Trimmed By Time Chapter 3

Nathan Song made a rare trip back to his parents' home on the weekend.

His mother, Ms. Laura Zhang, swept all major award ceremonies when she was young, won the title of Best Actress, and married the most popular actor at the time, Thomas Song. When Nathan Song was eleven years old, Ms. Zhang still had many film offers, but she resolutely retired from the film industry.

Although Thomas Song and Laura Zhang had long retired to the mountains and forests, they could not miss the grand ceremony of the awards ceremony the night before. After breakfast, Nathan Song lay on the sofa and browsed Weibo. Sure enough, there were already fans of Liam Chen teasing him in the comments. As a result, he was scolded back by his fans.

He changed his secondary account and reposted one or two news items related to Liam Chen's award. He also went to his Weibo and picked out a few replies from Liam Chen's fans praising Liam Chen and liked them. He also replied with "You're right. Our Liam Chen is trying hard to make himself proud!"

Ms. Zhang was also somewhat indignant: "This is a good movie, and it was originally your turn to act. If it weren't for you... Well, now it's good that he has taken all the benefits."

Nathan Song's parents both knew about his past with Liam Chen. Because of the old things, Laura Zhang always felt sorry for her son and thought that Liam Chen was a hard and cold person.

Thomas Song was reading a newspaper. Hearing this, he said, "Ms. Zhang, let's be honest. I saw the trailer for that movie. Liam Chen's performance was very good."

Nathan Song watched with a smile as Ms. Zhang got angry while Mr. Song consoled and coaxed her.

...When someone discusses Liam Chen with him, he is always happy, no matter what they discuss.

They had indeed been apart for a long time, and young netizens had no idea about their past. When they met Liam Chen's assistant backstage that day, the girl seemed to know nothing about it either. Nathan Song was very happy that people remembered their entanglement.

Nathan Song's new film has been rushed recently, with the entire crew working day and night. He left his parents' home in a hurry. Ms. Zhang was heartbroken to see that her son had lost weight again recently, and told him to take care of his health.

"By the way, Lang Lang, it's time for your regular checkup. No matter how busy you are at the end of the month, you must take a leave. Mom will go with you."

Nathan Song knew very well his mother's worries, and nodded in agreement obediently.

Nathan Song started filming as soon as he arrived at the set. He returned to the dressing room after the filming in the middle of the night. Before he even started removing his makeup, his assistant ran over with a panicked look on his face, "Brother Song, Mr. Fang from Qile just called you and asked you to call back as soon as possible."

Qile is an agency. Mark is ten years older than Nathan Song, but debuted only a few years later than Nathan Song's father. At that time, the young boy formed a group called Xiaosheng, but before he became famous, he faded out and started his own agency. There were not many large-scale and professional agencies in those days. Now Mark is probably richer than the stars of the same period.

Nathan Song had instructed his assistant to notify him promptly of any important calls. Mark's call was within this range simply because the company Liam Chen worked for was Qile.

There were several layers of space between Liam Chen and Mark, and the only communication they had was at the year-end party. He had no way of realizing that his every move was being reported to the big boss on a regular basis, and that the big boss was in touch with Nathan Song.

When he called Mark, he was having a great nightlife. Nathan Song patiently listened to him gently comforting the person beside him. He pulled back the quilt and stood up. When he was sure that the other party was ready to talk, he started to tease him, "Uncle Fang, you have to be careful and take care of yourself."

Mark debuted earlier and has a higher seniority, so he and Nathan Song usually call each other brothers, but Nathan Song would occasionally tease him by calling him "Uncle Fang". Mark knew that Nathan Song was deliberately trying to stir up trouble when he heard this title, and the two of them would definitely have a three-minute verbal fight at other times, but tonight Mark was sure that the news he heard would ruin Nathan Song's mood for the rest of the night, so he was too lazy to joke with him and directly used his trump card: "Mr. Song, don't be so proud of your youth."

"how to say."

"Liam Chen told his agent today that he was planning to date, and asked the agent to inform the media."

This piece of news can indeed hold Nathan Song's lifeline.

Mark was halfway through his cigarette on the other end of the phone. He was annoyed by the cool breeze from the balcony. Just as he was about to speak, he heard two solemn words from the other end: "...With whom?"

