Back in the day, the second daughter of the Zhou family, Zhou Qingya, was quite a rebellious teenager. When filling out her college entrance exam preferences, she clashed with her parents over their differing opinions. In a fit of pique, she packed her things, squeezed a sum of money out of her elder brother Zhou Qinghe, and ran off abroad.
Her parents were furious, but their daughter had cut off all contact with the family. The world outside was vast and distant, and they couldn't even find her. In the end, they only discovered she had flown to Country Y by checking the flight information.
They initially thought the child would come back once she had gotten her rebellion out of her system and ran out of money. Unexpectedly, Zhou Qingya thrived overseas, living life to the fullest. Not only did she study the major she loved, but she also found an incredibly impressive boyfriend and returned home in a blaze of glory.
That Yan Wei was the impressive boyfriend Zhou Qingya brought back.
At first, everything was fine. The family was reunited, Zhou Qingya and Yan Wei were sweetly in love, and Mr. and Mrs. Zhou began planning their daughter's wedding. However, when Yan Wei's parents arrived, things changed. The Yan parents looked down on Zhou Qingya's family background, deeming her not good enough for Yan Wei. After a huge scene, they forcibly took Yan Wei back to their home country.
The fallout was ugly, with the two families completely severing ties.
Not long after Yan Wei returned to his home country, news of his wedding came out. Zhou Qingya, overwhelmed with anger, fainted. A hospital checkup revealed she was pregnant.
The Zhou family was conservative and wanted to go abroad to confront the Yan family and demand an explanation. Zhou Qingya refused outright. She adamantly refused to ever see that heartless man again and didn't want her parents to suffer humiliation at the Yan family's hands. Gritting her teeth, she secretly slipped out of the hospital. A month later, she returned with Liang Chi, announcing she wanted to marry him!
Mr. Zhou was enraged, feeling she was taking advantage of an honest young man. However, Liang Chi stated he was willing; he had actually had a secret crush on Zhou Qingya for a long time.
It was a twist of fate. Two years prior, Liang Chi had a film that required shooting overseas. Through various coincidences, he met the lively and beautiful Zhou Qingya. It was love at first sight, and his affection only grew upon seeing her again. He pursued her for a long time, but unfortunately, Zhou Qingya's heart at that time was completely devoted to Yan Wei, leaving him no chance. Now, after all these twists and turns, his beloved was in trouble. His feelings for her remained, so he decided to be with her.
Seeing that Liang Chi was willing, Mr. Zhou, though feeling the marriage was too rash and reckless, thought of his daughter's current situation and reluctantly agreed to their marriage. Then came the grand wedding. Zhou Qingya shed all her former wildness and willfulness, wholeheartedly settling into a stable, peaceful life with Liang Chi.
After they married, the Zhou family, feeling guilty towards Liang Chi, fully supported his career. After giving birth to Liang Zhou, Zhou Qingya also began to devote herself entirely to supporting her husband's endeavors. Liang Chi was also highly capable, succeeding in everything he did. Their life grew better and better, and their marital affection deepened naturally. After another wedding anniversary, the couple planned to have another child to keep Liang Zhou company.
Unfortunately, storms gather without warning. Yan Wei's wife was a jealous woman. Somehow finding out about that old messy history, she actually returned to the country and made a scene in front of the Zhou family, calling Zhou Qingya a home-wrecker who destroyed families. Yan Wei arrived soon after, and the couple's pushing and shoving made for a very ugly spectacle. The sight of them infuriated Zhou Qingya, and she avoided seeing them. Yan Wei, for reasons unknown, after placating his wife, actually sneaked to the kindergarten where Liang Zhou attended to ambush Zhou Qingya.
Zhou Qingya's greatest fear was Liang Zhou's true parentage being exposed. Seeing Yan Wei appear, she wordlessly picked up Liang Zhou, got in the car, and drove away. Yan Wei, unwilling to let it go, drove after them. Shockingly, Yan Wei's wife had secretly followed them. Consumed by jealous rage, she drove her car straight at Zhou Qingya.
During the accident, Zhou Qingya shielded Liang Zhou but was herself severely injured and died. By the time the Zhou family and Liang Chi rushed to the hospital, all they saw was Zhou Qingya's body and Liang Zhou, pale and hollow-eyed, standing beside Yan Wei.
Yan Wei's wife, terrified, pushed someone else out to take the blame and hurriedly returned to her home country.
During the investigation, Yan Wei remained silent for a long time before choosing to help his wife.
