Chapter 38

Lin Yushu wasn’t keen on going to the cinema to watch movies. He preferred waiting for them to be available on streaming platforms and watching them at home.

At home, there would be no disturbances, he could enjoy a spacious sofa, have an endless supply of drinks and snacks, and have complete control over the movie’s playback.

If he had to articulate the significance of cinemas, perhaps it was because they were essential places for dates.

The manager of Yong Xing Cinema personally welcomed Song Qiming and Lin Yushu into the VIP theater.

Next to this theater was the couple’s theater. At first, as they walked past it, Lin Yushu felt a flutter in his heart, thinking that Song Qiming had reserved the couple’s theater. But when they passed it, he breathed a sigh of relief, realizing that Song Qiming still had boundaries.

In Shao’s family-owned shopping mall, Shao’s family-owned cinema, even the keys were arranged through Shao’s connections. Song Qiming wouldn’t blatantly take Lin Yushu to the couple’s theater.

Watching a movie together that starred Yu Xiu could be explained since Yu Xiu was Shao Hexu’s illegitimate son, and it made sense to want to understand him.

However, Lin Yushu still found it strange. After taking their seats in the middle of the theater, he looked at Song Qiming and asked, “Did you go to see Shao Hexu?”

Shao Hexu must be aware of this matter.

Even if Song Qiming didn’t initially approach him, he would have needed Shao Hexu’s approval in the end.

“Yes,” Song Qiming didn’t elaborate. The theater dimmed at the right moment, and the iconic public screening authorization appeared on the screen. “Let’s watch the movie first.”

The theme of this award-winning film was revenge, with a strong suspenseful element.

Yu Xiu played the role of a young single father with a cute and obedient daughter named Xiao Yuan, who was in the second grade of elementary school. Their life, though not wealthy, was warm and loving. Until one day, Xiao Yuan was bullied at school…

The film began with a suspenseful question: Where did Xiao Yuan’s mother go?

Scattered clues hinted at Xiao Yuan’s mother having a mental illness and frequently abusing Xiao Yuan. After being bullied, Xiao Yuan also began to show signs of mental issues.

The character played by Yu Xiu embarked on a path of revenge, burying the physical education teacher who bullied Xiao Yuan and engaging in a thrilling cat-and-mouse game with the police.

At the end of the movie, Yu Xiu naturally met defeat.

When the police dug up the buried body of the physical education teacher on the mountain, they unexpectedly discovered another set of bones in the coffin – Xiao Yuan’s mother…

The film ended here, leaving just the right amount of room for interpretation.

Lin Yushu didn’t lose focus throughout the movie. It wasn’t until the lights in the theater abruptly turned on that he couldn’t help but say to Song Qiming, “Xiao Yuan’s mother was also buried by Yu Xiu…”

Song Qiming seemed to have just pulled himself out of the suspenseful atmosphere and let out a sigh. He said, “Seems like it.”

No wonder this film earned Yu Xiu an award.

The director’s filming techniques were incredibly exquisite. While amplifying the suspense to the extreme, it didn’t give a sense of being contrived.

Yu Xiu’s acting skills had also improved significantly. The cheerful single father before the incident became eerie and paranoid afterward, like a madman walking on a tightrope.

His restraint when dealing with the police, his ferocity when nailing someone into a coffin, and his madness when alone at home made it difficult to determine who had the mental issues—Xiao Yuan’s mother, Xiao Yuan herself, or the single father played by Yu Xiu.

Yu Xiu’s performance in the movie was flawless, and no one would question him winning Best Actor. He was only thirty years old this year, with great potential for future development. It was no wonder Fang Lan couldn’t tolerate someone so outstanding.

“Today, Fang Lan approached me.”

After watching the movie, the two of them found a secluded Chinese restaurant nearby in the shopping mall. They discussed the details of the film all the way there until they were seated, and then Lin Yushu remembered to get to the point.

“And then?” Song Qiming wiped his hands with a hot towel, seemingly unsurprised.

“She said she could let go of those pieces of land,” Lin Yushu said, “but the condition is to blacklist Yu Xiu.”

“I don’t think it will work,” Lin Yushu picked up a water glass and took a sip of tea. “Shao Hexu treasures his illegitimate son so much, he wants to invest all his resources in him. How could he possibly blacklist him?”

“You can give it a try,” Song Qiming suggested.

“Try what?” Lin Yushu was puzzled.

“Call Shao Hexu.”

At this point, Lin Yushu finally realized that Song Qiming’s reaction was off. Thinking back to the unfinished topic before the movie started, he asked, “Did you talk to Shao Hexu about Yu Xiu?”

That seemed to make sense.

Otherwise, why would Shao Hexu agree inexplicably if Song Qiming approached him for the keys? He should have been curious about Song Qiming’s motives.

But if Song Qiming approached Shao Hexu to discuss Yu Xiu’s matter, and watching the movie beforehand was just incidental, then there was nothing strange about it.

“I said I would handle this matter after returning to the country,” Song Qiming said. “You can call him first.”

He had only landed last night, yet he had already contacted Shao Hexu today. Song Qiming’s proactive approach was quite remarkable.

