I Am Your Master

From being the son of a former tycoon's housekeeper to becoming an award-winning actor with both fame and fortune, Song Yanshu has had a difficult journey.

Aside from his blockbuster films, what people love to gossip about most is his relationship with the son of the former tycoon.

The two grew up together, and Song Yanshu was Cen Ji's personal assistant for more than a decade. That's the flattering version, of course. To outsiders, they were simply master and servant.

When Cen Ji first entered show business, he made a sensational debut. Then his family suddenly went bankrupt, his father was sent to prison, and he was swept into a maelstrom of public opinion. The once-promising star became a washed-up nobody.

Meanwhile, Song Yanshu, who had waited on him hand and foot since childhood, left the Cen family and happened to meet a benefactor. His extraordinary talent won him several Best Actor awards.

With their positions reversed, countless people looking for a laugh waited to see them together again.

At the end of the year, the most anticipated gala in Chinese entertainment announced that both men would attend, and public attention reached a fever pitch.

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"I've said it many times. If we meet again, pretend we don't know each other."

In the noisy backstage area, Cen Ji cornered Song Yanshu by the door. The veins stood out on the back of his pale hand. Ignoring the teasing, curious looks around them, he stared with red-rimmed eyes and spat out each word: "Why?"

He sneered. "Because you're a Best Actor and I'm a nobody?"

"Because I'm a person," Song Yanshu replied without a hint of emotion. "A person free to come and go."

"How can you stand onstage and pretend not to know me?" Cen Ji seemed not to hear him. His voice broke with tears.

Song Yanshu was tired. He didn't want to be treated like a performing monkey for people to gawk at, so he turned to leave.

Cen Ji saw what he was doing and abruptly raised his hand, smashing the glass in the door. Blood spilled everywhere.

The backstage area fell silent for a moment, then erupted in screams.

Song Yanshu stopped and looked up at Cen Ji. The man seemed like a lunatic possessed.

Song Yanshu slapped him. Cen Ji's handsome face swelled red, the corner of his mouth split open.

Everyone was horrified, but Cen Ji suddenly smiled. Tears ran from those beautiful eyes. "See? You still care about me."

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When he was very young, Song Yanshu made a wish to the moon every day, hoping he could stay with his young master forever.

He loved watching his young master put his hands on his hips and shout, "I'm your master. You have to listen to everything I say!" He looked so proud and imperious.

When Song Yanshu grew a little older, he became a boring adult and thought, It would be nice if my young master weren't so willful.

But it was all right. He could help him change. He still wanted to stay with his young master forever.

At eighteen, faced with Cen Ji's spoiled, willful tantrums and hysterics, Song Yanshu was left numb and exhausted.

Standing in the wreckage of the Cen residence, he held out a contract ending their employment relationship. "The contract my mother signed with your family ends today. I'm leaving, Young Master."

Cen Ji had just finished crying and letting it all out. Now he couldn't cry anymore, and all that remained was a sneer. "Isn't it just because my family went bankrupt? Tell me the truth, and I'll think more highly of you."

"No." Song Yanshu's face was expressionless, calm as a pool of still water. "Your family just happened to go bankrupt today."

"I'm leaving, Young Master. You're already twenty. Don't be so willful anymore."

"I'm your master!"

Cen Ji shouted at Song Yanshu's departing back. "Wherever you go, whatever you do from now on, that mark will be engraved on you. You'll never wash it off for the rest of your life!"

He was right, but Song Yanshu had no intention of washing it off.

He would never deny his past, but he would write his own future.

Cen Ji would never understand what Song Yanshu wanted to do. Song Yanshu had a clear plan for his life.

Years later, he really did achieve it.

The once-spoiled, overbearing young master lay beneath him, begging and weeping. Song Yanshu looked down at his tearful eyes, gripped his throat, and ordered him to obey. "Good boy, Young Master. Take a good look. See who I am."

Cen Ji managed to regain a little of his composure and answered in a trembling voice, "You're... Song Yanshu."

"No." Song Yanshu suddenly smiled, a wildness in his eyes Cen Ji had never seen before. "I am your master."

Theme: Be a decent person