After the music awards ceremony, Lin Xuan and Chu Qi returned to Huaxia the next day.

Chu Qi didn’t tell the rest of the Qin Fengfeng group the story he had heard the previous night. As the eldest member of the group, and a big name in the Chinese music scene, he sometimes mingled with these younger artists, but when necessary, he would always show understanding and care for them. He was a friend, and also an elder. Lin Xuan’s secret should only be revealed by himself, not by others.

After this incident, Clemens Holt returned to the United States to shoot a new film, and the two seemed to have no further interaction. Lin Xuan had just finished a global concert tour and was now resting and adjusting in Huaxia. Everything seemed to have become calm, but by the end of the year, Clemens became entertainment news headline.

“Clemens Holt Beats Up Rhys Petru on Set, Just for Priority Filming Rights?“

There are many globally famous filming locations, but even more crews are filming simultaneously every day. Clemens always had high standards, and unfortunately, this time he chose the same filming location as another major Hollywood director, Rhys Petru. In reality, their sets didn’t overlap, but both parties had many explosion scenes.

Imagine, when you’re filming a scene, and suddenly there’s a loud explosion next door, how can you continue to shoot?

So, they had to negotiate. During the negotiations, they inexplicably got into a fight.

This became worldwide entertainment news.

Logically, Rhys Petru and Clemens were old acquaintances. Although they weren’t close friends, their relationship in the industry was decent. So why did they suddenly get into a fight?

Countless reporters flocked to the set, wanting to interview the two parties involved. Petru directly accepted interviews, his face deliberately wrapped in layers of gauze, his mouth bruised, looking severely injured. He angrily told the camera, “That brat Clemens, he’s a violent, crazy thug! I will sue him, I will! I’m taking him to court!!!”

As for the other party, Clemens, he never showed up.

Sr. Holt was furious when he heard about this, almost fainting. However, Sr. Holt was currently filming near Antarctica and couldn’t return for the time being, so he had to ask his old friend for help to give that brat a good beating.

In this world, besides Sr. Holt, the only person Clemens would obey was Old Liu. Old Liu originally had no intention of dealing with this mess, but he happened to be in the United States for an event. After being entrusted by his old friend, he had no choice but to make a trip to Los Angeles to mediate and arrange a meeting between Clemens and Petru.

When they met, Petru’s mouth injury hadn’t fully healed.

Rhys Petru was in his fifties, and well-preserved, but how could he be a match for Clemens, who was in the prime of his life? Clemens was fresh and clean, his handsome face still cold, making everyone want to punch him. By comparison, Petru looked utterly miserable.

Petru didn’t hold back, stating directly, “Liu, it’s not that I don’t want to give you face; Lance has taken good care of me before. But you need to know, this brat, he just came up and punched me without a word. Isn’t it just a filming issue? It’s not like it can’t be resolved properly. Is this how he’s supposed to hit people?”

Clemens said coldly, “Just a filming issue?”

Petru angrily said, “What are you doing, do you have something to say?”

Old Liu quickly interjected, “Alright, alright, Clemens Holt, if you say one more word, do you believe I’ll slap you right now?” 

Clemens turned his face away, no longer speaking. Old Liu then looked at Petru, “Honestly, Petru, you’ve practically watched him grow up. You know his temper, he’s been spoiled since childhood. Forget you, every time I see him, I want to slap him too.”

Clemens coughed. Old Liu ignored him completely: “This brat, why bother with him? Of course, hitting people is definitely wrong. Today I’ll make him apologize to you. As for compensation, Lance should have already discussed it with you, right?”

Clemens frowned, “I just punched him in the corner of his mouth; he’s still pretending to the media that I gravely injured him.”

Petru glared back, “You want to punch me twice more?!”

Clemens sneered, about to retort, but Old Liu, sensing trouble, slapped him, “Apologize or not?!”

Clemens was stunned: “You!”

Old Liu glared: “Hmm?!”

Gritting his teeth, Clemens lowered his head and softly apologized. Petru also didn’t want to get involved any further. Moreover, Clemens and Lance had both given him sufficient compensation, and he had used this incident to promote his film effectively. So, the matter passed.

Before leaving, the profit-driven Hollywood director reverted to his true nature. He patted Clemens Holt on the shoulder and said, “Alright, it’s no big deal. What does it have to do with you if I exploit actors in my crew? Why are you so angry? I know you’re clean and haven’t exploited anyone else for over a decade. Who would dare sleep with you, right Clemens, you… Ah! What are you doing!”

“Fck! Say that again!!!”

