Huayu: From charlatan to great entertainer

Chapter 593 Yoyo: Nothing in this world is more harmful than being bad...

The locker room door closed gently behind Lu Kuan and Liu Yifei, shutting out the noise from the outside passage.

The oppressive and heavy atmosphere inside the door seemed to have been hit by a boulder, creating ripples that stirred up a completely different kind of energy.

The team president, who was ten years older than the players but could still be considered young, gave an inspiring speech that combined personal experience, movie quotes, and crude slogans. It was like a powerful dose of adrenaline injected into these still somewhat immature players.

Young people in this era have no shortage of inspirational stories to read. The world is full of success literature and speeches by success gurus, but these usually move people at the time, are forgotten afterward, and eventually become disliked.

But now, a living, breathing example of success, renowned worldwide, stands before us, concisely and powerfully sharing his journey. The impact of this is revolutionary:

According to popular science articles in The Sun and on Twitter, and with the players' preseason curiosity, Luis is, to them, the richest man in a distant Eastern country, the director of the movie "Ball Flash" which caused a fire in Europe and the world this month, the chief director of the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games, and a big shot who enjoys the same treatment as the President of the United States and appears on the cover of Time magazine.

More importantly, the sports that players engage in are similar to those of artists in some ways, both requiring creativity.

Compared to movies, football is also an art form, requiring creativity, imagination, and a pursuit of ultimate beauty.

The players could sense that the owner understood what talent was, what a "moment of inspiration" was, and what the magic of "integrating individual talent into collective creation" was.

Unlike some nouveau riche who only focus on statistics and scores, wearing suits or white headscarves and waving banknotes, he may appreciate a brilliant dribble, an imaginative pass, or a revolutionary tactical approach.

This shared experience based on creation makes players feel like they are one of their own, rather than cold symbols of capital.

Just like when he walked in tonight wearing a jersey representing his family of four, he immediately made fun of himself, and finally used some vulgar language that players use on the field to motivate everyone.

Head coach Pochettino immediately seized this fleeting momentum. Instead of launching into a lengthy explanation, he strode quickly to the tactics board, his voice decisive and clear:
"Kevin (De Bruyne), reduce complicated passing in midfield. Once you get the ball, immediately find Mohamed (Salah) and Sadio (Mane) on the wings! Use their speed to attack the gaps in the opponent's half!"

This is a simplified attack that strikes at the heart of the problem.

"N'Golo (Kante), you need to cover more ground! Start pressing from the front, and together with your teammates, take back the midfield! Make it impossible for them to organize their attacks comfortably!"

This was a midfield scramble to regain control.

"Virgil (Van Dijk), you must take the lead in commanding the defense! Move the entire defense forward ten meters! Compress the space and boldly create offside traps! I trust your judgment!"

This is a defensive line pushed forward, creating an offside trap.

The young players couldn't grasp overly complex tactical instructions, and the new signings, who had only trained together for two months, couldn't quickly integrate. All he needed to do was unleash the potential of these future superstars.

Of course, this superstar's judgment was constantly instilled in him by his boss, who hoped that he could cultivate these promising talents in a fixed position.

The Argentinian coach agreed that these young talents were promising prospects. Although they couldn't compare to many of South America's geniuses, these seemingly unassuming young men definitely had the potential to become top players.

"Forget the first half! Remember who we are, remember the path you came from!" Pochettino clapped his hands forcefully at the end, "Out of the game!"

The locker room door opened again.

The players filed out like a group of warriors about to go to battle, their steps firm, their eyes filled with a flame that seemed to devour everything.

As everyone passed the Crystal Palace eagle emblem hanging above the passageway, they leaped up to touch the outstretched eagle, as if drawing upon ancient fighting spirit.

Lu and Liu passed through the VIP passage and returned to the Chairman's Box amidst deafening cheers.

At this moment, Selhurst Park was like a boiling furnace, with red and blue flags surging like waves. The fans were always lovely; even though they still had doubts about the young guard assembled by the owner, they still launched a powerful counterattack against the clamor of their opponents.

