Translator: Viv
Editor: thomas
At 1:00 p.m., Liang Qiuyun felt his stomach constricting, his shoulders aching, and his legs as if they had lost sensation, all signs of overexertion. The rehearsal room of ASE’s underground was now empty, with trainees coming out of their respective rooms in small groups to head to the restaurant for lunch. However, in Room 3, belonging to Mattias, Liang Qiuyun was the only one left.
Mattias’ concert was less than a month away.
On the TV screen, the dance teacher’s pre-recorded breakdown video was still playing. Liang Qiuyun’s sneakers were soaked with sweat. He moved his ankles a few times, reached to grab his sweaty tank top, and felt a cool breeze. The dance teacher on TV coquettishly called out to him, “Xiao Liang, look here, down, down, up…”
Liang Qiuyun turned off the TV.
He leaned back, his head falling onto the wooden floor.
Guo Xiaoli told him over the phone last night that A-zhen has relied on him for quite some time.
“If it suddenly breaks off, neither you nor him can handle it. A-Yun, you know him, and I know you. As long as you treat A-zhen well, I won’t make things difficult for you both in terms of work.”
“I’ve watched you two come this far. When I entrusted him to you in the beginning, it’s because I believed in you. I don’t misjudge people, so of course, I trust you. But regarding your parents, A-Yun, don’t let them interact with those reporters anymore, okay? You need to be careful. The impact of the last report on A-zhen was too negative. The older generation of viewers cares a lot about this. You know how many people are watching him now. If someone seizes on such a thing, with ill intentions, it could escalate uncontrollably. Fortunately, Mr. Fang helped out last time. A-Yun, explain things to your parents and make sure such incidents don’t happen again.”
Liang Qiuyun, with his eyes wide open, felt sweat streaming down, stinging. He gazed up at the ceiling.
“Recently, I’ve also asked a few directors familiar with A-zhen. They don’t currently have any roles available, and the earliest one won’t start until after the New Year. For now, let’s focus on doing well at the theater, okay? How’s your preparation for the concert going? Practice more while A-zhen isn’t around.”
Liang Qiuyun stood up from the ground.
Holding a tray, Liang Qiuyun took a can of milk from the refrigerator. He was late again. The restaurant was empty, and he lowered his head to find a seat to eat.
“Everyone faces this situation when they debut, Xiaofan. In the company, everyone used to pamper you. You could do whatever you wanted. But now that you’ve debuted, you’re not a child anymore! You’re not facing just the company, but the entire industry. This is the entertainment circle! If your mental toughness is lacking, criticism is normal. Paparazzi, tabloid articles, media manipulation—it’s all normal. They only write about you when you’re popular. If you’re not, who would write about you?”
Liang Qiuyun ate his meal in silence, with a piece of tomato in his mouth. He glanced back at the corner behind him.
“Why should they? Why do they write about me like that? I’m not as bad as they say. If they have the guts, they should perform on stage themselves! Let them do it! And why should someone be manipulated just because they’re popular? Why doesn’t Tang Zhen get manipulated? They only praise him!”
“Oh my ancestors. Who told you Tang Zhen isn’t manipulated? There were plenty of people criticizing him earlier. Those tabloids wrote worse things about him than you. Don’t compare yourself to him.”
“Then why haven’t I seen it? I read tabloids every day, and all I see is them writing about me. Everything related to Tang Zhen is praise!”
“Xiaofan, I’ve told you before, haven’t I? I told you not to read those things. If you don’t read them, you’ll have peace of mind. The more you read, the more annoyed you get. I told you not to read them!”
“Why shouldn’t I read them? I just can’t stand them writing about me like that! I’ll get angry one day… I’ll sue them! You still haven’t told me why they don’t write about Tang Zhen.”
“Who are you going to sue? Hey, Tang Zhen is just lucky. Can you even compare to him? He has someone like Fang Xihe backing him up. Can you do that? If you don’t believe me, go ask around. Xiaofan, why would I lie to you? What would I gain from lying to you? If you don’t believe me, ask your uncle. Let him tell you himself whether Tang Zhen was heavily criticized when he debuted last year. When he was at his peak, playing that Seventh Young Master on TV, the paparazzi chased him every day, much worse than they chase you now. The tabloids would sell big with just one made-up story about him. You haven’t seen it.”
