Chapter 179. I Became A Movie Emperor

---

Arc 9: Real World.

---

---

“How about this, you change the negative review, and I’ll send you a box of T, a pack of twelve, how about that?”

Hearing the voice beside him, Chen You raised one foot and left it in mid-air, just as he was about to go over, he saw a young girl pushing a cart walk up to the burly boy in an intimate manner, so he put his foot back down.

Forget it, the school heartthrob has a top-rated store and a beautiful girl now, he should be doing pretty well, so he shouldn’t get involved. Let’s just pretend they never met.

The people and events in the mission world, even if brought into the real world, cannot change anything.

Maybe the school heartthrob isn’t a young, ruthless guy anymore.

Chen You then retrieved fragments of memories from that world. He had stopped seeing the school heartthrob after graduating high school, didn’t go to university, contracted a terrible genetic disease, and spent the rest of his life in a coma or on the verge of falling into a coma. The last time he saw the school heartthrob was on the street.

At the time, Chen You was sitting in the car and saw the school heartthrob and a group of pretty girls shopping through the car window. They passed by the car door without exchanging any words.

Chen You didn’t know what happened after that, including why the school heartthrob was there, and whether he had something in common with Xia Hong that made him come.

Chen You was about to hang up when the person on the other end did so before he could. A tall youngster and a girl were picking out instant noodles, and he could vaguely hear them discussing something very mundane, whether it was more cost-effective to use a cup or a bowl as a gift.

Putting his phone back in his pocket, Chen You turned around and said to the man who had bought him the sausage, “Let’s go, I’ll buy you some milk powder.”

Li Yan took a pack of corn sausages out of the cart and put it back on the shelf, replaced it with a pack of Shuanghui, and added another pack, saying, “I don’t drink powdered milk.”

Chen You held the man’s hand, saying, “You need to drink it. You’re still growing. Drinking powdered milk will help you grow taller.”

Li Yan looked at him, “Grow taller?”

Chen You replied, “Yes, yes, you’re still a child.”

Li Yan said, “I’m not a child!”

Chen You twitched his lips, “Okay, okay, you’re not, I am, I’m a child, I want to drink powdered milk, and I’ll definitely grow taller than you by then.”

Li Yan frowned, “You can’t be taller than me.”

Chen You, “…” What does that mean? Why can’t I be taller than you? You’re shameless.

When they got to the milk powder shelf, Li Yan was very eager to grab the milk powder, skipping over the bagged ones and heading straight for the canned ones. You wouldn’t really tell if he was stupid sometimes.

Chen You quickly stopped the man who was throwing milk powder into the cart, saying, “Okay, two cans are enough. It’s not the end of the world, why are you hoarding this stuff?”

Li Yan’s brows were still furrowed, not relaxed, “I need to drink more so I can grow taller.”

Chen You ignored the two young girls beside him who were giving him suggestive looks. Anyway, he was wearing a mask, so no one could see his face, “Good boy.”

After they left, the two young girls started gossiping. That tall man has such long legs and a great physique, he’s probably a model. The slightly shorter one has such a slender waist, and he even has a tear mole near his eye – so incredibly sexy!

There’s no other way, they stand like this every day, which is tiring and boring, so this is their only source of amusement.

At the instant noodle promotion, Xiao Langgou finally decided to buy two family packs, so that he would have both a bowl and a cup and wouldn’t have to choose one.

He handed the lady’s handbag to the girl, saying, “Zhaodi, you can keep this bag yourself.”

Zhou Zhaodi muttered in disappointment, slung her bag over her slender white wrist, and casually asked, “Senior, who were you talking to on the phone just now? I could hear you getting angry from far away.”

Xiao Langgou pushed the cart around the corner and said, “A buyer, without even mentioning any product issues, just gave me several negative reviews. When I tried to talk to him, I realized that guy was just being a jerk.”

Negative reviews affect the store’s overall rating. If six or seven come in at once, he can’t help but pay attention.

Zhou Zhaodi frowned, “How could there be such a person? That’s too much! Senior, give me the buyer’s contact information. I’ll talk to them properly. Boys will be much less prejudiced against girls that way.”

Xiao Langgou said, “Your voice isn’t soft and cute, it’s useless.”

Zhou Zhaodi, “…”

She sighed, “My dad said it’s because when I was little I loved to snatch his teacup and drink a whole cup of tea at once. That’s why my voice became so hoarse.”