When Crystal Palace players appeared in the tunnel, the main stand erupted in a deafening roar. Then the referee's whistle pierced the night sky, and De Bruyne gently passed the ball to Kanté, sending the red and blue ball hurtling towards the opponent's half like an arrow.

This battle for a comeback, carrying countless expectations, has officially begun.

In the stands in front of the Presidential Box, Asian tycoons greeted several team legends and guests before leaning on the railing and gazing at the stadium.

Liu Yifei, already engrossed in the game, unconsciously gripped his other arm tightly. "Can we turn things around in the second half, these eighteen or nineteen-year-old kids?"

Mr. Lu looked at her with amusement: "Child? I'd say that's more like it. How old are you? You're only four or five years older than her."

"I may only be 23, but I've been in the industry for 8 years! Even though we're in two different industries, they've only been playing for the first team for a few years!"

The sports industry has always been dominated by young people, and in 2010, the world football scene had just entered an era where those born in the 90s were just beginning to emerge.

Perhaps Liu is still considered young in the film and television industry, but in the entire football world, Messi is 87 years old, the same age as Liu Yifei, Ronaldo is 85 years old, and even Torres, Rooney and others who are currently in their prime are about the same age as Liu Yifei. They are in their prime, but they are definitely not young.

Ousmane Dembélé, the first player born in the 1990s to win the Ballon d'Or, is currently in the youth academy of Rennes in Ligue 1 and is also a target player for Crystal Palace next season.

The ultimate goal this season is still to get promoted to the Super League. The team needs a large number of veteran players to act as a stabilizing force. Buying too many young players but not giving them playing time would be a lose-lose situation for the team.

"I don't know if we can turn things around, but as long as we play with spirit and energy, that's enough." Lu Kuan laughed. "The West is now looking at Chinese capital taking over British football with prejudice. It's the same kind of scrutiny they use to look at our movies and culture."

"From the perspective of these players' development, losing a few games and winning a few games, experiencing the ups and downs of this professional journey is actually a good thing."

This isn't just Versailles' opinion. The star prospects he selected, besides being dedicated and professional and not having too many off-field distractions, almost all had experience of playing for multiple teams without achieving their full potential. These are all experiences that shape top players.

Boss Lu was observing the situation on the field in real time. The players, at least from their body language and facial expressions, were full of fighting spirit, and their playing style seemed to be more concise.
From Kante's interception to De Bruyne's through ball, even with a low success rate, Salah and Mahrez, the two speedy wingers, tirelessly tried to penetrate the flanks.

Even though Mane always had his back to goal and it was difficult for him to turn around in the rough style of the Championship, he did a good job of being a "disruptor," at least attracting the attention of two defenders and creating scoring opportunities for his teammates.

Because there was no live broadcast, Crystal Palace fans, laundry detergent enthusiasts, and even a large number of netizens who knew nothing about football but were interested in the match because of the same name as Liu Yifei started arguing again during halftime.

Whether it's mainland netizens on Weibo, or netizens from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea on Twitter.

Especially since "Ball Lightning" is still showing throughout Asia, and given the relatively developed football culture in Japan and South Korea, everyone wants to see how this British team, owned by Chinese and Asian people, performs.

[Chelsea King of Football]: Director Roy's "Ball Lightning" is quite impressive! The lightning strikes are so powerful! But what about your team's ball? Salah and Mahrez are two fast wingers, fast is fine, but the quality of their crosses is worse than the cheap special effects in "Ball Lightning"! It's truly eye-watering!

【Arsenal's Glory】: I've said it before, what do those mainlanders even know about football? They think they're so great just because they have money? Buying a bunch of kids to play in the Championship, like they're playing video games?
[South China Longtime Fan]: Hey, you two young men up there, say a few words already. I've been watching football for decades, and this is our own team, we're all on the same page. If I don't support my own people, am I supposed to support the foreigners? Quiet down and watch the game!
[Sun Moon Lake Master]: Oh my, isn't this that Director Lu who looked down on our Golden Horse Awards and said we had a small vision? How come your grand-scale team got thrashed like kids in the Championship? Are you mainlanders all talk and no action? Your "sci-fi blockbuster" set off lightning in the theater, while your "football behemoth" went silent on the pitch. It's hilarious!

