Reporters who had rushed over after hearing the news packed the area in front of the television station.
Those reporters were shrewd. They knew exactly how many exits the station had and had every one of them tightly covered.
Unable to get out, Gao Qin had no choice but to hide in a utility room at the station.
Gao Qin, Jia Zhi Qing, and Xiao Bai had all turned off their phones.
So when a phone suddenly rang, they looked at Feng Ya Lun without even thinking.
Feng Ya Lun checked the caller ID. “It’s Yan Su Ang.” He answered, told Yan Su Ang what was going on, and gave him their current location.
Watching him put away his phone, Gao Qin asked, “Wasn’t he supposed to attend a ribbon-cutting today?”
“Mm. He said it’s over.” Feng Ya Lun put special emphasis on the word said.
Gao Qin said, “Zhang Fu Man has been showing signs of turning into Zhang Bu Man lately.” Otherwise, he would not have dumped this mess straight into their laps.
Elio’s Notes: Zhang Bu Man (张不满) literally means “Zhang Dissatisfied,” a joke on Zhang Fu Man’s name because 满 can mean “satisfied” or “full.”
Feng Ya Lun shrugged. “Even without this, it was only a matter of time before Yan Su Ang struck out on his own after his contract expired.”
Weijie might be one of the top entertainment agencies in the country, but even it was gradually becoming too small a cage for the increasingly powerful eagle that was Yan Su Ang.
Gao Qin fell silent.
Jia Zhi Qing spun a key ring around his finger.
The constant jingling sounded like a tiny knife, slicing their thoughts into pieces.
Gao Qin finally snapped, “Can you be quiet for a minute?”
Jia Zhi Qing said innocently, “I just think it’s a little too quiet.” He would rather be driven insane by every problem imaginable than suffocate in this so-called silence inside a utility room.
Feng Ya Lun looked at Xiao Bai and asked seriously, “Have you really decided to leave the entertainment industry?”
Xiao Bai nodded solemnly.
Gao Qin said, “You still haven’t answered my question. Why announce it during a live broadcast? And without discussing it with anyone beforehand? Do you think acting first and reporting afterward solves everything?”
Xiao Bai said, “I heard your conversation.”
“What?” Gao Qin frowned.
Feng Ya Lun seemed to understand. “The conversation at Yan Su Ang’s place that day?” That would explain why Xiao Bai had chosen this particular moment. He was afraid Yan Su Ang would beat him to it.
Xiao Bai nodded.
Gao Qin asked, “Then did you discuss what happened today with Yan Su Ang?”
“No.” Xiao Bai paused. “But he didn’t discuss his decision with me either.”
Gao Qin said, “So you’re doing this out of spite?”
“No. I made this decision very seriously.”
The door opened.
Yan Su Ang stood in the doorway, exhaustion written across his face. In a hoarse voice, he asked, “How serious?”
The pale light from the corridor spilled only a step into the utility room, outlining his figure.
Xiao Bai raised his head. Seeing Yan Su Ang’s face darkened by the backlight, a sudden sense of guilt rose inside him.
“Tell me. How serious?” Yan Su Ang walked toward him step by step. “As serious as my love for you?”
He stopped in front of Xiao Bai, reached out, and suddenly pulled him hard into his arms. “Don’t you know this makes my heart ache?”
From the side, Jia Zhi Qing muttered, “I’m positive I’ve heard that line in some TV drama before.”
Feng Ya Lun said, “Nine out of ten romance dramas have that line. The last one had a mute male lead, so he had to say it in sign language.”
Gao Qin said, “How long are they planning to hug before that solves the problem outside?”
“Until the end of time, probably,” Feng Ya Lun said. “By then, the reporters and viewers will all have died of old age, and the problem will solve itself.”
“Shut up, all of you.” Yan Su Ang turned and glared at them furiously.
Seeing Yan Su Ang lose his temper actually calmed Gao Qin down. “I’d love to. But at a time like this, I think you may need a manager.”
Jia Zhi Qing said, “Isn’t the problem right now how we’re supposed to get out of here?”
Gao Qin looked at him strangely.
Jia Zhi Qing immediately went on guard. “What are you planning?”
Gao Qin suddenly punched him in the stomach.
…
Watching Jia Zhi Qing double over in pain, Gao Qin said expressionlessly, “I think what we need now is an ambulance.”
While lying on the stretcher, Jia Zhi Qing groaned and tugged at Gao Qin’s sleeve, whispering, “Even if you hadn’t hit me, I could’ve acted convincingly.” During that stretch in the hospital VIP room, he had learned nothing except how to fake being sick with remarkable skill.
Gao Qin whispered back, “I hit you because I wanted to hit you.”
…
“Fuck!”
After returning from the hospital, they held a second meeting at Yan Su Ang’s place.