Petru dodged, narrowly escaping the sudden punch. Old Liu was still standing nearby. He never expected this brat to dare hit someone in front of him. The old man immediately shielded Petru, angrily scolding him for his lack of self-control: “Come on, hit me! You brat, you’ve gotten cocky and strong enough to hit people? Yes, your films’ box office is higher than mine now, and you’re winning more awards. Go on, hit me, come on!”

Clemens’s eyes turned red with anger. Finally, he clenched his fists and left furiously.

Petru, who had been hiding behind Old Liu, only straightened up after the sudden madman left, and angrily cursed a few more times. However, this time, Old Liu didn’t try to comfort him as he expected. Instead, he looked puzzled and asked, “I never knew that Clemens had ever engaged in backroom deals? Wouldn’t Lance kill him if he knew?”

Petru realized he had spoken out of turn and tried to brush it off, but Old Liu was not easily fooled. Before long, the old man learned of a secret that had been buried for fourteen years.

Upon learning of the incident, Old Liu asked again in disbelief: “Are you sure it was fourteen years ago, when that brat was filming Mount Mochizuki with me in Japan?”

Petru thought for a moment: “I didn’t pay attention to what you were filming at the time, or where Clemens was, but I was shooting Twelve Thieves, so it definitely was fourteen years ago. That brat gave me a lot of benefits back then to make sure I didn’t tell anyone else about it, Liu. This time I didn’t let it slip to you, you found out yourself.”

Old Liu didn’t care about such trivialities. After Petru left, the old man kept thinking: “That brat wasn’t always on set back then? He even had a backroom deal with someone? Who did he exploit? How is that possible…”

Something that happened right under his nose, and Old Liu was completely unaware of it, having been kept in the dark for a full fourteen years. This was practically a slap in his face. It was his crew, and he didn’t know what was happening on his own set?

Old Liu didn’t tell Sr. Holt about this. If Sr. Holt knew, he would surely be so enraged he’d swim back from Antarctica.

Privately, Old Liu began to investigate the events of that year.

Petru couldn’t even remember the name of the actor Clemens had originally placed in his crew, especially since the person never even joined the crew in the end, and he had gotten benefits from Clemens for nothing. What perplexed Old Liu was that at the time, on the Mount Mochizuki set, Clemens was even worse at dealing with people than he was now; practically no one wanted to interact with him. Everyone was stuck deep in the mountains with no way out. Even then, that brat managed to engage in backroom deals?

“Could it have been some obscure eighteenth-tier actor?”

Old Liu didn’t even consider ordinary staff members. Clemens was so arrogant that he wouldn’t even look twice at average-looking people, let alone ordinary folks; even among celebrities, there were only a few he deemed worthy of his attention. According to Sr. Holt, his son seemed to like slender Chinese people, probably the Rong Xu type.

Mount Mochizuki didn’t require actors to be particularly handsome. The male lead at the time, Sugita Ryu, let alone compared to Rong Xu, could only be considered a robust and imposing middle-aged actor in Huaxia.

So, whom could Clemens Holt have exploited?

To get this answer, Old Liu stayed in Los Angeles instead of leaving immediately. He had to confirm the truth before he could discuss the matter with Sr. Holt. This matter was quite difficult to broach. His old friend had entrusted his son to him, and that brat had actually engaged in backroom deals right under his nose. He had to give his old friend an explanation.

Old Liu began to contact his former crew members.

Fourteen years had passed, and Old Liu’s crew had changed several times. It was very difficult to reconnect with the original crew members. It took a full half-month, and Old Liu had contacted all the main crew members, yet not a single person knew anything about Clemens’s involvement.

The situation suddenly became difficult to progress, but then, the former head of the logistics team remembered: “Holt seemed to have a translator. The person closest to Holt on the set should have been that translator, always following Holt around. Old Liu, why don’t you ask that translator? If even he doesn’t know, then no one in our crew will.”

Old Liu’s eyes lit up, and a vague image of a chubby little translator surfaced from his distant memories. Was he a bit fat, or not very fat? He couldn’t remember what he looked like or what his name was.

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t remember, we’ll find him eventually.”

The imagination was beautiful, but reality was cruel.

Old Liu had no idea that he was just looking for a temporary translator, but it was like searching for a needle in a haystack; there was no trace of him. Unbeknownst to him, if Clemens hadn’t found the person fourteen years ago, how could he?

After searching for another half a month, Old Liu finally gave up and resigned himself to contacting other crew members: at least those people could still be found, right?

