"Wow, Brother Yuan Ye looks even more handsome now! Let's take a picture together and I'll hang it on my wall. You're practically a celebrity now!" The girl greeted Yuan Ye with a smile.

"Sure, let's take one," Yuan Ye replied.

Just then, Old Tu walked in wearing a black short-sleeved shirt with a large fluorescent yellow pattern on the chest. He had a cigarette in his mouth and wrapped his arm around Yuan Ye's neck, squinting his eyes and tilting his head. "Why didn't you call me earlier? I almost went off this afternoon. If you had called any later, I would have been gone."

Yuan Ye chuckled. "You're pretty busy, huh?"

"I'm working on a villa for someone. It's not finished yet. If you have time, come check it out?" Old Tu said.

The girl next to him pinched Old Tu's arm and said, "Hey, be careful. If someone takes a picture of you like this, they might think he's having an affair."

Yuan Ye shook his head and laughed. "Nah, no way. Even if I wanted to cheat, I wouldn't choose this old guy. Your Brother Yuan Ye has a beauty at home."

Old Tu laughed and cursed at him. "You're crazy."

Yuan Ye hadn't visited Old Tu in a while because he had been busy with work. This time, he came to eat and drink with his old friend. Since Fang Shaoyi had been injured his lung, they hadn't had any drinking sessions. Yuan Ye also didn't have many social events to attend, so he had been living a healthy lifestyle lately.

Today, Fang Shaoyi went to work, but Yuan Ye didn't follow him. He found a place to relax on his own.

Business was booming at Old Tu's place, it had become quite the internet sensation lately. The girl asked, "You want a private room?"

But Yuan Ye replied, "No need, let whoever wants to take pictures take them. Eating meat in a private room lacks atmosphere."

Indeed, it was the smoky, noisy, and bustling feeling they were after. Old Tu led Yuan Ye to a slightly less crowded area and they sat on small stools. He threw a box of cigarettes at Yuan Ye, who picked it up and threw it back, saying, "I quit smoking."

"Quit again?" Old Tu chuckled and asked.

"Yeah," Yuan Ye nodded, "I'm taking care of my lungs."

In the past, whenever he felt stressed or stuck while writing, he would habitually reach for a cigarette but there was Fang Shaoyi controlling him. But now, he doesn't need anyone to remind him not to smoke. He got annoyed whenever others smoked near Fang Shaoyi, not to mention himself.

Old Tu asked him, "Did you quit drinking?"

Yuan Ye laughed and replied, "No, why would I quit drinking?"

After having a meal at Old Tu's place, Yuan Ye was full and satisfied. Fang Shaoyi came to pick him up and waited outside for a while. When Yuan Ye came out and got into the car, he took off his jacket and said, "I smell like alcohol."

Fang Shaoyi said, "It's okay."

Yuan Ye had been drinking and was in a cheerful mood. He leaned his head towards Fang Shaoyi and shook it, saying, "Smell me."

Fang Shaoyi couldn't help but laugh and kissed the top of his head, "What's there for me to smell? Everyone else's hair might smell, but do you even have hair? You might as well let me smell your beard."

Yuan Ye cursed at him with a smile, sitting up straight and fastening his seatbelt, "Why are you so annoying?"

Yuan Ye had indeed been drinking, but not too much, just enough to be excited without getting drunk. When he got home, he took off his clothes, which smelled of smoke, and took a shower, leaving a faint scent of shower gel on his body. While showering, his mind had already started playing a little movie, and when he finished, he didn't say his usual nonsense. He wanted to put what he was thinking of into practice immediately.

When he went crazy, Fang Shaoyi sometimes couldn't handle him. He was all over the place with no rhyme or reason. Eventually, Fang Shaoyi forcibly held down his arm and asked him in hoarsely, "Can you behave for a while? What exactly do you want to do?"

Yuan Ye raised his chin and said, "No."

