Male God is Chasing My Brother Chapter 79

Chapter 79 – Brother’s strange desire
 
Since he had no acting experience, An Xumo had never been on a road show before. Although the team had prepared in advance once the operation started, the intensity of continuous work was more than he could bear.
 
The importance of road shows is undeniable and the same goes for a large-scale production like《Different Roads》with a star-studded cast. Therefore, in the road show, before the film was released, except for Ma Lao who rarely attended because of health reasons, the other important people were asked to move their schedule. People of their status had to be very diligent. An Xumo, who was a newcomer in the film industry, found it even more difficult to leave the scene without permission.
 
In addition to the three absolute important people, An Xumo was the one who participated in the most number of road shows within the cast. Although this is definitely a good thing for his career and development, the pressure that comes with it is also evident.
 
The high intensity of the road show is mainly due to the tight schedule and the constant rush to the scene. After a full day of meetings, media interviews, and cinema promotions, there was no time to waste and they continued to rush to the next city to repeat the same work.
 
After the crew arrived in Dongzhou City, An Xumo was still in a normal state during a series of interviews and meet-and-greets during the day. He was interviewed with the crew, and when someone brought up the relationship between the three explicitly or implicitly, he smiled and defused the tho-ny issue with the plot of the trailer.
 
However, when evening came, the increasingly intense schedule and accumulated fatigue for a long time burst out together.
 
The crew had to go to six of the top ten cinemas in Dongzhou City to do activities, each of which requires a half-hour screening and half-hour fan interaction. And in the full length of more than six hours, they had to travel through the six districts of Dongzhou City without even a chance to take a break.
 
The time was tight, the staffs were complex, and the pressure of the scene can be imagined. The crew can only weigh the priorities first and temporarily postpone some of the less important things.
 
For example, dinner.
 
As one of the main artists, An Xumo was also very busy. He didn’t even think about dinner at first and it wasn’t until he was reminded by the pressure coming vaguely from his stomach when he ran to the third cinema.
 
It doesn’t matter if an ordinary person is hungry for a meal. It’s not uncommon for artists to eat irregularly but for a stomach that is already showing symptoms, eating irregularly is the biggest taboo.
 
An Xumo soon received a protest from his body.
 
With so many eyes on the stage, the boy naturally did not make any extra moves. It wasn’t until the third event was over and the crew rushed to the next cinema that An Xumo found the opportunity to take the medicine Tang Tang had prepared for him in advance.
 
Taking into account An Xumo’s gastritis, Tang Tang had already prepared an emergency dinner beforehand. But unfortunately, because the trip was too rushed, Tang Tang was left behind at the second cinema. Now, An Xumo is only followed by his assistant Xiao Zhang but the latter does not have anything that An Xumo can eat.
 
The feeling of hunger was all too familiar to An Xumo. He had only planned to endure it as usual but before the fourth event was over, the time became unbearable.
 
His stomach burned fiercely, burning all the way to his throat. The ever-present retching feeling kept stirring up tears, blurring the line of sight in front of him.
 
The only redeeming thing was that the pain of burning into the throat did not make his voice hoarse. And with the experience of throwing up on the set last time, the dry heaving sensation became barely tolerable this time.
 
An Xumo followed the turmoil and chaos of war¹social order is unstable/chaotic onto the arranged bus. He looked nothing unusual on the outside but every step was like stepping on cotton.
 
His body was light and the pain forced his mind to perform instinctive self-protection. The consciousness was shallowly drawn out and floated in the sky, watching the spontaneous movement of the body like a spectator to others.
 
An Xumo reacted for a long time before waking up to the fact that this person was him.
 
His thoughts were muddled and confused, unable to think of any logic. His mind was left with only one thought; he could not fall down and could not delay his work.
 
After a non-stop trip to the fifth cinema, An Xumo finally received a bit of good news —— this cinema had more than enough space provided for the important people with long sofas. Sitting was much more bearable than standing for half an hour and with Zhou Jinchen and Lin Rui doing most of the off-stage activities, An Xumo finally had a chance to rest a little.
 
