MACRM Chapter 65

Lin Zhu read it several times before he slowly understood what those two lines meant.

He stood there for a moment, then braced himself on the cabinet and walked back to the bed, sitting down again.

On the other end, Lin Song had no idea what was going on and kept sending him messages. The phone buzzed nonstop, and notifications quickly filled the whole screen. When he noticed there was no reply, he even sent several “Dage is amazing” and “I love Dage the most” red-packet password messages.

Looking at his phone, Lin Zhu let a smile form on his lips. He opened each red packet one by one and replied: [Got it. Thanks, Dage.]

He scrolled back up the chat and reread those two lines several times, then quietly took a screenshot and saved it carefully.

Having been praised by his little brother, Lin Song was in an even better mood and kept chatting away.

Lin Song: [Mom and Dad are funny too. They used to complain about all that supernatural stuff, but now they’re more enthusiastic than about our own business. They even kept asking me what I’d do if someone in the family could read minds…]

Lin Zhu closed his eyes briefly, the corners of his lips pressing together ever so lightly.

So it really was like that.

He stared at the screenshot for a while, telling himself repeatedly that his parents truly meant well. Then he returned to the chat interface and typed out his reply one word at a time.

Lin Zhu: [What would you do?]

Lin Song: [Do? …Well, since it’s already happened, I’d drag him over to help me check out those executives in the company, then check the top people in our rivals’ companies. After that, we’d go to Las Vegas, bet big once, and run. We’d definitely make a fortune!]

Lin Zhu couldn’t hold back a laugh.

The panic from moments earlier had eased quite a bit. Leaning back, he typed: [If I’d known I could make that much money…]

The cursor blinked twice. Lin Zhu’s fingers hovered, then slowly deleted the words he was going to add. Instead he replied: […I’d see if I could learn it.]

Lin Song replied instantly: [No. If you could actually read minds, it’d be way too tiring.]

Lin Song: [With your personality, if something like that really happened to you, you’d be miserable.]

Lin Song: [It’s better to make less money.]

Lin Song: [And not just that. Those psychology books, read fewer of them. Knowing too much about everything is exhausting, and you’d feel terrible. I’d already be stressed every day just worrying about you… Better to come home. I’ll help you wrap Zhong Yao up myself.]

Messages popped up one after another on the screen. Lin Zhu’s eyes curved slightly as he stood and walked over to the window.

He couldn’t help stepping in to help with the family business sometimes. He couldn’t keep using “good luck” as an excuse whenever he accurately guessed competitors’ bids. So he had placed a few books on negotiation techniques and micro-expression psychology on his desk to look the part.

His big brother had never supported him studying those things, yet he couldn’t bear to discipline him too harshly either. Today was the first time he’d said something like that.

Lin Zhu felt a little helpless, smiling as he firmly reassured his brother that he would never drive himself crazy through psychology studies. But the other side only grew more anxious and suddenly started a voice call.

Lin Zhu let out a soft laugh and picked it up. “Dage, I already said I definitely won’t—”

“Xiao Zhu…?”

A hesitant voice came through the speaker. Lin Zhu froze mid-sentence and slowly tightened his grip on the phone.

He opened his mouth, his voice soft: “Mom.”

In the background, Lin Song’s urgent protests and the sound of scuffling faintly leaked through. Lin Zhu’s heart clenched. “What’s wrong with Dage?”

“It’s nothing… He wanted to come in. We know you don’t want him to know about this yet, so the assistants are stopping him.”

His mother sounded just as nervous as he was, choosing her words with difficulty. “Xiao Zhu, we wanted to wait until you came home, but we were afraid you’d overthink… We got this invitation only because we wanted to give you a chance to speak honestly with Zhong Yao. If the two of you really become that kind of relationship, you can’t hide something like this from him forever.”

“With this as a buffer, his reaction won’t be too strong. He can gradually accept you.”