[Keelung Cage Chicken]: Haha, not surprising! That's how these Chinese-funded teams are, all they do is hype up their internal propaganda and brag! They talk about 200 million in five years, but they end up buying second-rate stuff that others don't want, just like their domestic cars—all talk and no action, but they deflate as soon as they hit the field! At least we have baseball to watch, this kind of "cage football" is better left unwatched!
On Twitter, the Asian region is actually only Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong that are enthusiastic about football. There are very few people from Taiwan, and as for countries like India, they are basically indifferent, even though India is a dominant force on international social media platforms like YouTube and Twitter.

Surprisingly, compared to the sarcasm and ridicule from a few netizens in Hong Kong and Taiwan, it was Japanese and South Korean fans who were more eager for Crystal Palace to win.

The reason for the large amount of ridicule is that Lu Kuan and Wen Jie have relatively little business in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Apart from Golden Harvest's local cinemas and Wen Jie's films, he himself can't even go to Hong Kong once every year or two.

In addition, his early career was marked by feuds with directors and actors in the Hong Kong entertainment circle, and the instigation of Huang and others during the Wanda incident spread the rumors locally that Lu Kuan discriminated against actors from both sides and used his industry power to attack the Golden Horse Awards. A considerable number of ignorant people were still influenced by this.

Just like last time, when domestic fans learned about the match, they flocked to the "international server" to hurl insults, which is a common occurrence on the internet and not surprising.

But at the same time, news about Crystal Palace's matches is becoming increasingly popular. They're not afraid of being criticized, they're afraid of not being watched. Some fans watch even more the more they are criticized, which actually increases the team's popularity and makes it easier for the team to negotiate the broadcasting rights price with the Premier League next year.

With a marketing campaign from a former PR guru, it's likely that a newly promoted team could secure broadcasting rights from a second-tier company, second only to the Big Four.

Despite the lack of official broadcasting channels in China, Crystal Palace's season opener generated immense buzz in a uniquely "Chinese" way.

On Hupu, the largest grassroots football community, the Crystal Palace section of the forum saw a text-based live stream thread, powered by the passion of international students, receive hundreds of replies per minute, bringing the server to the brink of collapse several times.

The post was filled with anxious inquiries, technical analyses based on scattered data, and various unverified rumors.

"Urgent! Does anyone have a video?! The text says De Bruyne made a through pass, but did he actually make it through?!"

"A guy on Tieba posted a blurry screenshot! Salah looks like he's broken through!"

Breaking news: Corner kick! We've won a corner kick!

Meanwhile, the comment section of Crystal Palace Football Club's official Weibo account was completely flooded with comments.

The official Weibo account's short match reports, posted every few minutes, such as "In the 51st minute, our team won a corner kick" or "In the 53rd minute, the opponent's counterattack was cleared by Van Dijk," instantly garnered tens of thousands of comments.

Beneath these dry words, fans, relying on their imagination and various emojis, managed to conjure up a thrilling battle in their minds.

What truly drove domestic fans into a frenzy was that around the 58th minute of the match, sporadic photos from the scene began to circulate back through Weibo and WeChat groups for overseas students.

The first few photos were just distant views of the stands or partial views of the stadium, until a photo taken in front of the presidential box appeared:
In the picture, Lu Gou and Tian Xian are hugging each other tightly, their faces beaming with undisguised excitement. This photo is like pouring cold water into a boiling oil pan, instantly causing an uproar.

"It's definitely a goal!!! It's absolutely a goal!!"

"Ahhh, who came in? And you, you bastard, why aren't you letting go? You've been hugging me for so long, haven't you?"

"Where's the official Weibo account?! Official Weibo account, hurry up and post the battle report! I'm so anxious!"

"Damn it, they hugged after scoring one goal, what if they kiss after the second? If this turns things around, tonight will be... Ugh! I don't want to watch anymore!"

