Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The lens shook as rows of white tents swept across the viewfinder. The man squinted, pressing his eye against the eyepiece as he carefully adjusted the focus ring, aiming at the open ground not far from the tents. He panned across each face in the area.

Seemingly still not having found his target, the man kept shifting the lens, a triumphant smile spreading across his face.

"Looking for me?"

A voice cut in from behind. The man's smile froze, and he turned his head toward the source. There stood his intended subject, looking down at him with a faintly amused expression.

Chu Heng gazed at the man lying dumbfounded on the ground and raised an eyebrow. "What did you manage to capture?"

The man jolted, immediately scrambling to his feet with his camera and trying to bolt.

A few minutes later.

The man's hands were bound behind his back with coarse rope, and he was kneeling awkwardly on the asphalt road, glaring resentfully at the culprit.

Chu Heng leaned against the hood of the Land Rover, a cigarette dangling from his lips as he fiddled leisurely with the camera in his hands. Dressed in a black trench coat with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, a pair of sunglasses tucked into the coat's pocket, and long legs clad in black combat boots casually bent, he looked utterly nonchalant.

Watching Chu Heng randomly press buttons, the man's eyes turned red with frustration, but a silk scarf stuffed in his mouth prevented him from speaking.

Chu Heng was reviewing the photos on the camera. Spotting something, he let out a low whistle. "Got quite a haul, huh? Enough to earn you a hefty sum."

He glanced at the man on the ground. The front of the man's shirt was covered in yellow sand from lying prone for so long, and he now stared nervously at the camera in Chu Heng's hands, as if his very life depended on it.

Chu Heng stroked his chin and suddenly smiled. "So nervous. Could it be you haven't had time to back up what's on here yet?"

The man stiffened, then sneered disdainfully, turning his face away.

His acting was clumsy, and Chu Heng saw right through it. He pulled out the memory card, removed the unlit cigarette from his mouth and tucked it into his coat pocket, casually set the camera on the hood, then bent down to remove the silk scarf from the man's mouth. Tossing it aside, he leaned back against the vehicle.

"I have a few questions. You'd better answer honestly."

The man spat.

Chu Heng waved the memory card in his hand leisurely. "Hmm?"

The man finally answered, unwillingly, "What do you want to know?"

"First question: Who tipped you off about *Blue Mane* shutting down and resuming production?"

The man's face tightened. "Don't know. I just got a text saying the crew had shut down and you weren't there, and when they started filming again, you still weren't there."

The message was vague, but for someone like him, a seasoned paparazzo, it immediately hinted at a potential story.

Chu Heng raised an eyebrow. The signal had returned to normal a day after he came back, and the crew had immediately resumed work. He had returned to filming. These past few days, the scenes focused on the male and female leads, so Chu Heng basically only shot one scene per day. The rest of the time, he drove off in the props department's vehicle, precisely to lure the paparazzi back.

This location was different from other shooting sites. The Gobi was full of dangers, and without a professional guide, no one dared venture deep into the desert recklessly. So, the paparazzo definitely wouldn't stray far from the national highway.

After a few days of driving around, he had indeed caught one red-handed.

Just as Chu Heng was about to ask another question, his phone rang. Pulling it out, he saw it was Chen Jinsheng calling.

He froze for a moment, his finger moving faster than his brain as he swiped the answer button and put the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

There was a brief silence on the other end before Chen Jinsheng's slightly low voice came through. "Are you busy?"

Chu Heng glanced at the trussed-up paparazzo on the ground. "No. What's up?"

Chen Jinsheng said, "I'm locked out."

Before Chu Heng could respond, he added, "The security guard in the complex wants to talk to you."

The topic shifted too quickly. Before Chu Heng could process it, the person on the other end had already changed. After a greeting, the guard launched into a lengthy explanation: while patrolling the villa area, he had noticed someone acting suspiciously at Chu Heng's door. When confronted, the person claimed to live there but couldn't provide the gate code.

Knowing Chu Heng's identity, the guard immediately suspected Chen Jinsheng was a paparazzo trying to sneak in and dig up private information.

Chu Heng was both amused and exasperated. "It's fine, he's family. I changed the password a few days ago and forgot to tell him. Please give the phone back to him."

The guard's doubts were dispelled. He apologized to Chen Jinsheng and returned the phone.

The guard still had patrol duties, so after confirming everything was okay, he left. Chen Jinsheng held the phone and said matter-of-factly, "He's gone."

Through the phone, Chu Heng's voice sounded somewhat muffled, with loud wind noise in the background, as if he were in an open area.

