Dai Zhong was just casually joking, however, Lin Jianshen stood still and seemed to be seriously contemplating the question.

His brows furrowed slightly and his pensive posture startled Dai Zhong.

“Jianshen, don’t tell me you really have that plan……” Looking at Lin Jianshen’s contemplative profile, Dai Zhong felt his mouth go dry and bitter, worried whether he had given Lin Jianshen an idea.

Upon this thought, Dai Zhong couldn’t help but shed tears of sympathy for himself in his heart.

He had been Lin Jianshen’s manager for several years and what he had learned was that Lin Jianshen was a very trouble-free actor. He was diligent and dedicated in filming, able to endure hardships and without much temper, so Dai Zhong didn’t need to worry too much.

But sometimes he would inexplicably insist on something and had his own opinions on a lot of things. Dai Zhong stayed by his side and acted like an assistant rather than a manager most of the time.

For example, when it comes to accepting endorsements and advertisements, choosing films and TV scripts, as well as some more important decisions. Basically, the decision-making power was in Lin Jianshen’s hand and Dai Zhong had little say in the matter.

It was reasonable to say that such an actor who disobeys the arrangements of the higher-ups wouldn’t be reused in an entertainment company.

What the company needed were employees who follow orders and were easy to control. People who were too independent like Lin Jianshen wouldn’t get good resources and would also have huge conflicts with the company because of their unruliness, and sometimes would even end up being suppressed and hidden.

Therefore, in the first few years of Lin Jianshen’s career, because he was too opinionated, he didn’t get along well with his managers. He had two managers but didn’t get any good resources, thus he remained unknown.

In the notoriously chaotic entertainment industry, competition for resources was a common occurrence.

During the dormant period in Lin Jianshen’s early career, there wasn’t only pressure from the company, but also ostracism from among his peers.

But he had never thought of catering to others. He simply refused to accept a script if he wasn’t satisfied with it. He even disdained to act in some bad dramas. In the messy entertainment industry, he could be said to be acting willful and reckless.

The result of being too independent was that he was abandoned by two managers. The company finally handed him over to an unknown agent, their intention of giving up on him was very obvious. That manager was Dai Zhong.

Dai Zhong had just entered the industry that year and only had a few 38^th line artists on his hands. When he first took over Lin Jianshen, he thought that Lin Jianshen was also a 38^th liner who doesn’t have much potential. But after spending time with him, he felt that Lin Jianshen was different from other artists under him. He had the potential to become famous.

His previous managers had never put Lin Jianshen in their eyes so they naturally couldn’t see his efforts and excellence.

Dai Zhong, however, discovered during their interaction that although Lin Jianshen wasn’t classically trained, his acting skills were quite superb. He also worked very hard in honing it, spending countless hours studying scripts and using his spare time to recharge when he had the opportunity. He never slack off.

It’s just that he’s a little cold in dealing with others, but he could still be said to be humble and polite.

Unlike some of the small actors he had met, who had little fame but were full of airs. They were 38^th liners but acted like their top line actors.

Dai Zhong suddenly discovered Lin Jianshen among a group of people who had long been judged to have no potential. He immediately developed boundless ambition, imagining himself as Bole meeting a swift horse^[1]the swift horse symbolizes talent while Bole is a person who understand it. This emphasizes that no matter how capable you are, someone must appreciate you, managing a superstar with a bright future.

But soon he was awakened by the cruel reality. Because even if he discovered Lin Jianshen’s potential, Dai Zhong could not give him better resources. After all, he had no connections and no means, as he had only been in the industry for less than a year.

At that time, Dai Zhong and Lin Jianshen had several conversations regarding the difficult situation they were facing.

Compared to Dai Zhong’s anxiety and vision, Lin Jianshen behaved as calmly as usual. He had always been like that, showing no expression of joy or anger, as if he had never been flustered or panicked in his life.

“I don’t need you to do anything. Just don’t interfere with my judgment and respect my decisions. That’s all.”

That day, Lin Jianshen said that words to Dai Zhong, and the faint aura emanating from him made people unconsciously submit.

For so many years, Dai Zhong had been conscientiously fulfilling those words. Countless experiences have taught him that Lin Jianshen’s choice wasn’t wrong. The roles he had played have been widely praised, and the movies and TV series he had acted in were always popular. His vision was sharp and precise, able to accurately seize all opportunities for success, as if he had the power to foretell the future.

However, it turned out that while it’s debatable whether Lin Jianshen could predict the future, he does possess great vision, not only in the selection of scripts, but also in the business field.

Dai Zhong followed him for so many years and gradually learned more about him. Two years ago, Lin Jianshen’s contract with the company expired. He didn’t renew but left to strike out on his own. Dai Zhong left the company without hesitation and joined Lin Jianshen, truly transforming from a manager into Lin Jianshen’s employee and assistant.

So now, if Lin Jianshen really wanted to do something, Dai Zhong couldn’t stop him at all.

Seeing that Lin Jianshen remained silent, alarm bells started ringing in Dai Zhong’s head. Not long ago, Lin Jianshen and Yu Mian’s engagement caught him off guard. Fortunately, nothing got out and it didn’t affect Lin Jianshen’s career.

