262: Meeting the Mother

After leaving the company, Wang Cheng went to Yazhi.

Pan Zhihai told him that the wealthy businessman who was helping Cen Xi had sent someone to terminate Cen Xi's contract with Yazhi in the morning. The other party was quick to pay the penalty of 8 million. As Cen Xi left, he was able to breathe out all the suffocation he had previously felt, and his arrogant appearance seemed to have finally recovered. He had regained his former defiant attitude.

However, few people in the company would still buy his account*. Now, everyone no longer had to fawn over him to achieve personal development, it was much better than before.

[T/N: to concede or succumb to a superior strength]

"The business company that signed Cen Xi is indeed Emperor Entertainment. The other party's official Weibo also announced in a high-profile manner that Cen Xi, who was originally a Yazhi artist, will become a member of their company. They want to use Yazhi's current fame to propel Cen Xi upwards." Pan Zhihai informed Wang Cheng of the situation.

Wang Cheng said: "Very good. Since he no longer has anything to do with Yazhi now, let's do things according to the original plan. If he is not a Yazhi artist, there is no need for the company to care for him."

The smug Cen Xi probably didn’t know that the Yazhi he was desperate to knock down was actually a strong, powerful umbrella. Without the protection of Yazhi over his head, his career in the entertainment industry would only come to an end.

For the past year, Cen Xi had been summoning the winds and rains* in Yazhi. If it were not for Yazhi’s protection, the negative news he generated would have long caused him to never stand up again. Just how many times had Yazhi wiped his butt? The evidence of all those scandals could be found in Pan Zhihai's hands.

[T/N: *controls the power, in this case, for selfish reasons]

The reason why Pan Zhihai did not touch him during this period was because he was still a Yazhi artist. If he created a problem, Yazhi would also be implicated. Now that he had taken the initiative to leave Yazhi, Pan Zhihai no longer needed to help cover up his matters. He believed that in a few days, Emperor Entertainment would learn that they had spent 8 million just to bring back a male chicken that could not lay a golden egg. What would happen to Cen Xi then? Pan Zhihai no longer bothered to care about it.

Though the Fashion Pioneer catalogue had yet to be published, He Zihuan was already popular.

After he was shot in the magazine and his identity was announced, he became very busy. Many manufacturers contacted him, taking the initiative to offer advertising endorsements. The company filled his schedule every day in an attempt to brush up on his publicity now while he was hot, as well as giving him acting opportunities.

Since he was just starting out, he couldn’t take on the heavy responsibility of the male lead. However, Yazhi arranged a second male lead role for him that held the same weight as the male lead. The male lead actor was a popular movie star, an old opera bone* who held a certain charisma. The script just happened to be invested in by the Zhou Group since He Zihuan was there. Although the male lead knew that the other party wanted to use him to help gild** a newcomer, he didn’t mind.

[T/N: *a skilled actor who has been in the industry for years and performs artfully, usually with a romantic flair **also could be translated to gold-plating; to make someone seem more accomplished, usually referring to foreign education]

Wang Cheng heard that the shooting location was somewhere nearby. Pan Zhihai himself was too busy to leave, so when Wang Cheng asked where He Zihuan was, he replied, “Zhou Shao, if you have time, how about you help me out by going to see He Zihuan. After all, he’s a newcomer, and it's his first time officially filming."

"Alright," Wang Cheng responded directly. He had never witnessed a film shooting.

The Imperial Capital had built a special shooting base, which was not far from the entertainment sector*.

[T/N: *also called entertainment city; the part of a city that has any kind of entertainment venue such as nightclubs, theaters, restaurants, etc]

Wang Cheng arrived by car in fifteen minutes. The crew occupied some space for filming almost every day. The base was constructed with a half modern and half ancient design, so it was very large.

He Zihuan’s first TV series was a costume drama with a luxurious lineup. The female lead was an award-winning actress, and the second female lead was also famous in the entertainment industry. The cast almost entirely consisted of old drama bones who were personally invited to the film. The only newcomer with an important role was He Zihuan.

It was inevitable that he would be nervous in his first film. Wang Cheng arrived to see He Zihuan being lectured by the director, who called him to the front before scolding him about the scene. Although the director was very angry when a newcomer who had suddenly become very popular was shoved into his crew, he still filmed the scenes with care.

"He deserves to be scolded. Ignoring his momentum right now, he wants to be the second male lead, his first time acting? I think this He Zihuan will fall from glory sooner or later." The actress who played the second female lead was called Feng Yuan. She didn’t like He Zihuan as soon as she saw him in the crew. The reason was obvious to many: it was nothing more than her seeing the other party's popularity and the support of his company, and becoming jealous.

The female lead standing next to her just smiled without making a sound. This TV series was invested in by the Zhou Group. Of course a company had to give good roles to their own artists. She could still be jealous, even of this? No wonder she was just a small celebrity. Narrow-minded, arrogant, and low-handed, what a difficult climate*.

[T/N: *meaning negative conditions for development]

"This gentleman, may I ask who you are looking for?"