"Why didn't the celestial fan above finish what she was saying? This laundry detergent will add to it: Tonight, the washing machine will be filled with celestial hat tricks, wahahaha!"

Although the official match report and goal scorer information will not be confirmed until later, everyone who followed the game has already gotten the answer from the couple's most direct and genuine emotional reaction:
Crystal Palace, they've scored!
The pent-up frustration that had been building throughout the first half seemed to burst forth with that hug, reaching every fan watching online.

That's why watching football still has to be done in a group, even if it's online, even if it's just a primitive and simple text and image report, it's still so exciting!
On this ordinary summer night, in the millions of lit windows across China, more than one family's living room or bedroom witnessed this scene:

Boys or men frantically refreshed the pages of text and image battle reports on their computers, eagerly awaiting the first match results of the first Western football club acquired by Chinese capital in the world.

There were plenty of people who were furious about buying washing machines this summer, but they also launched a strong attack on netizens in Hong Kong and Taiwan who were stirred up and whose words carried a "noble air," to protect their favorite team, Crystal Palace.

Meanwhile, their girlfriends and wives may also be by their side.

They would care about the wins and losses of the club that shares the same name as their idol, the "celestial beauty," and that their boyfriends and husbands care about. Then, in WeChat, which has been listed for less than two months, they would complain to their girlfriends about the male creatures around them who stay up until the early hours of the morning.

After getting tired of complaining, let's take out the photos of Lu and Liu interacting in various ways and ship them as a couple.

Or let's talk about the recently concluded "My Love from the Star," have a heated discussion about the ending of the male and female leads, look forward to the performance of the celestial being in the first season of "The Book of Peace," and calculate how much ground "Ball Flash" can recover.

Or, when the alarm goes off, you can push your male partner away from the computer, and under their timid questioning, harvest the crops in "Ask the World Farm" first, and while you're at it, change the farm background to a Crystal Palace theme.

Unbeknownst to many, the couple behind Wenjie have gradually integrated their videos, movies, television shows, social media, and Crystal Palace Club into the lives of young people, becoming an indispensable and even unavoidable "infrastructure" in their spiritual consumption landscape.

If you are a Chinese person living in 2010, between the ages of 15 and 50, and you want to have high-quality spiritual enjoyment and social conversation topics in your spare time, then your life trajectory will almost inevitably intersect with the word "questioning boundaries".

The latter certainly wouldn't try to take care of everything from cradle to grave like the giants of capitalist countries.

Instead, it has become a provider of high-quality content and an issuer of social currency that people rely on to obtain happiness, satisfy curiosity, socialize, and establish their identity.

Less than five minutes after the photos of the washing machine and the fairy's excited embrace were released, Crystal Palace's official Weibo account posted a definitive report:
[GOAL! 58th minute! Belgian youngster Kevin De Bruyne receives a pass from Kanté after a steal in the middle, unleashes a powerful shot from the edge of the penalty area, the ball flying like a cannonball into the top corner! Crystal Palace pulls one back! 1-2!]

In the 71st minute, even more exciting news arrived:
[GOAL! Equalizer! Mohamed Salah! The Egyptian winger receives a brilliant through ball from De Bruyne, beats the offside trap, and calmly slots the ball into the far corner! 2-2!]

The international student poster excitedly described the scene: "Salah's movement was so ghostly! De Bruyne's pass was like a surgical knife! Sheffield Wednesday's defense was completely torn apart!"

The roar of the crowd at Selhurst Park grew louder and louder, with red and blue flags waving wildly.

From 0-2 to 2-2, the young "Crystal Palace Young Guard" took less than half an hour! The dawn of a comeback has appeared.

As time ticked by, the score remained 2-2, and there were photos of Tianxian waving excitedly from the stands. When the match entered the 88th minute, many people's hearts were in their throats, thinking that a thrilling draw was about to happen.

Just then, the original poster of the Hupu post, the international student "Eagle of South London" who stayed in the UK, delivered the final match report with text that almost burst off the screen, instantly igniting the excitement of all the domestic fans who had stayed up all night:
"Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap! A game-winning shot! A comeback!"

"89th minute!"

"The goal scorer is Sadio Mane!"

