The literary era since 1979

Chapter 338 Out of reach
Early morning, Northwestern University.

On the campus, boys and girls gathered in groups of three or five, talking and laughing, full of youthful vigor and sharpness.

Shi Tiesheng pushed the wheelchair, looking surprised, "Yanzi, are we going to play football now?"

Fang Yan held the football in his hand and said, "Yes, it's rare to have such good weather, and we rarely have time."

Mo Shen nodded in agreement, which meant that he had time to play football now, as the symposium organized by the Xi'an Film Studio was about to be held, and then they would go to Qingping Bay and other places.

"Then why bring a ping-pong ball?"

Shi Lan's bag contained rackets and table tennis balls.

"Just in case, of course, you see."

Fangyan pointed his finger and saw that someone had already arrived on the playground. Two groups of people got ready and started kicking the ball.

Next to it, there was a ping-pong table, surrounded by students, all of whom were watching with great interest, their eyes following the ping-pong ball.

Fangyan came to an empty table and said, "Let's play table tennis for a while to warm up and wait for others."

"That's fine." Shi Tiesheng said, "But do Lu Yao and the others know this place? Don't get lost."

Mo Shen shook his head and laughed, "Lu Yao? He can't come."

Shi Tiesheng, Gong Xing and others looked at each other with disbelief on their faces.

Mo Shen said: "I guess he is still collecting materials and conducting research in the mines for his new book."

Shi Tiesheng looked up at Fang Yan, who spread his hands and said, "You don't know Lu Yao yet. He is a workhorse. Once he sets his sights on a goal, he will keep moving forward. No matter who shouts at him, he won't stop even if you whip him."

"Iwako is right."

Mo Shen was helpless. Not to mention his old friends, even Lu Yao's wife and children hadn't seen him for a long time.

"Then Jia Pingwa, Chen Zhongshi and the others will come, right?"

One of Shi Tiesheng's wishes during his trip to northern Shaanxi was to make friends through literature and meet the best men in the Shaanxi army.

"You'll meet them."

Fang Yan gave Mo Shen a meaningful look, indicating that he should pick someone up at the school gate and bring him here.

Gong Xing looked left and right, and felt that something was strange. Vaguely, he smelled a hint of "conspiracy".

"Ahem, best of three. You and Xiao Lan play first. I'll be your referee."

Fangyan called her and Shi Lan, but seemed to leave Shi Tiesheng alone intentionally or unintentionally.

Shi Lan's tone was filled with concern: "Brother Fang, my brother, my brother..."

"Don't worry."

Fang Yan glanced at his watch, smiled knowingly and said, "Soon he will have a companion."

"companion?"

Shi Lan and Gong Xi looked at the lonely Shi Tiesheng together.

He seemed at a loss in a strange and lively environment. He looked around and felt uneasy. He wanted to shout "dialect" loudly, but he was too shy to know how to start. Just when his nerves were becoming more and more tense, a gentle voice came from behind him.

"Shi Tiesheng?"

"You are!"

"I'm Chen Ximi, don't you recognize me?"

Chen Ximi suffers from a leg disease, which makes it a little inconvenient for her to move, but she always keeps a bright smile on her face.

Like a warm spring breeze, blowing on Shi Tiesheng.

"Of course I know you! You look exactly like in the photo!"

Chen Ximi smiled and said, "You are exactly what I imagined you to be."

The two of them stared at each other for a long time, and their gazes seemed to say, I finally see you!

Shi Tiesheng was very excited and his face turned red.

Although they had been communicating through letters for five years and had exchanged photos with each other, this was the first time they met face to face.

In my excitement, I couldn't help but wonder, "Didn't you say in your letter that you had graduated from Northwestern University?"

"Yes!" Chen Ximi nodded.

"Then why are you here today..."

Shi Tiesheng hesitated and seemed to be hesitant to speak.

"It was Teacher Fang who wrote me a letter saying that you were coming to northern Shaanxi and would play basketball at Northwest University."

As Chen Ximi spoke, he looked for Fangyan and others among the crowd.

"Iwako?!"

Shi Tiesheng immediately looked at Fang Yan, and in his sight, Mo Shen and they had joined together, and the four of them turned their gazes over to him in unison.

Their eyes met, and Fangyan raised a mysterious smile, full of blessings for the happy people.

"She! She!"

Shi Lan was so surprised that she almost jumped up and down, "Brother Fang, is she the pen pal of my brother?"

Fang Yan smiled and nodded, "Okay, let's play our ball, but don't disturb them."

Seeing Chen Ximi and Shi Tiesheng hit it off right away, Gong Yu was filled with emotion. "So this is the surprise you mentioned. Then the invitation to Jia Pingwa and the others to play football today was fake?"

"Yes and no." Fang Yan smiled, "I did invite them to play football, but not today."

Gong Xing teased: "Okay, you have been deceiving Tie Sheng from the beginning, you are too..."

Mo Shen said: "All of this was Yan Zi's idea. He is the mastermind, and I am at most an accomplice."