Ha, he knew that Nathan Song’s good mood wouldn’t last ten seconds.

"Who is this guy? He has no clue about this. He just said that he has this plan and wants to meet the right person. He asked the media to stop following him in the near future. I said, I guess they are still holding auditions. Why don't you sign up and see if you can get a seat at the blind date table?"

"What the hell, Mark, the person is with you, so you better watch him."

Mark felt so wronged. How could he control the company's artists' love affairs? Besides, Liam Chen was in the limelight recently, so how could he control it?

Jokes aside, Mark probably knew that Nathan Song was really sad - in Nathan Song's view, he and Liam Chen just pressed the pause button, although this pause lasted for several 365 days. He didn't expect that Liam Chen would now close the window and act out a new story with others.

"Really, Lang Lang, we don't always get along, but I am your elder. Just call me Uncle Fang and listen to my advice. How long can I help you look after him? If you really can't let go, don't be angry anymore. Just do what you need to do. You come to me every day to care about Liam Chen, but Liam Chen has no idea what you are thinking."

Mark hung up the phone, too lazy to endure the cool breeze on the balcony and just wanted to lie down in bed. When he turned around, he found that the person who was supposed to be asleep had also gotten up. He was leaning against the door frame in his nightgown and asked him, "Uncle, who else calls you Uncle Fang, Uncle, Uncle, ah?"

There was still a smile in the question, but Mark shuddered.

Nathan Song hadn't been drunk for a long time. The last time he was in the hospital, he promised Ms. Zhang that he would take care of his body. The former nightclub prince no longer went to bars, and when he had social events, he only drank three glasses. If he was scolded for being arrogant and rude after three glasses, he would not drink anymore.

But he had to get drunk tonight. There were some things he couldn't say without the help of alcohol.

He had rushed to the set from home and had been shooting scenes non-stop for most of the night. After receiving a call from Mark, he drank again. He was very drunk and had a headache. The last time he was so drunk was before he broke up with Liam Chen. At that time, he still loved all kinds of bars and lounges. His friends threw him home drunk and Liam Chen took care of everything for him.

Now he is drunk again, but where the hell is Liam Chen?

Nathan Song's memory was hazy. Liam Chen, Liam Chen seemed to have left. How many years ago was that? He didn't drink that day, and Liam Chen was also sober. Liam Chen just informed him: "We should separate for a while. It's better for everyone." He felt that Liam Chen was talking nonsense, but he didn't have the energy to refute. He just watched Liam Chen move out the packed things one by one, and told him where the medicine box was at home and how to pay the water, electricity and gas bills. Finally, Liam Chen put the key on the coffee table and opened the door to leave.

Liam Chen cleaned up all night and then sat on the coffee table all night, becoming more and more awake.

Before leaving, Liam Chen sighed inaudibly and said to him, "Don't go to class during the day. Get some good sleep and take care of yourself."

Although everything was peaceful, Nathan Song felt like he was stabbed by a blunt knife all night. Liam Chen was really cruel. He would rather Liam Chen quarreled with him like before than to be so peaceful. So he said, "Liam Chen, we should not contact each other after you leave."

Nathan Song didn't remember whether Liam Chen agreed to him, but they did not contact each other anymore.

They missed all possible chance encounters.

They never encounter any of the situations they should have encountered.

Nathan Song couldn't count how many events he attended, where he stood on the stage and heard the host say, "We're sorry, Liam Chen cannot attend our event today due to schedule reasons, but we have Nathan Song and..."

Liam Chen is actually much more ruthless than him.

He is just bluffing, but Liam Chen always keeps his word.

Nathan Song decided to call Liam Chen. If there was anything, he had been thinking about it for a long time. He wanted to say more than just "congratulations" at the dinner a few days ago. He picked up his phone. He had changed phones several times in the past few years. There was no Liam Chen's name in the address book, but his fingers seemed to remember it and pressed a series of numbers smoothly.

He actually wasn't sure whether Liam Chen was still using the old number.

Besides, it is five o'clock in the morning now, and Liam Chen may be in a sweet dream.

