A brief silence arose on the other end of the phone. After a while, Zhou Jinchen’s voice slowly came through: “Are you at Jin Dian?”
“Yes…”
It seemed that Zhou Jinchen said something to the driver, and after a moment of fuzziness, his voice became clear again: “200 meters away from the road sign is the location I sent you.”
A brief buzzing vibration came from the phone, and soon, the call ended.
The overheated phone burned his palm. A bit of sweat from the side of his face had slid onto the smooth screen. An Xumo quickly wiped the screen with a tissue, stood up, and went to the bathroom to wash his face.
Clear water droplets slowly slid down his delicate features, and his fair skin appeared even more translucent after getting wet. An Xumo didn’t have the habit of wearing makeup during practice, as his conditions were excellent. His whole demeanor exuded the pure charm unique to youth. Although his temperament was different from Zhou Jinchen’s, there was no doubt that both of them unconsciously emitted an irresistible charm to those around them.
But when An Xumo looked up at himself in the mirror, he couldn’t help but feel a lack of confidence or peace of mind.
He had thought he would change back into his dance practice clothes in the afternoon, so he had just casually thrown on a plain white T-shirt and black shorts. This outfit had looked poor even when he was in high school, let alone when meeting his brother.
While editing a message to ask Tang Tang for time off, An Xumo absentmindedly chewed on the tip of his tongue, thinking about the time they hadn’t seen each other. When he was anxious, he had the habit of biting his tongue, a trick he had originally used to stave off hunger.
In fact, An Xumo didn’t need to think much. He had been keeping track of the cumulative days—he had last seen Zhou Jinchen a year ago. 370 days had passed, and now this date could finally reset, starting again from scratch.
Tang Tang directly called him. An Xumo’s tongue felt a little numb, but he apologized as best as he could: “I’m really sorry, there’s something important at home. I’ll make up for the practice when I get back.”
Fortunately, he had just started working with a new agent, and his schedule hadn’t been finalized yet. After giving a few instructions, Tang Tang relaxed. An Xumo didn’t dare delay further, tugged at the hem of his T-shirt, and hurriedly left the company.
The black Bentley stopped in front of the bank. An Xumo glanced at it and immediately recognized it as the family car. He hurried over, and a middle-aged man with a slicked-back hairstyle opened the car door. An Xumo softly thanked him, taking a deep breath to calm his hurried breathing before bending down to sit in the backseat.
The driver and the butler sat in the front, and naturally, the man who had been counted to 370 was sitting in the back. The car was spacious, with a refined atmosphere. There was even a soundproof partition between the front and back seats. An Xumo was afraid his voice might sound impolite, so he did his best to suppress his rapid breathing.
But the other party’s first words easily shattered the calm he had tried to maintain.
“Why aren’t you going to school?”
Before An Xumo could decide whether to mention his contract with Jin Dian, the man’s question caught him off guard. Zhou Jinchen flipped over the tablet he was holding, the cold light from the screen stabbing into An Xumo’s eyes.
It was the contract he had signed with Jin Dian.
Clearly, Zhou Jinchen had found more than just that contract. With a swipe of his long fingers, An Xumo saw several thumbnail images of his personal files. His performance videos, vocal range analysis, class schedules—everything was there.
His appearance certainly gave Zhou Jinchen’s career a boost, but the reason he had landed such amazing resources right after debuting was because of the investment the Zhou Family had slammed into the Jin Dian Group.
Within just a few minutes, Zhou Jinchen had obtained all of An Xumo’s information.
The screen froze, and a formal yet celebratory admission letter was enlarged. The emblem of a top university was prominently displayed at the top, and the next line began with An Xumo’s name.
The man’s voice remained low and alluring, despite only containing a word: “Explain.”
An Xumo pinched the seam of his pants, his voice slightly muddled: “I want… to be a star.”
Zhou Jinchen’s voice revealed no emotion: “Why didn’t you tell the family?”
An Xumo murmured, “There’s no need to trouble them with this…”
Before he could finish his sentence, the tablet was thrown with a sharp “thud” between them.
An Xumo looked down and saw the display showing all his expenses for the month—training, food and accommodation, clothing… and even energy drinks.
All in all, aside from the essentials, everything else was the lowest option available, totaling less than 3,000.
For an average student, 3,000 might cover one or two months of living expenses, but for the Zhou Family, that amount was less than what they would pay for a day’s cleaning service.
An Xumo could no longer stay defiant; the truth was glaringly obvious in front of both of them.
He had been kicked out of the Zhou Family.
The Zhou Family had been in business for three generations, and under Old Master Zhou, the family had become even more prosperous, with four sons. An Xumo had originally been raised by the youngest, Zhou Yunshan. After Zhou Yunshan passed away, when he was just three years old, An Xumo was fostered by Zhou Yunshan’s second eldest brother, Zhou Yunlin—Zhou Jinchen’s family.
Although he was being raised there, the Zhou Family had never hidden their rejection of An Xumo.