"How can what cultured people do be called 'cheating'? This is 'a gentleman helping others to achieve their goals'." After saying this in Fangyan, he continued with some difficult to understand words.

Things like "A beautiful lady is a desirable match for a gentleman" and "I'm so exhausted for her" made everyone laugh.

Gong Xing handed the racket to Mo Shen, asking him to play against Shi Lan, while he pulled Fang Yan aside:
"I never thought that a great writer like Fang is not only good at novels, essays, dramas, poems, and lyrics, but he can also act as a matchmaker and play matchmaker. If I tell people about this, I guess few people would believe it."

"They don't need me to be their matchmaker."

Fang Yan raised his hand and said, "They just need an opportunity, just like the two of us."

Gong Xing's face flushed, "You did the right thing, you did a great thing!"

Fangyan winked and jokingly said, "Is there any reward, Ga Zipo?"

Gong Xing didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "You brought them together, why are you asking me for a reward?"

"To be honest, I have thought about it."

Fangyan's eyes sparkled. "Please ask Tiesheng to write an article for our People's Literature. I have already thought of a title. It's called "The Untouchables."

Gong Xing's eyes flashed with interest, "Untouchable?"

"This story is about an incredible friendship between two people with completely different identities..."

Fangyan held her hand and told the story.

In the sight, Chen Ximi pushed Shi Tiesheng and walked in circles along the playground, circling around and around, tangled together like a ball of thread.

At this moment, the loudspeakers in the school played melodious music and the singing echoed throughout the campus.

"In my arms, in your eyes."

"There the spring breeze is intoxicating, there the grass is green..."

…………

At the same time, Xi'an Film Studio.

Brother Chen Kai and Zhang Yimou stood at the door, staring at the sign hanging on the wall.

"Yimou, I think we should just forget about it, right?"

"Forget it? How can I just forget about it?"

Zhang Yimou was anxious. In order to select locations for "Yellow Earth", the entire crew traveled through mountains and rivers to conduct surveys in various places in northern Shaanxi.

Unexpectedly, bad things happened one after another. Not only did the borrowed jeep break down, but even the allocated funds were almost gone.

"But if we ask Director Wu and Teacher Mo for help, will they really help us?"

Brother Chen Kai couldn't bring himself to do this and was in a dilemma.

"How is that impossible? If you really want to talk about it, Director Wu can be considered as our senior. Besides, I have met him in person. He is warm and sincere to others. He will be willing to help with this matter."

Zhang Yimou said seriously: "Even if Director Wu doesn't help, Teacher Mo won't sit idly by. He wrote the script."

Brother Chen Kai made up his mind: "Well, let's try it out and go in!"

When the two men reached the door, they were stopped by the old man in the security room: "Comrade, who are you looking for?"

Zhang Yimou took out his work ID and handed it over, "Let's go find Teacher Mo."

"Teacher Mo? Mo Shenna."

The old man glanced at their IDs and said, "This is really unfortunate. They went out with Teacher Fang and the others early in the morning."

"Teacher Fang?!"

Zhang Yimou was very surprised. "Are you talking about Mr. Fang Yan? He is also in northern Shaanxi now?"

The old man nodded and said that Fangyan and others were here to attend the Western Film Creation Seminar to be held at the Xi'an Film Studio.

Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou looked at each other and said, "Teacher Mo is not here, is Director Wu here?"

The old man looked them up and down and said, "Young men, are you here to attend the symposium as well?"

"You may not know me, but you must have seen the movies I shot." Zhang Yimou said, "I am the cinematographer of That Mountain, That Man, That Dog, and I won the Best Cinematography Award at the Golden Rooster Awards last year."

"I have an impression! I have an impression!"

The old man's eyes lit up instantly, and after confirming the identity, he enthusiastically called Wu Tianming's office.

Brother Chen Kai felt jealous when he saw his attentiveness.

"Director Wu wants you to meet him in the auditorium." The old man came out of the security room. "I'll take you there."

After Zhang Yimou thanked him, he walked for a while and finally met Wu Tianming in the auditorium as he wished.

As soon as they met, Brother Chen Kai called him "Senior Brother" affectionately and tried every means to get close to him.

"Don't say polite words."

Wu Tianming smiled and said, "You two are not on the list of the symposium. Tell me, what is it that makes you so anxious to see me?"

Zhang Yimou told the truth in a sincere tone.

Since we are both from Beijing Film Academy, please give your brother a hand!

Wu Tianming was also very generous. "Even if you don't give face to the monk, you have to give face to the Buddha. Since this script was written by Mo Shen, then we at Xiying Studio have no choice but to do it. How about this, I'll allocate a car for you to drive back, and I'll pay for your gas."

"Thank you, Brother! Thank you, Brother!"

Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou were not expecting him to be so straightforward and were moved.

"In my opinion, you should not leave in such a hurry. Since you are here, why not stay for a few more days and attend this symposium together?"

Wu Tianming pointed to the banner hanging above his head and said, "It just so happens that people from your Guixi Factory will be here by then."

(End of this chapter)