Nathan Song's heartbeat almost drowned out the mechanical beeping of the phone.

A sleepy "Hello" came from the other end of the receiver.

It’s Liam Chen.

Nathan Song was really drunk, and he didn't care about the speech he had prepared. He didn't even realize what he was doing at the moment. He could only follow his heart and said randomly, "Liam Chen, Liam Chen, don't even think about falling in love. You are mine, Ah Liam Chen."

There was a sense of grievance in that voice.

Liam Chen felt like he was dreaming again.

He was very sleepy and couldn't analyze the situation of the call clearly. He knew it was Nathan Song on the other end. He would recognize that voice, but was he dreaming again? Was he dreaming about being seventeen or eighteen years old again?

Only a seventeen or eighteen-year-old Nathan Song would call him Ah Liam Chen and pretend to be well-behaved and act like a spoiled brat.

The voice on the other end kept chattering for a long time, and Liam Chen felt that this dream was too long and it was very tiring. When his ears finally quieted down, he fell into a deeper sleep.

The next morning, he made an appointment with a female screenwriter who had recently become popular to meet at the company. Although he planned to take a long vacation, the company and the market planned to seize the momentum of his award and add fuel to the fire.

Liam Chen wore the most ordinary white shirt and black pants. The screenwriter praised him for his rare ability to wear ordinary clothes in a refined way. In the new script, he plays a politician in the Republic of China. On the surface, he is a scholar, but in private, he is a man who kills people without blinking an eye. The agency thinks the script is good. The appearance of this role is not bad, and the character's personality is rich. With the recent popularity of the screenwriter and Liam Chen, it is not a problem to attract another wave of fans. Liam Chen himself also likes this story very much.

The screenwriter had other plans after talking to him, and before leaving, he specifically told him: "Mr. Chen, I'm really happy that you can act in my script. My cousin is a loyal fan of yours, and I hope to have the opportunity to bring her to meet you."

Usually, if this situation develops, the next step is to arrange a blind date between him and his cousin.

Liam Chen has been single for many years. The paparazzi have been following him for a while, but they couldn't find any ambiguity in them except when he was at a party with friends.

Liam Chen had no choice but to thank him politely and said thank you for your support and it was my honor to come across a good script.

After seeing the screenwriter off, Chen Tao stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window in the conference room and was in a daze for a while.

He had already told Emily Jia that he had plans to report to the company about having a relationship, but he had no idea about his new relationship.

After a while, the door of the conference room was opened and the sound of it being locked was heard.

Liam Chen turned his head away - now he didn't need to look at the call records to confirm that he was not dreaming last night.

Last night, or this morning, Nathan Song hung up the phone and contacted the driver with his remaining consciousness. The driver picked him up at six o'clock and rushed him from the studio to the Qile Building. On the way, he found a hotel to wash his face and sober up.

, so that you don’t look too tired.

Liam Chen hadn't been alone with him for a long time. His first thought was how did Nathan Song, a person from a rival company, get into this building? His next thought was that Nathan Song looked unhappy.

He was never very good at taking care of himself.

Liam Chen originally wanted to greet him as naturally as possible, but Nathan Song beat him to it.

On the way here, Nathan Song repeatedly weighed Mark's lesson from last night. He really shouldn't waste time anymore, nor should he wait for Liam Chen to come back out of anger - compared to all this, getting back together with Liam Chen was meaningless.

He had understood this principle more than a year ago, and it would be too late to take action now.

He spoke without a word of nonsense. "Liam Chen, if you are considering finding someone, can you reconsider me?"

Liam Chen was a little surprised.

This is not to say that he did not expect Nathan Song to get back together with him - Liam Chen didn't know if it was accurate to say "get back together". They did not break up yesterday or last month. There were too many people and things in the five years. From meeting Nathan Song backstage, to him coming into the private room to toast, and the phone call last night that left both of them unconscious, Nathan Song had actually made it very clear: he wanted to rejoin Liam Chen's life.

Liam Chen just didn't expect Nathan Song to be so humble.

When has the smooth-sailing little prince Nathan Song ever given in? Even when the two were together at the beginning, Nathan Song never said, "Liam Chen, I like you, please be with me." Nathan Song was so proud at that time, he just bit Liam Chen's lips and asked him, "Liam Chen, you like me, right?"

