Chapter 99

Gu Ziwei snorted and said, “Why couldn’t you tell me that you were filming a movie? Are we still friends?”

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Song Haowen rubbed his hands and replied, “It’s not that I didn’t want to tell you. It’s just that the time was too rushed, and many people didn’t have the chance to inform others. I’m sorry. By the way, I didn’t tell you about the movie. How did you find out? From Tian Nana?”

“Humph! I helped you a lot. Tian Nana and her mother, neither of them told me the truth. When I asked them where you went, they just said you had something to do and weren’t specific. I believed them at first, until after the Spring Festival when I saw news from various places in the newspaper about your charity performance on New Year’s Day. That’s when I found out you went to Wudang Mountain to film a movie,” Gu Ziwei complained.

“Oh? Our drama group’s martial arts performance on New Year’s Day made it to the capital? Does it have such a big impact?” Song Haowen was surprised. “But don’t blame Manager Su and her daughter. I advised them not to disclose it to the public. You’re half a media person; I couldn’t tell you about it.”

“Why? Are you afraid I’ll harm you if I know?”

“It’s not that I’m afraid you’ll harm me. I’m afraid this news will spread to the school, and there might be objections.”

“Is that so?” Gu Ziwei glanced, “The matter has passed, and I don’t want to pursue it. But you have to treat me to lunch today and talk about the movie.”

Apologetically, Song Haowen said, “Lunch is not possible. I just arrived in the capital this morning and haven’t paid a New Year’s visit to my parents. How about tonight?”

Gu Ziwei patted Song Haowen on the shoulder. “Alright, the restaurant will be my choice. Let’s go to the Heping Restaurant not far from the school. But, agreed, it’s just the two of us this time. Don’t invite Tian Nana or anyone else.”

Song Haowen laughed. “Okay, I’ll follow your lead. I didn’t expect that the heart of Miss Gu, the great journalist, is only as big as a needle…”

“You dare to say that to me?” Gu Ziwei was about to get angry when she suddenly saw Song Haowen’s second sister, Song Huihua, approaching with a smile.

Her face turned red, and she quickly cleared her throat, trying to conceal the awkwardness.

She smiled and said, “Sister Song, are you here to see your brother?”

Song Huihua walked over and warmly hugged Gu Ziwei, saying, “Little sis, I missed you so much during the winter break. Is your health completely okay now?”

Gu Ziwei lightly tapped on Song Huihua’s chest and replied, “I’m all good now. I’ve taken up a part-time job at the newspaper agency.”

“I envy you for having an uncle who’s the chief editor!” Song Huihua invited, “How about coming to my place for lunch today? Do you have time?”

Gu Ziwei glanced meaningfully at Song Haowen and said to Song Huihua, “Thank you for the invitation, but I have something to attend to right now. I’ll take off first.” After saying that, she smiled at Song Huihua and gracefully walked away.

Song Huihua watched Gu Ziwei’s departing figure, unsure of what to say. After a while, she turned to gaze at Song Haowen and said softly, “Little brother, she helped you so much. How do you plan to thank her?”

Song Haowen sensed that his second sister had something on her mind but pretended not to understand. “Manager Su and I have been wanting to invite her for a meal. Unfortunately, either she didn’t have time, or I didn’t. Now that I’m back, it looks like we should make it happen.”

“You…” Song Huihua was about to speak her mind when she suddenly felt it might be inappropriate.

She quickly changed her tone, “Is everything okay in the class? If there’s nothing, let’s go back now. Let our parents know you’re back and make them happy.”

Riding on his second sister’s bicycle, Song Haowen arrived at their home in Guihua Alley. His parents hadn’t gone back to their hometown for the Lunar New Year, so the courtyard was decorated with a festive atmosphere: red lanterns, couplets, and window decorations, along with potted flowers and large celebrity posters, giving it a refreshing look. It didn’t resemble a rural household but more like a refined and cultured home.

Before reaching the third courtyard, Song Huihua had already loudly announced that the Song Haowen was back.

Suddenly, the courtyard echoed with the sound of things being knocked over, as if several items had fallen. Soon after, the fourth child, Song Haomin, and the youngest, Song Huifang, rushed out, both pouncing on him and pulling him towards the house.

At this moment, their parents also came out of the living room, standing at the doorway, smiling.

Song Haowen walked over, first bowed to his parents, and then played around with his younger siblings. The family happily gathered around the dining table, eating and chatting.

They were very interested in the filming experience, especially the part about him playing the boyfriend of a Hong Kong movie star.

The youngest sibling expressed her admiration, saying that when she grew up, she wanted to make movies and become a big star too.

At this moment, the tenants in the first two courtyards heard that the landlord’s son, the famous star, had returned home. Excitedly, they all came to the back courtyard, and the younger ones even requested autographs and photos. Song Haowen tried his best to accommodate these requests.

After a satisfying lunch, Song Haowen initially planned to stay at home until around three or four in the afternoon.

