The movie theater was filled with crying sounds. Mu Jingzhe also cried until her eyes swelled. There was no choice. She wanted to restrain herself, but with the musical accompaniment, the movie seemed to have a soul that made one unable to extricate themselves from it.

  Little Bei’s acting was good to begin with. Even the supporting characters, such as Tian Xiaoxiao, were stimulated by Little Bei, bringing the best out of their acting skills. The overall effect was already very good. And then, there was the support of Xiao Wu’s music, which was like adding wings to a tiger.

  Mu Jingzhe, who hadn’t known about the effect of Little Bei’s movie when reading the novel before she’d transmigrated, found it impossible to extricate herself from it.

  In reality, the effect of the movie was actually better than the book. After all, Little Bei was still really young. As a six-year-old, she made people’s hearts ache even more when she portrayed a nine-year-old. Her acting skills also made the professionals think highly of her, convincing them even more.

  Coupled with Xiao Wu’s music and Little Bei’s acting skills, everyone could empathize with her. This was also the reason almost everyone in the movie theater cried.

  At the end of the movie, everyone laughed with tears in their eyes, as it had made them feel warm and happy from the bottom of their hearts.

  At the time, most of the audience hadn’t watched many movies, so their senses weren’t strong. However, Mu Jingzhe, who had watched many movies and had heard many movie analyses, clearly knew how crucial a role Xiao Wu’s music had played.

  Mu Jingzhe had also heard many classic and popular songs. Many of those songs were truly stunning and touching, but none of them had moved her so much. This was especially moving thanks to the aid of the movie.

  In modern times, many movie theme songs were widely known. Other than the songs being nice themselves, it was also because of the plot. Songs made the plot more popular, and the plot made the songs more vibrant. It was a mutually complementary process.

  Xiao Wu’s music had achieved such an effect. He was still young, so the overall composition wasn’t very mature. However, his talent made his music different. It was so unique that it could enter people’s hearts, resonate with them, and touch them.

  Complementing the movie’s plot well, it really made people feel blissful and laugh out loud. It gave people comfort and also induced heartache and tears in them. The audience was completely immersed in the movie.

  What would seem like a cliché plot in modern times became different when it was played out.

  When they came out of the theater after watching the movie, they heard the other movie-goers discuss it, saying that they must get their friends and families to watch the movie too. They didn’t know that the little girl who had stirred their hearts was watching the movie with them.

  \r \r \r

  Mu Jingzhe had no doubt that if this was the modern era, the movie would explode in popularity.

  As this was the 80s, the box office sales and popularity might not be comparable to the modern era. However, she believed that this movie would become a classic many years later, even in the modern era.

  There was no doubt that this movie was a success.

  As Mu Jingzhe sighed with emotion, she heard an apology. When she came back to her senses, she saw that a young lady had accidentally stepped on Shao Qiyang.

  Shao Qiyang shook his head and said that it was alright, but the girl was in no hurry to leave. Instead, she followed them for a while and talked to Shao Qiyang with a blushing face. She said that she worked in the department store and had seen Shao Qiyang in the county city before. Just now, she had been sitting behind them in the movie theater.

  She had probably heard the kids call Shao Qiyang ‘Uncle’, so she even praised Shao Qiyang’s nephews and niece for being very cute.

  Shao Qiyang answered casually, his gaze on Mu Jingzhe. However, when Mu Jingzhe saw the young lady talking to him, she quickened her pace to give them some space to talk.

  She checked that young lady out briefly. Her apple-shaped, cute face made her very compatible with Shao Qiyang.

  In the blink of an eye, Shao Qiyang realized that Mu Jingzhe and the kids had walked far away. As she had walked too quickly, Mu Jingzhe had almost bumped into someone. When she apologized, she realized that it was someone familiar.

  It was Shao Qiyun, whom she had not seen in a long time. Beside her was a gloomy-looking Zhao Lan. When Zhao Lan saw them, her expression changed. “Why are you here?”

