The car ride back was quiet. Leaning against the headrest with his eyes closed, Liang Zhou suddenly spoke up: "Shu Lin is being pestered by a girl, and it's become quite a commotion. His homeroom teacher asked me to talk to Shu Lin, to make sure this doesn't affect his studies."
"Hmm?" Guan Bowen turned to look at him, somewhat puzzled. Why bring this up so suddenly?
Liang Zhou opened his eyes, his gaze dark and full of inner turmoil. "Shu Lin will grow up eventually. He doesn't like this girl today, but what about tomorrow? He's so good... This isn't right... I need to restrain myself a bit."
He really must be drunk.
"Jealous?"
Liang Zhou didn't respond.
"Afraid Little Yu will be taken away by someone else one day?"
Liang Zhou's eyes flickered, but he remained silent.
"Afraid Little Yu will come to hate you?"
"...That won't happen. He relies on me a lot right now."
He really is terrified.
Guan Bowen carefully studied his expression, sighed inwardly, and gently patted his shoulder. "You're still just a kid who's never been in love, after all. It's normal to feel possessive of someone you like. There's no right or wrong about it."
"He's my brother." Liang Zhou lowered his eyes, slumping completely into the seat, looking unexpectedly vulnerable. During his time abroad, the time difference had reduced his contact with Shu Lin. The scene of that confession he witnessed had started to become clear again in his mind, and then he couldn't stop his thoughts from running wild. All sorts of imaginings about Shu Lin marrying a beautiful woman made him extremely agitated and miserable. The longer he was away, the more severe the unease became—this feeling that something important was about to be snatched away by someone else. Today's phone call from Teacher Gao had almost crushed his last shred of rationality.
Right, Shu Lin is still young. Shu Lin will eventually find a partner. Shu Lin will leave me... He wanted to lock Shu Lin away, not let anyone see him. But that kind of thinking is wrong. It's immoral, it's a deviant path, it's...
"He's not your real brother." Guan Bowen shrugged. The ever-unprincipled Movie Emperor Guan felt all of Liang Zhou's worries were non-issues and said airily, "I think you should just hurry up and woo him while Little Yu is still young. That kid has a mind of his own. He'll definitely attract even more admirers in the future. If you don't act fast, you'll regret it later."
Liang Zhou snapped out of his chaotic thoughts and frowned. "How do you know Shu Lin isn't my biological brother?" Very few people knew about this; he definitely hadn't told Guan Bowen.
"Oh, that. After I found out you liked Little Yu, I went to gossip with Ling Chun." Movie Emperor Guan replied with utter calm.
"So Ling Chun knows too?" Liang Zhou's face darkened, asking with difficulty.
"You mean about you having improper thoughts about Little Yu?" Guan Bowen turned to look at him and nodded. "Yeah, he knows. I just hinted at it a little, and he understood completely."
"..." He shouldn't have believed that Guan Bowen had things like principles or discretion. And Ling Chun... He let out a long sigh, fell back against the seat, and draped his arm over his eyes.
A long silence followed.
"Shu Lin is still young."
Guan Bowen let out a soft, derisive snort. "How old are boys when they have their first sexual impulse? Sixteen or seventeen is exactly when teenage hormones are raging. Be careful, or your Little Yu might have a passionate first love drama with some girl without you knowing, and then accidentally get her pregnant. That would be just great—early marriage, early parenthood, perfect."
"...Stop talking." He lowered his arm, turned to look out the window, his gaze dark, thoughts churning.
"Kids these days mature early. Little Yu is so sensible and much more mature than his peers. Think it through yourself. Be careful the treasure you're guarding so carefully really gets taken by someone else."
"..."
The car window rolled down, letting in the gentle night breeze.
Half an hour later, as the hotel came into view, he pulled himself from his various thoughts, took out his phone, hesitated for a long moment, found Yu Shulin's number, and began typing a text.
Maybe... it wouldn't be impossible to try.
"Shu Lin, what are your thoughts on dating?"
The reply came quickly, just three words: "It's terrifying."
Liang Zhou rubbed his face.
The phone vibrated again. "Brother, why are you asking this? Are you going to start dating?"
I want to date you, he said in his heart, but his text reply was utterly proper.
"Shu Lin, Teacher Gao called me. After I return to the country, I think we need to have a good talk about this dating issue."
Seeing the text, Yu Shulin's body stiffened. He facepalmed... Oh, Teacher Gao, you're the death of me. Is brother angry again? How do I coax him this time...
