After having lunch, Ye Shanshan sat cross-legged on the sofa and called Professor Hess.
Due to the tight schedule of the world tour, after the concert, he immediately participated in two interviews and was preparing to depart for the next city. He didn’t ask Ye Shanshan to see him off, considering farewells to be too poignant. Instead, he just made a phone call before boarding the plane.
“Shanshan, if you ever change your mind, remember to come to Austria to find me.” This usually impatient piano master softened his tone, a rare occurrence.
Ye Shanshan was leaning on his chin, staring at Gong Yue who was signing autographs. He felt that his family’s great demon king looked better the more he looked at him.
Hearing his teacher’s voice, he quickly shifted his attention back, listing a few points in his mind.
“Well, okay. But Professor, take care of yourself. Tours are exhausting. Remember to take your blood pressure medicine, don’t forget when you get busy. Also, try not to scold people all the time. What if you scare them away? And…”
“Alright, alright,” Hess originally intended to endure and let his youngest student say a few more words. However, it was clear that he overestimated his own patience and underestimated Ye Shanshan’s talkativeness, “Don’t worry about those trivial matters. Just remember, if Gong Yue bullies you, come to Austria and find me!”
Ye Shanshan elongated his voice, “Oh—,” he responded like this, but in his heart, he was thinking, does the teacher have any misunderstanding about the big demon king? How could the big demon king possibly bully me? It seems that next time we meet, I must correct the teacher’s bias.
After chatting for a few more minutes, he heard the boarding announcement from Hess’s side. Ye Shanshan suddenly felt a bit reluctant. He absentmindedly rubbed the sheep-shaped pillow in his arms.
“Teacher, when you retire one day and feel bored at home, you can come to Huaguo to visit me, or summon me to Austria. I and Gong Yue can take you for a walk.”
Hess, hearing Ye Shanshan’s somewhat melancholic tone, sighed. His silly student, “Okay, you—forget it, just listen to Gong Yue.”
If there’s someone looking out for him, Ye Shanshan shouldn’t have to worry.
After hanging up the phone, Ye Shanshan stared at his mobile for a while. Thinking about it, he still wasn’t at ease. Since his stepmother’s death, his teacher’s life had become increasingly rough.
So, he quickly typed up a series of reminders on his phone and sent them directly to Hess’s email—he didn’t have the patience to listen to him, reading the text version should be enough.
After finishing the tasks, Ye Shanshan lazily slouched on the sofa and started feeling a bit drowsy—this made him once again suspect if there was some sleep-inducing substance in the food he ate. Otherwise, as an energetic and vibrant person, how could he always feel so tired, especially around eight or nine in the morning?
Seeing characters in the manga book double, Ye Shanshan rubbed his nearly sticky eyelids and decided not to resist his body’s instinct any longer. He glanced at Gong Yue, who was working, and discreetly made a heart gesture with his fingers before peacefully drifting off to sleep.
Half of Gong Yue’s attention was on Ye Shanshan. Once he saw that Ye Shanshan had fallen asleep, he got up, walked over, carefully covered Ye Shanshan with a thin blanket, and then stood there for a while before returning to his work.
So, when Chris entered the office, he saw Gong Yue making a “shush” gesture towards him.
This wasn’t the first or second time such a thing had happened. He looked towards the sofa and sure enough, Ye Shanshan was sleeping soundly wrapped in an apple-green blanket.
Moving with the lightest steps, Chris handed a sealed envelope to Gong Yue. After receiving a nod from Gong Yue, he quietly left the office.
Gong Yue looked at the person curled up on the sofa and, with gentle movements, opened the sealed envelope. Inside were all the medical files he had instructed Chris to organize, covering all the medical tests he had undergone in the past seven years.
After a brief glance, Gong Yue discovered that, in addition to the two family genetic susceptibility tests mentioned by Ye Shanshan, there were three more genetic test reports dating back to June and July two years ago—exactly the time Ye Shanshan claimed he disappeared for a whole month citing instability in the Gong family.
However, all three test results showed that there were no abnormalities in his memory. But what had happened was that he had indeed lost his memory, confirming once again Gong Yue’s suspicion—the cause of amnesia was something even cutting-edge scientific methods couldn’t unravel.
At this moment, a faint murmuring sound became apparent in the quiet office. Gong Yue looked over and noticed Ye Shanshan frowning, clearly not sleeping soundly.
Setting aside the files, Gong Yue went over and squatted next to the sofa, smoothing out Ye Shanshan’s slightly sweaty hair. He gently separated the fingers tightly gripping the blanket and held Ye Shanshan’s hand in his own, handling it as delicately as if dealing with a porcelain doll, his voice low and soothing,
“Don’t be afraid, I’m here.”
Perhaps sensing the familiar presence, Ye Shanshan’s tightly furrowed brow gradually relaxed. He turned over, pressed his head against the sheep-shaped pillow, and fell back asleep.
Gong Yue waited for a few minutes to ensure Ye Shanshan was deeply asleep before gently releasing his hand and tucking it under the blanket.
