Chapter 81 – Veent
It seemed he had just heard something shocking. His hand paused in its motion, causing the dog to nuzzle him, urging for more pets. The dog’s movement jolted him back, and Chen cautiously asked, “Do you dislike him?”
The ‘White Moonlight’ figure still smiled: “I hate him.”
Oh wow.
It was confirmed. He hadn’t misheard. This ‘White Moonlight’ didn’t seem to think too highly of the former benefactor.
Yang Shu continued, “Did he ever tell you about me and him?”
Chen Bai, sensing gossip, perked up his ears and quickly shook his head: “No.”
The dog, clueless about the conversation but sensing the energy, perked up its ears as well.
Yang Shu figured as much: “Of course, he wouldn’t dare tell you.”
He said, “The reason I’m like this is all thanks to him.”
For the first time, Chen Bai realized that the frail ‘White Moonlight’ figure had once been a healthy, normal person.
A long time ago—back when they had just turned adults—he had been one of Huo Chuan’s friends, just like Zhang Wenxuan, a childhood friend.
The summer after they turned 18, their group had gone south to the coast. They got their boating licenses and spent the entire summer there, frequently going out to sea.
Everything had been going fine until the day before they were supposed to leave. Huo Chuan wasn’t feeling well but still insisted on going out to sea for a dive in the deep waters. Zhang Wenxuan and the others had gotten drunk the night before, so Huo Chuan asked Yang Shu to accompany him.
Huo Chuan shouldn’t have gone out in his condition. Yang Shu had advised against it, but Huo Chuan brushed it off.
So, he went with him.
Then the accident happened. There was a sudden undercurrent in the water, and Huo Chuan got into trouble. Since Yang Shu was the only one there, he went in to save him.
Huo Chuan was fine, just as he had claimed he would be. But Yang Shu wasn’t. After dragging Huo Chuan back to the boat, Yang Shu passed out. His last memory was the sensation of water pressure, the freezing cold of the sea, and the dull pain of hitting the rocks.
When he woke up in the hospital, Huo Chuan had already regained consciousness, completely unharmed. Yang Shu, on the other hand, was told that his physical condition had severely deteriorated, and he could no longer engage in strenuous activities.
After a few more treatments, the doctors confirmed that he would struggle with any activity requiring physical exertion.
The person he saved was perfectly fine; the rescuer, however, ended up in this condition.
The sports he loved, playing the piano, and even simple daily activities were no longer possible. Everything changed from that point on.
Without accepting any apologies, thanks, or compensation, Yang Shu left—he applied for a visa, transferred schools, and went abroad. He didn’t give anyone the chance to apologize.
Huo Chuan, filled with guilt, had tried multiple times to find him over the years. The attempts became frequent, sparking all kinds of ridiculous rumors.
Unable to get forgiveness from Yang Shu, Huo Chuan eventually surrounded himself with people who resembled him.
Once might have been a coincidence, but a series of people with similar traits was no accident.
Not being able to seek forgiveness from Yang Shu, Huo Chuan had apparently tried to compensate for his guilt by giving gifts and money to others. He probably thought that if those people accepted his offerings, the guilt would be alleviated.
It was a pathetic attempt. Yang Shu never corrected the rumors or stopped Huo Chuan’s behavior, believing it was best to leave him trapped in the illusion of atonement—keeping him forever stuck in the deep waters of that summer.
Recently, he found out that Huo Chuan wanted to move on from the past and planned to be with someone he truly liked.
That’s why he came back.
It was a matter stated plainly, but filled with hidden turbulence, and unexpectedly, Chen Bai learned the reason behind the “stand-in.” With wide eyes, he listened, unconsciously grabbing two freeze-dried dog treats.
Having seen how many people reacted to this story, he could already guess what Yang Shu was about to say. Yang Shu said, “It’s true that I agreed to go, and it’s true that I chose to save him…”
It was his own decision to go out to sea and his own decision to rescue Huo Chuan. These were indeed his choices. His friends had pitied him for ending up this way, and they also told him not to let this long-past incident ruin both his life and Huo Chuan’s.
Having heard many subtle accusations, he understood all too well how most people reacted when they heard about the event.
Chen Bai, almost instinctively tossing the freeze-dried treat into his own mouth, ended up feeding it to the dog instead. He then asked, “So, friend, didn’t you feel lonely all these years living abroad?”
“…Huh?”
Yang Shu was momentarily stunned, not expecting the question. The words he had prepared to say were disrupted as he asked, “Why do you ask that?”
With the wet nose of the dog nudging his palm, making it feel damp, Chen Bai patted the dog’s head and said, “Aren’t all your friends here in the country? Didn’t it get tough, living overseas alone for so long?”
