Ai Wentao didn’t plan to alarm anyone. After all, Zhou Zike was a grown man and not foolish. He could take care of himself, and it was unlikely that he had gotten himself lost. Maybe he had found another place to continue drinking, or perhaps he had fallen asleep somewhere in a corner and would naturally come back home when he woke up. These were all possible scenarios, and Ai Wentao comforted himself. Zhou Zike was used to being alone and had gone missing before, so it was normal not to see him for a while.
However, when the next day came and Zhou Zike was still nowhere to be found, and his phone was still busy, Ai Wentao started to worry.
Zhou Zike’s sister, Zhou Ziyuan, suddenly called during the day. Ai Wentao initially thought she was going to ask about what happened at the club last night. After all, news spreads fast in such a small circle. He had planned to tell her that her brother was temporarily missing, but he was looking for him and she didn’t need to worry. However, it turned out that Zhou Ziyuan had come for something else.
“Wentao, do you know about Zike and Tang Zhen?” Zhou Ziyuan asked straight away.
Ai Wentao was taken aback on the phone, and his secretary was eagerly waiting beside him. Ai Wentao waved his hand, signaling the person to leave and closed the office door.
“What… what?” Ai Wentao stammered, holding the phone and said, “Zike and… and… and who?”
Zhou Ziyuan’s voice contained a hint of anger, and she said seriously, “Don’t try to hide it from me. Tell me the truth.”
Ai Wentao wondered what was going on. How did this fucking matter reach her? He replied cautiously, “No, sis, this… uh…”
“Did Zike and Tang Zhen have something going on? When did it start? How long has it been?” Zhou Ziyuan asked without taking a breath. “What’s really going on? Tell me everything you know.”
Ai Wentao pondered for a moment, unsure of what Zhou Ziyuan meant. He realized he couldn’t deceive her, so he highlighted a few key points and skipped over overly private details: “… That’s what happened. Well, he did enter the company because of Tang Zhen, and they did have a relationship at one point, but they should have broken up a while ago. That’s all I know, really, sis. I’m not lying to you… If we talk about seriousness, he was quite serious at that time, but they broke up, right? And for a considerable period of time, things seemed fine… A gift package? I don’t know. Tang Zhen’s assistant? I don’t know them… Ah? Is it true? Did he really say that?… I truly don’t know. No wonder. I had a feeling something was off with him since the day Tang Zhen’s suicide happened.”
Zhou Ziyuan’s voice trembled with suppressed emotions. “Could it be that Tang Zhen…”
Ai Wentao seemed to understand what she was thinking and sighed, “What can we do about it?”
Zhou Ziyuan asked sharply, “Is it true?”
“What’s true?” Ai Wentao replied.
Zhou Ziyuan anxiously asked, “Did Tang Zhen really commit suicide because of the breakup with Zike?”
Ai Wentao said, “Oh, I can’t be sure about that. It’s been almost a year since then, but…”
Knowing Zhou Zike’s history with his ex-girlfriends, they were well aware of the intensity of his relationships and breakups. Moreover, based on Ai Wentao’s understanding of Zhou Zike, if Tang Zhen had committed suicide because of someone else, Zhou Zike wouldn’t even spare him a glance.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Zhou Ziyuan started to panic over the phone, “What should we do… I also heard that Tang Zhen had some illness, and his condition has been particularly bad in the past year. Could it be because of Zike…”
Cl Qfcajb atbeuta ab tlwrfio, “Qtja j wfrr atfs’nf ubaafc atfwrfinfr lcab.”
Coafg kbgx, Cl Qfcajb kjr ralii kbcvfglcu ktfgf Itbe Ilxf tjv ubcf. Lf jrxfv Hl Wlcu ab tfiq lcdelgf klat CVS lo jcsbcf tjv rffc tlw. Hl Wlcu kfjxis gfqilfv atja atfs gjgfis rjk Itbe Ilxf jgbecv, rb la kjr ecilxfis atfs mbeiv olcv bea jcsatlcu. Cl Qfcajb kjr oeglber jcv rmbivfv tlw bnfg atf qtbcf, “P abiv sbe ab jrx, rb pera jrx! Qts rb wemt cbcrfcrf? Rb kbcvfg sbeg ybrr kjcar ab olgf sbe.”
