Three Lives and Three Worlds [19]

In the next month, because a big shot moved in next door, the filming for the show went much smoother, and the housing issue was successfully resolved. Although the antis and the four female stars were somewhat disappointed, Chu Run’s fans were all applauding.

In the past, when celebrities went to work in rural areas and got thirsty, they had to fetch water themselves and boil it in a kettle. But when Chu Run got thirsty, there was immediately a glass of refreshing fruit juice served to him.

Whenever Chu Run wanted to eat fruit, plates of freshly cut fruits were brought to him. Even his female co-stars benefited from this. One of them took a bite of the fruit and exclaimed, “Oh my, this cantaloupe is so sweet! It’s the best cantaloupe I’ve ever had in my life.”

A young assistant chimed in, “This is the famous ‘Yubari King Melon’ from Hokkaido, Japan. It’s definitely delicious, and it costs this much for just one.” He gestured with his fingers and named a price, leaving the female artist in awe. “These wealthy people sure know how to enjoy life, and Chu Ge is impressive. He has fans even in such a remote and impoverished place. I planned to lose weight during this rural trip, but I ended up gaining some.”

If it was Chu Run’s turn to cook, and they ran out of ingredients, a child with a basket of vegetables would immediately run over, asking, “Male God, do you want these carrots or this cabbage?”

The others, who had struggled to buy vegetables by bargaining with the villagers, were left speechless.

When Chu Run started cooking with the vegetables, the child would stand by, clapping and saying, “Male God is so amazing; he can even handle cooking. He’s truly outstanding!”

The others couldn’t believe how flattering it was. They had shown off all sorts of cooking skills, but Chu Run received praise just for pouring oil.

If Chu Run was tasked with selling vegetables in the county without transportation, the child would pat the backseat of his tractor and say confidently, “Male God, get in!”

The others weren’t envious at all.

“When will I have such a thoughtful wealthy fan?” a male artist couldn’t hide his envy, wishing he were a pretty girl a bit older. He had only stayed in the mountains for a few days, and his skin had darkened due to the intense summer sun. In contrast, Chu Run, who was pampered by his fan, didn’t have to work in the fields or walk for hours on mountain roads. As a result, his skin remained fair and radiant, as if he had taken a vacation in the countryside.

People really can’t help but compare themselves to others.

When he returned to the capital and lay on his soft bed late at night, Chu Run skillfully unlocked his phone. As expected, he received a text from his little fan. Initially, he had been indifferent to the young fan, but the moment the fan offered to wipe his sweat when he bent over, his heart inexplicably skipped a beat¹.

They exchanged contact information, and almost every night, he received messages from the young fan:

“I really want to swim in your collarbones, slide down your nose, and swing on your eyelashes.”

“Male God, I listened to your new song, it’s super good!”

“Male God, I saw you at today’s event. Every time I see Male God, I have to sigh at Male God’s beauty, which is truly legendary.”

This rainbow-fanatic always said such things. Wasn’t it embarrassing for them both?

Although he said that, Chu Run’s lips curled up slightly. He lazily typed back, “It’s midnight, kid, go to sleep early. Don’t keep playing with your phone.”

The young fan replied instantly, “Okay, goodnight, Male God!”

Chu Run then checked the comments on his new song, and as expected, seven or eight of the top ten hot comments were from his little fan, whose profile picture he recognized.

A faint smile graced his face as he held his phone and read those heartfelt comments several times. He didn’t even notice the curve of his own lips.

At the appointed time, he didn’t need sleeping pills. He closed his eyes in a good mood, knowing that this kind of companionship would last for a decade.

Time passed, and it was time to receive New Year’s red envelopes.

Yin Minglu still received a lot of money. Since it was the Year of the Pig, he also received a pig-shaped savings jar. It might have been a bit tacky in design, but Minglu loved it. He happily stuffed his red envelope money and a year’s worth of game earnings into the pig’s nostrils.

During the New Year, he clung to the piggy bank like a little treasure hunter. He carried it everywhere, even while sleeping, cradling it as if he were hatching eggs. This irritated An Meijun, who couldn’t find a chance to take it away.

Yin Yunqiu couldn’t understand why the child was so obsessed with money. He kissed his son’s forehead and said, “Baby, don’t always hold onto your savings jar. What if you accidentally hurt your foot? All the money in the future belongs to you, so you can spend it however you like.”

