Ye Cang was unfazed by his shock and simply asked, "Do you have a guitar?"
Shen Huai did have a guitar at home, which he would strum occasionally, though he wasn't a professional. Ye Cang didn't mind, tested the sound, and then began to play.
Shen Huai wasn't a professional singer, but the moment Ye Cang began to sing, he realized the vast difference between him and the original singer. If the original was a youthful and energetic expression, then the song sung by Ye Cang carried a sense of melancholy and vicissitude. Ye Cang's original voice wasn't particularly outstanding, but under his control, the high notes were clear and bright, while the low notes had a slight huskiness, which actually made the song even more fitting. Ye Cang's original disadvantage was transformed into an advantage, and that slight imperfection made it all the more touching.
Shen Huai listened quietly, and only after the other person had finished singing for a long time did he slowly come back to his senses. Beneath his calm expression was an undisguised appreciation: "Very beautiful."
Ye Cang didn't show any smugness on his face. He stroked the guitar nostalgically and said with a smile, "I'm not going to prepare for the second song. If this song doesn't help me advance, it won't be a pity if I'm eliminated."
Chapter 4
The next day, Shen Huai and Ye Cang went to the company to sign the agency contract. This was something that should have been done before, but it was delayed until today because Ye Cang had been hospitalized.
As soon as the two appeared in the company, they attracted a lot of attention, and they all looked at Ye Cang's hands.
Ye Cang was wearing a simple black T-shirt, his skin was a little pale, and the bandage wrapped around his wrist was particularly conspicuous, drawing whispers from the onlookers.
"Did he really commit suicide?"
"Of course it's true, it's all over the internet!"
"Brother Shen is really unlucky. First he was kicked out by Wei Jia, and now he's been assigned to this kind of artist..."
"Exactly, it's really unlucky to have such a sensitive person like that!"
"What's so great about things online? If you can't even handle this, how are you going to survive..."
A few whispers reached Ye Cang's ears, but he paid no attention. He played with his phone while following Shen Huai out of the corner of his eye. But Shen Huai suddenly stopped. The gossipers paused for a moment, then burst into an even more excited discussion.
Ye Cang looked up in confusion and saw a handsome but arrogant young man standing opposite Shen Huai.
Bai Weijia took a step forward, a wide smile on his face: "Brother Shen, it's been a long time."
Shen Huai looked at him indifferently, without saying a word.
Bai Weijia's smile faded. He had expected to see Shen Huai's angry and regretful expression, allowing him to tell him, "You're wrong, I'm right!" and walk away amidst Shen Huai's remorse. Ever since terminating his contract with Shen Huai, Bai Weijia had been fantasizing about this scene, trembling with excitement every time he thought about it, even imagining several different looks he would give when he left.
However, Shen Huai's reaction was like a bucket of cold water poured on him. Shen Huai looked at him the same way as before, as if the contract termination had no impact on him at all.
How could Bai Weijia possibly believe it? He glanced contemptuously at Ye Cang, then turned back to Shen Huai: "This is the artist Brother Shen just signed?"
Ye Cang had already learned what had happened from the discussions around him and felt indignant on Shen Huai's behalf. Now that he finally had his chance to speak, he perked up and was about to speak when Shen Huai stopped him.
Shen Huai: "Let's go, don't waste time."
Bai Weijia's smile froze, but Shen Huai didn't even spare him a glance, leading Ye Cang towards the elevator.
Blinded by anger, Bai Weijia disregarded the occasion and shouted, "Brother Shen, even if you want to sign someone, you can't be so indiscriminate! At least be selective!"
Shen Huai stopped in his tracks.
Seeing this, Bai Weijia became even more smug and said sarcastically, "Brother Shen, I'm only reminding you out of consideration for our past cooperation. Some people are just hopeless cases..."
Shen Huai said sternly, "Shut up!"
Bai Weijia was startled and couldn't say anything more. When Bai Weijia realized his emotions, he was immediately filled with shame, anger, and resentment. He was angry that Shen Huai had embarrassed him in front of everyone, and that Shen Huai, who hadn't even been angered by the contract termination, was now taking his anger out on him because of a newcomer who wasn't well-regarded by others.
Shen Huai swept his gaze coldly over him: "What my artist does is none of your business. Besides, in my opinion, he is far superior to you."
That familiar gaze stung Bai Weijia's pride, and in his heat of the moment, he spoke without thinking.
"Brother Shen, is it really necessary to put on a brave face? Someone who's willing to commit suicide over the smallest things might even do it a second time. You'll be cleaning up his mess then..."
His words were unpleasant to hear, but to outsiders they were true. However, saying them so openly in front of the person involved made even bystanders feel that it was a bit much.
Shen Huai's face darkened completely. Just as he was about to reprimand him, Ye Cang put away his phone and walked out. He was half a head taller than Bai Weijia. Standing in front of him, he said calmly, "Kid, you should watch your words, or you'll easily be taught a lesson."
Bai Weijia: "Who do you think you are..."
Ye Cang interrupted him: "Look, you've forgotten what I just taught you? It's really tough on our Brother Shen, he actually put up with you for a year before terminating your contract."
Ye Cang sighed in a pretentious manner, as if he were genuinely sympathizing with Shen Huai.
Bai Weijia's face turned red with anger: "Bullshit! I terminated the contract voluntarily!"
Ye Cang: "I understand, I understand. It's just like a breakup. The one who gets dumped is always the one who cares about these things."
The metaphor was so vivid, and coupled with Bai Weijia's flushed face and bulging neck, the contrast with Shen Huai and Ye Cang's indifference was quite striking. Bai Weijia was usually arrogant and not very popular, and after what had just happened, everyone sympathized with Ye Cang. Someone around them burst out laughing first, which then triggered a chorus of low laughter.
Even Shen Huai was somewhat amused and exasperated, and could only lower his head, clench his fist and put it to his lips to hide his smile.
Everyone initially thought that Bai Weijia had kicked Shen Huai, but now that Ye Cang has said this, and seeing how concerned Bai Weijia is, the truth is still hard to say.
Bai Weijia felt the ambiguous gazes directed at her from around her, and the string in her mind snapped. Her eyes reddened, and she threw a punch. Ye Cang was prepared, nimbly dodging the punch while simultaneously chattering: "Hey, hey, if you can't win an argument, don't resort to violence. You have a bad temper; your new manager must be having a lot of trouble, right?"
Bai Weijia: "!!!"
Speak of the devil, and he appears! Cassie had only gone to take care of a few things when, unexpectedly, Bai Weijia looked like he was about to rush up and fight someone. Cassie quickly grabbed him: "What are you doing?!"
Cassie's voice brought Bai Weijia back to her senses a little.
Cassie didn't know what had happened, but when she saw Shen Huai there, she reflexively put on a polite smile: "Wei Jia has been busy with the new album lately and is in a bit of a irritable mood. Please don't take offense, Brother Shen."
"I have nothing to be surprised about." Shen Huai put away his smile and said calmly, "The person he should apologize to is Ye Cang."
Cassie's face stiffened: "This..."
Bai Weijia shouted, "Apologize to someone like that? Don't even think about it!"