Mo Yanzhi stared at Li Shu’s back, the light in his eyes flickering. He couldn’t convince himself to let go of the unease about that forgotten past, so similar incidents were bound to happen. He didn’t regret being upfront now; the longer it dragged on, the greater the complications would be. It’s best to speak up early to solve the problem sooner.
Li Shu didn’t know what he was thinking. He stood in front of the window and answered the phone. It was rare that the person talking on the other side of the phone was Father Li.
Li Shu had little contact with the original owner’s parents, and comparatively even less with Father Li. In the original plot, there wasn’t much introduction about Father Li. Li Shu could only vaguely see him as a pitiful father who didn’t want to burden his son and was bent by life, but in reality, Father Li was a very wise man.
In just a few sentences, Li Shu outlined an image of an elegant man in his mind. Talking to someone like this was undoubtedly enjoyable.
First, Father Li briefly asked about the situation on Li Shu’s side. After getting the answer, he talked about what happened this morning. This matter was neither big nor small. Just from the fact that the other party could produce so many private photos of Li Shu, it could indicate many problems.
First and foremost was the issue of security. Being able to take so many intimate photos of Li Shu and Mo Yanzhi, it was certain that they knew their whereabouts very well. This time it was just taking photos, but what if next time they had other intentions?
“You’ve grown up. Your mom and I won’t pry into your private affairs. I believe you can handle this matter well. Xiao Shu, remember, you’re in a position where you’ll become a thorn in many people’s eyes. Remember, arrogance is a thorn in one’s side.” Father Li’s gentle voice came through the phone. He was proud of his son, whom he had educated single-handedly. Although for various reasons, his son took a completely different path from the planned one halfway through. But no matter which field it is, Li Shu has never let him down.
“This time it’s my fault. Dad, you can rest assured, this kind of thing won’t happen again in the future. No one will disturb you and Mom’s peace.” Li Shu’s lowered eyes had a storm brewing.
“We’re not blaming you. We’re a family. You don’t need to say such formal words. It’s just that there are some things you need to always remember. Don’t capsize the boat where you shouldn’t. The entertainment industry is different from other places. We can’t help much, everything depends on your own efforts,” Father Li’s tone became slightly serious. “As I am now, not being a burden or causing you trouble is already good enough.”
Li Shu frowned, “What are you talking about? What do you mean by ‘burden’ to family?”
In the original plot, the situation of the original owner’s family was much worse than now. Father Li couldn’t withstand the double torture of mental and physical stress and chose to pass away quietly. This became the last straw that crushed the original owner’s family. The current situation is much better than in the original plot. To avoid tragedy, Li Shu would repeat some words over and over again.
“You’re right,” Father Li chuckled softly, “Take care of your side, you don’t need to worry about this side, we won’t easily believe what others say. Your mom and I still have some judgment.”
Li Shu was about to mention this matter, and unexpectedly, Father Li brought it up first. He fell silent for a moment and asked, “Won’t you ask about the photos?”
In the country where the original owner was located, being together as a male-female couple was the norm. Don’t look at fans getting excited over CP, transitioning to real-life relationships often resulted in losing fans. Young people might be more accepting, but in the eyes of older generations like the Li Couple, liking the same gender was seen as an “illness” and was not socially accepted. Li Shu thought Father Li and Mother Li would question him immediately after seeing those photos, even ordering him to distance himself from Mo Yanzhi.
However, Father Li and Mother Li seemed to accept it well, which puzzled Li Shu.
“What, did you think we would say to stop you from being together?” Father Li shook his head, “Your mom and I are not feudal antiques. Whoever you like, regardless of their gender, as long as they are not involved in crime, your mom and I will bless you.”
For the Li Couple, discovering that their son liked men was quite a blow. If not for the events that transpired, their attitude would likely have been like that of other parents, not approving of their son’s sexual orientation and trying to steer him onto the “right path”.
But after going through life and death, Father Li had figured out many things. Sometimes, it’s not worth caring too much about external opinions. Life belongs to oneself, and being happy is more important than anything else.
Regarding matters of the heart, one knows best. Others have no right to interfere.
“Thank you,” Li Shu spoke quietly after listening to Father Li’s words.
The man on the other end of the phone laughed, his laughter clear, without the usual bitterness.
