Chapter 24
After resting in the lounge for a while, the group set off back to the base.
The filming for the first episode of Our Life was basically over. Next came returning to the base, packing up their luggage, going their separate ways, and waiting for Director Fang to notify them of the filming time for the second episode.
But at the dorm entrance, yet another uninvited guest appeared.
This time, it was not just one person—
There were five of them!
Lin Zhiqiao felt they looked a little familiar.
“Cheng Xia, do you have time right now?” the person in front asked in a low voice.
[Ah, aren’t they the former teammates who once acted all brotherly with Cheng Xia, but the moment something happened to him, they turned around and abandoned him, stepped on him, followed the wind, threw themselves into Cheng Li’s arms, and tossed Cheng Xia aside like he meant nothing?!]
Without even pausing for breath, Lin Zhiqiao rattled off the whole string in a blur, the sarcasm in his tone completely undisguised.
Being exposed so bluntly, all five former teammates looked rather embarrassed.
Cheng Xia’s lips twitched slightly, as if they were about to lift, but he pressed them down again.
“What is it?” he asked, his tone calm, as though he were speaking to some completely unimportant person.
One of the former teammates said, “The five of us thought it over for a long time, and in the end we still wanted to invite you to a meal, sit down together, and have a proper talk.”
Cheng Xia frowned slightly.
But before he could say anything, Lin Zhiqiao was already muttering in a strange, mocking tone—
[Sit down and have a proper talk? What, you’re planning to throw in a little apology too, saying something like, ‘Ah, we shouldn’t have excluded you and kicked you out of the group, but that was only because we were deceived by Cheng Li too. We didn’t know the truth was actually like this. Since we didn’t know, we’re not guilty. You’re a good person, so just forgive us, okay?’]
Several muffled coughs came from nearby. Ji Ran, Tang Zhou, and Jiang Qianqian covered their mouths, desperately holding back the laughter that was threatening to spill out.
The five men’s faces turned even uglier.
Because what Lin Zhiqiao had guessed matched their original plan by ninety-nine percent.
Their fig leaf had been ripped off so brutally that the former teammates’ expressions had turned awful to the extreme.
One of them had a fiery temper. His fists clenched so hard they cracked, and he glared furiously at Lin Zhiqiao. “You—”
Cheng Xia moved half a step, perfectly blocking his line of sight toward Lin Zhiqiao.
Ji Ran, Pei Ning, and the others also shifted slightly, silently and wordlessly forming a human wall, protecting the completely oblivious Lin Zhiqiao behind them.
Sensing that he seemed to have aroused public anger, that former teammate lowered his hand, looking sullen.
With his vision blocked, Lin Zhiqiao remained entirely unaware of all this and was still happily cursing away in his heart.
[Isn’t it obvious? Now that Cheng Li’s crashed and burned, and they see Cheng Xia rising again, they just came to play the emotional card, win Cheng Xia back over, and keep sucking his blood!]
[Do they really think our Xia-baby is easy to bully? He’s got backing now! Very, very solid backing!]
[Watch me curse you all to death! A bunch of fence-sitters who bully the weak and fear the strong! Even giving you one extra glance feels like dirtying my eyes!]
Everyone gave silent thumbs-ups in their hearts.
That was some beautiful cursing!
Give us more!
The former teammates were angry but dared not speak.
After the stalemate lasted a while, the one in front still braced himself and spoke up. “Cheng Xia, we—”
But Cheng Xia suddenly cut them off. “Jiang Cheng was the one who told you to come, wasn’t he?”
The former teammate was shocked. “How did you know?”
“He’s contacted me many times these past few days,” Cheng Xia said. “I had originally planned to go find him myself. Since you’re here, then please trouble yourselves to pass on a message for me.”
He paused, then said slowly and firmly, “I’ve already decided. I’m terminating my contract with Mingguang.”
The moment those words came out, everyone present was startled.
Only Cheng Xia seemed to grow lighter all over, and the next words came out even more smoothly. “So whether it’s interviews, announcements, future planning, or whether there’s a need to form a new group, I won’t be participating in any of it anymore. Tell him to reject all of it.”
“If fate allows, we’ll meet again.”
The former teammate looked incredulous. “Terminate your contract? Cheng Xia, do you know how much penalty you’ll have to pay for that? You—”
Ji Ran gave a light snort and cut him off. “That’s not really something you need to worry about, is it?”
The former teammate froze for a moment, seemed to realize something, and finally shut up.
The former teammates gained nothing from the encounter and could only leave with their tails tucked between their legs.
After returning to the dorm—
Lin Zhiqiao glanced at Cheng Xia, withdrew his gaze, then darted another look at him.
After repeating this several times, Cheng Xia said helplessly, “Brother Zhiqiao, is there something you want to say to me?”
“You…” Lin Zhiqiao hesitated. “Have you already decided? You won’t be an idol anymore in the future?”
