“9:30AM, meeting.”

“11:30AM, the meeting ends.”

“11:35AM, in the office. Looking at your financial report.”

“12:30PM, eat. Attached photos 1, 2, 3, it’s not as delicious as your cooking.”

“1:30PM, meeting with clients. Negotiation topics include…..”

“4:00PM, go back to the office. Process documents.”

“6:00PM, get off work. Driving to pick you up.”

“6:30PM, traffic jam. Want to call you.”

“7:30PM, I’m at the gate of your school, do you want to drink milk tea?”

“…..”

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Starting from that day, Tao Mu would receive at least 15 FlyNews messages from Li Xiaoheng every day. At an average of one message every one to two hours reporting his daily itinerary. If Tao Mu did not reply on time, Li Xiaoheng would know that Tao Mu was busy, so he would wait patiently. If Tao Mu responded on time, Li Xiaoheng would call immediately to say a few words while racing against time——

Generally speaking, the time for phone calls was at noon or during traffic jams when getting off work every evening. The content of the calls were very varied, from work to life to Tao Mu’s acting classes.

Knowing that Tao Mu was filming a drama performance for finals, Li Xiaoheng also subtly proposed that he wanted to watch Tao Mu’s performance. As a qualified capitalist, Mr. Bigwig Li especially knew to bring in allies when making a request. He successfully lobbied for Mr. Song, Liu Yao, Meng Qi, and dean Tao, who also wanted to watch Tao Mu’s finals drama performance, to watch Tao Mu’s performance in the form of a family member group.

Tao Mu would never refuse Mr. Song and his Dads, and dean Tao, who had recently been depressed and finally managed to cheer up and say she wanted to watch him act. So Li Xiaoheng incidentally got a ticket as well.

Song Ji.

Tao Mu cooked seriously in front of the stove. Li Xiaoheng took off his coat and suit jacket, wearing only a shirt, and sat at the dinner table looking at his laptop. Although the short trade in the international crude oil futures market had been almost finished being dealt with, Tao Mu and Li Xiaoheng still didn’t want to let go of the international market. From international crude oil to the trading of various commodities, from the financial market of country M to the international banking and insurance industry, as well as the global manufacturing industry that was unsustainable by the financial crisis.

It was just that what was different from the previous situation was that Mr. Li nowadays would spare some of his energy from the computer screen every once in a while, and use the brief moments of resting his eyes to pour a glass of water and dry a towel for Tao Mu. Occasionally, he would also go to Mr. Song and ask what kind of soup is good to drink for those who often stay up too late and if he would teach him the steps to cooking it.

At this time Tao Mu would subconsciously raise his head, his eyes falling on Li Xiaoheng, who was humbly asking for advice from Mr. Song. After a few glances, he would go back to paying attention to the stove in front of him.

Li Xiaoheng generally did not chat with him while Tao Mu was cooking so as not to distract Tao Mu. But after he cooked a pot of health soup under the guidance of Mr. Song, he would serve Tao Mu the first bowl, and let Tao Mu comment on his craftsmanship.

The next few bowls naturally belonged to Mr. Song and Tao Mu’s Dads. Sometimes when dean Tao came over, he would also share a bowl with dean Tao. The rest would then be packed and taken home for his parents to drink.

After cooking soup so frequently, Li Xiaoheng would buy a new batch of ingredients for Song Ji under the excuse of him having consumed too many ingredients. Of course, Tao Mu used the weekend time to accompany him to the farmer’s market early in the morning to buy these ingredients.

Then Li Xiaoheng would treat Tao Mu to a meal and watch a movie on the grounds that Tao Mu had tired himself out while buying food with him so early in the morning.

Although he wanted to pursue Tao Mu, Li Xiaoheng’s presence was not very strong most of the time. He would not pull any sensationalist acts under the excuse of pursuit like those eighteen or nineteen-year-old boys.

Except for the daily reporting of his itinerary, and taking Tao Mu to Song Ji from school on time, the way the two got along was almost the same as before the confession. At best, Li Xiaoheng really started to learn how to cook.

However, even if there was no change in the communication mode of the two, and they rarely even mention the words related to dating in the conversation. Some people still keenly perceive that the atmosphere between the two had become different.

Except Tao Mu, Mr. Song, who had never taught others how to cook, silently taught Li Xiaoheng to cook soup. He actually didn’t agree with Tao Mu being with a man. Song Daozhen’s character had always been rigid and traditional. He believed that men were born to marry wives and have children and carry on the bloodline.

Not mentioning the harmony between yin and yang being the right way. Just saying two men being together was originally an unreliable thing. Even young men and women, there was still a chance of breaking up. Even if they married, if they didn’t have children, it was very easy to break up. Therefore, a family was complete and stable only after having a child. Children were the bond that maintained both parents. But if Tao Mu was with Li Xiaoheng, he might never have a child of his own in this life.

Besides, Li Xiaoheng was born in such a family. Could his family agree with Li Xiaoheng marrying a man? Their Tao Mu was originally an orphan, and hadn’t enjoyed what it was like to be part of a normal family for so many years. The gap between the two families was so big, the two households not matching in status at all. If Tao Mu was bullied by the Li family, he could certainly drag his old bones over to ask for an explanation. But the key was that when two people got married and lived their own lives, was it just to fight and argue?

So, Mr. Song didn’t say anything in front of Li Xiaoheng, but he held Tao Mu’s hand behind his back and tried to persuade him. He wanted to take this chance while the feelings between the two had not yet deepened. It’s not that grandpa doesn’t let you find a man, but even if you are looking for a man, we have to find the right one, and find someone you can manage. That way in the future, we will not be afraid of being at a disadvantage when you two get married and have a quarrel.

Liu Yao and Meng Qi also thought the same too. After knowing that Li Xiaoheng started chasing Tao Mu, Liu Yao even sent Da Hui to inquire about Li Xiaoheng’s personality. When he was studying in M ​​country, was his private life a mess, whether his family had already decided on a fiancee for him, or even if he was not engaged, whether they already had a daughter-in-law choice in mind. And also the Li family’s style of acting, were they the kind of people who would throw a check and insult others if they didn’t agree with their son’s choice of life partner?

“Our Mu Mu is such a good boy. Establishing FlyNews.com when only 18 years old. Having shorted oil and made hundreds of millions of dollars. And on top of all that he also looked handsome and has a good personality. How could he not be able to find a suitable life partner? If he really wanted to date surnamed Li, we also don’t have to look down on ourselves.”

The couple didn’t think about it as long-term as Mr. Song. Getting married and having children or something. Their Tao Mu was only nineteen years old. Even if he played around for the next ten years he still wouldn’t have reached 30, so why be worried? The ones who should be anxious were Li Xiaoheng and the Li family. If they could afford to wait then wait, if not then just find someone else.

“In these three to five years, you should just ignore him.” Meng Qi told Tao Mu, “Anyway, didn’t you plan on not dating? Men should put their careers first, once your career is on track what kind of men and women can’t you find? Besides, if you plan to be an actor, will there be a lack in pretty girls and handsome boys in the entertainment industry? Moreover, they can play and have fun, unlike that Mr. Li, who can’t even say ten words a day. Only knowing to work, and then thinking of chasing you in his spare time when there is no work.” Did he take their Tao Mu as a pastime?

Meng Qi was worried that Tao Mu was too young and inexperienced and had not met many men, let alone men willing to treat him well. And as a result just casually getting touched by Li Xiaoheng’s pursuit. So Meng Qi deliberately distorted Li Xiaoheng’s actions to let Tao Mu remain vigilant at all times.

“No matter whether men or women, they are bad in nature. Those who they easily get they won’t cherish. Have you heard of sunk costs? How much he spends on you, how much he invests in you, proves how valuable you are in his eyes. So don’t believe in the bullshit they use to fool innocent boys and girls outside. If a man refuses to spend money on you when he is poor, and refuses to spend time and money on you when he is rich, then it proves that even if he has feelings for you, these feelings are also limited.”

As the once popular male escort at Night, Meng Qi believed that he had a special understanding of the relationship between men and women, men and men. In a few words, if Tao Mu was really an innocent boy unfamiliar with the world, he would definitely be fooled.

However, Tao Mu had lived two lifetimes, and he had his own unique insights on feelings: “Li Xiaoheng shouldn’t be that kind of person. I believe he is sincere at this moment.”

However, Tao Mu had experienced the whole process of “sincere feelings becoming hateful enmity” in his previous life. And more than once. So even if Li Xiaoheng was really interested in him at this moment, Tao Mu didn’t dare to believe it.

Back then, when Zhuo Yan chased him, they went from sincere lovers who share the same bed to turning into enemies. Just happened to come across the seven year itch. How long could Li Xiaoheng’s sincerity last?

When the warranty period had passed, everyone could withdraw, but Tao Mu was afraid that he would not be able to withdraw.

He had no strength anymore to once again commit suicide by jumping off the building.

Even if there was no romantic love in this life, he could also just be content with familial love from old man Song, Yao Dad, Xiao Qi Dad, and dean Tao, and could still live quite well.

“I don’t think what Xiao Qi Dad said is necessarily correct. Even if the rich are willing to spend time and money when chasing you, once they have you and want to break up, considering the sunk costs, they may not be able to part ways peacefully.” And sometimes it was not just a matter of sunk costs.

“So you can rest assured. I will not agree to Mr. Li’s pursuit. It is just that I haven’t figured out how to refuse. Just take it gradually.”

Even if it was a refusal, there was a possibility that the disagreement might turn into enmity. But it couldn’t be delayed for too long. Otherwise, others could still accuse him of playing with emotions and deliberately looking for a spare tire. Tao Mu had experienced too much of this kind of thing in his last life, and it left a psychological shadow on him as well as solutions to solve it.

Habit was the second nature.

Li Xiaoheng obviously did not know that his actions could be deliberately misinterpreted by Tao Mu and his Xiao Qi Dad. And he definitely did not know that what Meng Qi said only strengthened Tao Mu’s determination to not talk about feelings.

The road to chasing his wife was long, and the most visible results of all Li Xiaoheng’s efforts was his growing cooking skills. So much so that everyone in the Li family all plumped visibly after drinking soup for half a month.

