When Zhuang Hanxue took Jiang Ruoyun under his wing, she was a fresh graduate from the Film Academy.
In those days, without connections or capital, one couldn’t survive in the industry. Her company forced her to attend various dinner parties. Originally confident in her talent, she watched as actresses her age rose to fame with the support of wealthy patrons. She increasingly felt her pride was useless, yet she was reluctant to give herself away carelessly.
If she were to sell herself, she should find a good buyer and negotiate a fair price.
Once, after escaping a dinner party, she was drunk and stumbling. Halfway home, her high heel broke, and she found herself squatting by the roadside, throwing up and crying.
A man approached and asked what was wrong. Thinking he meant to take advantage of her, she angrily threw her shoe at him.
The man yelped, picked up her shoe, and left. After a moment, he returned with a bag and said, “Your shoe’s broken, right? I bought you new ones. Want them? If not, I’ll return them.”
She eyed the man warily.
He chuckled, “Wash your face… What are you afraid of? I won’t touch you. Just put on the shoes and go home.”
“Here, I’ll give you back the broken one too.”
Only then did she realize her makeup was a complete mess, like a ghost, and she felt her face flush with embarrassment.
The man left the shoes and walked away. Already at a distance, he was on the phone. In the quiet night, she could faintly hear Zhuang Hanxue saying, “…I just met this girl, her makeup was a mess. She thought I was trying to pick her up, haha.”
Two days later.
She encountered this man again at a dinner party. It was Zhuang Hanxue, the young master of the Zhuang family. Rumor had it he was both wealthy and naive, making him easy to manipulate.
That day, she wore exquisitely perfect makeup. Mustering her courage, she approached Zhuang Hanxue, mentioning the previous incident. She said tactfully, “Thank you, Zhuang Ershao1二少 -er shao is a term used to address or refer to the second son of a wealthy or influential family., for the shoes the other day. You left so quickly, I’ve been wanting to thank you… Could I get your contact information? I’d like to repay you for the shoes.”
Zhuang Hanxue didn’t recognize her at first. Halfway through her speech, he remembered who she was and looked at her as if seeing a ghost. “Wow, you women really do change faces with makeup!”
His words made her blush again.
In short, she connected with Zhuang Hanxue, gaining money, connections, and resources. This was how she gradually rose to fame.
Looking back, it had been eight years since they broke up.
Later, she heard Zhuang Hanxue had a falling out with his parents and ran away from home. Some said he was too incompetent and was kicked out. She never asked Zhuang Hanxue about it. She also stopped seeing him at various banquets afterward.
But at this moment, she recognized Zhuang Hanxue instantly.
This guy, he looked just the same.
What was he doing here? Stretching his neck and looking around like a monkey. Was he an idiot?
Jiang Ruoyun felt both amused and exasperated.
As luck would have it, when it was her turn to answer audience questions, the host picked Zhuang Hanxue to ask one.
Zhuang Hanxue cheerfully took the microphone, scratched his head, and asked, “Your first Best Supporting Actress nomination was for Director Zhang’s film. After ten years, you’re collaborating again. I think you’ve performed wonderfully. Are you confident about winning Best Actress?”
Jiang Ruoyun was surprised he remembered, feeling conflicted. She cautiously answered, “I’m confident I’ve given my all to interpret this role. Thank you.”
The roadshow was brief, ending after just twenty minutes.
As people dispersed, Zhuang Hanxue saw a group of fans surrounding her for autographs. He left directly, planning to use the restroom before the next film.
In the bathroom, he ran into Director Zhang.
They stood side by side at the urinals.
Director Zhang greeted him, “Zhuang Shao, it’s been a while.”
It had been years since Zhuang Hanxue had received such flattery. He felt both honored and at ease. He smiled sheepishly, “I’m no longer a young master. I’m now just an unemployed idler.”
Director Zhang smoothly replied, “Don’t say that. If it weren’t for your investment in my film back then, I wouldn’t be where I am today, right?”
Zhuang Hanxue thought it fitting for a successful person to be so tactful, not kicking a man when he’s down. If he were still the Zhuang family’s young master, he’d invest another hundred million just for the thrill. But Zhuang Hanxue was self-aware; he knew his current status. He took the compliment lightly, smiling back, “Haha, you’re too kind. It was your excellent directing. I hope the film is a huge success.”
With that, Zhuang Hanxue left.
He returned to the lobby.
Buying another bucket of popcorn and a bottle of cola.
Waiting for the next film to start, continuing to kill time.
As he waited, he received a new WeChat message.
Jiang Ruoyun messaged him: [Why didn’t you let me know you were coming to my roadshow?]
Even though they had broken up, they maintained a friendly relationship, keeping each other’s contact information. They only exchanged greetings during holidays, rarely communicating otherwise.
Zhuang Hanxue munched on his popcorn and replied: [I didn’t know you were doing a roadshow. I happened to run into it, and I figured I might as well watch it.]
