interests are not shared. Shang Xirui didn't know why, he just couldn't leave him, he felt uneasy every day he didn't see him, and he didn't do that to Jiang Mengping in the past.

Cheng Fengtai wiped his mouth with a napkin, stroking Shang Xirui's face with his fingers like this: "Or, Boss Shang will come home with me for the New Year?"

Cheng Fengtai made a joke, but Shang Xirui listened seriously and said happily: "Okay! I'll go home with you to celebrate the New Year!"

Cheng Fengtai flinched immediately: "Second Grandma won't give you a seat for the New Year's Eve dinner!"

Shang Xirui is still firm: "Then I'll serve a job and squat next to you to eat!"

The corner of Cheng Fengtai's mouth twitched, and he pushed the chocolate cake in front of him: "Boss Shang, don't be naughty, a few days will pass in the blink of an eye, right? I'll bring you a gift and lucky money then."

When Shang Xirui heard this, he immediately languished into a rabbit with drooping ears.

On the way home this time, Shang Xirui hugged Cheng Fengtai's arm, put his forehead on his shoulder and refused to show his face. No matter what Cheng Fengtai said, Shang Xirui only knew how to moan and whine in pain, like a quitting opium addict who will finally be lingering with the cloud of opium. He ignored Cheng Fengtai's words, and when he touched him, he twisted impatiently for a while, and let out a sad low growl like an animal. Cheng Fengtai couldn't help laughing. Shang Xirui was so angry, thinking how come I'm the only one who is sad because of the parting, why are you still so happy and at ease? Angry in his heart, he punched Cheng Fengtai in the chest, with his kung fu skills as a martial artist, he almost punched Cheng Fengtai until blood spewed out, leaned over and coughed for a long time.

Lao Ge drove the car and shook his head, thinking that men and women are really different, even if this man is a rabbit master, it is not comparable to ordinary women. Like the concubines of his second master in the past, those dancers, widows, aunts, and even young ladies who have not left the cabinet, when they are angry, they just twist their waists and stomp their feet, poke their fingers on the forehead or pinch their arms. Fate. The second master really ate too much sweet glutinous rice soup, so he wanted to change it to "spicy hot sauce" to taste the bitterness.

When they arrived at the Shang's residence, Cheng Fengtai's chest was still aching, and Xi Shi held his heart and said weakly: "Boss Shang, my chest hurts, I'm injured, I'm going to die. Quickly help me."

Shang Xirui muttered vaguely: "It's right for you!" But in the end, he still felt sorry for him, Cheng Fengtai tricked him into unbuttoning his clothes to check, the car was lit by street lights, it was so dark that no injuries could be seen. Cheng Fengtai suddenly grabbed his hand, pressed it on his bare heart, and looked at him tenderly with a smile on his lips.

Usually if he faces a woman like this, that woman will blush and keep him overnight. But Shang Xirui wrinkled his nose to hide his embarrassment and bewilderment, and bared his teeth with a groan: "If you don't let go, I'll bite you!"

Cheng Fengtai laughed so hard that he let go of the buttons. Lao Ge also laughed. Not to mention, among his second master's concubines, he is the most pleasing to the eyes of this business boss, he doesn't put on airs and doesn't order others, he is naturally straightforward, and it's his second master's insight.