Author: hoeniely (Page 6 of 14)

Chapter 93 – Accompany you to eat, study, and live with you
 
Three days later, An Xumo got on the plane to B City.
 
Tang Tang was supposed to follow but this time An Xumo was going to school, not on a holiday and there were still many activities and information to be dealt with. Therefore, An Xumo did not let anyone follow him and left Tang Tang in S City to work at ease.
 
He could refuse Tang Tang but there was no way to refuse another person.
 
As soon as he got on the plane, An Xumo began to regret agreeing to Tang Tang buying first class. At first, he didn’t buy an economy class seat because of his current popularity in order to avoid the possible crowd and trouble. However, there aren’t many first-class seats. Even if they aren’t next to each other, they can see each other at a glance.
 
What’s more, before the plane took off, someone came up to him and politely changed seats with the person next to him.
 
The change of aisle seats by the window and the change of position was no big deal, the original passenger sitting next to him agreed very quickly. It was only after he agreed did he realize something and with hindsight, he took a few more glances at the man who came up to talk to him.
 
He looked quite familiar.
 
The man who had exchanged places sat down beside him and An Xumo could not pretend not to see him anymore. He greeted the man in a low voice and raised his hand to the stewardess to ask for a blanket and a pillow.
 
Although the person who took the initiative to make the appearance of going to sleep was An Xumo, the first one to fall asleep was Zhou Jinchen who was beside him.
 
An Xumo without wearing a sleep mask looked sideways at the person. The man’s posture was right, his eyebrows are handsome, but there is a faint emergence of some dark blue under the eyes.
 
The boy rubbed the tip of his tongue with his teeth without biting it, then turned his head and went to sleep.
 
The weather in B City was very good; there were no clouds in the blue sky. An Xumo originally thought that Zhou Jinchen came to B City for another reason. He said farewell to the man at the airport in advance. As a result, Zhou Jinchen just looked at him without saying anything, and when he left the airport, he directly stuffed An Xumo into the car with his bag and assistant.
 
From the airport to the school, it is more than thirty kilometers away, plus the B City’s nationally-known traffic conditions, the journey took down more than an hour. The assistant and luggage were in another car. An Xumo sat in the backseat, less than half a meter away next to the man with a strong presence. He wanted to ask the other party’s schedule several times but Zhou Jinchen only said to send him first, never mentioning his own business.
 
P University’s reporting time is divided into two days. An Xumo arrived when it was already the second day. Tang Tang sent Xiao Zhang to An Xumo with things together, but after arriving at the school, Xiao Zhang’s work was taken over by another person.
 
The process of reporting to the school is rigorous; each step is guided by a teacher or a senior brother or sister in charge of welcoming new students. In fact, An Xumo didn’t quite understand Zhou Jinchen’s intention. Although parents were allowed to accompany them, there weren’t many people who could enter the campus, and the new students who were busy reporting wouldn’t be too interested in gossip. Since there weren’t many people around, why did the other party insist on accompanying him?
 
Moreover, now that the promotional period of 《Different Roads》 has passed, Film Emperor Lin hasn’t made any move for a long time. An Xumo doesn’t know why Zhou Jinchen wants to continue to get along together, even if it’s to use a simulated relationship to treat a disease…… which couple will go together just to report at the start of school?
 
Perhaps this is the romance agenda in my brother’s mind, maybe I’ll ask him carefully later.
 
An Xumo couldn’t figure it out so he put the issue to the back of his mind for now.
 
After completing the accommodation formalities and thanking the senior sister, the two went to the dormitory with the things they had received. An Xumo wore a pair of black-framed glasses today and the simplest T-shirts and shorts, with his unstyled hair, hung down softly, making him look more and more young.
 
This look is obviously different from the one in front of the camera coupled with the school atmosphere of P University, not many people recognized An Xumo along the way. It was only when receiving the registration card and filling out the documents did people look twice.
 
The dormitory is a four-person room with bunk beds and the space is not very large. The other three people had already arrived, only the top bunk on the right side was still empty. When An Xumo came in, the three people in the room looked over in unison. The names of his roommates could be found on the website in advance and they clearly already knew An Xumo’s identity.
 
“Hello, everyone,” An Xumo smiled and greeted the people. The remaining three people also returned the greeting one after another.
 
It is always inevitable to be formal when you first meet.
 
An Xumo wanted to make the bed but Zhou Jinchen who was holding his luggage didn’t let go. The man’s expression from the moment he entered the dormitory was somewhat profound and unpredictable. An Xumo was puzzled when he heard the other party say, “Go through the admission procedure first.”

A boy wearing round-framed glasses also said, “Classmate, go first to pay tuition fees to receive a student ID card. It won’t be too late to clean up when you come back.”
 
An Xumo thanked the round-framed glasses and walked out of the dormitory with Zhou Jinchen. The admission procedure was a bit tedious but not troublesome. After receiving the documents, An Xumo wanted to go back to the dormitory but Zhou Jinchen led him to a tree next to the dormitory.
 
There was still a boy waiting under the tree and when he saw Zhou Jinchen, he raised his hand and waved vigorously a few times. Once they approached, he smiled and called out, “Brother Zhou.”
 
“Is this junior brother An?” He looked at An Xumo and introduced himself, “Hello, I’m Qi Liuming, a senior in the School of Management. School just started today so let me show you guys around the campus first.”
 
As soon as he heard that he was a senior brother from the same school or someone from the School of Management, An Xumo’s attitude became increasingly adoring. Qi Liuming was obviously called by Zhou Jinchen. Although he didn’t know how Zhou Jinchen knew the students of P University, Qi Liuming himself was very talkative. He had lived in the school for three years, and many of the things he mentioned are very useful to An Xumo.
 
From the respective specialties of the nine cafeterias to how to see the most performances in the Centennial Lecture Hall, Qi Liuming said all very practical advice. During the happy chat, he also mentioned the four major madhouses of P University when passing by the college but before he could finish, Qi Liuming abruptly cut back the second half with Zhou Jinchen’s line of sight. 

After all, the first of the four madhouses is the one where An Xumo lives.
 
After a general stroll around, it was already past four o’clock, the three of them went back to the dormitory. To An Xumo’s confusion, Qi Liuming also followed them up to the dormitory building. Along the way, there were a few people who greeted Qi Liuming, even before going upstairs when passing the first floor, he also said hello to the person on duty.
 
When he returned to the dormitory, the other three people were there, and there was another senior from the college inside who was asking them to fill out the forms. He saw An Xumo and didn’t react but when he saw Qi Liuming, he obviously froze for a moment.
 
“President?”
 
“Tianlin,” Qi Liuming corrected him with a smile, “former president.”
 
Chen Tianlin scratched his head, “It didn’t change until summer vacation ma. I didn’t adjust yet.”
 
He said curiously, “Brother Ming, why are you here, didn’t you say you were going out for an internship this semester?”
 
Qi Liuming didn’t look at Zhou Jinchen but pointed to An Xumo and said, “This is my junior from my hometown. I came to show him to familiarize him with the environment.”
 
Chen Tianlin greeted An Xumo and introduced him to the other people in the room, “This is the previous president of our school’s student union, Qi Liuming, from Guanghua School of Management.”
 
Once they heard that it was the president of the school student union and the president of a certain college known as the top student reaper, the attitude of the other three people in the dormitory also obviously became different. They took turns to greet Qi Liuming and when An Xumo finished filling out the form, Qi Liuming said to Chen Tianlin who received the form, “Hey Tianlin, does your college still have arrangements for new students tonight?”
 
Chen Tianlin shook his head, “There’s nothing for the new students.”
 
“Good then.” Qi Liuming clapped his hands and said to the others, “It’s the first day today, it just so happened that I’ll treat my junior brother to a meal ba, right in front of the school.”
 
He also gestured towards Chen Tianlin, “Why don’t you come too, ba?”
 
Chen Tianlin waved his hand, “There will be a meeting of the student union in the evening. Brother Ming, you guys go ahead ba.”
 
At this point of invitation, several people naturally hadn’t yet eaten dinner. Since it was a treat from a senior brother, there was no reason to refuse, and the other three people looked at each other and nodded their heads in response.
 
Dinner was eaten at a restaurant near the school and the six people asked for a private room, with every two people sitting on one side of a square table. Qi Liuming not only reported the specialties of the restaurant but also introduced the dining situation around the school, telling them which are the places they used to go for parties on weekdays and which are suitable for inviting relatives and friends to eat and so on.
 
In addition, because Qi Liuming was the previous president of the school’s student union, the topic gradually opened up, some questions about clubs, student unions, classes, exams, and even college professors were brought up. Qi Liuming didn’t hold back, he gave very detailed answers as long as he knew.
 
With Qi Liuming in the room, the atmosphere never cooled down, during which several people also introduced themselves separately. Besides An Xumo from S City, the remaining three people also belong to different regions.
 
The local person in B City is a tall, thin guy named Zhao Yongjing who is much more familiar with P University than others. Nonetheless, when facing Qi Liuming, he also asked a lot of questions, especially about the student union.
 
Another tall and strong, dark-skinned boy from the inland provinces named Shan Haoxue, looking at his appearance felt very naïve and honest. The remaining person is the round-framed glasses that spoke to An Xumo before. His name is Hu Xiaoxu, a typical southerner with white skin and a babyface. Only when he asked did he know that he was only sixteen years old this year.
 
As soon as college students enter the school, they know very little about the school information. The information provided by Qi Liuming is particularly useful, coupled with his own social skills, several people admired Qi Liuming during the meal, and their admiration for him was very distinct. Along with it, An Xu Mo, who pays attention to Qi Liuming, is also familiar with a lot.
 
An Xumo was the last to come to school and he had less time to get acquainted with than the others, coupled with his own special identity. It’s not that he was not worried about getting along with his roommates before. With Qi Liuming’s care, the initial constraint between him and his roommates has subsided a lot.
 
The host and the guests enjoyed the meal. Before it ended, Qi Liuming got up and said he had to go to the bathroom, and An Xumo thought about it for a moment and followed him.
 
“Senior Brother Qi!”
 
He called out to the person, Qi Liuming looked back at him and smiled, “Xiao An, what’s the matter?”
 
An Xumo said, “It’s already a lot of trouble for senior brother to stroll around campus and the introduction today. Senior brother even came out to invite our dormitory for dinner.”
 
He was naturally clear that if he had asked for it himself, it was still a question of whether he could invite the three people.
 
“It troubled senior brother a lot. I really can’t let you spend any more money. I’ll pay for today’s dinner ba.”
 
Qi Liuming smiled again and was about to open his mouth but he was attracted by the person who also came out of the room not far away.
 
He coughed lightly then withdrew his eyes and said to An Xumo, “It’s alright Xiao An, you don’t have to worry about this. I also have a pretty big harvest from this day.”
 
An Xumo didn’t understand, Qi Liuming has been busy for so long but the people he was with were all freshmen. How could it benefit him?
 
However, Qi Liuming didn’t explain much but only said, “Besides, someone has paid for today’s meal so you don’t have to worry.”
 
An Xuemo suddenly remembered something that he had overlooked.
 
There is someone, although he didn’t say a few words all day, he has been following behind him all the time. Even when Qi Liuming appeared, he was the first to greet him.
 
It was only later that several people were attracted by Qi Liuming’s identity as the president of the student union and senior brother of the school of management that they forgot to pay attention to him.
 
As expected, Qi Liuming raised his hand and gestured towards the man who approached him, “Brother Zhou.”
 
He secretly lamented, after looking for an internship for three summers, it was hard to find a position with such agreeable conditions. The only thing he didn’t expect was that the boss, who seemed cold and difficult to get along with, would take the initiative to look for him because of his alma mater.
 
Recalling his reaction when he heard the request, Qi Liuming couldn’t help but rejoice. He promised that there would be no problem at that time and almost said, “I’m certain I will take good care of them, I need not trouble you to come over again”.
 
Fortunately, I did not say it.
 
Not to mention the inseparability he saw during the day, right now, the younger brother hasn’t left the table for two minutes, and his family’s boss has directly chased him out.
 
This attitude to send people to school……
 
In fact, you’re obviously ready to eat, live, and study with him, right?
 
•·················•·················•
 
The author has something to say:
 
Xiao Mo: I’m going to school. Brother, bye-bye!
 
Brother: No bye
 
Xiao Mo: ……
 
About the names of the three roommates, they may appear again in the future. I will help you to remember them. Each name has its own homonym of its own provinces.
 
B City Man: Zhao Yongjing. Don’t mention Zhao, Beijing is very obvious, isn’t it?
 
Inland province: Shan Huoxue, Shan: Shaanxi¹Abbr. for Shaanxi Province
 
Southerner: Hu Xiaoxu, Hu: Fujian²Southeastern province

Chapter 92 – Get out, I don’t want it
 
Although he has lived in S City since childhood, after handling many investment-related jobs, Xin Zimai has also heard a little about the soaring rate of property prices in the central area of B City. What’s more, Zhou Jinchen bought a siheyuan that has been scarce and occupies a rather large area, which is not a real estate that can be bought with money.
 
Moreover…… Xin Zimai glanced at the location written on the real estate contract; he can’t help but feel astonished. This district, even ordinary commercial houses below 100 square meters should have risen to sky-high prices.
 
Even if you know that the boss’s family is rich…… I didn’t expect him to be this rich.
 
Zhou Jinchen was aware of Xin Zimai’s strangeness and only explained, “It’s a birthday present ten years ago. At that time, it was under my name and it was only recently found out to renovate.”
 
Despite the location and size of this property, it was certainly not much cheaper back then but at least it is easier to imagine that it is now.
 
Xin Zimai nodded and asked about serious business, “How to spread the news? Do you want to keep it?”
 
The property bought ten years ago and the siheyuan bought now are basically already two concepts. Don’t know what kind of news the other party wants to pass on to Yin Yuan’s ears.
 
Nonetheless, Zhou Jinchen said, “No need.”
 
He looked at the contract on the screen and said in low voice, “The high profile, the better.”
 
The more money is spent, the harder it is to buy a house and the more people would believe that he had moved to B City because of the hard-won real estate.
 
