Thanks to the little angels who watered with nutrient solution: 添福宝, 128 bottles; 冬谷枯荣, 90 bottles; 凭远, 84 bottles; 随随平安, 58 bottles; 周震南老婆, 55 bottles; 王王王王大瑶, 53 bottles; 芋烊团团, 50 bottles; 贩卖星球便利店, 42 bottles; 酥酪, 阿荡的公主, 40 bottles; 47376818, 33 bottles; 折耳, 32 bottles; 花生树oovooo, 辣鸡晋江, 30 bottles; 48036257, 木子宁o, 29 bottles; 50787841, 25 bottles; 我磕的cpszd, JYZJBD, 45693063, Zz, 45337363, 晏辞, 木木, 32935355, 田柾国每天吃饱饱, 20 bottles; 风太大辽, 16 bottles; 四月, 名字, 15 bottles; LLYYUYI, 13 bottles; 31554188, 倦怠, 12 bottles; 48033674, 11 bottles; 睡到自然醒, koalahan, 0225, Mikrokoamos, HYY, 悄悄, suda, 茕茕白兔, 暴富的小李, 爱藏日落里, 月球树树, 周斯越岁岁平安, Rong, 50715062, 还是很困, 四月是斯越, taedaily, GDDDDD., 妈妈我kdl, 10 bottles; 山夕, 9 bottles; 41145762, dd夹心, 我爱徐燕时每一天！, 夏天吃了西瓜, 42515205, 8 bottles; 段嘉许绯闻女友, 夏至, 江忍喂我喝牛奶'T, 49846516, 6 bottles; 罗殿的小甜心, 42709944, 不知道呀, 包子相, 一只眠羊, Eiileen_, soyhni, 小黄同学, 世界太真，我们太天真, 五月s, 叁玖, 慕生a, 29664779, Swan, 5 bottles; 茶沫与简答题, 48774290, 西格玛, 冰糖炖七七, 蓝色外套, overrr, 44593088, ovo, 大大求求你HE, 4 bottles; 桃栀女孩, 白昼陨落, masashz, 50189505, 今晚在家吗, 3 bottles; 月月乞怜, 小可爱., 舒绒, baekhyunnnn7, 一点点, qzwei-, 向南以冬, 隔却山海, Q, 我不叫小王, 45677900, 51712018, 来娶我好了, 七凉, 2 bottles; 萌虾米, Tree, 栀子与她, 李靳屿的宝贝子, 贰贰叁, 42991805, 澄澜, fs湖, 五花肉的肥, 蜜桃维他, 46113748, 2333, 52822565, 2omennn3, 罂, 北衿, 司马小白, 曼曼爱吃鱿鱼烧, 在等月亮和千玺, JENSOOROSA, 48003135, 圆圆到嘛, 壹, 44532912, SF小丸子, 独木舟, 枝枝鱼礼, 百亿小李, 48126701, Joocy, 陆家末末, 热巴的小丫头, 1 bottle;

Thank you all so much for your support. I will keep working hard!

Chapter 3: Troublemaker · Cola (Double Update)

Dusk was falling, the world blending into one color, not quite dark yet, the chaotic neon lights blurring the outline of the entire city.

After coaxing Mrs. Lian Hui away, Brian Brooks was called back by friends to play a game at No.1 High, but he was kicked off the court after barely two minutes, someone flipping him off, “Were you out thieving last night or something? If you’re not in the mood, go play somewhere else. I’ll throw the ball in the water, even a dolphin would be more into it than you.”

He thought, weren’t you the one who begged me to come? But he couldn’t be bothered to stick around and annoy people, so he lazily bumped shoulders with the guy who flipped him off, signaling he was done, then bent down to pick up his own ball. “I’m out.”

“Damn, you’re really leaving?” Brian Brooks didn’t look back, just waved his hand. That guy dribbled the ball, turned to the others, and asked, “What’s up with him?”

“Today Olivia Lane went to his rented place to find him, and his mom caught them right on the spot.”

“That intense? Did they get caught in bed or something?”

“I just asked him, but he wouldn’t say a word, only asked me where Henry Clark is right now.”

“Well, after all, Olivia Lane is a big star, she’s going into showbiz in the future.”

At this moment, Henry Clark was in the art studio, leaning by the window chatting with the younger girls, bragging: “I got six certificates last year. After the provincial joint exam, I just kept taking tests. By the time I got the last one, it was already almost March or April. I only studied for the academic subjects for about two months, so it wasn’t ideal, but my sketching ranked 81st in the whole province—”

As he was saying this, the phone in his hand suddenly went off, “ding dong ding dong ding dong,” a string of WeChat messages. Henry Clark glanced down—it was from lucy. Of course, that was his contact name; Brian Brooks’s WeChat name was simple—Cr.

[Cr: Downstairs.]

[Cr: Barbecue stall.]

[Cr: Waiting for you two minutes, starving.]

When Henry Clark went downstairs, sure enough, Brian Brooks was sitting at the barbecue stall, watching a movie with earphones in. With the number of movies he’d seen, he could probably be a film blogger; he watched all sorts of weird, no-limits films.

His dad—well, his adoptive father—used to run a video rental shop in the early years. Later, when the government cracked down on illegal content, the shop was forced to close. His adoptive father had to go into business, pulled rickshaws, partnered with others to run a cigarette factory, and finally made it big in Guangdong. After returning home in glory, he rose quickly, and now runs several cinemas locally, though that’s just one of his businesses. While other people’s CEO dads collect fine cigars and rare liquors, Brian Brooks’s dad likes to collect out-of-print videotapes. Some of those old movies were so explicit it’s hard to imagine.

So, the first movie Brian Brooks ever watched was actually a Category III film.

The barbecue stall was crowded. In front of him was a half-finished iced latte. His long legs had nowhere to go under the table, so he just sprawled them out, slanting to both sides. One earbud hung around his neck, because a guy next to him was striking up a conversation, asking if the ball under his feet was last year’s championship limited edition, and if the signature was real?