Shoutout to nyanmaru for the commission!
Cheng Jingxuan was fifteen years older than Cheng Jingyao. When he was in high school, a younger brother suddenly appeared, which was quite a dramatic story.
Over the years, some people have tried to stir up trouble between the brothers.
At eighteen, Cheng Jingxuan went abroad to study, and after graduation, he settled abroad. He has been away for nearly twenty years, so he doesn’t spend much time in the country, and rarely has the chance to interact with Cheng Jingyao. Outsiders often mistakenly think their relationship is distant.
There were even rumors that Cheng Jingxuan left in anger because of his brother’s birth, and their father, Cheng Hui, went abroad because he didn’t like the youngest son either.
In reality, Cheng Jingxuan felt a natural affection for his younger brother. Given the strained relationship between their father and his younger brother, Cheng Jingxuan took on some of their father’s responsibilities. The two brothers never had any serious conflicts, and their bond was much deeper than outsiders imagined.
Thus, whenever someone tried to sow discord, Cheng Jingxuan found it laughable.
“I heard that the violinist with the surname Zhao, who was on the show with you, found several clients who have business connections with our family and tried to stir up trouble in front of me and Dad. He said you were claiming to be the ‘crown prince’ back in China and didn’t even acknowledge me as your older brother,” Cheng Jingxuan teased.
Cheng Jingyao rolled his eyes, “The Qing dynasty has long fallen.”
Cheng Jingxuan chuckled, “As long as you’re aware. Need any help?”
Cheng Jingyao calmly took a sip of his porridge, “No need, he can’t stir up much trouble, otherwise he wouldn’t have come to you.”
Cheng Jingxuan thought that made sense—someone his brother didn’t even consider worth his attention was no threat.
However, he added, “The corporation sponsoring their orchestra is undergoing a major change, which will likely lead to significant personnel changes in the orchestra. The Zhao couple probably already knows they can’t stay much longer.”
That’s why they’re so eager to establish a foothold in China, create a persona, attract attention, and grab a share of the spotlight in both the entertainment and art worlds by any means necessary.
Unfortunately, they chose the wrong person to go up against.
Cheng Jingyao and Ye Yunqing weren’t aware of this. They exchanged a glance, mildly surprised.
Cheng Jingyao put down his utensils and looked at his older brother, slowly exuding the sharp aura of a savvy businessman. He curled his lips in a mocking smile, “There’s a big difference between resigning voluntarily and being fired.”
Given the Zhao couple’s character, knowing they were going to be let go, they would undoubtedly spin a narrative about being “loyal to their homeland, returning to serve after years abroad.”
Cheng Jingxuan immediately understood without needing further explanation. He nodded and smiled faintly, “I’ll give you an update when the time comes.”
After this, Cheng Jingxuan changed the topic, “I watched the show you and Yunqing were on. It was quite interesting.”
Ye Yunqing, sitting nearby, blushed slightly, while Cheng Jingyao gave a helpless look, “Are you so free lately? Why not bring sister-in-law and the kids back to see Mom?”
“I do plan to bring them back soon,” Cheng Jingxuan paused, observing his brother’s expression, “along with Dad.”
Cheng Jingyao’s expression faltered for a moment, but he quickly regained a nonchalant look, “He can come back if he wants.”
Cheng Jingxuan sighed, “Dad’s health isn’t what it used to be. This time when he returns, he’ll probably stay in the country.”
Cheng Jingyao’s brows furrowed slightly, and then he smirked, “Is he really willing to let go of the empire he built abroad?”
Cheng Jingxuan knew that persuading him alone wouldn’t work, so he switched topics, “Is Dad video chatting with Tun Tun? Nico and Lu watched Tun Tun’s show and said he’s very cute. I’ll have them come say hi.”
Cheng Jingxuan’s wife was a foreigner, and they had a pair of seven-year-old mixed-race twins. The kids hadn’t returned to the country in the past two years and had only seen pictures of Tun Tun in the family group chat. Having watched “The Wonderful Moon” with their father, they were excited to meet him.
Cheng Jingxuan called his son and daughter over. The mixed-race prince and princess enthusiastically greeted “Uncle” and awkwardly said hello in broken Chinese.
Cheng Jingyao still refused to interact with Cheng Hui. After a brief greeting, he handed the phone to Ye Yunqing, who took it to Tun Tun.
Even after both sides ended the video call, Cheng Jingyao hadn’t spoken a word to Cheng Hui.
Cheng Hui felt a bit regretful, but neither Chu Lan nor Ye Yunqing tried to persuade Cheng Jingyao, nor did they express any opinion about his return.
However, upon learning that his eldest son would bring his wife and kids home, Chu Lan was overjoyed. She immediately took Tun Tun shopping, buying gifts for her daughter-in-law and grandchildren.
After spending the weekend at Chu Lan’s place, on Monday, Ye Yunqing received an invitation for an audition in two days.
