Chapter 8: Passionate Youth
Lin Zhile went to fetch his invitation letter, leaving only Caroline and Gu Jingxiu here.
Caroline tugged at the stiff corners of her mouth and said, “I didn’t expect you two to get along quite well.”
The two of them had known each other since their humble beginnings in the entertainment industry. Gu Jingxiu knew Caroline’s personality—profits came first, and she had many methods up her sleeve, but she wasn’t completely devoid of human warmth.
Which was why they had continued cooperating until now.
Gu Jingxiu glanced in the direction of upstairs and said faintly, “An ordinary university sophomore with no bad habits who doesn’t cause trouble.”
Gu Jingxiu paused for a moment, thinking in his heart, He’s very obedient.
“He’ll leave once the program finishes recording. It’s not like he’s a permanent resident. There doesn’t seem to be any reason we shouldn’t get along.”
Gu Jingxiu also gestured for Caroline to look at the painting on the dining room wall: “A piece by a famous artist. He gifted it.”
Caroline fell silent.
The roasted aroma of coffee beans faintly wafted over from the living room.
Gu Jingxiu absentmindedly pierced a steamed dumpling with his fork: “He seems a little afraid of you. Did something happen that I don’t know about?”
Caroline stroked her hair: “…What could have happened? I merely did what I was supposed to do; it’s not like I ate him.”
Gu Jingxiu’s hand paused, a slight chill entering his gaze.
Caroline knew she had committed a major taboo.
Gu Jingxiu hated it the most when others arranged his affairs without authorization.
“To prevent you from being put in a difficult position caught in the middle by Ms. Lin,” Caroline’s palms were sweating. “I sacrificed myself to play the bad guy, but it was all in consideration of the company and your interests.”
Gu Jingxiu put down his fork, the cold silver cutlery letting out a ding.
The atmosphere in the dining room instantly froze over.
“I’m ready~” The one who broke the deadlock was actually Lin Zhile.
He came downstairs, carrying a bag in his hand.
Inside were his invitation letter and his musical instruments.
Lin Zhile said to Caroline, “Sorry for the trouble of sending me off, Jiejie!”
Gu Jingxiu’s expression instantly smoothed out the moment Lin Zhile arrived. Caroline shot up from her seat: “Ready? Then let’s go.”
She was wishing for nothing more than to be ‘troubled’ right now.
Lin Zhile said okay, then turned his head to say bye-bye to Gu Jingxiu and Jin-jie.
The production crew’s recording studio was in the city center, making the journey somewhat long.
Upon arriving at the location, Lin Zhile sent a message to the executive director. The man told him to wait a moment and that he would send an assistant over.
Caroline had likely been preoccupied along the way, as she hadn’t said a word. Lin Zhile told her that someone was coming to pick him up and asked if she wanted to head back first.
She turned her head and glanced at Lin Zhile.
She was Gu Jingxiu’s manager; there seemed to be no need for her to tag along and look after Lin Zhile. But right now, thinking of that agreement, a few extra pangs of guilt sprouted in her heart.
Furthermore, she harbored some other thoughts.
Later on, if Gu Jingxiu found out and started settling scores, she hoped Lin Zhile could help put in a few good words for her.
Therefore, Caroline said very seriously, “No, I need to see you walk in with my own eyes to be at ease.”
Lin Zhile: “…”
So this persona of being incapable of taking care of himself was never going to collapse, was it!
Who knew that upon waiting, thirty minutes would pass, and still no one had come to receive him.
Perhaps sensing that Lin Zhile’s mood was so-so, Caroline started chatting with him on and off, talking about trivial things like food and the weather.
Occasionally, staff members would walk past outside the building. Lin Zhile rested his chin on his hand, looking outside. Suddenly, he thought to himself, his Ge probably wouldn’t endure letting others leave him out in the cold on the bench, right?
The answer to this question wasn’t very difficult to obtain either; after all, an insider was sitting right in front.
“Him?” Hearing this question, Caroline snapped the lid of her foundation shut. Her delicate eyebrows quirked up, and her tone was hard to describe: “Don’t you go learning from him. If he didn’t act, he’d have to go home and inherit tens of billions in family assets. Who would dare leave him on the bench?”
“It’s already a blessing if he doesn’t give others attitude.”
Lin Zhile: “…That’s true, haha.”
“However,” she sharply changed the subject, “when it comes to wealthy and powerful people, everyone either fears them or flatters them. Respect, on the other hand, must be earned through strength.”
“Other wealthy young masters might get mocked, but no one dares to tell Gu Jingxiu that he’s no good.”
Because even if you stripped away his background, Gu Jingxiu was still an incredibly outstanding actor.
Even though being an actor was merely where his interests lay, he was talented, willing to work hard, and even dared to risk his life.
“Risk his life?” Lin Zhile caught a key phrase and pressed for details.
Caroline tilted her head slightly, her expression plunging into reminiscence: “I remember he wasn’t much older than you are now. He took on a role as a race car driver. He rarely uses stunt doubles; he’ll only use them if there’s something he truly can’t do, or if the desired effect can’t be achieved with him doing it himself.”
“Halfway through that shoot, there was a car accident. He broke three ribs, and one almost punctured his lung.”
“And guess what happened? He lay in a hospital bed for a month and a half, and the moment he was healed, he resumed work.”
“His physical constitution really is that good. It’s just that on the day he returned to work, the director was scared half to death. He called me over a dozen times asking, ‘Is he really okay? Is the Gu family really not going to bring a dozen hitmen over to find me? Will I be found floating in the moat tomorrow?'”