After Liang Zhou went abroad, Liang Jian finally got some breathing room. He urged Liang Zixiu to seize the time to cultivate feelings with Liu Yufen while frequently currying favor with the Liu family, frantically building his network. However, things didn't progress as smoothly as expected. Although Liu Yufen favored Liang Zixiu, the Liu family's impression of the father and son was not good, desperately obstructing meetings between Liu Yufen and Liang Zixiu. And the connections he wanted to make always seemed just out of reach.
Just as he was overwhelmed with anxiety, the Hollywood blockbuster film starring Guan Bowen and Liang Zhou finally began its promotional campaign in China.
Different from the promotional model abroad, Rong Guang opted for a more convenient online approach. Once the movie trailer was released online, it attracted immense attention, sparking heated discussions across the internet.
Following the grand, gripping trailer was a VCR jointly recorded by Liang Zhou and Guan Bowen. In the video, the two were dressed very casually, sitting on a bench on a beautiful street, warmly greeting the audience and asking for their support of the film.
This down-to-earth promotional style delighted the fans, whose enthusiasm soared. The video's views skyrocketed, becoming an online sensation in just one day.
In short, the promotion was a great success, with fans expressing that they would buy movie tickets for their idols during the National Day holiday.
Liang Jian, face dark, turned off the video, swept everything off his desk with a wave of his hand, and roared, "The film Liang Zhou is in is actually a collaboration with Dico! Dico, do you understand? Why wasn't this information obtained earlier? What's the use of keeping all you useless people around!"
The Rong Hua executives were as silent as cicadas in winter, not daring to speak and provoke Liang Jian's wrath.
Unlike the relaxed and harmonious office atmosphere at Rong Guang, the environment at Rong Hua had always been serious and oppressive. The boss, Liang Jian, never listened to opposing opinions. Once he made a decision, even if everyone objected, it had to be carried out. For that last film the company invested in, everyone disagreed with using Yang Lin—who hadn't been at Rong Hua for long—as the female lead, but Liang Jian insisted. In the end, they had no choice but to reluctantly replace the original actress and push Yang Lin into the role. Over this, they had thoroughly offended that film's director. And regarding artist management... it was too chaotic.
“Find a way to suppress the buzz of this video! Suppress it hard! Best if it sinks to the bottom and never resurfaces!” Liang Jian, red-faced and thick-necked, finished his roar with a cold snort and stormed out, slamming the door.
The executives in the meeting room looked at each other, then, in tacit agreement, hung their heads and sighed. With the video trending like that, how could it possibly be suppressed just because he said so? This... couldn't be done.
"If I had known, I would have stayed at Rong Guang back then. Comfortable for most of my life, only to suffer this old fool's temper right before retirement. He's incompetent himself yet unwilling to hire a professional manager. What a joke," someone complained discontentedly.
The faces of those who had jumped ship from Rong Guang darkened, their hearts filled with regret. Who would have thought that Liang Zhou could bring Rong Guang back from the brink of death and manage the company so well? And then look at Rong Hua, which they had once been so optimistic about... Sigh.
Back then, specifically to spite Liang Zhou, Liang Jian had chosen a company location not far from Rong Guang. The difference was, Rong Guang occupied an entire building in the downtown commercial district, while they were crammed into just a few floors of an office building. Liang Jian had even boasted back then, saying he was just waiting for Rong Guang to go bankrupt so he could snatch that building. Now, the two companies faced each other from a distance. On Rong Guang's exterior wall, a large LCD screen was playing previews to a captivated crowd of pedestrians, while their own Rong Hua was shrouded in gloom, so much so that even their own artists were reluctant to come back to the office.
This was the gap between them...
They couldn't help but recall Liang Jian's profession before taking over Rong Guang and shook their heads. A shoe salesman is just a shoe salesman; when it comes to managing a company, he truly doesn't have a clue.
Liang Zhou and Guan Bowen's overseas promotion was also in full swing. Unlike the unanimous anticipation domestically, the international reception for this film was mostly cautious and wait-and-see. Although the film featured Chinese movie stars who didn't align with mainstream Western tastes, it had hired a top-tier director, along with that staggering investment figure and an excellent post-production team... Whether this film was good or not really had to be judged after seeing it.
One week before National Day, the film received a limited early release in some regions of Europe and America. After attending the pleasant premiere, Liang Zhou and Guan Bowen boarded a flight back home.
Guan Bowen was uncharacteristically tired, saying listlessly, "I say, do you have to be in such a rush? Couldn't we rest for one night before going back? I'm going to sue you for exploiting your employees."