And not because of another person.
 
—-
 
On the eve of reporting for school at the start of the school year, An Xumo received an invitation.
 
“Housewarming celebration?” An Xumo read the invitation over and over again, but still didn’t quite understand. “Why am I being invited?”
 
Tang Tang didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Why else, it’s because you made money for the company ah.”
 
She has always felt very helpless about her own artist’s self-awareness. When will this child really have the awareness that he is already popular?

“A lot of people were invited to this dinner, most of whom are famous artists in Jin Dian. Counting it down, it’s about the same as the company’s official party specifications.” Tang Tang explained.
 
If counting two more months, this kind of thing won’t definitely be An Xumo’s turn but now that 《Different Roads》 has just been released and the film still has heat, it’s not strange that An Xumo would receive an invitation.
 
“But me and this……. Head Yin, haven’t been in contact before. If there is no personal relationship, would you also send a private party invitation?”
 
It’s no wonder An Xumo thought too much. Not only had he never met this Head Yin before but the only time he heard of this name was when Xin Zimai mentioned Li Pinghui who was dismissed during the filming of 《Different Roads》.
 
“This time, it’s said to be a private dinner but in fact, it’s just a pretext for getting together.” Tang Tang explained. “It’s mainly because of this Head Yin prefers to put on a show. When there’s something going on, he will call many people over.”
 
“Not only us, but also many artists and executives in Jin Dian have received invitations. I have inquired about it, as long as they have time in S City, they will basically attend the appointment. Our itinerary has already been reported to the company for approval, so if we refuse now, it may be too difficult to deal with it.”
 
Since Tang Tang has said so, An Xumo also has no opinion. “Then it’s good to go and pack your things when you get back.”
 
“Ok, but……” Tang Tang glanced at the door to make sure that it was locked before lowering her voice, “This Head Yin’s reputation is not too good. Xiao Mo, you turn on and put your phone in your pocket when you arrive, we keep in touch at all times.”
 
An Xumo was a bit amused, “Even if the reputation is not good, he won’t be able to do anything at a party with so many people, right?”
 
“Not afraid of ten thousand, just in case.” Tang Tang insisted, “He can even lay hands on someone like Lu Pinghui, who knows what kind of accidents may occur.”

After being shared a long list of kept rumors, An Xumo repeatedly promised that he would properly hold his phone and finally reluctantly let Tang Tang feel at ease. The next night, An Xumo arrived at the location written on the invitation.
 
Coincidentally, Head Yin’s new home happened to be in the building next to An Xumo’s dormitory. Although the entrance was a bit far apart, the straight line distance was only a few hundred meters.
 
When An Xumo was welcomed inside, he realized that the environment of this kind of high-rise villa which was only one floor away was so excellent. Not only the interior decoration, but also the open-air garden, the outdoor swimming pool, and the double-story duplex, you can clearly feel the distinct gap between this place and the public dormitory downstairs.
 
When he first arrived at the villa, An Xumo did not see Yin Yuan. Although he has recently become popular, because his debut time is still short, his position in the circle is not yet firmly established so he hasn’t yet entered the core circle.
 
However, An Xumo recently turned his focus on his studies and he had no extra thoughts. He quietly sat on the sofa where the guests were, waiting for the dinner to begin.
 
Tang Tang said earlier that this Head Yin likes to be ostentatious but no matter the discussions in private, he is a big boss and does have the capital to put on a show. Once the call was made, others have to come and accompany him. Therefore, An Xumo had not been here for twenty minutes when he saw many familiar faces he had only seen on TV before.
 
He had seen many classical films when he was studying acting and there were many films in which these people were present.
 
Now that he is here, An Xumo couldn’t sit alone. He greeted these seniors but what he didn’t expect was that not only some artists who have debuted for many years but also several movie stars and movie queens, who were extremely well-known, were very friendly when talking with him.
 
An Xumo had never been in contact with them before, even though the exchange of greetings was relatively brief, the initial nervousness subsided for the most part.
 
When greeting a movie star in his forties, the other party smiled and said a few words to An Xumo. Before he finished speaking, he looked in the direction behind An Xumo.
 
An Xumo didn’t have time to turn his head before he heard a familiar low voice.
 
“Teacher Sun,” Zhou Jinchen came forward and greeted the other party.
 
The two talked for a few minutes and the movie star Sun left. Zhou Jinchen turned his eyes to the boy beside him, and there was something in his gaze that An Xumo couldn’t read.
 
“Brother Jinchen.” An Xumo didn’t think much about it and smiled at the person.
 
Zhou Jinchen looked at him, “Did you have a good exchange with the seniors?”
 
An Xumo nodded his head.
 
Zhou Jinchen wanted to say something else, but he was interrupted by a noise coming from the side.
 
An Xumo looked sideways and saw that the owner of the house had finally appeared in front of the crowd.
 
Yin Yuan is over 40 years old but he looks only in his early 30s. His appearance is excellent among the group of high-level people and his height of more than one point eight meters makes him even more eye-catching. Although the house is full of famous artists in the entertainment industry, Yin Yuan’s appearance hasn’t been suppressed much.
 
Coupled with the aura added, he attracted everyone’s attention as soon as he appeared.
 
Yin Yuan came this way, greeting people along the way, and when he reached Zhou Jinchen, he stopped and smiled at the person. “How come you disappeared after a while?”
 
On the side, An Xumo bit the tip of his tongue and took a few steps back without a trace.
 
The exchange before the meal didn’t last long, the host had already appeared, and the dinner was soon ready to start. Yin Yuan obviously enjoyed the feeling of being in the limelight. He first walked to the prepared microphone inside the room and stood on the high platform to give an opening speech before announcing the official start of the dinner.
 
The people were evidently accustomed to his style, only after a long round of applause did they began to take their seats. Amid the melodious music, meals were served one after another, and the snow-white tablecloths were soon filled with delicacies.
 
There were a total of three tables in the hall, with An Xumo’s qualifications, he naturally can’t get to the main table but his position is not far from the Zhou Jinchen who was at the main table. They could see each other with a slight turn of the head.
 
Therefore, he can also clearly see how Zhou Jinchen, who was sitting next to Yin Yuan, frequently talking with each other.
 
From the time the conversation with his brother was interrupted, An Xumo had vaguely sensed something, and now it is even more obvious at a glance.
 
Before coming, Tang Tang said that Head Yin doesn’t abstain between men and women, playing quite high. However, he was generous, and his bed partner’s requirements were basically met so there hasn’t been too much trouble. Coupled with Yin Yuan’s real ability and means, the board of directors of Jin Dian also turned a blind eye to him.
 
Tang Tang also advised him that Yin Yuan has very mixed tastes and had kept all types of people. Therefore, An Xumo must not think that he isn’t in danger just because he only met a Lu Pinghui.
 
Now, listening to the conversation not far away, An Xumo really understood the phrase “very mixed tastes”.
 
However, he didn’t show what he was thinking and didn’t even raise his head more than a few times, only burying his head and concentrate on eating.
 
With his stomach filled with warm food, An Xumo took a sip of juice and sighed with satisfaction.
 
He just felt that he didn’t care too much about anything anymore.
 
After the acute anxiety attack that night, the doctor in charge of the diagnosis helped to prescribe medication. It’s just that An Xumo’s time did not allow him to complete the scheduled psychological counseling sessions. Now he has to attend school in B City, the psychological counseling can only be transferred to B City.
 
However, during the few long nights of insomnia, An Xumo has figured out a lot of things. After that, his panic attacks never occurred again.
 
Although it can be taken as a relief, death is not something that can be chosen at will for An Xumo now. He has a large number of fans and a team that is always looking out for him, and it would be too irresponsible to leave now.
 
Therefore, he’s going to make himself work hard to stay alive.
 
There was a roar of laughter coming from the neighboring main table, causing many people at the remaining two tables to look over. An Xumo, who had just clinked glasses with one of the seniors, lowered his head and concentrated on eating the pudding in front of him.
 
What originally provided him with motivation was his sun, the illusion he once had about a complete family. But now, these motives have changed from the past to bitter cold, cold to the bones.
 
As a result, after receiving treatment for anxiety disorder, An Xumo finally hardened his heart and began to push out the only two remaining images in his heart.
 
Whether it’s the sun or the ‘mom’.
 
Get out. I don’t want it anymore. Thank you.
 
•·················•·················•

The author has something to say:
 
Xiao Mo: ( ^_^ )/~~ waves
 
Brother: ……
 
Brother: ? ?

Chapter 91 – Chase after being rejected
 
The quilt is brand new, fluffy, soft, and warm enough. The body under the velvet quilt is also soft and can be posed in any difficult position with long and slender limbs.
 
Only the weeping sound coming from the soft quilt is obviously light but it’s as hard as a blunt iron that can’t be broken, one by one deeply cutting in the flesh of the human heart.
 
The crying did not last long, probably knowing that crying for a long time will not change anything, as a result, only the flood above the warning line was discharged, and the gate was quickly closed. Not long after, the quilt slowly moved, the moonlight outside the window spilled through the gap in the curtains, and the boy slowly floated from under the quilt to the pillow.
 
He still had his back outside and kept his eyes closed. If it wasn’t for the occasional whimpering sound, I’m afraid everything that just happened would have been traceless.
 
When the whimpering sound also stopped, the boy slowly sat up from the bed. He rolled out of bed, stepped on his slippers, and walked to the inner side of the room with its own bathroom. The crashing sound of water rang out and lasted for a while before the boy came out of the bathroom.
 
There were no lights in the room and An Xumo was only able to identify the direction by the thin moonlight. With a towel in his hand, he immediately went to the bedside but suddenly stopped moving.
 
Perhaps in recognition or too surprised, An Xumo stood by the bed for a full five or six seconds before suddenly dropping the towel in his hand and turning his head toward the bathroom to run inside.
 
There were water stains dripping from the towel on the ground, the boy ran too fast that he felt a sense of weightlessness when he slipped under his feet, but in an instant, a pair of hands reached over, firmly encircling him as he fell.
 
An Xumo still has some coldness on his body. His forearms were stained with cold water and so was his face. Nevertheless, Zhou Jinchen held him in his arms and clearly understood that the person in his arms who could not stop shivering wasn’t because of the cold.
 
“Xiao Mo.”
 
The low male voice was slightly hoarse and Zhou Jinchen wasn’t a verbal person, he could only hold the boy in his arms and tell the other party frankly, “Don’t be afraid, there’s nothing you need to do.”
 
After a while, the obvious trembling calmed down. Zhou Jinchen carried the person back on the bed; his younger brother was so thin that he was a little lighter to hold than the usual arm strength trainer.

The towel was left on the edge of the bed, swaying, but fortunately, it did not wet the bed. Zhou Jinchen took the cold towel away, wrung it out, and soaked it in warm water before bringing it back to help the person place it on his eyes.
 
An Xumo was lying on his back with eyes covered. He seems to have returned to his motionless state. Zhou Jinchen whispered a few words to him but there was no response.
 
Fortunately, when the towel was changed for the third time, the boy’s deliberate tension finally disappeared. He breathed evenly and lightly, and he fell into a deep sleep.
 
Zhou Jinchen sat on the edge of the bed, looking at An Xumo who was lying on the bed but couldn’t raise the thickness of the quilt much. He had envisioned many kinds of results today in advance but did not expect that the situation could become even worse than the worst. 
 
—-
 
The next morning, before five o’clock, Zhou Jinchen was awakened by a movement on the side. He had already asked the crew for leave but he didn’t expect An Xumo to return to his usual appearance as soon as he woke up, insisting that he had nothing to do and didn’t want to delay the final promotional work.
 
As if nothing happened, An Xumo behaves as usual. He ate his breakfast obediently and when he was picked up by Tang Tang, he smiled and comforted the other party several times, saying he was fine.
 
It’s not that Zhou Jinchen didn’t mention what happened last night but An Xumo is the first to say that he would definitely cooperate with the work. His tone was much calmer than last night but his perception of confession equals treatment has not changed much.
 
Not wanting to stimulate the person a second time, Zhou Jinchen did not continue to explain. He sent An Xumo to the nanny car and he also got into the car driven by his assistant. When two cars left the hospital together and parted ways, the nanny car honked its horn to signal this way. An Xumo sat on the same seat but did not roll down the window.
 
The two met again when they attended the group interview of the crew on the same day. An Xumo’s performance was nothing strange. When he was asked about his relationship with the rest of the crew, the boy naturally admitted that the person with the best relationship in the crew was indeed Zhou Jinchen.
 
But Zhou Jinchen was vaguely aware of something.
 
This feeling is not as straightforward as the boy’s brief stiffness when he was touched by him in the past but it is deeper than the resistance shown by that stiffness. An Xumo is like slowly blowing a layer of a transparent protective film around him, blowing it bigger and bigger, and then making it impossible for people to get any closer.

 
Forty-two days after its release in the cinemas, the total box office of《Different Roads》exceeded 4 billion, nearly 1.5 billion ahead of the previous total box office champion. Whether it was distribution, investment, production, or actors, everyone related to the movie reaped significant benefits.
 
As a result, the value of the two main actors skyrocketed and many supporting actors in the film also expanded their popularity well. The most notable one is An Xumo who crossed over to star in his first film and yielded such good results.
 
However, when the heat of the film’s discussion topic gradually cooled down over time, An Xumo himself was given a piece of almost explosive news.
 
His studio made an announcement on their certified Weibo account, stating that An Xumo would return to school after a year-long suspension. Next, his life will be focused on his studies and his acting work will be focused on the holidays.
 
Judging from the current situation in the entertainment industry, it’s not uncommon for young artists to go to university. In recent years, news of celebrities taking part in the art examinations has received increasing attention. An Xumo’s studies were in the spotlight before the filming of《Different Roads》. After the film hit the box office exploded, there were endless posts guessing which art school he would go to.
 
Yet no matter the platform, media, or fans, none of them knew that An Xumo had actually taken the college entrance exam.
 
What was even more unexpected was……
 
The one he got into was actually P University.
 
