Peninsula Platinum Era

Chapter 18 An Gou Gou

The momentary emotional response was fleeting; Chen Shijun would eventually have to rise again on his new journey, while his older sister also sent him a gift before his birthday.

Although he bought it with his own money, it didn't matter. Chen Shijun opened the box in front of En Cai Nu Na and wanted to take off the one he was wearing, but Xiao Yuan childishly insisted that he was not allowed to take it off before his birthday, so he simply put on both of them and tried them on.

"Was filming tough? Noona has been quite busy lately."

As the drama was being filmed, Eun Chae-no-na did receive one or two commercials, but she hasn't had many good resources in the past two years. Last year, she also took on a movie role, playing a supporting role to actress Kim Seol-hyun, who is an idol, and she didn't have many scenes.

He even ended up in a special appearance role at one point, which was really discouraging at times. It seems there are many people who have experienced a "bitter year." Of course, on the other hand, if he had become more famous, he wouldn't have had to rely on himself.

"There's no event involved, it's just an advertisement, it can be filmed in a day."

The older sister was surprised that Chen Shijun would come to pick her up from the film set today, which made her feel a little respected. After saying goodbye to her manager who had always followed her, she got straight into Chen Shijun's car.

This agent was also her travel buddy and photographer, making their relationship much closer than a typical employer-employee relationship.

Eun-chae used to be able to see the disappointment in her eyes, but the world of fame and fortune is never easy to make a living, and it is especially painful when one's abilities cannot keep up with one's vision.

Now there's a wealthy young man who's younger than me, handsome, and has great charisma, and doesn't have any weird hobbies. No matter how you look at it, I'm not at a disadvantage.

Many people envy it but can't have it. Ultimately, it's just that they are not satisfied. Just like how greed leads to depravity, one should not think about what one shouldn't think about.

This kind of person has plenty of money to spend and little workload. Besides exercising and beauty treatments, they spend money all their time. They live in luxury homes and drive luxury cars. Actresses of the same level work themselves to the bone for a whole year and still can't keep up with their spending.

"Is that so? Things should get better, right? Noona's acting is excellent; she's a wonderful actress."

Chen Shijun couldn't comment on whether her acting was excellent or not, but the older sister had a very cultured air about her and looked quite sophisticated, so let's just say she was excellent.

For so many years, he simply hasn't had enough resources. He can't even compare to some actors who started as idols. But there's nothing he can do about it, since every industry is like a different world.

Furthermore, it's not a good thing to let the outsider's wings grow strong, as the foundation of the dependent relationship is that she is extremely economically reliant on herself.

It's not that Chen Shijun is heartless; this is just the logic behind his actions. Now that he's in this industry, it's normal for him to find some resources to make things more respectable if his older sister wants to leave in the future.

"Would Shijun think I'm good enough? I'm just a half-baked actress who's accomplished nothing and only knows how to amuse people with my looks."

The older sister's birthday is a whole month apart from Chen Shijun's, but she knows that this man may not want to celebrate her birthday with her, so she sensibly finds a suitable time to celebrate his birthday in advance.

This actress possesses qualities that Chen Shijun admires, especially her intelligence and keen understanding of the bigger picture; she is adept at reading his mind.

This feeling also exists in people like Zhao Meiyan, but due to differences in mental capacity and life experience, the effect presented is much worse.

Moreover, compared to deliberate flattery, Eun Chae-no-na's performance was extremely natural, leaving no trace of acting. Sometimes, Chen Shi-jun could see particularly genuine feelings in her eyes.

"Don't say that. There are many actors in the industry who are not as good as Nuna. At least Nuna has some fame."

Although his career started strong but ended weakly, now that he's getting older, it seems he's missed his window of opportunity to become a huge star, so he's probably just resigned to his fate.

"I've never seen Shijun wearing that watch before. Is it new?"

The older sister could tell that he had tried to take off his watch just now. Although she knew that Chen Shijun couldn't possibly be without women around him, the sense of crisis stemming from his age made her very uneasy. "Don't overthink it, it was a gift from my sister."

He patted his older sister's head affectionately, but Chen Shijun didn't explain much. Eun Chae-no-na's makeup on set today was outstanding, especially her sharp and deep eye makeup, which perfectly highlighted her aura.

It is said that she plays a female Secretary-General LI in the drama, with sharp, upward-sweeping black eyeliner at the corners of her eyes, making her look very unapproachable.

Eun-chae's features are cool and her strong lines give her a very retro and noble look, which is also a highly praised "high-class bone structure". Today, her bright red lips also make Chen Shijun quite satisfied.

The older sister, whose head was being patted by Chen Shijun, gave a wry smile, but there was nothing she could say. She knew that Chen Shijun was an only child, so what sister did he have?

It's fine to show a little jealousy; the older sister won't pry. She'll just assume his watch was bought by his younger sister, who doesn't even know where she is from.

Candlelight flickered on the elegant dining table, and the older sister had even bought a cake, so this not-so-high-end but their favorite hidden gem of a restaurant had a different kind of warmth tonight.

The actress took off her heavy coat, revealing a mustard-yellow sweater underneath, and a smile spread across her face, carrying a rare hint of mischief.

She clapped her hands gently and hummed the tune of Happy Birthday. Only then did Chen Shijun remember that this older sister had released songs before, making her a model of success in two areas.

In the center of the cake, a small, golden candle bearing the number "30" flickered and emitted a warm yellow light. Chen Shijun also enjoyed this tender moment.

He took a deep breath and blew out the flame that symbolized another year's growth. He didn't say anything like thank you. Communication between mature men and women always involves less unnecessary content.

“Nuna is so thoughtful. My family didn’t really celebrate my birthday before, or rather, they didn’t value it much.”

He swallowed a perfectly grilled beef rib, not because his parents didn't love their only son enough, nor because of any lack of family affection.

However, older family members tend to be more reserved in expressing their emotions, generally believing that actions speak louder than words, and publicly celebrating birthdays is seen as extravagant and spoiled.

Instead, they place more emphasis on family festivals such as the Spring Festival and Chinese New Year, perhaps believing that this has a positive impact on family cohesion.

Although Chen Shijun didn't see anything wrong with giving him money to celebrate his birthday, it also fostered his indifference to these empty gifts that had no real practical effect.

However, after Xiaoyuan came to Seoul from Gyeongsangbuk-do in her teens, her family would often throw her small birthday parties, which is partly why Chen Shijun considers Xiaoyuan as family.

"It's quite the opposite for me. Although my family didn't provide me with a lot of material things, they paid a lot of attention to these details, even though my father's health hasn't been very good in recent years."

Chen Shijun naturally offered some comfort and encouragement, suggesting that if possible, they should still send her to Seoul for treatment. However, Eun Chae-na's father may have developed health problems while working abroad, and these chronic illnesses over the years have gradually eroded his health.

"Or we can wait until this show is finished filming and spend some time with him, which would allow him to fulfill both his loyalty and filial piety."

The so-called loyalty is naturally loyalty to oneself. He can disregard the past, but during the period when he pays the price, he must ensure the other party's loyalty. This is to some extent different from the common model of having mistresses in the entertainment industry and each playing their own game.

"Really? That's great! But Se-joon is really handsome. I saw the girl over there staring at you."

The older woman smiled gracefully. At first, she thought it was a paparazzi or something, but the person looked quite young, craning their neck and looking around like a cute big puppy.

　Please keep reading, it's very important for a new book.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)