Clemens had just beaten up Rhys Petru a few months ago, but now, Clemens himself was much more severely injured than Petru. However, this time he didn’t publicize it like Petru did to promote his film. Old Liu directly sealed off news from the crew, and the production assistant drove the unconscious Clemens to a nearby hospital for treatment.

The two slaps Old Liu delivered were just superficial injuries, not serious at all, but Clemens’s injury from falling onto the camera stand caused his head to bleed profusely.

The wound was thumb-sized, with blood gushing out, and a bit of bone could be seen. After being sent to the hospital, he was quickly stitched up, requiring nine stitches in total. It was hard to say if it would leave a scar.

Old Liu was both angry and anxious. With Sr. Holt away, he was Clemens’s elder. The two slaps he gave earlier were certainly due to anger, but now it was mostly concern.

The doctor quickly examined him, confirming only a mild concussion and superficial injuries, with no blood clots. Only then did Old Liu feel relieved.

Old Liu completely failed to understand why Clemens had such an extreme reaction. He had slapped him twice, and the kid hadn’t lost composure. He had merely cursed a couple of times afterwards, and Clemens had become so agitated.

Had he said something he shouldn’t have?

But he didn’t seem to have said anything excessive, did he? Could it be that even cursing twice wasn’t allowed?

He just couldn’t figure it out.

Old Liu had already contacted Sr. Holt, who, upon hearing his son was injured and possibly disfigured, wasn’t too anxious, setting his return to the U.S. for about next week. So, Old Liu had to dutifully stay at the hospital to look after his old friend’s son. But after only two days, Clemens disappeared as soon as he woke up.

Old Liu: “…”

Fourteen years ago, he was on his set, and learned to exploit people.

Now, he cursed a couple of times, and not only was he disfigured, but he also disappeared.

Old Liu felt he might have a falling out with Sr. Holt…

---

Wasting no time, Old Liu immediately went looking. By the time he found a trace of Clemens, he had just reached the airport, and the plane had already taken off.

A silver plane took off from Los Angeles, flying directly to the capital of China. There were no flights to B City for an entire day, so Old Liu, resigned, had to ask a friend in China for help. After much searching, he eventually contacted Qin Cheng.

As soon as Qin Cheng heard Clemens’s name, he said without hesitation, “Not interested.”

Old Liu: “He might be looking for Lin Xuan. Aren’t you on good terms with Lin Xuan too? Aren’t you at all concerned?”

Qin Cheng “oh”-ed softly on the other end of the phone, then said indifferently, “What would he want with Lin Xuan?”

Old Liu found it a bit difficult to speak, but if he didn’t, Qin Cheng would hang up. So, he sighed and briefly summarized the situation. He only mentioned that Lin Xuan and Clemens had a grudge fourteen years ago, but he found it hard to elaborate on the specific details.

However, Qin Cheng frowned: “A grudge? Fourteen years ago, when Lin Xuan was eighteen?”

Old Liu angrily said, “Don’t ask anymore, are you going to help or not? Huh?”

Before Qin Cheng could answer, a clear male voice sounded from the other end of the phone: “Lin Xuan? Old Liu, how is it related to Lin Xuan again? I know Clemens pursued him before, what happened to them?”

Upon hearing Rong Xu’s voice, Old Liu was overjoyed. Rong Xu was much easier to talk to than Qin Cheng. He immediately agreed, stating that he would go to Lin Xuan’s place to check before Old Liu returned to China. If Clemens really went to find Lin Xuan, he would also help look after him. Only then did Old Liu feel at ease.

After hanging up, Rong Xu pulled a certain man and headed to Lin Xuan’s house. When they arrived at the door, they didn’t see Clemens. Lin Xuan opened the door, looked at them in surprise, and particularly glared at Qin Cheng with caution. He pulled Rong Xu aside and said, “Rongrong, of course you can come find me, but why bring Crazy Qin along?”

Rong Xu smiled helplessly: “It was sudden. But Er Mu, has Clemens come looking for you?”

The smile on his lips suddenly stiffened, and Lin Xuan asked in surprise, “Clemens Holt? Why would he come looking for me? I find him very annoying, Rongrong. He’s very inexplicable; he used to harass me a lot, but lately he hasn’t, which is good.”

Rong Xu vaguely sensed something was amiss, but looking at Lin Xuan’s disdainful expression, he couldn’t quite pinpoint what was strange. Just then, the doorbell suddenly rang urgently. The three of them turned to look at the door.

Qin Cheng was closest to the door. He glanced at the intercom: “Clemens Holt.”

Rong Xu was stunned: “He really came?”

