Tong Jian gritted his teeth and rushed forward to grab Mo Bin, raising his hand to hit this person.
Mo Bin stared straight at him. "Tong Tong, I am 28 years old and can't afford it."
Tong Jian's actions stopped and he couldn't punch this person. In the end, he broke down and asked, "Why didn't you say it early when Brother Hao left? There was a meeting about whether to directly break up the team. You obviously-"
"What could I do then?" Mo Bin grabbed his hand and pushed him away. "You said that you wanted to sing and Ah Lan said that IUD is his first heart. The company didn't want to lose IUD and I am the captain! IUD was built by me! Did you want me to say 'Don't hold on, let go. We can do it'? Did you want me to be the sinner?!"
Tong Jian stared at Mo Bin like he was knowing this person for the first time. Then he raised his hand and thumped his forehead before squatting down, pulling at his hair and crying.
Struggle flashed on Mo Bin's face but it was only for a moment. He quickly adjusted his emotions and glanced at Ke Lan and Hu Biao. "I said it bluntly just now. You can cooperate with me and let Xie Yang carry the blame for the group splitting or I will refuse to participate in October's commemoration performance. The new song I wrote won't be brought out and you will finish with a blank spot. Ah Lan, you are 27 years old and you're not young. Hu Biao, please consider if three artists who are already making money is more important or a newcomer who hasn't debuted yet."
Mo Bin left.
Ke Lan stepped forward and patted Tong Jian on the back as he asked, "Brother Baio, what will you... choose?"
Hu Biao was stabbed by an entertainer he raised and was so angry that he wanted to immediately block Mo Bin. However, he couldn't. If Mo Bin was blocked then IUD was over and Ke Lan and Tong Jian would be over. The company wouldn't allow him to do so.
"Think again... I will think again." He placed his hands firmly on the table and lowered his face to them. "Xie Yang is only 20 years old. I signed him, it was me..."
***
Xie Yang found a guitar in the dormitory.
It was like finding a treasure. He played and sang for a long time, his fingering quickly changing from rusty to proficient. His singing also successfully changed from its original stiffness to an easy sound.
After finding his feelings, he tried to sing some of his favourite classics that he wrote in his last life. The more he sang, the happier he felt and the more open he felt. The inspiration that had been suppressed for many years by the apocalypse surged up like the wind and danced around his soul.
Destruction, collapse, gloom, despair, death... new life, hope, recovery of all things, the future was promising.
The tune under his fingers slowly changed and became a new piece full of the joy of life. After finishing the song, Xie Yang dropped the guitar. He ran to the desk to pull out brand new A4 pieces of paper, drew his own staff sheet music and quickly wrote down the song.
The lights were on all night. By the time Xie Yang woke up from the inspiration that kidnapped him, the sun was rising from the east.
His stomach was growling and his brain was heavy. The hungry and tired feeling that Xie Yang disliked the most from the apocalypse took control of his body when he woke up. He frowned and patted his cheek.
He couldn't sleep and had to fill his stomach first. Otherwise, he would probably be so hungry that he couldn't sleep.
He got up and went to the kitchen to pour a glass of water, gurgling it. Then he searched through the refrigerator. He found it was empty and went back to the living room to pick up his phone and backpack, ready to go out for food.
He was changing shoes at the entrance when he inadvertently glanced over the large pile of sheet music scattered on his desk. He turned back, carefully sorted them and properly placed them in his backpack. He had to buy his own place. He always felt uncomfortable in another person's house.
After eating and drinking, Xie Yang went to a nearby park and slumped on the lake bench. He was sunbathing while thinking about leaving IUD. A pair of leather shoes came into view and headed straight to this side. Xie Yang squinted against the blinding sunlight and glanced over there before looking away in a bored manner.
The bodyguard Wu Shui was very embarrassed. He pretended not to notice Xie Yang's disgust and stopped in front of Xie Yang, greeting him politely. "Mr Xie, the boss is here to pick you up."
Xie Yang wondered lazily, "What will you do if I don't go over there?"
Wu Shui became even more embarrassed. "Mr Xie, I was wrong last time and had a bad attitude toward you. I'm sorry."
"You are quite aware of current affairs." Xie Yang got on his long legs and patted the bodyguard on the shoulder. "Don't be afraid. I like to do things like watch people order dishes."
