has their secrets. Chu Qi never imagined that one day he would hear such a story, and that the protagonist of the story would be Lin Xuan.

In the Qin Fenfen group, Lin Xuan has always been the most optimistic and cheerful one. To put it nicely, he’s sunny and outgoing; to put it less nicely, he’s a bit naive. That’s why Wen Xuan always teases him, and the other members of the group often joke with him and “bully” him.

Although Rong Xu is actually the youngest in the group, Lin Xuan is the one truly treated like a child.

When telling this story, Lin Xuan was very calm. His hands rested on the steering wheel, his eyes lowered, looking straight ahead. Occasionally, cars would speed past quickly, but all the splendor outside the car window had no connection to the inside. In the quiet car, only a hoarse voice softly sounded.

Lin Xuan described the events of fourteen years ago very simply. He was like an outsider, merely objectively recounting a story. His rationality told him that he should have almost forgotten such distant events. Even when talking to Chu Qi about Clemens’s words, he could state them calmly.

But when he spoke those words of Clemens, he articulated them clearly and slowly, one word at a time. Fourteen years had passed, yet he hadn’t forgotten a single word.

Those words were like a brand, carved into his heart with a sharp dagger. Blood flowed down, the scars mottled and horrifying. Perhaps from the moment they were spoken, his life would never be able to forget them.

“Actually, I understand. I can understand him. I was so ugly, and he was so good, with so many people who liked him. When something like that suddenly happened, he definitely couldn’t accept it.” 

A soft voice slowly filled the car. “I understand, I understand it all. So, Brother Chu, I can’t hate him, but I also don’t want to have any more contact with him. The role he gave me, I don’t want it. That night, I slept with him not to get an acting opportunity; I just genuinely wanted to do it.”

Chu Qi opened his mouth, but found he couldn’t speak.

---

Despite being over thirty, his baby face was incredibly deceptive, looking like a twenty-year-old youth. Lin Xuan raised his face, smiling as he continued, “I understand him, and I’ve never hated him. I know he’s that kind of person, and he wasn’t wrong. I really am a pig, and he should feel disgusted doing that kind of thing with me, he wasn’t wrong…”

“Enough!”

Lin Xuan paused, looking at his senior friend who could be his father.

Chu Qi couldn’t articulate what he felt. His daughter was in her teens and in a relationship this year. Putting himself in Lin Xuan’s shoes, if his daughter had experienced such a thing: at eighteen, pursuing her dreams with a sincere heart, walking alone amidst everyone’s discrimination and disdain, only to be pushed into an abyss by the person she trusted and loved most.

Then he would want to tear that person apart right now!

Without hope, there would be no such despair.

If that person had been like everyone else, never praising him, always just showing contempt and disregard, then perhaps it wouldn’t have hurt so much. But precisely after giving him hope, giving him a reason to keep trying, after calling out his name just the night before, he could, the very next morning, use such a ruthless, disgusted expression to utter sickening words.

Chu Qi couldn’t imagine how Lin Xuan had endured those years, fourteen years ago.

After that incident, Clemens used every means to suppress the matter. No one in the entire crew knew that he had been drunk and slept with his translator.

After such a thing happened, it was impossible for Lin Shen to continue being his translator. This Hollywood noble generously offered what he considered a very favorable compensation: “The male lead role in Rhys Petru’s new film, a role that quite suits your image.”

When he said this, Lin Shen was eating the porridge he had cooked himself.

Clemens wouldn’t let any crew member know what happened between them, so it was even more impossible for him to find a doctor to check the chubby young man’s wound. He also never thought of cooking, so Lin Xuan could only get out of bed and cook porridge himself.

The tearing injury behind him made it almost impossible for him to move; every movement brought excruciating pain. Fortunately, it didn’t cause more serious injury and only needed time to heal itself. So, after his first night, there was no warmth, no care or concern, but rather a supporting male lead role in a major film that fell from the sky, and an apparently sincere apology.

Clemens Holt lowered his noble head, his golden hair shining like brilliant gold in the sunlight. He said with sincere apology, “I really didn’t know I would do such a thing. Lin, I’m sorry, this was my fault. I don’t know how to compensate you, but if you ever need anything in the future, you can call me. That role really suits you. I’ve already spoken to Petru, you can just go to Italy.”

He spoke very sincerely, and in fact, for anyone who climbed into a director’s bed, this was the best possible outcome.

