He had been waiting downstairs at the hotel for nearly an hour when Lu Ji finally arrived.
The airport highway was heavily congested, and it was the weekend. Lu Ji had rushed as much as he could. When he got out of the car, he saw Zhou Chenxi squatting on the roadside in front of the hotel. As soon as he spotted Lu Ji approaching, he stood up and sneezed before saying anything.
Lu Ji quickly asked him, “Are you cold?”
It was already deep into autumn, and while the southern city wasn’t cooling down as rapidly as H city, there was still a significant temperature difference between day and night. Fortunately, Lu Ji had rushed over immediately after a meeting and hadn’t had a chance to change out of his autumn attire.
Lu Ji took off his short coat and draped it over Zhou Chenxi.
Lu Ji’s coat was warm, carrying his body heat and a faint, unique fragrance.
Zhou Chenxi sniffed and felt the temperature on his body return to normal. He shook his head and said, “I’m not cold.”
Seeing the color returning to his face, Lu Ji finally relaxed and said, “Why didn’t you wait inside? You’ve been waiting out here like a fool.”
Zhou Chenxi didn’t want to admit that he was too impatient and just smiled foolishly at him.
Lu Ji, helpless, asked, “Is there anywhere you’d like to go? My car is parked outside.”
Zhou Chenxi didn’t have any particular place in mind, so Lu Ji took him directly to the hotel he had booked.
He had prepared a birthday gift specifically for Zhou Chenxi.
The hotel was located next to the hot air balloon park. It wasn’t extremely luxurious, but it was a deliberate choice by Lu Ji. When they were recording “Carp,” Zhou Chenxi had a fondness for the hot air balloons in this area and would often gaze at the sky.
The hot air balloon park couldn’t be accessed at night, but Lu Ji had arranged for a hot air balloon to be launched for them.
As the driver headed in the direction of the hot air balloon park, Zhou Chenxi immediately spotted the brightly lit hot air balloons in the night sky. Excitedly, he leaned against the car window and exclaimed, “Wow, Lu Ji! Last time I came, I heard they didn’t open the park at night. Why does it look so beautiful tonight?”
“Yeah,” Lu Ji replied as he watched Zhou Chenxi, “The park was specially opened just for you.”
Zhou Chenxi was in a daze, turned to look at him, and then earnestly turned his gaze back to the window, his eyes reflecting the glow of the hot air balloons, filled with a deep focus.
When they arrived at the hotel, Zhou Chenxi found out that the hot air balloon park wasn’t actually open. Instead, Lu Ji had arranged with the staff to rent the space and had all the hot air balloons launched into the sky for him.
Half of the night sky in the southern city was illuminated, as if giant sky lanterns had been released. Zhou Chenxi was ecstatic, cheering while walking with Lu Ji to the rooftop restaurant of the hotel.
The restaurant had panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows that allowed them to see the night view outside. Although Zhou Chenxi had already eaten, he considerately didn’t make things difficult for Lu Ji and sat down with him at the table.
Lu Ji didn’t place an order immediately; instead, he had a small birthday cake brought to the table. The cake had a candle on it, and as the lights dimmed, Lu Ji said, “Make a wish.”
The server discreetly stepped away, and Zhou Chenxi suddenly realized that he had been absent-minded earlier and couldn’t even remember what he had wished for.
A birthday only came once a year, so he couldn’t waste the opportunity to make a wish. Zhou Chenxi quickly closed his eyes and thought earnestly: “I wish for Lu Ji’s success in his career! I wish for my parents’ good health! I wish for my brother to find his significant other soon! And I wish for everything to go smoothly for myself!”
He bundled himself and all the people he cared about into one wish. Zhou Chenxi was content when he opened his eyes, and he blew out the candle in one breath.
The restaurant’s lights near their corner were turned back on, and Lu Ji asked him, “What did you wish for?”
Of course, he couldn’t reveal that!
Zhou Chenxi smiled and said, “It’s a secret!”
Lu Ji had only eaten an in-flight meal on the plane, so he ordered a simple dinner for himself. Zhou Chenxi watched him finish his meal, and this simple birthday gathering came to an end.
Zhou Chenxi could have stayed in the southern city for a few more days, but he had work commitments ahead, and his brother didn’t have that much time to spend with him.
Originally, his brother had intended to invite all of Zhou Chenxi’s friends over and have a great time when the hotel officially opened, but it seemed that reality was less generous than the ideal scenario. Zhou Chenxi didn’t have many friends he wanted to see; the one he wanted to see the most was Lu Ji.
