Chapter 111 – I’ll help you wipe your tears
Warning: Mentions of violence and deaths. If you are uncomfortable with these things, kindly stop reading.
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When An Xumo was first sent to Zhou Yunlin’s house, he wasn’t three years old yet and has been a foster child for as long as he can remember. As the child of the Zhou family’s daughter-in-law who had an affair with others, An Xumo’s status was so embarrassing that everyone around him treated him with nothing but disgust and indifference, the only exception being Zhou Jinchen.
In the foster home of Zhou Yunlin, An Xumo naturally can’t be allowed to call out the names of mother and father. In fact, he did not address Zhou Yunlin and his wife as uncle and aunt but by Mr. and Mrs.
Zhou Jinchen was the only one who, knowing his status, still agreed to An Xumo calling him brother.
It was only with this bit of kindness that the young An Xumo remembered his brother’s sweetness for so many years. Even after the accident at the age of seven where Zhou Jinchen’s attitude towards him changed suddenly, An Xumo always thought it was because his brother was sick, and never reduced his liking for Zhou Jinchen until he was repeatedly tested and hurt did he slowly shrank back into his shell.
And now, Zhou Jinchen cracked open his shell and gently embraced him.
In the box left by Mr. Old Yu, apart from those various books related to Zhou Jinchen, there are also some other scattered things. For example, the list of funds and expenses given by the Zhou family, the textbooks and exercise books used by Zhou Jinchen, as well as the photos taken back then. An Xumo wanted to take out the envelope containing the photos but inadvertently found a bulging leather pouch hidden underneath.
He first put the envelope aside and took the pouch at the bottom of the box. An Xumo carefully unzipped the zipper and a doll that was flattened a bit was revealed.
Zhou Jinchen walked over, stood behind the boy, and reached out his hand around the person with the doll in his arms.
“I didn’t think it was still there.”
It was a very cute doll with bright eyes, a round head, and a big milk candy in his arms.
The doll was held by Zhou Jinchen and An Xumo gently held its soft little hand.
“Zimai can’t remember; it’s not called didi.”
The man’s voice was close to his ear, the two were so close that they could even hear each other’s breathing.
Zhou Jinchen softly said, “It’s called Momo.”
The doll was turned over, and on the extra label at the stitching on the back, there was an old, slightly blurred but still recognizable word written.
It was exactly the same as the words on the backs of the hands of those little kids in the drawing book.
A smile emerged from An Xumo’s lips and before he could finish smiling, his cheeks were gently rubbed by someone’s finger.
Zhou Jinchen wiped away the tears with his hands that had fallen from the boy’s face. The warm droplets of water wet his slender fingers.
“I’m sorry, I also, I don’t know why I’m crying……”
An Xumo explained to him in a low voice, his voice was broken and full of dampness.
“No need to apologize.”
Zhou Jinchen pressed his chin against the other party’s slightly cool and soft side face, tightened his arms, and hugged the person a little tighter.
“In front of me, it doesn’t matter what you want to do.”
Cry out, I can always help you wipe away your tears.
The milk candy doll is old. Despite careful preservation, the cloth is still a little yellowed. Zhou Jinchen deliberately instructed the housekeeper to take special care. When cleaned, the doll which regained its snow-white appearance was placed in Zhou Jinchen’s bedroom.
The cute and lovely doll doesn’t match the bedroom’s simple décor but the man doesn’t seem to care and directly placed the doll in the most prominent position at the head of the bed.
Zhou Jinchen actually wanted the other Momo to move into the bedroom but he can see that An Xumo’s heart is still hesitant.
The boy still seems to be worried about something. His shell has opened a crack but he hasn’t confidently revealed the dazzling pearl inside.
In the face of his beloved who lacks a sense of security, Zhou Jinchen has enough patience.
He is still waiting, waiting for the moment when the other party is willing to accept him.
—-
As the post-production of《Yin Yang Well》came to an end, An Xumo who had already returned to school received another piece of good news.
The film he shot in the first semester of his freshmen year, 《Joy in Going Out》 was released before International Worker’s Day. The film’s first two days were mediocre but then improved by leaps and bounds, which surprised many professional film critics.
Although this film is made by the director who has previously created box office myths and the actors are also familiar big-names, but the pattern of the whole film is not really big. At best, it can only be considered a low-budget romantic comedy film, and the director originally has a comedy background. When he first made the film, it was often said to be stagnant and didn’t think about the progress.
When An Xumo first joined the group halfway through, the director and several long-established actors gave him a lot of care and help. He also had a good impression of the work in which he learned a lot of things.