Qi Xing felt extremely wronged. He thought, “Zhou-ge will find me annoying.” Unable to argue with Ai Wentao, he reluctantly started making calls and asking people around.
At 6 o’clock in the afternoon, Luo Tiantian stood by the corridor window, scrolling his phone. The rain had subsided a bit, and a cool breeze blew in. Someone asked Luo Tiantian if he had seen Zhou Zike today.
Luo Tiantian found it amusing and continued teasing his fans on his phone while saying, “Me? Why ask me?”
The person on the other end of the phone chuckled and replied, “No one has seen him.”
“Yeah, they can’t find Zhou Zike,” Luo Tiantian asked, “Is Guo Xiaoli looking for him?”
“Who knows.”
Luo Tiantian laughed and turned his well-made-up eyes towards the closed door at the end of the corridor, murmuring, “Guo Xiaoli really has it tough.”
Luo Tiantian’s phone rang, and he looked down to see a notification from a user he had set to be specially followed on Weibo.
Liang Qiuyun:
Meeting A-zhen in Rome.
Below was a photo, taken in a black and white-toned lounge. Liang Qiuyun sat on a long sofa, smoking and reading a script. In the middle of reading, he stole a glance at the large makeup mirror on the opposite wall. In the mirror, a hairstylist was styling Tang Zhen’s hair. Tang Zhen had his eyes closed, his hair already grown long, reaching his shoulders. The left side seemed to have been curled, with various curls falling around his ear.
The captured moment in the photo was Liang Qiuyun looking up at the mirror.
Luo Tiantian stared at the photo, and with a downward swipe of his finger, he saw that the photo had been posted for less than a minute, yet the comments were already overflowing with numerous red hearts and roses. Luo Tiantian often browsed the internet and had some knowledge about these things. He had heard of terms like “Yun-Zhen” and “Zi-Yang.” In fact, there were often “Yun-Zhen” shippers who messaged him on his Weibo, asking for “sugar.” Every time Luo Tiantian saw those messages, he would silently chuckle to himself, thinking, I have Liang Qiuyun and my complete set of videos. Do you want them? And he would also think, “you want sugar,” huh? Here’s more.
Tang Zhen was coughing severely, and the hairstylist dared not say anything. He reluctantly finished styling his hair and packed up his things before leaving.
Liang Qiuyun continued to blow smoke from behind.
The director of “Roman Online” entered the room and choked by the smell of smoke as soon as he opened the door. Upon closer inspection, he found Tang Zhen sitting obediently in the makeup chair, except for occasional coughing, showing no other signs of movement. The director advised, “Yun Laoban, maybe you shouldn’t smoke right now.” Before he could finish speaking, Liang Qiuyun’s assistant, Xiao Meng, said, “Yun-ge was busy all night and didn’t get any sleep. He needs to stay awake.”
Sweat started dripping down the director’s forehead. He looked up at Tang Zhen and noticed that it seemed he were asleep. They had been talking for quite a while, but Tang Zhen showed no reaction. The director remembered that in the past, whenever there was even a slight smell of smoke, Tang Zhen would cough, and they would immediately extinguish it. The treatment he received now was completely different.
Tang Zhen’s mute assistant sat not far from the makeup mirror. The director was quite familiar with him, although they hadn’t had much communication. At least they would see each other once a week. This assistant had been with Tang Zhen for years, never leaving his side, not even when going to the restroom backstage. The director didn’t dare to offend him either. Everyone said that this mute assistant was Guo Xiaoli’s spy sent to keep an eye on Tang Zhen. He couldn’t speak, but his eyes were sharp.
The director poured a glass of water and brought it to Tang Zhen, only to realize that there was already a glass of water next to him, untouched.
“A-zhen, how are you feeling today?” the director asked.
Tang Zhen heard the voice and opened his eyes. When he saw it was the director, he smiled faintly. “Director Feng.”
The director carefully observed Tang Zhen and noticed that after the suicide incident, Tang Zhen had become even thinner and looked worse. Although the makeup could cover up some of it, as soon as he spoke, it was evident that he was not doing well. The director pondered for a moment and said, “It’s okay, you don’t have to worry too much. Guo-jie has briefed me on the situation. Today, although the focus is on welcoming you back, we also need to consider your current condition. So, later when you meet the guests—”
Tang Zhen interrupted, “You don’t have to consider me. I’m fine.”
