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A startling thunderclap resounded in Rong Yuheng’s mind!

Before he could decide whether to turn and run barefoot or put on his shoes to leave gracefully, he heard the sound “ta, da” of footsteps in the corridor leading to the entrance. Amidst the celebratory background music, there was a hint of a festive occasion.

Rong Yuheng’s heart raced. He swiftly turned and placed his hand on the doorknob. But before he could make his escape, an arm suddenly reached from behind, firmly gripping his shoulder. A gentle voice came from above his head.

“Xiao Heng, where are you going?”

Rong Yuheng’s hand trembled slightly, but he quickly composed himself and turned around with an air of nonchalance.

“I brought a gift for you all but forgot it in the car.”

“Well, you’re here now. What gift do you need to bring?”

With that, Rong Yuheng’s older brother, Rong Congyan, grabbed him and started heading into the house.

Rong Yuheng felt like he was being dragged like a vacuum cleaner.

In the spacious living room, Rong Tianshen sat upright on the sofa with a solemn expression. In front of the sofa, there was a redwood coffee table covered with various items, including sticks, whips, and metal rods.

Rong Yuheng’s gaze swept across them. He pursed his lips and tried to maintain a steady tone.

“What’s all this for?”

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Rong Tianshen looked at him coldly and said, “A tradition for a baby’s one-year-old celebration.”

Rong Yuheng’s eyes filled with desolation. “For the one-year-old me?”

Rong Congyan sighed helplessly. “Not to the extent of reincarnation.”

Rong Yuheng understood. “So it’s a way to make sure I survive.”

Rong Tianshen remained silent.

Seeing the two brothers bantering with each other as if no one else was present, Rong Tianshen, the main referee, finally couldn’t bear it any longer. He let out a loud snort and threw a slipper at Rong Yuheng.

“Why didn’t you announce your arrival? I’ve been sitting here all this time, and you didn’t even greet me. What was the point of all those years of education?”

Rong Yuheng, caught off guard, let out a yelp as the slipper hit him. He rushed behind Rong Congyan, poking his head out and complaining loudly.

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“I just got home, and this is how you treat me?”

“What kind of special guest are you? Why should I treat you specially?” Rong Tianshen took off the other slipper and threw it at Rong Yuheng. “Do I need to send a sedan chair to pick you up?”

He then picked up a cushion from the sofa and chased after Rong Congyan, swatting him with it. Rong Yuheng desperately held onto Rong Congyan’s back, trying to avoid the blows.

“Why are you scolding me? What did I do?”

Rong Congyan, stuck in the middle, pleaded, “You two, stop it. Xiao Heng has finally come back. Dad, that’s enough, isn’t it?”

Rong Tianshen put down the cushion and muttered in frustration, “All these years of spoiling him…”

Rong Congyan, standing between the two, sighed.

Amidst the absurdity and laughter, they continued their pillow fight until it was time for dinner. When the housekeeper brought out the meal, the living room finally regained a moment of peace.

A pot of chicken soup, simmered with white chestnuts, exuded a fragrant and clear aroma. Rong Yuheng’s mouth started watering again.

Rong Tianshen glared at him with exasperation. “With your behavior, do you even have anyone willing to eat with you?”

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Rong Yuheng let out a disdainful “hmph” and arrogantly pulled out his chair to sit down. He knew that his warm and caring owner had never been disgusted with him and could even pull strings for him, literally.

As they began to eat, Rong Congyan struck up a conversation with Rong Yuheng. “How’s work? Being a star must be tiring, right?”

Rong Tianshen, like an automated provocateur, chimed in, “Is there any job that isn’t tiring?”

Rong Congyan continued, trying to steer the conversation in a positive direction, “When you’re outside, take good care of yourself. Eat when you need to and rest when you should.”

Rong Tianshen: “I can see he looks even healthier here at home.”

Rong Congyan: “… Dad, please be quiet.”

Rong Yuheng remained silent, unhappily burying himself in eating his chicken leg.

Rong Congyan had to steer the conversation away from Rong Tianshen’s comments. “What are your plans for the future?”

Rong Yuheng finally had a chance to speak. “Releasing an album, recording TV shows… and there’s a possibility of joining a drama production.”

Rong Congyan knew about the first two, but the news about joining a drama production was new to him. “Joining a drama? Are you going to act in a TV series?”

“Yeah.”

“What kind of drama is it?”

Thinking about the bizarre script, Rong Yuheng’s chicken bone slipped in his mouth, almost poking his molars. He focused his thoughts and said, “…It’s an inspirational growth drama.”

Rong Tianshen’s expression cleared slightly. “That’s not bad. You should strive to be a healthy and positive person. As a public figure, you have a social responsibility. Do you understand?”

