Global Film Emperor

Chapter 341 So-called Love?
It was past nine o'clock when he got back to the store. He didn't check the signs for the open shops, but just turned on the colored lights by the window. In the dimly lit room, he walked to the refrigerator and started looking for his favorite beer. With a pop, a faint smell of alcohol wafted out of the bottle. He turned around and was about to go to the bar when he saw a pair of green eyes staring at him from the bar.

"Meow……"

It seemed to be blaming Lu Ze for coming back so late and for not leaving a light on for it. Its originally soft bark was now full of displeasure, and when it saw Lu Ze looking at it, it turned its back and started to throw a tantrum.

It's becoming increasingly clingy. It's aloof to others, but it seems to have endless affection for Lu Ze. Originally, when Lu Ze was filming, he would leave it with other people for three to five months at a time, and it wouldn't be so clingy. But as Lu Ze lost his job and spent more time with it, it began to become more and more dependent on him.

Sitting inside the bar, Lu Ze took a sip of beer foam, which gave him a citrus flavor with a slightly bitter, sandy taste. He took out his cigarette case, tugged the cigarette filter on the case a couple of times, and put it in his mouth.

The long match on the bar was struck and lit. The sound of the match rubbing against the sandpaper and igniting was particularly pleasant to Lu Ze. After the smoke entered his lungs, he exhaled it through his nose, savoring the sulfurous smell that a lighter could not impart to a cigarette. He reached out and stroked the cripple's head down to its tail. Its pure black fur was glossy and had a soft feel to it.

I open the food delivery app and start accepting orders. I'll see if anyone places an order in the next hour. I'll just try my luck; I'm just killing time anyway.

Seeing that the cripple was still throwing a tantrum and sitting motionless on the bar like a dead man, Lu Ze smiled, took out a mint ball from the drawer and placed it near its nose. It calmed down, smelled the mint ball, and happily wrapped its front paws around Lu Ze's palm.

"Jingle Bell……"

"Hello, what can I do for you?"

The wind chimes rang. Usually, acquaintances would not come in once the sign for business was turned over. At this time... Lu Ze glanced at the door with some puzzlement, but then heard the sound of a cane tapping the ground.

"Hello, boss..."

"Hello, is there anything I can help you with?"

The cripple was already dizzy. Lu Ze pulled his hand away, stood up, and leaned his elbows on the bar. He stared directly at the girl who didn't look very old. Today, she was just like she had been when they met a few months ago, with no change. She was just wearing a pair of big, old-fashioned sunglasses that looked quite dated. They weren't very attractive. She pointed shyly to the sign hanging around her neck, then clutched the hem of her clothes without saying a word.

"Jinxiwang School for the Disabled earnestly requests your help. This donation will be used to purchase prizes for the Jinxiwang School for the Disabled's Games, contributing to the healthy growth of the children."

The room fell silent. Not receiving a reply from Lu Ze, she didn't turn to leave, but simply lowered her head, waiting for his response.

Lu Ze rested his elbows on the bar, took the last drag of his cigarette, stubbed it out in the ashtray, and carefully examined the girl. He was certain she was blind. He hadn't brought up the matter of giving her a counterfeit bill before, and he figured the girl probably didn't know how the counterfeit money came about.

The room was only lit by a dim wall lamp and a flashing colored breathing light. In such a dark room, and with the shop owner staring at people, any girl who could see would probably have run away long ago. This girl also seemed very scared, but she stayed where she was.

After gulping down half a glass of beer and sighing, Lu Ze picked up his phone, scanned the QR code on the sign, and the notification sound of the transfer interface brought a silent yet radiant smile to the previously tense girl's face.

"QR code payment successful, Alipay account received, fifty yuan."

Don't think it's a small amount. Fifty yuan is already a huge sum for a disabled person asking for donations on the street. If Lu Ze hadn't seen that the girl was really blind and therefore didn't doubt the authenticity of the donation, he might not have given it to her. Fifty yuan is enough for Lu Ze and the cripple to eat for a day.

"Thank you, boss! Ah..."

It's estimated that not many people donated, but fifty yuan was enough to excite the girl. She bowed deeply to Lu Ze, but the sign swung around and hit her directly on the forehead with considerable force, making her cry out softly. She looked a little dazed.

"Jin Xiwang... lives behind the residential area, right? It's not far from here. Are you a student at the school?"

"No, I'm a teacher. Could you please tell me your name? We'll post the list at the school gate when the sports meet starts. Thank you for your kind help."

She seemed to have quite a few things with her, making a rustling sound as she rummaged through her pockets. Finally, she pulled out a voice recorder, held it with both hands, and waited for Lu Ze to tell her his name. Lu Ze wasn't embarrassed at all; he answered her question.

