Chapter 66 - 1#

The warm-colored bedside lamp cast its glow on Chi Gui, also illuminating that fragment of memory sealed deep in his mind.

Jing Shun met the deep pupils of the person before him and couldn’t help but take a light breath. “So… so it was you back then?”

Chi Gui saw his sudden realization and a smile touched his lips. “Remember now?”

Not everyone can recall every detail of their childhood with perfect clarity—Chi Gui understood that.

Jing Shun nodded. “Yeah, I have some recollection.”

Those two years, he had been busy filming ads and TV dramas, while also juggling his studies. He was stretched thin.

Although Jing Shun had felt some loss and regret—his connection with “Little Song” had been too brief—he had quickly buried this matter deep in his memory.

If Chi Gui hadn’t brought it up on his own, he might never have remembered.

Chi Gui asked in return, “That eight hundred yuan—did you add it from your own pocket, or did you really get it back for me?”

Jing Shun remembered most of it and replied, “The latter, of course. My mom strictly controlled my allowance back then; I couldn’t come up with that much money at once.”

If he remembered correctly, Bao Tianxiang had indeed mentioned this to Xu Jia. After the incident was exposed, Xu Jia gave Jing Shun a rare scolding—

After all, a minor child actor daring to go before the crew leader, lying to demand wages for a stranger? That was way too easy to offend people!

Fortunately, after Jing Shun was reprimanded, the matter was dropped, probably because Xu Jia smoothed things over behind the scenes.

Jing Shun didn’t tell Chi Gui about these “side issues,” only expressing the regret he hadn’t been able to voice back then.

“Actually, after I finished my scene that day, I went to look for you, but you were already gone.”

“Sorry, I couldn’t wait for you and had to leave.”

Chi Gui took his lover’s hand and explained, “My birthday is followed by my mother’s death anniversary. The last long-distance bus departed at six, so I had to catch it.”

Jing Shun had already figured that out long ago and nodded before asking further, “What happened afterward? What else happened?”

“After I returned to Hangzhou, I stayed for about half a month before reporting to Haiying (Shanghai Film Academy), just like Zheng Chun’an said—”

“From my freshman year, I poured all my energy into this major. First, I helped senior classmates, learning and gaining experience in their camera crews.”

“Later, recommended by the department head, I formed my own camera crew with five classmates from the same major.”

From school-assigned professional projects to various short film competitions outside, and then to taking on real commercial films, Chi Gui and his team accomplished this in just two years.

There was a time when Chi Gui truly thought he could walk the life path he loved.

Unfortunately, good times didn’t last. At the end of his sophomore year, the Song family encountered trouble, and the Chi family sought him out.

“My grandfather had cancer and urgently needed money for treatment. My uncle’s debt hole also needed filling. I had no choice, so I agreed to my grandfather’s conditions.”

“The night before I went abroad, they allowed me to return to the old Song family home to say a proper goodbye to my grandmother.”

That evening, while tidying up his room, Chi Gui unexpectedly pulled out that A4 paper from two years ago from a drawer.

Jing Shun realized. “Was that the ’letter’ I casually wrote for you?”

“Yeah.”

During that period, events kept piling up. Chi Gui’s nerves were constantly on edge—

First, worrying about his grandparents’ health; then, the sudden appearance of the seemingly cold-hearted Chi family; and finally, the uncertainty of his future life overseas.

But strangely, when Chi Gui saw that ugly little dog drawing, and the line “Be happy” beside it, even two years later, the image of Jing Shun’s vibrant self still surfaced in his mind.

“Be happy.”

Those three simple words of blessing struck an unexpected chord in Chi Gui’s heart.

Chi Gui kissed the back of Jing Shun’s hand. “I can’t explain why, but your words were like magic—they instantly steadied my emotions.”

The next day, under Old Master Chi’s arrangements, Chi Gui flew overseas to begin specialized heir training. The daily regimen was strict, and the tasks were heavy.

During those days, Chi Gui had been through so much hardship, so much suffering.

Now, looking back, he had forgotten most of that time of being powerless, only remembering the one sweet spot in that long, arduous period.

Chi Gui asked, “Shun Shun, do you know what my only form of relaxation was during those two-plus years?”

Jing Shun didn’t know. “What?”

Chi Gui said, “Watching the TV dramas you starred in—from childhood to adulthood. I watched every single one.”

A hint of unexpected delight appeared on Jing Shun’s face. “Really? Every single one? Even the cameos?”

“Yeah.”

From the beginning, Chi Gui watched every complete episode featuring Jing Shun, and later, individual character clips. He watched these snippets over and over until he could recite many of the lines by heart.

Later, he even watched interviews and reports from entertainment news—anything about Jing Shun that he could find online.

Of course, Chi Gui also noticed—

Jing Shun’s last major role in a TV drama had stopped when he was fifteen. In the two years that followed, he had only made two cameo appearances, each lasting less than a minute.

Chi Gui realized that Jing Shun’s career plans in film and television seemed to have hit a snag. Unfortunately, being overseas, his access to information was limited.

He could only suppress that faint worry, thinking that after returning to China, he would have someone look into it properly.

But sometimes, fate works in mysterious ways. On the second day after his return, at the Chi family’s recognition banquet, he coincidentally ran into Jing Shun again.