With enough time for the initial shock to settle, everyone’s reason gradually returned. What they had to think about now was no longer how sudden this was, but what they were going to do next.
Jia Zhi Qing was banished to the kitchen to cut fruit.
Gao Qin looked at Xiao Bai and asked, enunciating every word, “Do you really want to leave the entertainment industry?”
Xiao Bai nodded. “Yes. I’ve saved enough money.”
Gao Qin said, “For a butcher shop?”
“It isn’t just a butcher shop. It’s Brother Xiong’s life’s work, and it’s my dream.” Xiao Bai lowered his head, hesitated, then slowly continued, “Actually, I’m not used to talking with strangers. I have to accommodate them and make myself talk. And…” He paused slightly. “I know I’m not very good at it, but I don’t know how to become good at it either.”
Gao Qin said, “No. You’ve done very well.”
Xiao Bai looked up.
Yan Su Ang and Feng Ya Lun both agreed with their eyes.
Xiao Bai smiled faintly and said calmly, “But it isn’t what I want.”
…
Xiao Bai was not someone who knew how to lie.
So Gao Qin did not try to persuade him any further. He quickly changed the subject. “Leaving the entertainment industry isn’t something you can do casually. The first thing you’ll have to deal with is your agency contract.”
Xiao Bai said, “So I have to give three months’ notice?”
…
“No. You have to pay a penalty for breaking the contract.”
Seeing Xiao Bai’s face pale slightly, Feng Ya Lun immediately spoke up for him. “You should be able to handle Ma Rui, right?” After all, when Feng Ya Lun had left, he had barely paid any penalty at all.
Gao Qin said, “It isn’t only Ma Rui. There are the advertising contracts too.” In other words, Gao Qin was being handed the job of dealing with Ma Rui.
After a long silence, Yan Su Ang said, “Money isn’t a problem.”
Feng Ya Lun curled his lip. “Worst case, I’ll finish the rest of his contracts for him.”
Even though Feng Ya Lun had once left the entertainment industry, his advertising value and influence were still several levels above Xiao Bai’s.
Xiao Bai said, “But I don’t want to trouble you.”
Feng Ya Lun shrugged. “It’s not a matter of whether it’s trouble or not.”
Yan Su Ang said, “What advertisements? I can take them too.”
…
That advertiser was definitely coming out ahead.
Feng Ya Lun said, “I was planning to use this chance to make my comeback. Don’t steal it from me.”
Yan Su Ang said, “Why not let the advertiser choose?”
…
Feng Ya Lun glared at him fiercely.
Gao Qin spread his hands. “Any other objections?”
Yan Su Ang stood. “Xiao Bai, come with me.”
Xiao Bai glanced at Feng Ya Lun.
Feng Ya Lun smiled back at him.
Yan Su Ang waited in the bedroom. The moment Xiao Bai came in, he grabbed him, pressed him onto the bed, and said, “I’ve wanted to do this since just now. In fact, I’ve wanted it so badly I’m going crazy.”
Breathing a little harder, Xiao Bai said, “No. They’re downstairs.”
Yan Su Ang stared at him for a while, then buried his face in Xiao Bai’s shoulder, a low laugh rumbling in his throat. “Xiao Bai, Xiao Bai… How could I ever lose you?”
Xiao Bai slowly wrapped his arms around him. “You won’t lose me.”
“That’s right. I won’t. I won’t let something like that happen, even though for half an hour after I heard the news, I lived with exactly that fear.” He raised his head, his heated gaze fixed on Xiao Bai’s face. “We can’t do the whole thing, but a little taste should be fine.”
Xiao Bai obediently puckered his lips.
Yan Su Ang kissed him hard.
When Gao Qin saw Yan Su Ang and Xiao Bai come downstairs, he teased, “Last time Lian Jue Xiu said you only need half an hour each time. I think he forgot to subtract the time you spend showering, undressing, and getting dressed again.”
Yan Su Ang said irritably, “Next time you see him, remind me to kill him and silence the witness.”
Seeing that the storm had passed, Feng Ya Lun finally remembered the person they had exiled. “Does anyone else think the fruit in the kitchen may be having a difficult labor?”
Gao Qin said, “No. I think he may be loosening the soil and planting seeds.”
Feng Ya Lun said, “Then I hope he plants some watermelon or cantaloupe.”
Yan Su Ang said, “…In my kitchen?”
Jia Zhi Qing was happily eating when he suddenly discovered several pairs of eyes at the kitchen door.
He turned around innocently. “I was cutting fruit just now.”
Yan Su Ang looked at the half-eaten apple in his hand and sighed. “But we forgot to tell you to bring it out after you finished peeling it.”
Jia Zhi Qing nodded shamelessly. “Exactly.”
