Chapter 152: His Natural Habitat
Translator: Lonelytree Editor: Millman97
Ye Shuang compartmentalized her life very fairly. From the personal perspective, after Anthony accepted the case, as the agent, she had the responsibility to help within her power. In terms of morality, what Xu Jian did could not be considered moral in the first place. Evil would soon be vanquished; it was just a matter of when and by whom.
Therefore, Ye Shuang would not hold back simply because Xu Jian was her university friend and first love. Since she had already accepted the job, she would not allow her personal feelings to influence her decision; that was the kind of person she was.
However, at the same time, after the battle had been concluded, Ye Shuang did not mind sharing an innocent meal with her former university mates. They were simply walking on different paths; there was no need to treat the other as nemeses. Of course, whether Xu Jian would feel the same way after knowing the truth was a completely different tale.
Therefore, looking at Xu Jian’s ending, Ye Shuang sighed with lamentation, but she did not feel shame or regret. The advice was merely her doing the last bit of kindness she could. She had already said that a debt had to be repaid, but many thought they could live their lives in debt forever.
…
After dinner, they parted for their own home. Ye Shuang did not ask what Xu Jian planned to do after this. As a former university friend, she should not have been so familiar with Xu Jian’s condition, and it was also due to this ident.i.ty that Ye Shuang had no reason to show that much care. The fact that Xu Jian would call her out for one final dinner was already not easy. From the way Xu Jian had conducted himself, Ye Shuang had reason to believe this was a farewell, so she only had the responsibility to play the role of an old friend.
“Brother Xu is leaving just like that?” Little Brother Ye had finally finished his monthly exams and had the time to return home. The first news he heard was the final dinner between Ye Shuang and Xu Jian.
Little Brother Ye thought about it and sighed. Even though he had not yet joined society, it did not mean that university students did not have the right to express regret about the pa.s.sing of the past. “Back then, Brother Xu helped me by pretending to be my father and treated me to so many meals. He was so nice back then, but now he’s ended up like this.”
“Didn’t you slam him for being pompous several days ago‽” Ye Shuang mocked her brother without pity as she packed her luggage.
“Those are different things.” Little Brother Ye was rather similar to Ye Shuang in terms of personality. He admitted with a giggle, “A few days ago, he thought he had the right to look down on me, so I could not stand him. Now, he has lost that right, so I can pity him.”
Little Brother Ye had his own way of processing stuff, but he was not a malicious person. Ye Shuang tussled his hair and said, “At least now that the tables have turned, your choice is different than your Brother Xu’s. It’s good that this happened to him. He was two years senior to me, meaning he’s only 26 or 27; he still has time to pick himself up. I believe he will see things clearer than before.”
In terms of dealing with Xu Jian, Ye Shuang looked at it with a detached, professional eye. In contrast, Little Brother Ye was more sentimental. Perhaps it was his personality or perhaps he was too young to have experienced that many things yet. Regardless, this drew an end to the whole drama, and they would not be coming across this person in the foreseeable future.
After giving his comments, Little Brother Ye soon forgot about the man. He looked at Ye Shuang shoving her stuff into her luggage and exclaimed excitedly, “Sis, you’re going to a movie premier‽ Bring me with you; I’ve not been to one before.”
“It’s nothing exciting.” Ye Shuang snapped the loaded luggage close. Then she pulled out the schedule for the night and handed it to Little Brother Ye. “Read this on your own. The director, a.s.sistant director, producer, main actors… All of them are going to give speeches. Just the speeches alone will last for half an hour, and it is followed by a media Q&A. You can’t even stand the half an hour speech during your school’s weekly gathering, and you want to come with me?”
The premier started at 2 pm, but the actual showing of the movie was pushed to 4 pm. This was to allow the guests plenty of time to give their speeches or to give the media plenty of time to ask their questions. A one- or two-hour delay was commonplace.
Little Brother Ye looked at the long schedule with fear, and his interest immediately disappeared. “Should I help you charge your phone and put a PSP in your luggage‽”
They thought a movie premier was something interesting and upscale; every powerful figure in the business would be gathered to watch a movie and exchange gossip. But after looking at the actual schedule, it was actually no different from a meeting.
Ye Shuang looked at him with patience and hissed, “You think I’m not famous enough‽ If I was seen playing some handheld game during the premier, the media will say I’m not respecting the organizer.”
