Volume Two: Shadows of the Past, Chapter Ninety: The Visit

Cao Xin had imagined many possible scenarios for meeting Wang Youxuan's older brother, but he never anticipated this one.

Wang Youxuan's older brother was actually Chen Jing!

The megastar and top singer, Chen Jing!

The director who made the movie *SPL: Sha Po Lang*, which they had just finished watching, Chen Jing!

How could Cao Xin possibly believe this?

Yet, no matter how hard it was to accept, with the facts right in front of him, Cao Xin had no choice but to believe it.

Following the direction of Cao Xin's finger, Chen Jing looked over and saw the promotional poster for the movie *SPL: Sha Po Lang*, featuring a photograph of himself as the leading man, looking quite handsome.

Chen Jing smiled instantly, graciously admitting, "That's right, I am the Chen Jing you were talking about."

At this, Cao Xin was beyond thrilled. The nervous thoughts of meeting Wang Youxuan's family member were completely blown to the winds. This was the first time he had seen a celebrity in person! And at such close range, and even talking and interacting with him.

Actually, it was hard to blame Cao Xin for being so excited. Although he had claimed that Chen Jing wasn't his idol, he listened to all of Chen Jing's songs and could certainly be considered a minor fan of his. Furthermore, for art students studying music like them, Chen Jing's debut journey was a source of ultimate admiration. After all, who wouldn't want to become the next Chen Jing?

Because of this, upon discovering that Wang Youxuan's brother was Chen Jing, Cao Xin was too excited to speak.

Hearing Chen Jing's generous admission, Cao Xin grew even more thrilled, to the point where he had no idea what to say.

Wang Youxuan directly opened the front passenger door and got inside.

At that moment, Cao Xin finally mustered the courage to say to Chen Jing, "Chen Jing, I really love the songs you sing, and I really love the movie *SPL: Sha Po Lang* that you directed."

Chen Jing replied sincerely, "Thank you for liking my work, and thanks for your support." Then he asked, "Where are you heading? Would you like us to give you a ride?"

Hearing this, although Cao Xin desperately wanted to nod in agreement, his skin was too thin, and he felt too embarrassed to accept. He could only wave his hands and say, "No, thank you. I'll just take the bus back."

Since no ride was needed, Chen Jing didn't dwell on it further and simply said, "Then we'll be off. It's not a good place to park by the bus stop for too long."

Cao Xin couldn't help but inwardly reproach himself for his timidity, but since the words were already out, he felt too awkward to change his mind. He could only nod and say, "Uh, okay."

"Well, bye then, Cao Xin. See you at school after the holiday." Wang Youxuan also waved at Cao Xin.

"Yeah, see you at school."

Watching Chen Jing's car slowly vanish from his field of vision, Cao Xin still felt as though it were all a dream...

Inside the van, Chen Jing laughed casually, "It seems our Youxuan is quite popular at school after all."

Wang Youxuan assumed a haughty expression and said, "Of course! Hehe, not to brag to you, big brother, but the boys in my class even voted me the class belle."

Naturally, Wang Youxuan knew that her brother was referring to the fact that Cao Xin had a crush on her. She was well aware of it, but when someone hadn't explicitly stated their intention to pursue you, you couldn't just preemptively reject them. So she simply kept playing dumb in front of Cao Xin, treating him merely as a classmate.

Chen Jing bantered, "Hehe, just promise not to date anyone before you graduate from high school. Otherwise, if Sister Menglan comes after you then, I won't be able to protect you."

Chen Jing was well aware of Wang Menglan's firm opposition to Wang Youxuan entering into early romantic relationships. Perhaps due to the pain of her own past experiences, Wang Menglan had warned Wang Youxuan since childhood not to fall in love too early.

Wang Youxuan rolled her eyes and said helplessly, "Oh, please, I won't. I wouldn't give the boys in my class a second look anyway. They lack both good looks and talent; compared to my big brother, they are nothing."

"Hehe, if you compare me to them, you're going to have a very hard time finding anyone pleasing to the eye." Chen Jing possessed that much self-confidence; he had never been someone who belittled himself.

Wang Youxuan said offhandedly, "If I can't look at them, I won't. Anyway, as long as I have my big brother, that's enough."

Chen Jing smiled without speaking, though inwardly he sighed softly: I just worry that your big brother won't be around to accompany you for much longer...

"Oh right, big brother, where are we going?" Seeing Chen Jing fall silent, Wang Youxuan asked again.

"To find an actress," Chen Jing said, keeping his eyes focused on the road without turning his head.

"An actress?" Wang Youxuan looked at Chen Jing in confusion.

"Mhm, the female lead for my next movie. I found someone very suitable. Let's see if we can invite her to act in it."

"Oh!" Wang Youxuan understood, then asked with pleasant surprise, "Has big brother already decided what kind of movie to shoot next?"

Chen Jing explained, "That's right, *SPL: Sha Po Lang* has already been released, and I don't have much else to busy myself with now. Just in time to start preparing the next film."

