Global Film Emperor

Chapter 360 Unable to Judge Right or Wrong

When are you planning to visit my home? Before or after the New Year?

"Is the 29th of the year okay?"

"Okay, so when do you plan to take me to your house? After the New Year? Or in the next few days?"

A glass of water was gently placed on the table. Smoke was exhaled from his mouth, slowly sinking and flowing across the table. After pressing the cigarette butt into the ashtray and twisting it twice, Lu Ze thought for a while and decided on the date.

He understood, of course, what Gao Peiling was anxious about. She simply wanted to finalize the marriage as soon as possible, hoping that after Lu Ze got married, he would obediently live with her in Lühua and lead a peaceful and worry-free life.

Lu Ze is very serious about his love life. It cannot be denied that Gao Peiling is indeed the best candidate for him to marry. This is true when considering various factors such as family, personal ability, and feelings between the two. Moreover, the two have indeed reached the point of discussing marriage. Since she wants it, he must give her an explanation.

How's the third year of junior high?

"Okay, but give me some time to think about what kind of gift to bring for your aunt and uncle. It's 12:15. Isn't Nannan's train at 12:40? Cripple, come with Mom."

She slammed the car keys on the table with a cold expression, picked up the cripple, and walked out of the bar first. The cripple, who was not close to Gao Peiling before, was now wriggling in her arms. Finally, he found a good position, leaned on her shoulder, and looked at Lu Ze.

When did their relationship start to cool down? It must have started when that videotape from England was sent to Lü Hua. At that time, the two were sitting on the sofa, and she was lying in Lu Ze's arms, watching Lu Ze on TV being intimate with a blonde, blue-eyed beauty. That scene... just thinking about it is extremely awkward.

As a result, Gao Peiling hasn't given Lu Ze a kind look in the past few months. But it's not her fault. If it were anyone else, they would inevitably feel resentful. In the end, no matter what the reason or excuse, Lu Ze has indeed wronged her in terms of their relationship.

If it were an ordinary girl, seeing her boyfriend kissing someone else would probably make her furious on the spot. But Gao Peilin is a mature and thoughtful woman. She can understand Lu Ze's actions, since it is a work requirement.

She doesn't mind her boyfriend's physical infidelity due to work, but she does mind Lu Ze's job. Only by making him quit his job can she prevent such things from happening again. As for whether he will cheat in real life, based on her understanding of Lu Ze's character over the past year of their relationship, she believes he wouldn't do such a thing.

With a somewhat bitter expression, he picked up his water glass and took a sip. The clear, warm water swirled inside the glass. Looking towards the door, he saw her already waiting by the car. He glanced at the time on his watch, put on his black coat, picked up his keys, and walked out of the room, leaving only the hanging wind chimes swaying gently.

……

That said, Lu Nan, who graduated with a master's degree, officially started working this summer. From now on, she is no longer a student. Lu Ze felt a little melancholy when he thought that Lu Nan had now become a white-collar worker.

Watching your child grow up step by step and eventually leave the ivory tower, you can't help but sigh that you will never be able to have your child's innocence and youth again, and you worry about the hardships your child will encounter in the future. This feeling is something that all parents, or older brothers with a large age gap, would have, and Lu Ze was no exception.

Initially, Lu Ze wanted to help Lu Nan find a well-paying job in Beijing, Shanghai, or Guangzhou, where she would have a mentor to guide her and help her grow quickly. With his connections, as long as Lu Nan worked hard, she could quickly become a capable person on her own. However, Lu Nan rejected this suggestion. No matter how much Lu Ze tried to persuade her, she declined, using the excuse that she didn't want to be too far from home and would miss home. In the end, she submitted her resume herself and found a job at a law firm in Fengtian.

Although the overall economic situation in the three northeastern provinces is not good, her salary is naturally not as high as those offered in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. However, because of her outstanding academic qualifications, her boss values ​​her highly, so she can still learn a lot.

