Chapter 72 – An Xumo doesn’t look at me anymore

Ma Lao often speaks amazingly and the people present were already used to it. An Xumo also dared not think too much about it and carefully held the little boy in his arms a little more stable as he continues to listen to Ma Lao’s instructions silently.

Although he is thin, his strength is not too small because he has practiced dancing for a long time; holding a four-year-old boy may feel a little heavy but it is acceptable.

Since it’s currently winter, the child is dressed thickly and the script’s setting is set in late winter and will soon be spring. Filming outdoor scenes now, the child is wrapped into a round little dumpling. An Xumo who was holding him made it a little difficult.

However, the little boy in An Xumo’s arms took the initiative to speak. He turned his head and whispered to An Xumo, “Gege, put me down first~”^[1]Xiaoxiao’s use of some words are in a cute way which sounds soft and pleasant so I italicized them~

Ma Lao was still talking not far away, the little boy dared not to say it out loud. An Xumo bent down to put the little dumpling down and took the small hands that finally came out from the round down jacket.

In the end, he heard Ma Lao again, “It’s this kind of look and it has appeared again. What’s wrong with you, do you have any opinions about Zhao Xiaotong?”

The little boy was named and timidly hid behind An Xumo.

Zhou Jinchen finally took his eyes back from An Xumo’s side and said to Ma Lao, “I will adjust as soon as possible.”

Only when Ma Lao heard his assurance, did he finally cooled down a little.

“Start over, everyone back to the original position. All departments ready, clapperboard!”

After Zhou Jinchen adjusted his state, the filming quickly progressed smoothly. The difficulty of this scene was originally not in Zhou Jinchen, but An Xumo whose temperament is too young. Fortunately, with Ma Lao’s repeated training and guidance, the scene finally passed Ma Lao’s requirements after five re-takes.

After hearing the approval, An Xumo finally breathed a sigh of relief. Zhao Xiaotong who was held by him also sighed like a small adult and smilingly said to An Xumo, “Gege, we’re done filming la~”

An Xumo didn’t have much contact with children before but he and Zhao Xiaotong get along pretty well. The little boy is a child star, his parents are simple people, and he was chosen by Ma Lao because he looks good and clever.

An Xumo was amused by his tone of voice. He picked up the little boy carefully and walked out of the way of the camera. “Yes. The filming is over, Xiao Xiao is so happy?”

“Happy~” Xiao Xiao is Zhao Xiaotong’s nickname. He was held in An Xumo’s arms, “Both me and gege can have a rest la!”

“Yes,” An Xumo said with a smile. “Xiao Xiao is so good. Wait for brother to take you to eat lollipops later, okay?”

In order to get along with the little actor, after discussing with Tang Tang, An Xumo also prepared a bag of candy. However, Zhao Xiaotong is very sensible and he grew fond of An Xumo in their first meeting. The relationship between the two has been harmonious so the candies are not used.

Zhao Xiaotong only has this scene to shoot so he can leave the group only after two or three days. An Xumo then thought to let the prepared candy for the small child to take as well.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Xiaotong shook his head and said in a milky voice, “Xiao Xiao doesn’t eat candy.”

“Huh?” An Xumo was a little surprised. He thought that most children would like candy. “Xiao Xiao doesn’t like to eat candy?”

“I like it~ but Mama said eating candy will cause tooth decay and if you eat too much you will not be attractive.” Zhao Xiaotong’s articulation is very clear, and you can hear that he has experienced a very good education early. “So I only eat sweets once a week and I have already eaten it this week.”

An Xumo was amazed again. He did not expect that such a small child would be so sensible.

And it seems that the little boy has no intention of complaining about his parents’ demands. From his childish but serious voice, one could clearly hear his attachment to his parents.

Although Zhao Xiaotong can only eat sweets once a week, there is no doubt that he is a small child who grew up in a honey pot.^[2]noble or richer life and those born under these conditions are relatively happy; that person is happy and everything is more satisfactory

After taking the little boy out of the camera, the crew also wrapped up and prepared to change locations. Zhao Xiaotong’s mother was also on the set. She quickly picked up the little boy and led the child to say thank you to An Xumo.

Madam Zhao is a beautiful young mother and Zhao Xiaotong’s facial features obviously follow after her. After An Xumo had a brief conversation between them, Madam Zhao led the little dumpling to leave. He watched one big and one small slowly walk away. While the two were talking, the little boy raised his face and looked at his mother; he smiled making his eyes curved.

Some places in An Xumo’s heart were suddenly touched.

