An extra long flashback Extra from Chairman Tang Ruanqing’s perspective
The first time he met the man was the day after he started working at Sky Crown. He wasn’t the president at the time, but merely a division manager.
He remembered that the weather that day was not very good. It was gloomy, as if it was going to rain. He walked down the corridor, looking at the grey sky through the glass. His mood dropped for no reason.
On the other end of the corridor, a group of people hurried over. One of the men with glasses was holding a man in a white suit. He couldn’t see his face clearly, because the man in the white suit had his face turned away.
“Anjue, how are you feeling?” The young man with glasses looked a little nervous, and the people around him also looked worried.
When the group of people reached him, the man in the white suit could no longer hold himself up. He suddenly started to fall over. The young man with glasses lost his grip for a moment, and watched the man fall to the ground.
Sometimes, people’s bodies can react faster than their brains can think. With the man suddenly in his arms, he truly believed this.
The man looked a little pale, but he was still good-looking. Even though he was used to the faces of attractive people, he had to admit that this man had a face that could draw envy from all men.
Although he was only a department manager, the young man with glasses seemed to recognize that he was the heir of the Tang family. He hurriedly thanked the man and explained, “Anjue has been filming for three days in a row without rest. He fainted as soon as he got back to the company. We’re about to send him home to rest.”
“Oh, then send him off quickly,” he smiled, pushing the man into the young man’s arms. “I’ll take my leave first.”
Watching the group of people walk away in a panic, he frowned slightly. The man turned out to be an artist for the company. No wonder he looked so good. Looking at his appearance, he seemed to be a first-tier actor. Otherwise, why would everyone be making such a fuss?
He went back to the office to process some not-so-important documents. Then, he started to look up information about Sky Crown’s artists, and began to commit them to memory. As the future president of Sky Crown, he had to at least know who was under his company, and what their characteristics were.
After reading about the first-tier artists, that man wasn’t included in the information. Even after intentionally combing through some of the second-tier artists, he still did not come across any information about him.
That was strange. He frowned. How could he have caused such a stir when he wasn’t even a second-tier artist.
“Bang!” The ear-piercing sound of something breaking could be heard from the office. Outside, there was a small common office area with a dozen cubicles for regular staff. He frowned. This office didn’t seem to be soundproofed very well.
“You said he fainted?” A woman’s voice rang out with panic. Then came several more worried inquiries, including some men.
He closed the folder in his hands. The mental fortitude of these employees left something to be desired. As for who they were talking about, it was probably that man who fainted this morning. What was his name… he thought back carefully, but could not recall what name the young man in glasses had called him.
In the afternoon, his father called the president’s office. When he knocked on the door, he saw the man from the morning.
The man’s face was still a little pale, with a slight smile on his face. He was sitting on the couch in a graceful and dignified manner. When he saw him enter, the man gave him a polite smile and nod, then nothing else.
“Father,” he said as he walked to the desk. From the corner of his eyes, he could see the man’s face. He was still smiling.
His father walked around his desk and to his side. He patted his shoulder with a kind smile. “Come, Ruanqing. Let me introduce you. This is Sky Crown’s ace, Jing Anjue. Also known as Emperor Jing within the circle.”
So, not only is he a first-tier star, but a superstar?
The man stood up with a pleasant smile. “Chairman Tang, don’t tease me. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for Sky Crown. Emperor or whatever, that’s just a false title.”
“Haha, you silly boy. Ah, you’re still like this.” His father seemed to be in a good mood, praising the man in front of him again. The two men had not gone far out of the office together when they saw the young man with glasses leading two people in a hurry. He handed over a carton of fresh milk before they could speak.
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.
Then the man was picked up by three men, as if attending a charity party for disabled children. It was definitely the man’s pale face that was a cause for concern.
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Jing Anjue. Only a name, and yet it alone spoke volumes of the man’s arrogance and strength.
Then he went on to be his department manager. He would hear the occasional woman outside his door, chatting about the man; who he was having an affair with, what ads the man was endorsing, what box office record he had achieved, and what new album he had released.
In this company, news about that man was pervasive everywhere.
He saw the man again, still in that walkway. The man stood in front of the clear glass, gazing up at the blue skies. His expression was blank, lacking the princely smile or melancholic expression of an idol in a drama.
He suddenly had an epiphany, that the side of the man’s face was beautiful. The man looked sideways. Seeing him, he flashed a perfect smile. “Manager Tang.”
Not sure what he was thinking of at the moment, he walked over to the man. Looking up at the sky, there was nothing but a formless white cloud. “What are you looking at?”
“Ah, I just noticed a butterfly on the glass. It’s interesting to see a butterfly flying twenty-three floors up.” The man rubbed his chin, looking young as a teenager, like he had discovered a whole new world.
He looked over his shoulder and smiled. “Maybe this butterfly is flying up one floor at a time, resting in between floors. Perhaps it is resting right now, and will continue to fly higher later.”
The man looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “Yes, floor by floor. Taking the occasional break to fly higher, right?”
