Hello Mr. King - Chapter 78

Chapter 78

Chapter 78: Interview Show

“Inspirational Life” was a show hosted by a famous host in Chinese Television System, Zhao Qun . It specialized in finding real life, inspirational stories from the common folk .

The ratings weren’t spectacular, but it had a huge influence . The older generation loved it especially .

Yun Xiangxiang and Yang Qi arrived at the scene in military training clothes . The two sets of clothes Yang Qi tried out in the makeup room didn’t make him look as energetic as when he was wearing the green military clothes . That was what the program planner thought .

They decided to not apply any makeup; they only straightened the clothes and combed their hair . Both of them would go up there in their military training clothes .

“Don’t be nervous later,” Yun Xiangxiang noticed that Yang Qi was clenching his fists and breathed deeply . She calmed him down smilingly .

“Let’s give it up for our stars of today’s ‘Inspirational Life’,” Zhao Qun yelled after the opening credits rolled .

The stage door of where they stood yawned open . The applause from the live audience greeted them .

Yun Xiangxiang gripped Yang Qi’s wrist when she saw him freeze . He was almost dragged to the center of the stage by her .

“Hello, Mr . Zhao,” Yun Xiangxiang graciously shook hands with Zhao Qun first .

Yang Qi imitated Yun Xiangxiang, “Hello, Mr . Zhao . ”

“Hello,” Zhao Qun shook hands with them too . He then stood between both of them, “Let’s get the introductions going . ”

Zhao Qun also spotted Yang Qi’s stiffness . He turned his gaze to Yun Xiangxiang .

“Hi everyone . I’m Yun Xiangxiang . I’m a freshman who just got into university,” Yun Xiangxiang kept her introduction simple to not pressurize Yang Qi . However, her smile was gorgeous and received the audience’s applause in return .

The ratings for the live broadcast were also phenomenal . Huan Yu Century Entertainment didn’t hold back on the publicity department these three days .

[The goddess has her natural look on! She’s so pretty!]

[I had always thought that the military training clothes were ugly . Now I know that I’m the ugly one . ]

[I envy the inspirational brother to be able to go on a show with the goddess!]

Yang Qi cooled off a little immediately after that, “Hi everyone, I’m Yang Qi . Not the belle, but the weirdo . [1]”

His statement livened up the atmosphere . Yun Xiangxiang smiled encouragingly .

“Seems that both of the top students are very busy . They came straight to the show in military training clothes . ” Zhao Qun took it away with a smile, “Come have a seat . Let us talk about your story . ”

[What does ‘your story’ mean? Why did you put it so ambiguously? I’ll send a razor blade to the station![2] ]

[The one above me, are you stupid? That’s Chinese Television System . Do you have a death wish by sending a razor blade to them?]

[Just send it to Zhao Qun {?}]

Both Yun Xiangxiang and Yang Qi were wearing headsets . They sat on an arc sofa and consciously left a space of one person between them . Zhao Qun sat across to them .

“Everyone knows that the two students sitting next to me are top students who just enrolled into Qingdao University . Yun Xiangxiang was even admitted as the nation’s top . She is truly the top student among the top students . ”

“From what I know, you were already a top student since you were little, is that true?” Zhao Qun glanced at Yun Xiangxiang after he said that to the audience with, Yun Xiangxiang responded with a polite smile later on .

“My family had an advantage . My father’s a teacher,” Yun Xiangxiang replied, “I started learning earlier than most kids . ”

“So you didn’t go out to play and only studied at home since you were little?”

“Not exactly . Kids will naturally thirst to learn when they reach a certain stage . They will learn faster at school once they learn it at home . Once they know more than the other kids and get some praise from the teachers, they would learn harder due to their vanity . ”

Yun Xiangxiang answered smilingly, “It would be hard to stop once excellency became a habit and learning became a way of life . The longing for playtime would be reduced . ”

“Seems that Xiangxiang is a self-disciplined type,” Zhao Qun gave a slight laugh before focusing the topic on another star, Yang Qi, “Yang Qi should be the hardworking type . I heard that your grades weren’t particularly great when you were little . ”

Yang Qi touched the back of his head abashedly, “My grades were only slightly above average since I was a kid . I have never gotten into the top ten before Grade Twelve . ”

“Is the goddess sitting beside you the reason behind your diligence?” Zhao Qun gestured at Yun Xiangxiang .

Yang Qi nodded .

“Can you share it with me in detail?”

Yang Qi thought for a while before he spoke, “It was around new year’s time during the winter break . My classmates in the chat group said that “Caring Love” was great . A lot of them even teased me because my name sounds like the female protagonist played by the goddess . ”

“But we lived in a farming village . There wasn’t a cinema there . I would have to go on a two hour drive into the county for it . A ticket’s price was a week’s worth of my living expenses . I couldn’t bear to spend that kind of money if the fee for the round trip was added . That was why I didn’t go to watch it . But I do follow the goddess’s Weibo .

Yang Qi looked at Yun Xiangxiang apologetically when he said that, but immediately added, “Even though I didn’t watch ‘Caring Love’ in the cinemas, I did work part time during the summer break and watched ‘University Dream’ in the theatre . ”

Everyone thought that his eagerness was adorable .

“En, thank you for supporting ‘University Dream’ . ” Yun Xiangxiang also chimed in to help him calm his nerves .

How much does a film ticket cost in your country?” Zhao Qun got quite interested .

“Twenty yuan . ” Yang Qi replied curtly .

“In other words, twenty yuan is your living expenses for five days?” Zhao Qun was aghast .

Yang Qi nodded, “It’s plenty . Sometimes I could even have a yuan or two left over . ”

“Not even four yuan [3] for a day . What do you have for your three meals?”

“Things are cheaper in our county . A mantou or an egg for breakfast costs fifty cents . I’ll go for dishes that cost two yuan in the canteen for lunch . It was basically either potatoes or some rolls that cost a yuan for dinner . ”

Yang Qi answered earnestly, “My grandma would give me a can of pickles when I went home every week, some salted duck eggs or seafood sauce . I only needed to buy some rice if I brought these to school . They make a tasty meal . ”

“What about water?”

“There’s a water dispenser in the classroom . It’s free flow . ”

He would fill his belly with water if he wasn’t really hungry just to save some money . That was exactly like what Xia Hong did in ‘University Dream . ’ It was also why he was so fond of Yun Xiangxiang . But he was embarrassed about it . He also didn’t want his parents to be worried if they found out .

“You might be called Yang Qi, but you have Xia Hong’s life,” Zhao Qun said with a genial laugh .

“Oh no, I have it much better than Xia Hong . I may live in a farming village, but it wasn’t deep in the mountains . My parents didn’t ignore my presence either . They already did their best to give me whatever they could . There were a lot of children in our village that graduated from junior high, but dropped out in senior high . Some had bad grades, some had family issues . I still have a sister . My parents are also nice to her,” Yang Qi elaborated, “I think I am really blessed . ”

Folks had tears welled up in their eyes inexplicably when they saw Yang Qi’s silly grin .

“Why didn’t you work hard before this?” Zhao Qun suddenly asked a slightly biting question .

“I used to think that that was all us rural kids could amount to . Everyone seemed to be like that one way or another . It was nothing,” Yang Qi replied .

“You didn’t have a goal you would strive for? Won’t your teacher encourage you guys regularly?”