The studio’s Weibo account is no less than the artists themselves and the number of followers is several times less than the main one. When the news was just released, there were still people below excitedly grabbing the sofa to occupy the front row, and half a minute later, the comments were slaughtered by a river of question marks and exclamation marks. 
 
“P University?!!!”
 
“My Mo was admitted to P University last year??”
 
“Is this the same P University that I think it is?! Oh my god, are there universities in the country that have duplicate names and spelling ah? I don’t think there is……”
 
Five minutes later, the comments and forwards quickly revived the fan trend.
 
“My Mo is eighteen, sings and dances well, have his first box office but he’s also on P University. Let’s walk by and find out [heart] [heart] [heart]”
 
“Now anyone who is a regular fan belongs to top2 [kneeling] education is not enough, embarrassed to chase the star and say that they are fans. Go go. Go and study [cover face]”
 
“Is it too late to start working hard to make P University the goal today ma!! Ah ah ah baby An, wait for me!!”
 
“Transfer needs: 1, 【link】 P University over the years’ college entrance examination grades cut-off. 2, 【link】 P University self-admission rules. 3, 【link】 what is it like to be admitted to P University? Can you pass the exam after working hard for a year? 4……”
 
In less than ten minutes, the keywords “An Xumo P University” were popular on the hot search; the news also appeared in the real-time search and hot recommendations of major websites.
 
The realities of domestic entertainment are here. Most of the young generation of actors graduated from specialized art schools and there are few examples of attending top universities like those in Europe and the United States. Some well-known colleges and universities in China have also published news about the emergence of school flowers¹prettiest girl in schooland school grass²the most handsome boy in school. However, apart from the most famous one who married a wealthy businessman who graduated from the same school and has an age difference of 20 years, so far, other people have not been able to get many real achievements in the entertainment industry.
 
Therefore, An Xumo who has just acted in a blockbuster film with a good reputation and harvested a double box office success, and was also announced that he will be studying at the P University, has become a truly unique special case in the country.
 
In addition to being comparable to Chinese New Year fans and surprised and curious passersby, there is another group that is paying attention to this topic. After the news came out, questionable voices soon followed. Some doubted whether An Xumo had really been admitted to the school or whether he went to a prestigious college under the guise of P University. Some speculated that he was a special student in the arts; others focused on the words ‘drop out of school’ and questioned the reason for An Xumo’s dropping out of school.
 
With the matter of traffic of idols, a little news can set off a pink³fans and black⁴antis war in the circle of fans, tearing into a bloodbath.⁵lit. foul wind and bloody rain (idiom); fig. reign of terror; carnageThe news intensified and even the “trust relationship P University” black material has been made up to be decent. The surprised fans quickly began to organize purification control. The rumors were spread and refuted on various major forums and social media platforms, which made a lot of noise for a while.
 
Soon, an old picture was pulled out.
 
That photo is the honor list of a high school’s entrance examination. Although the names and classes of all the staff were protectively coded, An Xumo’s photo, results, and admission school are prominently listed.
 
The next day, the studio sent out another photo.
 
An Xumo’s acceptance letter.
 
The refreshing face slap came so quickly that the fans could not even do it for years.
 
Put away the firecrackers and put up the satellite instead.
 
There was a lot of news outside but the main person is not much disturbed. As the start of the school year is approaching, An Xumo has gradually completed the handover of his work and the variety shows and recording singles he had participated in the few months were still hot enough to maintain the heat for a period of time. With the team that was looking out for him, An Xumo’s most important thing to consider now is to adapt to his new life.
 
Of course, it’s not just his team that’s trying to take the pressure off of An Xumo, there’s another person as well.
 
When Xin Zimai pushed the door in, Zhou Jinchen was answering the phone. Only after the phone hung up did he raise his eyes and look over, “What’s the matter?”
 
Xin Zimai said, “Jinchen, that high-rise villa you have in the company next door, a new neighbor has moved in.”
 
The company’s dormitory buildings were all designed in a row. Although each villa was a single-family house, the distance between the two adjacent top floors was so close that one could see the other’s garden when looking over the open-air garden of one villa.
 
Zhou Jinchen doesn’t like to get along too closely with others. He naturally had the money to buy the two villas together but this was a benefit given to the artists and executives by Jin Dian and it wasn’t good for Zhou Jinchen to occupy two places by himself. However, the head of the family next door had already settled overseas and Zhou Jinchen hadn’t been at home for a long time, so he lived alone for a while.
 
Unexpectedly, this villa has now changed ownership.
 
Zhou Jinchen frowned, “Who is it?”
 
Xin Zimai said in a low voice, “Yin Yuan.”
 
Zhou Jinchen fell silent.
 
Xin Zimai looked at his expression and wisely changed the subject, “In addition, there is one more thing, Xiao An will start school in a week. Jinchen, would you like to see him off?”
 
Zhou Jinchen listened but said, “Have 《Different Roads》 accounts been divided?”
 
Xin Zimai nodded, “The key extension is over, the movie has been officially released, the total box office has just been announced, and the cinemas are splitting the bill.”
 
The total box office of 《Different Roads》 finally fell to 4.57 billion. Judging from the film that has already been announced, if there are no accidents, this record should be enough to maintain it for about a year or so.
 
Zhou Jinchen said, “After the dividing of accounts is over, I’ll leave the matters here to you.”
 
“……Huh?” Xin Zimai blanked for a moment.
 
Zhou Jinchen said, “I’m going to B City.”
 
“……” Xin Zimai swallowed his saliva for a moment, is this to accompany the child to study?⁶to accompany one’s child or spouse who is studying overseas; to help a child with their study, reading, or practicing together.
 
“But,” He was a little hesitant, “I may not be able to handle things here by myself…..”
 
“After a week, someone will come to help you.” Zhou Jinchen briefly said.
 
Hearing him say so, Xin Zimai also put down his heart for the time being. However, for the matter of going to B City, he still has some hesitation.
 
“Jinchen, Yin Yuan’s side……the company also sent an invitation, saying that it’s a new house and would like to invite everyone to celebrate a housewarming.” Yin Yuan is obviously aiming at Zhou Jinchen, his recent actions have clearly indicated this. “What are you going to say to him? We don’t have any real estate in B City for the time being, so if I can’t say anything back……”
 
“I already bought a residence in B City.”
 
Zhou Jinchen pulled out a real estate contract from the tablet.
 
“Just say that the conditions there are good and want to move in.”
 
Good conditions? Xin Zimai has some doubts. The high-rise villa is a special benefit of Jin Dian, the decoration, location, and transportation are the first-class level. In front of this kind of real estate, saying that the conditions are good……
 
But when he looked at the words on the real estate contract, the doubt was completely gone.
 
“Si-siheyuan?!”⁷Lit. quadrangle. A historical type of residence that was commonly found throughout China. Throughout Chinese history, the siheyuan composition was the basic pattern used for residences, palaces, temples, monasteries, family businesses, and government offices. (Wikipedia)
*something like this: credits

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The author has something to say:
 
The male gods are chasing my brother; my brother is chasing me… [WeChat frown]

Yin Yuan appeared in the first few chapters, the text also has him embarrassed just after running to find out the relative⁸can also mean: parent; one’s own (flesh and blood); marriage; bride; close; intimate; in person; first-hand; in favor of; pro-; to kiss; (Internet slang) dear.visit…

Chapter 90 – Not in a normal state

Thank you so much for the ko-fis, andez24! ♡

I would also like to express my gratitude to everyone who enjoyed reading this novel and sent me sweet messages on my dms! I really appreciate it a lot; it makes my day happier! Thank you so much! Although I apologize if my responses are somewhat late ( 〃▽〃)

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When Xin Zimai arrived at Jin Dian, the office door was still locked. Tang Tang who had arrived at the news was holding the key, her fingers shaking along with the key. She managed to restrain herself from unlocking the door. Once the door was pushed open, she saw the boy lying on the floor with his thin ankles exposed, and tears sprang to her eyes.
 
“Xiao Mo……”
 
The boy lying on the floor was padded with an expensive suit that had been pressed out of several bright folds. The owner of the suit was half-kneeling beside him with one hand pressed against the boy’s chest and the other against the side of his neck. An Xumo’s front shirt was unbuttoned several times and he slept there bloodlessly as if he was too tired to wake up.
 
The air conditioning in the room had been turned off, the windows were half-open, and the hot, humid natural breeze was pouring in from outside. The flow of air did not bring much substantial comfort but because of the rising temperature, the intruders who came in felt that the atmosphere is becoming more and more frozen.
 
Xin Zimai turned to the side and let in the medical staff pushing the stretcher. The two men quickly unloaded the stretcher and laid it flat on the ground, one opened up the oxygen mask while the other squatted down to check on An Xumo’s condition.
 
While checking, he asked Zhou Jinchen, “Did the patient suffer an external shock before he fell unconscious?”
 
“No.”
 
“Has he experienced similar seizures or heart abnormalities before?”
 
Zhou Jinchen paused for a moment, “…… No.”
 
The doctor took another look at An Xumo’s face and chest, “Have you done artificial respiration, how about CPR?”
 
“I’ve done it all.”
 
A series of questions and answers were extremely quick. In a few seconds, another doctor has already torn open the oxygen mask and put it on An Xumo. When the simple oxygen bag was connected, the slightly strange sound of breathing rang out in the tense room. The two men carried the boy on the stretcher, fastened the stretcher, and pushed the person out of the door.
 
Zhou Jinchen immediately wanted to follow up; Xin Zimai hastily stopped him, “Jinchen! It’s not convenient for you to follow. I’ll go, I may have to ask the crew for leave tomorrow……”
 
But the man directly raised his hand to interrupt the other party’s voice, “I’ll go to the hospital and leave the matters behind to you.”
 
He looked at Tang Tang, “You also stay. Xiao Mo’s schedule is arranged by you, keep in touch.”
 
Zhou Jinchen finished and left the office with his usual expressionless face. He also took his wallet and mask with him but he didn’t even have time to put down his rolled-up cuffs.
 
–
 
Xin Zimai and Tang Tang stayed in the company, only Zhou Jinchen followed him to the ambulance. An Xumo woke up when passing by the bumpy area. Zhou Jinchen called him in a low voice but the boy only looked at the man for a while. As if he felt that the lights in the car were too harsh, he turned his head to the side and closed his eyes.
 
Although the doctor onboard has said that the patient’s vital signs are temporarily stable, An Xumo didn’t look too severe when he woke up in the car yet the man who was with him the whole time still didn’t show any signs of relaxing.
 
When Li Qiucheng arrived, the examination was already half done. He brought the medical records and went through them, and then he went to the doctor who examined An Xumo to ask a few questions before he said to Zhou Jinchen, “Don’t be nervous. Xiao An’s physical condition should not be too serious. Do you know how he fainted?”
 
Zhou Jinchen frowned, “Not serious?”
 
Li Qiucheng nodded, he pointed to the other party, “The heart was checked separately and the medical examinations are basically the same, none of them found any obvious abnormalities……”
 
Zhou Jinchen looked towards the closed door of the EEG¹EEG: electroencephalogram (EEG) is a test that detects electrical activity in your brain using small, metal discs (electrodes) attached to your scalp. room; his voice was low and hoarse. “Before Xiao Mo passed out, he said he felt like he was going to die.”
 
Li Qiucheng heard the words and halted.
 
After the full set of tests, the results of some items will have to wait for more than ten minutes before they could get them. The hospital’s beds are very tight, so many processes have to go down. Not to mention the time, the application may not be approved. However, when Li Qiucheng returned with the results and called Zhou Jinchen, he found that the other party had already been transferred to a single ward.
 
There was a lot of space in the ward. Zhou Jinchen’s assistant, Xiao Yang, had also rushed over. The bed was covered with new sheets and quilts, and even the pillows were changed. It didn’t look like a ward but like a first-class hotel.
 
An Xumo laid in bed with his back facing the door, unable to see his expression. Li Qiucheng walked over with light steps and looked at Zhou Jinchen inquiringly.
 
‘Still sleeping?’
 
Zhou Jinchen said in a low voice, “Awake.”
 
When Li Qiucheng walked around, he saw that the boy still had his eyes closed. Under the light, his face looked a little paler compared to the quilt. Noticing the passing line of sight, An Xumo looked like he was disturbed, and he slowly shrank his face into the quilt with his eyes closed.
 
Zhou Jinchen took a lot of effort to coax him to pull the quilt under the tip of his nose.
 
Li Qiucheng walked back around and stood outside, holding the case, and said in a light voice, “Xiao An, there are no major problems in your body for the time being, and only your gastroenteritis still needs to be carefully noted. In addition to not overworking, exertion will add a burden to your gastroenteritis which will affect your emotions and make you feel very uncomfortable. Therefore, after that, you must try to keep a regular diet and take more rest.”
 
The boy on the bed didn’t give him a response and Li Qiucheng didn’t mind much about it. After asking Xiao Yang to change the headlamp to a table lamp inside the room, he gestured for Zhou Jinchen to follow him and called the person out.
 
There was a balcony outside and when the two went out, Zhou Jinchen took the lead and said, “Is it still because of gastritis?”
 
“No,” Li Qiucheng shook his head, “that part just now was to calm Xiao An and let him stop thinking about it first.”
 
He turned over the case in his hand and explained, “All the examinations did not show any major problems. He’s physically healthy; the problem should be his mentality.”
 
Zhou Jinchen frowned, “Nothing was overlooked in the physical examination?”
 
“All the necessary items have been checked,” Li Qiucheng could understand his feelings and patiently explained, “If there is a lesion in one area, it’s impossible that it will only show abnormalities in one kind of examination. All the results are normal so the possibility of overlooking is almost zero.”
 
Zhou Jinchen reluctantly pressed down and asked, “What’s wrong with his mentality?”
 
“Before I say this, I have to ask, apart from the processes you mentioned earlier, are there any other special circumstances that occurred in the room before he fell unconscious?”
 
“For example, is there suddenly turning dark or in front of the sudden appearance of spiders, mice, and so on?”
 
Zhou Jinchen said, “No.”
 
