Two years later.

At the closing of the 79th Flanders Film Festival, Shen Xici, as the winner of this year’s Best Actor award, stepped onto the closing ceremony’s red carpet.

The red carpet photos, along with video clips from his award acceptance, once again swept through all major domestic platforms.

“—Ahhh, a 24-year-old international Best Actor, so amazing!! When this film is released domestically, I’m going to blow up the box office!”

“—This is a true powerhouse of talent, with both looks and acting skills. You are a rising star in the world of light and shadow! I’ve rewatched ‘Fleeting Life’ so many times, I can recite the lines by heart [cry]”

“—Director Lu wrote the script for half a year, prepared for half a year, filmed for seven months, and did post-production for half a year. Two years in exchange for the crown of the Flanders Best Actor! Where are those people who said Shen Xici was a flash in the pan, that he would fade into obscurity? Does your face hurt? Let me be smug for a moment—my taste in liking the Mute Boy back then was just too good!”

At the same time, a post was pushed to the top of the trending list.

“Sisters of the Shao You Ci CP, gather here! I think I’ve found A’Shao!! In Figure 1, after the awards ceremony, that person walking to the right of Shen Xici has such superior body proportions, it’s too obvious! He looks exactly like the A’Shao from those few photos that I’ve rewatched to death!

So, I went through almost all the on-site photos from foreign sources, and I really found him! Figure 2, Figure 3, Figure 4, respectively captured A’Shao from several angles. I can only say, a handsome man simply can’t be hidden… His visuals are too heaven-defying! Standing next to Shen Xici, I can only think of the phrase ‘bringing out the best in each other.’ And also, ‘a bright pearl shining in the night,’ ‘a dazzling array of treasures,’ ‘a forest of jade trees!’ Among so many people, you can spot the two of them at a glance! Luckily, no one told me what A’Shao looked like in real life before, otherwise I would be producing a CP fanart every three days, I’d have worked myself to death!”

“—My god, these two people standing together have left me speechless. They are too perfect for each other!”

“—That silhouette photo that came out, from today onwards, it’s no longer just a back! Ahhh, who is screaming while holding their phone!”

“—Wait… why does this person look so much like the big boss of our group?”

This comment was deleted by the poster less than a minute after it was posted, but quick-fingered fans had already taken screenshots. For a time, countless speculations about “A’Shao’s” identity emerged.

In the hotel room, the super-season haute couture gown from the red carpet was taken away by the Saherny brand staff. Lan Xiaoshan closed the door, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and twisted open a bottle of mineral water. “From the looks of Saherny, it won’t be long before they officially announce Brother Shen as their brand ambassador!”

Two years had passed, and Lan Xiaoshan had been promoted from a junior assistant to an executive manager. His demeanor had also become much more composed, but when he spoke of Shen Xici, his eyes were still full of admiration.

Ge Lanjing pushed the packed luggage together. “Pretty much. Saherny has always been rigorous and has a very strict evaluation process for their ambassadors. But they are also worried that your Brother Shen will be snatched up by another brand first, so it won’t be too slow. Maybe their headquarters is holding a meeting overnight right now, discussing how to write the contract terms, whether to announce it today or tomorrow.”

Lan Xiaoshan beamed. “The first time I saw Brother Shen, I knew he would definitely become famous!”

Ge Lanjing laughed, then asked him, “Weren’t you looking for a place in Ningcheng a while ago? Did you find one?”

As Lan Xiaoshan’s position rose, his salary had also increased significantly. He had been saving for a long time and had planned at the beginning of the year to rent a larger, better-environment apartment to bring his mother to Ningcheng for proper treatment.

His face lit up. “I found one! It’s right by the subway station, very convenient to get anywhere!”

As they were chatting, both of their phones rang at the same time. In the work group chat, the publicist Xiao Ning had sent several screenshots. Ge Lanjing opened them and raised an eyebrow. “Has Shenghe Group’s public relations department opened the floodgates? It’s obvious they’re letting things out. Someone dug up the resume of the girl who deleted her comment. She went to Ivy League schools all the way, very outstanding. Her alumni said that according to news from the alumni association, she got an offer from Shenghe’s New York headquarters.”

