Is This The Right Way To Repay A Favor? Chapter 14

The Program

On the way back.

Shen Zhiyu proactively started a conversation.

“I looked at the resources Languang Media offered. They are very generous.”

Jiang Zhou focused on driving, his eyes fixed ahead, and he nodded upon hearing this.

Shen Zhiyu continued, “I want to rest for a while first, so I only picked one variety show produced by Languang Media itself.”

“The filming location is Yongnan Village.”

Jiang Zhou seemed to have been tamed; hearing the name Yongnan Village this time, he didn’t lose control as he had before.

Instead, it was Jiang Yue in the back seat who, upon hearing Yongnan Village, poked her little head between the front seats.

“Yongnan Village! That’s where my brother and I live. You’re going there to film a show!”

She turned back and excitedly asked Ye Mo, “A Mo, do you want to come too? I can take you fishing and shrimping in the river.”

Ye Mo was very tempted. He had been living abroad, where his father was strict and his schedule was full, and he was always accompanied by someone wherever he went. He had never even seen a small village river, let alone gone fishing or shrimping.

But he didn’t dare agree easily, so he cautiously asked Shen Zhiyu, “Uncle, can I go?”

Ye Mo had been too strictly disciplined due to his family situation, making him reserved and quiet. Now that he was back in the country and had met the lively Jiang Yue, Shen Zhiyu also wanted him to get out more.

Besides, with Jiang Yue around, he would have more opportunities to tease the cat.

“You can,” Shen Zhiyu said.

——

Under Jiang Yue’s persistent nagging, Jiang Zhou agreed to drive them back to Yongnan Village tomorrow.

For convenience, Jiang Zhou didn’t return to Hejia Peninsula and went back to Jiang Yue’s residence with her.

The house Jiang Yue lived in was bought when she came to Haishi for primary school, specifically near the school. Security was strict, and the people coming and going were relatively simple.

Jiang Zhou occasionally slept here, so he kept some clothes.

The two hadn’t seen each other for a long time.

After Jiang Yue finished showering, she kept Jiang Zhou talking for another hour before finally going to sleep.

Jiang Zhou couldn’t sleep. He changed his shoes and went downstairs.

Leaving the complex and turning a corner, he arrived at the north gate of the school Jiang Yue attended—Haishi Yunde International School.

When Jiang Zhou chose a school for Jiang Yue, besides the school itself, he also had a hidden agenda.

Haishi Yunde International School is a well-known international school in Haishi, offering bilingual teaching, numerous interest classes, and a relaxed learning atmosphere.

Most importantly, it was also Shen Zhiyu’s alma mater.

Shen Zhiyu studied at this school for nine years. Before he even finished junior high, he signed with YNK company and became a trainee.

Jiang Zhou still remembered the first time he brought Jiang Yue to register at the school.

When the guide teacher introduced outstanding alumni, Shen Zhiyu was mentioned and highly praised.

Some of the accompanying parents were Shen Zhiyu’s fans and repeatedly asked about his time studying there as a child, so the guide teacher elaborated a bit.

Jiang Zhou learned about Shen Zhiyu’s school days from the teacher, such as his excellent grades, consistently ranking in the top ten of his grade; his high athletic talent, being skilled in various ball sports; and also being the president of the school’s folk dance club.

While having maxed out various skill points, he was also tall and handsome, a popular figure since childhood.

There are still many photos circulating online of Shen Zhiyu participating in school activities, eating, and rehearsing during his student years.

In the photos, Shen Zhiyu, even at a young age, already showed a clear difference from his peers, as if he were on a different plane.

Some people are born to be the center of attention.

While others are born to live in the mud.

The guide teacher continued, “Zhiyu is also a kind child and incredibly popular. I taught him for five years, so I watched him grow up. I never saw him argue with another student, from childhood to adulthood.”

“After he debuted, he even came back to visit us at school. Later, he also established a fund in the name of his fan club at the school, transferring money every year.”

After Jiang Yue enrolled, Jiang Zhou also donated to a public welfare fund for the school, but he didn’t set up a separate one. Instead, he added it to the fund established in the name of Shen Zhiyu’s fan club.

It was nearly eleven o’clock after completing the walk around the school. The shops around the school were closed, only the streetlights were on, and the streets were deserted.

Jiang Zhou returned home and found a new friend request notification on WeChat.

The friend request was added from a group chat, with only two characters in the note: It’s me.

When Jiang Zhou saw those two words, his heart skipped a beat.

Could it be him?

The request showed that the person was added from a temporary group chat created when taking photos at the theater.

It was a temporary group that Jiang Zhou hadn’t had time to disband.

Jiang Zhou looked at the person’s profile.

The avatar was just a photo with a white background, and the name was a string of incomprehensible symbols.

Jiang Zhou hesitated for a moment, then accepted the friend request.

As soon as he accepted, the person immediately called him via WeChat.

It seemed he had guessed wrong; perhaps it was a parent of a student needing something, otherwise they wouldn’t be so urgent.

Jiang Zhou pressed the answer button, “Hello…” His voice was very formal, serious, and polite.

The person on the other end didn’t expect this reaction, paused for a second, and then asked with a laugh, “Mr. Jiang?”

It really was him!

Jiang Zhou opened his mouth but couldn’t utter a sound.

There was no response from his end.

The other person asked self-consciously, “Did I add the wrong person?”

Seeing that the other party seemed about to hang up, Jiang Zhou finally found his voice after that brief moment of speechlessness.