However, compared with Ma Lao’s 《Different Roads》, even An Xumo could perceive the obvious gap between these two crews.
But such a film that cost less than 50 million and was almost wiped out in terms of professional film criticisms, the box office eventually exceeded one and a half billion.
It’s impossible for commercial films to compete for awards coupled with public opinion issues; the box office explosion doesn’t have much effect on the actors’ support. Nevertheless, what the industry looks at in the end was the box office. After the release of the total box office data, An Xumo who acted in two consecutive box office explosive movies naturally attracted a lot of attention.
Even if both movies were supporting roles, his lucky constitution was enviable enough. In addition, An Xumo’s roles are distinctive and pleasing in character, and even in the supporting role of 《Joy in Going Out》 have attracted a lot of fans for him. In addition to the favor of fans and delight of passersby, there are also the claims of luck in the industry, like An Xumo, even luck alone is enough to win the favors of producers and directors.
In this way, An Xumo’s identity as an actor becomes more distinct and the words ‘idol’ and ‘idol’1Both meant the same since “偶像”(ǒu xiàng) means idol and “爱豆” (ài dòu) is a slang for idol which is a loanword.are rarely seen in various interviews and reports. Although many fans are still in the pit because of being face-cons, the signs of transformation are already obvious in him.
After the film screening, the follow-up activities also kept An Xumo who asked for leave again, busy for a long time. At present, he is the busiest one among Mojia’s signed artists, even more so than Zhou Jinchen’s work.
So when Xin Zimai knocked on the door and walked into his boss’s office, he really didn’t expect that the person sitting inside would be An Xumo.
“Jinchen, the results of the investigation back then have come down……”
He closed the door behind him, and halfway through Xin Zimai’s words, he saw the figure sitting on the swivel chair that is obviously shorter than usual.
“Xiao An?” Xin Zimai looked around the office and wondered, “Where’s your brother?”
“He went out to get something……”
An Xumo rubbed his eyes with a distinct weariness on his face and slightly red eyes. When he opened his eyes to look at Xin Zimai, he saw two thick folders in the other party’s hands.
“Brother Zimai, you just said……the investigation back then?”
Xin Zimai coughed lightly, “I mean last year’s research… last year’s filming of 《Joy in Going Out》. Now the box office share has come down.”
An Xumo froze, “Box office share?”
Xin Zimai nodded, “Yuan Dian participated in the investment of this movie.”
Yuan Dian is one of the investors of Mojia Media which is also the new investment company that Zhou Jinchen created at the beginning.
An Xumo couldn’t help but sigh, “So powerful……”
Just by participating in 《Different Roads》 and 《Joy in Going Out》, he was envied by so many people for his luck but Yuan Dian was directly involved in the investment of the two films. With a profit of one for a hundred of Yuan Dian’s return earned, onlookers will only think about it and feel that it’s considerable.
Xin Zimai was relieved that the topic had been taken away when the door was pushed open.
Zhou Jinchen came from outside with a glass of milk in his hand. He glanced at Xin Zimai and walked towards An Xumo sitting behind the desk.
The milk was on the table which is still a little hot. Zhou Jinchen reached over with the hand that wasn’t holding the glass and touched the boy’s forehead. After confirming the temperature, he asked him in a low voice, “Do your eyes still hurt?” (T/N: My eyes hurt from the light-bulb-Zimai’s brightness. E/N: 23333)
An Xumo shook his head, “It doesn’t hurt anymore.”
Zhou Jinchen said, “The evening activities have been pushed, drink the milk and close your eyes to rest for a while then come home with me later.”
An Xumo held the glass handed to him and obediently took a sip.
A barrier was clearly formed around the two, making it seem like Xin Zimai across the desk was completely isolated. He touched his nose and waited for Zhou Jinchen to finish talking with the boy and turn his eyes around before he handed over the second folder.
“Take a look at 《Joy in Going Out》 shares.”
With the good experience of 《Different Roads》 in front of them, the division process of accounts of 《Joy in Going Out》 was much smoother without any errors. These things had been discussed before and after Zhou Jinchen read through it and signed it, he put the document aside.
“Anything else?” He asked Xin Zimai.
Xin Zimai subconsciously glanced at An Xumo whose eyes were already closed.
Zhou Jinchen said directly, “Speak.”
Xin Zimai said, “That year’s file has been pulled out, and the photos have been copied. The retired policeman in charge of the case was also found; he told our people all the things he remembered.”
He glanced at Zhou Jinchen and whispered, “Things have basically been restored, Jinchen, you……”
They already had some information before, Xin Zimai wasn’t sure if such things should be told in front of An Xumo.
