A Lifetime of Peace and Care

Chapter 4: Avoiding the Charms of a Female
At the entrance of the Municipal Theater Hall, Yi Ran waited for Gu Tingchuan’s assistant, Xiao Zhao. After arriving, he handed her the ticket and left with a smile on his face.

Prior to this, Yi Ran had thought that there might be a chance to take a look at who Director Gu’s “friends” might be, and whether it would be a female companion, thus providing fodder for her gossiping heart.

But then again, he was a famous director. Why would he show his private life to a little teacher?

The performance began on time, and Yi Ran was in the best seating on the first floor. Looking around, she saw a lot of familiar faces on TV sitting nearby. Unexpectedly, she did not see Director Gu. Most likely, he and his friend were in the VIP box.

Two hours of time quickly flew by. The exquisite acting of the foreign actors, the beauty of the closing curtains, the soaring music, all intertwined into a great and beautiful work, causing the audience to enthusiastically applaud.

Even after the theater lights flickered on, the audience’s applause still resounded for more than ten minutes. Finally, everyone took their red hands and left the theater hall under the guidance of the staff.

Outside, the bright glow of the street lamps seemed to slightly sway in the wind. The darkness of the night hung over the city that never sleeps and the sounds of cars filled the air. Yi Ran stood by the road, planning to use a taxi software to request a car. After a moment, she happened to see a tall figure standing among the shadow of the nearby trees and realized that it was Gu Tingchuan.

Seeing the other party, Yi Ran thought that it would not be grateful or polite to ignore him. Therefore, she took the initiative to go over. “Gu…”

As she was about to blurt out his name, she realized that doing so might attract unwanted attention. After taking a few more steps, she finally called, “Mr. Gu!”

Gu Tingchuan lifted his eyes to look over at her and then, after saying “hello,” he added, “What did you think of it?”

Yi Ran could not help commenting on the play. She began to happily praise it. “It was a first-rate show, a truly masterful piece with vivid and realistic portrayals…”

Gu Tingchuan’s gaze was steady under the lights of the night and, as he looked at her, he gradually realized that her liveliness was very interesting. His mouth slightly curved into a smile.

She was still talking when she heard a man’s voice next to her. “You came alone to watch the performance?”

She turned to see a man and could not help but be surprised. It turned out that the friend brought by Director Gu was actually a man who looked like a second generation wealthy son.

Yi Ran smiled and said, “It’s nothing. Single dogs are like this. I am used to it.”

Any way, she had tried one person eating hot pot, one person watching a movie, one person listening to opera. This was nothing.

“I only gave her one ticket,” Gu Tingchuan explained to the other person.

The man immediately joked, “Hey, don’t be so quick to say it. It would have been easy for me and this young lady to switch seats. Director Gu must know this.”

The atmosphere seemed to freeze, and Yi Ran did not know what to say. As she gathered her thoughts, Gu Tingchuan unexpectedly said in a dry voice, “You still need to think before you speak. Otherwise, the outcome is enough to put people to sleep.”

Knowing that his friend was implying that he was not being a good companion, the man just shrugged and gave Yi Ran a wink. “Director Gu may have a lot of scandals, but, in fact, he can not be easily provoked by the feminine charms, you know…”

As the man was speaking, Yi Ran met Gu Tingchuan’s eyes and saw him shift his gaze to look behind her. Sure enough, he said in a low voice, “The car is coming.”

Yi Ran was afraid that he would take the initiative to open the car door for her. When she heard this, she immediately turned around and called back her goodbye to them, “Director Gu, thank you for your good intentions today. The performance was so wonderful. I’ll take a taxi back. Have a good night.”

Gu Tingchuan did not say anything but silently looked after her departing figure, her skirt swaying brightly as she hurried away. His friend couldn’t help but teased, “Not sending people back, that’s not being a good gentleman.”

Gu Tingchuan’s brows wrinkled, but he merely said, ” There are paparazzi nearby.”

……

In the past two years, Jiaye film company had become incredibly successful. It’s founder and largest shareholder was Gu Tingchuan’s father. Recently, due to health reasons, he had gradually began to pass the company on to the next generation.

Although he had shares in the company and was a member of the board of directors, Gu Tingchuan’s original passion was to direct films. For him, movies were the shining light that reflected the world.

His style of directing in the industry had always been harsh, but no one can deny that this man was truly a charismatic talent.

After Dark River won several awards in the White Birch Award ceremony, Gu Tingchuan immediately devoted himself to the direction of his next film, which was focused on martial arts, a subject he had never touched before.

Also, because of his demanding requirements, the daily filming for the movie were often high pressured, making people feel jumpy and depressed.

The people at the shooting site were listening to Gu Tingchuan’s command. The filming had not gone smoothly. The actress, who was brought on to give an investor’s face, finally lost her smile as he said, “Do you want to act or not? Frankly speaking, if you can’t even follow directions and stand there, don’t come to drag down the team. You may be beautiful, but don’t think yourself too clever. You’re not allowed to change the script just because you felt like it.

At first, although the actress was no longer smiling, she did not cry. Her pretty face became stiff and pale. Finally, tears sprung to her eyes and her assistant had to pull her aside.