He was just asking for trouble, causing chaos everywhere. Fang Shaoyi raised an eyebrow, realizing that this monkey had become too spoilt. He grabbed a tie.

Since his hand was dishonest, then he would just tie him up so he couldn't move.

.......

When he was dealing with the monkey, he was cold and domineering, able to control him. But when he wasn't dealing with the monkey, he was still acting like a cute and pitiful eight-year-old.

The live broadcast of Fang Shaoyi's wedding registration caused quite a stir online. But he didn't really care. He had been staying at home lately, not attending any events or film festivals. He's taking a break from the world, even having his director accept awards on his behalf. He told everyone that he was still recovering and needed to rest.

During the autumn, Director Wei Hua helped him collect an award, and Jiang Linchuan helped him collect another one. During the award ceremony, the hosts directly connected with Fang Shaoyi via video during the award ceremony, and he gave an appreciation speech. Both times, the directors didn't hold back on teasing him and everyone in attendance laughed along.

Fang Shaoyi didn't need awards, and in the film industry, he can still be considered as young. He had also never really cared about these things, there was still has a long road ahead of him.

After turning off the video, Director Wei still had a smile on his face. His gaze fell on Fang Han in the front row. He lowered his head and pondered for a moment before slowly saying, "Shaoyi...everyone knows that I was the one who brought him out in the beginning. At that time, Mr. Fang Han called me and said not to worry about whose son he was, to hit him hard when necessary, and not to hold back."

Director Wei chuckled lightly, his eyes filled with a distant light. He was a gentle and steady person who had lived his whole life like this. He spoke slowly and calmly, "At that time, I was actually under a lot of pressure. Your own son, you weren't guiding him yourself, and you want me to hit him?"

The camera swept to Fang Han in the audience, who was laughing heartily and pointing at Wei Hua.

Wei Hua said, "Looking back now, it's already twenty years ago. I watched Little Fang step by step to where he is today. Actually, I asked Shaoyi before, how did your dad teach you? Shaoyi said, my dad didn't teach me, he gave me a sentence and let me figure it out myself."

"He said: be steadfast, calm, inquisitive, and work hard." Wei Hua gave a thumbs up to the audience and continued, "Looking back now, he really achieved it. He has the qualities of a 'filmmaker' and also the qualities of a 'good person'. I don't know how Old Fang evaluates him, but they say he's like my half-son, and at least I'm satisfied."

Fang Han just smiled, with semi-deep and semi-shallow fan-shaped lines around his eyes, and didn't say anything.

Wei Hua finally spoke, "Movies are glamorous, with a world full of strange and dazzling beauty. Only a few people know how difficult this industry really is, and it has many unknown ugliness and coldness. After doing movies for a long time, everything except the art itself becomes numb and mechanical. But it's because of some people who have been working hard and persevering that the film industry, no matter how difficult, is always developing."

"Thank you to these filmmakers." Wei Hua paused and looked at the trophy belonging to Fang Shaoyi in his hand. His warm voice was powerful at this moment, "As the times change and generations come and go, movies have gone through many winters, but movies will never die."

The applause from the audience lasted for a long time, not just for the people he was speaking about, but also for Wei Hua. He himself had been an outstanding filmmaker for most of his life, a leading figure who had taken Chinese films abroad, stumbling along the way, and working hard to make the world see more of Chinese cinema.

He deserved respect, as did all those who had been silently pushing forward.

At the same time, this excellent filmmaker he was speaking about was standing in one of the company's studios wearing a suit, having just given his speech via a video call. As he took off his suit and walked away, he said, "If you need anything while I'm away, just give me a call."

Ji Xiaotao held Fang Shaoyi's casual clothes and followed him into the changing room, saying, "Brother, take me with you!"

Fang Shaoyi changed his clothes without even looking back at him. "I can take you, but you should ask your Brother Geng if he'll allow me to take you along while I'm on holiday," he said.

