1994: I Became a Literary Master in America

Chapter 28 Oh, Your Majesty?

There were thirty or forty people gathered on the field.

There were only a couple hundred people scattered around.

Most of them were neighbors from the area near Chinatown. They heard there was something interesting to see, so they all came over.

But the people on the field...

Xu Shengjie was surprised to find a group of tall, blond, blue-eyed foreigners!

It's not that foreigners can't be in Chinatown; in fact, there are quite a few Westerners here, and many even live nearby.

However, those foreigners clearly did not belong to Chinatown.

They wore the yellow jerseys of the Swedish national team, strutting around triumphantly.

Zhang Ping'an said, "We had originally agreed to play football with those international students, but a bunch of Swedes showed up and started spouting nonsense."

Tommy argued with them for a bit, and now they want to play football with us.

"what?"

Xu Shengjie was taken aback and looked at the foreigners in the stadium.

These guys look arrogant, gesturing wildly as they're talking about something.

Perhaps noticing Xu Shengjie's gaze, one of the Swedes pressed his finger to the corner of his eye, making a squinting gesture.

Xu Shengjie was furious!

"Kick them, kick them to death."

Without saying a word, he changed into sneakers and took out soccer shoes from his backpack.

Who is participating?

"We had enough people on our side, but looking at their size... I picked a few and found seven who could handle their size. The others wouldn't do; I reckon they'd be crushed to pieces by the foreigners on the court."

"What about the international students? Gather a few of them over here."

"I was just about to tell them."

"I'll go tell them."

Xu Shengjie put on his soccer shoes and strode towards the field.

On the field, the players were divided into three groups, each with its own distinct boundaries.

One group consists of long-time immigrants from Chinatown, another group consists of Chinese students and Chinese Americans, and the rest are the Swedish expats.

"Chinese people, are you going to kick us or not? If not, we're leaving."

"Kick it! Why aren't you kicking it?" Tommy yelled. "A thousand dollars a ball, dare you?"

"Hey, you Chinese, are you here to give us money?"

Xu Shengjie suddenly turned around, walked up to the Swede who had uttered "Chinaman," and cursed, "You foreigner, look where you are! This is Chinatown! Watch your mouth, or you'll be sleeping at the bottom of the Hudson River tonight."

He has a fierce aura about him.

After all, the original owner had seen blood and killed people.

The Swede was about to retort when someone nearby stopped him.

"Liam, shut up!"

He then smiled and said to Xu Shengjie, "Brother, don't take offense. Liam meant no harm; it was just a slip of the tongue."

My name is Goran, and I'm looking forward to a great match later.

His smile is very sunny.

Xu Shengjie shook hands with him and immediately had a strange feeling: This guy is just like me, an old hand. Be careful!

"Hopefully it was just a slip of the tongue. The United States is a country that values ​​racial equality, and the consequences of saying the wrong thing can be very serious."

"Thanks for reminding me."

Both of them were smiling.

These Swedes speak pretty good English, so communication isn't a problem.

Xu Shengjie turned and walked towards the group of international students, whispering to Zhang Ping'an as he went, "These guys are up to no good. During the match later, don't hold back, kick them as hard as you can. As long as you don't break any bones, you'll be fine."

"I know!"

Zhang Ping'an immediately turned and left.

"We're going to play football with the Westerners, and we're short a few players. Anyone interested in joining?"

Xu Shengjie saw that Zhou Wenqiong and Gong Xue were both there.

Gong Xue was also with a girl wearing a Chinese national team jersey, who looked to be about six or seven years old.

He nodded to Zhou Wenqiong and Gong Xue, then looked at the group of international students.

Cheng was also present and blurted out, "This is between you and the foreigners; we won't get involved."

"Spineless!"

"What did you say?"

"They're calling you 'Chinamen,' that's discrimination against us! We're all of the same origin and race, we should be united against a common enemy. Why distinguish between those from China and those who are native? If we lose, it's a disgrace to all Chinese people."

"Xiao Cheng, this young man is right."

A middle-aged man spoke up, saying, "We cannot disgrace the Chinese people."

Brother, what's your surname?

