novelraw Chapter 75: Movie Star Dad (End)
Chapter 75: Movie Star Dad (End)
Ten years later.
On a popular Q&A forum, a post about Qi Sheng had been the top post for the most responses and likes for over two years.
In the past two years, responses to the question had been reaching new highs, though the most liked answer had not been updated since a year ago.
Today, the forum users suddenly received a notification about an update to the question. Out of curiosity, they clicked on it to check.
[The male god is coming back!!!]
The forum users were shocked and excited, while also reviewing the question itself.
[How do you view Qi Sheng’s decision to retire at the peak of his career and return to his family?]
The user who had received the most likes on their answer saw the question and, as a seasoned fan, wrote a long reply.
[Answering on behalf of myself.
First of all, I think the phrasing of this question is not quite accurate. Peak of his career? Sorry, but the male god’s career is like a mountain that can’t be climbed; just when you think he’s reached the top, he’s actually still on his way up.
Alright, here’s a fan’s impassioned defense of my idol. If you don’t like it, don’t bother reading and just leave.
After Qi Sheng’s retirement, there’s been less gossip about him, but whenever there’s news, it’s always a huge event.
Let’s go by the timeline.
In the second year after his retirement, Director Aike brought a new movie to promote, a masterpiece that achieved great success in Europe and America, setting records at the box office. Countless big directors and actors in the domestic entertainment industry wanted a piece of the action, but Director Aike is someone with standards, so naturally, he invited another person with equal prestige to help with the promotion. As a result, our retired king appeared briefly and helped repost a Weibo post…
Now, let’s get back to the promotion event. Director Aike publicly stated that the first actor he had invited for the role of the male lead was none other than our male god, but he was turned down.
Turned down???!!!
Male god, didn’t your heart hurt when you rejected the offer? Aren’t you worried about hurting Director Aike’s fragile heart?
I don’t know whether Director Aike’s heart was hurt, but mine certainly was.
What an incredible opportunity! With the male god’s acting skills and talent, an Oscar nomination would have been a sure thing. And yet, he straight-up turned it down!!!
Male god, don’t you feel any pain?!!
I don’t know how big his heart is, but I can guarantee that 99% of the people in the entertainment industry were absolutely jealous…
Those who were jealous clearly had no awareness. Back then, Qi Sheng was at the height of his popularity, and yet, he silently went into seclusion again… Alright, male god, I get it. You’re truly the most unique firework.
When Baby Rui finished his high school exams, we thought the male god might come back, but who would have thought—he was still planning to stay at home!
On this note, I just want to say to Brother Sheng: Teenagers need free time. Male god, you should get out more and give Baby Rui some freedom…
PS: After three years of hard work from Brother Sheng, Baby Rui went from being a slacker who skipped classes to a straight-A student who got into one of the top universities in the country. Male god, you can do it.
So, daily question: Brother Sheng, are you planning to enter the education field?
My one-year-old daughter, my fifteen-year-old rebellious brother, and my ten-year-old mischievous nephew all need your guidance!
Some people you think are just enjoying their peaceful lives, but they’re actually planning something big… Oh wait, that’s not quite accurate—they’re planning something several big things. Alright, let’s go step by step.
Three years ago, the fifth year after the male god’s retirement, this year was absolutely a year of disasters for the entertainment industry.
A famous director was jailed, a famous actress was caught evading taxes, a well-known actor was involved in a hit-and-run after drunk driving…
It seemed like the entertainment industry had agreed that if there weren’t some major scandals, they couldn’t even call themselves hot stars anymore.
At a time when the public had completely lost faith in the entertainment industry, the industry finally realized it needed to boost its image with some positive energy.
That’s when the “small things” that our homebound male god had been quietly doing were exposed.
Every year, five hope primary schools! Five orphanages!
For five consecutive years, without missing a single one, the male god has been continuously spreading hope to primary schools and orphanages all across the country. Just one question: Male god, do you plan to scatter hope primary schools and orphanages throughout every corner of China?!
There’s so much more that the male god has done for charity, but I won’t list it all out, most people are already aware.
With how much the male god cares about the growth of children, I’ll ask again: Male god, aren’t you thinking about stepping into the education sector?
Many people might wonder: If the male god isn’t acting anymore and is staying home all day as a doting dad, how does he have so much money to invest in charity? So now, let’s uncover how the male god makes his fortune.
Before we dive in, let me just wildly ask: Male god, were you just too talented at acting that you were actually a hidden financial investment genius?!
