HPDBC Chapter 2 An Equal Exchange
Chapter 2 An Equal Exchange
When he took off his clothes, the boy was so thin that he looked like a skeleton covered in flour, and he would melt away in the wind.
The middle-aged woman took a handy stick and struck the emaciated Luo Jinnian.
"You made me read to you, and now you can't get any acting roles, huh? From now on, every time I see you reading, I'll tear up your book."
For middle-aged women, having an educated child might mean they are difficult to manage.
Middle-aged women are attracted to an idiot who only knows how to act and make money for them.
"I'm going to play mahjong. You stay here and reflect on your actions, or I'll come back and give you another beating."
The middle-aged woman, exhausted from disciplining her child, left with the box of money, a necessity for him to play mahjong.
Even if your father doesn't love you and your mother doesn't care for you, you still have to take care of yourself.
Ouch~ That really hurts.
Luo Jinnian carefully applied iodine to the red and swollen area.
After treating his wounds, he stood on a stool and took an egg out of the top shelf of the refrigerator, one in each hand.
Because her hands were too small to carry the eggs to the kitchen at once, Luo Jinnian brought a bowl instead.
Crack eggs directly from the refrigerator into a bowl; a few eggs in the bowl—extravagant and frivolous.
The poor play with cars, the rich play with watches, but the truly wealthy still have to make scrambled eggs with six eggs.
The timid and submissive Luo Jinnian of the past has starved to death; now, the bold and overconfident Luo Jinnian is the new one.
Touching her arm, which was thinner than a baby's, Luo Jinnian felt sad and heartbroken for her past self. Indeed, not all parents in this world love their children.
"It smells so good!"
Having grown up in an orphanage in his previous life, Luo Jinnian had, to say the least, specialized in cooking for children and himself.
Every Sunday after he started working, no matter how tired he was, he would go back to the orphanage to see everyone and cook a good meal for his younger siblings.
Buzz~ Buzz~~
The landline rang at home. Luo Jinnian picked up the phone and heard a familiar girl's voice.
"Hello, I'm Fei Yuxi today."
"Hello, I'm Luo Jinnian today."
Luo Jinnian took a bite of the pancake and answered in a soft, gentle voice, mimicking the other person's tone.
A pancake rolled with freshly cooked eggs and scallions, and evenly drizzled with the most authentic Shandong-style fermented bean paste, is bound to be delicious.
"Can I give you another jianbing guozi... Could you show my uncle the rest of 'The Little Prince'?"
"My uncle will cry if he can't see the Little Prince at the end."
The famous director, listening from the side, was utterly speechless.
"You don't have to change it. I'll comfort my uncle and make sure he doesn't cry for too long."
Not wanting to make things difficult for others, Fei Yuxi added another sentence.
That's a brilliant move—a strategic retreat to advance.
Just thinking about it makes me nervous. The emotional intelligence of a middle-aged woman is probably not as good as that of the little girl across from her who hasn't even lost all her baby teeth.
Luo Jinnian sighed.
To this day, the famous director has never told his niece the story of "The Little Prince".
He can experience being suspended all by himself, but his precious niece will only ever be able to suspend others for the rest of her life.
So, Fei Yuxi, who knew nothing about the story of "The Little Prince," made this phone call entirely to help her uncle.
The topic of kinship between uncle and nephew.
Seeing that there was no response from the other end, Qin Chuan frowned. That kid dared to ignore my niece?!
"I'm sorry, I was just feeding a dog. It was so thin and it broke my heart to see it like that."
Luo Jinnian stroked the head of the big yellow dog at the front door and asked softly:
"Does your mother not want you anymore?"
The big yellow dog whimpered:
Brother, we don't have a mother.
Luo Jinnian couldn't help but laugh when she thought of the puppy's reply.
Although he spoke very softly to the dog, the famous director still heard him and took the phone from his niece:
"I can let you try out for our production team, as long as you show me the sequel to 'The Little Prince'."
In fact, a boy is indeed a good choice. This was a decision Qin Chuan made after weighing the pros and cons—it was definitely not a result of being misled by "The Little Prince".
He thought the other person would be happy to hear this, but the boy's response completely exceeded his expectations.
"I don't want to be a child star. Being a child star would only make a huge mistake in this family. Every penny I earn would only be the root of their indulgence."
Child stars, regardless of the country or entertainment industry, rarely have a good ending, and their parents are the primary culprits behind this phenomenon.
Qin Chuan, who was in the vortex of the entertainment industry, knew this well, and having indeed witnessed the boy's mother's thunderous behavior, he was very fair about what the boy said.