Who would have thought that as soon as the child heard it, tears welled up in his eyes, catching Yin Yunqiu off guard.

At that moment, Yin Minglu thought, ‘If the original owner really was from the Yin family, it would have been great, but unfortunately, he’s not.’ Once, he had come close to being abandoned on the streets, begging for food alongside the beggars at the subway station. The beggar he had been with hadn’t bathed for several days, yet when night fell, the beggar was still led away by a larger beggar.

Only he remained alone, with nothing.

“Nothing belongs to me except for the little pig.” He had prepared himself in advance, perhaps for the day he would be kicked out at eighteen, to avoid ending up destitute on the streets. Holding the golden pig, he lowered his head and said in despair, “Dad, Mom doesn’t like me, and I don’t look like you either. I’ve seen many TV dramas where children were switched at birth. Maybe I came from a rock, or maybe the nurse sister switched me. Do you think that’s possible, Dad?”

The child’s words seemed to carry a hint, and tears rolled down one by one. However, Yin Yunqiu’s face grew cold, and for the first time, he didn’t comfort the crying child but said coldly, “Who’s been filling your head with nonsense? You are my child, and you’re not allowed to say such things again in the future. Otherwise, Dad will punish you.”

A chilling light flickered in the man’s eyes, his handsome face covered in frost. His gaze also revealed a hint of coldness, frightening the child holding the pig, who stopped crying, huddled under the blankets throughout the night. The next day, he heard that Yin Yunqiu had unleashed his anger and dismissed several people from the Yin family.

For a while, silence enveloped the Yin family, even the liveliest young master was scolded, and no one dared to cross Mr. Yin’s path. Coincidentally, these people had been very close to the child’s birth mother, An Meijun.

Yin Minglu, who had been scolded by Yin Yunqiu for the first time since arriving at the Yin family, dared not mention this matter again. As for An Meijun, she simply thought her plan had failed, feeling deeply disappointed. She had spent a lot of effort spreading some vague rumors among the servants, hoping to pave the way for her future daughter, but those people were suddenly dismissed.

No one knew that the day after Yin Yunqiu left the hospital, he locked himself in his study for a whole day. When he emerged, he was once again the elegant, aloof, and high-born young master. His attitude towards the child remained as indulgent as ever, even more so, as if he were willing to give the child the moon and the stars.

Even privately, he signed his name on some property transfer agreements.

He thought his idea might be somewhat selfish, but he would keep this secret forever, not letting the child know until he entered his coffin and welcomed death, just so that the child’s innocent face could remain carefree, untainted by any darkness.

“Dad, why haven’t you signed my report card?” A call from his son awakened Yin Yunqiu from his reverie. He realized that twelve years had passed since then, and Minglu was now in high school, attending the best high school in the capital.

He snapped back to reality, and with a deft hand, he signed his name in the parent signature section of the report card. He didn’t bother to read the teacher’s comments; he knew they would be full of praise for his son’s character, intelligence, athleticism, and artistic talents.

Upon hearing the words “report card,” Yin Zhongyuan squinted his eyes and leaned over. He said, “How did my precious nephew do this time? Is he in first place again? Oh, he’s ranked first in the grade again. Well done! You’re even more impressive than your old man; your old man didn’t come first every time.” He thought to himself that his nephew was truly a talented child, smart and capable, and destined for success.

“Of course.” Yin Minglu proudly puffed out his chest. If he was going to be excellent, he had to excel in every aspect. He took a photo of the report card and sent it to his idol, feeling even happier after receiving praise.

“This girl with the last name Jiang isn’t bad either. Although she’s about ten points behind you, she consistently ranks second, which is also impressive.” Yin Zhongyuan pointed to the second-place name, which he remembered well from several of his nephew’s report cards. “This girl has been in the same class as you since primary school, it’s quite a coincidence. Do you remember the slim and pretty girl I saw at your school sports day?”

The reason he remembered was that the girl had been hovering around them during the event, her eyes seeming to have something to say, which he found curious, so he had glanced at her several times.

“Yes, that’s her, quite a coincidence.” Yin Minglu nodded. It was indeed a fortunate twist of fate that someone deliberately sought to be in the same class as him.

He wondered what Jiang Mingqin was thinking. She had intentionally been in the same class as him since primary school, always striving to compete with him. She would participate in any competition he entered, seemingly wanting to surpass him but making it look as if she didn’t have such intentions, as if afraid he would notice.

