180: Returning to China

Two days later, Lu Qingyu returned to Long Country. Thanks to Moray, they flew on a private jet this time.

Information about private jet itineraries cannot be found with commercial airlines, so Lu Qingyu's return was completely quiet.

After arriving in Long Country, Lu Qingyu first arranged accommodation for Moray in the same residential complex as his own. The security was quite good, and Moray's father had also sent him with two personal bodyguards and a butler.

The two lived right across from each other, and since Moray knew the password to Lu Qingyu's door, he would come over as soon as he woke up in the morning.

Lu Qingyu was up early; having just returned to the country, he had many things to deal with.

Moray: "Lu, do you have to work today?"

The hotel that Lu Qingyu had built near the airport was already completed. He needed to inspect it today, and if everything was in order, the hotel would be ready to open.

Moray did not choose to attend school in Long Country because Lu Qingyu had found him a set of "5.3" test prep books. Even the top five students in Moray's school only scored 18 out of 100 on the practice test. His self-confidence was severely shaken! He immediately developed an aversion to studying.

Consequently, Moray asked for leave from the school and stopped the exchange program, though taking leave didn't affect his graduation.

Su Jixing had been eyeing Moray for the past two days, for no other reason than that Moray was just too handsome.

At eighteen years old, standing at 1.8 meters tall, his facial features looked as if they had been meticulously sculpted. Moray was of mixed heritage, and he possessed a unique aura characteristic of his mixed background.

Su Jixing thought it over carefully; with a look like that, Moray seemingly had no direct competition in the entertainment industry! So, for the past two days, he had been setting his sights on Moray.

He hoped Moray could become an artist, so Su Jixing dropped hints to Lu Qingyu. But Lu Qingyu was such a sharp person, how could he not understand what Su Jixing meant?

But Moray was Kane Bailey's son; would he ever be short of money?

"Brother Su, don't even think about it. Moray is no ordinary person; how could he possibly enter the entertainment industry?"

Su Jixing: "What's wrong with the entertainment industry? Do you think it doesn't pay enough?"

Lu Qingyu: "That's not it, but do you think Moray looks like someone who is short on money?"

Su Jixing replied righteously: "He's not, but I think he's short on happiness."

Lu Qingyu: !!! "That makes sense, but it won't work. Moray is too young, and he still has to inherit his boss's billions in assets later. He won't be able to stay in Long Country for long."

Su Jixing: "He's only two years younger than you, and you call him young!"

Lu Qingyu rejected Su Jixing's suggestion. In the afternoon, he took a tour of the hotel and became the first guest to experience it. After a successful inspection, the hotel was opened for business.

Moray's father had entrusted the hotel project in Long Country to Moray, thinking that since his child was about to turn 18, it was time for him to get hands-on experience and train.

For a project worth billions, he wasn't worried at all that Moray wouldn't handle it well. The butler by his side was a Harvard Ph.D. in Finance who had worked by Kane Bailey's side for 12 years and had participated in hundreds of projects.

Additionally, with Lu Qingyu there to escort him, Kane Bailey felt there would be no problems. Even if there were issues, it didn't matter; children always have to go through things to grow up, so what if a little money is spent?

Lu Qingyu was quite attentive to the hotel. The market environment in Long Country was different from abroad; he preferred hotels that had Long Country characteristics, aligned with local aesthetics, and offered super high-quality service.

He participated quite a bit in the hotel's design. Although Moray could make decisions, he subconsciously wanted to listen to Lu Qingyu.

Lu Qingyu had been pushing the hotel project for over a month since returning and hadn't participated in any activities.

As time went on, he almost forgot he was an entertainer, until one day he was secretly photographed, and Lu Qingyu's fan group exploded.

"Little brother is back? When did he return?"

"Wasn't little brother supposed to be studying abroad!"

"This return was too secretive. If it hadn't been for the paparazzi photos, I wouldn't have even known he was back."

"Is Lu Qingyu keeping something secret for a show? Why is he so low-key?"

"Could it be that something happened to make his reputation collapse?"

After the candid photos were exposed, Lu Qingyu even made the hot search topics.

Everyone was guessing all sorts of things about him. It was fortunate he wasn't a female celebrity, or else people would have been guessing that he had given birth to a child.

The entertainment industry updates and changes very quickly. In the two months that Lu Qingyu was not in Long Country, a new star rose, known as "Little Lu Qingyu."

However, in terms of appearance, the two were at most thirty percent similar. The main reason he was called that was because his rise was very aggressive, just like Lu Qingyu's.

But unlike Lu Qingyu, who had no support when he started and relied entirely on himself, this "Little Lu Qingyu," Song Yushuo, had a powerful background.

Song Yushuo was 17 years old this year. His mother was a first-class director, and his father was a famous jewelry tycoon in Long Country. He had money and resources, so everyone called this "Little Lu Qingyu" the crown prince of the industry.

His first movie was directed by his mother—a youth campus drama where the son played himself. The movie had a Douban rating of 7.9, with seven or eight veteran actors supporting him in the film, countless film critics endorsing it, and it was nominated for dozens of awards at various film festivals.

Song Yushuo's goal was to win a Best Actor award before he turned twenty.

To promote her son, Song Yushuo's mother specifically established an entertainment company. This company only had him as an artist, designing the fastest route for him to become a massive hit.

The title "Little Lu Qingyu" was a marketing theme created by his marketing agency to help everyone quickly become familiar with Song Yushuo.

However, Song Yushuo did not like this nickname and was even somewhat repulsed by it.

Lu Qingyu was Lu Qingyu, and he was himself. Why did everyone always call him Little Lu Qingyu, as if he were inferior to that person?

Today, Lu Qingyu made the hot search topics, and Song Yushuo also made them. It was the company's marketing accounts riding on Lu Qingyu's popularity; while comparing Song Yushuo's fame to Lu Qingyu's, the subtext was entirely about how Song Yushuo had a promising future.

Song Yushuo was scrolling on his phone and happened to see this; he was so angry that he threw his phone away.

"Why is Lu Qingyu everywhere? When will people be able to stop mentioning him whenever they talk about me?"

Song Yushuo's Agent was his aunt, who comforted him:

"Xiaoshuo, this isn't a big deal. The entertainment industry is just like this; it's all for popularity and marketing."

"You've just entered the industry, and you need people to remember you. Lu Qingyu is your stepping stone. When you have more works and more fans than him, people won't just stop calling you Little Lu Qingyu, they'll say Lu Qingyu is the one riding on your coattails every time they mention you."

Perhaps because they were close in age, Song Yushuo didn't want any peer to develop better than him:

"It's so annoying. There are so many superstars; why did you have to pick Lu Qingyu out of everyone else?"

Song Yushuo's aunt thought her nephew was too naive.

Was a superstar's popularity something you could just ride whenever you wanted?