Now that Lu Ji was here today, Zhou Chenxi had already celebrated the birthday he had envisioned.
As the seconds ticked away, it was almost midnight. Zhou Chenxi asked Lu Ji, “Lu Ji, what do you want as a gift?”
Lu Ji smiled, his eyes crinkling. “Being able to celebrate your birthday with you is the best gift you could give me.”
Zhou Chenxi opened his mouth but couldn’t find the words to respond.
Lu Ji suddenly glanced at Zhou Chenxi’s soft, moist lips and said, “We can put the other matters on hold for now. I’ll ask you for them when the right time comes.”
Zhou Chenxi: “Hmm…”
That was fine too. Since Lu Ji said he had already received the best gift, there was no need for him to make any special efforts!
After midnight, Zhou Chenxi’s actual birthday arrived, and Lu Ji wished him “Happy Birthday” once more before sending him back to the hotel.
Since Lu Ji didn’t have much time, Zhou Chenxi thoughtfully canceled his subsequent plans and decided to return home with his parents and brother the next day.
That evening, after Zhou Mingxuan finished a video conference and remembered that he hadn’t had a chance to celebrate his brother’s birthday properly, he tried to find him. However, after searching around, he was informed by the hotel’s security that “Young Master” had been taken away by Lu Ji several hours ago.
“…” With a sigh, Zhou Mingxuan pinched his finger joints.
That guy Lu Ji, he didn’t even bother to inform him when he arrived in the southern city, and he sneakily took his brother away.
Zhou Mingxuan sighed and decided to let Zhou Chenxi off this time, as it was his rare birthday celebration, and he went back to continue his work at the company.
After returning from the southern city following his birthday, Zhou Chenxi began a busy schedule. He rushed to attend several appointments, including endorsement shoots, media interviews related to “Journey to the Immortal,” and a few variety shows that his friend Zhuang Jingle was participating in. Zhou Chenxi attended them out of loyalty, and Zhuang Jingle was deeply touched, calling him an angel.
In truth, Zhou Chenxi was currently in an awkward phase of his career. He couldn’t accept low-quality scripts, but he also couldn’t secure the highly sought-after roles. As a result, he had to carefully select projects that seemed promising but weren’t too mediocre. He attended the last-minute variety shows to keep busy during this period.
Then one day, Zhi Qi suddenly told him, “A while ago, Cabot’s assistant contacted me. It seems they are interested in having you star in his new movie.”
“What new movie?” Zhou Chenxi’s heart trembled when he heard the name “Cabot” and blurted out, “It’s not ‘Pinnacle Battle,’ is it?!”
Zhi Qi was surprised and said, “How did you know? This news hasn’t reached many people in the industry.”
Zhou Chenxi was quite familiar with it. In “Conquering the Entertainment Industry,” Luo Xinghe had become a star by playing the male lead in this movie. He had won the Best Actor award at the domestic Golden Flower Awards.
Because this film was a joint venture between China and foreign countries, it had also been sent to the J-country’s Rose International Film Festival by Cabot. Luo Xinghe, as a newcomer at the film festival, had won the Best Newcomer award that year.
These two awards were equivalent to a double Grand Slam in the industry.
The Golden Flower Awards were the top film awards in the industry, with a professional jury and a rigorous evaluation process. Moreover, “Pinnacle Battle,” as a joint venture film, had successfully competed at the awards ceremony, allowing Luo Xinghe to stand out among a group of seasoned veterans. It was not an easy feat.
Apart from the luck factor associated with “Conquering the Entertainment Industry,” it also proved that the film was indeed outstanding.
In his spare time, Zhou Chenxi called Lu Ji.
Lately, whenever he lacked confidence in some matters, he tended to chat with Lu Ji.
After hearing what he had to say, Lu Ji responded, ” ‘Pinnacle Battle’? I haven’t seen it, but I’ve heard of it.”
“You haven’t seen it…” Zhou Chenxi felt somewhat disappointed. “I was still hoping that you might be the only person in the world, apart from Luo Xinghe, who has seen this movie, hoping that you could give me some spoilers.”
Lu Ji explained, “At that time, I was overwhelmed with company matters, and I didn’t have time to watch movies. I wasn’t interested in Luo Xinghe’s movies either. Are you considering auditioning for it?”
“Well, I don’t know!” Zhou Chenxi said with a dejected tone. “Director Cabot only contacted Zhi Qi, and I’m not sure what he’s thinking. Maybe he just wanted to inquire. What if he really wants me to audition? Should I go?”
