Luo Ding had been earning quite a bit lately, and if he liked the place, Gu Yaxing was considering buying the apartment for him. Knowing Luo Ding’s personality, he probably wouldn’t want to move anytime soon. Having visited a few times, Gu Yaxing realized that the apartment’s amenities and security were actually quite good. Despite Luo Ding’s growing fame, he hadn’t been photographed or bothered in his private life yet.
There had been reports of obsessive fans following him home after events, but the building’s security had managed to keep them away.
Gu Yaxing’s biggest concern now was Luo Ding’s safety. With fame came fans, and with fans came haters. Entertainment companies had always struggled with obsessive antis. He had read about incidents where celebrities were slashed with razors by fans or had acid thrown at them during morning jogs. Every time he saw these reports, Gu Yaxing couldn’t help but feel anxious.
He brought some new songs for Luo Ding to review. The new album would be recorded once Luo Ding finished shooting *Blade Warrior III* and the three endorsement commercials. The production team would remain the same as the EP, but for this official album, the company would be putting in even more effort.
He placed another booklet on the coffee table and said, “Take a look at this.”
It was a collection of filming invitations from various production teams, featuring all sorts of roles across both TV and film.
“These are all scheduled to start in April,” Gu Yaxing explained. “The album should be done by March, so you’ll have a month to rest. After that, you’ll need to take on new projects, right? This is just a small selection. We’re still getting more inquiries every day. Given your current popularity, I think it’s time to focus solely on film roles.”
Luo Ding wasn’t interested in the TV offers.
Among the invitations, he noticed a familiar title and gave it a closer look. Gu Yaxing, who had been watching him closely, saw this and leaned in for a glance.
“Ah, *The Assassin*? Oh, I forgot to mention. The production reached out to us before the New Year with a role for you. It’s a good role, but I didn’t think it was realistic, so I didn’t tell you.”
“What do you mean by ‘not realistic’?” Luo Ding had been so busy with work lately that he hadn’t kept up with domestic news. He was often late to hear about industry gossip.
“I didn’t think it was realistic for you to shoot *The Assassin*. They’re offering you the third male lead, and it’s a big-budget film, but there’s been a lot of drama around the project. It’s been in development for ages but still hasn’t started shooting, and there are rumors of tension between the director and lead actor. I figured the negative press wasn’t worth it, so I didn’t mention it.”
“Tension between the director and actor?” Luo Ding was surprised. “Which actor?”
Gu Yaxing’s face lit up with schadenfreude. “Su Shengbai, of course! Who else would be running around with Xu Zhen all the time? Those two are clearly at odds, even though they’re still putting on a front for the media. I happened to see them at the TV station recently. They didn’t speak a word to each other from the moment they left the building until they got into their cars. Su Shengbai’s taken on several other projects lately, so he’s clearly not giving this film his full attention. Something’s definitely going on between them.”
“What about the movie itself?”
“They say it’s still happening. The script’s solid, and Director Xu is doing everything he can to get it made. If it gets made, it’ll definitely be a hit, but there’s no telling if it will actually happen. You don’t need to gamble on this when there are so many safer options.”
Luo Ding absentmindedly stroked the pages of the booklet. There were plenty of great scripts, but none of them really caught his eye. His mind was preoccupied with Gu Yaxing’s words. How had things gotten so complicated in the short time he’d been away from China?
*The Assassin* had an excellent script, full of potential, conflict, and the elements needed for a blockbuster. It was far from being just a commercial film.
In his past life, Luo Ding had taken on the male lead role, hoping it would be his ticket to a major film festival, perhaps even the prestigious Golden Lion Film Festival. The Golden Lion was considered the “father” of all film festivals and was the most authoritative and prestigious. Held every five years, it attracted the best films from around the world. Given the relatively short history of China’s film industry, it had struggled to compete on that level. Though many films and individuals had been nominated over the years, no Chinese film had ever won an award.
It was a source of deep embarrassment for many in the Chinese film industry.
Luo Ding had been nominated for Best Actor at the Golden Lion once, and he had experienced the unique atmosphere of the festival. Though he didn’t win, he had felt immense satisfaction just being there.
Walking the red carpet at such an event was truly an honor. Luo Ding vividly remembered sitting in the audience, watching an actor on stage sobbing as they accepted their award. He had felt nothing but envy. He had longed for the day when he could stand on that stage, representing himself and his country’s cinema.
