After the tutoring sessions ended, only the last ten days of summer vacation remained.
Yu Shulin's backpack was stuffed with homework, all tokens of his teachers' profound affection.
After burying himself in it for three days, Yu Shulin, nearly driven silly by the assignments, was taken by Liang Zhou to his company.
This was Yu Shulin's first time stepping into Liang Zhou's work domain, and it felt... quite novel. Unlike the serious and somber atmosphere of other companies, Radiant Glory, being an entertainment firm, had a very lively office vibe. Along the way, they occasionally passed stylishly dressed artists.
It happened to be a Monday, and the company had a morning meeting. As chairman, Liang Zhou couldn't skip it, which greatly annoyed him as he had planned to focus on accompanying his younger brother to the film set. But however annoyed, duties were duties. Suppressing his displeasure, he settled his brother in the office and then strode off to the conference room.
Left alone in the spacious office, Yu Shulin sighed, took out his homework from his backpack, pushed aside the large pile of snacks on the desk, and started writing furiously. He had only brought a limited amount of homework. Half an hour later, Yu Shulin looked up, rubbed his sore neck and wrist, put his homework away, and simply stared into space.
He had actually noticed recently that his older brother seemed a bit anxious... though it was completely undetectable on the surface.
Was it because of company matters? Could the fuss from the media's irresponsible reporting last time not have blown over yet?
A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. He straightened the snacks he had pushed into slight disarray, sat up properly, and said, "Come in."
However, the person who entered wasn't the secretary bringing juice, but Guan Bowen, his eyes sparkling with gossipy curiosity.
Yu Shulin looked over the mature, handsome man who walked in, finding him somewhat familiar. Puzzled, he asked, "You are...? Chairman Liang has gone to a meeting. You can come back later to see him."
"Ah, Liang Zhou isn't here," Guan Bowen smiled, naturally sitting down on the sofa diagonally across from Yu Shulin. He unwrapped a chocolate and popped it into his mouth, saying vaguely, "Then I'll wait for him. By the way, I'm Guan Bowen. You're Little Yu, right? I've heard Liang Zhou and Ling Chun mention you."
Guan Bowen? Yu Shulin's eyes widened. Although he didn't follow entertainment news much, he certainly knew Guan Bowen's name. Now seeing him face to face... he did look a bit older than in his portfolio/model shots... Well, come to think of it, the other man was almost forty. It was normal he couldn't maintain the look of someone in their late twenties as seen in those photos.
"Do you think I look older than in the photos?" Guan Bowen raised an eyebrow. This kid was really interesting. His expression hardly changed, yet all his emotions were written in his eyes. He seemed steady and mature, yet when interacting, he came across as innocent and unworldly... such a contradictory aura.
Yu Shulin hurriedly averted his gaze, somewhat embarrassed. "Hello, that was rude of me just now... My mother really enjoys your films. She's a fan."
"Really? Which one does she like?" Guan Bowen became interested. He had come mainly to get to know Liang Zhou's well-hidden younger brother. If the other was willing to start a conversation, he was naturally pleased.
"The one she watched the most is [Film Title Omitted]. I've seen it once or twice too," Yu Shulin said, relaxing noticeably as he spoke of his mother. "She collected your other films as well, but unfortunately, she didn't bring them when we moved to City B."
"That film, huh," Guan Bowen said, not expecting it to be such an old one. He thought for a moment, frowning slightly, then smiled. "You're sixteen, right? That film is probably about your age. Looks like I really am getting old."
Yu Shulin hadn't realized that the film was directed by Liang Chi. The feeling it evoked was somewhat strange for a moment. He smiled and replied, "You're joking."
Seeing how polite and well-mannered Yu Shulin was in conversation, Guan Bowen's attitude warmed up a few more degrees. "No need for such formal 'you' [honorific]. Your brother and I are friends, no need to be so polite. Hmm... but we shouldn't mess up the seniority. You can call me Uncle."
"Uncle Guan," Yu Shulin complied readily. He had a good impression of Guan Bowen. The man was now a pillar of Radiant Glory and seemed to have a good relationship with his brother. Both publicly and privately, he ought to build a good rapport with him.
"That 'Uncle' makes me happy," Guan Bowen said, moving to sit next to him. Affectionately, he added, "Since you've called me Uncle, we're family now. Come on, let's have a good chat."
"Okay," Yu Shulin blinked, acting well-behaved.
Both were inclined to befriend the other, so the conversation went exceptionally smoothly.
By the time Liang Zhou finished the meeting and returned to his office, he was met with the sight of Guan Bowen with his arm around Yu Shulin's shoulders, juice glasses and teacups littering the coffee table, and snack wrappers scattered all over the floor.
"What's going on?" He glared darkly at Guan Bowen, who shouldn't have been there, the accusation in his gaze obvious.
Yu Shulin had just been laughing heartily at a funny story Guan Bowen told about filming abroad. Seeing Liang Zhou enter with a dark face, he couldn't hold back another burst of laughter. "Brother, Uncle Guan said you were relentlessly pursued by the cooking uncle on set when you were abroad. Is it true? I didn't expect things to be so uninhibited overseas."
That incident with the cooking uncle's pursuit really did happen. Liang Zhou choked up, his chilling gaze almost slicing Guan Bowen to pieces. "What are you doing at the company? So free? Should I arrange a few film cameos for you to pass the time?"
Guan Bowen shook his head, leaning his whole body against Yu Shulin, feigning a pitiful sigh. "What an inhumane boss, squeezing the surplus value out of us middle-aged and elderly folks. Careful of social condemnation, don't you think, Little Yu?"
