After having an early dinner at Boss Liu's handmade noodle shop, the siblings went home together.
Xia Wanyi was about to start her junior year of college, and Xia Zhiyi had just finished his college entrance exams. Neither of them had anything like summer homework, so there was nothing they had to do after getting home.
Besides, although Xia Wanyi had seemed unaffected today, she had actually suffered quite a fright. Only after getting home did she fully relax, her legs suddenly going weak as she sank onto the sofa.
Xia Zhiyi sat down beside her and reached out to massage her shoulders. "Sis, it's okay. We're both fine."
Xia Wanyi tugged at her lips and smiled at Xia Zhiyi. "It's all right. I'm fine. Look, I didn't even cry."
Seeing that his sister was clearly still shaken yet smiling at him anyway, Xia Zhiyi said helplessly, "Sis, there's no one else here. It's okay if you want to cry."
Xia Wanyi said, "I don't."
As they spoke, the phone Xia Wanyi had set beside her rang. She simply waved Xia Zhiyi off to shower and change while answering the call.
Seeing that she seemed all right, and remembering how Xia Wanyi had stayed strong and carried on with life with him after their parents died, Xia Zhiyi could only do as she said. He went to his room for a change of clothes before going to wash up.
Opening the wardrobe and seeing those familiar yet unfamiliar clothes left Xia Zhiyi a little dazed. Then he quickly picked out his clothes for wearing at home and glanced at Xia Wanyi in the living room again before entering the bathroom.
Xia Wanyi was sitting on the sofa with her phone in one hand, then got up and went into the study, seemingly having something to deal with.
Xia Zhiyi hesitated, but ultimately did not disturb her.
When Xia Zhiyi finished showering and went to the study, he found Xia Wanyi sitting at the computer with an odd expression, seemingly looking through something.
Noticing Xia Zhiyi out of the corner of her eye, Xia Wanyi looked up, and her expression grew even odder as she looked at him.
Xia Zhiyi said, "...Sis? What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"
Xia Wanyi said, "...Come see for yourself."
Now Xia Zhiyi was certain that whatever Xia Wanyi was looking through did indeed have something to do with him.
And once he saw what was on the webpage in front of Xia Wanyi, Xia Zhiyi's expression turned odd too.
Xia Wanyi asked, "Well? What do you think?"
Xia Zhiyi said, "...I didn't notice anyone filming at the time, but this isn't a bad thing. We can just leave it alone, right?"
Xia Wanyi said, "...Then we'll leave it alone?"
Xia Zhiyi gave a quiet hum of agreement and heard Xia Wanyi say beside him, "But this video seems to have gone viral all at once. I only found out because my roommate saw it, recognized me, and came to check with me."
Xia Wanyi turned to Xia Zhiyi, hesitated, then continued, "About what you told me before-if you really do have that in mind, this is actually a good thing."
Xia Zhiyi blinked and was just about to say something when the siblings heard a ringtone. It was Xia Zhiyi's phone on the coffee table in the living room.
Immediately afterward, Xia Wanyi's phone rang again too.
Xia Wanyi and Xia Zhiyi exchanged a look, then she said somewhat helplessly, "I already took several calls while you were showering. Apparently, this came up while they were chatting in the group, and they've all been asking me about it."
On the computer screen in front of the siblings, a video was playing of Xia Zhiyi demonstrating his movement techniques to everyone at the hospital. Judging by the angle, it had probably been filmed by one of the passersby who had gathered around.
Xia Zhiyi had actually sensed the camera at the time, but he had thought it was a police body camera, so he had paid it no mind.
He had not expected anyone to be in the mood to film him just after going through an accident.
Xia Wanyi asked, "I haven't directly confirmed it either. It depends on what you think."
The phone was still ringing in the living room. Walking toward it, Xia Zhiyi said to Xia Wanyi, "Say whatever you want, Sis. I... want to be an actor. I might give the entertainment industry a try."
Although his experiences in his first life had not been particularly pleasant, Xia Zhiyi did not actually regret his decision to enter the entertainment industry.
Without that unexpected turn of events, perhaps Xia Zhiyi would never have realized that acting could be so interesting.
His fans had been lovely too. Although he had not had many at the time, there was no denying that they had given him a great deal of encouragement and motivation during those stifling days of being controlled and suppressed by his company.
So, given another chance, Xia Zhiyi was not averse to entering the industry again.
As for revenge and such...
Strictly speaking, the protagonists' group were not his enemies.
His only enemies were Huanyu and those disgusting things who had dealings with Huanyu. Naturally, Xia Zhiyi would not let those people off easily.
As for the protagonists, whether the male lead or the female lead, he would treat them as ordinary people.
Of course, that was on the condition that they left each other alone. If that so-called power of the plot still existed and insisted on forcing him and his sister to hand the protagonists achievements, then they could not blame him for taking his anger out on them.
With that thought, Xia Zhiyi picked up his phone. Seeing an unfamiliar number on the caller ID, he paused briefly, gestured to Xia Zhiyi, and answered the call.
"Hello?"
"Hello, is this Mr. Xia Zhiyi?"
Xia Zhiyi said, "Yes, speaking. May I ask who this is?"
"Hello, I'm Chen Yun, an agent with Huancheng Entertainment Company..."
As it turned out, someone at Huanyu had learned of Xia Zhiyi through one of their own artists and the video currently sitting near the bottom of the trending searches. After using certain means to get Xia Zhiyi's phone number, she had contacted him to ask whether he was interested in entering the entertainment industry.
The moment Xia Zhiyi heard her first sentence, his still somewhat youthful face turned cold. Yet he did not hang up immediately. Only after she had said a great deal about Huanyu's achievements and the benefits he would receive after signing did he say, "Sorry, I decline."
Chen Yun was the agent he had signed with in his first life, and Xia Zhiyi also knew the artist from her company whom she mentioned: Zhou Kai, one of the artists who had participated in today's filming of Extreme Speed City.
Zhou Kai was in the same production as Fu Yunyi, whose name was still on the trending searches. However, Fu Yunyi was the top-billed male lead, while Zhou Kai was merely the third male lead, who had snatched the second male lead's spot to take part in filming this variety show.
As for Zhou Kai himself, all Xia Zhiyi could say was that they had a score to settle.
Hearing his reply, Chen Yun paused before saying, "That's all right. There's no rush on my end. You can take some more time to think it over, Mr. Xia. With your qualities, you're sure to become popular very quickly if you join Huanyu."
"This is my number. If you change your mind, Mr. Xia, you can contact me anytime."
After ending the call, Xia Zhiyi glanced at the number on the caller ID, tugged at the corner of his mouth, and blocked it outright.