Xiao Langgou said, “Your dad was just trying to comfort you.”

Zhou Zhaodi said, “I know.”

Actually, her voice wasn’t so rough that it sounded like someone from the opposite gender, it’s just that among the four girls in the dorm, three of them had very sweet, delicate voices that would melt anyone’s heart.  Compared to them, her voice sounded relatively rough, giving the impression that she might, at any moment, slam the table, chew betel nut, cross her legs, and sing 《Song of Heroes》.

Without comparison, there is truly no harm done.

Zhou Zhaodi flicked her ponytail behind her shoulder, “So you’re just going to ignore the negative reviews?”

Xiao Langgou glanced at the toy store and pushed the cart inside, “It’s going to be tough. The other party is clearly mentally unstable and wants to get revenge.”

Zhou Zhaodi gave him some advice, “You can call him three times a day, morning, noon and night, or send him a text message. Try to annoy that buyer to death. He won’t be able to stand it anymore, and he’ll definitely…”

Xiao Langgou said, “Complain about me.”

“…” Zhou Zhaodi said probably not, “I bought clothes before and felt that the quality was too poor and not worth the price. I gave two neutral reviews, and that’s how the seller treated me. Later I got annoyed and changed it to a positive review.”

Xiao Langgou raised an eyebrow. He was certain that the kid wouldn’t do that, the other party’s intention to cause trouble was quite obvious.

Zhou Zhaodi said, “Senior, you might have run into a professional critic.”

Xiao Langgou looked at the toys on the shelf. It wasn’t a professional critic. He had checked that account, it belonged to a high-spending buyer, and all the purchase reviews were positive, except for this one.

Seeing the boy holding a teddy bear, Zhou Zhaodi’s eyes flickered, secretly anticipating something.

After a while, the teddy bear was put back next to its friend.

Zhou Zhaodi’s eyes dimmed for a moment, then she perked up and asked, “Senior, what exactly do you sell in your shop? You never tell me whenever I ask.”

Xiao Langgou said it was the man’s item.

Zhou Zhaodi asked if it was related to workout, and said that a relative of hers had a source of supply and might be able to get very low wholesale prices, and asked if he wanted to inquire about it.

Xiao Langgou shook his head. The products he sold were indeed related to workouts, but not just any kind of workouts, they’re for competitive skill. Without one or two special skills, you can’t use them.

Leaving the toy section, Xiao Langgou saw a stall selling trinkets. His gaze lingered on a pink hair clip, frozen in place, unable to look away.

Zhou Zhaodi noticed the boy’s unusual behavior. She looked at the pink hair clip, a girl’s accessory. She hasn’t heard that the other person has a Xiao Meimei.

“This hair clip is so cute, senior, don’t you think?”

Xiao Langgou seemed to snap out of a daze, and said with a forced smile, “It’s alright.”

Zhou Zhaodi took out the hair clip and said with a grin, “How does it look on me? Does it look good?”

Xiao Lang suddenly wanted to smoke. He fumbled in his pocket, found his cigarette pack, but realized the situation wasn’t right, which made him even more irritable, “It’s not suitable. Your skin is dark, wearing pink will only make you look even darker.”

Zhou Zhaodi almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

She pinched the hair clip, but still bought it, she’d wear it even if it didn’t suit her.

Xiao Langgou said she was wasting money.

Zhou Zhaodi smiled. She had never worn a pink dress in her life, let alone a hair clip or even a hair tie. But this time she was determined to buy it and wanted to try more pink things in the future.

Because this person likes it.

Zhou Zhaodi snapped out of her reverie and noticed the boy had stopped and was staring in one direction. She looked over and saw two men buying milk candy, “Senior, do you know them?”

Xiao Langgou said he didn’t know them, but his legs moved uncontrollably, and he took large strides, quickly crossing the corridor.

Zhou Zhaodi realized what was happening and jogged after him.

Chen You was stuffing candy into a bag when he came across a promotional event, he couldn’t forgive himself if he missed it, “Do you see if there’s anything you like to eat?”

Li Yan stared at the person in front of him and said, “Eat a pomelo(YouZi).”

Chen You’s hand, which was reaching for the candy, trembled. It’s just a pomelo. You MF, why the hell are you talking in that tone? My butt is itching now, okay? He cleared his throat, “The fruit section is way up ahead. We’ll go later.”