“Who are you talking about, what Fang Xihe? Introduce me to him.”
“I don’t even know where to find him.”
“How did Tang Zhen meet him then?”
“Tang Zhen, well, there’s nothing he can’t do. Even if it’s not Fang Xihe, I bet he could charm the President of China or the US—”
Liang Qiuyun stood up, tall and imposing. The restaurant was empty, and Luan Xiaofan spotted him at a glance.
The woman sitting across from Luan Xiaofan was none other than his agent, Wei Ping.
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.
“Oh, isn’t this our famous celebrity Liang Qiuyun,” Luan Xiaofan stood up too, smiling. “The big star Liang, why aren’t you off to the set doing odd jobs today? What brings you to our company?”
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Liang Qiuyun scrutinized her.
Wei Ping, feeling his gaze, blushed and paled alternately. “I was just kidding, Xiaofan is not an outsider, and A-zhen isn’t either. It’s just a joke between us insiders, what’s the big deal.”
“Hey, Liang, I’m talking to you. Are you deaf or what?” Luan Xiaofan called out from the side.
Liang Qiuyun turned back and walked towards Luan Xiaofan.
As Liang Qiuyun really approached, Luan Xiaofan stuttered, looking at Wei Ping, then back at Liang Qiuyun.
He quickly sat back down, looking pale as he gazed up at Liang Qiuyun.
“I go one day without beating your ass and you’re already asking for it?” Liang Qiuyun stared down at him and said.
Wei Ping rushed to intervene, “Xiao Liang, Xiaofan is just being immature. Oh, he has work in the afternoon, please don’t be angry with him, or else Mr. Mao—”
After hearing her words, Liang Qiuyun stepped back, silent for a while.
Luan Xiaofan, red-faced and stammering, exclaimed, “You… you dare… If you have the guts, hit me then! Just you wait till my uncle hears about this!”
Wei Ping, exasperated, hurriedly grabbed Luan Xiaofan. Luan Xiaofan groaned, “Ping-jie, why are you hitting me?”
“You’re impossible to teach!” Wei Ping sighed, “Liang Qiuyun has Tang Zhen backing him up. Your uncle is still trying to win over Tang Zhen. You’re causing trouble again—I told you not to provoke him!”
Liang Qiuyun’s phone buzzed, signaling an incoming text message.
“Xiao Liang, our production team is short on crew this afternoon. Will you come? You’ll get a day’s pay if you do. It’s not much.”
Liang Qiuyun locked the door to rehearsal room number three, made a call, and heard the other person say, “If you come, wear a mask to avoid being recognized.”
“A mask?”
“If you don’t have one, I’ll prepare one for you,” the person said helplessly. “There’s a woman surnamed Guo from your company who cursed me out last time. If it weren’t for not finding anyone else today, I wouldn’t dare to ask you.”
“What?” Liang Qiuyun was stunned, completely unaware. “Why?”
“It’s those reporters again. Last time they took photos of you doing odd jobs in our production team, and wrote news about being Tang Zhen’s partner, living in poverty, being marginalized by Tang Zhen, and only able to survive by working odd jobs. She said your odd jobs would have a bad influence on Tang Zhen, and kept scolding me, saying you’re an idol now and giving you work would hinder you. She cursed at me so badly. I really can’t stand her.”
Asia Star Entertainment had opened cultural merchandise stores in various locations around the city. In the business empire of ASE’s CEO, Mao Chengrui, he planned to open six or seven more stores in the city before expanding nationwide and eventually globally. The third store recently opened to great success, with a bustling crowd from morning till night, counting money until their hands ached.
Inside the store, there were two shopping areas, catering to different customer needs. Mao Chengrui’s strategy was to place the more expensive items inside, protected by glass covers, enticing well-off customers to enter and browse. Meanwhile, cheaper items like small photos, cards, posters, and keychains were displayed at the express checkout window, where transactions were swift and packaging is simple.