Having promised Old Liu to help look after things, Rong Xu naturally couldn’t go back on his word. He walked directly towards the door, but before he was halfway there, he was pulled back. Rong Xu turned to see Lin Xuan looking at him calmly, his baby face no longer showing its usual optimism and cheerfulness, but rather the composure appropriate for his age.

“Is it really Clemens Holt?”

Qin Cheng stood by the door: “Yes, it’s him.”

Lin Xuan softly asked: “What does he want with me?”

Lin Xuan didn’t ask how Clemens knew his home address. They were all in the industry, and there were intricate connections between them. If Clemens really wanted an address, he could find it.

However, no one could answer Lin Xuan’s question. Rong Xu looked at him helplessly. The doorbell was still ringing, and gradually, the person outside the door lost patience with ringing the doorbell and started knocking directly. He didn’t dare to call out loud, probably afraid of being discovered by others: this was Clemens Holt, who, even at this point, still desperately wanted to save face.

The room fell silent until Qin Cheng calmly asked, “Fourteen years ago, what happened between you and him?”

That single sentence made the air completely solidify.

After a long time, Lin Xuan slowly smiled, a bit wearily: “Where did you hear about this?”

Qin Cheng said: “Old Liu.”

“Old Liu, huh… So, he already knows?”

Although he often referred to Qin Cheng as “Qin Fenfen,” the two people in the room were actually Lin Xuan’s good friends. Facing these two, he briefly explained his relationship with Clemens. He summarized everything in a single sentence, light as a feather: “I slept with him before. I was a bit fat then. Later, I lost weight and entered the entertainment industry as a singer. He didn’t know who I was, and then he pursued me. I’m not interested in him. That’s it.”

Qin Cheng slowly furrowed his brow: “The time when you were eighteen?”

Lin Xuan nodded: “Yes, that time.”

Rong Xu was a bit confused, but he also sensed that this might not be a very pleasant memory.

The person outside was still knocking incessantly. Clemens heard sounds from inside but no one was opening the door for him. This situation couldn’t go on either; Lin Xuan refused to open the door, and Rong Xu and Qin Cheng couldn’t stay hidden inside forever.

But Lin Xuan said indifferently, “It’s almost evening, he’ll leave soon. We can go out then.”

Rong Xu asked, “How do you know he’ll leave by evening? He’s been waiting outside for over an hour already.”

“Evening is rush hour,” Lin Xuan raised his baby face, devoid of any smile, calmly stating the reality: “He doesn’t know who lives across from me, but he’ll be worried if the person across suddenly comes home. Someone like him would never let anyone see him in an awkward situation; he would definitely leave temporarily.” He paused, “Actually, perhaps just seeing you two here would make him not dare to say much to me.”

At this, Lin Xuan suddenly stepped forward, walked to the door, and directly opened it.

Clemens’s hand was raised in the air, as if he was about to knock. He suddenly saw the door open, and his eyes widened in surprise, joy barely concealed. But after a brief moment of joy, it was nervousness and unease. He eagerly wanted to say something, but before he could speak, he saw Rong Xu and Qin Cheng standing behind Lin Xuan.

All words were stuck in his throat, unable to be uttered.

Just as Lin Xuan had said, when other people were present, Clemens’s pride wouldn’t allow him to do anything that would make him lose face. Despite being willing to cross the Atlantic, travel from America to China; despite being willing to knock on the door for over an hour, upon seeing others, his face turned from pale to green, and finally, he withdrew his hand, not saying a single word.

Lin Xuan was actually a bit startled after opening the door. He hadn’t expected that the person in front of him still had a bandage on his forehead, and his left cheek was somewhat swollen, clearly having been slapped several times.

Seeing this, Rong Xu suddenly understood: no wonder Old Liu asked them to help look after him, he was injured!

Without further ado, now that they had seen him, Rong Xu planned to take Clemens away first, at least to a hospital, so he could rest properly. Qin Cheng’s gaze shifted between the two, saying nothing much, but Clemens refused to go with them.

Rong Xu asked: “Clemens?”

The blond director’s face was sickly pale, his lips bloodless, but his azure eyes were fixed on the person standing inside the doorway. Lin Xuan looked at him calmly, saying nothing. They stared at each other for a long time, as if expending all their life’s strength. Clemens gritted his teeth and said earnestly, “I really… didn’t know that Lin Shen from fourteen years ago was the current Lin Xuan…”

Lin Xuan smiled: “It was just a one-night stand, it’s nothing.”

Clemens seemed surprised by the casual reaction. He said again, “I really didn’t know… really, truly didn’t know…”

“Then how do you suddenly know now?”

Clemens was stunned. He quickly repeated Old Liu’s words.

---

Lin Xuan shook his head: “Brother Wang recognized me from the very beginning. When I first debuted, I lost tens of pounds, yet he recognized me at first glance. I found it very strange.” He paused, then smiled, “But he was the only one who recognized me. It’s quite normal that you didn’t.”

