Chapter Eighty: Concern Breeds Confusion

As expected, Shahrukh was delighted when he heard this. “It’s just as well I came in a hurry and didn’t have time to bring much. Those are authentic Indian spices— even the dad hotel doesn’t have much stock left! But cigars, let’s forget about them; if the servants see us puffing away, it wouldn’t look good!”

Followers of the Indian faith are generally forbidden from drinking alcohol or smoking, though such prohibitions are relaxed somewhat for the higher castes. Still, especially abroad, Indians remain mindful of their reputation.

As for the servants he mentioned, they were the Indian staff at the dad hotel, whose backgrounds were far less distinguished than those of Shahrukh, Jawahar, and the others.

That night, they didn’t continue entertaining the foreign guests, as Liu Qingshan’s new house needed tidying.

The Kram family had sent him quite a few Pashmina wool carpets and various wooden handicrafts. Yu Yi and his companions were called over specifically to help with these tasks.

Park Hye-jin and Wang Huansheng came along as well, but Ma Shengli and his two companions had been taken away by the crew of “The Return of the Condor Heroes.” The welcoming dinner was just a pretext; their real purpose was likely to sign work contracts.

Moreover, Liu Qingshan received notice that afternoon that he would join the main group for the official departure two days later.

Thinking of how he would soon see Jin Xishan, Liu Qingshan resolved to get the house in order quickly, so that when he brought her back, he could offer her a truly warm and inviting home.

At nearly nine o’clock, Park Hye-jin, who was in charge of the overall layout, came to the kitchen to hurry them along. Liu Qingshan was only responsible for the evening meal, and at that moment, he brought the dishes out one by one.

In the foyer stood the latest fifth-generation LCD TV from 2004. By this point, LCD televisions had surpassed plasma screens in picture quality, sound, viewing angle, response time, and resolution.

At exactly nine, “Latest Entertainment News” began its broadcast, opening with a full report of the press conference.

According to Ma Mandi’s information, little had been cut from the press conference; the entire process was virtually reproduced.

Moreover, Kyoto TV had already begun previewing it with rolling subtitles since that morning, so the subsequent ratings were not expected to be low.

Because Kyoto TV was hosting the event, all participating media had signed agreements: reports could only be released the day after the program aired.

Thus, there was still no detailed feedback about the press conference circulating, though some leaks were inevitable.

Fortunately, the resulting sensation had yet to unfold, but it was highly likely that once tonight’s episode aired, a wave of concentrated public opinion would sweep across the media.

Everyone present took it very seriously; Liu Qingshan even began receiving frequent messages from Jin Xishan as soon as the show started.

The content of her messages evolved along with the press conference, and Liu Qingshan wondered how she managed to comment in real time while following the television.

Moreover, she was texting in Korean, which made it quite a struggle for Liu Qingshan to read, not to mention his limited ability to reply in her language.

Eventually, he simply called her, opting for a live conversation.

“You know, you really don’t pay attention to your manner of speaking sometimes, especially with our country’s journalists present. Aren’t you afraid that some overly blunt remarks might get out and embarrass your nation abroad?”

“And what was that about protests being futile? Those Korean reporters are here to help me.”

“Do you think my awkward moment, hanging in mid-air, will sadden my Korean fans?”

“I never imagined your Korean would improve so quickly!”

“And don’t say things like certain people indulge their desires under the guise of fame, destroying themselves— do you want to ruin your standing in this industry?”

“...”

Jin Xishan’s rambling had hardly paused from the start, and even Park Hye-jin eventually couldn’t stand it, snatching the phone and scolding her, which finally quieted the verbal harassment on the other end.

Yu Yi lowered his voice and advised, “Shanzi, Miss Jin is just too concerned about you. I wish someone cared about me like that, but alas... sigh…”

Seeing Park Hye-jin shoot him a contemptuous look, he promptly fell silent, though his eyes kept flickering, making Park Hye-jin avoid his gaze.

Liu Qingshan wasn’t annoyed, though. Having someone fuss over him was both novel and exciting; it was just awkward having to keep his voice down.

Besides, concern breeds confusion; it was understandable. After all, it was better to be cherished than ignored.

When Jin Xishan finally stopped nagging, she grew anxious again. “Shanzi, do you mind that I talk too much? I’m not usually like this— it’s just that I worry about you.”

Hearing the gentle, caring, slightly self-reproachful tone in her voice, Liu Qingshan took the phone and went out to the balcony.

By the time he returned, the scenes on the television had already changed.

Not long after, Ma Mandi’s call came through.

“Qingshan, you watched the broadcast, right? According to what I’ve heard, the reaction outside is pretty enthusiastic— especially in our station’s control room, where they’re monitoring the soaring ratings. Also, our leadership just called me; they want me to tell you that tomorrow will bring a huge market response to your story, and you should prepare to accept invitations from other programs!”

“Is it for an interview or an official appearance? If it’s the latter, have your colleague call Qi Hui’s phone.”

Before he could finish, the voice on the other end changed. “Mr. Liu, this is Xu Danni. Thank you for recommending me to Director Ma.”

“Hello, Miss Xu, no need for such formalities. If anyone owes thanks, it should be me thanking you!”

“Just call me Danni! By the way, Director Ma mentioned an invitation to my show, ‘Star Face to Face.’ Are you interested? Of course, there’ll be a short segment about this incident, but mostly it’ll focus on your prior experiences.”

“Sorry, Danni, I’ll be heading to Hengdian with the crew the day after tomorrow. Yes, the ‘Return of the Condor Heroes’ team, I’m playing Guo Jing… Okay, you want her to speak.”

“I’m Ma Mandi. Do you think it’s possible for Danni to follow up with the ‘Return of the Condor Heroes’ crew someday? Right, we’d need to ask Director Zhang first. Okay, let’s leave it at that; we’ll get in touch tomorrow!”

After ending the call, Park Hye-jin hurriedly asked, “So, Kyoto TV wants you to appear?”

“Not decided yet. First, we’ll see tomorrow’s public response; second, Director Ma suddenly wants to do a follow-up with the ‘Return of the Condor Heroes’ crew.”

“That’s impossible. All filming content is confidential for now; Director Zhang definitely won’t allow it.”

“Not necessarily. Zhang the Bearded has long wanted to use my rescue incident to stir up interest in the show. As long as they don’t touch internal shooting footage, he might very well agree.”

“You don’t seem to mind being used, do you?”

“What right do I have to object? My most urgent need right now is to become famous as quickly as possible. If I just wait for the broadcast, I’ll waste months of time.”