Lu Ze also asked a friend to contact the boss of the law firm. The legal circle in China is really small, and everyone knows each other. On the second day after Lu Nan joined the company, the boss called Lu Ze back and promised to take good care of Lu Nan. Of course, all of this was done without Lu Nan's knowledge.

Because the care was kept relatively discreet, the firm only assigned Lu Nan the best lawyer to take on cases so that she could learn as quickly as possible. The boss wasn't a nanny, so he naturally wouldn't interfere with other matters. Therefore, Lu Nan still didn't know that her brother had spoken to her boss. Her colleagues also believed that the boss valued this trainee who had the highest academic qualifications in recent years, so no rumors had spread.

And so, Lu Nan made up for herself at a rapid pace every day. A month ago, she called Lu Ze to tell him that she had won the first case she had taken over herself. Although it was just a small civil lawsuit, it was enough to make her happy for several days. And today, the little bird that had been wandering outside for a year was finally going home.

If it weren't for the recent cooling of his relationship with Gao Peiling, Lu Ze would definitely be happy today. At Gao Peiling's request, he played a soothing song. While waiting at a red light, his phone suddenly received a message. Lu Ze glanced at it, and his initial happiness vanished instantly.

There was something he hadn't told Gao Peiling. It wasn't that he was hiding it from her, but rather that the two of them had really had very few long phone conversations in the past few months. At the same time, he knew in his heart that if he told her this, the two of them would definitely still argue. Perhaps that's human nature—wanting to postpone unpleasant things. But after receiving Mickey's urging text message, Lu Ze knew that he should be honest with Gao Peiling about this.

It's not a good time to talk about this now, but if I wait until I pick up Xiaonan and then tell her, she might change her expression and make me feel awkward. Arguing over the phone is the most unwise choice, so Lu Ze decided to explain things to her now.

"Um... Mickey invited me to Germany."

"Why go?"

"The Effect is participating in the Berlin Film Festival and has a chance to win an award this year."

Gao Peiling was happily playing with the lame child's little paws, but after hearing what Lu Ze said, her face instantly turned gloomy. Lu Ze looked in the rearview mirror and saw her unfriendly expression, so he couldn't help but sigh.

"Why should you go just because he tells you to? If you don't go, how will you celebrate the New Year? I don't agree to you going."

"I can celebrate the New Year. I'll probably leave around the eleventh of the first lunar month and come back in about two weeks..."

I said I don't agree to you going!

Lu Ze hadn't expected her reaction to be so intense. He glanced at the rearview mirror, turned on the turn signal, and pulled over to the side of the road. They were about a five-minute drive from the train station, and Lu Nan's high-speed train was arriving in fifteen minutes. In other words, they had ten minutes to get to the bottom of this.

"Lu Ze, have you thought about what will happen to us if you really win the award? Will we still have time to spend together? If you're really not home all year round, how will we live in the future! I shouldn't have put family and career together and made you choose, that's not what a good girlfriend should do, but do you know how fuckingly I hate your job?!"

“I’m not that generous! I’m not that tolerant! I just want a peaceful home and a family-oriented husband. Do you know how anxious I felt when I watched that movie of yours? I know you love acting, it’s your career, but look at what we have now, think about it carefully, is your career really a necessity for life?”

Lu Ze remained silent, offering no explanation. He didn't know how to explain himself. Was he supposed to say that he had something stuck in his head and that if he didn't make movies, she would give him extra lessons until he went crazy? Would she believe that? Absolutely not!
He could only look out the window and listen to Gao Peiling's angry rebuke until a few teenagers rode past them on bicycles, laughing and joking. Lu Ze suddenly felt a little envious of these children, envious of their age, envious that people could tolerate them using their immature language to express what they wanted, instead of him, who was now middle-aged and even the word "dream" had become something he was ashamed to utter.

This is a very real problem. As we get older, society's constraints tighten. If we think about it carefully, it seems... this era gives us one last right to choose: when you choose your major after the college entrance exam, you choose the path you will take, the kind of person you will become. Even your job is chosen by your employer, not by you choosing a job you like. This is why studying is so important—not for how much money or power you will have in the future, but to seize this last power of choice in your life. Otherwise, dropping out of school too early means giving up your right to choose, and your future life will only involve worrying about how to fill your stomach, how to support your family, struggling to make ends meet—at least in this era.