The incident was sudden, Yan Wei's wife fled cleanly, the accident site happened to have no surveillance cameras, and the scapegoat was airtight in their testimony. The case was quickly settled, and Yan Wei was whisked back to his home country by his parents early on.
The Zhou family was seething with anger but utterly powerless.
Three months after the incident, the Zhou family wanted to take Liang Zhou back to live with them, but both Liang Chi and Liang Zhou refused. Liang Chi handed over all the companies under his management, focusing only on two things: acting and raising the child.
Fearing the Yan family might return and discover Liang Zhou's true parentage, the Zhou family agreed to let Liang Chi continue raising Liang Zhou. They also had their eldest son, Zhou Qinghe, take over one of Liang Chi's companies, managing it diligently to leave some assets for the father and son.
"Father was a man of his word. He promised Mother he would take good care of me and was determined to have only me as his son. He was actually afraid that if he had a biological son later, he might unconsciously show favoritism and treat me poorly. Back then, it wasn't that Father didn't love your mother. He was just stubborn his whole life, got stuck in a mental rut, and couldn't turn his thinking around in time. He never imagined he would miss the chance with you and your mother just like that, regretting it for the rest of his life, filled with remorse even on his deathbed." Liang Zhou smoothed Yu Shulin's hair and continued, "Father missed you both very much, but the agreement prevented him from getting close. He knew your mother truly did not wish for him to appear before you. On his deathbed, he held my hand and told me all this. He told me not to disturb your lives, yet he left a will stating that once I regained Rong Guang, and once you turned eighteen, his assets would be split in two, with one portion given to your mother."
But before he turned eighteen, his mother passed away... Yu Shulin lowered his eyes, frowning as he replayed all the events in his mind. Suddenly, he found it somewhat amusing. He took Liang Zhou's hand and held it. "So we both grew up in single-parent families. What a coincidence."
Liang Zhou was taken aback for a moment, then pulled him into an embrace and nodded. "It really is a coincidence. It's fate." He couldn't judge the rights and wrongs of the previous generation's affairs, but fortunately, fate had delivered Shulin to his side.
Fate? Leaning against Liang Zhou's chest, he closed his eyes, thinking of the chaotic events of his past life, and sighed slowly in his heart. Perhaps it really was fate. It's just that the arrival of this fate was rather tortuous, taking a full two lifetimes.
Raising his hand to clutch the fabric at Liang Zhou's waist, he buried his face in the other's shoulder. After a moment of daze, he smiled with release. Actually, when you think about it, familial love is a kind of fate, and romantic love is also a kind of fate. Since they're both fate... maybe there isn't much difference?
They had talked for too long, and it was already 8:30 PM by the time they finished dinner. The topics they discussed in the afternoon were heavy, and they had no mood to go out and have fun, so they simply washed up and went to bed early.
The next day, Yu Shulin was taken by Liang Zhou straight to the airport.
"Brother, aren't you filming anymore?" Yu Shulin asked, being pulled along, his face full of confusion.
"Not for now, taking a couple days off." Liang Zhou was being uncharacteristically willful. His face was hidden behind sunglasses and a mask, his expression unclear, and his voice sounded somewhat muffled. "We're going to S City for a couple of days."
Yu Shulin stared wide-eyed. "S City? What are we going there for?" Could it be to see Yu Xiu? That would be too unpleasant.
Liang Zhou could tell what he was thinking. He raised his hand and tapped his forehead, saying softly, "S City isn't just about Yu Xiu. Let's go see your mom, okay?"
See Mom... He was taken aback for a moment, remembering his mother lying alone in the S City cemetery, and thinking about his current relationship with Liang Zhou. He pressed his lips together, smiled, tightened his grip on Liang Zhou's hand, nodded, and whispered, "Okay." Sooner or later, the 'ugly daughter-in-law' has to meet the parents. Since this was his first time being in a relationship, he really should tell his mom.
The flight from S City to H City was quick, taking less than two hours for them to change locations.
After landing, Yu Shulin threw up once. Feeling dizzy and heavy-headed, he was dragged by Liang Zhou into a taxi, feeling utterly miserable.
Liang Zhou gave him a sip of water, continuously massaging his forehead and stomach, his brows furrowed and his expression grim. "I was too impulsive. Next time, we'll take the train."
"No, trains are too slow and waste time. Flying is fine, we just need to buy some motion sickness medicine," Yu Shulin said, feeling much better after vomiting, trying to reassure him.
