“I…..” Shen Yu picked up the microphone and looked with a lost expression at his agent who was standing under the stage.

This question was not in the script given by Wen Shijin. He didn’t know how to answer.

Wen Shijin frowned and looked at the host on stage.

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The host had plenty of experience. When he heard this kind of question, he knew that Shen Yu must have offended someone. Someone had deliberately bribed the reporter to ask this kind of question.

But with Shen Yu’s way of speaking, it was not surprising that people would be offended by him.

But as it was the launch press conference of “Black and White”, the host couldn’t let the reporter take the lead——even though he really wanted to listen to gossip.

“This question has nothing to do with the film. We hope that when you ask questions, please remember to ask questions that are related to the film and crew.” The host said with exasperation and called on the next reporter directly.

Unexpectedly, the next reporter also wanted to ask Shen Yu: “Mr. Shen, since your debut, you have been criticized for using a lot of stand-ins during filming. I heard that you are very close to the film king Yan Sheng who even taught you how to act in private. So this time in “Black and White”, will you still use a lot of stand-ins?”

Damn, this question contained a lot of information! The host looked subtly at the reporter who asked the question, and even though Wen Shijin’s eyebrows were twisted into knots, he didn’t open his mouth any more. Because this question was indeed related to the crew no matter what.

Fortunately, there were similar questions in the question outline prepared by Wen Shijin for Shen Yu.

Shen Yu replied obediently: “Actually, stand-ins are also part of filming. Actors are not all-rounders. In order to ensure that the action scenes or scenes related to specialized skills could be filmed without problem, and look more attractive and more convincing, proper use of stand-ins is also not a problem. But when filming “Black and White”, I will try my best to do all the scenes myself. I also experienced life in the police academy before, and I hope my experience will allow me to play the role of Yan Yu better.”

Shen Yu’s answer was quite proper and conservative. Anyone with a discerning eye would know that Shen Yu’s answer was memorized in advance. However, this situation was also very common in the entertainment industry. Many management companies were very strict in the management of their artists, and did not allow artists to speak casually in public to prevent an image collapse or a loose tongue that may cause trouble.

Shen Yu was the young master of the Shen family, and the film and television company opened by the Shen family was dedicated to serving Shen Yu. Logically speaking, Shen Yu should be the leader of the entire management team. But Shen Yu had to listen to Wen Shijin’s about how he spoke and acted. Every word and deed had to be written in advance by the management team. This kind of puppet-like control towards an artist’s life was of course dismissed by more rebellious people. But in the eyes of parents or certain people, it was seen as quite obedient and lovable.

So much so that after the press conference, Shen Yu gained the love of many elderly fans with his well-behaved and submissive image. Many family members took Shen Yu as a positive example to teach their children to be good and obedient to their parents and teachers. So many children turned against Shen Yulu because of this——all children, without exception, would hate being compared to other children especially if they were the ones to come up short.

Of course, after seeing this interview, there were more girls who had their hearts melted by Shen Yu’s cute and docile image. A self-proclaimed mama fan of Shen Yu even established a fan club for Shen Yu’s mama fans on the Internet, referring to Shen Yu as “Our Baby”. Some of these fans were Koreans, so they were full of passion and their combat effectiveness was outstanding. Every time when it came to fight for their idol, they would jump at the front, and as a result attracted a lot of antis for Shen Yu.

For example, during filming, they would always be criticizing Tao Mu and film king Yan Sheng. The reasons for bashing Tao Mu were always the same old things, always complaining about Tao Mu’s cold rejection of Shen Yu, not giving Our Baby face or whatever. They would only quiet down for at least a while after being ridiculed by Tao Mu’s fans. But their reason for criticizing Yan Sheng was a bit funny.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that in the entire “Black and White” crew, only Yan Sheng treated Shen Yu the best. He would often take care of Shen Yu’s daily life, and when filming, he would teach Shen Yu how to act. And in order to make Shen Yu happy, he would even take Shen Yu to tour Hong Kong sights at night after work.

He had already gone to such an extent, but Shen Yu’s mama fans still thought that Yan Sheng did not take good care of Shen Yu. They criticized Yan Sheng for wanting to use the opportunity of pleasing Shen Yu to get close to the Shen family, yet couldn’t manage to do it right. It looked totally fake. They also criticized Yan Sheng’s poor acting skills, that there was something shady about his winning of the awards and it was all thanks to his powerful PR team. Although he was also a film king, he was far from heavenly king Zhou’s level.

Yan Sheng’s fans were so angry that they began scolding Shen Yu’s fans on the three platforms, FlyNews, Tieba and Weibo. It was clear that Yan Sheng’s star position was much larger, and the status of the Yan family was not at all lacking when compared to the Shen family. But it was because the Yan family had always been low-profile and ran in political circles, while the Shen family was in business and was especially showy recently. Therefore, it ended up with Yan Sheng being mocked by Shen Yu’s brain-dead fans for deliberately trying to gain popularity using Shen Yu.

Yan Sheng debuted at the age of twenty. At that time, the domestic entertainment industry was not yet developed. Especially in the mainland entertainment industry, there were more professional actors than stars and celebrities. Many audiences purely liked the character being acted and not the actor who played the character. And the main job of the actor was also to film. There was very little hype outside of filming. Even if there was hype, it would not turn into bloody storms like it did in Hong Kong, Taiwan or South Korea. It definitely did not reach the level of fans fighting in groups right out on the streets.

Because the big environment was like this——the older generation of actors were accustomed to low-key filming and separated their private life from work. And especially disliked people who like to sensationalize things. Therefore, since his debut, Yan Sheng had always been the image of a humble person with superb acting skills. He was very popular in the entertainment industry, liked to get on harmoniously with the senior actors, and preferred to help newcomers. As a result, although Yan Sheng had a large fan base, they were relatively Zen. There were not too many fans among them who liked to stir up drama, but there were many elite fans who could afford to support their idol monetarily. For example, when Yan Sheng’s new movie was released, they would buy out all the seats at a single movie theater screening, and when Yan Sheng signed a new endorsement, they would buy an entire series or something.

But when it came to the combat effectiveness of scolding people on the Internet, it was estimated that it was not at all comparable to the hot-blooded loli fans in Shen Yu’s fan circle.

So it emerged that even though Yan Sheng was clearly the film king——and since his debut, he has made countless films and built up a good reputation, winning awards by the handfuls——but he was beaten by Shen Yu’s fans during online verbal fights.

The scolding battle between the two was carried out on Tieba, FlyNews and Weibo. FlyNews had a relatively high presence recently and in order to compete with FlyNews, Tieba and Weibi had been trying to attract the attention of netizens when they finally came across such an opportunity and so naturally would not miss it for the world. Although it did not reach the level where they stepped forward and stirred up drama outright, they did help fuel the flames while hiding behind the scenes. In the end, even though it was clearly just a scolding feud of a small number of extreme fans of the two fan circles, it ended up being pushed to the top of the homepage where all the public could see. So much so that other fans and melon eating netizens were also attracted, and finally even the print media and TV media began to pay attention to this scolding war.

They even wrote a lot of follow-up reports, to the effect of discussing the difference between traditional actors and idol stars, and between A-list actors and idol stars which had more influence on audiences and fans.

Yan Sheng, as the model used in the argument, would be pulled into the discussion from time to time to be ‘publicly executed’.

As an A-list superstar and two time film king, his face was practically stripped away.

But it was not like he could blame Shen Yu. After all, it wasn’t Shen Yu who scolded him. Moreover, after Shen Yu knew the actions of his brain-dead fans, he ran over and apologized tearfully to Yan Sheng. The innocent and delicate looking young man practically cried himself out of breath, the pitiful image of which made people who didn’t know the truth almost misunderstand that Shen Yu was the one bullied by Yan Sheng’s fans. Instead, it was Yan Sheng, the one that had been terribly scolded online by fans, who ended up gently coaxing the other.

Truly, it made Yan Sheng enjoy the bitter fruit of “idols don’t need to pay for the behavior of their fans”.

Many people were amazed by this. The combat effectiveness of Shen Yu’s fans was indeed really superb. If they were in Yan Sheng’s place, it was estimated that they would also be hanged and beaten bloody. The only ones who could fight back were probably heavenly king Zhou’s fans and those fans of Tao Mu’s who specialized in verbal battles.

“The world has really changed!” During the filming interval, everyone was still sighing about it in between chatting.

“There are also fan fights in Hong Kong. However, in most cases, it was the fans of the stars of the same status who ended up getting into fights. For example, the fans of two certain heavenly kings in the music circle would fight every time they held fan meetings. There were also fans being suicidal when their idols made their relationship status public.” When Luo Daming said this, he looked at Zhou Yanqing with a smirk.

Zhou Yanqing waved his hand with a wry smile: “It’s not a glorious thing. Please don’t mention it.”

“What Ah Ming means is that as a star, it is inevitable to encounter some extreme fans. But smart folks will teach their fans what to do and what not to do, so there will be no big trouble.” Wang Jinsheng glanced in Shen Yu’s direction casually. It was a pity that some people couldn’t figure that out themselves, so it was no wonder their fans were so annoying and hateful.

