Global Film Emperor

Chapter 382 Time Will Eventually Defeate a Beauty

Today's visit to Shen Jinghan's home was not a spur-of-the-moment decision. In fact, during the time when Mickey was in Berlin, Lu Ze had thought about contacting her. At first, he planned to meet her again after returning to China after filming "Rebirth". However, he brought it forward because of Teacher Chen's request for him.

To say that Lu Ze contacted Shen Jinghan without intending to find someone to help him would be pure nonsense. Now that his career is back on track, he needs help with many things. After all, doing everything himself would greatly interfere with an actor's performance. However, when the two met, Lu Ze did not come specifically to ask for help.

The two had never lost contact before, but this was the first time they had met since Lu Ze left Qian Shijia. For a moment, Lu Ze was speechless, but he was filled with emotion.

Shen Jinghan looks a bit old now. Perhaps it's because she only wore light makeup, but the wrinkles around her eyes are hard to hide. Even though she spends almost as much on skincare as big-name celebrities, how many people can resist the constant erosion of time?

Furthermore, her temperament has also undergone a significant change. The once assertive and powerful businesswoman has become gentler, and the red color that she used to wear everywhere has disappeared without a trace.

At that moment, the image of Shen Jinghan in Lu Ze's mind was replaced by the noblewoman in front of him. He realized that Shen Jinghan had become a grandmother and was almost sixty years old.

Her hair was soft, strong, and lustrous, but it was all a lie to deceive the passage of time; Lu Ze could see the silver at the ends of her hair.

Suddenly... Lu Ze didn't dare to look directly at her. His gaze wandered, looking around. Presumably, she must have been quite upset when Lu Ze left.

"Don't stand outside, come in quickly, give me your luggage."

"No need, really no need, Aunt Han."

She tried to take the luggage from Lu Ze's hands, but Lu Ze quickly refused. She knew that Lu Ze was never used to having someone carry his luggage, so she didn't make the request again and turned around to lead Lu Ze back to the room.

The mansion, spanning over 400 square meters, is decorated in a Chinese style, showcasing the grandeur of its larger size and striving to display the owner's wealth to visitors. The nanny stood at the door without speaking, only nodding politely. Lu Ze returned the greeting, only to find that the nanny was no longer the same as before.

The TV was playing a program, but the volume was very low. A crib was placed in front of the sofa. From Lu Ze's angle, he could just see the baby's little head, which was fast asleep in the soft blankets with its eyes closed.

"Xiaoya's child? A boy?"

"Yes, Fu Lixuan."

Aunt Han's daughter was pregnant out of wedlock, but since the two families had already discussed marriage, it didn't cause any bad effects. They just moved the wedding forward to avoid the embarrassment of her wearing a wedding dress while pregnant.

Lu Ze attended their wedding, but he was filming "The Effect" in England when the baby was born and couldn't make it back. This was the first time he had seen his child.

He tiptoed to the child's side and saw that the child was sound asleep and had not been woken by Lu Ze's noise. Lu Ze breathed a sigh of relief. He had rushed back and hadn't been able to buy the child any gifts, but he had prepared this gift for the child in advance. He took out a platinum teardrop-shaped pendant with diamonds set in it from his pocket and gently placed it under the child's pillow.

The gift was bought from an antique shop. It wasn't cheap, but it wasn't too expensive either, and it was within Lu Ze's budget. The antique shop owner said that this kind of pendant was used in South Africa to bless children, and it had the same meaning as a longevity lock.

Lu Ze also had the gift checked by a professional institution to ensure that there were no radioactive substances or toxins and that the diamond was natural before he dared to give it away.

Shen Jinghan watched Lu Ze make his movements but did not stop him. For a family like theirs, they couldn't bring themselves to refuse a gift in a fussy way, nor could they refuse the kindness of others. They just remembered very clearly in their hearts that when it was time to return something, they must return it.

It wasn't appropriate to leave the luggage at the door, so Shen Jinghan helped him find a place to store it. He glanced at the tag that hadn't been removed from the handle, said nothing, and just smiled and asked what he wanted to eat.

"Anything is fine with you, Aunt Han, I'll help you."

"No need, Xiao Zheng and I are enough. You can help me take care of the child."

After failing to persuade him, Lu Ze could only turn off the TV and quietly watch the child who was still asleep, occasionally replying to Song Guiyuan's messages to tell him that he would arrive later.

Gradually, the drowsiness from jet lag returned. He leaned back against the sofa, head down, and drifted off to sleep with his child. He only felt someone cover him with a thin blanket before turning away.

"Xiaoya, come home for lunch today. You and Asin come back together. Yes, we have guests at home. Aze came to see me. There's no need to rush back. It should take about two hours to get home. Okay."

The metal receiver was placed back on the classic-style landline phone. Looking at Lu Ze, who was lying flat on the sofa without her noticing, her brows were furrowed even in her sleep. Her eyes reddened slightly, and she wiped the corner of her left eye with her fair knuckles before returning to the kitchen.

……

"Brother Ze... Brother Ze... Time to eat, wake up."

A gentle nudge to his shoulder made Lu Ze slowly open his eyes. He saw a face that somewhat resembled Shen Jinghan's. Feeling unwell from lack of sleep, Lu Ze forced himself to sit up from the sofa and greeted his long-unseen friend. "Xiaoya, long time no see! It's already... past one o'clock? I'm so sorry, I hope I haven't kept you from your afternoon work?"

