Isn’t money good?

Chapter 11

After finishing the script, Ji Yunnian went downstairs for water. Seeing only his older brother Ji Yuncheng in the living room, he asked, “Where’s Mom?”

Ji Yuncheng was four years older than Ji Yunnian. The two brothers didn’t look very alike. He resembled their father more, with a colder, harder temperament, making him a different type of handsome man.

“In the exhibition room.” Ji Yuncheng said.

“Oh.” Ji Yunnian finished his water and set down the glass. “I’ll go find her.”

“Wait.”

Ji Yuncheng called out to him, shifting his gaze from the news to focus on him. “You brought Yan Shiqiu home today?”

Ji Yunnian nodded. “He came to look at paintings.”

“I heard that Yan Shiqiu got the role of Chu Yuexuan. Did you pull any strings for him?”

Ji Yunnian was stunned. “He’s already been cast?”

The next second, he rolled his eyes at his brother. “What are you thinking? I’m not that stupid. You might as well say Ye Peiyuan pulled strings for him.”

He paused, then shook his head in denial. “Actually, it wasn’t Ye Peiyuan either. Ye Peiyuan doesn’t like him being an actor. He probably got selected based on his own merit. Chen Hangsheng showed me his audition clips. He acted quite well, obviously did his homework seriously. Chen Hangsheng really likes him, so choosing him makes perfect sense.”

“You’re praising him?” Ji Yuncheng seemed surprised. “I thought you really disliked him.”

“Don’t you think your words contradict each other?” Ji Yunnian said helplessly. “First you say I helped him through backdoor connections, then you say I dislike him.”

“But he’s Wen Chen’s cousin.”

Ji Yunnian: “…”

“Brother, you don’t really think I like Wen Chen, do you?”

“Don’t you?”

“No.” Ji Yunnian said definitively. “I do like Wen Chen, but only as a friend. To some extent, I also consider him like an older brother.”

Ji Yuncheng raised an eyebrow. “But you once said you wanted to marry him.”

Ji Yunnian was speechless. “That was fifteen years ago when I was only eleven!”

“Alright, enough teasing.” Ji Yuncheng turned his head back to continue watching the news. “I’m relieved that Yan Shiqiu got the role through his own ability. Our company is the major investor in this production, so we’ve put in quite a bit of money.”

“Mm, I know.”

Ji Yunnian turned around. “Then I’ll go find Mom.”

When Ji Yunnian entered the exhibition room, his mother was hanging the sunflower painting he had just bought today.

Hearing footsteps, she turned around and smiled. “Yunnian, don’t move yet. Stand there and help me see if Mom hung it crooked.”

“It’s not crooked.” Ji Yunnian said.

“Good then.” His mother stepped back a few paces, looking at her late friend’s final painting, and sighed softly.

“Mom, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing, it’s just that after chatting with Yan Shiqiu today, I suddenly miss Bai Zhi.”

“Shiqiu really resembles Bai Zhi.”

“Resembles?” Ji Yunnian was puzzled.

“In appearance,” His mother tilted her head to look at him. “Don’t you think so? The eyes and mouth, especially the profile. If Bai Zhi didn’t have children, I’d almost suspect he was her child. The age would match up too.”

Ji Yunnian found this amusing. “Mom, there are 7 billion people in the world. It’s not unusual for people to look similar. Wasn’t there a variety show before that specifically looked for ordinary people who resembled celebrities? In twelve episodes, they found over a dozen people.”

His mother thought about it. “That’s true. Perhaps they’re just destined to be connected.”

She sighed. “Maybe it’s just like Shiqiu said. They were mother and son in a previous life.”

“Mom, I’m actually curious about something.” Ji Yunnian suddenly spoke up. He walked over to the painting of a family of three. “This painting is Bai Zhi’s only figure painting. She only ever painted landscapes, scenery, and flowers. Why did she suddenly paint something like this and name it ‘Home’?”

Hearing this, his mother also walked over, standing before the painting and gazing at it contemplatively before slowly saying, “This was one of Bai Zhi’s dreams.”

“In the dream, she had a child and a husband, living very happily. After waking up, she said she couldn’t remember what they looked like, only that feeling of happiness and contentment. When she recalled it, she couldn’t help but smile, so she painted this.”

“I see.” Ji Yunnian nodded.

“Why are you suddenly asking about this?” His mother smiled. “Is Shiqiu curious? Otherwise, this painting has been hanging here for so long, but you’ve never asked before.”

“It has nothing to do with him. It’s just that when we were talking about Aunt Bai Zhi never marrying, I suddenly saw this painting and was a bit confused.”

His mother nodded, not continuing with this topic. She started walking out and added, “Shiqiu is a good child. Tell him that if he wants to see paintings, he can come over anytime.”

Ji Yunnian couldn’t help but be surprised. “Mom, do you really like him?”

His mother didn’t deny it. “He’s a good child.”

