A Hike With Dad
Luo Yuntang hadn’t come back yet, so Luo Lan got to work first.
He wanted to get Jin Fengqi a spot on a variety show.
The original owner’s career hadn’t exactly been a success, but at least he’d made a few connections in the industry.
Chen Kai, deputy director of Durian TV’s entertainment division, was one of them.
Durian TV and Mangosteen TV had some of the highest-rated variety shows in the country. People called them “North Mangosteen, South Durian.” Luo Lan had been thinking about getting Jin Fengqi onto a variety show these past few days, and had been in touch with Chen Kai about it.
When he learned Chen Kai was in town on a business trip, Luo Lan messaged him from the car, hoping to set up a time to meet and talk.
Chen Kai finally replied: “Why wait? Let’s do it tonight. Come out for a drink.”
He sent a location along with it.
It was a bar in town.
But Luo Lan had to deal with Luo Yuntang first. It was already eight. If he went out drinking now, who knew how late he’d be home? Luo Yuntang would definitely be unhappy.
Luo Lan: Sorry, Boss Chen. I’m at home tonight. I have a curfew.
Luo Lan: How about we meet somewhere quiet tomorrow afternoon?
Luo Lan: Boss Chen?
Chen Kai didn’t reply. His expression darkened as he asked the person beside him, “Luo Lan says he has a curfew. Do you believe that?”
The man was a rich second-generation heir from Luo Lan’s circle. They’d hung out together a few times. He scoffed. “What curfew? I bet he’s keeping some little star and having too much fun to come out.”
Scowling, Chen Kai swiped through the photos on his phone. One was a private photo of Luo Lan. He wore jeans and a sweater over a collared shirt. His hair was a little long, but it couldn’t hide his striking features. Even without an expression, he was enough to make anyone’s heart skip a beat.
His looks suited his name.
In the dim bar, the cold light of the phone flickered in Chen Kai’s eyes. He passed judgment on the Luo Lan in the photo. “He really is good-looking. And he really doesn’t know what’s good for him.”
Chen Kai still hadn’t replied. Luo Lan didn’t keep messaging him, and turned to some other work.
Luo Lan’s studio had six people in all: himself, Jin Fengqi, Jin Fengqi’s assistant Chen Song, a highly capable secretary surnamed Wu, and Secretary Wu’s two assistant secretaries, one surnamed Wang and the other Jiang.
Luo Lan was considering what career path Jin Fengqi should take, and what kind of public image to build for him.
The original owner had once asked Jin Fengqi whether he preferred acting or being an idol. Jin Fengqi had said he didn’t care, as long as he could become famous. He wanted it badly.
Since transmigrating, Luo Lan had watched clips of Jin Fengqi’s acting. Jin Fengqi hadn’t studied acting formally and had debuted through a talent show, but he had a real gift for it. And in the original novel, Jin Fengqi would become a triple-award film emperor. Luo Lan planned to steer him toward acting, with the occasional variety show or endorsement to keep his face out there.
As for his public image, the original owner had asked about that too. Jin Fengqi was proud and had immediately shot down the aloof, untouchable persona the original owner wanted to promote for him. He was sharp and outspoken, nothing like a flower on a lofty peak, and he had no interest in cultivating a public image in the first place.
Luo Lan figured that if Jin Fengqi was going to be an actor, there was no need to fuss too much over his public image. Being himself was a kind of image, too.
The variety-show deal was still in the works, and Chen Kai hadn’t replied. Luo Lan decided to get Jin Fengqi a fashion-cover shoot first, and started chatting with an editor at the fashion magazine Venus…
Soon, the housekeeper knocked and called out, “Mr. Luo, dinner’s ready. Mr. Luo is home.”
Luo Lan sneezed again, then went downstairs in his slippers.
A middle-aged man downstairs was taking off his coat and handing it to the housekeeper. Beside him, a dazzlingly beautiful woman smiled at Luo Lan. “Lanlan, you’re back! Come sit down. I bought some premium bird’s nest a little while ago. I’ll ask Aunt Jun to stew you some in a bit.”
