Chapter 119

Chen Nuo felt like he hadn't been home for a very, very long time.

Long'an is a small city, about a two-hour drive from Chengdu and roughly the same distance from Chongqing. A winding river flows through the middle of the city, dividing the whole of Long'an into two halves.

One side is the new city, the other is the old city.

Starting from 2006, most Chinese cities were like this. Using one half to carry the past, and starting the other half to create the future.

Chen Nuo's home was at the peak of the past.

An 18-story riverside luxury mansion, not including the area of the rooftop garden, totaling nearly 400 square meters across two floors. When Shi Ningwei came, he only saw the reception hall and didn't see the dining room meant solely for the family of three; otherwise, he would have understood why Pan Chengrong didn't like hiring a nanny.

It wasn't for any other reason, but because most people in this situation easily develop a hatred for the rich, leading to gossip everywhere. Saying crazy things like the dinner plates and spoons were made of silver. In fact, there were only a few sets, and they were souvenirs Chen Bicheng and Pan Chengrong brought back from their travels in Europe!

But when Young Master Chen returned home, the souvenirs became practical items.

As soon as the door opened, Chen Nuo heard Pan Chengrong call out, "Is that my son?"

Immediately, he heard the sound of her slippers shuffling toward the entrance.

After running for about a minute, Pan Chengrong arrived. She was over 40 and not young anymore; having run so far, she didn't even stop to rest. After catching her breath slightly, she immediately hugged Chen Nuo and said tearfully, "Son, you've worked hard out there. You didn't even come back to rest after starting university. You must get a good rest this time."

Chen Nuo planned to do just that. Because after this rest, he would let himself work hard for a very long time. Come to think of it, he still didn't know how to bring it up to Chen Bicheng and Pan Chengrong.

However, now wasn't the time to talk about that. He smiled and hugged his mother, then followed her upstairs, turning five or six corners and passing seven or eight rooms before arriving at their family dining room. The table shimmered with silver, set with antique tableware bought back from Europe. In the middle was a large carved silver bowl filled with bright red soup, with snow-white frog legs and pale yellow young ginger floating inside.

After finishing this meal, Chen Nuo completely stepped out of character.

Jeremy getting to eat diving frog? You've got to be kidding.

There was less than a week left before the New Year. By rights, they should go to Beijing to pay New Year's greetings to Li Er and Zhang Yi. But at this very moment, Chen Nuo truly couldn't leave the house.

He went home and got online, only to realize how lively the internet was and how difficult it was for him to move a single step in reality.

At this time, after some hype from the media, in 2006—before the era of superhero movies had arrived—Batman could be said to have leaped to become the most famous superhero in China. Superman, Ultraman, Sailor Moon—they weren't even fit to tie Batman's shoes, leading many who didn't know better to think that he, Chen Nuo, was going to replace Christian Bale.

These bandwagon-jumping, unscrupulous accounts, in order to grab eyeballs, wrote titles on their blogs that had nothing to do with the content, saying things that were sickeningly sweet.

For example, titles like "Letting you go act, yet you rely on your face to kill your way through Hollywood?", "I'm already playing Batman, and you're still telling me to go back to school?", "Chen Nuo teaches you how to counter-attack life starting from a vocational high school."

These were considered subtle; more blunt ones made Chen Nuo's hair stand on end, such as: "You've already made it to Hollywood, who still wants Liu Yifei?", "Chinese Entertainment: Starting from 2006 to become an international A-list superstar", "Starting off by playing the world's number one superhero."

These messy blogs that didn't even know what he was actually acting in and were purely for clicks were one thing.

The key was that a vast majority of professionals had also joined in this feast.

Chen Nuo saw a blogger called 'Shi Hua Shi Shuo'. He had read this person's film reviews before; they were almost all photos with very little text.

This time, he actually churned out a long film review, the whole thing blowing smoke in various ways, giving off a feeling that if the heavens hadn't birthed Chen Sun, Hollywood would have remained in eternal darkness.

Chen Nuo looked at these irresponsible boasts, and his heart went cold.

How similar was this to when he was most popular in his past life?

It started with praise, and then came the slaughter.

First online slaughter, then face-to-face slaughter.

Just like on the plane before, this time he was lucky and met two girls. But what if he met two jealous men next time?

Or did it mean that he, Chen Sun, had to travel in first class from now on, and after first class, he should take a private jet?

Surrounded by crowds, with at least seven bodyguards clearing the way and eight security guards protecting him? Walking everywhere wearing a hat and mask, head down, afraid that others would look at him too much?

The more Chen Nuo thought about it, the bigger his headache became.

Regarding the fans, he had been stalling since the morning *Blind Shaft* was released, and he hadn't found any good solution. Actually, there wasn't one now either, but he felt he couldn't go on like this; he couldn't let himself stay in the limelight anymore.