“Don’t just stand there, hurry up and grab some candy for me, only the milk kind.”

Li Yan’s hands were large, and he held a generous amount of candy. He said seriously, “Eating candy is bad for your teeth.”

“…” Chen You nodded and said he understood, “So I won’t eat too many. I’ll only eat two or three a day. Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.”

Just then, a handsome boy and a beautiful girl came from the left.

Chen You’s eye twitched. It was alright. Even if he took off his mask and showed his face, the school heartthrob wouldn’t know that he was Sheng Xia from another world. Thinking this way, he stopped being nervous.

Xiao Lang stopped to the side, and Zhou Zhaodi, thinking he wanted to buy candy, handed him a bag, saying, “Senior, I think all these kinds are the same price.”

Senior? Chen You slowed down his grabbing of candy. Is the school heartthrob still studying?

That would be truly impressive. While others are still laughing and confused, the school heartthrob is already the owner of a top-rated store, having carved out his own niche in the world of consumer goods.

Xiao Langgou didn’t grab the candy or take the bag, he just kept his head down, his gaze fixed on a pile of milk candies, lost in thought.

Chen You adjusted his black-rimmed glasses. He’d never worn glasses before and it felt really strange, the extra weight on his nose was particularly uncomfortable. He glanced at the school heartthrob out of the corner of his eye, then glanced at him again.

Speaking of which, the current school heartthrob is similar to the one Chen You last saw. The immaturity in his eyes has faded and been replaced by maturity. He’s an even more handsome boy, and he’ll only get better and better.

A moment later, Chen You went to weigh the candy, while Li Yan waited by pushing the cart. He turned his head, and his phoenix eyes, which were exposed, were sharp and flashed with a cold light.

It was an instinctive warning, not allowing anyone to covet its private property.

Xiao Langgou frowned. He had been too suspicious. He hadn’t even seen the person’s face before stupidly running over, and he almost shouted out loud.

That person has a mole at the corner of their eye and is very tall. How could he be a crybaby? That’s impossible.

Zhou Zhaodi sensed sadness from the burly boy. She was taken aback, not understanding what was wrong. Could it be that seeing the candy reminded him of his childhood?

Xiao Langgou bought a large bag of milk candy without saying a word. It weighed more than three pounds and would last a long time.

Zhou Zhaodi pursed her lips, if the situation involved a different boy, she would genuinely think the candy was bought for her.

Meanwhile, Chen You took Li Yan to find his father, and they found him in a section where alcohol was being sold, “Dad, just touch it a couple of times.”

Chen Weidong, who had been craving a drink, had been standing there for a while, “Youyou, this brand of wine is much cheaper than last year. How about we buy a bottle and Dad can just have a taste every day?”

Chen You said no, he couldn’t agree, otherwise once it started, it would be difficult to handle later.

Chen Weidong was unhappy and had other ideas, “Li Yan likes to drink, right? I saw there are quite a few bottles of foreign liquor in the wine cabinet in the living room.”

Chen You answered for Li Yan, “He used to drink it, but now he is not sane and only likes to drink powdered milk.”

“What’s so great about powdered milk? Drinking too much of that stuff will affect brain development.” Chen Weidong said, “How can a man not drink a little alcohol? Listen to me, Li Yan, buy two bottles of this kind and drink a small cup every day. I guarantee you’ll have more energy.”

Chen You focused on the previous sentence, “No, Dad, I became like this because I drank too much powdered milk?”

Chen Weidong said, “That’s not important.”

Chen You rolled his eyes. You can’t keep this charade going anymore, can you? Ai dad, you’re even saying ridiculous things like powdered milk affecting brain development – that’s just unbelievable.

Chen Weidong wanted to start by targeting Li Yan, just trying to benefit from the situation.

Despite his lengthy explanation, Li Yan remained silent. Instead, he looked at Chen You, then shook his head and said, “I won’t buy it.”

It’s obvious who’s in charge.

Chen Weidong’s plan backfired, and his face darkened, “If you’re not going to buy, then leave. What are you still standing here for? Honestly, can’t I even have a drink?”

Chen You comforted him, saying, “Dad, you have to follow the doctor’s instructions and stay healthy so that we can see the day when your wishes come true.”

