Chapter 36

Going to City B for the training camp was the first time in Shen Li's life that she had gone to another city alone. Every day she had to hand over her phone and undergo closed training, a life filled with sweat and tears.

At that time, Luo Mingxiu went to school in an orderly manner. He listened to his sister and studied hard. However, when he came home every day and did not see his sister, his feelings of loneliness would be amplified.

He looks forward to the weekend the most each week, when he can log on to his QQ account and see his sister online, and chat with her.

His life revolves around two points: going to school, coming home, and doing his homework at school. After school, he helps his mother with housework when he gets home. On weekends, he either reads or does crafts, unlike other children his age who run around outside all day.

During summer vacation, I became fascinated with wood carving. I used my scholarship money to buy materials and tools and locked myself in my room to work on it.

Fearing that he was too withdrawn, Shen's parents brought their friends' children to their home to play. However, Luo Mingxiu simply served tea and water and sat quietly, seemingly not interested in playing with them.

Curious about what her son was up to, Luo Qiuli secretly went to his room to peek. She saw a half-finished wooden doll on the bay window sill, and next to it in a box were a bunch of oddly shaped wooden blocks, which looked like they were for practice.

She was a little puzzled, and just as she was about to leave, she glanced at the calendar on the desk and saw a small red flower drawn next to July 17 as a mark.

Luo Qiuli suddenly realized that it was Shen Li's birthday that day, and he was preparing a gift for his sister.

On her birthday, after finishing her class at the Shen Li Drama Troupe, she went to the door to pick up her cake when she received a call from her mother.

"Hey, sweetie, get out of class's over, right? Happy 18th birthday! Did you have any cake?"

"I ordered a cake and I'm going to eat it with my roommates when I get back to the dorm."

"Oh, good, have a great birthday today. It's such an important day for you to come of age, but you didn't spend it at home. Mom made a dress and put it in your closet. When you come back, we'll take some photos of you in it to commemorate the occasion."

"Thank you, Mom. Can I see the dress?" Shen Li asked happily. "What gift did Dad give me?"

"Your dad picked out a pair of high heels to match his suit. Oh, right, Aunt Luo and Uncle Liu also gave gifts. I'll take pictures and send them to you." The other end of the phone hung up.

A while later, Shen Li received two photos. The first photo showed her in a dress and high heels, and the second photo showed other gifts arranged together.

She glanced at the photo, and a wooden doll in it caught her eye. She was about to ask about it.

Chen's mother sent a message: "That wooden doll was made by Mingxiu. I was wondering what he was doing staying in his room all this time. Turns out he was preparing a surprise."

Shen Li: Mom, could you take a picture of the doll separately? I want to take a closer look and see how well it's made.

Chen's mother sent another close-up photo of herself holding a doll. This time, she could clearly see that the sculpture was of a little girl with big eyes, long hair, and wearing a coat.

Shen Li guessed which anime character it was until she zoomed in with her fingertip and noticed a butterfly hair clip on the right side of her hair. Only then did she realize it was herself, the outfit she wore the day she took him to the hairdresser.

This gift is so thoughtful! Shen Li went on QQ to praise Luo Mingxiu, but saw his message: Happy Birthday!

She couldn't help but smile and sent a message: I saw the gift, little brother, you're a genius, you did such a great job!

Luo Mingxiu quickly replied: I'm glad you like it, sister.

Shen Li: How many days did you work on it? What made you think of making wood carvings? It must be very difficult.

Luo Mingxiu: There's a craft shop on my way home from school. The dolls they display there are really expensive, so I bought the materials and tools from the owner and made them myself. I worked on it for about a week. It was quite difficult at first, but it got easier after I got the hang of it.

Shen Li: Your craftsmanship is so good, you put so much effort into it. It's a pity that I'm not very good with my hands. What gift should I give you for your birthday?

Luo Mingxiu: (≧v≦)/

Luo Mingxiu: I'll like anything my sister gives me.

Time flies, and in early winter, on his birthday, Luo Mingxiu received a large package containing a Harry Potter castle LEGO set, along with a greeting card with Shen Li's handwriting:

Harry grew up on adventures in the wizarding world; I hope you, too, will discover and stay true to yourself in this world. Happy 10th birthday! Keep going, keep moving forward! Your sister will always support you!

Luo Mingxiu read the short sentence over and over again, and then copied it into his diary before he was satisfied.

He carefully sealed the greeting card in a box, and afterwards read Harry Potter novels in the school library. For a long time, his profile picture and personal signature were related to Harry Potter.

In February of the following year, Shen Li finished her college entrance exams and then entered the final stage of preparing for the college entrance exams.

When she returned to school, her academic foundation was still intact. Her scores in the elective subjects did not drop after the mock exams, and her Chinese language scores remained outstanding, while her math and English scores were somewhat weaker.