Yan Sheng was a humble person and always liked to make friends with people. Everyone here has had the opportunity to cooperate before, so these big name actors have a good impression of Yan Sheng. Now seeing Yan Sheng being scolded so badly by the fans of an idol star who just debuted, everyone couldn’t bear it.

Fang Ruoti sneered: “I really didn’t expect that the fans of a young newbie who had just debuted for less than a year would have quite the fighting power.”

Fang Ruoti has had a grudge against Shen Yu ever since he mentioned her old age. Even if Wen Shijin apologized in place of Shen Yu later, Fang Ruoti couldn’t let it go. But due to the attitude of the Shen family, Fang Ruoti could not target Shen Yu too obviously. Though she did instigate the reporter to make things difficult for Shen Yu at the press conference earlier. That question that asked Shen Yu if he intended to find his biological mother in the question-and-answer session was what Fang Ruoti had the reporter ask. Because it did not go overboard, even those who guessed Fang Ruoti’s actions didn’t say anything.

Wen Shijin later investigated the reporter, whose magazine was originally a famous gossip tabloid. They loved to report on the privacy of some celebrities to attract readers’ attention. But Hong Kong paparazzi were generally of this sort. Although Wen Shijin was a top-tier agent, most of his contacts were in the mainland, and Hong Kong was also unfamiliar to him. In the end, after checking and searching, he couldn’t find any result, and could only swallow the insult.

Fang Ruoti vented her anger. But towards Shen Yu she still did not have a good attitude. It was easy for women to be petty when it comes to age and looks. Especially female artists. Fortunately, Fang Ruoti’s role in the film had nothing to do with Shen Yu’s role. The two have little interaction in the crew. Fang Ruoti took on the out of sight and out of mind approach, but Shen Yu was clearly aware that everyone didn’t have good feelings about him, so he didn’t dare to approach them.

Fang Ruoti glanced at Shen Yu who had tearfully thrown himself into Yan Sheng’s arms, turned her head and asked Tao Mu, “I see that your fans often fight with Shen Yu’s fans. And you win every time. Then your fans are also very impressive. How do you usually manage them?”

Tao Mu’s fans were rather strange. There were fans of many attributes, and it was only when they were scolding and fighting outsiders, would they work together. The rest of the time, they did their own things, and even fought with each other. But the most important point was that Tao Mu, the idol of these fans, would often smack talk those very same fans.

And Tao Mu’s only way to manage fans was: “Don’t let them get too arrogant.”

Just like one’s own unruly child, although most of the time they were very cute. But there were times when they were absolute terrors. So one should not hold back on some tough love.

The large group of people were currently sitting in the open space of the studio discussing their experience in managing fans. Shen Yu, who finally finished hiding in Yan Sheng’s arms and crying, came over with red eyes and begged Tao Mu to use his access to FlyNet.com’s privileges to silence all fans who scolded Yan Sheng.

Tao Mu had long been accustomed to Shen Yu’s self-centered thinking mode. He said directly: “FlyNews.com has no such precedent. As long as the topics discussed by netizens do not involve violations of law and discipline and smear the country’s image, FlyNew.com will not hinder the normal speech of netizens.”

“But they went too far.” Shen Yu said indignantly: “If this goes on like this, I will be embarrassed to face big brother Yan.”

“What’s there to be embarrassed about.” Tao Mu reached out and touched the photo of Li Xiaoheng, and replied to Shen Yu’s words: “Didn’t you say it yourself. Fans’ actions don’t represent idols, and idols don’t need to pay for their fans’ actions. Then you don’t need to apologize to Yan Sheng for your fans’ mistakes. Everyone is a colleague here, so you don’t have to be so stingy. Film king Yan is such a magnanimous man, he won’t take such trivial matters to heart. If you care too much, you will affect the atmosphere of everyone’s cooperation. Can’t you happily pretend that nothing happened, why must you make the atmosphere on the set so tense?”

Wang Jinsheng and Luo Daming, who kept getting the feeling that these words were familiar: “…..”

Shen Yu was speechless by Tao Mu’s response: “Why are you like this? You are too unsympathetic!”

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“Isn’t this what you persuaded me back then?” Tao Mu said unceremoniously and directly smacked back, “Last time you were quite righteous when you persuaded me to do this, so how come when it is yourself it’s unsympathetic of me. So it seems that your words depend on the person and not on the situation?”

“But——” Shen Yu thought about it, but still didn’t know what to say: “That’s different.”

What was the difference? All the bigwigs in the crew raised their eyebrows in unison, secretly eating melons and watching the show.

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When Shen Yu was talking, Tao Mu was picking up shrimp dumplings with chopsticks. Hearing this, he was stunned for a moment, and looked at Shen Yu, who was still ignorant about the situation, and respected him as a man.

——In front of women, especially beautiful women, this dude actually dared to bring up topics related to age. Fortunately, Shen Yu was a man. If he was a young and beautiful female artist who mentioned this in front of her seniors in the industry, it would definitely be a direct act of provocation.

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There was even a possibility of a catfight breaking out right then and there.

The smile on Fang Ruoti’s face suddenly faded. Since everyone in the crew was present, she didn’t say anything in a very graceful manner.

Zhou Yanqing, who had always been a easy-going person, laughed and said, “Speaking of which, those of us who debuted very early are truly at a disadvantage. Every time I meet movie fans, everyone likes to say the same thing. Ahhh, heavenly king Zhou, I grew up watching your movies, I grew up listening to your songs…..” (TN: like film king/queen are used to refer to actors and actresses who won best actor/actress awards, heavenly king/queen are used to refer to super popular platinum selling singers who may have won awards for their music as well)

When Zhou Yanqing said this, he also vividly mimicked the obsessive reactions of those fans when they saw him: “But I like to hear them say that they have always liked me, that I have become more and more handsome over the years. Time really flies. Some of my first fans are now even grandparents. Someone told me at my last autograph session. Qing’zai (TN: like ‘er’ and ‘zi’, ‘zai’ is a suffix tacked on to a name as an endearment, but the latter is more common among Cantonese speakers), can you sign for me first, I have to go pick up my grandson from school.”

Zhou Yanqing was forty-three years old this year. The group of fans who had first been with him when he debuted at the age of seventeen were now in their fifties and sixties. It was indeed the age of grandparents.

Fang Ruoti’s face softened, and she took over what Zhou Yanqing said: “Speaking of which, my first movie was filmed with brother Qing. I was only eight years old at the time, and I played brother Qing’s daughter in the movie. Brother Qing bought me a lot of snacks during breaks between filming scenes. At that time, I was quite a little chubby girl. My mother was afraid that I would get fatter and stopped me from eating snacks.”

Zhou Yanqing said with emotion: “Yeah. More than 20 years have passed, and the little chubby girl back then has become such a beautiful woman. And I’ve gotten old.”

“No.” Fang Ruoti said with a smile: “Brother Qing will always be brother Qing, and will always be the most handsome man in our hearts.”

Tao Mu poured a cup of tea, stood up, and respectfully toasted Zhou Yanqing: “Teacher Zhou, I especially admire your acting skills and your person. Today, I present the Buddha with borrowed flowers, and use tea instead of wine to toast you. I hope that during the filming, please give me a lot of advice.”

Zhou Yanqing smiled and looked at Tao Mu who was respectful. He had a high status in the entertainment circle, and he had seen many such young people. So he didn’t take it too seriously, after all, the people in the entertainment industry were basically all shrewd people, and those who don’t know how to speak like Shen Yu was in the minority.

“I heard that you put a lot of effort into studying your character before filming, and indeed young people should be this serious in their work.” Zhou Yanqing also poured a cup of tea and drank it: “Compared to the old brothers here, my acting skills are actually not very good. But I have a lot of experience in filming. If there is anything you don’t understand, you are welcome to ask me.”

The atmosphere at the dinner table eased up again because of Zhou Yanqing’s interruption. Several other bigwigs also gradually started to speak, talking about the past or something. The entertainment circle in Hong Kong was very small, and most of the actors here have cooperated with each other before. They also remember each other’s embarrassing anecdotes. Now that they were chatting about the past, those who did not know or who were not qualified to interject listened with relish.

No one bothered with Shen Yu.

Shen Yu stood awkwardly holding his bubble milk tea, with a look of grievance like he might burst into tears.

Yan Sheng quietly patted Shen Yu’s back. Shen Yu sat down and asked aggrievedly, “Brother Yan, did I say something wrong again?”

Yan Sheng smiled wryly, talking about such a topic in front of a female artist, this was no longer something that could be described with just the word ‘wrong’.

However, looking at Shen Yu who had tears in his eyes, it was not like Yan Sheng could reprimand the other, he could only comfort: “Don’t worry, Fang Ruoti won’t quibble with you.”

Shen Yu pursed his lips aggrievedly, and looked at Tao Mu who was chatting amiably with everyone with a look of longing. He especially envied Tao Mu’s sophistication and exquisite social skills.

“Am I particularly stupid?” Shen Yu whispered to Yan Sheng, “If only I could be as skillful as Mu Mu.”

That shrewd person?

Yan Sheng glanced subtly at Tao Mu, who was asking Wang Jinsheng for his acting skills and making the other laugh loudly, but didn’t respond.

