Another day passed with no reply.
Lin Yue Shu sprang up from his bed, tugging at his collar and chewing nervously.
Just then, his phone rang.
Lin Yue Shu thought it was another annoying paparazzi and was about to hang up, but in the next second, he answered the call.
A gentle and kind female voice came from the other end: “Hello, Mr. Lin, do you remember me? I’m the director of Junxin Welfare Institute.”
Lin Yue Shu asked what the director needed, and she cheerfully replied that it was nothing major: “You previously donated five hundred thousand in the name of Representative Huo to our institute. Recently, I’ve been in contact with a clothing factory to make a batch of warm and sturdy autumn clothes for the children. They were so happy to receive them and have been clamoring to see you again to express their gratitude.”
Lin Yue Shu’s expression gradually softened.
Huo Yi Sen, your cunning plan has backfired.
“It’s not my money, so I don’t deserve their thanks. I think Representative Huo would be pleased to know the children are so happy. If possible, you could have the children write letters to thank Representative Huo, and it could also be a chance to teach them letter-writing skills,” Lin Yue Shu suggested.
“That’s a great idea. I’ll see to it. Thank you, Mr. Lin.”
After finishing the call with the director, Lin Yue Shu quickly changed clothes, bundled up so much that even his own mother wouldn’t recognize him, and went out. He squatted by the street, observing the passersby.
Although all these faces seemed like background characters in an animation to him, his sense of beauty was still intact. When he saw a certain man passing by, his eyes suddenly lit up.
Lin Yue Shu tapped his knee, visibly pleased.
Amazing! Amazing! Amazing!
Such a unique face, God must have put in a lot of effort when creating it.
*
Meanwhile, in the film crew’s studio.
“Mr. Huo? Mr. Huo?”
After persistent calling from the crew, Huo Xiao finally snapped back to reality.
“Mr. Huo, the director said if you’re ready, let’s do the previous scene again,” the crew member spoke, not daring to meet his eyes.
The man was a legend in the entertainment industry, having won the Black Dragon Best Actor award for five consecutive years. Today, he had been told to redo the scene multiple times, making the crew wonder if the problem was actually with them.
Huo Xiao’s thoughts were interrupted, and a cold impatience flickered in his eyes. He tossed the script aside and waved the crew member away.
A brave assistant asked, “Bro, have you been dealing with something lately? You seem off these days, and today… you NG’d over ten times. The director’s about to lose it.”
Huo Xiao rested his chin on his hand, ignoring the assistant’s inquiry.
The assistant wasn’t wrong; he was indeed out of sorts, often distracted.
Ever since that parting at the hotel, whether sleeping, eating, or filming, he couldn’t stop the vivid image of that snow-white body sprawled on the decadent red silk from surfacing in his mind.
The slender waist, covered by a thin layer of skin, swayed under his eyelids, saying not to come in, yet clinging tightly to his waist, refusing to let go, and pressing against his pubic bone.
Huo Xiao sighed. Lately, he had been absent-minded, regretting that he let Lin Yue Shu lead him by the nose with just a few words. He should have just gone in.
“Bro, bro,” the assistant called again.
Huo Xiao blinked, his brows deeply furrowed.
The assistant didn’t dare to dawdle and quickly said, “The manager asked me to bring you this script. He said he carefully selected it, and it’s bound to be a hit.”
Huo Xiao grabbed the stack of script proposals, flipping through them with cold impatience.
After going through them, he tossed the entire stack aside, not saying a word, sulking.
The assistant, fearing he might get caught in the crossfire, quickly busied himself with tidying up, pretending to be occupied.
“What are those?” Huo Xiao’s voice came.
The assistant glanced at another stack of script proposals he intended to throw away, smiling apologetically: “These are the scripts the manager rejected. It’s funny how they think you’d be interested in these third-rate BL scripts that others fight over.”
Huo Xiao remained silent, his deep-set eyes slightly lowered.
After waiting for a while without a response from Huo Xiao, the assistant instinctively picked up the stack of scripts and headed for the trash can.
Just as the scripts were about to fall into the trash, Huo Xiao’s unhurried voice suddenly rang out: “Bring them over.”
Assistant: “Huh…?”
“Bring. Them. Over.”
*
The last autumn rain before winter drizzled down, knocking the withered leaves off the branches.
In the spacious office, Huo Yi Sen unfolded letters, reading them one by one.
The childish handwriting was crooked, with many words replaced by Pinyin.
[Dear Mr. Lei (crossed out) Huo:
Thank you for bringing us a timely rain. Winter is coming, and we are all wearing new and warm clothes. Lili is a poor little girl with autism, and we haven’t seen her smile like this in a long time.