---

Among the crew members, while some were still working in the industry, many had changed professions. They couldn’t provide Old Liu with any useful information. After another month passed like this, even Old Liu himself was close to giving up, preparing to confront Clemens directly and get to the bottom of it. However, one afternoon, he managed to get through to a phone call.

The person who answered the phone was a regular staff member from the logistics team, who had since become a small independent business owner. He was quite excited to receive Old Liu’s call, but when Old Liu asked him if he knew anything about Clemens’s past, he couldn’t offer any leads. Old Liu shook his head in disappointment. Before hanging up, he casually mentioned, “It’s a pity I can’t find Clemens’s translator from back then.”

The staff member asked in surprise, “Huh? Old Liu, when I was watching the news last month, weren’t you attending some event with him? Did I see wrong?”

Old Liu was stunned: “Me and Clemens attending an event together?”

Brother Wang, now almost fifty, quickly clarified: “No, no, you and Little Lin, you were at an event together last month. I saw it, on TV. My wife really likes Little Lin. A couple of years ago, I even shamelessly asked him for an autographed photo.”

Old Liu frowned deeply: “Who is this Little Lin you’re talking about…?”

“Lin Xuan, that’s Lin Shen. Isn’t he Holt’s translator? Why would you say you can’t find him?”

Old Liu’s eyes widened, frozen in place.

Half an hour later, the short-statured Old Liu furiously stormed onto the set of Clemens’s new film. No one expected this major director to suddenly burst onto the set. Even Clemens, sitting in the director’s chair, didn’t react. But then, smack! Old Liu slapped him across his handsome face.

“Good, so you exploited someone in my crew and hid it from me for fourteen years? Clemens Holt, I underestimated you. You’re really something. After Mount Mochizuki wrapped, you exploited someone and even sent them to Petru’s crew. That’s a nice trick. Get up and get over here!”

Old Liu’s slap held no reserve; Clemens’s face was turned to the side, his cheek instantly red and swollen. The entire set was silent. Everyone watched Director Holt, whom no one usually dared to provoke, being hit by Old Liu without daring to retaliate.

Old Liu was so angry he laughed: “Well done, Clemens Holt, how am I supposed to explain this to your father? His son comes to my crew, learns nothing good, just learns to exploit people. You really have patience. Mount Mochizuki filmed for so long, I remember it wrapped in September, right? When did you exploit him? October?”

Clemens slowly stood up. Seeing Old Liu raise his hand for another slap in his fury, he quickly blocked it.

Although Clemens respected this director more than anyone else in the world, his pride made it impossible for him to let anyone hit him a second time, especially in the face.

Clemens’s face darkened: “How did you find out?”

Old Liu countered: “Brat, admitting it?”

Clemens asked: “Was it that scoundrel Rhys Petru?”

Old Liu raised his left hand, seemingly about to slap again. Clemens quickly raised his hand to block, but unexpectedly, this time Old Liu feigned the move. His right hand simultaneously rose, and a slap landed squarely on Clemens Holt’s left cheek. 

This time, Clemens really staggered, almost falling to the ground. A trace of blood spilled from his lips. With his left face having been hit twice, it was truly a gruesome sight.

Because of Clemens’s usual intimidation, the crew members dared not look further and all hid to the side.

Over the years, Old Liu had slowly come to regard Clemens as his own son. Perhaps at first, he only helped train Clemens out of deference to an old friend’s request, but hearts are made of flesh. For such a talented young man, Old Liu had poured immense effort into nurturing him.

The more he loved, the more furious he became.

They say that once you do it, you do it again. Who knew how many people Clemens Holt had exploited over the past decade? Perhaps he only appeared to be clean and not to associate with the bad elements of the industry, but what if he had truly hidden it from everyone and had an unruly private life?

What if, like Petru, he had contracted an STD last year?

Everything started with his film Mount Mochizuki. Assuming Clemens had become like that in his crew, even without Sr. Holt saying anything, Old Liu’s self-reproach would be enough to drown him.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. Old Liu sneered, “Who else have you exploited all these years, tell me, hmm?”

Clemens Holt dutifully took these two slaps, but he couldn’t accept a third. Even if it was Old Liu hitting him, he wasn’t a clay figure; he had to feel some resentment. He stepped aside, saying calmly, “No more, just once; it was an accident.”

Old Liu raised an eyebrow: “Once? An accident? Well, that was quite an accident, you even exploited a good one. Did you see potential in little Lin back then, which is why you exploited him? Good eye, do you really think I’d believe such nonsense?”