At that time, Liam Chen nodded, but now Liam Chen was not sure how to answer Nathan Song's question.

He really felt that he should have a relationship. Although he had made such a decision, he felt that it was inappropriate to be in love with someone other than Nathan Song when he really wanted to put it into action. Liam Chen did not deny that he still liked Nathan Song, otherwise he would not have had such repeated dreams and his mind would not have gone blank on the podium. He was not afraid that Nathan Song would know this.

But Liam Chen doesn't think going back to his ex is a better choice.

If he hadn't met Nathan Song backstage at the awards ceremony, Liam Chen thought he would have made peace with this relationship. The so-called peace probably means that all grudges are forgotten when one meets another. After the car accident last year, although the injury was not serious, he also decided to cherish his life, continue to film and fall in love, and not cling to the dead end in his dreams.

For five years, he remembered clearly Nathan Song's last words, "no need to contact each other." Maybe he was just angry, or maybe he got used to it in the end, but he actually got over it.

It was not until he met Nathan Song backstage at the awards ceremony that he realized he was actually unable to smile at the encounter.

If they got back together and separated again, he would probably dream about it until he was fifty.

Nathan Song didn't wait for his answer, so he continued: "...I know that it was my fault that we broke up before. At that time, I didn't know that you had an appendectomy..."

Liam Chen interrupted him.

No lovers will be separated by an unnecessary appendix.

"You and I came to that point, how could we blame the appendix? We have tried it, it is not suitable, how can we get the standard answer when we are given the wrong questions?"

Nathan Song had expected that Liam Chen would not agree, but he still felt aggrieved after hearing this.

He has been very tired recently, and it is not easy to make up his mind to break this deadlock. At this moment, his emotions are surging and his eyes are probably red.

If it were in the past, he would have started to act like a spoiled child long ago, and Liam Chen would have given in to him.

This approach doesn't work now.

Liam Chen's original intention was not to make Nathan Song sad. Whether to look back or not, Liam Chen had considered it rationally. It was not that there was no emotion between him and Nathan Song, but he was more rational.

Both of Liam Chen's parents are engaged in scientific research, which gave him a natural scientific thinking. If it were not for Nathan Song, Liam Chen might now be sitting in a research institute calculating satellite orbits.

He felt that he and Nathan Song were two light bulbs in a series circuit. Five years ago, Nathan Song's own light bulb blew out, and it was useless to rewire it now.

You should look for another light bulb.

Liam Chen didn't know Nathan Song would be so sad. Five years ago, when he packed up and was about to leave, Nathan Song didn't try to stop him, and he lived a wonderful life afterwards. But now his tiredness and sadness were written in his eyes, and he looked a little pitiful.

What attracted Liam Chen at first was not Nathan Song's dazzling brilliance, but his deer-like eyes in an unknown place. This arrogant B@st@ard who usually gets whatever he wants looked at Liam Chen obediently and aggrievedly. If he couldn't solve the physics problems or didn't want to shoot a commercial outdoors in the hot summer, he would just look at Liam Chen like this.

Liam Chen had no choice but to plunge into this whirlpool, and the person at the center of the whirlpool now invited him to step into the same river for the second time.

Liam Chen stood closer to Nathan Song. They both wore white shirts and black pants, standing together in an orderly manner like the flag-raising ceremony in high school: "I admit that I was very angry when we just broke up, but later I actually figured it out. Langlang, you also understand that our breakup was not accidental, and it was not your fault. The initial freshness and happiness passed, and each other's weaknesses were exposed. The facts proved that we really couldn't go on."

"I don't agree to you, not because this period is really over, but because I know it's hard to let go, so I don't want to pick it up again."

"If you want, we don't have to pretend we don't know each other anymore. It's good to be friends."

Nathan Song looked like he was seriously considering the idea of   being friends, even though he had a hunch that this was a terrible idea. If Liam Chen also had lingering feelings for him as he said, why would two people who were unable to forget their old love pretend to be friends?

But being friends is always better than just being strangers.

It's not impossible for friends to become boyfriends.

He finally smiled and said, "Okay, friend."