Chen Weidong snorted, “Your dad, I, only has one wish, to hold a big, fat grandson. Can you conjure one up for your dad?”

Chen You said no.

He thought to himself, unless the little golden snake in his house were to one day transform into a chubby baby.

The father and son returned to the old problem, carrying on the family line and ensuring the legacy of the Chen family. No matter how many times they discussed it, it was useless. Once you embark on the path of homosexuality, there’s no turning back.

Chen You bought a wool sweater, several potted plants, and a soy milk maker, among other odds and ends. He told his father to sit on a chair and wait while he took big tail Li Yan to the toilet. On the way, he drank a bottle of cola and had been holding it in for quite a while, it was about to spill.

This is a very bad habit. Cherish life and stay away from holding pee.

The bathroom floor was wet, dirty, and smelly. Chen You and Li Yan stood side by side in front of the urinals, urinating loudly.

Li Yan looked at Chen You and said, “I want it.”

Chen You shushed, “Bear with it.”

Li Yan’s breathing was heavy, “I can’t bear it anymore.”

Chen You’s eyes widened, “Still have to bear it!”

Damn it, this isn’t home, you can’t just cause trouble anywhere! And you still say you’re not a fool!

The cubicle door opened, and a man rushed out, immediately making a phone call at the doorway, stammering in a shaken voice, “Oh my god, I encountered a real pervert in the restroom…”

Chen You glanced towards the door, dude, you don’t even wash your hands after you poop? Thank you for showing me the ultimate level of water conservation.

When Chen You came out, he ran into the school heartthrob and the junior at the common washbasin. The two were talking about something, and the atmosphere was a bit strange.

After listening for a few sentences, Chen You realized that it was a confession in progress. He glanced at the junior and thought the location she chose was quite unusual, perhaps she had gone to the restroom to relieve herself and clear her head.

Zhou Zhaodi blushed and said, “Senior, as long as you’re not married, I won’t give up!”

Xiao Langgou glanced sideways, “Suit yourself.” He had said all he needed to say. If she is still stubborn, there is nothing he could do.

Zhou Zhaodi bit her lip. She had originally planned to confess her feelings at the university graduation party, but who would have thought that simply chatting with her best friend on WeChat would lead to the other person seeing the content of their conversation?

Today was unexpected, and Zhou Zhaodi was caught off guard and had no choice but to bite the bullet and go along with fate’s arrangement.

“I believe that as time goes on, senior will definitely change his opinion of me.”

Xiao Langgou smiled and shook his head, a hint of pity in his eyes. It was unclear whether he was referring to Zhou Zhaodi or someone else. Silly girl, liking someone doesn’t necessarily lead to anything, sometimes it just ends without a result.

Noticing that someone was watching, Xiao Langgou turned his head, his arrogance turning to astonishment and bewilderment, “You…”

Chen You’s mouth twitched behind his mask. No way, fuck, you can recognize even this?

The next moment, he heard the school heartthrob say, “Dude, there’s a wet patch on your trouser leg, you peed on it, didn’t you?”

Chen You looked down and saw that his trouser leg was indeed wet. MF, Li Yan, that bastard must have peed on it when he wasn’t paying attention. He grabbed the man who was still adjusting his clothes inside and quickly left.

Xiao Langgou was stunned for a while before he came to his senses.

There’s clearly no resemblance, so why is there familiarity…?

On the 18th, the casting for 《The Big Shot》 officially began. Apart from Xia Hong, who was pre-selected, all other roles were chosen from the public, starting with open auditions.

Mr. Zhang didn’t recommend any other actors, he didn’t care, and he didn’t care about profits either, especially after learning that this drama was also related to Li Yan.

Chen You followed the director’s lead in casting, and almost all of the people auditioning were acting students. They were fresh out of school, supported by their dreams, and dared to think and act. Each of them had their own unique characteristics.

The director would ask Chen You for his opinion, and Chen You would just show off, saying things that no one could understand. After all, showing off isn’t illegal.

For the sake of world peace and social harmony, Chen You added two important female roles to the play, one as the female lead and the other as a supporting actress. He couldn’t decide on the female lead, but after hearing from the director that there were a few good girls, he arranged for them to audition again.

When a girl walked onto the stage, Chen You’s eyes widened, recognizing her as the junior of the school heartthrob.

