An old friend comes

After walking out of the recording studio, Lu Yan declined the TV station’s program manager’s offer to take him downstairs and walked towards the elevator alone.

Song Hui had already gone to the parking lot to pick up the car in advance.

Lu Yan walked to the elevator, pressed the down button, and stood aside to wait quietly. At this time, he was the only one waiting for the elevator on this floor. After waiting for a while, Lu Yan looked up to see the floor the elevator had reached, and found that it was a bit slow, and the situation of the other elevators was roughly the same. The twelfth floor was not a particularly high floor, so Lu Yan simply decided to take the stairs down. Anyway, he would not rush, and he could also stretch his muscles and exercise his body.

Lu Yan turned around, opened the security door, and walked down the stairwell.

Lu Yan’s footsteps were not heavy, but the staircase was so quiet that they were clearly audible.

After walking up several floors, when he was about 6th or 7th floor, he suddenly heard a scolding from below, “Who do you think you are? People ask you questions because they respect you! What privacy do you want when you are a star! Do you think you are a top star?! You are so shameless, you deserve to be unpopular!”

He didn’t lower his voice on purpose. He didn’t know whether he was not afraid of being heard or he thought there would be no one else here.

Lu Yan frowned. He didn’t like to eavesdrop, and he didn’t want to cause trouble. However, he was too close at this moment. Whether he looked up or down, he would inevitably disturb the person who was talking, adding to the embarrassment.

At this time, the person who had just spoken swore a few more times, and his words became increasingly unpleasant, while the other person remained silent.

It sounded like an agent was scolding his artist, but what made Lu Yan frown even deeper was that the voice sounded familiar, as if he had heard it many times before, and the tone and manner were definitely not unfamiliar.

Lu Yan was just about to walk up a few steps and go out through the emergency door, but the people below had already started to walk up. If he insisted on going up at this time, it would seem like he had done something shameful and wanted to escape, so Lu Yan simply didn’t avoid it and walked down directly.

He had just taken two steps when he bumped into two people.

The man walking in front looked familiar. He seemed surprised to see someone, but he quickly recognized Lu Yan and immediately showed a flattering smile, nodding and bowing to him, “Brother Lu, what a coincidence to meet you here, hello.”

In a flash, Lu Yan suddenly remembered who he was.

Fang Meng!

His former agent.

That seemed like a lifetime ago.

Seeing Fang Meng trying to please others, Lu Yan felt a little sad. He was still like this, scolding the artists he managed, and trying hard to curry favor with popular stars and company executives. Why didn’t he understand that only by taking good care of his artists could others see his value?

Lu Yan stood on a higher step and looked down at him with an expressionless face.

Standing behind Fang Meng was a handsome male artist. Lu Yan had no impression of this face. He was probably a newcomer who had just debuted. When he first saw Lu Yan, a flash of embarrassment flashed across his eyes, but he quickly withdrew his expression, lowered his head and lowered his eyebrows, looking obedient.

Lu Yan had been in the entertainment industry for so many years, he couldn’t say that he had seen countless people, but he still had some vision. This male artist had good looks, knew how to be patient, and knew how to judge the situation. If he had the opportunity, it was possible for him to have his own place in the entertainment industry, even if he didn’t become a big star.

Fang Meng had found a treasure. Unfortunately, he would never see the true value of others, just like when Lu Yan was in his hands, he would only complain that he could not bring him immediate benefits. Therefore, Lu Yan was sure that if this male artist really became famous one day, the first thing he would do was to kick Fang Meng, the agent.

However, all of this had nothing to do with Lu Yan.

Lu Yan nodded slightly to the male artist with a calm expression, and then walked straight down. As for Fang Meng, he didn’t even want to look at him.

When he walked out of the TV station door, Song Hui had already driven the car to the door and was waiting for him.

Lu Yan straightened the collar of his windbreaker, put on his sunglasses, strode over, opened the door and got into the car neatly.

Although Lu Yan still had no expression on his face, Song Hui, who had followed him for so long and was particularly good at observing people’s expressions, still saw some clues from his boss’ calmness, so he said casually while driving, “Brother Lu seems to be in a good mood.”

“Oh, is it that obvious?” Lu Yan asked back.

“Hehe, I don’t know if others can see it or not, but that’s how I feel anyway.” Song Hui said with a smile.

“I just met a particularly annoying person. Knowing that he is still not doing well, I feel quite happy.” Lu Yan smiled and said, “Am I a particularly mean person for thinking this way?”

“How could that be? This is human nature. It’s not you who made him suffer anyway.” Song Hui said.

“Oh, who needs to harm him? He will suffer the consequences if he bring trouble upon himself.” Lu Yan laughed sarcastically.