His heart skipped a beat. Was this man reminding him? Recently he had made large movements, moving up in the Tang family. So this man…
“Well, I’m off.” The man waved his hand casually. He walked away with a confident sway. It made him think that the man really was perfect to the core. Why would he remind him of that?
The man approached the elevator, rubbing his forehead. “Looks like I need to get some rest. I’m really going to exhaust myself to death if I don’t.”
Sometimes, fate begins with a beautiful accident, and ends with a cruel reality.
Later, he met the man more often. He would often find him in the piano room practicing a song, or in his father’s office. He was a little confused. The man seemed surprisingly idle. Was he being held back by the company? But looking at the way the father treated the man, it didn’t seem like it.
At a charity reception, he saw the man holding a glass of wine while surrounded by a group of men and women. Among them were a few presidents of large conglomerates. Yet the man remained particularly prominent in the crowd, and not just because of his perfect face. It was more-so to do with the strength of his aura, which made it impossible to ignore him.
“Ruanqing, this is your Uncle Xiao’s eldest son, Xiao Chengyu. He just returned from California. You are both similar in age, so enjoy your time together.” He looked at the eyes of the cold man standing in front of him, a chill emanating from his body. He extended his hand. “Hello.”
The young man called Xiao Chengyu only casually shook hands with him. He noticed that the young man’s gaze rested on the man with fondness, guilt, and sadness.
He suddenly remembered that the man had studied in California. Did these two know each other? Ignoring the inexplicable displeasure in his heart, he said a few words to the youth. He was eventually pulled away by the son of another acquaintance, and he managed to escape to an isolated corner, only to find someone already there.
“Muyan, are you all right?” He could hear the voice of Xiao Chengyu.
There was a moment of silence. He heard the man’s calm, almost indifferent voice. “It doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad, at least no one has done anything to make me sick.”
‘Ding!’ The sound of glass falling to the ground was particularly harsh. He saw the man’s eyes full of sarcasm. “Ah yes, Mr. Xiao. I must remind you of one thing. My name is Jing Anjue. As for that Jing Muyan, he’s probably dead.”
The man held his wine glass with an elegant posture. The words he spat out were extraordinarily cold, “Mr. Xiao, he died in the net you wove with friendship. Taking advantage of an orphan’s lonely heart, cheating him out of friendship, only for you to hold such ugly thoughts. Someone like you…” The man downed the entire glass of wine. At that moment, he was full of anger, with a subtle hint of sadness in his eyes. “It really makes me sick.”
He saw that the rumoured calm and elegant young master of the Xiao family had gone white as a sheet, looking like a ghost. He looked away, and turned to walk back into the crowd. These kinds of things had nothing to do with him. He didn’t need to know.
Even so, that night, he could not help but pay attention to the man. He watched him drink a glass of wine, toasted by others, with a smile on his face all night long.
At the end of the party, he followed the man into the bathroom. The man was slumped over the sink, vomiting all over the place, his face bloodless and pale.
Helping the unsteady man to his feet, he realized he was cold all over. He asked, worriedly, “Are you alright?”
The man looked at him slowly. He didn’t say anything for so long, that he thought the man was wildly drunk, and was about to behave strangely. But the man just smiled slightly. “I’m alright. Thank you.”
He can see that the man is drunk. But even though he was drunk, he was still maintaining perfect etiquette. This kind of man is either perfect, or pathetic.
As soon as he walked out of the bathroom, he saw Xiao Chengyu standing outside. For a moment, he didn’t know whether to let go of the man, or to take him away.
Xiao Chengyu’s lips moved, but he didn’t make a sound. But he could see that Xiao Chengyu was mouthing, “Muyan.”
He smiled. “Young Xiao, you haven’t left yet? This is one of our company’s artists, he’s just a little drunk. I’m going to take him back.”
Xiao Chengyu strode up to the two of them. He reached out, and almost touched the man’s cheek. But ultimately, his arm hung down weakly, and he took a step back. He smiled. “Then I won’t disturb young Tang. By the way, I heard that Emperor Jing had stomach aches. Make sure he eats something when he wakes up.”
“I got it, thanks,” he said, nodding at Xiao Chengyu. Without any hesitation, he helped take the man away. He just didn’t want to leave him behind to have an unpleasant scandal. Because of that, he rushed to take him away.
Perhaps it was only later that he understood why, because at that point, he forgot that the man had his own assistant and agents. He just wanted to take the man away. He didn’t want to leave him alone with Xiao Chengyu. But by the time he understood, it was too late.
On the night he was promoted to president of the company, many people congratulated him at the reception, including the man. The man was dressed in an Armani suit, and he smiled and said, “Congratulations, Chairman Tang.”
“Maybe it’s my turn to say thank you,” He thought back to the man’s deliberate warning. Because he had made too large of a movement, his shrewd father had found out. but nothing had come out of it. He couldn’t help but think that this man might have been his saviour.
He looked up at the man’s expression, but only saw his constant smile.
It was just a smile, but he found it extraordinarily attractive.