"So what do you need me to do?"
Children talk about right and wrong; adults only care about interests.
Discussing the deal shows that Qin Chuan respects Luo Jinnian.
"I can give you the sequel to 'The Little Prince,' but you must help me publish a work."
"The Little Prince?"
"It's a new work, and I must make it clear first, I haven't finished writing *The Little Prince*..."
Luo Jinnian has very limited bargaining chips. At present, his only reliance is that he still has "The Little Prince," which is his trump card to barely maintain the initiative in negotiations.
Everyone likes to be around smart people.
Qin Chuan read through his script one more time.
Intelligent, yes, that's exactly the kind of intelligence the male lead in his own script needs.
Since true intelligence and precocity are difficult to fake, why not just find a child who is genuinely precocious and intelligent?
The director's thoughts were interrupted by a crisp voice.
"Uncle, it's so dark outside."
"Yes, because it's going to rain."
…………
……
The man in the suit walked home, with a girl who was a little older than Luo Jinnian.
The man is Luo Jinnian's stepfather, and the woman is Luo Jinnian's step-sister?
I don't know how this middle-aged woman has the nerve to play mahjong all day and neglect her family, while complaining that her former cheap father was a drunkard who never made any progress.
What are the differences in their properties?
Anyway, the two got divorced.
The middle-aged woman remarried quickly after her divorce. Both she and her husband brought their own children with them, so it was more like they were living together as a couple.
The middle-aged woman, who had been playing mahjong all day, finally returned, and judging from her expression, she must have lost a lot of money.
The stepfather patted his daughter's head, gesturing for her to go back to her room.
A gloomy atmosphere enveloped the entire house, and the two little children, hiding in their room, sensed the approaching storm outside.
"Want some candy?"
It's a Want Want Milk Candy.
The older sister tore open the packaging and placed the candy in her eagerly waiting younger brother's hand.
Luo Jinnian hadn't had sweets in so long that she had almost forgotten what sugar tasted like.
Watching her younger brother eat candy, his eyes crinkling with happiness like crescent moons, the older sister smiled gently.
"What caused their conflict this time?"
The older sister shook her head; she didn't know either.
"You're starting school tomorrow, right?"
Luo Jinnian nodded.
Then no one said anything.
With the sound of thunder, the rain finally started.
Through the wall, the two children finally overheard the reason for the adults' argument.
The middle-aged man wanted to live alone in his hometown, so his mother, who had injured her back, came to live with him.
The middle-aged woman was naturally unhappy. She argued: How could a house with less than 80 square meters of usable space possibly accommodate another outsider?
The argument started in one house and spread to the next building. Eventually, the two, exhausted from arguing, started throwing things.
"They're smashing bowls again."
"That's a good thing, at least we don't have to wash the dishes."
Although she was still very scared, the little girl was amused.
The girl knew that only her younger brother washed the dishes at home, and her father would never let her do such hard labor.
Can you sing?
The older sister shook her head; she had only studied painting.
Luo Jinnian had come from an orphanage, but he still couldn't bear to see the children's forlorn eyes. Amidst the mess, he hummed his favorite children's song—
The dark sky hung low.
Bright stars accompany me
Insects fly, insects fly
Who are you missing?
The stars in the sky are weeping.
Withered roses on the ground
Cold wind blows, cold wind blows
As long as you're with me...
Luo Jinnian has always believed that 300 children's songs can awaken people's true goodness and beauty.
"Sister, sister..."
Are you asleep?
As expected of a child, their sleep quality is so good.
It was already quite dark outside, and Luo Jinnian carefully covered her sister with the blanket.
"Dad, don't go—"
Did you talk in your sleep...?
So, my step-sister and I are a pair of star-crossed lovers, I thought to myself, trying to find humor in my misery.
She tiptoed out of the room and lay down on the messy sofa outside.
This tiny house has only two rooms for living: one for a middle-aged couple and the other for the older sister.
The only place left for the boy to sleep was this sofa.
Pulling a rolled-up pancake from the corner of the wall, Luo Jinnian decided to nourish herself since she was still too thin.
Although no world needs this boy named Luo Jinnian, he is still determined to raise him well.
The night was long, and the boy, who was quite full, looked up at the stars and chuckled softly.
On the other side, the famous director, tossing and turning in bed unable to sleep, got up; his mind was now filled with that boy:
"I need him; he has to be the lead in my movie."
"Why did it end there? What's the sequel to *The Little Prince*?!"