A crew member noticed Wang Cheng’s presence. Wang Cheng did not look like an ordinary person, so the crew member's attitude was very respectful towards him. Since they were not far from the female lead and the second female lead, the two actresses subconsciously looked back when they heard his voice, before they were suddenly stunned.

The second female lead's legs softened, but she was saved from embarrassment by the nearby female lead's quick reflexes. However, the female lead’s exclamation for her to be careful, along with the commotion, attracted everyone's attention.

"Zhou Shao? Why are you here?" He Zihuan walked over when he saw Wang Cheng, pleasantly surprised.

Wang Cheng put his hand in his pocket. "President Pan didn’t have the time to do it himself, so I came to see if your filming was going well. If you come across problems, feel free to run them by myself or President Pan anytime."

"Things are going smoothly. The director and several seniors are helping explain this scene for me. With their help, I can become one with the role faster."

Wang Cheng smiled and said: "That's good, learn more from them. The second male lead is just a springboard. In the future, you can take on the role of the male lead, so that others will know just how much momentum you carry."

He Zihuan was a little surprised when he heard these words. Why did his tone sound a little cold and indifferent? He didn't ask more about it, but on the contrary, became a little excited and surprised. Did Zhou Shao's words mean that he could play the leading role in the future? Then he would certainly not disappoint Zhou Shao's expectations of him.

Before Wang Cheng left, he swept his gaze around towards the second female lead, who didn’t dare look at him. He had always been on the defense. If he didn’t hear her, then forget it, but since he heard her, he wouldn’t feign ignorance. She was jealous, right? Then he would make her more jealous.

Everyone in the crew had common sense. Wang Cheng's words may have sounded unprovoking, but it was absolutely impossible for him to say such a thing without first being provoked. The female lead didn't hide it; when asked, she explained.

The next day, the headline of the newspaper was unsurprisingly about the mysterious Yazhi chairman personally visiting XX crew to see the popular He Zihuan, propelling the crew’s publicity.

There was a followup to this matter. Much speculation arose on the Internet, and some people claimed to expose his identity as the young boss of the Zhou Group. Why did the Yazhi chairman go to personally visit the little artist? Were the two involved in an unspeakable relationship? At this time, sunspots ran out to smear them and pulled out evidence of them performing the unspoken rules. However, there were also people who didn’t care about all of this. Instead, they paired the two together as a domineering president raising an idol, with an incoming rush of dog blooded stories.

Wang Cheng didn't know of all this.

After leaving the crew, he received a call from Chu Yifeng and they arranged a place to meet.

This time, Old Man Chu called Chu Yifeng back because his mother had come. Mother Chu was a very enthusiastic foreign noblewoman. She and Chu Li used to interact like lightning and fire* when they were together, but in the end, she waved her sleeves without taking away a cloud**. The families of both sides only learned of the news long after the matter had reached a foregone conclusion.

[T/N: *literally lightning hitting a volcanic eruption, describes a quick-hitting, passionate relationship **part of a poem about leaving something that you will miss dearly]

Old Man Chu almost lost half his life in his anger about this matter. He had originally been opposed to their relationship, but the two of them insisted on being together regardless of his dissuasion. Later, when he finally agreed, the two divorced quickly, and his daughter-in-law left with the Chu family’s seed. He was so angry that every time he saw his eldest son, he would hold a stick and run after him. He just had to kill this sinful son who only brought him worry.

For many years now, this former couple regarded each other as friends. Both of them had not remarried, but continued to constantly change their lovers. They were still very close to each other and had no more children. For 31 years, Chu Yifeng had always been their only son. Their family met once a year, as part of a promise to the old man, even though the family of three felt it unnecessary.

Chu Yifeng intended to bring Wang Cheng to this year's get-together and introduce Wang Cheng to his mother, because his mother had long known of Wang Cheng's existence. She was the first person to support their relationship.

Wang Cheng had never heard him mention his mother. Chu Yifeng was asking him to meet the parents as soon as he opened his mouth? He almost didn't react for a moment.

"Don't worry, my mother is a very enthusiastic, open person. She’s known about us earlier than the Chu family. It was just that she was traveling the world with her lover at the time, so she wasn’t able to meet you. Now she wants to take the opportunity to see what kind of person you are," Chu Yifeng said.

"What do you mean by earlier? Could it have been when I just confirmed my relationship with you?" Wang Cheng was surprised. They had the showdown with the Chu family early on. Had he already made up his mind to stay with him from the beginning?

"Actually, my mother noticed my feelings before I did. She has a lot of experience with love and is a very sensitive person, so I told her all about us." Chu Yifeng did not struggle much with his feelings. What he was feeling at the time was not a sigh of relief, it was instead calmness, because the person he had been looking for was finally found. His personality of not caring what other people thought of him was actually inherited from his two irresponsible parents.

For the first time, Wang Cheng felt that he might be too concerned about other people's opinions. Maybe he should be like Chu Yifeng and ignore secular constraints.

***

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