"What genre is big brother's next movie going to be? Is it still an action movie?" Wang Youxuan looked at Chen Jing with curiosity.

Chen Jing smiled slightly, "No. For the next movie, I plan to make a martial arts wuxia film."

"A wuxia film!..."

Driving together, Chen Jing and Wang Youxuan arrived at a residential neighborhood. Following the information he had obtained, Chen Jing parked the car near the destination. Then, putting on his sunglasses and face mask, he got out of the car along with Youxuan.

After getting out, Wang Youxuan looked around curiously, "Does that actress live around here?"

Chen Jing nodded and said, "The information I received says so. Let's look for it."

Sure enough, trying to find someone in a residential area like this was genuinely difficult, because the building numbers on these residential blocks followed no logical sequence. One building might be number 18, while the very next door neighbor turned out to be number 78.

With no other choice, Chen Jing had to resort to his final method: asking anyone he saw.

After several inquiries and twists and turns, Chen Jing finally located their destination less than 50 meters away from where they had parked.

Wang Youxuan couldn't help complaining, "We spent half an hour searching for such a short distance. How ridiculous."

Chen Jing also smiled wryly, "It seems we passed by this exact spot two or three times. We just didn't turn down this alleyway back then, which is why we didn't find it."

Arriving at the target building, Chen Jing took a brief look. It appeared to be a two-story house of about 80 square meters. It was hard to imagine that a former female celebrity would actually live in a place like this.

Reaching the front door, Chen Jing pressed the doorbell three times. After waiting for a long time without hearing any movement from inside, Chen Jing pressed the doorbell three times again. Still, there was no sound from within.

Chen Jing and Wang Youxuan exchanged glances. Wang Youxuan said, "Could she have gone out? Is nobody home?"

Chen Jing nodded, just about to agree, when his ears twitched and he heard some movement rustling inside. Instantly, Chen Jing's eyes lit up, and he pressed the doorbell three times once more.

Sure enough, following the ring, sounds drifted out from the house, making it obvious that someone was indeed inside.

Wang Youxuan heard the noises too and immediately whispered, "There is someone inside!"

No sooner had she spoken than footsteps could be heard approaching. A moment later, the sound of a latch turning rang out, and the wooden door swung open.

A woman clad in cool sleepwear, looking sleep-deprived and drowsy, appeared before them.

Needless to say, the woman standing right in front of them must be Chen Jing's target for this trip.

"Um, hello, we are looking for—" Chen Jing started to speak, but he noticed that perhaps due to just waking up, the woman's pajamas were somewhat loose and draped sloppily over her body. Moreover, because her figure was so voluptuous and her chest so full, the flimsy sleepwear failed to conceal the snowy expanse above, revealing a deep, bottomless cleavage.

Chen Jing was instantly struck with embarrassment and found it awkward to keep speaking. He quickly averted his gaze to the side.

"Um, who are you people?" The woman asked irritably, still yawning without a shred of awareness. Nobody in a sound afternoon nap would be in a good mood after being disturbed.

Hearing the other party speak, Chen Jing had no choice but to raise his head and look into her eyes, asking, "Uh... excuse me, may I ask if you are Ms. Xie Shuxia?"

Hearing the stranger call out her name, Xie Shuxia was startled for a moment. Collecting her wits, she looked at Chen Jing, who was wearing sunglasses and a mask.

Recognizing this familiar disguise, Xie Shuxia immediately guessed his identity. She then glanced at Wang Youxuan standing next to Chen Jing, and seeing that Wang Youxuan was still just a student, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She then acknowledged Chen Jing, "That's right. And you are?"

To win her trust, Chen Jing removed his mask and sunglasses, introducing himself, "Hello, my name is Chen Jing. Like you, I am an artist with Jingrun Entertainment."

Sure enough, Xie Shuxia recognized Chen Jing. Seeing his face, realization dawned on her, "Oh, I remember you! The musical talent Chen Jing, right? And also the director of that recent movie called what?" Xie Shuxia temporarily failed to recall the movie's title.

Chen Jing rubbed his nose and said, "*SPL: Sha Po Lang*."

Xie Shuxia immediately clapped her hands together and exclaimed excitedly, "Right, *SPL: Sha Po Lang*." Then she looked back at Chen Jing, "I wonder what brings Director Chen to find me?"

The moment Xie Shuxia asked this question, Chen Jing's eyes narrowed slightly.

For her to address him as "Director Chen" indicated that Xie Shuxia knew he was likely here to invite her to act in a film. Yet, knowing this, she still hadn't invited him inside, which made her attitude rather thought-provoking.

Chen Jing pondered for a moment, made up his mind instantly, and smilingly changed his tone, "Director Chen is too much. Well, it's actually like this: my younger sister told me she is a huge fan of yours, Sister Shuxia, and desperately wanted to meet you. So I took this opportunity to bring her to pay her respects. I wonder if Sister Shuxia would do us the honor of letting me and my sister step inside for a chat?"

Wang Youxuan: "!!!"

Since when did I become a fan of hers? Big brother, is it really okay for you to drag your little sister into your excuses?