Chapter 27: Old Brother, Let Me Protect Your Dream!

PS: At the request of our generous sponsor, the character formerly known as Li Mingxi, the old lady, has been officially renamed Wu Ming. Since this character was customized by our sponsor, I, the humble author, must bow to their wishes. Previous chapters have been updated accordingly; please take note.

Although Old Lady Wu Ming was already in her fifties, her eyesight was still sharp. After watching the news of Li Shixin’s on-set incident and the subsequent video statement he posted on Weibo, she found herself deeply shaken. An overwhelming bitterness welled up from the depths of her heart and erupted like a volcano.

She had been right there in the square when Li Shixin suddenly collapsed during the confrontation. Wu Ming had witnessed with her own eyes as he fell rigidly to the ground like a felled tree; she had seen his body break out in a sudden sweat, wracked with convulsions as he lay on the pavement.

Before her retirement, Wu Ming had been a medical professional. She knew better than anyone what was genuine and what was feigned, what was a pathological reaction and what was mere pretense. Even though Li Shixin seemed perfectly fine after taking his medication, Wu Ming had remained deeply suspicious.

If it was just an act, then it was far too convincing!

Now, after watching Li Shixin’s statement video on Weibo, she understood everything. What had happened in the square was not some staged accident—it was a genuine, acute episode of a severe cerebral thrombosis!

A sob escaped her lips as the realization struck, and tears streamed down her face. Others only saw Li Shixin, lively and spirited, singing, rapping, and dancing in the square. But no one except herself knew that this vibrant old man had only just returned from the very gates of death before performing these feats!

Even so, he never mentioned his ordeal. Instead, after getting back on his feet, he chose to bring joy to so many people in his own way.

What strength of will was this? What spirit did it take?

Again, Wu Ming’s tears fell, even more fiercely. On her computer screen, the video played once more: Li Shixin looked into the camera and said, “In truth, I don’t have much time left, so I just want to fulfill the dreams of my youth in the days I have remaining.”

Wu Ming felt as if her heart had been struck by a heavy blow.

Brother Li Shixin, though your body may be frail, your spirit is pure gold!

With teary eyes, she glanced at the comment section, scrolling endlessly with insults and slander. Wu Ming’s gaze grew resolute.

“Chen Boshin, come here,” she called, taking a deep breath and beckoning to her trembling granddaughter standing nearby.

“Grandma, w-what are you doing? Please don’t scare me,” whimpered the young girl, vice president of the Liu Xin fan club, who had already been frightened by her grandmother’s sternness and sudden tears.

Wu Ming gave a cold chuckle, pointed at the computer, and asked, “From now on, you’re not allowed to take part in things like this again, understood?”

“Why not?!” The girl reacted as though her tail had been stepped on, her feet clad in Pikachu knee-high socks stamping the floor. “Grandma, he’s my idol! I like him and support him. What right do you have to interfere?!”

Unmoved by her granddaughter’s outburst, Wu Ming sat in her computer chair as steady as a mountain, like the Empress Dowager herself. “Then tell me, what’s so good about him?”

“Brother Liu Xin sings so well!”

Ha. Clearly, you’ve never heard Brother Li Shixin sing.

“He can dance too! He’s super cool, super sexy!”

Wu Ming’s gaze grew dreamy as she recalled Li Shixin’s dazzling moves, leading the crowd in the square, painting dragons to the left and rainbows to the right.

“He can rap too—he’s awesome!”

Oh? Wu Ming raised an eyebrow. Is that so?

“He’s also so handsome when he acts!”

Glancing at the computer screen, at the old beggar with a proud spirit in the ‘Twilight of the Forbidden City’ trailer, Wu Ming felt a sudden warmth.

“How could anyone not like someone like him?” Chen Boshin made her final plea.

Staring at Li Shixin’s Weibo profile picture, Wu Ming nodded heavily. “Yes, how could anyone not like someone like him?”

“So, Grandma, does that mean you’ll let me keep being a Liu Xin fan?” Hope flickered in Chen Boshin’s eyes when she saw her grandmother nod.

“Heh.” Wu Ming slowly rose from her chair. “Not at all.”

“What? Grandma, how can you be like this?!” The girl was on the verge of collapse. “I don’t care! I’ll be Liu Xin’s fan for life—my eternal love, in this life and the next!”

“Outrageous!” Just as the girl was about to throw a tantrum, Wu Ming, in the blink of an eye, switched from Empress Dowager to the fierce nanny of old dramas.

She grabbed her granddaughter by the ear and scolded, “At your age, instead of learning good things, you’re wasting time online. Look at who you’re idolizing! He doesn’t even memorize his lines and only cares about his looks. His skills are mediocre at best, and his character is even worse! My old friend is over sixty, and he was just pushed off a car like that? Chen Boshin, what could you possibly learn from someone who doesn’t even respect the elderly? If you keep idolizing him for two more years, you’ll probably end up tossing your old grandmother down a well in the dead of night!”

“Grandma, what are you saying? I’d never do that!” The girl’s eyes filled with tears from the pain.

“Chen Boshin, I see your teachers aren’t giving you enough homework, and I’ve been too soft on you! Starting tomorrow, your allowance is suspended and will go toward extra tutoring! Your phone is confiscated—no more use! And look at what you’re wearing! All this flashy nonsense—a perfectly good pair of white knee socks, and you’ve got a yellow monkey painted on them? Cut them off right now!”

“Grandma! That’s not a yellow monkey, it’s Pikachu!”

“If I say it’s a yellow monkey, then it’s a yellow monkey! And what’s with your face? How old are you? You’re not even fifteen, and you’re already wearing makeup? All these useless cosmetics—throw them out!”

Watching her grandmother snap her beloved MAC lipstick in two, Chen Boshin felt as if the sky was falling. But when she saw the anger in her grandmother’s eyes, she gave in.

“Waaah... I... I get it...”

Seeing her granddaughter’s shoulders and twin ponytails trembling, pitiful as an eighty-pound beauty, Wu Ming’s anger finally eased a little.

After all, this was her own granddaughter—she’d invested so many years, and the girl had grown into a real beauty. It’d be a shame to beat her to death.

“Go on, stand in the corner for two hours! When you’re done, memorize a hundred new vocabulary words; you’re not allowed to sleep until you can recite them perfectly!”

“Waaah...” With Wu Ming’s command, the girl whipped her ponytails around and stomped furiously to the corner.

“Brat—she’s going to be the death of me,” muttered Wu Ming, pulling a bottle of quick-acting heart pills from her pocket, popping one, and patting her chest before turning back to Li Shixin’s Weibo on her computer.

Watching the looped trailer for ‘Twilight of the Forbidden City’—that aged yet soul-stirring face—her expression softened.

She opened the Weibo comments section, thought for a moment, and typed out a message.

And so, in the comments beneath Li Shixin’s latest post, there appeared a new message:

[Devoted to Xin, a lifelong companion] blueSky202: Brother Li Shixin, I truly adore you! Don’t fear the slander and malicious gossip. From now on, I will be the one to guard your dreams!

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