The press conference on the lauch of “Black and White” was scheduled for the next day. Because the entire crew was full of bigwigs and superstars, the most influential entertainment media in the three places of mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan all accepted the invitation to attend. Even FlyNews Entertainment sent two reporters over.

Yan Sheng looked at the only online media that was scurrying around among the print media and TV media, and a thoughtful look unconsciously came over his face.

The A-list superstars in Hong Kong and Taiwan don’t pay much attention to the mainland market, and naturally they didn’t know FlyNews.com’s influence on the mainland entertainment industry. But Yan Sheng was an authentic mainland star and he had also witnessed the jaw dropping development of FlyNews.com.

Even if one percent of the 130 million registered users were converted into fans, then the influence of that celebrity could spread to the whole country, and if there were one-tenth of the one percent of the fans could be converted into purchasing power, it was estimated that even those high-end luxury brands would eagerly reach out olive branches.

In fact, it was not the film salary that made up a celebrity’s net worth, but the high-end endorsements and commercial performances. Those who could climb to the status of Yan Sheng in the entertainment industry were noncommittal about commercial performances. But for those high-luxury brands that were limited in number, and could only sign one at a time, they all flocked around like vultures.

Yan Sheng’s career was currently on the rise these past two years. Because of his good image and family background, many luxury brands have indeed approached him for endorsement. But one had to admit that the resources in the fashion circle were too limited, and the competition was too fierce. What Yan Sheng had was precisely what others were covetous of. Therefore, every time Yan Sheng wanted to sign an endorsement or renew his contract, there would always be competitors who were secretly doing things behind the scenes in an attempt to expose his black material. Yan Sheng’s management team was very skilled, but not invincible. Occasionally, they would also be overwhelmed by black materials.

If at this time, there was a fixed and influential voice channel to support him and help him with public relations, Yan Sheng felt that his star path could be much smoother.

So from the perspective of interests, Yan Sheng really wanted to befriend Tao Mu. After all, Tao Mu controlled FlyNews.com, and now anyone with a discerning eye could see the publicity potential of FlyNews.com.

It was a pity that Tao Mu didn’t have much good feelings towards him, and even rejected him very much because of Shen Yu. On this point, Yan Sheng could not help but feel regret——

When someone broke the news that Tao Mu’s acting style was similar to his, Yan Sheng thought Tao Mu was also his fan. After all, Yan Sheng won the best actor award for his debut film, and he had been making steady progress since. Many newcomers in the entertainment industry were his fans——at least when interviewed, many newcomers would say that.

When he heard the rumors, Yan Sheng really thought that Tao Mu was one of them. Whether Tao Mu wanted to gain popularity or truly admired him, Yan Sheng was happy to see this. Unexpectedly, things were not as it seemed. Tao Mu actually hated him because of the remarks made by some brainless fans.

Yan Sheng had debuted for many years, and it was the first time he had seen an actor who would hold a grudge and act stingy in such a sincere and honest way.

“Big brother Yan?” In the backstage lounge, Shen Yu looked at Yan Sheng’s focused look with his eyes practically glued to Tao Mu’s body, and couldn’t help but gently grab Yan Sheng’s sleeve: “What are you looking at?”

Yan Sheng came back to his senses and said with a smile, “It’s nothing.”

After a pause, he reminded Shen Yu again: “The press conference will be held soon, and there will be a part involving questioning from the reporters. Don’t be too nervous.”

Shen Yu took a deep breath: “I’m not nervous. My agent also arrived last night. He taught me how to speak.”

Saying that, Shen Yu looked at Wen Shijin who was standing beside him with complete trust.

Because the Shen Group intended to make Shen Yu the promotion ambassador of the Lost Children’s Gene Bank. Recently, Wen Shijin had been staying in Shanghai, busy solving Shen Yu’s image problem. Finally, he flew to Hong Kong before the launch press conference, just to join the crew of “Black and White” with Shen Yu to make sure that Shen Yu would not offend the seniors in the industry because of some inappropriate remarks.

It was just that Wen Shijin didn’t think that he was just a day late, and Shen Yu already managed to offend Fang Ruoti because of his reckless words. If he knew earlier, he shouldn’t have worried about Shen Yu’s image and reputation in the police academy, and just sent an assistant to shadow Shen Yu.

The other bigwigs sitting in the lounge frowned in unison. In fact, when actors communicate privately, in order to ensure a harmonious atmosphere, they generally do not let their agents follow.

But Shen Yu’s situation was rather special——although he had the title of newcomer actor, he was, after all, the young master of the Shen Group. Even if he was kicked out of the Shen family because of his blood, the Shen family had no intention of giving up this adopted son. The film and television company under his name was still open, and his management team was still working for him. It was not good for everyone to ask too much from this kind of rich kid who was just playing around in the industry.

What was more, it was much easier to communicate with someone like Wen Shijin who knew what he was doing than to chat with someone like Shen Yu who couldn’t even understand other people’s words. At least he won’t burst into tears while chatting, as if someone was bullying him. So in contrast, they would rather deal with a well-behaved Shen Yu who was like a puppet instead.

However, they were both 19 years old, yet Tao Mu was slick like an old fried dough stick that had been immersed in the entertainment circle for years. While it was difficult to even speak and communicate normally for Shen Yu. It made everyone feel that the children of the poor matured early indeed.

Zhou Yanqing debuted at the age of seventeen. The reason why he joined the entertainment industry back then was because his family was too poor. When Zhou Yanqing was eight years old, his father died of illness, and his mother supported him and his siblings by washing dishes. So Zhou Yanqing dropped out of school at a young age to support his family. Because he was quite handsome, he was discovered by a talent scout while working in a restaurant, and was recommended to join TVB’s performance class.

He was lucky, and his first TV series was very popular. After that, he was highly regarded by the company, filmed TV series and movies one after another, released albums and held concerta one after another, and now he had become a superstar in the film, television and music industry.

So he admired people like Tao Mu very much. He believed that young people should work hard: “Don’t resent your fate for being bad. It only depends on how well you do. As long as you are willing to endure hardships and do well, good luck will always come.”

Tao Mu also particularly admired Zhou Yanqing’s character. He still remembered that in his last life, when he was kicked out of the Shen family, censored by the whole Internet, and blacklisted by the industry, it was Zhou Yanqing who helped him by introducing the role of a movie’s protagonist. Because Zhou Yanqing thought that the character of the hero of that movie was a bit like his role as Zhou Yuanting. Both started out as fighters of justice and then turned into corrupt police. Zhou Yanqing and Tao Mu have only worked together once, but Zhou Yanqing still believed that Tao Mu’s acting skills possessed an ingenuous quality.

So later, the director wanted to make a movie, but because the character image was not very positive, many actors refused to accept it, and when he could not find a male lead who suited the role, Zhou Yanqing recommended Tao Mu to the director, and also showed the director Tao Mu’s scenes as Zhou Yuanting. After watching it, the director decided to give Tao Mu a chance to audition.

Then Tao Mu grabbed the opportunity with both hands. With that role, he won the Golden Crow Award for Best Actor.

Although after that, Tao Mu was completely kicked out of the entertainment circle by Shen Yu’s admirers, and no longer had any relationship with Zhou Yanqing. But Tao Mu always remembered this favor.

Tao Mu also showed special respect and admiration when facing heavenly king Zhou in this life.

Zhou Yanqing had noticed that Tao Mu had a lot of respect for him, but he didn’t think too much into it, he just thought that Tao Mu was very good at being a person.

One l had the intention to support a newcomer and the other had the intention to make friends, and soon the two became fast friends despite their age gap.

So at the launch press conference, many reporters saw at a glance that of the two newcomers who joined the crew for the first time. Tao Mu was very comfortable talking and laughing with the bigwigs, while Shen Yu sat and watched everyone with a smile on the side. From time to time, he would whisper a few words to Yan Sheng, and the whole scene was very harmonious.

Until the reporter’s question-and-answer session began.

At the beginning, the reporters on the scene only asked about the filming for the sake of the crew’s face. All the bigwigs also answered very properly. Everything was decent and proper, and there was no explosive point at all. Until the host handed over the microphone to the two newcomers.

The reporter from FlyNews Entertainment, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately raised his hand and asked his boss: “Many netizens complained that your idol baggage is very serious. What do you think?”

Tao Mu didn’t expect that his own employees would ask such a question, but he answered solemnly: “I personally think that many times in life, one has to move forward with a heavy burden.”

Probably not expecting Tao Mu to give such an answer, the whole venue was stunned. Then everyone burst into laughter.

A reporter from FlyNews Entertainment followed up and asked: “So when shooting the movie “Black and White”, will you still take care of your idol baggage? Or, how will you interpret this role?”

Back to the topic again. Tao Mu had already rehearsed the answer to this kind of question, so he answered it quite well.

The group of celebrities from the “Black and White” crew looked at FlyNews Entertainment’s reporters curiously. They knew that FlyNews Entertainment specialized in online entertainment and was a new media that came out last year. The overall aura was very lively and current. But they didn’t expect FlyNews Entertainment’s style to be like this.

Sure enough, if there is no hotspot, one should create a hotspot, and if there is no topic, one should create a topic. But it was also not the low-level style of Hong Kong gossip paparazzi who just looked at pictures and made up nonsense for sales. On the contrary, it could mobilize the atmosphere and make people smile.