He looked at the information in his hand. The junior was a sophomore in the performing arts department. She could play the erhu, the piano, and ballet. She was very talented. The campus heartthrob should also be studying performing arts. He must be a junior or senior. Why didn’t he sign up with her?

The producer said, “Screenwriter Chen You, Director Wang and I both think Zhou Zhaodi is good. What do you think?”

Who is Zhou Zhaodi? Chen You paused for a moment, then looked at the name on the information and realized that she was the school heartthrob’s junior. What else could he say but to say that she was perfect, “Her appearance and temperament are very suitable.”

Actually, that’s not the case. The character he played, Zhou Yi, was very obsequious and cunning, while Zhou Zhaodi was too innocent, not suitable for a naive college student who hasn’t experienced much of the world.

Chen You rested his chin on his hand, let’s give it a try. Maybe there will be a pleasant surprise.

They couldn’t find a suitable actor for the role of Qin Feng, so Chen You took it on himself. It wasn’t easy for him. He played the perverted Jian Dan, and he also played the boss Qin.

That makes sense, since besides the person himself, he’s the one who knows him best.

More than a month later, all the roles were finalized, and the production team chose an auspicious day to begin filming.

Xia Hong drove a sports car to the film studio, followed by bodyguards, servants, assistants, and agents who carried his luggage to the hotel.

The entourage was very large.

As Xia Hong walked towards the film set, he took off his sunglasses and scanned his surroundings. He watched his former fellow villager talking to the director, occasionally shaking the script, his face full of seriousness. He couldn’t help but sigh, Zhou Yi, Zhou Yi, you always manage to reach heights I can’t.

Fortunately, he wasn’t the type to be jealous, and having experienced the pain of his past life, he understood even more clearly that living his own life well was the most important thing.

There was no air conditioning on set, and Chen You was wearing a thick military overcoat, a black hat, and his neck was tucked into the fur collar. His voice trembled as he spoke. Hu Wei called him to the lounge and handed him a cup of milk tea.

Chen You took a big gulp to warm his stomach and said, “So, can we start working this morning?”

Hu Wei said it was about right, “We’ve contacted the female lead. She said there was a bus accident, but she wasn’t injured and is on her way.”

Chen You breathed a sigh of relief, it was good that no one was hurt.

Zhou Zhaodi didn’t join the crew until the afternoon. She apologized very well, so the staff didn’t make things difficult for her.

Chen You watched from a distance as the girl carried large bags and handed out braised eggs to the staff one by one. He smiled slightly, thinking, not bad. Even though it’s her first time on set, she knows how to treat people well. He misjudged her.

The girl called this Ge and that Jie and quickly became familiar with the people around her. If her acting skills are up to par, she probably won’t do too badly in the future.

Zhou Zhaodi knew that the male lead she was acting opposite was the screenwriter of this drama. He was very young and well-known. All of them in her dormitory had watched 《The Fifth World》 and liked it very much. Now they have developed the habit of watching it while eating.

She bowed politely as she was being led over.

Chen You hummed in agreement, wanting to show off a bit, “Go get ready, the Gold’s scene is being filmed today.”

Zhou Zhaodi thought to herself, this person, who is even younger than her, doesn’t smile much. He looks a bit fierce with his stern expression.

As it turned out, that conjecture was completely overturned after just over an hour.

How this guy is not one to smile, he’s a complete bundle of joy. Even when he’s not speaking, the corners of his eyes are curved upwards, and his smile is incredibly charming. Whenever the atmosphere on set becomes tense, or the director and other crew members start to get frustrated, he can easily lighten the mood with just a few words.

Like the sun, its light dispels darkness.

Xia Hong remained calm. He knew that his fellow villager’s personality had changed drastically once, and he had long since adapted to it.

It’s always better to be optimistic.

Living a life that feels too burdensome makes it hard to even take a step, let alone run. You’ll be slower than others and easily fall far behind.

Chen You craned his neck to look every day, but the school heartthrob never appeared. He tried to find out from Zhou Zhaodi whether she and the school heartthrob had gotten together, but to no avail.

That day, after returning from the mall, Chen You changed all the negative reviews. The school heartthrob contacted him online, saying he had refunded him ten yuan and wished him a happy life and happiness every day.

After that, they had no further contact.

Chen You wanted to buy something so that the school heartthrob could earn some living expenses, but the problem was that the heartthrob’s shop was full of heavy-flavored package, which was really not suitable for him.

