Chapter 92 - Test?
For the next two days, Li Zhao always felt that he wasn’t right. He didn’t want Yan Ting to see it so he had to use his powerful acting skills to make everything as usual. On the return flight, Li Zhao was somewhat glad. Once he returned to the crew, he would be a bit further away from Yan Ting and perhaps he would return to normal. The plane took off and got further and further away from the beautiful island. Li Zhao looked out the window and was somewhat reluctant to leave this place.
“Do you like it here?” A hand was placed on Li Zhao’s shoulders.
“Ah… um…” Li Zhao looked at the hand on his shoulder and pursed his lips.
“Once your school is on holiday, I’ll accompany you to play.” Yan Ting moved his hand away from Li Zhao’s shoulder. “Every year, I spend money to maintain the island. It is really a waste if I don’t come to play.”
The island was getting further and further away and it had now become a small dot. “Does it cost a lot to maintain this island?”
“It’s okay.” Yan Ting stood up. “I’ll go to the bathroom. If you’re sleepy, go to the back lounge to sleep for a while.”
Yan Ting got up and left while Li Zhao stared at his back in a daze, unable to speak for a while.
“Zhao Zhao.” Sister Xia walked to Li Zhao and sat down, looking at him with concern. “Are you feeling awkward with Yan Ting?”
Li Zhao shook his head, “No.”
“It’s just that you’ve been too strange in the last two days.” Sister Xia sighed. “Although I might be a helper or an unreasonable person, I still want to talk to you about this. Yan Ting lets you do as you please. Don’t be defensive to those who are obeying you or you will be unreasonable.”
“Sister Xia, am I that type of person?” Li Zhao didn’t know if he should laugh or cry. “I had a good time with him.”
“Other people can’t see it but I can see it. In these two days, you haven’t been quite right.” Zhu Xia sighed. “It is said that people who are favoured have no fear but there is only one true heart. If there is something then communicate it well. Don’t hurt yourself or other people’s hearts.”
Li Zhao was silent. Sister Xia had already seen that his attitude was a bit wrong. Then did Ting Ting see it?”
“What’s the matter? Just make it clear and don’t make trouble. Do you hear me?” Zhu Xia saw that Li Zhao wasn’t speaking and reached out to knock him on the head. “The person who loses his temper because of the goodness of others is the real scum. If Yan Ting is reluctant to teach you a lesson then I’ll come.”
“Sister Xia.” Yan Ting came out of the bathroom and saw Sister Xi hitting Li Zhao on the head. He reached out to cover the place where Li Zhao was hit. “Calm down if you have something to say. Zhao Zhao is still young.”
“He isn’t young. He is a 20 year old child.” Zhu Xia saw Yan Ting protect Li Zhao and sent Li Zhao a ‘look at this person’ look.
“It is the young couple’s matter. Why did you run to intervene?” Zhou Ming whispered once Zhu Xia returned to her seat. “Don’t try and be persuasive.”
“What do you know?” Zhu Xia stared at Zhou Ming. “Do you remember how many detours we took when we fell in love?”
Zhou Ming touched his head and smiled.
“Children like us don’t know how to love or to be loved.” Zhu Xia smiled bitterly. “I really can’t bear to let Zhao Zhao suffer on this road.”
Zhou Ming sighed. “I know you are reluctant to let Zhao Zhao suffer but children have to grow up and understand life their own way. You ran to say some words but did he understand?”
Not knowing how to love or to be loved, was it their fault?
They were abandoned at birth and didn’t know what an ordinary and happy family looked like. The things that other people were born with was a luxury to them. At school, all their classmates knew that they were orphans and everyone’s eyes were telling them that they were different from other children.
“Don’t go and blindly teach Zhao Zhao. Zhao Zhao is already the one among us who is the most transparent and understanding.
The year that Li Zhao came to the welfare home, he and Zhu Xia were preparing for the university entrance examination. The addition of a small friend in the courtyard wasn’t intentionally noticed. They just saw he was too thin and often gave him more meat.
This was until the morning of the university entrance examination when they saw Li Zhao crouching in front of the welfare home with two small red flags made out of red paper in his hands.
“Brother and sister, I wish you victory with this flag and pray that you get a lot of points.” The thin and small child timidly put the red flags in their hands. “I’m cheering for you.”
“Who taught you this?”
“My deskmate said that his sister took the university entrance examination this year and his father and mother put up red flags at home so she could get good results.” The little boy took the hearsay of his deskmate as the truth and made two small red flags.
On the back of the red flags was a crooked sailboat but the words were very beautiful: Start sailing.
That morning, he and Zhu Xia set off and saw the child jumping and waving at them in a very lively manner. Later, they were admitted to universities in Beijing. The state and local education departments allocated an education subsidy to them and also issued a poverty certificate.
