Chapter 553: Fixated on Yu Yuanxi’s Left Pec
F*ck!
What the hell was going on?
Since when was Zhou Zhen known to kiss *ss?
Who was this fan of Yu Yuanxi to transform the presumptuous Zhou Zhen into a well-behaved lapdog? She basically had Zhou Zhen licking from the palm of her hand!
Back in the dressing room, Shen Xi had requested those in the know to keep her identity a secret to avoid unwanted attention. Her status as Ms. Cai Ni carried weight in the entertainment industry.
The director, Wang Cai, and the associate director exchanged a glance, well aware that they had no way to sway Shen Xi’s mind if she really did not want to do the shoot.
“Are you hungry, my idol?” Ruan Sisi was buttering Shen Xi up, getting all over her face. “What do you want to eat? I can get it for you now. Do you like something spicy or sweet?”
Shen Xi remained aloof. “No need.”
Ruan Sisi was not at all discouraged. Blind to Shen Xi’s indifference, she was as zealous as ever. “You must be thirsty. Do you want bubble tea or coffee?”
In the flesh!
It was Ms. Cai Ni, for real!
Never in her wildest dreams that Ruan Sisi would one day have a conversation with her idol. With happiness sweeping her off of her feet, Ruan Sisi’s heart was still racing.
Shen Xi replied, “Not thirsty.”
Ruan Sisi continued. “What do you need? Let me know.”
Shen Xi answered, “I need you to stay away from me.”
After much hesitation and internal struggle, Ruan Sisi took a tiny step back.
Shen Xi darted her a chilling look.
Retreating with another step, Ruan Sisi gazed at her with a pout. “I backed away.”
Zhou Zhen knew how to take a cue better than Ruan Sisi. She ran over to pull Ruan Sisi away. “Your idol needs to memorize and run lines. Come over later.”
Zhou Zhen’s voice was loud enough for Shen Xi to hear and portrayed herself as sensible.
Shen Xi was surprised that the woman who hated her guts a minute ago was now clinging onto her like glue. She did not love or hate the change since it was a good thing to have admirers. It was hard for Shen Xi to snub people who sincerely took to her.
Ruan Sisi moved two meters away before stopping, refusing to take another inch. She eagerly watched Shen Xi with sparkling eyes of adoration.
Oh my gawd!
Her idol had such smoldering good looks!
She was so charming and attractive when she was hard at work!
Her idol was a goddess with such beauty and talent!
Since Zhou Zhen meant to befriend Shen Xi, all the grudge and hatred came and went rather quickly. With all these negative feelings gone after finding out that she was Ms. Cai Ni, Zhou Zhen only had favors to curry on her mind.
As the daughter of the richest man in K County, Ruan Sisi came from money. She did not look down on Zhou Zhen despite her social status and became close friends. The silly girl was not a snob toward one’s position in society when it came to friendships. It all boiled down to whether she clicked with the other party since no one was richer than her.
Ruan Sisi was not particularly interested in starring in a movie and only came along for the ride. If she really wanted to star in a movie and enter the world of entertainment, she could get her dad to splurge the dough. Since she was her dad’s only daughter, Ruan Sisi was bound to inherit all the family assets.
Zhou Zhen brought up about getting her a role with lines to get on Ruan Sisi’s good side when the latter said she wanted to come along.
At first, Zhou Zhen was worried to break the news that Ruan Sisi was replaced, but luckily, her replacement happened to be Ms. Cai Ni. It was a blessing in disguise after all. Not only would Ruan Sisi not blame her for it, but the former would also thank Zhou Zhen for uniting her with her idol.
Ruan Sisi was indeed grateful toward Zhou Zhen for having been the catalyst to meeting her idol. Otherwise, it would be an eternity before she could meet Ms. Cai Ni in person.
Despite the many strings she pulled, Ruan Sisi was unsuccessful to have a close encounter with Ms. Cai Ni, unlike the many celebrities she could summon to her birthday by footing the bill.
Ruan Sisi held these money-grabbing stars in contempt and labeled them as spineless performers who bent over backward for money.
She also shared the same sentiments to those who took her money but refused to attend her event. What the hell? Where was the service after payment was made? These celebrities sure thought they were all that.
Ruan Sisi was most appreciative of her idol who was unlocatable and kept away from the public eye. No money could buy her idol.
