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By the time Rong Zhouzhong finished filming, it was already half past one in the morning. After quickly changing out of his wet clothes and fending off the cast and crew members who came to celebrate his “death” (aka completion of the final scene for his character), he rushed down the beach.
The assistant, who knew a little bit of the inside story, hastily chased after him with a towel. “A’Zhong, maybe you should rather go tomorrow?” he suggested. “It’s so late, Mr. Shi must have already gone to bed. And you’ve been in the sea for so long—you should hurry up and take a hot bath to warm up. You didn’t even dry your hair! With this wind, you’re definitely going to catch a cold.”
“No, he’s still waiting for me.” Rong Zhouzhong shook his head to decline the towel, not even slowing down his steps. “I’m fine. Rather, could you please talk to Director Wang on my behalf? Tell him that since it’s so late already, there’s no need to celebrate today and that I’ll invite everyone for dinner sometime later instead.” Without waiting for an answer, he strode past the security guard and onto the walkway.
The assistant wanted to follow but was stopped by the guard and could only watch as Rong Zhouzhong disappeared in the distance.
He scrubbed through his hair in frustration, feeling a headache. “What the heck is going on…” He’d known Rong Zhouzhong for a long time, but this was the first time he saw such a serious and heavy expression on his face, and he couldn’t help but worry.
“It’s not like anything will happen,” he muttered, trying to convince himself. He waited for a while, pacing back and forth, but Rong Zhouzhong didn’t return, so with a resigned sigh, he walked back to the film crew’s camp.
Halfway to the villa, Rong Zhouzhong saw Shi Jin. The young man was laying on a rattan table in a corner of the terrace, resting his head on the table on his folded arms, apparently asleep.
Have you really been waiting for me, stupid? he thought with a frown.
At the same time, however, the anxiety that grew worse and worse as the filming ran more and more late, suddenly left him. Instead, a jumble of thoughts and feelings filled his mind, like “Ah, so I also have someone who would wait for me like this,” and “This is just like Shi Jin,” and “Out of all the Shi family’s children, he’s probably the most stupid one,” and…
His steps paused unconsciously. For a moment, he stood there, looking at Shi Jin from the distance, then suddenly started to run. When he reached the terrace, he instinctively softened his footsteps, cautiously walking to the rattan table.
A big man sleeping on a table filled with open snack bags was not really a visually attractive picture, but all that Rong Zhouzhong could see was Shi Jin.
When Shi Jin was asleep… he was much more harmless than when he was awake. He wouldn’t show those expressions that made you angry or sad, and wouldn’t say those things that made you want to hit him or let him feel the same pain. He wouldn’t look at you with those eyes haunted with memories, disturbing your conscience.
“You’re really nothing but trouble,” Rong Zhouzhong muttered. As he glanced at the snack bags on the table, he found that all of them were the ones he’d given Shi Jin before. He raised a hand to knead the bridge of his nose, shutting his eyes tight, and suddenly sat down on the floor.
Eating all this at once… Aren’t you afraid your stomach will explode, kid?
Putting his hand down, he raised his head and looked at Shi Jin again.
After sitting down, he saw the teenager’s face half-buried in his arms more clearly. It didn’t resemble his own at all and once, he’d taken for granted that it was a face of a villain. Yet, in a ridiculous twist, when it came time for the big reveal, it turned out that the villain had been him all along.
A younger brother.
Xiang Aoting’s stern face flashed in his mind, followed by Lin Jiuzheng’s dull zombie-like one, making him scowl. When his gaze focused on Shi Jin again, the teenager’s sleeping, docile appearance felt all the more cute and lovable.
Younger brother, huh.
The corner of his mouth twitched. All of a sudden, he stretched out his hand, pinched Shi Jin’s exposed cheek, and slowly pulled.
Shi Jin opened his eyes, looking slightly disoriented. A few seconds later, ingrained instincts kicked in and without thinking, he grabbed the hand touching him and twisted it hard.
“OWW!” Rong Zhouzhong howled in pain.
Startled by the cry, Shi Jin woke up completely, sitting up straight and glancing around to observe his surroundings. As his memory from before falling asleep returned, he looked down on Rong Zhouzhong, who was sitting on the floor with a distorted expression, trying to free his hand. Shi Jin stared at him for a few seconds, speechless, then released his grip. “You snuck up on a policeman at night? Are you stupid? You’re lucky I didn’t use more strength or your wrist would be broken.”
