Merry Christmas!
Pei Yan tried hard to remember, but the hazy memories in his mind drifted away like willow fluff scattering in the air. The more he tried to grasp them, the further they floated.
He gazed at the slender figure of the young man on stage, totally absorbed in playing the guqin. That handsome silhouette always overlapped and faded with the image of the young master that appeared out of nowhere in his memories.
“General Pei.” A low, deep voice suddenly rang out from the depths of Pei Yan’s memories, clear as cold spring water. It was Qi Feng’s voice calling out to him. Why would Qi Feng address him like that?
Before Pei Yan could think further, a sudden intense headache struck, making him furrow his brows tightly. At the same time, a sharp pain pierced his heart, and cold sweat beaded his forehead from the agony.
Sitting next to him, his secretary noticed his discomfort and asked in surprise, “Mr. Pei, what’s wrong? Are you unwell?”
“I’m fine,” Pei Yan said, clutching his forehead as his body swayed uncontrollably for a moment.
The secretary quickly supported him and said, “Mr. Pei, you don’t look well. Is it your heart pain acting up? Let me take you outside.”
“No,” Pei Yan pushed his hand away, staring stubbornly at the dazzling stage with pained eyes.
On stage, the melody ended. Qi Feng stood in the center, glancing at the enthusiastic audience and bowing slightly in thanks. His gaze swept across the audience and inadvertently fell on Pei Yan’s pale face in the front row.
Pei Yan’s face was white, his dazed eyes stubbornly fixed on Qi Feng.
Qi Feng was slightly startled, but his eyes quickly passed over Pei Yan as he slowly walked off the stage amidst deafening applause.
Below the stage, Pei Yan watched the boy leave before finally being unable to withstand it any longer, covering his splitting headache with both hands.
The secretary had worked with Pei Yan for years and knew he had a chronic heart condition, but this was the first time he had seen it so severe. He hurriedly supported Pei Yan, discreetly leading him out of the auditorium.
But Pei Yan’s sudden departure still caught the attention of the production team.
Qi Feng’s performance today had ended perfectly. He should have felt relieved. But now, his heart felt strangely heavy.
During their on-stage interaction and photos, Pei Yan had said softly to him: “I’m sorry.”
What was Pei Yan apologizing to him for?
After getting off stage, Pei Yan’s complexion didn’t look good either.
What happened to him?
Realizing his mind was full of Pei Yan again, Qi Feng sighed softly, restraining himself from thinking about Pei Yan anymore. He focused on interacting with the directors, staff, and other artists who had performed, thanking and bidding them farewell.
Passing by a props room, he overheard some staff members whispering inside.
“Our boss wanted to take this chance to get closer to Mr. Pei, but he left early.”
“I saw it too. His secretary helped him leave. Was he unwell?”
“He really did look uncomfortable. I heard he has a chronic condition…”
Qi Feng halted his steps and unconsciously glanced into the props room. His mind replayed the last glimpse of Pei Yan when their eyes met on stage.
Pei Yan had to be helped to leave? Did his heart pain act up again?
Why am I thinking about him again!
Qi Feng clicked his tongue in annoyance and walked away, shaking his head.
—
Recently, Qi Feng’s popularity has been surging. He already received a lot of attention before appearing on this show. The impromptu fan meeting segment further brought unexpected effects and hype.
In addition, the show’s production team and Qi Feng’s company intentionally promoted the hashtag #QiFeng, PeiYan#. Their names trended to the top of searches that night. By the next day, the topic reached explosive levels.
Fang Cheng spent the previous night at Qi Feng’s home.
Qi Feng’s flawless performance and the overnight surge in searches thrilled him so much he couldn’t sleep a wink. When he opened Qi Feng’s personal account early next morning, his eyeballs nearly popped out.
“Xiao Feng! You gained more than one million followers overnight! The numbers are still increasing now, it’s growing faster than ever before!”
The bloodshot eyes of his excitement had receded somewhat, tears practically flowing from the corners of his mouth. “It’s different to have the effect of a wealthy and powerful boss! If this keeps up another day, you will be a star with tens of millions of followers!”
Qi Feng arranged the two potted orchids on his balcony calmly. “Mr. Tang and the others promoted my and Pei Yan’s tags, right? Tell them to stop in case of backlash. Also…”
He paused and said, “Donghai Group probably doesn’t want to see Pei Yan’s name trending with an artist. Don’t make trouble for them.”
Or rather, Uncle Pei wouldn’t be happy to see his son matched with him, a male celebrity.
Pei Yan should be matched with a young lady from a prestigious family instead.
Qi Feng had played a piece on stage last night, but the hottest topic stirred up was:
–Pei Yan is actually a fanboy too, he publicly confessed his idol crush and succeeded!
–Did you see Qi Feng and Pei Yan’s on-stage interaction and photos together? Squeee!
–Wealthy boss gong x celebrity shou, ahhhh I ship them so hard!
…..
Fang Cheng muttered to himself: Even if Donghai Group is unwilling, as long as Mr. Pei is happy, that’s all that matters. Mr. Pei would love to be tied to you in the public eye.
But he obediently replied, “Okay, I’ll call Mr. Tang right away.”
As soon as the call connected, Tang Jun’s excited voice roared from the other end: “Fang Cheng, have Qi Feng pay more attention to Pei Yan to increase engagement. He won’t get this kind of exposure again in his lifetime, so have him seize this chance to add more fuel to the fire!”