Lin Yushu temporarily swallowed the questions he wanted to ask and picked up his phone to dial Shao Hexu’s number.

After three rings, Shao Hexu’s voice came from the other end of the line, “Manager Lin.”

His tone showed no surprise, as if he had already known that Lin Yushu would contact him.

Lin Yushu glanced at Song Qiming sitting across from him and said, “Chairman Shao, regarding the land we discussed before, Ms. Fang has some thoughts. Are you available to talk now?”

“I’m available,” Shao Hexu replied. “Go ahead.”

“She said those pieces of land can be left to Yong Xing, but the condition is…” Lin Yushu paused and continued, “to blacklist Yu Xiu.”

The anticipated dilemma and silence didn’t occur. Shao Hexu immediately responded, “Sure, let’s do it as she said.”

The nonchalant tone made it feel as if they were discussing tonight’s dinner menu rather than someone’s future.

“Chairman Shao,” Lin Yushu suppressed his surprise and couldn’t help but say, “Don’t you want to reconsider? I can also talk to the elder—”

No, the stance was wrong.

Let’s not mention the fact that Lin Yushu’s mention of Yu Xiu in front of Shao Zhenbang was immediately rejected. From his standpoint, he shouldn’t be advocating for Yu Xiu at this moment.

“No need to consider it anymore. Let it be,” Shao Hexu said. “Tell her that Yu Xiu will no longer appear in front of her, and she won’t hear his name again.”

After saying that, Shao Hexu hung up the phone.

Lin Yushu couldn’t hide his shock and looked at Song Qiming, asking, “How did it turn out like this?”

“Because Grandfather’s stance is already clear. He won’t acknowledge Yu Xiu as his illegitimate child.”

“So you went to Shao Hexu to make him give up on Yu Xiu?”

“No,” Song Qiming said. “I went to Fang Lan first.”

The feeling of watching a suspense movie resurfaced, and various details from their conversation flashed through Lin Yushu’s mind, leading him to the only reasonable answer.

He exhaled slowly, not feeling surprised at all. “You approached Fang Lan and proposed the idea of blacklisting Yu Xiu.”

“Yes,” Song Qiming said. “Talking about interests or emotions wouldn’t work. The only way to make her let go of that piece of land was to let her vent her anger.”

“But didn’t she suspect your motives?” Lin Yushu asked. “After all, you are part of the Shao family.”

“It’s precisely because I’m part of the Shao family that my motives are reasonable,” Song Qiming said. “I don’t like having mysterious cousins.”

That’s how it was.

From the perspective of inheritance distribution, Song Qiming definitely didn’t want Yu Xiu to have a share. So in Fang Lan’s eyes, they were allies with a common enemy. It wasn’t surprising that she would listen to Song Qiming’s proposal.

“And what about Shao Hexu?” Lin Yushu asked. “Doesn’t he cherish his illegitimate child?”

“I bet he cherished him on the premise that Grandfather would acknowledge Yu Xiu, and then he would receive a portion of the inheritance, eventually taking over,” Song Qiming shrugged.

“But now that Old master refuses to acknowledge him,” Lin Yushu frowned.

“Yes, so Yu Xiu has lost his value to him,” Song Qiming shrugged.

Lin Yushu’s heart gradually sank. He had thought that Shao Hexu genuinely cared about his son, but in the end, it was all for the sake of self-interest.

On one side, there were billions of assets, and on the other side, a worthless illegitimate child. It was like offering a gift on a silver platter.

No wonder Shao Hexu answered so decisively. It turns out this choice wouldn’t put him in a difficult position at all.

“By doing this,” Lin Yushu pursed his lips uncomfortably, “aren’t we being too cruel to Yu Xiu?”

A star had fallen, becoming a sacrifice in the struggle for interests. Thinking about Yu Xiu’s talent, Lin Yushu felt even more regretful.

“Grandfather already had the intention to suppress Yu Xiu. Shao Hexu only wanted to keep him because he could still make money from filming,” Song Qiming said. “What I did was simply placing a piece of fat in front of Shao Hexu, and in the end, it was his own choice.”

Perhaps Song Qiming did play a role in exacerbating the situation, but if Shao Hexu firmly stood by Yu Xiu’s side, then Song Qiming wouldn’t have any involvement.

Lin Yushu felt powerless in the face of such an outcome. Even though they had successfully regained the land, he couldn’t find any joy in it.

“Now that you’ve personally intervened,” he picked up his chopsticks, deciding to turn this feeling of powerlessness into an appetite, “why do I need to relay the message?”

“It has to be conveyed by you,” Song Qiming placed a spare rib into Lin Yushu’s bowl, “If I mediate in the middle, where exactly would I stand? Fang Lan would suspect me.”

Upon hearing this, Lin Yushu suddenly realized that this matter was not as simple as he had thought.

For Fang Lan to vent her anger, the premise was that she didn’t know Yu Xiu had become worthless to Shao Hexu.

In her eyes, she might think that it didn’t matter if Shao Zhenbang didn’t acknowledge Yu Xiu because Shao Hexu could still acknowledge him after Shao Zhenbang’s death.

