Lincheng, which hadn’t seen rain for more than half a month, was still stiflingly hot even at night.
On the top floor of the Veer Building in the city center, a party was quietly taking place.
The large open-air balcony was occupied by a swimming pool, some entertainment facilities, and a group of frolicking young men and women. The lights flickered softly, and hidden speakers played soothing music.
Perhaps driven mad by the weather, as the night progressed, more people gathered around the swimming pool.
Inside the balcony, the lights were bright, glasses clinked, and a faint fragrance permeated the air as successful people exchanged pleasantries.
Some people danced, some drank tea, and others gossiped.
Away from this area, the corridor was much quieter.
Perhaps because the party had just begun, or because there was nothing interesting here, even though it was a prime location for viewing Lincheng’s beautiful night scenery, few people passed by or stayed.
Since the party started, only one person has sat in a chair by the corridor.
His hand rested on the table, supporting his chin, and his lips were slightly pursed as he gazed out the floor-to-ceiling window at Lincheng by night. The long eyelashes under the light refracted colorful lights, casting a blurry shadow under his eyes.
Every blink shifted the barely visible colorful light on his eyelashes up and down.
“Xu Yu, are you listening?”
A voice came from the Bluetooth headset, and Xu Yu moved his finger against his cheek unintentionally.
“I’m listening,” Xu Yu replied softly.
In that short period of time, the drone he was staring at had flown from left to right, and back again. The red light on the opposite building had flashed over a hundred times, traffic on the ring road had not subsided, the moon was not full, and the stars were not bright.
Everything was rather boring.
“Mm,” the female voice on the other end of the phone said, “I think I found it.”
Xu Yu said, “Go ahead.”
The other end replied, “Wait a minute, hold on.”
Though she claimed to have found it, there was no sound again, just the clicking of a mouse and keyboard.
Xu Yu sighed lightly.
He was on the phone with his assistant, Zhao Xiaoyun, to discuss the termination of his contract with the company.
At this time, Xu Yu was 21 years old. In a few days, it would be his birthday, and he would turn 22.
When Xu Yu was 19, he was still attending university. By chance, he entered a talent show called “Hello, Sing, and Dance” and signed a ten-year contract with an entertainment company.
It was not an outright deception, but it was close. Xu Yu could only blame himself for not thinking enough, placing too much trust in others, and having bad luck.
It was not just him; all of his peers at the time had bad luck.
Initially, everything seemed promising. The talent show received a good response shortly after airing, attracting many viewers and fans.
His company used that opportunity to persuade and recruit the top thirty contestants at the time, one by one, offering them dreams and futures, eventually signing ten of them.
Xu Yu was one of the ten.
Everything seemed to be going well at first. Due to the company’s packaging and the show’s editing, the popularity of these signed contestants soared.
However, before the fifth episode aired, the show was riddled with scandal and negative revelations.
One of the boys, who had consistently ranked in the top five, was exposed by netizens to have compromising photos with a producer, as well as some unethical and unfair contracts, including voting manipulation.
Fans who had genuinely followed the show were devastated overnight and began berating the production team on Weibo.
The show’s ratings plummeted, and all of the top-ranking contestants were chastised by netizens, who discovered numerous unsupported “evidences” and roundly rejected the top few.
By the fifth episode, all of the anticipated support in the comments had turned into curses.
The show’s popularity plummeted, but because a significant amount of money had already been invested and many episodes had been pre-recorded, they were forced to continue.
The backlash grew with each episode until the final one.
It had been about three years since the incident, and many details had either been forgotten or were lost. Yet, every time Xu Yu thought about it, he couldn’t help but sigh and regret signing that contract.
He was misled by the promises made at the time, believing that the company would introduce him to many musicians he admired and genuinely assist him in pursuing his musical dreams.
It was bad luck indeed, but Xu Yu was the luckiest among the unlucky ones.
Perhaps because he appeared so uncompetitive on the show and spoke so little, Xu Yu received the fewest attacks and regained popularity the fastest after the show ended.
What he wanted was not specified in the contract, giving the company an excuse not to keep its promises.
The company ignored the boys who were signed at the same time, leaving them in the corner and only bringing them out when necessary.
Xu Yu was the one being paraded around the most.
Due to his contract, Xu Yu took part in numerous low-profile, unimportant variety shows over the three years and became embroiled in shipping rumors he did not want.