He looked at Xu Shengjie and said with a smile, "Cao Guilin, a screenwriter."

Xu Shengjie laughed, "I know you, from 'A Native of Beijing in New York,' right?"

"Huh, you actually know about this TV series?"

"Haha, let's talk about it later. We're short four people, can they come?"

Count me in!

From the crowd, a burly young man stepped forward, extending his hand and smiling, "An actor, experiencing life here. I thought it would be an exchange between compatriots, but it turned into a national war! Hu Jun, from Beijing, count me in."

Huh?

Xu Shengjie was stunned for a moment.

He sized the other person up; it must be him.

"welcome."

Count me in!

Another man walked out. "Zhang Zhao, New York University, film studies major."

Huh? It's that familiar face again.

Zhang Zhao, the future CEO of LeEco? Is he the same Zhang Zhao who uttered the extremely pretentious line, "As long as movies exist, therefore I exist"?

But he was really young at that time, probably only around thirty years old.

"welcome!"

"Count me in too, I'm a former railway soldier."

Another middle-aged man stepped forward and introduced himself: "Chen Jiu, a writer."

"Dajun, you should go too. Ninth Brother has already gone into battle."

Gong Xue suddenly spoke up, shouting at a burly man among the international students.

The man frowned slightly and reluctantly stepped forward, saying, "Count me in too, Wang Dajun, an international student at New York University."

king?

Today is truly a good day; it's all familiar faces.

Xu Shengjie is very familiar with this person; he is the eldest of the Wang brothers, who will dominate the Chinese film industry in the future.

When it comes to the Chinese entertainment industry, the two Wangs are unavoidable figures.

However, most people are more familiar with Xiao Wang, while Da Wang lives a secluded life and rarely makes public appearances.

But he was the real mastermind behind that damned Brothers Studios.

Is this guy still in the US? Hasn't he gone back yet?

In his past life, Xu Shengjie was known as the "Little Karami" of the film industry, but he was blacklisted by the two Wangs. In reality, he had never even met the "Little Wang"...

He couldn't help but laugh.

"Okay, you're in!"

Xu Shengjie walked away with a smile, and the other international students and Chinese also left the court one after another.

On the field, only eleven players remained, including Xu Shengjie. Zhang Ping'an walked up to the group of Swedes and asked, "How are we going to play?"

"A regular match consists of two halves, totaling ninety minutes."

"Twenty-minute break in the middle... Referees, you can use your own people."

"That's settled then!"

At the same time, a news van appeared at the side of the stadium.

The vehicle bears the logo of CBS television.

A young female reporter got out of the car, followed by a cameraman, and jogged to the edge of the stadium.

"Oh, it looks like there's going to be a football match soon."

With the World Cup just around the corner, the football atmosphere is getting increasingly intense. Let's take a look at what appears to be a match between Swedish fans and Chinese residents in Chinatown. Oh, I see Snow Gong! Let's go interview her.

Gong Xue is the host of the New York television program "Chinese American Figures" and is quite well-known in New York.

The female reporter clearly recognized Gong Xue, so she walked over with the cameraman.

"Hello, Snow!"

Gong Xue was watching the game from the sidelines, while on the field, both sides were warming up briefly.

She didn't expect reporters to show up.

But it's understandable; having lived in the US for ten years and worked as a presenter on a New York television station, she's very familiar with American news reporting methods. Top journalists and star reporters mostly broadcast the news from a studio.

But a junior reporter...

If you want to stand out, you have to search for inspiration all over the place.

If you don't meet your KPIs, you could face unemployment at any time. That's why we often see reporters appearing immediately after an incident in TV shows and movies—they're referring to the location reporters who gather footage.

"Hey, you are...?"

Michele Tafoya, CBS Sports intern.

"Hello, Miss Tafuya."

"Is a football match being played here?"

"Yes, it's a match between the Chinatown soccer team and the Swedish fan team, and it's also to welcome the upcoming World Cup and show fans around the world how much New Yorkers love soccer."

He's a seasoned veteran; he immediately starts talking about value.

Just as Michel was about to say something more, a whistle blew from the stadium, and a unique football match began!

……