Lu Ji confidently responded, “Why not?”
Zhou Chenxi touched his nose. “What if I’m not as good as Luo Xinghe? What if I fail…”
“You’ve got it,” Lu Ji interrupted, “have a bit more confidence in yourself. You’re not that far behind.”
Zhou Chenxi paused, realizing that Lu Ji actually understood what he was thinking.
For Zhou Chenxi, he had been avoiding facing Luo Xinghe since his rebirth. From initially quitting the “Actor’s Challenge” program, saying he wanted to leave the entertainment industry, to later joining “The Koi,” getting involved with “Immortal Journey,” and Luo Dao’s production crew, it was because he felt those paths were different from the one Luo Xinghe had walked. Maybe by avoiding that storyline, he could find some security.
What if he were to replace Luo Xinghe on the main storyline? What kind of ending would he face? After all, it wasn’t originally his…
Zhou Chenxi thought to himself.
Lu Ji asked him, “Chenxi, why did you stay in the entertainment industry, or why did you decide to audition for my company, participate in ‘The Koi,’ and join ‘Immortal Journey’?”
Zhou Chenxi hesitated for a moment and said, “To turn my life around, to fulfill my dreams, to prove… that destiny can be overcome?”
Lu Ji said, “Don’t hesitate. Yes, that’s right. So what are you worried about?”
Zhou Chenxi murmured.
Lu Ji continued, “Effort may not necessarily lead to success, but without effort, success is impossible.”
Zhou Chenxi was taken aback when Lu Ji suddenly poured him a cup of chicken soup, leaving him stunned.
Lu Ji continued slowly, “You’ve seen the latter part of the story unfold, and you should know that Luo Xinghe didn’t want to eliminate Zhou Xin because of you, and I didn’t want to get rid of the Lu family because of me.”
“We’re not that important, but our mere existence is something he didn’t want to see, or quite the opposite. It was precisely because of your departure and failures that led to Luo Xinghe eliminating the Zhou family first, right?”
Zhou Chenxi’s breath caught in his throat.
In that book, the Zhou family indeed occupies less than half a page, and even the content about my brother is only a few short lines. In this perhaps only a few hundred words of text, the Zhou family’s mansion collapses, my brother’s efforts throughout his life are in vain, my parents’ health deteriorates, and my brother becomes melancholic. There’s no mention of what happens next.
Because it’s already miserable enough, it’s not worth wasting more words on them.
But Zhou Chenxi knows that they are all living beings. He doesn’t want to see this ending, which is why he initially shouted that he didn’t want to try hard and just wanted to avoid Luo Xinghe.
If avoidance isn’t the solution, perhaps he can only protect his family by standing in front of them?
Effort may not guarantee success, but not trying ensures failure.
Liu Ji is right; he can’t afford to lose without a fight. He can’t automatically give up on the competition before even stepping onto the battlefield.
Zhou Chenxi decided, “Alright, I’ll give it a try.”
Liu Ji smiled, “Some people can succeed casually, but for us supporting roles, who hasn’t walked a solid path all the way?”
Liu Ji is really good at cooking chicken soup, no wonder his culinary skills are so good.
Zhou Chenxi finished the bowl of chicken soup, feeling inspired, clenched his fist, and said, “Alright, Liu Ji, just wait for me to bring you back a Best Actor award from the Rose Film Festival!”
Little did he know that when Zhi Qi heard Zhou Chenxi’s lofty ambition, he said strangely, “When did I say that Director Cabot wants you to play the male lead? You’re being too optimistic! He gave you scripts for several supporting roles to choose from, and if you get selected, you still have to audition. This time, it’s not just the domestic Best Actor award; even international actors are eyeing it. Dozens of people will compete for one role. Whether you can secure it is uncertain. What kind of daydream are you having?”
Zhou Chenxi: “…”
The hardest part is not deciding to try hard; it’s realizing that you’ve already failed before you even start.
Liu Ji’s chicken soup isn’t working, Zhou Chenxi thought, maybe I should go for a bowl of poison chicken soup instead!
The author has something to say: Chenxi: The troops haven’t returned victorious yet!
Happy holidays, everyone!
Thanks to “天瀲” and “某琥” for the landmines!
Thanks to “2583866490,” “沐·陌染,” “柚憐,” “一頁書,” and “6769” for the nourishing support!
1TL: YSIAD “You can support me if you like my translations by leaving a comment below, or by sending me a Ko-fi. Thank you ❤️”
