After starting middle school, Zhao Chenxing and Jiang Liyue transferred to a private school. Zhang Shu was responsible for picking them up and dropping them off every day.
Zhang Shu had worked for the Zhao family for 30 years and had watched them grow up. Compared to the handsome but quiet Young Master Jiang, he preferred the lively and energetic Young Master Chenxing.
Through the rearview mirror, Zhang Shu looked at Zhao Chenxing, who had noticeably lost weight since returning to the country, and sighed, “Young Master, it’s been a few years since you last came back…”
Hearing this, Zhao Chenxing put down the hand that was massaging his temples, looked at Zhang Shu in the driver’s seat, and sighed softly, “Yeah, it’s been five years, hasn’t it?”
“It seems like ever since you left, Young Master Jiang has been busy and rarely comes home. He basically only comes back during the holidays. Sometimes, even on New Year’s Eve, he’s too busy to be seen. Everyone watched you both grow up and misses you. Just the other day, we were saying how fast time flies. In the blink of an eye, you’ve grown from little kids into big trees that can shelter from the wind and rain.”
“Uncle Zhang, when Jiang Liyue comes over, is he still the same as before?” Zhao Chenxing asked while turning his head to look out the window.
Zhang Shu replied honestly, “I can’t say for sure. Maybe Young Master Jiang got used to having you around. After you left, he didn’t seem to smile much. We didn’t know how to talk to him. Over the years, it was only when Madam was around that Young Master Jiang would say a few more words.”
Zhang Shu stopped at a red light and put the car in neutral.
Feeling a bit stifled by the low pressure in the car, Zhao Chenxing rolled down the window for some air.
By October, City A had already entered deep autumn, and the chilly autumn wind swept up the small, yellowing leaves.
When the light turned green, Zhang Shu smoothly started the car again.
The cold wind from the moving car hit Zhao Chenxing’s face unexpectedly, lifting his bangs and revealing a faint pink scar on the right side of his face. He quickly rolled the window back up.
Zhang Shu seemed to remember something and suddenly added, “Oh, right! I heard from Aunt Huang that every time Young Master Jiang comes over, he asks her to tidy up your room. It seems like he hasn’t stayed in his own room for a long time. Back then…”
To stop Uncle Zhang from continuing, Zhao Chenxing immediately raised his voice a bit and changed the subject, “Hey? Speaking of which, isn’t your granddaughter about to start middle school, Uncle Zhang?”
At the mention of his sensible and adorable granddaughter, Uncle Zhang’s face broke into a smile full of wrinkles, and he couldn’t hide his pride as he said, “That little girl has grown up so beautifully now. A lot of boys in her class are chasing after her…”
It seems that all grandparents talk about their grandchildren like this, once they start, it’s like a river that can’t be stopped.
Uncle Zhang must have misunderstood ‘Xiao Jiang’s place,’ because when Zhao Chenxing found himself standing in front of the “Fashion BS” company sign, he felt a deep sense of malice from the world.
He originally thought he would be taken directly to Jiang Liyue’s apartment, especially since he was still carrying his luggage.
Now, carrying his luggage and arriving at the company alone, he felt a bit like a stray dog.
Sighing, Zhao Chenxing got out of the car. Zhang Shu wanted to help him carry his luggage inside, but Zhao Chenxing politely declined and thanked him, pushing his luggage into the Starbucks downstairs by himself.
During work hours, there weren’t many people in the Starbucks, and the background music gently floated through the coffee shop.
The shop was filled with the rich and mellow aroma of coffee beans.
Zhao Chenxing first pushed his suitcase to a seat by the window and then went to the counter to order.
The cashier girl at the counter gave a routine smile, “Hello, what would you like to order?”
Looking at the dessert cabinet beside him, Zhao Chenxing frowned slightly, biting his lower lip in indecision.
Before long, he relaxed his brow, raised the corners of his mouth, and smiled at the girl, “I’m kind of in the mood for something cold and sweet. Do you have any recommendations, pretty girl?”
His voice was as clear as a spring and as warm as the sun.
The girl felt as if she had been struck by an arrow. She couldn’t believe that the boy she had just seen was the same person smiling in front of her now.
He seemed like an adorable puppy, radiating light and making people feel close to him.
She put on a more genuine smile, “Well, I suggest you try the New York cheesecake. It’s on the sweeter side. And to go with it, you could have a coffee to balance out the sweetness.”
In the end, Zhao Chenxing ordered a Frappuccino and a cheesecake based on her recommendation.
Perhaps the barista was not available, so the cashier girl told him to wait a moment and went to the coffee machine to prepare his order.
Leaning against the counter, Zhao Chenxing sent a message to a certain Film Emperor. With nothing else to do, he grabbed a white napkin from the side and doodled on it.
When he returned to his seat with his Frappuccino and cake, two young and fashionably dressed girls were already sitting on the double sofa next to him.
One had long black hair, and the other had brown wavy hair. Both were beauties.
They had name tags hanging in front of them, but they only flashed briefly in front of Zhao Chenxing’s eyes before being covered by their movements, so he didn’t pay them any more attention.
After sitting down, he squinted his eyes and enjoyed his cake.
The two girls glanced at the newcomer, a slender boy with a good temperament. His bangs naturally parted to the sides, and his gray wool coat looked stylish on him.
Since the coffee shop under the BS building often saw celebrities, the high-value fresh faces were nothing new to them, and this boy-next-door look didn’t particularly catch their attention.
The girl with wavy hair excitedly said to the girl across from her, “Hey, let me tell you! I’ve photographed so many celebrities, and today’s is the best-looking one I’ve seen so far!”
The girl with long black hair scooped a small piece of cake with a spoon and replied nonchalantly, “Oh? Who is it?”
“Jiang Liyue! The new Film Emperor!”
