Chapter 8

Qi Wang's expression stiffened involuntarily.

Jiang Yu was naturally the first to send his gloating congratulations: "I thought certain people weren't coming today."

Qi Wang said, "What the fuck does it have to do with you?"

Jiang Yu retorted bluntly, "You won't even admit what you did? The bet's still on. When are you planning to honor it?"

"Who says I don't admit it?"

Qi Wang sneered. "I'm asking you, who saw me make a bet with Sheng Chi?"

He looked around the practice room and said, stressing every word, "Ask them. Which one of them saw it?"

Qi Wang was usually arrogant and overbearing at the company. Apart from Jiang Yu, few dared to talk back to him, and most chose to stay quiet and look out for themselves.

Xu Linyuan glanced at Gu Zhijing.

Gu Zhijing considered it, but didn't rush to speak.

Sheng Chi hadn't come back yet, so he planned to wait and see for a while.

When Jiang Yu saw that no one was speaking up, he grew anxious. "Do you have any shame, Qi Wang?"

He stepped forward, ready to teach him a lesson, but someone reached out and stopped him.

Sheng Chi, who had returned from outside at some point, stood in front of him. "Forget it. It's fine."

Jiang Yu said, "Brother Sheng Chi, you-"

"It's not like I need that apology anyway."

Sheng Chi lifted his eyes and swept his gaze over everyone in the practice room. "But just remember what he owes all of you."

His expression was composed, but every word rang out firmly.

Qi Wang's face went red and then pale. In the end, he said nothing and left without even attending class. ...

And so the bet between Qi Wang and Sheng Chi came to nothing.

Although Qi Wang ultimately weaseled out of it through sheer shamelessness, everyone knew who was in the right. He also stayed away from classes in the practice room for several days, disappearing for a while.

After this incident, Sheng Chi's standing among the trainees gradually stabilized, and the others' attitudes toward him improved considerably.

Meanwhile, Fei Yue took advantage of the modest buzz from the last livestream to launch another round of marketing.

The results were fairly good.

Leap Entertainment was still an obscure, irrelevant company in the entertainment industry at large.

But at least these publicly revealed trainees had gained a little recognition in the domestic idol scene.

They couldn't miss this rare wave of attention, and they couldn't draw out the timeline too long, or the fans they had worked so hard to attract would all run off.

Fei Yue decided to make a slight adjustment to the schedule.

The assessment originally set for the end of August was moved up to mid-August.

During this period, the company would gradually release some trainee videos to keep the fans engaged. The final debut assessment would follow at the end of August, after which they would begin preparing the debut EP and other matters, with the official debut roughly scheduled for late September.

As soon as the news came down, Sheng Chi intensified Gu Zhijing's training once again.

After training him these past few days, he had unexpectedly discovered that Gu Zhijing really was a very talented trainee.

Unfortunately, he was the type to practice for five minutes and slack off for two hours.

In other words, heaven had given him the means to make a living.

But he was too lazy to take the bowl himself.

Fortunately, the training plan Sheng Chi had designed especially for him struck a balance between work and rest and didn't push him too hard. It had gradually helped him develop good training habits.

There were two days left until the mid-August assessment.

That evening, Sheng Chi gave Gu Zhijing another extra lesson in the practice room.

"This move still isn't right."

Sheng Chi went over and corrected his posture a little. As he turned his head, he suddenly felt that something about Gu Zhijing was different today.

After looking closely for a moment, Sheng Chi realized what it was.

Gu Zhijing seemed to be in a good mood today.

He wore a small stud in his right ear. Its silver glint was a little dazzling, but beautiful.

Sheng Chi had seen plenty of people with earrings before.

But most looked like rebellious teenagers once they put them on.

Gu Zhijing's piercing, however, was placed just right, and the stud he had chosen was attractive too. It was understated yet luxurious, definitely no ordinary piece; it couldn't possibly have cost less than five figures.

"What is it?"

Only when Gu Zhijing spoke did Sheng Chi realize he had been staring in a daze for quite some time.

