Good brother~

"Hello, hi there! I am not changing my data plan, and I'm not interested in any promotional offers! I am recording this call, so please do not alter my plan without my consent. Thank you."

"Uh... Brother Xu?"

"Huh? Liu Qinnuan?"

Although they had only spent a few days together, Xu Lin was already very familiar with her slightly childlike voice.

"It's me! I got your number last time, and I wanted to call you several times, but I was afraid of disturbing you."

"I'm not that busy. Is something the matter?"

"Can't I call you just to chat, without any specific reason~?"

"Alright, spare me the green tea act. I'm not used to it."

"Hahaha."

As soon as he finished speaking, crisp, bell-like laughter rang out from the other end, lingering for more than ten seconds before she slowly managed to regain her composure.

"Ha... ha, Brother Xu, you're the first person to ever say that to me."

"We know each other pretty well by now, don't we? Besides, I'm not an industry insider. Even if you tried to pull a fast one on me, you wouldn't gain anything from it."

Truth be told, in the entertainment industry—take Qin Tian's situation, for instance—people with sharp minds and cunning ways tended to fare much better. Otherwise, you'd end up sacrificing everything and getting nothing in return.

"That's not true at all. You're quite the hot commodity right now; it's just that nobody can reach you."

"What hot commodity?" Xu Lin didn't think there was anything about him that held any value in the eyes of people obsessed with traffic and clout.

"I just mean people think you're handsome, your acting is good, you're a newcomer, and you don't have an agency. You're prime material for someone to sign right away."

"Oh, you mean spending a little money as an investment. If I blow up, they profit. If I don't, no big deal, since it's not much money anyway."

"Brother Xu, you really know your stuff."

"Anyone outside the industry knows that. I don't plan on acting for the time being. My main focus right now is my studies, and I'm running a little shop on the side. Being your own boss is the best."

"A small shop? I honestly didn't take you for the business-minded type, Brother Xu."

"Who *wants* to do business? Can you eat your dreams? It's all for the money."

"Chatting with you feels very down-to-earth, Brother Xu."

"You don't put on airs with me, and I won't put on airs with you. Sincerity is the most important thing."

He truly believed that while lies might exist between people, an honest and sincere conversation was always the most comfortable.

"Yeah, thank you, Brother Xu."

Suddenly, her tone grew a fraction softer, causing Xu Lin to frown.

***

"Little Liu, like I said: sincerity."

"Haha, Brother Xu, I told you I'm being very sincere. Remember what you told me that day about pursuing what you truly want?"

"Yeah." Though he had just casually tossed out a piece of toxic chicken soup that he happened to think of on the spot.

"To be honest, I'm a lot like you in that regard. I started acting purely for money, and I needed a lot of it. Did you see my mom the other day?"

"Yeah."

"Actually, don't let her elegant and fashionable appearance now fool you. A few years ago, she had it harder than anyone else."

Hearing her say this, Xu Lin knew another sob story was coming. But glancing at his watch, it wasn't even 8 PM yet, so he decided to patiently hear her out.

At first, he thought this crafty girl was rather annoying, but the fact that she could open up and drop the act around him actually made her quite alright in his book.

"Do you know who my father was?"

"Huh? Why the sudden pivot to your dad?"

"His name was Liu Hengyangshan."

"Oh! The guy who played Erlang Shen?" At the mention of this name, the image of a very handsome man instantly flashed through Xu Lin's mind.

Although he wasn't an explosive traffic star, every single one of his roles was brilliant. He was a genuinely skilled actor, possessing looks that easily surpassed those of average young idols.

However, it seemed he had passed away in a car accident about ten years ago. Her father was Liu Hengyangshan? That meant Liu Qinnuan was a second-generation celebrity.

"Yeah. It makes me glad that people still remember his characters and the shows he acted in." Liu Qinnuan's voice trembled slightly, betraying a hint of emotional agitation.

"You must have been only a few years old when your father passed away."

"Yeah. Even though my father seemed to be filming every year, he left behind a mountain of debts outside. They were mistakes from his youth that he had been slowly trying to make right."

"And when your father passed away so suddenly, those burdens fell entirely on you guys?"

"Yeah, so Mom started working extremely hard, striving for the sake of the family and to fulfill my father's dying wish."

"Later on, Mom managed to track down a good friend of my father from his lifetime, which landed me a chance to get on TV."

"I wasn't even seven years old back then, but I understood one thing clearly: I had to make money, and this was my chance!"

"So I took the gig, and then I blew up. Pretty absurd, right? I didn't even know what acting technique I was using, but I just became famous."

"If you say that out loud to others, they'll accuse you of humble-bragging."

"But that's simply how it happened! I inexplicably ended up in the newspapers, did interviews, and everyone praised me as a genius child actor."

"You're in a somewhat similar position to me now, Brother Xu, though you have the two eldest young misses of the Chu family by your side, so your situation is different from mine."

"I don't rely on them for a single penny. I just don't want to be a professional actor, though shooting things for fun every now and then is pretty cool."

***

"It looks like my attempt to play the pity card and win your sympathy has failed, then."

"I knew you had an ulterior motive. Spit it out." Xu Lin figured this girl wouldn't make a move unless there was profit in it for her.

"Well, my manager asked me to reach out to you and see if you'd be interested in joining our agency. The compensation package is very generous, you know."

"Not interested," Xu Lin replied simply and clearly.

"I figured as much, which is why I didn't jump straight into business and decided to play the pity card first."

"But not a single word I said to you was a lie, right? I can sense your energy. If you trust in your own raw strength, everything will turn out fine."

"Thanks, brother. Sorry for bothering you and making you worry about me." Liu Qinnuan felt a twinge of guilt; she genuinely hadn't wanted to make this call in the first place.

Because she knew Xu Lin would never agree. Even from their brief encounter, she could tell this young man was truly different.

Though he would sometimes sneak glances at her, he wasn't captivated by her charms. He was kind and smart, yet somewhat naive and sincere.

"It's fine. I hope you find what you genuinely want to do."

"Oh, by the way, brother, I'll be done filming this project in a few days. I'm planning to head back to my hometown for a break. Can I come visit you?"

"No."

Xu Lin fired back another quick refusal. *Sure, you're part of the twelve zodiac signs too, but my place is already turning into a royal rumble. If another one of you shows up, I'm afraid things will blow up.*

"But I *want* to come~ Please? Pretty please, good brother?"

"Speak properly!"

"When Little Liu goes home, I'll happen to pass right through Linshui. I can get off the train early and come hang out at your place for a couple of days."

"I have to go to school, little sister. I don't have time to play babysitter."

"Don't you still have Sister Chu Qingchan? I ought to apologize to her anyway."

"She has a new sister now. You've missed your chance."

"What? She already has a new favorite so soon?! Wuwuwu~"

"Alright, if you really end up coming, just give me a call."

"Calling is so old-fashioned and makes us seem like strangers. Let's add each other on WeChat instead, good brother..."

Before she could finish, Xu Lin hung up directly and shook his head with a helpless sigh.

"The girls in my life... each one is more eccentric than the last."