Chapter 167 Cheap Relatives Are Being Tampered With
June in Yuming was already hot.
Even at eight o'clock in the morning, the sun was already scorching hot, enveloping the entire city in an unshielded heatwave.
This city has its international and modern side, but it also has its ancient and backward side.
Everyone says that Yuming is a place where every inch of land is worth its weight in gold, as if gold is buried under every single floor tile.
But only when you measure this land with your own feet will you be surprised to discover its less-than-ideal side.
-
Leming Restaurant is a small restaurant located in the old town, and the owner's name is He Bangan.
The surrounding shopkeepers didn't like this person much because he had a bad temper and was stingy.
However, He Bangan has been running his shop here for many years.
He rode a motorcycle, stopped in front of his house, unloaded several large bags of meat and vegetables from the back, and carried them into his shop.
"Oh, you're finally back!" A somewhat plump woman, dressed rather gaudyly, rushed out when she saw him. "Wait a minute, do you know what's going on?"
He Bangan frowned. "What do you know?"
Feng Xiu is He Bangan's wife, and judging from his expression, she definitely doesn't know the truth yet.
"The news just said that Lu Yanhe scored 657 on the college entrance exam! He ranked thirteenth in the entire Yuming City!" Feng Xiu's eyes lit up. "You brought him out before, but we didn't expect him to get such good grades?"
Upon hearing this, He Bangan's first reaction was, "Did you hear that right? His grades aren't that good."
Feng Xiu immediately took out her phone and handed it to He Bangan.
"Take a look for yourself, isn't that your nephew?"
He Bangan took the phone, glanced at it, and exclaimed, "Wow, it really is!"
“This kid’s got good luck. I thought he was really done for.” He Bangan’s small eyes gleamed with a shrewd smile. “It wasn’t for nothing that I brought him to Yuming.”
Feng Xiu slapped him hard, "I told you to bring him back in the first place, but you wouldn't listen. Now he's definitely going to make it big. What are you going to do about it?"
He Bangan immediately retorted angrily, "You woman, does he think he can just ignore me as his uncle now that he's successful?!"
Feng Xiu chuckled and said, "That's not necessarily true. If he becomes successful in the future, he might not even acknowledge you as his uncle."
"He wouldn't dare!" He Bangan cursed first, but he was a little scared inside.
He hadn't been in much contact with Lu Yanhe for the past two years.
At the time, I thought this kid was doomed. He couldn't be an entertainer, he couldn't make money, and he would just become a burden to me.
Therefore, He Bangan didn't even invite him over for the New Year's Eve dinner, fearing that Lu Yanhe would remember her and want to come back.
Then there will be one more mouth to feed in the family.
Unexpectedly, this kid scored such a high score without making a sound!
This isn't a matter of Zhenhua and Yuming being able to choose freely?
"Where is Le Ming?" He Bangan immediately asked his son.
Feng Xiu said, "Where else could it be? At this time of year, of course it's at school!"
He Bangan: "Let him come with me to meet his brother tonight."
Feng Xiu: "..."
-
Star Entertainment.
Vice President Ma sat in his office, looking at the reports about Lu Yanhe on his computer screen, his face visibly grim.
Since Lu Yanhe's results came out, he has received many inquiries and congratulations. Many people are even genuinely jealous of him—his company has produced such a phenomenal figure, the only one of its kind in the entire entertainment industry, so of course they are jealous.
Only Vice President Ma knew that this was not the situation he wanted to see at all.
Because of Chen Ziyan's special status in Xingyu, especially the fact that Lu Yanhe terminated his contract with the company and then signed a new one, Lu Yanhe is no longer considered one of her artists.
He had absolutely no control over Lu Yanhe.
This kid has suddenly soared to great heights, who could have imagined it?
Vice President Ma was very frustrated.
But at this moment, Vice President Ma was also somewhat relieved, thankfully Lu Yanhe was still in the company.
Otherwise, if Lu Yanhe had just terminated his contract with Xingyu and then scored like this, Xingyu would become a laughing stock for everyone.
Will he be able to escape unscathed in the end?
Vice President Ma himself has Hong Qi above him.
Although he doesn't manage things much, he and Chen Ziyan are the only two people in the entire company who are truly familiar with the big boss behind the scenes.
Vice President Ma has never even met that big boss.