The woman was Luo Yuntang’s second wife, Jiang Yuran. The original owner had lost his mother at three, and Luo Yuntang had remarried when the original owner was six. Perhaps because Luo Yuntang and Jiang Yuran had never had children, she’d taken especially good care of herself and looked younger than forty.
Luo Lan walked up to Luo Yuntang and said, “Dad.”
He didn’t act especially warm. In the original owner’s memories, he and his father hadn’t been close and rarely spoke.
Luo Yuntang snorted and barely glanced at him. “Well, well. So you do remember I’m your father.”
Aunt Jun spoke up for Luo Lan. “Mr. Luo, how can you say that? A-Lan bought supplements especially to bring home for you.”
Luo Yuntang snorted again, though his expression softened a little.
The family sat down to dinner together. Luo Lan didn’t bring up the role. There was no point rushing things. He chatted with Luo Yuntang and Jiang Yuran, and by the time dinner was over, he’d gotten a good sense of Luo Yuntang’s temperament.
A little after eleven, producer Zhang Chi called again and asked whether Luo Lan had talked things over with his father. Luo Lan asked, “Does this really have to be up to my dad?”
Yuantang Group was deeply rooted and held a prominent position in the business world, but business was business, and businessmen chased profit. Luo Yuntang couldn’t simply dictate the decisions of Zhixin Media, where Zhang Chi worked.
Zhang Chi said, “Yuantang Group is one of our company’s major clients. I have to show them some respect.”
Zhang Chi was an old hand. He could tell Luo Yuntang cared a great deal about his son. Since Luo Yuntang had no other children, Yuantang Group would eventually go to Luo Lan. Zhang Chi didn’t want to offend Luo Lan, and could only hope the two of them would settle their family dispute on their own instead of leaving him caught in the crossfire.
Luo Lan promised he’d convince his father as soon as possible.
“I’ll have the director shoot the other actors’ scenes first,” Zhang Chi said, “but you’ll have to hurry. Opportunities don’t wait.”
After hanging up, Luo Lan glanced at his phone. In just half a day, its battery had dropped by sixty percent. His bad luck didn’t just affect him; it seemed to radiate to the things around him, too.
Back in his edgy teenage years, Luo Lan had called it “the power of chaos dwelling in my hands.”
Anything he touched was “either dead or damaged.”
The phone was pretty new. If it had been an old one, it would probably already be dead.
At least his bad luck only affected inanimate objects, not people. Otherwise, he really would have been a walking disaster.
With Zhang Chi pressuring him like that, Luo Lan couldn’t help sighing. According to the plot will, now that he’d transmigrated, he had to stay firmly on the agent’s path. He couldn’t retire until Jin Fengqi became a film emperor and kicked him to the curb. He’d much rather leave show business and go home to inherit Yuantang Group, but he was afraid the plot will would erase him before he even set foot inside.
After their conversation over dinner, Luo Lan had an idea of how to convince Luo Yuntang.
In the original owner’s memories, he hadn’t been close to his father, Luo Yuntang. Things had grown even colder as he got older because of Luo Yuntang’s blunt, heavy-handed approach to parenting. But Luo Lan could see that Luo Yuntang truly loved his son.
If he hadn’t, he wouldn’t have put off having a second child for so long. It had all been to secure his son’s position as heir.
All the complaints he’d made when they met today were really just the grumbling of an old man hoping for a little affection from his son.
If that was what he wanted, then Luo Lan would give him some.
The next morning, Luo Lan got up early. After washing up, he went outside for a walk and found a path in the woods not far from the villa. He followed it deeper into the forest and came upon a beautiful lake.
Luo Lan had an idea.
He’d take Luo Yuntang hiking.
When he returned, Jiang Yuran and Luo Yuntang were coming downstairs one after the other. Jiang Yuran finished breakfast and went out to meet a friend.