"It's okay, Brother Ze, you rarely come here, so I definitely have to take a day off to chat with you more. And my husband too, you two have to have a good drink today."

Shen Jinghan had previously tried to matchmake the two, but nothing came of it. This past incident didn't cause much of a rift between them, and they continued to interact as ordinary friends. Even though Zhou Heya is now married and her husband knows about it, there's no awkwardness between them in their conversations.

Seeing her smile, Lu Ze peeked towards the door. Her husband, Fu Xin, hung his suit on the hanger. The two men exchanged a glance, and Fu Xin greeted Lu Ze warmly as "Brother Ze."

Lu Ze was older than both of them. The reason why Lu Ze and Zhou Heya didn't get together was that Lu Ze was busy with his career and didn't have time to date. On the other hand, Zhou Heya was already dating Fu Xin at the time, but she hadn't told her family yet, so Shen Jinghan was unaware of it.

Lu Ze had already subtly discussed those events with Fu Xin when Zhou and Fu got married. Fu Xin also expressed her thoughts, saying that she didn't mind. Otherwise, it would have been difficult to talk to these three younger people.

"Mom, my childhood friend's company developed a waist trainer that is said to be good for relieving back pain. I asked him for a set yesterday. You can try it on later and see how it works."

As soon as she changed into slippers, Fu Xin picked up a box of exquisitely packaged medical products and handed it to Shen Jinghan, asking her with great concern how her back had been feeling lately.

"Okay, Aze, go wash up first, and then we'll eat."

After responding, Lu Ze went upstairs to the guest bathroom to do a quick wash. When he returned to the dining table and sat down, he found that all the dishes on the table were his favorites.

Fu Xin also brought out a bottle of old Moutai from upstairs, poured it to about seven or eight-tenths full for Lu Ze, and warmly greeted Lu Ze, raising his glass to toast him.

"Brother Lai Ze, I can't hold my liquor as well as you, I can only manage about four ounces, so I won't urge you to drink. I'll toast you instead."

The old Moutai was delicious, and Shen Jinghan's cooking skills were also excellent. To cater to Lu Ze's taste, the dishes were a little salty, causing the young couple, who were used to bland food, to frown slightly, but they didn't say a word of complaint.

After about an ounce of baijiu, the atmosphere warmed up. Fu Xin was indeed a qualified husband and a filial son-in-law. While constantly clinking glasses with Lu Ze, he also served food to Xiao Ya and Shen Jinghan. The young couple were very considerate, constantly showing concern for Shen Jinghan.

But it was precisely because of this behavior that Lu Ze could only smile bitterly in private. Perhaps the couple really cared about Shen Jinghan, but this level of concern was definitely not without an element of acting. They could fool many people, but they couldn't fool a top actor.

Lu Ze understood that the couple had guessed the purpose of his visit today. They also did not want Shen Jinghan to make a comeback and return to work, so they focused on inquiring about some minor health problems of Shen Jinghan, subtly telling Lu Ze that Shen Jinghan's health had not been very good recently, hoping that Lu Ze would give up the idea.

The medical waist trainer developed by their childhood friend's company is just a front. This product has been around for a long time, and Lu Ze has even bought it for Lu Weiguo. But that's not important. In fact, they even hoped that Lu Ze would buy it so that Lu Ze would understand their intentions.

As for Shen Jinghan... she actually refused as well. The moment Lu Ze woke up and saw Zhou Heya, he knew that Shen Jinghan was refusing. Otherwise, they wouldn't have come back. Some things are hard to say, especially to close people. It's even harder to express them directly. That's why she cooperated with Zhou Heya's inquiry and told her where she had been feeling unwell recently.

She was getting on in years, and Lu Ze's career was still based overseas. If she agreed to continue being his manager, she might only be able to return to China once every year or two to see her grandson. This wasn't something a middle-aged woman like her, who should be enjoying her retirement, should be doing. She also didn't want to prove anything through work anymore. So, giving up was probably for the best...

The food was good, and the wine was good, but it tasted bland in Lu Ze's mouth. He had no right to blame Zhou Heya and her husband for their behavior, nor did he have the right to ask Shen Jinghan to continue working hard for the small share he offered. In fact, when he first met Shen Jinghan today, he had already given up on that idea. Shen Jinghan had already worried herself sick over him, and he couldn't let her continue like this.

So for Lu Ze, giving up is probably for the best...

The meal didn't last long, partly because Fu Xin's alcohol tolerance wasn't very high, but the main reason was that they knew Lu Ze understood their meaning.

The couple were afraid that Shen Jinghan would feel sorry for Lu Ze and would soften his heart to help Lu Ze again. So they didn't stop Lu Ze from saying goodbye. However, after Lu Ze picked up his luggage, the three of them politely saw Lu Ze to the door.

"Then Aunt Han, I'm leaving. Xiao Ya, you two don't need to see me off. Fu Xin has had a bit too much to drink, so he should get some rest."

"Brother Ze, which friend are you going to? Or should I have the driver take you there?"

"Really, no need. Go back, Aunt Han. I'll come back another day for a free meal. I'm leaving now."

After picking up his suitcase and hugging Shen Jinghan goodbye, he slowly left under the watchful eyes of the three of them, without looking back, nor should he have.

"..."

(End of this chapter)