The Perfect Relationship

Chapter 106: Yin Dong's Past

Eating hotpot with just the two of them was a bit quiet, but Yin Chang had no intention of inviting anyone else. It seemed that only Shao Junling could share this joy with him.

Shao Junling knew that Yin Chang had been influenced by Cao Pi lately and was probably not eager to meet outsiders due to his closed heart. It was already difficult enough for him to come out to eat with himself, and he didn't want a third person to intervene.

But things did not go as planned. They were disturbed.

Shao Junling ordered many dishes and was waiting for the pot to boil when a voice came closer and closer, saying, "Hey, is this... your younger brother?"

Yin Chang turned his head and saw a figure. His body stiffened. "Senior."

The person who came was Luo Chuan. Shao Junling had not met Luo Chuan before, but he had seen the small video posted by Lu Lingjun and recognized him as the actor who played Cao Cao.

With Cao Cao dead, it meant that Luo Chuan's role had ended. He declined the crew's dinner and came out to eat with his agent alone, and coincidentally bumped into the two brothers.

Luo Chuan walked over to their table, "Just the two of you?"

Yin Chang reluctantly invited him, "...would you like to join us?"

"Sure, let's share a table, it will be more lively." Luo Chuan sat down without hesitation and looked straight at Shao Junling, not hiding his curiosity.

"Shao Junling," Shao Junling introduced himself, reaching out his hand. "Hello, Uncle."

Luo Chuan shook his hand and glanced back and forth between Shao Junling and Yin Chang before asking, "Are you here to watch your brother perform?"

Shao Junling nodded his chin in Yin Chang's direction. "I'm just here to watch him."

Luo Chuan remembered when Yao Manhuai had said, "They took care of each other as they grew up," and laughed, "You brothers are not easy."

Shao Junling observed Yin Chang worriedly, afraid that his brother might feel uncomfortable.

But Yin Chang was only initially stiff, and now he seemed to relax. Perhaps in that other world, Luo Chuan was already dead, so Yin Chang had no major resistance to him at the moment, and there was even a feeling of those memories being from a past life.

Shao Junling changed the subject, "Uncle, do you drink?"

Luo Chuan replied, "Sure, let’s get a bottle of baijiu."

Shao Junling called the waiter over and ordered a bottle of Wuliangye. When the liquor arrived, Luo Chuan personally poured a glass for Yin Chang and handed it to him, "Come, toast your deceased father."

Yin Chang and Shao Junling were speechless.

The baijiu cup was small, and Yin Chang took it and downed it in one gulp.

"Refreshing." Luo Chuan also drank it.

He poured another glass for himself and gestured for Shao Junling to drink as well. Yin Chang immediately stopped him with a clear expression, "He can't drink, he's not of legal age yet."

Luo Chuan was stunned, "Not of legal age?"

Shao Junling kept quiet, and Luo Chuan smiled, "Surely he's sneaked a drink behind his brother's back? He's almost of legal age anyway, it's only fifteen days away."

Yin Chang's sharp gaze swept over, and Shao Junling quickly picked up his coke, "I don't drink, you guys go ahead."

Luo Chuan didn't insist, and continued to drink with Yin Chang.

After three glasses, Luo Chuan looked at Yin Chang and said, "You acted very well in this play."

Yin Chang didn't say anything. Perhaps he was used to hiding himself from "Cao Cao" and continued to portray him, unfazed.

Luo Chuan said, "Unless something unexpected happens, this play will likely be a turning point in your acting career... Have you thought about your future development?"

Yin Chang hesitated, "I haven't thought about it yet. I'll think about it after finishing this play."

Luo Chuan glanced at him, "Do you like acting?"

Yin Chang didn't know how to answer. He used to think he liked it because compared to other things, acting interested him more. But this time it was painful.

Despite inheriting a great legacy, ushering in a new dynasty, and living in boundless glory, Cao Pi's life was tragic in Yin Chang's eyes. His childhood set him up to be destined for sorrow, with no hope for cure until he died... So he died shortly after taking that position for only a few years.

How could he like performing such a character? He was just helpless.

If he analyzed it this way, he shouldn't like acting.

But he had acted his most agonizing play, and everyone, not just Luo Chuan, but also the big and small actors and the director in the crew, all praised him, leaving Yin Chang feeling very confused.

Whether it was Cao Cao, the hero of the play, or the actor Luo Chuan in reality, he was a respected elder. Yin Chang didn't want to be insincere and said straightforwardly, "I probably just want to use acting to understand my father more."

This answer surprised Luo Chuan, who had originally thought that someone as talented as Yin Chang would naturally answer that he liked acting, and he could offer advice as someone with more experience...

Yin Chang took a sip of wine and looked at Luo Chuan, "I heard you used to be my father's nemesis?"

Luo Chuan smiled, "Do you think I am?"

Yin Chang shook his head. If he were really his father's enemy, how could Luo Chuan sit here calmly and talk to him? If he were really his father's enemy, how could Luo Chuan constantly offer guidance on the set?

Luo Chuan played with his wine glass, "I've known your father since our early twenties."

Yin Chang was surprised, "In your early twenties? You knew him before Auntie Yao?"