It seemed that this FlyNews.com was really different.

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With FlyNews Entertainment reporters taking the lead. Soon, the group of reporters were also inspired to start asking appropriate gossip.

Someone raised their hand and asked Shen Yu directly: “I heard that the Shen Group intends to invite you to become the promotion ambassador of the gene bank for lost children. May I ask Mr. Shen, after you serve as the promotion ambassador of the gene bank, will you take the opportunity to find your biological mother?”

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Although Li Xiaoheng really wanted to continue feeding dog food with Tao Mu, but the nature of their work did not allow them——Tao Mu had to go back to the police academy for training, and if possible, Tao Mu also wanted to foster a friendly relationship with the other bigwigs in the crew. Li Xiaoheng had more things to do in Hong Kong this time. In addition to visiting Tao Mu, he also needed to investigate the investment environment of Hong Kong.

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Due to the impact of the global economic crisis, the Hong Kong stock market was also affected by mini-bonds, and the economic situation was very sluggish at one point. Xiaoheng Capital had been shorting in the international market before, and naturally, Hong Kong had not been spared. But this time, Li Xiaoheng brought the negotiating experts of Xiaoheng Capital, not for shorting, but for several acquisitions.

That night, Li Xiaoheng and Tao Mu talked about the details of the acquisitions in the hotel for the entire night. Based on his memories from his previous life, Tao Mu gave several key data points for the acquisition case given by Xiaoheng Capital, as well as a few secrets that may not be noticed now, but were well known in the industry in later generations to help with the acquisition case. Assistant Jiang also sat and listened on the side, recording Tao Mu’s suggestions one by one, in preparation of having the investment department investigate it all later. If it could be confirmed that what Tao Mu said was true, then the details of the acquisition plans would have to be adjusted.

After talking until two o’clock in the middle of the night, Li Xiaoheng pressed Tao Mu to sleep. He knew that Tao Mu had sensitive nerves, and would wake up with the slightest sound when he was sleeping. So he took the negotiating team and Assistant Jiang to the next suite to continue the meeting.

Because no one disturbed him, Tao Mu’s sleep quality was not bad. When he was sent back to the police academy by Li Xiaoheng the next day, he was in good spirits.

Before getting out of the car, Tao Mu glanced at the gossip paparazzi squatting at the gate of the police academy and couldn’t help but think of his poor response to the nightclub matter.

“What’s the matter?” Li Xiaoheng looked at Tao Mu, who frowned slightly, and asked with a light smile, “Can’t bear to part from me?”

“No, I was just thinking about how my brain circuits got short-circuited.” Tao Mu pocketed the photo of Li Xiaoheng close to him. Just as he was about to get out of the car, he heard Li Xiaoheng ask, “Are we going to have dinner together this evening?”

According to the agreement between the crew and the police academy, the A-list stars who have come to the police academy to experience life in the past few days would definitely eat and live in the police academy. Some entertainment media would also be stationed at the police academy, responsible for taking photos and writing news. If it was before the relationship between the two was confirmed, Tao Mu would definitely choose to participate in the activities with everyone. First, it would allow him to integrate into the collective life as soon as possible, and second, he could build a good relationship with everyone. The most important thing was also not to give the gossip paparazzi a chance to write random things, lest some people speculate that Tao Mu did not get along with the crew, or that he was acting like a bigshot and preferred to be alone.

But now, Tao Mu looked at CEO Li’s purposefully pitiful expression, and couldn’t help complaining: “I found out that you also love acting.”

Li Xiaoheng said innocently: “My expression comes from the bottom of my heart, and it is an uncontrollable instinct. What could I do?”

Quite the smooth-talker!

Tao Mu looked at Li Xiaoheng helplessly, and couldn’t help but smile: “Okay. After training this evening, I’ll call you.”

Li Xiaoheng immediately answered, “I’ll come pick you up.”

Tao Mu nodded, and because there were gossip paparazzi staring at him outside, the two did not make any intimate moves. After getting out of the car, the paparazzi who were guarding the gate of the police academy immediately surrounded them and asked while taking pictures, “CEO Tao asked for leave yesterday to serve as a tour guide for CEO Li? I heard that you two toured together in Hong Kong and went to many temples to burn incense and pray for blessings. Can I ask what you were praying for?”

“I heard that Xiaoheng Capital came to Hong Kong this time to acquire several established companies. CEO Tao, as a partner of Xiaoheng Capital, what do you think about the current investment environment of Hong Kong?”

“CEO Tao is a businessman and an actor, how do you usually balance these two identities?”

“How would you rate the other actors in the same crew as you?”

“I heard that you don’t get along with Yan Sheng, is it true?”

“I heard that film king Yan has an ambiguous relationship with a newcomer in the crew. And that newcomer and CEO Tao are good friends. What do you think of the relationship between the two?”

Tao Mu looked at the paparazzi in front of him with a half-smile. If it weren’t for the latter questions, Tao Mu almost thought that these gossip paparazzi had changed their careers to do financial reporting instead.

“No comment.” Tao Mu casually dispatched the paparazzi who were guarding the gate.

Although the crew of “Black and White” wanted to promote the film, Tao Mu was still not interested in gaining attention through revealing a scandal, particularly a low-end publicity model like revealing a same-sex scandal. Even more so, he was disinterested in being the whistleblower.

The group of paparazzi reporters looked at Tao Mu who walked into the police academy with bitter faces, but they didn’t dare to follow because of the luxury car parked behind him.

Li Xiaoheng was the founder of Xiaoheng Capital and the eldest son of the Li family in Beijing. With such an identity, the Hong Kong gossip tabloids were afraid of causing trouble, so naturally they dared not talk nonsense when reporting. So even though Li Xiaoheng and Tao Mu spent a whole day strolling around, praying to God and worshipping Buddha, chartering a yacht to go to sea, riding a ferris wheel together, and staying in the same hotel room at night, anyone with a discerning eye could see that something was up. But those gossip paparazzi still didn’t dare to reveal too much for gimmicks. They just published a few photos of the two of them touring together, waxing poetic at the personal friendship between Li Xiaoheng and Tao Mu, and teasing the two bosses for being unexpectedly superstitious. Listing examples of the temples most prosperous in Hong Kong and by the way, guess at how much of an impact Li Xiaoheng would make on his visit to Hong Kong this time.

And even like this they didn’t dare to put it on the front page, just put it on the inner page or the second page of the newspaper. When Director Xu and several other actors saw the newspaper, they also teased that there actually came a day when Tao Mu would not make the headlines. Only Shen Yu felt envious after seeing these reports.

“I also really want to go out and play.” Shen Yu looked at Tao Mu, who had just returned from outside: “I’ve been in Hong Kong for so long, and I’ve stayed at the police academy for training this whole time, and there’s no time to go out for a walk. Mu Mu, did you and Mr. Li have fun?”

“Yeah, it was very fun.” Tao Mu just confirmed his relationship with Li Xiaoheng, and was in a very good mood. Seeing Shen Yu was not as upsetting as before. He even had the patience for a casual chat: “The claypot rice was good. The morning tea was also delicious.”

When Director Xu heard these words, he laughed and said, “Tao Mu, you sure know how to eat. Our morning tea in Hong Kong is very famous. But you ate it in a hotel which is not authentic. I will treat you to Hong Kong’s oldest and most authentic Cantonese restaurant when I have a chance. The shrimp dumplings, spare ribs and chicken feet are especially delicious.”

“Then I’ll thank Director Xu in advance.” Tao Mu replied with a smile. He didn’t have many vices in his life, but eating was the most important.

Shen Yu’s eyes lit up and turned to look at Yan Sheng. He also wanted to have morning tea.

Yan Sheng frowned slightly without a trace. Recently, there have been frequent gossip paparazzi reports of his close relationship with Shen Yu. Because the two have collaborated on a film before, it could be understandable that the relationship was a little closer than others. But if they were close enough to play and have morning tea together, there was no guarantee that those gossip paparazzi would come up with some sensational headlines for the sake of sales. They were not Tao Mu and Li Xiaoheng after all.

Although China passed the same-sex marriage bill. However, the domestic public opinion environment was still relatively conservative, and Yan Sheng’s acting career was currently on the rise. He didn’t want any unfavorable rumors to spread at this critical juncture to jeopardize his position.

But he couldn’t reject Shen Yu with such a clear attitude either.

In these brief seconds, Yan Sheng thought a lot. However, in the eyes of everyone, Yan Sheng just pondered slightly, and then said: “The crew will start to film soon. We should focus on filming. Xiao Yu, haven’t you been worried that your poor acting skills will drag everyone down? We can use this time to train well and prepare, and when the crew starts filming, you can also impress everyone.”

Shen Yu hesitated for a while, but finally nodded obediently. He also hoped that after the crew started filming, he would perform better than before.

Tao Mu glanced at Yan Sheng in surprise. This kind of response was not the same as what he remembered of the other’s compliant attitude towards Shen Yu in the previous life.

