Chapter 30: 30

Chapter 30: Another Name

The vibe in the room changed suddenly. Since the marketing manager noticed Wang Chen’s pale complexion, he smiled and urged everyone on: “Everyone to dinner first. We can talk more later.”

“That’s right, let’s eat first,” Wang Chen’s agent reiterated. “Everyone is tired after a long day of work.”

Heading out, the crowd of people huddling around Wang Chen, lead him away. Was Wang Chen even in the mood to eat? Even though he earned the endorsement for VI, Yin Chang once again jumped ahead and earned an invitation to represent a luxury brand for the elite. The whole thing was unbelievable. Even so, as the main character tonight, he was the one that had to go to dinner.

At the banquet, people from VI’s China division congratulated him, including the other models who had come to audition as supportive players. Even in their presence, Wang Chen’s attention had been on Yin Chang and Luca across the way.

Since their arrival to the banquet, Luca had been next to Yin Chang. Sitting side by side, they were happily engrossed in conversation, none of which could Wang Chen follow.

From beginning to end, the art director of VI never saw him as the real “winner.”

The most annoying part about the whole thing was when Yin Chang got up after dinner and walked over to Wang Chen and said: “Congratulations.”

Wang Chen: “……” Congratulations? Screw you!! (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻

On the way back home, since Yin Chang was puzzled about Wang Chen attitude, he asked Lu Lingxuan for her opinion: “Didn’t Wang Chen get the endorsement for VI? Why did he seem so upset?”

Lu Lingxuan: “Uh…. Are you really wondering or are you pretending to be stupid?”

Yin Chang: “???”

Lu Lingxuan was really at a loss when she saw his bewilderment so she explained: “Although Wang Chen won the audition for VI, your invitation for BG is a luxury brand that is normally carried by well-known A-list stars. It would be something on the level as your Father and thus, it isn’t surprising he may be unhappy.”

Sitting in the front passenger seat, Yao Manhuai was also laughing. It turned out that Yin Chang had no clue how lucky he really was.

After a moment of reflection, Yin Chang said: “Well, even if I wasn’t there, Wang Chen wouldn’t have gotten the BG endorsement either. So, what’s he so upset about?”

Lu Lingxuan choked – That’s the point!

Yao Manhuai turned around to face Yin Chang and said: “He probably thinks of you as a rival.”

Yin Chang: “…really?”  Is that why he talked trash behind his back – to feel empowered by demeaning his competitor? That’s in poor taste and lacks sportsmanship.

Yao Manhuai: “Overall, I think today turned out well. He got the Vi endorsement on his own, and you got the BG endorsement on yours. It’s a win-win situation. If you had taken his endorsement away, the relationship between our agencies would be tested and potentially could cause problems in the future.”

Yin Chang nodded in understanding: “Hmm…”

Since Yin Chang and Wang Chen were similar in age, they would inevitably cross paths again. Yao Manhuai wondered what he thought about him: “You met Wang Chen today so what do you think of him?”

Yin Chang thought for a while: “Do you want me to tell you the truth?”

Yao Manhuai: “Of course, everyone in the car is part of my agency. Just say whatever you want.”

Yin Chang frowned than commented: “In person, he is different than the magazine photos. It’s like a trick. I didn’t even recognize him when I first saw him today.”

Yao Manhuai: “……”

Lu Lingxuan: “……”

In unison, they remarked: “This kind of thing must never be said to his face in the future!!”

Feeling anxious, Lu Lingxuan quickly warned: “It’s not just him! No matter how large the gap is, you can’t say those things to any celebrity in the future! Otherwise, people will take offense!”

Yin Chang was speechless: “I know that. Didn’t you just ask me to tell you truthfully?” Of course, Yin Chang is not without emotional intelligence. Certainly, he would not say those comments out loud to someone.

　　　***

After the watch endorsement incident passed, Yin Chang resumed his daily work. Aside from the fashion and magazine photo-shoots, he regularly went to the company to attend an assortment of classes.