Jiang Ruoyun: [[Speechless.gif] Long time no see. How did you end up like this? What have you been doing since you left home? It’s a workday, yet you’re out watching movies?]
Zhuang Hanxue crunched his popcorn: [Not working. I’m living off soft rice2Based on this: 硬饭吃多了，想尝尝吃软饭 (yìng fàn chī duō le, xiǎng cháng cháng chī ruǎn fàn) = having eaten too much hard rice, wanting to try eating soft rice. Metaphorically, this phrase is often used to describe someone, typically a man, who wishes to live off the wealth or earnings of another, usually a woman, rather than working hard to support themselves..]
After several minutes, Jiang Ruoyun responded: [As expected of you]
[Hehe.jpg]
[Your current woman must really spoil you]
[At your age, you can still find women to keep you?]
[It’s rare to see you. Who knows when we’ll meet next? Would you like to grab dinner together tonight? My treat!]
Hmm? Jiang Ruoyun inviting him to dinner?
Zhuang Hanxue paused reaching for popcorn.
He didn’t want to go. He didn’t need the free meal, and dining with a famous actress seemed troublesome. He didn’t want to be in the news.
But he remembered something and replied: [Can I bring my boyfriend?]
***
At lunch, Qiu Zheyan ate with several company employees.
Someone asked, “Xiao Laoban3老板 (lǎo bǎn) – boss, that friend you brought last time…”
Qiu Zheyan felt a sense of foreboding. “What about my friend?”
“That Mr. Zhuang, I wanted to ask about his situation…”
“He told me he doesn’t work, that he’s kept by someone. Was he joking?”
Qiu Zheyan chuckled, “Not exactly, but he really doesn’t work or have a job.”
“Why? You interested in him?”
The girls chimed in:
“Mr. Zhuang is handsome.”
“It’s really enjoyable to talk to him.”
“He knows how to charm women.”
“Yeah, he’s very gentlemanly and doesn’t act all touchy or lewd.”
“Though he can be a bit frivolous, he’s gentle with everyone.”
Gentle, gentle.
‘Gentle’ truly is the most ambiguous adjective in the world. Is it considerate, polite, or weak? It’s hard to distinguish.
How little they knew about that lazy bum.
Qiu Zheyan wanted to blurt out: Don’t judge by appearances! Don’t fall for him just because he can sing, do magic tricks, and make people happy. He has a ton of flaws – he loves to smoke, enjoys drinking, gets so absorbed in gaming that he loses track of time, is picky with food, often starts things but doesn’t finish them, is too lazy to turn his clothes the right way when doing laundry, and spends his days eating and sleeping…
If you knew Zhuang Hanxue was like this, would you still like him?
You certainly wouldn’t!
But I would!
…These thoughts could only remain unspoken.
He didn’t want to reveal this yet, not before Zhuang Hanxue was willing to accept his proposal.
Qiu Zheyan smiled disingenuously and said, “He has a girlfriend. They’re very happy together, so don’t think too much about it.”
“Xiao Laoban, what are you saying? I was just asking casually; I didn’t mean anything by it.”
“Yeah, I already have a boyfriend.”
“But I wish my boyfriend was as fun as Mr. Zhuang.”
“I bet his girlfriend is rich. Being a sugar momma must be nice. If I were rich, I’d keep a young hottie too.”
Tsk tsk.
Women these days are quite frightening.
Qiu Zheyan returned to work.
He received a text from his senior, Sun Ling: [Are you busy lately? It’s my younger son’s birthday next week. Come over for a meal!]
Sun Ling was his university senior who had started a business with him, earning their first bucket of gold together. Though they later founded separate companies due to differing visions, they remained close friends, and their enterprises still had mutual guarantees.
Qiu Zheyan agreed without hesitation: [Sure.]
His senior enthusiastically replied: [Do you have a partner now? Your sister-in-law still wants to set you up. Her cousin’s classmate has a friend who’s also single like you, with good education and looks.]
Qiu Zheyan awkwardly responded: [I have a boyfriend now.]
Senior: [Surprised.jpg]
[When did this happen? I had no idea…]
[You should bring your partner to dinner too.]
Qiu Zheyan: [Thanks, Shixiong4师兄 (shī xiōng) – senior male fellow student or apprentice / son (older than oneself) of one’s teacher. I’ll ask if he wants to come.]
Qiu Zheyan opened Zhuang Hanxue’s chat.
Zhuang Hanxue’s avatar was Crayon Shin-chan, his was Kazama. Zhuang Hanxue said these were couple avatars, so be it.
Qiu Zheyan had typed half a message when Zhuang Hanxue suddenly sent: [Jiang Ruoyun wants to treat me to dinner tonight. Didn’t you want to discuss some collaboration with her last time? I asked if I could bring you along, and she agreed. Want to come?]
Qiu Zheyan nearly spat out his drink.
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