Putting an Oddball in His Place

Chen Qi rarely got angry. The only other time was when he had cursed out those bastards from the plastics factory back when he was selling large-bowl tea. Today was the second time. Whenever he felt like blowing his top, he never held it in—he believed in keeping his mind clear and unburdened. "Your apprentice messed up in the first place. If he'd offered a sincere apology, well, everyone slips up now and then, and nobody would have said a word. But you just had to jump out and play the big shot. You think you're his master, so you've got to protect your chick? "Utterly brainless! "You don't act like a decent human being, you don't handle things sensibly, and you've got no sense at all. You deserve to be stuck in this miserable rut!" "Let go of me!" "What right do you have to lecture me, you little punk? When I joined the studio, you were still swirling around in your mother's belly!" Zhao Qingli kept struggling, the veins on his neck bulging out. "That's the only thing you've got to brag about, you old fossil who grows in years but never in brains! "Reporting me? On what grounds are you reporting me? "Let me tell you, your apprentice hurt my brother first! Don't give me that crap about slippery hands or running out of strength—the bastard did it on purpose! That's called intentional injury! I'm heading to the hospital right now to get my brother's injuries officially documented! "You're illiterate, so I don't expect you to understand. "Keep blabbering, and I'll sue you right along with him! You're an instigator who deliberately had your apprentice slip up and hurt someone! Once I file the lawsuit, let's see how either of you survives in this studio! "You want to put up big-character posters against me? I'll write one right now and plaster it across the studio gates! If the studio doesn't work, I'll go to the Film Bureau! If the Film Bureau doesn't work, I'll go to the Ministry of Culture and sit right outside their front doors to ruin you! "Who are you trying to intimidate with that reckless attitude? Let's see who's tougher: a twenty-year veteran worker like you, or an outsider like me! "I don't give a damn! Worst comes to worst, I'll just go back to selling large-bowl tea. But you'll be completely ruined! Forget about your housing and your salary—I'll strip you of your status and make you roll right out of Beijing Film Studio!" "..." Zhao Qingli's face flushed red, then drained white. The veins throbbing on his neck and forehead made his expression look both vicious and comical. He kept thrashing, but like a beached fish gasping for water, he flopped a few times before going completely still. He was terrified. Never mind that he acted as if he didn't care about anything on the surface. If he were truly kicked out of Beijing Film Studio, he would crawl back even on broken legs. He was merely relying on his status as a veteran worker to vent his grievances all day long—a classic paper tiger. A gutless coward! He truly didn't understand the law, but people in this era were terrified of lawsuits. Getting sued would invite enough workplace gossip to drown a man. Li Wenhua, who had watched the whole spectacle, felt an unexpected jolt of satisfaction. He was sick to death of this man as well; at long last, someone had taught him a lesson. Then he looked at Chen Qi again, suddenly feeling a trace of estrangement, even a hint of dread. He had never imagined the young man had such a fierce side. "Let him go!" Chen Qi waved his hand. Ji Chunhua released Zhao Qingli, snorted, and stepped behind Chen Qi. He was the only one who didn't belong to the wushu team, so getting involved didn't bother him in the least. "You wasted everyone's time. Apologize to everyone and promise you won't pull any more stunts!" "Your apprentices caused this mess, so they're heading to the hospital right now. They don't come back until Xiong Xinxin is cleared!" Standing before Zhao Qingli, Chen Qi looked down at him. "Got a problem with that?" "..." "Speak!" "N-no, no problem." Phew! Having vented his anger, Chen Qi felt much better. Cupping his hands toward the Yuen brothers, he said, "Sorry you had to see that!" Turning to Li Wenhua, he added, "Director Li, I'm heading over to the hospital to stay with him. See what else you can shoot here, and I'll keep you updated as soon as there's news about Xiong Xinxin." "Oh, alright, sounds good!" Li Wenhua said repeatedly. "Wang Qun, Huang Qiuyan, you two come to the hospital with me!" "I—I want to come too!" Ji Chunhua volunteered. "Don't go scaring people. Just stay put." Chen Qi turned around and beckoned to the prop crew members. "You lot, follow me!" "Yes, sir!" The group left the