If such a public scandal were to occur, Vice President Ma believed that he would likely be scolded by Hong Qi immediately.
Star Entertainment is no longer the makeshift operation it was when it was first established.
But now that Lu Yanhe has caused such a huge uproar, and the whole internet knows about it, that person is probably furious.
If it weren't for that person, he wouldn't have tried to drive Lu Yanhe away in the first place.
-
While everyone around him was shocked by his college entrance exam score, Lu Yanhe calmed down from his initial elation.
The college entrance exam is over, but he still has filming to do afterwards.
His casting in "The Golden Era" has been officially announced, attracting a lot of attention.
However, since most people are paying attention to him now because of his college entrance examination scores, his participation in this drama has not yet generated much discussion.
This is his first film.
Lu Yanhe put in all his effort, determined to give a good performance.
However, with the release of his college entrance examination results, the acting classes that Chen Ziyan had arranged for him were also coming to an end.
He Shuyi told him that class was over after she finished teaching him today's lesson.
“You’ll have to go back to the production team and continue learning. I’m just guiding you through the basics; you’ll have to rely on yourself after that,” she advised. “Don’t develop a habitual performance style. Acting isn’t that simple. If you treat it carelessly, it will treat you carelessly. Keep up the good work.”
While Lu Yanhe was surprised, he was also a little reluctant to part with He Shuyi.
"Teacher He, are there no more classes afterwards?"
“No more for now,” He Shuyi said with a smile. “This is what Ziyan and I decided after discussing it. Of course, we can teach you more, but it won’t help your understanding of acting. I don’t want you to be too influenced by me. You have to explore on your own. Especially since Director Luo Yuzhong is a director who is very good at training actors, you can learn more if you keep yourself in a blank state.”
Lu Yanhe nodded somewhat reluctantly.
"All right."
He asked, "If I ever don't know how to handle something in the future, can I still ask you?"
"Of course," He Shuyi nodded. "I have high hopes for you. Keep it up, future Best Actor!"
Lu Yanhe looked embarrassed.
He is still not used to being praised like that.
After class, Lu Yanhe went to Chen Ziyan's office to find her.
"Knock knock".
He knocked on the door.
"Come in," Chen Ziyan's voice rang out.
Lu Yanhe opened the door. "Sister Ziyan, class is over."
"Is the course over?" Chen Ziyan asked.
"Hmm, they suddenly told me that the course would end after today's class." Lu Yanhe was a little bewildered because it was so unexpected.
"It was a decision I made after communicating with them. We will continue to ask them to teach you at different stages in the future, but it is not advisable to teach you too much when you first come into contact with acting," Chen Ziyan explained. "They are all very experienced acting teachers. There are many things you may not understand now, but when you don't understand, you can't go wrong by listening to the words of experienced people."
"Mm." Lu Yanhe nodded.
Chen Ziyan suddenly smiled and said, "There's another happy event today."
"Hmm?" Lu Yanhe asked, somewhat surprised, "What happy event?"
"The project 'The Days of Youth' has been finalized. Chen Biqiu has decided to invite you and has given up on Ma Zhiyuan." Chen Ziyan laughed. "I guess this is partly because you went viral online yesterday. They dare not delay any longer. In fact, I received messages from more than a dozen producers today, inviting you to appear on their shows."
The number of invitations an artist receives for recording a program is the best indicator of their recent popularity.
Lu Yanhe smiled somewhat embarrassedly.
“But there’s another point: you also benefited from Li Zhibai’s influence,” Chen Ziyan said. “He made it very clear to Chen Biqiu that he would withdraw as long as they invited Ma Zhiyuan. So, it wasn’t just you who defeated Ma Zhiyuan; it was you and Li Zhibai who defeated Ma Zhiyuan together. Don’t be so smug and don’t be arrogant.”
Lu Yanhe immediately nodded and said, "I will not be arrogant."
"Do you have any plans for tonight?" Chen Ziyan suddenly asked.
"Tonight? No, why?" Lu Yanhe asked.
"If you don't have any plans, come have dinner with me. I don't have any plans tonight and I don't want to eat alone," Chen Ziyan said.
"Oh." Lu Yanhe nodded. "Then I'll tell Li Zhibai and the others that I won't be going home for dinner tonight."
"When are you planning to move out of their place?" Chen Ziyan got up and started packing her things, throwing various small items into her bag.