"I left in a rush and forgot to tell you the gate code. It's 123456. If you don't like that password, you can change it. I think the door lock manual is in the cabinet in the entryway, you can look for it. Or you can just register a fingerprint..."

Chen Jinsheng lowered his gaze and pressed the numbers 1 through 6 on the keypad in order, then moved his finger to the # key. Chu Heng, perhaps hearing the button presses, said, "Press the pound key to confirm after entering the password."

Chen Jinsheng pressed it. The lock beeped, and he pushed the door open. From this sentence of Chu Heng's, he understood Chu Heng's current attitude toward him.

He sorted the groceries he had bought into the refrigerator, then said, "I want to buy a computer."

Chu Heng seemed slightly surprised he would take the initiative to make a request. After a pause, he replied, "Okay, buy it."

"The clothes are a bit small."

"I'll get you new ones."

Chen Jinsheng changed the subject abruptly. "When are you coming back?"

"...I'm wrapping up soon."

Chen Jinsheng hummed in acknowledgment. "Hanging up."

"...Oh."

Chen Jinsheng closed the refrigerator door, ended the call, and saw his own expressionless eyes reflected in the fridge's glossy, mirror-like surface.

*Beep, beep, beep.*

*Ding-ling, ding-ling, ding-ling.*

The sound of the call disconnecting mingled with the constant chime of merit points being credited, assaulting Chu Heng's eardrums.

Chu Heng was lost in thought for a moment, about to pull up the debt panel to check, when he looked down and met the paparazzo's intense stare.

The paparazzo was half-lying on the ground in an awkward, strenuous position, yet he strained to lift his head, staring fixedly at Chu Heng like a stray dog that had been starving for ages and suddenly caught the scent of meat.

Chu Heng: ...

A flicker of fervor appeared in the paparazzo's eyes. In a tone of absolute certainty, he declared, "You've got something going on."

His expression grew excited. Chu Heng had been in the industry for nearly a decade, plagued by scandals, surrounded by various rumors, and paired with numerous on-screen partners, yet he had never been linked with any romantic gossip. God only knew how thrilled he was to hear the word "family" from Chu Heng's mouth. He would stake his seventeen-year career as a paparazzo on it—the tone Chu Heng used, the look on his face when he said that word—this "family" was either a significant other or a secret lover.

And judging from those few lines of conversation, the other person was clearly quite attached, and Chu Heng was indulging them.

Oh wait, there was another possibility.

So, Chu Heng has been secretly married for years, and the person who just called is his child!

What a scoop! What a scoop!

The paparazzo could already imagine how he would become famous in the paparazzi circle with this piece of news and cause a huge uproar online.

Chu Heng: ...

Chu Heng looked at the paparazzo, whose face had flushed with excitement in just a moment, with an expression that spoke volumes, and once again gestured with the memory card in his hand.

However, the paparazzo was now completely obsessed with Chu Heng's scandal and didn't care at all about the "trivial stuff" on the memory card.

Seeing him so carried away, Chu Heng was quite speechless: "Without any evidence, what can you do?"

The paparazzo's grand dream was instantly shattered, but he still refused to give up: "One day, I'll get the proof."

Chu Heng sized him up for a moment, then suddenly smiled: "Want to make a deal?"

...

Half a month later, Chu Heng finished filming.

He didn't attend the wrap party and flew back to W City alone the next day.

It was late at night when he landed. The airport was almost deserted. Chu Heng, bundled up in a large baseball jacket, with his mask pulled tight and a baseball cap pulled low, didn't attract much attention and smoothly left the airport, hailing a cab.

"Hechi Villa," he said, giving the destination as he got in the car.

The car radio was tuned to some late-night channel. The female host was narrating a story in a measured, even tone, making one drowsy. However, the driver was wide awake and chatty and kept trying to strike up a conversation. Chu Heng, not in the mood, replied casually a few times.

He instantly regretted engaging. The driver was a chatterbox; give him an opening and he'd talk nonstop.

Chu Heng fell silent and started replying to the messages Wang Yelong had sent several hours ago.

Wang Yelong: "Where did you go? Old Ding said he didn't pick you up."

Wang Yelong: "You gave Meng Hui three months off?"

Wang Yelong: "? Where are you?"

Wang Yelong: "You have an interview the day after tomorrow, and the day after that you're a guest star on a variety show. The schedule is already set, you didn't forget, did you?"

Chu Heng really had forgotten.

In his previous life, he had a fixation on money. Even though the fortune Chen Jinsheng left him was enough for a lifetime without worry, he still felt uneasy. He felt restless whenever idle, so he took on any suitable job—movies, TV shows, variety shows, interviews—basically back-to-back. At his busiest, he even snatched sleep on the road.