That summer, Li Zhao always ran around outside. The aunt in the courtyard criticized him but he just smiled and acted coquettishly. Once Zhou Ming and Zhu Xia carried their bags on their backs and were about to set off for Beijing, Li Zhao ran to them and stuffed a large wide-mouthed plastic bottle into their hands.
“This is a secret. Brother Ming and Sister Xia can only open it on the train.” The little boy grinned, revealing the gap in his teeth.
Once they got on the train and opened the plastic bottle, they found it contained a thick stack of money. The largest denomination was a 50 and the most common ones were 5 yuan and 1 yuan. It was unknown how long it took him to save this.
Zhu Xia covered this plastic bottle the entire way. Later, the aunt at the welfare home told them that Li Zhao heard they needed a lot of money studying in Beijing. Thus, he ran out every day picking up plastic bottles and cardboard for money. Then Li Zhao gave them all the money.
Zhou Ming arrived at school and clenched his teeth to study with Zhu Xia. Whenever he was free, he went to work part-time jobs to make money. If he couldn’t endure it, he just had to look at that bottle of money and he was able to slowly get through the day.
It was only when Zhao Zhao grew up that they realized why he saved money for them to study. “No one ever gave me meat but Brother Ming and Sister Xia gave it.”
They just gave the child a bit of meat but the child gave them all his sincerity.
Some people said they were stupid. They finally got out of the welfare home only to sink their money back into this bottomless hole. These people didn’t know that the welfare home had a child watching them with eyes full of warmth and admiration.
Zhao Zhao was only 20 years old this year but Zhou Ming and Zhu Xia owed a lot to Zhao Zhao. Fortunately, Yan Ting helped Zhao Zhao make up for the regret of not going to school, or else they wouldn’t be able to let go of this matter in their lifetime.
For such a good and obedient child, they only had one wish. They wished that he would be happy and safe in this life. No matter what, there would be someone waiting for him to go home.
“Maybe you’re right.” Zhu Xia watched Li Zhao and Yan Ting leaned toward each other, whispering and looking very intimate. She couldn’t help sighing. “Maybe I’m just worrying blindly.”
“It isn’t worrying blindly.” Zhou Ming smiled. “Don’t be a troublesome mother-in-law. It will affect the feelings of the young couple.”
“You are broad-minded.” Zhu Xia hit Zhou Ming, amused by Zhou Ming.
***
The day after returning home, Li Zhao went to the crew of Seven Boyfriends. Once he arrived at the crew, he found that people in the crew were more polite to him. Even the director who usually liked to call him ‘Xiao Li’ had started to call him Teacher Li instead.
Li Zhao didn’t pay much attention to the name. After two days of laughing with the director, the director returned to the previous name.
There weren’t too many intimate scenes between Li Zhao and Liu Fen’s characters. The most intimate contact was when the two people broke up and Li Zhao hugged Liu Fen while crying.
The original script had the two people hugging in the rain and then separating. However, the director felt that in movies and television dramas, if 10 couples broke up then nine of them would experience rain and the other pair might be unlucky enough to encounter snow. This was too vulgar and common.
The director was a stubborn old man who decided to do the opposite. He had the two of them break up by a picturesque lake while the sun was going down. Fortunately, there was no lack of sunny days in July and August and the crew finally found a suitable shooting location.
“Zhao Zhao, the setting time for the sunset is limited and there aren’t many opportunities for you to retake it with Fenfen. The two of you should walk through the field first to find the feeling.” The director looked at the sun that was gradually moving westward. “Try to pass within three attempts.”
“I will try.” Li Zhao was a bit nervous. He didn’t understand love very well. His previous dramas weren’t demanding when it came to affection.
This type of crying while laughing, with reluctance, blessing and love, how should he behave?
In order for the two people to get into the scene as soon as possible, the director asked them to take a slow walk around the lake to find the feeling.
“Zhao Zhao, it seems you don’t have too much confidence in this scene?” Liu Fen saw that Li Zhao was a bit nervous. “Are you worried that you will perform badly?”
“The crew has been preparing for today’s shoot for so long that I’m worried about my performance not being in place and delaying the progress.” The most suitable sunset scenery would only last for a short time. If his performance wasn’t in place today then it might be delayed to tomorrow or even the day after tomorrow.
“Don’t be nervous. Your acting skills are already the most outstanding among actors of the same age.” Liu Fen laughed. “If I can’t act as your substitute for love then think about your own lover.”
His lover?
Li Zhao wanted to say he had no lover but his brain betrayed him. Yan Ting’s face automatically emerged.
“If your lover finally decides not to be with you and you yourself know that leaving him is the best choice for him. You love him, so you don’t want to be separated from him. However, it is because you love him that you finally decided to let him go. You want him to have a better life in the future.” Liu Fen shook her head with a smile. “Perhaps I said something too complicated. For someone with a sweet love…”
“I understand.” Li Zhao stopped and looked at the sparkling lake surface. “I probably understand how to act in this scene.