His agent, Brother Li, and assistant, Xu Youyou, accompanied him, while Cheng Jingyao took Tun Tun to his company to “get familiar with the business.”
The role Ye Yunqing was auditioning for was his top choice among all the scripts he had received, but it presented a significant challenge.
The character was based on the famous men’s single figure skater, Zuo Sang—the first Chinese men’s singles skater to win a Grand Slam, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, who broke the country’s gold medal drought in the event. He had recently retired due to injury and was now coaching the national team.
This time, renowned director Zhou Tianqin personally took charge of the script to shoot a biographical film about Zuo Sang. Not only did he invite Zuo Sang himself to participate in the casting process, but he also hired him as the action director to be involved in the filming.
It is said that Director Zhou originally wanted to cast athletes for the roles, but after searching for a while, he only found a few young athletes who were suitable to play Zuo Sang as a child. However, he struggled to find someone appropriate to portray Zuo Sang as an adult, who has the most screen time.
Professional athletes might be able to replicate Zuo Sang’s training and competition scenes, but they would likely fall short in terms of acting skills and box office appeal, making it difficult for them to carry the film as the lead actor.
In the end, Director Zhou decided to cast from among actors, prioritizing those with experience in figure skating, ice dancing, or a dance background. This way, at least the basic expressions and movements could be trained, though professional technical moves would still require a stunt double.
Ye Yunqing, having recently won an award and with years of dance experience, has a similar physique to Zuo Sang and received an invitation to audition.
Although he wasn’t confident that he could fully embody the role, Ye Yunqing was deeply attracted to the script and Zuo Sang’s personal story, compelling him to give it his all.
Ye Yunqing arrived at the audition location half an hour early, entered the waiting room to draw lots, and left his manager and assistant outside.
Inside the waiting room, there were already seven or eight actors, some of whom Ye Yunqing recognized, while others he was meeting for the first time.
However, they all knew Ye Yunqing—recently a frequent trending topic on social media, an artist from a prestigious family, a martyr’s orphan, and the husband of a Film Emperor winner. Who wouldn’t recognize him?
Not only did they recognize him, but there was also a hint of envy and jealousy.
Moreover, those with good connections had heard that the recent downfall of popular star Qin Moumou, who was caught in a scandal for hooking up with fans and becoming a third party for a wealthy patron, was actually due to his resentment over losing the lead role in Sunshine to Ye Yunqing, leading him to repeatedly smear Ye Yunqing online, which ultimately backfired and got him blacklisted.
Otherwise, it was said that Qin Moumou was also supposed to audition today.
So, everyone understood that even though Ye Yunqing doesn’t have many representative works and his status in the industry isn’t that high yet, he has clearly become someone you can’t afford to offend.
“Teacher Ye.” A newly debuted actor was the first to greet him and introduce himself, followed by greetings from the others.
Ye Yunqing politely responded.
The actors present were all in their early twenties, and apart from the newly awarded Ye Yunqing, who could be called “teacher” by newcomers, there were two others.
One was Wen Ning, who gained fame with his tragic supporting role in a Xianxia drama and had since accumulated a considerable fan base, now preparing to transition to the big screen. The other was Lin Xian, a popular idol from a boy group who had recently shifted to acting.
These two were also strong competitors for Ye Yunqing. In terms of appearance and temperament, Ye Yunqing and Lin Xian were closer to Zuo Sang, but Wen Ning had a background in ethnic dance and more acting experience.
Although Lin Xian was from a boy group, and presumably had a dance background, he had debuted with the persona of a music prodigy who was terrible at dancing, making him the least competitive.
Lin Xian seemed to feel the same way. After greeting Ye Yunqing, he sat next to him and casually remarked, “Seeing you and Wen Ning here, I knew I didn’t have much of a chance.”
His comment drew everyone’s attention, even Wen Ning, who had been focused on his script, looked up.
It was an awkward comment for Ye Yunqing to respond to, but he still politely said, “Teacher Lin, you’re being too modest. The audition hasn’t even started yet, there’s no need to underestimate yourself.”
Lin Xian looked at Ye Yunqing’s calm and cold expression and slowly curved his lips into a smile, “You’re right, Teacher Ye. I guess I’m just too nervous.”
His smile froze in place, and his eyes sparkled with the subtle charm that his fans loved.
Ye Yunqing nodded slightly and didn’t say anything more. He wasn’t much of a talker, especially not with people he wasn’t familiar with, which is why he was often labeled as aloof and cold. Given his cool and delicate appearance, it wasn’t entirely untrue.
Wen Ning glanced at the two of them but didn’t join the conversation, returning to his script.
But the group soon heard Lin Xian quietly ask Ye Yunqing, “I heard you also received an invitation for Wen Tian. If you get the role here, will you still take that one?”
Ye Yunqing paused and looked up at the young man in front of him—
Was he genuinely straightforward and overly honest, or was he trying to test him with a clumsy strategy?
