Ten years ago, Zhou Jinchen was only 12 years old when he fell gravely ill and hovered on the brink of death. If not for the intervention of the long-retired Mr. Old Yu, he would never have survived his first zodiac year. Even after recovering, Zhou Jinchen had to spend half of each year deep in the mountains under Mr. Old Yu’s care to rid his body of lingering ailments. It wasn’t until five years later that he fully recovered.
Having barely snatched his life back from the jaws of death, the Zhou Family no longer imposed any expectations on Zhou Jinchen, only hoping he could live safely and peacefully. So when, at 17, he announced his decision to enter the entertainment industry as an artist, the Zhou Family raised no objections. Instead, they paved the way for him in advance, investing an astronomical sum into Jin Dian—enough to leave people astonished.
At the time, the entertainment industry was still dominated by grassroots success stories, with artists often relying on tragic narratives to gain public sympathy. Wealthy elites and business tycoons looked down on celebrities, and it was common for them to be openly priced at social gatherings. When Zhou Jinchen debuted, the Zhou Family faced immense public scrutiny. It wasn’t until the tides shifted and the entertainment industry became so lucrative that everyone wanted a share that these rumors gradually turned into envy.
By then, leveraging Zhou Jinchen’s status, the Zhou Family had already reaped great rewards from the murky waters of the industry.
Everything stemmed from that grave illness, yet the latest intelligence revealed that the person responsible for nearly taking Zhou Jinchen’s life was someone else entirely.
The young man discreetly surveyed their surroundings. After confirming that no one was paying attention to them, he lowered his voice and said, “So far, we’ve only confirmed He Wenbin’s identity. The full truth behind that accident still requires deeper investigation. But Jinchen, you should understand—whoever targeted you couldn’t have completely bypassed the Zhou Family. Be cautious about the equity distribution at today’s birthday banquet.”
Zhou Jinchen glanced across the room at An Xumo, who was quietly holding his food in a corner, and felt a complex mix of emotions. Not wanting to draw attention to An Xumo, he quickly retracted his gaze. “So the family called him back today because of the equity?”
The young man nodded. “He has no direct ties to Zhou Corporation’s shares, but before your uncle passed away, he left behind Yangfan Group. Once An Xumo comes of age, those shares will rightfully be his. Yangfan’s shares don’t mean much to Zhou Corporation, but the Zhou Family refuses to swallow this grievance—they’ll definitely try to take those shares from him.”
Equity transfers were no trivial matter. Forcing someone to sign a voluntary waiver in a highly public setting, with all eyes watching—Zhou Family never hesitated to employ such tactics. Despite being favored all his life, Zhou Jinchen had never doubted this fact.
The once-clear web of grudges and debts had suddenly become a tangled mess, and it was highly likely that An Xumo had been caught up in it without cause. The thought that he was the one who had personally brought An Xumo here made Zhou Jinchen even more uneasy. He stood up, intending to head in An Xumo’s direction, but the young man beside him immediately grabbed his arm.
“Where are you going?”
Zhou Jinchen frowned. “To get him out of here.”
The young man shook his head slightly and said in a low voice, “There are bodyguards. He won’t be able to leave.”
Zhou Jinchen’s gaze darkened as he scanned the room. After withdrawing his gaze, he turned to the young man and said, “Zimai, do me a favor.”
An Xumo briefly met their eyes but felt confused about what was happening. Zhou Jinchen and the young man quickly looked away and resumed their conversation. Thinking the eye contact was just a coincidence, An Xumo didn’t dwell on it. He was satisfied as long as he could catch a few glimpses of Zhou Jinchen—he had no other expectations.
His decision to enter the entertainment industry was largely because of this. Although Zhou Jinchen had ample resources and never lacked screen time, his personal schedule was extremely low-profile. He rarely appeared in public outside of work and had never even opened a Weibo account. Wanting to see more of the older brother he once had, An Xumo had mustered up the courage to step into this world.
But he didn’t have to wait long before a waiter approached him and said that the Third Young Master had summoned him. Among his generation, the third in line was Zhou Jinchen. An Xumo was surprised but still followed the waiter.
The young man beside Zhou Jinchen was still there, engaged in a conversation with another guest. As An Xumo got closer, he found the man increasingly familiar. However, having never been involved in the Zhou Family’s social circles, he knew very few people and couldn’t recall where he might have seen this person before.
When he reached Zhou Jinchen’s side, the latter didn’t acknowledge him. It wasn’t until the young man gave him a reminder that Zhou Jinchen finally turned his gaze, as if he had only just noticed An Xumo.
An Xumo was slightly taken aback—he could clearly see displeasure on Zhou Jinchen’s face. He was usually insensitive to other people’s emotions; otherwise, he wouldn’t have stood in the banquet hall completely unaware of being scrutinized like a spectacle. But when it came to Zhou Jinchen, he was keenly perceptive. The man obviously didn’t want to acknowledge him. He barely spared An Xumo a glance before turning away again to continue his conversation with the others.
This Zhou Jinchen was completely different from the one An Xumo had interacted with that afternoon. And since it was Zhou Jinchen who had called him over in the first place, An Xumo couldn’t understand what had changed, leaving him feeling at a loss.
Standing there all alone, he looked rather pitiful. In the end, it seemed the young man couldn’t bear to watch any longer and took the initiative to speak. “Mr. An, right? Would you like to have a drink with Jinchen?”
A nearby waiter promptly brought over wine glasses and a bottle. An Xumo had never drunk alcohol before and had no intention of doing so now. But in this tense and awkward situation, the young man had naturally helped him out of his predicament. With no other way to respond, An Xumo could only follow along and, feeling both cautious and uneasy, nodded slightly.
“…Okay.”