Of course, Ruan Sisi was aware of the rumors going around in the circle. Li Jingran the Movie Star had once rolled the big bucks to hire Ms. Cai Ni as her stylist but Ms. Cai Ni would not give her the time of day. Film stars or not, her idol could not give a sh*t. Now, that was some character.
Shen Xi was running lines with Yu Yuanxi. The scene was focused on Yu Yuanxi’s character, Xue Chenhuan, who was left to die in a pile of corpses after suffering fatal injuries and was dreaming about his mother, Ling Yao. This was the only time Ling Yao made an appearance.
He dreamed of his mother dressing his wounds and softly calling out his name to keep him awake from drifting into unconsciousness.
With the production all set, Wang Cai called Yu Yuanxi and Shen Xi in while the others watched in a corner.
It never occurred to Yun Jinping that a visit to the set would end with her daughter being dragged to act in the movie. As a matter of fact, she was delighted as her daughter was the best. She stood out wherever she went and even the director picked up on her extraordinariness.
The other fans looked at Shen Xi with envy. Sob sob sob. To act alongside their idols was a dream come true.
Over on this side, Ruan Sisi was stopped from running after her idol. Sniffling in discontent, she bit her lips and welled up in the eyes.
Zhou Zhen offered her comfort. “You can go and talk to her when the scene is over.”
Struck by a thought, Ruan Sisi whispered into Zhou Zhen’s ear. “That reminds me. I’ve got updates about your biological parents.”
Zhenzhen asked Ruan Sisi to look into her roots and the parents who abandoned her. Ruan Sisi received news that the investigators would soon be able to get to the bottom of this, now that they had a lead.
Hearing this, Zhou Zhen’s face turned sullen. There was no joy, but only hatred and bitterness. She nodded and hummed a single syllable in acknowledgment.
Zhou Zhen wanted to look for them, not to have a family to return to but to see the kind of scum who bailed out on her. She neither harbored love nor longing; nothing but resentment for the people who left her behind.
On set, Xue Chenhuan lay in a pool of blood on his last breath.
With Ling Yao removing his body from the heavy armory, his blood-soaked undershirt was revealed. Underneath the layer of innerwear was a monstrous cut in the chest.
The watching fans were moved to tears by the duo’s acting. Despite the urge to keep on staring, they could not help but turn red in the face out of the bashfulness. They were not in the mood to appreciate the great performance as their eyes were drawn to the frontal view of their idol’s muscular pecs and abs. Oh, if only they could run their fingers down that burly physique.
Yun Jinping, on the other hand, was fixated on Yu Yuanxi’s left pec. Her body shook as color washed off her complexion. As though she lost her mind, she abruptly crashed onto the duo’s scene.
Chapter 554: I Finally Found You
Yun Jinping came on too fast and too sudden for the nearby He Xiang and few fans to react, let alone the production crew.
By the time the staff members could stop anyone from entering the set, Yun Jinping had already made it through to the other side.
Yun Jinping stumbled her way over before she kneeled beside Yu Yuanxi with tears running down her face. Her body trembled as she whimpered, too choked up for words.
Shen Xi froze, misreading that Yun Jinping believed the blood all over Yu Yuanxi was real. She jumped in to explain, “It’s okay, Mom. It’s fake. The blood is not real.”
On second thought, Shen Xi thought that was not the case as Mom was not unmindful to the world of acting to interrupt mid-scene.
Yu Yuanxi was caught off guard. He was heartbroken and flustered by the teary-eyed Yun Jinping who kept staring at his chest yet could not get a word out. “What’s wrong, Mrs. Shen?”
Without a word, Yun Jinping stared blankly at Yu Yuanxi’s chest while reaching out her shaking arm to touch it. Suddenly, she stopped and let out a raspy sob.
The people around followed her hand to Yu Yuanxi’s pecs. Apart from the blood, there was something of a dark shade on his chest. If their guess was right, it must be a mother’s mark.
From afar, it was hard to distinguish the color and shape of the birthmark.
Others might not be able to see it, but Shen Xi who was at close quarters could. The congenital mark was in a darker shade of red in contrast to the blood stain. It was the birthmark of a soaring bird.
It was like her mind exploded. Shen Xi widened her eyes in disbelief at Yu Yuanxi. Even her voice was trembling. “It’s you.”
Yu Yuanxi was most confused by Yun Jinping’s reaction and the meaning behind Shen Xi’s words. All he felt was jittery.
Shen Xi could not be sure, afraid that Mom and herself might be wrong. She grabbed the clothes within reach and held down Yu Yuanxi by the arms before wiping away the blood stain on his chest.