"I'm not asking him!" Ji Xiaotao paced beside him. "He just wants to exploit me! I'm like the peanut being squeezed for oil! The sunflower seed! The soybean! Brother, you take me!"

Fang Shaoyi put on his pants and said, "If I bring you along, your Brother Geng will just call me asking for you."

"You don't have to answer!" Ji Xiaotao took the suit that Fang Shaoyi had just changed out of and carefully folded it. "Brother, I want to go on vacation too!"

Fang Shaoyi was annoyed and threw a line at him, "Then go ask your Brother Ye, see if he'll take you."

Ji Xiaotao's face was twisted in a bitter expression as he whispered, "All the paths you've given me are dead ends... Brother Geng, Brother Ye, neither of them are good people!"

In reality, Yuan Ye was the most soft-hearted of them all. Usually, he was the easiest to manipulate in situations like this. Fang Shaoyi still had to consider Brother Geng, who worked hard for the company, but Yuan Ye was beyond his control.

However, Ji Xiaotao took advantage of Yuan Ye being asleep and drove them straight to the Civil Affairs Bureau. He even foolishly live-streamed the whole thing without Yuan Ye's knowledge. Since then, Yuan Ye never spoke up for him again, and their relationship was unilaterally cut off.

Ji Xiaotao could only rely on Fang Shaoyi to discuss the matter. Fang Shaoyi was indeed the easiest to talk to, but even if he said something, it didn't necessarily count. He didn't even do any work himself, yet he dared to take away someone whom Geng Jinwei trusted and was easy to command? Over at Yuan Ye's side, he was always humming and whining like a little cutie, what right did he have to speak?

Later, Fang Shaoyi heartlessly left without any consideration for their brotherhood.

Old Tu's villa was built, and Yuan Ye wanted to go over and stay there together with Fang Shaoyi for a few days. Anyway, the two of them didn't have much work now. A few of Yuan Ye's friends were also going, including Feng Leizi.

The incident with the crew last time counted as a favor Yuan Ye owed him, but their relationship wasn't based on favors. Yuan Ye had been helping him with scripts for free for so many years, and that's where their bond lay.

Old Tu was waiting for them at the highway entrance. As soon as their car arrived, he opened the door and hopped in. Fang Shaoyi greeted him, as they had become familiar with each other after he and Yuan Ye remarried.

"Xuan'er also has a few friends coming along," Old Tu said. "Don't mind them. I know them all, and they're not the type to make a scene. They won't say anything or take any pictures."

Yuan Ye laughed and looked back at him, saying, "Did you let your girl infect you with her nervousness? Don't worry so much."

Old Tu playfully scolded him and then said, "Just focus on driving. Before I came, she did keep reminding me that you two are both celebrities and not to let anyone take pictures of you. It made me nervous too."

Fang Shaoyi also chuckled and said, "It won't be that bad."

"Don't, I'm not a celebrity," said Yuan Ye. "At most, I'm just the relative of a celebrity."

Yuan Ye, who grew up in a very down-to-earth manner, had to stay grounded. It was too torturous to have to constantly hide and be cautious.

The villa was quite large, occupying half of a mountain. Old Tu pointed the way from behind, and Yuan Ye followed. Old Tu said, "They'll be eating over there later. Shall we join them? I might have to go over for a bit. They're all acquaintances."

Yuan Ye didn't mind either way. He said, "You don't have to worry about us. I'll just take a look later. It's awkward to act like we're too high-class and have to be separated from everyone else."

Fang Shaoyi was a public figure after all. Yuan Ye himself didn't care about these things, but he couldn't help but care about Fang Shaoyi. Many people have a curious desire to get to know public figures, and they tend to ask a lot of questions. This can be annoying, so Yuan Ye definitely had to go see who these people were.

Especially since Fang Shaoyi was not just an ordinary little star, but someone with a lot of status. Yuan Ye usually paid attention to these things.

"Mm, they're all reliable people, it should be comfortable to be around them," said Old Tu.

