CH 32

Lin Zixi’s house in S City was bought not long after he graduated. At that time, he had not made much money, so he chose a house in an ordinary community near the Third Ring Road.

Although young actor Lin soon became famous in the entertainment circle, he had been filming and participating in various programs and public activities all over the country, so he actually hadn’t lived here much. And since his nature was too lazy to bother, he had not thought about getting himself a better house.

His gold master daddy, however, started frowning as soon as the car drove into the community. When he parked the car downstairs in the unit where he lived, his whole face already showed displeasure.

Dad Gu had never lived in a place where unfamiliar vehicles could come and go at will. In all his life, it was either a military compound or a top-level mansion. He asked Lin Zixi, who was wearing a cap and sunglasses beside him, "Are the security guards in your community usually so lax?"

“It’s usually not bad...I think?" Lin Zixi explained on behalf of the property management with uncertainty, "It's normal not to stop you. After all, no one would come to a community like ours to do bad things driving a Maybach… right?"

As soon as he finished saying those words, his chin was held by the man beside him, forcing him to raise his head and look at him.

Gu Zecheng lightly stroked his lips with his thumb, narrowed his eyes, and asked with a sneer, "Are you sure?"

Lin Zixi originally wanted to joke and asked in reply, "Don't you think so?" But for some reason, he felt that there seemed to be something wrong with the atmosphere inside this narrow cabin, so he instinctively changed the subject, "Your schedule on Monday should be very busy, so I won't waste your time. Another day..."

"Okay." Gu Zecheng said and nodded without waiting for him to finish his sentence. 

Lin Zixi was a little confused, "Okay what?"

Gu Zecheng put down his hand, stared into his eyes, and smiled a little teasingly, "Weren’t you going to invite me to your house to sit? Okay."

Dad, you did not play cards according to the routine. What about ‘getting up at five o'clock every day and working an average of 100 hours per week’?!

Young actor Lin recalled the state of his ‘doghouse’ when he left home before and prayed that Assistant Xiao Zhang would give him a nice surprise by helping him to tidy the house up the few times he went there to get some stuff.

However, before he even got home, there was a ‘nice surprise’ waiting for him.

"Lin...Lin Zixi!" As soon as Lin Zixi led Gu Zecheng into the entrance hall of the unit, he heard an ear-piercing voice calling him.

He turned his head in surprise and looked over, and the two figures who were initially sitting on the sofa in the hall had already rushed to him in a few steps.

It was two young girls whom seemed to be only eighteen or nineteen years old. Their originally fair faces were now flushed with excitement, and there were tears in their eyes, but their expressions were unstoppable smiles. It was a true portrayal of fans when they saw their idols.

Young actor Lin had seen such a scene a lot in recent years. Although he did not expect to actually be encountered by fans at the door of his house, he immediately and reflexively put on a business smile.

However, before he could ask the other party to keep his itinerary and address a secret, the words of the two young girls broke the smile on his face.

"Brother Zixi, you’re finally discharged from the hospital. We’ve been waiting here for almost a month, and we’re all worried to death." The girl with a ponytail on the left said.

The girl with a bun on the right continued, "We’re relieved to see that you’re recovering so well. We only saw your Weibo post before..."

Lin Zixi could not help interrupting before they finished speaking and confirmed in astonishment, "You two have been waiting for me here for almost a month?"

"Yes." Bun nodded.

The girl with a ponytail saw Lin Zixi's face darkened and quickly explained, "Brother, don't worry, we're not illegitimate fans, and we didn't follow your tracks! You posted 'moving to a new house' on Weibo when you’ve just bought a house here. At that time, I saw the scenery outside the window in your photo and suspected that you and I lived in the same community. Later, based on the angle and ratio of the building, I determined that it should be this unit..."

"We’ve been liking you since you’ve just debuted and played Hong Lan, and we didn't intend to disturb you after I knew you lived here. But this time we’re really worried, so we’ve been keeping watch here…. We’re really not that kind of stalkerish illegitimate fans. Don't be angry, Brother Zixi." Bun also said.

Lin Zixi was not angry, he felt his blood run cold.

Although these two could not be strictly considered as illegitimate fans, Sherlock Holmes fans were also a bit terrifying, right?!

But seeing these two happy young faces full of apprehension after what had happened, young actor Lin could not say any harsh words—although ‘favoring fans’ was a characteristic set for him by the company, he was indeed grateful to and cared about his own fans.

