Fame's Unforgiving Light Chapter 2

A week ago.

After Ethan Stone woke up, he found himself back in the year when he was 19 years old. He was unconscious at the recording site of an outdoor variety show.

The incident happened suddenly, and the program crew was afraid that the matter would get out of hand, so they did not allow an ambulance to be called. Instead, they sent a car to take him to the hospital, and after a detailed examination, it was found that he was suffering from overwork.

Even so, the incident still became a big deal, with countless people criticizing the TV program crew for being inhumane! Then, the fans clarified in the studio that they were overworked and then insulted the agency! They even formed a group to cause trouble!

In the end, it was his agent Sister Wen who logged into his Weibo account and said that he was fine and the company had given him a vacation to rest. Only then did the farce come to an end.

After Ethan Stone woke up, he initially thought he was dreaming. He was obsessed with the glorious past and had too many regrets, so he always had similar dreams.

I figured it out and it wasn't a dream, but I really went back to seven years ago. The first thing I did was to call the director and reject the big production that was going to start shooting in three months.

As a result, he had a lot of unpleasantness with the company's top management. Mr. Shen from Yuedong Media even said in the conference room that he would withdraw all his resources and let him fend for himself.

Lying on the bed, Ethan Stone glanced at the time in China. It was already morning. With the dim light in the room, he dialed the number on the script.

Director Guo may have just woken up, yawned, and asked: "Who are you looking for?"

"I'm looking for Director Guo Baozhen."

Director Guo immediately woke up a little: "It's me, may I ask who you are?"

"I'm Ethan Stone. Do you remember last year..."

"What? Ethan Stone?!" Guo Baozhen immediately recognized his voice, and his mind cleared up immediately. He was shocked, "Really?"

Young and handsome Zhuang is very popular recently, with top traffic. There is no shortage of news about him on TV and the Internet. When you turn on the TV, you will see his hit drama. --- He has been on the hot search again because of something these two days.

"It's really me, Director Guo. Last year at the Film Academy, you gave me a script and said that there was a role that belonged to me. Do you still remember?" He said politely and modestly.

"Ah... I remember, I remember!" Director Guo suppressed his excitement. He had copied 20 to 30 copies of the script, which cost a lot of money. He looked for students with the right temperament and appearance in the film academy. After one day, he only sent out half of the scripts. However, a student with no filming experience called him. When he heard that the salary was 20,000 yuan, he immediately cursed and hung up the phone.

Director Guo was so surprised that Ethan Stone, the most popular young star in the entertainment industry, would actually call him!

"Teacher Zhuang, are you... interested in the role of Encore?"

"Yes." He got straight to the point. "I remember we talked for a few minutes. I was indeed interested in the script and the role, and I trusted your directing ability, so I wanted to take on this role."

"Really?!" Guo Baozhen was overjoyed, but then a little panicked. His play... couldn't get any sponsors. The only sponsor was a relative of his who owned a travel chain. He sponsored 200,000 yuan and wanted to play a minor role in the play to promote his company.

Ethan Stone: "Really."

"Really...really, Mr. Zhuang, thank you for your appreciation of this book and of me, but do you have any requirements for the pay? I really..." I was powerless.

Ethan Stone said he didn't have any requirements. He knew Director Guo was in a very miserable state now. If he were to be sold to Guo Baozhen based on his current level of fame, he wouldn't be able to afford the price.

Guo Baozhen was quite skeptical. He wanted to increase his salary to 100,000 yuan, but he felt it was too little and didn't know how to say it. If he reached an agreement now and signed the contract, would Ethan Stone splash Blue Mountain on his face in the coffee shop when he saw the 100,000 yuan salary?

Just as he was about to tell her everything, he heard Ethan Stone say, "I don't have any requirements for pay. I've seen the movies you've made, and I've read the reports you wrote when you were a reporter. They're very in-depth, and I admire you very much. So no matter how much the pay is, I'll use it to sponsor you. Let's write this down in the contract, and if there's a profit, you can give me a share of the profits."

"This, this..." Guo Baozhen didn't expect that he would make such a decision that sounded like a good deal for himself, and he knew him so well that he even knew what he did in the past!

"What do you think?"

"No, no problem!" Guo Baozhen was so excited that he began to stutter, "Then when are we going to sign the contract?"

"I'm still abroad. I'll be back home after the New Year. We'll make an appointment to sign the contract."

Director Guo was in a state of anxiety, worried that this project would fail. What if Ethan Stone decided not to shoot the film? Would his agency agree? Was this a trick on him?

But there was nothing else he could say. He spent all his wife's money on this film, and asked friends for sponsorship, which totaled more than one million yuan. He also hired old friends for photography, art direction, and some supporting roles. If he budgeted carefully, he could barely make it.

---Ethan Stone is certainly not doing business at a loss. No one will remember the icing on the cake, but helping someone in need will be remembered for a lifetime.

He read an interview later on. Guo Baozhen, who had become a famous director at that time, encountered many difficulties when filming "Hidden Heart". Due to funding issues, he could not continue filming halfway through. He told reporters that when he was at his wits' end, it was Oliver Scott who supported him and invested a sum of money to allow him to complete the filming.

Guo Baozhen sighed: "I can't let him help for nothing. The actors took this play seriously and I directed it seriously. Later, the first person I thought of for every play was Oliver Scott. Of course, I have to pay him this time. I can't let him pay for it."

This movie star has not made many works, only three in seven years, but each of them is a classic that can still be savored decades later.

Rumor has it that he is only a part-time actor and his main job is to inherit the family business and become a boss. Ethan Stone has read some groundless reports and knows that he has a mysterious background. The paparazzi are not sure about the details and dare not dig deeper for fear of getting into trouble. Ethan Stone even heard a rumor that a famous actress was recklessly trying to hype him up during a filming and privately harassed him, so he was immediately removed from the role of the heroine and was hidden from the public. He never showed up again.

