Chapter 28 – Offering His Face to Admire
by Salted FishWei Lai had never carried a man as heavy as Chu Yin before. Drenched in sweat, he actually managed to break his fever that very night.
Chu Yin was smugly pleased with himself. “Hmph, and you didn’t even want to rock me. If you’d rocked me two hundred times, even your cough would’ve been cured.”
Wei Lai rolled his eyes so hard it was practically a spectacle. “…Have you no shame?”
Chu Yin smacked his face right against Wei Lai’s, nuzzling him. “Nope. Giving it to you.”
Wei Lai coughed and shoved away Chu Yin’s cheek attack. “…This bitch1Refers to himself is drop-dead gorgeous, I don’t want your face. Get lost!”
Chu Yin: “Hng!”
Chu Yin was terrified that Wei Lai might drop dead at any moment. After finishing the photoshoot, he rushed Wei Lai back to Chengdu without delay, confirmed his kidneys were functioning properly, and then confined him at home for some hardcore wellness routines.
No going out to party after 11 PM—must sleep.
Less hotpot and takeout, more veggies and fruit.
Less mahjong, more muscle training and oatmeal—together.
After three days of this, the drop-dead gorgeous party animal Wei Lai was practically going insane.
Wei Lai peeked his head into Chu Yin’s studio. “Little Crybaby, wanna go shopping?”
Chu Yin, buried in sheet music with headphones on, was deep in thought about a composition. “I’m not going. You go.”
Wei Lai: “What are you even doing?”
Chu Yin looked up. “I’m thinking—what should my last song before leaving the industry be like?”
Wei Lai froze. “You still want to quit the entertainment industry?”
Chu Yin had entered the entertainment industry for two reasons: one was Chen Meixian’s suggestion, and the other was a bit of unrealistic fantasy on his part.
Chu Yin had always wondered—why had his birth parents abandoned him? He was healthy, no defects, not ugly—so why throw him away? What if he’d been snatched by bad people?
If, one day, his posters were everywhere, if he became a superstar known nationwide—would his birth parents come looking for him?
But after all these years, Chu Yin had long given up hope.
After a moment of silence, Chu Yin said, “During my first concert, I stood at the center of the stage, surrounded by tens of thousands of people waving glow sticks for me. I couldn’t see their faces, but they could see me, screaming my name at the top of their lungs.”
“But later, it wasn’t like that anymore. So many people started cursing me.”
“Wei Lai, I’m so scared.”
“I know that one day, they’ll stop liking me—maybe even hate me. There are so many celebrities in the entertainment industry—what am I, really?”
Chu Yin lowered his head. “I’ll fade out slowly, eventually forgotten. I can’t break through, but I can’t stand sinking either. I’m a coward. Rather than that, I’d rather say goodbye on my own terms.”
It took Wei Lai a long time to understand what Chu Yin was afraid of.
Chu Yin had been lifted too high—so high that he couldn’t bear the possibility of falling. He was too spoiled, too proud—he’d rather sever all glory with his own hands.
Wei Lai’s expression turned serious. “Do you think the meaning of being an idol is just about entertainment and cheers? That the number of fans is the only measure of your worth?”
Chu Yin: “Don’t feed me that motivational crap. I’m just tired.”
Wei Lai: “No. You’re scared.”
Chu Yin murmured, “Yeah. I’m a coward. To you, I have no commercial value left. You should start scouting for new potential stars soon.”
Wei Lai snapped, “Glad you know. Lucky for me, I’m just your temporary manager. If you were under me long-term, I’d die of anger in a day.”
That day, the two parted on bad terms. Chu Yin shut himself in to compose, while Wei Lai, sporting newly dyed “Balala Fairy Purple” hair, stormed out to go shopping with Yan Yunshui.
“Lai Lai, you look so alpha with that scowl!”
Wei Lai: “I’m about to be pissed to death by Chu Yin.”
Yan Yunshui: “Where? My male god is always right.”
Wei Lai: “You wanna piss me off too, huh?”
Yan Yunshui giggled. “Just kidding~ Come on, let’s grab milk tea and talk while we drink!”
Wei Lai hadn’t planned on drinking milk tea, but then Chu Yin’s nagging voice echoed in his ears: “Drink less milk tea—it’s bad for your kidneys and your skin.” Just thinking about it made his rebellious spirit flare up, and he marched shoulder-to-shoulder with Yan Yunshui to buy some.
It was the weekend, and the tea shop was packed, a long line stretching outside. Yan Yunshui, however, was patient, chatting idly with Wei Lai as they waited.
With motherly concern in his eyes, Yan Yunshui said, “What’s wrong with my Crybaby Yin? Don’t be mean to him—he’s such a good boy.”
Wei Lai thought: The entire nation has been fooled by editing and Chu Yin’s face. You haven’t seen him riding roughshod over me!
Just as Wei Lai was about to unleash a torrent of complaints about Chu Yin, he noticed Yan Yunshui’s expression shift.
It was that look—the one he reserved for juicy gossip.
“Wei Lai, that guy behind you to the right—that’s Ren Zha.”
Ren Zha—the guy the homophobic butcher had mistaken for someone to beat up that night, the one rumored to have been screwed over by a scheming ugly girl.
Wei Lai glanced subtly out of the corner of his eye. Ren Zha was dressed casually, average-looking but well-groomed, with a distinct air about him. Next to him stood another man in a similar style of clothing, the two leaning close over a phone screen—they looked quite intimate.
Yan Yunshui: “That’s definitely his boyfriend. Not as hot as you and me, but they’re a good match.”
Wei Lai rolled his eyes silently. “I get that you love shipping people, but even for real-life, plain-looking folks? That’s a sickness.”
Yan Yunshui: “Between you and me, I still secretly ship you and Chu Yin.”
Wei Lai: “…Who’s the top?”
Yan Yunshui: “…You.”
Wei Lai: “…Our friendship ends this second.”
Yan Yunshui gasped dramatically. Wei Lai deadpanned, “You don’t have to be that extra.”
Yan Yunshui grabbed Wei Lai’s arm excitedly, nails digging in painfully.
“Wei Lai, look—isn’t that the girl from the day we got beaten up? The one who mistook someone and then tried to stop the fight?”
Wei Lai peered past the crowd and saw the woman stealthily holding up her phone, camera aimed at Ren Zha and his companion, snapping photos rapidly—who knew how many she’d taken in that instant.
Yan Yunshui, who loathed these people, pointed at the woman and shouted, “Hey! What are you doing?”
As they say, enemies cross paths often. The woman startled, clearly recognizing Yan Yunshui and Wei Lai, then turned to leave.
This naturally drew Ren Zha’s attention. Following Yan Yunshui’s gesture, he spotted the woman tucking her phone away and cursed under his breath, “Still haunting me?!”
Ren Zha quickly said to the man beside him, “Go back first,” then pushed through the crowd to chase after the woman.
Yan Yunshui tugged Wei Lai along, abandoning the milk tea line. “Let’s go intercept them. These people are way too cruel to our kind!”
Wei Lai: “Aren’t you worried they’re using her as bait to lure Ren Zha somewhere isolated and bash his head in?”
Yan Yunshui: “Damn, you’re dark!”
0 Comments