Looking at the young man’s indifferent expression, Clemens felt as if a dull knife was being born in his heart. The dull knife slowly scraped at his heart, each time scraping away raw flesh and blood. Every time this person smiled, he felt a sharp, excruciating pain, like maggots gnawing at his bones, making his whole body tremble.

Even with two people standing nearby, one of whom was Qin Cheng, whom he disliked intensely, Clemens still gritted his teeth and said, word by word, “I’m sorry.”

That noble head bowed once again, just as it had fourteen years ago, even the golden hair unchanged. This Hollywood noble lowered his posture, sincerely apologizing.

Lin Xuan always knew that Clemens wasn’t bad, and his apology was sincere, but his arrogance was deeply ingrained. No matter how close you got to him, how much you understood him, the more you understood, the more desperate you would feel.

For his pride, what else could this person not abandon?

His face, his reputation, was above all else.

And in the face of that dignity, that inexplicable pride, having slept with a fat person was indeed the biggest blemish in his life.

Those words might have been unintentional, but who could say that unintentional words weren’t subconscious complaints?

Clemens bowed his head in apology, just like fourteen years ago. His cheeks flushed with embarrassment, he dared not even imagine the expressions on Rong Xu and Qin Cheng’s faces. 

Were these two laughing at him, did they already know about him and Lin Xuan? If so, would that past incident be widely known, would everyone know that he had once slept with such a fat person… No, that person was Lin Xuan.

After a long wait, still no reaction, Clemens couldn’t help but look up, only to see Lin Xuan looking at him expressionlessly.

“Fourteen years ago, I already accepted your apology, so Mr. Holt, I don’t need to accept your second apology.”

Clemens was stunned: “Lin Xuan?”

“Goodbye.”

“Lin Xuan!”

The door slammed shut with a bang. Clemens took a step forward, hitting the door panel. The wound on his forehead immediately broke open, and red blood instantly stained the gauze. Rong Xu quickly pulled him back, preparing to take him to the hospital. Unexpectedly, Clemens kept shouting: “Lin Xuan! Lin Shen! Lin Shen!”

Towards the end, he was shouting “Lin Shen” repeatedly. Rong Xu had never seen Clemens look so disheveled. Blood seeped through the gauze, wetting his handsome face and crisscrossing his cheeks. With a pale complexion and bloodless lips, this commercial film director, who usually dominated the film industry, looked as if he could faint at any second, but he kept muttering a name.

Lin Shen…

Lin Shen!

When he called this name, he called it even more desperately than “Lin Xuan,” but that door never opened.

Due to excessive bleeding, Clemens finally passed out. Rong Xu looked up at Qin Cheng, who resignedly helped him up, and together they went downstairs. Downstairs, Rong Xu received a reply from Lin Xuan: “Okay, you can send Holt to the hospital. I don’t really want to be involved with him. It’s all in the past, nothing big.”

Although Rong Xu wanted to comfort his friend, since Lin Xuan didn’t want to talk about it, he wouldn’t ask further.

---

After taking Clemens to the hospital, the matter was no longer Rong Xu’s or Qin Cheng’s concern. This time, it wasn’t so easy for Clemens to leave the hospital again. Sr. Holt arrived at the hospital three days later and forcibly took his son away.

Upon seeing his son, he didn’t inquire about his injuries but directly asked, “Fourteen years ago, did you really exploit someone?”

Clemens replied, “It was an accident, I didn’t mean to.”

Sr. Holt slapped Clemens across the face. This slap was heavier than Old Liu’s, making Clemens cough up a bit of blood. “You slept with Lin Xuan, I’ve heard of him, it was him, right? Very well, after doing such a thing, you even hid it and handled it yourself. Fourteen years, not a word revealed to us, right?!”

Clemens gritted his teeth, not denying it.

“I know the atmosphere of this industry. Sleeping with one or two people really isn’t much. But aside from how I educated you since childhood, Old Liu also said that he wasn’t a celebrity at all, not the kind of person who does that sort of thing. He was your translator! You basically raped him! Did you apologize properly? Did you get his forgiveness?!”

“No, I didn’t!”

Sr. Holt was enraged: “You still dare to say you didn’t!”

He was so angry he was about to slap again, but Clemens directly blocked him. He was hit by Old Liu the first time because he wasn’t prepared, and the second time Old Liu played a trick. Being hit by his father, the first time could be said to be deserved, but a second time was absolutely impossible!

Sr. Holt was stopped by his son, his heart instantly filled with complex emotions: “He’s grown up, he’s really grown up. Good, let’s go home!”

