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Rong Yuheng’s sorrow failed to resonate with Qiu Jianlun at all. The latter only loosened his furrowed brows slightly, rare benevolence in his tone as he asked, “You have a terminal illness?”

Rong Yuheng remained silent.

Zhou Shubai quickly patted his brother and said, “Brother, what nonsense are you talking about!”

Qiu Jianlun didn’t notice his own inappropriate question and continued to analyze, “For people who might become potential partners, their health is also within the scope of my investigation.”

Zhou Shubai turned to Rong Yuheng and said, “Xiaoji, don’t mind my brother. He’s used to handling things professionally.”

Rong Yuheng generously didn’t take offense to this sand sculpture boss’s scrutiny. “It’s okay, it’s better this way.” He couldn’t bear Qiu Jianlun’s kindness.

The main course was quickly served, and the three of them chatted while eating.

Rong Yuheng first picked two quail eggs for Zhou Shubai, who skillfully accepted them. The two locked eyes over the dining table, and the long-lost bond of peeling eggs was reconstructed.

The air was filled with a harmonious and trusting atmosphere.

Feeling excluded from this aura, Qiu Jianlun unhappily tapped the table with his index finger, gesturing with his eyes for Rong Yuheng to open the barrier.

Rong Yuheng received the signal and skillfully joined in the play with Qiu Jianlun.

“Brother Shubai, Mr. Qiu, I feel like your relationship is getting better and better.”

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Zhou Shubai, preoccupied, said, “Really?” After a moment of thought, he came to the conclusion, “Maybe my brother’s temper has improved a lot recently.”

Qiu Jianlun glanced at him without confirming or denying, but his expression became noticeably more pleasant at the mention of their relationship improving.

Rong Yuheng subtly dropped a hint, “When I visited Brother Shubai last time, I felt that you two were getting along well. It’s easy to bond when you’re in the same crew.”

Zhou Shubai’s focus was entirely on gossip, “Like you and Teacher Wen? You two are together, right? It’s too obvious; you must be together!”

“…” Rong Yuheng paused for a moment. “Yes, that’s correct.”

Zhou Shubai said, “Ah… I noticed you two had clues long ago. Joining the crew this time gave you a chance to be together.”

Rong Yuheng quickly seized the tail of the topic and brought it back, “After all, being together day and night can foster feelings, whether it’s romantic, familial, or friendly…”

Qiu Jianlun’s eyes gradually brightened. He thoughtfully stared at the dishes on the table, as if contemplating something.

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Rong Yuheng tentatively stretched out his small head, “How about it, Mr. Qiu? Does entering the entertainment industry feel good?”

Qiu Jianlun pondered for a moment, maintaining rationality, “Insufficient flow and connections. Relying solely on capital investment is not a long-term solution. Playing once is fine, but if the follow-up resources can’t keep up, you’ll have to withdraw sooner or later.”

Qiu Jianlun had a typical business mindset, adopting the most efficient solution under any given plan, without considering other factors.

Seizing the opportunity, Rong Yuheng tempted him, “For those with resources, the scriptwriter Xun Guang said she’s willing to sell the IP as long as she’s not allowed to blindly modify it.”

In a second, Qiu Jianlun recalled the scene of showering money. Surprisingly, he seemed somewhat interested…

Zhou Shubai continued to fan the flames, “Xun Guang? I love both her novels and scripts!”

Qiu Jianlun vaguely stated, “I never comment on other people’s works.”

Rong Yuheng felt relieved, continuing, “With a script, you also need a director, actors, a team, and both pre-production and post-production require publicity, interviews, and variety show resources. So, my suggestion is to have everything in place.”

“Resources are not a problem; the main issue is insufficient personnel,” Qiu Jianlun wrinkled his brow, feeling that the wording ‘having everything in place’ sounded a lot like a pyramid scheme, but he lacked evidence.

“I can’t organize another talent show like ‘Star Creation’ to cultivate new artists from scratch. If it’s artists who have already debuted, poaching them comes at a high cost,” he explained.

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Rong Yuheng’s anticipated topic finally arrived.

With a confident posture, he said, “Do you know which type of artist has the highest cost-effectiveness?”

Qiu Jianlun and Zhou Shubai exchanged puzzled glances.

Rong Yuheng: “Because of artists who have been shelved due to rumors.”

…

After finishing the meal, the discussion among the few was also nearly complete. Establishing a new entertainment company and accepting shelved artists was not an easy task; it required careful planning in the later stages.