On the other side, Tao Mu, who had been busy with his finals rehearsal, finally ushered in the drama performance final.

The drama performance final of class 1 of the 2008 Drama Department was “Modern Version of Flowers as a Matchmaker”. That’s right, as soon as one heard this name, one would know that this script was carefully adapted and presented as a gift by classmate Du Kang.

In fact, when they first saw this topic, all the students in class 1 of the 2008 Drama Department, except Tao Mu, rejected it. Although everyone was not as burdened by idol baggage as Tao Mu, for young 18 or 19 year old teens like them, who didn’t want to perform something more lofty. It was fine if the school wouldn’t give classic scripts for lower grade students to perform. They could write a script themselves but who knew that the script they adapted turned out to be a two-people rotation (TN: two-people rotation is a genre of local folk dance and song from Northeast China, usually involving two performers. The dance uses folded fans or square-shaped red handkerchiefs, which are twirled as the songs are performed)

Who wanted to perform a two-people rotation on the stage at the end of their first semester! If it spread out, would they even be able to find a girl(boy)friend?

In this regard, the future director Du insisted that this was not an adaptation of a two-people rotation: “Can you people have a little culture? A little quality? A little bit of the most basic understanding of Chinese local opera? It is called Pingju ( TN: local opera of north and northeast China)! Do you understand Pingju? It is equivalent to the two-people rotation. Just like between me and Tao Mu, there is a Wen Bao!”

“Huh??” Classmate Wen Bao, who had been sitting next to them eating melons, rage-quit: “What do you mean?”

“I’m talking about height! Height!” Classmate Du Kang compared himself with Tao Mu, and said euphemistically: “It’s a rhetoric about a special image that can be seen at a glance.”

My ass! Wen Bao instantly rage-quit and pounced over to give the other a beating.

Tao Mu carefully read the script adapted by Du Kang. How to put it, although the name and theme was a bit vulgar and funny, the content was actually very innovative and of good quality. In fact it was better than most of the scripts their classmates came up with.

Tao Mu felt that, regardless of whether the script was adapted from Pingju. From the perspective of the plot and the characters alone, the characters were rich in personality with ups and downs. As expected of a great future director.

Tao Mu himself really liked it anyway and had a desire to act it out. So with Tao Mu’s help and persuasion, the class 1 students also reluctantly agreed to Du Kang’s script.

It was just that everyone was secretly rumoring that Tao Mu must have developed masochistic qualities due to Du Kang’s quiz question. He actually wanted to act out such a weird script.

In this regard, screenwriter/director/guest actor Du Kang expressed his gratitude. In order to reward Tao Mu for his level of artistic appreciation, Du Kang decided to give Tao Mu the important role of Wang Zunqing, the protagonist.

“Don’t you mean Wang Junqing?” Don’t think Tao Mu hadn’t read the original work. He went to see the movie after seeing Du Kang’s adapted screenplay alright.

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“That’s right, it’s Zunqing. The expression of art is different, so the feelings when the lines are recited will naturally be different. That’s how we say it!”

Tao Mu: “…..” Fine! You are the director, you have the final say!

So when Li Xiaoheng accompanied old man Song and the others to sit at the Beijing Film Art Center, he couldn’t imagine what kind of show he would see. And what kind of Tao Mu.

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After dinner, Li Xiaoheng sent Tao Mu back to school as usual.

When checking out, Li Xiaoheng also asked the waiter to help pack the eight piece dining set used to peel crabs for Tao Mu. Although the confession failed, Mr. Li felt that his first confession was still worth remembering. He decided to take this set of diningware as a souvenir of his confession towards Tao Mu.

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When getting in the car, Li Xiaoheng said to Tao Mu with emotion: “I know, you still don’t believe that I am serious about you. But I can prove that my feelings for you are like the steel used to create this eight piece dining set, it will always be firm and will never change, nor will it rust.”

Tao Mu: “…..” How lame.

Li Xiaoheng looked at the slight disdain that flashed across Tao Mu’s face and couldn’t help but smile.

He felt that although his first confession had failed. But to a certain extent, it was also considered a success. At least Tao Mu was now aware of his intentions. Just like a good project chased by many capitals, now Party B had seen his intention to cooperate. So next, he only needed to prove his sincerity and ability to Party B——

The sincerity to join hands for the rest of their lives, and the ability to solve any problems after the two merged.

Li Xiaoheng felt that he should go back and write up a plan. Not only must Tao Mu see his sincerity, but Tao Mu must also see his executive ability.

And before Tao Mu accepted his pursuit, Li Xiaoheng believed that he must use 200% hard work and enthusiasm to impress this talented but difficult to convince partner.

Thinking optimistically, business partners and life partners were both two word terms. It took him half a year to achieve the former. There was only a one word difference. In terms of time, he planned to give himself at least one and a half years of preparation time.

Having Tao Mu agree to his pursuit would be equivalent to a year and a half to facilitate the establishment of the project. When Tao Mu accepted his pursuit, that was, when Party B agreed to the cooperation, the following dating time would be equivalent to the merger negotiation. When the time for getting along was almost done, they could then consider the merger. Which was basically talking about marriage. And life after marriage was equivalent to strategic adjustments and structural changes after a business merger…..

That night, Li Xiaoheng spent a whole night drafting an “Arbitrage Merger Plan.” And before going to work the next morning, the first part of this plan——how to win the cooperation intention of Party A’s work process, was photographed and sent to Tao Mu’s FlyNews.

At that time Tao Mu was practicing morning exercises on the campus field and reciting lines, when he heard the phone alert. Shivering from the morning chill, he took out his phone and opened it: “?”

Tao Mu didn’t understand it at first, and thought that Li Xiaoheng was planning to engage in some sort of arbitrage trading company acquisition. He was now the chief analyst and senior partner of Xiaoheng Capital, and of course he should not act willfully in his work. So he was just about to take a closer look, combining his previous life experience to provide professional and effective advice to Li Xiaoheng. But when his frozen fingers swiped down, all he saw were “Reporting the schedule every day, learning to cook for Tao Mu, providing convenience in work and life, and trying hard to learn to take care of Tao Mu” and so on that was nothing like what would appear on an arbitrage mergers and acquisitions plan.

What the hell!

“Tao & Li, you are in the front, and I am in the back. Taoli for short.” Li Xiaoheng sent a message through FlyNews especially earnestly to explain: “The unspoken rules established on the negotiating table. Whoever has the first name will have greater leadership. In the cooperative relationship, Party A’s rights and status are higher than those of Party B. Party B needs to serve Party A wholeheartedly and strive for the favor and satisfaction of Party A. I hope that between the two of us, you can occupy more leadership while I will serve as Party B and provide you with more services.”

“As for the merger…..” Even though the other was on the other end of the phone line, Tao Mu’s face was not visible at all, Li Xiaoheng still felt his ears warm up: “I hope our relationship can go from cooperation to merger, from dating to marriage.”

He explained to Tao Mu his theory of “dating/marriage = commercial mergers” that he had thought over about last night: “Because the morning time is not enough, I will only send you the first part of how to pursue you. If you think that something is not good, you can directly tell me. I will continue to modify it according to your suggestions until you are satisfied.”

After a pause, Li Xiaoheng asked a little shyly: “If you are also interested in other procedures, I can send you the whole document later.”

Tao Mu sighed. He had lived two lifetimes, but he had never heard of using commercial mergers and acquisitions methods in dating. Li Xiaoheng was able to write up a whole plan…..even giving it the name Taoli Merger…..mental!

“Mr. Li!” Tao Mu scratched his head with his hand in annoyance: “You are a person who is destined to be Party A all your life. Why distress yourself to be Party B. There are so many good projects in the world, and a capital bigwig like you can completely choose at will. You can choose whatever you want. Party B will never reject a Party A like you. So why can’t you put yourself in the place of Party A instead of wasting time in finding another Party A, who might not be so good, and turn yourself into Party B?”

“Because all the Party B’s are not you.” Li Xiaoheng’s voice came from the other end of the line, gentle and firm: “There is another traffic jam. The traffic in Beijing is like this. Traffic jams every day. But every morning, you have to drive out to go to work. This is not a waste of time, but a rigid requirement.”

“Tao Mu, you are my rigid requirement. Everything I do for you is a strategic need, and nothing is a waste of time.” If necessary, even a capitalist’s sweet talk could be more pleasing than that of a poet.

Because poets did not make money most of the time when they wrote poems. So he wrote from emotion, first pleasing himself, and then touching others. But every word the capitalists say was for profit. So he must find the lifeblood before he acted. Sometimes direction was more important than hard work. But in order to maximize the benefits, both direction and effort were indispensable.

Li Xiaoheng believed that successfully pursuing Tao Mu was related to his life-long interests. So he had to find the right direction, then bombard and open the gates around the heart that Tao Mu had set up a heavy guard around.

This was a protracted battle that required unremitting efforts and perseverance. Of course, during this period, it might also require countless early-stage capital expenditures. Li Xiaoheng was already fully prepared for this.

“I am a shrewd businessman. I have the ability to discern right from wrong and possess business insight. I can take responsibility for the decisions I make. I know exactly what I am doing and what kind of person I want.” Li Xiaoheng chuckled warmly: “Xiao Mu, I don’t quite understand what your concerns are. What I am referring to is you not being confident in yourself. But I think even if you want to dispel my enthusiasm, at least don’t question my judgment and execution. Because we all know what kind of people we are.”

“You——” Tao Mu was speechless. Noticing that his classmates were no longer memorizing lines around him, and were instead secretly eavesdropping. Tao Mu got up and walked to the edge of the campus field.

“What do you like about me? Is it because I have a good stock market vision? Can cook? Or because I have good looks?” Tao Mu thought about it for a long time last night, but still couldn’t figure out what about him attracted Li Xiaoheng.