Yin Chang took the opportunity between shoots and activities to talk to Teacher Lin about Shao Junling’s progress at school. He hasn’t caused any trouble recently. Every day he was going to all of his classes and getting along with the other kids, even Xue Zi.

Yu Chang was relieved when he heard about it. It seemed, the small cupcake that Shao Junling brought in played a role in making peace.

In the morning, Yin Chang received news from Fiona. With the furniture covered in large dust-cloths and household items packed, she had finished cleaning and prepping his foreign house for a long-term absence. She was ready to come over at any time.

Yin Chang was very happy. Suddenly, he thought of the fact that there were only two bedrooms in the apartment. He didn’t know where Fiona would stay when she comes.

He didn’t want it to cause a problem, but he also didn’t want to move anymore, so he asked security if there were any vacant houses being rented in the same community. Regretfully, the security guards told him no. The community attaches great importance to privacy and the real-estate owners weren’t short of money. As a result, many of them would rather leave the house empty, save for the furniture, than to rent it out.

After thinking about it all day at work, Yin Chang went home and looked around for a solution. In fact, his home was not small. The master bedroom alone was nearly a hundred square meters, never mind the adjacent den and connected cloakroom.

Yin Chang measured the size of the study and found by adjusting the placement of his father’s desk, a single bed could easily fit in the space. Since Shao Junling occasionally returned to the apartment, he could sleep here and Fiona could use the second bedroom.

The only drawback was the lack of a door in the study. Since the large master bed was directly opposite, there wouldn’t be any privacy at all. Yin Chang felt like it might be asking too much of Shao Junling to sleep here.

On one hand, he doesn’t know how difficult it will be to get along. On the other hand, Shao Junling lives at school. Since he was required to stay at school for another year, even if he came back for a few of weekends, it wouldn’t be hard to bear.

For the moment, it’s the only method Yin Chang can use to temporarily solve the problem. When Shao Junling starts to study, or when he gets older, it will be inconvenient. He will simply have to find a new solution when the time comes.

Now that his decision was made, to make space in the den for Shao Junling, Yin Chang took the time to pack and seal up his father’s mementos, books, awards and certificates. Even though four months have passed since his father’s death, going through his belongings invoked his cherished memories of his father and made him feel sad.

Once, his father told him that all things related to his mother were destroyed because he was afraid of remembering her. Even if it was a lie to deceive him, now he fully understood his father’s reasons.

The more he thought about it, the more difficult it would be emotionally. In order to assuage his feelings, Yin Chang packed up the room as fast as he could. Even though he moved fast, he wasn’t haphazardly putting his father’s things away. As he was moving items from the desk, an envelope slipped out of a notebook and onto the floor.

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Yin Chang picked it up and was taken by surprise when he read the writing on the front. It said “Jingxue Welfare Institute.”

Opening the envelope, there was a photo inside. Taking it out, Yin Chang looked at it and saw an image of a child that was maybe two or three years old. The child in the photo was smiling. As Yin Chang stared at it for a while, he realized the photo was that of Shao Junling. Flipping it over, there was a note written on the backside:

— Shao Jun

— December 29, 200X

….Shao Jun? Not Shao Junling?

Turning it over, Yin Chang inspected the photograph carefully, making sure the image was in fact Shao Junling. Since Yin Chang was present on the day Yao Manhuai adopted Shao Junling, he remembered the information in his adoption papers. His birthday matched the date written on the back of the photo.

….What’s going on – Shao Junling had another name?

After the news broke, Yao Manhuai and Lawyer Wang investigated thoroughly. To gather as much information as possible, not only did they travel to many places locally, they also went to the Civil Affairs Bureau in the capital to look up his registration. Since there weren’t records of the child before they found him on the streets at the age of five, the Bureau assigned him the name “Shao Junling.”

