Fame's Unforgiving Light Chapter 1

In the air-conditioned first-class cabin, Ethan Stone curled up to catch up on his sleep. He wore a sweater, and was covered with a down jacket and a blanket. His assistant Jack Reid, who was sitting next to him, turned his head to look at him from time to time and whispered to the flight attendant for another blanket.

During the long-distance flight, the aircraft's energy consumption was reduced to the minimum. The cabin was dark and Jack Reid gently covered him with a blanket.

The sleeping superstar was very different from the dazzling one on the stage. He looked pale and bloodless, his eyelashes drooped tiredly like crow feathers, and his breathing was so light that it was inaudible.

"Brother Zhuang, we'll be there soon."

After a round of reminders on the radio, Ethan Stone seemed to be woken up. Jack Reid unscrewed the thermos cup and poured hot water into the lid.

"Are we there yet?" Ethan Stone slowly opened his eyes and could feel himself descending.

"The flight attendant just reminded me that there are still forty minutes left, so drink some water." Jack Reid handed him the cup and reached out to open the porthole. It was daytime outside, the sunlight was blindingly bright, and the plane was shaking. Ethan Stone squinted his eyes, and tiny hairs could be seen on his pale face under the golden light outside the window.

"Thank you." He adjusted to the light, sat up and drank some water. He hadn't gotten enough sleep, so his throat was a little hoarse.

When the flight landed, Jack Reid quickly handed over hats, masks and sunglasses to his artists. Ethan Stone laughed and said, "This is America, no one knows me."

"Brother Zhuang, you really underestimate your own potential. You are a top star. It's almost the Spring Festival, and so many international students are returning home! Don't they recognize you?" Jack Reid put the scarf around his neck to cover his chin without thinking twice.

Ethan Stone remained silent. For a long time he was just an ordinary person. No one would recognize him wherever he appeared cleanly.

Suddenly, he was back to the time when he was at the peak of his popularity, and he was still not used to it.

It snowed heavily in Minneapolis, and the snow covered everything, making it all white.

"Master!" Ethan Stone walked out of the airport and asked on the phone for a long time before finally meeting someone.

"Hi!" Zhuang Xuejiu shouted, "Little Bell!"

The rustling wind carried the snowflakes whistling in my ears.

Ethan Stone looked up. His master was already 40 years old when he adopted him. Now he is almost 60 years old. He has been worrying about his own opera troupe for most of his life. He has white hair on his head, but because he needs to practice basic skills to sing opera, he refuses to admit his age and is full of energy. He does not look old like the terminally ill old man he was later.

Ethan Stone's emotions, which had been tense for a long time, collapsed the moment he saw him. He rushed over and hugged Zhuang Xuejiu, crying, "Master, I miss you and Master's wife so much."

Zhuang Xuejiu laughed and patted him on the back, saying, "Master misses you too! Brat, I was thinking about you a few days ago, and you called me out of the blue. Tell me, is it possible that father and son are connected?"

"Yes, yes." He was overwhelmed with emotions, and his eyes were blurred with water.

Before he could remember, he was abandoned at the steps outside the Dasixi Opera Troupe. His master Zhuang Xuejiu and his pregnant wife picked him up and named him Ethan Stone. He had two senior sisters and a junior brother, all of whom were the flesh and blood of his master and his wife. Together with several apprentices, they formed a Jiale Opera Troupe.

After the reform and opening up, the Da Sixi Opera Troupe also had its spring, and the troupe owner Zhuang Xuejiu was glorious for a while, but the good times did not last long, and the Da Sixi Opera Troupe declined again.

Ethan Stone started learning to sing opera since he was young, getting up at 5:30 every day to practice, and he did this for many years. When he was a little older, the opera troupe collapsed and could no longer operate. Zhuang Xuejiu knew that this business might starve his child to death, so he sent the child to school. Later, his senior brother in the United States wrote to him, saying that his senior brother had made a fortune in the United States and asked him to go over there.