Yu Shulin was still immersed in the "romantic" drama of "cooking uncle pursues handsome man." Hearing this, he shook his head. "My brother wouldn't be condemned. He's a handsome man that even the cooking uncle liked. How could anyone bear to condemn him?"
"..."
Black history! Absolute black history! And this particular black history had been told to Shulin by Guan Bowen, that troublemaker who loved stirring the pot.
"Guan! Bo! Wen!" He clenched the files in his hand, a murderous aura radiating from him.
"Don't be angry, don't be angry. You've been so easily triggered lately, just a joke. Look how happy Little Yu was listening," Guan Bowen said, raising his hands in surrender. He straightened up from his slouched position and pouted. "Don't be so dull, or Little Yu might find you boring."
Seeing him detach himself from his younger brother, Liang Zhou's expression improved slightly, but an alarm bell rang in his heart. Come to think of it... he really was quite dull. Shulin was at an age where he loved fun and excitement. Would he dislike someone as overly serious as himself?
And Shulin really had been laughing very happily just now...
The murderous aura around Liang Zhou gradually dissipated. He frowned, lost in thought.
This reaction was interesting.
Guan Bowen raised an eyebrow, coughed, grabbed a candy from the table, unwrapped it, popped it in his mouth, stood up, and said to Liang Zhou, "I came to tell you that the film is almost finished. It should enter the promotion period in about ten days to half a month. Get ready, we might need to go abroad for a while." He then turned back, waved at Yu Shulin, and sauntered out the door.
"Goodbye, Uncle Guan."
After the office door closed again, Yu Shulin stood up, walked over to Liang Zhou, and waved his hand in front of his eyes. "Brother, what are you thinking about?"
Liang Zhou caught his hand, his brow still furrowed, hesitating a little. "Shulin... do you ever think I talk too little?"
"...Brother, what nonsense are you thinking?" Yu Shulin blinked, letting him hold his hand, and nudged his shoulder affectionately with his head. "I don't think you talk too little at all. Unless... do you think I'm not lively enough?"
"Of course not." His brow relaxed, realizing he was indeed overthinking. He let go of his hand and ruffled his hair. "Are you hungry? The meeting went on for a while today, you must have been bored. We'll go eat in a bit, and this afternoon I'll take you to the set."
"Not hungry, I ate a lot of snacks." Yu Shulin felt a bit embarrassed. He usually didn't like snacks much, but today he had eaten a whole pile with Guan Bowen.
Liang Zhou glanced at the snack wrappers littering the floor, his gaze towards Yu Shulin tinged with helplessness. "Don't eat so much next time, or you won't have an appetite for proper meals. Did you have a good chat with Guan Bowen today? What did you talk about?" He bent down to tidy up the remaining snacks on the table, asking casually.
"Oh, just random things. But he told me a lot of funny stories from when you were filming. He also said when you were abroad, you never went to entertainment places like bars or nightclubs, and you'd ignore it even if beautiful people tried to chat you up. He guessed you must still be... ahem... a virgin." Yu Shulin remembered Guan Bowen's teasing expression when he said this and couldn't help turning his head to hide a laugh.
His brother was already twenty-four this year, and he'd never seen him get close to anyone usually. Come to think of it carefully... could brother really still be a virgin...?
Liang Zhou's hands paused in cleaning the table, his grip tightening, his face darkening further.
Guan! Bo! Wen!
At lunch, Zhang Qian and Zhao Zhi insisted on tagging along, further souring Liang Zhou's mood, who had wanted some alone time with his brother. He deeply regretted bringing Shulin to the company today—none of these friends and colleagues were the least bit considerate.
Yu Shulin, however, who had learned about another side of his brother, was quite happy. During the meal, he chatted excitedly and enthusiastically with Zhang Qian about Liang Zhou's amusing university anecdotes.
Seeing this, the displeasure in Liang Zhou's heart lessened slightly. The words to stop Zhang Qian reached his lips but were swallowed back down.
Forget it. As long as his brother is happy.
After resting for a while after the meal, Liang Zhou drove Yu Shulin to the set of a public service announcement shoot.
Rong Guang had been heavily smeared by Rong Hua recently and was now working hard to rebuild its positive image. This public service announcement collaboration with the state television station was one such effort.
The PSA shoot was set in a large park with beautiful scenery. The actors were all middle-aged and elderly performers with positive images, along with a few selected pretty children.
The crew on site was bustling with activity. The arrival of Liang Zhou and Yu Shulin didn't attract much attention.
"Are they filming an autumn scene?" Yu Shulin looked at the actors in long-sleeved knitwear on set, feeling a bit curious. "What's the theme of this PSA?"
"Caring for the elderly," Liang Zhou replied, leading him to a sunshade set up by the crew not far away. Pointing at the camera positions, he said, "When filming movies or TV dramas, more camera setups are used. PSAs are very short and easier to shoot, so fewer setups are needed."
"I see." Yu Shulin was a little disappointed. He had thought he might get to see actors on wires or something... Still, he felt very content and happy with his brother's thoughtful gesture.
Liang Zhou, who had been paying close attention to him, naturally noticed his lack of enthusiasm. He stopped his explanations about the various filming equipment and, after a moment of thought, said, "Next time, I'll take you to a real movie set. One with fight scenes, the more exciting kind."
Having his thoughts seen through, Yu Shulin felt somewhat embarrassed, thinking he was being willful and making his brother go to extra trouble. He shook his head. "Let's wait for the right opportunity. After entering the second year of high school, the course pace will speed up, and I'll have tutoring during summer and winter breaks. I won't have much time to pay attention to these things anyway."
How could he be so well-behaved... Liang Zhou's eyes softened. He raised his hand to pat his head. "This park is very big. Since you're rarely here, let's take a walk."
"Okay."