Liu Fen was a bit surprised. He understood it so quickly? Looking at Li Zhao’s expression, it was as if he realized something in life. Was it because something had gone wrong with that gentleman’s feelings?
The entire crew, not just Li Zhao, was nervous. The director and producer were extremely nervous. This scene was very important but they were worried that Li Zhao was too young to realize the fulfillment and helplessness of this relationship.
Once the filming official started, the entire crew sweated and silently prayed that today’s shooting would go smoothly. There was no problem in positioning. The lines were fine and the emotions were in place. It was almost time to hug.
Everyone raised their hearts.
“Now that we’ve broken up, can you be generous and give me a hug?” The young man with famous brand names all over his body looked at the woman in front of him with a smile. “Just think of it as a last hug before parting.”
The woman looked at him before laughing. “Come on.”
She was tolerant of him, like a sister toward her little brother, not a lover. He took a step forward and reached out to hold her in his arms. He might be younger than her but at this moment, he was a mature man. His arms were gentle and warm.
The moment he hugged her, his eyes were red and tears ran down from the corner of his eyes. A mature man wasn’t supposed to cry, but it was precisely because he wasn’t mature enough that his love was sincere and burning.
“You must be good in the future.” He wanted to smile but he couldn’t smile. Finally, he gave up. “Be good to yourself. No one in the world deserves to be wronged.”
“Then… goodbye.” He let go of the woman and strode forward with his back to the woman, his back still that of a proud, noble son.
“Okay, that’s great, great.” The director patted his thighs with excitement and looked at the monitor again and again. “This look and facial expression are handled too well. If I was a girl and watching this on the screen, I would be so distressed that I couldn’t breathe.”
The assistant director glanced at him and took a step back. He doubted the director’s sexuality.
“Xiao Li, your acting was perfect!” The director walked to Li Zhao’s side. Li Zhao’s eyes were still wet and his tears hadn’t dried. He looked very poor.
“It’s okay, this scum female can’t look at you because her eyes are too bad. I will introduce you to someone better.” The director patted his shoulder in comfort.
“Director, you’re too into the play.” Liu Fen came over and handed a tissue to Li Zhao. “Unfortunately, there are no such men who like me in reality. If there really was one, I would take him home on the spot and keep him as a baby.”
Li Zhao wiped his eyes and asked the make up artist to fix his makeup. There was another scene. It was when the female lead said goodbye to him when his back was turned and he wasn’t willing to look back.
The director probably thought that since he was so handsome, the scene was particularly good-looking.
Today’s shooting was much smoother than expected. The director was happy and invited everyone to dinner.
No one persuaded Li Zhao to drink at the dinner table. Li Zhao put down his beverage and listened to everyone talk about some interesting topics. He wanted to go to the bathroom but he found that someone was using the bathroom of the private room. Thus, he had to go find the bathroom outside the private room.
The main customer base of this restaurant was artists so the confidentiality was very good. Yet Li Zhao met an unexpected person in the corridor. It was Xu Bei. Seeing him, Xu Bei avoided his gaze and even subconsciously took a step back.
The corridor was extremely quiet, with no one other than Li Zhao and Xu Bei. Xu Bei stared at Li Zhao for a moment. “Li Zhao, I made a mistake and can apologize to you. Can you tell Yan Ting not to target my family’s business anymore?”
“I don’t understand business matters.” Li Zhao looked cold. “I can’t help you.”
“I can tell you a secret as long as you’re willing to help me.” Xu Bei’s breathing was a bit quicker and he looked haggard. It could be seen that this period of time was really bad to him.
Li Zhao sneered. “Sorry but I’m not interested.”
“You aren’t interested even if it is about Yan Ting?”
Li Zhao raised his eyebrows. “How do I know you won’t lie to me?”
“I don’t have to lie to you.” Xu Bei’s expression was anxious. “It doesn’t matter if you don’t want to know. Once it happens, don’t blame me for not reminding you.”
Li Zhao took Xu Bei to an empty room. “You say it.”
“Yan Ting has a problem with his body.” Xu Bei saw Li Zhao’s fists clenching and quickly added, “I’m not cursing him. It is true.”
Li Zhao was silent and Xu Bei continued to speak.
“In fact, as early as a year ago, Yan Ting stopped caring much about Canghuan’s affairs.”
Li Zhao’s eyebrows moved. This information was a bit inaccurate. Ting Ting sometimes had to work overtime for the company’s affairs.
“Someone from the Xu family found that Yan Ting sometimes goes to see a psychologist. He has a psychological problem.” Xu Bei’s tone became slightly malicious but he didn’t dare to make it too obvious in front of Li Zhao. “The body might be cured but a heart disease is difficult to treat. You have been following Yan Ting. Haven’t you found anything wrong with him?”