Li Qiucheng then asked, “Is there anything Xiao An was particularly afraid of before, the kind that makes you uncomfortable when you see it?”
 
He expanded his explanation, “Perhaps a situation that you don’t like such as a narrow space or when there are a lot of people……”
 
Zhou Jinchen shook his head, “No.”
 
An Xumo is an artist, he didn’t have this kind of abnormality in his working state.
 
The previous organic lesions have been ruled out and now the influence of specific object has also been ruled out……Li Qiucheng pondered for a moment and said, “I have seen his EEG, although there isn’t much abnormality, his alpha waves show a tendency.”
 
“Alpha wave is the most relaxed state of the human brain and body. In Xiao An’s case, his alpha rhythm is less and his activity is in a higher frequency range. Simply put, it means that he is in a constant state of high tension.”
 
“Judging from the current speculation……” Li Qiucheng looked at Zhou Jinchen, “Xiao An, he, just now most likely had suffered from a strong stimulus. He had an acute anxiety disorder that is…. panic attack.”
 
Zhou Jinchen was silent for a moment.
 
He said in a hoarse voice, “Because of my confession?”
 
“That’s not necessarily true,” Li Qiucheng waved his hand, “Looking at your description, it seems that Xiao An was already in the bad state before accepting the confession.”
 
“If it were a normal situation, he would certainly not associate the confession with the treatment he had heard before. Even if there is such an idea, it’s unlikely that he will show it directly in the eyes of a person with the consideration of normal people.”
 
“I think the problem should be in that photo. Didn’t you say that it had his parents on it? Could it be that his parents contacted him before you went there?”
 
Zhou Jinchen’s face remained cold, “Tang Tang said that he received a phone call yesterday. Tonight, he also has to contact with the other party.”
 
“Then, this phone call is very important,” Li Qiucheg said, “The cause of the panic attack has a lot to do with his early childhood family encounters and many patients have experienced childhood misfortunes. We’d better find out what happened on that phone call.”
 
Zhou Jinchen nodded and Li Qiucheng added, “By the way, it’s best not to ask Xiao An about this. If possible, it would be better to use technical means to recover the call records.”
 
He sighed lightly, “Jinchen, although Xiao An and you are both mentally ill, the two of you are in fact in completely different states.”
 
“You really don’t care but he is forced to endure it. There is nothing unusual on the surface but those things are always there, and they even magnified several times. It’s only because they are temporarily buried that no one can see them.”
 
“……” Zhou Jinchen said, “The more you bury it, the more bombs you’ll have everywhere under your feet, right?”
 
“Right,” Li Qiucheng added, “So when you make a choice, it’s best to give more thought to his ideas. After all, you’re now…… the person who can influence him the most.”
 
He looked at Zhou Jinchen, “You’re confession…… do you still intend to continue?”
 
Zhou Jinchen paused for a moment and shook his head.
 
“It’s good that you think so,” Li Qiucheng said. In the beginning, he would urge Zhou Jinchen to face his heart. In addition to An Xumo’s reaction, he also wants to treat Zhou Jinchen with it, but now……
 
“Jinchen, your self-control ability has always been very strong. You received professional correction and treatment in time but Xiao An is different.” Li Qiucheng pinched the bridge of his nose. “I have seen many such cases, the accumulation of years of stimulation, not receiving timely guidance, not detected by others, and finally……”
 
Li Qiucheng let out a low sigh, “Just now in the ward, Xiao An has shown autistic tendencies. Not only does he have to suffer the stress of an acute anxiety attack but he also has to face the uneasiness of having been seen by others in this manner after the attack.”
 
“Xiao An’s current state shouldn’t be suitable for formal treatment either so if you have time tonight…… it’s better to go and comfort him.”
 
Zhou Jinchen did not say anything and after confirming that Li Qiucheng had no other explanation, he left the balcony. Li Qiucheng looked at the man’s back and couldn’t help but rub his temples.
 
Let’s hope that their relationship will catalyze each other’s healing instead of making the situation worse…….
—
 
Zhou Jinchen pushed the door in, the boy on the bed was still in the same position as when he left, and there wasn’t even seem to be an extra crease in the quilt.
 
There was hot water at the head of the bed and slippers beside the bed. Xiao Yang left the room with a sign. Zhou Jinchen walked over and stood by the bed.
 
The room was silent and no one spoke. The summer night was so quiet that only the sound of cicadas in the distance could be heard faintly.
 
After a long time, the light of the lamp was also turned off, the sound of footsteps resumed, followed by the sound of the door being gently closed, and a few moments later, the ward finally returned to complete silence.
 
The soft black hair scattered on the pillow was suddenly haloed with a small water stain.
 
The top of the hair sank under the pillow, buried deep in the soft bed covers of the slender back, curled up in an almost broken curve. The soft quilt filled all the crevices but there was no way to hide the increasingly urgent, no longer suppressed choking sound.
 
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The author has something to say:
 
Guess if brother left or not, was.²sounds of child crying

 Chapter 89 – It hurts to live ah…

Warning: This chapter may trigger adverse reactions. If it’s beginning to upset or affect you, we advise that you immediately stop reading.

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The room quieted down, only the sound of shallow breathing could be heard.
 
An Xumo didn’t hear the knock at first, it wasn’t until Zhou Jinchen, who was standing in the room, began to speak, did he respond with a delayed reaction. “… What?”
 
Zhou Jinchen took this as a response and said, “It’s about the cooperation plan during the previous film promotion period.”
 
The man briefly explained the matter once and made clear of his current attitude. He is accustomed to being in control of everything in advance and rarely goes back on his decisions, let alone apologizing to others.
 
But when Zhou Jinchen said, “I’m sorry”, his tone was very straightforward.
 
An Xumo’s ears buzzed, everything sounded like a barrier. Nonetheless, he still at least understood Zhou Jinchen’s words, and the tiredness and pain in his chest seemed slightly more bearable.
 
“…… It’s okay.”
 
The boy’s voice sounded normal, but his face was white and a bit strange. Zhou Jinchen looks at the in-a-trance-like An Xumo and it gave birth to an uncontrollable, eccentric pain in his chest.
 
“It’s all because of me; I will make up for it.”
 
He thought that the other party’s complexion looked terrible because he was concerned about being used before. Zhou Jinchen reflected on his mistakes and did not think in different directions.
 
After clearing up the misunderstanding between the two, Zhou Jinchen had another thing to explain.
 
He had locked the door when he came in; Jin Dian’s building’s soundproofing was enough. Although the office is not a very suitable place, it’s at least safe here. Moreover, tonight is one of the rare times that both of them have free time.
 
The man stepped forward and got one step closer.
 
“There’s one more thing I want to tell you.”
 
He spoke with great caution and his tone was not as calm and collected as it was earlier.
 
“After a long period of careful consideration, I think I have developed special feelings for you.”
 
An Xumo looked up at the man blankly.
 
“I think I like you.”
 
When saying these words, Zhou Jinchen’s peculiarity was quite evident.
 
The dry words sounded unconvincing and the typically sharp and deep gaze became inexplicably soft. Zhou Jinchen’s performance was so monotonous and dull that he had long lost his usual calmness and comprehensiveness.
 
He apparently doesn’t look cool at all anymore and he no longer looks like his usual self.
 
It’s just that the person listening to these words has lost the ability to read these details at this point.
 
An Xumo thought sluggishly, ……. Like?
 
An He’s voice never dissipated from his ears. Even her expression when she spoke was playing in An Xumo’s mind in a giant movie screen mode. She cried and talked about her despair after finding out she was pregnant, the pain of feeling the fetal movement during pregnancy, and how she couldn’t help but bathe in tears as soon as she saw him after giving birth.
 
Even the person who brought An Xumo into this world said so.
 
So, what else does he have to be worthy of being liked?
 
Is there?
 
An Xumo mumbled the word ‘like’ and suddenly came to his senses.
 
Yes, he also has a dirty but quite convenient identity.
 
The scene around him shifted back to the pure-white strange hospital where two doctors sat behind the door and talked in low voices. In their words, they mentioned Zhou, Asperger’s Syndrome, and there is also a tentative plan for treating the illness.
 
Stimulate romance for the patient so that he can touch the real emotions in the most yearning and most desperate feelings of human beings.
 
This is the reason why you opened your mouth and said like, right?
 
An Xumo looked at Zhou Jinchen; his eyes were so empty that every word bitten out between his lips was simultaneously engraved on the tender flesh, scarred in his heart by the sword.
 
“If you want me to help with the treatment, just say so. Why still go to such great lengths.”
 
The voice that’s pretending to be normal finally became hoarse and harsh, and the blood in his chest churned out, clogging his throat.
 
“Pretending to confess will have a better effect on treatment?”
 
Zhou Jinchen was stunned but consequently recovered his composure from his nervousness immediately.
 
He frowned, “Treatment for what?”
 
An Xumo panted heavily, his forehead stained with cold sweat. When the pain reached the extreme, his heart began to itch and turn sour.
 
He spat out words with difficulty, “Asperger’s……syndrome.”
 
Zhou Jinchen’s gaze turned cold, “What does it have to do with this?”
 
An Xumo’s temples seemed to be chiseled in by a long needle a little. He had a splitting headache and braced himself for the bout of dizziness.
 
“The plan to treat this……is to fall in love with someone, right?”
 
“Why do you think so?” Zhou Jinchen said, “Xiao Mo, what I said to you today is all true and doesn’t mean anything else. The treatment you said……”
 
He didn’t finish his words because the boy in front of him was shaking and couldn’t stand firm while holding on to the table.
 
Zhou Jinchen quickly took two steps forwards, trying to hold An Xumo. The shrunken body of the other party was shaking so badly that he couldn’t even hold up. As soon as his knees went soft, he knelt on the ground.
 
The boy’s body temperature is frighteningly cold, like a piece of ice floating on the sea, which may be crushed and sink to the bottom of the sea at any time.
 
Zhou Jinchen didn’t dare to pull forcefully. He half kneeled and reached out his hand around the other party’s back, trying to pick up the person.
 
“Get up first, Xiao Mo. The ground is cold.”
 
An Xumo didn’t respond. He insisted on holding out his trembling right hand, not knowing what he was fumbling for.
 
When Zhou Jinchen was just about to ask, the boy had withdrawn his arm, and a pocket watch covered with dust was stuck on his bloodstained palm.
 
The somewhat deformed case popped open and revealed a picture.
 
An Xumo was stabbed with pain in his eyes, he used all his remaining strength to shove the pocket watch into Zhou Jinchen’s arms.
 
“You take it away, okay?” The boy was nearly deflated but was still tormented by panic as if he would be blown to pieces if he got a little closer to that photo.
 
His voice was even trembling, “You take it away, and I can do anything you want. You don’t need to give me anything anymore, photos, confessions, nothing…… Brother, just tell me what you want, I will cooperate with you. I promise I will finish the task……”
 
“Xiao Mo, Xiao Mo!”
 
Zhou Jinchen sensed that something was wrong with An Xumo. He did not dare let go of his hand, afraid that the person won’t be able to hold up and fall over. Zhou Jinchen could only cruelly suppress the other party’s struggle, kneeling on the ground and holding the boy in his arms.
 
He wrapped one hand around An Xumo’s waist and pressed the other party’s hand together. He stretched out his other hand and hastily pulled open the boy’s collar.
 
“Listen to me and do it with me. Come and take a deep breath. Don’t think about anything else, inhale……”
 
An Xumo’s struggle grew weaker and weaker while the rise and fall of his chest slowly weakened.
 
The coldness that wandered throughout the body began to attack the heart and brain; the cold sweat crawled all over the spine, the sharp icy edges plunged straight into every bone, the bright red blood spurted out from the ruptured arteries, and dyed the field of view in front red with blood.
 
The boy could no longer hear the sounds around him, he murmured and whispered, breathless.
 
 “B-brother…… I’m sorry, I seem to be dying…..”
 
The sound of An He’s cries drifted distantly in his ears. Before his eyes were the look of those two doctors talking, the past eighteen years ushered in head-on like a giant icicle that sucked away all the heat.
 
This icicle broke apart and became those icy edges that killed him.
 
An Xumo closed his eyes wearily; death was not at all as easy as imagined. The coldness inch by inch reaped the scarred flesh and blood, and even the thin soul was frozen, unable to leave his body.
 
It’s so painful to die ah……
 
Surprisingly, it’s less painful than living.
 
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The author has something to say:
 
Keywords: Near-death feeling

Chapter 88 – Zhou Jinchen opened the door and came in

Warning: This chapter may trigger adverse reactions. If it’s beginning to upset or affect you, we advise that you immediately stop reading.

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An He was bathed in tears all day long and for a time, her mental state was difficult to recover. The Zhou family disliked her for always weeping endlessly yet they couldn’t ask why. However, Zhou Yunshan didn’t want to break off the marriage so the Zhou family had to lock up An He, not letting her show her face to upset people, and the child was also handed over to the babysitter.
 
However, the paper could not wrap up a fire,¹it will burn itself out, as truth will eventually reveal itself despite cover-ups. two years after the birth of An Xumo, Zhou Yunshan was diagnosed with a serious illness. In addition, the hospital also gave another report —— Zhou Yunshan’s sperm lacked vitality, basically, incapable of bearing children.
 
…… Then whose seed is his child?
 
The Zhou family exploded at once; they had never experienced such an absurd event before. The identity of He Wenbin was quickly found out; the He family is also a dignified figure in S City. Although they’re not as good as the Zhou family, they’re not as easy to handle as An He’s parents. The Zhou family is treating Zhou Yunshan while pressuring the He family to hand over the person, thus, the two families are at a standstill, and Zhou Yunshan’s health is getting worse day by day in this situation.
 
In less than half a month in the sickbed, Zhou Yunshan passed away. However, the stalemate between the Zhou family and He family did not end. What the Zhou family did not expect was that Zhou Yunshan had prepared a will behind his family’s back before he died; transferring all his shared and funds to An Xumo’s name, and also notarized them without authorization. The reason why he did this is naturally not how much he loves An Xumo. Zhou Yunshan’s purpose is to leave his assets to He Wenbin so that the other party can escape the responsibility of the Zhou family.
 