[The original owner has very good parents.]
The system that was checking the data was caught off guard by Li Shu’s comment, [Yes.]
Only after speaking did it realize what the host was talking about. How could the host suddenly make such a comment? Seeing the host who was lost in some memory, 1314 wisely shelved the doubts in its heart. Sometimes, curiosity could kill the cat.
Li Shu had been standing for a while. Mo Yanzhi propped his weak body up from the bed, walking over to Li Shu’s side. “What are you thinking about, Shu Shu?”
“Why did you come here? Go back to lie down quickly,” Li Shu regained his senses, looking at the man standing beside him with a disapproving look.
After helping the man back to the bed, Li Shu then mentioned what happened with Father Li and Mother Li, concluding, “These two incidents should be the work of the same person, and the purpose is obvious.”
Any parent would instinctively feel repulsed upon suddenly seeing photos of their son being intimate with another man, especially when public opinion was so one-sided. Usually in such a situation, it doesn’t take a second thought to know what the parents will do. As for sending these to Li Shu, it was undoubtedly an attempt to threaten him.
The person behind the scenes couldn’t attack Mo Yanzhi, so they had to attack Li Shu, who was relatively easy to deal with. Li Shu’s parents happened to be in the capital, which provided a good opportunity.
“What do you think of this matter?”
Mo Yanzhi sneered, “Overestimating one’s abilities.”
Regardless of what the other party planned, all their plans had now failed.
Li Shu fiddled with his fingers, not very concerned about this matter. With 1314 around, it was easy to find out who was causing trouble online. Following the trail would lead to the mastermind behind it. Mo Yanzhi typed on the keyboard, sending an email to Assistant Xu, asking him to find out what was going on with this matter aside from official business.
After handling official matters, Li Shu sat cross-legged on the bed again, adopting a negotiating posture. “Alright, let’s change the subject now. What did you mean by what you said earlier?”
Mo Yan’s body stiffened, pausing for a moment in his actions, then he casually closed the computer and sat across from Li Shu respectfully.
Knowing that this matter wasn’t so easy to move past, he cleared his throat and said slowly, “Literally, I have no memories of the past. Shu Shu, I tried to convince myself that whether it was before or after the amnesia, I am still me. I shouldn’t have cared about this, but I failed. No matter how much I hinted to myself, I can’t stop caring about it.”
Li Shu nodded. It was inevitable that he would fail, otherwise, Mo Yanzhi wouldn’t have said those words in front of him.
“Shu Shu, I know it’s unreasonable for me to think like this, but I can’t control myself,” Mo Yanzhi smiled sarcastically, “I never thought that one day I would be so jealous of myself.”
“I never thought so either.” Li Shu never imagined that someone could be so crazy as to be jealous of themselves.
“I know these are all my own problems. I shouldn’t blame you. You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s my fault for forgetting you. Sometimes, I even can’t help but wonder if someone deliberately wanted to mess with me, so I just happened to forget you.” As he spoke, Mo Yanzhi looked at Li Shu, his eyes affectionate and melancholic.
Apart from their first meeting after the amnesia, Mo Yanzhi’s gaze towards Li Shu was no different from before. So much so that Li Shu often felt as if Mo Yanzhi hadn’t lost his memory.
For Li Shu, whether before or after the amnesia, Mo Yanzhi was still Mo Yanzhi. They were the same person. Unfortunately, Mo Yanzhi didn’t feel the same way and remained fixated on this matter.
Sighing, Li Shu leaned forward slightly, held Mo Yanzhi’s face in his hands, and said seriously, “If that’s the case, then try to remember as soon as possible.”
Mo Yanzhi was stunned for a moment, then smiled. Like melting snow and ice, a person who rarely smiled was very charming when he did. The two were close, and Li Shu admitted that he was captivated by the man.
A voice with a smile rang out in his ear, “I will remember as soon as possible.”
He had overlooked one thing: as a lover, if he had forgotten past memories, the most uncomfortable one was definitely not him, but the person who kept all the memories alone. During this time, Li Shu must have been feeling very uncomfortable. As for himself, what had he done? He had rejected the past, felt jealous of his past self, and completely failed to consider Li Shu.