The male god has proven through his actions that what we saw on reality shows was just a small glimpse. When he decided to stop acting and delve into investments, it was like a fish in water.
He’s ventured into the fields of new energy, new technology, and the new internet app industry—some of the hottest investment sectors in recent years. And when he enters a field, his insight is incredible, it’s like he’s got a cheat code. We, the common people, can’t help but feel envious. If he wasn’t the male god, I’d be cursing him out in my head right now! (Of course, these are just a few that were exposed; who knows if he’s invested in other things. If he has, I just want to say: Male god, can you drop a hint or two? Let us fans catch some of that good fortune!)
When Baby Rui was in his senior year of university, he received offers for graduate programs from top universities in the world. The male god didn’t hesitate, taking Goddess Xia Li along with him as a companion to Baby Rui. He treated Baby Rui like a three-year-old child, spoiling him so much.
By the way, let me add: Boys should be raised tough, male god, are you spoiling Baby Rui too much? (Biting my tongue in jealousy!)
You think he was just accompanying him to school? Not a chance with Qi Tianwang.
Life is endless, and the male god’s glorious life won’t stop.
Let’s investigate how many fans are there of The Night, The Day, and The Stars?
Oh, wait, no need to investigate, just look at the annual bestseller lists and the Douban scores. Two suspense novels and one sci-fi, how many book fans are completely captivated by the intricate logic and mind-bending plots? These fans were dying to know who the author really was, and recently, they discovered—oh, it turns out, you were our male god in disguise all along…
PS: Nowadays, paparazzi are useless. If it weren’t for The Day’s awards ceremony, we wouldn’t even have known that the male god switched careers to writing… Congratulations again to the male god for winning the Oscar of mystery novels. My male god is amazing!
After all this, there’s only one thing I really want to say: Male god, do you need another son? One who can act cute and spoil you with filial piety all day long!
I seriously envy and resent Baby Rui—he’s practically No. 1 in the reincarnation world.]
Update: It’s no longer “Baby Rui,” he’s now the famous “Rui Ba Zong”!
Now, Qi Rui, who’s being called “Rui Ba Zong” by the public, had just returned to the country. Looking at his phone, he saw several invitations from friends. Qi Rui looked at the person sitting on the couch and said, “Dad, I’m having a dinner with some classmates tonight, I might be home late.”
“Hmm? Who with?”
Qi Rui: “Just a few of my middle school friends. You know, the ones we skipped class and went online with.”
Saying this, Qi Rui couldn’t help but laugh. The impulsive youth of the past seemed like it happened in another lifetime now.
Qi Sheng nodded and reminded him, “A dinner is fine, but don’t go to any messy places.”
Qi Rui obediently agreed. Although he was growing more and more like a boss, he still acted like the spoiled Qi Xiaorui in front of his parents.
However, Qi Xiaorui didn’t quite understand why his dad, who had always been so trusting of him, suddenly seemed concerned about where he was going for dinner.
But that curiosity was fleeting, and Qi Rui didn’t give it much thought as he drove to the agreed location.
It was a high-end club, a family-owned business of one of his friends. He didn’t have much to worry about.
When he arrived at the private room, he saw the group of friends.
“Yo, the university genius is back!”
“You’ve been gone for a few years, and now you’re finally back!”
“You came back and didn’t even report in first, you have to drink three shots as punishment!”
The group chatted casually, and as soon as Qi Rui walked in, they immediately planned to get him to drink.
Qi Rui smiled and placed his drink on the table. “Stop messing around, I just got here and you want to make me drink!”
“Who else would we make drink? Once you’re drunk, we can ask for some special privileges, how about it? We’re all good brothers, let’s have you open a cheat on your game account.”
“Aren’t you the lucky one? Go ahead and pull your own stuff!”
Qi Rui had planned a massive virtual reality online game during his senior year of college. It was released a year ago and quickly became a global sensation. Gamers would literally worship Qi Rui before starting a dungeon or getting a reward, treating him like their lucky charm.
Over time, the fans who used to call him Baby Rui began calling him Rui Zong, Rui Ba Zong, Rui God, and so on. Qi Rui didn’t mind these titles. Looking at his middle school friends, he continued chatting with them and catching up.
The group chatted from the southernmost to the northernmost parts of the world, from their teenage years to entering society. They had often kept in touch via phone, but at this moment, their bond deepened significantly.