Li Xiaoheng said that they knew who each other was, but Tao Mu felt that what he said was wrong. Tao Mu really knew who Li Xiaoheng was. But Li Xiaoheng didn’t necessarily know who Tao Mu was. Because Tao Mu in Li Xiaoheng’s eyes was not the real Tao Mu. It wasn’t the Tao Mu who was vicious, paranoid, cowardly, and didn’t even have the courage to live. But a fake elite who was wrapped in the halo of having knowledge of a decade into the future from his rebirth.

After ten years passed, when he could no longer produce accurate and effective investment reports and his true nature revealed itself, Li Xiaoheng would be disappointed in him. Like so many people he had ever met, they would abandon him like a worn shoe or even become enemies with him.

“You are indeed really handsome. I admit that you are the most handsome man I have ever seen.” On the other end of the line, Li Xiaoheng couldn’t see Tao Mu’s expression, but he could hear the rollercoaster of emotions in Tao Mu’s voice: “But I can’t guarantee that this is a subjective bias due to my liking you. Because I like you, I think you are the best.”

“Your vision in the financial field is really superior. But I think if it is just because of your high financial talent, I would not like my business partner so casually. Before you, I did not like the other talented financial analysts and stock traders I’ve met. No matter how excellent the other was or how strong the talent shown in the financial field. It can be seen that this is not a necessary condition for me to like you.”

“The dishes you cook are also delicious. But I don’t think I will like a person just because they cook delicious food. If I like to eat delicious food, I can go to the restaurant. In fact, if you want, I am also willing to cook for you.”

“So you see, I like you completely because you are Tao Mu. All the other external conditions are only part of you.” Li Xiaoheng analyzed rationally: “They are not even your bonus points. Because we all know, even if you can’t trade stocks or cook, I will still like you.”

“But if I’m not handsome, you might not like me anymore?” Tao Mu raised his eyebrows. He didn’t know how he was in the mood to joke.

Li Xiaoheng chuckled: “I have to admit this. I liked you when I first met you. Your appearance is very in line with my aesthetics. If it weren’t for your face, I don’t think I would have continued to contact you and gradually develop the curiosity to understand you. Moreover fall in love with you.”

Tao Mu’s ears became slightly heated: “You guys who come back from studying abroad, do you all speak in such sappy ways?”

“This is honesty.” Li Xiaoheng said solemnly: “You have to admit that I am at least an honest and reliable partner.”

Tao Mu didn’t know what to say.

Li Xiaoheng laughed lightly: “I have a meeting at half past nine. It will be held for about an hour and a half. Can I invite you to lunch at noon?”

Tao Mu silently breathed a sigh of relief when Li Xiaoheng took the initiative to change the subject. He must admit that even if he didn’t want to accept Li Xiaoheng’s pursuit, he didn’t want to fall out with Li Xiaoheng. The cost of their cooperation collapsing was too great, at least the current Tao Mu couldn’t afford it: “I have to film a drama performance recently for the finals. There’s no time to go out to eat at noon.”

“Then can I apply to visit the set?” Li Xiaoheng asked, “Didn’t you say that you want to eat hot pot? I can call Shujin Pavilion in advance and ask them to prepare the ingredients and chef and go to Beijing Film to cook it for you.”

“Don’t make such a fuss. My classmates will be uncomfortable.” Tao Mu said, “I’m just going to eat randomly in the cafeteria at noon.”

“Don’t eat randomly.” Li Xiaoheng frowned, “Didn’t you always advocate that one should eat well, no matter how busy one is at work, one must eat seriously. This is what you told me.”

“That’s because you have stomach problems. Besides, I just eat like this once in a while. Isn’t this because of the finals and we have to take all the time to rehearse?” Tao Mu said, “Don’t worry. I will definitely take good care of myself, I absolutely won’t treat my own health casually.”

“That’s good.” Li Xiaoheng thought for a while, and then said, “Are you still going back to Songji to cook at night? How about I drive to school to pick you up?”

“I can drive back by myself.” Tao Mu said, “If you are busy——”

“I want to eat your pot simmered deer tendon dish.” Li Xiaoheng said warmly: “I said yesterday that I will just take a day off and then eat your dishes every day.”

Without waiting for Tao Mu to respond, Li Xiaoheng said again: “And I want to learn more cooking techniques from Mr. Song. You invite me to eat the dishes you cook, and I should also invite you to eat the dishes I make. How much did you already cook for me? Now, I have to at least cook twice as more for you. This is the consciousness that Party B should have during the cooperation period.”

Tao Mu frowned: “Brother Li, you don’t have to do this.”

“Why not? Haven’t you always been doing this before?” Li Xiaoheng said lightly: “During our cooperation, no matter how much I give you, you will try your best to return it to me several times or even dozens times more. Short selling in the international crude oil market is the case, and the same is true for short selling in the international financial market. Xiaoheng Capital was also allowed to act as the title sponsor for the opening of the charity event “Holding Hands and Offering Love”.”

Tao Mu interrupted Li Xiaoheng’s words: “Brother Li is too courteous. We are partners, and these are what I should do.”

“I am your admirer. Being good to you, and getting your approval is what I want to do.” Li Xiaoheng continued: “Xiao Mu, I am now chasing Party A with a Party B’s mindset, and solemnly request you to give me this chance.”

Tao Mu was speechless. After a long while, he sneered and said, “Brother Li, do you know how many Party A’s will be chased by one Party B in a year?”

“I don’t know.” Li Xiaoheng slowly inched his car forward, and said directly amidst the surrounding honking of car horns, “I don’t care how other people do business. I only know that I, Li Xiaoheng, will be Party B for you alone in this life.”

The cold winter wind blew past. The knife-like biting cold wind blew cuttingly across people’s cheeks, blowing away the white breath that misted from the nose and mouth. Tao Mu held the phone stiffly with his fingers, feeling that his chin was almost frozen off. He couldn’t even say a word.

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Li Xiaoheng continued: “Before the new partnership is reached, everyone will have a certain degree of doubt about their partners. This is human nature. Even after the cooperation has started, there will be many partners who hold a certain degree of vigilance. Because they feel uneasy and are afraid of betrayal.”

“But my reputation in the industry is pretty good. I will not actively betray my business partner, nor will I betray my life partner. You can set an evaluation period for me. I especially look forward to taking on your assessment.”

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Before today, to be precise, before this meal, Li Xiaoheng had imagined many times what his first confession should be like.

Take Tao Mu on his private jet overlooking the rivers, lakes, mountains, and other famous sceneries, or take Tao Mu on his private yacht to admire the sea scenery, and then at night, when the fireworks exploding in the night sky, kneel down to Tao Mu on one knee to make his confession. Or he should have at least booked a restaurant with a chef prepared romantic candlelight dinner, a large bouquet of roses, a love confession cake, and a pianist or violinist on the side playing the song “Romantic Wedding” or something…..

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All in all, it should definitely not be the way it was now, eating food, holding a half peeled crab in his hand, facing a table full of crab shells and shrimp skin leftovers, confessing hastily and recklessly.

——Would Xiao Mu think I am too casual? No sincerity at all?

I really shouldn’t be so impulsive. I should continue to subtly and quietly accompany Xiao Mu until Xiao Mu is completely accustomed to me and begins to have good feelings about me before confessing.

But what if in the meantime, someone confessed to Xiao Mu ahead of me, and Xiao Mu agreed?

In an instant, Li Xiaoheng’s mood was full of remorse and entanglement. Wanting nothing more than to rewind back ten minutes. However, even if the time really went back ten minutes, Li Xiaoheng was reluctant to miss this opportunity to confess.

There was no expression on Li Xiaoheng’s face, as if he was at the negotiating table about to sign a contract worth hundreds of billions of dollars at any time. One couldn’t see even a hint of the crazy barrage of 10,000 mud horses running across his inner bullet screen.

Li Xiaoheng squeezed the crab with both hands, and looked at Tao Mu with anxiety. Seeing Tao Mu’s expression shift in just a few seconds, from stunned at first, then amused, then turning into a sneer, and then quickly transitioning from a sneer to thoughtful indifference, and finally freezing into an interested and curious expression: “How did brother Li come to like me?”

There was something wrong!

Although he had not known Tao Mu for a long time, he was very familiar with Tao Mu’s true reactions in various environments because of Li Xiaoheng’s deep-rooted one-sided feelings. He could even tell from Tao Mu’s subtle expression what Tao Mu was thinking, so Tao Mu’s current state was definitely not curious why Li Xiaoheng liked him.

Li Xiaoheng frowned subtly, feeling that the situation might not be very good, as expected, one would face a high probability of failure if one did not fully prepare before the negotiation.

Fortunately, Li Xiaoheng had never imagined that Tao Mu would immediately accept his confession. He just hoped that Tao Mu could give him a chance to pursue him——

“Speaking of, I met brother Li during the summer vacation.” Tao Mu called him brother Li, but in Li Xiaoheng’s ears, the “brother Li” this time was not even as close and familiar as the “Mr. Li” just now.

“We met for the first time on July 7th, which is only half a year to make a full calculation. During that time, brother Li was dealing with business in Country M for most of it, which means that we actually only spent a little over two months together in actuality.” Tao Mu looked at Li Xiaoheng with a gentle smile. The expression conveyed surprise, with a little embarrassment and shyness: “In such a short period of time, I can actually make someone as good as brother Li like me. Say, I am really flattered. It seems that my personal charm is also not bad.”

No, you don’t think so in your heart. Li Xiaoheng looked at Tao Mu’s expression, and his excitement after the impulsive confession gradually declined. He keenly sensed that Tao Mu seemed to be putting up guards against him.

——Tao Mu was indeed the case.

Li Xiaoheng’s confession reminded him of his terrible last life. Before returning to the Shen family’s house, Tao Mu actually attracted a lot of mad bees and butterflies because of his face. Even with Liu Yao protecting him, Tao Mu had no lack in experiencing his path blocked by luxury cars at the school gate and being requested to become ‘friends’.

Later, when he returned to the Shen family, some people might be looking at the wealth of the Shen family at the beginning, or at his face. Maybe they found it particularly novel, so they put on an attitude of “I like you”. Even in Shen Yu’s harem group, many of them at first became interested in him, but in the end they all became attracted to Shen Yu without exception. And in the end, they would put on the disgusting attitude “I didn’t expect you to be this kind of person, you really disappointed me. I must have been blind to be interested in you”. These people would step on him even more than those who liked Shen Yu from the beginning. Their damage index was absolutely no less than the lethality of a big fan turning into an anti.