The more he thought about it, the more distress he felt in his heart. Sensing the change in the man’s aura, Li Shu had a moment of confusion, but he didn’t have much time to react. The man’s hand caressed the back of his neck, pressed down, while the other hand held his waist, and hot breath sprayed onto his face.
A kiss filled with tenderness was planted on his lips. The man was obviously not satisfied with just that and gradually deepened the kiss.
Breaths intertwined, and Mo Yanzhi’s magnetic voice lingered in his ears.
“You’ve been through a lot recently, Shu Shu…”
The New Year was approaching, and although Li Shu had returned to the country early, Mo Yanzhi unexpectedly got injured, so the original plans had to be cancelled.
During this time, Qin Ran didn’t arrange any work for Li Shu, only sending over some scripts for him to choose from. Apart from domestic ones, there were actually several foreign scripts.
Noticing the flash of shock on Li Shu’s face, Qin Ran smiled and said, “You probably underestimated how popular you’ve been recently. Take a look on Weibo when you have time.”
Li Shu immediately opened Weibo and was once again shocked by the over thirty million followers.
Qin Ran added, “Not only domestically, but your popularity is also high internationally. Several big names have contacted me privately. You can see if there are any that particularly interest you.”
Who could have thought that not long ago he was worried about Li Shu’s endorsements, and now countless endorsement offers had come to him, including some very prestigious ones.
Li Shu picked up the documents and looked through them one by one. These were all screened by Qin Ran and were of high quality endorsements, including two internationally renowned brands.
“Why would these two choose me?” Li Shu couldn’t help but be curious. The ones he picked out were all big international brands. The spokespersons they hired in previous years were all celebrities with high international reputation. It was not that Li Shu underestimated himself, but that regardless of how popular he was, he wasn’t considered an A-list star domestically, let alone internationally.
“One was introduced by Mr. Julian, and the other was put forward by the company’s design director who happened to be at the scene at that time. He was impressed by your performance and contacted me that same day, he regretted not meeting you in person.”
One of these two endorsements is for men’s clothing and the other is for lipstick. Julian introduced the lipstick endorsement. Comparing these two endorsements, the others are much inferior, but…
“Why would Julian introduce me for a lipstick endorsement?” Li Shu had looked into this company before. Last quarter, the endorsement seemed to have been done by a well-known American actress nicknamed “Sweetheart Babe”. Looking back, there were no examples of using male stars for endorsements.
Qin Ran shrugged, “That lady said you are very suitable for their company’s new product.”
Li Shu: “Then let’s go with these two. For domestic ones, just accept that public service advertisement.”
Qin Ran nodded, “It coincides with my thoughts. By the way, how did you find the scripts I sent you?”
There were both foreign and domestic scripts. Li Shu chose one foreign one and two domestic ones. The foreign one was for a series, and he was to play a newly added role with significant scenes. The director even promised Qin Ran that the character Li Shu was to portray would have significant scenes in the subsequent films as well.
The two domestic ones were both movies, one a big-budget commercial film, the other an artistic film aiming for awards. The character settings for the three were vastly different and tested acting skills.
Li Shu expressed his thoughts, and Qin Ran nodded, “Good choices. This selection will be most beneficial for your future development.”
Like the endorsements, Qin Ran had screened the scripts sent to Li Shu. Those with poor quality or those aiming solely for Li Shu’s popularity weren’t within Qin Ran’s considerations.
Qin Ran: “There are a few TV drama scripts that are good. Won’t you consider them?”
After thinking for a moment, Li Shu remembered there were indeed several scripts like that, mostly idol dramas, promising Li Shu as the male lead with very high pay. He shook his head, “No, don’t send me such scripts in the future.”
“Alright.” Qin Ran didn’t show it on his face, but hearing this, he was still very surprised. He had always thought Li Shu was very rational, a rare clear-minded person in the industry. Now it seemed that Li Shu was even more clear-minded than he had imagined. He knew what his goal was and wouldn’t pay any attention to other temptations.
There were too many temptations in the entertainment industry. Qin Ran had seen too many people who couldn’t control themselves in the face of various temptations and ended up getting deeper and deeper into this bizarre quagmire, going from initially maintaining some clarity to completely losing themselves.
For Li Shu, he wasn’t without worries. With the great Buddha standing behind Li Shu, if he truly lost himself, Qin Ran would have no way to help. The reason he sent those scripts to Li Shu was also to probe his attitude and plan future arrangements based on his choices.
