But that inexplicable feeling wasn’t like the possession described in legends; rather, it felt like neither of them had disappeared but had merged together. Qi Shejiang even suspected that the two of them were meant to be one, or perhaps it was precisely because of this connection that his soul could settle into this body. Although he gained a new life, nearly a hundred years had passed, and this world had become almost unrecognizable to him. Back in his time, “electricity” hadn’t yet reached the common folk, but now it was everywhere.
With just a press of a button, the light turned on, and there were endless variations—he had accidentally broken the light in his room by playing with it.
Qi Shejiang was someone who had a spirit of research; in his time, one had to constantly learn new things to captivate the audience. So while the current confusion was disorienting, it didn’t frustrate him; it was simply that the magnitude of the changes left him momentarily at a loss.
Until he saw a colleague dressed in a long gown performing crosstalk on a dazzling television, telling old jokes that he had known back in his day.
In an instant, eighty years seemed to fold together, and in this new world, he suddenly found a sense of belonging!
The confusion gradually dissipated, and Qi Shejiang had a clear objective. Although Li Jing’s reaction just now was a bit exaggerated, Qi Shejiang thought he would prefer to engage with this time and space through his old profession.
The repairman called by Li Jing fixed the light, and Qi Shejiang watched the entire process, making the repairman feel quite uncomfortable. After the repair was done, this handsome young man praised him as truly impressive, and his gaze was quite sincere, making the repairman doubt whether he had just fixed the light or a spaceship. After the repairman left, Qi Shejiang also went out; this was his first time going out alone since arriving in this time and space. He felt that after a few days of observation and learning, he had acquired the ability to go out on his own. However, as soon as he reached the bottom of the building, he was blocked by reporters who had been waiting. One greeted him, “Good afternoon, Jesse.” Qi Shejiang knew that was his Western name; he didn’t recognize the other person, but since they greeted him, he naturally responded, “Hello.” The reporter was overjoyed. Qi Shejiang acknowledging the name Jesse basically meant he officially recognized himself as the son of Xia Yiwei! The reporter seemed to be pumped up, “Li Jing just left here, did he go to your home? Were you discussing your upcoming work? Can you reveal the direction of future development? What will you be doing?”
They were basically trying to find out whether Qi Shejiang would participate in Pineapple Media’s new group or inherit his mother’s legacy to be an excellent vase… uh, singer or actor?
Regarding this topic, Qi Shejiang, who had previously avoided it, suddenly said, “I want to perform crosstalk next.” Reporter: “??”
Chapter Two The variety show he had previously participated in had just aired, and Qi Shejiang himself was quite controversial, yet he had garnered a group of fans attracted by his looks. Coupled with everyone’s curiosity about the relationship between Xia Yiwei and Qi Shejiang, the interest was at its peak; the reports generated considerable attention. Qi Shejiang admitted he was Jesse, and the media raced to reprint it without mentioning that line, “I want to perform crosstalk next,” which also sparked a wave of discussion. — As long as Qi Shejiang had a punchline in the variety show, even if his skills were lacking, thanks to his appearance, there wasn’t much controversy. “You see, both the media and netizens think you’re joking!” This was on the way to the concert, Li Jing had come to the airport to pick up Qi Shejiang.
He and Xia Yiwei had arrived a day earlier, while Qi Shejiang had just gotten there. Until half an hour ago, he still didn’t think Qi Shejiang truly wanted to perform xiangsheng (Chinese comedic dialogue). He even felt this was a form of revenge from Qi Shejiang, as if to say, if you won’t let me be myself, I’ll go against you. As for why Qi Shejiang agreed to come to the concert, he hadn’t figured that out yet; he almost thought Qi Shejiang was messing with him and that he might not be able to meet him today.
At that time, he thought everyone should calm down a bit, but just after they met, he wanted to chat, and Qi Shejiang surprisingly showed an unprecedented seriousness that shocked him. Having been in this business for decades, Li Jing felt for the first time that his eloquence was blunt; Qi Shejiang’s bizarre dream was completely unrelated to what they expected from him! “Uncle Jing, I have always been very interested in xiangsheng, it’s just that you guys didn’t know,” Qi Shejiang said calmly. He didn’t understand how shocking this decision was to Li Jing; he had the psychological quality developed from years of performance, and the internet was even more mysterious to him than television—he hadn’t seen netizen comments at all, only heard a few read by Li Jing.
It was quite normal for Qi Shejiang to have hobbies that others didn’t know about.
At this moment, Li Jing said with a troubled look, “You see how happy the netizens are laughing, that just shows how unrealistic your idea is. Who would believe that you look like you could do xiangsheng?”
Qi Shejiang fell silent for a moment. He wasn’t blind. Xiangsheng didn’t require performers to look like oddities to make people laugh; there were indeed handsome and upright actors, but Qi Shejiang’s appearance was already at a level that could distract the audience. However, this was not only the foundation of Qi Shejiang’s past life, but also the only solace in this timeframe, something he truly couldn’t let go of.
After a brief silence, he still said, “It’s all about effort.” He had experienced hardships and was not inclined to believe that just a face could stop him from taking up the old profession again.
Qi Shejiang was taken backstage to the lounge by Li Jing; Xia Yiwei was getting her makeup done. Upon seeing Qi Shejiang, Xia Yiwei warmly hugged him. Qi Shejiang felt a bit awkward but also a strange sense of closeness upon seeing Xia Yiwei.
Li Jing wanted to tell Xia Yiwei that he just learned Qi Shejiang seemed serious about wanting to perform xiangsheng, but thought better of it—there was not much time before the show started, so he decided to wait until after the concert to mention it; otherwise, Xia Yiwei might get anxious.
Xia Yiwei was quite pleased her son could make it; in her eyes, this was a signal that their relationship was thawing. She sat back down to finish her makeup while speaking to Qi Shejiang, teasingly saying, “I saw the reports. Are you now willing to admit you’re my son?”
Qi Shejiang instinctively replied, “Why not admit it?” A flicker of surprise crossed Xia Yiwei’s face, “Good son, have you changed your mind?! So… do you want to join me for a performance next time?” After asking this, she worried for a moment that she might be too hasty. Qi Shejiang replied, “Is it okay? Thank you.” God, the little mule has agreed! Xia Yiwei widened her light brown eyes; had it not been for the makeup artist’s horrified interruption, she might have shed tears of joy.