He let go and looked away. "It's still not right. Let's take a break first."

Gu Zhijing noticed nothing unusual. He relaxed at once and sat down against the wall, then waved at Sheng Chi, who was beside him. "Move away from me. It's hot."

Sheng Chi shifted to the side and glanced at the clock. "Two minutes."

"Seriously? You're timing my breaks too!"

Gu Zhijing puffed out his cheeks, looking pitiful, with an innocent, boyish air. "Careful, or I'll report you to Brother Fei for mistreating me."

Sheng Chi gave him a half-smile. "Go ahead, then."

Gu Zhijing knew Fei Yue definitely wouldn't pay him any attention. He sighed, looking utterly dejected. "Go on, then. Just gang up on me."

Sweat was still running down his face, gleaming against the color of the stud.

Sheng Chi stared for quite a while before suddenly asking, "What made you decide to become a trainee?"

Someone like Qi Wang could be said to be a rich young master pursuing his dream.

But with someone like Gu Zhijing, it didn't seem quite right to say he was passionate about the stage. Every day in training, he looked like an office drone forced to work.

Surely he hadn't come here just to experience the hardships of ordinary life?

Gu Zhijing froze for a moment.

A complicated emotion flashed through his eyes and vanished. Then, half closing them, he said in a teasing, self-deprecating tone, "Don't ask. I couldn't find a job back then, and I was practically starving to death."

"Brother Fei said I was good-looking and asked if I wanted to be a trainee. He offered food, lodging, and a base salary."

"I figured being a trainee was better than begging, so I came."

His eyes curved as he half-joked, "If I'd known it was this exhausting, I would've been better off begging."

His tone was natural, and he didn't sound as if he were lying.

But it did sound as though he had deliberately left out some crucial information.

Sheng Chi looked down at him and was silent for a long moment. In the end, he said nothing else. "Two minutes are up. Get up."

After finishing training that day, the first thing Gu Zhijing did when he got back was take a shower.

When he came out, Xu Linyuan happened to come looking for him with a phone in hand. "A call for you."

Gu Zhijing took the phone.

He glanced at the number on the screen and froze on the spot. His hand shook, and he pressed reject.

Less than two seconds later, the number called again.

Gu Zhijing nodded to Xu Linyuan. "I'm going to take this."

He went back into the bathroom and let the phone ring several more times before finally answering.

He didn't speak.

But a gentle woman's voice soon came from the other end. "Xiao Jing."

Gu Zhijing gripped the phone case with his fingertips. After a while, he spoke. "Where did you get my number?"

The woman continued, "It's been so long. Everyone at home misses you."

Gu Zhijing lowered his head and repeated softly, "First tell me where you got my number."

There was a pause on the other end, and then the voice remained gentle. "You asked that question last month, Xiao Jing."

Gu Zhijing lifted his eyes and found himself facing a mirror.

He looked at his reflection and said expressionlessly, "Because you didn't tell me last month either, and I changed my number again this month, sister."

The person on the other end was his older sister, Gu Zhixing.

She still didn't answer the question directly. Instead, she said, "I saw you online."

"Xiao Jing, do you really want to enter the entertainment industry?"

"All of you cut off my financial support."

Gu Zhijing suddenly laughed, his voice light. "If I don't work, am I supposed to wait until I starve?"

"I know you're just acting out against the family."

Gu Zhixing tried to persuade him. "Mom and Dad aren't here right now. Whatever's bothering you, tell your sister directly. Once we've talked it through, come home."

Gu Zhijing doodled absently on the fogged-up mirror. "I signed a ten-year indenture contract. A poor working man like me can't afford the penalty for breaking it yet, so I'm afraid I won't be able to come back anytime soon."

There was a pause on the other end.

Gu Zhijing concentrated on drawing on the mirror and heard a voice from far away, though he couldn't make out the words very clearly.

"If he wants to be an entertainer, let him! Isn't he ashamed of disgracing the Gu Family?!"

