PCJ – Chapter 530 Hard to Escape the Cliché

“Wow!”

The classmates surrounded Zhang Jiaohua all at once, talking at once.

“I knew it! When I first saw Zhang Jiaohua, his face seemed so familiar. Turns out I’ve seen him in The Great Tomb Saga.”

“Exactly. The little hunter’s role in The Great Tomb Saga wasn’t less significant than that of the main actors. In fact, I think the little hunter’s scenes were the most exciting parts of the whole film.”

“Zhang Jiaohua must know Tang Yan, Chen Haibo, and Chen Cheng! If we could get them to come and represent our class at the National Day Gala, our class would look great!”

“Zhang Jiaohua, do you really know Tang Yan? I really want her autograph.”

“I want it too!”

Li Wenjuan wasn’t happy, “Hey, hey, hey! What are you all yelling about? Do you think this is a market? We’re still talking about something here. Get to the side!”

Li Wenjuan had the boldness of a northern woman. She quickly chased the crowd away and then flashed a gentle smile at Zhang Jiaohua, “Zhang Jiaohua, you can’t not help, alright?”

“I… What can I help with?” Zhang Jiaohua was truly caught off guard by Li Wenjuan’s sudden change in demeanor. One moment, she was tough, and the next moment, she was soft and gentle.

“Do you really know Tang Yan and the others?” Li Wenjuan asked.

“I know them, but we’re not close.” Zhang Jiaohua replied, unable to deny it.

“Then you can definitely invite them to our National Day Gala?” Li Wenjuan immediately pressed on.

“I can’t guarantee that. They’re big stars and have lots of social obligations. Who knows if they’re free on that day?” Zhang Jiaohua shook his head quickly.

“I’m not asking you to bring them all, just one of them would be enough. This is about our class’s honor, you won’t just stand by, right?” Li Wenjuan insisted.

Zhang Jiaohua felt awkward about refusing, “I’ll try and see if they can make it, but I can’t promise anything.”

“So you have their contact info?” Li Wenjuan smiled slyly.

“I can’t give that to you,” Zhang Jiaohua immediately responded.

Li Wenjuan laughed, “Don’t worry, I won’t put you in a tough spot. But you should at least try your best to help us!”

Zhang Jiaohua knew that as long as he asked, Chen Haibo and the others would certainly try their best to come. After all, they owed him a huge favor and were eager to find a chance to repay him.

Zhang Jiaohua suddenly felt like a bean spinning around in a bowl. Leaving Meizi’ao and coming to Beijing felt like jumping from one bowl to another, never escaping the fate of spinning in circles. Maybe life in this world is like that—a bowl of clichés. Can cultivators break free from the ordinary? Zhang Lao Dao hid in the mountains and practiced, but in the end, he still fell into the trap of incense rituals. Chen Dianzi was mad, but even he couldn’t escape the cliché of family ties. Where would his own path of cultivation lead? Could he truly break free from the cliché?

“Hey, Zhang Jiaohua, why are you spacing out? You need to remember to invite the big stars!” Li Wenjuan shook him.

Xu Xiaoting, who had been paying attention, walked over with a frown and said disapprovingly, “Why are you making Zhang Jiaohua handle such a difficult task? A big star’s appearance fee could be thousands of dollars. You’re asking Zhang Jiaohua to invite them to our school’s gala for free. Isn’t that putting him in a tough spot?”

Li Wenjuan chuckled, “Hey, what’s with the attitude? I didn’t force this on Zhang Jiaohua. He agreed to it himself. If you don’t believe me, go ask him.”

“It’s clear that you kept bothering him until he agreed. Now you’re making it sound like it was his own decision,” Xu Xiaoting said unhappily.

“Enough, don’t argue. I’ll try, but if it works or not, don’t blame me,” Zhang Jiaohua said.

“Zhang Jiaohua, you have to learn to refuse some things. Even though you know Chen Haibo and the others, they might not do you any favors by coming over to perform for free. Don’t waste your time,” Xu Xiaoting warned him.

“It’s fine, nothing to lose by trying,” Zhang Jiaohua smiled.

After getting home, Zhang Jiaohua called Chen Cheng.

Chen Cheng was happy to receive the call, “Jiaohua, you finally called me! I was just about to call you.”

“What’s up? Did something happen? I thought Haunted House Saga had already wrapped up,” Zhang Jiaohua thought something might have gone wrong.

“Can’t I call you just because? We’re relatives, after all. Your mom asked me to take care of you in Beijing,” Chen Cheng said, dissatisfied.

“I thought you guys ran into some problems with the movie,” Zhang Jiaohua scratched his head.

“Nothing happened. We just changed locations for the shoot, and it went smoothly. Haibo and Yan Jie both want to thank you properly,” Chen Cheng said.

