Volume Two: Shadows of the Past - Chapter 89: Would you like me to introduce my brother to you?

"How is it? Do you feel this movie is alright?" The girl sitting next to Wang Youxuan did not notice Cao Xin's odd expression; instead, she excitedly asked him for his thoughts after watching the film.

This time, Cao Xin did not offer a perfunctory agreement. Instead, he nodded and said earnestly, "Extremely good. I can honestly say it's the most incredible action movie I have ever seen." It truly was the greatest movie he had ever watched. Thinking of the fight choreography in the film, Cao Xin still felt his heart pounding with excitement.

The girl said with a sense of reflected glory, "Well of course! This is a movie directed by Chen Jing, how could it not be incredible?"

"Wait, is this movie really directed by Chen Jing? Isn't he a singing star? How did he suddenly become both a director and an actor, and start making movies?" Cao Xin asked, completely baffled by the question in his mind.

"Hehe, because my idol is amazing!"

Cao Xin rolled his eyes in exasperation: "Right! Your idol is the most amazing."

The girl protested unconvinced, "Otherwise what? Who else can sing, write songs, and now direct movies and act as well? If this isn't amazing, what is?"

Cao Xin: "..." He actually wanted to refute, but seemed unable to find any reason to do so.

Sitting beside them, Wang Youxuan listened to her best friend and Cao Xin arguing without chiming in. Suddenly, the ringtone of a mobile phone chimed; it was Wang Youxuan's phone.

As Wang Youxuan pulled out her phone and saw the caller ID, a brilliant smile instantly bloomed across her face, leaving Cao Xin beside her somewhat dazed and entranced.

"Brother, where are you? ... Mm, I just finished watching a movie at Jingrun Cinema... Hehe, of course I have to support your movie... Are you coming to pick me up later? Okay, I'll wait for you at the ground floor entrance." Wang Youxuan hung up the phone with a satisfied expression.

Seeing Wang Youxuan finish her call with a radiant smile, her female classmate immediately teased, "Youxuan, which handsome guy is calling you? Look at that smile, it looks just like you finished talking with your sweetheart."

At this moment, Cao Xin also perked up his ears. He was extremely curious about who Wang Youxuan had just been talking to. Although he couldn't hear the conversation clearly earlier, it was unmistakably a male voice on the phone.

Could his goddess really be taken already? No wonder she had been so indifferent to him; it turned out her heart already belonged to someone else.

Teased by her best friend, Wang Youxuan felt a blush naturally creeping onto her cheeks. She immediately pulled the girl's hand and said, "Go on, go on. Zeng Li, what nonsense are you talking about? That was a call from my brother. He said he's coming to pick me up later."

"Your brother?" The group of friends was stunned. They had genuinely never heard of Wang Youxuan having a brother.

On the contrary, upon hearing that the person on the phone with Wang Youxuan was her brother, Cao Xin let out a sigh of relief.

So it was just her brother; that was a relief.

Wang Youxuan leaned close to her best friend Zeng Li's ear and said teasingly, "That's right, it's my brother. Let me tell you, my brother is a total hunk! Do you want me to introduce him to you later?"

Zeng Li dismissed it disdainfully, "Pfft, how handsome could he possibly be? Is he as handsome as my Chen Jing?" She hugged Wang Youxuan and said with a giggle, "Most importantly, I don't eat grass from my own backyard. Since he's your brother, Youxuan, forget it, I'm not interested."

"Oh~ Really? You're the one who said it," Wang Youxuan said with a knowing smile.

A girl asked, "So Youxuan, you're waiting for your brother to pick you up? Aren't you coming with us to the mall?"

"Yeah. I have some things to do today, I'll join you girls next time."

"Alright then, we'll head off first. Hey! Cao Xin, are you coming with us girls to the mall?" The girl intentionally extended an invitation to Cao Xin, making it quite obvious that she held some affection for him.

However, the feeling was not mutual. Cao Xin directly refused, "No, you guys go ahead. I need to head back too. I'll go downstairs with Youxuan in a bit."

Since Wang Youxuan was no longer going, Cao Xin naturally lost all interest in wandering around the shopping mall with these girls. Accompanying girls shopping was the most troublesome thing in the world.

"Fine then, Cao Xin, make sure to see Youxuan off." Zeng Li didn't care what Cao Xin thought. It was even better without him; after all, with a group of girls, having a male presence around made wandering about feel rather awkward.

Once the group of girls departed, only Cao Xin and Wang Youxuan remained.

Hesitating for a moment, Cao Xin spoke up, "How about I walk you downstairs? I'll head back only after your brother arrives and picks you up."

Wang Youxuan nodded. Although she felt there was no real need for Cao Xin to walk her down, since he had already offered, it would be impolite of her to refuse. Besides, if Cao Xin was heading back too, they would be going down together anyway. Since they were taking the same route, it didn't really matter whether he accompanied her or not.

The two walked half a meter apart. Cao Xin felt a slight stir of excitement and wanted to find a topic to break the silence between them. After thinking for a moment, Cao Xin began, "Youxuan, is Chen Jing your idol too?" Actually, this question was entirely redundant; who in their class didn't know that Chen Jing was Wang Youxuan's idol?