For a full decade, Chu Heng was a constant presence on screen.

When the wealth he had accumulated was immense, he began chasing status and power. In the end, he did become a top figure in the world of fame and fortune, but within a year, he died.

A tragic death, mangled beyond recognition by a car.

All that fame, profit, money, and power became nothing but the bloody mess beneath him, attracting only flies and onlookers.

Now, looking back on that period of his life, Chu Heng felt lucky he hadn't died from overwork.

His heart still pounding with residual fear, he patted his chest, grateful to be alive.

"W City"

"I'll attend the interview and variety show"

"Send me my schedule for this year"

Chu Heng replied to the messages. In the time it took to type those few lines, the driver had already moved on to recounting his heroic feat of how he fell in love at first sight with his now-wife and launched a fierce pursuit.

Chu Heng responded with a few absent-minded "uh-huhs" and "ahs." Upon reaching the destination, he paid, got out, went to the trunk for his suitcase—all in one smooth motion—and finally had some peace and quiet.

Dragging his suitcase to his front door, he habitually entered the password, only for the lock to emit an error tone. He suddenly remembered that half a month ago, he had told Chen Jinsheng to change the password, and in the subsequent half month, he hadn't contacted Chen Jinsheng again.

Meaning, he now couldn't get into his own home.

The early hours of an autumn morning were still quite cold. Chu Heng didn't want to stand outside in the cold wind in the middle of the night. After ringing the doorbell with no response, he called Chen Jinsheng directly.

Half a minute later, the lights in the second-floor master bedroom turned on. Just as Chu Heng put down his phone, the door in front of him opened. Warm light instantly spilled from the entryway, casting distinct shadows on Chu Heng.

Chen Jinsheng was wearing dark blue silk pajamas, the buttons fastened meticulously. He looked wide awake, not at all like someone whose sleep had been disturbed. His gaze swept over Chu Heng quickly, then he took a step forward.

The sudden approach of the tall figure made Chu Heng uneasy. He leaned back slightly. Chen Jinsheng was suddenly very close, followed by a fleeting, rough yet warm sensation on the back of his hand.

After taking the suitcase, Chen Jinsheng retreated into the entryway. He seemed to dislike the sound of the suitcase wheels rolling on the marble tiles, so he carried the suitcase a few steps inside with one hand. Noticing no movement behind him, he looked back.

"Aren't you coming in?"

Chu Heng snapped back to reality and stepped inside. After closing the door and changing into slippers, he found Chen Jinsheng was gone. The suitcase was placed at the foot of the stairs, and faint clattering sounds came from the kitchen.

Chu Heng walked to the kitchen and was surprised to find Chen Jinsheng wearing a pink checkered apron printed with Hello Kitty, skillfully starting to cook noodles.

For a moment, he didn't know what to ask first and stood silently at the doorway.

Chen Jinsheng glanced at him, finished sprinkling the dried noodles in his hand, then poured a glass of hot water and brought it over. After Chu Heng took it, he walked back to the pot, slowly stirring the noodles with chopsticks.

Chu Heng held the glass with both hands, suddenly relaxed, and leaned against the doorframe. "Where did you get that apron you're wearing?"

It's quite... stylish.

"It came free with grocery shopping."

Chu Heng took a sip of water, looking at Chen Jinsheng enveloped in the warm yellow light, exuding an aura of a househusband. He suddenly asked, "Boss Chen, interested in being my assistant?"

The term "Boss Chen" followed by that question was really quite sarcastic.

But Chu Heng swore he absolutely didn't mean to be sarcastic. He was just used to that form of address and found it hard to change for the moment.

Fortunately, the person in question didn't react much. He just paused, then asked, "What does being your assistant involve?"

"A personal assistant, responsible for my daily life—clothing, food, shelter, and transportation."

Chu Heng had thought it over. Every time he got merit points related to Chen Jinsheng, they came inexplicably. He needed to figure out the source. It would be best to spend more time with Chen Jinsheng. But after looking at the schedule Wang Yelong sent, his schedule was packed until early next year, and he'd likely be traveling frequently. After much thought, the only solution seemed to be making Chen Jinsheng his personal assistant.

He tried his best to persuade Chen Jinsheng to agree: "Meals and accommodation provided, monthly salary over ten thousand, travel expenses covered. How about it?"

Surprisingly, Chen Jinsheng agreed very straightforwardly.

"Okay." Chen Jinsheng lowered his head slightly and turned off the stove. "But before that, I need to go see my mom first."