"We had planned to move a while ago, but Li Zhenzhen wanted to observe our living conditions, so we didn't move. Zhou Ping'an hasn't been urging me to move either." Lu Yanhe wasn't really keen on moving. "Anyway, I'll be moving after school starts. If it's possible to stay here this summer, is that okay?"
"Of course you can, as long as Zhou Ping'an doesn't kick you out."
Lu Yanhe thought to himself, he had just helped Zhou Ping'an's mother by accident a few days ago, surely he wouldn't be so heartless as to kick him out again?
If Li Zhibai wasn't afraid that kicking them out would be too cold-blooded, he really wouldn't want them to come in.
Li Zhibai's face was extremely dark, and he looked at He Bangan and He Leming sitting on the sofa with a very unfriendly expression.
This father and son looked like a shifty-eyed man and a simple-minded, rude man.
Ten minutes ago, the two of them rang the doorbell, wanting to see Lu Yanhe.
Li Zhibai had met them once and knew they were Lu Yanhe's uncle and younger brother.
Who knew that neither of these two people had contacted Lu Yanhe before they arrived?
"You didn't even give us a heads-up, how were we supposed to know you were coming?" Li Zhi looked at them with great impatience.
Li Zhi was fully aware that the two of them had ignored Lu Yanhe for the past two years.
Li Zhibai had never cared about Lu Yanhe before because they weren't close.
In the past year, Li Zhibai has asked Lu Yanhe several times why he doesn't go back to his hometown for the New Year, even though he has an uncle.
Lu Yanhe spoke frankly, saying that the family ties between them were weak, and they were afraid that he would become a burden. He also did not want to be a burden to them, so it was best for them not to bother each other.
If Li Zhibai hadn't personally witnessed Lu Yanhe living here for three years, and his uncle's family had only visited a few times in the first month after they moved in, and then never appeared again, Li Zhibai would have thought Lu Yanhe was too cold-hearted when he heard Lu Yanhe's words.
That's not true at all.
Zhou Ping'an had publicly berated Lu Yanhe in front of the Fengzhi members, saying that his relatives were shameful and had tried to extort money from him several times.
How could someone as stingy as Zhou Ping'an possibly get any money from him?
Not only did he verbally abuse them and send them packing, but he also harassed Lu Yanhe. Li Zhibai and Yan Liang both knew about this.
They've suddenly come to our door?
When Yan Liang returned from buying dinner at a restaurant, he saw the situation inside the house. Normally, he was not as sarcastic as Li Zhibai, but he immediately started to mock him: "Oh, as soon as Lao Lu's college entrance exam scores came out, those cheap relatives you only see once in eight hundred years suddenly appeared?"
Compared to Li Zhibai, Yan Liang disliked Lu Yanhe's uncle even more.
Because he also had a few relatives who wanted to take advantage of him, and when they learned that he had become a celebrity, they all came to his house wanting to borrow money.
When they couldn't lend us any money, their attitude changed completely. They kept saying things like, "You're a celebrity, how could you not have money?!"
If you really care about Lu Yanhe, where are you usually?
Yan Liang's provocation immediately made He Bangan's face turn ugly.
"How can you talk like that, young man? What do you mean by 'cheap relative'?"
"Isn't it cheap?" Yan Liang retorted without even thinking, "The last time I saw you was three years ago, right? If a relative you only see once every three years isn't a cheap relative, then what is?"
He Bangan blushed but couldn't say anything to explain. In the past two years, he hadn't come to see Lu Yanhe even once.
Knowing that he wasn't doing well even after becoming an artist, they were afraid he would want to go back and be supported by them, so they didn't even make a phone call.
“It’s because you guys have debuted as celebrities that I’m afraid of bothering Yan He. He’s my nephew, how could I not care about him?” He Bangan said matter-of-factly.
"Tsk tsk." Yan Liang looked at him speechlessly. "If you're afraid of bothering me, then don't contact me for two years. You might as well never contact me again. Suddenly you're not afraid of bothering me again?"
He Bangan was furious with the young man in front of her.
“I’m here to see my nephew, I have nothing to say to you!” he shouted.
His obese son sat beside him, not daring to utter a sound.
The main reason is that Li Zhibai and Yan Liang both look like they're not to be trifled with.