Liang Zhou's expression remained dark as he continued massaging his forehead, falling silent.
The two rested well at the hotel for the night. The next day, a refreshed and energetic Yu Shulin took Liang Zhou to the cemetery where his mother rested.
It was still that secluded corner. With few people visiting tombs during the May holiday, the surroundings were very quiet.
After placing the purchased bouquet in front of the tombstone, the two burned paper money, lit incense, and kowtowed. Then, Yu Shulin sat on the ground, carefully wiping the tombstone. He pointed at Liang Zhou, who was silently squatting beside him, and spoke to the smiling woman in the photo on the tombstone: "Mom, I've brought your daughter-in-law home. Please take a look for me. If he's no good, I'll swap him out."
Liang Zhou glanced at him, amused. He adjusted the bouquet, then sat on the ground just like Yu Shulin, helping to wipe the tombstone. After a pause, he spoke in a deep voice, "Mom."
Yu Shulin instantly burst out laughing. He turned his head to hide it, then turned back with a serious expression. He patted Liang Zhou's shoulder and said to the tombstone, "Mom, my daughter-in-law here is pretty good, right? So well-behaved."
"Don't be ridiculous," Liang Zhou said, his tone a mix of fondness and helplessness as he patted the back of Yu Shulin's head. He then turned to face the tombstone, adopting a serious expression, and promised, "I will take good care of Shulin. Please rest assured."
After speaking, he took out an old box from his pocket, removed a simple-styled ring from it, and placed it in front of the bouquet. "This is what Father never got to give you. Now I'm passing it on to you. Will you like it?"
Yu Shulin glanced down at the ring, then suddenly reached out and snatched the box from Liang Zhou's hand. He stuffed the ring back in, and started digging a hole in the earthen ground next to the tombstone.
"Shulin, what are you doing?" Liang Zhou asked, puzzled.
Yu Shulin didn't even look up. He discarded the branch he was using to dig, confirmed the hole was deep enough, threw the box in, filled it with soil, and even scattered some grass clippings over it to conceal it. Only then did he say, "Putting the ring in such an obvious spot is just asking for it to be stolen. Burying it is safer... No one gets to touch my mom's things."
Liang Zhou looked at his clenched hands, sighed inwardly, and reached out to stroke his hair. "Shulin, I told you, Father always regretted it... He loved your mother. He always did."
Yu Shulin looked at the photo of the gently smiling woman on the tombstone, turned his head, sniffled, and nodded. "Mmm... I understand."
The May sunshine was pleasantly warm. The air carried the faint scent of flowers and the charred smell left after burning paper money, a combination that felt subtly comforting. He took a deep breath, composed his emotions, glanced sideways at Liang Zhou who was earnestly wiping the tombstone, then turned back and touched the photo on the stone.
—Mom, this person is very good. I think I'll come to love him in the future. While you're watching over me, please watch over him too.
—This isn't puppy love. You know that, even though I seem to have regressed these past couple of years.
—High school studies are intense, but I'm adapting well. In this lifetime, I will definitely get into a good university. Didn't you always hope I'd go to a good university? Don't worry, it'll happen soon.
—Also, you probably won't have any grandchildren from me... I'm sorry.
—Next time you pick a man, don't be so impulsive.
—Mom, I miss you so much... I love you.
...
After a long, rambling monologue in his heart, he lowered his hand, spaced out for a bit, then tugged at Liang Zhou, who had been quietly keeping him company. He stood up and said, "Alright, I've finished tattling. Let's go."
Liang Zhou stood up as well, put an arm around his shoulders, and nodded. "Okay."
Yu Shulin bumped his head against Liang Zhou's shoulder, deliberately putting on a stern face. "My mom said if you ever treat me badly in the future, she'll help me pick a better one and send him right to me."
Liang Zhou lowered his head, planted a kiss on his forehead, and smiled. "That won't happen. I am the best."
"...So narcissistic."
That evening, in high spirits, Yu Shulin took Liang Zhou to H City's most famous snack street.
Liang Zhou wore a hat, a pair of black-framed glasses, and a set of hip-hop style clothes, transforming in an instant into a young man who loved music and fun.
"How's this disguise?" He ran his fingers along the brim of his hat and snapped his fingers.
Yu Shulin's mouth fell open. He gave a thumbs up and praised without hesitation, "Handsome!"
The snack street was crowded, the lighting dim. With Liang Zhou's hat pulled low and him mostly looking down to talk to Yu Shulin, his face was hidden in shadow and not very clear, so no one paid him much attention.
