Chapter 1

In 1997, in the capital city.

It was early spring, and the weather was still very cold, with pedestrians on the streets not yet having shed their winter coats.

Chu Qing wrapped his leather jacket tighter around himself and squatted by the roadside.

This leather jacket was the most popular style of last year, the favorite of young people, and quite expensive. Chu Qing, who even counted his cigarettes by the stick, could certainly not afford it; he had stolen it.

The original owner must have been a wastrel, who, for some reason, had made a small tear on the collar of the jacket, which led to his discarding it.

At that time, Chu Qing and another old partner who scavenged for a living both had their eyes on this prize. In the end, he managed to get it due to his youth and strength, and their friendship ended there.

He felt it was worth it; with his income, it might have taken him a month to buy such a jacket.

They were just drinking buddies, and losing them was no big deal.

The sky was overcast, with no sun. Both vehicles and pedestrians seemed lethargic, and even the cyclists pedaled lazily.

It was just after the New Year, and everything was still in a state of dormancy.

Chu Qing hadn't been home for four years. To be precise, he had been reborn in this era for two months.

Two months, not long but not short, was enough for him to approach a pile of trash with a calm mind and find things that could be sold.

At 17, he had left a small village in Northeast China for the capital city, dreaming of making a name for himself. Although his goal was rather peculiar—becoming a chef. After four years, he had only buried his head in the ground. Chu Qing found it hard to understand this child's dream and the actions taken for it.

In his previous life, he was only 30, a young age whether alive or dead.

He had spent his entire life in a small county in his hometown, not very smart, and unable to get into college. After graduating from high school, he took over his father's shoe repair shop, working for over a decade with good skills, enough to support his family. Later, he bought a house, married a virtuous wife, and when he was reborn, his daughter was just two years old.

Such a simple life, perhaps it would have remained simple until the day he died. If there was anything different, it was the set of boxing techniques—San Huang Pao Chui—taught to him by his grandfather with a stick.

This set of boxing was said to be very powerful, but he had only learned the basics. However, in his school days, he was invincible in the county. As he grew older, he gradually calmed down.

A cool breeze blew, and Chu Qing pinched his nose hard, turning the salty liquid in his eyes into snot and blowing it out.

So, as a person with a simple and peaceful life, a harmonious family, he really didn't understand much about the word "dream."

Although he thought being a chef was no different from repairing shoes, he didn't want to continue this body's inexplicable pursuit.

In two months, he had adapted to scavenging through garbage bins but hadn't adapted to this city that produced so much garbage.

Chu Qing really disliked the city, feeling fear and disgust, especially in the capital.

He missed his hometown, where he could buy anything within a mile; he missed his wife and children, the evenings after dinner when the family would go to the small bridge by the river to watch the flowing water, then nestle on the sofa to watch TV until late at night, and after putting the children to bed, enjoy some intimate moments.

A life of low status, even if reborn, wouldn't become much nobler.

Chu Qing patted his inner pocket, pulled out a cigarette box, and weighed it. A white cigarette with a white filter was exposed at the tear.

This pack cost three yuan, a luxury for him.

"Last one."

Chu Qing hesitated for a moment, then took out the cigarette, smelled it under his nose, and the fresh tobacco smell cleared his muddled head.

He put it in his mouth, took out a match, and struck it.

"Puff!"

The flame went out, leaving a wisp of smoke to drift away.

He pursed his lips, took out another match, and struck it.

"Puff!"

It went out again.

"Hey! I don't believe it!"

Chu Qing stubbornly struck match after match, but they all turned into white smoke and dissipated.

Before long, a small pile of used matchsticks had accumulated at his feet.

Often, people do such things, not out of stubbornness, but out of a meaningless fit of pique.

Chu Qing looked at the last match lying quietly in the box, its red striking head slightly worn, like a cracked mouth, mocking his childishness.

He finally gave up, stood up, looked around, and retreated a few meters to a wall, sheltered from the wind, and struck the match.

"Whoosh!"

He took a deep drag and exhaled a long breath.

He had been hesitating about whether to go back, to return to the Northeast village he didn't even recognize.

That small village still had the old house and two acres of land left by his deceased parents.

Farming, it didn't sound too difficult, probably easier than repairing shoes.

He had little education and no hobbies, and his only skill was repairing shoes. In the future, he might also farm.

In four years in the capital city, he had saved some money by living frugally. If he borrowed a bit more from his uncles, he could renovate the old house and get married.

This life, it would be like this, not much different from his previous life.

"Whoosh!"

He exhaled another breath, with half the cigarette left, glowing dimly.

But, he really felt a bit unwilling...

Chu Qing thought.

"Hey! Who said you could smoke here!"

A shout brought him back to his senses. He turned his head and saw a man in a uniform walking over.