His foreign language skills were passable, and he could certainly survive abroad. But without friends around, he wouldn’t even know who to chat with. He thought, objectively, that would be tough.
Maybe he could have handled it in the past, but now, no way.
Going to such lengths over the former benefactor seemed like a case of cutting off your nose to spite your face.
Chen Bai didn’t criticize him or comment on Huo Chuan’s behavior. Not expecting the conversation to take this turn, Yang Shu quietly met his gaze and said after a pause, “It wasn’t too bad.”
Friends weren’t a necessity for him, and he wasn’t the type who needed to talk or chat with people constantly. He could adapt to living alone.
Chen Bai sincerely praised him, “You’re amazing, man. I couldn’t manage without friends.”
After that, he asked, “Do you still have any friends here now?”
Yang Shu said no.
After all, over more than a decade without much contact, even the closest friends would drift apart.
“Well, perfect! Let’s be friends then.”
Chen Bai smoothly pulled out his phone, unlocked the screen, and said, “Let’s exchange contacts, and call me next time you want to walk the dog.”
His actions were quick and natural, leaving Yang Shu without time to react. Out of habit, Yang Shu also pulled out his phone.
Only when the sound of the QR code scan confirmed the exchange did Yang Shu realize what he had just done.
A new contact popped up on his phone: [AAA Professional Locksmith – Master Chen].
Yang Shu “…”
Yang Shu: “?”
“That’s me,” Chen Bai explained, noticing Yang Shu’s momentary hesitation and confusion. “I did a locksmith gig for a while, so I used that name.”
Sensing Yang Shu’s brief pause and uncertainty, Master Chen, the locksmith, casually explained. Then he asked, “Is your name ‘Shu’ as in ‘comfort’?”
After glancing down at his newly added contact, Yang Shu replied, “Yes.”
Master Chen quickly updated the note.
As he entered the note, something suddenly clicked. “Oh, by the way, I think you got something wrong earlier.”
“What do you mean?”
“The thing with me and Huo… I mean, Mr. Huo Chuan. We’re not in that kind of relationship.”
He hadn’t interrupted out of politeness when Yang Shu was speaking earlier, but now it occurred to him. After finishing the note and setting his phone down, he hugged the dog in his arms and said, “We just have a normal boss-employee relationship.”
“Mr. Huo doesn’t see me that way.” He waved his hand and added, “And I don’t see Mr. Huo that way either.”
Then, scratching his head, he continued, “Even in the unlikely case that something happened, I’m really not thinking about it.”
Generally speaking, no one would want to date their employer. Especially not a former one. Chen Bai had already told different people countless times that he planned to stay single for life, and even now, he patiently repeated his stance.
Though his tone was light and he was smiling, making it sound like a casual conversation, it was clear he wasn’t joking.
Now it was Yang Shu’s turn to freeze. His hand paused as he reached for his water cup. “Then what about earlier?”
“Earlier… what? Ah-choo!”
The dog fur floated into Chen Bai’s nose again, and this time he couldn’t hold back. He sneezed, then rubbed his slightly reddened nose with wide eyes as he turned back.
His eyes were watery, and his nose was red. His speech interrupted by the sneeze, he asked again, “What about earlier?”
Yang Shu “…”
Yang Shu took a slow sip of water and said, “You were just trying to sneeze earlier?”
His tone was slightly incredulous, carrying a note of disbelief even he hadn’t noticed.
By ‘earlier,’ he meant the moment when he had suggested Chen Bai leave Huo Chuan.
Having been found out, Chen Bai nodded honestly, “Dog fur got into my nose. It was really itchy.”
After patting the dog’s head again, Chen Bai looked at the untouched freeze-dried treats near Yang Shu’s hand and asked, “Want to pet the dog? As long as you give him treats, he’s pretty well-behaved.”
Yang Shu glanced at the large white dog’s sturdy paws and its fluffy head, much larger than a human’s. For a moment, he wasn’t sure whether to be more surprised at what Chen Bai said or about the dog.
So, it was all just in people’s heads… And this was what Chen Bai called a “little dog.”
Chen Bai thought Yang Shu seemed to really like dogs, just a little shy about feeding them. Sure enough, after Chen Bai said that, Yang Shu smiled slightly, reaching for the treats.
Without hesitation, the dog—lured by the sight of treats—moved toward Yang Shu.
As the dog’s wet nose nudged his palm, Yang Shu looked down at the fluffy head and couldn’t help but laugh softly again. He murmured, “I knew it… How could he deserve any of this?”
His voice was soft, and Chen Bai, distracted by the dog, didn’t quite catch it. Curious, he started asking more about life abroad: “Did you get used to the food over there?”