It was almost eleven o’clock, and after talking excitedly for a while, everyone started saying they had to leave. Qi Rui was puzzled but didn’t stop them. Looking at his remaining friend, Lin Gaochen, Qi Rui raised an eyebrow.
“Why didn’t you say anything just now?”
Lin Gaochen was slumped on the sofa, silently smiling as he looked at his once kindred spirit.
Once, they had both grown up without proper parents—one with a neglectful mother and father, the other with parents who lived their separate lives. There was a time when a news report about a fight in an internet café exposed his own unruly rich kid behavior. Meanwhile, his friend, Qi Rui, suddenly seemed to have found parents who cared for him again.
Lin Gaochen took another sip of his drink and continued lounging on the sofa, looking at his friend, now resembling a social elite. Aside from jealousy, he mostly felt relief—relief that one of them had such good fortune.
Qi Rui noticed Lin Gaochen still wanted to drink, so he quickly moved the cup away, his concern clear. “What about your parents?”
Lin Gaochen scoffed. “It’s the same as always. They no longer pretend to get along on the surface. They’re in the middle of an ongoing battle. I should’ve mentioned earlier, my little illegitimate brother is acing all his courses and is set to become a future college genius. My dad’s so pleased, he’s completely ignoring me, his useless son.”
They’d only ever talked about their families back in middle school, after they had become friends. As time went on, Qi Rui got back on track with his life, and Lin Gaochen slowly stopped sharing. Maybe it had been too long since he’d vented his family troubles, but now, with the alcohol, he was letting it all out.
“They despise me for being useless, ha!”
He wanted to complain about how his father wouldn’t even let him near the family business, but looking at his friend across from him, he smiled helplessly.
He didn’t have the ability or the drive to start his own business, nor the cunning to fight against his father’s sly tricks. Even his own mother thought he was a lost cause…
Unable to resist, he reached for another drink but found that his friend had already put everything away. Lin Gaochen let out a tired hum, covering his eyes, feeling a bit misty. He stayed still for a while, then suddenly sat up straight and asked his friend across from him:
“Hey, do you need a lackey?”
It was a bit awkward for him to ask his friend for a job, so Lin Gaochen added, somewhat uncomfortably, “Don’t worry, I won’t cause trouble for you.”
Qi Rui chuckled. “We don’t need any lackeys, but if you want to come, there’s always a spot for you.”
Qi Rui didn’t immediately rush to help every friend who was struggling, but Lin Gaochen was different. They had once shared each other’s pain, and when Qi Rui couldn’t even get out of bed from a beating, Lin Gaochen had snuck in to cheer him up. The two understood each other well, though Qi Rui had been luckier.
Lin Gaochen didn’t expect his friend to agree so quickly. He blinked, then came to his senses and grinned. “That’s straightforward, bro. You’re a real one.”
He then started searching for some alcohol to celebrate.
Qi Rui said, “We’ve already had enough for tonight. Let’s go, I’ll drive you home.”
Lin Gaochen hummed, “Already playing the boss? Fine, I’ll listen to you.”
When Qi Rui got home and saw that the study light was still on, he knocked and walked in.
“Dad, why are you still up?”
Qi Sheng looked up, seeing his son returning home reeking of alcohol. “I thought you wouldn’t be back until the middle of the night.”
“We didn’t drink too much. We just chatted for a bit and came back.”
As he spoke, he naturally walked over to massage Qi Sheng’s shoulders.
Qi Sheng leaned back in his chair, enjoying his son’s care, and casually asked, “How are your classmates?”
“Everyone’s doing fine, except for Lin Gaochen…”
“Lin Gaochen?”
“Dad, do you remember him?”
Qi Sheng nodded and listened as his son continued.
“…He’s been sent to manage a club under his family’s business. It’s supposed to be management, but he actually doesn’t have any real authority. The people below treat him like a mascot. He’s having a tough time, so I asked him to try out working at my company.”
Qi Sheng rubbed his neck, then looked back at his son. “Just be careful, as long as you know your boundaries. Alright, with all this alcohol on you, hurry up and shower. It’s late, go get some rest.”
“Okay, Dad. I’ll take you back to your room.”
Qi Sheng laughed, patting him on the back. “You little rascal, now you’re taking care of me? Let’s go.”
Qi Rui helped him turn off the computer. The father and son left the study together, and Qi Sheng pushed his son to go take a shower before heading back to their bedroom. Seeing his wife already fast asleep, Qi Sheng shook his head as he thought about the past.