---

Mentioning the incident from many years ago, Clemens clenched his fists, not wanting to admit to the past disgrace, yet feeling a hint of guilt, and perhaps a strange sensation. For so many years, no one had brought up that name again. When Old Liu mentioned it, Clemens Holt couldn’t articulate what he truly felt in his heart.

But everything was in the past.

“It was truly an accident, and truly only once.”

Old Liu smiled, “Didn’t you want to do something with Rong Xu just a couple of years ago?”

Clemens: “I do like that type, but Old Liu, I was just curious then, I didn’t really mean to…”

“Yes, you only like the types of Rong Xu and Lin Xuan.” Old Liu suppressed his anger. “You exploited Lin Xuan back then on Mount Mochizuki, and now you’re planning to exploit Rong Xu, right? You haven’t made many films, haven’t won many awards, but you’ve picked up quite a few bad habits from the industry.”

Clemens frowned: “His name was Lin Shen not Xuan.”

“What Lin Shen, Lin Shen? I’m talking about Lin Xuan with you. Don’t deny it, a few months ago Lance told me you were even pursuing him. And you still dare to tell me it was an accident? If it was an accident, why are you pursuing Lin Xuan now? Clemens, what on earth are you thinking?!”

As these words fell, Clemens stood dumbfounded, frozen in place. Old Liu didn’t notice his abnormality and continued to scold him. However, the old man was only halfway through when Clemens suddenly asked loudly, “Who did you say he is?!”

This time it was Old Liu’s turn to be stunned: “Who what?”

Clemens roared: “Who is Lin Shen!”

Old Liu had never seen Clemens so frenzied. This brat had always been particular about appearances; no matter what happened, he would never disregard his image or yell with a red face, and certainly not yell at him, an elder.

A strange thought suddenly flashed through Old Liu’s mind. He said, “I don’t know who Lin Shen is. I’m talking about Lin Xuan with you right now. I’ve heard all about you exploiting him. I’ll tell your father about it. As for what he wants to do…”

Clemens didn’t hear the rest of the words. Old Liu’s previous words echoed in his ears.

Fourteen years had passed. The event he thought he had completely forgotten now flashed before his eyes the moment he closed them, not a single detail forgotten.

He clearly remembered that morning when he woke up, utterly shocked and on the verge of fainting. He certainly saw the blood on the sheets, and he also realized that he was still inside the other person’s body, hadn’t pulled out all night. He was so scared that he directly slumped to the floor. A hint of guilt and apology flashed through his mind at the time, but the next moment, overwhelming panic engulfed him.

He was in a panic. What if others found out that he had actually slept with such a fat person?!

His friends would laugh at him. Those people in Hollywood would make him the butt of their jokes. Lance would take him home and beat him until he was unrecognizable, and from then on, no matter how successful he became, all the scum who were inferior to him would gossip behind his back: “What if Clemens Holt wins awards, his taste is unbelievable, he slept with a fat person, such a fat person!”

The thought of such a scene made him wish he could die then and there.

So, when he saw his translator slowly waking up, he subconsciously ignored the other’s pale face and hopeful smile. He fled from the bedroom like a desperate escapee. After getting dressed, the first thing he thought of was running away. However, just as he extended his foot, he couldn’t help but retract it.

…He just needed to handle things, to prevent others from finding out. It was only because he didn’t want others to find out, only for this reason, that he came back! No other reason!

The surging fear and extreme blow to his self-esteem prevented Clemens from caring about his tiny bit of remorse. He had to handle everything immediately. At that time, he could only turn to his childhood friend, Charlie, who came from a French film family.

He didn’t seem to have done anything wrong. He had apologized properly, and he had arranged Lin Shen’s… Lin Xuan’s destination. Yes, he even personally saw that person off at the airport. It was Lin Xuan who later disappeared inexplicably; it had nothing to do with him. He had arranged everything; it was impossible…

Suddenly, a nerve snapped in his brain.

In his ears echoed that person’s fluent French at the French awards ceremony banquet; before his eyes flashed the sunny afternoon when he turned around and saw the chubby little translator holding a tray, standing in the living room corner, eyes wide open, staring intently at him.

A thin layer of mist settled in those eyes. At that time, he was being mocked and ridiculed by his cronies, and had no time to notice the other’s abnormality. He cautiously asked a question in French. The person looked at him timidly, and after a long time, revealed a simple smile, softly saying—

“Clemens, what are you saying?”

“Clemens!”

“Director!”

“Holt!”

Stumbling, Clemens Holt was dazed, his foot missed a step, and he fell sideways, his forehead violently hitting a camera stand.