“This won’t do, A-zhen. Your condition is still—”
Liang Qiuyun chimed in from the side, “Lao Feng, it’s fine.”
Director Feng turned around and went to greet Yun Laoban. As he approached, Liang Qiuyun whispered, “A-zhen has always been dedicated. Even if he’s not in the best condition, he can still handle going on stage. You know that, so there’s no need to dissuade him.”
Director Feng whispered back, “Guo Xiaoli called me specifically—”
“If she didn’t know he could handle it, Guo Xiaoli wouldn’t have had the heart to bring him here,” Liang Qiuyun said, patting Director Feng’s shoulder. “Go and attend to your duties.”
After Director Feng left, Luo Tiantian entered the room with his assistant, Beibei, carrying several packed meals. They placed the meals on the table in front of Liang Qiuyun. Luo Tiantian lowered his head and found a chair to sit on. When he looked up and saw that Tang Zhen hadn’t moved at all, he asked Liang Qiuyun, “Is he sleeping again?”
Liang Qiuyun was still reading the script and said, “Qi Lu, call your Laoshi over for dinner.”
Qi Lu glanced at him, then at Luo Tiantian, and turned away.
Luo Tiantian smiled and said, “Lu Lu is in a bad mood today.”
Liang Qiuyun didn’t get angry either. He threw the script aside, extinguished his cigarette, and walked over to Tang Zhen himself.
Tang Zhen had his eyes closed, his head slightly tilted forward, and his body covered by a large drape. He was nestled in the tall makeup chair. From Liang Qiuyun’s perspective, he could only see Tang Zhen’s clean white earlobes behind his long hair and his face, with dark circles hidden by cosmetic products.
Tang Zhen suddenly woke up. He looked down and saw someone undoing the drape around his neck. When he looked up, Liang Qiuyun tossed the drape aside, crossed his arms in front of his chest, leaned against the dresser, and looked at him with a smile. He whispered, “Is there a need to be so scared?”
Tang Zhen stared at him, seemingly genuinely frightened, breathing unevenly. Seeing this, Liang Qiuyun restrained his smile and said, “Don’t sleep. Come over and eat your meal.”
Luo Tiantian saw Tang Zhen approaching and asked his assistant, Beibei, to get a chair for him. Tang Zhen asked Qi Lu about Wen Xin’s whereabouts. Qi Lu made a gesture that others couldn’t understand, but Tang Zhen could.
Seeing Tang Zhen sitting down at the dining table, Qi Lu kept watching him with concern.
Liang Qiuyun also observed Tang Zhen. Although Tang Zhen had sat down, he held the chopsticks without moving.
“I won’t throw lines at you later,” Liang Qiuyun said, taking a few bites but then stopping. “Say whatever you want to say, and I’ll pick it up.”
Tang Zhen nodded, and Liang Qiuyun looked at him intently. Suddenly, he reached out and firmly grasped Tang Zhen’s left hand, which was resting on his knee.
Tang Zhen was taken aback, and Luo Tiantian, with a piece of rib in his mouth, watched as Liang Qiuyun forcefully pulled Tang Zhen’s hand over and held his slender wrist in his palm, weighing it.
“You’re so thin and not eating,” Liang Qiuyun asked Tang Zhen, lowering his head. “If you faint on stage later, it will make headlines again.”
Tang Zhen said, “It’s not that serious.”
Liang Qiuyun said, “But you’re not eating?”
Tang Zhen said, “Yun-ge, you don’t have to worry about me.”
Liang Qiuyun said, “Do you think I want to worry about you?”
Tang Zhen fell silent.
Liang Qiuyun continued to look at him, unable to discern any emotions in his eyes as they wandered over Tang Zhen’s pale face, as white as paper. After a while, Liang Qiuyun suddenly said, “If I’m gone one day, how will you manage on your own?”
His voice was low and soft, and Tang Zhen heard it. He raised his head and looked at Liang Qiuyun, who was still holding his hand.
I’m not sure I have the words to express how much I loathe Liang Qiuyun. I hope Tang Zhen can escape soon from his vile manipulation.