Chapter 8

My brother must have seen the videos circulating online. This time, he didn’t bother calling—he flew straight over to find me, likely fuming with anger. Back in high school, I once received a love letter from the most popular boy in school. It attracted the ire of a girl who had a crush on him. She and her gang started bullying me. At the time, my brother had just taken over the family business and was swamped with work. I didn’t want to trouble him. Coincidentally, I had received an acceptance letter from an overseas university. I thought I’d just endure it for a few more days until I left. But then my brother saw the bruises on my elbow. His face darkened as he silently applied medicine to my injury. His movements were gentle and cautious, as though afraid of hurting me further. Softly, I apologized, “I’m sorry for making you worry.” After a long silence, he suddenly reached out and ruffled my hair. “You did nothing wrong. But you need to understand—everything I’ve worked so hard for is to protect my family. “If I can’t even keep you safe, then all my efforts will have been for nothing.” The next day, I went to school and found out the girl had transferred. Rumor had it her father, the principal, had been reported for embezzlement and was taken in for questioning that very night. Later, my brother taught me an important lesson: Bottling up your anger is for cowards. Instead of torturing yourself, drive others crazy. I’ve lived by this principle ever since, and it’s carried me through life like a battle cry. Now, I figured my brother was here to settle scores for me. As one of the most influential figures in the entertainment industry, he could easily shut down an entire production if he wanted. With that thought, I turned to the director and held up two fingers. “Twenty thousand. Not a penny less, or I’m not going.” The director’s face twisted in pain. But for the sake of his bright future, he reluctantly pulled the money out of his own pocket. “Fine. You win.” I accepted the cash with a faint smile. After all, today might just be the single largest sum of money he’ll ever part with in his entire life.