Little Brother Ye thought about it with conflict. He still felt like he wanted to tag along. Even though it was not as glamorous as he thought, it was a rare opportunity. “Then you can bring me with you. I’m not with the crew or the organizer—at most I’ll sit with the fans—no one will mind if I play games.”
“That might not be true.” Ye Shuang smiled wickedly. “Those who have tickets to the premier are all real fans. If you were spotted playing games among them, you’re just asking for trouble. But it should be fine. If you’re bored, you can go hang out backstage. I’ve bought for you a plane ticket. After all, the premier is in Shanghai. If you’re not up for the premier, there’s still other places to visit.”
Little Brother Ye thought there was already no hope, but Ye Shuang suddenly turned the conversation around. This caused Little Brother Ye to scream with joy, and he jumped up to rush into his room to start packing.
“Help me pack some female clothing!” Ye Shuang yelled at his back. “If we stay for a few extra days, remember to cover for me.”
Little Brother Ye nodded without turning back. Then he ran back out to the door. He pulled out several dresses from Ye Shuang’s dresser.
“Deal with the panties yourself!”
Then he ran away again.
Ye Shuang felt like laughing. Her mood was not bad. With her family to help hide her secret, it felt better than harboring it on her own. She could not understand the reasoning of those main characters in the web novels. If she did not share her secret when the DNA optimization happened to her, she would not have things so easy now. Perhaps she would even have her guard up in front of her family. Then a wall would slowly from, preventing her from getting close to her family.
Perhaps she would be suspected by others due to her curious behavior. People would label her as proud and conceited. Then she might internalize these thoughts, and her personality would change… into someone not unlike Xu Jian half a month ago.
Thinking back, it was lucky of her to collapse in her own house’s living room. She did not have to make a difficult choice; she was naturally accepted after she woke up. Her family had already started to provide her with solution before even came to terms with it. Even with the transformation, at least she had her family to lean on.
While Little Brother Ye packed his luggage, Ye Shuang went online to book the tickets. Thankfully, the flight that she was taking still had a few empty seats.
The second day, the sister and brother turned into a pair of brothers. Ye Shuang led the excited Little Brother Ye out of the door. They lugged two suitcases as they called for a taxi to head to the airport.
Even though Brother Shuang had been out of the spotlight for quite some time already, it did nothing to decrease his popularity. Little Brother Ye was used to the comparison already. At the airport, he took out his phone and asked happily without any pressure, “Can I take a picture? I can, right‽ Bro, do you know you have a forum about you now? I’m going to use this to apply for the admin post.”
“Don’t be dumb. I’m trying to take on the mysterious persona.”
Before getting on the plane, she questioned her decision. Would this child really not create a problem for her in Shanghai‽
“I’m not planning on joining the industry. Plus, you’re standing so close to take my picture, and you’re asking me to smile at the camera… Are you that insistent on others finding out that you’re related to ‘Ye Shuang’?”
Little Brother Ye thought about it and realized Ye Shuang had a point. His account had been registered for several years already, and it would be a shame to give it up. However, if it was exposed that his account was related to ‘Ye Shuang’, he would have no chance for a breather.
“Then I’ll go further away to take your picture, and don’t look at the camera!”
Little Brother Ye compromised. He could not resist the feeling of being adored, so he ran about five meters away to snap Ye Shuang’s picture before running back to Ye Shuang and posting the picture with the t.i.tle: ‘Aren’t you all impressed‽ I’ve managed to capture the Adonis in his natural habitat!’
After he clicked on share, in just three minutes, his post had reached the top 100 threads. Even Ye Shuang could not resist the temptation and leaned over to look. “So many people already‽”
Actually, Brother Shuang’s ident.i.ty could not be called that impressive. After all, he was a newbie. No matter how good looking he was, there were rules within every industry. If a newbie was praised too much, people would suspect it was part of media manipulation.
If a newbie was paid too much for their first film, what about their future films‽ If it was too low, then it would be a face-slap to Brother Shuang, but if it was to follow the higher standard, who could guarantee a newbie could bring in the ticket sales‽ Why not take the payment to hire someone with certified star power?
However, a high price did not always translate to popularity, especially for someone like Ye Shuang, who had mysterious schedules and did not like to show himself in front of the media. After being silent for so long, it was little wonder that the fans hungered for some news.
It was unavoidable; that face was too unforgettable and too hard to let go of. Therefore, they would not miss out on any one of his pictures.