MMB Chapter 1 Prologue
Chapter 1 Prologue
"I am deeply saddened by the misfortune that befell your aunt. Did you know that the school participates in a foundation that specifically helps underprivileged students?"
"I don't fully understand." Chu Kong lowered his head, staring at the fist clenched on his leg.
But the tighter I hold on, the stronger the sense of powerlessness that still lingers in my heart becomes.
"Here's the thing, your donor knows all your information, but due to the foundation's funding requirements, they cannot contact you privately, so they've asked me to convey their thoughts to you."
"What are your thoughts?"
"Simply put, the sponsor wants to livestream your life and turn it into a show called 'Chu Kong Show.'" Zhou Huaijin spoke slowly, as if each word was stuck in his throat. "But you don't need to worry, even if you refuse, the sponsor's funding will still..."
"I agree."
Chu Kong's voice was so calm that it didn't sound like that of a seventeen-year-old boy, cutting Zhou Huaijin's words off mid-air.
Zhou Huaijin looked up and met Chu Kong's eyes.
There was no struggle, no fear, only a near-vacuum of calm.
This was clearly the answer Zhou Huaijin had been dreaming of.
But Zhou Huaijin's face showed no trace of relief. Instead, it was as if he had been burned by that calmness, and a complex, almost pitying look flashed in his eyes.
He remained silent for a few seconds before slowly taking out an old-fashioned kraft paper envelope from his pocket and pushing it across the table.
"Okay, this is your first 'draft script' as requested by the funder."
Zhou Huaijin's voice was so soft it sounded like a sigh. "Of course, you have the right to make changes, but as you know, a story needs conflict. You might as well take a look at the initial life trajectory that your sponsor has set out for you."
Chu Kong stretched out his slightly trembling hand and gently took it with his cold fingertips.
He pulled out the only piece of paper inside. On the pristine white paper, in the very center, was a line of jet-black regular script.
Like a judge's final verdict.
Three months later, Chu Kong attempted suicide at his residence due to emotional entanglements and financial difficulties, but failed.
Time and space seemed to thicken, with only the coldness of the fingertips spreading to every part of the body.
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The perfectly timed turbulence jolted Chu Kong awake from his nightmare.
To be precise, it wasn't a nightmare, but something that happened yesterday.
"Hello sir, what would you like to drink?" A beautiful flight attendant approached Chu Kong with an impeccable smile on her face.
"Green tea, thank you." Before Chu Kong could speak, Zhou Huaijin, who was sitting by the window, spoke first.
"I...I'm the same." Chu Kong tensed up and subconsciously gripped the armrest, his ear tips turning slightly red.
He didn't dare look into the flight attendant's smiling eyes; in fact, he'd rather have a glass of juice.
The flight attendant smiled slightly, poured tea for the two of them, and then went to the passengers in the next row to continue her work.
"Teacher Zhou," Chu Kong lowered his voice, glanced around to make sure no one was watching him, and asked Zhou Huaijin beside him, "Has it started yet?"
Zhou Huaijin didn't look up, continuing to flip through the aviation magazine in his hands: "According to the original plan, the moment our flight took off, the 'Chu Kong Show's' 'GG' would be spread all over the world."
"Do all these people know?" Chu Kong looked around, glancing at each person.
Some people were staring at their screens, some were fast asleep with their mouths open, and others met Chu Kong's gaze with surprise.
Zhou Huaijin followed Chu Kong's gaze and looked around: "Perhaps so, after all, the people who are interested in you are not just from that program."
After leaving a vague statement, Zhou Huaijin continued, "But at least I can confirm that the live broadcast won't start until tomorrow, and the production team is probably in the final stages of preparation right now."
Chu Kong couldn't help but feel a little puzzled and asked, "But just to be on the safe side, shouldn't everyone who might come into contact with me from this flight onwards be actors?"
"Perhaps that would be better, but your all-powerful benefactor doesn't think so. He thinks it's better to let things take their natural course."
"But what if well-meaning individuals or opportunists deliberately sabotage it?"
Zhou Huaijin shook his head: "I've basically seen all those guys; they used both soft and hard tactics."
Among the softer tactics, those guys spare no effort to spread the message: telling you the truth will harm you, will put you in a heartbreaking situation.
Sponsors give you nice names such as "a child raised by the whole society", "a life watched by everyone", and "a future growing up in the love and care of the whole society".
At the same time, GG guarantees that it will not interfere with your growth in the slightest, but will only leave your eternal mark in human history.
Even if you make mistakes or are ordinary, you will only be treated normally.
These positive assurances almost completely dispelled the hostility of those morally upright individuals towards the program.
Chu Kong looked out the window and said with a bitter smile, "But if the whole world treats me as a 'child raised by society,' then where should I put my true anger, jealousy, prejudice, and other unbearable feelings?"
Zhou Huaijin put down the magazine in her hand: "Good question. That's why GG would say, 'What we love is a specific person, the whole of a child, including your imperfections.'"
In other words, you never need to worry about the problems that "reality" might bring.
Chu Kong remained noncommittal and continued to ask, "I believe that so-called soft methods will have some effect, but there are probably quite a few people who harbor ill intentions for no reason."
"Then we have to talk about tough measures. Your sponsors set up a special legal team for you and the program to protect all your and the program's rights and interests, and even invited many big names in the legal profession to endorse your political rights."
Therefore, anyone who maliciously damages the program will face unimaginable consequences.
These almost threatening hard-line tactics will make most ill-intentioned people think twice.
Chu Kong frowned: "Perhaps these procedural methods are indeed very effective, but it's inevitable that some will slip through the net."
"Of course they've considered this situation. The production team will deploy security personnel around you at any time. The program is not broadcast live; there will be a delay of several tens of minutes to deal with emergencies."
Chu Kong thought for a moment, looking conflicted, but still asked hesitantly, "What if I were the one who wanted to break the law, or rather, the one who wanted to ruin this show through similar means?"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Huaijin finally met Chu Kong's eyes. This was the first time Zhou Huaijin had made eye contact with Chu Kong during this trip.
His eyes were sharp as he slowly said, "You'll find that the law is the most solid script for this show. You'll see unexpected lessons from the past, and you'll encounter people who will try their best to help you and stop you from doing wrong. They'll first try to persuade you to stop yourself."
At this point, Zhou Huaijin sighed with emotion and said with a hint of sarcasm, "Your sponsor really went to great lengths for this performance art."
"Performance art?" Chu Kong muttered to himself, his hand involuntarily reaching into his pocket.
Inside that pocket lay a letter, lying quietly.
The words from that letter, which he could never forget, still burned in his mind: "...What I want to give you is to become the master of your own destiny, even the master of your own fate!"
Dominate? He looked out the window at the sky, tens of thousands of meters high.
The sea of clouds churned, like another world.
A week before Zhou Huaijin approached him, that unexpected letter had hammered the word "master" into the framework of his life like a newly forged steel nail.