The villa was built by Old Tu and his friend, and they each had their own group of friends. Yuan Ye didn't want to turn it into one group on this side and another group on that side, which would make Old Tu and his friends uncomfortable. Yuan Ye followed Old Tu to say hello, and the first person he saw was Old Tu's friend, who was dressed quite casually and looked young.  

Yuan Ye shook hands with him and said, "Yuan Ye."

"Lin Xuan," the other person smiled and said, "I like your books, don't think I'm just flattering you."

Yuan Ye laughed and said, "Then thank you."

After a brief conversation, Lin Xuan asked, "I have a few friends here, can I introduce you to them? Do you mind?"

Yuan Ye tilted his chin and said, "Sure, let's go."

Lin Xuan led him to the orchard behind them and said as they walked, "My friends are all a bit unconventional, they do all sorts of things, but there's really no one in the literary field like you. There are several artists, but they don't have much to do with literature."

"It's all the same," Yuan Ye said.

"Not all of them are illiterate," Lin Xuan laughed and said, "There's a highly educated person, he's a professor, a people's teacher."

As they were walking, before Yuan Ye could even reply, they saw a person. The person was on the phone, head down, but when they heard Yuan Ye and Lin Xuan approaching, they smiled and lifted their arm in greeting. Lin Xuan raised his chin and said to Yuan Ye, "The people's teacher."

The people's teacher put away his phone and walked towards them. Yuan Ye whistled in his mind, thinking he was quite the handsome teacher. But he kept a serious expression on his face.

The person across from them walked over and extended his hand, smiling warmly. "Yuan Ye-laoshi? It's an honour. I'm Xiao Ke."

Yuan Ye shook his hand and then shook his head. "No, I'm not a teacher. Don't embarrass me."

Lin Xuan chimed in, "It's okay, you're both teachers, both of you are enough to teach us. Who's older between you two? Xiao Ke is the youngest among us."

Xiao Ke revealed his age and Yuan Ye said, "I'm older."

Xiao Ke laughed and said, "Then I'll call you Brother Yuan Ye."

He was a very pleasant person to be around and easy on the eyes. Yuan Ye followed them into a strawberry greenhouse where several people were squatting while eating strawberries. Lin Xuan said, "Stop eating, let me introduce a friend, Yuan Ye."

"F*ck, I know him!" exclaimed the person in the suede jacket closest to them, jumping up. "Why didn't you say so earlier? I could have prepared a little."

"Don't be ridiculous, he's already married, don't you know?" Lin Xuan scolded him. "Stop being so inappropriate."

"Damn it," the person replied. "Of course I know, who doesn't? I've been envious for months now."

Lin Xuan said to Yuan Ye, "This is Cao Yuan'er, you can call him Old Cao. He's good at handicrafts."

He pointed to the remaining few and said to Yuan Ye, "Old Zhu, Fang Xi, Zhou Zui." Then he leaned in and said, "He's with Xiao Ke. Over there, the ones sticking together are Zhou Zui's little brother and his partner, both kids."

Yuan Ye raised his eyebrows and turned to look at Xiao Ke. Xiao Ke heard them talking and nodded with a smile, "Yes, that's my Zhou-laushi, he's a tattoo artist. We're a couple. The bald one is my little brother Xiao Bei, and his friend is Lin Cheng. They're always sticking together. You won't even get their attention unless you go up to them."

The group eating strawberries over there walked over, and Yuan Ye greeted them. Zhou Zui was the closest away and didn't eat any, but he brought a small bowl over to Xiao Ke. Inside were bright red strawberries. He shook hands with Yuan Ye and spoke in a low voice, "Zhou Zui."

"Yuan Ye."

They had the same hairstyle, but their personalities were completely different. Xiao Ke picked up a strawberry and ate it, saying, "These strawberries are really good."

They were all pretty straightforward people, so there wasn't much to say. Later, when Fang Shaoyi met them, no one acted differently. At most, when they greeted each other, they would say "I like your movies."

