Song Zhe got up from the ground and immediately understood why Pei Yan’s attitude had changed so much when he saw the surveillance video on Pei Yan’s phone.
He wondered, “Ge, aren’t you too eager for this little star?”
“Never mind that he’s just a substitute who looks like your Su Qiao. He’s a small star with no achievements and a scandal hanging over him. Is he worth your attention?”
Pei Yan was preoccupied with thinking about Qi Feng and didn’t notice the words “Su Qiao” and “substitute” that Song Zhe said. “We have…”
“So what if you slept with him?” Song Zhe retorted, “Don’t tell me you really want to be friends with him, date him, marry him? Besides, how do you know he likes you? If he had you in his heart, how could he leave so easily twice?”
Pei Yan’s face darkened and he kicked him away, snorting, “You shut up and stop talking nonsense. If he really wanted to use me, how could he be in a hurry to leave me?”
This time, it was Song Zhe’s turn to be speechless. It seemed… that was true. How could he let go of the thigh he just held onto with much difficulty?
Song Zhe: “Then does that mean that he…”
Pei Yan irritably kicked him away again.
Date? Marry?
If it weren’t for Song Zhe’s reminder, he wouldn’t have thought about it in this direction.
It was just that every time he saw Qi Feng, he could fill some gaps and soothe the pain in his heart that always pierced at him.
It was like quenching thirst by looking at plums, offering a little comfort1The phrase “犹如望梅止渴，聊以慰籍” is a common Chinese idiom that can be translated to “like quenching one’s thirst with a view of plums, it offers some comfort.” It refers to a situation where one finds temporary relief or comfort in something that cannot truly satisfy their needs or desires. It is often used to describe a temporary solution or a consolation prize..
Pei Yan threw away his phone in frustration, “Have I met him before?”
He looks like Su Qiao, of course you have met him.
Song Zhe cursed him in his heart a few times.
He was originally afraid that his brother, who had been with him for 24 years, would be cheated by someone. In the end, he got kicked twice and his face was not good.
He said helplessly, “You’re a rich young master. Why are you afraid that you can’t handle a little star? Give him what he wants. Try it out and see if he won’t stick to you every day.”
Pei Yan watched the video of the boy leaving over and over again, and asked in a low voice, “Give him… what he wants?”
Song Zhe thought that Pei Yan had to suffer some losses and bleed some blood before he could gain experience.
He said, “Small stars are nothing but wanting to use our status to climb up. Let him know that you are a golden master2金主爸爸 – lit. golden master, I left it as is because I found that most entertainment novels I read also kept it. It means a sponsor, a patron, or a sugar daddy., use both soft and hard tactics, mix gentleness and force. If you’re happy, give him resources, throw money at him, see if he won’t hug you tighter.”
“Right.”
Song Zhe clapped his hands and said, “Isn’t your investment department looking for Ning Yufei to be a spokesperson? That’s such a big endorsement that no star wouldn’t be tempted by. You show up and let Qi Feng see that you are the one who decides who gets the endorsement. I guarantee he will take the initiative to come to you the next day and sleep with you.”
Pei Yan cursed, “Stop messing around.”
But in his heart, he suddenly thought of a problem: he had slept with the boy but he hadn’t given him anything substantial. Qi Feng had slept with him for nothing.
Pei Yan clicked his tongue and felt that he lost face as a president3To lose face means to lose other people’s respect or to suffer disgrace, humiliation, or embarrassment..
Yes, give him resources, throw money at him, see if he still avoids him.
—
More than a year ago, Qi Feng debuted with Ning Yufei.
At that time, they were both just 18 years old, just entered college. With their handsome looks and intelligent minds, they participated in a university-level intellectual competition variety show and became famous overnight.
After that, they were both signed by Tang Jun and joined Yi Fan Entertainment.
In the past year, Ning Yufei’s career had been smooth sailing: his fanbase grew, his endorsements became more lucrative, and his fame increased.
Qi Feng, on the other hand, made no progress. His fans were all haters, cursing him constantly. And his only clothing endorsement was in danger of being terminated.
Therefore, the treatment of the two in the company also became more different.
Today’s fitness training was one of the artist training courses that the company customized for them when they first signed Yi Fan. Before the course was over, they still took classes together.
Qi Feng arrived at the practice room on time, but the teacher didn’t come, and none of the assistants were there. In the spacious and bright practice room, there were only him and Fang Cheng.
Fang Cheng waited for a while, pushed open the glass door and stopped an employee and asked, “It’s past time, why hasn’t the fitness trainer come to give Xiao Feng a lesson?”