“I am Jiang Zhou.”

The other side chuckled again, “That’s good, I thought I added the wrong person.”

“Can you pick up Ye Mo at Hejia Peninsula at nine tomorrow morning?”

It turned out to be about picking up Ye Mo to go to Yongnan Village tomorrow, as agreed in the car.

Jiang Zhou agreed, “Yes, no problem.”

After the matter was settled, the other side didn’t hang up but also didn’t speak again.

His phone seemed to be held very close; Jiang Zhou could hear the sound of his breathing through the phone, a rhythmic, continuous rise and fall.

Jiang Zhou unconsciously held his breath.

“Get some rest.” After dozens of seconds, the other side said this and then hung up.

Jiang Zhou hung up the phone, still slow to recover his senses.

——

Jiang Zhou clicked into Shen Zhiyu’s Moments.

His Moments background image was a photo of a cat. The cat wore a fluffy orange tabby coat, its fur transitioning from light apricot to deep orange, with a round face, clear amber eyes, a pink nose, and a few proud white whiskers adorning it. Its four paws were snow-white.

Jiang Zhou knew this cat.

It was a stray cat Shen Zhiyu had adopted, named Kongkong, and he sometimes posted photos of it on social media. Unfortunately, Kongkong passed away from illness at the end of last year.

Shen Zhiyu rarely posted on Moments, only a few scattered posts.

One was a photo taken at the entrance of Diqian Bar on the day he returned to the country, captioned “Interesting.”

One was the last group photo on stage, captioned “Goodbye.”

Another was a photo from three years ago when he found Kongkong, captioned, “This cat looks a bit clumsy. I’ll take it home and see.”

In the photo taken at the bar entrance, Jiang Zhou saw himself.

He looked like he was unintentionally captured, just a vague silhouette sitting in the car. If one didn’t zoom in and look closely, they wouldn’t notice it at all.

Jiang Zhou screenshotted this Moment and saved it in his secret archive.

Time flew by, and it was already early morning.

Jiang Zhou suddenly remembered Shen Zhiyu’s last words before hanging up: Get some rest.

Jiang Zhou closed his eyes, and as if by some strange coincidence, he quickly fell asleep, enjoying a night of deep, dreamless sleep—the best sleep he had had in over a decade.

——

The next morning at nine o’clock.

Jiang Zhou arrived at Hejia Peninsula on time.

Shen Zhiyu and Ye Mo appeared together, pushing one large and one small suitcase.

Jiang Zhou got out to help load the luggage. After loading it, he saw Shen Zhiyu confidently getting into the passenger seat and couldn’t help but blurt out, “Mr. Shen, aren’t you going to film the show today?”

Shen Zhiyu looked at Jiang Zhou and smiled lightly, “Mr. Jiang has a good memory.”

Jiang Zhou shut up.

After a while, he added an explanation: “This show is a project the company is heavily promoting this year, and it’s being filmed in Yongnan Village, so the impression is deep.”

It would have been better not to explain; the explanation only made it sound more like a guilty conscience.

Jiang Zhou realized this belatedly, looking even more awkward.

Despite having experienced many grand occasions, in front of Shen Zhiyu, he still appeared so flustered, his brain seemingly stopping rational thought.

This was a bad habit that he absolutely must change.

Jiang Zhou made a firm resolution in his heart.

Shen Zhiyu, unaware of his internal calculations, answered his previous question.

“The group segment will be filmed at five in the afternoon in Taoyuan. They want to film the departure and journey during the day, but I don’t want them to record that.”

Generally, before the first episode of a variety show airs, there is a preview segment broadcast, showing the guests packing their luggage at home, introducing the items they are bringing to the show, and filming some Q&A or interviews during the journey.

Some guests don’t want to expose their homes or find the journey too long to be bothered by the production team. They will film a short vlog themselves according to the production team’s requirements to submit.

Shen Zhiyu didn’t want to film the early stages. The production team didn’t insist but politely sent a script to his assistant, hoping he could film a short Q&A vlog.

Shen Zhiyu had originally planned to have Zhang Fanshu record a segment for him once they reached Yongnan Village. But as soon as he saw Jiang Zhou, he changed his mind.

“Before we exit the highway for Yongnan Village, I need to record a video at the highway service area.”

“I’ll trouble Mr. Jiang to pull over then.”

Jiang Zhou agreed without thinking, “Okay, no problem.”

Shen Zhiyu: “Thank you, Mr. Jiang.”

Jiang Zhou inexplicably felt that this thank you seemed to contain something else.

The two children met, chatted for half an hour, and then both collapsed and fell asleep.

As the noisy voices stopped, the car became excessively quiet.

Jiang Zhou drove more steadily now, not as nervous as the first time he drove Shen Zhiyu.

Shen Zhiyu looked back at the two sleeping children, then looked at Jiang Zhou, and asked, “Does Mr. Jiang need someone to talk to while driving?”

Jiang Zhou’s ears turned red at a visible speed.

He gripped the steering wheel, his eyes fixed ahead: “No need. Mr. Shen can rest if he’s tired.”

Shen Zhiyu hadn’t slept well last night.

More accurately, he hadn’t slept well since returning to the country. He wasn’t sure if it was because he hadn’t adjusted to being back, but he always felt restless at night, feeling hot even with the air conditioning on.

Thinking about the best sleep he had, it was surprisingly the time he fell asleep in Jiang Zhou’s car on the first day back.

As Shen Zhiyu thought about it, he also drifted off to sleep.