Rong Yuheng was irritated by the lecturing. He pouted his shiny lips and protested, “Alright, alright, why are you so stern?”

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Rong Congyan quickly helped to change the subject, trying to placate the situation. “Let’s eat…”

After the meal, Rong Tianshen walked into the garden, holding his hands behind his back, to take a walk and aid digestion.

Rong Congyan and Rong Yuheng lay side by side on the sofa in the living room.

Rong Congyan massaged his little brother’s tummy and advised, “Don’t be mad at Dad. He’s been looking forward to your visit for a long time.”

Thinking about the professional singing performance and the colorful celebration earlier, Rong Yuheng nodded in agreement, feeling his father’s enthusiasm.

Rong Congyan chuckled and continued to massage him. Then, when Rong Yuheng was so comfortable that he was almost closing his eyes, Rong Congyan suddenly asked, “How’s Aunt Wen? Is she doing well?”

Rong Yuheng was instantly awake. Rong Congyan was asking about their mother, Wen Qin.

His throat felt a bit dry. He recalled an image of braised pork and used the saliva that welled up in his mouth at the thought to moisten his throat.

“She’s the same as always… traveling the world, occasionally chatting with me, and sending a few blurry selfies.”

“Aunt Wen has always had a good attitude.”

“Isn’t it all because of someone’s bad temper.”

Rong Congyan didn’t say anything. Rong Yuheng continued, lost in thought, “I used to think that a family could stay together forever, but it turns out that they can divorce so suddenly. Is the shelf life of love really that short? Once it’s over, it’s over.”

Rong Congyan, in a gentle tone, rubbed his little brother’s head. “Love is a matter for two people, and we can’t judge it if we’re not part of it. Don’t blame Dad for his temper, and remember that there’s no right or wrong in love.”

Rong Yuheng fell silent for a moment and then said thoughtfully, “Alright, I don’t love you anymore, Brother.”

Rong Congyan paused in his head rubbing, and then he firmly pressed Rong Yuheng’s head onto the soft blanket, gently massaging it.

“I was talking about romantic love.”

Rong Yuheng, with his face buried in the soft blanket, his eyes narrowed into a slit, made a muffled sound from between the blanket and his face.

“Sorry…”

After staying for dinner, Rong Yuheng finally left. As he was leaving, the living room was once again filled with background music, and it sounded like a celebration with drums and gongs, as if they were bidding farewell to an evil spirit.

He decided he would write a few new scripts for his “Big Scallop” someday.

Because he had work the next day, Rong Yuheng opened the air conditioner and electric blanket, washed up, and then climbed into bed to play with his phone, planning to use the “fall asleep from fatigue” method to enter dreamland.

He was playing on his phone when a message from Wen Zhecheng suddenly popped up.

Wen Zhecheng: Little one, you haven’t contacted me for a day. Do you have a new owner now? [Skeptical otter]

Rong Yuheng: I only have one owner~ Does the owner have any orders? [Starry-eyed otter]

Wen Zhecheng: It’s nothing, just caring about the little hamster’s daily life.

Rong Yuheng: Such a diligent owner! Even when I’m not there, you’re still taking care of me!

Wen Zhecheng on the other end of the conversation saw the message and smiled. If he could, he wouldn’t want to take care of him remotely; he wanted to raise him with his own hands. From brushing the hamster’s fur in the morning to lulling it to sleep at night.

Wen Zhecheng: Go to bed early, you have an audition tomorrow.

Rong Yuheng: You remember it so well.

Wen Zhecheng: Well, I do keep a hamster-raising logbook.

Rong Yuheng saw this and felt inexplicably sweet. He and Wen Zhecheng exchanged a “Goodnight” and abandoned the “fall asleep from fatigue” method, obediently putting down his phone and closing his eyes.

The next day, Shi Qiu came to pick up Rong Yuheng for the audition.

When Rong Yuheng got into the car, Shi Qiu furrowed his brows. “Come here.”

Rong Yuheng obediently leaned over.

Shi Qiu reached out and touched his face, “Your skin is a bit dry. Did you forget to use a face mask yesterday?”

Rong Yuheng touched his nose, guiltily pulling back. “I did, but I forgot to turn off the air conditioning and electric blanket.”

Shi Qiu honked the horn, “The air conditioning and electric blanket were on all night? Are you trying to dehydrate yourself?”

Rong Yuheng shrunk into the passenger seat and listened to the lecture. Hamsters have very small brains, he forgot that he had talked with his hamster owner.

Before they arrived at the audition site, Shi Qiu took out a box of face masks from the car and asked Rong Yuheng to quickly moisturize his skin.

The car ride took an hour, and when Rong Yuheng finally got out of the car, he had once again transformed into the glossy and well-hydrated little hamster.

