Assistant Guan with a cup of hot coffee in his right hand and a notebook in his left hand entered the elevator in a good mood.

Just thinking about the huge bonus that he would get from yesterday's love consultant, Assistant Guan had a huge grin on his face.

As a man in his early thirties, Assistant Guan did not have many hobbies besides his work and traveling so at this time, he had already made a plan on what to do with his bonus.

After dropping by his office, he began to make his way to President Gao's office.

After knocking on the door twice, a low voice sounded,"Enter."

As a well-rounded Assistant that has been following President Gao ever since he took over the company, Assistant Guan faintly felt that something was wrong with his boss.

Nevertheless, he opened the door and stepped in. Upon seeing the gloomy air around the man, Assistant Gaun took a big deep breath before closing the door.

10 out of 10, this definitely has something to do with Ye Xie!

I just hope that I won't be implicated!

Adjusting his mood, Assistant Guan put down several documents on the deskwork,"These are important documents that you need to go through and sign by today."

Gap Chen absentmindedly replied,"Mm."

The gears in Assistant Guan rapidly turned then he tentatively spoke up,"Have you already gone through the lists of people that you will need to pay a visit this New Year Day?"

Once again, Gao Chen dazedly nodded his head.

"Do you have any plans for this year's New Year Day? Well, War will be airing one week before-"

At the sudden talk of this movie, Gao Chen's face suddenly turned black.

After seeing Ye Xie's reaction, Gao Chen had two possibilities.

One. He indeed forgot what happened that night since, after all, he was new to drinking alcohol.

Two. He was a good actor, to begin with, so fooling him with his superb acting was an easy matter to him.

Gao Chen would prefer being the first outcome but he felt like the second outcome was more likely to be the case…

If so, it would mean that Ye Xie rejected him but didn't want to make things awkward for him so he chose to thoroughly ignore him.

Therefore, here's the question. 

Should he advance or retreat?

Be a coward but can continue to stay by his side.

Or be brave but might possibly make that person disappear from his sight.

Gao Chen didn't know why these two outcomes instantly came to his mind upon thinking of the matter of confessing to him.

No ventured, no gained. He knew this well but when it came down to that person, he suddenly hesitated.

Meanwhile, on the other hand, Shi Shen was reviewing his new script which will be filmed next year.

This drama was adapted from a newly hit web novel so presumably speaking, he shouldn't reconsider taking this piece.

However, he knew the author of this novel.

It was none other than Gu Xiang who used to be DeviL's main dancer.

In the original plot, Gu Xiang became a scriptwriter in another two years from now on and his first published novel was 'The Forgotten Empress'

Due to the huge hit of the novel, it soon adapted into the drama and in order to make it successful, the Director even cast an A-list Actress to be the female lead.

Due to the reputation of her solid acting skills and her huge fanbase, the drama was well-received but not to the point of being overly popular.

There were some disadvantages.

Firstly, both leads were required to crossdress.

That's right, the male lead cross-dressed as a female while the female lead cross-dressed as a male.

Although this concept was fun and novel, this could be a do or die depending on the actors who played as the leads.

Most remarks often occur with this kind of concept.

'No matter how I look at it, that is obviously a woman! Haha'

'Ew, how can a man be that girly? Can't you act like a real man?"

'Haha, I can't look at how muscled the 'woman is! 'She' even has mustache whenever there is a closeup!'

'I can only see a man in drag *eyeroll* how did the novel depict that the male lead makes women blush in shame when he was dressed as a woman?' 

Another thing was that most often, the viewers were disappointed with how different the drama was from the original novel so the drama would receive backlash in return no matter how popular the novel was.

Originally, Shi Shen didn't plan to take this role but Gu Xiang personally made a phone call to him that he was the only one who could play as Chu Jiyan, the male lead of this novel.

Therefore, Shi Shen decided to give him some face and accepted the role. To be honest, with the cross-dressing as an element, it might sound like it was a comedy romance third-rate ancient drama but in fact, the plot was quite heavy.

The female lead, Jin Shang was forced to disguise as a man due to the power struggle within the imperial palace. Her concubine mother did not want to lose the Emperor's favor so after her son died she disguised her daughter as a boy and announced to the world that it was the twin girl, Jin Shu who died.

From henceforth, Jin Shu received the education that a Prince should have and even got brainwashed by her mother that she was a boy. Only when she grew a bit more and learned from her teacher about the difference between men and women did she realize that she was a girl not a boy like everyone around her has claimed.

She once asked her mother why did she lie to her only to get slapped in the face and got told by her mother that if she were to sprout this nonsense ever again, her head would roll off her shoulders due to her lying to the Emperor.

From that moment on, Jin Shang only knew one thing. If she did not want to die, she needed to live as a man and hid the fact that she was a woman.

Putting her gender aside, her ability in learning and leading was no less than that of a man therefore she didn't understand why she should be ashamed of her gender. Why can't a woman participate in political affairs?

Why can't a woman get a governor's post?