This is probably……a normal family’s mother and child relationship.

An Xumo has lost a lot of things that he should have, to the point that he is now burdened and struggling to walk. But what he didn’t have in the past does not mean he won’t have in the future.

Before……he seemed to be too immersed in the wrong emotions.

It’s like coming from a parents’ affection which An Xumo had not experienced since he was a child. He never thought before that one day, he could actually adopt a small child and raise the other little by little.

To make up for it…… isn’t it instinctual love too?

An Xumo thought, suddenly feeling some sense of enlightenment.

The heaviness of the past left such a deep shadow to the point that An Xumo closed his emotions early for fear of suffering the pain that follows. The same is true for Zhou Jinchen, An Xumo is aware of his emotions, and he still sees his brother as his whole motivation. His brother wants to help him get rid of unwanted trouble but one day, this pretend relationship will end.

A large part of his previous trepidation and anxiety also stemmed from this —— once the two lost this connection, they might go back to their previous frozen relationship.

But now, An Xumo found that he has the right to choose, the future is in his own hands.

An Xumo raised his head and looked at Zhou Jinchen in the crowd from afar.

It’s a very sad thing to be taken advantage of by his brother but if he was given the choice, An Xumo will certainly try his best to help his brother.

Perhaps he can change his previous thoughts.

Just think of this matter as lending a helping hand to his brother. As long as An Xumo doesn’t get caught up in it, Zhou Jinchen can get what he wants because of his efforts, and An Xumo will be happy because of it.

He took what his brother gave him as motivation and when An Xumo gave his brother help, what he got…… isn’t it also motivation?

Therefore, there is really no need for him to be upset about this kind of thing.

It’s good to be able to help his brother; he can still get motivation from him. When he couln’t help, An Xumo will leave on his own will and go back to the distance and position he once was.

This was originally An Xumo’s greatest fear, and he never thought that once he faced up to this ending, everything would become so easy.

Tang Tang who walked over to give hot water looked at An Xumo who was standing in a quiet place and was slightly surprised.

“Xiao Mo……” Her voice was slightly hesitant.

An Xumo looked back at her, “What’s wrong?”

Tang Tang sized him up again and said curiously, “Why do I feel that your spirit has suddenly become much better?”

An Xumo smiled, “Maybe it’s because the most important scene is finished.”

He did look a lot more relaxed and Tang Tang did not doubt it. She went along with the topic and continued, “This scene was indeed not easy, thanks to Ma Lao’s teachings. In this way, it seems that the movie resources of the great director are very useful. Among other things, the big director can really dig out the best from the actors.”

“En.” An Xumo nodded. “But…… my acting is probably still not good enough.”

Tang Tang asked, “What’s the matter?”

An Xumo said, “It’s just that it feels strenuous to act. Unlike the seniors who acted at once in whatever state they were in.”

“That’s for sure,” Tang Tang said. “You’ve only just acted in one play and you didn’t have a professional background before so it’s normal to have a gap with others.”

“Just accumulate slowly and it will be good. You are still so young; there are many opportunities in the future.”

An Xumo listened and smiled. “Okay.”

“Speaking of which, Xiao Mo, I really think you have changed a lot during this movie.” Tang Tang said. “It should be fine to pick up scripts again in the future. It was hard for you to take acting classes before you filmed Different Roads. I thought you would not want to take the actor’s path in the future.”

At that time, An Xumo was always worried that he would not perform well in front of his brother and that he was struggling.

An Xumo laughed, “There will certainly be no problems in the future.”

Moreover, now, he has accepted that he is going to leave and had completely adjusted his mind-set.

—

Shortly after Bai Qingchi’s scene ended, the filming of 《Different Roads》 was also coming to an end. After the last shot of Ling Sihang, the hundred-day-long filming finally ended. The crew also looked at the celebration feast with great enthusiasm.

An Xumo’s gastritis is still recuperating but after he figured it out on his own, the pressure was much smaller and he is now gradually starting to resume his daily diet.

However, he still needs to be careful to avoid eating certain foods in the end. So in the final feast, An Xumo has always had water instead of wine.

Although An Xumo did not drink, the others were basically drunk. Except for Ma Lao who needed to leave the table early and rest, even Ma Zechi who was left behind was filled with a round (of drinks), not to mention the two protagonists.

During the time, some people once wanted to encourage An Xumo to drink a little. After all, he was a junior and could not refuse strongly. But before the person who spoke could raise his voice, the glass was picked up by Zhou Jinchen.