  Mu Jingzhe raised her eyebrows. “We’re here to watch a movie, of course. You guys are here to watch a movie too? Oh, right, Zhao Lan, your scene was not bad.”

  Zhao Lan snapped, “Not bad? Why do you care if we’re watching a movie or not?”

  The look of anticipation on her face was completely gone. Before the movie had premiered, Zhao Lan had been rather looking forward to the movie since she had also acted in it and had come to look for Shao Qiyun on the first day of the New Year to ask her to bring her to the movie theater.

  She had thought that being able to act in a movie was good, but it hadn’t occurred to her whether the role was good or wicked. In the end, the character of the wicked grandmother that she had played—which really was pretty much her acting as herself—had been scolded by everyone. The unprepared Zhao Lan had suffered a blow. She had wanted to proudly tell everyone that she had acted in the movie too, but when she heard everyone scolding her character, she didn’t dare say so anymore.

  Li Zhaodi’s scene was similar to hers, and some people also scolded her. However, Li Zhaodi had a good mentality, and everyone only said that she was wicked and comical, whereas Zhao Lan received scoldings and nothing else.

  Zhao Lan, who had happily come without telling the villagers, was now filled with resentment. She hadn’t expected to encounter Mu Jingzhe and the others.

  She turned around and was just about to leave when she stopped. She couldn’t help but stammer, “Can you tell the director to delete my scenes? I don’t want to be scolded anymore. That clearly isn’t who I am. Why is everyone scolding me?”

  Mu Jingzhe thought to herself, “Why deny this when you’re clearly acting just like yourself?”

  Instead, she said, “It’s impossible to delete them. It’s not that simple. You accepted the money back then too.”

  “Can’t I just return him the money?”

  “As I said, it’s not that easy. It’s not like the filming process is still ongoing and scenes can be deleted. Now that the movie is screening in theaters nationwide, how can any scenes be deleted? Don’t even think about it.”

  Mu Jingzhe looked at Zhao Lan’s constipated expression and asked the obvious, “Why aren’t you willing to act anymore? Isn’t it nice that everyone can see you? Maybe the entire country will recognize you.”

  “What’s so good about being known this way? I might perhaps get beaten up one day,” Zhao Lan blurted out. Then, she realized that this was completely possible.

  She was only glad that she had appeared for a short while and everyone couldn’t remember her. If they remembered her, it would be over. She would be beaten up even while walking.

  Zhao Lan was exaggerating. Mu Jingzhe chuckled. “Nah, it’s not that bad.”

  Although she said that it wasn’t that bad, if she was really recognized, there actually was a chance that she would get beaten up. If a performance was really good, the audience would feel a strong sense of immersion. Even the actresses who acted as the third party in the modern world would get scolded, let alone actresses now.

  In this era, no one thought of distinguishing the actors from the characters they played. It also didn’t occur to them that it was just a performance. They just thought that the actor was as wicked as the character they portrayed. If they recognized the actor, he/she might get scolded or even beaten up.

  While Mu Jingzhe was talking to Zhao Lan, Shao Qiyun, who was beside her, had a scowl on her face, especially when she saw the children and her gaze landed on Xiao Wu. As soon as she saw that Xiao Wu was looking at her, her expression darkened. “Let’s go, Mom.”

  Ever since she had been taken away from the village by the police, Shao Qiyun had never returned. She hadn’t even returned for the New Year. When she saw Mu Jingzhe, her eyes were filled with hatred.

  Because of what had happened previously, she had lost her job. Later on, she had suffered for a period of time and relied on Zhao Lan’s subsidies to make it through. It hadn’t been easy for her to find a job as a waitress in a snack shop in the county city. She even had to wash the dishes every day. Shao Qiyun hated it to the core.

  She didn’t even wash the dishes at home. In the future, she was going to marry a rich person, yet now, she was washing dishes.

  However, no matter how unwilling she was, she still had to live before finding a rich person. Now, she was even thinking that she should lower her standards for ‘a rich person’ and probably should just find someone to marry if she really couldn’t take it anymore.