Filming for 《The Big Shot》 wrapped up smoothly in less than three months, and the cast and crew went out for a meal after work.

Zhou Zhaodi had drunk too much. She took out her phone to make a call, and several tens of minutes later, a burly boy knocked on the door and entered the private room.

Chen You looked up from the sofa and his eyes met those of the school heartthrob.

Xiao Langgou narrowed his eyes, not walking towards Zhou Zhaodi, but heading towards Chen You.

Chen You leaned back, I’m warning you, don’t come any closer! If you come any closer, I don’t know what I might do.

It was really strange, the lighting in this private room was yellowish and not bright at all. How did the school heartthrob manage to find him? Did he find him by scent?

Xiao Langgou asked in a low voice, enunciating each word clearly, “Who are you?”

Chen You swallowed hard.

An actor nearby joked, “Chen You, is this handsome guy your acquaintance?”

Chen You denied.

Xiao Langgou frowned, “Your name is Chen You?”

Chen You rolled his eyes. Ge is quite famous now, you know. It’s one thing if you don’t recognize my face, but have you never even heard of my name?

Xiao Langgou doesn’t follow celebrities and doesn’t care about people or things in the entertainment industry, so he didn’t know. He was just attracted by a pair of eyes when he entered the room. After that time in the mall, a strange sense of familiarity reappeared.

Perhaps the person he saw at the mall is this one.

Xiao Langgou suddenly took out the mask he had worn when he came over from his pocket and pressed it against Chen You’s face. His expression changed slightly, it was indeed the same person.

Everyone in the private room was dumbfounded.

Chen You raised his foot to kick, “What are you doing?”

Xiao Langgou didn’t dodge and was kicked squarely. He grabbed the foot, his expression indescribably complicated.

Chen You couldn’t break free, so he kept giving Zhou Zhaodi meaningful glances, Junior, what are you daydreaming about? Hurry up and take your senior away.

Perhaps the awkwardness in the private room was too obvious and lasted too long, Zhou Zhaodi finally noticed. She stood up and walked unsteadily over, “Senior, let’s go.”

Xiao Langgou’s eyes remained fixed on Chen You, “You go first.”

Chen You，“……”

Zhou Zhaodi sobered up considerably, but she couldn’t understand this person’s unusual behavior, “Senior, what are you doing?”

Xiao Langgou said, “Come out with me.”

As he spoke, he reached out to pull Chen You, causing the table to be bumped and the drinks on it to collide violently, falling over in all directions.

Chen You was dragged out. When he saw Hu Wei about to call the bodyguards outside the door to come in, he waved his hand to stop him.

In the stairwell at the end of the corridor, the motion-sensor light turned on and off.

Xiao Langgou took out a cigarette case, put a cigarette in his mouth, leaned against the cold wall, and puffed out smoke into the dark void.

Chen You rubbed his wrists, feeling the chill in the corridor.

Taking the cigarette from his lips, Xiao Langgou suddenly spoke, “Sheng Xia.”

Chen You froze, damn it, he didn’t mean to, it was all out of instinct.

Xiao Langgou narrowed his eyes, “Sheng Qing.”

Chen You froze again. Yes, heh, it was instinct again. fuck, he’s completely exposed now.

Xiao Langgou finally read out his own name.

He was still smoking, but his fingers were already trembling, and the cigarette itself was shaking. The ash fell shakily, leaving messy marks on the ground.

The surrounding airflow underwent a dramatic change.

Chen You cursed under his breath. He never thought he would see people from his past in this world. After all, it was a pipe dream. Discovering Xia Hong was unexpected. He had made up his mind not to film the later mission worlds. This was because he didn’t want other people to come here and he didn’t want them to see the work and disrupt their original lives.

Record only audio at most, and save it for himself.

Why did it go wrong again?

Chen You gritted his teeth, convinced that someone was deliberately trying to make him run into people from the mission world.

Could it be the Old 4?

It wasn’t that Chen You had a prejudice against the Old 4, he felt that this person was someone who liked to stir up trouble, and besides this person, he couldn’t think of anyone else who would do such a thing.

Chen You’s thoughts were interrupted by a firm hug. The force of the hug sent his back slamming against the wall, making him want to curse, “Damn you…”

Xiao Langgou said, “It’s good that you’re alive.”

