Boss, He Is Chasing Stars Again Chapter 71

“Xingze, how is your filming going lately? Look, I brought you some clothes. It’s almost the end of the year, and your school couldn’t reach you by phone, so they called me. You might have to go back and attend some classes soon.”

Brother Long had been busy securing resources for Shi Xingze everywhere, and he finally managed to carve out some time to visit Shi Xingze on set. As soon as he arrived, he started rambling about work.

Shi Xingze took the clothes Brother Long brought and put them away. Hearing Brother Long’s words warmed his heart. “Everything is going well for me. Director Ye also takes good care of me.”

The actors in Director Ye’s crew were all personally selected by him, so there hadn’t been any major issues during filming. It was arguably Shi Xingze’s smoothest experience yet.

Shi Xingze picked up a thermos and poured a bowl of hot soup for Brother Long. “Brother Long, please rest for a bit and have something warm.”

Brother Long drank the soup, looking at the thermos in confusion. “Where did this soup come from? Did the crew make it?”

“No, Jian Xingzhi hired an auntie to make it and have it delivered every day,” Shi Xingze said, his face alight with an unconcealable smile. Brother Long instantly felt that the soup in his bowl was less palatable.

Brother Long expressionlessly put down the soup bowl and abruptly changed the subject. “I secured a new endorsement for you. It’s a domestic emerging cosmetics brand called Yasong. They are very sincere. You can look at their materials and consider it.”

“Yasong? I know the brand, but it doesn’t seem very famous. Have they sent any products? I think it’s better if I try them first before considering.” Shi Xingze hadn’t used their products and didn’t dare accept the offer casually.

Brother Long patted Shi Xingze’s shoulder approvingly. “That’s right. Although we aren’t A-list, we absolutely cannot stumble in areas like this. I’ve already discussed the products with them. They should be delivered to the set in two days. The reason I want you to take this endorsement is actually because I have a bit of inside information.”

Brother Long motioned for Shi Xingze to lean closer and lowered his voice. “I was chatting with someone from Shenfeng a while ago and found out that a new herbal face cream Yasong is launching has a partnership with the official Agricultural Science Academy. This product is their trial run for a new development.”

“Really?” Shi Xingze suddenly looked up. “Brother Long, you’re amazing! You can even dig up news like that!”

Brother Long smiled modestly. “Alright, I’m not as amazing as you. You even managed to snag Jian Xingzhi.” Brother Long’s latter half of the sentence was said through gritted teeth, especially after he accidentally glimpsed the unfamiliar large suitcase in the corner and a long down jacket he hadn’t seen before.

He didn’t even want to ask; the answer was obviously only one thing.

Shi Xingze scratched his head and guiltily averted his gaze. “Brother Long, what did the school say? I asked Director Ye, and my part in this script should wrap up around December. If I only need to go back for a few days, it should be fine.”

Brother Long shook his head. “Probably not. Your school is approaching the final exams, and you need to go back and boost your participation grades, or you’ll fail the final and have to retake the course. If that gets posted online by someone with malicious intent, it will be trouble.”

“I see. In that case, I’ll ask for a few days off to go back to class. I remember our school usually holds final exams in January, so the timing should work out.” Shi Xingze calculated the time and felt he could make it for the final exams, so he nodded at Brother Long.

After settling the school matter, Brother Long told him about meeting the person in charge of Yasong. “Call me after you try their products. We’ll meet up then. It’s best to finalize things before the New Year. Once the official announcement is made, there won’t be any major changes.”

Brother Long listed a few scripts besides the endorsement that wanted to sign Shi Xingze, all of which were idol romance dramas. Brother Long didn’t recommend Shi Xingze take them.

Shi Xingze looked at the synopses of those scripts, and his attention was suddenly drawn to a script with a black cover. He instinctively picked it up and read the title: The Light of Dawn.

Brother Long saw his interest in that one and smiled. “Isn’t the cover of this script unique? I heard the director and screenwriter strongly insisted on it. However, the subject matter is niche, and the investment isn’t large. Even if it’s filmed, it will probably only be released on an online drama platform.”

Shi Xingze didn’t reply but opened the distinctive script and slowly read it.

The protagonists of the story were two brothers named Zhou Qinian and Zhou Qiguang.

In contrast to his older brother, Zhou Qinian, Zhou Qiguang had decent grades but was introverted and often bullied at school.

The parents of Zhou Qinian and Zhou Qiguang died young. Zhou Qinian and his brother depended on each other. The older brother, Zhou Qinian, had poor grades and dropped out of high school to work. He usually did odd jobs or worked as a bouncer in places like KTVs, earning money to support Zhou Qiguang’s education.

One day, while Zhou Qinian was working, he received a call from the school, only to be told that Zhou Qiguang had fallen from a building and was severely injured.

After investigating, the older brother, Zhou Qinian, learned that his younger brother had been constantly bullied at school. In a fit of rage, he took a knife and stabbed the students who had bullied Zhou Qiguang. Then, to avoid burdening his brother, he committed suicide without hesitation. Not long after his death, his younger brother, Zhou Qiguang, woke up.

If the story ended there, it wouldn’t have attracted Shi Xingze.

After Zhou Qiguang woke up, the police investigating the case became suspicious during their interviews at the school. According to the students, the people who bullied Zhou Qiguang didn’t seem to have targeted him from the start. They didn’t know the reason, but Zhou Qiguang’s relationship with others was generally harmonious.

Among the students who bullied him, one was severely injured and died. The boy who woke up suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, and his mental state was poor every time the police visited.