“Ah, Brother Lu, you know about this too?”

“Know what?” Lu Yan asked doubtfully.

“It’s the man who hurt you that time. What’s his name? Yes, Xu Yuan. I just saw the news that he was arrested for participating in a drug gathering.” Song Hui said.

“Oh, is that true?” Lu Yan really didn’t know.

“Brother Lu, you don’t know. There are a lot of discussions about this matter on the Internet now, but it’s not because of this Xu Yuan. A lot of people were arrested this time, and many of them are super popular idol stars. If he hadn’t been involved in this, I guess no one would have mentioned him.” Song Hui said briefly.

“Then he has finally got what he wanted. It will be hard for him not to become famous now,” said Lu Yan.

“So, you are right, Brother Lu. It is your own fault. I heard that this kid just flatters those popular artists and doesn’t feel ashamed to follow them around. I guess he thought he had found a strong figure, but now he has been thrown to the bottom.” Song Hui’s tone was obviously gloating.

Lu Yan smiled and said, “You seem to be paying close attention to him?”

“Of course. He hurt you so much, Brother Lu. If I find the chance, I will never let him off easily. But now it’s all right. I didn’t take action and he got himself into trouble. It’s really satisfying.”

“Well, your loyalty is commendable. You are worthy of being a gold medal assistant. I will give you a salary increase next month.” Lu Yan praised with a smile.

“Really? Thank you, Brother Lu!” If Song Hui wasn’t driving, he would have danced with joy.

Two days later, when Lu Yan left the studio, he unexpectedly met someone.

The other person was standing outside the door of the office building. When he saw Lu Yan coming out, he went to greet him. His bright eyes were a little dusty. When he saw Lu Yan showing a slightly tired smile, he said, “I heard that you are getting married. Congratulations!”

Seeing this person, Lu Yan felt a little complicated, but he still suppressed the emotions that surged up in an instant and said lightly, “In fact, I’m already married. The only thing missing is a wedding.”

The other party smiled nonchalantly and said, “According to our tradition here, a couple is not considered to be married until they have a wedding ceremony. So, it is not too late for me to give my blessing.”

Lu Yan curled his lips, “You are right. Thank you!”

The other person lowered his eyes, put his hands in his windbreaker pockets, and finally licked his lips and smiled, “Can we chat together?”

Lu Yan was not surprised by his words. He certainly didn’t think that the other party came just to congratulate him. He nodded and said, “Of course, we haven’t seen each other for a long time, three or four years.”

“Four years and five months.” The other party said affirmatively.

Lu Yan smiled, without saying anything about his good memory. He took out his phone, told Song Hui something, and motioned for him to go together.

The two of them found a quiet coffee shop and sat down in a corner.

Lu Yan then began to take a good look at him. He looked neither as bright and sunny as he was in school, nor as high-spirited as he remembered when he became a big star. Instead, he seemed to be more subdued, with a kind of inner depth. If he was a sunny and handsome boy before, the man sitting in front of him now was a man who had experienced many ups and downs.

If the other party had not suddenly appeared in front of him today, he would probably have been stranded in the long river of Lu Yan’s memory. But Lu Yan was not completely ignorant of his experiences over the years.

After they broke up, they never met again. Lu Yan only knew that Xu Yongzhou turned down several roles as the leading actor in idol dramas and took a role in a film directed by a director famous for western-themed films. In recent years, the few films he took on were basically of this type, which were relatively niche and received less attention, but they were more of a test of his acting skills and perseverance.

If he had followed the path of idol dramas first, and then switched to the big screen after his popularity grew, with his qualifications and abilities, he would have been able to become a top-tier star in the country. But he chose a different path.

In the eyes of ordinary people, they probably think that he was exiled. But Lu Yan knew that this was Xu Yongzhou’s own choice. Both Lu Yan and Su Jue were not the kind of people who would kick someone when he was down. The incident that year came to an end after the two broke up. Although Su Jue stood on Lu Yan’s side in that matter, it was impossible for him to hide Xu Yongzhou or do something to hinder his career development. It had always been Su Jue’s principle to distinguish between public and private. Just like the audition that year, if Lu Yan’s performance was indeed not as good as Xu Yongzhou’s, he would not let him go because of his eldest brother.

Therefore, Xu Yongzhou’s departure was definitely not instructed by Su Jue, but he just wanted to do so himself.

Now that time had passed, the two could still sit together and drink coffee peacefully, which was somewhat miraculous. The depression and sadness that they had nowhere to vent back then had gradually faded away with the passage of time.

The two of them stared at each other in silence for a long time. Finally, Xu Yongzhou spoke first, “Aren’t you going to ask me why I came to see you?”