Zhou Yunshan is indeed an infatuated person as the Zhou family said to the public. But his infatuation is only for He Wenbin, one that is blind and absurd. As for the life, death, and attitude of others, he did not consider it at all.
 
Although they were very annoyed with Zhou Yunshan’s decision, he is after all their own bloodline, and the Zhou family can only turn the accumulated anger to another person. After dealing with the aftermath of Zhou Yunshan, the Zhou family did not follow his words to spare He Wenbin but instead, pressed forward step by step, and ultimately planned. He Wenbin jumped from the scaffolding of the He family’s construction site and was killed on the spot.
 
The two families, Zhou and He are like water and fire, and they have engaged in a lot of bruising and bone-breaking fights. But the Zhou family did not drive out An Xumo who has the He family’s bloodline. After all, An Xumo still has the shares of Zhou Yunshan which must be waited and can only be signed and transferred until he comes of age.
 
Another reason is that the He family has only one son of their generation, He Wenbin. After the death of He Wenbin, An Xumo became the only heir. The Zhou family and the He family are incompatible, they will naturally not push out An Xumo for nothing to the He family.
 
That’s why An Xumo was fostered in Zhou Yunlin’s home, which had only one child.
 
The Zhou family had to keep An Xumo but they were not so polite to An He. Big families have the best reputation and it’s naturally impossible for them to allow the news of Zhou Yunshan and He Wenbin to come out. As a result, An He was made up as a dissolute woman who trampled on her lover’s infatuation and wanted to have an affair. When the false news spread for a long time, everyone was convinced, and An He who had been used was driven out from the house where her freedom had been restricted before. 
 
The two scums who caused her such a miserable end have died one after another but An He herself hasn’t been able to relax much. She has long been cut off from her previous social circle, has no financial resources, and has no skills. After great difficulty and wandering about, An He finally returned to her hometown. She wanted to slowly recuperate in this remote but simple place where she grew up but in despair, she found that the rumors about her had already spread here. 
 
Her parents thought she didn’t know how to be restrained, making their family lose face, and they didn’t even let her in. The younger brother also shouted at An He through the door, telling her not to come back, less step on the dirty ground at home.
 
An He couldn’t so she could only wander around again. She sold the only remaining bit of trivial jewelry, supported herself with this money, and went south to work temporarily on the set of the film and television base.
 
Being an actress was An He’s dream since childhood. If it wasn’t for going astray, perhaps there would have been a small success at this time. But An He was filled with tears all day previously, her looks and charm were not as good as before. She didn’t make it as an actress so she has been running odd jobs on the set.
 
Later, by chance, An He went to Hollywood with the crew. After filming, she found a way to stay there. Even on the other side of the ocean, she didn’t want to go back to the sad place on that side of the sea.
 
At this point, An He has already cried and wet two packs of tissues but the makeup on her face hasn’t been wiped off much, her appearance still looks beautiful.
 
There is always another hand in the camera to help her pass the tissues again. An Xumo listened drowsily but could not even ignore the tone of every word when An He spoke.
 
For the first time, he despaired so much of his good memory.
 
“After that, I went with Statham to Hollywood. He’s a producer here, we got married……and had two children.”
 
An Xumo realized with hindsight, no wonder……there are children’s voices coming over there from time to time.
 
An He continued, “About six months ago, Zhiwei came to the United States to talk about cooperation. He and Statham have a working relationship and we just happened to meet.”
 
Since An He graduated from the university, the two had broken off contact. Zhang Zhiwei was unaware of the twists and turns that had happened to An He and was only too excited to catch up with her, and mentioned An Xumo whom he had met in China.
 
For An He, this child has cast a shadow on her no less than the Zhou family. She didn’t want to tell the dirty truth nor did she want An Xumo to know her news. Therefore, she made up a reason that the child ran back to China in anger to make his debut, saying that An Xumo was most bothered by her interference in his affairs so that Zhang Zhiwei would never mention herself in front of An Xumo.
 
If it wasn’t for the fact that An Xumo had such an important eighteenth birthday this time, Zhang Zhiwei once again enthusiastically proposed to help resolve the conflict between his senior sister and the child. An He wasn’t able to find a reason to continue to stall but could only contact An Xumo under Zhang Zhiwei’s lead.
 
“It’s pretty good that you can live independently on your own.” An He reluctantly smiled, “Being an artist, it must be a wonderful life……”
 
An Xumo stiffened there, not even knowing how to react.
 
Being angry with the family, said he was annoyed with his parent’s interference……these words, An Xumo has only seen in books and scripts. He did not even dare to look at the narration of the text and had to skim hastily each time.
 
Moreover, his mother, An Xumo’s mother whom he had not seen in eighteen years, actually made up this reason and placed it on him.
 
“But I also have something to say to you.” An He’s emotions have slowly calmed down and the tears on her face have been wiped clean. The only thing left on her face is a touch of hesitation, “In the future, on Zhiwei’s side, I will explain it to him. You’d better not get in touch with him anymore.”
 
An He stiffly pulled out a smile, “Zhiwei was enthusiastic at that time but he did not expect to be able to maintain it when he entered the entertainment industry. But……you’re also an adult and you should understand that. After all, it’s not good to return the favor if you’re helped too many times. Although I helped him at that time, it was all a meal, and now, there is nothing to reciprocate. Over a long period of time, it may not look very good……”
With such sluggish and confused thoughts, nevertheless, An Xumo found that he could still be so clearly aware of the deeper pain stabbed into his heart.
 
His voice was hoarse as he opened his mouth and said his first words after hearing the truth.
 
“You think that… I am asking for resources from Teacher Zhang Zhiwei under your banner?”
 
The thoughts could not run smoothly and it’s difficult for An Xumo to speak as thoughtfully as he always does. But he lost all his strength and he was by no means in a very aggressive tone at this time.
 
However, on the other side, the screen suddenly flashed. Then, a foreign man with a carefully trimmed ash gray beard appeared on the screen.
 
He had a cigar in his hand and his face was much harsher than An He’s.
 
“Watch your language, Mr. Zhou. Is this the tone you should use to talk to your elders?” He understood An Xumo’s Chinese but spoke in English, “An is too embarrassed to speak with you so let me make it clear. We exactly know what your intentions are but I can tell you plainly that I will not help you come to Hollywood and I won’t leave any role for you.”
 
“The wound you’ve caused to An has still made her difficult to heal and she doesn’t want to see anyone in your family. Even if you’re unwilling to redeem yourselves, don’t keep coming back to hurt her.”
 
As Statham spoke, An He was already covering her face, crying. The two curly-haired boys ran over, their limbs soft, with round dimples on the back of their exposed hands on the screen. The two small children hugged An He on each side.
 
“Mom, don’t cry!”

 
An He wiped her eyes and hugged each of them, “Thank you, my dear boys.”
 
Their movements came one after another and though most of them were muffled by Statham’s voice, but like the shrill sound of cutting glass, it pierced through An Xumo’s eardrums.
 
An Xumo’s eyes, ears, and heart flowed with bright red blood and tears, woodenly listening to Statham’s stern proclamations.
 
“That’s everything. You’re an adult now; you don’t have to play those childish tricks. You owe Zhang a favor and we will pay it back. But in the future, don’t contact Zhang again, and don’t bother An again.”
 
The screen suddenly darkened and the signal was cut off unilaterally. From beginning to end, An He did not call An Xumo’s name once.
 
She didn’t show any bit of happiness about this reunion throughout nor did she say sorry for the past ten years or so.
 
The hot screen reflected An Xumo’s face, the room was brightly lit, yet invisible to the eye.

An Xumo sat on the chair for a long time, as if finally remembering how to move, he stretched out his trembling right hand to his chest.
 
He pulled the pocket watch down with all his strength, his arm was numb, and his fingertips were sore. The thin chain was forced to tighten but it wasn’t pulled off until the second force, it finally broke feebly in the air.
 
The broken long-chain scattered down, stained with some blood.
 
The arm’s movement was so large that it knocked off the penholder next to the table, five or six pens were scattered on the ground, brightly reflecting the light.
 
An Xumo took off the pocket watch with a mini-photo and dropped it from the palm of his hand as if he had been scalded. He just didn’t hear the sound, but now, when he looked down, he found that several pens had fallen on the ground.
 
He stared blankly at it for a long time, he supported himself on the table with his palm, squatted down slowly, and picked up the pens scattered everywhere, one by one.
 
One, two, three……
 
An Xumo put all the pens in the penholder but could not count the last number.
 
One, two, three……
 
It suddenly occurred to him that this was the third time.
 
When he was first used by his brother for the publicity program, An Xumo had made a promise to himself not to be delusional and not make the same mistake again.
 
It’s only been a few days?
 
It’s only been a few days?!!
 
Why, why does he still dare to dream?!
 
Mom, mom, mom! An Xumo shouldn’t have had illusions about that word long ago but what did he do? He bit the title in his mouth, his heart hung on this picture, he dreamed of this person, and then he deserved it, having every bone broken by these two words.
 
An Xumo stood by the table, stepping on the pocket watch under his feet. His insides twisted into a knot, his vision turned blood-red.
 
Why does he still dare to dream? Why is he still alive?
 
If a person’s birth brings endless suffering to others.
 
If a person’s birth suffers from endless white eyes²indicates looking down on people or not being satisfied with them.of the people around him.
 
The blood flow spread around his feet, flowed out at his fingertips, wet his chest, and poured into his twitching throat ——
 
“Knock, knock, knock.” 
 
A dull knock on the door suddenly interrupted the deathly silence in the room.
 
The office light was on, and soon the door was pushed open by a hand.
 
A slender, familiar figure walked in.
 
After asking Tang Tang, Zhou Jinchen learned where An Xumo was, and only then did he make a special trip to Jin Dian.
 
They would see each other at intervals like this before but this time, Zhou Jinchen had a very different feeling.
 
He looked at An Xumo standing at the table, his voice was still low and melodious but there was some imperceptible tension in his tone.
 
“Xiao Mo.”
 
Zhou Jinchen said, “I have something I want to talk to you about.”
 
•·················•·················•
 
The author has something to say:
The four sons of the previous generation of the Zhou family are named after the sound of “Feng Lin Volcano”.
 
The eldest: Zhou Yunfeng;
The second: Zhou Jinchen’s father — Zhou Yunlin;
The third: Zhou Yunhua;
The fourth: An Xumo’s nominal father — Zhou Yunshan

•·················•·················•

Jie Jie: I—

Chapter 87 – An He called

When he came out of the hospital examination, An Xumo was taken away by Xiao Zhang for an interview. He didn’t have a little rest until the scheduled mealtime.

While eating, An Xumo remembered what just happened during the check-up. He didn’t know what Xin Zimai said about the registration but unlike the imaginary one-on-one psychological counseling, almost the entire medical team came to An Xumo and asked him about it. They were fine when talking to An Xumo but once they started discussing with each other, their voices became fast and urgent, with a lot of jargon mixed in from time to time.

In addition, the other party asked too many various things and went through many bizarre scales and tests along the way. An Xumo thought about it again but can’t come up with many useful things.

But because of his good memory, An Xumo remembered an incident that happened during the examination when he was organizing his thoughts.

At that time, he happened to be finished being questioned by a bearded doctor, who took him to another room to find another doctor. When he pushed the door in, the bearded doctor walked in front followed by An Xumo behind him, who heard voices of two doctors talking in the room.

An Xumo originally did not want to listen to other people’s conversation but in one of the words, he heard the word ‘Chou’. Thinking of when Xin Zimai said that his brother is also being treated in Huashan Hospital, his attention was drawn to them.

The two people were discussing about Asperger’s syndrome, one of them was talking about the alleviation and treatment of AS symptoms. An Xumo couldn’t really hear it but vaguely heard a phrase similar to stimulated romance.

What is stimulated romance, a love game? An Xumo remembered Tang Tang mentioned that a stimulated romance game had come into contact recently, the game’s heat seems to be very popular, the monthly sales are also very good. But……An Xumo couldn’t imagine what his brother would look like playing a love game.

En…… it’s really unimaginable.

Apart from these titbits, An Xumo also searched keywords for Asperger’s syndrome. The information and opinions on the Internet are diverse and somewhat confusing to read but the point that can be confirmed is that the most basic and obvious symptoms are not present in An Xumo.

Xin Zimai said the results will probably come out in a few days and there is no use in worrying about it now. Therefore, An Xumo put the matter at the back of his mind for the time being.

The next few days were still busy as usual, during that time Tang Tang left one day and came back quite distracted. An Xumo asked her once but Tang Tang did not give a direct answer but only said that he should work well and don’t be too pressured. After going to school in a few weeks, there will be time to adjust.

An Xumo couldn’t help but have some doubts, he didn’t feel much busy lately, and his stomach was slowly improving so he didn’t know why Tang Tang would suddenly say that.

But his attention was soon drawn to another matter.

The phone call he had been waiting for for a long time finally came.

When the gentle voice hesitantly called out his name, An Xumo had not yet put down the water bottle in his hand. The boy hurriedly found a corner where no one paid attention to and his eyes silently turned red.

The transparent bottle being held was dent but the sound of the response was deliberately soft.

An Xumo was afraid that he would wake up from this beautiful dream if he made a little movement.

There wasn’t much conversation in the phone call. An He only said that she would contact him again tomorrow night. An Xumo nodded and said he was free tomorrow night and when he asked for the location, there was another hesitation.

“Let’s talk on a video call first……is that okay? You find a little more private space.”

“Okay.” An Xumo asked, “have you returned home safely?”

There was a moment of silence on the other side but both of them were obviously a little nervous as they talked and An Xumo didn’t think much about it.

“Wait for tomorrow night’s video call to talk ba. I’m here now, I may need to hang up the phone first……”

“Good, you go ahead and do your things ba. See you tomorrow night.” 

An Xumo finished speaking, he hesitated for a moment, wanting to call out that title but his lips seem to be stuck, and his throat was so dry that he couldn’t even call out the simplest of reduplicative.

