Translator: Lordbluefire
Editor: Lordbluefire
Early the next morning, when the sun had just risen, Lu Yuan already packed up his luggage and left Hengdian.
‘Distant Films’ was just a dummy corporation and it wasn’t much of a concern to Lu Yuan. There were Fatty Wei and Lu Yihong filming, so there wasn’t much of an impact on whether Lu Yuan was there or not.
Therefore, Lu Yuan left Hengdian.
After getting in the car, he turned back to take a look at Hengdian, which was as prosperous as ever. He could see many actors, actresses, and the production crew who were walking around not far away. Lu Yuan broke into a smile that had a hint of satisfaction in it.
During this period, Lu Yuan had spent quite a good time at Hengdian. Not only could he fool around, but he could also earn some money. Thinking back, it had been quite a good time.
However, this circle wasn’t the one that he eventually wanted to see himself in.
Under the prosperity, there were still a lot of shadows lurking and hidden.
The most important thing to a person was to know their limitations.
How many celebrities had shot up to fame in the entertainment circle but then rapidly plummeted?
How many proud talents had eventually died out into the crowd?
Lu Yuan knew his own value.
It was very hard to climb up to a high peak, but it was very simple to fall off a cliff.
If he didn’t have a clear look at his own status, then he’d be the one to fall into the abyss.
Although Lu Yuan might be an uncouth guy at times, occasionally being a little insolent, he had quite a stable and long-term plan for his own future.
Although this long-term plan wasn’t a splendorous one, it could at least guarantee him a life without any worry for his livelihood.
“What kind of woman is that matchmaking partner?”
To be honest, Lu Yuan was looking forward to this.
………
In [Buried]’s production crew.
“Where’s Lu Yuan?”
“Huh? He left?”
“Where did he go?”
“He went back to his hometown.”
“Why did he go back to his hometown at this point?”
“I think it’s to match… no, I have no idea either. He might have something to attend to.”
“What? Match what?”
“It’s nothing. I have no idea either… He didn’t tell me. He only said that he’d be away for two days.”
“You aren’t someone who knows how to lie. Just tell me the truth. What did he go off to do, abandoning the production crew?”
“…”
“Are you going to say it? I don’t want to ask it a second time.”
“I don’t know…” Fatty Wei shuddered after seeing Wang Jinxue’s icy-cold face. However, he then took in a deep breath. He knew that he might have said something he shouldn’t have said. Although he had no idea what the relationship between Lu Yuan and Wang Jinxue was, there were some things that he shouldn’t say recklessly…
“I heard that he went for a matchmaking session. What about it?” Li Qing was just done with the filming of one scene and was planning to discuss the next scene with Fatty Wei. After seeing Wang Jinxue, he mentioned this in passing.
“Matchmake?” Wang Jinxue fell silent after hearing this, and the frost on her face turned even colder.
Then, she turned to leave without saying anything.
She had no plans to continue the conversation.
“F*ck, Old Li, are you alright in the mind?” Fatty Wei was furious.
“What’s the matter?”
“Are you crazy? Don’t you know what you should say and what you shouldn’t?”
“Huh? Could it be that…”
“F*ck! You must have turned into a fool from all the filming!”
“…”
After seeing Fatty Wei’s speechless expression, Li Qing was first stunned, and then he started trembling.
He suddenly had the strange feeling as if Mars had collided into Earth!
………
At Ji County that was situated to the east of Zhejiang.
It was a small county that just barely broke away from poverty.
Lu Yuan’s family was honest farmers for three generations and had never produced any amazing characters like the main leads in novels, nor any stories of how they had run to the countryside to hide from the war.
After getting off the car, Lu Yuan looked at this place that he seemed to have seen before. His heart filled with forlorn feelings.
Before he was reborn, he had found a job in Hengdian after graduating from university. He worked hard, hoping to be able to get promotions and raises, but it was a pity that the company wasn’t well-managed. The boss also took advantage of him being a simple-minded guy and thus found all sorts of excuses to delay his pay while getting him to work. After owing him for four months, the company was suddenly emptied one morning, leaving only Lu Yuan standing there in a daze.
He had been abandoned.
He had been foolishly abandoned.
After the company closed down, Lu Yuan was unable to find another job on short notice and thus stayed to have a change of pace in Hengdian.
This change of pace ended up taking half a year. The money that he had saved was all spent, leaving him in an impoverished state…
Lu Yuan didn’t have the face to return and thus continued to stay in Hengdian. However, he was unable to stay on…
He had graduated from Forestry and felt uncomfortable working as a waiter. However, he was also unable to find a job that was relevant to his studies. What about working as an extra?
First of all, he had no acting skills. Secondly, the previous him had been too honest, unable to thicken his face…
After being reborn, Lu Yuan swore to change as he knew of the former’s experiences. He couldn’t help but start smoking, learn to be less honest, and slowly become someone who would trick others…
It was only through making changes would one have a way out. If Lu Yuan continued to act in the same manner, he’d have died from starvation a long time ago.