In his previous life, Junior Brother Xiaodao wanted to invest in him and took him to a banquet. By chance, he saw Oliver Scott, the most popular figure in the crowd, from afar.

He was like a snowy mountain, majestic, distant and white. The people around him were fawning and toasting, as if they had nothing to do with him at all. They treated him coldly like bystanders and left early.

This person is so weird and so out of place. He seems to look down on this circle and is unwilling to integrate into it. He is different from those powerful people in the circle who indulge in sensual pleasures. It is obvious that he is from another world. This is Ethan Stone's most profound impression of him.

---

The next morning, Ethan Stone took his master and his wife to the hospital for a physical examination. The results would not be available for a week. He was worried about his wife's health and did not want her to work, but she refused to listen: "There is no place for me to perform and no audience to listen to my opera. I have to do something, right?"

Ethan Stone wanted her to return to China, but he gave up because he thought that the medical conditions in the United States were better, and if the problem was found, treatment could be started immediately without having to travel far.

He insisted on following his master's wife to see the ski resort where she worked, to see if the environment was good and if it was hard work. His master's wife said happily, "The ski resort isn't that big, isn't famous, and is very expensive, but it's very luxurious. I'll take you in, it's free, and you can have fun."

Jack Reid also went with them. They were afraid that something might happen to Ethan Stone while skiing alone.

Ethan Stone bought a ticket to enter and did not let his master's wife go through the back door. He and Jack Reid used their passports to apply for ski passes, which were indeed very expensive.

Jack Reid glanced at the bill and felt a little painful.

This is too expensive. The ticket price is three or four times that of other ski resorts, and the deposit is outrageous!

The ski resort was luxuriously built, and next to it was a very private wild luxury resort hotel, next to a thin, frozen deep blue river. Jack Reid searched for the hotel's prices. He was a worldly man, but when he saw the prices, he couldn't help but sigh, no wonder there were so few people.

Only rich people come here for vacation and skiing.

"I'm not lying to you. This job is easy and not tiring," said the master's wife.

Ethan Stone was satisfied with the working environment, but he didn't want his master's wife to continue working. She had her reasons: "What do you want me to do if I stay at home? I will get sick if I stay at home! If I work, I can meet people, learn English, and exercise. Don't you agree, little bell?"

Ethan Stone couldn't argue with her.

On the surface, the master's wife seemed to be in good health, and no one expected that she would suddenly fall ill.

"Brother Zhuang, can you ski?"

"know a little."

The two used their ski passes to rent some ski gear and put them on. Jack Reid looked worried and said, "I don't know how to do it."

"I'm a novice too. I've played it once before and it's OK. Just don't be afraid of falling. The snow is so thick that you won't die from falling."

The two of them rented two sets of skis and carried them to the ski resort. The ski resort was not big and there were not many ski trails. It was connected to a mountain range. They took the cable car up and skied down.

There are also ski slopes for beginners below.

Ethan Stone used his limited experience to teach his assistant. Jack Reid fell so badly that he just sat down to rest.

When he went to buy a cup of coffee, before he knew it, Ethan Stone disappeared. Jack Reid couldn't find him and panicked, so he immediately called him anxiously.

Ethan Stone took off his gloves, unzipped his ski suit, took out his cell phone and answered: "Hello? I'm on the cable car."

"Cable car? Brother Zhuang, please don't run around!"

"Don't run around, just wait for me down there." The cable car slowly passed through the white snow-capped mountains and forests. Ethan Stone put his phone back in his pocket and leaned against the glass window to look down.

There were a few rare ski experts sliding down smoothly on their snowboards. The cable car went up and down the mountain. Ethan Stone dragged two heavy snowboards on the soft snow and went down another deserted ski slope.

The staff next to the magic carpet said that the intermediate ski slope here is suitable for people who know a little bit, and he didn’t dare to try the more advanced ones, so Ethan Stone came over.

Perhaps because it had just snowed, the friction on the snow track was greater and Ethan Stone had difficulty controlling the snowboard. His goggles were foggy as he had just taken them off, so he couldn't see clearly and his vision was a little blurry.

He dived down and wanted to brake, but he couldn't control his speed. He slid faster and faster. Ethan Stone's heart was so excited by the speed that he reached his throat, until he hit someone heavily. He felt dizzy and rolled three times in the snow while holding the other person. The snow on the surface of the snow track splashed up, and snow got into the gaps in his scarf, and the chill penetrated his bones.

Gasping for breath heavily, he was dizzy for several seconds. Before Ethan Stone came to his senses, he blurted out "I'm sorry" in Chinese, and immediately followed it with "SoSorry".

Reaching out with difficulty to take off the blurry snow goggles, he saw that there was a man under him. Ethan Stone could feel the other person's strong physique. The man was wearing a full set of equipment, including a helmet, snow goggles and a mask, covering his entire face.

Ethan Stone put the words together in his mind and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I can't get up." He reached for his phone in his pocket and said, "I'll ask my friend to come over and help."

I was wearing heavy skis on both feet, and I slipped in the snow, but I managed to stand up. Now I am lying on someone else, unable to exert any strength, for fear of stepping on him.

He was groping around there, causing the man below to frown.

"Chinese?" The man met his clear black eyes, reached down and unbuttoned his snowboard, pushed him away with his arm, and said in a naturally cold voice, "You're welcome."

...Eh?

Chinese? What a coincidence?

Before he could think about it, he was pushed around and his skis fell off. Ethan Stone turned over and stood up, still pondering his voice. This S3xy bass voice sounded a little familiar.

Why does it look so much like...that person?