Due to the immense public pressure surrounding the case, it was hastily closed, but the police always felt that the truth was more complex.

The story concluded with a dialogue between the police and Zhou Qiguang at Zhou Qinian’s grave.

Zhou Qiguang bent down to place a bouquet of white chrysanthemums on the grave when the police officer’s voice suddenly sounded behind him. “The railing on the school rooftop where you fell was loose. You did that, didn’t you?”

Zhou Qiguang, pale after his recovery, showed no expression on his face. He reached out and gently spread the petals of the white chrysanthemum, making it look wider. “Was the railing on the rooftop loose? No wonder I didn’t feel any resistance when I fell.”

“Stop pretending.” The police officer walked up to Zhou Qiguang. “I investigated your parents’ accident. They were going to buy a birthday present for your brother that day, weren’t they? You hated your brother for causing your parents’ death, so you deliberately provoked the student who bullied you, made him push you off the rooftop, and then let your brother take revenge. And on the day you fell, sports equipment was being moved downstairs, and there were just enough mats to catch you. Are you going to say that was a coincidence?”

Zhou Qiguang’s face was eight parts similar to the photo of Zhou Qinian on the tombstone, yet not entirely. His voice was as light as a sigh in the wind. “So, in your eyes, I hated the brother who caused me to lose my parents but also took care of me in every way, and I wanted to use myself as bait to eliminate him, is that right?”

Zhou Qiguang turned around, looking directly into the officer’s eyes for the first time. “You are wrong. To others, my brother was just an uneducated delinquent. But between us, I was the burden. I wasn’t as capable as him, and I couldn’t earn enough money at his age to support another person. If it weren’t for me, he would have had a better life.”

Zhou Qiguang looked at the officer’s stunned eyes, then at the photo on the tombstone, and whispered, “I didn’t intend to set him up. I only ever wanted to design my own fate. But I didn’t expect my brother to find out. So, after avenging me, he killed himself. He didn’t want my experience to leave any stain on me. He wanted to burn himself out so I could walk into that light, but I can’t do it.”

“Officer,” Zhou Qiguang said to him, “Have you ever seen a sun that has lost its fire? Can you tell me, when the sun loses its fire, is the light it casts when it rises cold or scorching?”

Shi Xingze slowly flipped through the script, savoring its overall tone. The first half of the script was dark and oppressive. Although Zhou Qinian and Zhou Qiguang lived their lives routinely, a tightly sealed cloud always hung over their heads.

It wasn’t until Zhou Qinian killed someone and committed suicide, and the school bullying was exposed to the light, that the anger ignited by Zhou Qinian’s death and Zhou Qiguang’s severe injury and coma seemed to let a ray of light penetrate the entire script.

But by the ending, that ray of light seemed to dim again.

Shi Xingze really wanted to know the screenwriter’s psychological process when writing Zhou Qiguang. He had many ideas he wanted to discuss with them, feeling that there was still room for exploration in this script.

“Brother Long, I want to take this role.” Shi Xingze closed the script. All his interest was ignited by this story. He couldn’t wait to meet the director and screenwriter. He just didn’t know if the Zhou Qiguang in his mind was the same as the one in theirs.

Brother Long glanced at the script in Shi Xingze’s hand and tried to persuade him. “Xingze, after you finish Director Ye’s movie, you’ll receive many better scripts, for male second leads, or even male leads. No matter how good this drama is, due to the subject matter, it can only go through online drama platforms. You need to think carefully.”

Shi Xingze had considered this. He knew he hadn’t reached the level where he could only look at the subject matter and script without considering his status, but he genuinely loved this script’s exploration of good and evil. He would definitely regret it if he didn’t try.

He handed the script to Brother Long. “Brother Long, I’ve thought it through. Please help me arrange a meeting with the director and screenwriter of The Light of Dawn.”

Seeing that his mind was set and unlikely to be swayed, Brother Long had no choice but to trust his decision. He took the script and said, “Understood. This is a small production. A-list and B-list artists won’t look at it, and C-list and D-list artists think it’s beneath them and won’t make them famous. It shouldn’t be hard to negotiate.”

Shi Xingze smiled brightly at Brother Long and eagerly poured another bowl of soup. “Hehe, Brother Long, you’re the best.”

Brother Long shot him a look and slowly drank the soup, but he was thinking that if this web drama really didn’t work out, he could always go to Jian Xingzhi for help.

Hmph, Jian Xingzhi stole his artist. If Shi Xingze had career problems, shouldn’t he, as the boyfriend, step up and help? He needed to properly teach Shi Xingze that a boyfriend who only talks the talk is absolutely unacceptable.

Shi Xingze saw that Brother Long seemed to have accepted the situation and said unexpectedly, “Brother Long, do you think my necklace is pretty? Jian Xingzhi gave it to me, and it’s a matching set with his.”

“Pfft!!!”

Brother Long spat out the soup in his mouth. Shi Xingze quickly grabbed tissues to wipe the soup off Brother Long’s clothes. “Brother Long, drink slowly, drink slowly!”

“Is this about drinking slowly!” Brother Long put down the soup bowl, searched for an account on his phone, and shoved it in front of Shi Xingze. “Is this Jian Xingzhi? Look at what he posted! Quickly hide your necklace! If fans dig this up, you’re finished!”

Shi Xingze, of course, knew that Jian Xingzhi had posted about their necklaces on Weibo. He guiltily covered the necklace on his chest and chuckled awkwardly. “Haha, I definitely won’t show it to anyone else.”

Brother Long is so fierce.