The reason everyone in the class knew was precisely because Wang Youxuan was the very first person in the class to chase after Chen Jing as a fan. It was only afterward that the other girls in the class were slowly influenced by her to start following Chen Jing as well.

Yet Wang Youxuan failed to notice anything amiss with Cao Xin's question. Mentioning Chen Jing, she proudly admitted, "That's right, my big brother is my idol."

"Uh..."又是我家哥哥, Cao Xin had no idea which of Wang Youxuan's brothers she was talking about. Could Chen Jing actually be Youxuan's brother?

Cao Xin shook his head, banishing such unrealistic thoughts. Gathering his thoughts, he played along with Wang Youxuan's sentiment and said, "Chen Jing is indeed quite formidable, able to sing and compose. And the movie he directed now is also so incredible. I've truly never seen a star like him before." As he spoke, Cao Xin sighed with emotion, almost feeling tempted to become a fan of Chen Jing himself.

"Right? The crucial point is that my big brother is also so handsome, hehe," Wang Youxuan said with a sense of pride.

"Er..." Regarding the point of Chen Jing being very handsome, Cao Xin begged to differ. No guy would ever admit to another man being handsome in front of the girl he admired, even if it killed him.

Helpless, Cao Xin changed the subject, "I used to listen to and really like his songs. My absolute favorite is his song 'Nocturne'. Now I really like this movie he directed, too. I never expected that a pop singer could actually direct such a great movie."

"There is nothing that my big brother cannot do."

Seeing the look of utter pride on Wang Youxuan's face, Cao Xin simply attributed it to the way fans view stars through rose-tinted glasses. He just smiled without making any further comment.

The two quickly arrived at the ground floor, walked out the main entrance, and headed to the bus stop by the roadside.

"How about I wait until you get on the vehicle before I take the bus back?" Cao Xin suggested. He genuinely wanted to spend a little more time with Wang Youxuan. He also wanted to catch a glimpse of Wang Youxuan's family—or rather, he wanted to be seen by Wang Youxuan's family.

Since Wang Youxuan couldn't possibly guess Cao Xin's little ulterior motives, she waved her hand and said, "Cao Xin, you don't need to wait for me. Which bus number are you taking back? When your bus arrives, you should just get on."

Cao Xin thought for a moment and nodded: "Alright then, I'm taking the X2 bus. When the bus comes, I'll get on."

During the time they spent waiting for the bus, Cao Xin intentionally or unintentionally brought up topics to chat with Wang Youxuan. Wang Youxuan did not show any signs of impatience; she simply responded to Cao Xin's words casually, glancing at her phone from time to time.

Finally, when Wang Youxuan's phone rang once more, she immediately answered it: "Hello, Brother... Mhm, I'm right here at the bus stop by the building entrance... Okay."

Hanging up the phone, Wang Youxuan smiled and said to Cao Xin, "My brother is coming right now. I'll be leaving first then."

Cao Xin nodded and hurriedly straightened his clothes a little.

Sure enough, in less than two minutes, a commercial vehicle pulled up right in front of the two of them.

As the front passenger window rolled down, Chen Jing's face was instantly revealed.

"Brother!" Seeing that it was Chen Jing, Wang Youxuan immediately called out sweetly.

Having seen Wang Youxuan's family member, Cao Xin should have greeted him proactively. However, at this moment, Cao Xin remained frozen in place, his mouth agape as he stared at the so-called brother of Wang Youxuan in the car.

Because he was driving, Chen Jing wasn't wearing sunglasses or any other disguises, so Cao Xin could see him with absolute clarity. Yet precisely because it was so clear, Cao Xin was too terrified to speak.

"Youxuan, who is this?" Chen Jing asked with a smile, looking at the young man standing next to his younger sister.

"He's my classmate, Cao Xin. Today our classmates happened to get together to watch your movie, hehe." Wang Youxuan introduced Cao Xin with a smile, then turned her head to say, "Cao Xin, why are you daydreaming? This is my brother." With that, she cast a mischievous look at him.

Wang Youxuan simply wanted to see what kind of expression Cao Xin would make upon seeing her brother Chen Jing. Now, seeing him utterly dumbfounded, she felt an extra sense of satisfaction and amusement.

"Ah? This... Hello... Bro... Uh... You are..." Cao Xin finally snapped back to his senses, beginning to stammer incoherently.

Chen Jing shook his head with amusement, gave Wang Youxuan a playful side-eye, and then introduced himself to Cao Xin, "Hello, Cao Xin. I'm Chen Jing, Youxuan's older brother."

Seeing that her brother had uncovered her little scheme, Wang Youxuan stuck her tongue out at him with embarrassment.

Cao Xin took a deep breath, calmed his racing mind, and then asked excitedly, "You really are Chen Jing? The one who sang 'Nocturne' and..." As he spoke, Cao Xin remembered something, quickly turned his head to scan their surroundings, and then pointed excitedly at the movie promotional poster for *SPL: Sha Po Lang* hanging outside the mall building, shouting, "And the lead actor in *SPL: Sha Po Lang*, that Chen Jing?"