A Righteous Intervention

In later years, there would be a specific term for them: sasaeng fans. It referred to an extreme breed of fanatic who stalked, peeped, secretly photographed, and took pride in violating a celebrity's privacy. If the fellow Gong Xue had run into were merely a sasaeng fan or a common scoundrel, things would have been simple. But the man was clearly deranged, and there was no predicting a madman. Her heart pounded in lingering terror. Returning to her room, she sat quietly for a while to regain her composure, then suddenly her eyes widened. Hurriedly, she dug through the stack of unread letters, tearing them open one by one. All at once, with a soft rustle, several grain coupons and banknotes fluttered out. "A-die-li-ge-niang-lo!" Gong Xue blurted out a Shanghainese exclamation of dismay. Sitting on the floor in utter misery, she wondered what kind of awful mess she had landed in. An audience member mailing an actress grain coupons and hard cash—if word got out, how could she ever hold her head high? Even if she wanted to return them, how was she supposed to do it? Would she have to meet him in person? Ugh! She wanted nothing to do with that lunatic. "..." After fretting for half the day, she trotted down the stairs and sat in the guesthouse lobby to wait. She waited all the way until dusk, when Chen Qi finally emerged from the editing room. Spotting her, he asked, "Why are you sitting out here?" "Come with me!" Gong Xue pulled him aside to a quiet spot. Clutching the grain coupons and money, she poured out the whole story, concluding anxiously, "What should I do? Should I call the police?" "This technically falls under hooliganism. The public security bureau would come to investigate, crowds would gather to gawk, and even if they catch the guy, what happens afterward? People who don't know the full story might think something happened to you. Besides, these coupons and cash are evidence... People will start wagging their tongues, saying, 'Oh, my, Gong Xue took his gifts, so she must have this or that going on with him...'" "Then... then what...?" Her delicate face turned pale as she listened. "Don't worry, I'll take care of it. Just do what I tell you and follow my lead." "You make it sound so easy! This is a serious matter!" "This is a tiny matter. You haven't seen what real scandals look like..." Chen Qi shrugged. Scandals like Fanfan's or Zhao Junqi's—those were real disasters. A pity Zhao Junqi hadn't been locked up behind bars. * * * Another Sunday arrived. In the mid-morning, Gong Xue walked out of Beijing Film Studio feeling somewhat uneasy. A rather scatterbrained female journalist with a shoulder bag was waiting by the front gate. "Hello, Reporter Yu. It's a pleasure to meet you!" "Hello, hello!" Yu Jiajia eagerly grasped her hand and refused to let go, clicking her tongue in admiration. "You're truly stunning, far prettier than on screen! That kid really pulled off the old cow eating tender... no, a young calf eating old grass... wait, a small horse pulling a big cart? No, that's not it either... er..." She tapped her own temple, unable to summon the right turn of phrase, her literary refinement proving hopelessly deficient. Gong Xue frowned slightly. Though Chen Qi had warned her that this woman was flaky, she hadn't expected her to be quite this eccentric upon their very first meeting. "Thank you for taking the time to help me today," Gong Xue said. "Shall we take a stroll?" "Sure, sure! I wanted to interview you anyway, so this is killing two birds with one stone." The two of them strolled along a path outside Beijing Film Studio. Yu Jiajia acted as if they were lifelong friends—so overly familiar that Gong Xue began to feel a twinge of apprehension. Could this woman be a little unhinged too? Not far away, in a concealed corner... Chen Qi, Wang Qun, Ge Chunyan, and Huang Qiuyan were hunkered down. Since they had no scenes to shoot for *The Shaolin Temple*, they had returned to the wushu team and had been called out on their day off. "Stop eating that! You're making me nervous!" Wang Qun, feeling a bit tense, lightly smacked Huang Qiuyan on the head. Huang Qiuyan, happily licking a popsicle, retorted, "If I don't eat it, it'll melt. Wasting food is bad." "When your stomach cramps up later and you can't fight, don't come crying to me." "How could my stomach cramp that easily? We've got four trained martial artists ambushing one lone guy. Smoke must be rising from his ancestral graves for him to receive such an honor." Huang Qiuyan mumbled around her treat, then asked, "Brother Chen, if we get into a brawl out here, will we get expelled from the team?" "This is called stepping up for a righteous cause. I'll personally send a commemorative banner to the wushu team, and they'll have to praise you all... You came along without a single objection, and I'm genuinely touched. I'll treat everyone to a feast