Luo Yuntang ate breakfast at an unhurried pace. Luo Lan asked, “Dad, are you busy this morning?”
Luo Yuntang looked up at him. “What is it, brat?”
“The weather’s nice today. How about we go hiking together and get some exercise?”
Luo Yuntang looked surprised and sized him up. “What about your own work? Don’t you have to be busy?”
“Didn’t you tell me yesterday to stay home a few more days?” Luo Lan gave him a well-behaved smile. “I’m usually busy with my own things. Now that I have some time, I want to spend it with you. Is that so wrong?”
“You…” Luo Yuntang still tried to look stern, but the corners of his mouth kept turning up. “Fine. Since you’re begging me, I suppose I can make time…”
He went upstairs to change into his exercise clothes. When he came back down, an old camera hung around his neck. The driver, Old Song, was waiting. Seeing Luo Yuntang dressed like that, he asked in confusion, “Mr. Luo, aren’t you going to the office today?”
“Ah, what can I do? My boy insists I go hiking with him.” Luo Yuntang clicked his tongue and put on a show of reluctance. “Old Song, I won’t be going to the office this morning. If Xiao Zhao comes by later, let him know.”
Xiao Zhao was Luo Yuntang’s secretary. He’d arranged to discuss business with Luo Yuntang that morning.
The Luo family villa stood at the foot of the mountain. Once they stepped outside the gate, they could follow the road uphill to the summit.
The two of them walked up the smooth road. Every so often, Luo Yuntang fiddled with the old camera hanging around his neck.
Luo Lan remembered the original owner seeing his father fiddle with it as a child. It was the camera the original owner’s parents had used for their wedding photos. His father had looked sad, and it was clear he’d loved the original owner’s mother deeply.
When they reached halfway up the mountain, Luo Lan peered into the woods and tugged at Luo Yuntang. “Dad, there’s a path in there. Let’s go have a look.”
“What’s there to see? Watch out for snakes.” Luo Yuntang didn’t think much of the idea, but still followed Luo Lan onto the narrow path.
The light dimmed all at once. The cool air of an early autumn morning brushed their skin, and the ground was strewn with fallen branches and leaves wet with dew.
The forest ahead grew even darker. It clearly wouldn’t be easy to walk through, and Luo Yuntang began to have second thoughts. “It’s too thick up ahead. We shouldn’t go any farther.”
Luo Lan turned and took his arm. “We’re already halfway there. We shouldn’t give up now. You’re getting on in years, so I’ll help you along.”
Luo Yuntang stubbornly retorted, “Who says I’m getting on in years? Let’s go!”
With that, he shook off Luo Lan’s hand and strode ahead.
They walked for nearly an hour. The woods gradually thinned, and sunlight spilled through in broad patches. Less than five minutes later, a small lake came into view.
Sunlight fell on the deep blue water, and the green trees around it were reflected on the surface.
Luo Lan stepped forward, gazing at the lake glittering like a pearl in the sunlight. He turned to Luo Yuntang and smiled. “What do you think? Beautiful, isn’t it?”
Luo Yuntang was surprised, too. He hadn’t known there was such a beautiful lake in the mountains. After nearly an hour of hiking, the lovely view lifted his spirits.
He let out a breath and sat down to rest on a large rock by the lake.
Birds occasionally flew down to peck at seeds in the grass by the water.
“Dad, look. Even if you choose a different path, if you stick with it, you can still find something worthwhile.”
There was another meaning behind Luo Lan’s words. Luo Yuntang pondered them.
“The family business needs someone to run it. I’m getting old, and I’ll have to retire eventually. Your Aunt Jiang has no children. Who’ll manage the company then?”
“Dad, you’re still going strong. Isn’t it a little early to talk about retiring? You can keep working for at least another ten years. By then, I might not even be an agent anymore. Why are you in such a hurry?”
“Wouldn’t it be better for you to come work at the company now and build up some experience? Then when I retire, you’ll be able to stand on your own.”
