Yu Wei and her artist both fell silent.
Zhang Yue, however, grabbed Chu Yu in wild delight. "President Meng, Chu Yu has a younger brother! A genuine, flesh-and-blood younger brother. This show is practically tailor-made for her!"
Still unwilling to give up the project just like that, Yu Wei made one last attempt. "President Meng, does it have to be a younger brother? Could we hire an actor to play one?"
The corner of President Meng's mouth twitched. "...Do you think we're playing house? Every guest on this show has to undergo a background check. Stop wasting your time on those ideas."
Yu Wei sighed and looked at her artist.
"Then there's nothing we can do. It's okay. When other opportunities come up, I'll fight for you again."
Just like that,
with no effort at all,
Zhang Yue had landed a major project, and her mood suddenly brightened. She turned around, only to find Chu Yu looking dazed.
"Chu Yu?" Zhang Yue reached out and waved a hand in front of her eyes.
Only then did Chu Yu abruptly snap out of it. "Zhang Yue, I just remembered something. I have to go." With that, she hurried to her feet and quickly left the office.
Chu Yu had indeed acted that way because she had remembered her dream from that morning.
Originally, she hadn't thought much of that inexplicable dream.
But everything happening before her now seemed to overlap with that dream, finally making Chu Yu feel that something was a little off.
After leaving the company, Chu Yu went straight home.
She shut herself in her study and picked up a fountain pen, beginning to carefully recall her dream from that morning.
Generally speaking, people quickly forgot the contents of their dreams.
But Chu Yu discovered that her dream seemed to have been etched deep into her bones. The moment she recalled it, every detail and its sense of reality flooded her mind.
As she recalled it, Chu Yu quickly jotted down the broad progression of the dream in her notebook.
By the time she had sorted through the entire dream from beginning to end, the sky outside the window was gradually darkening.
Chu Yu put down her fountain pen, leaned against the soft chair back, and stretched to loosen up.
Just then, the phone on her desk vibrated.
It was a message from Zhang Yue, with the contract for the variety show project attached.
[I've checked all the details of the contract. There aren't any problems. Take a look, and if you're happy with it, come straight to the company tomorrow to officially sign it.]
Chu Yu had considerable faith in Zhang Yue's professional abilities.
She opened the file and fell silent when she saw its contents.
The schedule laid out in the contract was actually identical to the details she had just written in her notebook.
In other words, Chu Yu's dream that morning really did line up with reality.
She recalled the scene at the end of the dream, when she and her younger brother had been viciously torn apart by netizens.
Chu Yu's eyes darkened.
She would never let those things from her dream play out again in the real world!
Chu Yu turned her attention back to her phone screen. After confirming that the contract contained no terms or requirements she couldn't accept, she replied to Zhang Yue on WeChat: [OK]
With the contract taken care of, Chu Yu left the study and went downstairs.
It happened to be dinnertime, and the chefs were busily moving back and forth between the kitchen and dining room.
Just then, a boy in a black hoodie sauntered in from outside. He was humming a tune, carrying a faint scent of
eau de
cologne.
At the sight of the boy, Chu Yu instantly frowned. "Chu Chen! You were out all night. You went gaming again, didn't you!"
Indeed, this handsome boy was Chu Yu's younger brother, Chu Chen, who was still in the rebellious stage of his sixteen-year-old life.
Chu Chen looked up impatiently. "What's wrong with gaming? What right do you have to tell me what to do?"
Seeing Chu Chen already going downhill and letting himself rot at such a young age, Chu Yu nearly passed out from anger on the spot.
She could only keep comforting herself inwardly.
He's a kid. He's in his rebellious phase. He's bound to act up and go off the rails sometimes. Just get used to it.
Chu Yu drew a deep breath, adjusted her mindset, and said calmly, "Stay home and get some proper rest over the next few days. I'll take you on a variety show in a little while."
Chu Chen tugged at the collar of his hoodie and refused without even looking at her. "Not going."
Chu Yu knew her brat of a brother had always responded to a soft touch rather than force, so she could only try enticing him with how popular the variety show would be. "Why not? This show has a huge budget. If you're willing to take part, you'll build up loads of fans and become an internet celebrity. Think how much confidence that'll give you when you're looking for a little girlfriend, right?"
Chu Chen said, "...I said I'm not going, and I'm not going."
Seeing how impervious Chu Chen was to every approach, Chu Yu lost her temper too and launched into her usual roar. "If you don't go, believe me, I'll break your legs!"
Already heading upstairs, Chu Chen didn't even turn around. "Then hurry up and break them."
Chu Yu gritted her teeth as she watched Chu Chen's retreating figure head upstairs, only to suddenly recall the miserable fate she and Chu Chen had met in her dream.
Chu Yu instantly calmed down.
No. If I still interact with Chu Chen like this on the show, what if we really repeat the tragedy from the dream?
At that thought, Chu Yu hurried back to her study and began spending the night researching and studying the subject of "how to raise an adolescent."
Topics included: What should you do when your child has a bout of middle-school syndrome?
Three sentences to reshape a rebellious teenager's life!
Master these five points and take the worry out of raising children.
Early the next morning, Chu Yu emerged from the study sporting two bruiselike dark circles under her eyes.
After a whole night of research and reviewing her findings, she had come up with a brilliant idea perfectly suited to educating and guiding a rebellious child: goading.
The general idea was to use reverse psychology to provoke the other person's refusal to admit defeat, thereby getting them to accomplish something.
Soon, Chu Yu stood outside Chu Chen's bedroom and raised her hand to knock on the door.