There were already over a dozen actors waiting at the audition location, and not all of them were here for the role of the male lead. “The Journey of the Plain-Clothed Traveler” was the largest IP project recently, and getting any standout role in it was considered pretty good.

Rong Yuheng glanced around and was surprised to see two familiar faces: Xu Sun and Zai An were both here.

Next to Zai An was a middle-aged man. From their conversation, Rong Yuheng guessed that the man was Zai An’s uncle.

While he was still looking around, Xu Sun suddenly turned her head and their eyes met briefly. However, she quickly looked away, appearing somewhat embarrassed.

“Rong Goose!”

Suddenly, a voice brought Rong Yuheng’s attention back, and he saw a white fluffy ball bouncing toward him.

It was almost winter, and the fluffy ball was dressed warmly, looking more like a snowball.

Rong Yuheng shook his head slightly to clear the images from his mind and greeted, “Why are you here?”

Xun Guang was quite familiar with him and playfully nudged him, “I came out to pee!”

Rong Yuheng was instantly horrified, his nostrils flaring open. Quick, shut up! Everyone around us is watching you!

Shi Qiu hadn’t met Xuan before and thought that the little “girl” who greeted Rong Yuheng was another young actress who had come for the audition.

She extended her hand, “Hello, I’m Rong Yuheng’s manager, Shi Qiu.”

Xun Guang responded with an “Ahh” and shook her hand, “Nice to meet you. I’m Xun Guang.”

Shi Qiu was confused, “??”

The brief encounter between them ended with Xun Guang urgently needing to use the restroom. Once she left, Shi Qiu turned to Rong Yuheng with a complicated expression and asked, “Are screenwriters these days all this young? How do you know her? What’s your relationship?”

Rong Yuheng also found it difficult to explain, “She just looks young, she’s probably a bit older than me. I met her when I went to visit Shubai on set. We’re internet friends.”

Shi Qiu looked puzzled, “Your internet friend is quite impressive.”

“…”

As they still had some time before the audition, Rong Yuheng was chatting with Shi Qiu when he heard some commotion from the other side.

He looked over and saw Zai An’s group.

Zai An was standing opposite them, and Xun Guang, who had just returned from the restroom, was there too. Rong Yuheng couldn’t help but feel that there was something unpleasant in their eyes when they looked at each other.

Rong Yuheng recalled Xun Guang’s social media posts and could roughly guess Zai An’s group’s intentions.

Rong Yuheng leaned over to ask Shi Qiu quietly, “Can you be this conspicuous when you’re investing in a project?”

Shi Qiu said, “It’s not clear that it’s an investment in the project. Others can’t say anything, and even if they guess, what’s the big deal? It’s quite common.”

She continued with Rong Yuheng, “Last time, I saw someone amazing. They were still in the audition, but they directly slapped their bank card on the table. The people around, who were also auditioning, had their expressions change instantly.”

Rong Yuheng sighed in admiration, “There’s nothing you can’t do if you can think of it.”

Shi Qiu added, “That’s right. You haven’t been in the industry for long. In the future, you’ll witness even more bizarre actions.”

As the two of them huddled together and chatted quietly, suddenly there was a commotion from the other side. Rong Yuheng’s curiosity began to show itself again. He sneaked along the wall, trying to get closer and enjoy the sweetest part of the gossip.

Getting closer, he saw that Zai An’s uncle had an unpleasant expression on his face. Xu Sun, who was like a weather vane, was swaying between the two of them. “Teacher Guan, 40 million is already quite a sum. Do you know who this is? He’s the CEO of Mai Xiang, financially secure, so you don’t have to worry about the promised money falling short.”

Xun Guan glanced at Zai An’s uncle and said, “The CEO of Mai Xiang?”

Xu Sun quickly corrected himself, “Uh…”

Rong Yuheng saw that Xun Guang’s mouth was slowly opening. Because he had the best vantage point for watching, he could even clearly glimpse the string of profanities revolving on Xun Guang’s tongue.

Rong Yuheng hadn’t had a chance to light the candle for the scene across from him when he saw Xun Guang suddenly freeze, her mouth slowly opening—

“It turns out to be Mr. Zai, how disrespectful of me…”

Xun Guang’s mouth slowly closed, and her expression remained unchanged. However, her eyes were filled with disdain as he looked at the man in front of him.

Rong Yuheng almost burst into a laugh, but he managed to contain it. He recalled an emoji that Xun Guang had sent once:

Xun Guang: Brat, come over here for a punch.

The image of that emoji flashed through Rong Yuheng’s mind.

Author’s Note: White Fluffy Ball: So, you’re Mr. Zai?

Rong Yuheng: From now on, Zai An can be called Little CEO Zai!

 

Both of them: Yay yay yay!