"Manhuai?" Luo Chuan snorted, "She was probably still a student at that time."

Finally meeting someone who knew Yin Dong's past, Yin Chang's heart raced. He asked hurriedly, "Were you close with my father then?"

"Not particularly, we just nodded at each other." Luo Chuan squinted his eyes and reminisced about the past. 

At that time, the mainland film and television industry was not as prosperous as it is now, and most aspiring actors went to the Hong Kong to seek development. When they first met, Yin Dong was working in a bar, doing part-time modeling, and wasn't even considered an actor. Luo Chuan himself was just an extra on CTB TV, far from his current status.

Hong Kong people were xenophobic, Luo Chuan occasionally went to the bar for a drink after work, and met Yin Dong who had also come from the mainland. They would chat amiably. From there, they got to know each other. It was a time of youthful exuberance - drinking together, complaining about the injustices in life, and dreaming wildly about the future.

"Your father was a great person, loyal, generous to his friends," Luo Chuan paused and looked embarrassed, "but because of one thing, he wasn't well-liked by others..."

Yin Chang was puzzled, "What thing?"

Luo Chuan waved his hand and signaled to his agent to leave before telling Yin Chang, "He had a boyfriend in his early years."

Yin Chang was caught off guard by this truth, and it was like a thunderbolt in his mind!

Even Shao Junling beside him was also stunned as he looked at Luo Chuan.

"In those days, people's tolerance for this type of thing was very low, so your father..." Luo Chuan remembered the scene when someone who knew about Yin Dong's relationship with a man cursed him from behind as a "dead gay", and he couldn't bear to continue.

Back then, he was also influenced by others and thought that men being together like that was disgusting, so he gradually distanced himself and stopped contacting him. 

Several years later, when they met again, Yin Dong had just debuted as an actor, and had a female agent who was always by his side.

At that time, Yin Dong had changed a lot, and the youthful expression in his eyes was gone. Nobody connected him with the bartender back then.

Luo Chuan had no hatred towards Yin Dong, and seeing him "repent," he could no longer keep his prejudices against him. 

Looking back now, Luo Chuan felt that those judgments they made back then were ridiculous. Having been in the industry for several years, he had seen all sorts of dirty deals. Yin Dong's experiences before his debut were nothing compared to the promiscuity between men and women in the entertainment industry nowadays.

Yin Chang's mind flashed back to the Hong Kong villa he had visited with Lu Lingjuan many years ago, the studio, the piano… he looked at Luo Chuan and asked anxiously, "Have you seen my father's boyfriend?"

"I've only seen him from afar, he was a very handsome man." Luo Chuan glanced at Yin Chang. In fact, the first time he saw Yin Chang in the media, he thought of Yin Dong's previous boyfriend. That person was also tall, handsome, and had a mixed-race look.

But Yin Dong had protected Yin Chang too well, and Luo Chuan remembered that he was only exposed as the father of a son in an award ceremony when Yin Dong was 27 years old. Nobody knew what his son looked like until a few years before Yin Dong's plane crash. Mainland paparazzi had secretly taken pictures of Yin Chang when he was 15.

So, although he had those unfounded thoughts, Luo Chuan didn't say them.

He looked at Yin Chang, "It's been a long time, I don't know much. If you don't believe me, just take it as me blabbering."

Yin Chang drank his wine and said dully, "It's okay, thank you."

Luo Chuan also talked about his past with Yin Dong. It was rumored that they were archrivals, but it was actually because of Yao Manhuai.

After Yin Dong had won the Best Newcomer Award, he attended a gathering in Hong Kong with Luo Chuan. That was the first time Luo Chuan came into close contact with Yao Manhuai. She was very young and not as stunning as the other female artists, but she had a natural queen-like temperament, which was the type that Luo Chuan liked the most.

When he asked for Yao Manhuai’s contact information, he began to pursue her, but she repeatedly rejected him, and told Luo Chuan very clearly that she had someone else in her heart.

At first, Luo Chuan didn't know who Yao Manhuai's heart belonged to, and even guessed it was Yin Dong. It wasn't until they first competed for the Best Actor award on stage that he realized - that night after the award ceremony, he overheard Yao Manhuai confessing to Yin Dong, and Yin Dong elegantly but distantly declining, even consoling her softly, "If it's a life partner, Luo Chuan is more suitable to stand by your side than me."

Since then, Luo Chuan had complex emotions towards Yin Dong. He fought with him every step of the way because he wanted to prove himself and let Yao Manhuai see him, but after all these years, Yao Manhuai remained unaffected. It was true that he almost hated Yin Dong at that time.

But as he continued to hate, Yin Dong suddenly died, disappearing from this world completely.

When Luo Chuan learned of Yin Dong's death, he felt uncomfortable. He not only lost his competitor, but also his best friend who understood him the most.

Afterwards, he let go of his obsession. Even if Yao Manhuai never responded to him in his lifetime, he didn't mind. It would be nice to be ordinary friends. At least they were still alive and could reminisce about the days with Yin Dong.

Luo Chuan put down his wine glass and glanced at the son of his old friend, "If you want to know more about your father's experience in Hong Kong, there's someone who may know more than me..."