Chapter 45 Lin Sheng and Tou Xue

"You refused?" Bubble asked matter-of-factly.

She and Jian Zhen were sitting in an ice cream shop to cool off. That's the annoying thing about the weather in Lingnan. It's summer for ten months of the year, and you get tired of wearing short sleeves and vests. Fortunately, there are delicious and cheap shaved ice everywhere. She scooped a spoonful of shaved ice dessert into her mouth, squinted her eyes and sighed, and then she could forgive the endless summer for a few hours.

The woman in front of Bubble was wearing a tank top and denim shorts, with flip-flops on her feet. Accompanying her shopping and eating ice cream on a weekday afternoon, she didn't look like a powerful career woman about to enter the inner circle of the workplace and take charge of everything. Considering that such unexpected opportunities often hide big problems, and given that Jian Zhen has always been the type who only wants to do things and not manage others, Bubble naturally assumed—she had refused.

As a result, Jian Zhen held a thin coconut chip in her mouth, like an old smoker, exhaled, and said with her head down, "No, I agree."

The half-scoop of ice cream that Bubbles had lifted landed with a thud—sinking back into the bowl of soy milk shaved ice in front of her. She stared in disbelief for a long time before finally opening her mouth and uttering a soft "Huh?"

“After completing Pingping’s side quest, I realized something.” Jian Zhen raised her eyelids and stared at her, her eyes shining brightly: “I discovered that a person can actually live many times in this life. As long as you work hard to create, you can build a virtual world for a year, two years, or even just a short moment, as the creator.”

“That’s true, but…” Bubble put down her spoon and looked at her with concern. The animation industry has become quite mature by now, with detailed division of labor and reasonable processes. Jumping from an animator to a director is already akin to changing careers, let alone directly starting to build and manage a studio.

No matter how smart Jian Zhen is, she only has a little over a year of work experience. What if she impulsively takes office and then finds that she can't handle the situation and can't back down?

“As long as this world connects with real people once, there will definitely be a second, a third, and countless more times. Our works will influence some people, and these people will disperse into society, perhaps changing the trajectory of the times. Don’t you find that amazing? Working in a glamorous environment, clocking in and out, doing the same repetitive work, serves no purpose other than receiving a monthly salary. But putting down a pen and telling your own story could potentially inspire an entire era.” Jian Zhen ignored the worry in her eyes and continued speaking.

“Of course…” Bubble lowered her eyes and murmured softly. The fact that she was able to enter this industry shows that she has some idealism in her heart. The pursuit of self-realization is an instinct in her life. Although so many years of social experience have polished the gem in her heart to be small and round enough, once the edges of the gem are awakened, it will immediately clamor to break through the safety barrier and burst out of her chest to shine in the world.

Jian Zhen said quietly, "I want more than just a job; I want a career. I made that decision long before Xu Weisheng asked me, so I have no reason to refuse this opportunity."

"You are very brave." Bubble scooped half a spoonful of ice and put it in her mouth. The moment the ice melted between her teeth, she felt the pain of her dental nerves twitching again. Her former companion had found her own path, while she was still confused and hesitant, not knowing at what age she would give up the meaningless struggle and turn to live an ordinary life.

"Thank you." Jian Zhen nodded deftly, then changed the subject, "What about you? Do you want to leave Qili and come with me?"

"You convinced Bubble?" Laule arrived late and had just come down from the well-air-conditioned conference room. She was still wearing a thin suit jacket on her upper body. In the short walk from the Qili Building to the coffee shop downstairs, she immediately took off the jacket because she was so hot and draped it over her shirt sleeve.

In comparison, Laure is the one who better fits the stereotypical image of a strong woman.

She tossed her coat onto the back of the chair, sat down, sighed heavily, and then ordered herself a steak set meal.

“I thought you only ate salad for dinner,” Jian Zhen laughed.

"Where do you get the energy to work if you're just a vegetarian?" Lao Le hadn't seen her in a long time, and while taking a sip of water, he took a look at her. Lao Le noticed that Jian Zhen's appearance hadn't changed at all, but her complexion looked much better. It seemed that quitting her job was indeed the best tonic.

Jian Zhen could see that she looked tired, with a weak liver and spleen, typical signs of blood and qi deficiency. While feeling sympathetic, she couldn't help but feel secretly pleased—it seemed that Lao Le wouldn't be able to stay at Qili for long, and it was the perfect time to poach her.

"Qili's mid-year physical exam results are out, right? How are you?" Jian Zhen asked with concern.

Lao Le chuckled and said self-deprecatingly, "Too busy, I couldn't go."

Jian Zhen advised, "With your workload, you should still take some time to get it checked out. You might have several breast nodules by now."

"Is there even a need to look?" Lauler sighed. "I can feel it myself just by touching it. There were at least two new cases in the first half of the year. I've almost become an expert from being sick for so long. It's more accurate than a CT scan."

It sounded both optimistic and tragic. Jian Zhen couldn't help but chuckle and took a sip of her coffee.

Lao Le could tell what she was thinking just by looking at her deliberately hidden expression, and said directly, "But I won't beat around the bush with you. I have no objection to you poaching my people with your own abilities, but don't try to take advantage of me. I don't want to leave for the time being."

"Why?" Jian Zhen wasn't surprised. Lao Le was making great strides in Qi Li's mess and it was time for her to shine. It was obviously difficult to get her to give up a high-ranking position in a big company that was within her grasp and join her in making a shoddy operation.

“Bubble is still young. Even if she doesn’t make a name for herself after hanging out with you for a while, she won’t lose any opportunity cost. As for me,” Lawrence swallowed a piece of steak and smiled at Jian Zhen, “my opportunity cost is very high. I don’t want to gamble.”