Zhou Yunshan had been intelligent since he was a child and was greatly loved with a natural talent for business that made him even more admirable. He was perfect in every way, but he fell short when it came to love.
When Zhou Yunshan brought An Xumo back, the Zhou Family nearly exploded—no one expected the prestigious Zhou Family, with their successful Young Master Zhou, to stubbornly insist on raising another man’s child for his fiancée.
An Xumo wasn’t even Zhou Yunshan’s biological son. His existence was a shame to the Zhou Family. But Zhou Yunshan refused to break off his engagement, and even when he lay on his deathbed, he never forgot to entrust An Xumo to his second brother, who had only one child.
After Zhou Yunshan’s death, the Zhou Family changed An Xumo’s surname back to his mother’s. They considered their duty fulfilled after nearly 18 years of raising a child of another family. The day An Xumo received his university admission letter, all contact with him was officially severed. Zhou Jinchen, busy with filming and engagements, might not return home once in a year, and no one had informed him, so he naturally knew nothing of this matter.
When An Xumo left the Zhou Family residence, all he had left was the phone Zhou Jinchen had given him for his birthday and the inheritance left to him by Zhou Yunshan before his death. He was still underage, so Zhou Yunshan’s estate only allowed him to withdraw 2,000 a month. The Zhou Family had paid for his university tuition, but An Xumo no longer wanted to continue studying.
No matter how well he did or how obedient he was, no one would change their attitude toward him. To the Zhou Family, An Xumo had been a disgrace from the moment he was born.
The problems didn’t stop there. The Zhou Family didn’t care about An Xumo signing the contract on his own, but Zhou Jinchen, who also worked in the entertainment industry, couldn’t remain indifferent. The man’s voice, calm yet forceful, landed near An Xumo’s ear with the same oppressive effect as his appearance.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Zhou Jinchen’s imposing presence had always been intimidating, and with An Xumo, who had always been afraid of him, the questioning threw him off balance. His face turned even paler as he stammered, “I was afraid I’d cause trouble to brother…”
Zhou Jinchen faintly cut him off, “If you don’t want to cause trouble, then don’t call me ‘brother’ in front of others.”
The color drained from An Xumo’s face in an instant.
He understood this logic completely—Zhou Jinchen had his own considerations. The entertainment industry was full of both good and bad, and the media would dig up anything they could. Zhou Jinchen had always disliked his privacy being exposed, and naturally, he wouldn’t make their relationship public. That was why An Xumo had never mentioned Zhou Jinchen to anyone during his time with Jin Dian, not even to Tang Tang.
What truly left An Xumo feeling helpless was the undeniable truth in front of him—Zhou Family had completely severed ties with him, even transferring his guardianship. So now, he no longer had the right to call him that.
Zhou Jinchen glanced at the slender boy in front of him, his eyes briefly stopping on the pale hand where veins showed faintly, before quickly moving away. He pressed the intercom button and spoke to the driver, giving a new destination. The direction shifted, and the luxury car’s shock absorption system worked so smoothly that An Xumo couldn’t feel any bumps during the turn.
When Zhou Jinchen released the button, he heard the usual light tone from the other side, but this time it was slightly hoarse, “I understand. I will try my best. I won’t disturb you, senior.”
Zhou Jinchen raised an eyebrow in response, his handsome face carrying a mysterious expression. He had planned to say something, but when he saw An Xumo’s face, he froze.
An Xumo was staring down at the dimming tablet when a slender hand reached out with a wet wipe. He hurriedly looked up, and the man holding the wipe said, “The corner of your mouth.”
An Xumo instinctively wiped with the back of his hand, only to smear a large patch of blood across his fair skin.
It was then that he realized he had bitten his tongue. After quickly thanking the man, An Xumo took the wet wipe from him and carefully cleaned up the blood.
The car fell into a brief silence. Just as An Xumo was about to ask a very important question, he heard the man’s usual deep, captivating voice, “Off-camera, you can call me whatever you like.”
An Xumo looked up in confusion. The light outlined Zhou Jinchen’s perfect profile, and at such a close distance, it was enough to soothe all of his hunger.
“Senior will do,” Zhou Jinchen said indifferently. “But you haven’t debuted yet.”
An Xumo had initially wanted to ask why he was still allowed to attend the birthday banquet, but Zhou Jinchen’s words completely threw him off. He sat there dazed, feeling as though his ears were ringing, or perhaps he had misunderstood.
The smoothly driving Bentley came to a stop. Zhou Jinchen opened the car door and stepped out first. The butler opened the door on An Xumo’s side. In a daze, An Xumo stepped out of the car and looked ahead.
What stood before him was not the cold, imposing main gate of the mansion, but a magnificent, refined, tall commercial building. Several famous luxury brand logos stood out on large signs, and the bright windows displayed small but expensive new arrivals.
Zhou Jinchen, wearing sunglasses, passed by him and tilted his head slightly, signaling to An Xumo, who was dressed in cheap clothes.
“Keep up.”
The author has something to say:
The very poor and hungry An Xiao Mo is about to be taken out shopping for clothes =v=.
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