So she focused on those two subjects for the rest of the time. In April, the results of the college entrance exam came out, and Shen Li achieved the top score in the performance major. A huge weight was lifted off her shoulders, and now it was time to see how she did on the academic subjects.

In the two weeks leading up to the college entrance examination, she reviewed her strongest subjects again. She felt that compared to the intense physical training during the intensive training camp, using her brain at school was not as tiring. She went to the examination room with this relaxed mindset.

With the college entrance exam over, everything has settled down.

Ultimately, Shen Li Culture scored more than 200 points above the professional control line, completely exceeding expectations, and was admitted to her dream school with the highest overall score in the performance major.

On the day they received their acceptance letters, the Shen family wept with joy. Shen's father called all their relatives and friends to share the good news and invite them to his daughter's college admission celebration.

On the day of the banquet, in the bedroom dressing room, Shen Li sat in front of the mirror, her mother doing her makeup.

She changed into the coming-of-age ceremony dress her parents had given her: a light pink gown with shimmering glitter, an off-the-shoulder design, and a flared hem adorned with butterflies of various sizes.

Mother Shen applied a touch of lip gloss to her daughter's lips, then went behind her and pulled her hair up.

I picked out a pearl necklace from the jewelry box and put it on her. Looking in the mirror, I said, "My dear daughter, you've grown into a young lady in the blink of an eye. I wish you a bright and successful future, with many more beautiful dresses to wear."

"Thank you, Mom." Shen Li stood up, hugged her, and kissed her on the cheek.

Downstairs, guests filled the room. Shen Li took her mother's hand and went downstairs. Her high heels accentuated her slender ankles. She wasn't used to wearing high heels yet, so she walked very carefully. The soft light from the chandelier fell on her face, and the butterflies on her skirt fluttered gracefully with each step.

After descending the stairs, Chen's mother pulled her daughter to the front of the crowd. She smiled, and the unanimous gasps of surprise from the crowd were enough to prove her daughter's beauty.

Luo Mingxiu and his mother stood on the outermost layer of the guests. He stared at Chen Li in the center of the guests, unable to look away.

As the banquet began, Shen Li toasted everyone with tea instead of wine. After returning to her parents' table, she wiped her mouth and got up after eating her fill. Some relatives teased her for not eating enough. Amidst the laughter and conversation, she dealt with several elders and was only able to leave the table when she was full.

She didn't see Luo Mingxiu during the meal, so she went out for a walk and looked for him. When she got to the kitchen, she saw Aunt Luo busy checking accounts with the chef she had hired, while Luo Mingxiu was sweeping the floor at the door with a broom.

"Aunt Luo, have you eaten?" Shen Li asked, but Luo Qiuli's voice was a bit loud, as if she hadn't heard her.

Luo Mingxiu saw this and ran over: "Sister, we've already eaten. You look so beautiful today."

"Son, put the broom away after you finish sweeping. What if someone trips over it if you leave it there?" Luo Qiuli said, turning around before noticing Chen Li.

"Aunt Luo, I didn't see which table you were at just now, I thought you and Mingxiu hadn't eaten yet."

“We’ve already eaten. We ate with Lao Liu, so we ate pretty quickly,” Luo Qiuli said. “Have you finished eating? Why did you come out?”

Luo Mingxiu quickly put the broom back in the cleaning room and came out again: "Sister, you look so beautiful today."

"I know!" Shen Li smiled, beckoned him over, and said to Luo Qiuli, "I ate too much, so I came out for a walk to digest."

"Then let Mingxiu accompany you to play for a while." As soon as she finished speaking, Luo Qiuli saw Luo Mingxiu immediately take Chen Li's hand.

"You brat, you get all excited when it comes to playing with your sister. Get lost!" She waved him away.

Shen Li held Luo Mingxiu's hand, and they walked through the corridor and into the back of the courtyard. Feeling that they had digested their food, she led her younger brother up the spiral staircase behind the warehouse to the rooftop, which had been renovated into an open-air courtyard with flowers and grass, perfect for relaxing and enjoying the night view.

The summer night sky was filled with stars. Two figures, one tall and one short, sat in a wicker chair, gazing at the stars.

Luo Mingxiu turned to look at Chen Li. He had lost count of how many times he had looked at his sister tonight. His sister shone brighter than any star.

A cool breeze blew, and Shen Li comfortably closed her eyes. The chirping of cicadas was hidden in the courtyard and among the trees, and the night was exceptionally quiet.

"Sister, are you going to be a big star from now on?" Luo Mingxiu broke the silence.

Shen Li turned her head and met his clear eyes.

"Will I be able to see you on TV from now on?"

"You have to act well to have a chance to appear on TV and be seen by more people. I've only just taken my first step and I'm not that good yet." Shen Li smiled and said, "But I appreciate your kind words. I'll work hard and try to make sure you can see me on TV often."