He had no other thoughts, as long as this person was still alive.

Heaven knows what he felt when he learned from Sheng Guang that this person had been dead for many years, and after going through so much trouble, finally stood in front of the tombstone.

Chen You fell silent, the school heartthrob’s voice echoing in his ears, repeating over and over that it was good to be alive.

At this point, there’s no way he can pretend to be stupid anymore, ai.

After catching up, Xiao Langgou was still very emotional and couldn’t calm down. He would probably be in this state for the next week. He never thought he would see this person again. Thank God.

He took out his phone and said, “Give me your number.”

Chen You said, “You have.”

Xiao Langgou was stunned for a moment, “You bought something from my store?”

Chen You hummed in response.

Xiao Langgou suddenly realized something, “Fuck, you wouldn’t happen to be the one who was being a jerk, would you?”

Chen You chuckled, “It’s me.”

Xiao Langgou’s expression changed repeatedly. He swung a fist at Chen You’s shoulder and then hugged him tightly.

Chen You patted him on the back, “Zhou Zhaodi is quite good.”

“This is our reunion across the world, why bring her up?” Xiao Langgou loosened his grip, took a few steps back, and ruffled his hair, “I don’t click with her.”

Chen You rolled his eyes. Was that spark really that important? He never even considered whether he and Li Yan had any chemistry, they simply couldn’t be separated.

Before long, the two of them were smoking cigarettes in the corridor, chatting about things from their high school days, people, their homeroom teacher, pretty girls, the grand scenes, and the little girl sitting in the back.

As they chatted, Xiao Langgou asked Chen You why he hadn’t gone to university to register.

Chen You said that after finishing his last exam, he fainted and was diagnosed with a genetic disease, which made him practically useless. How could he possibly go to school?

Xiao Langgou’s throat tightened. He had suspected this was the reason more than once. Hearing it with his own ears after so many years still made him feel very uncomfortable. No one knew better than him how the little crybaby worked so hard to go from being last in his class to being in the top fifty in the whole school, then into the top twenty, and finally got into a key university.

Chen You said it’s all in the past, it’s okay.

His phone rang in his pocket, it was an exclusive ringtone. Li Yan was calling him home.

Chen You stood up, stubbed out the cigarette he hadn’t finished smoking, and threw it into the trash can, “I’m going back now.”

Xiao Langgou had just checked his phone, and a quick search revealed the news of this person coming out of the closet. He knew that the person now has a partner, who isn’t Sheng Qing, and that he is doing well. The silver ring on his ring finger is still the same one from the photos.

Once downstairs, Xiao Langgou said, “I want to call you ‘Little Fairy’ one more time.”

Chen You glared at him, “Don’t you dare!”

Xiao Lang grinned, “Little fairy.”

He called out the nickname he had given this person back in high school, his smile especially bright, carrying a hint of youthful mischief.

Chen You was so angry he was practically snorting, and said, “Just wait, I’ll show you what I’m made of next time!”

What Xiao Langgou wanted was precisely those two words, “next time“. He unconsciously walked down the steps and chased after him for a while before stopping. Being in the same city as the little crybaby and knowing that he had become a celebrity meant he could have many ways to follow his life. How wonderful!

“Looks like I need to see my teacher and find a group to join.”

Xiao Langgou muttered to himself, the entertainment industry isn’t that big, and there are only so many resources. If I get in, I’ll have the chance to work with that crybaby in the future.

Being good buddies, like in the beginning, is also a good idea.

After the promotional tour for 《The Big Shot》 was over, Xia Hong arranged for the doctor to replace his memories. He gave Chen You a notebook, saying, “This is the life I wrote for myself. The doctor will give me these memories to replace everything in the Gold.”

Chen You opened the notebook, and his eyes were met with penmanship. It was the first time he had realized that Xia Hong’s handwriting was beautiful. It read, My name is Xia Chen, I was born in xxx, I am twenty years old this year, my father is a worker, and my mother is a farmer…

A very ordinary past.

Xia Hong said, “When we meet again, I will be a completely new me.”

Chen You said, “Congratulations.”

Xia Hong smiled. As long as he gritted his teeth and cut off the rotten and smelly flesh, new flesh would slowly grow back, and everything would be different. He felt no regret whatsoever for the rotten flesh, he wished he could set it on fire and burn it to ashes.