“Dad, if I need experience, what could train me better than the cutthroat entertainment industry? Don’t look down on being an agent. Building connections, coordinating resources, handling public-relations crises, those are all essential skills for a good agent. And those skills would be useful in a company, too.”
“But are you a good agent? I heard your studio’s been losing money for almost a year.”
“No one succeeds overnight. Grandpa started Yuantang Group from nothing, didn’t he? I’m still young. I need the chance to make mistakes and learn.”
Luo Yuntang was still hesitant.
In truth, Luo Lan’s attitude had nearly won him over. When Luo Lan was little, he’d been closer to his father. But around the time he hit puberty, he’d started developing a mind of his own, and their relationship had grown colder. They could barely exchange a few words before they started arguing. This was the first time Luo Lan had calmly shared his thoughts with him.
But…
“If you want experience, I wouldn’t object to you trying something else. But what kind of place is the entertainment industry? It’s all glitz and debauchery. I’m afraid it’ll corrupt you! I heard you opened a studio to keep a little star.”
Luo Lan couldn’t admit to that. And he needed to find out who’d brought it up to his father.
“Dad, we’re rich. If I were going to turn bad, I would’ve done it long ago. Don’t listen to people gossiping. Don’t you trust your own son’s character?”
Luo Yuntang looked doubtful.
Luo Lan kept up his innocent smile, his mind racing. “Keep a star? My studio’s only signed one person, a friend of mine named Jin Fengqi. He wanted to make a name for himself in show business, and I was afraid someone would take advantage of him, so I signed him. We’ve been friends for years. If there was anything between us, do you think I’d have waited until now?”
Luo Yuntang warned him, “I’m telling you now, son. You’re the only male heir in our family. If you dare get involved in any crooked business like that and leave the Luo family without an heir, I won’t let you get away with it!”
Seeing Luo Yuntang getting genuinely angry, Luo Lan hurriedly played nice. “I’m still young. I don’t want to think about romance yet, but don’t worry. I won’t do anything reckless.”
No wonder the original owner had been distant from Luo Yuntang. Luo Yuntang was so opposed to his son being gay, and the original owner had been hopelessly gay for Jin Fengqi.
Seeing that Luo Yuntang was nearly convinced, Luo Lan pressed his advantage. “Dad, being my own agent isn’t that busy. I can come home and go hiking or walking with you all the time.”
Luo Yuntang sighed. “You brat, you’ve gotten pretty good at sweet-talking. Who taught you that?”
Luo Lan smiled obediently, knowing he’d probably won. He stayed by the lake with Luo Yuntang, walking and chatting.
Luo Yuntang handed him the camera. “Take a picture of me.”
Luo Lan smiled faintly. Everything was going exactly as planned. Perfect.
The only thing he hadn’t planned for was that the camera was so old it couldn’t withstand his “power of chaos.”
Back home, Luo Yuntang asked Old Song to take the camera in for repairs.
Old Song smiled. “You’ve had this camera a long time. Why not just get a new one?”
Luo Yuntang was stubborn. “I’ve used it for so long, I’ve grown attached. See if you can get it repaired.”
Later that morning, Luo Yuntang’s secretary, Xiao Zhao, came to see him, and they talked in the study for a while. Secretary Zhao was in his thirties and was neat and clean-cut. According to the original owner’s memories, he’d started working for Luo Yuntang right after graduating from university, when the original owner was only eight or nine.
Luo Lan greeted Secretary Zhao.
Luo Yuntang still hadn’t given his final approval for Luo Lan to work as an agent. Luo Lan didn’t want to press him and seem too eager, but the deadline Zhang Chi had given him was coming up. So he pulled Secretary Zhao aside and asked him to put in a good word.
Secretary Zhao cheerfully patted his shoulder. “I think the boss has probably changed his mind. I’ll mention it again later and ask him to get in touch with Boss Zhang. Don’t worry. A cooked duck isn’t going to fly away.”
Luo Lan thought he was right.
But he soon learned that a cooked duck really could fly away!