The company was gradually losing faith in him, most likely because he refused to actively cooperate or manage his image.
His most recent news, published last week, was a company-sponsored article claiming he spent the night at Zhou Jie’s home. Soon after, Zhou Jie called and made some ambiguous remarks.
Xu Yu could not take it anymore and, after some thought, called Sister Yun to cancel his contract with the company.
Zhou Jie was a pairing arranged by the company, signed just last year.
The company most likely wanted to increase Zhou Jie’s popularity by pairing him with Xu Yu.
Xu Yu thought he was already obscure enough, but Zhou Jie was even more hopeless.
He was not even in Zhou Jie’s house that day. The photos were taken last year, and he was not the only one who visited Zhou Jie’s home.
Xu Yu had made no progress since joining the company at the age of 19. What he wanted remained elusive, while what he did not want accumulated.
“Haven’t found it yet?” Xu Yu asked Sister Yun.
“I found it,” Sister Yun replied, “but I need to call Miaomiao to confirm something. Please wait a few minutes, and I will call you back shortly.”
Xu Yu agreed.
The beeping sound in the headset lasted only a few seconds before going silent.
Xu Yu picked up the fruit wine from the table and took a sip.
As he tilted his head, he noticed a strange scene in the corner of his eye. He turned his head and saw three girls huddled together at the end of the corridor, squealing. One of them was aiming a phone at him.
Upon being noticed, the girl quickly put away her phone, and the three of them pretended to look elsewhere.
Xu Yu averted his gaze and took another sip from his drink.
Sister Yun did not keep him waiting long; she called back within two minutes.
Xu Yu answered.
“I have a general understanding,” Sister Yun explained. “I have organized the information, but there is one problem.” She paused.
“What’s the problem? Go ahead,” Xu Yu said.
“Are you sure you want to terminate the contract? Even if there are issues with it, you will still have to pay a significant penalty,” Sister Yun warned.
“Yes, I’m sure,” Xu Yu affirmed.
“Alright then.”
Xu Yu had asked Sister Yun to check several things. At this critical moment, Sister Yun slowed her speech, explaining everything to Xu Yu bit by bit.
Xu Yu listened intently, responding with a hum as needed.
The longer he listened, the worse he felt.
Subconsciously, Xu Yu reached for his glass again, only to discover that he had already consumed the fruit wine.
When faced with the option of ordering another drink or leaving, he chose the latter.
As Xu Yu pressed against the table to get up, he noticed something different out of the corner of his eye.
It was close to where the girls had been, but they were not there this time.
Several men walked down the corridor, led by a man in a black thin trench coat with his hands in his pockets and slightly bowing his head as he listened to a suited man next to him.
A single glance was enough to reveal the disparity in their statuses.
Clearly, everyone showed respect for the leading man.
During the few seconds Sister Yun was analyzing, the men had reached Xu Yu’s side. If Xu Yu took a step, he would walk alongside them, so he stepped back and sat down to make room for them.
“President Su, I’ve sent it to you. Please take a look when you have time.”
The suited man finally finished speaking. The leading man lifted his head, and in that moment, he casually glanced at Xu Yu.
Their eyes met unexpectedly. Xu Yu, feeling awkward, blinked and turned his head away.
Xu Yu expected these people to leave soon, allowing him to leave as well, but the man unexpectedly stopped in front of him.
It was clear that Xu Yu had stopped walking, and the two were now almost face to face, only two meters apart.
Xu Yu lowered his head slightly and whispered, “Sister Yun, wait a moment.”
“Sir,” the man took another step towards Xu Yu and began to speak, “Hello.”
“Hello,” Xu Yu said with a nod.
The man in front of him squatted down and grabbed something from the blind spot covered by his coat.
“Is this yours?” he asked Xu Yu as he stood up.
Xu Yu examined his palm, where an unfamiliar object lay.
It seemed to be a cufflink.
Xu Yu shook his head, “It’s not mine.”
The man nodded and put it away without pursuing the cufflink’s origin further.
He also did not appear to have any plans to leave immediately.
He looked at Xu Yu and politely asked, “Sorry to bother you, but may I know your surname?”
Xu Yu, with his elbow resting on the table, gave a polite smile to the man in front of him.
Xu Yu replied, “Sorry, I can’t tell you.”