Then, regardless of Clemens’s attitude, Sr. Holt directly had people tie him up and put him on a plane, taking him back to the United States.

Clemens’s new film had already been halted, and over the next month, the Holts slowly extracted the truth of that year from their son. Mrs. Holt covered her mouth, seemingly unable to believe that her son would actually exploit others like those in the industry, and even exploit a translator.

Sr. Holt, however, saw something different in it: “Did you really apologize well back then?”

Clemens nodded.

How could Sr. Holt believe it? If it had truly been resolved well, with no conflict between the two parties, why did he later disappear?

Sr. Holt called Charlie over. Charlie trembled with fear as soon as he saw Sr. Holt. Before even being asked, he blurted out everything: “Uncle, I really didn’t want to hide it from you, but if I told you about this, Clemens would really kill me. You know how much he values his reputation, he slept with a pig, you know? If that really got out, those people in Hollywood would laugh at him for his whole life, wouldn’t they?”

Sr. Holt’s eyes widened: “A pig?”

Charlie recalled carefully: “Yes, Clemens said he was a particularly fat guy. I don’t know what happened to him; he actually slept with a pig when he was drunk. Uncle, he’s also very pathetic. You see, he’s Clemens, your son. He slept with a lump of fat. Any person would be unbearable, let alone Clemens? Clemens was really furious back then; luckily, I helped him deal with it, otherwise he might have really hanged himself with a rope.”

Sr. Holt was momentarily stunned.

---

Back in his room, seeing his son, Sr. Holt was so angry he didn’t know what to say. He had already roughly discerned what had happened back then. After all these years, he realized for the first time if his son had become too arrogant and conceited.

The humility a normal person possesses, Clemens lacked. He could console himself with “My son is excellent, he doesn’t need to be humble.” The gentleness many people have, Clemens lacked. He could think, “Clemens doesn’t need gentleness, as long as he has skill.”

But any ordinary person’s guilt and apology, his son might have had, but it was far outweighed by his so-called ‘face.’

“Clemens, if it were you, and an investor slept with you, then afterwards offered you a great resource, allowing you to make a good film. Clemens, do you think that’s appropriate?”

Clemens Holt, of course, understood his father’s meaning. He clenched his fingers, thinking for a long time: “But my appearance is excellent. Lance, the investor who slept with me wouldn’t lose out at all; he’d gain immensely. So if he only gives me one resource, why should I…”

“Clemens Holt! Didn’t you always pride yourself on despising those racist white pigs? Why are you telling me now that you discriminate against ugly people? Just because that Lin was very fat back then, you could insult him by calling him a pig? You could humiliate him, call him a lump of fat? You could treat raping someone as if you were the one losing out, and just give them a small benefit and consider it done? Clemens, I really can’t believe you’ve grown into such a person. I am so disappointed in you. I finally understand why Lin left you.”

“My son, if you weren’t my son, I’d really want to kick you away. And I want to tell you a fact now, whether it’s the current Lin or the previous Lin, a person like you will never be worthy of him!”

The door slammed shut with a bang. Sr. Holt left the room in utter disappointment, leaving a stunned Clemens behind.

For the next ten days, Clemens was confined to his room by Sr. Holt for reflection. This director, who had filmed countless Hollywood blockbusters, began to reflect for the first time on what kind of waste he had raised in his son for over thirty years.

Possessing exceptional directing talent, capable of high box office and awards.

But besides these and that decent appearance, what else did his son have left?

An arrogant and conceited personality, a disrespectful attitude in handling matters.

By the tenth day, Sr. Holt sighed deeply and said to his son, “Clemens, have you ever thought about what else you have, besides being able to direct and being good-looking? I can see that you genuinely like that Lin. I want to know why you prefer East Asians now.”

Having been illegally confined for ten days, Clemens was not as angry as he had imagined. Listening to these words, he gradually lowered his head.

After a long while, his hoarse voice spoke: “I like him…”

Sr. Holt asked: “Lin Xuan?”

Clemens shook his head: “It’s Lin Shen. I liked him, had feelings for him, since a long time ago. If he had been just a little bit thinner back then, perhaps I wouldn’t have just realized now that I like him. But, I just like him, so when I saw Lin Xuan, I couldn’t help but like him.”

He suddenly looked up: “Lance, I really like him.”

Sr. Holt said: “He doesn’t like you.”

“He likes me, Lance, I always knew he liked me! I could see it, he pretended not to understand me then because he didn’t want to leave me. But I used a resource to clear the incident, pushing him away from me. Lance, he’s the only person in this world who can tolerate me. Besides him, I don’t want anyone else. I just like him, I really like him!”

Sr. Holt finally breathed a sigh of relief: “Son, go. Give up all your unnecessary arrogance and pursue your love.”