All the people present in the room drank a lot and seeing Zhou Jinchen’s action, many people finally began to entice.

Thinking about his brother’s plan, even though it was still somewhat unnatural, An Xumo still dutifully cooperated with his brother to act this scene.

The wine was drunk in one go and amidst the loud cheers around him, An Xumo sighed in his heart and looked at Lin Rui who was sitting not far away.

Lin Rui also drank the wine, holding the glass with an unknown look, his eyes darkened.

After the feast was over, because of too much drinking, a group of people stayed in a room that had been rented in advance. An Xumo did not drink, he wanted to go back with Tang Tang but he was directly stuffed with keys and asked him to help bring Zhou Jinchen back to his room.

The rooms here are different from the previous set’s hotel which is set up for two people. There were too many eyes around, An Xumo hesitated for a moment but he still received the key.

This is the first time An Xumo has seen Zhou Jinchen drink so much but compared with other people who are drunk at first glance, Zhou Jinchen’s situation seems to be much better. The man’s face did not have any change, not even a hint of flush as if he didn’t drink at all.

The appearance was so deceptive that An Xumo always thought that Zhou Jinchen was sober and just didn’t want to talk. It was only when he didn’t get a response when he called him so many times that he reacted —— his brother seemed to be drunk.

Although the reaction was much slower, fortunately, Zhou Jinchen’s behavior was not affected. He could still walk normally and the two of them returned to the room smoothly.

An Xumo originally wanted to wait for a while after the crew had settled down before leaving, but as soon as they entered the room, Zhou Jinchen suddenly locked the door from the inside and surveyed every corner of the room.

His movements were so decisive and agile that An Xumo doubted whether the other party was drunk or not.

After checking in several hidden places, Zhou Jinchen looked around the room again. It seemed that only then did he discovered An Xumo in the room. He took a few steps across and reached out to pinch the back of An Xumo’s neck.

“……?!”

An Xumo himself was ticklish and was frightened by his actions, he almost jumped like a cat with exploded fur.

He was so close that he restrained himself. He saw the man approaching and looked at him carefully.

Despite having adjusted his mentality towards his brother, An Xumo still felt overwhelmed by the oppression of his looks at such close range. He tried to call out twice, “Brother……brother? What’s wrong with you?”

Zhou Jinchen did not answer, only looking at him steadily as if to confirm something.

After a long time, An Xumo didn’t see him speak until he opened his mouth.

“Who are you?”

The man’s magnetic voice was slightly hoarse and in an extremely close distance, it was like a pleasant lingering effect of a plucked string. An Xumo felt the hand on the back of his neck tighten. “I am An Xumo.”

“An Xumo?” Zhou Jinchen repeated.

An Xumo nodded with difficulty.

Zhou Jinchen frowned; the strength in his hand did not relax.

“Isn’t in Zhou Xumo?”

An Xumo froze for a moment.

He hadn’t heard that name in a long time.

But soon, the pressure coming from the back of his neck brought him back to his consciousness. An Xumo who was pinched coughed and said with difficulty, “That too, is my name……”

Zhou Jinchen stared at him again for a long time with a kind of gaze that makes people shudder, before loosening the grip from his right hand.

An Xumo who was finally released gingerly breathed a sigh of relief. He stiffly moved his neck, feeling numb from the back of his neck to his spine.

After Zhou Jinchen confirmed it, he turned around and went to one side of the sofa. He sat on it and took out his phone with a straight face. An Xumo looked at him across the bed, wondering what else the other party wanted to do.

Zhou Jinchen looked at his phone for a long time and in An Xumo’s perception, he seemed to be looking for a number. But this matter seemed a little difficult for Zhou Jinchen. After an unknown period of time, it wasn’t until An Xumo went over to give him a hand did Zhou Jinchen finally dialed the number and raised the phone to his ear.

It didn’t take long for the call to be connected. The phone was answered with a ‘hello’ and Zhou Jinchen directly said to the other side, “His attitude has really changed.”

He frowned, seemingly a little impatient, “Who else can it be, An Xumo.”

(T/N: Oh look, even ZJ is also impatient like us lol)

An Xumo who was suddenly named was startled.

Zhou Jinchen didn’t seem to remember that An Xumo was still in the room at all. When he opened his mouth to speak, he had no intention of hiding at all.

“En, I’ve confirmed it.”

“It’s not what you and Li Qiucheng said,” Zhou Jinchen said with an expressionless face, “it’s that he doesn’t look at me anymore.”

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The author has something to say:

Get to know the drunken straightforward ball brother.