They were not even allowed to take the exams.

However, Jin Shang knew that she couldn't change people's views in such a short time so she decided to prove it by her ability instead.

After a long struggle, Jin Shang ascended the throne and became the new Emperor.

The drama started at two years into the Jin Shang's reign.

Jin Shang who was acknowledged as a wise ruler needed to establish the harem so a competition was held in order to choose the concubines and the Empress.

Chu Jiyan's mother was originally a maid so she had low standing in the Left Prime Minister Manor. However, unlike others who were glad upon conceiving sons for the Left Prime Minister, Chu Jiyan's mother only felt dreadful.

Because at that time, the main wife had birthed two daughters in a row with no son which meant Chu Jiyan would be the Eldest son and the main wife would try to harm him and her because she didn't want a bastard son to become the heir.

Therefore, Chu Jiyan's mother lied about his gender so Chu Jiyan was dressed as a girl ever since.

Nevertheless, Chu Jiyan had a beautiful face so the main wife was afraid that her daughters would be overshadowed by him so Chu Jiyan and his mother were sent to the countryside and were left to live on their own.

However, this only served Chu Jiyan's advantage in roaming around. He was raised as a girl but his personality and mind were that of a man so he would not be satisfied to stay as a mere flower vase with nothing.

So over the years, without his father's and stepmother's knowledge, he built his own city and accumulated his power.

He was free and unrestrained until he got summoned by his cheap father back to the imperial city.

That's right, Prime Minister Chu finally remembered that he once had a Goddess like 'Daughter' so even though that daughter was a concubine-born, it was good as long as she caught the eye of Emperor Jin.

Chu Jiyan didn't want to startle the snake just yet so he once again dressed as a woman and went back to the capital.

After this fiasco ended he would come back and faked his death, completely cutting ties with the Left Prime Minister Manor.

He didn't believe that the Emperor would fancy a 'woman' as tall as him. 

At first, Chu Jiyan had no intention of staying in the palace but after meeting with the infamous Emperor Jin, his mind wavered.

Because obviously, that was a woman. Even though her mannerism was that of a man and her achievements even outshined men, Chu Jiyan firmly believed his intuition.

Therefore, unconsciously his eyes always glued to her.

Meanwhile, Emperor Jin who received a certain tall woman's stare couldn't help but feel uneasy. She didn't know why but this Miss. Chu made her a bit intimidated whenever she saw her.

Therefore, Emperor Jin involuntarily stayed away from Chu Jiyan.

Well, as time gradually passed the two helped one another solving problems, and Chu Jiyan who initially amused seeing a woman sat on the throne as those men knelt down before her, later on, discovered that he was amazed at her talent and at the same time, distress for her.

Emperor Jin who figured out Chu Jiyan's gender halfway through the story first felt that they were similar and he was the only person that she could relax with and reveal her real side.

Her beloved subject.

Shi Shen proceeded to read the novel and after seeing the ending, he thought for a bit and made a call to Gu Xiang.

Time passed and the premiere day of War arrived.

Shi Shen was the male lead so he and the crew sat in the front seat waiting for the movie to begin.

Gao Chen didn't want to make things hard so he exchanged the ticket and sat way at the back.

The movie soon began. A harmonious scene of a small neighborhood appeared. Children were happily running around chasing one another, adults were working and noisily chattering.

Soon the camera captured a certain someone riding the bicycle down the hill. A black schoolbag was in the basket as the person wore the Republic of China student black uniform.

The camera soon went to capture his face but due to the glare of the sun his face was obscured, only his fluttering black hair and black hat were seen. Shortly after, the person slightly shifted his face to block the sunlight and his youthful face finally showed.

A white lovable face with a bright smile on his face as his pair of lovely eyes bent into two crescent moons.

Gao Chen knew that it was only his acting but he couldn't help but smile along and the others also felt the same.

After that was the scene of He Han saying hello to everyone that he passed by and he finally arrived at the school.

15 minutes into the movie could be said to be peaceful and harmonious but shortly after the atmosphere changed.

The screen showed He Han's mother kept on crying as He Han's father had a grim look on his face while He Han had on a heavy look. However, upon seeing how worried his parents were, the boy forced a smile and said,"Don't worry, I will be fine."

Even though he knew that it was unlikely to be so. 

Everyone knew that going into the battlefield meant that there would only be a farewell, not a reunion.

He Han had sleepless nights after receiving the news, often he would want to run away but he knew that it was impossible.

The night before his departure, He Han's mother prepared a table full of his favorite dishes but no one was in the mood to eat.

At first, He Han laughed it off and ate the food deliciously but after a few bites, he finally broke down in tears.

I don't want to go, I don't want to die just yet!

The whole family cried together that night.

Some audiences were affected by this heavy mood and shed some tears.

The movie continued on as the boy boarded the train, the sound of chattering, crying sounded quite perturbed. Soon the train departed, He Han kept craning his neck to look at his parents' silhouettes until they completely disappeared before he reluctantly sat down, his eyes were listless and on the brink of crying.