The most terrifying thing about this society is not the pressure of life, but the ability to control people, subtly influence them, and restrict their conformity. What age to do and what kind of things to do are all predetermined by the times.

We can only go with the flow, otherwise we will become despised and become outcasts in people's eyes. But no one wants to be such an outcast, not even Lu Ze. So it is difficult for him to say with a clear conscience, "I want to participate in the Berlin Film Festival, I want to pursue my dream, I just want to make movies!"

I don't know when it started, but dreams have become synonymous with being immature and childish. Even when kids talk about them, they get laughed at by other kids. This world is like... something that has been meticulously designed by someone.

To paraphrase that guy who writes online novels, Black Heart Matchstick: "Adult life is like a pile of dog poop. We can't decide whether to eat it or not. All we can decide is how much to eat."

The conflict between the two is best understood by onlookers; who is right and who is wrong? In reality, both are right and both are wrong. Both are selfish, but both have their own reasons, so it's impossible to say for sure.

Lu Ze didn't actually have much ambition. Without the system, he would probably have given up his dreams and chosen to live a quiet life with Gao Peiling. He might have even returned to Shijiazhuang with Yang Dan nine years ago. This might be a flaw in the system's design. It only helps you become stronger. As for the negative effects of becoming stronger... what does that have to do with my system?
So now Lu Ze doesn't know whether he should thank the system for changing his life trajectory or resent the system for bringing him so many hardships. He can only remain silent and continue to move forward, because from beginning to end, he has been carrying the burden of an entire family.

"Yes, I know I'm selfish. I'm trying to bind you. I'm just the daughter of a small business owner in a small city, and I'm not good enough for you, a world-famous superstar. But at least when you're down on your luck, I'm willing to be with you. I want to marry you, even if all your assets aren't worth as much as one of my cars."

“From beginning to end, all I valued was you as a person, not how famous you were. Otherwise, I wouldn't have minded you making movies. You… if you want to go, then go. I won't stop you. But I'll also reconsider our relationship. Whether we're right for each other… I need some time to think about it. Nan Nan… I won't pick her up. Tell her I'm sorry, it's my fault. Just say I have something to do at the company. Don't tell her we had a fight. The same goes for your aunt and uncle. I probably won't be able to visit your house this year. Tell them the same thing, so they don't get upset. You drive the car first. I'm leaving now. Cripple, say goodbye to Mom…”

She carefully placed the lame man on the car seat and prepared to open the car door to get out, but Lu Ze grabbed her arm. She looked at Lu Ze, and the two stared at each other.

"I'll take a taxi. It's too cold. Peiling, you... be careful."

Her eyes, which had been filled with hope, eventually dimmed. She didn't refuse Lu Ze's suggestion, but her arm slipped down and swung in the air, like a dying person finally taking their last breath...

She got into the driver's seat, stretched her arm out the window, and touched Lu Ze's face. It wasn't smooth; in fact, the stubble on his chin felt prickly. Eventually, she closed the window, the tint blocking Lu Ze's view from the outside. She leaned her head against the car door, watching Lu Ze carry the cripple, hail a taxi, and drive away...

Her nose stung a little. She pulled down the sun visor, grabbed a few tissues, and faced the mirror on the visor, gently wiping away the tears from the corners of her eyes. She didn't want the tears to cloud the eyeliner she had carefully drawn for her sister-in-law. She exhaled with a trembling breath, but in the end... she couldn't hold back and slumped onto the steering wheel.

……

"elder brother!"

Because of what happened to Lu Ze, Lu Nan sold all her luxury goods secondhand. Now she wears an ordinary trench coat, carries a small CK bag worth a little over 200 yuan, and her suitcase is quite expensive, but it's just that it doesn't sell for much secondhand.