Fang Cheng was startled and held the phone away from his ear. He said awkwardly, “Mr. Tang, Xiao Feng said…”
“No buts! Do it now, we can’t miss this golden opportunity! Have Qi Feng follow Pei Yan back right away. We can get another trending topic out of this.”
“But…”
“Stop dawdling! Do you know Qi Feng’s popularity right now is worth millions per second? Don’t waste time, go!”
Tang Jun decisively hung up after his forceful orders, leaving Fang Cheng holding his phone and cautiously glancing at Qi Feng.
“Xiao Feng, Mr. Tang said to take advantage of your popularity now and follow Mr. Pei back. After all, Mr. Pei followed you a long time ago. Outsiders will see it as merely polite reciprocation. Why not just follow him back? It’s no big deal.”
Qi Feng fiddled with an orchid leaf, hesitating.
He understood his company’s approach. Exposure was the most precious commodity for celebrities, especially positive exposure. But having him follow Pei Yan now was clearly taking advantage of the situation with Pei Yan.
He had just made a clean break with Pei Yan. How would Pei Yan see this action of his?
Fang Cheng knew what was best for Qi Feng. He easily logged into Qi Feng’s account and saw the “Donghai Investment – Pei Yan” account in the top recommended follows.
His finger hovered over the “Follow” button as he glanced at Qi Feng and tentatively said, “Xiao Feng, it’s just a mutual follow between peers. Everyone in the industry does this, it’s no big deal.”
“Moreover, given the current circumstances, you not following Mr. Pei would seem deliberately standoffish. If netizens gossip and speculate privately later, it will cause even more trouble.”
Seeing Qi Feng’s hesitant expression, he gave a barely perceptible nod. Fang Cheng took it as consent and swiftly clicked to follow Pei Yan.
Sure enough, in less than half a day, the tag #QiFengFollowsBackPeiYan# trended again, igniting another frenzy of discussion.
Their mutual following was a dream come true for shippers and merely polite etiquette in the eyes of industry insiders.
But in Qi Feng’s heart, it raised thorny doubts.
He had clearly drawn a line with Pei Yan, yet still took advantage by following him back.
Would it give Pei Yan false hopes? Would Pei Yan be happy and try to get back together with him because of this?
Worried thoughts swirled endlessly in his mind. His phone barely stirred, and he reflexively assumed it was a call or message from Pei Yan.
But Pei Yan never contacted him the entire day and night. He seemed to not care at all about Qi Feng following him back.
Qi Feng pondered it the whole day before forcing himself not to think about it anymore by bedtime.
His schedule was busy these days – live streams playing the guqin, endorsement live streams for Gourmet Boutique, and photoshoots for Yipin Men’s Wear. On top of his existing jobs, he also accepted an endorsement for a traditional menswear fashion brand.
After a whirlwind few days, the hype around his and Pei Yan’s CP also gradually cooled down. Scanning the news now, their tag was barely visible in the trending page anymore.
That was the nature of Internet trends – able to stir people overnight. But it cooled just as quickly. Every day people immersed themselves in the endless news feeds online, and netizens would soon forget what happened just days prior, only continuing to vent their excitement in each new piece of news and gossip.
Qi Feng also didn’t need to worry if Uncle Pei would see those headlines and be angry.
However, Pei Yan had not contacted him at all for days.
Several days passed with no news. It was as quiet as if the two of them had never been together.
Other than that on-stage photo together and soft “I’m sorry” which seemed like Pei Yan’s farewell, he had vanished from Qi Feng’s world.
“It’s better this way,” Qi Feng murmured softly.
He had finally disentangled himself from Pei Yan and broken off their fate from the past life. From now on, they would each go their own way.
Yet his heart did not feel the relief of having a huge weight lifted, instead harboring an indescribable annoyance.
Just then, the intercom by the front door rang. It was a call from the property management office of their complex.
Fang Cheng set his work aside and rushed over to press the speaker button. The property manager’s voice sounded from the other end, “Hello, is this Mr. Qi?”
Fang Cheng replied, “I’m his assistant. How can I help you?”
The property manager patiently explained, “It’s like this – Mr. Qi is getting a new neighbor moving in across from him. They will be sharing the same elevator. For both parties’ privacy and safety, we wanted to ask if Mr. Qi is open to getting acquainted with the new resident. If both are interested, we can prepare a non-disclosure agreement for the two homeowners…”
Before he could finish, Qi Feng gestured to Fang Cheng to decline.
The community where he lived had two residences per floor. It was inevitable that the unit across from his would get occupied eventually. He didn’t care to know who his new neighbor was, nor have them find out about him. Just being careful when going out was enough.
After Fang Cheng conveyed his intention to the property manager, the call soon ended.
Qi Feng was becoming more and more popular these days. He could get recognized everywhere outside already, let alone a neighbor living across the hall.
Fang Cheng curiously pulled up the surveillance feed outside Qi Feng’s door, “I wonder who the new neighbor will be. Anyone who can afford a place here is not simple either. Hopefully, they don’t stir up unnecessary trouble.”
Qi Feng was unconcerned. Sitting upright in front of his guqin, his slender fingertips plucked the strings. “It doesn’t matter who moves in. Things will just continue as usual. Like always, be mindful of our words and conduct outside.”
Fang Cheng replied, “Yes, I know what to do.”
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