hollywood billionaire

Chapter 544 Wuyi District

"Here, have some... Ugh, it's so cold!"

Madison, wrapped in a gray blanket, rushed back to Youzhen's side from inside and stuffed another blanket she was carrying into her arms. The chill outside made her shiver involuntarily, and she covered her cold nose, breathing heavily.

While Han Yi and Lorian were having a private conversation in the study, Maddie kept her promise to her grandmother and took Youzhen out to visit her ridiculously large backyard, which resembled a small ranch. The two were sitting on a wicker bench in front of the porch, with hot cocoa still steaming on the tea table in front of them.

The courtyard at night presents a completely different scene from that during the day. The vast space stretches endlessly into the distance under the night sky, seemingly without boundaries. Underfoot lies a meticulously manicured lawn, like a velvet carpet, its dense texture palpable even in the dim starlight. The evening dew has fallen, and stepping on it brings a cool, damp sensation.

A short distance from the house was an infinity pool, its surface glowing softly in the night. The water reflected the flickering lights from inside the house and the pale crescent moon in the sky, shimmering like a giant, polished obsidian stone. Scattered around the pool were a few modern outdoor lounge chairs and a small, seemingly unlit campfire.

The air was filled with the cool, refreshing scent of grass, damp earth, and some kind of night-blooming plant from afar. It was unusually quiet all around, with only the rustling of the wind through the treetops.

"Thank you," Yu-jin said softly, wrapping the blanket around her shoulders. "Are you cold? Give me your hand."

"Aren't you cold?" Maddie stared wide-eyed in surprise as Yoojin took her hand, which was almost frozen solid.

"It's not cold at all, this temperature is great." Yoojin tilted her head back, letting the cold winter wind sweep over her. "Seoul is much colder than New York."

"Really? What's the temperature in Seoul right now?"

"Hmm..." Yuzhen took out her phone, glanced at it, and did the conversion in her mind, "About 25 degrees Fahrenheit."

Wow, it's already this warm in early December?

"It will get even colder later, and it's not uncommon to see temperatures around 10 degrees Fahrenheit."

"Luckily, this Asian tour isn't in winter," Madison exclaimed. "Otherwise, I really don't know how I would have survived in Seoul."

“If we go on tour, we won’t have to walk around on the street all the time.” Youzhen gently rubbed Maddie’s hand, trying to transfer as much warmth from her palm as possible to her. “We can be picked up and dropped off, and after the show, we can sit by the grill and eat barbecue, along with a bowl of piping hot Gomtang.”

"Gomtang?"

"It's oxtail soup."

"It sounds delicious."

"not bad."

"Will you do it?"

"...I will eat it."

“Ah, right.” McGrady narrowed his eyes slightly and smiled mischievously. “I’ve always wondered what exactly an all-powerful manager can’t do, and today I know.”

"Don't laugh at me." Youzhen squeezed Maddie's hand. "You talk as if you can cook."

“We are both independent women of the new era.” Maddie nodded firmly. “Independent women who would starve without Doordash.”

Upon hearing this, the two exchanged a smile, but the pleasant, crisp sound failed to resonate and dissipated into the seemingly boundless silence.

"Sitting here with you reminds me of my childhood."

Madison's voice softened as she looked into the distance, where an old-fashioned wooden swing set was hidden in the shade of an oak tree. She wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but she could almost hear the faint, almost inaudible clanging of two heavy iron chains in the breeze.

“I often bring friends from school back,” she continued, her eyes slightly dreamy, as if piercing through time. “We would squeeze onto that swing and sway slowly. Back then, this backyard felt bigger, more like a secluded island. We would look at the golf course in the distance, at dusk or on nights like now.”

Maddie's hand, held by Youzhen, felt much warmer. She pulled out one of her hands and pointed to the vast, hazy, and mysterious area stretching out beyond the fence in the moonlight.

What's most breathtaking is the view beyond the fence. The boundary of Madison's backyard is merely a low, symbolic white wooden fence. Beyond the fence lies an endless golf course, slumbering in the thick of night.