Chi Gui recalled that scene and gave a helpless smile. “I recognized you at first glance, but you didn’t recognize me at all.”

Jing Shun felt a tiny bit guilty and mumbled in explanation, “I had a fleeting moment that day when I thought you looked familiar, but I had drunk too much and my mind was dizzy.”

“Plus, with family issues weighing on me, I just didn’t bother to think further.”

Chi Gui didn’t blame him; instead, he smiled. “Yeah, I know. You were really drunk that day.”

Jing Shun laughed along. “But I think it turned out pretty well.”

“What?”

“We were both a part of each other’s eighteenth birthdays. Neither of us missed out on the other.”

“…” Chi Gui’s entire heart burned at those words, and he responded earnestly, “Yes. Neither of us missed out on the other.”

Jing Shun continued, “Why didn’t you come find me after the recognition banquet? You left me alone in the lounge and let Chi Sheng seize the opportunity to score some goodwill.”

Chi Gui explained, “The day after the recognition banquet, Grandfather took me to the group’s shareholder meeting.”

Old Master Chi was already advanced in years. He only wanted to train Chi Gui as quickly as possible and test whether the boy had actually improved during his two years abroad.

So the old man directly threw a few business cases at Chi Gui, demanding he take full responsibility and win them!

Undoubtedly, this was the fastest way, with the greatest pressure, to force Chi Gui to grow rapidly in a short time! But to outsiders, this intensity of training looked like favoritism!

Having just returned to China, Chi Gui became a thorn in everyone’s side. Almost every project faced overt or covert obstacles.

Even so, he still had his then-assistant inquire about Jing Shun’s situation—

He had been admitted to Shanghai Film Academy, temporarily put some of his acting activities on hold, and was diligently honing his craft.

Chi Gui didn’t disturb Jing Shun’s peaceful life. He simply had his assistant keep a discreet eye on things while continuing to advance his own career.

Until he heard that Jing Shun was planning to raise funds to self-direct and star in a film.

Jing Shun had already learned some of the details from Ji Tianheng and pressed further, “Why did you have to go through such a roundabout way back then? Why couldn’t you just approach me as Chi Gui?”

“The Chi Group has no cultural entertainment industry. It wasn’t convenient for me to invest under the name ‘Chi Gui.’”

Old Master Chi’s life was nearing its end. Not only Chi Ting and Lin Yufeng, but other collateral relatives were also eager to get their hands on the group’s shares and positions.

Chi Gui couldn’t let them catch any leverage, but he wanted to help Jing Shun as much as possible. So he had to go out of his way to ask Ji Tianheng for help, using the latter’s company as a shell and approaching Jing Shun under his old identity as “Song Yu.”

At the moment he made that decision, Chi Gui had no idea that his feelings for Jing Shun would also change during this collaboration—

During their chats while filming Written for Anhe, Jing Shun showed his love for art, his dedication to filmmaking, and deep understanding of his characters.

Through these conversations, Chi Gui saw the essence of the other’s soul. What started as a simple fondness quietly grew, through daily interactions, into attraction, into an uncontrollable liking.

“More than anyone, I wanted to find time to meet you. But the internal power struggles at headquarters had reached a fever pitch. I couldn’t afford a single misstep.”

Soon after, Old Master Chi passed away, triggering a massive upheaval within the Chi Group.

By then, Jing Shun’s film had been released, entered an international film festival, and won awards. Immediately after the win, Chi Gui received an invitation to meet.

No one knew how excited Chi Gui was at that moment. He finished his current projects early, and on the day of the meeting, he tried on several outfits before finally heading out.

“Did you know? That day, I was less than five minutes’ drive from the coffee shop we’d agreed on. But then came an unexpected phone call that threw all my plans into chaos—”

“My grandmother had an accident.”

Fate had indeed been decided, but it always made them miss each other again and again.

“After my grandfather died, I hired someone to take care of my grandmother. The old lady’s health had been fairly robust, but that day—an accident happened!”

The elderly woman fell from the second floor. After rescue, she was admitted to the ICU.

Grandma Song was Chi Gui’s only remaining family in the world. Nothing was more important to him than the kindness of her upbringing!

Chi Gui stayed in the hospital for ten full days, but in the end, the old lady didn’t make it.

This incident hit Chi Gui hard. And later, he found out—

Her fall wasn’t an accident!

It was caused by someone startling her, leading to an indirect incident!

The culprit was a branch of the Chi family. They had pinpointed Grandma Song as Chi Gui’s weak spot!

“Chi Ting, the others—everyone wanted to drag me down!”

“During those ten days, all the advantages I had painstakingly accumulated were eroded, dismantled. Even Grandfather’s will was maliciously forged and altered!”

In the face of the Chi Group’s enormous interests, some people’s eyes turned red with greed, and they didn’t hesitate to break the law.

Chi Gui remembered that invisible war, remembered his grandmother who had died from the accident, and a shadow of gloom seeped into his eyes. “I had never hated those people so much.”

From that day on, Chi Gui truly understood the meaning of seizing power—

Not just to suppress those with malicious intentions, but to protect the people he wanted to protect.

He used all his strength to reverse his disadvantages, beating the collateral relatives into submission until even the once most promising eldest branch was left with no room to retreat.

“I thought that after going to such lengths, I had nothing left to fear.”