Yin Chang eyes bore a hole in the photograph with a newfound understanding. Previously, he thought the lack of information about Shao Junling was due to his father’s intervention to cover-up an illegitimate child. However, his conjecture was unclear. Simply. if the child’s origin was unknown, how could Yin Dong know of his existence? This photograph seemed to prove Yin Chang’s initial train of thought.

Grabbing the envelope, he looked at it more carefully. Without a postmark or return address, it was unclear from where it came. The letter was probably hand-delivered to his father. That person, whomever they were, was probably the only person who knew the truth.

….But why didn’t the person come forward when there was a public outcry?

Recalling the notebook that this letter fell from, Yin Chang reached over to pick it up and inspected it. As he flipped through it, he noticed most of the pages were in Yin Dong’s own handwriting, until there was a page with the name, Jing Xue, written on it at the bottom. Presumably, this is the spot in the notebook where the letter fell from.

Opening the book to get a closer look, Yin Chang saw the faint scrawl of handwriting. Next to the name, there was a telephone number that looked familiar. Searching the internet, he confirmed that the phone number was the same number as the Welfare Institute.

In addition, below was another string of numbers: 138XXXXXXXX”

Yin Chang hesitated for a moment, took a deep breath, and dialed the number with his mobile phone. However, a “not in service” message answered his call.

Yin Chang was startled by the recorded message and hung up in frustration. The incident made him upset because he wasn’t able to learn anything more about Shao Junling’s past than he already knew. Although he had confirmed Shao Junling’s relation to Yin Dong because of the paternity test he found, he still wanted to know why Yin Dong seemingly hid the boy. What happened to Shao Junling? Who was his mother? Was he really abandoned?

……

Over the weekend, Shao Junling came home.

In advance, Yin Chang spoke to him about Fiona. She was the housekeeper Yin Chang grew up with and will be returning from abroad to take care of their daily lives.

Shao Junling seemed a little confused about the news. However, when Yin Chang mentioned the food that she will prepare for them, his eyes lit up and he nodded vigorously.

“Fiona will have to stay in your room when she comes. Since you are here for less time, I want you to move to the study. It’s the one next to my bedroom. Okay?”, Yin Chang explained as he showed him the recently cleared room with a new single bed.

Shao Junling glanced at the inside of his new room then looked at Yin Chang’s bedroom. Turning red he nodded.

Yin Chang further elaborated: “Since there isn’t a door here, we could install a curtain or something in the meantime…”

Listening, Shao Junling started shaking his head quickly side to side.

Yin Chang frowned: “Speak up. Don’t just nod and shake your head to answer.”

Shao Junling’s voice was muffled: “No…no need.”

Yin Chang: “…”  Without privacy, Yin Chang thought Shao Junling wouldn’t accept the idea. Now that it’s like this, Yin Chang didn’t think it was he, who wouldn’t be able to adapt. Yin Chang could only replay with: “We’ll wait and see how it goes.”

Now that his sleeping arrangements were handled, Yin Chang booked Fiona’s flight back to China.

After dinner that night, the brothers worked independently for some time. When Yin Chang felt tired, he told Shao Junling goodnight and went to his room to go to bed.

Separated by glass, the master bedroom came with its own bathroom. Through it, he saw Shao Junling half carrying and half dragging his pillow and blankets out of the study.

“You…” Yin Chang walked out with a toothbrush in his hand and said in a daze: “What are you doing?”

Shao Junling stopped and declared: “Sleep here.”

___________________

【Vignette】

ONE:

On the way back, the distraught Wang Chen told his agent: “You get me an English teacher right away!”

Agent: “???”

Wang Chen: “I’m going to learn English! I will speak English tomorrow!” (Cannot lose to Yin Chang)

Agent: “That’s what you said three years ago but after three days of learning, you lost the book crying and went to Korea.”

Wang Chen: “Shut up!” (╰皿╯)

TWO:

Yin Chang pointed to the study room: “You will sleep here in the future.”

Shao Junling: I can take care of my brother more closely. Awesome! o(￣ヘ￣o)

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