CH 17

After drinking too much alcohol the day before, Lin Zixi woke up the next day with a little pain in his head. He massaged his temples and sat up, grabbing the mobile phone on the bedside table to check the time.

It was now 8:20 in the morning, and he was expected to start filming today's scenes at 3:00 in the afternoon, so there was still time.

Lin Zixi's memory was cut off after he secretly and unilaterally acknowledged Gu Zecheng as his dad in the car last night. He absolutely had no idea what happened next or where he was now. Just judging from the bedroom he was in, it neither looked like Gu’s house nor a hotel, and he was still wearing the same outfit from yesterday.

Lin Zixi got out of bed, opened the door, and walked out of the room. When he came to the living room, he saw Dad Gu in casual clothes sitting upright on the sofa drinking coffee while watching the morning news on TV.

This was the first time Lin Zixi saw Gu Zecheng wearing clothes other than formal clothes, and the other party was also sitting on the sofa watching TV. For a split second, he actually had the illusion of a pair of father and son getting along at home.

This feeling was both strange and familiar. It was something he had never experienced in his life but had imagined over and over again when he was a child. It filled Lin Zixi's heart with indescribable joy and excitement as well as something like homesickness and apprehension.

Young actor Lin decided to compose himself. He took a deep breath and then tried his best to walk to the sofa nonchalantly to greet his employer dad, "Morning. Thank you so much last night. I thought I wasn't very drunk then. Who would’ve thought that I’d actually slept until now. Sorry for the trouble of having to take me in."

Gu Zecheng nodded. His expression did not show pleasure or anger, but his tone was quite stern, "I asked you to go, so of course I’d take responsibility to deal with the aftermath. But you, as an adult as well as a public figure, should have the ability to control yourself. If you can’t drink, drink less. Otherwise, you’ll definitely be in big trouble if you encounter someone with ulterior motives.”

This point was actually true. The incident of big and small stars getting drunk and taken advantage of or cheated was nothing new in the entertainment circle, but….

"Don't worry, I usually know what’s appropriate. Last night was because I felt that you’re there, so I was a bit too relaxed." Young actor Lin quickly flattered his dad, "Anyway, I trust you, Big Boss Gu."

Hearing what Lin Zixi said, a subtle look flashed across Gu Zecheng's face, but then it quickly returned to a serious expression, "Sit down, I have something to talk to you about."

This was the pattern of the gold master daddy having something important to discuss. Lin Zixi immediately sat on the single person sofa on the left with his back straight and his hands on his knees, listening carefully.

However, Gu Zecheng took his time before he started talking, "I looked for you to pretend to be Gu Zeyi just to appease the old lady. I have no other intentions, and I hope you don't have other ideas either."

Of course Lin Zixi knew that his dad was just trying to fool his grandma, neither looking for a real younger brother nor a real son. "I know. I’ve always abided by the confidentiality agreement in our contract. If you hadn't personally looked for Feng Yuan yesterday, I would’ve never thought about using your connections."

"I didn't mean this, I mean..." Dad Gu, who had always been in the top position and spoke strongly, was a little hesitant this time, but he still made it clear in the end, "I'm not interested in unspoken rules such as power and sex transaction."

"I know." Young actor Lin answered in puzzlement, not understanding why his dad specifically told him such an obvious thing—if Gu Zecheng was interested in such a thing, he would already have countless little moms by now.

Dad Gu was distraught with anxiety after being kissed by Lin Zixi out of the blue last night. After thinking about it in the middle of the night, he decided to speak upfront and cut off the other party's idea of ​​selling his body. As a result, seeing Lin Zixi's calm appearance without any embarrassment, he was now unsure whether he thought too much or the other party was employing his acting skills of a lifetime.

"Then you..." Dad Gu originally wanted to ask Lin Zixi why he would kiss him, but after saying two words, he felt that asking such a question was lame and would lower his status. So he did not continue but took a sip of coffee to cover it up instead.

Gu Zecheng stopped halfway through his words. However, Young actor Lin, who had no impression at all of having given his dad a big, solid ‘kiss’ last night, misunderstood and thought that his dad was asking his opinion on unspoken rules.

At this time, of course Lin Zixi had to answer seriously. It was a chance for him to make a good impression in front of his gold master daddy (besides, he himself really thought this way), "I also can't accept unspoken rules. It’s true that resources, popularity, and social status are important, but it's not important enough to be worth selling your body and soul. Our circle is indeed very messy, but there’re also many who’re clean and honest…. You may not believe it if I say that although I've filmed a lot of bedroom scenes, in reality, I don't even have a partner for my first kiss."