Low profile, must keep a low profile. During this time, he had to be so low-profile that no one could find him, and wait until the storm passed.

He flipped through other blogs; most were similar. Before, there were some contrarians like 'Yi Xi Jiu Se' or 'Gou Xiong Bai Bao Gu', but this time, who knew if it was because Warner's reputation was too loud, or if his, Chen Sun's, prestige was already at its zenith. In any case, these people were all silent, not even a bubble popped up.

Are they too cowardly? It's just the internet, what are you afraid of?

Chen Nuo sighed in frustration and was about to close the page when his eyes suddenly lit up.

He saw an article titled "Does such a person deserve to be an actor?" hanging on the click-rate leaderboard. Because the title wasn't too sensational and didn't contain the words 'Chen Nuo', he had actually missed it at first.

Looking closely now, he saw the author's name was quite unique: 'Chen Nuo is my ex-boyfriend'.

Worthy of an article with nearly 400,000 clicks, the content inside was written very realistically, with not only emotion but also details.

"I was so stupid back then, really. I didn't know there were such fickle boys in the world. When he pursued me, he said it so sincerely, saying he would only love me in this life. From then on, there was only me in his eyes. But what was the result? He secretly hid it from me and was dating four or five other girls in the same grade. When I heard this news from a classmate, it was like a bolt from the blue; the sky had collapsed."

"Have you ever tried the feeling of being betrayed by someone you truly loved? I have. Chen Nuo is the person who gave me that feeling. I still remember, back then, for his sake, I bought him breakfast every day. I knew he liked soy milk with fried dough sticks the most, so I specially brought a bowl for him. Before the morning study session, on the rooftop of the teaching building, I watched him break the dough sticks into pieces and put them into the soy milk. At that time, I was so happy; I thought I would never love anyone else in my life."

"But affection is always troubled by indifference; the falling flowers have intent, but the flowing water has none. I thought he was my only one, but I didn't expect that I was only one-fifth of his. And his girlfriends weren't just in the first year; throughout the whole high school, from the second year to the third year, he had girlfriends. In the end, the matter became bigger and bigger, and he couldn't face anyone, so he transferred schools. Later, when I saw his photo on the internet, I simply couldn't believe my eyes."

"This man actually transformed and became some actor and star! May I ask everyone, does such a shameless and fickle man deserve to be an actor, deserve to be a star?"

While reading, Chen Nuo was recalling in his mind who this woman was.

After all, for him, it was a past event from 20 years ago. He thought for a while but couldn't think of anyone who had brought him breakfast, and besides, you couldn't get onto the rooftop of the No. 6 Middle School teaching building, right?

Forget it, it might be a sin committed when he was young. He had forgotten it, but now it had come knocking at his door.

But Chen Nuo wasn't panicked; he was even a little happy.

Losing fans? A collapsed career? He wasn't afraid of that.

He had already broken into the small circle of Hollywood; was he afraid of this little bit of mess?

If you told this to men and women all over the US, 99% of men would only say with envy, "What a beautiful youth." 99% of women would only care about whether he was the captain of the football team. This kind of pure love didn't even count as a scandal on the other side of the ocean.

Being able to have fewer domestic brainless fans and 'love fans' because of this—Chen Sun, who wasn't planning on sleeping with fans, was exactly what he wanted.

As a result, he excitedly opened the comment section, and the first comment gave him a blow to the head.

"Those who like my comment can all be Chen Nuo's ex-girlfriends." 5,831 likes, 721 comments.

The second one: "Who gave you permission to resign from *Zhiyin*?" 3,921 likes, 121 comments.

The third one: "Do you have his high school photos?" 1,921 likes, 98 comments.

The fourth one: "Well written, but the part about bringing a bowl is a bit fake." 681 likes, 221 comments.

The fifth one: "Blogger, please post pictures. My 'Nuo-addiction' is acting up." 581 likes, 12 comments.

Chen Nuo didn't want to look anymore when he saw this. What the hell is 'Nuo-addiction'?

He checked the time; it was just past 8 PM, not too early, not too late. He took out his phone and called Li Er.

It rang twice, and the other side picked up.

Li Er didn't seem to be able to sense Chen Nuo's mood; her voice when answering the phone was quite calm: "Hello, Chen Nuo?"

"Yes, Teacher Li, it's me."

Li Er asked: "Where are you now?"

"I'm in Sichuan. I was planning to go over to pay you New Year's greetings in the next two days..."

Before he could finish, he was interrupted by Li Er: "What New Year's greetings? Just stay home properly. If it weren't for the school holiday, I wouldn't have had a moment of peace these past few days. By the way, where is Qi Yuntian? Why didn't he come back?"

Chen Nuo talked about what happened in Hong Kong: "There was only one ticket, so Brother Qi could only take tomorrow's flight."