In the past two years, when he wasn’t filming, Shen Xici and Sheng Shaoyan were almost always together. Later, when Shen Xici was filming on set, Sheng Shaoyan would be seen near the set every few days.

It wasn’t that they were never photographed, but Shenghe’s PR department was strong and tough, controlling the news about their relationship tightly, not letting a drop leak out. Coupled with Shenghe’s reputation, all domestic media collectively kept their mouths shut.

Ge Lanjing had approved of this approach. At that time, although Shen Xici had won the Qingwu Award for Best Actor, he only had three works in total, and his foundation was still too shallow. Exposing his relationship at that time could easily have been destroyed by rumors, and the disadvantages would have outweighed the benefits.

Fortunately, that Mr. Sheng was very rational and had always prioritized Shen Xici’s career and future.

Today was different from the past. A twenty-four-year-old Flanders Film Festival Best Actor could be called a genius without exaggeration. It was equivalent to his acting skills having been officially stamped and certified by the most authoritative film association. Even if someone wanted to smear him, they couldn’t.

Ge Lanjing’s courage also grew. The PR department letting things out was like a preview.

Lan Xiaoshan had the same idea and made a bet. “This, I have a premonition, the mystery of Brother Shao’s identity won’t last through tonight!”

As Lan Xiaoshan had predicted, it wasn’t long before #ShengFamily was found. In the Baidu Baike entry, the name of the executive was “Sheng Shaoyan.” The Sheng family’s internal struggles had once been reported in Hong Kong news, and Sheng Shaoyan’s name had been mentioned.

“—One look at this, and you know it’s a family of families, capital of capital! But if A’Shao really is that Mr. Sheng, how could ‘Fleeting Life’ have had Cheng Mingye as an investor?”

“—Besides his name, this CEO Sheng is really mysterious. I’ve searched the entire internet, not a single photo! In the age of big data, it’s a miracle! But I found a photo of this CEO Sheng’s great-grandfather! In a high school history textbook! Hahaha~”

“—On the contrary, I feel that only someone at the top of the pyramid has the ability to seal off news so tightly. There have been times when Shen Xici and A’Shao were seen, but within two hours, all traces were gone.”

“—Whether A’Shao is CEO Sheng or not isn’t important. Who understands my excitement that A’Shao is truly handsome to a new level!”

“—The internet really can find things! On the afternoon of the day the silhouette photo was taken two years ago, someone saw a private jet take off from a nearby airport. The tail wing was marked with ‘Thyn.’ After investigation, these letters are the transliteration of ‘Sheng.’ That plane is CEO Sheng’s private jet. Isn’t that too much of a coincidence!”

On the other side, after the closing ceremony of the Flanders Film Festival, Shen Xici attended the banquet and then returned overnight to the castle in the suburbs of Paris. In two days, he and Sheng Shaoyan were going to a laboratory in Germany to cooperate with clinical research on congenital insensitivity to pain and to update the watch that monitored his vitals.

Walking barefoot on the carpet, Shen Xici placed the golden trophy from the Flanders Film Festival on a cabinet, then reached out to take it down again, unable to resist looking at it again and again.

Sheng Shaoyan was sitting in a chair reading a book. Seeing him fidgeting with it for so long, reluctant to put the trophy down, he smiled and said, “You like it that much?”

Holding the trophy, Shen Xici nodded, his eyes bright. “This is the Flanders Best Actor trophy! I’m afraid of getting it dirty just by holding it. When I get back, I’m definitely going to have a custom dust-proof glass case made for it!”

In his past life, Shen Xici had been nominated for best newcomer and had won best supporting actor. If there was one regret, it was that he had died a few days too early. He only knew he had been nominated for Best Actor at the Flanders Film Festival, but he didn’t know if the award had ultimately gone to him.

But now, the answer was no longer that important.

Two years ago, he had made a cameo in Director Wan Shan’s crew. Other than that, he hadn’t found any other roles that interested him. After filming wrapped, he was idle again.

Lu Jiming was in seclusion writing a script, diligently reporting his progress to him every few days. In comparison, he seemed very much like a salted fish. After much thought, he decided to go back to school to continue his studies.

Before taking a leave of absence, he had already completed the required credits for graduation. Given that his doing a hospital internship now would attract onlookers, the school, referring to past precedents, changed his clinical internship to a laboratory research internship. He could get the credits normally, but he would not be able to take the medical practitioner qualification exam in the future.

So he continued to do scientific research with Professor Bai Qingyuan for a period of time, clocking in at the lab every day wearing a mask and a hat. Besides the senior students in his group, no one knew he was in the lab. Later, not long after Lu Jiming’s new movie started filming, he even returned to Xiajing Medical College to get his graduation certificate.

Within the dark green velvet curtains, Shen Xici looked at the painted fresco on the dome, took Sheng Shaoyan’s hand, and slowly traced the lines on his palm. Then he intertwined his own fingers with the other’s and said softly, “A’Shao, I feel very happy right now.”

Sheng Shaoyan held his hand, his voice gentle. “Yes, me too.”

“Grandpa He divined your lifeline last year. Didn’t he say that you have two death tribulations in your twenty-seventh year, and after both have passed, your path in life will be smooth and long? Counting it up, the only goal I haven’t achieved yet is to live a little longer, and then a little longer, so that the time I have with you can be even longer.”

Hearing him mention the death tribulations, Sheng Shaoyan thought, if Shen Xici hadn’t saved him when he had amnesia and only left after he had recovered his memory, he might have already died at Sheng Junhong’s hands.

Sheng Shaoyan never asked, but he could faintly confirm that Shen Xici had kept him in the rental apartment for a month back then to protect him.

He knew Shen Xici had many secrets, but as long as this person was by his side, nothing else mattered.

Kissing Shen Xici’s lips, Sheng Shaoyan said, “It will come true. The time we have together will definitely be very, very long.”

Having been tired for several days in a row, Shen Xici’s breathing quickly became steady. Sheng Shaoyan still held his hand without letting go and also closed his eyes.

The car they were in passed through winding mountain roads and low houses among the trees, finally stopping outside a courtyard. It had a single courtyard, white walls and black tiles, a small vegetable patch, and a pond. A large yellow dog ran over, did not bark, and quietly squatted by the fence.

Sheng Shaoyan vaguely realized that he was dreaming.

His consciousness seemed to have sunk into a thick fog, feeling extremely clear, yet as if there was a layer of something in between.

A plainly dressed old man walked out.

It was Grandpa He.

Sheng Shaoyan handed over a letter. “This is a letter Xici wrote to you when he was critically ill. He entrusted me to deliver it to you personally.”

Grandpa He looked much older than he remembered. After a long while, his hand with loose, wrinkled skin took the envelope.

With trembling fingers, Grandpa He did not open the envelope. After an unknown period of silence, tears welled up at the corners of his eyes. He turned around and walked back inside, step by trembling step, sighing with a sob, “He avoided so many death tribulations before, and finally managed to live a little happily. Why this time, this time… fighting against heaven for his fate, he still didn’t win…”

He was sobbing uncontrollably.

Sheng Shaoyan stayed at Grandpa He’s house.

He slept in Shen Xici’s room. On the cabinet was a small carved wooden bird. During the day, he would tell Grandpa He about Shen Xici’s years in the entertainment industry.

He wasn’t very clear about the first two years, so he mostly skimmed over them or relayed what Shen Xici had told him. The last two years, he remembered in detail.

He talked about how Shen Xici played a high-IQ murderer who planned a series of murders for revenge. Because that character would listen to Beethoven while squatting on a chair to plan the murders, for a long time after the filming wrapped up, whenever he heard Beethoven’s music, Shen Xici’s entire aura would change. This conditioned reflex once caused Shen Xici a lot of distress.

He talked about how Shen Xici won the Best Supporting Actor at a film festival. A famous director said at the awards ceremony that he had been repeatedly moved by Shen Xici’s acting and sincerely hoped to collaborate with him on a film. So Shen Xici filmed “No. 33 Yongyuan Road.” The first time he played the male lead, he was nominated for Best Actor at the Flanders Film Festival.

However, Shen Xici did not live to see the day he would go on stage to receive the award.

Just a few days before the film festival opened, due to sepsis and multiple organ failure, his heart stopped beating.