When he finally plucked up the courage to call “mom”, there was a busy tone of ‘beeping’ from the other side.¹to clear it up, we were stuck between using mama/papa and mom/dad. Since mama/papa was used in the raw, but it didn’t feel right using them, so yeah… in case it’s a bit confusing.

An Xumo was stunned.

An Xumo was stunned.

Maybe it’s going through the customs or getting on the plane so the phone was turned off. An Xumo was relieved to think so, he put away the phone and let out a long sigh of relief.

The thin chain around the neck was hooked out by the slender fingers and An Xumo carefully held the pocket watch in the palm of his hand. The simple pocket watch case was opened and inside, in addition to the time, there was a miniature photo that had been hidden.

There were three people in the photo and it took eighteen years before An Xumo finally found their voices.

On the second evening, An Xumo who had always loved his job and worked hard took the initiative to leave early. The soundproofing of the dormitory is not good, An Xumo borrowed Tang Tang’s office. The latter is still busy outside and will not return to the company tonight, she let An Xumo go straight over.

More than ten minutes before the appointed time, An Xumo arrived at the office. He had never had a concrete concept of the word mother before and thought that after so many years, he had long ceased to be the little boy who cried for his mommy and daddy. But when he really saw that picture and heard the other party’s voice, he realized that those longings were only suppressed but never disappeared.

The hour hand overlapped with the minute hand and An Xumo took a long breath. He looked at the tablet in front of him, staring at the video call software that they had agreed on, and counted each and every second.

About fifty or maybe a hundred, the green microphone finally popped out.

An Xumo squeezed his sweaty fingertips and clicked on the screen.

A delicate, soft, and gentle woman appeared on the screen. An Xumo only took one look at her and understood why Zhang Zhiwei had identified him at first glance.

Except for age and gender, An He and he are almost carved out of the same mold.

An He was obviously also taken aback by An Xumo’s appearance for a moment, she only smiled after half a second, “……Hello.”

An Xumo was somewhat reserved, “Hello.”²An Xumo said “您好” which is a more courteous greeting.

The electric waves transmitted in the screen and the atmosphere were like returning to that previous phone call. An Xumo subconsciously bit the tip of his tongue and his palms were a little sweaty.

Both ends were quiet for a moment until the voices of other people talking came faintly from the other side. It seems that someone said something to An He. She nodded out of the camera then turned to An Xumo and said, “I heard from Zhiwei that you have turned eighteen years old.”

An Xumo nodded.

An He said, “So now……you should also be clear about what happened before.”

Before? An Xumo was stunned and he saw An He take a soft breath and explained.

Twenty years ago, An He who was still studying in art school had an outstanding appearance and excellent acting skills. Before she graduated, she was given many opportunities to appear on stage. With a chance encounter, she became acquainted with Zhou Yunshan, a wealthy son from a well-off family. Zhou Yunshan soon pursued her with flowers, perfumes, luxury brands, and picking up and dropping her off with luxurious cars. The young An He’s romantic experience is almost like a blank sheet of paper. Although many people advised her that Zhou Yunshan just wanted to play her, she still failed to resist the other party’s attack.

What moved An He the most is that during the graduation season, not only did the two ‘break up after graduation,’ but Zhou Yunshan even asked her for an engagement.

An He, who was deeply absorbed in love, gave up acting to avoid her fiancé feeling jealous and agreed to break off her relationship with her former classmates and teachers. Because of the great disparity in family conditions, her parents also obeyed the Zhou family and kept telling their daughter to keep a firm grip on Zhou Yunshan’s heart.

While An He was waiting for the wedding ceremony with great anticipation, Prince Charming’s dream suddenly shattered in front of her.

An He returned early but in the villa where the two lived alone, she bumped into Zhou Yunshan entangled with someone in bed.

What’s more, she couldn’t believe that the person who was fooling around with her fiancé was a man.

An He stumbled out of the house but there was nowhere to stay in such a big city. She ran to a coffee shop and was alone in the corner in torment that she wished she was dead.

A strange man came forward and stroked up a conversation, saying that he pitied the beauty and could not bear to see her cry alone. An He refused several times at first, then slowly moved by the man’s words of enlightenment, she burst into tears, but under the comfort of the person, she’s finally willing to drink a sip of coffee that had been untouched for a long time.

As a result, it was this sip of coffee that knocked her out and made her unconscious. When An He woke up again, she was already sleeping in bed with a strange man.

What’s even more frightening to An He is that this man was the one she saw in Zhou Yunshan’s bed last night.

His name was He Wenbin.

Zhou Yunshan suddenly appeared with a gloomy expression; he looked at An He and sneered. Unexpectedly made unfounded charges, accusing her of not knowing how to behave, sleeping with another man behind her fiancé’s back. An He could not argue with the other but Zhou Yunshan has already kept the evidence and he teamed up with He Wenbin to threaten An He. Even if she told others that Zhou Yunshan was having an affair with He Wenbin, no one would be able to believe her.

It was only then An He realized that from beginning to end, what she had been facing for the past two years was a scam.

The only person Zhou Yunshan loved was He Wenbin but the Zhou family did not allow him to marry a man so Zhou Yunshan went to the young, innocent, and easy to control An He, and tricked her into coming home as a puppet. After He Wenbin slept with An He, the latter could no longer sue the Zhou family. She nearly fell apart but was forced by Zhou Yunshan to live on and continued to be his shield.

Two months later, An He found out that she was pregnant.

There was no need to find out whose child it was as Zhou Yunshan had never touched her. At that time, An He only thought that this was her lover’s respect for herself, she was contented with Zhou Yunshan’s thoughtfulness when she caught wind of the spreading rumors being taken care of.

Now she knows that there is only one reason Zhou Yunshan can’t get hard on the opposite sex.

With the baby, Zhou Yunshan became more and more fearless, and even when An He was at home, he was able to act directly with He Wenbin in the living room without any scruple. Forced into a desperate situation, An He called home for help. She cried and said she wanted to go home but her parents hesitated on the phone and even told her to take good care of the child.

Before Zhou Yunshan chose her, he had already found out everything about her, including her poor family conditions, and her parents’ greed for money.

An He fell into the abyss but was still having the most considerate and expensive pregnancy care.

Eventually, in everyone’s expectation, An He gave birth to a boy.

Taking the father’s name, Xumo.³I’m not quite sure if this refers to An He’s father since Xiao Mo’s father is He Wenbin. It wasn’t clearly specified.

•·················•·················•

The author has something to say:

It’s impossible for a normal person to be unconcerned towards their own flesh and blood for 18 years, right?

Chapter 86 – He can understand you
 
There are still activities to participate in the day after his birthday so An Xumo only had time to pack the cake and take it back. He cleaned out all the things in the dormitory’s mini-refrigerator before putting the cake in.
 
After finishing up, An Xumo sat on the floor and looked through the photos he had taken today on his phone. The birthday celebration during the day, the expensive gifts for the various media, the honey banquet in the evening, the birthday cake that echoed the memories, and the letter from P University.
 
He looked at it and suddenly remembered something.
 
An Xumo stood up and hurriedly walked to the door, rummaging in the bag he had just returned. A light blue paper box revealed in the corner, his hand stopped and moved gently, taking out the paper box.
 
This is a birthday gift from Zhou Jinchen which he especially found and brought back from a pile of gifts today.
 
The outer seal was carefully removed and the box was cut open with a knife. An Xumo turned the box over and a carefully laminated photo fell out.
 
He was stunned when he first saw the photo.
 
There are three people in the photo who looked like a snapshot. In the most conspicuous position, there stood a handsome young man, and not far from him is a woman in a long dress holding a baby.
 
The expressions of the two people are somewhat solemn and you can see both their upright faces but the first thing An Xumo noticed is the little boy who looked less than one year old.
 
An Xumo looked at it for a long time, then slowly turned the photo over.
 
His heart was beating violently and the three names pasted on the outside of the laminated cover came into view.
 
He Wenbin, An He, An Xumo.
 
That boy was himself when he was a child.
 
The seawater submerged all around, the water filled his eyes, the body rose and fell with the waves, and the silence in the ears was empty.
 
An Xumo laid on his back on the floor, the light above his head shined down the photo as if it could project the two people in the photo on his side.
 
Those are the two titles he had called a thousand times in his dreams but he never got a response in reality.
 
Father, mother.
 
–
 
Early the next morning, the stylist was so busy applying ice, medicine, and makeup that she managed to barely cover An Xumo’s slightly swollen eyes and mouth.
 
Tang Tang looked like she wanted to say something until An Xumo asked her, she only said cautiously, “Xiao Mo, after you went back last night……did you meet Brother Zhou?”
 
“No, why do you ask?” An Xumo did not understand.
 
“…….” Tang Tang silently pointed to his eyes and mouth.
 
The changes from when she was on the set after the kissing scene…… how similar, and the eyes were swollen from crying.
 
“Oh, I bit myself.” An Xumo was a little embarrassed. He was a bit emotional yesterday and forgot about not biting his mouth.
 
Fortunately, today’s event is in the afternoon, the situation is not too serious. But Tang Tang’s words reminded An Xumo, he looked for his phone and sent a message to Zhou Jinchen.
 
“Thank you for the gift yesterday.” 
 
After getting the photo last night, An Xumo’s emotions got a little out of control for a moment and he forgot to say thank you to his brother. Now, when he calmed down and thought about it, sending things to the media, the Belgian cake, the P University notice, and that photo, each gift meant a lot to An Xumo.
 
He realized that some things seemed to have become different from before.
 
If the previous intimacy in front of people was for hype, these birthday gifts could no longer be the same reason. An Xumo didn’t think any deeper and he didn’t need to think much. The warmth and fullness of joy were enough to fill one’s chest and stomach.
 
The mobile phone buzzed for a while and a new message alert popped up.
 
“As long as you like it.”
 
“Happy coming of age.”
 
An Xumo repeatedly looked at the two messages and couldn’t hide the smile on his lips.
 
On his eighteenth birthday, he made a wish to live for himself. The wish hadn’t gone very far and the once heaviest shackles had become warm and soft.
 
–
 
Sixteen days after its release,《Different Roads》exceeded 2.6 billion at the box office, setting a new box office record for domestic films. Twenty-five days after its release, the total box office reached 3.5 billion. At the same time, the film announced a one-month interval of《Different Roads》’s release which basically spanned the entire summer season. The total box office forecast also rose from 4 to 4.5 billion.
 
The topics related to the movie remained hot and various marketing accounts and push messages were actively rubbing on the movie’s popularity. The cast and crew have celebrated several times and unlike ordinary purely commercial films,《Different Roads》has been selected for several major awards, aiming for a double harvest of box office and winning awards.
 
The actors in the movie have naturally been benefited. Not to mention, the two leading actors who were already film emperors, but An Xumo alone, in the month after the movie’s release, his Weibo followers soared by two million, and other related indexes are also rising. In addition to this, he is the first person among the current traffic idols to act in a high-grossing film of a big director. Obviously, he had opened up a gap with other traffic idols in his identity as an actor.
 
At the end of the second round of promotional activities, An Xumo finally gained a little free time. Since he was going to report at P University in September, the team finally resisted the company’s pressure and helped him put off his long-term activities for a few months, and only taking on some short-term activities and a script that would not start until two and a half years later.
 
The admission work for the national college entrance examinations was about to be completed and the team was planning to put out news that An Xumo is going to college in the near future. At this time, he is at a time when the discussion is high, and if he is not careful, he may be seized by someone to maliciously blacken him so the team is still in strict control of the processes.
 
But for An Xumo, what he is most concerned about on his mind now is another thing.
 
A few days after his eighteenth birthday, Zhang Zhiwei, who he had not seen for a long time, called. On the day of his birthday, he also sent his best wishes to An Xumo but this time, the phone call was a hundred times more surprising than the birthday wishes.
 
Unexpectedly, Zhang Zhiwei told An Xumo that his mother wanted to see him.
 
It’s not that An Xumo did not think of using Zhang Zhiwei’s help to find his mother but at the time of the recording of《Different Roads》, Zhang Zhiwei said he had not been in touch with his sister (An Xumo’s mother, they’re not related by blood) for a long time. Later, when he contacted An Xumo about Ma Lao’s movie, he did not mention his sister again. When An Xumo slowly let down his guard, he could no longer find the right opportunity.
 
After receiving the photo that Zhou Jinchen found, An Xumo’s imagination of his mother was a little more real. Yet it never occurred to him that a few days later, the dream had become a reality.
 
Zhang Zhiwei explained that the reason An He took the initiative to bring up the meeting was An Xumo’s eighteenth birthday. He also said on the phone that An Xumo should not be angry with his family. Children are the heart of the parents, even if they had conflicts for a while, they couldn’t be angry for too long.
 
An Xumo’s dizzy thoughts were cooled down a little. When did he……get angry with his family?
 
After beating around the bush, An Xumo found that Zhan Zhiwei actually didn’t know his real-life background. The other side only thought that he was in conflict with his family and came out angrily to make his debut in the show business which is why he never mentioned anything about his mother. Because of this, An He also needed to rely on Zhang Zhiwei to get in touch with An Xumo.
 
An Xumo never mentioned anything about his family. The only reason why Zhang Zhiwei would think so is that An He’s statement possibly influenced him. An Xumo doesn’t know why the other party said so, but thinking about the Zhou family, he seemed to be able to find some explanation.
 
An He is abroad and needs to change her communication when she returns home. Zhang Zhiewi said he would give her An Xumo’s contact information, and when she arrives, she will contact An Xumo. An Xumo has been looking at his phone for the past few days, when he is busy, he will also give his phone to Tang Tang for safekeeping so that she can notify him as soon as she receives the message.
 
But after waiting for a few days, An Xumo hadn’t received a message from his mother but Xin Zimai came to the door.
 
“Do a checkup……?” An Xumo was a little confused, “Didn’t you just have a medical checkup recently?”
 
“It’s not a medical checkup, it’s like this,” Xin Zimai said after a moment of deliberation, “you know about your brother’s accident when he was twelve, right?’
 