Patting Ji Yunnian’s hand, she said earnestly, “Yunnian, don’t just follow what others say. To judge whether someone is good or bad, you must interact and spend time with them personally, because what you hear might be false, and what you see with your eyes might also lead to misjudgment without knowing the full context.”

Those past events weren’t fake.

But what about now? Yan Shiqiu was indeed different from before.

His relationship with Fu Baiqing, had he misunderstood it?

Ji Yunnian fell into deep thought.

—

At 4 AM, Yan Shiqiu sat on his suitcase, yawning as he waited by the roadside for Fang Yuhua to pick him up.

The streetlights glowed dimly, the road was empty, and the street was very quiet, with only occasional late-night returnees passing by.

The entire city was still in slumber.

This wasn’t Yan Shiqiu’s first time seeing B City at dawn.

This city was actually just like the places he had lived before. The only difference was the people, but those nameless NPCs weren’t really different anyway.

After waiting seven or eight minutes, Fang Yuhua’s car finally arrived.

After getting in the car, he noticed a bespectacled stranger sitting in the passenger seat and looked toward Fang Yuhua, waiting for an introduction.

“Zhou Yu. From now on, he’ll be your assistant. He’ll accompany you on this trip.”

After Fang Yuhua finished speaking, Zhou Yu spoke up somewhat nervously, “Hello, Brother Yan.”

“Hello.” Yan Shiqiu smiled at him warmly and added, “I’ll be counting on you from now on. I’ll organize my personal habits and send them to you.”

Zhou Yu’s eyes widened in surprise, and it took him a few seconds to recover. “O-okay, thank you, Brother Yan.”

“You don’t need to be so formal.” Yan Shiqiu said.

Zhou Yu pushed up his glasses and nodded.

Yan Shiqiu: “…”

It seemed like this would take some time to change. Was he really that intimidating? He wasn’t even famous, just a complete newcomer. He could walk down the street leisurely without half the people recognizing him.

Well, those attracted by his looks and staring at him didn’t count.

Fang Yuhua glanced at him through the rearview mirror and interjected, “Xiao Zhou just graduated. This is his first job, so being a bit reserved is natural. He’ll get better.”

“Besides, you weren’t this easy to talk to before. You’re even proactively organizing your personal habits now. I’m shocked.”

Yan Shiqiu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “I’m really changing, truly changing. Stop teasing me and please don’t bring up my dark history!”

Fang Yuhua chuckled a few times.

“By the way, did you finish reading the variety show materials and information about the regular guests?”

Yan Shiqiu replied, “Mm, I memorized it all.”

The variety show had a very straightforward name that fit its theme perfectly: “Each Grain is Hard-earned.” It was filmed in the countryside of Yuncheng, where the pastoral scenery was beautiful and the weather was excellent.

The show’s theme was to let celebrities experience and understand the hardships of working people, appreciating the shame of waste. Based on this, they designed a series of games, and only by completing them could they obtain ingredients.

Of course, the production team didn’t cook; the cooking had to be done by themselves.

The six guests had an average age under 30, with the youngest being only 18. Four of them were popular influencers, and the other two were third or fourth-tier actors.

This configuration kept the show’s ratings quite high, though it was genuinely tough.

When Yan Shiqiu sat in the living room watching for half an hour, he felt apprehensive. He wasn’t afraid of hardship, but being chased around by a flock of geese. He really couldn’t handle that!

He had been chased by geese as a child and even had his bottom pecked. It was truly traumatic!

In that moment, he had wanted to immediately call Fang Yuhua to back out, but ultimately didn’t make the call.

He was poor.

He needed money.

“Aren’t you picking up Tu Ya?” Yan Shiqiu asked again.

He had looked it up yesterday and discovered that Tu Ya was also one of Fang Yuhua’s artists, an original singer-songwriter. He just hadn’t found out why they didn’t get along.

Personally, he felt that based on the book’s characterization of “him”, it was probably “his” fault again.

He planned to play it by ear.

“Xiao Cheng will pick her up. Your place is more convenient for me.” Fang Yuhua glanced at him again. “Let me remind you one more time. Don’t show your discord on camera.”

Yan Shiqiu made an OK gesture. “Understood.”

At 5 AM, they arrived at the airport.

Fang Yuhua was generous, buying him first-class tickets. There was no need to queue. They quickly completed the procedures.

They had just finished their procedures when Tu Ya arrived late, wearing a hat and mask, with her assistant trailing behind carrying her suitcase.

“Sorry, the car broke down on the way. I’m late.”

Her voice was very pleasant. It was clear and distinctive.

She looked much better in person than in photos, with a heroic air that matched any man, especially paired with her neat, short hair—very handsome.

“It’s fine, we’re still on time.” Fang Yuhua said.

Yan Shiqiu took the initiative to greet her and extended his hand. “Pleasant cooperation.”

Tu Ya didn’t look at him, much less acknowledge him. She walked right past him to handle her boarding procedures.

Yan Shiqiu: “…”

Withdrawing his hand, he touched his nose. Alright then.