Zhou Jinchen was silent for a while until a hand reached over and grasped his wrist.
The boy was still sitting on the swivel chair and obediently did not open his eyes, but he asked in a low voice, “Brother… is it that incident that happened eleven years ago?”
“…… En.”
An Xumo pursed his dry lips.
He asked, “Can I listen?”
Zhou Jinchen took the boy’s palm with the back of his hand and wrapped the other party’s slightly cool fingertips in his hand.
“Okay.”
The thick folder was opened, and Xin Zimai stood across the desk, spreading the snow-white paper in front of the two.
He summed up that year’s involvement as briefly as possible.
Eleven years ago, twelve-year-old Zhou Jinchen was kidnapped from his home. The kidnappers were a group of vicious gangsters who wanted to use Zhou Jinchen in exchange for ransom but they coincidentally break into another gang’s territory. The two groups fought on the spot. Due to gun restrictions, they fought with machetes and cleavers. In the end, more than fifty people from both sides were almost wiped out, twenty-nine people died on the spot, and twenty-one died of serious injury. Except for Zhou Jinchen who was going to be exchanged for money, there was almost no one left alive.
Zhou Jinchen already knew about the local ruffians so Xin Zimai didn’t hold back in his narrative, “At that time, they were taking Jinchen for transfer when they met, so Jinchen witnessed the whole fight. The old policeman said that when they arrived, most of the policemen vomited directly, and even the experienced forensics nearly failed to hold back. The police were shocked to find him alive when they discovered he was covered in blood and hidden under the two bodies that were still intact.”
The copy of the photos isn’t clear but just looking at the outline is enough to make people scared.
An Xumo’s face was pale as he held the man’s hand, and he heard Xin Zimai say, “The adult police officers can’t accept that kind of scene. After witnessing the whole scene, Jinchen was too heavily stimulated, and after being rescued, there was an autistic tendency.”
An Xumo was too young at that time to know what injuries his brother had suffered. He later thought of a lot of situations, poisoning, drugging, beating……but never thought that the truth would be so cruel.
When a boy with Asperger’s syndrome is exposed to such stimulation may have PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) for the rest of his life before he is mature.
But now, his brother sat peacefully next to him, his palms warm and strong, looking calmer than everyone else.
He even took the initiative to reach out and put his hand around the boy’s shoulder.
“Xiao Mo? Did it scare you?”
An Xumo shook his head hurriedly, his eyes which were already a little red before, were even more completely red.
“It’s all in the past, Elder Yu has cured me.” Zhou Jinchen used his dry palm to wipe away the cold sweat seeping from An Xumo’s forehead. This bout of work is so busy that the boy’s body is already in poor health, and he (Zhou Jinchen) regretted letting the other person hear such things.
An Xumo bit his lower lip, his teeth made deep marks on it. The tip of his tongue is also in severe pain, and the bitten wound was beating abruptly.
But this pain is not a millionth of what his brother suffered at the beginning.
After exchanging a look with Zhou Jinchen, Xin Zimai continued, “At the beginning, it was hard to tell whether the news was true or not, so Zhou Jinchen always thought that He Wenbin was the one who disclosed the news to the gangsters. That’s why later on, he gradually alienated Xiao An. But in fact, He Wenbin was forced to jump by the Zhou family a long time ago. We didn’t find out until recently……”
He paused for a moment before speaking in a low voice, “The person who inadvertently caused the hooligans to break into the Zhou family at that time should be Jinchen’s mother.”
In An Xumo’s shocked gaze, Xin Zimai didn’t give a detailed explanation, he only briefly mentioned, “This matter is very complicated to say, Mrs. Zhou may have made an unintentional mistake……”
But An Xumo didn’t finish listening to his words.
“How can it be Mrs. Zhou?”
Xin Zimai said, “So it may be an unintentional mistake……”
“But the person Mrs. Zhou dislikes the most is me.”
Xin Zimai was stunned.
Holding the trembling body in his arms, Zhou Jinchen said, “Xiao Mo, this matter and you……”
“Brother.”
An Xumo called the man in a low voice.
In Xin Zimai’s diary, the twelve-year-old Zhou Jinchen in his mind was that the only person he’s most concerned about was An Xumo.
When he fell ill, he still didn’t forget to hide behind the barrier with the doll in his arms. Even after seeing the trusted Elder Yu, his first move was to hand the doll to the other party.
An Xumo raised his eyes, his reddened eyes became bloodshot.
He said in a hoarse voice, “You still haven’t told me, when Mr. Old Yu treated you, why did you say you want to save your didi?”
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The author has something to say:
Untie the knot to be completely reunited…
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