After young actor Lin finished speaking, he beamed at his dad, waiting for the other party to praise him, a rare pure breed in the entertainment circle.

As a result, Dad Gu did not praise him one bit. He stared at him for a long time with a strange expression and then stood up without any warning.

"This is my house near the company. Sometimes I live here after a meeting. You’re drunk yesterday. If I brought you home, the old lady would definitely be worried, and going to the hotel was also not good, so I brought you here. You have to film today, don’t you? It’ll take nearly three hours to drive to the movies and television city from here. You’d better leave early to be safe and not be late.”

Gu Zecheng’s intention to see off the guest after a disagreement was quite obvious, but Lin Zixi did not think much about it and was even very grateful to his dad for worrying about him arriving late for the filming.

But after his last adventure yesterday, he did not dare to take a taxi casually anymore. "Can I trouble your driver to send me to Qinjiang Club? My car is still there, and I still have enough time to pick it up today. "

Dad Gu took out a car key from the cabinet in the entrance hall, "I got someone to drive the car over for you yesterday."

His relative was so considerate!

Feeling happy, young actor Lin blew a kiss to his dad before leaving, which once again stimulated Big Boss Gu's absolutely-not-weak spirit.

In the following month or so, Lin Zixi participated in the filming of The Legend of Concubine Ling for most of the time and spent the rest asking for leave to do his magazine interviews, variety show recordings, and activities for manufacturers' platforms—this really wasn’t because young actor Lin was not dedicated to his work, but in today's fickle and impatient entertainment circle, it was actually normal for him to be like this—even if he wanted to keep a low profile and stay on the set, Stars Entertainment would definitely not agree.

After all, "your time is very valuable"—by a certain game advertisement and Agent Chen Yunyun.

During this period of time, Lin Zixi also made an appointment to visit Zhou Fan's studio twice. Although an instant effect that would make him progress rapidly was not guaranteed, he could be regarded as getting enlightened with wisdom and benefited a lot every time he ‘went to class’.

In addition, young actor Lin was also called home by Grandma Song for a few meals and was ruined by his own Po Tian Ji several times, which made him more and more determined to improve his acting skills.

But it just so happened that when he went back to Gu's house a few times, he actually never met Gu Zecheng again.

Lin Zixi had just ‘acknowledged’ his dad, and in a part of his heart that was still pure and innocent, he could not help but feel a little disappointed. However, considering that the other party's business was so big, it should be the norm for him to be so busy even his shadow was not seen. Young actor Lin naturally wouldn’t be like a left-behind child, wanting to see his parents with tears in his eyes.

The parent did not come back from working outside, and the ‘left-behind child’ did not mind, but the ‘empty-nester old lady’ was angry.

Today, as soon as Lin Zixi entered the door of Gu's house, the old lady asked him with a stern face, "Ze Yi, tell Mom honestly…. Are you quarreling with your brother again?"

"No, ah!" Young actor Lin wondered why his grandma suddenly asked this. "I haven't seen Big Brother for more than a month. How can I quarrel with him?" 

“This isn’t a quarrel?!” The old lady gave him a glance of reproach. “Your big brother hasn’t taken care of you for over a month. Do you think it's normal?! Tell me, what happened between the two of you?"

Lin Zixi admitted that the last time he parted company with his dad, the two of them were considered to be happy with each other. He helplessly comforted Grandma Song, saying, "Mom... You’re thinking too much. I’m already an adult. Why do I still need my big brother to keep taking care of me?! In fact, I’m busy, but my brother is busier than me!" 

The old lady snorted coldly, "He’s certainly busy with work, and he indeed has to return late frequently. But every time you’re coming back, he’d be so busy that he wouldn’t even go home late at night…. This is too coincidental, right?!”

Lin Zixi was really unaware of this fact. He thought it was normal for Gu Zecheng to not go home regularly, but unexpectedly, the other party seemed to be avoiding him on purpose.

Lin Zixi felt heavy-hearted. He was both puzzled and a little aggrieved.

But in any case, he could not manage and also had no right to interfere in his gold master daddy’s affairs.

Young actor Lin could not manage Dad Gu's affairs, but Grandma Song could.

"You call your brother and say that I’m suddenly unwell. Let him go home quickly." The old lady sneered, "I don't believe I can't manage you two!"

……

…………

Grandma, you’re indeed an expert at harming your grandson!

TL's note:

Sorry for the late update. I thought today's Thursday, while in fact, it's already Friday here. I'll post the next chapter first thing in the morning on Monday for compensation.