Chapter 39: The Aquarius Man and Woman (Third Update!)

  (PS: The third update is here, vote for me! I'll continue ~)

  "Oh, what kind of book?" He Mu was also a book lover and couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.

  "Not the type you like," Li Wenhua said affirmatively, "This is a time-traveling romance, specifically set in the Qing dynasty. The general plot is about a woman who travels back to the Kangxi period and gets entangled in a love story with several of Kangxi's sons."

  "Alright, it's really not my cup of tea." He Mu curled his lips in distaste, as a man he was unable to accept this kind of one-woman-many-men scenario.

  Hearing He Mu's displeased tone, Li Wenhua went on and on about the process of discovering this book.

  "This is a web novel that one of my female classmates found online and became deeply fascinated with, to the point where she couldn't eat or sleep. She knew I had started a publishing company, so she strongly recommended it to me. At first, when she gave me a brief introduction, I reacted the same way you did - I didn't think much of it. But then she forced me to sit in front of the computer and read half of it, after which I decided to find the author and have a talk."

  "Really so good-looking?" He Mu asked hesitantly.

  "This is a matter of personal preference, and it's possible that most female readers will like it, but male readers are harder to say. After reading this book, I'm not particularly fond of it either, but I can be sure that many female readers who like this kind of book will love it. It satisfies many women's unrealistic fantasies about romance, and the author's writing is quite good, you can tell she has done her research on the history of the nine dragons seizing the throne, and it's very readable, so I recommend it." Li Wen Hua explained his reasoning.

  He Mu could only offer his support, "Although I think this book isn't very mainstream, your taste can't be bad, go for it, young man!"

  Chatted with Li Culture for too long until the phone ran out of battery, and only then did they bid each other goodnight... no, I mean good morning.

  The phone was charged, and the time had already reached four o'clock. In a little over an hour, people would start getting up to make dumplings. He Mu lay in bed with his eyes closed, thinking about things. He thought of "Soldiers Sortie" and also thought of "Royal Tramp", but ultimately returned to "The Young Yang Family Generals". From this, he also thought of a certain foodie. As he was thinking, a sudden loud noise burst forth, it seemed that someone had already started setting off firecrackers. He Mu smiled slightly at the corner of his mouth and sat up.

  He got dressed and brought back by his dad, Chui Tian Lei, Bai Hua San, Huo Shu Yin Hua filled the whole yard, some were even connected with a fuse. When grandpa and parents woke up, it was just dawn, He Mu completed the task of setting off fireworks alone, instantly making the He family's big yard the most lively, brightest and most dazzling place in the village.

  After dinner, He Mu gave his parents and grandfather a New Year's bow and received three red envelopes, totaling over 1,000 yuan. He Mu felt comforted, thinking that he could temporarily alleviate his difficult life.

  In addition to the red envelope, Mom also gave an extra Guanyin pendant made of jade.

  "Mom, I hate having all this junk hanging on me, you know that." He Mu looked at his mom discontentedly as she tied the pendant around his neck.

  Mom got unhappy: "What's all this nonsense, don't talk nonsense. This is the marriage pendant I prayed for at Cangzhou Shuixi Temple, and even had Master Yan Canfa from the temple bless it. It's very efficacious."

  It seems that the old mother is also thinking of holding her grandson, but isn't she a bit too anxious? He Mu is only 20 years old and has just passed his youth. Moreover, is the Buddha also starting to snatch the moon's business?

  "What's Dad said on the side: 'Finding a girlfriend is okay, but it's better to forget about those in the entertainment industry, it's too messy.'"

  Old Mr. He, who was originally smiling, kicked him hard and then said to He Wu, "Don't listen to your dad, if you like someone just have a child with her, it doesn't matter which circle she's from."

  Upon hearing Grandpa's words, He Mu was really sweating profusely. "Grandpa, can't you be more subtle? You're so eager to hold your great-grandson?"

  On the first day of the Lunar New Year, after eating dumplings, the men in the village took their wives and sons to pay respects to their elders. As He Mu's family was of a higher generation, he and his son He Ze Tao didn't need to go out to pay respects. All He Mu had to do was receive guests who came to pay respects to Old Man He and his father, offering them cigarettes and pouring tea.

  In theory, all the people with the surname He in the village had to come and kowtow to the old man, and according to statistics, households with the surname He accounted for three-fifths of the whole village, so it can be imagined how He Mu spent this day.

  After finally seeing off all the guests, He Laozu went back to sleep and He Mu was finally relieved.

  At night, He Mu took out his mobile phone and started writing New Year's messages. Some just sent text messages, such as Liu Shi, Tao Qu Duo, Yang Pi, etc., while others made phone calls, such as his boss Xiao Fang.

  "Hey, Fang Ge, Happy New Year......" He Mu said a set of auspicious phrases for the new year and then waited for Xiao Fang's reaction.

  Soon he got a reaction, "Who are you? I don't know you."

  A soft and sweet voice full of childishness.