When he was a child, Ethan Stone liked watching movies, singing operas, and acting, and he wanted to be an actor.

Zhuang Xuejiu had never thought that he could actually get into the film school. He disagreed, but the child was surprisingly determined on this matter. Zhuang Xuejiu had no choice but to let him go. When the child went to college, Zhuang Xuejiu went to the United States to live with his senior brother, and has now settled there for a few years.

When Ethan Stone called him, he was a little surprised, but considering that it was New Year's Day and they hadn't seen each other for several years, he was very happy. He took a leave of absence and drove over to pick him up early in the morning.

Xiao quickly greeted Zhuang Xuejiu, who had an elegant and refined temperament, and Zhuang Xuejiu then noticed that there was another person.

Ethan Stone introduced: "Master, this is my friend, Lian Sansi."

Zhuang Xuejiu shook hands with him and said, "Nice to meet you, my name is Zhuang Xuejiu."

"Hello, Uncle Zhuang... My name is Lian Sansi, you can just call me Jack Reid, I am Brother Zhuang's assistant."

"So you're taking care of him, right? Thank you very much." He smiled kindly.

"No way, that's what I should do, what I should do." Jack Reid discovered that Brother Zhuang was polite and courteous, which was a family tradition. Master Zhuang was 1.8 meters tall, almost the same height as Brother Zhuang, with regular facial features and a tall figure. It seemed that he must have been a handsome opera master when he was young.

"You must have had a hard time on this journey. Have you eaten?" Zhuang Xuejiu opened the trunk of the red Chevrolet. Jack Reid put his and Ethan Stone's luggage in the trunk. After they got in the car, Ethan Stone said he hadn't eaten. Zhuang Xuejiu reversed the car and said, "Hamburgers? That was your favorite when you were a kid. Americans may not like other things, but hamburgers are very solid and have a lot of meat."

Just as Jack Reid was about to remind him not to eat fast food, he heard Ethan Stone say "hmm" heavily: "I'll eat whatever the master says is delicious."

To him, his master and his mistress are his closest relatives, like his parents. Except for going to film academy and insisting on becoming an actor, Ethan Stone has never quarreled with them in his life.

"If you don't want fast food, go to a Chinese restaurant, and then drive home for several hours."

"so far?"

"Your uncle has set up a camping resort and organized many outdoor activities. Your uncle's wife and I live there. There is also a small ski resort where your uncle's wife works. There are not many people there. Little Bell, how long will you stay this time?"

Jack Reid pricked up his ears when he heard the name "Little Bell" so often. Is this Zhuang's nickname? Isn't it too cute?

"I'll go back after the New Year." Ethan Stone asked, "Is my master's wife working at the ski resort? Why is she working? How is her health?"

"She's in good health. And she can't sit still. Your uncle found her an easy job, helping people activate their ski passes at the ski resort. She works one day and rests one day. The salary is high, and she's not tired. And it's indoors. Just let her do it." Zhuang Xuejiu looked at him in the rearview mirror. "Aren't you very busy at work?"

"Yes, I am busy." Ethan Stone knew that his master and his wife rarely went online and didn't know that he fainted during the filming of the program. "The company gave me leave and let me go home for the reunion dinner. I want to spend more time with you two old people."

Ethan Stone thought that in four months, he would receive news that his master's wife was seriously ill. His heart ached and he said, "Master, do you go for regular physical examinations?"

"What's the point of a physical examination? I won't go. Medical treatment in the United States is very expensive."

"No, we have to go. We have to be prepared for anything. I'll pay for it. We'll go to the hospital for a checkup when we get there."

Zhuang Xuejiu was really helpless. After arguing for a long time, he said helplessly: "Okay, okay, physical examination, physical examination is fine, right?"

"Yeah!" He then started to laugh.

Jack Reid was reporting his itinerary to Sister Wen. When he saw him smile, he was stunned for a moment.

