Global Film Emperor

Chapter 449 Old Friend
"Lu...Lu Ze?"

Zeng Long stammered, not out of surprise at Lu Ze's sudden appearance, but out of an indescribable awkwardness regarding how to address him.

He wanted to call Lu'er, but just as he was about to speak, the "er" sound was swallowed back. He then wanted to call him teacher, but it was difficult to get his mindset and attitude right.

If they had never interacted before, he would have called him "teacher" without a second thought. But facing this guy who used to roll in the mud and whose body always smelled of gunpowder, he found it hard to regain his rationality.

He had told others many times, or rather, boasted, that Lu Ze used to work for him. But as this man in front of him rose to prominence and eventually became a leader in his industry, he learned to keep quiet. It wasn't because no one would believe him, but because he himself no longer dared to face the truth.

So he was very embarrassed. Just because of a greeting, he cursed himself countless times in his heart, stood awkwardly in place, rubbed his hands, and looked somewhat at a loss.

"What? Don't you recognize me?"

His heart suddenly started pounding like a drum, a feeling he could clearly sense. Then, his face began to flush. As the current director of the union department, he hadn't felt this way in a long time. He cursed himself inwardly, "So sentimental!" Then, he put on a somewhat shy smile.

"Get to know...get to know..."

Lu Ze wasn't surprised by his somewhat flattering manner; he had already acted this way when he met those "big shots" more than a decade ago.

Lu Ze never expected that one day he would be the one receiving such a gesture. At that moment, he felt neither smug nor pleasant, but rather a bit uneasy. He could only walk over slowly, take out a cigarette from his pocket, and put it in Zeng Long's mouth.

There was also a box of matches on the table. Judging from its appearance, it was probably taken from some film crew. He had kept this habit for many years. It wasn't for lighting cigarettes or welcoming guests; he just liked to hold matches in his mouth and pretend to be Chow Yun-fat.

He picked it up, shook it gently, and the matchbox rattled. He pulled out a match, ran it hard across the sandpaper on the side, and lit it, giving off a gunpowder smell. He gently brought it to Zeng Long's face and lit the tobacco.

Zeng Long took two sips without making a sound, but his mood suddenly calmed down. The two looked at each other, and Lu Ze smiled brightly. Zeng Long's smile gradually widened as well. Lu Ze opened his arms, and he did not refuse.

After the hug, the two sat down. Zeng Long gestured for Wang Zixuan, who was standing to the side, to sit down as well, but she politely declined. She then took the chair away, found a corner, and began to study the operation of Lu Ze's social media app.

It wasn't that she was putting on airs, but with the release of "Exile," she had a lot of work to do and a lot of articles that required her to speak on behalf of Lu Ze. Furthermore, the conversation between old friends was very private, and she shouldn't get involved, not even listen.

……

"Brother Zeng, we have to have a good drink tonight. You've gained so much weight since you used to. How about it? Has your alcohol tolerance improved?"

Zeng Long is now much fatter than when he first met Lu Ze. Not only has he gained weight, but his double chin has also become more prominent. The once short and somewhat thin bachelor in his early thirties has now become a greasy, bulbous middle-aged man with a water-pot-like figure.

"Don't worry, I'll definitely make it up to you."

Amidst his laughter, Lu Ze also noticed the photo on the table: a chubby baby, probably a one-month-old photo, who looked remarkably like Zeng Long.

He got married, he got married a long time ago, but he didn't tell Lu Ze, so Lu Ze couldn't attend his wedding. Also, because Lu Ze wasn't used to browsing his WeChat Moments, it was already half a month later when he saw the wedding photos and pictures of the wedding ceremony.

The former notorious prostitute from Hengdian has reformed. Lu Ze is certain he's behaved himself and no longer frequents those back alleys where the scent of rouge can be smelled from afar. After all, Lu Ze knows his character well; he's responsible in relationships. However, Lu Ze is genuinely unaware of the child.

"How old is the child?"

"Seven years old, and I'm in first grade now."

Lu Ze didn't want to ask again why Zeng Long hadn't even informed him about things like getting married and having children, because there was usually only one answer to that question, and he didn't want to hear it anymore.

Furthermore, Lu Ze did not want to pry into Zeng Long's life. Given the current disparity in their status, such questions could not be asked. Otherwise, whether he was merely expressing slight concern or harboring other emotions, Zeng Long would hear a hint of a leader's poverty alleviation efforts.

Lu Ze knew he didn't need to, just as he never called Lu Ze to ask for a helping hand, nor did he ask Lu Ze for anything that would put Lu Ze in a difficult position because of his past kindness.

This can be considered Lu Ze's good fortune. Over the years, none of the benefactors he has encountered have ever asked him to repay their kindness. In this respect, Lu Ze is much luckier than many others.

But not seeking anything in return doesn't mean Lu Ze is an ingrate who will abandon these benefactors once he becomes successful, and never care about their well-being again.

Otherwise, how do you think Zeng Long, who was originally the director of the extras archives department, became the director of the extras rehearsal department?

Although they are both directors and should be at the same level, the amount of extra income they get is vastly different...

Although Lu Ze didn't say it, Zeng Long understood, otherwise he wouldn't have been so embarrassed by such a simple title.

He helped Lu Ze, and Lu Ze helped him in return. This seems fair, but for Zeng Long, the nature of the two actions is not the same. He helped Lu Ze because Lu Ze was capable, but what about Lu Ze helping him? What does that count for?
Neither of them wanted to mix their pure feelings with business dealings, but unfortunately, such dealings had already seeped into their relationship. Yet he couldn't bear to refuse, after all... his child could attend the best key primary school in Dongyang.

Perhaps this is what adult friendship is like. It wasn't so pure at the beginning, but compared to other old friends, it could be called pure. He wanted to say thank you, but his complicated emotions made it difficult for him to say those two words. He could only agree with Lu Ze until Lu Ze started talking about someone else.

"Where's Brother Le? I can't get in touch with him. Is he no longer in Hengdian?"

"Ah, his eldest son is in high school, but he has never studied in his registered residence area. The policy there is that you must have three years of school registration in your registered residence area, otherwise you can't apply for undergraduate programs. So he took his son back to his hometown. After he went back, he stopped using WeChat and changed his phone number. Now I can't contact him."

It's hard to say what the situation is. Maybe he doesn't want to contact people in Hengdian anymore, or he feels there's no need to contact them anymore. It's even possible that he can't log into WeChat after canceling his phone number. Lu Ze naturally doesn't know the real reason, but he understands that the two of them will probably never meet again in this lifetime.

This inevitably made Lu Ze feel a little regretful, but he took it all in stride the next moment. There is no banquet that does not end; gathering and parting are all part of life.

The two skipped over the topic and chatted briefly, but not for long. After all, it was still Zeng Long's working hours, and it wouldn't be good to delay his work. Besides, Lu Ze also needed to prepare for his teaching duties.
After agreeing on a time, Lu Ze got up to say goodbye, left Zeng Long's office, went downstairs, went around to the back of the building, took out the key he got from the front desk, opened the back door, and the room inside was somewhat like a university lecture hall, big enough to accommodate all the first batch of students. Someone had cleaned it before, so it was very clean, but the desks, walls and floors were indeed quite old.

Pulling out chairs and turning on computers to review lesson plans, Xiao Wang fiddled with a handheld DV camera at the back of the classroom. Once everything was ready, all they had to do was wait for the students to arrive.

"..."

(End of this chapter)