When Yuan Ye was 22 years old, he married Fang Shaoyi. At that time, no one supported his decision, not even his parents, friends, or even Guan Zhou who had been following his throughout the whole process. 

Guan Zhou had started interning at the TV station since his junior year and had since become a popular entertainment host. By the time Yuan Ye got married, Guan Zhou had already gained fame and had seen all the things that happened in the industry. He was very unwilling to see Yuan Ye marry Fang Shaoyi. They were too far apart, and why did two people from different worlds have to come together like a farce?

But Yuan Ye didn't listen to anyone and remained steadfast in his decision. He didn't just like Fang Shaoyi, he was crazy about him and saw him as his faith. 

Fang Shaoyi never let Yuan Ye down either. They didn't hide their feelings, and their grand wedding was a much bigger gamble for Fang Shaoyi than for Yuan Ye. Yuan Ye was a writer, while Fang Shaoyi was a celebrity. This wedding meant giving up many possibilities and narrowing his future path, but he never cared about that.

The love between these two young men was passionate, brave, and sincere. They sacrificed everything and threw themselves into this emotional journey, without considering the consequences or their future prospects. 

After ten years of marriage, Fang Shaoyi became a respected movie star, while Yuan Ye was a free spirit who spoke his mind in literary circles. Both of them were well-established in their respective fields, and they became the poster couple for true love in the entertainment industry. But as with everything in life, there was a balance of gains and losses. While their relationship was fulfilling in some aspects, they had to give up something in return.

For the past decade, Yuan Ye had hardly had any time for himself. His time was spent following Fang Shaoyi around. Whenever Fang Shaoyi went off to shoot a movie for several months or even half a year, Yuan Ye would often go with him. Their careers had set the tone for their relationship, and it had remained unchanged for many years. 

After all, Yuan Ye had more freedom in terms of time. His main job was writing, and he could do it anywhere without any time constraints. If he didn't follow Fang Shaoyi, they would be in a long-distance relationship for most of the year. When they were young, they thought they were a perfect match, and that no one else could be as compatible as they were.

However, marrying Fang Shaoyi was like stepping into the entertainment industry, which he had never liked. But he had to live with it. 

In his early years, Yuan Ye would speak his mind freely, with a sharp tongue and a quick wit. He would say what he liked and didn't like, and it was quite satisfying. 

But later on, he realized that he was not just himself, but also Fang Shaoyi's partner. What he said would affect Fang Shaoyi, so he gradually stopped speaking up. 

Just because you say you can accept something doesn't mean you actually can. 

The day of Yuan Ye's 30th birthday was spent on set. Knowing he didn't like a big fuss, Fang Shaoyi didn't tell anyone and they celebrated in private in their room. Ji Xiaotao was there at first, but left after they finished the cake. Fang Shaoyi kissed him and said, "Our little monkey is now in his thirties, turning over a new leaf." 

Yuan Ye nodded and laughed, "I'm now a middle-aged man." 

Fang Shaoyi asked him to make a wish. 

Yuan Ye said, "I hope everyone is doing well," and couldn't think of anything else to say. He already had what he wanted, and making a wish for anything else would be pointless. 

At thirty years old, Yuan Ye had already changed a lot. Sometimes he felt like he had lost a lot of things about himself. He was still himself, but not quite the same.

At the end of that year, Fang Shaoyi joined a film crew. It was a big production with a famous director. He had accepted the role two years ago, but they were only starting to film now. Fang Shaoyi had taken the job because of the director and the script, but after joining the crew, he found out that the original investors had been replaced. 

At first, everything went smoothly and there were no problems with the production. It wasn't until two months later that they started to notice that something was a little off. The film hasn't even taken shape yet, but the word is out that over 200 million has already been invested. The real spending is still to come, and if they've already spent over 200 million without anything to show for it, they're definitely going to crash and burn. 

That night, when Yuan Ye and Fang Shaoyi talked about it in their room, Fang Shaoyi revealed that the production team had been saying that they spent 60 million hiring him. 

60 million is way too much, it was nowhere near that high.

Yuan Ye furrowed his brow and asked, "What are they playing at?"  

He didn't say much to Yuan Ye, not wanting to expose him to such dirty business. What do investors play at? They're just after profits, no matter how much they fuss around. That movie raised several billion in film funds from outside investors, and after it's released, they have to share the profits. This is just a way to inflate the costs, to make it seem like the costs are high, and in the end, the movie loses money and the profits are swallowed up.

Although Fang Shaoyi didn't say anything, Yuan Ye was always sharp and clever, so he could figure it out. He knew all along that the movie had raised funds from outside investors, so he didn't need to think too hard to understand what was going on. 

This type of fundraising uses the money of ordinary people outside the circle, in other words, the common folks. Some offer guaranteed interest, while others only offer dividends without any guarantees, but with higher returns. Many people think that movies are such a sophisticated thing, and with intermediaries in the middle, they are convinced to invest by looking at the director and the cast, thinking that this is a surefire deal. They invest hundreds of thousands without hesitation.