The original Qi Sheng was deserving of the title “King” that his fans gave him, but he was not deserving of the title “Dad” from Qi Rui.
Qi Rui’s grades weren’t good, and he hung out with a group of spoiled rich kids every day. Qi Sheng feared he would cause trouble and, without consulting him, directly sent him overseas. He even worried that Qi Rui might secretly return home, so he restricted his credit card, claiming it was to help him study in a difficult environment.
Qi Rui didn’t have an easy time abroad. The unfamiliar environment and language barriers made things hard for him. Luckily, he had his best friend Lin Gaochen, who secretly sent him a lot of money.
To avoid the domestic paparazzi and Qi Sheng’s spies, Qi Rui didn’t immediately return home after getting the money. He continued pretending to attend classes while maintaining his carefree lifestyle.
Abroad, there was little supervision over him, but there was an abundance of temptation. He frequented bars and clubs, and naturally, he was exposed to such things and gradually developed a habit.
By the time the original Qi Sheng learned about his situation, the news of rich kids and stars using drugs spread everywhere. Qi Rui became a social pariah, and Qi Sheng’s reputation as a poor father was irreversibly tarnished.
The original Qi Sheng became increasingly disappointed in his son. He first sent him to a rehabilitation center and, after he got out, restricted his freedom even more.
The more Qi Sheng pressured Qi Rui, the more Qi Rui resisted. Finally, he managed to escape from the villa under Qi Sheng’s restrictions, but in his haste to drive away, he ended up in a car accident…
Holding his wife in his arms, Qi Sheng no longer wanted to dwell on the past. His son had now grown into an outstanding young man.
His son had his own career now, and Qi Sheng had new plans of his own.
He had long thought about becoming a director. Fortunately, he had three stories ready, and Qi Sheng decided to begin filming Dark Night.
When filming started, there wasn’t much fanfare about casting because there was no need for any gimmicks. Qi Sheng and the story itself were the biggest promotional slogans.
Once the cast was decided, Qi Sheng simply posted a brief announcement on Weibo, and this official post made countless fans tear up.
[God, you finally decided to come out!]
[Oh my god, I thought our idol was going to focus on side businesses forever!]
[The previous one, being a director is also a side business…]
[Baby Rui has turned into CEO Rui, and our idol finally decided to come out, I’m crying!]
[Looking forward to it! But it’s a pity our idol can’t be the lead actor.]
The male lead in Dark Night was a young police officer in his early thirties, so no matter how much fans hoped, they couldn’t see Qi Sheng as the lead.
Fans were extremely disappointed and then ran to Qi Rui’s Weibo to beg him to join the industry and act.
[It’s totally normal for the son to follow in his father’s footsteps!]
[Upstairs, I agree!]
[Wait, could it be that my dream is about to come true? Father and son are finally going to act together?!]
Fans were excited, and Qi Rui’s response was simple: “Stop joking!”
Dark Night took a year and a half from filming to release, and just as expected, it became the highest-grossing movie of the year, jumping to third place on the domestic box office chart.
Qi Sheng, thanks to his adaptation of Dark Night, won the highest domestic screenwriting award.
Five years later, the sci-fi blockbuster Starry Sky, directed and written by Qi Sheng, with special effects handled by Qi Rui’s company, caused a global sensation. The movie not only made domestic fans proud, but even the Western world, known for its special effects, couldn’t help but praise it.
Finally, Qi Sheng satisfied his fans’ wishes by attending the Oscars with his son.
[It’s finally happened! Father and son are on stage together again, ahhh! So proud!]
[Brother Sheng still looks so young, that’s awesome!]
[The previous one, you’re right, but now you still dare to call him Brother Sheng! Have you asked CEO Rui for permission?!]
[Scared me, I quickly deleted the words ‘Brother Sheng.’ I can’t mess with CEO Rui, I still need his help for lucky draws and equipment!]
[Our idol finally won the Oscar, tears! PS: Being a director is fine, we reluctantly accept, hahaha.]
[The previous one, is it really okay to make our idol so disliked?! But we’re really too proud, my Sheng is the best!]
This lifetime, Qi Sheng truly proved through his actions what it means to be amazing. And his son didn’t dim his light because of his father’s overwhelming success. On the contrary, both father and son’s accomplishments outshone each other, making their fans endlessly proud. Even Take Dad to Travel became a cherished and legendary video for fans.