And just like that, Xiao Bai’s departure from the entertainment industry was settled.
Ma Rui had quite a few complaints at first, but the moment he learned that Feng Ya Lun was planning a comeback, those complaints instantly turned into words of thanks. After all, whether in popularity or influence, Xiao Bai and Feng Ya Lun simply could not be compared on the same level. Losing one tender sprout in exchange for embracing a flower in full bloom was a very profitable trade. That night, Ma Rui slept wonderfully well.
The media hyped the story for a while, but when no new developments appeared, the noise gradually died down.
The only people still going full steam were the Bai Powder fans. But they had a new slogan now: “If you love him, eat more meat!”
It was said that Xiao Bai even received a letter of protest from a vegetable association in the United States because of it.
Gao Qin expressed his gratification: this proved Xiao Bai was famous in America too.
It was also worth mentioning that the magazine claiming to possess evidence that Xiao Bai and Yan Su Ang had shared a room really did publish its proof.
It was a photograph of Xiao Bai and Yan Su Ang coming out of a room. Judging by the pixels and angle, it had probably been pulled from hotel surveillance footage. Unfortunately for that scoop, gossip about Feng Ya Lun coming out of retirement to take over Xiao Bai’s advertising contracts was blazing hot at the time, so the story was promptly buried beneath the wave.
Also, to celebrate Gao Qin finally allowing Feng Ya Lun to show his face in public again, Lian Jue Xiu specially launched a new film, Prison Tears.
The story was a little different from what he had originally imagined.
It was about a new prisoner played by Feng Ya Lun and a prison boss played by Yan Su Ang matching wits and strength behind bars until, in the end, they came to appreciate each other deeply.
Ever since Feng Ya Lun debuted, he had rarely worked with Yan Su Ang. In the media’s words, “two kings never share a stage,” so this collaboration naturally drew feverish attention from both the press and fans.
In an entertainment world where gossip flew in every direction, Xiao Bai’s retirement soon became old news. In its place appeared an extraordinarily high-profile butcher shop.
Passerby A: Did you see yesterday’s commercial?
Passerby B: What commercial?
Passerby A: The one with Yan Su Ang, Feng Ya Lun, and Xiao Bai. Lian Jue Xiu directed it too.
Passerby B: Oh, Prison Tears. But filming hasn’t even started yet, has it? Tears of a Man is what’s showing now. It’s pretty good, but Feng Ya Lun isn’t in it.
Passerby A: I’m not talking about that. I mean the commercial for the butcher shop.
Passerby B: …An international chain of butcher shops?
Passerby A: I don’t think so. It’s called Xiong Xiong Butcher Shop. I’ve been there. I think there’s only one little store, about ten square meters.
Passerby B: …
Passerby A: But it really does have portraits of Yan Su Ang and Feng Ya Lun hanging over it.
Passerby B: …
Passerby A: I heard Xiao Bai is the owner.
Passerby B finally understood: Oh, I remember now. Xiao Bai said he was leaving to open a butcher shop.
Passerby A: Mm-hm.
Passerby B: He hired Yan Su Ang and Feng Ya Lun as spokesmen?
Passerby A: Looks like it.
Passerby B: And the shop is only about ten square meters?
Passerby A: Yeah. I’m sure.
Passerby B: …Are the pigs they sell there raised on abalone from birth?
Passerby A: No idea. All I know is that after I took some home and cooked it, I discovered it really was pork.
Passerby B: …
No matter how much commotion there was outside, Xiao Bai’s Xiong Xiong Butcher Shop finally opened smoothly. And from the moment it opened, the line of customers buying pork stretched all the way across the street.
Many of the customers were even wearing white T-shirts and chanting while they waited: “Love Xiao Bai, eat pork! Support Xiao Bai, eat more pork!”
Eventually, demand for pork exceeded supply, and people even started buying the shop’s knives, masks, cleaning rags…
By the time Yan Su Ang finished filming and hurried over, the empty shop contained nothing but Xiao Bai.
Yan Su Ang let out a relieved breath. “Thank goodness you’re still here.”
Xiao Bai said, “I held on to the doorframe as hard as I could.”
Yan Su Ang said, “That’s why I told you the door lock should be an electronic safe lock, with a password only I know.”
Xiao Bai asked, “Why can’t I know it?”
Yan Su Ang said, “I’m afraid you’ll run away once you do.”
“I won’t run. Tell me.” Xiao Bai smiled brightly at him.
Yan Su Ang closed the door and pressed Xiao Bai between himself and the wall. He slowly lowered his head and, just before their lips touched, murmured, “521, 1314.”
Elio’s Notes: 521 is Chinese internet number slang for “I love you,” while 1314 sounds like 一生一世, meaning “for a lifetime” or “forever.”
End of Main Story.
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