Although we’ve never met you, your tall image is deeply imprinted in our hearts. The director mom had us draw your image in today’s art class. Although our drawings aren’t great, our love and respect for you are genuine.
We hope to meet you, so next time we draw “the person I admire most,” we’ll have a reference.
Finally, we wish you good health and all the best.
Looking forward to your reply.]
The secretary, helping organize the letters, said, “It’s clear the children put a lot of effort into this. If you plan to meet them, I can arrange a suitable schedule for you.”
Huo Yi Sen folded the letter back into the envelope and set it aside. He didn’t plan to read the rest of the thick stack of letters.
“There’s a lot of work as the year ends. I’ll see if I have time later.”
Secretary: “Understood.”
Huo Yi Sen glanced at his watch, shut down his computer, and picked up his coat: “If there’s nothing else, let’s call it a day.”
“Understood.”
Huo Yi Sen left the group headquarters, and as soon as he got into the car, he saw the secretary’s smiling face in the rearview mirror and casually asked, “Why are you driving today?”
“The driver… had an urgent need,” the secretary quickly started the car, as if afraid Huo Yi Sen would escape.
Halfway through, Huo Yi Sen started getting suspicious again: “Why are we taking this route?”
“Because… the usual route is under construction, causing traffic jams,” the secretary’s voice grew quieter.
It all started when he helped organize Huo Yi Sen’s work phone that day.
He saw a message from a small star named Lin Yue Shu, saying he lost his Snoopy and asking if it was left in Huo Yi Sen’s car.
The secretary thought—something’s off.
What kind of big deal is Snoopy? One gives, one looks for it, even a middle schooler wouldn’t be so fixated on a lost pendant.
He understood; it was one of the small star’s calculated moves.
So the secretary showed the message to Huo Yi Sen, asking how to handle it. Huo Yi Sen, at least, glanced up from his computer and succinctly said: “No need to reply.”
Huo Yi Sen didn’t take the message seriously, but Secretary Jiang worried for days, and today he finally got his chance.
The welfare institute sent a batch of letters, and upon inquiry, it was suggested by a Mr. Lin that the children write thank-you letters to Representative Huo.
The secretary thought, once again, he understood.
Poor little star, like a concubine in the harem, spending a lifetime waiting for the emperor’s favor, even if the means were dirty.
He recalled Lin Yue Shu’s face and felt a pang in his heart.
So, while Huo Yi Sen was waiting for the elevator, he dashed down the building at eighty miles per hour, chased away the driver, and took the wheel himself. The route home didn’t align with the welfare institute, so he decided to pave a new path!
The autumn rain pattered, the wipers rising and falling.
Seeing the welfare institute’s sign from afar, the secretary deliberately slowed down, sneaking glances in the rearview mirror.
In the back seat, Huo Yi Sen’s eyes were lowered, focused intently on the iPad, reading every word with concentration.
“Cough, cough, cough!” The secretary’s exaggerated coughing nearly made him cough up a lung, interrupting Huo Yi Sen’s thoughts.
He looked up, not at the secretary, but through the dark window, his gaze landing on the roadside.
The car crawled past the “Junxin Welfare Institute” sign, and Huo Yi Sen’s gaze paused, his body unmoving, his head still, only his eyes following the slowly moving car.
Until it was out of sight.
After a while, he withdrew his gaze and continued reading the iPad.
The secretary panicked, almost at the intersection, what on earth is so captivating on that iPad???
He began lightly tapping the brakes, making the car jerk.
Suddenly, a sigh came from behind, Huo Yi Sen’s cold voice echoing in the cramped car: “Pull over.”
The secretary was overjoyed, tears of joy welling up, he was really about to cry!
He quickly stopped the car, jumped out eagerly: “Representative Huo, the rain is heavy and the road is slippery today, I was afraid of an accident, so I didn’t dare drive fast.”
Huo Yi Sen got into the driver’s seat, giving a low “hmm.”
Then he tossed an umbrella out the window to the secretary, along with five hundred yuan, closed the window, and restarted the car.
The secretary stood in the pouring rain, clutching the umbrella and money, shivering from the cold.
No matter, as long as he could help bring them together, let the rain fall.
The secretary watched the car’s silhouette, his smile frozen on his face for a long time.
After a long while, the smile disappeared.
“Huo Yi Sen!” the secretary shouted in the rain, “Where are you going!”
He jumped in place in anger, like an enraged prairie dog.
Ahead, the Bentley paused at a red light for a few seconds, then smoothly started at the green light, diving into the heavy rain, slowly disappearing from sight.
Author’s Note: