Three months into the filming of Mount Mochizuki, a technical problem arose, bringing the entire production to a halt.

During that time, Old Liu would enter the deep valley daily, exploring how to film that particular scene, while the rest of the crew became idle.

The deep mountains and old forests near Hakata were no different from other places: green shade covered the sky, dozens of meters high, thick trees spanned across, and muddy, moist green moss covered the rocks. With the crew on standby, everyone simply rested casually near the hotel in their spare time.

During those fifteen days, Lin Shen also understood for the first time the difference between a world-class genius director and an ordinary person.

Lin Shen had loved acting since he was a child. Although he was Chinese, he was born in Japan. Due to his physique, when he wanted to participate in stage plays, he could only play static objects like trees or rocks. No one allowed him to play human characters because he was too fat.

“Too fat to act?” 

The blond director deliberately put on a very surprised look and said indifferently, “That’s because those people are too stupid. If you really want to act, you can play specific roles. The protagonist generally won’t be fat, but supporting roles occasionally require fat actors. However, your acting… is still a bit lacking.”

Having never been formally taught, Lin Shen could only learn by watching television. Upon hearing Clemens’s words, he nodded eagerly, only to see the other wave his hand, saying smugly, “Meeting me, that’s not bad.”

Perhaps even Old Holt never imagined that one day his son would patiently teach someone how to act.

In that family inn nestled among the mountains, while the crew members were idle all day, his son surprisingly stayed dutifully in his room, watching a stranger act, teaching him how to improve, and even demonstrating explanations hand-in-hand.

A good director may not necessarily have good acting skills, but they will always know how to act.

Clemens Holt’s directing talent would be proven brilliantly over the next decade and more through countless box office sensations worldwide. Now, at only twenty years old, he wasn’t as arrogant and condescending as he would be later. He would still use his private time to seriously guide others in acting, and he would appreciate a constantly striving young man.

During the day, Clemens would directly have his translator perform the male lead’s scenes, and then he would guide and correct him little by little. And at night, when he returned to his room to sleep, the chubby translator in the next room was still practicing and correcting his own acting again and again.

The most unstoppable forces in this world are unreserved kindness and unyielding effort.

Everyone admires kind people, and everyone envies hardworking people. Perhaps you cannot be that diligent, but when you see those who sweat and never give up, you can never feel contempt or disdain; all you can do is revere them.

This chubby young man didn’t have great acting talent, but he was hardworking enough. And that is something many people cannot achieve.

For fifteen days, the light in Lin Shen’s room was never turned off. The thick script had been flipped so much that the binding was almost tearing. Yet, he didn’t know that one night later, on the balcony of the room next to his, a tall, handsome young director leaned his arms on the railing, gazing slightly upwards at the purest, most flawless moonlight in the mountains.

---

His soft golden hair was like golden rice ears in the mountains, swaying with the gentle breeze. His sapphire blue eyes held a calm and peaceful aura, and his thin, somewhat indifferent lips curled up, revealing a rare and genuine smile.

Diligent people always command respect. Perhaps the international director Clemens Holt, a decade or so later, would develop a heart of stone, only valuing results and not the process of effort. But at that moment, he suddenly felt, “This chubby guy… he’s not bad.”

Soon, Old Liu collaborated with the government to overcome the technical filming difficulty. Mount Mochizuki resumed shooting, and the crew returned to its usual busy schedule. But before long, Lin Shen discovered that a very inconspicuous small role had suddenly been added to the script.

At dinner, Clemens said lazily, “This role isn’t very important, it’s a backdoor entry.”

This was the first time the chubby young man encountered the unspoken rules of the entertainment industry: “Backdoor entry?”

Clemens scoffed, “That guy, see him? The new Japanese actor who just joined the crew. He spent all last week eating and traveling with the Japanese investor, went to several places.” He paused, then the blond director suddenly found it amusing, “What, curious about this?”

The chubby young man was stunned, not understanding what the other meant.

Clemens slowly leaned closer, his azure pupils scanning the chubby young man, making the latter blush and nervously lower his head, constantly digging his fingernails into his palms. Then, he heard the nobleman laugh heartily: “Don’t worry, with your physique, you probably won’t encounter such things. Others wouldn’t really want to exploit you. You’re safe.”

Lin Shen breathed a sigh of relief, but for some reason, a strange sadness rose from the bottom of his heart. After eating for a while longer, he couldn’t help but ask quietly, “Mr. Holt… am I really that ugly?”

This question almost used up all the courage he had in his life. After asking, he desperately lowered his head, not daring to look at the other party again. But Clemens was startled, then unreservedly reached out and lifted the chubby young man’s chin. He didn’t pay attention to the other’s frightened and shy gaze, but instead seriously examined the face: “Doesn’t seem that ugly? Features seem okay. Why are you so fat? Do you never diet?”

The huge rock in his heart suddenly landed.

The chubby young man stammered for a long time, both nervous and uneasy, unsure how to respond. However, he didn’t get a chance to say anything more. The blond director waved his hand, “No need to explain to me, I’m not interested. Eat quickly, we’re about to start filming.”

The hopeful light in his eyes abruptly dimmed. Lin Shen nodded and continued to eat diligently.

The entire Mount Mochizuki crew knew that this noble scion from a Hollywood directing family seemed to get along quite well with his translator. In fact, on set, Clemens only gave face to Old Liu; he didn’t care about anyone else and bothered to deliberately flatter or appease anyone. So, he was often unsociable on set, seemingly keeping everyone at a distance.

The person he communicated with most was that chubby translator.

The chubby translator was a shy and introverted person. He wouldn’t be as reserved and arrogant as Clemens, but he also didn’t interact much with other staff members. So, he and Clemens formed their own circle, having little interaction with the outside crew members, yet they got along harmoniously.

However, Lin Shen also had friends on the crew. Brother Wang, who was in charge of their meals in the logistics team, was quite familiar with him. Coincidentally, this Brother Wang and Lin Shen were actually from the same hometown, so meeting a rare fellow countryman in a foreign land naturally made them closer. Thanks to this, Lin Shen and Clemens’s daily meals were more abundant.

---

The crew filmed for another half a month, Lin Shen’s acting skills improved steadily, and the scenes in Hakata were almost finished.

While serving food, Brother Wang asked, “We’re going to Australia in two days, are you coming along?”

Lin Shen had known about this for a long time. He smiled shyly and nodded: “Clemens’s Chinese has gotten much better, but he still hopes I can follow the crew and teach him Chinese. He learns very quickly, his Chinese is really good now.”

Brother Wang laughed: “I asked if you’re going to Australia, Little Lin. Why are you talking about that Holt? He bullies you all the time, why are you still speaking up for him?”

Lin Shen immediately shook his head: “Brother Wang, he didn’t bully me, he never bullied me.”

Brother Wang handed over a bento box: “Yes, yes, he never bullied you. Making you serve tea and pour water, making you run errands for him, what kind of bullying is that? You’re his translator and his assistant, getting one salary for two jobs, we all know it.”

Lin Shen grew anxious: “No… no, that’s not it at all. He’s very good to me, Brother Wang, he really is…”

“Hahaha, I’m just joking, don’t take it seriously. Of course he’s better to you than to us. I don’t want to see him, tsk tsk, such a self-important attitude. If he wasn’t Director Lance Holt’s son, who does he think he is?”

Lin Shen didn’t answer again, because he knew that everyone on the crew thought the same way.

“He’s really talented… he’s not a bad person…”

Such explanations were too pale, because that person would never be as approachable as everyone wished.

Before leaving Hakata, the crew finally emerged from the deep mountains. Old Liu was quite generous, taking the crew into the city for a day of fun. That day, everyone could enjoy hot springs and buffet meals at will, and by evening, Old Liu even booked a hotel, allowing everyone to feast to their heart’s content.

The hotel banquet hall was filled with joyous camaraderie, except for a corner where the blond director calmly peeled crabs and shrimp for himself, unaffected by the indifference and disregard of others. Clemens peeled shrimp, drank sake, and ate by himself. However, a piece of crab leg meat suddenly fell into his plate. Clemens was slightly stunned and looked up.

The chubby young man shyly lowered his head: “I… I took a bit too much, can’t eat it all.”

Not far away, the laughter and joy of everyone else formed a stark contrast with the quietness here. When the lively chatter and the mosquito-like voice reached Clemens Holt’s ears, his pupils slowly widened. After a long pause, he let out a soft “humph” and put the crab leg into his mouth, saying arrogantly, “Why did you take so much? Don’t you Chinese have a saying, ‘act according to your capabilities’? Do you understand?”

The chubby young man said, surprised, “Clemens, you know the idiom ‘act according to your capabilities’ now!”

Clemens curved his lips, barely concealing his pride: “It’s just an idiom, is it that difficult?”

One crab leg after another was peeled, and one cup of sake after another was drunk. The sake didn’t feel like much while drinking, but Clemens didn’t know that this kind of alcohol had a strong kick. Even when he left the banquet hall, he was still clear-headed, boasting about the success of his previous film with witty remarks. But not long after leaving the banquet hall, his steps began to falter, and the chubby young man in front of him turned into several blurry figures, moving back and forth.

Lin Shen exclaimed, “Clemens!”

Old Liu walked by, frowning: “Drinking when you can’t handle it? Little fatty, take him to his room, leave him alone, let him sober up by himself.”

Lin Shen nodded vigorously. Fortunately, being chubby and strong, he had always possessed great strength. Even if this tall man was dead drunk and slumped, he could still barely manage to lift him towards the room.

They encountered a few staff members along the way, but upon seeing it was Clemens, they seemed displeased and weren’t too eager to help. Clemens’s unpopularity was fully exposed at this moment. The chubby young man exerted immense effort and finally managed to carry him into the room, gently placing him on the bed, then quickly went to the washroom to find a towel.

He gently wiped that handsome, sharply defined face. Only when no one else was around did he dare to gaze so intently at this person.

They all said that Clemens Holt was a dissolute and arrogant person. But he was grateful for this person’s arrogance. If not for that layer of aloofness and cold arrogance on the outside, how many people would discover this person’s kindness, how many people would fall in love with him?

“Clemens…”

“Clemens… Holt…”

“Clemens…”

Having no right to love this person, then he would stay in the darkness, watching silently.

As long as he could watch him, and call out his name, it was an immeasurable stroke of luck.

This was the first person he ever loved, the only person he had ever loved in his life, and his first love, which he had to hide with all his might every day.

So when this person groggily opened his eyes, grabbed his hand, and suddenly kissed him, his eyes widened in surprise, but the next moment, he pushed the person away in panic.

A drunken person had little strength. Clemens frowned slightly, but his lips approached again.

His voice trembled, and he couldn’t help but ask, “Clemens, what are you doing… you… do you know who I am…?”

“Little fatty…”

The next kiss, he could no longer refuse.

This was the person he loved most, the only person he had ever loved in his life. When that person did nothing, just burst in, he was in unspeakable pain. The area instantly tore, and blood gushed out. But he still had no complaints, enduring the pain, letting the other violently and wildly impact his body.

There was no pleasure at all from beginning to end. Blood kept flowing, and the wound had no chance to heal because this person kept impacting it. He was like a beast that only knew how to mate, just completing a physiological process. Beneath him, who was this person he was doing, what was the meaning?

---

All night long, Lin Shen was in a daze. Each time he fainted from pain, he was woken up by the continuous actions. By dawn, the person finally ended an entire night of torture, collapsing onto him and falling asleep. But that thing was still inside his body, and every move caused piercing pain, forcing him to just bear it.

He didn’t know when he fell asleep, but a loud sound slowly woke Lin Shen. He struggled to open his eyes, only to see that he was alone in the bed. The handsome blond director was utterly horrified, holding the blanket, he sat on the floor, trembling as he pointed a finger at him.

“You… you, you…”

Clemens was so terrified he couldn’t even utter a complete sentence. Lin Shen wanted to speak, but his throat was filled with a metallic taste of blood, unable to make a sound.

One lay on the bed, the other sat on the floor, staring at each other.

Ten minutes later, Clemens covered his face with his hand, quickly put on his clothes, and walked towards the living room. Before long, Lin Shen heard a sound from the living room, seemingly a phone call. After a while, Clemens moved step by step to the side of the bed. He looked at the blood-soaked sheets, seemingly a little incredulous.

“Yesterday… yesterday I was drunk, did I force you?”

Saying this sentence had already exhausted Clemens Holt.

Lin Shen could finally speak. His body ached as if it had fallen apart, especially his backside, which was so sore it couldn’t close. His legs trembled powerlessly in the air. As if unable to bear the sight, Clemens quickly found a blanket and covered Lin Shen. Lin Shen’s voice was hoarse and unpleasant as he said, “It’s nothing… Clemens, I’m fine.”

Clemens covered his face and cursed softly in French: “Fck, you’re fine… I’m fcking not!”

Lin Shen didn’t hear that clearly. Fortunately, Old Liu had given the crew a day off today, so no one noticed their absence. Perhaps because of his good physical condition, last night’s sex had brought Lin Shen no pleasure at all, even worse than rape, but by the afternoon, he was able to get out of bed, albeit with trembling legs.

He hadn’t eaten all day. Clemens didn’t leave the room, nor did he use the kitchen in the room or order room service. He stayed in the living room, talking on the phone with someone. Finally, Lin Xuan got out of bed, his legs trembling as he walked into the kitchen and started to cook for them.

The physical pain and inner satisfaction formed a stark contrast.

Last night, he was with the person he loved most. Although it was due to drunkenness, this person knew who he was, and this person actively wanted to make love to him. That was already the most unforgettable moment of his life.

“He likes good-looking people… should I lose weight…”

The chubby young man muttered as he cooked porridge. His face was shockingly pale, his lips also white, but there was a somewhat sickly red on his cheeks, clearly indicating a slight fever.

After cooking some porridge and preparing some side dishes, the chubby young man carried the plates and walked towards the living room. Just as he reached the corner and before entering, he suddenly heard a sound from inside. The voice was frantic and agitated, furiously cursing in fluent French, as if wanting to kill someone to vent his anger.

“You still dare to laugh? I slept with him, I haven’t been attracted to so many supermodels and celebrities all these years, and then I actually slept with him?! Do you know how fat he is? His weight must be more than his height! Shit!”

“Charlie, if you laugh one more time, I’m immediately flying back to Los Angeles to kill you. Damn it, he’s so fat, he’s a pig! Charlie, I slept with a pig, your childhood friend slept with a pig, do you believe it? I, Clemens Holt, slept with a pig… Shit! Shit! Shit! Damn it, you’re still laughing, why don’t you just die!”

Lin Shen’s body stiffened on the spot. He held the warm porridge and dishes, standing dumbfounded at the living room corner.

“Yes, I did tell you that I thought he was pretty good. But that’s a pig! You haven’t seen him, he’s like a walking lump of fat! I actually did a lump of fat? How could I do a lump of fat! Oh shit! I can’t believe what happened to me last night, how could I do him!”

“I can’t take it anymore, I’m going back to Los Angeles, I’m going back. This is f***ing disgusting, so disgusting that I don’t want to see pork for the rest of my life. Hurry up and book me a flight. I can’t stand it anymore. If I stay with him for another second, I’ll die. Charlie, if you don’t want to see me turn into a vengeful ghost and come find you, shut your damn mouth now and wait for me to tear you to shreds when I get back to Los Angeles. What in the world was I blind to, to get on this lump of fat! I’d rather get AIDS like that damn Pistor, at least I’d be with a bunch of beautiful men and women, not this lump of flesh! Yes, you heard me right, even getting AIDS is better than sleeping with a pig…”

The voice stopped abruptly. The furious expression on his face hadn’t completely faded as Clemens gritted his teeth, suppressing the sorrow and indignation in his heart. He looked at the chubby young man standing in the corner. After a long moment, he quietly asked in French, “How long have you been there?”

The chubby young man walked into the living room with the tray, his face shockingly pale, as if he had been gravely ill. He forced a smile: “Clemens, what did you just say?”