"The process was so beautiful! Let me tell you about it slowly!"

"Kante! It's him again! A reckless tackle in midfield, he poked the ball to De Bruyne up front!"

"De Bruyne received the ball, turned, and without even looking, launched a low, long pass behind the opposing defender! His vision and technique are absolutely amazing!"

"Salah made a high-speed run down the right flank, drawing two defenders away!"

"But the ball wasn't passed to the right wing; instead, it was passed to Mane, who was making a high-speed run down the left! Mane, that Senegalese kid, charged in like a black lightning bolt!"

"He received the ball, adjusted his position, and calmly slotted it past the onrushing goalkeeper from the edge of the six-yard box!"

The poster, 【Eagle of South London】, angrily called out: Brothers, Twitter is full of sarcastic remarks. Those who can should set up a ladder and go to war!
"Go together! Go together!"

A Championship match that wouldn't normally attract much attention outside of Crystal Palace and London fans gained phenomenal popularity in the Far East because of the club owner's Chinese identity.

The arts and sports are inseparable, and with the support of traditional internet platforms like Weibo and video, and mobile internet platforms like WeChat, an extremely vast market has been created. When the Premier League was cracking down on piracy, they discovered that a Sky Sports piracy website's server had completely crashed due to the overwhelming influx of Chinese fans. What expression should they have had?
Shortly after the match, Crystal Palace's official Weibo account posted a short video of the post-match interview, which was permitted to be released according to copyright requirements.

In the video, the young De Bruyne, his face still damp with sweat and filled with unbelievable excitement, takes a moment to catch his breath before answering earnestly in his Flemish-accented English:
"Yes, it was an incredible victory. I think it was primarily due to our relentless hard training over the past few months, as well as the key adjustments Coach Pochettino made at halftime, which helped us regain our rhythm."

Then, he changed the subject, his eyes revealing a seriousness beyond his years, and mentioned that key figure: "But for me, there was a special moment... During halftime, Mr. Lu came to the locker room. He said something to us that deeply touched me."

He paused, as if recalling the scene, and then clearly repeated: "He said, 'Nothing is more harmful than 'not bad,' and that woke me up."

The young Belgian player, grinning broadly, displayed emotional intelligence beyond his years: "Road's movies always give people strength, like the movie 'Ball Flash' that we just watched not long ago, with the line 'The key to a wonderful life is what you can be obsessed with.' He is a great artist."

"By the way, he's also a great team owner."

De Bruyne added before the video ended.

The comments section of Crystal Palace's Weibo post was packed with people, with netizens commenting, celebrating, and making witty remarks.

"Wow! Another one brainwashed by the washing machine. Do you know he goes around quoting that line from 'Whiplash'?"

"If I remember correctly, he said this to Liu Yifei when she was 15 years old (Liu himself revealed this on the 'Art Life' program two years ago), and he also said it to other actors in some behind-the-scenes footage. Please add any others..."

"Now you know how the richest man in China became so powerful, right? He can get you to hand over your down payment with just one sentence. Luckily, washing machines aren't for selling houses!"

"Following up from the previous post, Guangzhou Evergrande, the team that sells houses, also won! Today is a wonderful day for Chinese football fans!"

"Following up from upstairs, I was in a great mood at first, but then I saw that last street-side photo of the washing machine cuddling with a fairy, and it really made me..."

"Following up from the comment above, aren't you incredibly envious?!"

"Following up from upstairs, what he actually envies is Liu Yifei! He wants to be hugged and nibbled by the washing machine!"

"Hahaha! This is hilarious! It's a shame these netizens aren't going to be stand-up comedians!"

In a suite at a top-tier hotel in London's Mayfair district, Xiao Liu read with amusement the comments from netizens who found the content hilarious.

She lay comfortably on the sofa, her chin resting gently on a fluffy white pillow. Her long, dark hair cascaded down her shoulders and the pillow, and she stared intently at the laptop screen in front of her, occasionally commenting or replying with a secondary account, pretending to be an innocent bystander.