Yan Sheng also looked at Tao Mu and said, “I heard Director Xu say that Mr. Tao has done a lot of research on the role of Zhou Yuanting. You also suggested that during filming, fight scenes should be used to reflect the character’s inner transformation. My role is also an undercover cop, and there are quite a lot of fight scenes for me as well. If there’s an opportunity, I would love to discuss it with Mr. Tao. “

Tao Mu smiled and said, “There will be plenty of opportunities.”

Wang Jinsheng and Luo Daming looked at each other and smiled, they thought it was very interesting. It looked like this time filming would be very fun!

The film crew of “Black and White” would start filming on June 6th. Considering that Tao Mu was still a student of Beijing Film, the crew allowed Tao Mu to delay for half a month until the summer vacation to join the crew. However, the launch conference was still to be attended.

The day before the launch press conference, all the actors of the cast of “Black and White” all arrived. Xu Musen fulfilled his promise, and sure enough, he treated the whole crew to have breakfast at a well-known Cantonese restaurant.

Because she had met Tao Mu before, Fang Ruoti sat next to Tao Mu very familiarly after entering the private room. She also didn’t forget to joke: “CEO Tao is indeed that man who causes a storm in the entertainment industry. I thought before that my encounter with CEO Tao in the nightclub would definitely make headlines, and I was so frightened that I asked Sister Ying to contact the gossip tabloids to suppress the photo of my smeared makeup look. Only to find that when the news was published, no one cared at all. I even wondered whether I have become too old and lost any beauty, so my charms were no longer attractive.”

Tao Mu smiled and said, “Teacher Fang can just call me Tao Mu directly. Teacher Fang doesn’t have to doubt that you are the goddess of the screen in the eyes of all men. Whenever and wherever you appear, you are always radiant and beautiful.”

After a pause, Tao Mu also teased: “Even if your eye makeup is smeared, there is still a kind of charm to it.”

“I said before that you mainland men are very unromantic.” Fang Ruoti gave Tao Mu an eyeroll: “You are like this, so is Yan Sheng. It’s so boring.”

Hearing Fang Ruoti mention his name, Yan Sheng shook his head with a wry smile: “I’ve always been boring. I’m so very sorry.”

Shen Yu, sitting next to Yan Sheng, was a little lost and nervous. He also wanted to join the conversation. But he never liked such occasions. When he used to be with the Shen family, because his parents, his elder brother and sister doted on him very much, they wouldn’t force him to do things he didn’t like. People who wanted to make friends with him would also take the initiative to find conversation topics, so Shen Yu didn’t have to worry about what to say.

Not anymore. He must take the initiative to integrate himself into everyone.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

After thinking about it for a long time, Shen Yu quietly encouraged himself, raised his bubble milk tea, stood up, and said seriously, “Teacher Fang, I also really like your acting. I grew up watching your movies since I was a child.”

As soon as the voice fell, the whole room suddenly fell silent. Fang Ruoti almost lost composure and showed a hideous expression on her face.

What do you mean by that!!! Are you saying I’m old??? F**k you!

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TN: bonus chapter!💕

After coming out of the Kwun Yam Buddhist Temple, Li Xiaoheng insisted on having a candlelight dinner. Tao Mu simply didn’t want to speak to him anymore: “It’s noon, have what candlelight dinner. Besides, I don’t like western food either.”

“Then what do you like to eat?” Li Xiaoheng just felt that Tao Mu finally agreed to his pursuit, so he should spend some effort on making some romantic gestures. Only in this way could he express how much he cherishes Tao Mu.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

Tao Mu had always been particular with food, and was very picky about what he ate. Since they have come to Hong Kong, of course they must eat authentic Hong Kong food: “Let’s go to a Cantonese restaurant.”

The first meal after the official relationship was to be at a Cantonese restaurant? Li Xiaoheng raised his eyebrows and was not satisfied.

“Isn’t that too casual?” At this moment, Li Xiaoheng even had a sense of accomplishment that was even more satisfying than when he signed a business deal worth tens of billions in his senior year all by himself. In order to match this mood, Li Xiaoheng even wanted to rent a luxury cruise ship to have candlelight dinner out at sea, and stop at Victoria Harbour to watch the fireworks at night. After dinner, he also wanted to reserve an entire amusement park, ride the ferris wheel with Tao Mu, and stop at the highest point to enjoy the night view of Hong Kong.

“How cheesy!” Tao Mu couldn’t help laughing. He felt that the corners of his mouth never stopped twitching in laughter since Li Xiaoheng began speaking: “Mr. Li, you should think about changing your career to be a comedian.”

“If you are interested, I could learn.” Li Xiaoheng looked at Tao Mu with a warm smile. He never took his eyes off Tao Mu’s figure: “Do you think I should learn to be the leading role or the supporting role in the comic dialog?”

“You should learn stand-up comedy.” Tao Mu stood in front of the Kwan Yum Buddhist Temple and looked around: “Is there any delicious Cantonese restaurant nearby?”

Li Xiaoheng stretched out his hand, and the assistant who had been waiting in the car immediately handed over a tablet with the travel guide they just made, including the most famous hotels, restaurants, western restaurants and Cantonese restaurants around Kowloon. The types of Cantonese restaurants were also divided below what kinds of famous dishes each one was good at.

“These are all good, what do you want to eat?” Li Xiaoheng handed the tablet to Tao Mu.

Tao Mu smiled and said, “How about the sorrowful rice?” (TN: sorrowful rice= basically bbq pork on rice)

“It’s unlucky.” Li Xiaoheng shook his head and vetoed: “Let’s eat claypot rice. We don’t have any children anyway.” (TN: claypot rice=steamed rice with dried duck

“Claypot rice isn’t referring to cooking a young child…..” Tao Mu was speechless: “What’s up with you. I think you are the auspicious one.”

“It depends on how you understand it.” Li Xiaoheng spoke nonsense with a particularly clear logical thinking: “Claypot rice, the homophonic sound is to cook a young child/animal. Do you like kittens or puppies?”

“You want to raise one?” Tao Mu raised his eyebrows: “I like both very much. But I don’t have time to take care of it.”

Of course Li Xiaoheng knew that Tao Mu liked small animals. He knew everything Tao Mu liked. So asking this question was not to make Tao Mu have to make a choice.

“Then we’ll get one of each.” Li Xiaoheng said with a smile: “We now have both son and daughter all at once.”

“You are a bit fast-paced.” Tao Mu laughed. After a pause, he asked again, “What type are you going to raise?”

Li Xiaoheng said with a particularly strong desire to survive: “I listen to you.”

“How about a husky and a ragdoll?”

An angel and a devil! Li Xiaoheng agreed without hesitation: “No problem. When you return to Beijing on Monday, we will go to the pet store to choose a son and daughter.”

“We have to buy a dog kennel and cat climbing frame.” Tao Mu was feeling quite eager. He actually quite liked cats and dogs. But he never had the chance to raise one in his last life. Because Mrs. Shen was allergic to fur, the Shen family never raised them. Later, Tao Mu was kicked out of the Shen family and lived with Zhuo Yan. Zhuo Yan was scratched by a cat and bitten by a dog when he was a child, so he hated them, and Tao Mu was not allowed to keep one. At that time, Tao Mu also joked that Zhuo Yan was a person who was hated by cats and dogs.

Noticing that the corners of Tao Mu’s mouth fell slightly, Li Xiaoheng raised his brows with keen awareness: “What did you think of, why are you unhappy?”

“Did you put an emotion recognition feelers on my face?” Tao Mu looked at Li Xiaoheng in disbelief: “It’s that obvious?”

“It’s called being attentive.” Li Xiaoheng first held up two fingers in front of Tao Mu, and then pointed them at his own eyes: “These are called piercing eyes, and at the negotiating table, I rely on these eyes to judge what the opponent’s thinking.”

Li Xiaoheng’s assistant sat in the co-pilot’s seat, watching their boss and their boss’s wife stand on the street and chat for half an hour. He couldn’t help but exchange looks with the driver.

When was it going to be over! Before they even had lunch, they were already stuffed with dog food, and their stomachs were almost bursting now.

And you want to raise a cat and dog like this, that’s just animal cruelty!

He was complaining secretly to himself, when he heard their boss continue to coax: “Don’t worry about not having time to walk the dog. I will have Ah Zhe go to the house every night and take our son and daughter out to get some fresh air.”

Jiang *all-round handy assistant* Zhe stuck his head out of the car window with an expressionless face, looked at their boss who now disregarded the lives of his subordinates now that he had a wife, and said faintly, “I want a raise.”

Li Xiaoheng directly agreed: “Double the salary.”

Assistant Jiang immediately smiled like a flower: “Boss, don’t worry, you just entrust the young master and young lady to me, and I will take care of them like I do my ancestors.”

Tao Mu immediately shook his head: “No need. You just need to take care of them like you would take care of your own son.” These days, people are not as careful when taking care of ancestors as taking care of sons.

Li Xiaoheng smiled lightly: “Don’t fool around anymore. Let’s go eat.”

As a result, the first meal after the two formally established their relationship was a Cantonese restaurant. Tao Mu ordered a bowl of claypot rice, a bowl of steamed noodles, two roasted pigeons, and finally a bowl of coconut milk sago. Li Xiaoheng’s order was similar to that of Tao Mu. Just replaced the sago with jelly.