"The 'Lu' in 'continental land,' the 'Ze' in 'swamp,' and the 'Ze' in 'swamp with the water radical."

"Okay, thank you, boss. The sports meet starts on July 1st. You're welcome to come and take a look. Goodbye, boss!"

"Goodbye, it's almost 10 o'clock, it's too late, hurry home and be careful on the road."

She seemed not to have heard of Lu Ze's name, or perhaps she hadn't considered the actor Lu Ze. After putting away the recorder, she bowed again, tapped her cane, walked to the door, pushed it open with difficulty, and disappeared into the night.

Lu Ze watched her retreating figure, and finally shook his head. There are always people whose lives are regrettable. He had seen too many, but he still couldn't help but sigh. However, if she could see, she might not be as innocent and kind as she is now. After all, the eyes... can harbor filth.

In the end, no orders were received until closing time, but it wasn't a big loss. After closing the door, I took a shower, went to bed, hugged the drooling cripple, took out my diary from the drawer, wrote a few lines, and then gently pulled the lamp cord off. Goodnight.

……

"Ring ring... Ring ring... Ring ring..."

He opened his eyes and looked around the room in a daze. He was still half asleep. He was about to finish filming a movie in the system space, but he was woken up by his phone ringing. He picked up the phone on the bedside table with his eyes half open, unplugged the charger, and glanced at the contact. He wondered why Gao Peiling was calling so early.

It has been a week since they returned from the Gao family. In these seven days, the two have not met, only kept in touch by phone. Their relationship has not cooled down, but it has not warmed up since they met each other's parents.

"Pei-ling? What's wrong?"

"Brother Ze, did you just wake up? I'm so sorry, I disturbed your sleep. Um... I'm right at the door, I brought you breakfast so you don't have to cook anymore. Please open the door."

When Gao Peiling saw him again, she got out of the car carrying breakfast, waved enthusiastically to Lu Ze, and walked in. Seeing Lu Ze's baggy shorts, tank top, and messy hair, she teased him for a bit before quickly pushing him into the bathroom. She then busied herself preparing breakfast for the cripple and placed Lu Ze's breakfast on the table. "Is it good? How does it taste?"

"This preserved egg and lean pork congee is delicious, where did you buy it?"

Seemingly to have breakfast together, she didn't eat either. The two started chatting as they ate. Couples in love always have a lot to talk about. Although Lu Ze and she had passed the honeymoon phase, they hadn't spent much time together and rarely talked on the phone.

After dinner, she insisted on washing the dishes and tidying up the bar. Lu Ze was putting beer in the freezer and couldn't help but find it a little strange that she was so enthusiastic about working today.

"What's gotten into you today? Why are you so eager to work?"

"I'm very hardworking, okay? It's my boyfriend's shop, what's wrong with me lending a hand? By the way, Ze-ge, how's the business of your shop?"

Lu Ze paused for a moment, then resumed his normal movements, unpacking the cardboard box into individual sheets, placing them together, throwing them into the small storage room, clapping his hands before asking.

"It's alright, nothing special. What's wrong? Why are you asking?"

"No, I just suddenly felt that a beer bar seems like a good investment project. Brother Lu, have you ever thought about expanding the scale and opening a large beer hall of several hundred square meters? The beer culture here in Lühua is not very strong yet. If we expand it, this investment is really worthwhile. You know a lot about this stuff, so you can also guide me. We can do it together. In addition, you also have resources from beer merchants, so the profits will definitely be very good."

She was dreaming about the future, looking excited. Lu Ze looked at her calmly, actually feeling somewhat moved. Her desire to work in this completely unfamiliar industry was inextricably linked to Lu Ze. In short, it was because Lu Ze liked it that she had this idea. It all started with what Gao Jiyong said that night.

Analyzing it sentence by sentence, Gao Jiyong first asked Lu Ze to judge the acting skills of the actor who played Lu Xiaofeng. He said that it was not close to real life, which means that he separated real life from the movie and told Lu Ze that he values ​​real life and hopes to see Lu Ze in real life, not him on the screen.

So Lu Ze replied that the reason he acted was to earn money and make a living. In other words, he was giving Gao Jiyong a response, telling Gao Jiyong that he, Lu Ze, had come to terms with reality. Now that he couldn't act, he was also just trying to earn money and make a living. He was now Lu Ze in real life.

The phrase "It's good for young people to have dreams" was the most important part of their conversation. At that time, Gao Peiling chimed in, saying that Lu Ze was no longer young. Her meaning actually had nothing to do with the content of their conversation. She just had an urge to get married and was telling Lu Ze, "You're not young anymore, hurry up and settle down, just marry me already."