Of course, Lu Yuan had essentially not changed. He was still him.
“Mom.”
“You finally bear to come back?”
“En…”
“Come and eat.”
“Ok.”
Lu Yuan felt upset for some reason after seeing his mother, who had graying hair on the side of her temples. He called her ‘Mom’ very naturally.
Lu Yuan’s mom took a glance at him and shook her head. She didn’t show any expression but just told Lu Yuan to sit down to have his meal.
After looking at the food on the table, Lu Yuan felt even more upset for some reason.
His family was an ordinary one and thus would usually make do with one to two dishes for their meals. In Lu Yuan’s impression, it was only during the new year or when relatives were visiting that they’d have a sumptuous meal. However, the dishes today weren’t that far off from what they would have during the new year celebration.
Parents would never openly show their good side. They would just do things very naturally.
“Where’s your table manners? How old are you now? Don’t act like a kid, eat properly!” Lu Yuan’s father saw how Lu Yuan was gulping down all the food after sitting down and chided him.
“Are you alright?”
“I’m fi…”
“Don’t choke.”
“En.”
“Do you want to drink some wine?”
“A little.”
“Go pour it yourself. Pour some for me as well.”
“Ok.”
“The girl you’ll be meeting tomorrow works in a big city. She is the daughter of the fried dough twist [1] shop’s seller from the neighboring town. Their family is quite good. Your Uncle Chen had put in a lot of effort to set up this matchmaking session. If it goes through, then it’d be our good luck. En, regardless if this goes through or not, we must give him a good treat to thank him, understand?”
“En, I know.”
“What are your plans from now on?”
“Uh… I’m thinking of opening a shop.”
“Opening a shop?” Hearing this, the stern expression that Lu Yuan’s father was wearing froze up a little. He then took out a cigarette and started smoking.
“En, a small restaurant.”
“You’re able to stay down-to-earth and cook?”
“I’m thinking of hiring someone to cook.”
“What about the money? You’ll need to pay people a salary to hire them to cook.”
“I have money…”
“How much do you have?”
“It should be enough for opening up a shop.”
“…” Lu Yuan’s father stopped talking and threw a glance at Lu Yuan’s mother. Then, his facial muscles twitched.
There were many things that he was unable to say.
“Go ahead with the matchmaking session first. There’s no hurry in opening up a shop.” Lu Yuan’s mother nodded, a hint of helplessness flashing in her eyes. However, she had always been supportive of whatever her son wanted to do.
“En, alright.”
…………
Lu Yuan got up very early the next morning. After dressing up, checking himself in the mirror to make sure that everything was fine, he got in the car and headed toward the county under his mom’s repeated nagging.
The location for the matchmaking session was in a cafe in Ji County.
Lu Yuan arrived early and took a seat near a window, waiting for the rumored matchmaking partner. He was looking forward to meeting this girl who he might get together with.
Lu Yuan ordered a blue mountain coffee and slowly waited.
Half an hour passed by. Lu Yuan looked at the clock and frowned slightly.
She was already late for half an hour. Why was she not here yet?
Lu Yuan took out his phone and called her number that was written down on a piece of paper.
“Du du.”
“Hi? Hello?”
“You are…”
“I’m Lu Yuan, your…”
“Oh, please wait a little longer. I’ll be arriving very soon. En…”
“Alright, then you…”
“Du du.”
Before Lu Yuan finished his words, she had already hung up.
Lu Yuan looked at the number and frowned again. That feeling of yearning dissipated a little.
After another half an hour passed by, Lu Yuan looked at the clock on the wall. His patience had worn out. She hadn’t arrived even though he had already finished two cups of coffee.
He shook his head.
“Bill…” He stood up, not planning to wait anymore.
She was late for over an hour. What was this…
He wasn’t someone who liked to shamelessly curry up to others, and it was impossible for him to wait so long for a girl whom he had never met before.
At this moment, a series of car honking rang out next to the cafe. A red BMW 3 Series car stopped, and a voluptuous girl wearing a disdainful look and carrying a cross-shoulder bag got out of the car.
Lu Yuan’s phone rang.
“Are you still there?”
“I am.”
“En, which seat are you at?”
“Number 8.”
“Ok. Help me to order a cup of latte without sugar.”
“Ok. I’ll order after you arrive. Otherwise, it’ll turn cold.” After hearing the commanding tone, Lu Yuan frowned, feeling displeased.
He had wanted to hang up and turn to leave without saying anything, but after he raised his leg, he stopped.
He wanted to see how precious this girl was, to be putting on such a huge front and speaking in such a commanding tone despite being late for over an hour.
Help her to order a cup of latte?
Even if he were to just look at this tone alone, there was no way that Lu Yuan would order the drink for her.
Be gentlemanly?
This was something that Lu Yuan never had.
[1] Fried Dough Twist is a Chinese dough twist that is fried in peanut oil. It has a shiny and golden look. It is prepared in various ways with different flavors, which range from sweet to spicy, and usually has a dense and crisp texture. Its origin could be traced back thousands of years ago.