The reporters sprang to their feet as though jolted awake, firing questions one after another like a string of firecrackers. After all, this was Feng Ya Lun’s first public appearance since the drunk-driving and police-assault incident.
“Feng Ya Lun, did you really assault a police officer?”
“Feng Ya Lun, do you think you’re still qualified to be an idol?”
“What arrangements has the company made for your future work?”
“What has been the greatest impact of this drunk-driving and police-assault incident on you?”
“……”
No matter how sharp the questions became, Feng Ya Lun maintained the same composed smile, listening to them at his leisure.
Only when the reporters realized that all their questions were getting them nowhere did they voluntarily fall silent.
Once the hall had finally quieted down, Feng Ya Lun slowly said, “Actually, I wasn’t planning to take questions today.”
The reporters immediately erupted into agitation.
Putting an enormous roast chicken in the middle of a crowd of starving people and then telling them it was only for looking at, not eating—what kind of inhuman cruelty was that?!
Feng Ya Lun seemed completely oblivious to the pleading and indignant gazes fixed on him as he continued, “First of all…”
The reporters immediately quieted down again.
“I apologize to all traffic police officers, and to every member of the public who knows about this incident, for driving after drinking and for physically assaulting a police officer.” He stood and bowed deeply, then picked up the microphone. “A reporter just asked whether I think I’m still qualified to be an idol…”
Gao Qin’s brows suddenly drew together as a terrible premonition crashed over him.
“I think…” Feng Ya Lun raised his head. Those eyes, which had been voted No. 1 “Most Electrifying Eyes” by major magazines for three consecutive years, were as clear and pure as a rainbow after rain. “…I’m not.”
Gao Qin’s hand abruptly closed around the microphone, obviously intending to speak, but Feng Ya Lun got there first and pressed a hand onto his shoulder. His eyes remained fixed straight ahead, somewhere above the reporters’ heads.
“Before I entered the industry, Gao Qin once asked me what path I wanted to take in my career. My answer was: an idol. Because I believed an idol wasn’t merely someone with a handsome face or a good body, but an artist who could truly serve as a role model. What I deeply regret is that, in the end, I failed to do that.” He bowed again. “To all the fans who have supported me, I’m sorry. I disappointed you.”
Gao Qin’s expression gradually darkened. He had already guessed what Feng Ya Lun was about to say next.
Feng Ya Lun lifted his head. “Everyone who does something wrong has to take responsibility for it. And the responsibility I’m going to take is…”
“Ya Lun!” Gao Qin growled.
Feng Ya Lun ignored him. “I’m leaving the entertainment industry.”
Xiao Bai and Jia Zhi Qing both stared at him in shock.
Backstage, the version Feng Ya Lun and Gao Qin had prepared had clearly only been an apology, followed by a request that the public give him a chance to correct his mistakes and start over. How had that somehow turned into him leaving the entertainment industry?
After their brief shock, the reporters’ camera flashes went berserk as though someone had injected them with stimulants.
Every shade of Gao Qin’s livid expression was captured perfectly on camera.
One reporter shouted, “Then what are you planning to do afterward?”
Feng Ya Lun lowered his eyes. “I’ve applied to a university in the United States and plan to continue my studies. But I’m sorry—I can’t disclose the name of the university, or it might look like I’m advertising for them.”
Gao Qin’s fist clenched tightly.
Lies. All lies.
Only a few days had passed since Feng Ya Lun came out of detention. Even the most streamlined university bureaucracy could not possibly have given him an answer that quickly. He was clearly acting first and informing everyone afterward!
A reporter suddenly turned on Gao Qin. “Was this the company’s decision, or Feng Ya Lun’s own?”
Gao Qin gave Feng Ya Lun a meaningful look before slowly answering, “Of course it was Feng Ya Lun’s decision. He has an independent mind and his own opinions. As his manager, I regret his choice. But as a man, I sincerely admire his willingness to own what he did and take responsibility for it.”
Feng Ya Lun lowered his head. The corner of his mouth curved slightly, neither quite smiling nor not.
The reporters turned their attention to Xiao Bai again. “You and Feng Ya Lun are senior and junior artists under the same agency, and the two of you once made front-page headlines because of a scandal. What do you think of his decision?”
Xiao Bai stared blankly at Feng Ya Lun, still feeling as though he were wandering through a fog.
Jia Zhi Qing immediately jumped in. “Actually, Brother Ya Lun already told us about this privately. We respect Brother Ya Lun’s decision.”
Gao Qin looked at him in considerable surprise.
Whether Xiao Bai was cut out for the entertainment industry remained debatable, but Jia Zhi Qing absolutely was. At the very least, his ability to improvise a blatant lie without even blinking was not much worse than Gao Qin’s own. His performance today had genuinely exceeded Gao Qin’s expectations.
The reporters were satisfied.
Although they had failed to dig up any gossip about Xiao Bai and Yan Su Ang, the news that Feng Ya Lun was leaving the entertainment industry was even more explosive.
And sure enough, the reaction was exactly as expected.
The moment Feng Ya Lun’s departure was announced, Yimate and Feng Ya Lun’s home were surrounded so thoroughly that not even water could have leaked through.
Fans launched all kinds of campaigns begging him to stay.
Many of the same people who had furiously condemned Feng Ya Lun over the police-assault incident suddenly reversed course and adopted a gentler approach, declaring that there was no greater virtue than recognizing one’s mistakes and correcting them. Feng Ya Lun was clearly still redeemable; there was absolutely no need for him to go this far.
Naturally, there were also plenty of people taking pleasure in his misfortune.
Slogans appeared endlessly: “Purge low-quality celebrities from the entertainment industry!” “Give showbiz its fresh air back!” “Scum like him belongs in America!” and every variation in between.