However, seeing that the living room was consistently crowded with people, where his parents were busy offering cigarettes, serving tea, handing out candies, and offering sunflower seeds, he changed his mind.

After a short rest at home, he made an excuse about work and left early.

The family and tenants bid farewell to Song Haowen as if he were a star, seeing him off at the entrance of the courtyard.

This made him uncomfortable, feeling guilty. He thought that in the future, he should visit home more often so that he wouldn’t be treated like a guest.

After saying goodbye to his family, Song Haowen originally intended to go to the music studio to check on the store and see if there were any issues during his absence.

However, when the taxi driver asked him where to go, he suddenly thought of Tian Yuxi. She had been abroad for half a year, and he hadn’t received any letters.

He was curious about her current situation and decided to visit her parents’ home to wish them a Happy New Year.

So, Song Haowen had the taxi driver take him to the alley near Tian Yuxi’s house. After getting out of the car, he bought four gifts from a nearby store and headed towards her home.

Today was Friday and also the sixteenth day of the Lunar New Year. Although it was a regular working day, government offices usually didn’t strictly follow the working hours, so there might be someone at her home. If not, he was prepared to wait for a while.

With a nervous heart, Song Haowen knocked on the door. To his delight, someone in the courtyard responded. After a while, Lin Min opened the door, saw him, and happily welcomed him inside.

At this moment, Tian Yuxi’s father, Tian Pengfei, had not finished work yet. Only Lin Min, who had come home early, was present in the vast courtyard.

It looked quite lonely with just one person. Song Haowen thought to himself that having fewer family members and a large house might not necessarily be a good thing.

After Lin Min invited Song Haowen to sit in the living room, they naturally started talking about his recent activities.

She had learned quite a bit about him from Tian Nana, including his participation in the Huami International Martial Arts Competition and the filming of a movie in Hong Kong.

When she asked about it, he briefly reported the situation. Lin Min praised him wholeheartedly.

Afterwards, the conversation naturally shifted to Tian Yuxi’s study abroad. Lin Min sighed with a hint of dissatisfaction, saying that her daughter was lazy with her pen.

She had only written one letter to the family during the first semester, right after entering university, saying that everything was fine, she smoothly started her university studies, but she had some language issues and was working on improving them.

Additionally, in the letter, she sent regards to him and thanked him for the generous red envelope. However, subsequent letters from them remained unanswered, and they didn’t know the reason.

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Song Haowen couldn’t help but feel emotional. In this era, technology seemed too outdated, relying mainly on writing letters for communication.

In his past life, even if he studied on the moon, he could easily chat through video calls anytime, anywhere.

He had studied abroad in Britain before and knew that for international students, language was a major problem at the beginning.

In fully foreign-language instruction, even with a high proficiency level, classes were confusing, and understanding was difficult. Many regretted studying abroad.

So, Song Haowen understood that even after a semester, overcoming the language barrier for studying abroad was challenging.

Falling behind in studies could lead to a broken heart, perhaps the main reason Tian Yuxi didn’t want to contact his family and friends.

Song Haowen could only comfort Lin Min. Lin Min, in turn, advised him not to blame his daughter for not writing to him. In the end, both couldn’t figure out who was advising whom.

In this awkward moment, Tian Pengfei returned early from work because he had a colleague’s dinner invitation, and spouses were required to attend.

He planned to invite Lin Min to join, but seeing Song Haowen, he dropped the idea – he could skip it with his colleagues.

Since Tian Yuxi went abroad, it was Song Haowen’s first visit, and it happened to be for the New Year. Tian Pengfei and Lin Min valued him greatly; they liked Song Haowen and even considered making him their son-in-law or godson if things didn’t work out with Tian Yuxi.

Tian Yuxi was the first-person Song Haowen met when he came to Beijing for studies. Her parents were the first parents he got to know. He had a deep emotional connection with them that others couldn’t compare to.

Even with the Tian family’s connection through work, they were still placed second after Tian Yuxi’s family in terms of intimacy. Therefore, not visiting them for half a year made him feel a bit guilty.

Seeing that it was already 5 p.m., and remembering his dinner plans with Gu Ziwei, Song Haowen excused himself. The Tian couple was reluctant to let him go, but after half-hearted pleading and mentioning a dinner with friends, they finally let him leave, with the condition that he must visit them regularly and have a meal each time.

After leaving Tian Yuxi’s home, Song Haowen felt a warm feeling, similar to the warmth of a family. It was just that Tian Yuxi wasn’t at home, which made him feel a bit regretful.

When Song Haowen arrived fifteen minutes early at the Peace Hotel, Gu Ziwei was already sitting in a corner of the lobby waiting for him. He quickly greeted her, and she teased, “Big celebrity, you’re really on time.”

Song Haowen blushed and explained, “I didn’t expect you to arrive so early. Has the journalist ordered the dishes?”