“I told him it was fine, that the Gu family are all very reasonable people. If he was meant to float, he would’ve been floating a long time ago.”
Caroline’s tone was very lighthearted, like she was cracking a joke, and Lin Zhile played along by curling the corners of his lips.
Speaking of this, Caroline grabbed her phone from the side and showed him some photos.
They were all records of that accident.
Lin Zhile took the phone and carefully swiped through them.
Then he noticed that the newly debuted Gu Jingxiu was very different from how he was now.
In the photos, he was wearing a racing suit. It was red, just as passionate as his expression and aura, making him look very wild and ostentatious.
Not at all like the cold and mature person he was now.
The earlier photos were still quite normal, but swiping to the end, they became somewhat shocking to the eye.
The car was flipped over, the front crushed inward, and Gu Jingxiu was being carried on a stretcher.
Even though time had already passed, Lin Zhile’s expression still tightened involuntarily.
One photo in particular caught his attention. Gu Jingxiu was lying on the stretcher, the people surrounding him looking panicked and anxious, his red racing suit stained with mottled patches of blood.
Yet Gu Jingxiu, occupying the center of the frame, was actually smiling calmly at the camera, even throwing up a peace sign.
His life force was so vigorous and powerful; not even death could make him bow his head.
Caroline said, “He was still grinning right then. The moment this photo was snapped, he instantly passed out cold.”
Lin Zhile licked his dry lips and said slowly, “Can you forward a copy of this one to me?”
The moment he finished speaking, he suddenly remembered that they had signed a privacy agreement, and this kind of action was not allowed.
However, upon hearing his words clearly, Caroline surprisingly said, “Sure.”
After sending the photo, the two of them saw a Maserati drive up in the rearview mirror.
A young man around the same age as Lin Zhile stepped out of the car. He had makeup on his face and wore luxurious clothing, looking quite handsome and refined.
He had two people who looked like bodyguards by his side, protecting him in the middle all the way.
At that moment, a woman quickly walked out of the building. With a name badge hanging on her chest, she beamed as she welcomed the person inside.
Caroline suddenly said to Lin Zhile, “Once you go inside, don’t just answer whatever people ask you. You need to think carefully before replying, understood?”
“Will they ask very sharp questions?” Hearing her specifically bring this up, Lin Zhile also grew serious.
Caroline stated, “Not necessarily. The fear is that they’ll maliciously edit your words. Don’t answer sensitive questions, or you can change the subject.”
“Also, if they say they have a ‘better arrangement’ for you, you need to be careful. Pies don’t just fall from the sky; only sacrificial scripts do.”
The expression on Lin Zhile’s face began to turn complicated.
Seeing that he seemed to be frightened, Caroline stopped.
A short while later, that woman appeared again. Probably finally remembering that there was someone named Lin Zhile as well, she walked straight toward their car.
It turned out she was that assistant.
Gu Jingxiu had Caroline come along to do more than just act as a driver.
Seeing the person about to reach the car, Caroline told Lin Zhile not to answer. She got out of the car first, walked around to the back seat, and opened the door.
The female assistant didn’t recognize Caroline. Upon seeing Lin Zhile’s face clearly, she froze.
Didn’t they say he was a complete amateur?
But she quickly reacted, a thirty-percent smile already forming on her face: “You must be Xiao Lin-laoshi, right? I’m so sorry to keep you waiting this long, it’s just too busy inside!”
Whether it was busy or not, everyone knew perfectly well in their hearts. The smile on Lin Zhile’s face was slightly cold: “It’s fine.”
“Ah, okay, I’ll take you inside.”
Caroline patted Lin Zhile on the shoulder: “Call me if anything comes up.”
Then she watched him walk inside.
Finally entering the recording building and handing over his invitation letter, the female assistant gave him an ID card. His number was 42.
The female assistant looked very busy, replying to messages the entire way. Afterwards, she arranged for him to go into a makeup room, handed him over to a makeup artist, and left.
The makeup artist was a man. Currently leaning against the side with his pinky raised while playing on his phone, he gave a perfunctory “Mm.”
Lin Zhile debated whether he should say hello or something, but the other party didn’t seem to want to respond to him.
After about ten minutes, the makeup artist put down his phone, preparing to get to work. He covered his mouth with one hand and let out a ya—A handsome young man was sitting upright in the mirror. His phoenix eyes were slightly shut, exuding a cold and noble aura, looking exactly like someone out of a painting.
That yawn of his was forcefully shoved right back into his mouth.
“Oh my, I just had some urgent matters I hadn’t finished handling, so I only just saw you. My name is Zhang Ran, I’m your makeup artist. What’s your name?”
Lin Zhile gently pushed away the hand attempting to rest on his shoulder, pointing at the ID card pinned to his chest: “You can call me Number 42.”
“Uh, hehe…” The makeup artist sensed his resistance, his smile slipping a bit. “Alright, then Teacher 42, let’s begin.”
While applying makeup, the makeup artist kept trying to chat and get close to Lin Zhile.
He praised his good skin and how he didn’t have acne, making it a bit exhausting for Lin Zhile to fend him off.
Just then, another person walked into the makeup room.
It was a boy with dark skin and a buzz cut, his aura making him look like he was into hip-hop.
In the makeup room, only the seat next to Lin Zhile was empty. The hip-hop bro walked straight over and sat down looking very cool.
Lin Zhile was just wondering if greeting a hip-hop guy required a “hi man~” when he saw the hip-hop bro look over at him. His eyes lit up, and he tilted his head back coolly:
“hi man~”
“Do you know where the cafeteria is? I’m so hungry!”
Lin Zhile: “…I don’t know.”
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