Yu Shulin happily munched on a grilled corn cob. Spotting a shop ahead with a large crowd gathered in front, he was about to dash forward.
“Don't rush,” Liang Zhou quickly pulled him back, saying somewhat helplessly, “Be careful not to get lost. We're not in a hurry to go back today, take it slow.”
"I just haven't had this in so long..." Yu Shulin argued, still trying to charge ahead.
"Shulin? Is that Yu Shulin?" A surprised greeting interrupted their conversation.
Yu Shulin turned around, positioning himself slightly in front of Liang Zhou, then squinted to look at the middle-aged man approaching and smiled. "Teacher Hu, I didn't expect to run into you here."
Hu Jun also hadn't expected this clean, handsome young man to really be the thin, small Yu Shulin from his memory. The hesitation on his face faded, replaced by a genuine smile. "It really is you. You've grown so tall and big, I almost didn't recognize you. How are you doing in B City? How are your studies? Which high school are you attending?"
"I'm doing great. Studies are going well. I'm at City No.2 High School in B City now," Yu Shlin answered obediently, in a very good mood. He still felt very grateful towards Hu Jun. In both his past and present life, Hu Jun had been a responsible and dedicated teacher.
Hu Jun was momentarily stunned upon hearing 'City No.2 High School'. After a moment, he suddenly nodded, his smile growing even wider, and said with emotion, "City No.2 High School is good, City No.2 High School is good... I always knew you had promise. By the way, you came back this time to..."
"To visit my mother's grave. Mhm, with my brother." He smiled in reply, tugging at Liang Zhou and introducing him. "Brother, this is Teacher Hu, my homeroom teacher from junior high. He was very good to me back then."
Liang Zhou nodded politely and extended his hand. "Hello, thank you for taking care of Shulin back in the day."
Hu Jun shook his hand, feeling a vague sense of familiarity but unable to recall where he might have seen him before. Noticing the natural air of authority in Liang Zhou's demeanor, Hu Jun unconsciously grew a bit nervous. "Hello, hello, it was nothing, really. I didn't do much."
"You're too kind," Liang Zhou said, withdrawing his hand.
Hu Jun continued to study him curiously, his face unable to hide his confusion. This man was dressed like a trendy young guy, yet he carried himself like someone accustomed to being in charge... And that face, mainly...
"Ahem, Teacher, how have you been these past few years?" Yu Shulin quickly drew Hu Jun's attention back to himself.
Hu Jun snapped out of it, realizing his staring was quite rude, and hurriedly averted his gaze back to Yu Shulin. "I've been good. Actually, I heard your uncle went to City B to find you and caused quite a scene. What exactly happened with that..."
At the mention of Yu Xiu, the smile on Yu Shulin's face faded slightly. "It's a long story. But he got what was coming to him. It's all in the past now."
Remembering what later happened to Yu Xiu and his family, a complex look flashed in Hu Jun's eyes. He sighed and patted Yu Shulin's shoulder. "I'm just glad you're alright. It's all fate, I suppose."
The snack street interlude soon passed. It was only much later that Yu Shulin learned that after running into him, Hu Jun had actually gone to the prison to visit Yu Xiu. No one knew what was said, but it supposedly enraged Yu Xiu so much he suffered a stroke, lying in the hospital for half a month. The once polished and hypocritical image was gone, and the man rapidly aged.
After visiting the graves, the May Day holiday was also coming to an end. The two parted ways at the city airport, one flying to City B, the other to City S.
Liang Zhou deliberately bought a later flight ticket. He made sure Yu Shulin took his motion sickness medicine, gave him repeated instructions, and only reluctantly saw him onto the plane.
The moment Yu Shulin landed, He Long, who had been waiting for a while, greeted him and without a word ushered him into the car, taking him back to the villa.
His trip to City S to find Liang Zhou was still kept secret from Aunt Liu and Uncle He. Upon his return, Aunt Liu urged him to rest while asking if he had enjoyed himself and if any classmates had bullied him. She ended up complaining about Liang Zhou's unreliability for being away on business this long without even calling home.
Feeling a bit guilty, Yu Shulin used the excuse of needing rest to go upstairs. Once behind his closed door, he quickly called Liang Zhou, telling him to call Aunt Liu soon to reassure her.
Having just confirmed their relationship, they were now separated by distance. Liang Zhou felt gloomy but didn't show it, softly agreeing to Yu Shulin's request, appearing utterly compliant.