Tao Mu was actually not afraid of anyone playing tricks on him. After all, he grew up in an environment of repeated manipulations and scheming since he was a child.

But people who just made sweet promises to him, only to in the next second turn around to help Shen Yu deal with him. After experiencing this for too long, Tao Mu would also become tired.

The most important thing was that having to solve the mess that ensued was too troublesome. Just like Zhuo Yan, when he first chased him, he was extremely sweet and good. He was so caring and showed his affection to the extent that it was nauseating. Coaxing Tao Mu, who was full of wariness from the beginning to eventually soften and give over his trust. So, the two became the closest people sleeping on the same bed. Tao Mu even thought about when to take time out to get a marriage certificate with Zhuo Yan. But the result was that the pursuer in their relationship got bored first.

Feeling that the scheming big leopard with ruthless and cruel methods had become boring, and was not as good as the soft and cute Persian cat.

But the point was that it was fine if you got tired, after all even condoms have a shelf life. Who hadn’t experienced a seven-year itch? What Tao Mu couldn’t understand was that even if you didn’t like him anymore, so long as they had an open talk, Tao Mu was not the kind of person who would pester and harass and refuse to let go.

Wasn’t it good to break up decently and maturely?

The key point was that Zhuo Yan was not——it should be said that anyone Tao Mu had contact with who had repeatedly said that they admired him was not like that.

When breaking up, they just had to turn it into a matter of deep life-long hatred. It was clearly themselves who got tired in the relationship but they insisted on placing that responsibility on Tao Mu. And they dare to put on an innocent victim’s face, accusing Tao Mu with a wounded expression, and shamelessly say that they didn’t expect Tao Mu to be such a scheming and ruthless person——motherf**kers, is this is the first day you all met me?

Every time he was pursued and began dating, they would end up as enemies. No wonder Tao Mu was now reflexively wary when he heard related words.

He really had a headache. He wasn’t happy at all about being pursued and liked by an excellent suitor. On the contrary, the better the person who liked him, the more worried Tao Mu would be. If this was the case, how much effort must he put in to settle the civil strife?

Besides, he didn’t see how Li Xiaoheng liked him?

The two of them, since meeting to now, in total had only been half a year, and the number of times they met in person could not be said to be a lot. During this period, there were only a handful of times when they talked about private affairs——most of the time, they only talked about work and how to short the international market.

That’s right! Tao Mu came back to his senses when he thought of work. Sh*t, most of his wealth was still within Xiaoheng Capital.

He originally thought that his luck had turned for the better after rebirth, and he could easily hug a golden thigh. The two would cooperate happily and tacitly, with one responsible for providing financial reports and the other responsible for the specific trading. Tao Mu could also enjoy the pleasure of having a large amount of money flowing into his bank account just while he relaxed on the bed.

Unfortunately, his partner experienced a sudden and unexpected convulsion, suddenly confessing nearing the end of their meal.

——F**king mental! On a whim? Struck by lightning? Could this be any more messed up? Ordinary white-collar workers still know not to engage in office romances. Yet a big capitalist with a great future like you insist on talking romance with your business partner?

Even if they both liked men, rabbits still don’t eat the grass around their nests. Everyone is a bunny here. Couldn’t you follow the most basic species habits and ethics inherited from species genes?

Thinking of Li Xiaoheng’s methods and the great affluence of the Li family, Tao Mu, instead of being delighted by being confessed to by such a suitor, felt the fear of being dominated by the “friends to enemies halo of hatred”.

If this talk accidentally took a turn for the worse, could his little bit of savings withstand the revenge of Li Xiaoheng?

Tao Mu took a deep breath and felt that he was about to have a heart attack. Should he think of a way to first withdraw his funds from Xiaoheng Capital?

However, the top priority now was to appease the business partner who suddenly went into convulsions when he was not looking.

“Brother Li.” Tao Mu forcefully suppressed his complaints and slanderings, and said with a gentle smile: “Your sudden confession is really surprising to me. How to put it, I think we don’t know each other that well. You know what I am like, I am not that kind of innocent and pure good person——”

“I know.” Li Xiaoheng nodded and interrupted Tao Mu’s words: “You don’t believe that I really like you. Maybe you are even worried that after rejecting me, I will become angry and ruin our cooperative relationship.”

Tao Mu didn’t expect Li Xiaoheng to directly point out his worry. Suddenly he was a little embarrassed: “How could that be. I still trust brother Li’s professional ethics. Our cooperation has been pleasant so far, and we have earned tens of billions of dollars in the international crude oil market. It is conceivable that the future gains will definitely be greater than now. Mr. Li is also a businessman, how can you let emotions take over reason.”

Tao Mu’s words were so conclusive, sincere, and earnest, that ordinary people might really believe it.

However, Li Xiaoheng was not an ordinary person: “I know you don’t believe me. I admit that today’s confession was too abrupt. I didn’t make you feel the importance I attach to this relationship. Or, to be precise, I didn’t make you feel the serious attitude a pursuer should have, but I really hope you can give me a chance to pursue you formally.”

“You don’t need to accept my confession. I just need you to officially allow me to pursue you.”

In Tao Mu’s heart he let out a sarcastic chuckle and asked, what kind of attitude? The more formal and solemn your attitude, the more lethal the damage would be in the future when you go back on your words. All of this is directly proportional.

Besides, everyone here was an adult. What was the use of just looking at attitude alone? So long as the benefits were sufficient, he could even put on a kind and caring face towards Luo Yang and Cheng Baodong and show them the utmost respect. But did that mean he really liked these two people?

In fact, Tao Mu was not afraid of Li Xiaoheng discussing interests with him. Because he believed that he could bring his business partners huge profits that were beyond the expectations of the other party. He was only afraid that Li Xiaoheng would become headstrong, and would not even discuss interests with him.

At this time Tao Mu thought of Luo Yang again. Suddenly he remembered that Li Xiaoheng was Luo Yang’s childhood friend. Although the weight of this ‘childhood friendship’ was still to be discussed. But at this moment, the wise saying that birds of a feather flock together was now showing its lethality.

Sh*t, each and every one of them just liked to give him headaches.

Tao Mu’s inner bullet screen was continuously plated in the background, but he still had to remain calm on the surface: “Business is business. I really feel that the relationship between the two of us is not suitable for dating.” The following projects they had in their agenda were worth at least tens of billions of dollars.

Isn’t it a good thing for everyone to sit together and make money, why do you have to think about romance and dating. At that time, you become emotionally unstable and want to split up, how much money would I have to lose!

Tao Mu scratched his head with his hands miserably. If Li Xiaoheng could maintain his emotional stability the whole time, even if he wanted to date him because of suddenly being hit with convulsions, he could lower his head and coax Li Xiaoheng for the sake of their business cooperation.

But could Li Xiaoheng’s mood remain stable the whole time? Who could give a guarantee!

Even someone like Zhuo Yan, who was promoted personally by him, could betray him just like that, without any hesitation, and even aiming straight at his lifeblood.

Tao Mu knew about his own affairs, he knew that his character was ruthless and vicious, and the longer others got along with him, the better they would be able to see his personality. After some people turned their heads and became enemies, the main reason their methods when dealing with him were so ruthless was because they were afraid that he would retaliate, so they wanted to strike first and gain the upper hand.

This was human nature, but he couldn’t understand it: “Tell you the truth.”

Tao Mu carefully looked at Li Xiaoheng’s expression: “Although I like men, but in this life I have never thought of seriously dating and being in a relationship. Brother Li, you are a good person, so I won’t delay you?”

Xiao Mu doesn’t like me.

Although he didn’t know Tao Mu’s previous life experience, from Tao Mu’s reaction after hearing his confession and his subconscious attitude of weighing the pros and cons, Li Xiaoheng still clearly saw the most important point.

This was long expected.

Li Xiaoheng inhaled slightly, and he smiled slightly at Tao Mu. With a gentle smile that had a trace of affection: “My willful confession caused you trouble, right?”

Tao Mu’s polite words were about to blurt out when his eyes touched upon the unconcealed warmth and affection in Li Xiaoheng’s eyes, and he hesitated for a moment. Slowly he nodded, and smiled bitterly: “A little bit.”

“Sorry.” Li Xiaoheng continued to smile. He poured himself a cup of warm tea, took two sips slowly, and calmed himself down: “You are right. If it was for long-term cooperation, I shouldn’t have willfully confessed. We should not mix too many personal feelings into our relationship. This will lead to our cooperation becoming unstable because of personal feelings…..”

Li Xiaoheng’s mind was a bit messy that moment, but he was also very clear-headed. He knew he had to do something to soothe the leopard who was so nervous that he was about to explode.

“I’m really ashamed. Despite being several years older than Xiao Mu, yet on these issues, I am not as clear-minded as you.”

Tao Mu smiled gently, and observed Li Xiaoheng subtly, judging whether the other party was making polite talk, or he really thought so.

Of course, no matter what Li Xiaoheng truly thought. If he could be rational, he should know that their stable cooperative relationship was far more important than the relationship controlled by hormones.

A future capitalist bigwig should understand how to weigh these two relationships.

Thinking of Li Xiaoheng’s reputation and status in the international capital market in his previous life, Tao Mu was still optimistic about Li Xiaoheng’s decision.

“So after careful consideration, I have decided…..”

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

Sure enough. The bigwig is a bigwig. Even if they occasionally convulse, their reason and sense could still be trusted——

“Just like when we are working together, with you choosing when to short on a project, while I am responsible for the specific trading. I will also give you the power to decide on our personal relationship. I am only responsible for pursuing you. As for whether to accept my pursuit, it’s up to you to decide.”

“…..Huh?” Tao Mu looked at Mr. Bigwig Li with a dazed expression, you messing with me, right?