The first thing he brought up was the food.
The original topic was completely sidetracked, and even Yang Shu wasn’t sure how they got from discussing Huo Chuan to talking about how many eggs were needed to make fluffy little cakes.
This person was seriously teaching him how to make an easy cake recipe for beginners, trying to add some joy to his eating habits and life abroad.
He had chosen to meet at a dog café because he read online that the other person seemed to really like dogs, even though he himself wasn’t particularly fond of them. Yet, by the end, all the freeze-dried treats on the table had somehow been fed to the dogs, and he even bought more.
The pack of begging dogs had grown from one to three, and the small room was now filled with fluff.
Completely buried in the pile of dogs, Chen Bai had entirely forgotten that he came here today to talk business. With a dog head in each hand, he was so content he squinted his eyes.
He truly seemed to enjoy it. Yang Shu asked, “Do you have a dog yourself?”
Chen Bai’s heart was deeply touched. He buried his face in the fluffy fur and, when he raised his head, said, “No.”
He explained, “My job keeps me on the road all year round, so I can’t take care of a dog.”
Plus, he still had debts to pay. If he had a dog, it would suffer alongside him, and who knows when they might run out of food.
Yang Shu acknowledged with a sound and moved on to other topics.
Chen Bai could really chat, and in a way, he was knowledgeable about a wide range of subjects. Even though Yang Shu wasn’t usually talkative, he found himself joining in on the conversation more.
The topics swirled from the heavens to the earth, eventually circling back to where they started.
After giving the last piece of freeze-dried treat to a begging dog, Yang Shu casually patted a dog’s head and turned to ask, “If you were in my shoes back then, what would you have done?”
It was a great question, making Master Chen’s brain spin. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Doesn’t he have a fountain in his yard?”
He chuckled and added, “I’d kick him into the fountain and let him swim a few laps.”
You can’t avoid saving someone in that situation, and what’s happened has already happened; there’s no reversing it. Instead of making things difficult for others and tormenting yourself, it’s better to deal with it quickly and move on.
His smile was radiant, making it hard to connect him with the violent solution he had just suggested.
Yang Shu hadn’t expected such a simple and direct response, but he met Chen Bai’s gaze and smiled too. “That’s not bad.”
This time, unlike his previous polite smiles, Yang Shu’s laughter was genuine.
He lowered his head, typed out an address in the chat box on his phone, and said, “This is where I live now. If you ever need anything, feel free to come by.”
“Drop by, huh,” Chen Bai glanced at the address and sighed regretfully, “It’s a bit far. I guess we’ll have to hang out whenever we both have free time.”
They had already fed the latest batch of treats, and they had been here for quite a while. Since both had other commitments later, the meeting ended on a very pleasant note.
Afterward, Chen Bai had a meeting with his agent. Once he put on his hat and mask, he entered the subway and headed back the way he came.
As he made his way back, his agent was also heading over to meet him. When Chen Bai exited the subway and arrived at the gate of his neighborhood, he saw his agent’s car parked on the roadside.
He approached and greeted her warmly. The agent looked at him, hand on the steering wheel, then couldn’t resist reaching out.
Although Chen Bai hadn’t done anything wrong, he instinctively felt like he was about to get smacked on the head. He quickly shielded his head, but the hand only passed over it, grabbing something.
The agent pulled his hand back and glanced at the long, thin, soft white fur she had taken from Chen Bai’s hat, which was now blowing away in the wind. She asked, “So you’ve finally become a cotton thief?”
Chen Bai: “?”
The cotton thief only got two days of rest, and then his schedule was packed again. Over the next half month, he spent a lot of time on planes.
When his flight landed and he was shooting a public service video, the new episode of ‘Let’s Live Together!’ that had taken two weeks to edit was finally released.
One week’s worth of footage was split into three episodes, released one per week. This was the first episode of the new season.
Half of the regular guests had been replaced, making the first episode of this risky new season an instant hit, topping the trending charts of video platforms upon release. Related topics also skyrocketed on social media.
Even though many people had already watched the live stream earlier, they still chose to rewatch the edited version, looking for little details they had missed.
With so many people watching, the comments section was flooded, causing the site’s system to crash under the load. The video lagged, and the comment system broke down, requiring emergency maintenance before it could be restored.
The first episode mainly explained the new gameplay rules of the show. The first half was about understanding the rules and drawing lots, while the second half was about the first day of work. Every time the camera focused on the two guests who had such an unlucky start, the comments filled the screen, obscuring their faces.
By now, everyone knew who the “friend” Chen Bai had kept mentioning was, and they got to witness both his work ethic and the power of friendship.