But Gao Jiyong picked up on Gao Peiling's words and brought the meaning back to a channel only the two of them could understand, replying that youth has nothing to do with age, but with mindset. In fact, he was telling Lu Ze, "Look, even my daughter says you're not young anymore. You should know that yourself. It's a good thing for young people to have dreams. Young people! ...Do you understand?"
The phrase "related to mindset" means that even if you still dream of acting, your body is no longer young, so you have a youthful mindset, or in other words, you are immature.

As for those two boxes of medicine, Gao Jiyong didn't know that Lu Ze had bought them. This was harmless. The point was that with Lu Ze's current wealth, he couldn't buy or obtain the medicine. He was essentially advising Lu Ze to be more ambitious and stop living a miserable life at that small beer house. He, Gao Jiyong, could help Lu Ze buy the medicine, and he could help Lu Ze start a business.

In summary, Gao Jiyong meant that he hoped Lu Ze would stop dreaming of acting and be more down-to-earth, adapting to his current life. However, he also didn't want Lu Ze to waste his time like this and to be more ambitious, at least doing some high-paying business so that he could feel at ease entrusting his daughter to him.

There's no intention to look down on Lu Ze here. He wouldn't look down on someone who was once glorious but has fallen on hard times. At least Lu Ze was once famous all over the country, and his achievements were even greater than Gao Jiyong's. He has no right to look down on Lu Ze. He just hopes to find someone he can trust to entrust his precious treasure to.

So he actually meant well and was willing to help Lu Ze develop his career. He was even afraid that speaking frankly would hurt Lu Ze's feelings, so he could only give Lu Ze advice indirectly. After all, he only had one daughter. If Lu Ze really got together with Gao Peiling, how could he not help Lu Ze get started in his career? He had to at least do one thing: make sure that Lu Ze could do well and be successful in Lu Hua's territory.

You really have to treat your son-in-law like your own son. After all, if you don't treat your son-in-law well, how can he treat your daughter well? Gao Jiyong clearly understands this principle perfectly.

As for Gao Peiling? It seems that she spent a week figuring out the deeper meaning of their conversation, so she came to talk to Lu Ze about it early in the morning. In the end, she still cared about her family and truly liked Lu Ze, so she chose to sacrifice herself.

Father wants Lu Ze to be more ambitious. Fine, then let Lu Ze run a bigger business and stop sticking to this little tavern. Doesn't Lu Ze like beer? Fine, then continue selling beer, but scale the business up to a size that both Father and Lu Ze, these two important men, approve of. Is that alright?
Lu Ze has no funds, but she does; Lu Ze has connections, so that's perfect. Since she wants to spend her life with Lu Ze, she'll accompany him in doing the business he likes, even if she has to close down the educational institution she started herself, she'll be willing to do so.

As long as her father agrees to the marriage, Lu Ze can live happily and pursue his passion. What does it matter if he has to sacrifice a little for his family? At least Gao Peiling feels it's worth it now.

Lu Ze knew that both father and daughter meant well; he wasn't stupid. However, he found it hard to accept such kindness and sacrifice. This moment of emotional turmoil was the strongest he had experienced since leaving the entertainment industry. The shock and impact on his heart were truly indescribable…

"Pei-ling, wait a moment."

"What's wrong, Ze-ge? What do you think of my idea?"

Her mind was filled with thoughts that transformed into a confident smile, but when Lu Ze interrupted her, the smile froze on her face. She looked at Lu Ze with confusion and a sense of panic in her heart.

"Thank you, but there's really no need to go to so much trouble. I mean, Pei-ling. You have your career, and you enjoy doing it, so don't just give it up like that."

Do you understand me...? Do you really understand me?

Tears can be triggered in an instant, just like she is now. The feeling of having your crush rejected by your parents, the panic and fear, is something that anyone who has experienced it can understand.

"Yes, I understand. Don't cry. Let's not talk about this anymore. Give me some time. I need to figure out what I can do, okay?"

She cried in Lu Ze's arms. She had been holding it in for a week and needed to release it in this warm, sunny morning.

But what the two didn't notice was...

A taxi stopped in front of the pub, and a long-haired man with a backpack and a travel-worn look got out of the car. He took out a piece of paper from his pocket, mumbled the words on it in broken Chinese, and finally smiled.

"At the intersection of Tuanjie Road and Guangnan Second Street in Qingshan District, Lühua City, diagonally opposite the Construction Bank, is Brother Lu's Beer House... Interesting."

"..."

(End of this chapter)