The dazzling, radiant figure of Cheng Xia on stage flashed quickly through his mind.
Even though he always told himself that whatever choice the child made in the end, as long as he was happy, that was enough.
Still, when he thought that in the future he might never get to see such a sparkling, shining good little goose again… Lin Zhiqiao could not help feeling a little regretful.
Cheng Xia blinked. “I never said I wouldn’t be an idol anymore.”
Lin Zhiqiao said, “But you just said you were terminating your contract…”
“I’m only terminating with Mingguang.” Cheng Xia’s eyes curved slightly. “Signing with Mingguang was never my intention. I want to… choose a company for myself and start over.”
His voice was very soft. “This time, not for anything else. Only for myself.”
Lin Zhiqiao’s eyes lit up in an instant. “You’ve figured it out?”
“Mm.” Cheng Xia nodded. “Thanks to you.”
Lin Zhiqiao looked blank. “Huh?”
Cheng Xia only smiled and said nothing more, offering no further explanation.
Lin Zhiqiao did not think too deeply about it either.
[A new life begins by kicking Lin Chen away! Yay!]
Everyone around him froze at the same time.
Lin Chen? Who?
Ji Ran thought for a while before finally remembering that Lin Chen was the boss of Mingguang Entertainment, meaning the current boss of both him and Cheng Xia.
And with that tone…
Could it be that Lin Zhiqiao knew Lin Chen?
Everyone exchanged glances, each of them turning thoughtful.
“You don’t need to worry about the contract termination. Mom and Dad will help you handle it.” Ji Ran slung an arm around Cheng Xia’s shoulders. “Do you already have a company you like? Do you want me and Mom and Dad to help you look around?”
Cheng Xia hesitated briefly, then said, “No need. I actually already have one option.”
Lin Zhiqiao snapped back to attention. “You already do?”
“Mm.” Cheng Xia nodded. “There was a team that contacted me a few times before, back when something happened to me. They said that if I was willing, they could offer me help. But unfortunately…”
Unfortunately, at that time Cheng Li was blocking everything, and Cheng Xia had already fallen into complete despair. He had not dared drag any more innocent, kind people down with him.
Ji Ran asked curiously, “Which company?”
Cheng Xia said, “Xinghe Entertainment.”
Lin Zhiqiao froze.
That name sounded so familiar… wait!
Wasn’t that his company?!
*
The filming date for the second episode of Our Life had not yet been decided, and Lin Zhiqiao had no other work for the time being, so he decided to take the opportunity to move house.
Although he was technically part of the Lin family, Lin Zhiqiao did not live with them. Instead, he rented a small one-bedroom apartment outside on his own.
To save money, the place he rented was near the outskirts, and both transportation and daily life there were rather inconvenient.
But now things were different.
Now he had money!!!
Humming a tuneless little melody, Lin Zhiqiao had 888 help him look for a new rental while he himself started packing his things.
888 sounded cheerful. [Go for it, host! Eat a few more pieces of gossip! Save up for a big house!]
Lin Zhiqiao clenched his fist. [Buy it! Buy a luxurious three-story villa!]
Right then, his phone rang.
It was Ji Ran. “Are you at home right now?”
Lin Zhiqiao was wearing earphones, his hands still busy. “Yep.”
“Come downstairs. Right now.”
Lin Zhiqiao stuck his head out the window. Outside the old alley, a “low-key” black car was parked there. Inside the half-open window, Ji Ran, wearing a mask, waved at him.
Lin Zhiqiao instantly cleaned himself up, ran downstairs, and got into the car.
Only after getting in did he realize Cheng Xia was in the car too.
Ji Ran was driving. With a mysterious air, he said, “Secret for now.”
Lin Zhiqiao gave an “oh.”
Next, Tang Zhou, Pei Ning, Wen Li, and Jiang Qianqian were all picked up by Ji Ran too, not a single one left behind.
Other than Ji Ran and Cheng Xia, nobody knew where they were going.
Not until everyone got out of the car—
Lin Zhiqiao’s eyes widened. [Wow! A luxurious three-story villa!]
“Welcome to our home!” Ji Ran said with a grin. “To celebrate Cheng Xia’s termination with Mingguang Entertainment!”
As he was speaking, a Weibo push notification popped up right on cue—
#MingguangEntertainmentAnnouncesTerminationChannelNowOpen#
That topic instantly amused Lin Zhiqiao, and the little person in his heart stood there with hands on hips, arrogant to the heavens!
[Good, good, good. Didn’t expect this, did you, Lin Chen? Even you have a day where you compromise and kneel, hahaha!]
Before Lin Zhiqiao could tap into the topic, another explosive notification followed immediately after—
#Breaking! Cheng Li allegedly attempted suicide by jumping from a three-meter-high building and has been rushed to the hospital!#