But little did she know that Shao Hexu didn’t care about giving Yu Xiu a formal identity. All he wanted was a larger share of the inheritance.

It was precisely because Fang Lan wrongly assessed Yu Xiu’s value that suppressing him would not be a significant loss for Shao Hexu, but it would bring satisfaction to Fang Lan.

Song Qiming found a tricky approach to solve this challenging problem. But conversely, if Fang Lan knew that Shao Hexu had already decided to give up on Yu Xiu, then Song Qiming’s proposal would be invalid.

Therefore, in order to avoid arousing suspicion from Fang Lan, Song Qiming didn’t relay the message directly. Instead, he appeared in the role of providing suggestions. In the end, not only did Fang Lan feel relieved, but she also felt indebted to Song Qiming.

As for Shao Hexu, he was already in an awkward position.

If he didn’t suppress Yu Xiu, it would displease their grandfather. But if he did suppress Yu Xiu, it would be a waste of a money-making machine at the level of a film emperor, which seemed regrettable.

However, now that Song Qiming had retrieved those pieces of land for him, he had no reason to hesitate. Moreover, it would also help him earn some goodwill from their grandfather.

In other words, Shao Hexu now owed a favor to Song Qiming as well.

As for the most innocent party, Yu Xiu, who was Shao Hexu’s illegitimate child, Shao Hexu personally pushed him out of the picture. For Song Qiming, it meant one less competitor in the inheritance race.

—Another plan that killed three birds with one stone.

Lin Yushu couldn’t help but want to open up Song Qiming’s chest to see how deep his thoughts really were.

“You know,” he spat out the bone he had finished gnawing on and looked at Song Qiming, “you are terrifying when it comes to scheming against people.”

“Terrifying?” Song Qiming tilted his head slightly, not knowing whether Lin Yushu’s evaluation of him was meant as praise or criticism. His eyes held a hint of confusion and a touch of uneasiness.

“I sometimes wonder if one day you will scheme against me,” Lin Yushu said.

“No,” Song Qiming said strangely, “You are mine. Why would I scheme against you?”

Lin Yushu was utterly baffled. “When did I become yours?”

Song Qiming didn’t answer directly and said, “You know the essence of stocks. When you make money, there are always others losing money. It’s the same when we pursue our own interests; it inevitably harms the interests of others. That’s just how it is.”

Lin Yushu certainly didn’t need a lesson on the essence of stocks from Song Qiming, but what he said was true.

When selling stocks at a high point, it was because there were always fools willing to take over.

So stock trading itself was a “either I take your money, or you take mine” activity.

Lin Yushu didn’t blame Song Qiming. He said, “I just hope that in the future, when you pursue your interests, you won’t only focus on the gains.”

“Alright, I’ll listen to you,” Song Qiming said, feeling that his explanation was not enough. He added, “I’m not that terrifying; I’m just lucky. I was just thinking about how to reduce the cost of bottom fishing when Shao Guangjie came to acquire S-power. I was just thinking about how to provoke Fang Lan, and Yu Xiu became a film emperor. These were not my calculations.”

But it takes a certain level of cleverness for those things to happen, Lin Yushu thought.

“Okay, stop explaining,” he said, “Have we ever agreed that you would tell me about your plans in advance? Yet you keep doing things without informing me.”

“I didn’t have the chance,” Song Qiming innocently blinked his eyes, “I couldn’t talk to you in the office today, and I didn’t have time. I went to see Shao Zhenbang in the morning to oppose the marriage, then I went to see Fang Lan to propose that she suppress Yu Xiu, and then I went to see Shao Guangjie to make him accept Fang Lan’s conditions. I didn’t have time to find you.”

…And he blamed him again.

But Lin Yushu also knew that Song Qiming was indeed busy today.

First thing in the morning, he went to find Shao Zhenbang to oppose the marriage, then he went to find Fang Lan to propose suppressing Yu Xiu, and then he went to find Shao Guangjie to make him accept Fang Lan’s conditions. With such a busy day, where would he find time to talk to Lin Yushu?

Sighing inwardly, Lin Yushu realized that having a big bad wolf by his side meant he couldn’t let his guard down.

He suddenly felt uncertain. Was it really okay to have a relationship with someone like him?

On the plate in front of him lay the bone he had finished gnawing on. For a moment, he saw his future self.

If he had known that Song Qiming would come to pursue him at the age of twenty-nine, he would have dated a bunch of boyfriends earlier and accumulated more dating experience. That would have been nice.

But it was too late now. Lin Yushu suddenly had an impulsive thought. He picked up his phone and quietly opened the app store, finding an app that claimed to provide emotional counseling.

He quickly downloaded the app and clicked on the prominent red icon, while eating and registering at the same time.

Perhaps noticing that he had been looking down at his phone the whole time, Song Qiming curiously asked, “Work?”

“Yeah,” Lin Yushu mumbled in response.

He clicked on the plus sign at the bottom of the app and randomly uploaded a picture, with the caption: “What should I do when my boyfriend is too cunning?”

Within a minute, he received several replies.

All the replies were remarkably consistent: Break up and find someone else.

 

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