Do you consider yourself a victim of cyberbullying?
"What would you like to say to those netizens who are insulting you and telling you to get out of the entertainment industry?"
Before the two could react, they were surrounded by a group of paparazzi, with flashes going off wildly.
Shen Huai's face darkened, and he stepped forward to stop them: "Ye Cang needs to rest now. Please leave the ward, thank you."
At this point, hospital nurses arrived with security guards and escorted the people out. However, it was too late; by evening, the hashtag #YeCangSuicide# was already trending at number one on social media.
Shen Huai's phone kept ringing, but he didn't have time to pay attention to it. Instead, he stared intently at the person in front of him.
Although the other person's face was pale, he couldn't hide his expression. He had one hand behind his head and one leg bent, a posture that wasn't exactly elegant, yet it gave him a carefree and unrestrained air. He looked at Shen Huai and said casually, "Are you angry with me?"
Shen Huai didn't speak, but looked at the person in front of him with complicated feelings. Although he had the same face as Ye Cang, he didn't have Ye Cang's original timid and inferior temperament. He was like a diamond that had been dusted off and finally shone with the brilliance it should have.
Lu Yang sat up straight and said seriously, "I'm not lying to you, I don't know what happened either. I was originally by your side, but suddenly I was sucked into this person's body by a force. When I woke up, I was already like this."
Those eyes were like obsidian; when their owner looked intently at someone, they seemed to whirlpool and draw the person in. Shen Huai, who had been staring back at him, awkwardly looked away.
Just then, the phone, which had been quiet for a while, rang again. Shen Huai breathed a sigh of relief and used the excuse of answering the call to escape the suffocating atmosphere.
The call was from the "Rising Star" program team. After all, the cyberbullying Ye Cang had encountered was related to the program, and they were worried about him. Only after confirming that Ye Cang was alright did they ask if he would return to participate in the program.
Shen Huai paused, looked at Lu Yang who was curiously fiddling with Ye Cang's phone, and then said that he would give a reply after discussing it with the artist.
After hanging up the phone, Shen Huai explained the situation regarding "Rising Star" before asking Lu Yang, "What are your plans? Are you still going to participate in the show?"
Lu Yang put down his phone, still feeling a bit unsatisfied, and said casually, "Go ahead."
Shen Huai was somewhat surprised. He had thought that Lu Yang, given his status and position, would be reluctant to participate in such a talent show. However, since the other party had agreed, he didn't think too much about it and said, "If you agree, I will be your manager from now on, responsible for planning your work path. Of course, you can communicate with me at any time if you have any ideas. I hope we can respect and trust each other."
Shen Huai reached out his hand, and Lu Yang, infected by his serious expression, also reached out his hand. However, the moment their hands touched, Lu Yang's body trembled slightly.
Shen Huai glanced at him with some surprise, but Lu Yang had already withdrawn his hand as if nothing had happened.
"It's a pleasure doing business with you, agent."
The phone rang again, and Shen Huai could only quickly give a few instructions before hurriedly leaving the ward to deal with those troubling matters.
After Shen Huai left, Lu Yang's well-disguised mask fell away, revealing an expression that was both sad and happy. He looked down at his fingers, where the warmth of that moment still lingered.
That is—the temperature of being alive.
He finally felt truly alive again. No one could understand his trembling excitement at that moment. After a long time, Lu Yang gradually calmed down.
He had a memory that wasn't his own. It was a memory he had witnessed as an observer of the boy's life when he was absorbed into Ye Cang's body, and Ye Cang's last wish—to bravely stand on the stage and repay the fans' love.
Lu Yang slowly tightened his fingers and whispered into the air.
"Don't worry, I will fulfill your wish."
-
"The Rising Star" is a talent show co-produced by T and Zhongjing TV, aiming to discover the most promising new stars. The competition is divided into two stages. The first stage is a preliminary elimination round, which is broadcast in a pre-recorded format. After the top ten are selected, each episode will be presented in a live broadcast format, which is quite exciting.
Although the list of the top ten has been circulating widely online, the final competition will actually air this week. Fans are discussing it enthusiastically, propelling Tomorrow's Star to the top spot in the Super Topic community.
And in the super topic, the most popular post is—
#RisingStar# #Top10RisingStars# Anyway, Ye Cang should be confirmed as a top 10 contender, right? [doge]
Below, a row of likes and agreement were received, while only a few of Ye Cang's fans protested weakly.
In the eyes of industry insiders, Ye Cang's only way out at this moment is to use the suicide incident to play the victim and take advantage of the popularity of the top ten competition to get a small web drama or web variety show. In short, no one thinks that Ye Cang can continue in this competition.
Mingwei had thought so too, but when she heard from her subordinates that Shen Huai had applied for a recording studio, a practice room, and a dance teacher for Ye Cang, she was stunned.
She glanced at the application form. Knowing Shen Huai as she did, this wasn't about abandoning Ye Cang; it was clearly a do-or-die situation.
Regarding Bai Weijia's previous incident, although it was the artist's own decision, Shen Huai was, after all, a veteran who had worked at Morning Star for many years, and Ming Wei had always admired him, so she felt somewhat sorry for him. Therefore, although she felt that Shen Huai's actions were futile, she still signed the application form.
When Shen Huai received the schedule for the recording studio and practice room, he was at the hospital picking up Lu Yang—no, he should be called Ye Cang now.
Shen Huai went to complete the discharge procedures, and when he came back, he saw Ye Cang playing mobile games with a focused expression. In the past few days, Ye Cang had figured out the functions of the phone very well, and then he became addicted to Candy Crush.
Shen Huai was somewhat speechless and told him, "Let's go."
Ye Cang eliminated the last three chicks, then contentedly turned off his phone, put it in his pocket, and walked out of the ward with Shen Huai.
Shen Huai drove himself over in a low-key black SUV. Ye Cang's eyes lit up as he got in, curiously looking around the interior. After a while, he remembered to ask Shen Huai, "Where are we going?"
Shen Huai paused for a moment: "My home."
Shen Huai had no choice but to let him stay at his home temporarily, since Ye Cang's suicide had already exposed his residence and there wasn't enough time to find a new place.
Ye Cang didn't care about such things, he just said "Oh" and stopped talking.
Shen Huai's residence was a small villa with a very simple interior design. Shen Huai helped Lu Yang put his things down and showed him around before the two sat down to discuss the competition.
The program team has already sent Shen Huai the schedule and rules for the top ten competition. The previous elimination rounds were almost all in a team format. Ye Cang was lucky and always managed to find excellent teammates. Even when he was on the verge of elimination, he relied on his extremely high popularity to avoid elimination. Otherwise, he wouldn't have attracted so much controversy.
Starting from the top ten competition, the contestants are all competing individually. Even on collaborative stages, individual performance is the deciding factor. If it were the Ye Cang of the past, he would probably have been eliminated in the first round. But now that it's Ye Cang of Lu Yangxin, it's hard to say.
Shen Huai explained the rules and said to Ye Cang, "The first competition is crucial. I've inquired, and the judges don't have a good impression of you. They have the power to advance you directly. If you're put on hold, you'll have to participate in the PK competition, so you need to prepare at least two songs." He asked Ye Cang, "Have you decided what you want to sing?"
Ye Cang stroked his chin and thought for a moment before asking, "Have you heard of 'The Song of Immortality'?"
Shen Huai shook his head blankly, then took out his phone and searched for it. He found it was the theme song of a very old movie, sung by Fan Jing, a now very famous national treasure-level singer. Upon closer inspection, he discovered the composer was Lu Yang. However, both of them were just starting out at the time, and the movie's performance was mediocre, so they remained relatively unknown.