After lunch, the two went to worship at a few more temples. That night, Tao Mu still ended up letting Li Xiaoheng rent a yacht to go out to sea, and Li Xiaoheng personally made a candlelight dinner, consisting of fried heart-shaped steak with poached eggs, and even the pizza was made into a heart-shaped model. It was truly cheesy to the extreme.

But before eating, Tao Mu still took advantage of Li Xiaoheng’s inattentiveness and took several photos with his mobile phone. A new folder was also created to save these photos.

In truth, Li Xiaoheng noticed Tao Mu’s sneaky movements, but he didn’t break the illusion. He just thought their Tao Mu looked so awkward and cute. Extremely cute.

After the two of them finished their meal, they stayed at sea to watch the fireworks. The night was full of stars, the sky and the surface of the water was the same color. The small yacht was left floating between the sea and sky, swaying with the waves of the seawater. The splendid fireworks exploded overhead, reflecting between the water and the sky, the whole world was full of brilliance, and even the night appeared to be washed in beautiful color. The yacht that floated between the sea and the sky, from a distance, seemed to be enveloped in a glass cover.

Li Xiaoheng was inspired, and he held Tao Mu’s hand and said with a smile, “I think we should make a custom crystal ball after we go back.”

The fireworks that bloomed, the rolling sea water, the yacht floating on top, and the two people sitting on the deck.

“Your collecting habit is really becoming to my tastes more and more.” Tao Mu smiled.

Li Xiaoheng pretended to give a gentleman’s bow: “My pleasure.”

After watching the fireworks, the two drove the yacht back. After landing, they went to the amusement park to ride the ferris wheel. The night view of Hong Kong was really beautiful, especially near Victoria Harbour.

When the ferris wheel reached the highest point, Li Xiaoheng sat next to Tao Mu, took out his mobile phone and took a photo of the two of them.

“I propose that we take a photo together every day and save it. When the two of us are old, we will have a lot of memories. When we get bored in the future, we can take out these photos and look at them together. Compare to see who has the better memory. What do you think?”

Tao Mu imagined the scene following Li Xiaoheng’s words. Two old men with silver white temples sat side by side in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows that fully let in the sunlight, basking in the warm rays, looking at photos and competing on memory power. The sun shone down warmly on the body, and the warm heat made one sleepy. So the two of them lay on the rocking chair and fell asleep.

Tao Mu came back to his senses, looked at the silhouette reflected on the glass window, and said with a smile, “Okay.”

After a pause, Tao Mu recalled one thing: “But we are so busy right now that we don’t have time to take pictures together every day.”

Li Xiaoheng said, “You could photoshop it. Your photography skills are so good that they have even become popular in the entertainment industry. You must remember to photoshop me to look more handsome.”

Tao Mu laughed and suddenly said, “You’re so clingy.”

“We’ve only been together for less than a day, yet you already dislike me?” Li Xiaoheng leaned over to Tao Mu, and his dark eyes stared into Tao Mu’s eyes softly: “Mr. Tao, we are now legal boyfriends. So I have to ask for one thing.”

“Every night, we have to make a phone call for at least an hour.” Li Xiaoheng listed one by one: “And it has to be a video chat, you have to say goodnight before hanging up, and blow an air kiss. This is my right as your boyfriend.”

Tao Mu lowered his head and chuckled, agreeing to each one.

Seeing this, Li Xiaoheng took another mile: “Whenever you are free, send me a text and say you miss me. Okay?”

Tao Mu nodded: “Okay.”

Li Xiaoheng: “If there’s a chance to wear couple’s clothes together, we should, okay?”

Tao Mu continued to nod: “Okay.”

Li Xiaoheng: “If there is any misunderstanding, don’t hold a cold war, you must discuss it with me immediately. No matter what happens, you must believe me. Is that okay?”

Tao Mu nodded repeatedly: “Yes.”

Li Xiaoheng: “We will grow old together.”

Tao Mu’s eyes felt a little hot, and he repeated, “We will grow old together.”

Li Xiaoheng chuckled lightly and held Tao Mu’s hand: “In the business world, everyone must talk about the spirit of the contract. Since you have agreed, you must not regret it.”

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

Tao Mu didn’t say a word this time, leaning forward and wrapping the other in a bear hug.

Li Xiaoheng chuckled and hugged back his lover who had just thrown himself into his arms willingly, and said warmly, “I will also do all the things you just promised me.”

“Tao Mu, our contract is established.”

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The heart thumped, as if a mallet had hit the drum, making a loud bang. The shock made Tao Mu’s vision dizzy and his ears ring, as if his body resonated with the vibrations.

The buzzing sound continued until Li Xiaoheng handed the cylindrical container of inscribed bamboo sticks to him: “I heard that Wong Tai Sin’s predictions are very effective. Shake one out, and we’ll ask the master to help decipher it.”

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

Tao Mu subconsciously took over the cylindrical container. He had also heard that the predictions here were particularly effective. When he came to Hong Kong for filming in his last life, he actually asked about his blood relatives. It was a pity that his luck was not good in his last life, and all he got was an inferior fortune stick. However, Wong Tai Sin’s predictions were really effective. Finding oneself utterly betrayed and isolated, seeking the road to disaster and death, all of it had been fulfilled.

Tao Mu held the cylindrical container and stood still. He wasn’t sure what he would draw for this life. Wong Tai Sin’s golden statue sat on the altar. The incense was lingering, and the aloof immortal loomed in and out of view behind the swirling incense, making it difficult to see its expression.

Li Xiaoheng looked at Tao Mu’s nervous countenance, his hands trembling slightly while holding the container, and urged with a chuckle, “Go on.”

“Yeah.” Tao Mu replied in a low voice. When he looked down at the container, he was surprised to find that there were only half of the bamboo sticks inside. There should have been a hundred bamboo sticks numbered, but now there were only twenty or thirty sticks left. No wonder he felt it sounded very loud when he shook it just now.

“You——” Tao Mu looked at Li Xiaoheng instinctively, and intuitively believed that a certain someone was doing something again.

Li Xiaoheng smiled and said: “People in the world believe in ghosts and gods, mostly because they want what they want, but they are worried that they can’t accomplish it. So they have to rely on a higher power. But I am different. I am confident that I can get what I want, and I believe I have the ability to protect what I want to protect. If you are not confident, then it is useless to ask God. So why not ask God for half and ask me for the other half.”

The gentle but firm eyes stared straight at Tao Mu, neither dodging nor wandering, just like the feeling that Li Xiaoheng had always given people.

Tao Mu subconsciously clenched the container in his hand, his palms sweating slightly in nervousness: “The bamboo sticks inside are all superior fortunes?”

“Your luck is not bad.” Li Xiaoheng did not answer Tao Mu’s words directly, but smiled: “I just had a discussion with God. I will protect you and keep the base, and the rest is entirely up to you to ask for your fortune.”

So this was half asking God and half relying on you?

Tao Mu looked down at the container. How could there be such a person, when asking for a fortune, they insist on taking out the inferior and mediocre bamboo sticks first. It was clear that he did not believe in a higher power, how could there be such a domineering person.

“You’re too unruly, God will be angry.”

“God won’t.” Li Xiaoheng replied with a smile: “God is originally there to bless the world. That’s why his predictions are very effective. Then he must know that I have the ability to protect you. So you just need to ask him for peace of mind.”

Tao Mu looked hesitant.

Li Xiaoheng asked, “You don’t believe me?”

He stretched out his hand, took the container from Tao Mu’s hand, got up and put the dozens of bamboo sticks he had pulled out one by one. He then went to Wong Tai Sin’s golden statue and knelt down: “I, Li Xiaoheng, have not believed in a higher power all my life. But today, I ask you to bless Tao Mu so that he could be safe and happy and have a smooth life.”

After finishing speaking, before Tao Mu could react, Li Xiaoheng had already closed his eyes and shook the container. When a bamboo stick fell out, Li Xiaoheng picked up the bamboo stick and asked the monk responsible for explaining the fortune——it was a superior fortune.

“Look.” Li Xiaoheng looked at Tao Mu with a warm smile: “Wong Tai Sin also believes that I can keep you safe and happy and guarantee you a smooth life.”

At this time, it was noon, and the warm sunlight of early summer, shining in from the outside, enveloped the outline of Li Xiaoheng with a layer of light. It reflected in Tao Mu’s eyes, causing them to feel too hot. Tao Mu then lowered his head, took the superior fortune that Li Xiaoheng asked for in his hand, and looked at it over and over for a long time. Li Xiaoheng said with a smile: “The predictions here are indeed effective, why don’t you ask for one too.”

“No need.” Tao Mu held the bamboo stick, raised his head and looked into Li Xiaoheng’s eyes: “I believe it.”

Seemingly aware of Tao Mu’s intentions, Li Xiaoheng smiled slightly, and reached out to hold the other half of the bamboo stick: “It’s good that you believe me. At least I won’t let you be disappointed.”

Then, he slowly took the bamboo stick from Tao Mu’s hand. It was as if Tao Mu’s heart was pulled out of his chest as well. A big warm hand wrapped Tao Mu’s right hand within, which was clenched into a fist. Li Xiaoheng asked the priest: “This is the first time I’ve asked for a fortune in my life. The fortune is very good, and I think it’s very meaningful. I dare to ask the master, could you give me this bamboo stick?”

