I've put your shoes into the shoe cabinet. There are usually no guests at my house, so I did not prepare any slippers for men, which is why I got a pair of my slippers for you instead. They are brand new."
"Aiyo, you could have just left my shoes there. It's so troublesome to let you do all this...."
"There aren't many rules at my place. Here, try some of this."
"Oh, thank you."
Suddenly, Zhang Ye looked up and caught a glimpse of a scroll of words. It was his "Ode of Mulan", which had already been framed and was now hanging in the living room, "Eh, you've already put it up?"
Wu Zeqing turned around to look at it, "Yes, I happened to have another piece which was similar in size to 'Ode of Mulan'. Since I had planned on changing it for some time, I took that one out and switched it with this. This dinner was also meant to thank you for the gift. I really like it so much. Tonight, I will try to find a place in the bedroom to see if I can hang it in there instead. If it looks good, I will leave it in the bedroom instead."
Zhang Ye was delighted, "As long as you like it, then there's no need to thank me. I don't have other things to offer except this bit of capability."
Wu Zeqing laughed, "How is it just a bit of capability? What you have inside of you is not something that any ordinary person has. Even if we don't mention other things, just your calligraphy basics are enough to qualify you to be a calligraphy teacher. I've written calligraphy for so many years and I don't dare to say that I'm better than you in writing styles."
Zhang Ye immediately said, "Don't mind me, but I've seen your calligraphy before and your skills are many times better than mine. It's just a coincidence that my writing style is a little more unique."
He finished eating the dishes.
Zhang Ye had really swept all the dishes clean.
Wu Zeqing, looking rather satisfied, asked, "Can you still eat more?"
"Yes, I can. I can eat whatever is given to me." Zhang Ye replied, "It was too delicious."
"There's still soup. Let me get a bowl for you." Wu Zeqing walked gracefully into the kitchen and used a spoon to taste test it. She nodded and then turned off the fire.
Zhang Ye gulped down the soup, "Hu... this time, I'm really full!"
Wu Zeqing blew at the soup and took small sips, as she asked, "What do you intend to do after the Lunar New Year? Do you intend to continue being a host? Go back to the entertainment industry? Have you considered doing other things?"
Zhang Ye wiped his mouth and answered, "I think I can speak honestly with you. My goal is not truly the entertainment industry. Maybe you'd think I'm joking if I told you, but my dream is to become the most famous celebrity in the world. The path I have taken is probably not considered to be the typical route seen by those in the entertainment industry. Other people would write books after they became famous, while I wrote a novel to become famous. I'm always doing the opposite from others, if you noticed, but then again, with my kind of looks, I doubt I'd go far if I took the conventional route. Because of this, I could only find other ways to give myself a chance. If writing poems brings me fame, then fine, I will write more. If I can get exposure by teaching at Peking University, then I will teach to the best of my ability, as that is also for the sake of the students. I won't mess up even if I had some ulterior motive in taking up the post. This is why I have become more enlightened about such things nowadays. I'm not limited to just the entertainment industry. A celebrity depends on fame. With fame, I can do well in whatever industry I want. Write a book? Write calligraphy? Write songs? I'd do all of it to help me advance into the world stage."
Wu Zeqing did not say a word and just listened.