"You..."

"Are you high school students?" Gu Zecheng, who had been listening quietly on the side, asked without waiting for Lin Zixi to rack his brains to respond while stepping forward to shield him and staring down at the two girls condescendingly. 

"No, no, we’re first-year university students." Ponytail waved her hand quickly.

"Oh, going to university?" Gu Zecheng sneered, and his expression became more serious, "Do you think that after passing the university entrance exam and going to university you can just do what you want with your time, skipping classes for a month and wasting time waiting here?"

Big Boss Gu was so stern that he could even lecture Lin Zixi like a son—although it was indeed his son—let alone Lin Zixi's young fans.

The two young girls were questioned by him to the point of keeping their heads down, but the girl with a ponytail still wanted to struggle, "No, it's not wasting time…. Being able to see my brother safe and sound with my own eyes is worth waiting for so long..."

Gu Zecheng did not wait for her to finish struggling and continued speaking, "You think it's worth it, but it's because you don’t value your own life. So, in order to get a glance of your idol, you can neglect your studies and keep watch at the place he may appear; in order to create 'traffic' for him, you can mechanically reposting Weibo, playing the list, and controlling comments day and night; in order to fight for his sales volume, you can spend all your savings and even take out consumer loans…. You do everything just to bring glory to your idol, but you may not even know what kind of person he is. Maybe he’s just a beautiful illusion created amidst the public revelry by capital until his last drop of blood is drained by capital."

He sighed after speaking and pointed towards Lin Zixi at his side, "Do you think it's worth it to affect your own lives for him?"

As a result, the two young girls who had listened to the lecture in silence glanced at each other and then raised their heads at the same time, looking directly into Gu Zecheng's eyes and stating firmly, "It's worth it!

"Our brother is the realest and isn’t the same as those with character designs!" Bun said loudly.

"Brother Zixi favors fans the most. Even when endorsing and being an ambassador, the products are all what we use every day, so that we won’t waste money!" Ponytail also spoke without the slightest hesitation.

In the end, the two of them also spoke in unison, "Meeting Brother Zixi is the luckiest thing in our life!"

By the way, they also gave Big Boss Gu a look of contempt with the meaning "If you don't understand anything, don't blather groundlessly."

Standing by and listening to the two young girls blowing rainbow farts on the spot, Lin Zixi originally almost suffered from embarrassment. As a result, he saw the look on his dad's face and barely stopped himself from laughing out loud.

Gu Zecheng—a distinguished big shot in the business world and the chairman of a large listed company; no matter what lectures or forums he attended, countless people were waiting to hear him make a speech, and countless media were waiting to collate his words to make news—unexpectedly capsized in front of two barely grown-up young girls today.

It had to be said that in today's world, when it came to brainwashing, fan circles were comparable with evil cults.

Lin Zixi tried his best to hold back his laughter and win back his dad’s face, "In my heart, you fans are the most priceless treasures. So I hope you can have a happy and upward life. While liking me, you also have to cherish yourselves at the same time, for your own futures and great efforts…. I think only when idols and fans strive and struggle together that everyone would feel they’ve made the most of their lives many years later. This is the best companionship and the most affectionate confession."

"Brother Zixi…” Tears welled up in the eyes of Bun and Ponytail, and they nodded desperately, "Don't worry, we’ll definitely study hard, so that my brother won't be worried or lose face!"

Lin Zixi hurriedly pulled out some tissues for them. After another persuasion, he finally sent the two ‘Sherlock Holmes’ out of the entrance hall.

When young actor Lin came back, seeing his gold master daddy staring at him, he touched his nose and carefully chose a reason that would not hurt the other party's self-esteem much, "That... As for coaxing fans, we idols are quite professional."

"Huh." Dad Gu snorted coldly, "Coaxing. In the end, capital and society will teach you how to conduct yourself."

Lin Zixi coughed dryly and changed the subject, "How did you arrange your schedule today? Do you still have time to come to my house to sit? "

“Sit? What sitting?" His dad said while pressing the elevator button. "Why aren’t you hurrying to go home and pack your luggage?"

"Eh?"

"You've been found at the door of your house, and you still don’t hurry up and change your place…. The house near my company where you stayed when drunk last time is usually empty, so you can live there first." Gu Zecheng said.

"What!"

TL’s note:

打榜 (dǎ bǎng) = making the list refers to maintaining the top position of the list by posting Weibo, voting, etc.