“What policeman, you’re just a fresh cadet…” Rong Zhouzhong retorted, grimacing as he rubbed his wrist.
That’s the point you’re focusing on? Really?
Shi Jin looked at him as if he was mentally handicapped. He leaned down, grabbed his brother’s arm and neatly re-set his dislocated wrist, then let go again. He yawned and stretched, glancing around as he did, his eyes warming when he noticed the blanket that slipped down on the chair and the screens placed on the side of the terrace to keep out the wind.
“Since you’re here, it means the filming is finished? What time is it now?” he asked, looking down at Rong Zhouzhong while stretching his waist.
Rong Zhouzhong moved his wrist, which no longer hurt, and squinted at Shi Jin. Finding the angle of view was not quite right, he hurriedly got up from the floor and assumed an elegant pose like a high fashion model, trying to restore his image. With an expression as if nothing had happened just now, he replied, “It’s almost 2 a.m. You know, you didn’t have to wait for me, I’d…”
“What!? 2 a.m.!?” Shi Jin cried out, interrupting him. At once, he jumped to his feet and rushed towards the bedroom, then cautiously opened the French window and peeked inside.
Lian Jun was lying on the bed with his back to the windows, appearing to be asleep.
Shi Jin breathed a sigh of relief, satisfied that Lian Jun didn’t stubbornly insist on staying up late with him. Just as he was about to withdraw and let Lian Jun have a good rest, another head popped inside next to his.
“What the hell, he can actually sleep in the bedroom with peace of mind while you’re outside sleeping on a table? How—”
Shi Jin’s expression changed in an instant. He smacked Rong Zhouzhong on the head to make him shut up, then turned around and pushed him out. “Keep your voice down, you’ll wake him up,” he hissed, carefully closing the French window.
Rong Zhouzhong’s expression turned black. “Why do you care? He clearly doesn’t care about you. Just dump his sorry ass, I’ll help you find a much better boyfriend.”
“You looking for a beating?” Shi Jin raised his fist, a murderous glint in his eyes. “Lian Jun is the best man ever. There isn’t, nor will there ever be, anyone as kind, gentle, smart, noble, and principled, and who loves me as much as he does. You’ll ‘help me find a better boyfriend’? Why don’t I help you set up a date with King Yan instead?”
At the sight of Shi Jin’s fist, Rong Zhouzhong felt his body ache, but he gritted his teeth and said, “He’s really completely beguiled you, you naive little kid. You can’t even tell good from bad…”
“Huh?” Shi Jin shook his fist threateningly.
Rong Zhouzhong shut up, glaring at him with resentment. Angry at Shi Jin’s “rebelliousness,” he snapped, “Didn’t you say you wanted to watch a movie tonight? If you changed your mind, I’m going to go back and sleep!”
When these words came out, both of them froze.
Oh yeah, the movie.
Rong Zhouzhong took a look at Shi Jin, whose expression had instantly become cold and alienated, and scratched his hair irritably. Stopping talking, he turned his head and let his gaze wander across the screens on the side of the terrace.
Shi Jin slowly lowered his fist. “Right, let’s get rid of that as soon as possible.”
Rong Zhouzhong glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. He opened his mouth, but when he thought about what Shi Jin wanted to get rid of, whatever he’d wanted to say transformed into a simple, “Okay, then let’s do this.”
Death Progress Bar is translated by Betwixted Translations. Read on the original translator’s site to get the fastest updates!
They walked over to the living room’s French window and entered the villa from there.
Shi Jin let Rong Zhouzhong sit down on the sofa and brought him a towel and a hairdryer. “Dry your hair and warm yourself up,” he said, putting a cup of hot tea in front of his brother. “I’ll go to the kitchen for the cake.”
At the word ‘cake,’ the man’s fingers stiffened, but he nodded calmly in response.
After Shi Jin left, Rong Zhouzhong looked at the hot tea in front of him and the thoughtfully plugged-in hairdryer. Burying his face in the towel, he exhaled loudly.
It was going to be a long night.
If you’re seeing this notice, you’re reading this chapter on pirate site – the original translator of Death Progress Bar is Betwixted Translations.