But if a rumor of an online love affair between the movie king and his fan came out at this time, the consequences would be really disastrous. After all, the relationship between idols and fans in the entertainment industry was already sensitive, and with the addition of online dating, there was no telling how the outside world would judge Lin Jianshen.

Even though he always teased Lin Jianshen with his ‘online friend’, once things really happen, Dai Zhong was still more concerned about Lin Jianshen’s future.

What’s more, Lin Jianshen still had an ‘engagement’. Although the two had no feelings for each other, he shouldn’t act like a scumbag.

“What are you thinking about?” Lin Jianshen moved his eyes away from the screen. When he saw Dai Zhong’s face looking constipated, he immediately knew that something was going on in his head.

Dai Zhong snapped back to his senses, wiped his face and said, “Jianshen, you’re an engaged man now, let’s forget about this online dating, alright? You don’t even know if the other person is male or female. Maybe he or she is already married. Maybe he or she is ugly. Maybe he or she……”

Lin Jianshen’s brows knitted tighter and tighter with Dai Zhong’s words. Fortunately, Dai Zhong still took into account that this was a filming set and there were many people around them. The director was even sitting at the table next to them so he lowered his voice when speaking.

“When did I say I wanted to……” The word ‘date online’ rolled between his lips, but in the end, he didn’t say it.

Lin Jianshen’s voice was cold and his gaze upon Dai Zhong was even colder.

Dai Zhong’s body jolted and he immediately shut up. He didn’t expect Lin Jianshen to react so strongly. He understands him better than anyone and knew that he was really angry when he acted like this.

The man in front of him was his boss, who controlled his job and salary. Dai Zhong didn’t dare to talk about the issue anymore and abruptly change the subject, “Y-you didn’t say anything so I thought too much…… By the way, Jianshen, someone just contacted you offering an endorsement. Do you want to take it?”

“No.”

His tone of voice didn’t allow for any explanation. Even though Dai Zhong had been prepared, he still choked.

After thinking about it, he felt that he should still lay out all the information. “Yiju Enterprises invited you to endorse their products. I got internal information that the boss of Yiju has a daughter who seems to be a fan of yours. She suggested you as the endorser and the payment offer is very high—”

Lin Jianshen didn’t give him a chance to continue. “I said I won’t take it.”

He put down the phone and his face seemed to be covered with a thin layer of frost.

Dai Zhong nodded to show his understanding. He had long been used to Lin Jianshen’s behavior. Apart from his interest in acting, Lin Jianshen rarely participated in other things such as endorsements, variety shows and the like.

He never accepted any typical endorsements. The ones he took in the past were basically public service announcements, none of which were commercial in nature, which was completely different from other entertainment stars.

Occasionally, Dai Zhong would wonder why someone as proud as Lin Jianshen entered the entertainment industry.

He couldn’t figure it out nor was it his place to think about.

Dai Zhong shook his head. “Alright, then I’ll reject it for you.”

———pr


It was already past meal time when Yu Mian got home. The auntie left food for her in the kitchen. Father Yu had gone out fishing with his friends while Mother Yu was invited for an afternoon tea by the other wives from the community, so Yu Mian was the only one left at home.

The auntie took Yu Mian’s umbrella and was about to put it away after drying it when she suddenly found that the amulet hanging under the umbrella was missing.

“Miss, did you lose the pendant under your umbrella?”

Yu Mian was changing into slippers next to the shoe cabinet. After hearing that, she looked at the umbrella handle. Sure enough, there was only a bare wooden handle left. It was polished smooth and bright, but the small red wooden plaque hanging below had disappeared.

She noticed the amulet before she went out. It had a knot made of red rope and a red square wooden plaque with the word ‘safety’ engraved on it, looking both exquisite and festive. She even played with it for a while.

“It’s still there before I left the house. I don’t know when it disappeared. It must have been fallen on the road.” Yu Mian thought back carefully for a while but still couldn’t remember where she might have dropped it.

The auntie waved her hand and didn’t look very concerned. “It’s alright. If it fell, then it fell. Auntie will hang another one for you later.”

———pr

After lunch, Yu Mian couldn’t help but feel anxious when thinking about the tutor who was coming in the afternoon.

Nervously, she took out the other Yu Mian’s textbook and started flipping through it from the beginning. She loves Chinese painting, but because she couldn’t afford to study art, she could only find materials on her own to teach herself. She never had such systematic and professional learning.

Looking at some of the techniques and knowledge in the book, she became enthralled.

The Yu family had specially arranged a room as a place for Yu Mian to study. It had a large floor-to-ceiling window and outside it was the small garden behind the villa. The interior was well lit and there were several bookshelves and easels, as well as a comfortable and soft sofa. It was a very suitable place to study.

Painting was most particular about practice and just reading alone wouldn’t allow one to learn its essence. Yu Mian read for a while, then simply sat in front of the easel. With one hand holding a brush and the other holding a book, she started practicing the knowledge written in the pages.