Li Er said "Oh" and asked: "So, do you have something to tell me by calling? Just say it directly."

"Teacher Li, it's like this..." Chen Nuo explained his plans over the phone.

"You're saying that in order to experience the character and play the Joker well, you're going to the US alone after the New Year?"

"Yes."

"Do your parents agree?" "I haven't told them yet. I'm worried they won't agree, so I'm not planning to tell them."

Li Er was simply incredulous: "Chen Nuo, do you mean you think I would agree? Let me tell you, if Qi Yuntian supports your idea, I'll break his legs when he gets back."

Chen Nuo could only smile bitterly: "Teacher Li, Director Nolan gave me very high requirements."

Li Er was silent for a moment and said: "I can understand your thoughts, but I don't agree with your approach. You can experience life anywhere, whether in China or the US; there isn't much difference for the people at the bottom. If you really want to experience life, I can find a place for you."

Since it had come to this, Chen Nuo had no choice but to agree that after the New Year, he would go to Beijing with Chen Bicheng and Pan Chengrong, and they would sit down and discuss it then.

However, what was going on with Qi Yuntian? It had been so long, and he hadn't replied to his texts or answered his calls. Could he have been kidnapped in Hong Kong? Just as he was thinking this, Qi Yuntian's call came through.

"Hello, Chen Nuo, I can't handle this person Wen Yongshan."

Hearing the somewhat dejected tone of Chief Manager Qi, Chen Nuo asked in surprise: "What's wrong? You need to speak clearly."

"Wen Yongshan is desperate to see you. She said you promised to meet her in Hong Kong, but in the end, you were only a wall away, yet you ran off. The little girl can't take it and insists that I bring her to find you, saying she'll return to Hong Kong after seeing you once. You tell me what to do."

What was the big deal? Chen Nuo didn't think meeting Wen Yongshan was a chore. On the contrary, after not seeing her for a while, he even felt a sense of wanting to regroup. Besides, he had indeed broken his word this time; they had agreed to meet in Hong Kong, but he hadn't even left the airport before hurriedly boarding a plane and running off. It was unreasonable no matter how you looked at it.

"Then bring her here."

Qi Yuntian said irritably: "If it were that simple, I would have brought her long ago. The key is that I'm afraid Chengdu isn't safe and word will get out."

Chen Nuo thought for a moment and said: "Then bring her to Long'an."

Qi Yuntian exclaimed: "Holy crap! What, meeting the parents? Are you for real?"

Chen Nuo said irritably: "Do you think only my family lives in Long'an? Big brother, there are several counties under the city of Long'an; counting them up, there are millions of people. If I take her and hide in some place, who would know?"

That sounded very reasonable, so Qi Yuntian didn't say anything more.

After hanging up the phone, a few minutes later—presumably having received notice from Chief Manager Qi—Princess Wen's call came through.

The surprise and joy in her voice over the phone were something Chen Nuo felt no actor could perform; at least, he couldn't.

After chatting with Wen Yongshan for a while, even he was infected by her emotions and started to feel some anticipation.

Although there were no reporters watching him, Qi Yuntian had truly tried his best to avoid ears and eyes. He set off from Hong Kong with Wen Yongshan at 7:30 in the morning, arrived in Chengdu at 10:00, took a taxi at the airport, and arrived in Long'an County before 1:00 PM.

As it turned out, despite what he said nicely to Chen Nuo on the phone—that he would let him wait at the entrance of the residential complex and he would bring Wen Yongshan over—the two of them got off the taxi several stops away from Chen Nuo's house.

The Chengdu taxi driver had taken the wrong road to Long'an and dumped them in this urban-rural fringe area, then stepped on the gas and drove off with a 'biu', leaving Qi Yuntian and Wen Yongshan looking left and right, feeling that the scenery didn't match what Chen Nuo had described.

Fortunately, there was a bus stop on the side of the road. Qi Yuntian went over to study it and found that taking a bus for five stops would get them to the place name Chen Nuo mentioned. At this time, the bus arrived, so there was no need to hail another taxi. Wen Yongshan followed Qi Yuntian onto the bus.

This was Wen Yongshan's first time coming to the mainland, her first time coming to Sichuan, and even more so, her first time coming to a fifth-tier small city like Long'an.

She sat in a window seat, tilting her head to watch outside the window. Everything before her eyes made her feel so novel.

These unfamiliar streets were a completely different sight from Hong Kong, and different from Chengdu, which she had passed through in a whirlwind visit earlier.

They looked like the Hong Kong of the 60s she had seen in her parents' old photos, as if they were relics of an old era.

Along the way, there were dusty old houses, tall and short, made of cement and brick. She could see that some of the red bricks or gray walls of the houses were covered in vines, all carrying a peculiar charm, like oil paintings, flashing past her eyes rapidly.

So this was his hometown.