Hearing Jiang Liyue’s name, Zhao Chenxing perked up his ears to listen to their conversation.
“Jiang Liyue? Never heard of him…” the girl with long black hair said disinterestedly, lowering her eyes.
The wavy-haired girl looked indignant, as if she couldn’t accept her friend’s lack of interest, and immediately searched on her phone. She quickly found a short video and shoved her phone in front of the other girl, saying, “Look! I need your thoughts after watching this!”
“…”
The girl with long black hair leaned back slightly, wearing the expression of an old man on the subway looking at a phone, but she still took the phone and started watching.
The video was only a few seconds long, and she quickly finished watching it, but she didn’t return the phone.
Her eyes widened, pupils shaking, and she tightly gripped the phone, watching the video several more times.
The wavy-haired girl had a knowing look, as if she had expected this reaction and didn’t rush her.
After watching it several times, the girl with long black hair changed from her previously calm and gentle demeanor to one of solemnity.
She furrowed her brows slightly, returned the phone to the wavy-haired girl, and said, “This is your first successful recommendation, right? Jiang Liyue?… Does he do exclusive interviews? I’d like to do one with him.”
“Hahaha! Even you can’t resist his charm! His acting in that clip is explosive!”
“Apparently, it’s a clip from the movie he won an award for, but it’s too short. Speaking of which, that movie was bold enough to premiere at the Berlin Film Festival. The director must have had guts. It’s a shame it wasn’t released domestically…”
“Why? Does it have sensitive content? Homosexuality? It can’t be, the country is open now, it shouldn’t be blocked for that.” The girl with long black hair looked anxious, putting down her spoon.
The wavy-haired girl sipped her hot water slowly and said, “I’m not sure. They say it’s too depressing and dark, with a tendency to induce melancholy, so it wasn’t approved. Or maybe the director never intended to get a domestic release permit.”
Both the movie and the short video were things Zhao Chenxing had seen. He watched the movie when it premiered abroad…
But he didn’t watch for long before leaving the theater, and he hasn’t had the courage to watch it again since.
Perhaps because he knew Jiang Liyue, he always empathized with the emotions Jiang Liyue portrayed in the film, and every time he did, he felt like his heart couldn’t take it.
This was one of the reasons he returned to the country. He wanted to…
The short video was released a while ago, and he watched it repeatedly—
A young boy in a gray-white shirt sat under a blooming cherry blossom tree. His hair was as black as ink, and the skin on his neck was as delicate as white porcelain.
Behind him, a cold, gray dawn began to appear, casting half of his face in flickering shadows, while the other half was barely visible in the sparse light.
A gentle breeze blew, and cherry blossom petals lightly brushed past, with a few daringly clinging to the boy’s slender neck. The boy slowly raised his head, gently turned, and the camera focused on his beautiful eyes—
They were filled with desolation.
At such a young age, he should have had eyes full of vitality, but instead, they conveyed a sense of oppressive desolation and loneliness.
He seemed like someone abandoned by the world, walking alone in a vast desert.
The video was a short clip from the movie.
Viewers couldn’t quite explain why, but despite the seemingly ordinary scene, even with the light pink cherry blossom tree, which should have felt fresh and beautiful, they all felt a sense of decay as if they were in a gloomy, hellish place.
The stark contrast made this nine-second video go viral on the internet, garnering over a billion likes and shares in just a few days.
After Jiang Liyue won the Berlin Film Festival’s Best Actor award, many detractors claimed he relied on his looks to cozy up to wealthy patrons, paying for marketing to boost his image.
After all, the movie hadn’t been released domestically.
However, once this video came out, they all quieted down and retreated.
The film was a niche, realistic style, dark in tone, and heavy in reality.
It depicted life so coldly and truthfully that overseas Chinese viewers felt a chill down their spines, unable to face it directly.
Perhaps this was why the director chose to premiere it abroad for awards, bypassing the domestic film bureau’s review.
After all, this style and theme were unlikely to receive a domestic release permit.
“Oh my god! Jiang Liyue!!” An excited and slightly sharp female voice rang in his ear.
Zhao Chenxing looked up, and sure enough.
The newcomer wore a mask, a common blue one, but it seemed a bit loose on his face, almost completely covering it.
He must have just come from a photoshoot, as he wasn’t wearing a coat, still dressed in the brand’s shirt and suit. The black shirt with dark green silk threads was half-tucked into his pants, not only making his legs look extremely long but also perfectly showcasing his broad shoulders and narrow waist in an inverted triangle shape.
Besides his face, Jiang Liyue’s physique was unmatched in the entertainment industry, with some marketing accounts even claiming he didn’t need acting skills; his looks alone could win over a legion of female fans.
The wavy-haired girl was overwhelmed with excitement, standing up abruptly, her face slightly flushed, her chest heaving as if trying to suppress the urge to rush forward.
The girl with long black hair was much calmer. She put down her spoon, which clinked against the white porcelain plate.
Both of them stared straight at Jiang Liyue, the girl with long black hair fixating on his eyes exposed outside the mask.
Those eyes no longer held the desolation and loneliness from the video; they were clear, and from a distance, they seemed pitch black, revealing no emotion.
Jiang Liyue casually scanned the room, and once he identified his target, his eyes suddenly lit up like a spotlight, becoming extremely beautiful and captivating.
The wavy-haired girl watched Jiang Liyue’s approaching figure and murmured softly, “Damn, if he had that look earlier, the magazine sales could have increased tenfold…”
Jiang Liyue strode over with a brisk pace, reaching Zhao Chenxing’s seat in just a few breaths.
Jiang Liyue gave the two girls beside him a meaningful glance before focusing his gaze on the boy still seated in the chair.
Suppressing his voice, he softly said, “Gege, I’m late.”