Qiu Xing's car was parked at the gate of the park. It was particularly easy to recognize because it was the cleanest and most expensive one. Xie Yang opened the door of the front passenger's seat and sat down.
"Hum hum."
Xie Yang stopped and glanced at Qiu Xing in the back seat. "Is your throat uncomfortable?"
"Can a boss with a conscience like me, spending 500 million yuan to hire an undergraduate university student, be uncomfortable?"
"......"
Xie Yang withdrew from the front seat and sat in the back seat, asking, "What do you want me to do?"
Qiu Xing was satisfied and raised his legs. "My mother wants to see her daughter-in-law." He examined Xie Yang's appearance critically and frowned. "What is your image, a garbage collector?"
Xie Yang glanced at the black card in his pocket and explained patiently, "I stayed up all night yesterday and went out in a rush this morning. I didn't have time to change my clothes or wash my hair."
Qiu Xing's expression changed in an instant. "Why did you stay up all night? Clubbing? A one night stand? Or drugs?"
"Mr Qiu, your understanding of the nightlife of today's young people is too narrow. In fact, last night I..." He thought about it. "I stayed up all night playing games."
Qiu Xing stared at him coldly. "Are you insulting my IQ?"
The temperature of the air conditioner in the car was just right and all of Xie Yang's sleepiness was blown away. He had no energy to deal with his employer so he took off his backpack and threw it into Qiu Xing's arms. He closed his eyes and said, "Look at what I did. Now let me sleep. You don't want your mother to see me with dark circles."
Xie Yang said he would go to sleep and he actually did. Qiu Xing's gloomy expression could be seen with the naked eye.
The driver in front shivered again. It was over. Mr Xie was becoming more and more courageous. He dared to leave the boss alone and go directly to sleep when the boss was talking to him. How could the boss bear it? It had always been the boss losing, losing, losing...
Qiu Xing slowly withdrew his death star from Xie Yang. He opened Xie Yang's backpack and yanked out the contents. Qiu Xing pulled out music sheets. Qiu Xing stared at Xie Yang for a while before pulling out the car's blanket and throwing it over Xie Yang's face. Then he looked down at the sheet music.
He looked at it and his expression wasn't so dark. He raised his eyebrows and turned to stare at Xie Yang again. Then he reached out and pulled down the blanket on Xie Yang's face. Qiu Xing stared closely at Xie Yang for a while before chuckling. He dropped the blanket and started reading the sheet music again.
Qiu Xing hummed along, seemingly unfamiliar with humming a song. Then his expression brightened to the naked eye.
...What nonsense about losing?
The driver pressed back his frightened heart and started the car in an expressionless manner. 'I was too young.'
Once Xie Yang woke up, he was the only one left in the car. The window was half open and the bodyguard Wu Shui was outside the car. Xie Yang looked at the blanket on his body, opened the door and got out of the car. Then he asked, "What time is it? Where is this?"
Wu Shui turned to him and replied, "It is just after 12 noon and this is the underground parking lot of Rongding's headquarters. Mr Xie, the boss told you to go with me after waking up."
It turned out to be Rongding.
Xie Yang glanced around before taking his backpack from the car. "Let's go."
Unlike most overbearing presidents, Qiu Xing's office wasn't on the top floor but on the ninth floor, which had a better message. It was mentioned in the original novel that this office floor was personally set by Qiu Xing's mother.
Xie Yang followed Wu Shui to the exclusive elevator. Once the elevator door opened, the living room of Qiu Xing's super luxurious office was right in front of it, making things quite convenient.
The time at which they arrived was quite opportune. The driver had just brought Qiu Xing's lunch and was placing the food on the table. Qiu Xing sat at the table with a bored expression, the words 'no appetite' hanging all over him.
Xie Yang smelled food and his eyes immediately focused there. Qiu Xing looked up at the sound of the elevator and noticed Xie Yang's gaze. He raised his eyebrows and asked, "Do you want to eat?"
Xie Yang honestly nodded, taking off his backpack and sitting down. "Yes, I'm hungry."
Qiu Xing laughed in a terrible manner. "Beg me and I'll give it to you to eat."
"......"