In this regard, Director Xu Zhen had shared his ambition. *The Assassin* had been in development for years, meticulously crafted with the goal of being a festival contender. Yet now, it seemed on the verge of falling apart.
Luo Ding couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of regret.
******
After dialing Luo Ding’s number once with no answer, Duan Xiubo tried again, only to find the line busy. Assuming Luo Ding was calling him back, he hung up, but when he called again, the line was still busy.
He was perplexed.
Why wasn’t Luo Ding answering his calls?
This question nagged at Duan Xiubo for the rest of the afternoon.
Yu Shaotian had been talking to him, but when he realized he wasn’t getting a response, he looked over to see Duan sitting there with a blank, dazed expression.
“Hey!” Yu Shaotian loudly clinked his cup down on the table, snapping Duan Xiubo out of his thoughts.
“Oh.” Duan sat up straight, trying to act casual. “What were you saying?”
Yu Shaotian sighed, his expression complicated. “Are you serious, or are you just pretending, or do you really not want to have anything to do with Mom?”
Duan Xiubo took a sip of tea. “I don’t know what you mean.” His memories of his mother were vague. When the family split, she chose to take Yu Shaotian with her, and since then, she had had little contact with Duan, who had stayed abroad with their father. Duan didn’t have strong feelings about her.
Still, for a single mother to raise a child and maintain her position as chairman of a major media company was no small feat. Yu Shaotian clearly respected her, describing her as a strong, decisive woman.
Reluctantly accepting that Duan wasn’t just brushing him off, Yu Shaotian returned to the previous topic. “Mom’s fifty-fifth birthday is coming up. What are you going to do? You can’t just pretend you don’t know, right?”
Duan Xiubo had honestly been planning to pretend he didn’t know. He glanced at Yu Shaotian over his tea cup, noting his brother’s disapproving expression. “I don’t think I should go.”
“How can you say that?” Yu Shaotian looked shocked. “Mom has been wanting to see you ever since she found out you came back to China. She’s just too afraid to approach you. Every time I go home, she keeps telling me to take care of you. You really think she’s forgotten about you just because they got divorced? You’re her son, and I’m your brother!”
Duan smiled faintly, not bothering to argue. Emotions weren’t so easily managed. If he’d heard these words when he was ten, he might have been moved to tears, but now he just found them laughable. Was it so hard to arrange a meeting? Was it really so difficult to make a phone call when he was younger? In the end, she simply hadn’t cared enough.
And after more than twenty years without seeing each other, how much affection could there really be, even for a mother and son?
Duan Xiubo had no desire to attend. Seeing her would only remind him of the years he had spent struggling with the loss of parental affection. He wouldn’t feel any joy in the reunion.
Yu Shaotian pressed on. “You’re not getting any younger, and you still don’t have anyone suitable to settle down with. Sure, Dad’s situation isn’t great, but you don’t have to go to the other extreme. He’s found plenty of partners, but you haven’t found even one?”
“Did she ask you to bring this up?” Duan Xiubo asked, raising an eyebrow.
Yu Shaotian’s expression remained unchanged. “Who? You mean Mom?”
“Stop playing word games with me.” Duan found it impossible to call her “Mom.” That role was too distant, yet it still held a sacred place in his heart.
Yu Shaotian grew angry. “She gave birth to you!”
“I don’t want to fight with you.” Duan Xiubo was unfazed by his brother’s anger. Lying back on the sofa, still holding his tea cup, his mind wandered back to Luo Ding’s missed call. “Just answer my question: did she ask you to talk to me?”
Frustrated, Yu Shaotian snapped, “No! Can’t I, as your brother, be concerned about you? And even if Mom did ask, it’s because she cares about you.”
Duan shook his head. “My personal relationships are none of your business. As for the birthday party, I really don’t want to go. It’ll just be awkward for everyone. Why don’t you ask her what gift she wants, and I’ll buy it for you to take back to her?”
“Do you really think she cares about a gift?” Yu Shaotian frowned. “I just don’t get why you’re being so difficult. You’re a grown man, but you’re still acting like a stubborn child.”
Duan asked him, “If Dad invited you to his youngest son’s one-month-old banquet, would you go?”
“His youngest son?” Yu Shaotian was momentarily stunned, but when he saw the mocking look in Duan’s eyes, he replied with conviction, “Of course I would! Why wouldn’t I?”
