By the beach.

The villa was crowded with people.

Zhang Ye’s first uncle, his first aunt, grandpa, and grandma were all here.

Zhang Ye pushed open the door and went in. “Grandpa, Grandma!”

His grandma immediately looked over. “Little Ye! Come and let your grandma have a look at you!”

Zhang Ye jogged up to her and said in pain, “Aiyo, why has all of your hair grayed?”

“I’m old, so of course my hair has grayed.” His grandma touched his face and said, “Did you suffer?”

Zhang Ye smiled and said, “No.”

His grandpa said, “How could you not have suffered? Look at how tan you’ve become.”

Zhang Ye said guiltily, “I was going to go back in a few days to pay you two a visit. You’re so old, so why did you fly over here?”

His grandma said matter-of-factly, “My grandson has returned home. How could I not come?”

His grandpa laughed and said, “Don’t you know how your grandma is? No one could dissuade her.”

The entire family was thrilled to see Zhang Ye.

Zhang Ye also felt the same. “It’s all my fault that I couldn’t be by your sides for these past few years. There were quite a bit of restrictions, and I wasn’t even allowed to have a phone call. I’ve been so worried about your health. Is everything alright at home?”

His grandma smiled and said, “It’s all good, it’s all good, everything is fine. When you weren’t around, Zeqing often came to visit us.”

His grandpa said happily, “Yes, we’re still in good health. The children have all grown up too.”

His grandma said, “Your eldest younger sister has become a big star.”

Zhang Ye smiled and said, “I just heard about it.”

His eldest younger sister said in embarrassment, “Grandma, what big star are you talking about? How big a star can I be in the presence of my brother?”

“Well, that’s not true.” Zhang Ye chuckled. “You’re now more popular than me.”

Zhang Ye’s mother said in amusement, “Right, you’re much more popular than him.”

His eldest young sister blushed. “No, I’m not.”

His first aunt was excited the moment they talked about this. “Little Ye, your sister is in this position because of your guidance. Then there’s the ideas for the videos you wrote for her. They have been very useful for Dandan in these few years, and the reception to them were all great. She even has her own team and has bought an apartment by herself too.”

Zhang Ye smiled. “Impressive. I saw that a lot of the people from China Qiyuan are also fans of hers. But why do they not know that you’re my sister?”

His first uncle said, “Dandan did not ride on your name in these past few years, so a majority of the people still do not know about it.”

Zhang Ye lightly nodded. “Our little lady is all grown up.”

His second sister giggled, “Bro, the main reason was that your reputation had already gone down the drain. The incident that happened back then was so major that no one dared to mention your name, so who would dare to ride on it?”

Zhang Ye laughed and pretended to raise a hand against her to scare her.

His second sister immediately admitted defeat. “Bro, I was in the wrong.”

The entire family laughed.

Zhang Ye joked, “Looks like I’ll have to rely on my sister to guide me then.”

His eldest younger sister exclaimed, “Aiya, don’t tease me like that.”

Zhang Ye asked, “Where are you on the domestic celebrity rankings?”

His eldest younger sister said with a smile, “I’m at the bottom of the B-list.”

Zhang Ye said in surprise, “You’re that highly ranked? Then aren’t you even further ahead than Jiang Hanwei?”

His mother smiled and said, “Your eldest younger sister is not a normal person anymore. Her social relations in the entertainment circle are much better than yours, so she’s a genuinely big star.”

His third sister asked, “Who in the industry wouldn’t have better social relations than my brother, though?”

His mother was amused. “That’s true.”

Zhang Ye was speechless.

His eldest younger sister asked, “Are you thinking of making a comeback to the entertainment industry?”

Zhang Ye said, “That’s right.”

His eldest younger sister said, “That’s great. I can finally fight alongside with my brother.”

Zhang Ye laughed and said, “I’m all alone. I don’t have any money or anyone working for me, so how can I fight any battles? I’m still unsure of what I should do after I come back. When I was popular back then, I had a greater say in things, and my past performances had helped me a lot as well, so everything that I did was relatively easy for me. But that isn’t going to work anymore. I have to start all over from nothing. The industry is dominated by young guns these days, so even if I were to send out a message that I’m coming back, I won’t be able to make much of an impact.”

His eldest younger sister said, “I can’t compare to those hunks either. They’re too popular to compete against.”

Zhang Ye said, “When I get back, I’ll have to build my team up again before I think about what to do next. I just wonder if my old friends still want to join me in wading into these muddy waters again.”

At this moment, Cao Dan’s cell phone rang.

She answered and spoke softly on the phone. Then, after hanging up, she looked at Zhang Ye and said, “Bro, I have a surprise for you.”

Zhang Ye blinked. “What surprise?”

His eldest younger sister smiled mysteriously. “Come outside with me.”

She pushed open the villa’s door.

Outside in the yard were over a dozen people standing in a crowd.

Zhang Ye looked astounded!

When the group of people saw him, some of them became very excited and others started crying!

“Director Zhang!”

“Boss!”

“Sob sob sob!”

“You’re really back?”

All of them rushed up!

Some were screaming!

Some were crying tears of joy!

Looking at all those familiar faces, Zhang Ye also got very excited!