“Yufei-ge hasn’t arrived yet. The teacher and other staff are waiting outside for Yufei-ge.”
Fang Cheng: “If Ning Yufei is late, can’t he give Qi Feng a lesson first? How long do we have to wait for him?”
The employee glanced at Qi Feng in the practice room and said indifferently, “Anyway, you don’t have any other schedules. What’s wrong with waiting for a while? Yufei-ge is busy.”
Fang Cheng’s face turned red with anger, but he was afraid that Qi Feng would hear these words and swallowed his humiliation and said nothing.
After a while, there was finally a lively sound of voices and footsteps outside.
Ning Yufei arrived.
Qi Feng saw through the glass door of the practice room that Ning Yufei walked in the middle of the teacher and staff like a moon surrounded by the stars. He was young and handsome, tall and slender, with confident and bright arrogance in his eyebrows and eyes, shining like a lone star.
“Xiao Feng,”
Ning Yufei pushed open the door and walked directly to Qi Feng’s front. He held his hand and said with concern, “Xiao Feng, I saw what happened on the internet. Don’t take it to heart. It will be fine when public opinion dies down in a few days.”
His handsome face showed a worried expression, as if he cared about Qi Feng very much.
After seeing Ning Yufei, Qi Feng finally remembered all the details that happened on the day of the show.
Ning Yufei had always been good to him since he debuted. He also regarded him as a good friend who debuted at the same time. Therefore, he trusted him in everything.
Before they participated in the food variety show together, Ning Yufei told him: “Xiao Feng, you have to follow behind me all the time. This way you can appear more on camera, get more exposure and let more people see you.”
He obediently followed behind Ning Yufei after the show started.
But the show’s process, interaction, lines were all arranged in advance. Ning Yufei, the host and other guests just followed the rehearsed process to do the show.
He didn’t know any of this. He followed behind Ning Yufei like a shadow but was ignored throughout the show. That’s why he appeared so abrupt and redundant. And that’s why he was accused of deliberately rubbing off Ning Yufei’s popularity.
Later on, when Ning Yufei and other guests were tasting food on live broadcast, Qi Feng who was standing outside the camera was suddenly pushed by someone. His body fell forward into the camera without any defense, causing a lot of commotion.
Coupled with his previous useless appearance, he had already aroused the audience’s resentment. That’s why he was scolded on hot search after the show ended.
Qi Feng didn’t know who pushed him until now. But at that time, besides the show’s staff, there were only a few of Ning Yufei’s assistants around him.
Thinking back carefully, after debuting, Ning Yufei seemed to help him and care about him in every matter.
But every result was that Ning Yufei got praised for being beautiful and kind-hearted.
While he got cursed and scolded by everyone, everytime.
Was Ning Yufei really good to him, or…
He didn’t react much, and said lightly, “I’m fine, thank you.”
Someone on the side couldn’t stand it and whispered, “Yufei-ge is so nice. Someone is rubbing off your popularity, stealing your spotlight, and you still care about him.”
Ning Yufei said awkwardly, “Don’t say that. I and Xiao Feng are friends who debuted at the same time. He didn’t do it on purpose.”
As a result, the people around became even more dissatisfied and started to discuss, mostly saying that Ning Yufei was talented, kind and good-tempered, while Qi Feng was useless and stole his friend’s popularity, and had poor artistic ethics.
The voices were not very loud, but it was enough that the parties involved could hear the cold and sarcastic tones.
Qi Feng smiled calmly, listening to the insults against him.
Fang Cheng’s face turned pale with anger, clenched his fists and endured.
They only left the training room when the teacher said it was time for class.
Ning Yufei comforted Qi Feng gently. “Xiao Feng, don’t take what they said to heart. I know what kind of person you are. The entertainment circle is not easy to mix in, but you have to persevere. You will definitely get better in the future.”
“No, let’s start the class.”
Ning Yufei was stunned and hesitated to ask him: “You, are you not upset?”
Qi Feng smiled calmly. “Why would I be?”
Ning Yufei frowned slightly.
The fitness training lasted for three hours. It started with stretching and warm-up exercises, followed by intense aerobic exercises and muscle training for half an hour, with only five minutes of water break in between.
The original owner had a certain amount of muscle mass, but Qi Feng was doing such high-intensity physical training for the first time. Plus, he had just recovered from a sickness and his physical strength quickly ran out.
But Qi Feng still followed every movement closely and persisted until the end of the fitness training. On the contrary, Ning Yufei was too tired and rested on the floor several times in the middle.