Because he couldn’t feel pain, Shen Xici did not suffer during his critical illness. But also because he couldn’t feel pain, Shen Xici said that he wanted to say many things to Sheng Shaoyan, but some things he didn’t know when would be the right time to say them. Because he didn’t know when his life would end—this second while they were chatting, or the next second a few days later—this inability to judge made him instinctively panic.

This panic and uncertainty had been his shadow throughout his short life.

Grandpa He listened and took out many of the carving knives and carved pieces of wood that Shen Xici had used as a child.

He told Sheng Shaoyan about Shen Xici’s childhood of being beaten, starved, and living in fear and helplessness; about his youth of struggling to survive and leaving to study; about how he adapted to this world, how he faced dangers everywhere, how he kept his secrets, how he lived on with all his might even when exhausted.

All of this pieced together a complete Shen Xici.

Sheng Shaoyan remembered, because of a casual, stunning glance, he had remembered this face and this name. He remembered later, in the pouring rain, finding Shen Xici who had collapsed on the roadside from a serious illness.

The Shen Xici of that time, because of his illness, always looked pale and fragile, like a piece of porcelain covered in cracks. He had tried various methods, kept the person by his side to take care of him, treated him with care, embedded himself in the other’s life inch by inch, and did his utmost to mend him.

Gradually, he saw his own feelings for Shen Xici clearly. When he wanted to confess, he sensed Shen Xici’s withdrawal and rejection.

He thought it was because of the abandonment and favoritism of his biological and adoptive parents that Shen Xici no longer trusted or accepted any intimate relationships.

He didn’t force him. He was afraid that with the slightest force, the person before him would shatter.

He thought, he had enough love and patience. He could wait. One day he would be able to mend all the cracks, make Shen Xici smile happily, be willing to be with him, and no longer be afraid and retreat.

It wasn’t until Shen Xici developed severe sepsis and organ failure due to an infection that he found out Shen Xici had congenital insensitivity to pain.

But it was already too late.

He invested a large sum of money in research on congenital insensitivity to pain. He dealt with the Xu family and Zhuo Suli with a slow, slicing knife, without any scruples, but it was all too late.

No matter what he did, no one would ever turn around again and call him “A’Shao” with a smile.

It was as if a hole had appeared in his heart. When the wind blew, it passed right through, and an empty echo resounded. It was too cold, so cold that every one of his bones ached.

He couldn’t sleep, night after night.

He frantically tried medication, hypnosis, trying to make himself fall asleep.

Because only by falling asleep did he have a chance to see him.

He wanted to see him again, just once, even in a dream.

He missed him so much.

On the seventeenth day after Shen Xici’s death, he took that letter and came to this mountain.

In the early morning, Sheng Shaoyan followed Grandpa He through the mountain forest to a valley on the other side of the mountain.

The grass and trees were a deep green, the river was like a ribbon, and huge mountain rocks stood in silence.

Lighting the incense and candles, Grandpa He said slowly, “This is Xici’s godmother. Xici always said that with his illness, the fact that he could live for so long must be because his godmother was protecting him. So when he was a child, he would often pick many wild flowers and fruits, and collect beautiful pebbles to place here. Later, when he went away to school, every time he came back, he would come to chat with his godmother and light incense and candles.”

“He can’t come anymore. You come in his place. Burn this last stick of incense for his godmother.”

The green smoke curled up.

The sun rose and set. Birds flew away and returned to their nests.

The moon rose from the eastern mountain, and the stars shifted.

The pre-dawn mist and dew dampened his clothes.

Sheng Shaoyan stood before this rock for a day and a night.

And he continued to light incense for a day and a night.

The incense ash piled up.

The first ray of morning light stung his dry eyes.

Sheng Shaoyan’s gaze was withered. He thought, if there truly are gods in this world, then is there also a price on the scales of fate?

If so.

He was willing to place his own life and everything he had on the scales.

Sheng Shaoyan left.

The rock remained silent, as unchanging as the heavens, earth, and mountains.

A mountain sparrow folded its wings and landed, pecking at the offerings.

The green smoke slowly burned out, sparks flickered and died, the cold clouds on the horizon gradually faded, a lone crane circled low.

Time—reversed at this point.

—End of the full text—