After the meal, Rong Yuheng went to the front desk to settle the bill. The private room door closed, leaving only Zhou Shubai and Qiu Jianlun.

Zhou Shubai turned to Qiu Jianlun and said, “Brother…”

Qiu Jianlun understood that he wanted him to agree to collaborate with Rong Yuheng. However, business matters couldn’t be mixed with too much sentiment, internal risk assessments within the group were needed.

Qiu Jianlun thought for a moment and said, “I will consider it carefully.”

Rong Yuheng’s plan carried significant risks but promised high returns. In the entertainment industry, there were many talented individuals buried or shelved. Given an opportunity, someone might rise to prominence, propelling the entire company to the forefront. However, breaking a contract with an artist involved a substantial penalty, and choosing the wrong person could mean a significant loss.

Zhou Shubai nudged him again and said, “We can discuss the shelved artists later. I think the idea of establishing a company is a good one.”

Qiu Jianlun thought of the cool and arrogant CEO script, and his interest was piqued. Clearing his throat, he said, “Let’s go ahead and establish the company.”

“The Rong-Xing Plan” was a long and complicated process. After discussing it with Qiu Jianlun, Rong Yuheng didn’t rush him—although his intentions were good, it didn’t mean sacrificing others’ interests to achieve the goal. The best scenario was shared risks and mutual benefits.

After the luxurious dinner with the distinguished brothers, Rong Yuheng planned to go home and check on the large fan-shaped shell that might be hugging a stack of STAT-T albums in the corner of his bedroom, secretly missing him.

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Rong Yuheng intended to stay at home for the night, spend the entire next day at home, have dinner, and then return to the shared apartment. Starting the day after tomorrow, he would be immersed in busy work, and the time spent with family would only decrease.

Knowing that Rong Yuheng was going home, Zhou Shubai called a driver from the Qiu family’s fleet to pick him up.

As the luxurious Lincoln limousine glided slowly past the restaurant’s entrance, the shiny and sleek body reflected Rong Yuheng’s face. He couldn’t suppress the dilation of his pupils…

It was the ideal type of his warm-keeping owner!

Feeling the aura of wealth, Zhou Shubai instinctively began to feign humility. “Ah, this car isn’t particularly high-end. It’s mainly convenient to drive here because it’s close. Don’t look down on it~”

Rong Yuheng’s lips hesitated for a moment. “I won’t…”

If he dared to look down on the luxurious Lincoln limousine, Wen Zhecheng might cry bitterly.

Sitting in the car, the leather seats were as smooth and delicate as a girl’s skin. Rong Yuheng cautiously opened his nostrils and took a gentle breath—there was almost no odor inside the car!

He quickly liberated Wen Zhecheng from the WeChat conversation and joyfully replied to his message.

The information was still on Wen Zhecheng’s restless monologue—

【Wen Zhecheng】: Little one? Feeling shy?

【Wen Zhecheng】: Are you secretly fantasizing? It’s okay, I can teach you.

Ignoring the former’s nonsense, Rong Yuheng loudly exclaimed in his own way:

【Rong Yuheng】: I’m sitting in a luxurious Lincoln limousine!!! Wow, so comfortable~~~

Wen Zhecheng replied immediately.

【Wen Zhecheng】: This… is so exciting! How comfortable is it? Show me? [Sea Otter blushing face]

“…”

Receiving the reply, Rong Yuheng fell silent for two seconds. The excitement gradually subsided. Wen Zhecheng’s idea of a “luxurious Lincoln limousine” was undoubtedly not the same as his.

Once again, he confined the restless Wen Zhecheng to the little black room, exited the WeChat conversation, and prepared to browse his friends’ updates to change his mood.

In the circle of friends, there were mainly shares of the upper-class lifestyle by the wealthy and updates from circle friends’ daily lives. Occasionally, there were a few gossip news shared, such as long-distance expressions of love between couples, romantic confessions, and the like.

Rong Yuheng scrolled for a while and found it uninteresting, leaning back on the smooth and delicate seat like a girl’s skin, closing his eyes, and sinking into a deep sleep…

When Rong Yuheng woke up, he was already at his own doorstep. The driver, respectful and courteous in the driver’s seat, waited for him to wake up and said, “Mr. Rong, you’ve arrived home.”

Rong Yuheng, just as he sat up, noticed a thin thread of drool on the window of the luxurious Lincoln limousine. A part of the car window seemed to have been cleaned by him, shining with a reflective and moist light.