Zhuang Ge is so handsome, with a small face and peach blossom eyes, and his black and white pupils seem to be able to speak. This is the benefit of learning opera, his eyes are exceptionally bright and clear, very lively, and when he smiles, it's like winter snow melting, and a shallow dimple blooms at the corner of his mouth.

Even those black fans who jump up and down can only use words like "vase" to humiliate him.

It's just a pity that there was an accident during the filming of a variety show last week. It seems that Zhuang Ge's brain was damaged. He did something big and fell out with the company. Jack Reid followed him, first to watch him, and second to persuade him to turn back from his wrong path.

The car drove further and further into a remote, uninhabited area with charming scenery on both sides. Ethan Stone stared for a while along the way and saw someone skiing on the road in a ski suit.

Soon he fell asleep, and Jack Reid took the initiative to lend him his shoulder. Zhuang Ge had a problem. When he was resting on the set, he was too tired and fell asleep leaning on the sofa. He fell asleep in a second and leaned on the shoulder of another male actor. The male actor didn't want to wake him up, so he hugged Ethan Stone as a human pillow for an hour.

Someone took the photos secretly but they were not spread out. However, the agent Sister Wen was still furious and told Ethan Stone not to do it again.

Seeing that he was asleep, Zhuang Xuejiu turned off the radio. This road led to the big rural village where he lived. On the map, it was a very straight long road. The gray areas on both sides of the road were snow-covered primeval forests, and the small dot at the end of the road was his home.

The red Chevrolet was like a tiny dot on the road.

When they arrived and the car stopped, Ethan Stone woke up and asked Jack Reid: "Do your shoulders feel sore?"

Jack Reid shook his head.

Ethan Stone rubbed his shoulders twice and said, "Next time you sleep, lean on my shoulder."

Jack Reid was flattered and thought that Ethan Stone was humble and gentle, and he was lucky to be arranged to be his assistant.

"Master's wife? Why isn't Master's wife at home?"

Zhuang Xuejiu parked his car in the parking space. His house here was a small villa with a yard. It was second-hand and a bit old. The floor creaked when he went in, and the furniture was all old items.

Zhuang Xuejiu took off his coat and hung it on the hanger in the entrance hall, then took off his leather gloves: "Your master's wife will be back soon. She gets off work at 4:30."

At four o'clock, it was dark here.

"Are you used to it here?" Ethan Stone, with his bag on his back and Jack Reid following him, walked in and looked around this old house with a strong sense of life. He could vaguely see ham and bacon hanging in the ventilation area of   the kitchen.

"I'm used to it,"

Ethan Stone immediately said, "Master, I wonder if you and your wife would like to return to China. I have made a lot of money and can buy you a new house."

Zhuang Xuejiu smiled and said, "Actually, your master's wife and I just came here, and we are not used to it. We have never seen such heavy snow. There is a popular sport here, called ice climbing. The waterfall is frozen, and we climb it like rock climbing. We are not afraid of freezing to death! I think I know why there are so few foreigners, haha... Now we have finally communicated with each other in the language. Your master's wife has made new friends, and your junior brother is also studying here and can't go back for the time being. And why would the master ask you to pay for the house? Our opera troupe is so big! Do you know how much it costs now?"

Ethan Stone was speechless, and the master called him, "Come, go upstairs. This house is not as big as our troupe, but there are rooms for the two of you to live in."

There is a guest bedroom and a loft, and Jack Reid volunteered to sleep in the loft.

Ethan Stone found the bathroom, took a shower, and changed his clothes. Hearing the sound of his master's wife coming back, he put on his coat and went downstairs.

"Master's wife! Master's wife!" He was in such a hurry to go down the stairs that he missed a step and almost fell. Master's wife walked quickly and cried "Ouch" and went up to hug him. The soft and gentle voice of the Hua Dan said: "Little Bell, why are you still so irritable?"

Ethan Stone hugged her back and choked up, "Master's Wife..."

The master's wife is older than the master. She was a beautiful actress famous throughout the city in her day. Now that she is old, her youthful beauty can still be vaguely seen.