Yin Minglu didn’t care about it. Whenever he signed up for sports events or math competitions, Jiang Mingqin would back down, knowing that she wasn’t strong in those areas. She would bite her lip, watching him shine at the annual sports day while she could only cheer from the sidelines, relegated to being a cheerleader.

Initially, Yin Minglu had planned to run to school that day, but he realized he was running late, and he didn’t have any change on him. So, he took out his phone and scanned a nearby yellow bike, speeding off toward the school.

He narrowly made it to the classroom on time, where he found his best friend, Zheng Jiangning, known as the “Demon King of the Zheng Family,” sitting confidently in his seat with sunglasses on, and black earphones plugged in.

Yin Minglu playfully pulled down the earphones, revealing foreign news playing inside, “Listening to English, huh? You’re so serious, Ning. This isn’t like you. And what’s with these sunglasses? You’d better take them off; the teacher is coming.”

“Wasn’t the teacher asking for signatures yesterday?” Zheng Jiangning replied with a wry smile, “You, as the first-placer, are undoubtedly safe. When I took my report card home with you as a constant benchmark, my dad immediately got angry. He grabbed a chicken feather duster and threatened to spank me. I saw it was going south fast, so I quickly slipped away. But my dad, that crafty one, clutched his chest and collapsed right then and there. I thought I had stressed him out, so I ran back to help him, only to be caught and given a good beating.”

As he spoke, he couldn’t help but touch the area around his eyes again, letting out a painful cry. The sound was undoubtedly genuine, and Yin Minglu felt a sense of sympathy. He thought that the Yin family wasn’t inclined toward corporal punishment, but perhaps he had performed too well, making him immune to it?

“By the way, what’s up with your hairstyle? Did you ride a shared bike here again today? Quickly comb your hair; it’s too messy. We’ll be participating in the square formation later.” Zheng Jiangning took out a comb from a drawer and handed it to Yin Minglu.

Yin Minglu took it and casually smoothed his disheveled hair before putting it down.

Since entering the classroom, Yin Minglu had been observing Jiang Mingqin. Now, she spoke gently, “Classmate Yin Minglu, isn’t your family very wealthy? Why did you ride a shared bike here?” In reality, she wanted to ask if your dad doesn’t like you anymore, which is why he didn’t arrange transportation for you, forcing you to ride a shared bike. Although it seemed highly unlikely, she just wanted to ask one more question, to speculate and ease her own feelings.

Zheng Jiangning, unaware of their relationship, treated Jiang Mingqin like an ordinary classmate and said, “Ah, you don’t know these damn rich people. The richer they are, the more stingy they become. They have dozens of sports cars in the garage and four or five drivers, but they want to stay fit. So they ride those one-yuan shared bikes around the city moat every day.”

Before he could continue, Yin Minglu gave him a slap on the back of his hand, saying, “Why are you talking nonsense? You’re one of those damn rich people too. Don’t act like you’re not. Besides, we have the school sports day tomorrow, and I’m just warming up in advance.”

As soon as Yin Minglu mentioned the school sports day, the classmates around him immediately gathered, chattering excitedly, “Classmate Yin, we’re counting on you for the 3000 meters tomorrow! Go, run hard! We’ll cheer you on!”

“And the marathon is in your hands too! If you don’t participate, our class won’t have anyone to compete.” The sports committee member added, expressing his gratitude to Yin Minglu. He was fortunate that Yin Minglu had taken on projects that no one in the regular class wanted to participate in, solving one of his biggest problems. Compared to other class sports committee members who had to beg and plead with their ancestors every year to get someone to sign up for events, he was extremely lucky.

“What if I run too slowly in the relay tomorrow?” a timid girl asked, worried that she might drag the class down.

“Don’t worry, Minglu is amazing. As long as you don’t fall down and pass the baton to him, he’ll finish in first place.” Another boy reassured her, giving a thumbs-up to Yin Minglu.

It’s like this again, just like this!

Every time Yin Minglu starts speaking and introduces a topic, he quickly manages to capture the attention of those around him. Everyone gathers around him, causing her to be forgotten, as if she were just an unimportant background character.

Jiang Mingqin pinched her palm discreetly, secretly resenting, “But you only get to shine during the day. At night, it’s my stage! I’m determined to dazzle the entire audience!”

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Author’s Note: Thanks to the little angels who have voted for me or provided nourishing drops!

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