Feeling the flush in his cheeks, Yu Yuanxi was dumbstruck. He tried to seize Shen Xi but quickly realized he was pinned down. With concerns of hurting her if he applied force, Yu Yuanxi was undecided on what to do.
A birthmark.
Dark red in color.
It appeared like a bird taking flight.
There was no doubt about it.
Shen Xi turned to Yun Jinping. “Mom.”
Yun Jinping was caught in tears to even say a word as she studied the birthmark. Having ascertained her eyes were not deceiving her, she gave Yu Yuanxi a tight hug while letting out all her emotions in one word. “Zhifei.”
Yu Yuanxi stiffened, not knowing what to think and feel.
Nevertheless, he knew Shen Zhifei was Shen Xi’s older brother and Mr. and Mrs. Shen’s son who was kidnapped by human traffickers. They had been searching for him.
“I finally found you.” Yun Jinping’s voice was quaking with joy and excitement, bearing more than a decade long of hope and anticipation.
It was a mind-blowing moment for Yu Yuanxi. His eyes turned to Shen Xi and his ears picked on her words. She told him, “You’re Shen Zhifei.”
Was he Shen Zhifei?
Was he the son Mr. and Mrs. Shen had been searching for for over a decade?
What did he do to deserve their decade-long yearning and painful wait?
Many on set got the picture at last. This was a family reunion. They had no idea about the specific, but they did know that Yu Yuanxi was this beautiful lady’s son.
He Xiang was completely blown away. If Yu Yuanxi was Mrs. Shen’s son, that would make him Shen Xi’s brother.
F*ck!
Yu Yuanxi was Shen Xi’s older brother. Lil’ Chairman Shen’s older brother!
Ruan Sisi was quick-witted to pick up on the situation. Overflowed with empathy, she cried together with Yun Jinping before turning to Zhou Zhen. “That’s so nice. She found her son.”
Zhou Zhen was filled with mixed emotions, unable to put a finger on her feelings by the family finding each other. She might not know what others would do, but she knew that the circumstances would be different if she met her biological parents.
It was chaos on set as Shen Xi let out a worried cry, ensued with the curtains closed. Yun Jinping wailed until she passed out.
With no time to take care of the blood all over him, Yu Yuanxi carried Yun Jinping and rushed to the dressing room.
Shen Xi anxiously followed behind while shouting for a doctor. It seemed to slip her mind that she was a doctor herself. Having remembered that important fact when she reached the dressing room, she turned back and said, “No need for a doctor now.”
He Xiang and Ruan Sisi ran the fastest with the latter in the lead. The door slammed in her face before she could get in. Had it not been for He Xiang who pulled her back, her nose would have taken a clobber.
“What’s going on?” Ruan Sisi asked He Xiang. Zhou Zhen had informed her earlier that he was Yu Yuanxi’s manager.
“I’m not sure.” He Xiang would not have any idea either. Was he climbing up the career ladder? The first artist he was working with turned out to have quite an extraordinary background.
This was Lil’ Chairman Shen’s brother they were talking about. Was there a need to stress about resources after Yu Yuanxi’s debut? Nope!
He was a manager and a very responsible one too. Of course, he was going to consider issues from his artist’s standpoint.
Back in the dressing room.
Having regained consciousness, Yun Jinping stared at Yu Yuanxi without saying a word. While quietly meeting his eyes, she conveyed remorse, self-blame, guilt, and heartache. The tears flowing down her cheeks pulled at Yu Yuanxi’s heartstrings.
Yu Yuanxi was unable to hold down his bursting heart. There were no words.
Over the years, he had wondered what his birth parents were like and once asked himself why he strayed from them. Did they ditch him or did something happen?
“I’m sorry.” Yun Jinping’s voice was hoarse. With her trembling hands, she held his and stared him in the eye. “I’m sorry for what you went through.”
Yu Yuanxi looked back at her. The word “Mom” was a catch in his throat for a long time. His eyes were welled up and his mouth was open, yet no words escaped those lips.
What should he say? Call her Mom? He had never said this word, nor could he say it out loud.
He knew he should not resent them, or blame them, or anyone in that case. It was not that they did not want him or abandon him. Since fate played a joke on them, they had been in search of him tirelessly throughout the years.
Yu Yuanxi understood that they suffered more than him, having witnessed Yun Jinping turning teary at the casual mention of him.