He tried to use this time to let himself recover as much as possible and fortunately, the buffer time did pay off. Except that when he finally stood up when he left the stage, he shook a bit and was held by Zhou Jinchen on his side. An Xumo’s abnormality was not noticed by anyone.
 
“Sorry, I tripped a little ……”
 
The boy did not look at who supported him nor even raised his head. After whispering his thanks, An Xumo who stood firm hurriedly followed the person in front of him toward the stage as if he was unaware of the fact that he had just almost fallen.
 
Zhou Jinchen who was standing behind him looked at the boy’s thin back and could not help but frown.
 
After helping the person, Zhou Jinchen’s attention to the other person became more and more frequent. In the last event, the boy’s face was so pale that he was almost transparent. Although he still answered questions in a normal tone and still had a decent smile when taking a group photo, Zhou Jinchen could detect the hesitancy under the other party’s efforts to conceal it.
 
Or was it due to stomach problems? 
 
That’s right. The crew did not eat at night.
 
Zhou Jinchen is used to being busy and his three meals are not on time. He only remembered it when he found An Xumo’s strangeness but on the stage with so many people watching, it was difficult for him to act without permission.
 
The man can only pay more attention and help the person to share some of the pressure as much as possible. He calmly blocked several rude and impetuous questions for An Xumo, and in the end, when all the main people used a selfie stick to take a photo with the audience he reached out and pulled the person to his side.
 
In order to be able to capture the audience, the crew all squatted down. An Xumo also followed along and squatted down, but when he got up after the shot, he was more than a beat slower.
 
The boy’s body is nearing its limit.
 
Before An Xumo’s action drew the attention of others, Zhou Jinchen was quick to encircle the person’s shoulders, helping the swaying boy up. To prevent the other party from getting dizzy when he stood up abruptly, he also supported the person for a while longer.
 
Zhou Jinchen just wanted to help the person to stand up but the boy who was supported had been suffering for a long time and was not very clear about the current condition of his own feet. He followed everyone almost by instinct and thought he was standing firm.
 
So when his drowsy thoughts were interrupted by Zhou Jinchen’s suddenly reaching hand, An Xumo also visibly froze.
 
There was a flash that happened to light up just then; taking in the two people who were at an intimate distance, only then did An Xumo reacted. He didn’t say anything and just quietly stood there to let the person take pictures. It was not until the army was ready to leave did he followed and walked off the stage.
 
Seeing that the person can still walk on their own, Zhou Jinchen finally relaxed a little. But when walking from the side of the stage to the backstage, in the dimly lit exit tunnel, Zhou Jinchen could not help but look down at his palm.
 
He had just used this hand to encircle An Xumo, the warm, thin touch can still be recalled. There was another feeling that had not yet dissipated — the boy was obviously stiff when he touched him.
 
This is not the first time Zhou Jinchen discovered this. He briefly recalled that every time he was approached by his own initiative, his younger brother would have this stiff reaction.
 
What emotion does this behavior express?
 
The stiffness at that time of contact should be perhaps be interpreted as resistance and contradiction but Zhou Jinchen quickly denied this idea himself. After being rigid each time, An Xumo would quickly return to normal, never showing any sense of detachment.
 
It’s not resistance……what else could it be?
 
Zhou Jinchen carefully searched in his emotional inventory and was unable to find a relevant emotion for this slight contradictory move. The army began to exit one after another and there was a lot of noise around. Not far away, Ma Zechi raised his voice and called his name. Zhou Jinchen can only temporarily put this matter aside and walk over to the other side.
 
Just after leaving the cinema, Tang Tang who had been waiting at the back door for a long time hurriedly brought a whole jar of medicinal porridge to An Xumo. With something in his stomach, the tired boy finally had a chance to rest a little. Moreover, on the way back, he was so tired that he directly fell asleep on the bus.
 
Zhou Jinchen sat beside him, holding tissues and vomiting bags given by Tang Tang. They had prepared for the worst but An Xumo had been sleeping quietly and nothing happened.
 