Mrs. Lin continued, “As long as you’re happy, whatever your orientation is, your dad and I will never stand in your way. But we really are worried about you…”

Lin Zhu’s palm felt icy. He slowly tightened his grip on the phone. “I know, Mom.”

He spoke softly. “I’m sorry… for making you worry.”

“Xiao Zhu?”

Hearing something wrong in his tone, she grew even more anxious. “Don’t misunderstand. If you don’t want Zhong Yao to act in it, then he won’t. We’ll turn it down—”

Feeling chilled, trembling faintly, Lin Zhu held onto the bedframe and lay down, pulling the blanket over himself.

Zhong Yao’s scent still lingered there. Lin Zhu curled up, eyes closed, and his voice softened again. “It’s such a good opportunity. It would be a shame to miss it. I’ll go back in a couple of days to discuss the resources. Thank you, Mom.”

He paused, then added, “…But Mom, Zhong Yao is really good. He—”

Lin Zhu gripped the phone, and for the first time in twelve years, he gently corrected his mother.

“He’s very good. Even if I told him everything right now, he wouldn’t be unable to accept me.”

Lin Zhu: “The one who isn’t ready… isn’t him. It’s me.”

Mrs. Lin suddenly froze awake.

A frantic stream of apologies came through the phone, and before long, his big brother’s voice returned, only to abruptly hang up the call without giving Lin Zhu any chance to respond.

He didn’t have the strength to look at the new messages that Lin Song sent. Letting go of the phone, he closed his eyes and exhaled softly.

Worried about him…

His big brother was worried. His parents were worried.

All because of these eyes.

…What should he do?

Lin Zhu sat up, stared at himself in the mirror for a moment, and took out one of Zhong Yao’s ties.

Its length and width were just right. He held it up, tried blindfolding himself with it, and then fumbled around the room for a few steps.

He’d never been good at remembering the layout of his surroundings, much less when everything was pitch black. After only a few steps, he knocked over the small pot Zhong Yao had washed and set out to dry. He scrambled to catch it, only to bump straight into the cabinet, then turned and, without watching his step, kicked the corner of the bed hard.

Bangs and clatters erupted everywhere. Who knew how many things he’d knocked over.

Hissing from pain, Lin Zhu hopped on one leg a few times, gritting his teeth.

He groped blindly for a spot to sit on the floor, reached behind his head to loosen the tie, and lifted a hand to quietly wipe the dampness under his eyes.

Because of these eyes…

He knew his mental state was off, but he had no way to pull himself out of the near-paranoid spiral he’d fallen into.

The nightmares he’d wandered through since childhood returned. The first time he sensed the malice of others, the twelve years of turbulent life after being abducted, and even the long years after being brought home, when he thought he could start anew, only to watch his parents leave the country again.

A voice had always whispered to him, telling him that everything would be fine without these eyes.

His head throbbed violently, thoughts turning sluggish. He tried to push himself upright, but he had no strength at all.

He wanted to see Zhong Yao more than ever. At the same time, he feared seeing the actor more than ever.

He couldn’t let more people worry about him… couldn’t let them keep worrying.

A faint white haze clouded his vision. He coughed twice, groping for his phone, intending to ask his assistant to help clean up the room. The phone vibrated again. This time, inconveniently, an incoming call.

The ringtone was the one used by his team.

Lin Zhu frowned, answered out of reflex, and spoke softly. “It’s me…”

“Lin-ge!”

The publicity manager’s voice burst out of the phone, urgent and trembling with near-tears. “Something happened. Can you come back? We can’t handle it on our own—”

Lin Zhu’s heart jolted. His foggy mind snapped a little clearer. He straightened slightly. “I’m fine. What happened? Slow down. Explain clearly.”

The publicity manager was so anxious he was stumbling over his words. Halfway through, the PR manager snatched the phone and summarised the situation in a few sharp sentences.