"Is it illegal to smoke here?" Chu Qing didn't move, not even standing up, and asked.

"Do you know where you are?" The man walked up, looking down at him.

"Where?" Chu Qing squatted on the ground, holding the cigarette, and tilted his head to look at him.

"This is a school. No loitering at the entrance, and no smoking here!" the man said.

"School?"

Chu Qing glanced at the building behind him, following the wall to a grand arch-shaped gate a few meters away, with the words "Capital Film Academy" written on it.

It was indeed a school.

Chu Qing didn't know if smoking was allowed at the school entrance, but he always admired and respected these cultured people, so he felt guilty. He quickly stood up and said, "Sorry, I'll leave."

"Quickly, quickly! Don't squat like an old dog by the wall, you're not peeing!" The man waved his hand as if shooing a fly.

"Old dog?"

Chu Qing smiled, took a step forward, then pulled his foot back and squatted down again.

"Hey, what's wrong with you, can't you understand human language!" the man said angrily.

"Do you manage this area? Are you the principal?" Chu Qing laughed.

"I'm your grandpa! I'll tell you not to make me touch you!" The man rolled up his sleeves.

"Oh, I thought you were a dog, barking all day for no reason." Chu Qing laughed.

He hated people who acted important and always looked for trouble. If they didn't, it was fine, but if they did, he wasn't afraid of a fight.

"Hey! You're challenging me! I'll beat you today!"

The security guard got angry and kicked out.

Chu Qing didn't even blink, raised his hand, caught the guard's ankle, pulled him in, and then pushed him away.

The guard felt a strong force, fell backward, and landed with a "thud."

"Ouch!"

The guard held his lower back, groaning in pain. He knew he had met a tough opponent and immediately became timid, feeling very conflicted.

If he stood up, he would have to continue the fight, but he couldn't win. If he went to get help, everyone was eating at this time, and he couldn't find anyone. If he admitted defeat, it would be too embarrassing, so he decided to lie on the ground and act cool.

Fortunately, his fate wasn't sealed. Two young men ran over from the entrance and helped him up.

Both were very thin, one wearing glasses and looking rather sleazy, the other with drooping eyebrows and a very pitiful face.

"Brother Liu, are you okay? I'll help you back."

The glasses-wearing man asked, and the guard shook his head, saying "No, no," not daring to look at Chu Qing, and went to get his meal.

"Sir, don't be angry, you're a big person."

The glasses-wearing man came over to apologize to Chu Qing.

These two had seen the entire argument and wanted to mediate, but before they could take a step, the fight had already started, and the guard was already on the ground.

Wow! This is a high-level person!

"No, no."

Chu Qing waved his hand, not wanting to argue with such a weak opponent. He was about to put the cigarette back in his mouth when he suddenly asked, "Is smoking allowed here?"

The fight was won, but the guard had been disrespectful. He wasn't the type to cause trouble for no reason, but he still respected the rules. If smoking wasn't allowed, he would go elsewhere, no big deal.

"Sure, sure, smoke away!" the glasses-wearing man said quickly.

"Okay."

Chu Qing nodded, put the remaining half of the cigarette back in his mouth, scratched his head, and felt greasy.

He thought he should wash his hair and take a bath tonight.

In the past two months, he hadn't taken a bath once. The dilapidated rental house had no bathing facilities, so he could only boil some hot water and use a towel to wipe himself.

But he had been diving into garbage piles every day, and the stench was unbearable. Wiping himself was a waste of the towel, so he decided to indulge himself and go to a bathhouse for a good soak.

"Let's go, back to the dorm."

The glasses-wearing man saw that the matter was settled and tried to pull his companion into the school gate.

But he couldn't move him. His companion stood there, watching the high-level person smoke, and he was puzzled, saying, "What are you looking at? Do you want to learn from him?"

His companion shook his head and said, "Look at how he squats and smokes, doesn't he look very suitable?"

"Huh?"

The glasses-wearing man also looked at Chu Qing, studied him for a moment, and nodded. "You're right, his demeanor is very suitable, better than mine. Why don't you go try?"

The companion thought for a moment and said, "Okay, I'll go talk to him." Then he added, "But you have to come down too!"

"Hey! It's because I couldn't find anyone, so I had to do it. I have no confidence, I'd rather someone else did it!" the glasses-wearing man said.

"You're being lazy and shirking responsibility, your work attitude is problematic!" the companion laughed.

"Alright, alright, you go quickly, he's about to leave." the glasses-wearing man said.

Chu Qing finished his cigarette, extinguished the butt, and flicked it into the garbage can in front of him.

Just as he was about to leave, he heard someone shout, "Hey, wait a minute!"

Chu Qing turned around and saw the pitiful-faced man with drooping eyebrows running over. He opened his mouth and asked, "Hey, do you want to make movies?"

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