Alright, clearly not on the same wavelength. There was no point in continuing this conversation.
Duan felt defeated. He had spent the entire afternoon being lectured about his mother’s birthday party, but it felt like being invited to a strange event by a complete stranger. No, not even a stranger—he had once harbored deep resentment toward the woman who had abandoned him after giving birth. In his most rebellious years, he had considered giving up entirely, just to make them regret everything. But he had matured enough to realize that such a decision would only harm himself. That was the only reason he hadn’t gone down that path.
Looking back, Duan now had a clearer understanding of his emotional turmoil.
Would anyone have truly been heartbroken by his self-destruction?
Probably not.
His father would have likely bundled him off to a rehab center for three months to detox from alcohol, drugs, and cigarettes, and his estranged mother would have felt relieved to be rid of such a troublesome child.
So Duan found it hard to comprehend why she now wanted to fulfill her maternal duties so late in life. If she hadn’t wanted a close relationship when he was younger, why not just continue being strangers? What could they possibly talk about when they met? Oh, it’s been over twenty years, you’ve grown so tall. How many wives is your father on now? Do you have any siblings?
What kind of nonsense was that?
Yu Shaotian continued, “Some of the recent news about you has been getting out of hand. I wouldn’t mind you being linked to people like Yuan Bing, but you’ve crossed the line lately. Mom’s been reading the tabloids, you know. On her birthday, why don’t you just sit down with her and clear up any misunderstandings? Put her mind at ease.”
“So it *was* her who asked you to bring this up,” Duan said, giving him a look of disdain. “Can you all just stay out of my business? When those trashy rumors about me and Yan Jingjing came out last week, I wanted to ask you—why didn’t your family’s paper clear it up? You trying to use scandals to push me into marriage? Find me a girlfriend? What’s it to you?”
“You’re my brother!” Yu Shaotian declared, looking completely justified.
“I don’t want to argue with you.” Duan stood up and headed for the door. “We have nothing in common. If you don’t understand, don’t ask.”
His hand was on the door handle, ready to press down, when he turned back to look at Yu Shaotian, who was sitting on the couch, staring at him anxiously.
“I’m definitely not going to the party. I’ll send a gift through Mi Rui in a few days. Stop bringing up her business in front of me, and don’t talk to her about me either.”
As Duan left, Yu Shaotian rubbed his face and slumped onto the sofa, feeling inexplicably frustrated.
Where was all this resentment coming from? Their father had always been wealthy, so Duan couldn’t have lacked food or drink as a child, right? What was wrong with growing up with money to spend? Why, at such a young age, had he chosen to leave home and pursue a career in acting instead of staying under their father’s tutelage? And now, with their mother reaching out to him, he still refused to engage. Yu Shaotian couldn’t understand what was going on in his brother’s head.
Acting was exhausting and didn’t pay nearly as well. Wouldn’t it make more sense to follow their mother’s path, transitioning from in front of the camera to behind the scenes? He could take on an executive role at Triumph Media, or even, after some time, take over their father’s business in Switzerland.
Wasn’t that better than acting?
Thinking back to Duan’s mention of a younger brother, Yu Shaotian’s expression grew serious.
Wait, was their father about to have another child? That wouldn’t be good news for them.
Yu Shaotian had been thinking about strengthening his ties with their family in Switzerland. The Duan family had been moving assets overseas for several generations. Although their branch of the family wasn’t the main one, their ancestors had still managed to establish a decent legacy. Despite their father’s chaotic personal life, he had proven to be quite capable in business, managing to preserve most of the family fortune. His assets were likely even more substantial than those of Triumph Media. Duan Xiubo had been fortunate to grow up under their father’s care, with a silver spoon in his mouth. How could he still be so unsatisfied?
Despite this, Yu Shaotian did admire his brother’s determination to carve out a career on his own at such a young age, without relying on the family’s wealth. He knew that he would never have had the courage to do the same. After the divorce, his mother had focused all her energy on raising him, and Yu Shaotian had grown up with deep respect and admiration for her. He also knew that when the time came, the company would be his to inherit. From a young age, he had prepared himself to be a worthy successor.
But now, with this new potential addition to the family, Yu Shaotian’s concerns about his father’s estate were growing. If another heir entered the picture, Duan’s chances of inheriting the family business would certainly decrease.
Worried about both himself and his brother, Yu Shaotian mulled over the situation before finally deciding to call his mother and give her a heads-up.
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