In the early years, many famous Hong Kong stars used erotic films as a stepping stone to fame. Now, under the impact of the Japanese, Korean, European, and American industries, Hong Kong's Category III films have gradually declined. The golden age was gone forever, and they could no longer assemble the excellent cast, crew, and production of those days. They didn't even have a decent studio and could only meekly hide in abandoned underground theaters, relying on bold and risqué displays of flesh to attract attention.

The stage was bathed in deliberately dim and ambiguous lighting, the music was graceful and provocative, and the area below was arranged with booth-style seating. A dozen or so heavily made-up ghouls and monsters were entrenched there, their eyes fixed on the half-undressed man on stage.

The white shirt had long been thrown off the stage, revealing a lean and slender upper body. The abdominal muscles, specially emphasized by the makeup artist, were clearly visible, and two V-lines extended down to his suggestive lower abdomen, disappearing into his black suit pants.

The drumbeat of the music took a sharp turn. Xie Guan reached out and undid his belt buckle. Without needing to be pulled down, the smooth fabric of the suit pants naturally slid down his two straight legs. Xie Guan kicked the pants away, retreated back among the backup dancers, and, surrounded by a crowd of naked men, made a move that sent the blood rushing.

Just before Huo Mingjun was about to have a heart attack from the sheer shock of the scene before him, the director finally shouted loudly: “Cut! Xie Guan, your expression is wrong!”

The music stopped. The director, wearing a T-shirt and flip-flops, scurried onto the stage and began explaining the scene under the lights, spittle flying. The extras, hired on the cheap, stood around bare-chested, grinning and cupping their hands to watch the spectacle. Xie Guan had no assistant or agent, and in a situation like this, there was no one to even drape a blanket over him. He could only turn his body to the side as much as possible, standing nearly naked under everyone's gaze, allowing those gazes, whether blatant or teasing, to size him up unscrupulously.

Young Master Liang opened his mouth, not understanding how the style had suddenly turned into an anti-pornography raid: “This is…?”

Before he could voice his confusion, Huo Mingjun suddenly started walking towards the stage.

And because his “overbearing CEO” aura was too strong, and he was followed by two bodyguards who looked like they could really fight, none of the staff below dared to raise a hand to stop him. They just watched with wide eyes as he got on stage and strode as if no one else was there to the side of the director and Xie Guan, whose back was to the audience.

A suit jacket, still warm with body heat, was draped over his head. The man took a step forward, impassively blocking the gazes from below the stage.

Xie Guan was stunned: “You… Mr. Huo?!”

Huo Mingjun ignored him, speaking directly to the dumbfounded director: “He can't film this scene.”

The director grew anxious and blurted out a string of Cantonese: “Who-who are you? What right do you have to make decisions for him? Who allowed you in here? Get out!”

Huo Mingjun didn't understand Cantonese. Hearing this, he turned his head and said: “Young Master Liang.”

Liang Chen had known him for less than a day, yet he was already completely obedient to Huo Mingjun's commands. Hearing his name, he immediately squeezed out from the back: “Mr. Huo, you and this…” He barely managed to swallow the word “punk” that had jumped to his lips, switching to a more polite term: “Do you know this gentleman?”

Huo Mingjun nodded and said: “Tell him, I'm taking this person with me. Delete all footage that has been shot of him, buy the negatives, and leave no copies. Also, no matter what movie you film in the future, don't come looking for him again.”

“Don't worry.” Liang Chen guessed that Huo Mingjun likely had some kind of shady “relationship” with this little star and agreed very readily. He was quite reliable when it came to strong-arming people, so he went to negotiate with the director's team on his own. Huo Mingjun's peripheral vision caught sight of Xie Guan standing foolishly to the side, completely bewildered. The sight of his face made him angry: “What are you standing there for? Go change your clothes.”

His tone was far from friendly, and it shattered Xie Guan's daze. The faint gratitude rising in his heart suddenly turned to panic, feeling even more awkward than when he was being stared at. “Mr. Huo, thank you for your kindness, but… I'm sorry, I can't leave. Please don't interfere, I'll handle this myself…”

“Put your clothes on before you talk to me,” Huo Mingjun shot him a cold glance, “Go now, don't make me say it a third time.”

Their previous two encounters could hardly be called friendly; Xie Guan had never seen him with a pleasant expression. And for some reason, he was a little afraid of Huo Mingjun and instinctively wanted to stay far away. Now that Huo Mingjun had spoken, although he wanted to argue, he didn't dare to speak up and could only walk quickly back to the backstage area.

By the time he had quickly changed and come out, Liang Chen had already reached an agreement with the director. Huo Mingjun left an assistant behind to handle the follow-up matters and, without asking for Xie Guan's opinion, directly ordered the bodyguards: “Take him back to the hotel, and don't let him run around.”

“Mr. Huo!” Xie Guan quickly called out to stop him, but Huo Mingjun was used to having his way. This time, he didn't even spare him a glance and left the underground theater directly with Liang Chen.