During dinner, everyone was gathered around a big table, including Feng Leizi and his group, with more than ten people. When men sit at a table with alcohol, there's no such thing as being unfamiliar. Whe successful people from all walks of life come together, even if they come from different circles, they always have something to talk about. Once they've had a drink together, they become friends.

Yuan Ye ordered a pot of tea for Fang Shaoyi, while Zhou Zui ordered a pot of soy milk for Xiao Ke. Even little brother Lin Cheng could drink beer with them, and the whole table had just these two delicate drinkers.

Xiao Ke said to the person next to him, "That's enough, Zhou-laoshi. I can drink, you don't need to go to that extent."

Zhou Zui nodded and said, "Drinking too much will give you stomach pain."

Meanwhile, Fang Shaoyi said to Yuan Ye, "I can drink."

Under the table, Yuan Ye patted his leg and said, "That stuff burns your heart and lungs. Let's not drink it. We'll have tea instead."

The drinking party went on until midnight. Halfway through, Lu Xiaobei led Lin Cheng back to their room to sleep. The people at the table were all in their thirties and forties, and Lin Cheng couldn't really join in their conversations. He was still a college student and could only follow along with a silly smile.

After a few beers, Lu Xiaobei wouldn't let him drink anymore. Lin Cheng quietly called him "brother" to discuss it, but Lu Xiaobei pretended to be unhappy and Lin Cheng immediately became obedient. He ate some food and leaned over to say with a smile, "Brother, let's go back? Go back and do this and that."

Lu Xiaobei raised an eyebrow and asked, "Do what?"

With alcohol fueling his courage, Lin Cheng's already red face became even redder as he playfully said, "That ah."

With a mischievous grin on half of his mouth and a bald head, Lu Xiaobei looked at him sideways, looking quite naughty. He stood up, holding his glass and said, "You guys drink up, big brothers. We'll head back to sleep first. Little Bean has a regular schedule and gets sleepy."

Lu Xiaobei finished his drink and took Lin Cheng's hand, walking away. Lin Cheng looked back at Fang Shaoyi and Yuan Ye as they walked, feeling a bit shy. After all he was still young, and meeting people he had only seen online felt a bit new and exciting.

Fang Shaoyi didn't drink and met Lin Cheng's gaze. Lin Cheng felt a bit embarrassed and shrunk his neck. Fang Shaoyi smiled warmly at him and Lin Cheng felt like he was melting.

"My god, I must be guilty, right?" Lin Cheng turned around and muttered as he walked. "Brother, Fang Shaoyi just smiled at me earlier, and my heart trembled when he did. He looks so handsome when he smiles, like a star."

Liu Xiaobei raised an eyebrow at him. "So what? Do you want me to bring you back there?"

Lin Cheng quickly shook his head and leaned in close to him, their arms touching. He smiled sweetly and said, "No, you're my idol."

"Oh," Liu Xiaobei said with little expression. "Is that so?"

"Yes, you're my husband," Lin Cheng said, holding his hand.

Liu Xiaobei pulled him back into the room, half-smiling. "No rush, let's wait a bit before you call me that again."

"Doesn't hurt to call you that now," Lin Cheng muttered, either intentionally or genuinely foolish, as he kept saying "husband, husband" nonstop. Lu Xiaobei glanced at him, and Lin Cheng smiled so much that his eyes curved, calling out again, "Husband!"

"Uh-huh," Lu Xiaobei gritted his teeth and pushed open the door, shoving the clean-cut young man inside before following and closing the door behind him. "You really didn't drink for nothing."

The two youngest had left, leaving the older brothers at the table with no boundaries. They didn't mind Lu Xiaobei, that little baldy's integrity had long since been eaten by a dog, but they were worried about corrupting the young college student whose thoughts were still pure. Old Cao had been holding back his dirty talk for a long time and now he and Fang Xi were competing to see who could be more vulgar.

