Chapter 77
Zhou Zili left with the police.
Heng Yang and Heng Xing stared at his departing figure. Even after he disappeared around the corner, they still could not come back to their senses for a long while.
The surrounding crowd gradually dispersed, and before long, it was time to announce the voting results.
Zhou Zili was absent due to special circumstances, but that did not affect either his popularity or the audience’s affection for him. He successfully became one of the thirty contestants who advanced.
As for the Heng twins, they lived up to expectations and were eliminated.
Among all the contestants who had started out in Class A, only Heng Yang and Heng Xing failed to survive the first elimination round and were cut this early.
Every eliminated contestant was given one last individual interview before leaving. The twins refused the interview, but they did not leave the training base right away either.
The other contestants had either already left or were still in the venue saying their goodbyes, so the dorms were empty.
After packing their luggage, the twins sat there in unusual silence for a long while before Heng Xing finally spoke. “When are we leaving?”
Only after a while did Heng Yang answer, “Let’s wait a little longer.”
Heng Xing gave a quiet “oh” and said nothing more.
He understood what his brother meant by “wait a little longer.” It was not because they were reluctant to leave the show, nor because they felt upset or unwilling to accept being eliminated so early.
They were waiting for Zhou Zili to come back.
However, before long, they received a call from their mother saying something had happened at home. “If you don’t come back right now, and keep making fools of yourselves out there, then don’t bother ever coming back again!”
Her tone did not sound like she was joking.
The twins rarely heard their mother speak to them so harshly. Heng Yang immediately realized something was wrong and called their father’s assistant, asking whether something had happened at home recently.
After hesitating for a moment, the assistant still told them the truth.
The Heng family had been reported for cutting corners and using substandard materials in construction. Multiple safety incidents had already occurred as a result. The police had taken away the person in charge of Heng Group — the twins’ father, Heng Yu.
Along with him, many others in the company who were connected to the matter had also been taken away.
The twins looked at each other and saw the panic in one another’s eyes.
In the end, they never got to wait for Zhou Zili.
When Zhou Zili returned, the celebration banquet prepared by the production team for the contestants who had advanced was already over.
Ji Ran comforted him, “It’s okay. If you miss this one, there’ll still be a next time, and the time after that.”
What he meant was obvious: with Zhou Zili’s ability, Ji Ran believed he would have no problem making it through the next elimination round, or even the one after that.
Zhou Zili smiled a little, then after hesitating for a moment, said directly, “I… am planning to withdraw from the competition.”
Everyone around him showed the same shocked expression at once. “Huh?”
Lin Zhiqiao was baffled. What do you mean, withdraw for no reason? Was he threatened by the Heng family? Or did the company force him to?
— Neither.
Zhou Zili denied it silently in his heart.
The banquet had just ended, and Ji Ran and the others had not yet turned off the livestream, so Zhou Zili’s words were recorded loud and clear.
‘Damn, which blind idiot dares threaten our Baby Li?! [lifting my Italian keyboard.jpg]’
‘Baby Li, don’t be scared. We’re here. Whatever grievance you have, say it out loud. We’ll back you up. Fuck them!’
Ji Ran clearly thought the same.
He rolled up his sleeves, unable to suppress the anger on his face, and snapped, “Was it that scum from the Heng family again? I fucking—”
Zhou Zili quickly waved his hands. “No, no. It’s not that.” He pressed his lips together before saying, “It’s my own decision to quit.”
Everyone was stunned again.
“Actually… I’ve thought about this for a long time,” Zhou Zili said softly. “At the beginning, I became a trainee for the money. Being a trainee paid much more than doing part-time jobs. Later, when Zhou Yu got sick and the family needed even more money, I had even less reason to think about quitting.”
“But becoming an idol was never my dream. Before, I had no other choice. But if I keep standing on this stage now, maybe I’ll be taking away such a rare opportunity from someone who truly does have a dream.”
He paused, looking relieved and calm. “Besides, I also want to make one real choice for myself.”
The old Zhou Zili had always been bound down. Ever since his mother died and he was sent to live with his father and stepmother, it seemed he had never truly lived for himself again.
But now, after finally shaking off the chains that had been wrapped around him, Zhou Zili suddenly realized that the world, which had always been gray, seemed to have begun showing hints of colors he had never seen before.
‘Ah… so this really is Baby Li’s own choice…’
‘Waaah, even though I can’t bear it, I still respect his choice. Baby Li has had it way too hard all these years QAQ’
‘Will we still be able to see Baby Li in the future? Can he keep updating his Weibo account? Any daily life posts would be fine. I can’t bear to part with him [crying loudly]’
‘This is cracking me up — every star I follow either gets canceled or retires. What kind of cursed constitution do I have, wuwuwu?’
Zhou Zili’s tone was sincere and did not sound fake at all, so no one tried to persuade him further.
Ji Ran patted his shoulder. “Being happy is what matters most. If anything happens in the future, you can always come find us.”
“Mm, thank you.” Zhou Zili thought for a moment, then suddenly said, “Actually, there really is one thing I might need to trouble you with.”