One night could be exchanged for a male lead role in a major film. Such an opportunity in Hollywood would attract a crowd of eager people.

Clemens was quite generous in this regard. Perhaps out of appreciation for the person himself, he was even willing to maintain communication with the other party, allowing the other party to call him. And the chubby young man didn’t refuse at the time. After his injuries had healed enough, he picked up his suitcase and slowly left the hotel, heading to the airport.

Clemens personally drove him to the airport. Seeing the chubby young man truly pass through security, he breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

“Finally gone. He should arrive in Italy tomorrow. Help me keep an eye on him… Damn it, are you still laughing? It’s been a day, and you’re still laughing at me? Although I can’t believe I got drunk and slept with a fat person, but Charlie, I swear, if you laugh one more time, I’ll tear you limb from limb.”

“Alright, stop laughing. Actually, he’s not a bad person. If it hadn’t… if that hadn’t happened, I’d have been happy to introduce him to you. Alright, don’t mention it again, just hearing it gives me goosebumps all over. Once he finishes that film, I won’t owe him anything…”

At this point, the chubby young man, who had already passed through the security checkpoint, turned around and smiled, waving to the outside. Clemens was momentarily stunned. After a while, he extended his hand and waved back casually, only glancing at the chubby young man before turning back to continue his phone call with his childhood friend.

“Yes, I don’t owe him anything. One night for a male lead role, according to the rules of that circle, I should have given too much, right…”

If Clemens had looked back at that moment, perhaps he wouldn’t have turned away so resolutely. The chubby young man, who had just smiled and waved at him, stood at the security exit with a heavy bag, staring at him unblinkingly.

Tears involuntarily streamed from his eyes. He repeatedly raised his hand to wipe them away, but they never stopped flowing.

He watched that tall figure gradually disappear from sight. The bright sunlight streamed through the airport window. From then on, all Clemens Holt left for this chubby young man was a receding back and that golden hair that seemed to burn.

Clemens, of course, never imagined that this would be the last time he saw the chubby young man.

Lin Shen certainly didn’t go to play the so-called male lead, and he didn’t even go to Italy. The chubby young man completely disappeared. 

Initially, when Clemens discovered his disappearance, he was startled and even searched for him. However, the chubby young man had no relatives or friends in Japan. He had just graduated before joining the crew as a translator, and the school had also lost contact with him.

After searching for a few days, Clemens suddenly realized: “…It’s actually good that he just disappeared?”

So, he never looked for this person again.

Several more years passed, and the name “Lin Shen” was completely forgotten by him. One high-grossing film after another elevated Clemens Holt to the status of a genius director.

Many people said: “Although Clemens Holt has a bit of a temper and is a bit arrogant, there’s one good thing about him: he never accepts backroom deals. Perhaps Mr. Holt senior’s upbringing was excellent; the Holt father and son have always adhered to this principle.”

However, no one knew that in his youth, this genius director had once slept with a crew member who wasn’t even an actor. He offered the generous compensation expected for such a deal, but the other party simply disappeared.

For fourteen years, the world no longer referred to Clemens as “Lance Holt’s son.” On the other side of the Pacific, in Huaxia, a singer named Lin Xuan also began to emerge and became an instant hit.

One was a popular director, the other a rising singer. By all appearances, the two should have no connection.

In fact, for fourteen years, the two truly had no further contact.

How many fourteen years are there in a lifetime?

Fourteen years is two seven-year itches.

Even if they met again, what then?

When that moment truly arrived, meeting the other person again, Lin Xuan was no longer as impulsive and reckless as he once was. The moment he saw the person, his blood indeed froze, and he couldn’t breathe. But shortly after, he could still manage to pretend as if nothing had happened and greet the person.

But he never could have imagined that this person would actively pursue him.

“The first time I saw you in New Zealand, I thought, perhaps you are the one I’ve been looking for…”

—That’s a pig! You haven’t seen him, he’s just a walking lump of fat!

“I really like you. It’s hard to describe this feeling, but from the moment I first saw you, I felt a strong connection.”

—He’s so fat, he’s a pig! I slept with a pig!

Chu Qi extended his arms, embracing the young man who had burst into tears again, like a father, gently comforting him: “You are wonderful, Lin Xuan, you are a hundred times better than Clemens Holt. A person like him doesn’t deserve your affection. The you now, is so beautiful that he can only look up to you.”