Huaying[mfn]华英; 华 = abbr. for China/magnificent/splendid; 英 = abbr. for England/hero/outstanding[/mfn] Entertainment had set their sights on Zhong Yao.

As one of the most powerful entertainment companies in the industry, they never failed to sign someone they wanted. If the target was willing, great. If the target had a temper? They had their own methods of breaking them in.

Stealing schedules, stealing endorsements, sabotaging film negotiations, fabricating scandals, buying water armies — anything is on the table  to force an artist to bow their head and sign the contract, becoming a money-making workhorse.

Zhong Yao’s termination with Canxing Entertainment meant he intended to go independent. Any smart company would avoid provoking that situation.

But Huaying had decided to make trouble. And if Zhong Yao refused to sign, they would keep attacking him.

The capital behind this entertainment giant was nothing like the petty tricks of Canxing. If they really clashed head-on, Zhong Yao would be effectively blacklisted.

“Huaying…”

Lin Zhu’s thoughts still felt sluggish. He rubbed his temple, carefully pulling himself out of the warped emotions and back into his agent mindset. “Li Yijie’s employer?”

PR manager: “Yes. They probably noticed Zhong-laoshi through him.”

Their tone grew heavy. “As soon as the termination news dropped, they extended an offer. The conditions weren’t bad — covering the penalty fee, a 100 million signing bonus, a 75% revenue split. But the contract term is long. They want fifty years.”

“Fifty years?”

Lin Zhu was stunned; his discomfort instantly forgotten. “So he’s supposed to perform for them until he’s eighty? Why don’t they just rob us instead?!”

The PR manager gave a bitter laugh. “So we rejected it… We should’ve discussed with you first.”

After a brief pause, he added, “Once we refused, they immediately turned hostile. We’ve already lost one offer, that art film scheduled for filming at the end of the year, the one Director Zhan gave to Zhong-laoshi for awards during [Light and Shadow]. They gave the role to one of their male stars. Several of our endorsements are also a bit unstable…”

Lin Zhu took a sharp breath. His arm trembled, but he still braced himself and pushed up to his feet. “It’s not your fault.”

His body still felt weak, but after taking a few steps, he actually felt better. Even the coldness in his hands and feet had warmed, energized by this sudden surge of anger.

He paced slowly around the room, picking up items and putting them back. The suffocating weight in his chest gradually loosened, and his mind cleared completely.

Lin Zhu let out a soft laugh. “Losing a film is fine… Actually, perfect.”

The Marlensius film audition was at the end of the year. Art films consumed enormous time and energy. Zhong Yao might not even have time to audition. Lin Zhu had been struggling to coordinate the schedule.

Now he no longer had to choose between bear paws.

“Y—you shouldn’t put too much pressure on yourself. Can you come back?”

The PR manager had no idea what Lin Zhu was planning, assuming he was acting out of anger. “If we really can’t handle it, we can use public opinion—”

Lin Zhu’s eyes turned cold. “Petty tricks? That’s too cheap for them.”

His body fully warmed, he returned to the bed and began packing. “I’ll be back the day after tomorrow at the latest. Prepare everything and gather the information.”

“Right away!”

The PR manager agreed swiftly. “What kind of information? We have dirt on their artists. We even got a few explosive pieces these past days—”

Lin Zhu went speechless. “Who told you to get that?”

He exhaled lightly, the spark in his eyes turning sharp. “Find out where their headquarters is. How many security guards at the entrance. When people enter and leave. Where the parking lot is. Which exit is easiest.”

The PR manager froze. “Why do you need that?”

Lin Zhu let out a faint, cold laugh. His earlier self-doubt had already dissipated. He rubbed his eyes lightly; an icy gleam flashed across them.

“Seems I haven’t smashed enough company buildings yet…”

Lin Zhu tightened his wrist, tone casual.

“Tell the timid staff to stay home. Have the fearless prepare themselves. We’re paying Huaying a personal visit.”