The moonlight poured down like quicksilver, gilding the undulating fairways, like frozen waves, with a hazy, mysterious silver edge. The bunkers, shrouded in shadow, appeared as deep, dark hues, like tranquil lakes. Further on, the greens, their grass trimmed to a sparse stubble, reflected a silken sheen in the moonlight. The entire course was deserted, vast, silent, and pristine, stretching to the horizon where it met the deep blue sky—like a private, secret kingdom belonging solely to the night and the stars.

"See that farthest hilltop? There seem to be a few trees there, but after dark you can't see them clearly, just a blurry outline." McGrady pointed in the air. "When we were kids, my friends and I loved to stare at that spot. We imagined this side of the golf course as our familiar, somewhat boring 'everyday world,' while the other side of the course, beyond that blurry, indistinct boundary..."

She paused, a hint of childlike longing in her voice:
“We imagined it as everything we longed for. Sometimes it was Narnia, where we could see the fauns walking through the snow with lanterns through the trees. Sometimes it was the Shire of the Hobbits, with round doors and parties that were always in full swing. Sometimes it was Los Angeles, Paris, London… all the glittering metropolises we’d only ever seen on TV and in magazines. We’d swing on the swings, guessing what exciting stories were happening ‘over there,’ and vowing that when we grew up, we’d go and see for ourselves.”

"Where is that over there?" McGrady was referring to "over there" in a general way, while Yoojin was referring to a specific place.

“Where else could it be? A bigger, more expensive neighborhood, inhabited by a bunch of wealthier elderly people.” Madison couldn’t help but laugh as she said this. “You know what’s the funniest thing? The funniest thing is that one of my good friends who often comes to my house lives right across from this golf course. She’d visit me, and I’d visit her, going back and forth more than ten times, but nobody noticed until I came back for their prom after high school graduation, and I drove from my house to hers, and then I realized… hey, didn’t I just drive around the golf course?”

"Perhaps this is the meaning of growing up—discovering that the world is a giant golf course, and you are just going around in circles around it."

"It sounds like you had a lot of friends growing up."

"This is a resource that I certainly don't lack."

"very nice."

"And you?" Madison leaned back slightly, giving Yoojin an exaggerated once-over. "With a face like that and a figure like that... you definitely need a squad of girls to protect you from boys."

"No." Zhao Youzhen paused for a moment, then smiled and gestured to her waist with her right hand. "I was very chubby when I was little, don't you remember?"

“Oh, right, sorry!” Madison slapped his forehead and hugged his manager. “I haven’t forgotten, it’s just that we rarely talk about childhood, and… you can’t blame me for what I saw. Who would associate you with a chubby little girl?”

“I’m not blaming you.” Youzhen hugged her back. “I spent a lot of effort to make people forget about that little girl.”

"So... you didn't have many friends in school, right?"

"Would you call someone who stuffs pork into your backpack and then tells everyone it's your shed skin a friend? If not, then no."

“I’m so sorry to hear this, Yoojin,” Madison said, gently patting Yoojin’s back. “But it’s okay, it’s all in the past. Hey, those guys who bullied you… do they still have your contact information?”

"Yes... there are several, and they have my Facebook."

Do they know what you're doing right now?

"I probably don't know," Yuzhen thought for a moment and replied, "I never post anything on Facebook, and my Instagram is always private. But..."

"But what?"

"I was mainly bullied in junior high school, and I started to lose weight when I entered high school, so... they should know what I look like now."

Yoo-jin tried hard to recall which of her high school classmates, who had tried to get close to her because of her transformed beauty but were kept at arm's length by her coldness, knew the person who had bullied her in middle school. But back then, Yoo-jin was wary and guarded around everyone, buried in her studies, and determined to leave Korea. How could she possibly remember these things?

Can I see your Facebook?