Over the years, Lu Nan has lost that carefree spirit. She no longer hops and skips into Lu Ze's arms like a rabbit, enjoying her brother's embrace. Instead, she smiles, waves to Lu Ze in the distance, and then slowly walks towards him, linking her arm with his.

Even without the embellishment of luxury goods, the daughter of the Lu family still possessed an excellent temperament, exuding the air of a wealthy and influential family. However, after looking around twice, she picked up the cripple, secretly glanced at Lu Ze's expression, and cautiously asked a question.

"Brother...didn't Sister Ling say she was coming to pick me up today?"

"She had something come up at work and couldn't get away, so she asked me to apologize on your behalf."

"There's nothing to apologize for. Give me her phone number and I'll give her a call."

"Let's go back first."

Without refusing, the two got into a taxi and prepared to return to Lu Ze's shop. As usual, Lu Ze asked her how her work life had been over the past six months and whether she had any difficulties adjusting.

Speaking of work, she was genuinely unhappy, but it had nothing to do with the firm. Her supervisor took great care of her, and her mentor worked tirelessly to guide her. She wasn't the type to nitpick, so she was grateful.

But in this line of work, you inevitably have to defend people you despise. You can't always take cases on the plaintiff's side. And some defendants are so wicked that they can really shock people's values. Yes, anyone can pick up legal weapons to defend themselves, but lawyers are not weapons. They are also human beings and naturally have their own likes and dislikes.

In the past six months of work, Lu Nan has actually defended more cases for defendants than for plaintiffs. This made Lu Nan doubt whether she was doing the right thing and caused her a lot of guilt. What angered her the most was that the plaintiff's child got acute meningitis and was in the ICU, waiting for the defendant to pay back the money for treatment. But the deadbeat had money but refused to pay, and his arrogant attitude made Lu Nan unable to tolerate it any longer. She thought, "I'm not going to serve you anymore. Go to jail, you idiot!"
Because of this, she was complained about and had a lot of her salary deducted. She still felt a little wronged when she talked to Lu Ze about it this time.

Lu Ze could only comfort Lu Nan, stroking her hair and sighing with emotion. This girl had indeed grown up and was starting to worry about work. This was definitely a good thing, as it was part of growing up. He couldn't possibly find someone to teach that deadbeat who complained about Lu Nan a lesson, because she would have to face many more people like that in the future. He couldn't deal with them one by one. Lu Nan had to overcome the difficulties on her own. Only after she truly adapted could she be considered a qualified elite lawyer.

He didn't know much about Lu Nan's work either. Over the years, after reviewing so many contracts, he could only figure out if there were any pitfalls in the business terms of the entertainment industry. Everything else was a complete mystery to him. So he couldn't offer much advice. He could only give Lu Nan the phone number of Li Yong, who now runs a law firm in Foshan, and tell her that if she encountered any problems in the future, she could seek help from this senior colleague.

After arriving home, the two had a casual meal. Lu Nan left her luggage at Lu Ze's place and left to go home to help her mother with farm work and prepare food for the New Year. Lu Ze did not stop her, but told her that he would take a break from work and go home two days before the New Year.

After Lu Nan left, the shop quieted down. With the New Year approaching, more people were drinking, and business was pretty good. But most people were buying alcohol to take away, and no one was sitting down at his shop. This made Lu Ze feel a bit bored, so he started watching some mindless TV programs. Actually, he wasn't really paying attention to them; his mind was preoccupied with other things, and he was daydreaming.

It wasn't until 9:30 p.m., after preparing the last order for the riders and closing the online store, that he was about to go to sleep when he noticed an extra-long, coach-style sedan parked at the door. The crystal Rolls-Royce emblem on the hood reflected the neon lights by the window, dazzlingly bright.

The driver, wearing white gloves, slowly opened the back door. A middle-aged man, not very tall and somewhat overweight, got out of the car, a cigarette dangling from his lips. He threw the cigarette butt into the snow, casually stomped on it a couple of times with his brown leather shoes, exhaled a puff of smoke from his nose, adjusted his belt, glanced around, and strode into the store.

"..."

(End of this chapter)