Yu Songqing

"Yu Songqing's team announces his retirement from the entertainment industry"

"Yu Songqing's farewell concert"

The moment these two trending topics appeared, the comments erupted.

[Fuck! Why! Why are you retiring, darling?]

[What the hell? He only just debuted, and now he's retiring? Why would New Creation make a hugely popular star retire?]

[Fuck, have they all gone mad?!]

[He's studied music since he was a kid, and his dream was to debut and sing. Now he's retiring? Retiring??? Retiring???]

[New Creation, go bankrupt! New Creation, go bankrupt! New Creation, go bankrupt! Aaaaaah!]

[Aaaaaaaaah, I'm losing my mind! He worked so hard to debut, and now he's suddenly retiring? What were all those years of effort for!!!]

[Waaaaaaaaah, I'm falling apart]

[Just a passerby, but I'm shocked. Didn't Yu Songqing only debut recently? Isn't he at the height of his popularity? Why retire at a time like this? Doesn't New Creation want to make money anymore?]

[Same as above. This is ridiculous.]

Meanwhile, Yu Songqing lay in bed, wearily covering his eyes, dejection radiating from his entire body.

Whenever he thought of his mother forcibly bringing him home, suspending all his activities, and making him learn the company business to assist his younger brother, Mu Niansheng, he could not stop the resentment.

Why, why, why had she shattered this "dream" with her own hands just when he had finally managed to accept it and work toward it?

When he was young, she had not let him touch or learn anything about the company, allowing only Mu Niansheng to study those things, forcing him to study the arts and cutting him off from company affairs.

Now that Mu Niansheng had lost the use of both legs, she was making him start learning the company business.

The thought made him feel as though a massive stone were pressing against his chest, leaving him unable to breathe.

Suddenly, a WeChat notification sounded beside him.

Yu Songqing instinctively picked up his phone and opened it. It was Gu Nian'an.

"Are you there, Songqing? Did something happen to you?"

[Worried kitty.jpg]

After returning home from the hospital, Gu Nian'an had opened his phone and seen the trending news about Yu Songqing retiring, which had given him quite a fright. Why would he retire at the height of his popularity?

Then he remembered how Yu Songqing had hurriedly left the variety show, saying something had happened at home, and he could not help worrying that something had happened to his family.

After thinking it over for a moment, he decided to ask him. After all, they counted as friends now, didn't they?

Looking at the message sent from the other end, Yu Songqing lowered his eyes, his fingers tapping away on the keyboard for a long while, yet he still did not know how to begin.

Gu Nian'an watched the screen worriedly as the person on the other end typed for over ten minutes before sending a single message.

"Yeah, something happened to my younger brother, so I have to go home and handle company business."

Gu Nian'an frowned slightly. Since last time, he had forgotten all the subsequent developments in the original novel. He only remembered that the book had indeed mentioned Yu Songqing having a younger brother, but had given no details about him.

But he had always known that Yu Songqing had studied singing and dancing since childhood, and he also remembered that he had even damaged his stomach because of it.

Thinking of his retirement, he could not help offering some comfort. "I hope everything goes well. I'll look forward to hearing you sing again someday."

Yu Songqing stared at the line the young man had sent.

Suddenly, he felt waves of tingling spread through his heart.

He had always been used to processing these things alone, but suddenly someone was asking what was wrong and comforting him. To be honest, he really was not used to it, nor did he know how to respond.

After a long while, he only replied, "Thank you."

Tossing his phone aside, he recalled the moments they had spent together. When he thought of those few pieces of rock sugar, it was as though a warm current brushed across the tip of his heart, stirring faint ripples in his utterly exhausted heart.

He had been extremely introverted since childhood, and the people around him had never wanted to talk to him much, remaining merely polite and distant.

As for his mother, after his father died, she had refused to see him for a very long time, until his younger brother was born...

As though she had suddenly remembered his existence, his mother had arranged for a nanny to see to his daily needs, but she seldom asked about him.

Later, she had forcibly sent him abroad to attend a music academy, then arranged for him to enter the entertainment industry after his return, never once asking what he thought.

Everyone around him was like that. No one had ever cared what he thought.

He raised his hand slightly and stared at his palm for a long time. Only Gu Nian'an had taken his hand at the foot of that mountain.

That warm touch still seemed to linger on his fingertips...

An unreadable softness kept flickering in Yu Songqing's eyes. He placed his hand over his heart and sighed softly.

Then he suddenly remembered hearing from the company last time that Gu Nian'an seemed to be married, and that his spouse was none other than Fu Xiuyuan of the Fu Corporation. His own family's company had a long-standing partnership with the Fu Group, so it had been easy to catch wind of the secret marriage.

He also recalled what he had later learned from his mother: Fu Xiuyuan seemed to have married Gu Nian'an because of an issue with a will.

Fu Xiuyuan was a ruthless, decisive man whom everyone in the business world knew. He was like a shark; once he caught the scent of blood, he would sink his teeth into his prey and never let go.

Thinking of the gentle, sweet young man, Yu Songqing's eyes could not help darkening.

It was all right. He only needed-only needed to be able to stay close to him.

A week passed in the blink of an eye, and Gu Nian'an's cough finally cleared up.

The morning sunlight spilled across the young man's face, lending a touch of tenderness to his already soft features.

The man on the second-floor balcony gazed at the scene, casually picked up a blanket, and walked slowly toward the garden.

Gu Nian'an was resting in a chair with his eyes closed when he suddenly felt something touch his body. He opened his eyes to find that Fu Xiuyuan had draped a blanket over him.

Seeing that he was awake, the man said in a low voice, "Don't catch a chill."

Gu Nian'an tugged at the thin blanket covering him, curved his lips, and gave the man a gentle smile. "Thank you, sir."

Seemingly momentarily dazzled by the young man's smile, the man fiddled with the thumb ring on his hand and froze for a few seconds before saying, "Come to the old family residence with me for a meal tomorrow."

Ever since obtaining the shares left to him in the will, he had ignored the people in the main family. They were presumably growing anxious, constantly kicking up a fuss.

He laughed inwardly. Then I'll go back and see what trouble they can stir up this time.

Gu Nian'an thought about the male lead's family circumstances. Logically, once their marriage had become official, the male lead should have received the shares specified in the will. Why did he still need to go to the old family residence with him?

After a long while, he still nodded hesitantly.

As though noticing the young man's hesitation, Fu Xiuyuan chuckled and reassured him, "It's just that my father keeps saying he wants to meet you. I'll handle everything once we're there. All you need to do is eat quietly."

Gu Nian'an softly agreed.