Hair dry and cup empty, Rong Zhouzhong sprawled on the sofa, looking in the direction of the kitchen. He was so sleepy that he was barely managing to keep his eyes open, but there was still no sign of Shi Jin returning.
Don’t tell me he fell asleep there?
He got up and walked to the kitchen with a frown, though actually, he was thinking he wouldn’t mind at all if the “movie night” was postponed.
Alas, Lady Luck was not on his side today. After turning the corner, he immediately caught sight of Shi Jin through the half-open kitchen door. The teenager, wearing an apron, was standing in front of the kitchen table, head bowed in concentration as he was spreading icing on a round cake. His movements looked quite professional.
This scene looked so warm and homey that Rong Zhouzhong took out his phone and snapped a picture before he could think.
Shi Jin raised his head at the sound. Seeing Rong Zhouzhong, he speeded up his work a little, saying apologetically, “I’m sorry it’s taking me so long. I’m almost done, just give me a few more minutes.”
Rong Zhouzhong returned to his senses. Putting the phone away, he pushed the kitchen door completely open and walked over to the table. “You made this?” he asked, eyeing the slightly crude-looking cake.
“Yeah.” Done icing the cake, Shi Jin switched the bowl with buttercream for the fruit plate and began decorating the top.
Rong Zhouzhong watched on, feeling a bit apprehensive. “Why are you making it yourself?”
Shi Jin carefully arranged sliced strawberries around the edge of the cake. “You only said this afternoon that you want to watch the movie tonight,” he replied without looking up. “If I ordered the cake at a bakery, they probably wouldn’t be able to make it in time, so I figured I’ll just make it myself. My skills are so-so, though, so I’m sorry if you won’t like it.”
“How could I not like… Was it hard to make it?”
“Not really. I baked the cake base earlier, all that was left for me to do was to layer it with cream and decorate. If it wasn’t for me accidentally falling asleep, I would’ve done that long ago so it would be ready to eat when you came.” Shi Jin put down the fruit plate and picked up a small bowl of crushed almonds and a sieve. “I need to thank the kitchen auntie for preparing everything I’d need in advance or the cake still wouldn’t be even halfway ready,” he added with a smile.
The crushed almonds were spread evenly on the cake surface through the sieve. Satisfied, Shi Jin drew an ugly smiley in the middle with chocolate sauce, then took some chocolate garnishes and carefully inserted them in the icing on the top. A few minor finishing touches and the cake was ready.
So ugly.
This was Rong Zhouzhong’s first thought when he saw it in full glory.
But it should taste good.
This was his second thought, when the sweet smell of the cake reached his nose.
The most important thing about a cake was how it tasted. When it came down to it, the appearance didn’t really matter. If you thought about it like that, this cake was actually very good—after all, it had a “solid foundation.”
This was his third thought, after seeing Shi Jin’s expression of satisfaction and accomplishment.
“Okay, let’s go to the second floor,” Shi Jin said, taking off the apron.
Rong Zhouzhong met his gaze and nodded. Then, he took advantage of the moment and quickly snapped a picture of the cake when Shi Jin turned around to hang up the apron.
The cinema room was very spacious, with eight seats. Shi Jin and Rong Zhouzhong sat in the front row, choosing the right seat on the left side and the left seat on the right side respectively. The aisle between them was just wide enough to fit a small table, which Shi Jin promptly set up, putting on it the cake and drinks he grabbed from the refrigerator.
Rong Zhouzhong watched him bustle about, his mind in an odd, trance-like state; it was as if he was thinking about something yet, at the same time, nothing at all.
When everything was ready, Shi Jin, under Rong Zhouzhong’s suddenly sharp gaze, unceremoniously cut the cake. He put one piece on a saucer and stuffed it into his brother’s hand, took another piece for himself, then turned on the projector and turned off the lights.
Rong Zhouzhong looked at the “no-nonsense,” double-layer cake in front of him with a funny expression.
That’s it? You, you cut it just like that? You worked so hard to make it and you simply cut it, just like that? You should cherish your work more!
Munch, munch.
As if that wasn’t enough, Shi Jin even immediately started to eat it.
Rong Zhouzhong inexplicably felt his heart ache. Unable to bear looking at the “sacrilege” on the table any longer, he moved his gaze to the screen.