Xie Yang took out his phone and started to search for takeaway. He read, "Chicken soup pot, crab meat pot, spicy hot pot, grilled fish on an iron hot plate, spicy bullfrog pot... there is a lot of hot pot? Rongding is in a good location. There are many types of takeaway around. I will see which dish has the highest evaluation..."
Qiu Xing couldn't bear it and called out to the driver with a dark face, "Zhou Miao, give food to Mr Xie."
Xie Yang put down his phone in a satisfied manner.
The driver Zhou Miao silently pulled out two sets of cutlery and two sets of dishes from the food box, placing them in front of Qiu Xing and Xie Yang respectively.
The room was soon only filled with the sound of cutlery clanging against dishes. Xie Yang's eating style was quiet. He didn't picky at food, slurp, drool or get food over his lips. The action of picking up vegetables could even be considered as elegant. If one had to pick something wrong with his eating style, it was that his eating speed was a bit fast. It might be delicious but it obviously wouldn't be good for the eater's digestion.
Qiu Xing's meal was only half over while Xie Yang already had a second bowl.
Qiu Xing asked, "What are you doing so urgently? Is someone going to rob you?"
Xie Yang's chopsticks paused and he shook his head. "I'm used to it."
Qiu Xing was upset again. "How did Xie Xiu abuse you? I remember that his little son is as fat as a pig. Did he steal your food?"
Xie Yang nodded without any burden. "Yes."
Qiu Xing rubbed his chopsticks together and painfully moved the only seasoned dish on the table to Xie Yang's side by one millimeter. Then he ordered, "Finish everything and don't waste it. My mother likes people who are fatter."
After the meal, Qiu Xing abandoned Xie Yang and went into the office to deal with work.
Xie Yang guessed that this person should take him back to see his mother at dinner. Xie Yang found a quiet corner to sit in and took out two mobile phones, the old one and the new one. Finally, he chose to save the numbers on his old mobile phone to his new one.
Halfway through, a text message was received.
Tong Jian: Xie Yang, I'm sorry. You leave the group and I'll send a post saying that I pushed you out.
He was planning to catch the mouse only for the mouse to be sent to his door.
Xie Yang picked up his phone and replied, "Are you free tomorrow? Come out and talk. If you can, bring Ke Lan."
Tong Jian's text message came back quickly and he was very vigilant: Why do you want me to call Brother Lan? Do you still hate him for taking away your opportunity?
Xie Yang felt it was really a miracle that Tong Jian could live safely in the entertainment industry for so many years. He typed back: No hate. Help me ask Ke Lan if he wants to make IUD completely disband in a beautiful scenery. Think about it and reply before 8 o'clock tomorrow night or the offer will expire.
The words 'disband in beautiful scenery' stimulated Tong Jian. He sent a bunch of text messages over, asking what Xie Yang meant and what he wanted to do.
Xie Yang was prepared to ignore it but didn't expect that Tong Jian wouldn't understand the meaning of stop before going too far. He sent text messages alone for 20 minutes. Finally, Xie Yang couldn't bear it and replied: Do you know that if I sell these messages to the media, IUD will be completely over? Let's talk about it later, okay?
Tong Jian instantly became quiet.
Xie Yang sighed with relief and leaned back against the sofa to go to sleep.
Just before going to sleep, the phone rang again. Tong Jian had sent over a text message in a weak manner: How much do you want to sell the text messages for? I have saved up some money in these years. As long as it doesn't involve Brother Lan, I'll pay as much as you want. Don't sell the text messages. Consider this... consider this as me begging you.
"......" This idiot.
Xie Yang tossed his phone to one side, leaned against the sofa and closed his eyes. After less than an hour, Xie Yang was awakened by the sound of the door opening. He opened his eyes and turned his head to see Qiu Xing coming from the inner room.
"It's time for you to wake up." Qiu Xing held the door of the office. "Pack up and prepare to leave."
The sensitive Xie Yang noticed Qiu Xing's tone was different from before and asked, "Are you in a bad mood?"
Qiu Xing pulled something off the bookshelf, glancing back at him but ignoring him. Sure enough, this person was in a bad mood. Xie Yang asked no more questions. He put his phone and sheet music into the backpack and got up. "I'm good. Let's go."