The warm light from the window stained the delicately lined face but it added a little more life to the boy who had been pale. The look when he sleeps is more tender and immature than in the day and the unique freshness and softness of the teenager combined together makes it hard for people to take their eyes off.
 
Zhou Jinchen looked at him and felt that inexplicable feeling appears in his heart again.
 
Until now, he still has no way to understand emotions directly like a normal person, and the daily life together still has to be inferred by different behaviors. However, other people’s emotions can be deduced by their behavior but not on their own. Therefore, Zhou Jinchen has never been able to understand what he really feels for An Xumo.
 
The first thing that deliberately reminded him was the nightmare that kept coming back since he got drunk. It was the root of all the damage Zhou Jinchen has suffered since then and this raging darkness was temporarily suspended by An Xumo’s appearance.
 
In the end, it was no longer as simple as just relieving the nightmare, things began to develop towards a strange desire. Zhou Jinchen subconsciously focused on his younger brother’s situation, not just because he wants to ease his nightmares, but also because he wanted to make the other party better.
 
Let the person get more shots and better preferential treatment so that he will no longer be invaded by all kinds of viciousness in the entertainment industry and will no longer be harmed by physical ailments.
 
For Zhou Jinchen who has never been concerned about others’ actions, this is the first time.
 
The feeling was so unfamiliar that Zhou Jinchen never understood why he had this thought.
 
He could neither think of the reason for this desire nor could he find the benefit of doing so. The standard of benefit that he normally used for precise projections became useless and Zhou Jinchen had to keep thinking about other things to cover up this uneasiness after losing control.
 
But he didn’t refuse to get along with An Xumo because of this uneasiness. On the contrary, Zhou Jinchen held the thought of finding the real reason in more contact.
 
So when he got off the bus, despite the curious and concerned looks from many people in the crew, Zhou Jinchen still picked up the sleeping boy without looking away. Everyone had a busy day and it was also close to twelve o’clock, many people even felt aches and pains in their legs and waist when they stand up and walk. But Zhou Jinchen who was holding a hundred-pound boy in his arms entered the hotel calmly.
 
He never woke up the person and just carried the other all the way.
 
When dividing the room, Zhou Jinchen also did not hesitate. An Xumo was sleeping even though it would be more accurate to call it semi-conscious. He was held for such a long time without waking up, so it was natural that it’s not good to sleep alone at night. Zhou Jinchen directly asked Xiao Zhang to pull An Xumo’s luggage over and the two of them slept in a two-person room.
 
Fortunately, An Xumo’s illness was not too serious this time. Although he slept a little uncomfortably, he did not wake up and at least rested for the whole night. The crew assembled early in the morning and he got up without any problems.
 
With this day’s experience, no matter how busy he was after several cities in the road show, An Xumo would be watched to eat on time. Even on the road or in the cinema backstage, there will be someone to hand him a warm insulated lunch box.
 
While his body, fortunately, did not suffer much damage, An Xumo began to worry about something else.
 
After waking up in his brother’s room again and facing a crowd with knowing eyes early in the morning, An Xumo has been in a bad mood. He was worried that his brother would use his stomach problems as a deliberate publicity stunt.
 
It is not uncommon for celebrities to work with illnesses and many studios will use this to promote their artists’ diligence and dedication, sucking up the goodwill of passersby, and conveniently make the deeply moved and distressed fans more enthusiastic about their idols.
 
This is not an unbearable method, but An Xumo’s current situation is not quite the same.
 
From the very beginning, the boy preferred to show himself only at work in front of the public. An Xumo did not want too many people to know that he had stomach problems. He always felt that what should be presented should be the good side such as dancing or acting. Once this personal, private, and negative condition is exposed, he will have a vague uneasiness of having his protective layer pierced.
 
An Xumo prefers to close himself off rather than expose his vulnerable and real privacy to the public.
 
In addition to his own personality, An Xumo also takes into account his relationship with his brother. Once the team publicized the fact that he was still working despite having stomach problems, the next step to follow would definitely be Zhou Jinchen’s attentive care for him. Perhaps, because sick people are more sensitive, An Xumo felt a sense of resistance for the first time.
 