studio. The soundstage suddenly fell silent, as though nothing had happened at all. *** The film industry was the same in every era. During his past life in Hengdian, Chen Qi had dealt with plenty of weirdos and troublemakers—bullies, lunatics, people embezzling production funds, you name it. But this was the first one he had encountered since crossing over. Come to think of it, the *Romance on Mount Lu* crew had been remarkably pure. Back then, he had barely had any presence. Now that his presence was growing stronger, he was bound to rub a few oddballs the wrong way. Chen Qi's temper had settled, but Huang Qiuyan was still buzzing with excitement. "Brother Qi, you were amazing just now! None of us dared to say a word. God, that guy was so annoying, practically a lunatic. Thank goodness you put him in his place. Look at how he acted afterward! I thought he was such a tough guy, but he turned out to be nothing but a paper tiger." "You don't understand what a lawsuit means to an employee. I was just scaring him." "It was still incredible! Besides, standing up for Xiong Xinxin is the same as standing up for all of us. I truly respect you for that!" Huang Qiuyan said with naive earnestness. "Yeah. If this hadn't been handled properly, we'd all be terrified every time we were hooked to a wire from now on," Wang Qun agreed firmly. At this moment, they truly accepted him as their big brother. He had money, was generous, had real talent, and stood up for his brothers—he fully deserved the title! When the group arrived at the hospital, Xiong Xinxin had just finished his examinations and was awaiting the results. Lying in the hospital bed, he looked thoroughly dejected. Seeing Chen Qi felt like seeing family, and his voice choked up slightly: "I've brought shame to Guangxi!" "Stop worrying about your Guangxi pride at a time like this!" Amused, Chen Qi comforted him, "You did a fantastic job. It was human error—you weren't the one at fault... Hey, you guys, didn't you come here to apologize?" "We're sorry! It's our fault!" "It's fine, it's fine, why are you doing this? I know you didn't do it on purpose," Xiong Xinxin hastily replied. "What did the doctor say?" Chen Qi asked. "Honestly, I feel fine. I could jump out of bed right now, but they insisted on keeping me under observation until the test results come back." "You can't take this lightly. If you end up with lasting damage, it'll be too late to regret it." Chen Qi and the other two stayed by his side until the results arrived. There was indeed nothing serious, largely thanks to Xiong Xinxin's youth and strong, resilient physique. Wirework on the mainland was notorious for frequent accidents simply because people didn't know how to handle it properly, and the equipment was terrible. When Yang Jie had been preparing for *Journey to the West*, she had secretly slipped off to Hong Kong to learn the trade, coming back with only half-baked knowledge. Once filming started back home—good grief—Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Seng had all plummeted from the air. Either the wire snapped, or they hadn't gained enough altitude and crashed straight into the ground... *** Word of the incident naturally reached Wang Yang's ears. The next day, he summoned Chen Qi, but unexpectedly chose to meet him at his home rather than at the office. Inside the Second Ring Road, about two kilometers west of Beihai Park, lay an area known as Xisibeisitiao, a cluster of hutongs dating back to the Yuan and Ming dynasties. It was once called Shupi Hutong, named after the leather-tanning workshops that operated there, before later being renamed Shoubi Hutong. In 1950, a research institute for performing arts had been established nearby, which later became the Beijing Film Academy. Luminaries like Zhou Yang, Xia Yan, Feng Xuefeng, Ai Qing, and Ding Ling had all taught there before the academy eventually relocated. Wang Yang's assigned housing was located right here. In Courtyard No. 2, there were eleven rooms in total. As Chen Qi stepped inside, his eyes wandered around in admiration. *What a magnificent courtyard!* Filled with flowers and trees, it was deep, quiet, and serene. The location was prime, too, merely four kilometers from the Forbidden City. "Xiao Chen, why aren't you coming in?" Wang Yang looked up and caught the young scoundrel eyeing his house, his heart giving an inexplicable jump. "Oh, just admiring your courtyard. It's really nice." Chen Qi strode inside toward the main hall. The furnishings were plain and modest, without anything of great value. Sitting down, he asked, "Old Studio Head, if you needed something, you could have just given orders at the studio. Why call me to your home?"