“Sure.” Youzhen nodded and unlocked her phone, handing it to Maddie. Her Facebook was indeed empty; she hadn’t even added Han Yi, so she wasn’t worried about him seeing it.

"Why is even the profile picture a back view?" McGrady frowned.

“I don’t think it’s necessary to show them my face,” Yoojin replied. “People on Facebook.”

"But would you be happy if they saw your face?"

"Why does it feel good?" Yoo-jin asked, both amused and exasperated.

"Let's imagine this—the bullies open their phones, log into Facebook, and bang! The most beautiful girl they've ever seen in their miserable lives appears. They think, 'My God, how did I become friends with her? How lucky am I? Who is she?'"

"Then, they looked at the top left corner of the photo and found your name, Yoojin Cho."

At this point, Madison raised his eyebrows and looked at the manager.

"Does it feel good?"

"To be honest... a little." Yujin drawled out her words, then chuckled softly.

"Right!" McGrady laughed along, handing the phone back to Yoojin. "Here, pick your best photo!"

"This one, please."

Soon after scrolling down the album, Youzhen selected her favorite profile picture. It was a half-body photo of her standing in front of the Disney fairytale castle.

It was written by Han Yi.

"Woo—I've never seen you so colorful before."

Princess Madison of the Minotaur, unaware of the story behind the photo, cheered softly.

When did you go to Disneyland? How come I didn't know?

“Just…last month.” Yuzhen controlled her gaze well, keeping it calm and revealing no clue. “I’m usually too tired from work, so I went to relax with my friends.”

I did go with friends, but not with "them".

Moreover, she went there as a friend, but came back as her boyfriend.

Youzhen only dared to mutter the thought of detonating a nuclear bomb in Bill's backyard to herself, after all, she had an agreement with Han Yi that she would not let love affect her career.

"That's right."

Madison beamed when he heard the word "friends".

“I’ve always been worried about your work-life balance. For a long time, I’ve suspected that you’re the kind of person like Leslie Nop who has no hobbies and no personal life.”

Who is Leslie Nop?

"See, this is exactly what I was talking about... You never watch TV, do you?"

"I don't watch much," Yujin said, scratching the back of her head a little embarrassed. "And I watch more K-Drama."

"I know that Family Guy's portrayal of Korea is very stereotypical and may be racist... but not almost every main character in a Korean drama loses their memory due to illness or a car accident, right?"

Madison was referring to the January 3, 2016 episode of *Family Guy* titled "Candy, Quahog Marshmallow." In this episode, the brothers become obsessed with a Korean soap opera starring Glenn Quahogmaier and fly to Seoul to find the videotape in order to watch the final episode, leading to a series of hilarious mishaps.

As is tradition in Family Guy, Seth McFarlane naturally took the opportunity to roast everything about South Korea and K-dramas in this episode.

“Not anymore, but when I was a child… more or less.” Yu-jin smiled gently.

“I’m really interested. You know, I’m the kind of girl who loves drama. Others might think it’s old-fashioned, but to me? This is drama!” Madison waved her jazz hand at Zhao Youzhen. “We should go back to Los Angeles after Christmas and make a date. We should find a really good Korean drama, then I’ll come to your apartment, bring some snacks, and we’ll watch it all day long, and then we’ll go out for a barbecue. If that’s too much of a homebody, we can just go shopping… Oh right, Youzhen, we haven’t gone shopping together before! Haven’t we?”

"I don't think so."

"Why?" Madison exclaimed dramatically. "We never do the things best friends do together! Why?"

"You..." Yu-jin paused, "Do you consider me your best friend?"

"Don't you consider me your best friend?" Maddie clutched her heart, looking deeply hurt. "Ouch, you've hurt me so badly."

“No, I’ve always considered you as my…” At this point, Yu-jin took a deep breath, mustered her courage, and continued, “I’ve always considered you my best friend, without a doubt, McGrady. You know how much I care about you and how much I like you.”

“Me too! Why do you think I’m not?” Madison raised his voice. “I tell you every day that you are the best manager in the world and my best friend.”