  He Mu knew that Xiao Fang had a daughter, but he had never seen her and didn't know her name. "I'm looking for Xiao Fang, what's your relationship with him?"

  "He is my father."

  "Then who are you?"

  "I am Xiangxiang." The girl replied firmly.

  "Xiao Xiang, Xiao Xiang Xiānzǐ, what a nice name you have, you must be a beauty." He Mu said with a sly smile.

  "Yes, how did you know?" The girl's two big eyes rolled around.

  Unexpectedly, the little girl really admitted that she was a beauty, was she too confident or too narcissistic? He Mu said again: "Although I can't see you, but I can guess, little beauty, tell Uncle how old are you."

  "Dad doesn't let me tell others." Xiangxiang said shaking her head.

  "But I'm not someone else, I'm your dad's friend, so you can tell me." He Mu found that teasing the little kid was still quite fun, but unfortunately Niu Niu wasn't around often.

  "Uh," the girl thought for a moment, "Okay," she figured it out, "I'm four years old this year and I'm a horse."

  He Mu Le said, "Who asked you about your zodiac sign? You seem to know a lot, so what's your star sign?" Don't believe it, you understand.

  "Aquarius," the girl surprisingly really understood this, and with a tone of "of course I know", "My guardian star is Uranus, my guardian stone is amethyst, oh, and my love stone is rose quartz, but not needed for now, hehe."

  He was shocked, thoroughly shocked. Are little girls nowadays so powerful? Have they already started studying constellations? Why doesn't he, also an Aquarius, know what those guardian stones, guardian stars, and love stones are all about?!

  He Mu, who was still uncertain, asked again: "How old are you?"

  "I just said so, I'm four years old, but I'll be five soon." The girl replied with a pout.

  Four years old, slightly older than Niu Niu, but that silly child sometimes can't even speak clearly. Looking at Xiao Fang's family, this little girl is simply a little witch, no, a little astrology enthusiast.

  He Mu smiled and chatted with the little witch Mushroom, who was far more intelligent than her peers, for a while before returning to the topic at hand. "Where's your dad?" It's better not to talk too much with her, or you'll start doubting your own IQ.

  "Dad and mom are taking a bath, they won't let me take one with them, and they even asked me to help them watch the phone." Xiangxiang said with a hint of dissatisfaction.

  He Mu's face turned bright red, thinking: Fang Ge, you're actually with your sister-in-law... How hungry are you two? The child hasn't even gone to sleep yet! Don't you know to be a little more discreet.

  Alas, although he sympathized with Xiao Xiang's situation, He Mu could only stand by and do nothing. He wanted to ask Xiao Xiang if she knew why her father and mother didn't take her bathing together, but he was afraid that this little witch would say something that would make him feel embarrassed, so he thought better of it.

  Xiao Xiang briefly told her a few words to pass on to Xiao Fang, and then the first exchange between He Mu, the water bottle man, and Xiao Xiang, the water bottle woman, came to an end.

  ……

  The next day, He Mu drove his father's car alone to visit several aunts and uncles, his parents were also the youngest in their families, but his mother had three older brothers instead of four sisters, so He Mu had to visit six households in one day (four aunts lived in the provincial city).

  He couldn't afford to waste any more time because he had to leave on the third day of the New Year, and the crew required him to arrive at Hengdian on the fifth day.

  He Mu returned to the capital on the third day of the Lunar New Year afternoon. His assistant, Mi Min, came to pick him up and took him back to Hu Lang Corporation.

  In the office of boss Xiao Fang, two men sat on the sofa, one in his thirties and the other in his forties. They both had short hair and wore glasses, giving off a strong yet elegant impression.

  "Sit down," Xiao Mu said, as Xiao Fang first introduced the young man to him, "This is Ran Xiaolong, Major and original author and screenwriter of 'Soldiers Sortie'."

  He Mu did not shake hands, but chose to give a standard military salute, which made Lan Xiaolong, who was usually quite serious, smile and say, "Very much like a soldier, not bad, not bad."

  "Thank you for the compliment, sir!" He Mu said in a loud and clear voice.

  Xiao Fang smiled and interjected: "His brother is my comrade-in-arms, his current state is very similar to his brother's."

  Lan Xiaolong smiled and nodded, and Xiao Fang continued to introduce.

  "This is Director Hong Lei, who will be directing the upcoming film 'Soldier Assault'. I'm sure his representative works don't need any introduction from me."

  Of course not, in 2001, a TV series "The Burning Years of Passion" caused a national viewing craze, and was rebroadcast countless times within a few years. This drama not only brought Sun Haiying to the peak of his performing career after many years, but also earned him a wife, marrying the famous Lü Liping, making it a double harvest for his career and love life.

  This drama not only benefited the actors, but also made military writer Shi Zhongshan and director Kang Honglei famous. However, several TV series adapted from Shi's later works had good ratings, while several dramas directed by Kang were just average, far from the sensation and glory of "Years" back then...

  ;