Amid the tears and cries of Chen Bai’s many fans, the first episode hadn’t even aired for half an hour before a new fan group, which hadn’t even decided on a name, shot to the top of the trending list.
Whether it was Zhou Jing, with whom Chen Bai had worked twice before, or Chu Mingyuan, who seemed to get along well with him from behind-the-scenes footage, none of the couples had managed to form a big fandom. Most of their fans fought their battles alone, shivering on opposite poles of the earth. But in the short time since the episode aired, this new fan group had rapidly formed, with its supertopic growing quickly. The banner featured a screenshot of the two holding hands under the bridge.
[I must have gone mad. Somehow I ended up here. I swore I wouldn’t ship anyone, but why am I here? I must be crazy (shaking head).]
[These two originally had no connection whatsoever, not even a good name for a ship, yet here I am, crying my eyes out. This is the first time in my life I’ve jumped in so bravely.]
[I’ve shipped this so hard it’s making me diabetic, and now I find out they’re just friends (eyes closed).]
[On the bright side, at least Chen Bai won’t be in a relationship anytime soon. As long as he stays single, these two will still be the best duo ever.]
[What law of heaven have I broken? Wuwuwu, the first pair I truly liked turns out to just be friends. This is worse than having a knife to my throat, so painful!]
What’s even more painful than finding out that the pair you ship is actually just friends is that since they’re truly just friends, they have no intention of “working” together or playing into the ship. Aside from the variety show and previous livestream clips, fans haven’t received any more updates.
Xu Sinian remained as quiet as ever, his whereabouts always perfectly concealed. Ever since Chen Yi Bai officially announced that he’d taken on a new movie, he too hadn’t shown up much. The only updates came sporadically from his agent, who managed his account and occasionally posted a few obviously pre-stocked photos, along with some brand promotions.
A little over half a month after the movie announcement, fans finally got a new update.
Chen Yi Bai had collaborated with Veent to shoot a conceptual promotional video, and Veent officially announced that they had signed him as their top-tier spokesperson.
The promo video wasn’t long, just under two minutes, but it was essentially a feast for the eyes and ears.
This time, it showcased a side of Chen Yi Bai that had always been there but had never been formally highlighted—his piano skills. The audio quality was superb, and the visuals were top-notch, completely overshadowing those old, grainy piano-playing videos circulating online.
The room was dimly lit, with rain visible outside the window. The only light came from the faint glow through the window, landing on the misty gray floor. The lid of the grand piano reflected the light, with sleek, smooth lines.
The last rays of light glinted off the edges of the black-and-white keys. The man sitting at the piano wore a white shirt, his figure slender and his head slightly bowed, his tousled hair gently falling down. His posture was as upright as a pine tree.
When he’s quiet, his demeanor shifts to something rarely seen by others—calm, composed, and serene.
His long, slender fingers fell onto the keys, the simple watch on his wrist catching a soft glimmer of light. As the keys pressed down and rebounded, the rich, gentle sound filled the space, effortlessly stirring the listener’s emotions.
[Anything from Yi Bai is top-tier! You brat, how come you never told us you were this good at piano? You’ve been hiding it well!]
[Every time Yi Bai doesn’t speak, he’s so handsome it makes my heart skip a beat. I keep switching between calling him my husband and my wife (peacefully sighing).]
[Haha, Veent, when you said you’d signed him, you really meant it! Props to the agent too for picking such good endorsements! Fewer, but top-notch. Both EV and Veent match Yi Bai perfectly! A huge win for the piano!]
[I could tell it was live sound recording. No wonder Chen Yi Bai could work at a five-star hotel! So steady!]
Even though Chen Yi Bai himself was in debt, his fans had surprisingly strong purchasing power. It started back when he endorsed EV, and even though his fanbase wasn’t solidified at the time, he still managed to boost sales. Compared to the endorsement fee he received, EV could be considered one of the biggest winners in terms of getting a bargain.
This time, Veent wasn’t exactly getting a bargain, but the endorsement fee was definitely worth it.
With strong fan purchasing power and a good brand endorsement, the result was a sharp increase in sales, and Veent even released a special limited-edition item as a thank-you to fans.
Oddly enough, sales for the piano brand also spiked.
Chen Yi Bai saw the finished promo video while on the road, taking a break and heading back to A City.
His agent handed him the phone, showing him the finished video. “What do you think?”
“What do I think?” Leaning against the seatback, Chen Bai took the phone, half-opening his eyes and glancing at it. After thinking for a moment, he carefully said, “What I thought at the time was that if I’d bumped into either the watch or the piano, that would’ve been the end of me.”