For example, when faced with photos of herself and her husband passionately kissing after the reversal of fortune, Xiao Liu replied:
"I don't think Liu Yifei's expression when she was being bitten was entirely one of pleasure. I guess it's because the washing machine's breath smelled bad today. She probably ate two cloves of garlic when she had steak at noon."

Or, in response to online comments that the nickname "washing machine" has become widely known in Britain, she joked:
"Don't worry, Liu Yifei's fans. The washing machine has been modified so that only she knows how to use it. Foreign women can't understand the instructions anyway~"

Until a Weibo post about laundry detergent made her give up—

I bet the washing machine will have the fairy wear the Japanese team jersey tonight, score a hat-trick to celebrate today's victory, and look forward to the future rise of football!

Mr. Lu came in from the balcony, rubbing his temples. "Even with the rapid increase in movie box office this month, this many people aren't paying attention. But when Crystal Palace wins a game, all sorts of calls come in. Interesting."

Who are they?

Liu Yifei calmly closed the laptop, afraid that her lecherous husband might get some perverted inspiration from this Weibo post.

Lu Kuan slumped onto the sofa, playing with his wife's hair: "Teacher Zhao has the most friends who like football, and then there are the leaders of the Football Association, the owner of Guangzhou Evergrande, and so on."

"The Football Association? What do they want with you?"

Boss Lu laughed and said, "Of course it's for business. Later, Boss Liu also called because some people were using his name to chat with me. He told me not to worry about it and that answering the phone was enough to repay the favor."

Liu Yifei remained noncommittal: "The owner of Guangzhou Evergrande is probably looking for advice from you. Maybe he's hoping to meet you so that he can help him loan and buy foreign players from Crystal Palace in the future."

She has been brushing up on her football knowledge during this time. Although she doesn't know much about tactics and techniques, she at least understands the overall operation of the club.

"Maybe so, they're just using football as a pretext to get to know each other and exchange pleasantries." Lu Kuan nodded. "Everyone who plays football is actually after business."

"You're not? You're so clever!"

“I think I’ve figured you out.” Liu Yifei looked at the washing machine with a mocking expression. “You’re treating lines from ‘Whiplash’ as top-notch inspirational quotes, aren’t you? I heard them when I was 15, I heard them when I was 18, and now it’s these young players’ turn to hear them.”

"Are you going to tell Youyou and Tiedan this again?"

"When you can understand their father's debut work, you will naturally understand this sentence in the book."

Lu Kuan looked at his wife, whose eyes were sparkling, and said, "I can give you this opportunity. In the future, you need to show your acting skills as an award-winning actress and use this sentence to educate the two little brats."

His phone rang again, and he turned around and went to the balcony to answer it.

Listening to his indistinct conversation and looking at the twins' smiling faces on the phone screen, Xiao Liu felt the weariness accumulated from days of travel gradually welling up inside her.

She curled up comfortably in the sofa cushions, her fingertips unconsciously twirling the ends of her hair, but her eyelids gradually grew heavy.

In her hazy consciousness, a familiar scene quietly unfolded in her dream...
-
One evening in late June 2017, in the front yard of a mansion on the banks of the Wenyu River in Beiping, the setting sun cast long shadows.

The sound of footsteps grew louder as they approached. A chubby little boy with rosy cheeks burst into the house like a cannonball, his schoolbag bouncing behind him.

"Mom! Grandma! I'm back!" Tie Dan's voice was loud and clear, filled with undisguised excitement.

He quickly kicked off his shoes, not even bothering to put on slippers, and rushed into the living room in his socks. He eagerly unzipped his backpack and rummaged through it with his little hands.

A beautiful little girl with adorable pigtails followed behind, stopping only at the door of her house.

She turned and reached out to the naturally cold-faced man, her voice sweet and gentle like that of an eight-year-old girl:

"Uncle Fei, give me your schoolbag, otherwise Mom will scold me again."

Ah Fei smiled but didn't say anything. Looking at the exquisitely beautiful little princess in his home, he did as he was told.

Lu Youyou first bent down and neatly arranged her little leather shoes, then slowly changed into slippers. Her steps were steady, her little face was serene, and her eyes, which were full of spirit and resembled her father's, calmly looked at her conspicuous little brother.