Forget the daily acting, even if you’re sick……
 
He really does not like this feeling that everything about himself is being taken advantage of.
 
But throughout the road show, the two getting along was inevitable. An Xumo had to disguise himself as much as possible as if he was not sick, only saying that he was well and did not show a little abnormality in front of his brother.
 
It’s several times harder to pretend to be normal than to endure disease, plus for some reason, Zhou Jinchen would always turn his attention and conversation to An Xumo intentionally or unintentionally recently. It took him a lot of energy to control his state.
 
When the road show finally came to an end, An Xumo left the set almost as if he escaped. In order to leave there early, he even bought a late night ticket in advance and did not stay one more night. He flew back to S City overnight.
 
The three main characters still need to continue to go on for two more cities, so this time An Xumo smoothly returned to Jin Dian alone.
 
When he came back, he slept for fifteen hours, except in the middle when he was woken up by Tang Tang to simply drink some porridge, and then fell back to sleep afterwards. After resting for a long time, he finally eased a bit of physical stress. Although his spirit is a little tight but compared to the previous period, he had obviously relaxed a lot.
 
An Xumo felt that after some more time, he would be able to slowly adjust to it. Even if there are still screenings and various interviews for《Different Roads》to come, it will certainly not be any tougher than the road show.
 
But Tang Tang is not so optimistic.
 
Without mentioning anything else, just looking at the performance these days, she also felt that An Xumo’s pressure really exceeded the bottom line.
 
“En?” when he was called to the office, An Xumo was still a bit confused. He didn’t quite understand Tang Tang’s words, “Too much pressure?”
 
“Yes,” Tang Tang’s expression was solemn, “Xiao Mo, you’re so young and you have chronic gastritis. You almost didn’t make it in the first road show.”
 
An Xumo thought she was blaming herself, he said with some apology, “Sorry, I will pay attention to eat on time next time. I will also try my best to recuperate this time……”
 
“That’s not what I meant.” Tang Tang quickly stopped him and explained. “I’m not saying you’re delaying your work but your body won’t be able to take it if you go on like this.”
 
An Xumo is only seventeen years old and has a long way to go. If he falls down because of his illness due to excessive pressure now, not only his career but also his own health will be affected. Acting is not a comfortable profession, and there is no practice in the entertainment industry that they die young and die from overwork.
 
An Xumo is still young after all. He does not know the seriousness of this kind of thing and speaks somewhat casually, “It shouldn’t be so serious, right? Just recuperating is fine, my recovery ability is also quite strong……”
 
Tang Tang felt angry and funny, she felt like she was earnestly teaching her old mother.
 
“Then you can’t just rely on your youth to build strength ah. It will be too late when something goes wrong!” Tang Tang worriedly said, “In fact, your gastritis is already a big problem now. If you don’t pay attention to it in time, there will be some sufferings in the future.”
 
“I understand,” An Xumo answered and thought about it again. “But now, I don’t have many opportunities to rest so I should pay attention to it at ordinary times.”
 
Before the premiere of《Different Roads》, the team had already helped screen a number of scripts, many of which are good productions. It’s just that in the film industry, An Xumo still has a lot of things to do.
 
“I’m also clear about this.” Tang Tang said. For artists, resting every day without work to keep them busy is the scariest thing, and……
 
“Even if you want to have a rest, the company won’t agree.”
 
She said, pulling out a bag of files from the table and handed them to An Xumo.
 
An Xumo opened the bag of files. “This is……?”
 
“You are now in the rising period, it’s impossible for the company to let you have a long time off but with your current situation, it is not suitable to bear the continuous work.” Tang Tang pointed to the bag of files. “Therefore, after discussing with the team, we have a new proposal.”
 
Just seeing those several stacks of paper taken out from the bag of files, the names of several most famous art universities in China were printed on it.
 