Suddenly Ning Yufei’s assistant pushed the door in and said anxiously: “Yufei-ge, Mr. Tang brought President Pei from Qinghai Group. He said he wanted to personally select the spokesperson.”
Ning Yufei jumped up from the ground in surprise. “Selecting an artist? Didn’t Mr. Tang say he had already recommended me as the spokesperson for Donghai Investment4Not a mistake. Looks like I’m the one who misunderstood orz, Qinghai is the company, and Donghai is the investment company under Qinghai?”
“Maybe the investor wants to see you personally before deciding. Yufei-ge, President Pei will be here soon. You better change your clothes.”
Ning Yufei looked down at his wet clothes, touched his face that was washed by sweat, and said to Qi Feng: “Xiao Feng, I have to go see an important person. You continue with the class.”
Qi Feng nodded.
Fang Cheng came in after Ning Yufei left.
He had just come out of Pei Yan’s house in the morning and had no idea what Pei Yan was up to.
But Qi Feng and Pei Yan’s relationship absolutely couldn’t be known by outsiders. He didn’t dare to say anything, just looked at Qi Feng with an inquiring expression.
Qi Feng frowned and signaled him not to say anything.
Ning Yufei tidied up quickly and changed into a more formal suit in just over ten minutes. He wore a suit and tie, with meticulously buttoned shirt. He looked elegant and decent, graceful and generous, very suitable for a financial person’s attire.
His originally handsome face also had light makeup on it, with thick eyebrows and bright eyes, gentle and refined. One could tell at a glance that it was a business outfit tailored for Donghai Investment’s spokesperson.
On the other hand, Qi Feng was still wearing his training clothes. He had just finished his intense aerobic exercise and was still doing some relaxing stretches to avoid muscle soreness the next day.
When Pei Yan came, he was still on the floor of the practice room, stretching his legs with the physical trainer.
Pei Yan’s arrival caused quite a commotion.
Almost all the management of the company brought people out to greet him. Through the glass door, they could hear the anxious and nervous footsteps in the corridor, and the reminders of several department leaders to their subordinates to welcome President Pei well.
Fang Cheng looked at Qi Feng who was still stretching his legs and hesitated before asking, “Xiao Feng, should we go out and have a look?”
Qi Feng: “No need.”
“But…”
Fang Cheng whispered, “Xiao Feng, our situation is very difficult now. We should lower our stance in front of President Pei. Maybe he will choose you as the spokesperson for Donghai Investment. Even if you can’t get it, knowing someone like him will be very helpful for your career.”
The scale of Donghai Investment’s endorsement was several times larger than that of Yipin Men’s Wear, which Qi Feng endorsed. Not to mention that Qi Feng was also facing the risk of being terminated by Yipin Men’s Wear.
“If it’s not meant to be mine, I won’t take it,” Qi Feng remained calm. “If it’s meant to be mine, and I will use my own abilities to get it, not by pleasing anyone.”
Fang Cheng wanted to persuade him more, but Pei Yan had already walked along the long corridor outside the practice room with Tang Jun and other senior executives of the company.
Pei Yan was wearing a black suit, standing tall and straight, with deep facial features. His cold and deep temperament suppressed the surrounding fashionable people from the entertainment circle.
He was also followed by a handsome and smiling Ning Yufei, who was flattering him with compliments.
Pei Yan looked ahead and walked briskly. He seemed to sense something and glanced at the glass partition door and saw the boy inside.
He suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Tang Jun looked at Qi Feng in the practice room and asked with a smile, “President Pei, what’s wrong?”
Pei Yan pointed with his chin and asked, “Who is that person inside?”
Tang Jun pretended to be ignorant. “His name is Qi Feng, he is also an artist of our company. Do you want to interview him too?”
“Qi Feng?”
Pei Yan looked at the boy inside with his deep gaze and said seriously, “He looks good, then…let’s interview him first.”
Author's note
Song Zhe’s reverse chase wife theory continues to pit Dog Yan.
Some people in the comment section asked about the age difference between Dog Yan and Feng Zai[TLN: 崽 zǎi – child / young animal, this is usually used as an endearment for babies.]. The modern setting is that Qi Feng is 19 years old and Pei Yan has just turned 24 years old. The two are four or five years apart.
It was also like this when they were young. When Qi Feng was eight years old, Dog Yan was already a twelve- or thirteen-year-old teenager. In the eyes of little Feng Zai, he was indeed a strong big brother.
I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. If you want to show your support, you can buy me a coffee. It would make my day! For every five coffees I get, I will release a bonus chapter.