Tie Dan finally pulled two crumpled test papers out of his schoolbag and proudly held them up to Liu Yifei, who was sitting on the sofa reading a script, as if presenting a treasure. He puffed out his little chest and said, "Mom, look! I got 100 in math and 99 in Chinese on my final exams! I was just one point away from getting 100 in both!"

The little boy's round face was practically screaming "Praise me!" His nose was still glistening with sweat from his earlier attempt to shake off his sister and claim credit.

From the side, her hump nose, which is just like her mother's, is more pronounced than her sister's.

Before Liu Yifei could speak, she watched as her daughter silently walked to the coffee table, took out a small water bottle from her meticulously packed schoolbag, held it in her arms to drink water, and then gently put down a neatly arranged test paper.

Mathematics, 100 ​​points.

In a clear, calm voice, she looked up and asked Liu Yifei, "Mom, when is Dad coming back from America? He promised to teach me to draw during the summer vacation. I've only just started to understand perspective, and I still can't draw the transitions between light and shadow very well."

The way her daughter was seriously discussing professional terms like a little adult made Liu Yifei, who is about to turn thirty, both amused and incredibly cute.

She reached out and gently pinched Youyou's cheek: "You only have eyes for your dad, right? I specially waited for you to finish your exams and took leave from the film crew to come back and take you out for summer vacation. Why don't you care about your mother at all?"

Lu Youyou's mind was filled with thoughts of her father, and she only gave perfunctory replies to her mother, trying her best to be "filial" by showing a dimple: "I miss you, I miss you, Mom."

"Oh my, my two darlings are home from school! Let Grandma see them!" Liu Xiaoli came out of the kitchen with a loving smile on her face.

She first picked up Youyou's perfect score test paper and praised her highly: "Our Youyou got a perfect score again, that's great!" Then, as usual, she asked, "What about your Chinese test? Is it over too?"

Youyou was still holding her water bottle, taking small sips of water: "The teacher took it away."

Liu Xiaoli immediately understood, her smile smoothing out the wrinkles around her eyes. She turned back to Xiao Liu and said with a smile, "Just like the midterm exam, you must have been kept behind by the Chinese teacher to be used as a model essay. Youyou is so much smarter than you were when you were little!"

Seeing that his older sister had stolen the spotlight again, Tie Dan, with his sturdy little legs, took a few steps and jumped off the sofa. He quickly held up his Chinese test paper and approached Liu Xiaoli, saying with a hint of resentment, "Grandma, Grandma! My Chinese test paper is here! 99 points! Just one point less than my sister!"

Poor Tiedan, he wanted to show off, but his awful sister stole all the limelight!
Liu Xiaoli quickly hugged him and kissed his chubby cheek: "Amazing! Amazing! Tiedan is amazing too, doing so well on the exam! You're such a good boy, Grandma!"

Receiving a kiss and praise from his grandmother, Tiedan regained his energy and turned to show his mother his test paper again, hoping to receive the same praise: "Mom, look, not bad, right?"

The two children of the richest family naturally don't face any extra pressure in their studies; they receive genuine quality education from a young age.

However, the third-grade exams were too easy. During the midterms, my older sister Youyou easily got two perfect scores. That day, my father happily hugged my sister affectionately and rubbed his stubble against her, making her giggle. This scene made Tiedan envious.

Although the parents and maternal grandmother have always been impartial in everything they do, it is extremely difficult for the two children to feel that they are being treated differently.

But children are incredibly motivated once they start comparing themselves to others, just like how fighting over food can cure anorexia.

So Tie Dan, who was obsessed with the outdoor playground at home and his little pony, changed. He was persuaded by his older sister to study like a man who had studied diligently before his final exams, and today he is preparing to go home and "bring honor to his ancestors".

Liu Xiaoli and her daughter exchanged a glance, finding the two children so adorable that they didn't want to let go. Just as they were about to shower Tiedan with compliments, giving him a "spiritual massage" and a "praise package," Youyou, who was drinking water from her little water bottle, started talking.