“Because…” Yoo-jin tucked a stray hair behind her ear. Since her first kiss with Han Yi, the Korean girl found herself becoming increasingly bold in expressing her feelings. “Ever since what happened in Las Vegas, I feel like you’ve distanced yourself from me. You used to talk to me about everything, but now…”

“Oh, this.” Maddie glanced back instinctively towards the study, then quickly glanced at Yoojin, before lowering her eyes to look at her fingernails. “I won’t lie to you, it does feel strange talking to you about certain things after what happened. But, if I had to say… lately, I’ve felt like you’ve been avoiding real conversations with me. It’s all about work, about business. I’ve wanted to talk to you about this for a month now.”

"Because I thought you didn't want to talk to me as a friend." Yu-jin sighed.

“How could that be!” Madison looked up at her, his eyes wide. “I thought we’d made things clear. Falling for the same person isn’t either of our fault. We’ll do our best to maintain this friendship and working relationship, and we’ll always be on the same side, don’t you remember?”

"And what did you talk to me about today..." Yu-jin's expression was a little resentful, "about whether I like spicy food or whether I'm going to be on Hot Ones."

"I'm sorry." Madison pouted and hugged Yu-jin affectionately. "I apologize to you. Sometimes when we talk about this kind of thing, I might really overreact. After all, back then... Ugh, it's all Yi's fault. He's just so annoying!"

"Exactly!" Yu-jin chimed in, "And that Barbara he attracted!"

"Don't mention that name in front of me," Madison gritted her teeth. "If I see her again, I will definitely... No, stop! Stop!"

“Look, this is the side effect of Yi on us.” Madison took two or three deep breaths to calm himself down. “We are artists and agents. The bond between us should be the strongest and most secure in the world. No one should interfere.”

"agree."

“You know what, maybe we should create a ‘no-Yi zone’.” Madison drew a circle on Youzhen’s shoulder. “From now on, we shouldn’t talk about Yi anymore! We should focus on building our relationship and becoming the closest of best friends!”

"it is good!"

Yu-jin readily agreed, and even felt a slight sense of relief.

It would be wonderful if we could just stop talking about Han Yi with Madison.

After all, she...

No, no, why do I feel... guilty for cheating on McGrady?

Why is it so weird!

"We're going on tour together tomorrow, Rosemount, Atlanta, Miami... Outside of the shows, we should spend as much time together as possible, go out and have fun, or find some plays to watch in our hotel room, okay?"

"Row!"

"Then promise me you won't be thinking about work while playing with me."

"You'll be sending money right after Christmas... Okay, I promise you." Under McGrady's threatening gaze, Youzhen had no choice but to give in.

"That's more like it." McGrady held up her pinky finger, beaming. "BFF!"

“BFF.” Yu-jin took Madison’s little finger and responded with a sweet, bright smile. As usual, Madison nestled affectionately into her manager’s arms.

"you say……"

Nestled in Yoojin's warm and fragrant embrace, McGrady's eyes were comfortably half-open as he murmured something.

"What are Lorian and Yi talking about?"

"McGrady!"

"Ah, right, I forgot." Madison pursed her lips. "Let's not talk about it anymore. I remember, Wuyi District."

"No easy zone".

Repeating the humorous term, Yoojin tightened her arms and rested her chin on Madison's shoulder.

What are Lorian and Yi talking about?
Youzhen doesn't know.

But she had two guesses.

One of them was very good to her. The other was even better to her.

Hopefully, the consensus they reached is the one she longed for.

But in any case, that's something that Yu-jin will have to worry about much later.

Now, give her a little time to fully enjoy this friendship that she has regained.

The two girls snuggled together in the wicker chair, sharing the warmth under the blanket, chatting idly about the tour, their childhood, and the TV series. The subtle distance between them seemed to have melted away completely in the courtyard on this winter night.

Their soft voices blended into the wind and silence, becoming the most natural part of the winter nights on Long Island.

(End of this chapter)