Zhou Jinchen still showed no reaction. His wine glass was already empty, and as the waiter busied himself refilling it, the young man picked up another glass from the tray and handed it to An Xumo.
Just as An Xumo reached out to take it, Zhou Jinchen suddenly stepped back, bumping into him. The unexpected impact caused An Xumo’s arm to shake, and he failed to grasp the glass properly, spilling the entire drink down the front of his own chest.
“Tsk…” The waiter had just finished pouring the wine and stepped aside, so no one else noticed Zhou Jinchen’s movement. Showing no awareness that he had bumped into An Xumo, he instead spoke impatiently, “You can’t even hold a glass properly?”
Spilling wine at such an event wasn’t a trivial matter. With the young man repeatedly apologizing and Zhou Jinchen’s tone carrying obvious displeasure, many people around them took notice. In recent years, Zhou Jinchen hadn’t attended many of Zhou Family’s banquets, and most of those present only knew him through his fame in the entertainment industry. Seeing him speak this way, they simply assumed he disdained An Xumo—after all, in the eyes of outsiders, An Xumo had taken Zhou Jinchen’s parents from him.
An Xumo lowered his gaze and softly murmured an apology. He forced a smile at the young man, waving a hand to indicate it was fine.
It’s just that the suit he just bought was scrapped, wasting a bit too much money. He thought to himself that the cost of this suit could have bought plenty of those white T-shirts that had been discarded earlier in the afternoon—that was why he felt so regretful. The softest, most vulnerable part of his heart was being prodded over and over, the pain making it hard to breathe.
The young man seemed to have said a few words to persuade Zhou Jinchen, but An Xumo didn’t catch them. Then Zhou Jinchen told him to go change his clothes. With an apologetic expression, the young man offered to accompany him. Zhou Jinchen frowned, waved them off, and let the two of them leave.
An Xumo was led toward a side exit of the banquet hall, the wine stain on his chest still dripping intermittently as he walked. In such a grand setting, his appearance made him seem even more out of place.
But clothes were just objects—no matter how disheveled they were, they could never look more pathetic than the person wearing them.
He wandered forward in a daze, only realizing something was off after they had taken several winding turns outside. Just as he was about to ask the young man leading the way, the other gestured for him to stay silent. The path ahead grew increasingly complicated until a gray van appeared before them, and the young man finally stopped.
Once An Xumo was ushered into the van, his confusion deepened. The young man, who had also boarded, didn’t offer any immediate explanation. Instead, he retrieved a bag from the back seat and handed it over.
“These are your brother’s clothes—just delivered, still unopened. Make do with them for now.”
An Xumo held the paper bag in his arms, momentarily unable to react. Seeing this, the young man patted his shoulder and said, “Did I scare you? Sorry, your brother wanted to get you out of the banquet.”
He introduced himself, “I’m Xin Zimai, Mr. Zhou’s manager and assistant.”
Only then did An Xumo realize why the other party seemed familiar—he had been looking in the wrong direction. He hadn’t expected the young man to be someone from the industry.
Even so, his wariness barely subsided. “I’m An Xumo… Sorry, but I’d like to leave.”
Xin Zimai gave a slightly apologetic, wry smile. “I’m really sorry about earlier. Let me explain everything first, alright?”
An Xumo’s chest was still damp, but he had no intention of changing clothes here. Remaining somewhat guarded, he nodded slightly. “Go ahead.”
Xin Zimai explained, “At tonight’s birthday banquet, Old Master Zhou will be announcing the distribution of Zhou Corporation’s shares. They called you back to make you relinquish any shares under your name.”
An Xumo frowned, “I don’t have that…”
Xin Zimai said, “I just saw Mr. Zhou Yunshan’s lawyer at the banquet—he’s here specifically for this matter. Before his passing, Mr. Zhou Yunshan independently founded a business group called Yangfan. Yangfan has no financial ties to the Zhou Family, and its shares will legally transfer to you once you reach adulthood. The only way for them to take it is if you willingly sign away your rights.”
An Xumo had never heard of this before. He had been fostered in Zhou Jinchen’s home from a young age and had very little memory of Zhou Yunshan.
Xin Zimai continued, “Mr. Zhou wasn’t initially aware that you had been removed from the family registry. He only started investigating after meeting you this afternoon. Since he was the one who brought you here, he wanted to ensure you got out safely.”
An Xumo looked at him cautiously. “If I’m not there, will my brother… will Mr. Zhou be affected?”
Xin Zimai smiled. “No need to worry about that. Technically speaking, even if the Zhou Family reclaims Yangfan’s shares, they would only end up under Mr. Zhou’s name. He doesn’t care about them, so there won’t be any major obstacles.”
An Xumo was stunned again. If that was the case, then by sending him away, Zhou Jinchen was actually giving up his own interests.
“As for tonight’s incident, Mr. Zhou said he’ll personally apologize to you,” Xin Zimai added. “For now, just change into something more comfortable.”
An Xumo gave a sluggish response. Xin Zimai then stepped out of the van and moved to the driver’s seat, giving him space while also starting the engine.
“Mr. Zhou asked me to take you home first,” Xin Zimai asked. “Where are you staying now?”
An Xumo provided an address. Acting as the driver, Xin Zimai was momentarily stunned. He then asked for a more specific location. Although An Xumo didn’t understand why, he obediently gave the details.
This time, Xin Zimai’s tone became even more peculiar.
“So… you live right below your brother?”
The author has something to say:
One chapter to settle the rich family drama; hands on hips (…
Starting next chapter, we’ll shift to the entertainment industry la. Our poor An Xumo will be attending classes and landing his first resource~
And the male gods chasing after his brother will begin to make their appearances one by one~
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