Global Film Emperor

Chapter 383 In the end, he was nothing more than a wanderer, making the world his home.

"I've arrived, open the door for me."

As soon as the sound fell, the stairwell door opened. Drowsiness brought a numb feeling to Tianling's senses. Before he knew it, his suitcase hit the threshold with a sound. Lu Ze tugged hard and pulled the suitcase out of the crack in the door.

On the fifteenth floor, he knocked on the door, and it was quickly pushed open. In that instant, Lu Ze frowned as he stared at Song Guiyuan's face. This old guy had gotten fatter again.

"Why are you only arriving now? Didn't you say you'd land around nine in the morning? I'll get you some slippers, Xiao Liang! Aren't you going to say hello to your Uncle Lu? Who taught you to be so rude?"

Hello, Uncle Lu.

Xiao Liang is the opposite of his father. He was as fat as a ball when he was a child, but he has lost a lot of weight now. Although he is still fat compared to other children his age, at least his chin and facial features are finally showing, unlike when he was a child when they were all sunken into flesh. Moreover, he is the son of the Song family after all, and his appearance does resemble his father when he was young. Although he is a bit chubby, he is quite handsome.

Looking at Xiao Liang still wearing his school uniform, and recalling the past, Lu Ze realized that Xiao Liang was born when he was twenty-six years old, and now that he is seven, he should be in the first grade of elementary school.

He casually patted Xiao Liang's head, put on the slippers Lao Song had found for him, and the sounds of cooking in the kitchen stopped. Zhuang Xue stood at the kitchen door, wiped her wet hands on her apron, and smiled as she nodded to Lu Ze.

"Coming."

"Oh, sister-in-law, I'm sorry to have bothered you these past few days."

"What kind of talk is that? We haven't seen each other for a while, why are you being so formal? There's no such thing as disturbing you. Go wash your hands, this is the last dish. We'll eat as soon as it's done. Xiao Liang, go set the table."

Zhuang Xue has also become more voluptuous during this time. After shedding her titles as a teacher in the Classical Instruments Department of Huaxia Conservatory of Music and a pianist, she is no different from those women from privileged backgrounds.

Time has slowly erased the air of her scholarly family background, and she is no longer as proud as a swan. She has let go of the reserve she once had as a top pianist, and instead has become more down-to-earth, living a life of everyday chores. Now, in addition to her work and performances, she focuses all her attention on her husband and son, just like... Shen Jinghan.

However, as a teacher, his tone was inevitably somewhat critical. Lu Ze was used to it and didn't hold back. He responded, opened the bathroom door, and turned on the light switch. The bathroom light didn't turn on, but the ceiling light did. He took a step back and tried the switch again. This time, he finally turned on the bathroom light and slowly closed the door.

Seeing him go into the bathroom, Zhuang Xue went back to the kitchen to stir-fry the dishes in the wok, but the thought of Lu Ze coming to visit alone with his luggage, and Lu Ze talking less than before, always made her heart ache.

Her husband and he were sworn brothers, and her own son had to call him godfather. His older brother and sister-in-law were also his best friends. When she was pregnant, Lu Ze had shown her a lot of care and help. Basically, he would come whenever Lao Song called. So Zhuang Xue had never treated Lu Ze as an outsider. If Lu Ze was her brother, then he was her brother.

That's why she felt bad for Lu Ze, and it wasn't just this once. She couldn't help but shed tears whenever she thought of Lu Ze.

Lu Ze's life has been too bitter. None of his close friends are unaware of this. He has experienced too much joy and sorrow, and his life has always been more difficult than others.

Even though his career has rebounded and he's making a comeback in the film industry, even achieving new heights, to put it nicely, it's called working abroad; to put it bluntly, it's just wandering the world, making his home wherever he goes.

What's the point of making so much money if a man in his thirties, without a wife or children, travels all over the world? Can it buy him a dinner with his wife and children?
The thought of Lu Ze always eating alone with other people's families, just like today, made her feel bad for him, even if he wasn't upset.

"Honey, should I serve the soup? Or should I let it sit a little longer?"

"Ah...it's been stewing for over three hours. Take it out and see if the beef is tender."

When it comes to cooking, Lao Song always follows his wife's orders. After receiving the order, he wanted to take a spoon from her, but he saw the sadness that she couldn't hide on her face. He paused, sighed, and gently stroked her back.

……

The food was served: sweet and sour pork ribs, braised pork belly, steamed crab, braised prawns, steamed pomfret, yam and beef brisket soup, plus some home-style dishes and cold dishes. There were a total of sixteen dishes, and the portions were quite generous. The table was full, even more abundant than some families' New Year's dishes. Xiao Liang couldn't help but swallow his saliva when he saw it.

Logically speaking, given the Song family's financial situation, Zhuang Xue shouldn't need to cook for them every day. Song Guiyuan had advised her many times to hire a nanny, but Zhuang Xue had firmly refused each time.

She always believed that her son and husband should eat the food cooked by his wife. This was a necessary condition for maintaining family harmony. She couldn't let Xiao Liang grow up and chat with others about food without knowing what his mother's cooking tasted like. Nor could she let Lao Song think that she was spoiled and give him a reason to have an affair.

A man shouldn't be tethered like a dog, never allowed to leave. Instead, he needs to feel that he owes his wife something, using psychology to control his physiology. This is Zhuang Xue's way of managing her husband.