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Tao Mu was fairly satisfied with his physical theater performance. That night, when he invited Li Xiaoheng to come out for dinner, he continued to boast in a proud tone: “…..My classmates, including my teacher, thought I would interpret this quiz topic in the form of absurd comedy. They didn’t expect that my performance was a bit different from what they thought. When I just finished the performance, there was no movement in the classroom at all. When they came back to themselves someone even applauded me.”

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

“My teacher also said that I performed well today and that the emotional rendering is the proper place. It can be seen that I did some serious thinking and used my brain to act.” Of course, there were also minor details such as excessive acting, but these shortcomings could not be forced. One must take things slowly and gradually.

Tao Mu was really happy when he said this. Li Xiaoheng could also see that Tao Mu really enjoyed his identity as an actor. When he spoke about acting, his eyes shone and his face was very expressive. Compared to how he looked when talking about work, it was as if they were two different people.

The corner of Li Xiaoheng’s mouth hooked up and he handed the peeled shrimp to Tao Mu. In fact, Tao Mu often invited him over to dinner at Song Ji recently because Tao Mu was learning the dishes for ancestor worship during the New Year. So every time he treated guests there were just the same dishes. At the beginning, Li Xiaoheng ate with contentment, but over time, to be precise, after eating too much deer tendon, his body would become hot, forcing him to take cold showers despite the winter weather. Inevitably this consumed a lot of his vitality. After such torment, even a bigshot could not hold up for long. So when Tao Mu invited him to dinner again, Li Xiaoheng calmly suggested that he wanted to eat the food from XX restaurant.

Tao Mu didn’t know Li Xiaoheng’s hardship and entanglement, and thought that Li Xiaoheng really wanted to eat food outside. As a result, the two arrived at the restaurant but after the dishes were ready, Li Xiaoheng didn’t move his chopsticks much. Instead, half of the time was spent peeling shrimps and crabs for him.

So Tao Mu was particularly puzzled: “Didn’t you say you want to eat the food from this restaurant, why aren’t you eating it?”

As Tao Mu spoke, he picked up some crab noodles and lion head with the shared chopsticks and placed it in Li Xiaoheng’s plate.

The two now have a lot of contact with each other due to work and personal relations. Earlier polite restraints have long been consumed over meetings and appointments with each other. This could be seen from Tao Mu’s unconscious ordering around Li Xiaoheng at the dinner table——

“Brother Li, pass me the salt and pepper bottle next to you.” Tao Mu took the salt and pepper bottle Li Xiaoheng handed him and sprinkled some into his plate. He ordered a dish of soft fried pork fillet, only to find that the chef had fried it for too long. Tao Mu felt that it was not as good as him cooking it himself.

“Actually, mine is better, right?” Tao Mu looked up and asked for agreement, still full of complaints about Li Xiaoheng’s refusal to eat the food he cooked: “You truly don’t know how to enjoy at all.”

Li Xiaoheng chuckled: “I admit that you cook better. But you always cook the same dishes for me——”

“Tired of eating it?” Tao Mu smiled and finished for him: “You can’t blame me. I’ve been learning those few dishes recently for ancestor worship on New Year’s eve. If I don’t practice, how can that be good. You just try to overcome it, and wait until after the New Year’s Day, then I can cook something else for you.”

“I didn’t get tired of eating it.” Li Xiaoheng refuted him very seriously. It was Tao Mu’s cooking, so how could Li Xiaoheng get tired of eating it: “I just have a cold. Recently, I have taken cold showers more frequently. Just need to take a rest.”

“Why take cold showers?” Tao Mu paused, before reacting: “From the deer tendon dish? Wooo~ Brother Li, young and vigorous, eh? It seems that your physical fitness is normally particularly good? Unlike me, I have no feeling at all after eating it.”

In Li Xiaoheng’s heart, he thought: how many mouthfuls did you eat in total? On average, there was a pot of deer tendon every day, and you just ate two bites to judge the taste, while the rest of the soup was completely finished by Li Xiaoheng alone.

“Actually, you can give it to Da Mao and Xiao Pang. Feng Yuan also wants to eat it. And my Yao Dad and Xiao Qi Dad, I think deer tendon is particularly suitable for both of them.” After Tao Mu finished laughing at him, he felt a little distressed because Mr. Li caught a cold from the cold showers.

Li Xiaoheng was particularly exasperated. He couldn’t figure out why their Xiao Mu, who clearly said he liked men, yet his thinking was like that of a straight man. The entire Song Ji people could see his feelings towards Tao Mu, and they didn’t even come to fight with him over Tao Mu’s dishes. Only the person involved was completely unaware of this.

Mr. Li was a little bit depressed, but he didn’t dare to press too hard, for fear that Tao Mu would feel uncomfortable. But sometimes, if he didn’t press a bit, he himself would feel unwilling.

“You let me rest for a day, and tomorrow I will continue to eat the dishes you make.” He still did not want to share Tao Mu’s dishes with others, so Mr. Li promised: “I just need to rest a bit.”

Tao Mu laughed loudly: “It’s better to forget it. Taking cold showers and catching a cold in order to eat the deer tendon. I will also feel unbearable.”

Li Xiaoheng looked at Tao Mu, whose mouth said that he couldn’t bear it but in fact, he smiled very happily, and the corners of his own mouth also involuntarily hooked up. Suddenly, he asked: “By the way, how is your dance practice?”

“Huh?” Tao Mu was once again slow to react. By the way, today Mr. Li’s speech and thinking was quite non-linear, jumping around so randomly.

“Crossdress dance.” Li Xiaoheng reminded him with a gentle smile, “Didn’t you say it yourself. If the registered users of FlyNews.com exceed 100 million, you will do a dance while crossdressing to celebrate. I have always been paying attention to the data of FlyNews.com, there are now more than 90 million registered users. It is estimated that it will exceed 100 million after the New Year.”

Like a thunderbolt to the head, Tao Mu suddenly remembered the FlyNews post he had jokingly posted a few months ago.

His whole person was a little panicked.

“It couldn’t be so fast!” Tao Mu subconsciously picked up his cellphone and checked the registered users of FlyNews.com. Sure enough, it was more than 95 million.

It was estimated that in another half a month, it would definitely surpass 100 million. There was also a hot topic on the homepage of FlyNews.com. The number of comments below was as high as tens of millions. They were all comments from netizens who signed in and looked forward to Tao Mu’s crossdress dancing.

Tao Mu exited from the site without expression.

Li Xiaoheng looked at Tao Mu’s expression, and asked with interest, “What dance are you going to do? Street dance? International dance? Rumba? Tango? Belly dance? Ethnic dance? Classical dance?” It couldn’t be pole dance, could it?

“You seem to be particularly interested?” Tao Mu squinted at Mr. Li: “How about I invite you to sit on the sidelines while I’m dancing?”

Li Xiaoheng rubbed his chin and said, “What time?” He wanted to arrange the itinerary in advance and free his time on that day.

Tao Mu: “…..I’m just saying.” He didn’t even choose what kind of dance to do.

“Then you can think now, why don’t I help you brainstorm?” Li Xiaoheng was excited: “How about ballet?”

Tao Mu: “…..You are really afraid that I won’t be played to death, right?”

Li Xiaoheng smiled but said nothing.

Tao Mu suddenly felt that the two of them had a meal, and they didn’t talk about any serious matters: “…..We are just talking nonsense and wasting time.”

Tao Mu looked at his partner who looked very elite in a suit and dress shoes, and laughed teasingly: “I read a financial report yesterday, the column that the famous beautiful anchor lady is in charge of. On it there was a lot of praise for Mr. Li. Saying that you are the most anticipated business genius of this century, and that if she was lucky enough to have a meal with you, it will be worth at least 5 million. So according to her words, I wasted at least 5 million today. Does Mr. Li have any regrets for wasting away the time?”

“I can also be ashamed of not accomplishing anything!” Mr. Li said sarcastically and looked at Tao Mu: “You actually follow this beautiful anchor lady?”

“I am following you. And on the way, I saw the report from this beautiful anchor lady.” Tao Mu corrected Li Xiaoheng’s words with a smile. Seeing Li Xiaoheng’s face turn from cloudy to clear in an instant, he leaned over and continued to tease: “Oh, Mr. Li, you even learned the art of face-change?”

“…..” Li Xiaoheng’s heart began pounding loudly just by Tao Mu’s mere words. He continued to peel the shrimps for Tao Mu: “Let’s eat.”

“Why do you want to put a stopper on my mouth?” Tao Mu picked up the shrimp innocently and said, “I can chat with you while eating, that way I can live up to my mouth.”

“Yes. The mouth is not only used for eating, but also for talking. Just these two functions, you must not disappoint either. Otherwise, it will be a waste.” Li Xiaoheng followed Tao Mu’s words, and then peeled a crab for Tao Mu.

The two took turns exchanging retorts, and neither one noticed that these words were actually very boring and very lacking in IQ. On the contrary, they quite enjoyed this atmosphere.

Affected by the atmosphere, Tao Mu retorted without thinking: “Who said that the mouth only has eating and talking these two functions? There is also a third function——”

But before he finished speaking, Tao Mu suddenly felt that it was a bit wrong to continue and cut himself off.

However, Li Xiaoheng’s bickering with Tao Mu also became an unconscious reaction. Hearing this he continued: “Isn’t it. The mouth does have a third function. Do you want to try?”

As soon as the words were spoken, Li Xiaoheng looked like a duck with his neck pinched, instantly looking at Tao Mu.

Tao Mu was also stunned.

The private room immediately quieted down. The atmosphere was a bit awkward. After a while, Tao Mu cleared his throat and deliberately changed the subject: “Well, I’ve been paying attention to the international market recently. Especially M country and European stock markets, I think we can continue to short in the banking and insurance industries. I also wrote a financial report which I emailed to you.”

Li Xiaoheng gripped tightly on the crab in his hand. He stared at the crab meat in the plate for a long time, as if he was about to make an important decision to invest tens of billions of dollars. He opened his mouth and said slowly: “I apologize for my rudeness and recklessness just now.”

“You don’t need to be so solemn——” Tao Mu breathed a sigh of relief in silence, and smiled sheepishly.

