Chapter 36: Making friends

The Zhong family's big brother ended the call somewhat helplessly and looked towards his father, who was seated at a corner.

"Not coming back?" Father Zhong frowned a little. The golden-haired foreigner seated at the side couldn't understand their conversation and could only maintain his smile.

"Mr Dave, please have some tea," Mother Zhong smiled as she poured a cup of tea for the foreigner, using fluent English to communicate with him.

His name was Dave, a psychologist that Father Zhong brought over from the United States. He was very experienced in the treatment of amnesia caused by physical trauma. Part of the reason why Father Zhong lingered overseas for so long was so that he could persuade this doctor to go back with him.

"Oh, thank you Madam," The Americans' trademark cordial smile appeared on Dave's face as he thanked Mother Zhong, "Wow, the taste of China's tea is wonderful."

"His amnesia was caused by a hit to the head, will a psychologist be able to treat it?" During the period Zhong Yibin was hospitalized, Mother Zhong had already dragged over all the doctors she could find to see him but had not tried to find a psychologist. After all, the hospital's diagnosis was that the amnesia was caused by external force.

"It's like this, besides the conscious mind, humans also possess an unconscious layer of thought. The unconscious also acts as a form of memory storage, so bringing out the memories in these reserves is also a type of treatment," Dave explained gently.

Mother Zhong nodded half-understandingly. She thought for a moment, "Then, treat his problem of h.o.m.os.e.xuality too when he comes home tomorrow. He used to like girls in the past."

Dave looked at Mother Zhong with shock, "Oh, Madam, I won't be of help in this area. h.o.m.os.e.xuality is not a mental disease, merely a matter of preference. Just like how you prefer eating vegetables while Mr Zhong prefers meat. It's not something a psychologist can resolve."

At that moment, the four people considered mentally ill by Mother Zhong were at the revolving restaurant on a skysc.r.a.per, at their wit's end.

When Zhong Yibin reached with Chu Qin, Yu Tang and his wife had already been there for a while.

The pretty crystal goblets contained a dark liquid that appeared to be red wine at first glance, but upon closer inspection, it contained bubbles. Yu Tang held a cup and slowly swirled it, toasting the handsome youth seated beside him.

That youth was very pretty. He was fair, neat and had an outstanding temperament. Similarly, his hand held on to a cup containing a sparkling beverage as he toasted Yu Tang.

"Director Song," Chu Qin nodded in greeting. This person was Xinghai Entertainment's young director - Song Xiao.

Song Xiao smiled faintly and stood up to shake Chu Qin's hand but was held back by Yu Tang, who refused to allow him to do so.

Chu Qin's hand hovered in the air yet the expression on his face didn't change one bit. He very naturally retrieved his hand, "Director Yu's family rules are quite strict."

"Hmph," Yu Tang made a sound and took a sip of his drink.

Zhong Yibin side-eyed Yu Tang. However, them not shaking hands was in line with his wishes so he didn't say anything either and dragged Chu Qin to sit down. The waiter came over to pour wine and Chu Qin's eyes widened, watching the finely-dressed waiter tilt the gla.s.s bottle with helplessness. Although the gla.s.s bottle was of high grade, it couldn't conceal the reality of the words 'CocCola' printed on it!

"Coccola's limited-edition gla.s.s bottle," Yu Tang raised his chin and gestured for them to try it.

The light-brown c.o.ke was slowly poured into the ice-filled, high-grade crystal goblets, the sound of the bubbles sparking in the goblet spreading. The sensation of using a crystal goblet to drink c.o.ke was particularly magical.

Zhong Yibin held his goblet and shook it, "Still drinking c.o.ke at this age, en?"

Yu Tang raised an eyebrow, "Still better than watching

at such an age?"

The two people glared at each other for a short while before making a hmph sound at the same time. Chu Qin smiled somewhat helplessly and raised his head to see Song Xiao also silently shaking his head. He couldn't help toasting Song Xiao, "I saw Director Song at the Grand Entertainment Ceremony the other time and haven't managed to have a proper conversation with you yet."

Song Xiao was a promising youngster. He partic.i.p.ated in the making of a large film during the time he was studying overseas at the United States and took over his family's entertainment company after returning home. The Grand Entertainment Ceremony was held a few months ago and involved Xinghai Entertainment's artists. Since Song Xiao had just returned to the country and needed to familiarize himself with the network, he also tagged along. At that time, Chu Qin was the host and had spoken a few words with Song Xiao.

"No wonder all the people in the industry say that Chu Qin has a good memory," Song Xiao smiled as he toasted him. Song Xiao was born with a pair of smiling eyes and they formed crescents[1] when he smiled, adding on to his cuteness.

The main motive of their meet-up today was to discuss

, which was about to be broadcasted. Although the national station was the chief broadcaster, the main contributor to the ratings was still Shengs.h.i.+. After all, the national station had a history of being more controlling when it came to publicity.

"Do you feel they seem very familiar?" Zhong Yibin asked Chu Qin in a low voice that was only loud enough for the two of them to hear.

"En?" Chu Qin blinked. They were indeed a little familiar to the eyes.

Zhong Yibin pulled up pictures of two ancient portraits on his phone. The method by which the portraits were painted made them appear vivid and life-like. The portraits were of the Great Yu Dynasty's Emperor Jingyuan and his male empress. Emperor Jingyuan was handsome and radiant, while the Empress was intelligent and gentle like jade. There was an uncanny resemblance with the pair of lovers in front of them.

