Fang Zhilan: "..."
Li Zihang: "..."
Li Zihang was filled with grief and indignation. Ye Cang was comparable to Lu Yang, but he was far inferior. His own grandson had absolutely no status!
-
On the way back, Ye Cang was unusually quiet.
Shen Huai guessed that he might have thought of something because of his conversation with Fang Zhilan earlier that day, so he didn't disturb him and just drove quietly.
After a long while, Ye Cang finally spoke: "When I remained in my old home as a spirit, I once met a singer."
Shen Huai was taken aback. He had thought Ye Cang was talking about his own affairs, but he still responded and continued listening.
"He was probably in his thirties, with a full beard, and looked very down on his luck. At the time, the former residence was not open to the public, so he leaned against the outer wall and talked to himself. He said he was my fan and fell in love with music because of my songs, but when he actually embarked on this path, he found that it was not so easy. He said he didn't have any talent and had written many songs, but they were all rejected by record companies."
"He said he had no parents, no wife or children, and the only thing he had was this guitar in his hand. If he didn't take this path, he didn't know what he should do. He took out the guitar, and can you imagine? A person who looks so slovenly has a very clean guitar. Although you can tell that the guitar is quite old, he has taken good care of it."
"He took that guitar and sang the songs he had written, from sunrise to sunset. He said he wanted his songs to be heard by many people, but he was afraid he would never have that chance. In the end, he put the guitar away, climbed to the top of a tall building next door, and jumped off."
“I remember, his name was Li Jun, and that day should have been his thirty-first birthday.”
Ye Cang paused here, and after a while, he began to speak again. His voice was a little low: "I wanted to advise him. I have also been rejected by record companies many times, and I have also been so desperate that I wanted to give up. I also wanted to tell him that his songs are not bad, he just hasn't met his mentor yet. Unfortunately, I couldn't say anything. At that moment, I suddenly felt a little sad, and even... a little regretful."
Shen Huai glanced at him sideways. Ye Cang's face was smiling, but it was filled with deep sorrow.
Shen Huai said softly, "Don't blame yourself, this has nothing to do with you."
“I know.” Ye Cang breathed a sigh of relief. “I just felt this way. I used to think that good songs would shine no matter what, but later I realized that there might be many people like Li Jun in this world who lack the opportunity to shine.”
Shen Huai didn't speak; he actually understood Ye Cang's feelings. At this time, he didn't need comforting; he just needed to slowly get through it on his own.
The two returned home in silence.
Ye Cang seemed to have calmed down and returned to his usual self. He put his arm around Shen Huai's shoulder and said, "I've decided to sing Li Jun's song during the semi-finals."
Shen Huai initially wanted to slap his hand away, but considering his silence throughout the journey, he held back. He told himself to just take it as pity for Ye Cang.
Seeing that he didn't object, Ye Cang went even further, lying all over his back: "How about I sing it for you first?"
His hot breath hit her sensitive ear, and Shen Huai closed his eyes briefly: "Get down here first."
Ye Cang ignored him: "This song is called 'The Dying Traveler,' and I think..."
As he was speaking, he kicked something and stumbled forward. Because he was lying on top of Shen Huai, his lips brushed against Shen Huai's earlobe.
Ye Cang was momentarily stunned, but Shen Huai reacted extremely quickly, throwing him off the ground. Ye Cang felt a dizzying sensation, and when he came to his senses, he found himself lying on the ground.
Shen Huai grabbed his arm and pressed his knee against his chest and abdomen. His expression was indifferent, but a closer look would reveal a hint of embarrassment on his face.
He released his hand and said stiffly, "Sorry, I'll go back to my room now."
Ye Cang rubbed his arm and slowly sat up. The slightly cool and soft touch seemed to linger on his lips, still stimulating his heart.
Although he didn't mean it, he didn't expect Shen Huai to react so strongly. He raised his hand to touch his lips, which aggravated the injury on his arm, and he immediately grimaced in pain.
Finally, he could only sigh helplessly: "It seems that I not only need to work out, but I also need to learn some kung fu."
-
Shen Huai returned to his room, and only then did his brows reveal his anger.
He didn't know why he reacted so strongly at that moment, especially after learning that Ye Cang had only acted accidentally, he felt that his reaction was a bit excessive.
He rubbed his temples. Ever since high school, he had known that he was attracted to the same sex. At that time, he was studying abroad, where the social atmosphere was more open. He had dated two boyfriends, but unfortunately, he was not used to physical intimacy with people, so they broke up after a short time.
He was aloof and had few desires. After these two unsuccessful relationships, he temporarily gave up on the idea of developing a new one.
After returning to China, he found that the country was much more conservative in this regard, and coupled with his busy work schedule, he had even less time to think about these things.
And right now...
Shen Huai sat at the table, slowly calming himself down. He had let Ye Cang stay with him before, partly because his original house was no longer suitable, and partly because Ye Cang had just been reborn, and Shen Huai was worried that he wouldn't know how to use many things, which would affect his daily life.
But it seems Ye Cang is adapting well. Let him move out after the competition ends.
Also, we should start looking for assistants.
Shen Huai wrote these two points down in his memo, forcing himself to forget what had happened before and focus entirely on his work.
Ye Cang has accumulated considerable popularity over these few matches, and several brands have already expressed interest in collaborations, but Shen Huai has consistently declined. He knows Ye Cang's true identity and that his achievements extend far beyond what he has seen so far; accepting every offer from the start would only lower his own standing.
So Shen Huai patiently waited, and finally received a few suitable advertising offers.
One is a beverage brand, and the other is a second-tier clothing brand. The former is an established brand with consistently good sales in China, while the latter, although a new brand with a casual style, has a strong sense of design, which is suitable for Ye Cang's current situation.
Shen Huai talked with the other party and confirmed the time for shooting the advertisement, which was arranged after the finals.
After all that was done, "Million New Singers" also posted on Weibo. Shen Huai used Ye Cang's main account to repost the Weibo post, expressing his expectations in a very formulaic way.
However, this Weibo post caused quite a stir on various gossip forums.
-
Someone just posted a thread on the Entertainment Forum, and it quickly became a HOT (Hot) post.
—Would Ye Cang be considered a lucky star descended from heaven?