After he was promoted to president, he occasionally heard rumours about the man. He watched him come and go from his office, always in a hurry.
He gradually found out that the man enjoyed ‘82 Lafite, standing at a high point and looking into the sky, and drinking black tea. The man liked to smile with a perfect expression, a sky full of stars, but also liked playing easy games like Little Bee and Super Mario. This man liked to sit on the sofa, smiling and letting his mind wander. He liked…
When he wasn’t quite fully a man yet, he heard that the man had died.
He died? How could that man with such a perfect smile die?!
He didn’t turn on the TV. He didn’t read the newspaper, and he didn’t answer his phone. These reporters were always like that. They write about any entertainment news. How could they write such excessive news that the man had died. He had to make sure to sue those media.
He did not believe it. He refused to believe it. Absolutely not. How could that man… die?
He thought, maybe tomorrow the man will stand back up. He’ll look up at the sky, and pretend to gaze contemplatively.
Maybe tomorrow, he thought, the man would still be nestled on the couch in his office, nursing a cup of black tea and ignoring the schedule his agent had arranged.
He knew that the man liked to get news out to create topics for reporters. So this time, the man must be bored again. Maybe it was a prank.
The next day, he went to the company early. He wanted to come to work earlier. He thought the man would be standing in the walkway, staring up at the sky.
However, there was no man in the walkway, not in the office, not in the piano rooms, not in the recording studios, and not in the dance rooms. There was no man anywhere to be found. Maybe he was rushing off on a busy schedule.
“Chairman.” A man pulled him with a smile, and the fear and panic on his face almost distorted his face. He couldn’t help laughing.
“Chairman, is Anjue dead? Anjue died?” This man… this agent, Xie Xun, asked.
“Dead… What do you mean?” He looked at the man and his smile froze, “You’re telling me, dead, what does that mean?”
“Chairman…” Xie Xun seemed so frightened by his appearance that he couldn’t speak for a moment.
“It is not April Fool’s Day, don’t make such a joke. You get Jing Anjue here. I just found the perfect script for him to play the lead…”
“Chairman, Anjue is dead. Don’t you understand?!” Xie Xun repeated, only to look at him with a more obvious look of panic than earlier.
“Xie Xun I’m in a bad mood today. Don’t make jokes like that. When Jing Anjue gets here, tell him to come see me.” His face sank. “I will go back to my office first.”
“Chairman…” Xie Xun’s lips trembled, “You… What’s wrong?”
He found that his palms were bleeding from where his fingernails were digging in, but why couldn’t he feel the pain?
“It’s fine,” he said, smiling, “You go and call Lu Fan. I will discuss with him about the role for Jing Anjue.”
“Chairman…” The panic on Xie Xun’s face became more and more apparent. As if he were about to have a melt down, his tone also carried trembling caution. “Lu Fan… Lu Fan is in the funeral hall.”
“Oh, is Jing Anjue acting in a death scene today?” He nodded. He suddenly didn’t want to hear any more. “I see. I’m going back to the office…”
“Chairman, this isn’t acting. Anjue… he’s truly dead.”
Dead? He slowly turned his head and looked down the walkway, where Jing Anjue in a white suit stood at the end, looking up at the sky.
“Are you kidding me, isn’t he right there?” He pointed down the walkway. He even saw the man smile back at him. “The next time you make such a joke, you’ll have to make sure he isn’t right there.”
Xie Xun stiffly looked at the empty walkway. He looked back at the Chairman, who he had always known to be a fox. A suspicion in his mind became clearer and clearer.
“Jing Anjue, they’re all making jokes about you being dead. What do you think of that!” He walked over, and the man on the walkway disappeared. There was no one on the walkway, no staff coming and going, no sound… nothing.
“Hey, you’re a man in your thirties. You don’t still play hide-and-seek, do you?” He smiled and asked, his voice echoing in the empty corridor.
He turned back to the grim-faced Xie Xun. “Did he hear the joke you made? I tell you, that man is in fact very petty. Be careful, he’ll definitely take his revenge on you.”
“Chairman, wake up. Anjue… Anjue is gone. His body is still in the hall, but he’s already gone!” Xie Xun was almost yelling.
He did not want to listen to this kind of joke. It wasn’t even interesting. He ignored Xie Xun, turned around, and walked away.
That man is not dead. He’s not dead. What kind of joke was that? Are you kidding me?!
Xie Xun watched Tang Ruanqing walk farther and farther away. He sat down with a thud. Taking his phone out with a trembling hand, he made a call. “Lu… Lu Fan… The Chairman is not in a good condition right now, he…” He didn’t know how to explain it. He paused, before he said, “He’s gone crazy.”
Edited by Kyou
Kyou: ;A;
Thanks for the chapter ♥️♥️
… it hurts
thanks for the chapter~
Ok, that hurts .-.
It’s heartbreaking. I really wish Chairman Tang is the ML, but I know he is not.
thanks for the chapter <3
So sad…
If there was no film emperor i would root for hi.