What had she just said?

Mom and Dad weren't there.

Oh.

As though he hadn't heard anything, Gu Zhijing stopped drawing and admired the little figure he'd finished with satisfaction. Then he said, "If there's nothing else, I'm hanging up."

"If you really want to enter the entertainment industry, we'll arrange for you to join a major company directly."

Gu Zhixing spoke very slowly. "You have plenty of other options. There's no need to take someone else's spot."

Gu Zhijing lowered his eyes. "Okay, sister. I understand, sister. Is there anything else, sister?"

His tone was distant and perfunctory.

On the other end of the phone, Gu Zhixing paused. "Dad has a bad temper."

Her voice was gentle, but the implication was clear. "If you really debut, I'm afraid your group might be banned outright-"

Gu Zhijing hung up.

He put down his phone, braced himself against the sink, and pulled the towel off in one swift motion.

His wet hair fell loose, water dripping down his cheeks.

After a long while, he closed his eyes and softly cursed something.

The words, carrying an irrepressible agitation, slowly dissipated into the quiet night.

In the mirror, droplets slid down the face of the smiling little figure he'd drawn.

It looked as though it were crying.

Chapter 9

Gu Zhixing had always been obedient.

So what she meant was essentially what their parents meant as well.

She knew her younger brother too well, and she knew his weak spot.

He was strong-willed, but he valued the people close to him.

He didn't care what they put him through.

But if he dragged the people around him down because of it, he would never forgive himself.

That was why she had said those last words, hoping to force him to come back.

Come back, my ass.

Gu Zhijing splashed water on his face again, then wrenched the faucet shut. It buzzed, as though he were deliberately struggling against someone.

He would never compromise.

When Gu Zhijing returned to the dorm, Xu Linyuan couldn't help asking, "What's wrong?"

He had noticed that something seemed off when he handed him the phone, and he was a little worried.

Gu Zhijing went to the cabinet to look for a hair dryer and replied casually, "Nothing."

Sheng Chi was watching a dance video on his bed. Hearing this, he glanced down.

From where he was, he couldn't see Gu Zhijing's face, so after a moment's thought, he asked, "Have you been too tired these past few days?"

Just as he spoke, Gu Zhijing clicked the hair dryer's button.

The buzzing of the hair dryer completely drowned out Sheng Chi's voice.

Sheng Chi assumed he hadn't heard and thought nothing more of it, returning to his video.

It wasn't until five minutes later, when Gu Zhijing turned off the hair dryer, that he looked up and smiled. "Isn't that right, Brother Chi?"

"And it's all your fault. Who told you to be so inhumane during training?"

He looked at Sheng Chi and blinked, as if trying to charm him. "The assessment's in two days. Can I request some time off?"

His expression was natural, just as usual.

There was nothing visibly wrong.

Sheng Chi silently looked at him for a long moment, then lightly tapped him on the head with his phone. "Get to bed early."

That night, Gu Zhijing had a dream.

He dreamed of things from his past.

Before he turned eighteen, everything had gone smoothly for him. His path through life had been clear, and he had never suffered the slightest hardship.

The year he turned eighteen, he graduated from high school. His family helped him apply to a fairly good university abroad and planned to send him there to study management.

There happened to be some time before he went abroad, and after celebrating his eighteenth birthday, Gu Zhijing got an idea.

He planned to give himself a special coming-of-age present.

After thinking it over, he finally chose to get his ear pierced.

On the right, a small one.

He had always been well behaved at school. The most outrageous things he'd done were to arrive late, leave early, and skip class. This was a new step for him.

It was also a discreet way of affirming it.

Gu Zhijing had realized his sexual orientation early on.

But he had never cared, much less considered it something difficult to talk about. Some of his friends knew, and they had never distanced themselves from him because of it.

So after getting his ear pierced that day, he made a point of picking out a stud he liked at the shop and went home in a very good mood.

But most likely, it was the stud that made his family keenly aware that something was different.

As they were preparing to send