"I definitely can." Luo Mingxiu said firmly, then lowered his head, remembering what his mother had said about his sister's dream of becoming an actress. He knew acting would be very busy, tiring, and arduous, so he asked again, "Sister, do you really like acting?"

“Of course,” Shen Li looked at him, her eyes shining.

"This has been my dream since I was a child. When I was little, I always watched TV and imitated those characters. I participated in cultural performances. My dream is to one day play all kinds of roles, appear on the big screen, and let more audiences see me."

Luo Mingxiu was infected by her smile and began to ask curiously, "What is your dream?"

"A dream is an expectation for the future..."

“Everyone is different. I want to know what you want to do in the future. You are good at math and have participated in so many school math competitions. You could consider studying science. There are many majors in science and engineering universities that require good math skills. You also like handicrafts and have artistic talent. You could study fine arts or design in the future.”

"But it all depends on whether you really like it. Anyway, you're still young, so take your time to figure it out..."

The sounds beside him grew fainter and fainter. Luo Mingxiu turned his head and saw that she was tilting her head to the side, as if she was about to fall asleep.

"Go back to your room and sleep." Luo Mingxiu reached out and touched her face, but his fingers were held.

Shen Li was a little sleepy, but not to the point of falling asleep in front of a child. She got up and continued what she had been saying, "Take your time with your dreams. You'll know what you want when you grow up."

Luo Mingxiu gazed at her profile and pursed his lips.

He wanted to grow up quickly so he could travel with his sister. He couldn't bear to see her leave home; he just wanted to stay with her forever.

When a person has all the right timing, location, and people, they can become famous suddenly without any preparation.

No one could have imagined that Shen Li herself would receive an offer from a famous director so soon after entering university.

It was the week before winter break when she received a call from her department's acting teacher, who said that Director Xie, who had won the Blue Dragon Film Award, had seen her performance in the drama troupe online and wanted her acting materials for the art exam.

Upon hearing that he was casting for his new movie, Shen Li actively contacted him to audition, and in the end, she was cast as the lead in the movie "The Madman".

Filming started during winter break. She hadn't signed with a company yet and didn't have a team. The only person by her side was a roommate from the directing department who temporarily became her assistant because she wanted to gain experience on set. She was thus forced into the production.

A year later, "The Madman" was released nationwide, and Shen Li became famous. She signed with the top agent in the industry at the time, and various events and interviews followed one after another.

Her agent created a personal Weibo account for her, which is managed by her team. To protect her privacy, all of her previous public online accounts have been deactivated.

My parents were also brought to the company for a talk and signed a confidentiality agreement.

Everything happened too fast. Shen Li was at the height of her fame, busy with acting. Except for her birthday party and New Year's Eve, she rarely went home. When she took leave to go home during filming, she would stay for one night and then leave in a hurry. She was running fast toward her dream.

As Luo Mingxiu grew up day by day, he could no longer cling to her as he used to.

When Luo Mingxiu was in his third year of junior high school, he suffered from frequent growing pains.

When he couldn't sleep at night because of leg pain, he would turn on the light and read. When he couldn't continue reading, he would take out his treasured box, which contained birthday wishes from Shen Li that he had received over the years.

He laid out the greeting cards filled with encouraging words and began copying them down sentence by sentence in his diary.

He pays close attention to Shen Li, loves to search for her updates, and even more so, loves to watch her interviews and copy down what she says.

After the high school entrance exam, his score far exceeded the admission line for key high schools. The day after the results were released, he received a gift from Shen Li.

It was a brand new smartphone with a smooth screen and no buttons. Before this, he had never owned a mobile phone; he had only ever used his mother's to make calls.

This was his first cell phone, a gift from Shen Li. Luo Mingxiu excitedly pressed the power button, and as soon as it turned on, a call came in.

He answered the familiar number without hesitation, and her clear voice came from the other end of the phone: "Congratulations on getting into high school, little brother. I knew you'd get into my alma mater. I bought you a phone, and the SIM card is all set. Quickly register a WeChat account with this number and add me as a friend."

"Thank you, sister," Luo Mingxiu's Adam's apple bobbed. The boy's voice had become more magnetic after puberty. "Are you going home for your birthday this year?"

"I'm not going back. The production crew really can't find the time. Could you please tell my parents for me?"

"Um."

"Don't bother sending gifts, just send a red envelope on WeChat as a token."

"good."

"That's all, I'm hanging up."

After the call ended, Luo Mingxiu watched the phone light go out, then glanced at the neatly wrapped gift box by the windowsill.

He went over and took it apart, pulled out a desk drawer, and threw the finished wooden dog keychain inside.

"I won't see you off." Luo Mingxiu muttered to himself, noticing a hint of resentment in his tone.

He paused as he closed the drawer, then took out the keychain, repackaged it, and carefully put it back.