"Let Master's wife take a look, have you grown any taller? Oh, how come you've lost so much weight?"

"The company doesn't allow me to eat too much. I eat a set menu every day, so I lost weight."

"Your boss asked you to eat more..."

The master was very strict with him. If he didn't memorize the lines well, he would be punished by being made to kneel, beaten with a stick, or starved. But the master's wife was like a mother to him. She treated him very well and didn't want to see him punished.

At the dinner table, they chatted as they did in the past. The master's wife said that Junior Brother Xiaodao would be back in a few days, and the family would be reunited and celebrate the Spring Festival.

"Your junior brother was the one who was most attached to you when he was a child. When he heard from your master that you were coming, he immediately bought a plane ticket and came back. He is such a worry-free person."

Jack Reid silently listened to the family talking about the past of the opera troupe and found it very interesting.

When it was almost time to rest at night, he secretly asked Ethan Stone: "Brother Zhuang, the nicknames that your family members have given to their seniors and juniors are really interesting."

Ethan Stone smiled and said, "The nicknames were given to us during the one-month-old ceremony. My master's wife said that when the eldest sister was holding the ceremony, she grabbed a purse, so she was called Little Pouch. The second sister was called Little Ingot, and the youngest brother was called Little Knife."

Jack Reid suddenly realized: "You are a little bell?"

"When my junior brother was celebrating his full-month anniversary, Master told me to pick one too, one I liked." He couldn't remember what happened at that time, nor why he picked up a bell.

But it is such a blessing to still be able to hear my master's wife calling me like this.

It was late at night, and Ethan Stone went back to his room to sleep. He took out the clothes in the suitcase one by one and hung them in the closet. Then he saw a crumpled script copied on A4 paper. There were two big bold words on the cover and a circle of coffee cup marks.

The script is called "Hidden Heart".

He accidentally found this on the table before he went out, so he stuffed it into the box. Later he remembered that this happened many years ago.

An unknown young director came to the Film Academy to cast his net, happened to see their final performance, and sneakily gave this script to Ethan Stone.

Who would have thought that this film would become the debut work of the film emperor Oliver Scott. The then unknown little director won the Best Director award not long after and became a big director that actors were eager to curry favor with.

After being forced to quit the entertainment industry in his previous life, Ethan Stone watched "Hidden Heart" several times. He studied Oliver Scott's acting skills and imitated his performance without any trace of acting. He has watched all of Oliver Scott's movies and admired this actor who didn't look like he was in this circle at all.

In fact, Oliver Scott is not really in this circle. He seems to be simply interested in acting, unlike those who pursue fame and fortune.

Ethan Stone remembered that the role he rejected in the movie was not very outstanding and he did not have a deep impression of it. The actor disappeared afterwards and no one knew who he was.

The whole movie does not have many homoS3xual elements. There is only a feeling of mutual redemption between the two male protagonists. There is no unbearable homoS3xual ambiguous scenes as he imagined, and there are no K!ssing scenes or passionate scenes.

After winning the award, the film even passed review and was released in China with a changed ending. Many people did not know that the script was originally positioned as a same-S3x film.

Ethan Stone turned over the script and saw the director's contact information written at the back.

Last year, a director who looked like a college student stopped him outside the school theater, chased him, took out the script from his bag, and secretly stuffed it into his pocket, saying, "Teacher Zhuang, this role was tailor-made for you. I would not be satisfied with anyone else playing the role except you! You must read the script. My contact information is on it. You must, must call me!"

When Ethan Stone heard the words "tailor-made", he was quite moved and asked a few questions about the role and the plot.

He was quite interested in the plot, and found it novel and challenging. He had never acted in a movie before.

Only the homoS3xual element made him hesitate.

As a result, on that day, he saw the young director sweating profusely, chasing after his famous senior and shouting: "This is a script tailor-made for you! You are the most suitable candidate for this role in my mind!"

As a result, the script eventually became a coaster at home, and he had no interest in even opening it.