The incense of Wong Tai Sin Temple was strong, and the fortune-telling was effective. There were often pious men and women coming in to ask for their fortunes. However, it was rare to see people who wanted to take the bamboo stick with them after asking for a fortune like Li Xiaoheng.

However, when people in the world pray to God and worship Buddha, they were originally seeking peace of mind. Although Wong Tai Sin was effective, after all, he could not bless all the pious men and women in the world. Just like Tao Mu, he was clearly a person who had an untied knot in his heart, and was unable to free himself from the demons in his heart. But if someone was willing to give everything to protect his safety and happiness, even high-ranking immortals were willing to fulfill the wish of a person with such a sincere heart.

So earlier, when Li Xiaoheng proposed to him that he wanted to resolve his companion’s worries with a good fortune, the priest did not stick to the formality, but agreed with a smile. Now Li Xiaoheng wanted to keep the bamboo stick, the monk thought about it and agreed as well.

However, the priest did not expect that a person like Li Xiaoheng, who clearly did not believe in higher powers, actually proposed to donate one million yuan worth of incense money after asking to keep the bamboo stick. The priest glanced at Li Xiaoheng with some surprise, and then looked at Tao Mu. Immediately, he realized that even people who don’t believe in higher powers in this world would rather believe in it when it involves the person they care about the most.

Just now he had teased others for asking for peace of mind from a higher power. Now he himself was feeling worried about gains and losses.

The priest secretly ate a melon, but did not point it out.

Tao Mu also asked for a heart-purifying talisman and a scripture copied by the head Daoist priest of Wong Tai Sin Temple himself. As for Li Xiaoheng, he took Tao Mu and the bamboo stick he kept as a souvenir, and the two left the Wong Tai Sin Temple contentedly.

Li Xiaoheng also said: “…..After I go back, I will keep this top fortune with the crab crackers together. They are all very meaningful.”

Tao Mu was too lazy to complain about Li Xiaoheng’s bizarre hoarding habit. Don’t know if it was psychological or something else. He felt that after coming out of the Wong Tai Sin Temple, his whole person was indeed much more energetic. Refreshed.

“…..If we want to visit all these temples, this evening might not be enough.” Back in the car, Li Xiaoheng looked seriously at the temporary temple tour guide made by his assistant, smiled and said, “But you want to visit them, we can take it slow.”

Tao Mu held the Daoist scriptures and the heart-purifying talisman that he had asked for from the Daoist priest, and placed them in the safe with great piety and care: “Let’s go buy a brush and ink first. From tomorrow onwards, I will copy the scriptures every day and become pious bishounen.”

What the hell was a pious bishounen?

Li Xiaoheng chuckled, and had the driver drive to an antique shop where one could buy brush, ink, paper and inkstone: “Did you learn calligraphy from Mr. Song?”

Tao Mu nodded. In fact, what he learned from Mr. Song was not only cooking and calligraphy. Mr. Song loved to play when he was young, and he also liked engraving with gold and precious stones, so Tao Mu also learned a little as well. He was just not very good at it.

There was also a photo studio opposite the antique shop. When Tao Mu came out, he saw the sign of the photo studio, and his heart moved. Immediately, he dragged Li Xiaoheng into the door of the photo studio.

Li Xiaoheng was pressed against the chair by Tao Mu with a dumbfounded face, and looked at Tao Mu who was standing behind the camera, not knowing whether to laugh or cry: “Didn’t you already take a picture with your phone?”

“It’s not always good to bring a cell phone when filming.” Tao Mu explained seriously: “I have to carry an actual photo with me.”

Warding off evil spirits again?!

Li Xiaoheng sighed helplessly, and was about to speak when he heard Tao Mu say, “Didn’t you tell me to believe in you? Why, do you want to go back on your words?”

“Of course not.” Li Xiaoheng explained patiently: “I’m just worried that your crew has too many eyes. Seeing that you are carrying my pictures around, it will lead to bad guesses. It’s not good for your image.”

If there was room for explanation for mobile phone photos and screensavers, then carrying around a picture of him as a talisman when filming was too weird and intimate. Although Li Xiaoheng also wanted to display his affection in an open and honest manner, he had to consider Tao Mu’s status as an actor after all.

“I know very well in my heart.” Tao Mu replied while playing with the camera. Since he had promised Li Xiaoheng that he would seriously consider this relationship, he never thought of hiding it for the sake of his career. He’s not the kind of person who hides. Not in the previous life, and not in this life.

Without waiting for Li Xiaoheng to say anything more, Tao Mu solemnly assured: “I will put the photo in my shirt pocket.”

Wasn’t that the position closest to the heart?

Li Xiaoheng suddenly stopped talking. After Tao Mu finished taking pictures of him, he immediately stood up and took a picture of Tao Mu. He also wanted to put the other in the place closest to his heart.

“You also want to ward off evil spirits?” When he came out of the photo studio, Tao Mu’s slender phoenix eyes squinted at Li Xiaoheng.

The sight had Li Xiaoheng’s heart trembling, he said solemnly, “It’s to keep warm.”

Tao Mu was stunned for a moment: What the hell was keeping warm?

However, Li Xiaoheng did not have the intention to explain. He took Tao Mu back to the antique shop again, bought a jar of cinnabar, dipped it with a brush, and wrote the words “to ward off evil spirits” on the back of his photo.

“This way it’s easier for you to explain. Some people worship Buddha and others believe in Jesus. But you believe in capital.” Truly, our bigshot CEO Li has suffered. For fear that Tao Mu would be misunderstood, he actually came up with such an excuse.

Tao Mu was simply too defeated to even make fun of the othet.

Li Xiaoheng smiled and looked at Tao Mu, who was obviously much livelier than before, and told the driver to continue to the next stop at Kwun Yam Buddhist Temple.

Having become familiar with the routine, this time, big brother Li, who claimed to have only believed in himself in his entire life, was even more skillful than Tao Mu in his actions of praying to Buddha and asking for a fortune-telling.

Tao Mu watched Li Xiaoheng kneeling on the cushion with transfixed eyes, as he closed his eyes and put his hands together, praying solemnly in a low voice that only the two of them could hear: “Goddess of Mercy, I ask you to bless the person I love so that he could love me back, and accept my pursuit as soon as possible, and let me protect him for the rest of my life. Growing old together, our hearts connecting forever and always——”

“Yes!”

Li Xiaoheng suddenly opened his eyes and turned to look at Tao Mu: “I asked the Goddess of Mercy to bless the person I love to love me too, and accept my pursuit as soon as possible.”

Tao Mu looked at Li Xiaoheng with a smile, and said softly but firmly, “I said yes.”

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“The person you love also loves you back, and is willing to accept your pursuit. I will keep you safe and happy all my life, and help you grow rich and prosperous.” Tao Mu thought about it and said, “And grow old together.”

It seemed that he seldom spoke such sappy words. Tao Mu pursed his lips uncomfortably, and said, “Although I am not the Goddess of Mercy. But do you believe me?”

Li Xiaoheng smiled and looked at Tao Mu firmly: “I believe you.”

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“…..According to the survey, the top ten most effective temples in Hong Kong are Wong Tai Sin Temple, Man Mo Temple, Tin Hau Temple, Causeway Bay, Temple Hill Kwun Yam Buddhist Temple, Chuk Lam Sim Monastery…..”

Li Xiaoheng always paid attention to efficiency no matter what he did. Tao Mu had just finished saying that he wanted to burn incense and worship Buddha, when Li Xiaoheng immediately sent someone to inquire about the famous Daoist temples in Hong Kong, and even arranged the driver and tour guide.

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Thinking about warding off evil and keeping safety in mind, Tao Mu didn’t even have the mind to train, so he directly asked the instructor for a day off, and took Li Xiaoheng to worship the Buddha according to the tour route.

This was the first time Tao Mu had asked for leave during training time in such a long time. Everyone was suddenly curious about Li Xiaoheng’s identity. The iron-masked instructor was still as expressionless as ever, even though his heart was like a bullet screen with words spilling across, as he approved Tao Mu’s leave of vacation.

Before leaving, Shen Yu walked over with an expression as if he was going to cry, and asked Tao Mu if he was angry with him: “You have never asked for leave during training time before. Today, big brother Yan and the two teachers have come to experience police academy life, yet you have to ask for leave today. It must be because I made you angry, right?”

There were so many things wrong about these words one simply didn’t know where to start. Tao Mu was still thinking about the plot halo on Shen Yu that was invisible and intangible, but could still always make his IQ disappear without a sound. He was anxious to ward off evil spirits and was too lazy to bother with Shen Yu.

In contrast, Li Xiaoheng looked at Shen Yu with a little curiosity. He still remembered this young son of the Shen family with the bizarre brain circuit. Now it seemed that this little young master was not only confused in the head, his ability to mix up right and wrong was also quite powerful.

“What happened?” Li Xiaoheng looked down at Tao Mu, and keenly felt that the reason why his little consultant was acting erratically was probably influenced by the person in front of him.

Tao Mu frowned, subconsciously not wanting to mention Shen Yu in front of Li Xiaoheng: “It’s fine.”