The moderator of the Boundless Sea and Sky Forum spent every day deleting threads and pinning featured posts, scrambling up and down until he was almost beside himself with activity.
The person at the center of the storm, however, was obviously unaffected.
After seeing the amount of sympathetic public reaction, Ma Rui went back on his word and withdrew his earlier decision to put Feng Ya Lun on ice, declaring instead that he would plan a new career peak for him. Feng Ya Lun continued doing exactly as he pleased and remained completely unmoved.
A school was finally arranged. It was not prestigious, but at least it was remote enough to make an excellent place for seclusion.
Even someone as slow as Xiao Bai could clearly sense that Feng Ya Lun and Gao Qin’s magnetic fields had been seriously incompatible lately.
The two of them almost never appeared in the same place anymore. The most obvious example was the restroom.
Feng Ya Lun and Gao Qin had both originally preferred the second-floor restroom because it was the most spacious. But after Feng Ya Lun announced his departure, one of them would rather squeeze into the first-floor restroom while the other simply went all the way to the top floor and stole the boss’s.
Rumor had it that Ma Rui strongly objected to this in private. The top-floor restroom had originally been used only by Ma Rui and his secretary, so when it was built, there had been just one men’s room and one women’s room.
Once another man started using it, not only was Ma Rui’s private space disturbed, his private habits were exposed as well.
That was how the rumor that Ma Rui suffered from frequent urination began to spread.
Xiao Bai walked quietly along the road home from the bus stop.
His mood had been particularly poor these past few days. Even during today’s recording of Nemesis of the Shameless, he had seemed listless.
He desperately wanted to concentrate, but every time he remembered that Feng Ya Lun would soon be leaving for America, it felt as though several hundred heavy weights were pressing down on his heart until he could barely breathe.
Beep—
A pair of taillights suddenly flared to life, making him instinctively raise a hand to shield his eyes.
The engine shut off and the car door opened.
Feng Ya Lun’s tall, slender figure emerged from the car, and he waved at Xiao Bai with his usual carefree flair.
Xiao Bai lowered his hand and hurried over.
Feng Ya Lun shut the door and folded his arms. “I heard you were distracted during the show today and the director chewed you out pretty badly.”
Xiao Bai lowered his head and gave a small nod.
“What are we going to do with you? When a newcomer performs like this, it’s easy to get swallowed up by the next wave before you’ve even managed to make a splash.” Feng Ya Lun sighed, then produced two cans of beer from his pocket as though performing a magic trick and handed one over.
Xiao Bai looked startled. “Ah, Brother Gao said—”
“It’s a soft drink.” Feng Ya Lun pointed to the words “NONALCOHOLIC” printed on the can. “See? It’s just pineapple soda wearing beer’s clothes. So there’s no need to use Gao Qin’s rules against me.”n
“I wasn’t.” Xiao Bai muttered as he pulled open the tab.
“What are you going to do about Yan Su Ang?”
Xiao Bai merely froze for a moment without looking particularly surprised. Far too many people had been asking him about Yan Su Ang lately. “We’re friends,” he answered firmly.
“I believe you.” Feng Ya Lun paused. “But I don’t believe Yan Su Ang.”
Xiao Bai’s eyes widened. “Why?” No matter how he looked at Yan Su Ang, he didn’t seem like a bad person.
“Because he looks exactly like a wolf.” And a sexually frustrated one at that.
“A wolf?” Xiao Bai remembered the comparison Feng Ya Lun had made before. “The kind that eats rabbits?”
“Exactly.”
“I’m that rabbit.”
“Mm-hmm.” Feng Ya Lun was greatly relieved. Looks like Xiao Bai is finally starting to understand.
“But I don’t taste good.”
“……” Better not expect too much from Xiao Bai after all. The greater the expectations, the harder the fall.
Half the pineapple beer was soon gone.
Feng Ya Lun suddenly said, “Suppose one day—I mean hypothetically—you really wanted to do something, but the whole world opposed you. What would you do?”
“Ah! Am I trying to become Bin Laden?” Xiao Bai frowned in distress.
…How did those two things get connected? Sweat practically cascaded down Feng Ya Lun. “Nothing that serious.”
Xiao Bai thought for a long time. “I wouldn’t do anything illegal.”
“It isn’t illegal.”
“If it isn’t illegal, why would everyone oppose it?”
Feng Ya Lun rubbed his nose. “Because according to their beliefs, it’s wrong.”
“Does it violate morality or conscience?”
“I don’t know whether it violates morality, but it definitely doesn’t violate my conscience.”
“Then do it.” Xiao Bai held the pineapple-beer can in both hands and looked up at the sky with bright, sparkling eyes. “You can’t live your life for other people, because other people can’t live your life for you.”
The stars in the night sky seemed to be reflected in his clear black-and-white eyes, glittering so brilliantly that Feng Ya Lun could not look away.
“……” Feng Ya Lun sighed. “Xiao Bai.”
“Mm?”
“It’s a shame I’m leaving. Otherwise… maybe I would’ve become Yan Su Ang’s love rival.”
Xiao Bai stared at him blankly.
“Forget it.” Feng Ya Lun suddenly drained everything remaining in the can in a single breath, stuffed the empty can into Xiao Bai’s hand, opened the car door, and sat down. “Go home early.”
“You’re leaving?”
“There’s somewhere else I need to go.”
Feng Ya Lun was about to close the door when Xiao Bai stopped it with one hand. “Leaving the entertainment industry… are you happy?”
Feng Ya Lun froze before answering quietly, “No. But if I stayed, I wouldn’t be happy either. Happiness is something you have to pursue for yourself.”
Xiao Bai only half understood.
Before closing the car door, Feng Ya Lun said meaningfully, “Remember what you just said. You can’t live your life for other people, because other people can’t live your life for you.”
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