As the projector kept running, the screen turned bright, then dark, and the movie started to play; it’d been made over ten years ago and watched now, it looked slightly old-fashioned. The younger version of Rong Zhouzhong, wearing a strange traditional costume, appeared on the screen. He was standing on the top of a hill, coldly watching the festival tribe members were holding at its foot. Slowly, he closed his eyes and fell backward on the grass.
Thump.
At that moment, the screen turned dark, and the name of the movie appeared.
The atmosphere in the room inexplicably became heavy.
“You know, this movie did terribly at the box office,” Rong Zhouzhong, unable to endure the oppressive silence. He cut off a piece of the cake with a fork and held it in front of him for a moment, watching it, then slowly put it in his mouth. “Well, no wonder, since the plot is like that. It had good reviews but in the end, it was a typical arthouse movie that was good enough to win some prizes but was a box-office flop.”
Shi Jin didn’t reply, only took another bite of the cake.
Don’t want to talk?
Rong Zhouzhong lowered his gaze. Suddenly, he regretted coming to watch this movie.
The screen brightened again and the naive and innocent younger brother appeared in the frame.
“How is this actor doing now?” Shi Jin asked abruptly.
Rong Zhouzhong didn’t expect this question, and it took him a moment to react. Turning his head to look at Shi Jin, he replied, “It seems he was caught taking drugs. I only worked with him in this one movie, and I don’t really know what happened to him after our cooperation ended.”
“So, in the real world, the ‘older brother’ also won against the ‘younger brother,’ huh.” Shi Jin’s eyes had never left the screen as if he was just throwing a casual remark.
Rong Zhouzhong’s hand on the fork tightened. Inexplicably annoyed at the younger brother in the movie, who was happily playing at the festival, he said harshly, “It’s only natural that I won! I looked better than him, had a more powerful background, my brain and acting skills were better, not to mention I worked much harder than him! As if I would ever lose against a waste who would give up and turn to drugs when he found his career stagnating!”
Shi Jin gave him a sideways glance, speechless that someone could sing his own praises so unashamedly.
Rong Zhouzhong gave him a ferocious look. “What, is any of what I said not true?” he growled.
Well, no, but…
“You have such a thick skin,” Shi Jin commented.
Seeing that he was finally willing to speak, the grip on Rong Zhouzhong’s heart loosened. Snorting coldly, he forked another piece of the cake in his mouth and chewed hard. “I think I more or less know why you want me to watch this movie. You said I’m narrow-minded and petty, but what about you? Fine, so I did intentionally scare you a little, but how long ago it was? Have you really been holding a grudge because of it for so many years?”
“You out of all people are asking me this?” Shi Jin couldn’t believe his ears. Looking at Rong Zhouzhong’s expression which showed that he really thought so, he snapped, “An asshole who bullies children has no right to call me out for petty! You call that ‘scaring me a little’? You ever heard of psychological shadows?!”
“Why can’t I call you petty? And don’t tell me about psychological shadows!” Rong Zhouzhong sat up straight and shot back, “I’ve worked myself to the bone and finally managed to win that award, but the movie’s box office was shit, and on top of that, I had to make time to attend your birthday! I was so busy I was lucky if I caught more than three hours of sleep a day, but I still had to drop everything and go celebrate your birthday! You damn made me sick when you made me blow out the candles with you! Not to mention Shi Xingrui’s ‘loving father’s’ face, do you know how much it made me want to hurl? I was so fucking tired all I wanted to do was sleep but I had to play with you instead!”
At the unreasonableness of this all, Shi Jin’s temper flared. “I made you sick? It made you sick that I was happy for you and wanted to celebrate with you? If you wanted to sleep so much, you should’ve gone to bed, you asshole! Did I hold a knife to your throat to force you to come or something? And if you were so tired, why did you come to my room in the middle of the night? Why didn’t you go to sleep—preferably eternal sleep!”
“If it weren’t for Shi Xingrui having a chokehold over my mother’s company funds, do you think I would’ve bothered to come for your damn birthday? And ask me why I didn’t sleep. The room that old sleazebag arranged for me had broken heating! I was so fucking cold I couldn’t sleep! I wanted to sleep but I couldn’t sleep—do you know how pissed off I was!? And Big Brother and the others, the bastards, had locked their doors. I knocked for a long time, but none of them let me in! In the end, I had no choice but to go to your room—it was the biggest, the most comfortable, and the warmest one!”