However, Li Xiaoheng’s next sentence was a direct through ball: “Xiao Mu, you said you like men?”

Tao Mu suddenly became a little nervous, no that was not right, it should be said that he scratched the collar around his neck in a panic. He suddenly felt that the temperature in the private room was a bit high, and he practically couldn’t breathe. His heart was pounding, as if he was about to have a heart attack.

Li Xiaoheng turned his head and looked at Tao Mu with scorching eyes: “I am 25 this year and had gone to university in country M. The academic pressure was very heavy.”

Tao Mu: “???” What do you mean, how did the topic turn to this?

Li Xiaoheng continued: “…..So I haven’t had a single relationship in 25 years. The first person I like is you.”

Tao Mu: “…..”

Li Xiaoheng originally wanted to continue to stay at Tao Mu’s side as a business partner, and influence him subtly. But just now, when Tao Mu casually mentioned the third function, a picture of Tao Mu kissing someone suddenly appeared in Li Xiaoheng’s mind.

Suddenly Li Xiaoheng didn’t want to continue to wait silently. In other words, he dared not wait any longer.

Li Xiaoheng believed that no one knew how good Tao Mu was better than him. Their Tao Mu was handsome and talented, had a humorous personality, and was kind and principled. No matter whether it was business talent or social skills, it was all impeccable.

So, such an excellent Tao Mu must be liked by many people too? Those people may be younger than him, or handsomer than him. And the most important thing was that if someone else confessed before him, what if Tao Mu really agreed to it?

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

So long as Li Xiaoheng even just imagined it, he would feel so upset that he couldn’t breathe. He didn’t want Tao Mu to fall in love with others. He didn’t dare to imagine that one day, Tao Mu would hold hands and kiss other men or even interact more intimately. When that happened, he didn’t know what he would do.

Li Xiaoheng squeezed the crab in his hands very nervously, and stared directly into Tao Mu’s eyes with scorching eyes: “Xiao Mu, can you give me a chance to officially pursue you?”

TN: aiya, sorry for the confusion, I seem to have mixed up the dates when scheduling the posts. Here’s a double update to make up for it!

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When the teacher read this quiz question in a strong voice, all the students in the class couldn’t help it, instantly bursting out into laughter. Their bodies trembled from the laughter, looking like they were collectively hit by a spell that caused Parkinson’s disease.

Even the drama teacher who wanted to be serious couldn’t help but twitch his mouth. He glanced at Tao Mu with a particularly pitying look——this boy’s luck was indeed really bad.

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

It was estimated that the whole class had just this weird quiz question, and as expected he was the one to draw it.

Amidst the loud hahahaha laughing, Du Kang cupped his hands at the whole class with a smug expression on his face. In fact, he even stood up and bowed. Just as he said before, no one could guess his quiz question. And sure enough.

“Student Tao Mu,” the drama teacher uttered to get the class to settle down: “Get ready and start your performance.”

As soon as the voice fell, the eyes of the twenty-five people (including the teacher) in the class turned towards Tao Mu. Every pair of eyes were bright and eager, practically scorching, but what overflowed from their eyes was uncontrollable gloating and eager expectations.

Everyone, including Du Kang himself, felt that if Tao Mu wanted to pass this quiz question he must perform in a comedic style. Because this quiz question itself was very absurd, fundamentally untenable. The reason why Du Kang supplied such a tricky quiz question was just to stir up some fun.

Of course, there was still a sense of anticipation to watch Tao Mu’s idol baggage collapse——as everyone knows, he was admitted to Beijing Film with an excellent score on appearance, and during the shooting of Guo Yaning’s MV, he used advanced and unique makeup skills and styling that conquered the entire Chinese fashion industry. Additionally, in order to select the Beijing Film campus beauty more fairly and justly, CEO Tao even founded FlyNews.com. This fellow’s style was simply different from that of most boys in Beijing Film.

To describe it in the words of the other three roommates in dorm 301, it was simply having a case of extremely serious idol baggage. Although Tao Mu usually had no idol baggage when he attended class. But in fact, everyone could feel that Tao Mu’s acting style was actually different from theirs. Because the acting skills Tao Mu had honed in his last life to be able to win best actor was enough to satisfy a passable performance in the classroom assessments. As a result, he managed to look decent even if he was acting the role of a beggar——not only were his acting skills good, it also made people see that this fellow was a very handsome and fashionable beggar.

In general, compared with his classmates of the same grade who enrolled at the same time but whose acting skills were relatively immature, Tao Mu’s performance was still very amazing. Basically, in the entire ’08 freshmen year, with the exception of the naturally talented Wen Bao, who was blessed by God, even Chu Sui’an and the other future film emperors were dwarfed by him.

This was also an important reason why even though Tao Mu frequently asked for leave due to family affairs, Beijing Film and the teachers of the Drama Department still had good feelings towards Tao Mu——this fellow’s acting skills were that good. Although the newbie habit of always liking to overact could still be seen, to be fair, Tao Mu’s current acting skills were indeed really good. Even some slightly less talented sophomores and juniors might not possess Tao Mu’s current acting skills.

However, Tao Mu always habitually brought out a certain someone’s shadow in his performance. The teachers in the drama department could guess that Tao Mu might have watched a certain someone’s films when pondering acting. This was also a learning method that many newbies chose when honing their acting skills.

But how to put it, an old artist once said that “those who learn from me live, those who imitate me die.” (TN: from Chinese painter Qi Baishi, meaning one should not just imitate his style but develop their own) Although sometimes in Tao Mu’s performance, one could clearly see the shining point of being better than his ‘teacher’. However, in the eyes of Beijing Film’s professors who possess a solid background and well-rounded acting skills, the performance traces in Tao Mu’s acting were still too deliberate.

Simply said, it was too much overacting and tended to come off as showy. When encountering the right role he might delight and shock the audience. But if one really wanted to talk about acting, it was not smooth enough, the grip on the handle was not yet right. In contrast, the professors of Beijing Film naturally liked Wen Bao’s unpretentious yet flexible performance more.

But it must be said that even if Wen Bao’s acting skills could leave Tao Mu in the dust, if they really entered the entertainment circle, Tao Mu’s career development prospects were definitely better than Wen Bao’s. The development here does not refer to the depth and breadth of professionalism, but a competition of status and popularity. In other words, Wen Bao’s future was visible to the naked eye——he could conquer major film festivals with his acting skills and become an actor and artist with a strong Beijing Film label. But whether it was making a movie or making a TV series, it was likely that he would have to follow the orthodox style of acting in art films. It was estimated that those commercial blockbusters with big investment and production would not find such actors as the leading actors.

But Tao Mu, through his appearance, coupled with his acting skills, and his ability to incite storms in the entertainment industry before he even debuted, could try taking the path of a superstar. If he did well, he might even be a superstar that possessed both acting skills and popularity.

There had always been a saying in the China entertainment circle: Beijing Film made actors and Yan Film made celebrities. Although it essentially acknowledged the high teaching quality of Beijing Film and the high acting quality of Beijing Film students. But in fact, everyone, including the Beijing Film Academy and the professors, were not accepting of this.

——Our students possess acting skills and good looks, so why should they only be actors but not celebrities? Every one of you Yan Film students have poor acting skills, but you can smoothly snatch the role of leading actor and actress of big productions just by relying on your face and stirring up scandals and gossip, and you dare to say that you Yan Film students are more influential than Beijing Film’s students in China’s entertainment circle?

Do you still have any shame?

However, even if they were not convinced, everyone had to admit that the influence of celebrities on fans was indeed higher than that of actors. Whether it was the subject of conversations or all aspects of attention, they could easily trigger discussions. And this was the key factor that investors and filmmakers must consider when looking for male and female leads. No matter whether their acting skills were good or not, they had to find someone who could bring in box office sales.

However, as everyone knows, the students from Beijing Film, no matter how good their acting skills were, their ability to bring in box office sales…..could not be said to be completely sloppy. But in any case, those who could bring in box office sales were relatively rare.

In the face of this dilemma, it was not that Beijing Film had not put up a resistance. Through their influence in the industry, they also wanted to forcefully push out popular stars that could bring in box office sales. However, while relative popularity could be manipulated, major popularity relied on fate. Such a saying had never been just talk.

Except for the old bigshots in the circle, of the students coming out of Beijing Film, there were simply none who became big hits. Even if Beijing Film took the lead in looking for a director and finding a script for them (with Beijing Film’s vision and academic style, one could imagine what scripts and directors they found). But one had to admit that while the reputation of the films and the responses of the film critics were very good, and by good we mean really good, in terms of box office however, that was really impossible to speak of.

——Barely covering the expenses was already considered a win. But having said that, managing to turn a commercial blockbuster into an artistic film that discussed human nature and social darkness, it was also conceivable that this kind of film would have such a box office result, right?

So as time passed, complaints could be heard in the industry. Beijing Film was also a bit frustrated themselves. The key was that Yan Film next door kept laughing at them gloatingly. So after careful consideration, it was decided that they should temporarily put aside their ambitions. We must learn from the previous profound lessons, and when looking for directors and scripts next time, we must strictly follow the commercial film model.

——Basically, the film to be made two years later that Tao Mu was aiming for even before he entered Beijing Film.

But putting aside these things for the time being. Since Tao Mu entered school, whether it was his appearance, his acting skills, or his headlines attracting physique, the professors in the drama department were extremely satisfied. It was not an exaggeration to say that they finally saw the hope of breaking the curse that ‘Beijing Film could only produce actors’.

Therefore, although the professors in the drama department didn’t say anything, they all tried their best to train Tao Mu——they wanted to produce a super popular superstar who possessed both acting skills and strength. The acting skills must crush Yan Film, and the popularity must also crush Yan Film.

So in this kind of situation, it would be a bit embarrassing if Tao Mu’s acting skills always carried the traces of the student Yan Film was most proud of, Yan Sheng. One must know, when Yan Sheng first applied for Beijing Film and Yan Film, he passed the art test and ranked first in entrance examinations for both schools. But in the end, Yan Sheng abandoned Beijing Film to choose Yan Film, and in just his freshman year, he managed to shine brightly, the first movie he made won him a best actor award. It really made Yan Film quite proud for quite awhile.