Gu Tingchuan called the deputy director and the group leaders of each department to go over the scene requirements. Finally, he looked down at his watch and realized that it was getting late. He finally told everyone to go back to rest and to report at the shooting site at 6 o’clock tomorrow morning.

Every time he got to this stage in the filming process, he become an overzealous workaholic, seeming never to get tired. Even among the group of staff, he will be the last one to leave.

It was already dark when Gu Tingchuan’s assistant finally drove him back. The car moved through heavy traffic to the Gu’s family mansion located by the coast of S City. Because it was close to the sea and built on the slope of a mountain, the houses in the area were spread further apart. The surrounding area was filled with green nature, and the air was fresh and clean. This place of flowers and birds seemed to be isolated from the rest of the world.

Gu Tingchuan’s long legs just entered the living room, and he hadn’t even taken his shoes off yet, when he saw his parents sitting on the sofa with the TV on and the newspaper spread out in front of them. It can be seen at a glance that trouble was coming.

His mind slightly suspicious, he drew closer and saw the magazines and newspapers on the table. It was not opened to the financial nor the sports edition. Rather, it was opened to the entertainment section. The headlines were his own and were based on recent rumors regarding his “relationships” with several female stars.

“So you do know how to come back? How long has it been since you came to see your elders?” The mother’s mouth said this, but she still turned to pour him a cup of tea. “You’ve been working hard recently. It’s not a good thing to be surrounded by so many female stars. You’re already 30 years old and should know how to behave.”

Although this was the most ridiculous misunderstanding of him, Gu Tingchuan also did not want to pay any attention to the words nor to the serious atmosphere in the house. He merely changed his slippers and unbuttoned the top buttons of his shirt, looking both relaxed and at eased.

“Tingchuan, you never bring a girlfriend back. Are you afraid that we would not be satisfied? Mom is asking because you are not seriously looking for a future daughter-in-law and only want to play with these girls…”

Gu Linfeng put away the newspaper in his hand. Looking at his son, he quietly said, “Haven’t you learned a lesson from your big brother’s affairs? Because of this, he lost his family. You should know that these scandals will have an impact on the company.”

The big brother mentioned was Gu Tingyong, the Gu parent’s eldest son and Gu Tai’s father. He recently went abroad to Germany to find his grandparents

When the young couple first got married, they were the apples of the big family. They were self-sufficient, and passed the days treating each other as sweet as honey. However, a few days ago, Gu Tingyong’s wife discovered him in a high-end clubhouse with a popular movie star.

Mrs. Gu immediately raised a ruckus, and now both of them were upset and had escaped abroad. Neither of them had considered how their son’s emotions should be soothed and, in truth, it seemed as if their sense of responsibility as parents had also gone astray.

Thinking of this, Gu Tingchuan felt a headache blooming and, rubbing his temple, thought that their relationship was not something he should worry about.

It was no wonder that everyone else mentioned that the family life of this big director was nonexistent. For him, falling in love was the most wasteful time.

As Gu Tingchuan continued to press down on his painful eyebrows, he took a sip of warm tea and put the cup down steadily, saying, “These gossips were not provoked by me. These entertainment journals are competitive. Even if I am not close to a woman, they will continue with their speculations. Clarifying will not seal their mouths.”

Even though, in the end, those media will still withdraw their articles in cooperation with Jiaye, this will not put an end to the spread of gossip.

“In any case, Tingchuan, we don’t want you to avoid dating seriously. You have never brought a girl back before…If you don’t like girls…”

Seeing his mother, Sheng Ru, was becoming more outrageous, Gu Tingchuan felt that it was necessary to reiterate his sexual orientation. At this time, Gu Tai came down from upstairs.

The child was very perceptive. Seeing that his uncle was getting annoyed, he quickly walked over with his homework and said, “Uncle, do you have time to help me?”

Gu Tingchuan wondered what the tutor couldn’t help solve. “What do you need help with?”

“Teacher Yi arranged a summer homework assignment in advance, asking us to observe the work of the elders and write a small essay.” After saying this, Gu Tai paused and cautiously asked, “Uncle, can I pick you?”

Gu Tingchuan looked at his parents and, when they did not have any objections, he nodded faintly. “Alright. You can come see what your uncle does every day at work.”

Sheng Ru pulled Gu Tai over to her and smiled. With raised eyebrows, she said, “Gu Tai is very good and has been popular since young. He even received a love letter from a female student today.”

“Teacher Yi said that I and that student will not have any results.”

Gu Tingchuan raised an eyebrow, meaning why.

Gu Tai said in a low voice, “Because she said, ‘The style of painting is different, how can you fall in love?'”

With these words, the two elders were confused, but Gu Tingchuan’s lips curved and he suddenly fell into deep thoughts.

The girl’s pretty face subconsciously emerged in his mind. The pair of eyes were bright and the appearance seemed as if innately happy and full of laughter. The black hair was slightly wavy and, although she was not stunningly beautiful, he didn’t know why she seemed so much more attractive than the beautiful actresses around him.

Although the number of meetings between them were not many, Gu Tingchuan had gradually developed a clear impression of Teacher Yi through Gu Tai’s descriptions. At first, because of her relationship with his nephew, he gave her some attention and preferential treatment. However, in this way, he slowly became more aware of her each day.

To the extent that, his subtle yet favorable impression of her became the start of a marvelous connection.