After a while, Old Cao looked towards Fang Shaoyi and Yuan Ye, then towards Zhou Zui and Xiao Ke, and clicked his tongue, "No, seriously, what's wrong with you guys? Don't you realize you're duplicating resources? With the shortage of resources, why don't you come out and share them? You're wasting good things."

Fang Xi didn't understand, but Xiao Ke laughed first, and Zhou Zui didn't even bother to respond, not even giving him any facial expression. Fang Xi said, "He's just lacking a good f*ck, shouting here for attention. He's been lacking love for years, don't mind him."

Feng Leizi was also drunk and jokingly said to the two of them, "Why don't you two integrate your resources? Don't keep thinking about someone who already has a family and a mouth to feed."

"That won't work," Old Cao shook his head. "Their side's very picky, ours won't cut it. We'll be staring at each other and enduring it, won't we?"

This person's salaciousness made everyone at the table laugh, even Fang Shaoyi. He raised his hand and lightly scratched the back of Yuan Ye's head, likeing the relaxed and happy smile on Yuan Ye's face. Fang Shaoyi thought to himself, you only see him as mature now, that's why you all feel this way. You haven't seen how lively and clever he was when he was young, like a little monkey.

Yuan Ye reached out and lightly scratched Fang Shaoyi's hand, exchanging a glance with him, then whispered, "Are you tired? Shall I take you back to rest?"

"No," Fang Shaoyi shook his head. "Let's keep chatting."

Among these people, the one Yuan Ye first added on WeChat was Xiao Ke. At the dinner table, the two of them went outside to get some fresh air and scanned each other's QR codes.

"Let's hang out when we have time," Yuan Ye said.

"Sure thing," Xiao Ke replied with a smile.

After they returned to the table, the party was almost over and it was already midnight. It was rare for Fang Shaoyi to attend such gatherings, as he had very few friends outside of his industry circle. Even within the circle, he only had a handful of close friends, which made him seem distant and unapproachable.

Yuan Ye, on the other hand, had many friends and attended such gatherings frequently. Occasionally, Fang Shaoyi would join him and it always felt refreshing. It's scary for lovers if they can't penetrate each other's social circles.

After finishing his shower, Fang Shaoyi stepped out and was followed by Yuan Ye. When Yuan Ye finished and saw a small ring by the sink, he raised an eyebrow.

"What's the meaning of this?" He held it it and came out to ask Fang Shaoyi.

Fang Shaoyi looked at him: "What are you talking about?"

"Keep on acting." Yuan Ye laughed and threw himself onto the bed, revealing Fang Shaoyi's ring in his palm.

Fang Shaoyi was surprised and looked at his own hand, realizing, "I took it off during my shower. I forgot."

Yuan Ye smirked and teased him, "Your acting is too exaggerated, Fang-laoshi."

Fang Shaoyi calmly replied: "I put it on myself so I'm always worried about taking it off, and after taking it off I forget to put it back on. Who knows if one day I might lose it."

Yuan Ye buried his head in the pillow and rubbed it vigorously, wondering how to deal with his lover constantly acting spoilt. After burying his head, he happily grabbed Fang Shaoyi's hand, slipped a ring onto his ring finger, and kissed it gently.

"Enough," Yuan Ye rolled over and lay down, "is this enough now?"

"I don't know," Fang Shaoyi turned off the light, "anyway if you're not sincere, it will fall off."

"I'm sincere!" Yuan Ye quickly replied, "Stop messing around. Don't let it fall off. If you pluck it off a few more times, it might really get lost, then how would we find it."

Fang Shaoyi remained silent, but Yuan Ye leaned over and kissed him, finally satisfying him enough to fall asleep peacefully.

The night lights outside were dimly lit, casting a warm glow on half of the window. The previous commotion had subsided, leaving behind a peaceful and serene silence.

It's time to sleep.

Half the night is over, and there's a long life ahead.