The movie’s distribution account for《Different Roads》had not yet ended but many projects that previously lacked funding could now begin to move. Zhou Jinchen was too busy with his new investment company to get away and he wasn’t ready to make his own apology yet which is why Xin Zimai came over for him.
 
An Xumo frowned, “…… En.”
 
“After that, he recuperated for a long time. In fact, this injury is mainly on a psychological level. You should also find that Jinchen is indifferent to many things. These manifestations are all in fact rooted in his initial disease — Asperger’s syndrome.”
 
Xin Zimai briefly explained the disease to An Xumo, and then said, “Jinchen is a relatively special type. He did not show any abnormalities in his childhood. If he was properly educated, he may not be much different from other people. The problem is that at the age of twelve, he received a great mental stimulation, AS coupled with the accident which made him to have this kind of emotional sensitivity disorder he has now.”
 
When Xin Zimai finished his sentence, as expected, he saw An Xumo’s surprised expression.
 
Zhou Jinchen had already figured out that matter and it was only a matter of time before he confessed. After consideration, they decided to tell An Xumo the truth about Zhou Jinchen in advance. Therefore, when Zhou Jinchen apologizes, An Xumo could realize that the ruthlessness when he proposed the cooperation publicity was in fact actually partly due to his own mental illness.
 
Besides, they have another thing to say.
 
When An Xumo calmed down a bit, Xin Zimai continued, “At present, there is only special research on young autistic patients in China, and the diagnosis of adult AS patients is still very vague. Recently, Huashan Hospital where Jinchen is being treated is receiving a medical team from abroad. This team has done an in-depth research in the field of autism so we would like to take advantage of the few days they are in China to register you.”
 
An Xumo was silly stunned for a moment, “……me? Isn’t my brother who is ill?”
 
Xin Zimai tried to explain, “It’s just a simple checkup, not a treatment.”
 
Only then did An Xumo understand, “You mean, I might also be an AS patient?”
 
“It would be best to rule it out.” Xin Zimai said, “It’s just an assumption.”
 
An Xumo was a bit confused, “But I don’t seem to think I have anything similar to these symptoms?”
 
Xin Zimai asked, “How did you feel when you were surrounded by thousands of fans shouting your name? Do you feel concerned when you read those comments on the internet that cursed you?”
 
An Xumo thoughtfully said, “To the fans, it’s being thankful, right? Those remarks are nothing to be concerned about……”
 
Xin Zimai smiled bitterly, “Xiao An, do you know how many people who had made their debut for many years have no way to achieve such a calm state of mind?”
 
An Xumo hesitated, “Doesn’t this show that I have a good state of mind?”
 
“It also shows that your perception of external emotions is likewise very insensitive.” Xin Zimai said, “Xiao An, you really don’t want to go that much?”
 
After considering it, An Xumo finally agreed to Xin Zimai’s proposal. Subsequently, with an appointment for the next day, he went to Huashan Hospital accompanied by Xin Zimai.
 
The examination process was very boring and tedious, especially when the people he faced were speaking English. Fortunately, An Xumo went to school before and his English was not bad so he was able to complete the communication process smoothly for an unknown number of times.
 
When it was over, An Xumo left first and the delay for almost half a day is already the limit of his work can give.
 
Xin Zimai did not stay either but he kept an eye on the diagnosis results. Not long after the appointment, he received a call from Li Qiucheng.
 
As soon as the call hung up, Xin Zimai immediately dialed another number.
 
“The results are out, Xiao An has no symptoms of AS. Just tell him directly what you want to say, he can understand.” 
 
A low, magnetic voice came from the other end, “Good.”
 
“But……” Xin Zimai hesitated for a moment and said, “Jinchen, I have another thing to tell you.”
 
“Although Xiao An was not born with autism, but have……he seems to have undergone a very intense psychological trauma. The person who diagnosed him was from that professional medical team and the doctor who talked to him said that Xiao An, h-he has a high tendency for severe anxiety and depression……”

Chapter 85 – If you like them,¹Didn’t specify a person but I guess we know who~go confess ah.
 
•·················•·················•

The room was extremely quiet and a pin drop could be heard.
 
An Xumo opened his mouth to speak but in the end, he was not able to say anything. He just stood there in place and watched, watching the man walk into the room without saying a word, holding an opaque file bag in his hand.
 
Zhou Jinchen originally walked over in the direction of the desk but he stopped in his tracks when he was halfway there. The daze and unconscious fear revealed on the boy’s face are like a yellow cordon, which rigidly stopped his movements.
 
The file bag was put aside on a small table. Zhou Jinchen stopped at a distance of two meters away, he looked at An Xumo and said softly, “Happy birthday.” ²T/N: Social distancing matters. Stay safe everyone!
 
After speaking, the man’s movement paused, and finally, he turned around and walked out towards the door.
 
With a “click”, the door was closed.
 
The room was silent for a long time before Tang Tang found her voice.
 
“He……Brother Zhou, he, did not hear my last words, right……”
 
She felt that she couldn’t stand anymore; she barely pulled up a chair on the side and sat on it as if she had collapsed.
 
Just like using cold sweat to remove the makeup, Tang Tang easily stabilized her slightly shaking right hand and dialed Brother Shen’s number.
 
When the phone call was over, Tang Tang let out a long sigh but did not feel much relief.
 
She hesitated to say something to An Xumo who turned his back to her, “Xiao Mo, today’s cake and this food…… are all prepared by Brother Zhou.”
 
“Brother Shen said that there is a new task tomorrow and Brother Zhou told them to leave first. He brought these things over; he probably wants to celebrate your birthday.”
 
An Xumo took that file bag and responded in a low voice.
 
In fact, he had a faint premonition from the moment he saw the candles on the cake.
 
When he was very young, he was so hungry that he couldn’t hold on and pulled his brother’s collar to beg for food. The family happened to have sweets sent from abroad; his brother peeled off the candy wrapper, broke the milk candy, and fed it to him in small pieces.
 
An Xumo remembered the candy given by his brother but Zhou Jinchen mistakenly thought he liked this family’s candy. The big box of exquisite candy ended up in An Xumo’s belly and Zhou Jinchen later specifically mentioned it to Zhou Yunlin that he wanted this kind of candy that came all the way from Belgium.
 
He had thought this kind of thing would only be remembered by himself who repeatedly savored that little bit of sweetness but he didn’t expect it.
 
Didn’t expect it.
 
Tang Tang who was behind him was a little uneasy, “But why did Brother Zhou leave so quickly. Did I say too much……”
 
An Xumo walked back and gently patted Tang Tang’s shoulder.
 
He himself was in a terrible mess and could only say what he wanted to say to the two of them.
 
“Don’t think too much about it.”
 
He picked up the file bag, “What is this about?”
 
In the file bag, there was a notice letter sent from the school, and on the envelope, there is also P University’s emblem printed on it.
 
Tang Tang’s attention was drawn to the item; she picked it up and looked it over.
 
“This……” Tang Tang’s eyes widened, “did P University agreed?”
 
“Hmm?”
 
Tang Tang parted the loose hair on the side of her forehead and explained as clearly as possible, “You’ve been busy with publicity these past two days and I haven’t had the chance to talk to you. We tried to communicate with P University but the school said that you lost contact since September last year, the contact information you left has been said to be with the wrong person, and the regular feedback you should have, have failed to complete. At the end of the semester before this summer vacation, the school did not receive the news so they put forward your files, and prepared to return them.”
 
This is true. An Xumo responded that it was the Zhou family who paid the tuition, and then they called afterwards. They certainly would not care about this matter.

“We are also communicating with P University but they are quite insistent so they were not very easy to handle.” Tang Tang said. “The company intends to let you retake the exam and go to an art school. We still want to fight for it so the news is not confirmed for the time being.”
 
“Unexpectedly…… P University has now actually agreed to the re-admission.”
 
Tang Tang looked at An Xumo, “Xiao Mo, why don’t you go study at P University? We can hire another teacher for acting and dancing, the company has professional resources. But P University is such a good school; it’s a pity to miss it.”
 
An Xumo paused for a moment and asked, “Will the company agree?”
 
Tang Tang held up the file bag, “This should be a favor from Brother Zhou. If he agrees, the company won’t have any big problem.”
 
Speaking of this, she was a little bothered once again.
 
The person indeed takes care of their younger brother like an elder brother but as a result, others have yet to understand the situation, they are already badmouthing people behind their backs…… it’s really too uncalled for.
 
An Xumo picked up the file bag.
 
After a long time he said, “If conditions permit, I will go.”
 
–
 
Just after confirming the last item on the plan, Xin Zimai who was relieved suddenly received a phone call belonging to the person who executed the last item.
 
“Hello, Jinchen?” He picked up the phone and froze for a moment.
 
“I’m at home, ah, Dr. Li is also here…… You want to come over now? Do you have a car?”
 
Li Qiucheng walked over with a glass of hot milk in his hand.
 
“Ok……We’ll wait for you at home. Call me when you’re almost there, I’ll go down and pick you up.”
 
Once Xin Zimai finished, he looked up and saw Li Qiucheng’s smiling expression.
 
“……” He paused, “What’s the matter with you?”
 
Li Qiucheng waved his hand and pushed the milk over.
 
That “we” sounded really sweet.
 
Xin Zimai looked at the milk and frowned, he decided not to bother with Li Qiucheng for the time being, “Jinchen is coming over. He suddenly wanted to find you for consultation, it’s the middle of the night……I don’t know what’s going on. Didn’t he say he was going to celebrate Xiao An’s birthday?”
 
“Maybe something happened while celebrating Xiao An’s birthday.” 
 
Lo Qiucheng said, pushing the milk towards the person again.
 
Xin Zimai: “……What are you doing?”
 
Li Qiucheng said calmly, “Consultation fee.”
 
“……”
 
By the time Zhou Jinchen arrived, it was already after midnight, and fortunately, it was this time that he was not recognized by fans on the road.
 
As soon as he arrived, he got right to the point and made his way towards Li Qiucheng, “I have something to ask you.”
 
Li Qiucheng asked, “What’s the matter?”
 
Zhou Jinchen said, “The behavior corresponds to emotional issues.”
 
Li Qiucheng had heard a little bit about this. When Zhou Jinchen refused to communicate with anyone at that time, Mr. Old Yu who brought him to the deep mountains reconstructed an emotional system for him. Zhou Jinchen could not understand emotions so Mr. Old Yu taught him to remember the emotions corresponding to each action, from simple to complex, and finally little by little, it spelled into the colorful world of normal people.
 
Although it’s not clear what exactly Zhou Jinchen met, he can’t find out real emotions by himself but as one of the only few people in the know, Li Qiucheng is also the most suitable candidate.
 
But what should be said is still to be said, Li Qiucheng said, “I would like to state in advance, my understanding of psychology is only at the introductory level, and I am not qualified to be a psychologist. I may not be able to give a correct and thorough answer to the questions you want to ask.”
 
Zhou Jinchen was silent for a moment and nodded his head.
 
Seeing his insistence, Li Qiucheng said, “Then, let’s begin.”
 
The two sat opposite each other and Xin Zimai sat on the other side of the sofa. He was instructed in advance by Li Qiucheng to try not to speak up and participate so at this point, he could only be a silent observer.
 
Li Qiucheng asked, “What kind of behavior are you going to talk about?”
 
Zhou Jinchen said, “It’s my own matters.”
 
…… His own behavior? Li Qiucheng did not really think about it, this is his first time being honest. Moreover, behavior infers emotions; in this way, doesn’t Zhou Jinchen have questions about his own emotions?

 
He can sense emotions now?
 
Zhou Jinchen continued, “I don’t remember what happened after that drunkenness but subsequently, I had nightmares for a long time.”
 
“The dream was chaotic, it has everything in it. I could vaguely feel that it was my world ten years ago.”
 
“One day following that, I heard the voice of a seven-year-old An Xumo, and from then on, seeing him relieved my stress, both inside and outside of my dreams.”
 
Li Qicheng thought that his initial conjecture was probably correct. An Xumo must have helped him when Zhou Jinchen was harmed that year.
 
“After some time, the relief outside the dream changed.” Zhou Jinchen said in a low voice, “When we don’t see each other, I would also think what would happen after seeing him, and gradually developed the impulse to get closer to him.”
 
Li Qiucheng pursed his lips.
 
Wanting to see when you can’t see, wanting to get closer when you see……
 
“After that, the impulse is getting stronger and stronger. I changed the original plan, took his contract, and helped him find resources, treat his stomach illness, and eat on time.”
 
“What did you think about when you made these decisions?”
 
Li Qiucheng asked, “For example, when you helped him treat his stomach illness, did you think that when he gets better, you could use him to get more benefits?”
 
Zhou Jinchen immediately gave an answer.
 
“No, all I thought about was the first half of the sentence, to make him feel better.”
 
Li Qiucheng nodded, “Good, you continue.”
 
“That’s basically all I have to say for myself. I don’t know why I chose to do this kind of thing but I know that I’ll be happy to do it.”
 
Zhou Jinchen said, “Besides mine, there is his part.”
 
Zhou Jinchen described what happened in the office tonight along with what happened when he noticed that An Xumo no longer kept his eyes on him.
 
Xin Zimai listened on the sidelines with an obviously strange expression.
 
After listening, Li Qiucheng pondered for a moment.
 
“If,” he mused, “I mean if you replace what you said about yourself with someone else, I can basically conclude that this emotion is being emotionally affected.”
 
“Perhaps, it’s a little deeper than being emotionally affected such as liking, or even the like being deeper than love.”
 
“However, Jinchen, you know, your situation is rather special.” Li Qiucheng cautiously said, “Therefore, I think, you need to draw the final conclusion yourself.”
 
Zhou Jinchen gave a low response.
 
“But anyway,” Li Qiucheng said, “this time is definitely a good thing for you. There is nothing to worry about. You might as well listen to the voice inside your heart.”
 
Zhou Jinchen was silent for a moment, and then said, “What about his part?”
 
Li Qiucheng said, “Xiao An’s behavior is easier to explain.”
 
From the first time meeting this person, Li Qiucheng noticed this matter in the cafeteria.
 