When Li Zhibai saw that He Bangan still dared to shout, he immediately glared at him.
"This isn't your home, try yelling at me again!" Li Zhibai said sternly. "Don't act like an elder here! Whether Lu Yanhe considers you an elder or not is his business, what are you pretending for in front of us? Damn it, we invited you in to sit down and you're still acting all high and mighty, get out of here!"
As Li Zhibai was speaking, he suddenly raised his hand.
He Bangan stared in disbelief at the two young boys, who both looked like they had swallowed a bomb.
Such a despicable character!
No wonder people online say that celebrities are all bad!
"I'm here to see my nephew, what right do you have to kick me out? You're all public figures, believe me or not I'll report you to the media!" He Bangan narrowed her eyes and threatened.
Li Zhibai sneered, "I've never been threatened like this before in my entire life. Someone dares to threaten me in this tiny place like Yuming?"
He picked up his phone and turned on the recording mode.
"Look at these two! One is Lu Yanhe's uncle, and the other is his younger brother. They're the ones who brought Lu Yanhe out of the countryside, but they haven't cared about him at all since. They haven't said a word in the past three years. Now that Lu Yanhe's college entrance exam scores are out, they've suddenly turned into zombies! Their greed is beyond measure!" Li Zhibai said. "They even said they'd report me to the media. I'm going to have a serious talk with them. What are these two cheap relatives up to when they came to find Lu Yanhe?"
Li Zhibai pointed his phone camera at He Bangan and He Leming, getting more and more excited as he talked.
Seeing this, He Bangan became increasingly nervous, and Li Zhibai's words became increasingly harsh.
He was confused and thought Li Zhibai was doing a live broadcast, so he panicked.
"Put it down!" He Bangan said, seeing Li Zhibai about to rush forward and snatch his phone.
Yan Liang pushed him away.
"You still want to fight, huh!" Yan Liang shouted angrily.
Li Zhibai held up his phone: "You're not leaving yet, are you? If you don't leave, I'll keep recording and post it on Weibo later. I want to see if you still have the face to face your neighbors!"
He Bangan was so angry that his face turned as red as a pig's liver.
He Leming was scared.
He covered his face and said, "Dad, let's go back!"
He has to go to school every day.
If Li Zhibai really posts it online, he'll lose face in front of the whole school!
He Bangan was dragged away by his son.
Li Zhibai, holding his phone, chased after him all the way to the door: "Come on, if you dare! Report me, I'll expose you! Let's see who gets the better of whom!"
"Alright, alright." Yan Liang tugged at Li Zhibai's arm. "Stop recording."
Li Zhibai then put away his phone and slammed the door shut.
"What kind of despicable relatives are they!"
Yan Liang: "You have quite a temper."
"I'm getting angrier and angrier the more I think about it. Damn it, I'm angry for Lao Lu!" Li Zhibai said, hands on his hips. "It's a good thing Lao Lu isn't here tonight, or he would have been driven crazy by this shameless person."
Yan Liang: "There's nothing we can do. That's just how the world is. As soon as someone sees that you're doing well, there will be people who want to cling to you and suck your blood."
"No, we have to have a serious talk with Lao Lu. We can't let these relatives take advantage of us."
"Let's wait for him to come back," Yan Liang said. "It was such a happy time, he got such a good score, and now a mouse has come out and gotten in the way."
Li Zhibai snorted and said, "With me here, I'll kill every single one of these rats I see."
Yan Liang couldn't help but laugh when he saw Li Zhibai's proud and arrogant appearance.
"You really made a mistake, but you probably scared the person half to death," Yan Liang said.
“To deal with this kind of person, you have to be even more shameless than him,” Li Zhibai said. “I learned this trick from my mother. That’s how she deals with some annoying people—she’s more annoying than them.”
Yan Liang gave Li Zhi a thumbs-up and exclaimed, "A great teacher produces a great student."
Li Zhibai sighed, somewhat smugly: "Having a friend like me is truly your good fortune."
Yan Liang: "I applaud you."
Li Zhibai's lips curled into a smile, and he wasn't so angry anymore.
I was just about to take a break, but then I saw that I'd climbed to over 200th in the monthly vote rankings! What am I going to do? I'll just have to huff and puff and write another chapter to express my gratitude! Please vote for me!
(End of this chapter)
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