Chapter 247: Shameless Person
He took everything as a compliment to him.
Director Liu laughed heartily, then said benevolently, “Thank you for liking my television series. Are you a student from the school of history?”
Director Liu made that conjecture because they were in Professor Zhao’s office.
“Yes!” Song Mingqi was excited, and he nodded his head vigorously, “I am a soph.o.m.ore in the History Department.”
“I am flattered that my work was liked by a young professional. It surely means a lot to me,” Director Liu said happily.
This meant that Tan Mo’s script was so good that even professionals could find no mistakes in it.
Not only was this television series liked by history students like Song Mingqi, even professional historians had loved it and praised its accuracy.
This all made Director Liu very happy.
“No, no…I am just a soph.o.m.ore, not a professional yet. I still have a lot to learn and study.” Song Mingqi shook his hand.
“‘Legend of Wei and Jin’ is truly a great series, the plot, the dialogue, all the other small details. Everything in that show is correct according to its historical context, and a lot of it is also what I didn’t know yet because I haven’t had the opportunity to learn it. After seeing the series, I did some research on my own and realized that all the details are true. But for a lot of other details, I couldn’t even find any data.” Song Mingqi scratched the side of his head, confounded.
“I’m unsure whether it was an artistic effect by the scriptwriter or if it was taken from actual historical text,” Song Mingqi said. “But I think that this scriptwriter was very focused on detail, so it’s likely that the scriptwriter didn’t make up those details out of thin air. Even if there was some artistic license used, I’m certain that it was all based on history. I suppose, if I did some more research in the library database and read more history texts, I may find something to explain it.”
Official historical texts always belong to the victors. Most were written in later dynasties, as a record of what happened in the recent past.
In a new dynasty, the main powers have changed. In order to portray the wisdom and benevolence of the current dynasty, official historical texts often record the previous dynasty with a negative connotation.
So, official history may not be the complete truth.
Non-official history is not useless either, and it is often worth reading.
Of course, it all comes down to individual judgment.
Professor Zhao nodded his head. He liked Song Mingqi’s att.i.tude toward research.
But after all, Song Mingqi was just a soph.o.m.ore right now.
There were way too many students in the History Department.
Professor Zhao didn’t know Song Mingqi before today, and he didn’t even know that Song Mingqi was part of the exchange program.
But he seemed a promising young man, Professor Zhao thought to himself. He decided he would pay more attention to this young man and see how he does in his cla.s.ses. Then he will make a decision about him in another couple of years.
At least, Professor Zhao remembered Song Mingqi’s name this time, and Song Mingqi left a good impression on him.
The Tsinghua student thought to himself, Beijing University did indeed have some renowned history professors.
And he was also a fan of “Legend of Wei and Jin”.
On their way here, Song Mingqi hadn’t said much, so he’d supposed that Song Mingqi was not an eloquent speaker.
He was totally surprised that Song Mingqi was so good at talking.
Since coming in here, he hadn’t been able to say much himself. He just listened as Song Mingqi continued talking on and on… Song Mingqi ended up saying everything he’d wanted to say.
Before he had the time to say a word, Song Mingqi had already said all that he’d wanted to say.
He hadn’t been able to get a word in edgewise.
Now, Yang Guangyuan said in a hurry, “Me too! Director Liu, I am your fan as well!”
Yang Guangyuan tried kissing up to Director Liu. “Since this series aired, everyone has been discussing the consultant and the scriptwriter. They are all saying that they were the ones who created this series and contributed all the details: everything from dialogue to costumes. But actually, I don’t agree.
“No matter how good they were, Director, you were the one who made the final call. You were the one who filmed this series. You were the one who found the consultant and the scriptwriter. You were the one who portrayed this story through film, and it was very well done. Every single member of the audience felt it. They were all immersed in the story, and they were all brought back to the past, and they all saw the story for themselves as if they were a part of that history.
“Your determination to make a quality film and your attention to detail were what made this film possible. Without you, this series wouldn’t have been possible.”
Song Mingqi listened to Yang Guangyuan’s *ss-kissing speech and felt gooseb.u.mps crawl up his spine.
What a shameless person.
*ss-kissing words just poured out of his mouth.
He thought to himself, Yang Guangyuan shouldn’t have been in the school of history. He should have majored in literature or theater.
He was surely good at talking.
Even Director Liu felt that what he’d said was somewhat overblown.
Director Liu was used to interacting with those he was familiar with—famous actors and directors, investors and managers.
They were all successful people who had no need to kiss up to him.
“Director Liu, do you have any plans, any upcoming films? Could you tell us?” Song Mingqi was curious like a reporter.
“I have no plans as of now,” Director Liu smiled and said. “I plan on taking a break, then I will see if some other good scripts come my way. Planning for a new film is a lot more work than people think.”
“Of course it is a lot of work.” Yang Guangyuan said, wanting to continue his *ss-kissing.
Professor Zhao didn’t give him the chance to continue. He interrupted and asked Song Mingqi, “What are you here for?”
Song Mingqi remembered why he was here and said in a hurry, “Professor Zhao, I am a soph.o.m.ore from the History Department. My name is Song Mingqi. I am part of the exchange program.”
Professor Zhao nodded his head. Now he knew.
Then that meant that Song Mingqi was among the top in his cla.s.s.
Professor Zhao made sure to remember his name.
“This is Yang Guangyuan, an exchange student from Tsinghua.” Song MIngqi introduced him.
“h.e.l.lo, Professor Zhao,” Yang Guangyuan greeted him.
“And you two are here for…?”
“The Tsinghua exchange students think we are not good enough for them, and they said that they want to exchange only with the best.” Song Mingqi didn’t plan on keeping Yang Guangyuan’s att.i.tude a secret.
Those Tsinghua students had already said that. This wasn’t going to be a friendly exchange.
There was no point in saving face for Yang Guangyuan in front of the Beijing University professor.
Yang Guangyuan’s face got tight for a moment.
He wasn’t expecting Song Mingqi to say that outright.
Professor Zhao didn’t say anything for a bit…
“Isn’t Tan Mo there?” Those Tsinghua students were surely full of themselves. Even Tan Mo wasn’t good enough for them?
“We haven’t even started the exchange yet,” Song Mingqi said. “The Tsinghua students complained that Tan Mo is from the school of finance, because they didn’t know that Beijing University is such an inclusive university in terms of sharing knowledge.”
“Tan Mo told them that,” Song Mingqi repeated what Tan Mo had said, to make sure that Professor Zhao knew exactly what was going on.
Professor Zhao was quiet for a moment.
That little girl was sure good at making things up.
Bu it was a good call. This made it seem like Tsinghua was inferior to them in terms of inclusiveness and tolerance.
Very good!
Director Liu didn’t show anything, but now he suddenly had a different impression of Yang Guangyuan.
At the outset, Director Liu just felt a bit awkward, being showered with words of praise by Yang Guangyuan.
But Director Liu wasn’t such a stern person, and he didn’t hold anything against people like that. He would just listen, but he would consider again before becoming closer acquaintances with someone like that.
Those who relied on *ss-kissing aren’t extremely reliable. He had to consider that person’s character and personality before becoming closer acquaintances.
Because if he could be *ss-kissing you today, tomorrow he could be doing it to another person, while saying terrible things about you.
Director Liu was careful around people like that.
“The Tsinghua students heard that the consultant of ‘Legend of Wei and Jin’ is a student at Beijing University, so they wanted to get a chance to meet her and discuss ideas with her,” Song Mingqi said.