Fortunately, Li Shu didn’t disappoint him.
Qin Ran tidied up the documents on the table and pulled out one, “By the way, there’s one more thing. The Fruit Station intends to invite you to their New Year’s Eve celebration. Do you have time?”
This was also a tradition. In addition to the Spring Festival Gala, each local station would prepare its own New Year’s Eve party. Originally, Li Shu hadn’t received an invitation, but unable to resist his recent popularity, the Fruit Station, which he had collaborated with before, happened to have an accident with one of their programs and contacted Qin Ran.
Several things had happened at the end of the year, overturning Li Shu’s original plans. Now, there was indeed nothing going on so he had the time.
“Let’s do it. I could use a break too.”
Because he was added at the last minute, Li Shu had to quickly enter the rehearsal phase. After finalizing with the director, Li Shu chose to sing.
With the foundation of his previous album, the director had great confidence in Li Shu’s ability. He patted Li Shu on the shoulder, saying, “Xiao Li’s voice truly is like a celestial sound. Our station is planning to organize a singing competition next year. If Xiao Li considers developing in this direction in the future, you might want to consider it.”
Li Shu’s mind stirred, but he didn’t show it on his face, “The director personally said it, so naturally, I won’t be impolite. I’m just afraid the director might dislike me later.”
“How could that be?” The director laughed heartily, “In that case, I’ll save the spot for you.”
After the rehearsal, Qin Ran sent Li Shu back, feeling emotional, “Xiao Shu always surprises me every moment.”
Li Shu was puzzled, “Did something happen?”
Qin Ran: “It’s good news. Just now, the Fruit Station contacted me, saying they want to invite you to their music show.”
Li Shu: “So fast?”
Qin Ran: “You knew?”
Li Shu: “The director mentioned it to me during rehearsal just now, I didn’t expect them to contact you right away.”
Recalling Li Shu’s singing voice, Qin Ran sighed, “You shouldn’t bury your talent like this. It’s perfect. I haven’t arranged variety shows for you yet, and the quality of the Fruit Station’s program can be guaranteed. Let’s accept this for the time being.”
Li Shu had no objections.
Because Mo Yanzhi was hospitalized, Li Shu had been frequenting the hospital during this time, sometimes even staying there. Shen Yu said he didn’t want to eat dog food, so he hadn’t been going to the hospital much these days.
Although Mo Yanzhi was recuperating in the hospital, his workload hadn’t decreased at all. Most of the time they spent together was each doing their own thing, one handling various video conferences and documents with a laptop, the other studying scripts with a tablet, not interfering with each other, giving a sense of tranquility.
“Aren’t you coming over these days?” Looking up from a pile of official business, Mo Yanzhi looked at the young man arranging the closet, his eyebrows slightly furrowed.
These small matters were originally taken care of by someone else, but Li Shu had been idle during this time and usually used these small matters to pass the time. Mo Yanzhi was initially afraid that Li Shu would tire himself out and tried to stop him, but Li Shu easily brushed him off with a few words.
“I have rehearsals these days so it’s inconvenient to come back and forth.” Li Shu didn’t even lift his head. This private hospital was fine in every aspect, except that it was too far from the city center. It was even farther from where Li Shu had to go for rehearsals, adding several hours to his daily commute.
Mo Yanzhi pursed his lips. He quietly watched Li Shu for a while, then casually asked, “Where are you planning to spend the New Year?”
“I’m not going anywhere. There will be rehearsals then, so I probably won’t be able to come to the hospital.” Li Shu didn’t have much sentimentality about various human holidays. In his eyes, the Spring Festival was no different from any other ordinary day.
Upon hearing this answer, a faint smile appeared in Mo Yanzhi’s eyes, but it was quickly suppressed. He tapped on his laptop, “The doctor said I can be discharged then.”
“Oh.” Li Shu’s attitude didn’t change, completely unaware of the meaning behind Mo Yanzhi’s words.
Mo Yanzhi wasn’t annoyed either. And his eyes became softer when he looked at Li Shu. He was spending the New Year here, in a roundabout way, it meant spending it together with him.
The next day, Li Shu’s mother called to ask if he could come back for the New Year. Li Shu suddenly remembered that in this world, the Spring Festival was meant to be spent with family, a reunion day.