Just remembering it, Rong Zhouzhong was so angry that he nearly burst a blood vessel. Gnashing his teeth, he continued, “So, I went to your room, and what I saw was you sprawled on your bed, sleeping like a pig! I was fucking freezing to death and you were sleeping like a pig!”
Shi Jin: “…………”
“That’s why you woke me up in the middle of the night to watch a movie?” Shi Jin was so speechless he almost choked to death. This was so… random and petty.
“Yeah, so what?” Rong Zhouzhong growled, gripping the cake fork tightly as if he was going to use it to dismember someone. “You caused me so much trouble, why couldn’t I do the same to you? Why should you be allowed to sleep when I wasn’t able to sleep? And sleeping like a pig!”
Shi Jin took a deep breath, trying to calm down, but it didn’t help. Finally unable to bear it, he raised his hand and smashed the saucer with his piece of cake into Rong Zhouzhong’s face.
Plop.
Rong Zhouzhong looked at Shi Jin incredulously, face covered with cream and pieces of strawberries that were slowly slipping down. His expression changed several times, then he suddenly grabbed his own unfinished cake and rushed at Shi Jin.
Shocked, Shi Jin hurriedly avoided him.
“Come here,” Rong Zhouzhong called menacingly, confronting Shi Jin across two rows of seats.
By now, Shi Jin recovered some of his calm. At the sight of his brother’s face covered with cream, he felt both a little guilty and had an urge to laugh. “I don’t want to, you’re going to hurt me,” he called back, hiding behind a seat.
“Ha!” Rong Zhouzhong let out an angry laugh. “You bet I want to hurt you! I dreamed about tearing that foolish smile off your face, of lashing out at you so we could have a big fight, and then I would tell you the most vicious things with the cruelest appearance I could manage so that you would not face me with that foolish expression ever again! Who wants your cake or presents, who cares if you’re sad! You should hate me, why don’t you hate me!? I don’t want to treat you as a younger brother! In our positions, isn’t mutual hatred the easiest and most natural relationship? Since you’re so afraid of me hurting you, why did you approach me? In the end, what do you want to change? How was it possible for Shi Xingrui to raise a son of you who is so unlike the rest of us! You are a spoiled young master, why don’t you act willful and unreasonable? Don’t you have Shi Xingrui’s filthy, disgusting blood flowing through your veins?!”
Rong Zhouzhong’s sudden outburst shocked Shi Jin, and he stared blankly at his brother for a few seconds. “If you didn’t want them, then why didn’t you refuse? Why didn’t you push me away?” he asked finally.
The question took Rong Zhouzhong aback, and his surging emotions receded. He kept silent for a moment, then replied, “Of course, it was because of Shi Xingrui. If I offended him, my mother’s company would…”
“Then what the hell are you wailing about? It was you who made this choice—what does it have to do with me?” Shi Jin asked coldly, his face set in a frown. “You deceived me with false feelings and coaxed me to get close to you, accumulating more than ten years of affection. Now, you blame me for not noticing your deception earlier and for not hating you. What do you take me for, a robot that can erase his feelings at will? In the past, you hated me and used me, and now you try to please me to make up for it, but this is all that you guys arbitrarily decided to do—have you ever thought of asking me whether I wanted any of that? As for why did I approach you now… Isn’t it for the same reason you have approached me—for survival? If I wanted to live, I had to find out who was trying to kill me and why. I simply did the same thing you have done at the beginning, so what exactly are you angry about? If I had any say in it, do you think I’d want to be your brother?”
Boom.
Rong Zhouzhong felt as if a sledgehammer smashed him. He abruptly raised his head, his heart skipping a beat when he saw Shi Jin standing at a distance looking at him coldly, as if the teenager was not planning to get any closer to him ever again. His body reacted faster than his mind and before he could think, he rushed forward and grabbed Shi Jin’s wrist.
“No,” he said, with a trace of stubbornness in his eyes that he wasn’t even aware of. “You are our younger brother and you aren’t allowed to go anywhere.”
Translator’s Notes:
A’Zhong – 阿 (Ā) is a prefix that indicates affection, (traditionally in rural or southern Chinese dialects). It’s similar to 小 (xiǎo).  (Chinese Prefixes and Suffixes)