"good?"

The beautifully sculpted little girl seemed to have heard a key word. She frowned and walked over to Tie Dan. "Little brother, how can you say it's good?"

“Dad said that this is wrong and not enough.”

Liu Tiedan leaped onto the sofa with his sturdy little legs, standing next to his mother and looking down at Youyou: "What? You're lying!"

He looked at his sister, whose expression remained calm yet unusually confident, and then turned to Liu Yifei with a guilty conscience: "Mom, Dad will say my grades are pretty good too, right?"

"Of course! Of course! Dad will be proud of you, and so will your sister!" Xiao Liu looked at Tie Dan, who was on the verge of tears, and hugged him tightly, giving his daughter a frantic look in his eyes.

Of the two children, Youyou resembles her father more, especially in that she is incredibly clever and can easily tease Tiedan.

She had reason to believe that from the moment she entered the house until now, her beautiful daughter was taking out her frustration on her younger brother because her father had broken his promise to come home!
"Cough cough cough!" While praising the heartbroken Tiedan, Xiao Liu and her grandmother Liu Xiaoli exchanged secret signals with Youyou, signaling her not to do anything naughty.

Lu Youyou was still just an 8-year-old child, decades less cunning than her father, and she couldn't help but smile as the corners of her mouth curved.

However, she had no intention of letting her younger brother off the hook, since he had mocked her riding posture yesterday.

“Mom, Grandma, please don’t lie to my little brother.” The little girl interrupted the spellcasting again as if it were her own business, “Dad really did say that.”

With his mother and grandmother backing him up, Tie Dan suddenly felt much more confident. He puffed out his chubby cheeks, stood on the sofa with his hands on his hips, and said fiercely in a voice still tinged with childishness:

"Lu Youyou! You're just not as good as me at sports! You lose to me in horseback riding and archery! You're probably afraid that my grades will be as good as yours! I won't be fooled by you!"

Upon hearing this, Youyou was neither angry nor annoyed. She simply sighed softly and shook her head like a little adult.

She turned around, reopened her schoolbag, and gently took out a picture book carefully wrapped in kraft paper. She carefully opened it, pointed to a page, and showed it to her younger brother:

"This is the storyboard manuscript of my father's first film, 'Whiplash,' which he made when he was young. I brought it to school to learn about composition."

The young girl, with a serene expression, spoke calmly as if stating a perfectly ordinary fact, her fingertips lightly tapping the words on the picture book:
"Little brother, we're in third grade now, you should recognize all these words. Do you want to take a look and see what this sentence Dad wrote next to the script is?"

"I just don't believe it!" Tie Dan was truly stubborn, and he jumped off the sofa again, having already climbed up and down four or five times in a short while.

He leaned closer, frowned, and carefully examined the words on the picture book with his little hands, his face visibly falling over.

Liu Yifei and her mother Liu Xiaoli exchanged a glance, then closed their eyes in despair.

Then came a chorus of "Wah—" sounds. Tie Dan's mouth twitched, and tears instantly rolled down his cheeks as he cried like a two-hundred-pound child whose candy had been stolen.

Youyou's little face was full of composure, as if "facts speak louder than words," and even carried a faint smile of victory. But suddenly her expression changed and she snatched the picture book from her younger brother's hand.

It wasn't that I was afraid of hurting him, but that I was afraid my tears would ruin my father's masterpiece.

For a daughter who has idolized her father since childhood, that would be nothing short of a crime!
The little girl looked at Tiedan, who was wailing incessantly, then glanced triumphantly at her mother and grandmother, who looked utterly speechless, before squatting down and wiping her brother's tears with the back of her hand.

"Little brother, remember what your father said. I'll only tell you this once—"

"Nothing in this world is more harmful than 'not bad'."

"Wah!" The boy cried even louder.

Thirty-year-old Liu Yifei sat on the sofa, looking at her eight-year-old daughter with a mixture of amusement and helplessness, seeing the shadow of her thirty-five-year-old husband in her.

As for the son wailing on the ground, he must resemble himself more...

(End of this chapter)