The employee, Xiao Lin, was responsible for managing this express checkout. Despite the hard work, the pay was decent. Occasionally, customers complimented him, asking why such a handsome guy was working here instead of auditioning to become a trainee at ASE.
Xiao Lin often pondered about the naivety of customers. However, he couldn’t blame them entirely, as Asia Star Entertainment has always portrayed such images in their public relations. Their message of “hard work leads to success,” “sweat pays off,” and the belief that anyone can achieve stardom with enough determination and practice was deeply ingrained. Every idol who emerges from ASE embodied this inspirational and joyful spirit, radiating with the dreamlike encouragement of positive energy.
Xiao Lin had worked as a trainee at ASE for two years, shedding a lot of sweat and tears. Seeing that his chances of debuting were slim due to his age, he couldn’t continue on and decided to switch careers after listening to the tutor’s advice.
ASE had a good policy in this regard. As trainees, they were all nurtured. If one couldn’t become an artist, as long as they were willing, they could stay in the company and do regular work, with decent pay. Many peers who entered the company together were still struggling in the rehearsal room, but Xiao Lin felt fortunate that he realized it in time and freed himself from the pressure.
Reflecting now, the words of the tutor were indeed true. With so many people recruited by the company each year, not everyone could debut. Everyone started at a similar point, and the opportunities provided by the company were also similar; it wasn’t absolute fairness but relative fairness. The tutor also mentioned that what mattered wasn’t whether one could debut in the end, but rather if each person could start to see themselves clearly during this process and find their own path. “One must pave their own way.”
Moreover, Xiao Lin’s thoughts on the entertainment industry were just like that. Looking not far from the store’s entrance, there was a film crew shooting on a blocked road under the scorching sun. People were sweating profusely as they moved equipment and props from vehicles. Xiao Lin, sitting in the air-conditioned store, felt that he made the right choice and was grateful for his current path.
“Hey, I want twenty Tang Zhen posters, all from June.”
“Do you need a poster tube?”
“No, I’ve brought my own.”
Xiao Lin’s colleague at the back shelf picked out twenty posters, rolled them up, tore a strip of ASE logo and pasted it on top, then took a music festival registration form with a full amount voucher and wrapped it around the posters. Xiao Lin handed the registration form to the customer, “Fill in the information by the end of the month, drop it into the mailbox at any of our three stores to enter the raffle and win tickets to this year’s Island Music Festival.” After saying this, he leaned closer, peeked through the window at the customer, and quietly asked, “How much have you spent this month?”
The customer used the posters to cover her face, startled, “You remember me?”
Xiao Lin replied, “Every time you buy twenty, queuing up more than ten times a day, I definitely remember you.”
The next customer walked over, knocked on the window, teasingly said, “ASE’s little brother, do you remember me?”
“I remember, I remember,” Xiao Lin smiled, glanced up, “Posters? Photos?”
“Thirty of each.”
“You’d only get one raffle registration form though.”
“It’s for my sister, I don’t have time to queue up again.”
The photo box with the Tang Zhen sign standing inside the window became empty once again.
Xiao Lin was counting money when he heard the voice of an elderly person outside the window.
“Got any photos of our Yun?”
“Hehe, I sure do. I’ve counted the most photos of Yun!”
“This shows that Yun is popular among city folks. That’s how it goes in the city—sell more, display more.”
Xiao Lin bent down and took out a new box of photos from under the counter, replacing the empty Tang Zhen box.
“How many photos do we have to buy to get with a registration form?” the girls at the door asked.
“Fifty.”
“Wow, that’s a lot! Greedy for money,” a few girls muttered as they counted their money from their pockets. They agreed to give it to one of the girl, with the promise that next time it would be one of the others, as long as some got the registration forms and the photos were the others.
The box of Tang Zhen photos was instantly emptied once again.
Xiao Lin had just restocked, but within minutes, the photos were sold out again. Only the box of photos next to Tang Zhen remained full, untouched for quite some time.