“Don’t talk nonsense. You businessmen will slander young talents due to envy, jealousy and hatred.” Li Zhao turned around and was ready to leave. “Forget it, if I wanted to hear someone tell stories then I would rather go home and watch TV.”
“Of course you think he is normal. Yan Ting attaches such importance to you that he did something so big for your university entrance examination.” Xu Bei couldn’t hold back the maliciousness in his heart. “Perhaps he is paving the way for you before his death, so that you can live comfortably for the rest of your life.”
After that, Xu Bei was beaten up again. There was no one to stop Li Zhao this time. Xu Bei was beaten miserably. Finally, he crawled under the table and cried while beginning Li Zhao for mercy.
“Say it, my family’s Ting Ting will live to be 100 years old!”
“I was talking nonsense. President Yan Ting will live to be 100 years old.” It was my nonsense. Xu Bei held his folded arms and spoke in a vague voice. “Yan Ting will live to be 100 years ago.”
It wasn’t until Xu Bei’s voice was hoarse that Li Zhao’s anger slowly subsided. He stared at Xu Bei coldly, “Don’t let me hear bad things about Yan Ting again or you will regret it. In any case, I’m full on my own and my entire family isn’t hungry. A rich person like you…”
Xu Bei was trembling with fear. What did Li Zhao want to do? Kill people?
“I was wrong. You and Yan Ting will live to be 100 years ago and will love each other for a lifetime. No one will die early!” Xu Bei wept sadly.
Why exactly did God let him be reborn? Was it to be beaten up by Li Zhao and watch Li Zhao and Yan Ting, these two short-lived ghosts without any intersection, experience a sweet honey love? This life wasn’t as good as his last life. Why was he born again?
“Wuuu.” The more he thought about it, the sadder he became. Xu Bei lay under the table and cried.
Love for a lifetime…
Li Zhao thought about it. If he could love Ting Ting for a lifetime, wasn’t it… quite beautiful? He ignored the crying Xu Bei and turned to open the door of the box, only to find Liu Fen standing outside the box.
Li Zhao looked between Xu Bei and Liu Fen without speaking. Liu Fen didn’t seem to see Xu Bei, who had been beaten so miserably. She smiled at Li Zhao. “I almost thought you had gone into the wrong room. Let’s go back.”
Li Zhao silently followed behind Liu Fen with a frown. He seemed… to really have a bad heart for Ting Ting. What would Ting Ting think of him? Would Ting Ting hate him and stop being friends with him?
“What are you thinking?” Liu Fen asked.
“I was thinking… if one should confess to a friend.” Li Zhao subconsciously replied.
Liu Fen was surprised. Li Zhao and the gentleman… weren’t a couple? The gentleman looked at Li Zhao with such eyes. Anyone who had eyes could see that he loved Li Zhao. Now Li Zhao was considering if he should confess to his friend? Was the world of young people’s love so complicated?
“Let me hear it. I have some insight into emotional problems.”
“I have a friend who lives with his good brother.” Li Zhao whispered. “He thought he regarded this person as a brother. As a result, he had other thoughts about his brother. Is this friend of mine… a bit disgusting?”
“Why would your friend think that?” Liu Fen shook her head. “Loving someone is a natural instinct. It is beautiful and clean. How can it be disgusting?”
“His brother treats him very well.” Li Zhao murmured. “I don’t know if he has such feelings.”
“Maybe his good brother is also interested in him.” Liu Fen smiled. “Your friend should try to be brave, so he is respecting his feelings. If he isn’t certain then he can try it out, there might be some surprises. For example, pretend to chat to other girls in front of him or mention that there is someone he likes. The reaction of the brother will tell your friend the answer.”
A brother was always a brother and there was a series of friends. This was a truly long-lasting topic. The entire world thought they were in love while the person involved was still hesitating over whether to confess. This world wasn’t crazy. It was just that this brother was a bit silly. He was obviously a very smart young man. Why was he so slow when it came to feelings?
“Isn’t it bad to test him?” Li Zhao shook his head. “What if the brother becomes unhappy or sad?”
If… If Ting Ting was really interested in him, how could he deliberately test Ting Ting this way?
“Not good, this method isn’t good.” Li Zhao shook his head again. “Is there any better way?”
Liu Fen froze and stared at Li Zhao. After a while, she laughed loudly. She thought that Li Zhao didn’t understand feelings and was slow when it came to feelings. Perhaps the person who really didn’t understand was her.
If she loved a person from the heart, how was she willing to let him feel unhappy and sad?
The author has something to say:
Baby Zhao Zhao: I think I want to fall in love with Ting Ting.
The other children: You have always loved ducks.
Baby Zhao Zhao: It’s so hard.