afterward," Chen Qi said with a smile. "Why be so polite? We already consider you our big brother." Huang Qiuyan was blunt and outspoken. Wang Qun nodded in agreement, while Ge Chunyan maintained a cool, composed expression. "A pity we weren't allowed to bring weapons," she said, "or I would've brought my pair of Mandarin Duck Blades." "No, no, spare us! You'd end up dismembering the guy!" The other three broke into a cold sweat. The Meridian Mandarin Duck Blades were the signature weapon of Baguazhang. Many of those so-called traditional martial arts were actually designed for armed combat. Were the ancients stupid enough to fight with bare fists when they could use weapons? To put it plainly, the Baguazhang people typically saw—weaving footwork, fluidly shifting palms—seemed devoid of real striking power. But if the practitioner wielded a pair of crescent-shaped blades while making those same maneuvers... Over on the path, the two women were still walking. Curious about Yu Jiajia, Gong Xue asked, "Reporter Yu, how did you and Chen Qi meet?" "Well, he wrote a letter to *China Youth Daily*, so I went to interview him. We hit it off right away, clicking like we'd known each other for lifetimes. We became great pals in no time." "I really envy how cheerful and outgoing you are. I tend to be quite reserved." "Men love women who are gentle and soft like you. Women like me are just living Li Kuis who happen to get periods!" "You... you're a bit too candid." Gong Xue didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "You call that candid? Let me ask you: how far have the two of you gotten? Have you kissed yet?" "What on earth are you talking about!" "So that's a no. Have you held hands?" "..." Gong Xue lowered her head in silence. Yu Jiajia curled her lip. "Good, that's the way to do it. If a man gets what he wants too easily, he won't cherish it. You've got to string him along. Act like you're about to give in, then pull back and refuse. When he gets desperate, pretend to yield again, and then refuse again..." Gong Xue clamped her hands over her ears, refusing to listen, feeling as though her mind were being polluted. Chen Qi had said this woman had no boyfriend and wasn't married, so why was her mouth overflowing with such shameless banter? After wandering for quite a while, the stalker still hadn't shown up. Just as Yu Jiajia was growing impatient, a voice suddenly shouted: "Zhou Yun!" *Hm?!* She whipped around with a comically exaggerated expression. Sure enough, a man came running toward them, completely oblivious to her presence. His eyes were locked onto Gong Xue as he said, "Wonderful! You knew I'd come looking for you on Sunday, so you were waiting here for me on purpose, weren't you?" "Comrade, I genuinely do not know you. Your actions are harassing me. Please stop coming here." "You're lying! If you didn't want to see me, why would you wait here?" "Zhou Yun! Zhou Yun!" *Tsk!* Watching from the shadows, Chen Qi could hardly bear the sight. In an era where ideology and behavior were in such disarray, no absurd incident was truly surprising. Just take Zhang Yu, who had starred in the real-world *Romance on Mount Lu*. Back then, a female thief had impersonated Zhang Yu and written love letters to Wang Jiawei, the famous men's volleyball star. Wang Jiawei had fallen for it hook, line, and sinker. They had exchanged deeply affectionate correspondence, he had sent numerous gifts, and he had even broken up with his actual girlfriend. The two had "dated" for over six months before the thief was apprehended and confessed to the scheme. "Brother Chen, do we go in?" Huang Qiuyan urged impatiently. "Wait a second... wait... Go!" Huang Qiuyan darted out like an arrow. She had no dual sabers with her, but her movements were exceptionally nimble. With a sharp thud, her kick slammed into the man's flank. Staggering from the blow, the man grew even more unhinged at the interference and lunged forward, clawing wildly. Wang Qun stepped up to shield Huang Qiuyan. Though their specialty was performance forms, their power, speed, and agility vastly outmatched any ordinary civilian. Three against one—if they couldn't handle him, they might as well pack up and retire. Before anyone realized it, Ge Chunyan had slipped behind the man. She hooked his ankle with one foot, while her hand whipped forward between his legs in a vicious upward scoop. "Aaaagh!" A bloodcurdling screech shattered the air. In an instant, the man lost all capacity to resist, collapsing to the ground and convulsing like a fish hauled onto dry land. *Hiss!* Gong Xue shuddered from head to toe, bearing witness to what it truly meant to "demolish the ancestral hall." The effect was devastating indeed. "Thank you so much! You heroes!" Yu Jiajia cried out in dramatic exaggeration. "I'm a reporter, and I can testify! Come on, let's haul this hooligan straight to the police station!"