The movie fundraising scams are too many, and traps are everywhere. But there are also legitimate ways to make money, it just depends on whether your eyes are sharp enough to distinguish between the real and the fake. 

In the film, there were three male leads, and Fang Shaoyi was one of them. If you just watched the movie, it was indeed a good show. However, after knowing what kind of tricks the investors were playing, Yuan Ye couldn't bear to stay on the set any longer. Over the years, Yuan Ye had become numb to many things in the industry, but since he met Fang Shaoyi thirteen years ago, he couldn't possibly be as naive as before.

The investors' actions wouldn't necessarily lead to blaming the director and actors, but Yuan Ye couldn't accept Fang Shaoyi making this movie. To put it bluntly, it was a scam. Yuan Ye could turn a blind eye to the shady deals and unspoken rules within the industry, but cheating the public's money outside of the industry was truly heartbreaking and unacceptable, no matter what. 

Fang Shaoyi knew exactly what the investors were up to, but he accepted it anyway. He didn't want to say too much to Yuan Ye, which put him in the same position as the film crew, opposing Yuan Ye. 

It wasn't fair to say that Fang Shaoyi was wrong, the film crew was fine and so was he. He was upright and all the dirty work was done by the investors. However, Yuan Ye couldn't convince himself. If he could accept this without any expression on his face, then he wouldn't be himself anymore.

With anger, Yuan Ye turned and left. Fang Shaoyi could stay with the crew to continue filming, but Yuan Ye couldn't. He left in anger, not just towards the crappy film crew, but also towards Fang Shaoyi. His anger came from disappointment.

He left in a huff, and Fang Shaoyi called him to ask what was wrong. 

What's the point of arguing about differences in values? It just leads to conflict. Even if Fang Shaoyi had his own thoughts, he couldn't do anything about it. The film was already halfway done, and he was powerless. Yuan Ye knew this, and speaking up would only make things worse, so he kept quiet.

But keeping quiet didn't solve anything. For several days, they spoke awkwardly on the phone. 

Fang Shaoyi had put Yuan Ye on the opposite side, but after thinking it through, Yuan Ye couldn't truly put himself against Fang Shaoyi. He had to speak his mind, after all, they were the closest. If he truly accepted their opposing positions, their relationship would become awkward in the future. 

So, on the phone, Yuan Ye spoke earnestly to Fang Shaoyi: "Brother Yi, this movie is a scam, you know that." 

Fang Shaoyi admitted, "Mm, I know." 

"Let's not continue with this film, okay?" Yuan Ye said in a low voice. "I can't accept it. There are a lot of dirty things in this industry that we can't control. I can turn a blind eye, but I can't accept you getting involved." 

The tone of Yuan Ye's words was very sincere, and he was willing to share everything he was thinking with Fang Shaoyi: "I know you're in a difficult position, and I'm now standing on a moral high ground commanding you. It's not me who's in a difficult position, I know. Actually, I've been thinking about it for several days, and I'm still a bit too naive, but I don't want there to be any bumps between us later on. So, I'll tell you everything I'm thinking, and you can decide for yourself how to proceed. I'll support you no matter what."

Fang Shaoyi said on the other end of the phone, "Go ahead."

Yuan Ye said, "I don't care about the capitalists playing tricks and making deals back and forth, but the money outside, tens of thousands or even millions, those billions are tears-stained money. I'm sickened by this whole thing, and I can't do anything to help anyone. I don't have that kind of power, and I can't be foolish enough to put you in a difficult spot again." 

Yuan Ye lit a cigarette and sighed, "I can accept that we are becoming more and more indifferent in this industry, but I hope we don't touch such tears-stained money. I hope our hearts don't turn black with indifference."

After he finished speaking, Fang Shaoyi remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "Okay."

Fang Shaoyi's words always carried weight. When he said "okay," he left the group within a week and paid a hefty penalty. The film was halfway through, and all the scenes filmed before were wasted. They had to hire new actors and spend more money. Fang Shaoyi had offended the entire crew, and that wasn't the end of it. 

On the day that Fang Shaoyi left the group, he posted a Weibo apologizing to the director and the entire crew. He explained that due to personal health reasons, he was unable to continue filming the remaining scenes. He also stated that he would be returning all of his pay as stated in the contract, as well as paying the full amount of the penalty fee. 

Previously, it was announced that he was paid 60 million yuan, but now it was clear that this was not the case. 

Yuan Ye had said that he couldn't do much to help, and Fang Shaoyi knew that he couldn't do much either. However, by directly stating the amount of his pay, he had done something, even if it wasn't entirely by the book. He felt that this was the least he could do to live up to Yuan Ye's sense of justice and righteousness.