So over the years, Zhuang Xue's cooking skills have steadily improved. The three men—two adults and one child—ate with great enjoyment. Perhaps they were tired of British food, which led him to try to control his appetite but still couldn't resist taking an extra bite. "Is foreign food not good? You look so hungry. How long has it been since you went back to China?"

"It's not bad. They eat a lot of meat over there, and who wouldn't enjoy meat? It's just that there aren't many different dishes. I'm also on set, so I don't have time to try everything. I haven't been back for over three months. I left in February, and it's already May."

The two brothers had drunk a bit too much. In less than ten minutes, they had downed more than half a bottle of baijiu (Chinese liquor), which was 52-proof. By then, the effects of the alcohol were already showing on their faces, making them slightly flushed.

The bottle of baijiu was almost empty, so the two shared it. Although Lu Ze needed to control his diet, the craving for alcohol had taken hold, so he didn't refuse. After finishing one bottle, Lao Song opened another and refilled their glasses. Zhuang Xue glared at Lao Song but didn't say anything.

The two didn't talk much about work, since they were both in the industry and knew the rule of not discussing movies that hadn't been released yet. They just chatted about interesting things that happened at home and abroad. Zhuang Xue would occasionally chime in, since she had also performed abroad.

Zhuang Xue interrupted their conversation only after Xiao Liang put down his chopsticks. She smiled apologetically at Lu Ze and excused herself to leave, giving the two time to talk privately.

"You guys eat first. I'm going to help Xiaoliang with his homework. It's almost the end of the semester, and the teacher has assigned a lot of homework. If I don't help him, given his tendency to look around, he probably won't finish it even by tomorrow."

Having uttered this excuse that wasn't really an excuse, Zhuang Xue took the child back to the bedroom, leaving Lu Ze and Song Guiyuan with all the time and space. She knew in her heart that Lu Ze must have something important to do when he came back, and since she wasn't in the entertainment industry, she didn't need to listen to anything about it.

Although the couple had argued a lot in front of Lu Ze, they had never really gotten really angry. Moreover, she had never objected to any of the important decisions Song Guiyuan made in front of his friends. A man's word is law, and she couldn't let Old Song lose face in front of his friends.

After Zhuang Xue left, Lao Song picked up a bean and put it in his mouth. He didn't say anything at first, but after chewing it, he picked up his wine glass and clinked it with Lu Ze's. He then spoke thoughtfully.

"Did you come back because of the eSports Association?"

"You've heard?"

"Guess."

Old Song picked up a piece of fish and stuffed it into his mouth. The fish was steamed perfectly, as soft as tofu. He smacked his lips, as if he had eaten a rather large fish bone. Without using chopsticks, he used his hands, pinching the base of the fish bone with his thumb and forefinger, pulling it out of his mouth and throwing it on the table. He coughed to clear the phlegm that had risen from his drinking, offered Lu Ze a cigarette, lit it for himself first, but the flame did not go out, and then handed it directly to Lu Ze.

He shielded the flames with both hands, and the soft crackling of the burning tobacco clearly reached Lu Ze's ears. He took a deep breath and looked at Song Guiyuan, waiting for his answer. But he didn't expect Zhuang Xue to have such good hearing. She pushed open the door and started scolding him.

"What are you doing? The house is all yellowed from the smoke. Lu Ze, you should smoke less. You're not a young man anymore. Doesn't smoking make you feel uncomfortable in the mornings at your age? I'll ask you one more time! What is three times fifteen? Three times five is fifteen! Three times five is fifteen! Good heavens! Carry over one when you go from a single digit to a tens digit! I said it's more than ten! Carry over one when it's less than twenty! Three times seven, and you still want to carry over one! Your brain really comes from your father!"

With a bang, the door slammed shut. Both Lu Ze and Lao Song were startled and shrank back. It seemed that she was really angry with Xiao Liang. But this was just a brief interlude. After the initial shock, Lao Song got back to the main topic.

"The Electrical Engineering Association is recruiting recently, and you just happened to be back. You're staying at my place, so could we make it even more obvious? Did Teacher Chen recommend you?"

The Teacher Chen that Song Guiyuan mentioned is not the same Teacher Chen that Lu Ze refers to. Old Song is a proper graduate of Huaxi Academy, a true academic. Although Chen Yongbin did not teach him when he was in school, he became Chen Yongbin's disciple after entering society, and is a true disciple of Teacher Chen.

Teacher Chen provided a lot of help to Song Guiyuan when he started his career. However, Song Guiyuan didn't have much ambition. He was content with just getting by. So, among his fellow apprentices, he was probably the least successful. This is why Song Guiyuan agreed to the 70-city tour of "The Broken-Winged Bird". However, this also made Lu Ze want to ask him about it.

"And you? Not interested?"

"I'm not interested. I also have to write reports and summaries, which is quite annoying."

"Just because of this?"

"Just because of this little thing."

Song Guiyuan wasn't telling the truth, but it seemed he really didn't like joining the e-sports association, so Lu Ze didn't plan to pry. He just assumed that Old Song didn't like writing reports and took a sip of baijiu without saying a word.

"Since it was Teacher Chen who mentioned you, I won't worry about it. It's a sure thing. The most important thing is that you should consider which department you want to join and think about what kind of job suits you best."

"..."

(End of this chapter)