He looked up and noticed two elderly people standing outside the window. Judging by their appearance, they were in their forties or fifties, carrying woven bags and various packages.
“Two of you?” Xiao Lin had never seen customers of this age buying these small pieces of paper during his time at the window.
The two elderly people glanced at each other, hesitating in front of the window, seemingly unsure and hesitant.
Xiao Lin glanced at his colleague beside him and then asked, “Well?”
The elderly man wearing a faded Zhongshan suit took out a wrinkled pile of money from his pocket, consisting of both bills and coins. He had wrinkles all over his hands as he handed the money through the window.
Quickly taking the money with both hands, Xiao Lin heard the elderly man ask, “How many of these can I buy?”
Xiao Lin noticed his hand pointing towards the box of Liang Qiuyun photos next to Tang Zhen.
Momentarily taken aback, Xiao Lin stepped forward and asked, “Which one would you like?” Thankfully, he gestured towards the adjacent box. “Sir, Tang Zhen’s photos are here.”
“Oh, I want Liang Qiuyun’s!” The elderly man’s companion, an older woman, instructed Xiao Lin while nudging the silent elderly man and giving him a meaningful look.
Without further questioning, Xiao Lin quickly counted the money, grabbed about ten Liang Qiuyun photos along with the change, and placed them into a paper bag, handing it over through the window.
As soon as the elderly left, another batch of customers crowded forward. Xiao Lin didn’t have time to think much; he put on a smile and asked them what they wanted to buy.
Suddenly, a hoarse and high-pitched shout came from outside the window, sounding like a mountain song chorus from a drama, nearly knocking Xiao Lin off his chair.
“Yun! Yun!”
Xiao Lin stood up, frowning as he looked outside. Not far away, there was a film crew’s truck parked, with a man carrying a box of equipment on his shoulder. Despite the sweltering weather, he was drenched in sweat, his tank top soaked through, yet he wore a thick white cotton mask, which seemed odd and comical. To Xiao Lin’s surprise, it was the same elderly couple who had just bought something, carrying their bags and about to hurry over.
Upon seeing them, the man’s eyes widened, he dropped his equipment, turned, and hastily walked away.
Guo Xiaoli tried calling Liang Qiuyun but couldn’t reach him.
Ten minutes later, Liang Qiuyun called back himself.
Guo Xiaoli sat at her narrow desk, piled with documents. She lifted her head, switched hands to answer the phone, and immediately asked, “A-Yun, why aren’t you at the office?”
Liang Qiuyun was breathing heavily on the other end.
“A-Yun?” Guo Xiaoli inquired.
“Guo-jie,” Liang Qiuyun said, his voice weak, gasping with each word. “Guo-jie, when are you going to give me some new work…”
Guo Xiaoli blinked, looking at the promotional copy for the concert on her desk. She replied, “A-Yun, I’ve been trying to get in touch. Don’t worry for now—”
Liang Qiuyun’s voice trembled, “Guo-jie, please help me… You have to help me…”
“What’s wrong?”
“I need to work.”
“A-Yun, I’ll definitely help you.”
“My parents are in town,” Liang Qiuyun suddenly said.
Guo Xiaoli was taken aback. “When did they arrive?”
She asked again, “Why didn’t you give me a heads up?”
“I just ran into them outside… They didn’t tell me anything about coming.”
Someone walked through the office and approached Guo Xiaoli’s desk, holding a copy of Tang Zhen’s contract.
Guo Xiaoli pressed the receiver, asking the person to wait.
“A-Yun, how about this? Go and spend time with them. It’s better for them not to be here in an unfamiliar place where they might get accosted by reporters. I’ll find someone else to handle the theater matters these days, so you don’t need to worry. Go and accompany your parents,” Guo Xiaoli said over the phone.
Liang Qiuyun was taken aback, “But what about my theater salary?”
Guo Xiaoli replied, “It will still be paid to you.” After speaking, she hung up the phone.
okay i know that liang qiuyun is an asshole but this chapter really makes me pity him a bit 😭
thanks for the update ❤️