The old city washed by time—Wen Yongshan felt that, like him, it exuded a detached and profound charm from its very bones, making people unable to stop themselves from sinking into it.

Wen Yongshan gazed at the mottled scenery outside the window, thinking of the boy she was about to meet, and for some reason, a gentle sadness welled up in her heart.

Buddha says there are eight sufferings in the human world; one is the suffering of being separated from loved ones, and another is the suffering of not getting what one seeks.

She now knew the taste of it deeply.

Sitting in front of Wen Yongshan were four teenagers around 20 years old, who were now staring at her, dumbfounded.

Several of them were third-year high school students who had just graduated last year. They attended the best provincial key middle school in the city, Long'an No. 6 Middle School. Their college entrance exam scores were all very good, and they all got into key universities. Now they were scattered all over the country for college. They were on holiday and had just happened to make an appointment to meet up today.

When Wen Yongshan followed Qi Yuntian onto the bus, they were originally chatting excitedly about interesting things in college, especially the one who got into Fudan; he was talking about his future prospects with great enthusiasm.

"I'm determined to go into semiconductors. I've already made up my mind, I won't turn back. I'll dedicate my life to this in this lifetime; I won't give up until I achieve something, and I absolutely won't talk about having a girlfriend."

The other three small fries from Sichuan University, Chongqing University, and Huazhong University of Science and Technology could only sigh silently on the side, deeply hating themselves for not scoring a few more points in the college entrance exam so they could brag in public like that too.

Then Wen Yongshan got on the bus.

The Fudan semiconductor big shot suddenly opened his mouth wide, as if he had seen a 0.01-nanometer chip; his eyes went straight. The few small fries weren't qualified and didn't dare to stare as directly as the big shot, but their peripheral vision darted back and forth, and they exchanged glances from time to time.

A fairy sister!

Influenced slightly by Chen Nuo, Wen Yongshan's makeup had gradually become light and natural. At this moment, a beauty PK unfolded rapidly in the minds of the several young men.

Prettier than Ruby Lin, prettier than Gillian Chung, prettier than Charlene Choi, prettier than Kyoko Fukada, prettier than Wang Yuyan, prettier than Li Yu... cough, slightly worse than Vivian Chow and Joey Wong.

Finally, she stood in the top three.

The top three women of your life suddenly appeared before your eyes, and there seemed to be a trace of sorrow in her eyes, as if some annoying worry was lingering in her heart, making her look dejected... What would you do?

The four boys looked at each other, and their eyes all revealed the same meaning.

Should we go comfort her and get her phone number while we're at it?

It's a pity, just as the big shot finally summoned the courage, stood up tremblingly, and prepared to launch a charge at the most beautiful goddess he had ever seen in his life.

The goddess suddenly looked at a certain point outside the window, the corners of her lips curled up, and she smiled happily.

The girl's smile was like the ray of dawn piercing through the clouds above the Golden Summit of Mount Emei, descending from the sky, washing away countless sorrowful clouds and mist, bright and dazzling, making the eyes of the several boys almost unable to open.

The four people stared with wide eyes, only feeling an itchy and numb sensation in their hearts, as if a cat's claws were scratching their hearts, and as if some sour and salty emotions were rolling around. If they couldn't possess her, they would hate not being able to engrave this smile in their minds, and when they were seventy or eighty, take it out to tell their grandchildren that Grandpa saw a beauty when he was young.

Subsequently, they turned their heads in unison to look outside the slowing bus, wanting to know what exactly could make a goddess smile so beautifully.

"Grass!" the big shot cursed.

"Grass, grass, grass!" the three small fries also cursed.

Unexpectedly, it was a familiar face. Both the big shot's and the small fries' young hearts had been deeply trampled upon in their first year of high school by the person who owned this face.

It was mostly the feeling of watching someone ride a bike while you walked.

Three years had passed, and it was actually a replay of yesterday.

The big shot couldn't remember anything about semiconductors now; the veins on his neck popped out, and he almost bit his teeth until they bled.

Bitch, I must go register another 'ex-girlfriend' account tonight and post another blog. If I don't smear you until you're covered in shit, I'll stop hatching eggs!

From beginning to end, Wen Yongshan didn't even glance at the big shot and the small fries. She didn't care how other people looked at her or thought of her.

There was only that figure who had suddenly appeared in her eyes.

The moment she saw Chen Nuo, Wen Yongshan suddenly felt that being thousands of miles apart wasn't so bad.

At least, I crossed mountains and seas to rush toward you, and you should always be waiting for me on the side of the road.

Solemn declaration: The beauty comparison in the text is only the opinion of the small fries! It does not represent the author's own position.

PS:

Don't say I'm too literary.

The three chapters for today are finished, I'm going to continue typing.

The recommendation is gone.

Sigh, I can only endure it from here on out.

(End of chapter)