“How can it be fine!” Shen Yu frowned and looked at Li Xiaoheng with an innocent and naive face: “Mu Mu was angry with big brother Yan because big brother Yan’s fans scolded him. And said that idols pay for the actions of their fans. I just felt that there is no need for big brother Yan to apologize to Mu Mu for other people’s mistakes. Then Mu Mu got angry with me again. Mr. Li, since you are Mu Mu’s good friend, can you help me persuade him to not be so stingy? Everyone is colleagues here, we have to work together in the future, why can’t we all be happy. Why must we make the atmosphere so tense?”

At first glance, there was nothing wrong with these words. Even Wang Jinsheng and Luo Daming were confused into believing Shen Yu’s words. Intuitively feeling that Tao Mu was indeed a little stingy. But deep down, they also felt that something was wrong.

The only one who had a clear idea was Li Xiaoheng: “I’m curious, what position does Mr. Shen say this from?” With Li Xiaoheng’s personality, he was too lazy to bother with someone like Shen Yu. In the face of such a troublesome child with brain problems, Li Xiaoheng’s solution had always been to have a direct dialogue with the guardian. But things were different now. Tao Mu still had to work with these people for a while. If possible, it was best to be more harmonious with his colleagues. Therefore, Li Xiaoheng didn’t allow Shen Yu to sow discord and affect other people’s views on Tao Mu.

Shen Yu said confidently: “Of course as Mu Mu’s friend. Although Mu Mu doesn’t admit that I am his good friend. But I have always felt that he is my friend.”

“So Mr. Shen’s way of treating friends is to stand on the moral high ground and help another person to accuse your friend whom you have one-sidedly befriended?” Li Xiaoheng logically described Shen Yu’s behavior, and then asked Yan Sheng: “Mr. Yan’s fans have been criticizing Tao Mu’s acting skills online and even attacking Tao Mu personally. Mr. Yan should have heard of this.”

Li Xiaoheng used affirmative sentences. Yan Sheng could only say with a wry smile, “I’ve already apologized to CEO Tao face to face for this.”

“Why did you apologize to Tao Mu?” Li Xiaoheng asked back, pointing directly at the heart of the matter: “Tao Mu doesn’t know you at all, nor does he know your fans. If Mr. Yan thinks that the behavior of fans has nothing to do with their idols, then there is naturally no need for you to apologize. If you acknowledge that idols should pay for the actions of their fans, shouldn’t the correct approach be to restrain your fans from spreading nasty words around?”

“So why did you apologize to Tao Mu?” Li Xiaoheng looked directly at Yan Sheng, and asked in a deep voice, “What position do you apologize from?”

As expected of a fight machine among domineering CEOs, Li Xiaoheng’s logic was very clear. In a few words, the matter and the positions of all parties were smoothed out.

The large group of people suddenly realized. Yes, no matter what Yan Sheng thought of his fans’ behavior, it was an established fact that his fans maliciously slandered Tao Mu before the two even met. Tao Mu, who was innocently sprayed by vitriol, had a reason to hate Yan Sheng. As an idol with a high degree of restraint on his fans, Yan Sheng could either ignore the behavior of his fans, or strictly prohibit his fans from biting others. But his choice was to apologize to Tao Mu inexplicably——this was a bit like a provocation.

Do you want Tao Mu to forgive you or not? If he didn’t forgive, then he was being stingy. If he forgave, then didn’t that mean Tao Mu was scolded for half a year for nothing? And then later Yan Sheng could put out the news “film king apologizes magnanimously, CEO Tao shook hands and made peace” to hype it up. If they were Tao Mu, they would all be suffocated to death by the injustice of it all. What was more, the grudge between the two was not only about this matter.

Li Xiaoheng once again turned his attention to Shen Yu: “Speaking of which, the reason why Tao Mu was chased and scolded by Yan Sheng’s fans was because Mr. Shen had previously commented that Yan Sheng’s acting skills were not as good as Tao Mu’s, wasn’t it? What, time has passed, and everyone has forgotten the originator that is Mr. Shen, and Mr. Shen and film king Yan have become good brothers?”

The others didn’t know about this melon. After all, FlyNews.com was only popular in the mainland at the beginning, and it hadn’t been that long for Hong Kong to follow along. Wang Jinsheng, Luo Daming, and the other veteran actors and actresses didn’t even register FlyNews.com accounts, and naturally they didn’t pay attention to the past grievances between Shen Yu and Tao Mu.

But if what Li Xiaoheng said was true, then Shen Yu was not ordinary at all. He started the discord, but in the end he hugged Yan Sheng’s thigh, and then even teamed up with Yan Sheng to step on Tao Mu. This operation was a bit backstabbing and b*tchy.

Li Xiaoheng solved the matter clearly in just a few words. He nodded at the two veteran actors, Wang Jinsheng and Luo Daming, and said politely, “Our Tao Mu will be acting in a movie for the first time and have no experience before. I also hope that the two seniors will give some advice and take care of him.”

Previously, the principal of the police academy gave an introduction to everyone. Everyone knew that Li Xiaoheng was the founder of Xiaoheng Capital. Hong Kong people were very concerned about the financial situation. Everyone had heard the news that Xiaoheng Capital had gone shorting in the international market and made a lot of money. Faced with this level of capital, everyone naturally wanted to make friends with him.

What was more, Tao Mu himself had the potential to attract friends as well. So Wang Jinsheng and Luo Daming just looked at each other and smiled, nodded and said, “CEO Li, don’t worry. We two old fellas and Tao Mu hit it off at first glance. We all made an appointment to play mahjong after work.”

The implication was that this sentiment of supporting and caring was at least present.

Li Xiaoheng touched on the matter and left it at that without going too far. He smiled reservedly, and then led Tao Mu away.

Tao Mu, who never said a word from beginning to end, until after getting into the car, looked at Li Xiaoheng with a strange expression.

He had lived two lifetimes, and he was used to taking care of things by himself. Even if someone was willing to help him, most of the time they couldn’t really hit the nail on the head and instead only made the situation more messy. It was the first time he could feel the protection that Li Xiaoheng provided when he completely pushed Shen Yu’s pot back to him with just a few words, and even knocked the bottom of the pot off.

It felt…..a little weird.

“What’s wrong?” Noticing Tao Mu’s gaze, Li Xiaoheng smiled warmly: “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“No, I just felt like your thinking is very clear.” Tao Mu thought about it and added, “I didn’t expect you to explain so much.”

In Tao Mu’s opinion, Li Xiaoheng should be the kind of person who didn’t bother to explain anything.

Li Xiaoheng smiled when he heard the words: “No helping it. I had to at least make things clear. Can’t let them wrong my Mu Mu.”

When Li Xiaoheng said this, his face suddenly changed, and he asked with a displeased expression: “Do you have a nickname?”

“Huh?” Tao Mu didn’t expect Li Xiaoheng to veer off topic so suddenly, and almost didn’t react.

“A name that only family members can call you.” Li Xiaoheng patiently induced: “For example, my parents call me Xiaoheng, how about you?”

Before Tao Mu could speak, he saw Li Xiaoheng subtly take hold of his hand and continued: “Actually, if possible, I hope we can have a name that only we can call each other. For example…..”

Li Xiaoheng leaned into Tao Mu’s ear and whispered two words. Tao Mu only felt the warm breath spray on his earlobes, and half of his body went numb.

He scratched his ears and glanced at Li Xiaoheng in irritation: “I think it’s good to just call each other by name.”

“Okay.” Li Xiaoheng agreed very succinctly: “Dear, where do you want to go first? I heard that the temple with the most incense in Hong Kong is Wong Tai Sin Temple. Why don’t we go there first?”

Tao Mu looked at Li Xiaoheng helplessly, and could only give in: “Then let’s go.”

It was indeed the most prosperous Daoist temple in Hong Kong. When Tao Mu and Li Xiaoheng arrived at the place, there were already a lot of visitors there. Because it was Saturday, many people even came with the whole family. According to legend, the “Wong Tai Sin” enshrined in the temple was responsive and particularly effective. And it was the only Daoist temple in Hong Kong that could hold Daoist weddings.

“It grants every wish, and blesses all marriages as well. I think we’ve come to the right place.” Li Xiaoheng said with a smile, “What do you want? I want to ask for a marriage.”

Li Xiaoheng’s gaze was too hot, and Tao Mu couldn’t ignore it even with his eyes closed, so he could only say, “You can ask for what you want by sincerely offering incense, what are you always looking at me for?”

“Because I think instead of asking God it is better to ask you.” Li Xiaoheng smiled warmly, looked at Tao Mu with dazzling eyes, and said warmly: “My marriage is in your hands. If you are willing to bless me so that I will be able to stay and grow old together with my love. Then my religion is you.”

Tao Mu respectfully inserted the three sticks of incense, and bowed again, only then did he have the heart to speak to Li Xiaoheng: “Don’t fool around anymore, okay? I’m being serious.”

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“I’m not fooling around.” Li Xiaoheng stared at Tao Mu with extremely tender eyes: “I’m very sincere and pious. Don’t you have the confidence to bless me and the person I love to grow old together?”

Tao Mu’s expression paused slightly.

Li Xiaoheng smiled and said, “If you don’t have confidence in yourself, then believe in me.”

“I have.”

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