Rong Yuheng: “…”

He was afraid that Qiu Jianlun might find out and press him against the window to wipe it off.

Quickly, he extended his sleeve to wipe the window clean and then thanked the driver before getting off the car and heading home.

It was now around four or five in the afternoon, with the distant sun tilting towards the horizon. The sun’s residual glow spread over the lawn in front of the villa, giving it a thin golden layer.

Rong Yuheng pushed open the gate and walked through the pathway across the lawn. The scene at this moment was too serene and beautiful, and he unexpectedly felt a gentle emotion.

Rong Yuheng thought that this time, when he went home, he would spend quality time with the big fan-shaped shell, not argue with him, be an obedient little shell, and peacefully clean shells.

Then, he would confess his relationship to his pearl-like brother, showing respect for his family and responsibility towards Wen Zhecheng.

Pushing open the villa gate, Rong Yuheng peeked inside. The inside was quiet, with no lights on, completely dark.

His heart suddenly jumped: Could it be that his father was sent to the hospital again?

He quickly turned on the lights and found the entrance tidy and clean, with slippers neatly arranged, not showing any signs of chaos.

Rong Yuheng’s alarmed little heart finally returned to a steady beat.

He took out his phone and called Rong Congyan. The call was answered after a few rings. “Hello, Little Heng?”

“Brother, where are you?” Rong Yuheng pouted unhappily. “Dad isn’t home, none of you are at home?”

On the other end, Rong Congyan paused for a moment and then asked in surprise, “You’re back!? Why didn’t you tell us in advance?”

Rong Yuheng’s resentment covered the entire entrance. “Yeah, I’m standing at the cold and empty gate, looking towards the distant intersection. How long until you guys come back?”

Rong Congyan said, “…We can’t predict the time, we might be back soon, or we might not be back until tomorrow.”

Rong Yuheng suddenly felt like he was waiting for a ship at the airport.

He complained loudly, “Why? Where did you guys go?”

Rong Congyan’s ears were almost deafened.

After brewing for a moment, he began to carefully choose his words. He felt that he should enroll in a language training class—why did he have to be the one to relay this every time something unexpected happened?

“Father and I are in the car, and he’s stepping on the gas, racing in the open countryside.”

Rong Yuheng was puzzled, “Is he going to be a professional race car driver?”

“No, you might not believe it when I say it.” Rong Congyan’s voice sounded quite awkward, faintly mixed with the soft and nagging voice of Rong Tianshen, “We are chasing hot air balloons.”

Rong Yuheng seemed to have not heard clearly, “What?”

Rong Congyan repeated, “We’re chasing your mom’s hot air balloon.”

“…” Out of context, Rong Yuheng almost thought he was being scolded.

But considering Wen Qin’s life experience, Rong Yuheng thought Rong Congyan should be scolding someone.

Rong Yuheng asked, “What does it mean to chase my mom’s hot air balloon?”

Rong Congyan said, “Haven’t you seen today’s social news?” After finishing, he took the phone away, swiped a few times on the screen, and a “ding” sounded. A WeChat push notification appeared on Rong Yuheng’s phone.

Rong Yuheng’s first reaction was that it looked familiar, and he didn’t realize its connection to him until he clicked in—wasn’t this the “long-distance expression of love” he had just scrolled past in the circle of friends!

In this piece titled “Romantic Couple Express Love Across Distances,” there was a picture of a hot air balloon with a string of banners hanging below it. The image was small, and the words on the banners were not clear, but the text in the news article read:

“Today, a hot air balloon with banners crossed the sky above City C… The woman boldly expressed love from a distance, and the romance is admirable…”

Rong Yuheng was instantly excited

Rong Yuheng quickly scrolled to the bottom and saw the content of the banners boldly displayed:

“Thanks to my ex-husband for generating electricity for love, tirelessly delivering to the hospital.”

He choked on his words—what media outlet was this? How could they extract the message of “expressing love across distances” from such mocking words! So, Rong Tianshen was essentially…

As if to confirm his speculation, Rong Congyan’s voice weakly came through the speaker, “Dad has initiated the hunting moment.”

Rong Yuheng: “…”

Author’s note: Wen Zhecheng: I never thought my nightmare would come true… scary.

Rong Yuheng: This is some kind of love-hate drama.

Wen Qin: Come on~ Come and chase me~ Hahaha, hehehe, kaka, kaka~

Rong Tianshen: Target locked, snipe—

Rong Congyan: Please remove me from this novel, I beg you.