The two people went downstairs and got into the car. Once Qiu Xing got in the car, he closed his eyes and relaxed. Xie Yang was quiet and took out his phone to check Weibo.
Just like in the original novel, the Weibo hot search was once again dominated by the female lead. The photo of the female lead kneeling to save someone was forwarded passionately. The fans of the female lead had been suppressed all day and now they happily hit back at the sunspots.
Xie Yang clicked into the female lead's Weibo and found that in just one day, she had gained hundreds of thousands of fans.
"Do you have a place to live in B City?"
Xie Yang glanced over at Qiu Xing. He saw that Qiu Xing still had his eyes closed and withdrew his gaze, exiting the female lead's Weibo. He replied while searching the Weibos of the IUD members, "The company has a dormitory but I'm going to buy a house."
Qiu Xing just hummed.
Xie Yang clicked into Mo Bin's Weibo.
Mo Bin's latest Weibo was sent last night. It was nine selfies with the text: The recording has ended and I'm going back to B City. I have to get up early tomorrow to meet my brothers. It is very tiring but I'll stick to it [Clenched fist][Clenched fist][Clenched fist]
There were several people mentioned in this post. They were all guests of his reality show and there was no mention of IUD.
Xie Yang raised his eyebrows and clicked on the comments below. The top three hot comments were nonsense praise like 'distressed brother', 'brother, cheer up' and 'brother is awesome.' Then at the fourth comment, a discordant message appeared.
Master of Pen and Sword: It is all because of the reserve member, causing my brother to be delayed there for another day. Now he has no time to rest. The sudden emergency is a fake! One of my classmates is a staff member of S City TV Station. She said that the reserve member performed poorly on the show and pretended to be sick, so as to not be too shamed after the show is broadcasted.
Under this comment, many of Mo Bin's fans were urging the fan not to talk nonsense and don't just make rumours. They also expressed their expectations for when the show was broadcasted and the newcomer would be officially unveiled. Some 'neutral' passersby also said that if the news was true, the new IUD would be very ugly.
Xie Yang smelled the rhythm of a water army and clicked on Tong Jian and Ke Lan's Weibos respectively. Sure enough, under their latest posts, there were fans asking if he pretended to be sick.
"Are you prepared to continue being an artist?"
Xie Yang closed Weibo and looked back at Qiu Xing. "I will be more than that."
Qiu Xing finally opened his eyes and stared at him before smiling. "How much more than that?"
"You don't need to know."
"A good thing doesn't need me to know." Qiu Xing's mood seemed better again and this tone was slow. "Then when can I know?"
"When I need your help."
Qiu Xing froze before laughing. He leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes and slowed down his breathing as he muttered, "Then I'll wait..." His voice gradually lowered. The sunlight entered through the window, covering him, but it couldn't warm his pale face or fade away the blue shadows under his eyes.
This was a terminally ill patient who was very tired and severely sleep deprived.
Xie Yang's gaze moved down and fell on Qiu Xing's distinctive hand, seeing the dark nails that appeared very unhealthy. He bent down to pick up the blanket that had previously covered him and threw it on Qiu Xing.
Mother Qiu was in poor health. She had been living in a sanatorium for nearly a year and was carefully guarded by a professional team. The distance from the urban area to the sanatorium was a bit far away and there was a traffic jam. By the time Qiu Xing and Xie Yang arrived at the sanatorium, it was completely dark.
Qiu Xing slept all the way and only opened his eyes when they arrived at the gate of the sanatorium. He noticed the blanket on his body and froze for a moment before throwing it away with a low snort. "Mind your own business."
Xie Yang played with his mobile phone and ignored this person.
The car parked in an open-air parking lot deep in the sanatorium. The two people got out of the car and walked toward a cozy little building surrounded by trees and flowers not far away.
"Be obedient for a while." Qiu Xing stepped on a spot where the street light shone. "Don't make her feel uncomfortable. She doesn't have much time."
Xie Yang looked up and found that in the backlight, Qiu Xing was really thin.
In the original novel, Mother Qiu had died in February of next year. It was less than half a year from now.
He gently stepped on the shadow under Qiu Xing's feet and nodded. "Okay."