"Go ahead." Liang Zhou fiddled with the little trinket he had bought for Yu Shulin, not even glancing at Guan Bowen as he gave a perfunctory reply. He had thought it through. Rather than torturing himself with imagined terrifying futures, it was better to follow his heart and take a chance. In life, there are many things where you have to stay within the lines, following the experiences of those before you step by step to proceed smoothly and completely. But life is so long, why must every step be so rigid and proper? That would be so dull.
He had been obedient for so long. Being unorthodox just once, was that too much? And Shulin... Shulin. Just silently reciting this name made the longing in his heart begin to swell.
Guan Bowen glanced at him sideways, a hint of a smile in his eyes. He stretched, poked He Long who was sitting diagonally behind him, and raised an eyebrow. "Do you know why your boss is so happy?"
He Long silently retracted his legs a bit and shook his head.
"Because spring has arrived," Guan Bowen sighed, taking out an eye mask and putting it on before leaning back into his seat. "Sleep, sleep. I don't have the energy you young people do."
He Long took out his phone, looked at the date showing it was nearly the end of September, and twitched the corner of his mouth. This movie star really was a bit off his rocker.
After evening self-study ended, Li Tao and Yu Shulin left the teaching building together.
Ever since Li Tao had stopped Ma Jian's fist for Yu Shulin, the conversations between the two had gradually increased. After chatting a few times, they realized they lived quite close, with half their way home being in the same direction.
"Has Liu Fen bothered you since?" Li Tao asked suddenly as they walked slowly.
Yu Shulin shook his head, pulling his thoughts away from various practice problems. "No, she's been avoiding me since, hasn't come to bother me. Wang Zhi said Liu Fen's mother has been keeping a very tight leash on her lately, checking up on her at school from time to time. She doesn't dare make trouble."
"Hmm." Li Tao nodded, then suddenly pointed towards a corner outside the school gate. "There's a man over there who's been staring at you."
"Someone's looking at me?" Yu Shulin followed his gaze curiously, then his breath hitched, his eyes instantly brightening. He turned to Li Tao with a smile and waved. "My brother came to pick me up. I'm going ahead, bye."
Watching Yu Shulin run off pushing his bicycle, Li Tao narrowed his eyes, his gaze lingering on the man standing in the shadows under the tree across the street, and waved back. "Bye." Really just a brother... is it?
Yu Shulin ran over excitedly, his face full of joy. "Brother, when did you get back? Uncle He told me you'd arrive tomorrow afternoon. Did you come back early? Why did you come to the school?"
"Yeah, came back a day early." Liang Zhou watched him approach, his expression softening. He reached out to ruffle his hair and took his hand. "I let He Long go home. Shall we walk back?"
Too excited, a surge of boldness overtook Yu Shulin. He pulled his hand free, swung a leg over his bicycle, and looked back. "It's fine, I'll take you back! You just got off the plane and haven't had time to adjust to the time difference, right? And you waited for me so long, you must be really tired. I'll take you home."
Seeing him, Liang Zhou's restless heart finally settled. He smiled, took a step closer, reached out to pinch Yu Shulin's leg, and asked with a laugh, "Can you manage? I'm pretty heavy."
"No problem!" Yu Shulin felt a bit ticklish from the pinch and moved his leg. Then he flexed his arm to show his muscle. "I'm really strong. I kept up with my exercises on time while you were away. Get on, I'll take you."
"Then I'll test your skills." He smiled, sat sideways on the bicycle's rear rack, and placed his hands on Yu Shulin's waist. "Alright, let's go."
"One, two, three, the train is departing!" Yu Shulin wriggled his waist where it was being held, a smile spreading uncontrollably across his face. Gripping the handlebars, he leaned forward, pressed down on the pedal, and set off towards home.
The cool early autumn breeze felt refreshing. The bicycle's rear rack was a bit hard, and the rider occasionally weaved in an S-shape, but Liang Zhou was very happy. The waist under his hands, though slender, felt completely right to hold. He looked up at the back of the young man's head, listening to his words, fragmented by the night wind, and smiled.
Let's give it a try. This person is so good. He wanted to have him, protect him, accompany him as he grew up, and stay with him as they grew old.
"Shu Lin."
"Hmm?"
"Do you like me?"
"Of course I do."
"Hmm, I like you too."
Yu Shulin squinted his eyes, smiling happily. He nodded vigorously, pedaling the bicycle faster, his voice full of delight. "I know, Brother, you're the best to me." Such a wonderful brother, who wouldn't like him?