It also caused Beijing Film to secretly feel annoyed. So after Yan Sheng, Beijing Film really wanted to produce a superstar. However, the most popular A-list superstar that Beijing Film produced was Wang Boyuan. Although he was not bad, he was still a little bit lacking when compared with Yan Sheng.

So when it came to Tao Mu, they had to be more cautious——such a good seedling must not grow crooked. His acting skills could be similar to anyone, but Yan Sheng was the only exception. Otherwise, even if they managed to produce a superstar in him, so long as they even thought about what Yan Film would say, Beijing Film would feel a headache.

At this time, Beijing Film felt especially fortunate that the school had regulations on students not being allowed to accept film roles among freshmen and sophomores. They must train and completely tune Tao Mu to satisfaction before letting him accept acting roles There must definitely be no trace of Yan Sheng to be seen on him at all.

However, this kind of training was not simply wishful thinking. They must find the right time, let the training take effect gradually and imperceptibly. It was like pulling a thread or peeling a cocoon, one couldn’t directly point it out as it was easy to make a child who hadn’t been exposed to too many performances feel helpless. When uncertainty during performing lasts over a long time, any talent could slip away.

The professors of Beijing Film could be considered to have worked quite hard for this, and they were all secretly waiting for an opportunity. However, Tao Mu had too many troubles during the first semester, taking a few leaves, and he probably didn’t put much mind on his acting courses. Besides, based on Tao Mu’s acting skills, ordinary classroom assessments were sufficiently handled with ease even if he was absent-minded. This caused the teachers of the drama department who had been sharpening their knives, but were not able to find a place to begin using their knives, feel a bit disappointed.

But now Du Kang’s quiz question inadvertently provided them with a light at the end of the tunnel, letting the professor see the hope of breaking Tao Mu’s shackles——yes, in the professor’s eyes, Tao Mu’s idol baggage was also a kind of shackle that restrained him from improving his acting skills.

Tao Mu’s acting skills had not come from professional acting courses in his previous life, and all his performance experience was through self-study. And because Yan Sheng always suppressed his stage presence every time they had a scene together, Tao Mu inadvertently began to ponder the most on Yan Sheng’s performance.

Yan Sheng was a top domestic superstar. His overly handsome appearance and high popularity ensured that the films and TV series he shot were all commercial successes with big productions and large investments. This led to the result that no matter what themes of the movies Yan Sheng filmed, he must ensure the charm as the male lead——ensure that Yan Sheng’s fans would pay money to enter the movie theater, even if it was just for the sake of Yan Sheng’s face.

Therefore, in order to bring in box office sales, Yan Sheng would unconsciously retain every shining point that made him look more handsome and more attractive on the big screen when performing. Tao Mu used him as a reference, and naturally he would subconsciously retain his shining points when he honed his acting skills.

But in the eyes of the Beijing Film professors, this was simply idol baggage. It was also one of the factors that affected Tao Mu’s acting skills and caused it to not be as natural as it could have been. Before, the classroom assessments were nothing new or novel, the old exam questions failing to force out Tao Mu’s potential. But now seeing such a weird test question——even the professor felt a headache and didn’t know how to go about acting it in such a short time, so he wanted to see how Tao Mu would interpret this role.

“Perform well. Put aside your idol baggage.” The drama teacher said with a smile, and then warned: “Don’t try to appear cool and handsome.”

All the students clapped their hands and made noises. In everyone’s opinion, Tao Mu would definitely interpret the role as playing a harlequin this time. Some students even excitedly took out their smartphones or home video recorders, ready to take shots of Tao Mu’s assessment performance and post it on the Internet. Let other netizens also feel the fun in appreciating acting performances.

However, Tao Mu’s expression was particularly serious amidst the chaotic laughter around him.

He never thought of interpreting this role in a funny comedic style. Tao Mu himself could of course detect the shackles that the acting teacher could feel. After rebirth, he chose to start over from the beginning at Beijing Film to professionally learn acting. In addition to coveting Beijing Film’s huge network connections and influence in the circle, he also really wanted to break the shackles on his acting skills.

He also didn’t want his acting style to be similar to Yan Sheng. Every time he heard such comments, Tao Mu would feel sick and get the urge to vomit. Because no one knew how desperate he was back then, desperate to the point of collapse, desperate to the point of being unable to see even a speck of light in the dark. How he gritted his teeth, supported himself with the only hard bones in his body that hadn’t been softened and persisted until the end.

After rebirth, Tao Mu chose to start over, chose to receive professional training in Beijing Film——he really wanted to study hard, but troublesome things always came to distract him. Even if Tao Mu didn’t ask for leave and stayed on campus, Tao Mu was unable to help being worried about those damn things.

The Yao family, Sheng’an Group, the Tao Haiguo couple, and the orphanage were like mountains that weighed on Tao Mu’s mind, and they could crush him to pieces at any moment. Just like the arrival of the tsunami, everything he had could be destroyed in an instant——a stable life and close family members.

Such pressure did not allow Tao Mu to breathe freely and easily. He must solve these troubles. Only by beating the wolves surrounding him until they could no longer fight back, could he have the extra energy to do what he wanted to do.

Now, Tao Mu felt that he was finally safer. At least he had the strength to resist those who wanted him to suffer.

Therefore, Tao Mu finally had the leisurely mind to ponder about his career and interests.

He held Du Kang’s quiz question, although it was a little strange and absurd. But in Tao Mu’s eyes, this was indeed the first acting challenge he got after he finally relaxed from dealing with troublesome things. Tao Mu’s drama addiction also began to surge——the most important thing was that Tao Mu had just watched Wen Bao’s smooth and natural performance. He felt particularly shocked, his heart developing envy and yearning.

He also wanted to seriously act out a performance and enjoy it. And not because his acting skills were not enough, and therefore he had to use an absurd comedic style to make up for it. That was not interpreting the role with his acting skills, but interpreting the quiz question with the style of absurd comedy.

Tao Mu didn’t want to just admit defeat. So he really considered this topic seriously. First sort out the plot and character description in his heart.

An e-sports player who developed Parkinson’s disease playing games.

Parkinson’s disease, also known as shaking palsy. It was a common degenerative disease of the nervous system in middle-aged and elderly people. The clinical manifestations included static tremor, muscle rigidity, slow movement, postural and gait disorders, and it could even cause depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, cognitive disorders and other symptoms.

As for e-sports players, perhaps people in 2008 were still a little unfamiliar with this word. But Tao Mu, who came back from ten years in the future, at least understood what an e-sports player was. Although he didn’t play games himself, Tao Mu had also watched some particularly popular live gaming broadcasts.

Tao Mu felt that he could at least use the mentality of an athlete to interpret an e-sports player. So, what if an athlete had Parkinson’s disease?

As a professional e-sports player, steady hands, fast hands, and quick brain response were the most basic professional qualities. However, when a professional e-sports player had Parkinson’s disease, how could he continue to gallop in his most proud professional field——the gaming field?

It was completely impossible.

Tao Mu moved.

Sitting on the desk in front of the podium, he slowly stretched his right hand to the mouse on the desk in front of him, his arm seemed to be unable to rise, appearing stiff and slow, sliding across the desk. Then he grasped the mouse steadily——it was just his subconscious action, a conditioned reflex after years of training.

However, his physical condition did not depend on his will. When he took the mouse in his hand, his hand began to shake unconsciously. At first, there was a slight shaking, Tao Mu tried his best to control his hands. However, the more he wanted to control them, the faster his hands shook and the greater the amplitude. Tao Mu put his other hand on the keyboard, wanting to control the keyboard to complete the game instructions.

However, his fingers were too inflexible. The slender fingertips jittered slightly on the keyboard, and the usual light movements were so difficult at this moment. His fingers could once dance flexibly on the keyboard to make beautiful clicking sounds——more flexible than a pianist’s fingers. Now they could only stick stiffly on the buttons.

He pressed down hard with his fingers, and his fingertips trembled as they pressed heavily on the buttons, the computer immediately displaying the wrong command due to the operation delay. Because his movements were too slow. Such a short typing action, yet because his joints were stiff, his fingertips were trembling and slow, there was no way to complete the operation instructions.

Tao Mu smiled, he licked his lips, and took a short breath. He opened his mouth and breathed heavily, his eyes suddenly reddening.

His gasps trembled, his smile became bigger and bigger, tears rolling down from his reddened eyes. Tao Mu put down the mouse, and swallowed hard, trying to calm his emotions.

He picked up the mineral water bottle next to the computer, wanting to unscrew the cap to take a drink. However, he couldn’t open the bottle at all——he was a professional e-sports player who had won awards in e-sports competitions. But now he couldn’t even open a bottle of mineral water.

Tao Mu stopped smiling, he held back his tears, and took another deep breath. His hand clenched the mineral water bottle tightly. With the motion of holding the mineral water bottle, his hand raised in mid-air, shaking slightly and violently.

Tao Mu tried his best to control his right hand, but the harder he tried, the more his hand shook.

Tao Mu held the mineral water bottle against his chest with a trembling hand, wanting to use his chest to stabilize the mineral water bottle. The other hand was also trembling as it was placed on the bottle cap, trying to open the bottle cap. He even lowered his head and bit the cap with his teeth without any regard for his image, his only thought to help his hands open the water bottle.

Finally, the bottle cap was opened with much difficulty. Tao Mu tremblingly put down the bottle cap, wanting to take a drink.

However, he could not control his hands. He held the mineral water bottle to his mouth with his right hand, but it was shaking too much, his arm hard and stiff, the mouth of the bottle unable to get close to his mouth. Tao Mu used his other hand, holding the bottle with both hands and trying to pour the water into his mouth.

The trembling of the bottle became even worse. The water simply could not pour in at all. Tao Mu decided to pick up a cup, wanting to pour water into the cup. The mineral water bottle was shaking, shaking, shaking as half the bottle of water poured into the cup. The cup moved slightly on the tabletop under the continuous impact of the mineral water bottle, the mouth of the bottle and cup colliding making a fine sound.