“He is deeply attached to you, perhaps, deeper than like.”
 
“…… He likes me?” Zhou Jinchen’s expression finally showed a crack.
 
Li Qiucheng said, “It’s obvious.”
 
He left some time for Zhou Jinchen to digest this matter. After all, this was the first time that the other party had developed a feeling other than disgust when hearing that someone likes him.
 
Nonetheless, there was one more thing he had to clarify.
 
Li Qiucheng deliberately said, “But he has now changed his mind and is ready to withdraw.”
 
Zhou Jinchen’s expression visibly moved again.
 
“Why?”
 
Li Qiucheng said, “Maybe it’s the publicity plan or it could be your cold attitude towards him.”
 
Zhou Jinchen’s eyebrows furrowed tightly.
 
Li Qiucheng looked at the man whose emotions were obviously thrown into confusion and softly said, “If you can determine what you really want…… Jinchen, it may not be too late to chase.”
 
“Besides, you better explain one thing to him in advance.”
 
Zhou Jinchen reacted to Li Qiucheng’s question after half a beat, “What is it?”
 
Li Qiucheng said solemnly, “The previous publicity plan was a wrong start. You need to make it clear that you don’t want to continue to use him.”
 
Xin Zimai sitting on the side watching the two of them, his mind automatically filtered the conversation.
 
In the final analysis, what Zhou Jinchen had to say was actually only two sentences.
 
— I’m sorry.
 
— I like you.
 
•·················•·················•
 
The author has something to say:
 
Brother’s awakening progress: 100%
 
Brother chasing Xiao Mo’s progress: ……too little to see.

•·················•·················•

Jie Jie: 2 updates for the missed update last Wednesday! I apologize for not updating, I was so busy the whole week and I wasn’t having enough sleep due to overloaded school works. That’s why I’ll be bringing bad news: the update schedule will be once a week from now on, every Friday. I’m sorry everyone, we just have so many school loads to do that I don’t have much time anymore (╥﹏╥)

Once my school loads get relaxed a bit, I’ll bring back the twice a week update.

Thank you for understanding! ( ´ ∀ `)ノ～ ♡

Chapter 84 – Is birthday really happy
After taking the highest domestic single-week box office record of 1.5 billion in its first week,《Different Roads》took in another 500 million in its second week. The film’s follow-up was so long-lasting that even the constant release of new films failed to shake its position as the single-day box office champion.
 
《Different Roads》used a step-by-step accounting distribution model. The longer it is in cinemas, the higher the percentage of the cinemas can allocate. Combined with the fact that the attendance rate never dropped significantly, the movie’s running time was spontaneously extended. Judging from the current records, it is just around the corner for 《Different Roads》 to break the total box office record of domestic movies. In this case, the publicity and development team also has a new motivation. Soon, the crew started the second round of road shows during the screening.
 
Unfortunately, the third day of the second round of the road shows was An Xumo’s birthday.
 
An Xumo himself did not feel anything. He has long ceased to be the eager little boy back then, and his special feelings for birthdays have faded a lot. Although he had gradually increased contact with fans recently, An Xumo has little idea of his identity as a traffic idol. If it wasn’t for Tang Tang telling him about his fans’ support, he wouldn’t have been aware of the fact that fans would spend money for their idols on their birthdays.
 
“…… so many?” An Xumo was a little surprised. “It’s all because of my birthday?”
 
“Yes,” Tang Tang laid out the data one by one, “the newspaper pages of eighteen domestic newspapers, outdoor billboards in eighteen foreign cities, eighteen charity projects, and the giant LED caption on Waitan in S City……”
 
The more An Xumo listened, the more frightened he was. He somewhat said helplessly, “It’s just a birthday. It’s not worth spending so much money, right?”
 
“This is your coming of age birthday ah. Of course, it will look grand.” Tang Tang went through the whole information, “If not for the crew’s arrangement, the company would have planned to give you a birthday party for fans. Half a year ago, there are fans who asked about the plan.”
 
An Xumo paused, “Then if it didn’t work out, it would have let down the fans?”
 
Tang Tang was amused by his statement, “What makes you think so?”
 
An Xumo pointed to the lists of supports.
 
“Let’s put it this way,” Tang Tang explained after laughing, “Birthday parties are indeed an opportunity for people who have traffic to consolidate their popularity and give back to their fans. This is also quite popular in the circle but not doing it can never be said to be a fault.”
 
“What’s more, you can’t get away because of Ma Lao’s several billions worth of movies. Fans are now more enthusiastic than the crew at the box office count, so how can you feel you’ve let them down?”
 
An Xumo is still at a loss, “But this……isn’t it all something what I’m supposed to do?”
 
“Yeah,” Tang Tang said. “You work to attract them so what fans want to see most is also the way you work hard.”
 
An Xumo did not speak, his expression was slightly stunned.
 
Tang Tang looked at him curiously, “Xiao Mo, what’s the matter with you?”
 
An Xumo was silent for a while before he said softly, “I just didn’t expect…… it turns out that just by doing your job well, you can be liked by others.”
 
Tang Tang was going to say something but when she thought about it and recalled An Xumo’s family background, she swallowed those words back.
 
She reached out and patted the boy’s shoulder, silently comforting him.
 
An Xumo smiled and asked, “Then if I continue to receive better movies or other resources…… will they be happy?”
 
“Definitely,” Tang Tang said with certainty. “The traffic label is only temporary and there are no fans that do not want their idol to become a real powerhouse. Box office, rewards, ratings, films, and television works, fans will even care more than the artists themselves.”
 
“Good.” An Xumo nodded.
 
“I will work hard.”
 
–
On his coming of age birthday, An Xumo’s studio released a new set of intense pictures in collaboration with a leading fashion magazine. In addition, the studio also included a series of benefits activities, including signed magazines and handwritten blessing cards from An Xumo, as a way to give something back to his fans.
 
It wasn’t only the fans and the team who went through the trouble of celebrating his birthday. Since An Xumo was participating in the promotion of his movie on his birthday, the team prepared a big cake for him. The promotional activities themselves were very busy, and An Xumo thought that his blessings would only take up a little time. However, to his surprise, the crew treated him like the main character of the day, and most of the activities were centered on him, celebrating his birthday while promoting the movie.
 
An Xumo only thought that this was the crew’s consideration so he didn’t think too much about it. In addition, everyone present also sent their best wishes for him.
 
The main crew was basically there, only Lin Rui was not present due to scheduling issues. An Xumo realized with hindsight that since the film’s premiere, he hadn’t seen the film emperor.
 
With the movie promotion and birthday celebrations, having been busy for nearly a whole day, this is still the first birthday that An Xumo has received so many blessings. It wasn’t until the promotional activities were about to end that Tang Tang, who came in a hurry, found an opportunity to pull the person alone over to ask a few questions.
 
“An unarranged gift?” An Xumo was a bit puzzled.
 
Tang Tang nodded and lit up the picture on the screen for him to see, “This is a gift sent to various media in your name. At first, when the editor-in-chief of Ming Entertainment sent a message over, I thought they had sent it to the wrong person. As a result, more and more media sent messages later, and many of the media present also received gifts, and they were all of great value.”
 
An Xumo asked, “Brother Shen and the others don’t know either?”
 
“They didn’t know either.” Tang Tang said, “Moreover, with our team’s funding, we definitely can’t afford a gift of this size. Even if we report it to the company for approval, there’s not much chance of success.”
 
An Xumo thought of his own supports, “Could it be done by fans?”
 
“No,” Tang Tang directly shook her head. “We were the first to rule out this possibility, like fans, the drama crew can also support to it. But this kind of resources and contacts in the industry is absolutely impossible for fans to have access to.”
 
As far as she knows, this must be an arrangement made by someone in the circle.
 
“But who would come to give such an expensive gift without even saying hello ah?” Tang Tang really couldn’t understand.
 
Hearing her say this, An Xumo had a faint thought.
 
“The person who sent the gift……did they leave any other information?” An Xumo asked tentatively, “For example, whom assistant is the person giving the gift……”
 
“Huh? No, ai.” Tang Tang was a little confused, “Those who gave it to the media on the spot were on-site staff, the fashion magazines and the like that were not present were delivered to the door by the courier company, leaving only your name and no other information.”
 
An Xumo also paused.
 
Then……it can’t be brother, right.
 
He thought, if it was his brother’s plan, the other party will certainly show his identity, and then reveal to others the intimate relationship between the two.
 
“Forget it; let’s not talk about it first. Go back and check it slowly.” Tang Tang said, “Is the publicity over? Let’s go back to the company first. Brother Shen has prepared a lot of sweet honey for you after asking the doctor, the kind that you can eat even after dinner time.”
 
Fortunately, today’s promotion is in S City and he returned to the company about an hour or so. Pushing open the door of the office, Tang Tang looked at the empty room and was a little surprised, “Yi,¹expression of surprise how come Brother Shen and the others are not here……”

An Xumo followed her in and saw the desk in the room had been cleaned up and was covered with sweet fragrant meals. Thousands of layers of cheese drenched with tempting honey, sweet-scented osmanthus honey brewed in warm water, and many other delicious pastries written all over it. In between the pile of honey desserts, there was also an extremely delicate three-layer cake with eighteen colorful candles set up on top.
 
“Didn’t I say there was only honey water……?” Tang Tang muttered suspiciously, “It’s not like you can eat too much at night……”
 
An Xumo did not hear Tang Tang’s words, his attention was completely attracted by the cake.
 
Tang Tang looked back and saw him staring intently at the largest cake in the middle. She called out to the person, “Xiao Mo?”
 
It was only then did An Xumo come back to his senses, “…… Hmm?”
 
“Do you want to eat this cake?” Tang Tang asked.
 
It’s possible to make an exception today but can’t eat too much. Otherwise, with Xiao Mo’s digestive system, he would still be definitely uncomfortable.
 
She was a little confused. The team clearly stated before the discussion that they only prepared honey to nourish the stomach. In order for Xiao Mo not to have cravings, she deliberately bought only triangular-shaped cupcakes.
 
And yet, where did this big cake come from?
 
“Oh,” An Xumo smiled, “I just thought that the brand of this cake is a bit familiar.”
 
Tang Tang was puzzled, “Brand?”
 
An Xumo pointed to the decoration on the candle and read out the French word above. “This is a Belgian dessert brand. It’s quite rare to see this dessert in China. I don’t remember having this in S City.”
 
Tang Tang was silly stunned, “B-Belgium?”
 
There are so many cake shops in S City. Who is so idle and how can they go to Europe to buy cake?!
 
An Xumo looked at the cake, his voice tinged with a touch of nostalgia, “When I was young, I have eaten these sweets……it’s probably more than ten years ago and I can still remember the taste up to now.”
 
For more than ten years……wasn’t Xiao Mo just five or six years old at that time? How special is its family’s candy that can make people remember for so long? Tang Tang was full of questions, none of which could be answered.
 
“Is this family’s candy very delicious?”
 
An Xumo curved the corners of his lips, “Very sweet.”
 
That is the sweetness that has supported him through these ten years.
 
An Xumo walked over and saw eighteen colored candles, supported by transparent brackets on top of the cake without destroying its shape. He stretched out his hand and used a pair of small scissors on the side to cut off the topmost plastic seal. Soon, the candles were exposed to the air and burned by itself.
 
The flame flickered and the warm light reflected on An Xumo’s face. Tang Tang played 《Happy Birthday》 on her phone and sang softly along with the rhythm.
 
“Happy birthday to you……“²Written in English in the raw. I’ll use bold for English words from now on.
 
After singing the song, Tang Tang stopped An Xumo who was going to blow out the candles, “Make a wish first, Xiao Mo!”
 
“Ah,” An Xumo smiled embarrassedly, “I forgot.”
 
He thought about it, “I already made a wish during the day…… is it possible to make a second wish now?”
 
“During the day?”
 
“Yes, the crew’s cake. I wished for the box office to continue to rise.”
 
Tang Tang laughed in spite of herself, “That kind of wish does not count; you have to make your own wish ah.”
 
An Xumo looked at the cake, “Then I hope, after the age of eighteen, I can find a new self.”
 
He said softly, “I want to learn…… to live for myself.”
 
Tang Tang originally wanted to remind him that wishes could not be said but hearing An Xumo’s last words, she was completely unconcerned about these details.
 
“Thinking of it this way…… it’s really great Xiao Mo.” Tang Tang covered her mouth for a moment and took a deep breath before saying, “I used to think, including Brother Shen, the others were saying that you always look lonely, and don’t have anything you want. That is, what you accomplish is the expectations of others but you don’t have the time to be genuinely happy.”
 
“The way you looked at Brother Zhou before, made people feel quite worried.” Tang Tang’s voice was intermittent as if trying to suppress something. “Later, when they came up to mention that plan, we all felt that it would be detrimental to you. I was worried at that time that you could not stand being treated like this……”
 
She covered her eyes; her voice could wring out water, and repeated incoherently, “It’s really, really great that you can think about yourself……”
 
An Xumo reached out and gave her a light hug.
 
“Don’t cry,” he said with a smile, as soon as Tang Tang cries, she will cry herself to tears.
 
Tang Tang took the tissue from the person’s hand and wiped her tears absent-mindedly before breaking into laughter.
 
“Alas,” she sighed, “I really, I feel that I have taken you for a long time, and I also become a mother fan……”
 
She hadn’t finished her words yet but she saw the boy in front of her suddenly freeze.
 
Tang Tang was taken aback and followed An Xumo’s line of sight, looking over.
 
They were standing in front of the desk with the blown candles, their sides facing the door and their line of sight was mostly blocked. Just now, the birthday song on the phone kept ringing again that they couldn’t hear the sound that came from the door.
 
A man in a long trench coat is standing there with dark eyes and a handsome face. Even the light of the night did not weaken the least bit of his elegant demeanor.
But perhaps the night is too heavy that it seemed to be pushed and intruded without permission from the man at the door, engulfing the light and sweetness of the room in an instant.
 
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The author has something to say:
 
Xiao Mo finally accepted the situation and move on ai, and then it…… _(:3」∠)_