To show its sincerity, the Longfeng Group had specially prepared the presidential suite at the APG Hotel for Huo Mingjun. The room occupied half a floor, its decor and furnishings were the height of luxury, the view from the ultra-high floor was excellent, and one could see the bay at night from the floor-to-ceiling windows.

However, no matter how beautiful it was, it was still a golden cage.

The bodyguard responsible for escorting Xie Guan pushed him into the room, then stood guard at the door without a word, dutifully. Xie Guan, wearing gray pants and a white T-shirt bought for a few dozen yuan, stood in the living room, feeling like an out-of-place, oversized speck of dust.

He had never imagined he would get involved with Huo Mingjun again and again. Xie Guan lacked everything except self-awareness. Someone of Huo Mingjun's status wouldn't look twice at a small, unknown figure struggling in the mud, and he could read Huo Mingjun's eyes—he was looking through Xie Guan, at another person.

It was one thing for work, but Xie Guan had no hobby of being someone's substitute in his personal life.

He occupied a corner of the sofa, carefully shrinking his footprint to the minimum, as if doing so could lessen his connection to Huo Mingjun. The bodyguard was only responsible for guarding him and didn't think to entertain him. He also tried not to cause trouble for his “guard,” quietly looking at the night view outside the window, as if it were a rare and spectacular sight.

Half an hour later, Huo Mingjun returned to this live scene of “illegal confinement,” and the temper he had just managed to suppress nearly flared up again.

“Are you meditating, or have you come to my place to stage a sit-in protest?” Whenever Huo Mingjun faced Xie Guan, it was as if he couldn't speak properly without being sarcastic, and anger flared in his heart for no reason. “Seeing you look so bitter and resentful, should I expect a hunger strike and a protest banner next?”

Any normal person who was inexplicably taken away and left to hang like a prisoner for half an hour, only to be met with such a sudden taunt, would be considered gentle-tempered for not punching the bastard. No matter how good-tempered or mild Xie Guan was, he had to be willing to endure it: “I wouldn't dare. If you could stay a little farther away from me, I'd immediately start jumping around lively for you to see.”

Huo Mingjun sat down on the sofa opposite him, casually loosened his tie and tossed it aside, and said coolly, “Not much ability, but quite the temper. Keep jumping around, maybe in a few years you'll be a rising erotic film star. By then, you won't even have to say anything; no one will want to get close to you.”

“Mr. Huo,” Xie Guan stood up abruptly, suppressing his anger and said in a cold voice, “Know when to stop.”

Huo Mingjun nonchalantly crossed one leg and retorted, “What, you don't like to hear it? Was I wrong about you?”

Xie Guan was choked speechless by his words.

Huo Mingjun said with merciless sarcasm: “Terminating your contract, disappearing without a word, running to Hong Kong to film this kind of movie… How capable you are, huh? Before you've even gotten famous, you're already jumping into the mud pit yourself. Is the Chinese entertainment circle too small to hold you?”

Xie Guan: “It's not what you think… No, this is my own business, you don't need to…”

“Yes, you have your difficulties. You're afraid of retaliation from that Zhang fellow, afraid of having no work, but do you know what ‘gossip is a fearful thing’ means? Let's not even talk about how few people can make it big on this path. Even if you become famous in the future, the public's opinion of you probably won't be any better than ‘King of Category III Films,’” Huo Mingjun stared into his constantly evasive eyes and asked calmly and cruelly, “Xie Guan, do you think you'll ever have the chance to put back on the clothes you took off today?”

Xie Guan's heart trembled violently. He struggled to defend himself: “I didn't…”

“‘Didn't’?” Huo Mingjun almost laughed in anger. “Did someone hold a knife to your throat and force you to abandon everything and hide here to shoot erotic films? Or did someone hold a gun to your head and force you to just vanish without a word, huh?!”

“Can't take a little hardship, can't suffer a little grievance, acts like it's the end of the world at the slightest setback. Do you really think you're a three-year-old child who needs someone to help you up after a fall?”

A surge of fury rushed to his temples, his fingers clenched so tightly they crackled. He wanted to punch this bastard who spoke so casually without knowing the pain and then forcefully slap the words “What the hell do you know” across his face.

Huo Mingjun's words were too direct, and too sharp. He had mercilessly sliced through Xie Guan's self-deceiving pretense, revealing the desperation he tried so hard to hide and the shame he couldn't conceal. For an adult man, this was no different from a complete loss of face, trampling his pride underfoot.

Xie Guan gritted his teeth and said, “You don't know anything at all.”

Huo Mingjun remained silent and indifferent.

As those words fell, a small voice in his heart suddenly said: “But he's telling the truth.”

All justifications were no match for what one could see with their own eyes, and the fact was: no matter the reasons behind it, this was indeed the path he himself had chosen.