“Aren’t you here to congratulate me?” Lu Yan said deliberately.

Xu Yongzhou grinned and smiled lightly, “I have been taking on relatively marginal roles in recent years.”

Lu Yan nodded to show that he knew.

“I don’t deny that at the beginning, I was a bit self-destructive and self-exiled. Gradually, I found that this was a good opportunity to hone myself. People are always easier to recognize themselves in some special environments. I think I have made great progress in the past few years, both in acting and in the way I look at things.” Xu Yongzhou said with some emotion.

Lu Yan once again agreed, “You did a great job. Among the nominees for this year’s Golden Bell Awards Best Actor, you have the highest chance of winning.”

Xu Yongzhou gave a self-deprecating smile, “But compared to your achievements, it’s nothing.”

After another silence, Xu Yongzhou changed the subject, “In the past one or two years, I often think of the days when we studied together. To be honest, I feel a little regretful that we have become strangers, or even worse than each other.”

Lu Yan looked up at him.

Xu Yongzhou forced another smile, “But I won’t apologize. This is the only dignity I have left.”

Lu Yan did not comment. He could understand Xu Yongzhou. To some extent, they were actually quite similar.

“I now understand why he stood on your side when I was the one who was with Su Jue at the beginning.” Xu Yongzhou changed the subject again, “At that time, I mistakenly thought that you joined Starry Sky because of Director Li, but it was actually because of Director Su.” Lu Yan did not deny it, but asked, “If you knew it at that time, would you still do it?”

“I don’t know,” Xu Yongzhou shook his head. “Once people become jealous, they can be very scary. But maybe my target at that time was not second Su, but Director Su.”

Lu Yan smiled confidently, “Then you will definitely lose even more miserably!”

“I believe it.” Xu Yongzhou admitted directly, “Lu Yan, maybe you haven’t realized it yourself, but you are actually an extreme perfectionist, especially in terms of love. So if someone can impress you, then he must be more determined than you. You seem gentle, but in fact you are indifferent. I once thought that you would never really fall in love with someone in your life. But facts have proved that even in this aspect, you are so lucky that people are jealous.”

Lu Yan smiled and said, “In this regard, I am indeed extremely lucky.”

Xu Yongzhou smiled confidently, “Of course I know. Because the one who knows a person best is always his opponent.”

Lu Yan said, “That may not be the case.”

Xu Yongzhou looked inquiring, but Lu Yan had no intention of explaining.

Finally, Xu Yongzhou smiled and said, “I am very grateful that you are willing to have a cup of coffee with me. I am also grateful that we can still chat like this. I probably won’t attend your wedding. But I guess you didn’t plan to invite me in the first place.”

Lu Yan was silent for a while, then said, “I have never hated you.”

“I know,” Xu Yongzhou smiled bitterly, “because you never took me to heart. Sometimes, I would rather you hated me.”

When the two walked out of the coffee shop together, Xu Yongzhou looked at Lu Yan and hesitated to speak, but finally whispered, “If one day, we can put aside our past grievances, if… forget it, just pretend I didn’t say anything. I’m leaving first, I have to go to Gansu in two days.”

“Yongzhou,” Lu Yan called out. This was the first time that Lu Yan called out the other person’s name since they met again. Xu Yongzhou turned around and looked at him. Lu Yan said seriously, “You said that I never took you seriously. You are wrong. I just didn’t regard you as an opponent, because I always regarded you as a friend.”

Xu Yongzhou opened his mouth slightly, and the expression on his face changed several times, finally settling on a look of regret tinged with sadness.

In any case, they couldn’t go back to the beginning.

When Lu Yan returned home, Su Mo was sitting in the living room reading documents. Seeing him come in, he stood up and said, “You’re back. Are you hungry? Do you want to eat first?”

Under Lu Yan’s guidance, Su Mo’s Chinese cooking became better and better. When they were not busy, they liked to cook together at home.

“Don’t be in a hurry,” Lu Yan pulled him, hugged him and sat on the sofa together, resting his head on his shoulder, and said sullenly, “Let me hold you for a while.” 

“What’s wrong? Are you in a bad mood?” Su Mo let him hold him and comforted him in a low voice.

“I can’t really say. I feel a little sad, but also a little relieved,” Lu Yan said honestly.

Su Mo patted his hands and said, “Is it because an old friend is here?”

Lu Yan raised his head and smiled at him, “I can’t hide anything.” He said, and then he turned Su Mo’s shoulder, put his forehead against his and whispered, “Only you will never misunderstand me.”

Su Mo smiled softly, “Because we are soul-bound, we can communicate with each other.”

Lu Yan’s eyes lit up when he heard this, and he smiled softly, “You’re right, because we have the same thoughts.”