Chasing You (Arc 8+)

Showstopper (XI)

His sable brown hair paired with phoenix chocolate eyes was a common trait amongst the southeastern Asians. His looks were above average with a strange sense to it, where he wasn't particularly cold and aloof and neither was he warm and bright like the sun; he was like a void that was esoteric and atramentous. With a fake smile plastered on his face, he made his way to check in at the desk. Unlike everyone else, Xiao Nongzang had someone else to bring his luggage for him.

His pure white outfit looked quite unmatched on his body. It made people wonder if his stylist was blind or were they blind. Everyone in the industry knew that Xiao Nongzang bribed a fellow artist's stylist due to the stylist's popularity, making them switch over to his side. He resembled a child that had yet to grow up; taking whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted.

Turning his head, Xiao Nongzang swept his eyes over the crowd with a deriding light. Even though he debuted later than most of them, his position in the industry was much higher and he was much more successful than many of them. Eyeing the one figure that he had always considered to be an eyesore, he sneered and sashayed his way over. His steps were loud and obnoxious as if he was screaming 'look at me, notice me' with every step.

Xiao Rui scoffed, "Attention whore."

Bai Taohua nodded, "Totally."

Hai Pixiu sat on the side and didn't add in another remark, as he was the oldest out of the four from his company. So, he couldn't openly agree with his girlfriend nor friend because it would be fanning the dirty laundry of TS Entertainment out in the open. It's not like it was unknown to the mass, but he would rather have the idiot 'Prince' be the only exhibit and see him make a fool of themselves. He Xiao sipped the water from the bottle and also remained quiet. He was only a spectator to the show for now. It was best not to be dragged in prematurely, otherwise, his workload would only increase.

Standing right before Xiao Rui, Xiao Nongzang taunted, "Whose bed did you have to climb to get an invitation, older brother Rui?"

Many of the other idols had their ears perked up, ready to relay the most recent gossip. Whenever these two were around, a good drama was always waiting. But to their disappointment, Xiao Rui did not get upset at his farcical assertion. He cooly leaned back in the seat of the chair in the most relaxed manner. It was as if Xiao Nongzang was just a fly buzzing around him and he was too lazy to bother to take off his chanclas to send it to the netherworld. Only sparing him a glance, Xiao Rui turned his attention back to the other three, "Have you heard about the first challenge?"

Xiao Nongzang balled up his hands into fists, his nails imprinting onto the palm of his hand. Did he just get ignored? He looks at the four people before him and felt his face receive another smack.

He opened his mouth, "Who did you sell your body to get that information? Madam Zhou?"

Some of the idols on the side couldn't help but snicker. Madam Zhou was one of the large investors in the entertainment industry, but she was rather known to be promiscuous and keeping many young boy toys. Often gifting what she calls her 'babies' gifts that had more than six digit number.

Xiao Rui smiled mockingly, "Of course you would know. She has been a faithful patron of yours after all."

Xiao Nongzang choked on his spit. The male was partially correct, she had been a faithful patron on his. It was just that he had jumped onto a new sugar mommy who was taking care of his every need and was backing him alongside his father's influence. His face shrunk together very ugly, resembling a raisin that was on the brink of decay.

Xiao Nongzang gnashed his teeth, "Such malicious slandering. Hasn't anyone taught you any manners?"

Yawning, he covered his mouth as if bored, "I was only stating facts. Just because you suppress the news, doesn't mean that it isn't true."

Retorting back, Xiao Nongzang tried to defend himself, "Hmph. Don't you know that not everything you see these days are the truth?"

Xiao Rui clasped his hands together. He was tired of talking to this imbecile. "Have you heard the saying that 'three-hundred taels not buried here¹'? It seems to describe this situation very nicely. The only thing to do is to dig deeper to find the three-hundred taels."

Feeling as if he was forced to swallow a fly, Xiao Nongzang's IQ resurfaced and he stomped away. He knew that he couldn't win in a verbal argument against his older half-sibling.

He Xiao found the result of their bickering to be expected. It seemed that whenever a villain or cannon fodder encountered the protagonist, their IQ would go offline and they would end up making a fool of themselves. He had seen this many times already and was not surprised, nor did he enjoy watching such ludicrous farce. He only wished that the villain could self destruct a little faster so his task would be completed quicker.

The room settled once more after the departure of the villain and it became time for the host to come down and greet the guests. The lights on at the elevator soon lit up and caught everyone's attention. As soon as everyone saw the number reach the first floor, they were like little kids who were awaiting the return of their teacher and put on their best behavior, with the exception of the four people who were still passing on words to each other's ears. Xiao Rui, Bai Taohua, and Hai Pixiu weren't the type to kiss ass. Rather than conform with the rest, they preferred to show their unique idiosyncrasy and stand out in that way amongst the crowd.

As soon as the door opened, a tall young androgynous person came through the elevator doors. Their appearance caused everyone to be surprised; it was the number one actor; Jiang Man².

---

¹Three-hundred taels not buried here: Comes from the story where a man named Zhang San earned three-hundred taels of silver. He tried to hide his money and thought carefully. He buried his silver in the grounds at the back of his house. But he was still unassured that his money would be safe and placed a sign in his backyard which read, "There are no three hundred taels of silver buried here. His neighbor, Wang Er saw his sign and later that night, he went and dug up the silver. He then places another sign in the same spot: 'Neighbour Wang Er didn't steal the silver'.

²Jiang Man: '江漫', 江 jiang means river, & 漫 man means free/ unrestrained.