“Xiao Mo, you went to school early. You’ll only be eighteen in two weeks, even if you took a year off from school, you didn’t miss that much.” Tang Tang said. “So we thought to move your school registration to a senior high school for half a year in the third year and then at the beginning of the next year, you take the art exam.”
 
“In this way, when the college entrance exam ends in June next year, as long as the results are not too bad, you can go to a university in September.”
 
There are also several young traffic idols that made their debut in China, and their high school and college entrance examinations have attracted a lot of attention. Given the current situation, all underage artists who intend to continue working as actors will choose the path of arts examination to study in major art colleges and universities in the country. There, they will not only receive systematic acting studies but also be able to accumulate contacts in the circle. There is also a precedent in the country about two movie stars in the same class.
 
That is why Tang Tang proposed that An Xumo returns to senior high school to prepare for the art exam. Anyway, with the boy’s current age, he wouldn’t be too far off. If he does pass the exam, he will not only be able to go to college but also have some time off — just like the Jingdian Academy, one of the country’s top art colleges where they deliberately limit the number of time students can go out to take on dramas to ensure that they have enough time to attend classes.
 
When the time comes, the company will no longer let An Xumo to constantly take on various jobs for long-term considerations.
 
Tang Tang’s salary is linked to An Xumo’s. If he misses his job because of school, Tang Tang’s income will also be affected. Therefore, An Xumo understood that Tang Tang was really thinking about him.
 
But while Tang Tang was waiting for his decision with great expectation, An Xumo quickly expressed a different wish.
 
Tang Tang was obviously shocked by his words, “…..why won’t you go?”
 
She hurriedly said, “Do you have any other concerns? This is the most appropriate……”
 
“No,” An Xumo interrupted her not knowing whether to laugh or cry. “Tang Tang, don’t worry. Listen to me.”
 
Tang Tang stopped and looked at him anxiously.
 
“It’s not that I don’t want to go,” An Xumo explained, “But I’ve already taken the college entrance exam and I’ve also completed the admissions process.”
 
“You took the college entrance exam?!” Tang Tang was at a loss, “But didn’t you abandon your studies to become a trainee?”
 
An Xumo shook his head, “I didn’t abandon studying and the tuition fees have already been paid. It’s because I……I felt that studying was meaningless so I chose to sign with Jin Dian.”
 
“Studying is meaningless?”
 
Tang Tang was stupefied. It shouldn’t be, Xiao Mo’s grades were still top-notch when he was in junior high school ba. Did he suddenly plummet in senior high school that he even got tired of learning? Then, wouldn’t his college entrance exam results are also……
 
A lot of thoughts flashed through her mind for a moment but finally, she cautiously asked, “So, which university have you been admitted to?”
 
Tang Tang thought it doesn’t matter if it’s a secondary or a bad college. Just take the exam again. Anyway, art schools do not have too many high requirements for students’ in cultural courses performances.
 
An Xumo hesitated for a moment, “……P University.”
 
“P University?” Tang Tang repeated but have not yet reacted, “Which P University?”
 
An Xumo was about to explain when he saw Tang Tang jumping up from her chair like she had seen a ghost.
 
“P…..P University?!!”
 
An Xumo nodded his head.
 
“B, that one in B City? One of the top 2? Pek……” Tang Tang spelled the name incredulously then blankly looked at An Xumo, nodding once again.
 
The boy was calmed in her shocked eyes. He lowered his head and found a photo from his phone.
 
The picture was taken from the admission notice sent by P University, with An Xumo’s name clearly printed on it, and at the top, there was a bright and shiny school logo that everyone knew.
 
•·················•·················•
 
The author has something to say:
 
The brother’s change in attitude should be quite obvious……He just doesn’t know yet that this strange emotion is called like.
 
If he understood everything at once, wouldn’t AS patients and the indifferent personality collapse ma.
 
The mentality is awfully collapsing but I will still write according to the outline. It is my own responsibility to tell the story. In the future, I will try my best not to change it after sending it out, sorry.

Jie Jie(1/17/22): This had 4k words… I can’t believe I didn’t divide it into parts lmao