Ha Qiqi!

Zhang Zuo!

Wu Yi!

Tong Fu!

Little Wang!

They were all here!

The people from Zhang Ye’s Studio were all here!

Zhang Ye said in disbelief, “Why are you all here?”

His eldest younger sister smiled and said, “Director Ha came to me to find out where you were, so I told her. As for the rest, I know nothing.”

Zhang Ye looked at the almost unrecognizable Ha Qiqi. “Sister Ha, when did you start keeping your hair short?”

Ha Qiqi smiled and said, “I cut it short the year you left. Later on, I got used to having short hair and didn’t bother growing it out anymore.”

Zhang Ye looked at Zhang Zuo. “Brother Zuo, you are sporting a beard now?”

Zhang Zuo dried the tears at the corners of his eyes and smiled. “Yeah, thought I should change styles.”

“Little Tong, how’s your girlfriend doing?” Zhang Ye asked.

Tong Fu said, scratching his head, “In reply to my boss’s question, she’s no longer my girlfriend. We held our wedding ceremony last summer, so she’s my wife now, and she’s recovered well too.”

Zhang Ye said happily, “Great, I’ll give you your wedding gift money at a later date.”historical

His eldest younger sister said at this moment, “My brother was just talking about you all a moment ago.”

Ha Qiqi asked, “What about us?”

Zhang Ye said, “I was just wondering if you all were willing to join me in wading into these muddy waters again. After so many years, all of you must have sought out better opportunities elsewhere, and everyone should probably be doing quite well in their current jobs. Meanwhile, I’m broke with nothing to my name. Honestly, I would like for everyone to come back, but I find it difficult to ask.”

Ha Qiqi smiled and said, “Who says we’re doing well? We’ve been struggling these few years and were thinking of changing jobs when you came back.”

But Little Wang exposed her. “Don’t believe her, Director Zhang. Sister Ha is a very famous director and can independently take on her own productions. Be it documentaries or variety shows, she has helmed them all. Central TV even wanted to get Sister Ha to join them as the assistant director for this year’s Spring Festival Gala, but she turned them down. The moment she learned you had come back yesterday, Sister Ha submitted her resignation notice. Then she called us one by one to ask if we were willing to come back and work with you.”

Ha Qiqi shot her a look. “Girl, you talk too much!”

Little Wang stuck out her tongue. “I’m just telling the truth, that’s all.”

Zhang Ye was very touched. “Old Ha, why would you do that?”

Ha Qiqi was just about to answer.

But Little Wang cut in again and said, “Sister Ha says that you have just returned and surely lack some people and ammo, so this is the time that you need us the most. With the return of the Heavenly King, if the Heavenly King’s original team did not get back together with him, the story would somehow feel a little less wonderful.”

Ha Qiqi opened her mouth, wanting to speak.

Little Wang said, “Sister Ha also said—”

Ha Qiqi was angry and amused. “Do you want to continue talking or can I talk?”

Little Wang said, “Ah, please go ahead, please go ahead.”

Actually, there wasn’t anything more to say.

The moment Zhang Ye saw them again, he understood everything.

Zhang Ye asked, “So all of you have already resigned?”

Zhang Zuo laughed. “Yes.”

Tong Fu said in high spirits, “We still want to follow you!”

Wu Yi belly laughed and said, “Without us in the entertainment circle, it won’t be lively at all!”

Ha Qiqi smiled. “It’s time we cause some trouble for them again.”

Zhang Ye laughed. “You guys, you’re all really brave, huh? Haven’t you suffered enough? How much trouble did we used to get into? How much scolding did we used to attract? How many people have we offended? After all these years, all of you are still willing to follow me? Alright then, since you’re not afraid of death, I don’t have anything to fear either. Let’s start from the beginning again!”

Zhang Ye’s family members all looked at one another.

His mother was shocked.

His grandma was relieved.

His first uncle was impressed.

His sisters were clapping and cheering.

A mass resignation!

And a collective return!

Not a single person was missing!

In all of China and all over the world, there would absolutely not be another celebrity team who could do this! How much trust did this require? Everyone was certain about this!

Ha Qiqi laughed and said, “Director Zhang, you didn’t lose your skill, right?”

Zhang Zuo also laughed. “Can you still direct? Can you still fight? Can you still sing?”

Zhang Ye smiled. “What do you think?”

He turned around and slowly walked into the living room, then towards the piano where he sat.

Everyone followed him.

Zhang Ye’s fingers gently touched the keys as he played a melody.

He closed his eyes and then opened them again. There was a smile and a tinge of lament in his gaze.

He sang.

“All of yesterday’s glory

“has turned into a distant mem’ry.

“I’ve toiled and labored for half my life,

“Tonight, I again enter the struggle stormy.

“I cannot just go with the flow,

“for the sake of my loved ones.

“I must stand firm no matter how hard or tough it grows,

“all for the sake of those hopeful eyes aglow.

“As long as there’s faith, the dream lasts!

“There’s still love between Heaven and Earth.

“Look beyond the ups and downs in life!

“All it takes is to start over again!”

Several years ago, Zhang Ye sang this song.

Several years later, he was singing it again, albeit with a very different mood.