In the monthly exam after May Day, Yu Shulin took first place again.
Li Tao held the ranking list and turned to look at him. "Family matters all settled?"
Thinking of Liang Zhou, who called him every day to be affectionate, Yu Shulin smiled and nodded. He grabbed a handful of chocolates from his backpack and placed them on Li Tao's desk. "Settled. Thanks for your concern. Have some candy."
The class monitor passed by and exclaimed, "Li Tao, so you like eating candy? What a girly habit, hahaha."
Li Tao stashed the candy into his desk drawer, giving him a cold look. "Hmph."
The class monitor's laughter cut off abruptly. He rubbed his arms and scurried away.
Finally finishing filming in early July, Liang Zhou flew back to City B. Before he could even have a proper talk with Yu Shulin, he was summoned back to the company by a call from Zhao Zhi.
The movie starring Guan Bowen was now complete and in the midst of a heated promotional campaign across major newspapers, TV, and online platforms. Scheduled for a summer release, the company wanted to capitalize on the movie's momentum to launch another talent show.
Last year's talent show in the latter half had been quite successful, genuinely unearthing several promising singing talents. This time, they planned to select a few more to form a group.
Since they were looking for potential members for a group, the focus of this show was on "collaborative competition." Compared to the pure competition of the last one, this angle was more appealing to young people. Contestants could participate as teams or as individuals. Individual contestants could freely form temporary partnerships with others during the competition to challenge other teams, whether fixed or temporary.
This flexibility made the show full of endless possibilities. Once announced, it captured the public's attention.
At the same time, Ronghua suddenly collaborated with a TV station to launch a large-scale talent show. Its content and format shamelessly copied Rongguang's show from the previous year, just with a different name.
The two events were scheduled around the same time. Gossipy netizens made detailed comparisons and laughed.
Ronghua following right behind Rongguang to launch a talent show—their intentions were as plain as day. Unfortunately for them, Rongguang had switched up the format this time, refusing to reheat old leftovers and instead serving a brand new dish.
Between reheated leftovers and a fresh new dish, it was obvious which would be more popular.
Ronghua was truly foolish.
Zhang Qian laughed himself silly holding Ronghua's promotional leaflet, mercilessly mocking their planning from every angle during the meeting, thoroughly enjoying himself.
Zhao Zhi didn't want to deal with him. Gathering the documents, he addressed Liang Zhou. "That's the gist of the talent show. Filming is now complete. Production will take one to two months. Factoring in the promotional period, it should be ready for release during the National Day Golden Week. Should we start online promotion early?"
"No need," Liang Zhou shook his head, tapping the file. "Director Zhao's reputation speaks for itself. No need to rush putting news online. Let's wait for Guan Bowen's movie hype to die down a bit first."
"Understood," Zhao Zhi nodded, then pointed at Zhang Qian, who was still clutching the leaflet and rolling with laughter. "What about him?"
Liang Zhou glanced sideways at him coolly and pushed the talent show proposal forward. "Zhang Qian, you're in charge of the talent show. Since you're so eager to crush Ronghua, give it your all."
Zhang Qian froze, slowly turning to look at Liang Zhou with teary eyes. "Zhou... Boss... I haven't had a vacation in six months..."
"Do this show well, and I'll give you a vacation. Do it poorly, and I'll give you a permanent vacation," Liang Zhou stated coldly, then stood up and left the conference room without looking back.
Guan Bowen, who had been lying half-dead on a nearby sofa, looked up and gave Zhang Qian a sympathetic glance. "So, what did you do to offend him...?" He himself had been tossed onto a film set for months over that "virgin" comment. What was this guy's crime? Thinking about it, this kid had been suffering for almost half a year.
"I just tried to set him up on a date..." Zhang Qian wailed, banging his head against the sofa. "And it didn't even work out! I even kindly advised him not to harass a minor..."
"Harass a minor?" Guan Bowen sat up, interested. "Did you say that in front of Little Yu? If you did... given how much Liang Zhou dotes on his brother, you... tsk tsk, you deserve it."
Zhang Qian fell into a long silence, then erupted in anger, pounding the sofa furiously. "Liang Zhou, you damn brother-con! I'm sworn against you! I'm going to jump ship to Ronghua, don't try to stop me!"
"Go on." Zhao Zhi tidied up the documents and glanced at him. "It'll give everyone a bit of peace and quiet."
"...This heartless company! I quit! I quit!" 166 Reading Site
