Chasing You (Arc 8+)

Showstopper (III)

The reality tv show, 《All Stars》 will take half a month to shoot and the contestants will not have any contact with the outside world during that time. Anyone who attempts to leak any information about the show will be kicked out of the tv show, receive a five-year ban from Liang Meng's company, XR Entertainment and be charged with a humongous fee for breaking the terms of the contract. Many of the contestants weren't stupid enough to breach the contract, all but a handful were eliminated due to being unable to hold their tongues from wagging.

He Xiao¹, the name of the body in which Ains was possessing was a contestant was one of the unfortunate participants. He was only twenty-one years old and had just debuted as a solo artist, not more than a year ago because of his good looks and his voice. His past was something that was as common as the french fries sold at McDonalds.

He grew up in a single-parent home surrounded by poverty. His mother single-handedly raised him while working multiple menial jobs, and when he turned sixteen, she became too ill to work. Instead of using the money his mother saved up to go to college, He Xiao decided to use the money for his mother's treatments. To make sure that the hospital fees could be paid for, he decided to work as he went to school, college became a far off dream for him.

When he finished high school, he went to work immediately. From morning to night, he was out of the house making money. One day, as he was working at his part-time job, he was scouted by a young woman who worked for BB Entertainment. They were one of the big entertainment companies in the music industry, raking third place in the nation. For its size and the success that could be seen coming out of them; they were a natural temptation for many to want to join.

Going to the tall building in the metropolis, He Xiao entered in as a trainee. He spent a little over two years of training inside of what they called the 'BB dungeon', earning him 201,024 yuan ($30,000 USD) in debt for the time he spent training and for housing. He Xiao showed talent and managed to snatch the spot and entered into the company as a third rate solo artist. He wasn't a major hit until half a year after he debuted. Like a pandemic virus, he became a sensation for many and his popularity skyrocketed exponentially. With that, the resources that were given to him became better, receiving what a second rate solo artist usually gets and his salary also increased.

He accepted the invitation to go on 《All Stars》 for three simple reasons, popularity, money, and the reward. Even though idols earn on average more than that of a regular person, they still have to pay off what was invested in them. He Xiao wanted to pay off his initial debt as soon as possible as his debt had increased to almost 672,870 yuan ($100,000 USD) with all of the promotion, training, food, accommodation, staff, and MVs productions. He wanted to focus on paying for his mother's treatment and save the extra amount that he had leftover for emergencies, and most importantly so that his mother could live a carefree life after she was well.

Everything was smooth sailing, until halfway through the show, he received news that his mother's health had taken a turn for the worst. He was told by the doctor that she would need an immediate transplant, otherwise, she wouldn't make it. He Xiao didn't have the money on hand as he had just paid the most recent hospital fee and his bills, leaving him with less than 5,000 yuan.

In his desperation, an olive branch was extended to him. He was happy at first, but hearing the terms in which the other wanted him to do as a means to get the money needed, he almost refused instantly. He was a sensitive person and had always been since he was a child. He had seen his mother suffer throughout his whole life, never being able to live for herself and always thinking about him; he grew up with good morals and was considerate of others. He Xiao did not want to stoop so low to earn money, but this was his mother and he wanted to do everything he wanted to in order to save her.

Using this opportunity, Xiao Nongzang wanted to use He Xiao to get rid of Xiao Rui. He would give the money to the poor idiot after Xiao Rui was kicked off the show, but if anything went wrong, he would not be held liable for anything. He was cunning enough to made sure that there was no proof of his involvement, leaving only one person to shoulder the blame if the plan went awry.

Three days after the two of them came to an agreement; news was somehow leaked of where the idols were housing and the place where the shoot would be. Because of the popularity of the idols and the secrecy of the show, it attracted a large amount of attention from the media. Outside of the residence and place where the shoot was going to be host at, was swarming with paparazzi, reporters, and fans. XR Entertainment reacted very quickly and got rid of all the flies outside and relocated the idols to a different residence. Subsequently, the shoot was suspended as they wanted to find who was the leakage as they wanted to avoid similar situations in the future.

After some investigation, traces led back to Xiao Rui's phone. In the text message history, more than six small and medium stations were contacted with cryptic messages. Everyone wanted to shake their heads at Xiao Rui, but as quick as the problem occurred, it was solved just as quickly. The protagonist having his golden finger unveiled the true culprit and He Xiao was met at the maximum punishment. He was ordered to pay not just for breaching the contract but also had to compensate Xiao Rui. With his personality, He Xiao tried to ask for a plea but was denied by both XR Entertainment and BB Entertainment.

XR Entertainments' PR deftly dealt with him deftly. They released a statement prior to him being removed stating in a flowery way that he wasn't a good person as he tried to frame someone else on the show and caused the production to be halted. When He Xiao's fan read the news, his reputation and popularity dropped rapidly. They couldn't believe that they had supported such a person and so he was washed black by this incident. His life naturally went downhill as all of his endorsements and offers were pulled back due to the recent news.

By the end of the year, he was purposefully blocked by BB Entertainment and was unable to make money, having to turn to working small jobs as many places recognized his figure and didn't want to hire such a wicked person. His mother passed away after four months, and he was left with debts that hailed high to the skies. He Xiao worked menial jobs to pay for the bills until the day he died all alone, it was the exact same way his mother had.

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¹He Xiao: 荷 he means lotus but also to carry on one's shoulder, burden, & 孝 xiao means obedience, filial piety.