Even though he had this idea, Chen You wouldn’t choose to erase his past memories, he was willing to relive them.

On the first day of the release of 《The Big Shot》, Chen You invited his butler, father, and Li Yan to go to the cinema to watch it. He also sent tickets to Zheng Shuai, Wang Yao, and Xiao Langgou. They encouraged others to go to the cinema by posting on WeChat Moments and Weibo.

Chen You then read the online comments, which were better than he had expected.

There’s a saying that makes a lot of sense, when expectations are too high, surprises often follow.

After three weeks in theaters, 《The Big Shot》 has grossed more than Chen You had imagined, becoming a dark horse and firmly holding the top spot.

Hu Wei asked Chen You for a few more scripts, but Chen You said he wouldn’t film them anymore.

“I’ll only make the audio versions of the later ones.”

“Why? We’ve already got such a good script as the first one, we should press our advantage.”

Hu Wei didn’t understand.

Chen You didn’t intend to explain in detail to him.

Hu Wei went to find Lin Fuxing and asked him to tell Chen You about things in the industry. He said that with a good script and an excellent team, they would be invincible.

Lin Fuxing was so busy with blind dates that his head was about to explode. He was being pressured by his family to the point where he was almost ready to go to a bar and randomly pick someone to come out as gay.

“Chen You must have his own reasons for making that decision. Let him be.”

Hu Wei，“……”

If the boss doesn’t care, what can he do?

Because of its unique subject matter, 《The Big Shot》 reflects the dark side of human nature, and the production team was nominated for multiple awards. Zhou Zhaodi was recognized for her first role and was nominated for Best Actress.

Chen You was nominated for Best Screenplay and Best Actor. He was dressed in a suit and tie, with his hair styled in wax, looking quite respectable as he waited to enter the venue, while everyone else was completely bewildered.

Li Yan waited in the car, calling Chen You every now and then.

Chen You became nervous, loosened his tie and said, “Will my idol come? I really want an autograph.”

Hu Wei said, “No.”

Chen You was disappointed, “…Oh.”

Hu Wei took out a piece of paper, “This is the thank-you speech the company prepared for you. Take a look, so you have an idea.

Chen You then unfolded the paper and read aloud, “Thank you to my fans who support me, and thank you to the entire crew of 《The Big Shot》 You made this film a success, and because of you, I have the opportunity to stand here. Thank you.”

He looked down, “At this moment, my heart…” is completely unmoved, and I even feel like laughing.

“Do I really have to say all this?”

Hu Wei said, “This is a template. Although it’s a bit old-fashioned, it won’t go wrong.”

Chen You handed the paper back to Hu Wei, saying, “If I really get lucky and win Best Actor, I’ll have the brain ready, so don’t worry.”

Hu Wei said to himself, I’m really worried.

Chen You saw Hu Wei looking in a certain direction, so he also glanced over and saw Xia Hong, no, it was Xia Chen now.

Xia Chen came with another film crew this time. He walked up to Chen You, smiled and said congratulations, with an elegant demeanor.

Chen You said, “I hope to have the opportunity to cooperate again.”

Xia Chen said he hoped so too, “I’m going over there.”

Chen You watched his departing figure, sighed, and felt it was quite good. He hoped that the school heartthrob could also move on from the past and have a new beginning.

After entering, Chen You sat with Hu Wei, and Zhou Zhaodi sat on his other side.

Being young is wonderful, her face was full of collagen, and she outshines many people in a simple white dress.

Chen You had seen similar award ceremonies before. The hosts would make jokes, the actors would perform, the hosts would create suspense, and the winners would become incoherent and tearful. That was roughly the process.

When it came to Best Actress, the nominated works were presented one by one, followed by the host’s voice.

Zhou Zhaodi didn’t win an award, but she was still very happy because the winner was her idol, and she clapped louder than anyone else.

Chen You twitched his lips, guessing that tomorrow they will write about how she is trying to put on a brave face.

The best actor is right behind the best actress.

The host began to drag his words again, “That is—”

Chen You’s ears were ringing, and he couldn’t hear who the host was calling out. He was pushed to his feet by Hu Wei, and stood dizzily on the stage, his mind completely blank.

I became a movie emperor?

It must be fake. Chen You slapped himself. It hurts so much.

---

---

---

---