Li Shu was about to politely refuse when his mother’s next words caught him off guard, leaving him speechless.
“If you’ve decided to be with that Mr. Mo in the future, then take this opportunity to bring him back. After all, he’s still our benefactor. If he comes, we should properly entertain him.”
Thinking about Mo Yanzhi mentioning that he could be discharged for the Spring Festival, Li Shu’s refusal turned into another direction, “Let me ask him first.”
“Sure, sure, sure,” Li Shu’s mother seemed very happy, repeating the word “sure” three times in a row, “I’ve made some specialty dishes from home for you. You haven’t had them in years, right? Mom’s cooking has improved a lot over the years…”
Li Shu’s mother chattered on and said a lot of meaningless words, all about family matters. Although they were just meaningless sentences, Li Shu felt a warm stream flowing through him, and his heart was filled with comfort.
Is this what family affection is?
Li Shu now understood. His mother’s mention of bringing Mo Yanzhi back was just an excuse. What she really wanted was for her son to come home. Since that incident three years ago, they hadn’t spent the Spring Festival together as a family for three years. They had missed the past two years, but this year, the whole family was in the capital. The Li Couple wanted to spend a good Spring Festival with their son.
After checking his schedule, Li Shu called Qin Ran.
“Brother Qin, can you get me three tickets for the Fruit Station’s Spring Festival Gala?”
“No problem.”
With Li Shu’s massive influence, the Fruit Station naturally wouldn’t miss out on this opportunity. During the promotion, it was specifically mentioned that Li Shu would sing at the gala, and he would be singing Wei Yangyun’s hit song.
After Li Shu forwarded the official Weibo’s post, Wei Yangyun reposted it and added the words “Come on” at the end.
The “Yun Shu CP,” whose popularity had somewhat diminished, boiled up again because of these two Weibo posts.
Li Shu’s CP fans were now divided into three main categories: those who ship Li Shu with Wei Yangyun, those who ship the Demon Li Shu with the Angel Li Shu, and the recently emerging pairing of President Mo and Li Shu.
The first two had massive fan bases, while the latter was struggling to survive in the cracks and slowly developing.
During a break in rehearsals, Li Shu told Mo Yanzhi about his parents wanting to meet him. Hearing this news, Mo Yanzhi was stunned for a moment, not even noticing the jumble of characters he had typed on his laptop.
“You mean, Uncle and Auntie want to meet me?” Mo Yanzhi couldn’t believe it.
“Yeah.” Li Shu munched on an apple, casually flipping through the movie’s original scripts sent by Qin Ran, completely unaware of how much shock his casual words had brought to the man.
“Why would Uncle and Auntie suddenly want to meet me?” Mo Yanzhi was somewhat puzzled. In fact, he had quite a bit of contact with Father Li and Mother Li. During Father Li’s treatment, Li Shu couldn’t be there due to work, so Mo Yanzhi took care of the treatment progress and arranged accommodations and meals for them.
Thanks to that period of time, Mo Yanzhi gained a lot of favor with the Li Couple. Because they saw Mo Yanzhi’s kindness to Li Shu, the Li Couple were able to accept their relationship so quickly.
Li Shu: “Um… They know about our relationship now. They said they want me to take you back to see them and thank you for taking care of them during that time. Do you have time?”
“I do.” Mo Yanzhi was stunned by this sudden news and replied instinctively.
“Okay, I’ll let my family know.”
“Wait, Shu Shu, did you just say Uncle and Auntie know about our relationship?” Realizing the message in Li Shu’s words belatedly, Mo Yanzhi could no longer remain calm. “When did they find out? Was it because of what I said before?”
“They figured it out themselves,” seeing the flustered Mo Yanzhi, Li Shu couldn’t help but laugh. “The dignified President Mo is afraid of meeting an ordinary couple?”
Hearing the teasing tone in Li Shu’s voice, Mo Yanzhi sighed, “But they’re your parents.”
“I’m nervous because I’m meeting your parents. I’m afraid I won’t do well enough and they’ll regret entrusting you to me.”
Li Shu: “Don’t worry, they have a good impression of you.”
Mo Yanzhi stroked Li Shu’s hair and whispered, “I’ll make sure to make a good impression.”