He Han finally arrived at the base camp and settled in. The hellish training soon started.

One could see how helpless, tired, miserable the youth was as he pulled himself to get up to train from dawn to dusk. There were many nights that he recalled his past days and secretly cried.

After training there for sometimes, he finally received a command for him to participate in the real fight. Only then did he experience how cruel the war was.

Even after they evacuated and came back to their camp, He Han's mind was still in a daze and lost. What made his mentality almost break down was when he saw how many people in his team came back.

More than half were gone.

They all died.

He Han soon allocated to another team and there he met someone who was also the same as his age. They soon became friends.

The days were not unbearable as he now had someone to share his burden with however peaceful days were not meant to last.

The audiences felt heart-wrenching as they watched the young man stubbornly dragged his friend's corpse with eyes full of tears, even though he, himself got shot he was not resigned to leave his friend in that cold place.

However, no matter how much he wanted to take him back the situation did not permit him to. In the end, other comrades separated He Han from the corpse and forcefully dragged him back.

After that day, He Han became lifeless, his eyes were empty.

It was his fault.

If only he was stronger, he could save him.

He…He left his friend to die without an intact corpse.

He Han practiced more vigorously and his changes throughout the years on the battlefield were obvious to the naked eyes.

He no longer looked innocent or naive as he once did.

Days to days, months to months, years to years, the war seemed endless.

He Han persisted for a whole 9 years but he almost became numb.

This year will be the last…

This time for sure I will go back home…

...Will that day ever arrive?

He watched his comrades in arms died one by one, people who he worked with changed whenever they went into the battles…

Perhaps, one day he would become one of them too.

Finally, three years later the war ended, everyone was crying tears of joy.

He Han luckily survived with the cost of an arm and a leg. However, he was not discouraged as long as he could meet his parents again it was fine.

The train station was full of people as they were welcoming their sons but He Han could not find his parents no matter how high or low he searched.

After searching for half a day, the crowd gradually lessened, some were full of joy upon finding their sons still alive while some finally realized that their sons were forever gone sobbed hardly.

He Han took a big deep breath to calm down his erratic mood before deciding to go back to his home to wait for his parents.

However, he was devastated upon seeing his neighborhood.

The houses were all flattened to the ground, all he could see were ruined.

Panic began to invade his mind as he awkwardly made his way to his house with the clutch in his hand.

However, he finally fell to kneel on the ground upon seeing that his house was no longer there.

No, they must evacuate in time and currently staying elsewhere that's must be it!

He Han hurriedly grabbed his clutch and struggled to stand up, he looked everywhere for someone to tell him what was going on.

Finally, he found an Aunty who was four houses away from his. The Aunty took a while before recognizing who the young man was.

Knowing that he was alive, she happily smiled but after He Han asked about his parents, her smile disappeared.

Seeing this, He Han's heart sank but he still insisted on listening to her, maybe there's still hope-

"The bomb was dropped near your house, your parents didn't make it. I was only lucky because I and my family were staying at our in-laws' place at that time."

He Han's ears buzz, his vision became blurry, tears stammered down his cheeks. All of the feelings that he has been enduring throughout those years busted out.

Why? Why did he endure those times only to hear something like this?! He thought that he was lucky, at least he became handicap instead of dying!

But now what?! He should have died a long time ago!

Gao Chen watched on as that person cried his heart out when he finally realized that he had nothing left.

His only sole purpose in living was gone.

The movie gradually came to an end as they saw a handicapped old man with gloomy air around him sat in a small empty house as he dazedly stared out of the window.

The children were running around as the street was flooded with a crowd of people.

He Han slowly closed his eyes, his breathing gradually stopped.

Ah...How good would it be if those days were to last forever…

Everyone in the theatre was affected and their moods were heavy after going through this movie. When the movie came to an end, everyone clapped loudly expressing their thanks towards the crews, the actors especially the one who played as He Han and could bring the character to life.

Gao Chen watched as that young man received people's worship, admired, praising gazes.

That's right, this person is meant to be showered with praise and admiration.

His future is boundless.

He has a long day ahead of him.

So should he, Gao Chen dared to drag him to the crook path?

Gao Chen lowered his eyes to hide his real emotions, his fists were tightly clenched.

He stood up and silently left.

"He left."He Tian reported.

Shi Shen made a glance at his direction only to catch the man's broad back before he quickly disappeared.

So he chose to back out…

Shi Shen noticed this point a long time ago.

The man was too considerate, cautious or so to say, Shi Shen was in the upper hand.

It was not like Shi Shen did not enjoy being catered or being the one who had the final saying but at least, he knew that this kind of relationship was not healthy.

He would like for both of them to be equal.

He wanted him to be a bit more selfish when it came to him.

If he likes him then do not hesitate to make him his.

Because I will gladly be yours.

If he is feeling unfair then do not hesitate to speak up.

Because I will try to change.

If he is feeling that he is a bit too much then do not hesitate to be angry.

Because I will coax you.