“What is it? Go ahead,” Ji Ran said.
“It’s about terminating my contract with Mingguang Entertainment.” Zhou Zili looked a little embarrassed. “When I signed with Mingguang, I was still pretty young. As soon as I heard there was money to be made, I got coaxed into signing a twenty-year contract. There are still more than ten years left. Before, I heard that the Ji family could help, but at the time I…”
He paused and did not go into detail, but everyone present understood what difficulties he had been facing back then.
“If I want to terminate the contract now, can I still ask you for help?” Zhou Zili asked, then added, “If not, it’s okay. I’ll think of something else.”
“Oh, I thought it was something huge. Look how much this had you troubled!” Ji Ran waved it off, then suddenly turned toward the camera that was still livestreaming and said with a serious face, “If there are any other trainees who want to terminate their contracts with Mingguang, listen up — the Ji family provides free help for life. If you need us, come find us anytime!”
“Of course, everyone please support Ji family businesses too. If you’ve got money, come support us with money. If not, then just come support us in spirit. Welcome, welcome~”
He gave the camera a thumbs-up.
Ji Yuan, standing to the side, suddenly covered her face and muttered quietly, “Too stupid, too stupid. Someone please save me…”
‘As expected of the young master of the Ji family — at a time like this, he still didn’t forget to advertise for his own family hahaha’
‘Alright, just for Ran Bao saying that, tomorrow I’m dragging my sisters to shop at a Ji family mall!’
‘LMAO, the Ji family and Mingguang have officially become sworn enemies’
‘Doesn’t matter. As a melon-eating bystander, I’m just here as long as there’s gossip. Whoever has the gossip, I’m with them [dog head]’
After making up his mind, Zhou Zili went to Director Xu and explained the situation. Director Xu did not try very hard to keep him, and a withdrawal agreement was quickly signed.
Everyone exchanged contact information. Just before parting, Cheng Xia suddenly stopped Zhou Zili and asked, “Do you have a photo of the bracelet your mother left you? We can help keep an eye out for it.”
“Yes.” Zhou Zili accepted the kindness without refusing and, after finding a picture, showed it to them. “It looked like this.”
Everyone crowded in to look. Although it was only a photo, it was obvious the bracelet was made of fine jade — delicate in texture and warm in luster. On one phoenix wing was a thin dark green streak, like a strip of green gauze draped over it. It was very beautiful.
Lin Zhiqiao poked 888. Little System can a designated card be used on a bracelet?
888 fell silent for a moment, then answered helplessly, No, Host.
Lin Zhiqiao sighed regretfully.
Ji Ran suddenly let out a surprised sound. “I think I’ve seen this bracelet somewhere before.”
Everyone lifted their heads at once. Zhou Zili was both delighted and hopeful. “Really? Do you remember where?”
“That green streak is pretty distinctive. I remember it clearly,” Ji Ran said after thinking for a moment. “If I’m not mistaken, it should’ve been a gift someone gave my mom a couple of years ago.”
As he spoke, he immediately took out his phone and called Mother Ji.
“Oh, that bracelet. Heng Yu’s wife gave it to me back then. Heng Yu wanted to cooperate with the Ji family at the time,” Mother Ji recalled. “Why are you suddenly asking about that bracelet?”
Ji Ran said, “There’s a chance it’s the one that belonged to Zili’s mother.”
“Really?” Mother Ji sounded pleasantly surprised. “Alright, I’ll have someone send it over right away and let Xiao Li see whether it’s really his.”
Zhou Zili, who had been about to leave, immediately changed his mind and stayed.
Waiting was always agonizing, making every second feel like a year. Luckily, Mother Ji moved quickly. Before long, the bracelet was delivered to the base.
Ji Ran opened the box and asked almost impatiently, “Take a look. Is it this one?”
Zhou Zili carefully held up the bracelet, comparing every detail against his memory. His voice trembled with excitement. “It is. It’s this one…”
When he severed ties with his younger brother and sister earlier, Zhou Zili had not even reddened his eyes once. But now, seeing his mother’s keepsake that had been missing for so long, the joy and excitement of getting it back made his voice choke up, and tears streamed down instantly.
“That’s great, then.” Ji Ran let out a breath of relief. “Mom said if it really is yours, then you should just take it.”
Zhou Zili responded reflexively, “How could I—”
“What do you mean, how could you? It was yours to begin with, of course you can just take it.” Ji Ran waved his hand dismissively. “Besides, we didn’t even spend any money on it. The gift was from the Heng family, and the Heng family paid for it. We didn’t lose anything.”
Holding the bracelet tightly, Zhou Zili said thank you several times in a row, silently engraving the Ji family’s kindness into his heart.
‘This is insane, they actually found it’
‘What a coincidence. This really was some accidental twist of fate’
‘No matter what, it’s good that it was found again, wuwuwu [crying with excitement]’
‘Doesn’t this count as another kind of happy ending? [spinning, jumping, screaming, throwing flowers.gif]’