"You guys aren't the reincarnations of the Emperor and Empress right?" Chu Qin said jokingly.

Yu Tang raised an eyebrow silently while Song Xiao gave a smile, "Who knows."

Chu Qin had already heard of the purpose of Yu Tang acquiring Old Waves on his way here. n.o.body could compete with the courage needed to come out in front of the entire country. Now that he was witnessing this scene, he suddenly thought of an exquisite idea, "Why not promote using the concept of the Emperor and Empress' reincarnations. Not only would it promote the drama, it would also foreshadow your future reveal. If the drama becomes famous, the level of acceptance towards the Emperor and Empress would increase and by extension, your relations.h.i.+p would also be looked favorably upon."

The two people sank into silence for a moment. Two of Yu Tang's fingers tapped against the table, 'Zhong Erbing, your wife is smarter than you."

Zhong Yibin's mouth curled up and he took the menu to begin ordering dishes.

The restaurant appeared to be a high cla.s.s one that even used crystal goblets for beverages, but in reality, it was a Chinese restaurant. The dishes were quickly served. Song Xiao picked up a roasted chicken wing and placed it in Yu Tang's bowl. Yu Tang picked it up to eat in a very natural manner. Though they were younger than both Chu Qin and Zhong Yibin, they appeared to have been living with each other for many years.

Chu Qin thought that it was interesting and couldn't resist peeking at them a couple more times.

Zhong Yibin was a little unhappy and used his elbow to jab at his family's wife, "What are you always looking at them for? You should be looking at your handsome husband!"

Chu Qin stuffed the desh.e.l.led crab leg meat into his mouth, preventing him from speaking.

The meal was a harmonious one for both host and guest. They didn't consume wine, only the limited-edition c.o.ke, hence the driving was not affected. Zhong Yibin happily brought Chu Qin home.

"You don't hate this sort of dinner party?" Zhong Yibin helped Chu Qin buckle his seat belt and took the chance to give him a peck on his still curving mouth corner.

"En, Director Song has a very interesting personality. I know of him from the Grand ceremony, but sadly didn't get a chance to get to know him. Director Yu's character is also really good, he's able to talk with you," Chu Qin beamed. To tell the truth, the main factor was that he felt gratified from seeing Zhong Yibin's mind sharpen and his character improve from his interactions with Yu Tang.

Comparing Yu Tang to Zhong Yibin's group of scoundrel friends was like comparing the steeple of the thirty-three layered celestial paG.o.da to the sewer of the eighteen-layered underworld. The disparity was staggering.

"Then I'll make friends like Yu Tang in the future," Zhong Yibin listened to Chu Qin praise his friends with relish, as if he were the one being praised. When he went to play with Wu Wan and the rest the other time, his heart had ended up being pained for quite a few days, though they were relatively amiable.

Chu Qin stared blankly for a moment before he looked up at Zhong Yibin, whose eyes were sparkling like a large dog who had just picked up a ball and was wagging its tail. Chu Qin couldn't help pursing up his lips in laughter as he ruffled that s.h.a.ggy head of inch-length hair, "Alright."

Sure enough, Zhong Yibin became even happier from having had his head stroked. He rubbed against the palm of Chu Qin's hand delightedly and hummed a song as he stepped on the gas pedal. His garbled song was a little familiar to the ear but the only thing that could be deciphered was its similarity to the Chinese language.

"What song is that?" Chu Qin asked him curiously.

"I'm singing a Chinese song, you guess!" Zhong Yibin was all smiles as he started singing, "Quickly look towards the sky, quickly look towards the stars, quickly look towards the universe! The red day rus.h.i.+ng from that place…"

Chu Qin was baffled. He had never heard of such song lyrics, but the tune was very familiar.

"Aiya, why are you so stupid!" Zhong Yibin curled his lip, abandoned the steering wheel and made a cross sign with both arms. He yelled loudly, "Taro, Ultraman!"

"d.a.m.n it, are you moving or not!" The car behind honked violently. The middle-aged uncle driving the car stretched out his head and scolded him in a loud voice.

Zhong Yibin turned around. Seeing that the red light ahead had already turned green and he could long go, he hurriedly pressed on the accelerator.

"Pff -" Chu Qin letting out a laugh, "Do you also need to guard the red light, Ultraman?"

"That's of course," Zhong Yibin stuck his chest out proudly and extended a hand forward, "A righteous warrior is a law-abiding youth!"

Then, because the car was moving too slowly, the uncle behind overtook him. The uncle stretched his head out and glared at him, "F*cker."

The author has something to say:

Small theater:

Qin Qin: Zhong chick has undergone a change, the rearing manual must be changed

Xiao Xiao: Recommend

Big Brother: Recommend

Yu Tang[2]: Recommend

Qin Qin: →_→

[1] 笑起來彎彎: The literal translation is smiling like curves but that wouldn't make much sense in English so I took some liberties with it.

[2] 魚塘: The direct translation is fish pond, although the pinyin (romanization) is the same as Yu Tang.

Translator's corner: c.o.ke ftw!! I actually don't really like c.o.ke, am I the only one who feels that way… though it'll probably be quite interesting to people from ancient times.