On the terrace of the second floor of the small building, the grey-haired Mother Qiu sat on a rocking chair, slowly shaking while looking at the stars in the sky. Qiu Xing lightly walked over, squatted down beside her and asked with a smile, "Are the stars beautiful? Every time I come, you're watching them."
Mother Qiu watched him silently before smiling and raising a hand to touch his hair. "You came. Have you eaten dinner?"
"I've eaten. Uncle Liao made those pig foods for me every day and I really have no appetite when I see it."
"Don't be a picky eater. Xiao Liao is doing it for your own good."
Qiu Xing pulled down her hand, sat on the chair next to her and waved to Xie Yang. Xie Yang walked over to stand next to Qiu Xing, politely greeting Mother Qiu. "Hello Auntie, I am Xie Yang."
Mother Qiu carefully examined him. "Is Ah Xing okay?"
Xie Yang honestly replied, "He's okay. His temper is a bit bad but it's fine for me."
Mother Qiu smiled and waved at him. Xie Yang didn't understand what this gesture meant. Was he supposed to go?
He looked at Qiu Xing.
Qiu Xing happened to be watching Xie Yang, his expression a bit weird. Once Xie Yang glanced over, he put on a disgusted and impatient expression and scolded, "Can't you understand this? Mother is telling you to go. Go to the car and wait for me. Don't run around. Every day you are so stupid."
"......"
Xie Yang didn't understand what type of disease Qiu Xing had and was too lazy to care about him. He politely said goodbye to Mother Qiu and turned to leave.
After Xie Yang left, Mother Qiu asked, "Do you hate him?"
Qiu Xing didn't answer. He reached out to pull the blanket over her and changed the topic. "Qinglin was in a small car accident two days ago. His head was injured but he is fine. He was driving the car I gave him. The reason for the accident was that there was something wrong with the brakes. When I went to see him, he tried to test if I like men or not."
Mother Qiu's face was cold. "The Feng family is really good at calculations. In the past, Qinglin used to worship you and want to be close to you. Now he has learned to test you."
"I think it's a good thing. The previous Qinglin was too rigid and not bloody enough to start a big event. Now he was in a car accident and has become better. I heard he is going to leave the Feng family to start his own company."
Mother Qiu's expression finally looked good.
"People have to come out on their own." Qiu Xing said with relief. "Business is like a battlefield. The weak are food for the strong and it is the survival of the fittest. The former Qinglin was too soft-hearted and had too many scruples. If he is daring to test me then perhaps he will really grow up if I push him a bit harder."
"What about you?" Mother Qiu grasped his hand. "If he grows up, what about you?"
"Me?" Qiu Xing raised a hand to tidy her wind-blown hair and smiled softly. "I'll accompany you to watch the stars."
Mother Qiu gripped his hand hard. "I didn't find a companion for you only for you to accompany me to watch the stars! The child of the Xie family looks better than rumoured. His five elements belongs to water and will definitely be good for you. You will definitely be better..."
Her voice suddenly lowered, the clearness and clarity replaced by dull doubts. She once again gripped Qiu Xing's hand and muttered, "Ah Xing, go and find your sister. She has been deceived by the Feng family and her life isn't good. Xiao Qinglin, go and find them...
"I'll find them." Qiu Xing was used to her intermittent confusion and patted her back comfortably. "I'll find them and bring them back."
***
Xie Yang found that Qiu Xing's mood had become worse after leaving the sanatorium and it was very obvious.
The moment the car arrived in the city, Qiu Xing had the driver stop and let Xie Yang get off.
Xie Yang opened the door and got out of the car. He turned and told Qiu Xing, "The next time you want to look for me for something, can you tell me in advance? I'll be very busy over the next period of time. If you look for me like these two times, I probably won't have time to come out and see you."
Qiu Xing sneered. "I want to see you dare refuse to see me. Zhou Miao, drive!"
The car sped away in the dust, only to come back a minute later.
"I see that other people have assistants while you have no one. What does this look like? Wu Shui, you follow Xie Yang in the future!"
The car drove off again.
Xie Yang glanced at Wu Shui, the bodyguard who was left behind. Wu Shui smiled in an awkward manner and tried to sell himself. "Mr Xie, in fact I..."
"Shut up." Xie Yang took the backpack off his shoulder and threw it at Wu Shui. "Can you look at houses? I want to buy a place as soon as possible."
***