“I understand.” Jian Zhen seemed thoughtful and didn’t press the matter further, giving Lao Le time to eat in peace—she was too busy, and eating was no different from chewing batteries for her. Jian Zhen had no doubt that one day when humans invented brain-computer interfaces, Lao Le would be among the first to plug a USB into herself.

After Lao Le finished his meal and ordered a cup of coffee to savor, Jian Zhen picked up the previous topic and said softly, "Did I tell you which book we're going to work on next?"

“Yes!” Lao Le smacked his lips, frowned and said, “Billiard Boys, it is indeed a classic IP. Qili has mentioned it a lot in internal proposals over the years, but we have never been able to get the adaptation rights. You, as an investor, are really quite capable.”

“Because he is the original author.” Jian Zhen’s words were sure to shock.

The coffee that Laule hadn't had time to swallow choked her throat, and she spat out countless tiny droplets with a spit. While covering her mouth and saying "sorry," she raised her hand to call the waiter over to clean it up.

The two switched tables, and Lau Le squeezed into the chair, still incredulous, and said, "I still can't believe my ears. You mean your investor is Lin Sheng, the author of 'Billiard Boy'?"

Jian Zhen could understand her reaction, because when Xu Weisheng confessed this fact to her, she also felt like her world had collapsed.

On the helicopter, she asked Hsu Wei-sheng, "How did you manage to get the adaptation rights! This adaptation has been stalled for years, only starting to move forward a little before the new year—"

As she was talking, she suddenly stopped. Her aunt had told her that the adaptation of "The Billiards Boy" had made substantial progress due to the original author's involvement. She was so excited about this great news that she couldn't sleep. She even went out to drink with Xu Weisheng on a snowy night. At that time, she was very curious. Why was Xu Weisheng flying all the way to Beijing instead of staying at home during the Chinese New Year?

Now it seems, could it be that in the blink of an eye, a series of coincidences and images were strung together, all pointing to the same conclusion—Jian Zhen was staring at him, her eyes practically popping out of her head.

Hsu Wei-sheng finally admitted it himself: "Because I am Lin Sheng."

Jian Zhen was struck dumb. She thought back to when she first met Xu Weisheng in Yungang, she would often bring up "my idol Lin Sheng". Later, when she was with him, in order to hide her feelings, she would bring up Lin Sheng from time to time to prove that her love for Lin Sheng was stronger than gold... She had expressed her preference for Lin Sheng to Xu Weisheng so many times, but she never expected that he was Lin Sheng himself.

She stood there dumbfounded, her face turning pale and then red. She desperately wanted to get up and leave, but her buttocks wouldn't obey her commands. Besides, she was trapped in the cabin, so there was really no way to escape.

After a while, she regained her speech, slowly turned her head back, reclined the chair, and silently covered her face with a pillow.

Xu Weisheng was worried that she would be too agitated and suffocate, so he couldn't help but say, "Don't suffocate."

Jian Zhen shook her head from under her pillow, her mind a jumbled mess, and said, "It's too unreal."

How could this be? She suddenly felt that the person beside her was an absolute stranger. If he really was Lin Sheng, then had she transmigrated from her middle school days? One second she was secretly reading comics in class, the next she was transported into a cyberpunk sci-fi film. And all the trials and tribulations of these past years had been nothing but an illusion.

The more she thought about it, the more her heart pounded, and she gripped the pillow tighter. Xu Weisheng couldn't bear to watch any longer. He grabbed her wrist, pulled the pillow away, and looked her up and down, saying, "The past cannot be retrieved. Now I am Xu Weisheng, understand? I'm telling you this only so that you can understand one thing."

"What?" Jian Zhen had just come back from the brink of suffocation. She looked up at him, feeling like crying for some reason. Her eyes were red and swollen, as if tears could well up at any moment.

Xu Weisheng gripped her wrist even tighter, his eyes seemingly blazing with fire: "Go ahead and do it, I can support you."

Compared to Jian Zhen's outburst that day, Lao Le had already acted quite composed. Jian Zhen even spent a long week getting used to this fact. She forced Xu Weisheng to speak to her in Lin Sheng's tone for ten minutes every day. Now that she thinks about it, Xu Weisheng was essentially cosplaying himself. No wonder he felt awkward and begged Jian Zhen not to torture someone's adolescence repeatedly.

Jian Zhen reluctantly agreed, but the way she looked at Xu Weisheng was always a mix of disdain and admiration, almost like she had a split personality. For example, although she disliked the medal that Xu Weisheng gave her from Lin Sheng's past, she still went to great lengths to have her parents send over her collection of Lin Sheng's works and invited Xu Weisheng to her home to have him sign them one by one.

"Is this considered an advance payment?" Xu Weisheng stood by the table signing for a long time, then straightened his back and asked with a wry smile.

Jian Zhen's answer was completely irrelevant. She sat on the ground, stroking her treasured books from her adolescence one by one, as if she had returned to the hall of childhood memories. Suddenly, she said sadly, "What if I miss home?"

Shenzhen is further south than Guangzhou. She's getting farther and farther away from home.

Xu Weisheng held his pen and looked at her, not knowing how to comfort her. He had never had a home to think about.

"Is there anything in your home that can't be moved here?" Xu Weisheng was planning that she could arrange a large house with a yard for her parents in the future, where they could grow flowers and plants all over the yard.

“Snow,” Jian Zhen sighed. “We can’t move things over on snowy days.”

Xu Weisheng was speechless and had to admit that she was right. No one could change that. Wait a minute, he suddenly remembered that he had seen snow in Guangzhou. It was on that day that he first registered his own studio. Now, this name could be given a brand new meaning and start anew.

He had a sudden inspiration and said, "How about we name the studio 'Touxue' (meaning 'Snow Through the Path')?"

(End of Volume 2)