Tao Mu looked at the water in the cup, but didn’t want to drink it anymore.

He sat on the chair dazedly, his eyes red and gaze blank. His hands were still trembling slightly. After a while, Tao Mu suddenly went crazy and swept the computer, keyboard and mouse, mineral water bottle and cup off the table.

He was a professional e-sports player. The computer, mouse and keyboard used to be his most precious things, and he had ordered it from abroad for a large price.

But now, toward these expensive equipment, an e-sports player’s favorite “armor and weapon”, Tao Mu had become completely unnecessary.

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

An e-sports player who had Parkinson’s disease was not an e-sports player. Never in this life.

He would not be able to play games in his entire life.

No, it should be said that he no longer had a life.

When Tao Mu finished his physical theatrical performance, there was only silence in the drama classroom of the ’08 class.

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“Eight hundred parade guards rush to the north slope, artillery soldiers run side by side to the north side…..”

“Steamed lamb, steamed bear paw, steamed deer tail, roasted duck, roasted chicken, roasted goose…..”

“Oh wind, howl, howl…..”

“Yiiiiiiiii~ ahhhhhhh~…..”

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

Early in the morning, Tao Mu woke up to the voices of his classmates practicing morning exercises.

Wen Bao was leaning on the side of Tao Mu’s bed reciting dish names. Seeing Tao Mu wake up, he patted the bed and said, “Get up quickly. You’re late again for the six o’clock morning exercise.”

“Uh.” Tao Mu squinted his eyes and sat up with the quilt. In the same dorm room, Du Kang stood in front of a large floor-to-ceiling mirror practicing tongue twisters, and Chu Sui’an could be heard reciting poems in the shower. Outside, all kinds of voice and speech training could faintly be heard.

Tao Mu climbed out of the bed, squeezed into the bathroom and released his bladder. It happened that Chu Sui’an also finished his shower, so Tao Mu rushed into the shower and took a military shower. Before six o’clock, the four people in dorm 301 rushed out to the campus field.

It snowed most of the night last night, only clearing in the morning. The boys and girls in the drama department wore heavy down jackets and formed a big circle in the center of the field, doing squats while practicing lines. The weather was extremely cold, and the white mist exhaled from mouths, forming a thin layer of frost. From a distance, it looked like everyone was inhaling and exhaling mist, appearing like they were cultivating immortality.

The teacher in charge of attendance stood by with the watch, and saw that the four people of dorm 301 arrived on the dot again. Instantly he frowned fiercely: “Arriving just in time again? I say, can’t you arrive earlier?”

“Teacher, this is called having a concept of time.” Wen Bao said with a grin.

Just like all teachers like good students, Beijing Film’s teachers are no exception. Wen Bao, the youngest three-award film emperor in the future, had already displayed a staggering talent for acting in the first semester of enrollment. In addition, Wen Bao normally also worked very hard in class, and all the teachers were very impressed by him. As a result, Wen Bao usually got along with the teachers and was relatively able to act more impudent in front of them. For example, smiling and goofing when the teacher lectured them in the attempt to muddle through the lecturing.

Sure enough, after hearing what Wen Bao said, Teacher Zhang, who was in charge of attendance, said nothing more and just pretended to glare ferociously at Wen Bao: “How come you talk so much. Get on line already. Be careful that I won’t let you pass your end of terms.”

Wen Bao grinned and inserted himself into the circle formed by his classmates, and began to do squats and practice his lines. The students around him winked at him. Wen Bao also returned with smirks.

Teacher Zhang saw this in his eyes, but did not speak. He just turned his head and asked Tao Mu: “How are the matters in your orphanage? How is your dean Tao?”

“It’s almost done. Dean Tao is in a good mood now. She has cheered up a lot now.” Tao Mu paused and said straightforwardly, “Sorry for missing so many classes.”

Teacher Zhang shook his head. There was no helping it. Beijing Film did have a lot of classmates who have tried every means to ask for leave from the beginning of their freshman year. However, these students usually go out to film or take on jobs. Later, Beijing Film stipulated that students were not allowed to ask for leave during the freshman and sophomore period, otherwise credits would be deducted, and established the system that freshmen and sophomores must complete the credits before they could pass the year.

However, even so, it still failed to stop the students eagerly sending leave slips. Therefore, under normal circumstances, the school does not favor students who always ask for leave. However, Tao Mu’s situation was different from those of these students. Every time Tao Mu asked for leave, it was for a matter at home or a friend around him.

——For example, when Gou Rixin had a wire accident in H Town and his girlfriend ran away with a huge sum of insurance money, Tao Mu had to take time off to deal with the matter; later Tao Mu had to ask for leave to represent the Song family in Shanghai to deal with the fight between the Song family and the Sheng’an Group that even startled the government officials; then there was the matter of dean Tao being framed which Tao Mu had to ask for more than a week of leave to handle the matter…..

During this period, Tao Mu also repeatedly fell into troubles such as being slandered by misled people and the water army,, and even FlyNews.com was affected, but Tao Mu did not ask for leave. He insisted on staying in school, going to class, doing exercises, doing classwork, and completing homework as usual——the only three times he asked for leave were for family and friends, and it was a matter of life and death.

So in this case, even the Beijing Film School, who hated students asking for leave, couldn’t be dissatisfied with Tao Mu. Besides, while Tao Mu’s family affairs were more complicated than others, apart from taking time off to handle the family affairs, he not only did not delay schoolwork, but also helped the school gain publicity, improve reputation and influence, and provide students with opportunities to show themselves. Just for these points, Beijing Film was extremely satisfied with Tao Mu.

Apart from satisfaction, they also felt pity for Tao Mu’s bad luck——feeling that this child really did not have it easy, having to face so many bad things despite barely being an adult. It could only be said that he was having a bad year. Some superstitious teachers in the drama department even quietly signaled Tao Mu in private that he should try burning incense and worshipping Buddha to get rid of the bad luck. Some people even told Tao Mu that he could raise a ghost to turn his luck around. (TN: a Thai practice)

Tao Mu said: “…..”

Fortunately, before the rehearsal of the end of term play, Tao Mu finally finished with his family affairs.

The school leaders and teachers also hoped that Tao Mu could devote all his energy to the rehearsal of the play from now on.

There were a total of 25 students in the Beijing Film ’08 class 1 which Tao Mu was part of. Among them, 12 were boys and 13 were girls. This was exactly the number of people needed to rehearse a big show.

The requirement for the end of term play of the first-year undergraduates of Beijing Film drama department was for each class to produce an original work. The word here did not refer to the kind of funny sketches on the Spring Festival Gala but a small work similar to a stage play. The script required the actors to create by themselves, including lines and plot points. This was mainly to examine the students’ literary and basic skills.

After all, all students have gone through a semester of study and have learned how to write descriptive character portfolios, observation diaries, film reviews, analysis of literature pieces and classic scripts, and so on. The original script for the final exam was to verify the students’ mastery of knowledge——this was an inspection of the students’ basic skills and overall quality. Creating your own scripts and performing your own roles. Professional drama training paid attention to the performance on the stage, and if you wanted to hone your acting skills to a state of proficiency, it was definitely more than just talking in front of the camera and making movements.

So, relatively speaking, the end of term play for the senior grades would be easier. Because the juniors and seniors had gone through the most hell mode basic training, they could directly choose one of the classic scripts to perform.

However, what all the ’08 freshmen did not expect was that the final exam, which was already hellish enough, could be even more hellish this year——not only did they have to write their own scripts and rehearse the play, each student had to perform a physical theatre. And each student had to hand an exam question over to the teacher. When it was acting class, the teacher would call the students to the stage to randomly select from the exam questions and perform them as the students’ personal end of term quiz——it couldn’t be more hellish.

As soon as this decision was announced, all the students in grade ’08 instantly complained and resisted fiercely. However, there was no use at all. The teachers have made a decision to torment the students, so how could they allow these little rascals resist successfully.

Go ahead and yell, either way, you still have to hand in the exam questions when it’s time.

When practicing morning exercises, the students in class 1 of grade ’08 were curious about what exam question Tao Mu had handed in, so they asked Tao Mu during the break.

Tao Mu replied honestly that he just chose a topic about eating noodles. Fairly normal, nothing new.

Instantly there were some who sighed in disappointment. Du Kang, who was practicing push-ups on the field instead of squats, was very excited: “The exam question I gave is particularly innovative. I tell you, none of you can think of it. I don’t think anyone will be able to perform it.”

Facing Du Kang’s proud look, some people were unconvinced: “What exam question can you give? And that no one will be able to perform it? Don’t tell me you want people to perform as an alien?” No one has seen an alien before, so if Du Kang insisted it was not right then they also won’t be able to help it.

“Or is it the kind of schizophrenic character that requires deep analysis?”

“Multiple character performances?”

“Aiya, don’t guess anymore. With just your brains, practically like wood, not creative at all. I already said that you definitely can’t guess!” Du Kang raised his chin proudly: “If you don’t believe it, just look forward to it.”

The group of classmates exchanged doubtful looks. But Du Kang did have a lot of ideas. Everyone was also a little unsure.

As a result, when the acting class arrived, the teacher called them to the stage according to their student number to draw an exam question. Tao Mu’s noodle question was picked up by Wen Bao. It was originally a very simple and nothing new test. So Wen Bao sat in front and directly performed a physical theatre of eating fried noodles with garlic. He didn’t say a word in the whole process, but his solid performance skills made all the students, including the teacher, hungry.

As expected of the future youngest three-award film emperor. This talent for acting was definitely blessed by the gods. Even if Tao Mu had managed to get a film emperor award in his last life after much struggle, Tao Mu still envied and admired Wen Bao’s performance at this moment.

The exam questions drawn by other students were similar. There were performing the opposite sex, performing animals and plants, and performing characters with mental disorders such as multiple personality disorder. Most of them were within the scope of imagination.

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

When it was Tao Mu’s turn, Tao Mu took out a small note from the box and handed it to the teacher. Opening it and taking a look——

“An e-sports player who have Parkinson’s disease playing games!”

Tao Mu’s face instantly darkened.

Du Kang, f**k you!

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