His clamoring heartbeat and blood cooled down together. It was as if he had been doused with cold water, and he finally saw how futile his struggles were.

Xie Guan was not an ungrateful person. As his reason returned, a moment's thought was all it took for him to grasp the tough-love sentiment hidden in Huo Mingjun's words. Strangely enough, he had suffered a great deal, enduring a life of displacement to get to this point, yet his heart felt numb, as if it couldn't feel much pain. Until Huo Mingjun's few, seemingly light words pierced him like needles, penetrating the calluses formed by the vicissitudes of life and stabbing straight into the pride that had not yet been extinguished.

A strange, searing pain swept through his entire body in just a few breaths, and his vision suddenly blurred.

Xie Guan, in a daze, took half a step back. The back of his knees hit the edge of the sofa, and his knee joints felt as if they'd been broken as he fell straight into a sitting position.

Huo Mingjun didn't rush him, just sat there quietly, waiting for what he would say next.

“It's true… I had a falling out with my company a while ago. I went out to find roles myself, but no crew would have me. So when I received the assistant director's email, I left with the mindset of running away.”

He stared blankly at the pattern on the carpet, his voice hoarse, his back held ramrod straight as if competing with someone. The more tense he was, the more desolate he appeared.

“After arriving in Hong Kong, I found out they wanted me to film a Category III movie. I refused at first, but not two days later, my hotel room was burgled. My money, phone, and documents were all stolen. I went to the police station to file a report, and they just told me to go back and wait. I wanted to ask for help, but I couldn't understand the local dialect. I had no money, no way to contact anyone, and with no other options, the director came to me again, so I agreed.”

From beginning to end, he never questioned Huo Mingjun with “what would you do in my situation?” He just listened quietly to his scolding, giving a half-hearted explanation, pretending he still had room to “correct his mistakes” so he could appear slightly less pathetic.

“Mr. Huo is right. In the end, it's because I was too cowardly.” Xie Guan took a deep breath, stood up with his head lowered, composed himself, and said in a hoarse voice: “I'm sorry, I lost my composure. In any case, thank you for your help today. If Mr. Huo has no other business, I'll be leaving.”

“Where do you think you're going?” Huo Mingjun asked with a frown. “Did I just waste my breath telling the director you wouldn't be going back to film?”

“I'm not going back to the crew,” Xie Guan said tiredly, turning to walk towards the door. “Please don't trouble yourself any further.”

Then he was blocked at the door by the bodyguard.

Xie Guan: “…”

He turned back, at the end of his patience: “Mr. Huo—”

The rest of his words died in his throat.

Huo Mingjun had come up behind him at some point. He lowered his head slightly to meet his gaze. His facial expression was still unreadable, but his eyes, shimmering in the light, revealed a hint of inexplicable gentleness.

Xie Guan felt as if he were seeing him for the first time. A thought suddenly popped into his head: Huo Mingjun's features weren't cold at all, it was just his aura that was intimidating. When his brows relaxed, he was actually quite handsome.

More than handsome, he could be described as beautiful.

“I was furious, so I couldn't help but yell at you,” he raised a hand and gently wiped under Xie Guan's eye, tracing a very fine line of moisture. “I know you feel wronged, but don't do things that make people worry like this again.”

Xie Guan seemed not to have processed it, staring at him blankly.

Huo Mingjun had blown up at him, but now that he had calmed down and saw his reddened eyes, the heartache that had been suppressed by anger reared its head and immediately grew. He pulled Xie Guan back to the living room sofa, pried open his tightly clenched fingers one by one, and felt that his palm was covered in a cold sweat and his fingertips were icy. He couldn't help but feel a little regretful: “Come here, sit down first.”

Xie Guan snapped back to his senses and quickly said, “Wait…”

Huo Mingjun pushed him down onto the sofa and sighed as if in compromise: “I said some harsh things just now. Do you need me to apologize?”

“N-no need,” Xie Guan quickly shook his head. “It's fine.”

“Then don't cry, okay?”

“Huh?” Xie Guan blinked blankly. The tears welling in his eyes suddenly slid down from the corners. He was startled and hurriedly turned his back to wipe them away.

A flicker of a smile passed through Huo Mingjun's eyes. He reached back and pulled out two tissues to wipe his tears: “Alright, let's turn the page on this. We won't bring it up again.”

Just as Xie Guan was about to speak, there was a knock on the door. Huo Mingjun gestured for him to wait a moment. Shortly after, a bodyguard pushed a small hotel food cart into the living room.

Huo Mingjun handed him a glass of hot milk to warm his hands: “Stay here tonight. In a couple of days, you'll go back with me. You're not allowed to go to any of those messy crews again.”

“…Mm.”

After parking the food cart, the bodyguard exited the suite. Xie Guan felt like he was in a dream, watching the current head of the Huo family personally arrange seven or eight dishes on the coffee table. He finally couldn't help but ask: “Why are you helping me?”