“Chen Cheng, I need to ask you guys for a favor,” Zhang Jiaohua told her about the National Day Gala.

“This matter?” Chen Cheng seemed a bit hesitant.

“If you guys have something going on, it’s fine. I told them it’s just a try, and if it works, great, if not, it’s not my fault,” Zhang Jiaohua was indifferent.

“Well, there is something going on that day, but tell me the time and place of your gala, and I’ll see if I can work something out. Let me ask Yan Jie and the others first,” Chen Cheng thought for a moment.

Although it wasn’t confirmed, the class’s program was still kept. After all, if even one of them could come, the impact on the gala would be huge. Every year, there were small stars attending, but it was rare to have a top domestic movie star come. With the popularity of The Great Tomb Saga, the main cast members had become hugely famous, and even Principal Li Kunda was a fan of the show. He often discussed the literary value of The Great Tomb Saga at various occasions. In fact, he was a fan of Tang Yan. The school was eager for Tang Yan and the other big stars to attend the gala.

As National Day approached, the Youth League Secretary and Director of the Student Affairs Office, Tang Juxiang, came to confirm the matter once again.

“Li Wenjuan, can you really get Tang Yan to come?” Tang Juxiang asked.

“I don’t know. It wasn’t me who invited her, it was Zhang Jiaohua from our class. He was also in The Great Tomb Saga. He got to know Tang Yan and the others while filming,” Li Wenjuan said.

“Really? That’s the only connection?” Tang Juxiang was disappointed. To her, Zhang Jiaohua was nothing more than an extra, a background actor. Even if he knew Tang Yan and the others, they probably wouldn’t have much interaction, let alone attend the gala.

“Zhang Jiaohua knows them well. He even has their phone numbers,” Li Wenjuan said.

“Have they agreed to come?” Tang Juxiang was no longer hopeful.

“At first, everything was fine, but now the premiere of Haunted House Saga is on the same day, and they said they’d try to come, but we don’t know if they can make it,” Li Wenjuan said, uncertain.

“Which one is Zhang Jiaohuaa? Can you bring him out to explain this to me?” Tang Juxiang wanted to hear directly from him.

Zhang Jiaohua followed Li Wenjuan out of the classroom, and Tang Juxiang looked him over, “Are you Zhang Jiaohua?”

Zhang Jiaohua nodded, “Teacher Tang, what’s the matter?”

“You said you could bring Tang Yan here?” Tang Juxiang didn’t believe Zhang Jiaohua could really bring them.

“It’s not certain. They might not be able to make it,” Zhang Jiaohua shook his head. He knew this was a thankless task.

“But how am I supposed to arrange things? If we prepare a program for them and they don’t come, it’ll mess everything up,” Tang Juxiang asked.

“Then I’ll let them know not to come. We don’t want to cause any trouble,” Zhang Jiaohua quickly suggested.

“But we’ve already announced that Tang Yan will attend. The Education Bureau leaders are even planning to come,” Tang Juxiang said with a troubled expression.

“I told Li Wenjuan from the start that it wasn’t certain whether they could come,” Zhang Jiaohua was getting a bit frustrated. Why did everything have to be so troublesome?

Tang Juxiang regretted her initial enthusiasm. When she heard that Tang Yan might come, she happily reported it to the principal, who in turn reported it to the Education Bureau leaders. Now everyone was in a tough spot.

“Can you make sure they come?” Tang Juxiang asked.

“I can’t guarantee that,” Zhang Jiaohua shook his head repeatedly. He didn’t like being forced into difficult situations, nor did he want to force others.

“Anyway, I’ve already scheduled them in the program. Whatever happens, you need to make sure the program goes on as planned,” Tang Juxiang said, leaving the room.

Li Wenjuan began to regret, “Zhang Jiaohua, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have forced you. Now you’re stuck between a rock and a hard place.”

“Forget it. Let’s not have anything like this again,” Zhang Jiaohua said, and went back to the classroom.

Xu Xiaoting immediately stood up for him, “How can they do this? You clearly told them it wasn’t guaranteed, but now they’re acting like it’s a must. Zhang Jiaohua, just ignore them. Let them deal with it. It’s a thankless task. If it works out, it’s someone else’s success, but if it fails, it’s your fault.”

Xu Xiaoting’s disdain for Li Wenjuan was clear. There was an inexplicable reason for it. For some reason, Xu Xiaoting had developed a special affection for Zhang Jiaohua. At their age, feelings between boys and girls started to become more complicated.

Zhang Jiaohua was a late bloomer, and while he sensed Xu Xiaoting’s feelings, he didn’t know how to handle them. He even felt a little awkward and tried to avoid facing them. Of course, deep down, he enjoyed the feeling of being liked and admired.