Anchor Effect - Chapter 23.1: Brother’s double standard

In his dormitory, Ye Yuchen had a substantial stash of yogurt, all endorsed by Yu Xiu.

After passing his audition, Yu Xiu took a leave to join the film crew, leaving the university for an extended period.

The yogurt he'd received from the sponsor's father piled up, and he ended up giving most of it to Ye Yuchen.

One morning, as he was hurrying to have breakfast, Ye Yuchen grabbed a bottle of yogurt, swiftly put on his backpack, and dashed off to the university library.

It was near the end of the semester, and Yu Xiu had finally completed his filming and returned to campus. Some elective courses with shorter durations had already ended, and he needed to make up for the coursework for these classes. Ye Yuchen also had some overdue course papers to complete. Therefore, on Yu Xiu's first day back at school, they arranged to meet in the library.

——This was Ye Yuchen's first time in the library during his three years of college.

"Have you finished your assignment on analyzing original works of classic movies?" Ye Yuchen, who arrived a bit late, pulled out his laptop and glanced at Yu Xiu's screen. "I can share my references with you."

"It's already been submitted to the professor," Yu Xiu replied.

"Which movie did you analyze?" Ye Yuchen inquired.

"The Lord of the Rings," Yu Xiu replied. "What about you?"

"Same," Ye Yuchen nudged Yu Xiu with his elbow. "Show me what you wrote."

Yu Xiu hesitated for a moment but seemed to give in. "Alright."

He dragged the document of his reading notes into the WeChat chat box and sent it to Ye Yuchen. Ye Yuchen opened it promptly and noticed the word count, "Five thousand words?"

The professor had asked for 3,000 words, and Ye Yuchen had thought he'd done enough by writing 4,030 words in one go. He hadn't expected Yu Xiu to outdo him.

"The Lord of the Rings is quite extensive," Yu Xiu explained. "Just summarizing the plot alone would account for a thousand words."

"True, summarizing it took quite a while," Ye Yuchen agreed.

He quickly perused Yu Xiu's reading notes. In contrast to the formal tone used in his student representative speech, Yu Xiu's writing style came across more vividly in his reading notes.

Yu Xiu's sentences were concise with fewer metaphors, leaning toward straightforward narratives. However, the logic within was intricate, building upon each argument systematically, and it provided an exceptionally smooth reading experience.

"Alright," Ye Yuchen said after finishing Yu Xiu's reading notes. "There's nothing to be shy about."

"I can't write as well as you," Yu Xiu responded.

"That's true," Ye Yuchen nodded in agreement.

Clearly, Yu Xiu hadn't anticipated that his modesty would receive such affirmation from Ye Yuchen. He was momentarily speechless and asked, "Where's yours?"

"Oh," Ye Yuchen began with a mischievous grin, "I can't find the file."

Yu Xiu realized he was being teased and furrowed his brows. "You're lying."

"Really," Ye Yuchen insisted. "I even deleted the email."

With that, Ye Yuchen's mouse was already clicking on the folder where his coursework was saved.

He was about to drag the document into the WeChat chat box, but unexpectedly, Yu Xiu raised his arm and wrapped it around Ye Yuchen's neck, pulling him forward. "A senior who lies to juniors isn't a good senior."

Ye Yuchen was taken aback for a moment. Yu Xiu had actually pinched his neck like a mischievous younger brother? When had this little brother become so bold?

"Let go!" Ye Yuchen pinched Yu Xiu's waist and broke free from his grasp, shooting him a stern look. "Learn some respect, will you?"

Yu Xiu lifted his lips and remarked, "Who told you to lie?"

At this moment, someone at the neighboring table deliberately coughed, clearly reminding the two to lower their voices; this was a library.

Ye Yuchen sent the document to Yu Xiu, his voice lowered. "How's your filming going?"

"It's going fine," Yu Xiu replied, also in a hushed tone. "But I still wish it were you, Zhang Xiaole."

There was nothing they could do about it. While Yu Xiu was away from school, they often chatted on WeChat. Yu Xiu had mentioned early on that the actor playing Zhang Xiaole couldn't grasp the character and could only deliver lines. He seemed to view Ye Yuchen's chat box as a kind of confessional, sharing with him any thoughts that came to mind during filming.

Ye Yuchen was genuinely interested in what was happening on set. Even the videos of stray cats Yu Xiu sent him would be watched repeatedly.

"We'll have plenty of chances to act together in the future," Ye Yuchen reassured him. "Wait until we collaborate once before you consider a career change."

Yu Xiu nodded. "Alright."

Yu Xiu quietly observed Ye Yuchen's reading notes. After a long pause, he exhaled and told him, "Your writing is indeed more intricate."

"Really?" Ye Yuchen bit down on his yogurt straw, where Yu Xiu's picture was on the bottle's label. From Yu Xiu's perspective, it seemed like he was savoring every drop of the yogurt.

"Yeah," Yu Xiu said. He cleared his thoughts and added, "I can see that you've read quite a lot."

"After all, I read lots of martial arts novels as a kid," Ye Yuchen reminisced. "Jin Yong, Gu Long, and so on."

"By the way," Yu Xiu remembered, "Why did you want to become an actor?"

"At first, I watched the TV series Tian Long Ba Bu and thought Qiao Feng was incredibly cool," Ye Yuchen recalled. "I told my mom I didn't want to study anymore and wanted to make a name in that world. My mom was so frightened she nearly jumped out of her skin."

"Venturing into that world?" Yu Xiu mused, raising an amused eyebrow.

"Back then," Ye Yuchen explained, "I was just a kid. Later, I realized that such a world didn't exist; it was only present in movies and TV shows. So, I decided to become an actor and experience it on screen."

"I see," Yu Xiu responded.

"What about you?" Ye Yuchen inquired, taking another sip of yogurt. "Why did you want to become a screenwriter?"

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