※※※
When Ye Shanshan woke up, he sat up, still dazed, hugging the sheep-shaped pillow. The apple-green blanket slipped halfway to the floor with his movement. He faced Gong Yue, who had messy hair, and called out,
“Brother.”
“Awake?”
“Yeah,” Ye Shanshan nodded towards Gong Yue, looking a bit absent-minded, his tone a bit dreamy.
“I just had a dream. In the dream, an old immortal told me that if I don’t eat four donuts today, there will be a bloody disaster.”
“…”
The air was silent for more than twenty seconds. Suddenly, Ye Shanshan woke up a bit, his eyes widened, hugging the sheep-shaped pillow tightly. What to do? I can’t even believe the words I just said!
It was so foolish that he couldn’t bear to look at it.
With difficulty making his hair even messier, Ye Shanshan sadly thought, the big demon king must think I’m really silly now?
Oh, can we rewind? Clearly, his body had awakened, but his intelligence was still asleep! Please, let’s do it over!
Half an hour later, just as Ye Shanshan was slumping his head, staring blankly with a face full of frustration, four donuts suddenly appeared in front of him.
Ye Shanshan instantly perked up, feeling the vitality of life returning. Cheerfully holding a plate, he went to Gong Yue,
“Brother, have some too. Work is hard!” He handed a chocolate donut to Gong Yue’s mouth, looking at him expectantly.
Gong Yue met his gaze, hesitated for two seconds, and reluctantly opened his mouth. The taste was bittersweet with a hint of sweetness spreading on the tip of his tongue. “Well, go ahead and eat.”
“Not tasty?” Ye Shanshan was a bit puzzled. Taking a big bite from where Gong Yue had touched, he mumbled,
“It’s delicious! By the way, as long as I have enough food, all the cells in my body can start thinking. Brother, I’ll help you read the documents this afternoon!”
The words of refusal reached his lips but were swallowed back. Gong Yue raised his hand to tidy Ye Shanshan’s hair and replied, “Okay.”
※※※
Two days later, Ye Shanshan sat in the office with Xu Luoyang, listening to Zheng Dong lamenting, looking very attentive and positively spirited despite having aged several years.
“As your manager, I was the last to know about the variety show you two are going on together!”
Ye Shanshan nudged Xu Luoyang with his elbow and blinked—this is your problem, you deal with it.
Xu Luoyang glanced at Zheng Dong, who was unusually agitated, held back for a while, then sighed and spread his hands to Ye Shanshan—a silent plea for him to handle it, and he’ll feel better after venting.
Thinking it made sense, Ye Shanshan nodded—watch and wait.
Zheng Dong, observing the eye-blinking and gesturing between the two, felt his life was really too short. How did he end up being the manager of these two? No wonder he has one more wrinkle today.
Early in the morning, he was scrolling through Weibo, planning to see which company was buying fake fans and trends to stir up trouble. Suddenly, the glaring words “Ye Shanshan Variety Show” appeared on the hot search list. He thought he might not be fully awake and experiencing hallucinations.
—If he didn’t remember wrong, he indeed was Ye Shanshan’s manager.
Upon clicking, he discovered that Xu Luoyang had somehow roped in Ye Shanshan as his latest program partner. Although the news hadn’t been officially confirmed, it was enough to explode Ye Shanshan’s fan base.
What made him even more uncomfortable was that Ye Shanshan’s fans were queuing up in his Weibo comments, thanking him for keeping the idol, thanking him for finally getting the idol on a variety show, and expressing gratitude for his hard work.
“…”
Zheng Dong’s emotions could only be described as speechless.
“Xu Luoyang, explain, what’s going on?”
Ye Shanshan also looked at Xu Luoyang along with Zheng Dong, curious—although he agreed to help in an emergency, he still didn’t know the extent of the “emergency.”
Xu Luoyang scratched his nose. “Zheng ge, I got a program on Starlight TV, isn’t it an outdoor reality show? Apart from the regular guests, each episode brings in a few people to join our team and participate in tasks. This time, the program arranged for me to partner with Xu Tian, but something happened on Xu Tian’s end, and he backed out at the last minute. I had no choice but to quickly find a replacement.”
“So you hurriedly found Shanshan?” Zheng Dong felt like he had been pushed to the limit. Should he also praise Xu Luoyang, saying that he is self-reliant and doesn’t need his interference?
“Yeah,” Xu Luoyang nodded. “Usually, these programs confirm schedules with guests at least a week in advance. With such a tight schedule now, shooting starts tomorrow, and it’s really hard to find someone.”
Zheng Dong took a deep breath repeatedly to keep himself from losing his temper. Shouldn’t Xu Luoyang at least have informed him in advance?
Seeing Xu Luoyang about to answer the question, Zheng Dong quickly waved his hand, feeling that the answer to this question would only make his heartache even worse.
“Never mind, I’ll go negotiate the contract with Starlight. You talk to Shanshan and find out what this show is all about.”
Saying this, he walked out directly. He felt that staying any longer might cost him a few more years of his life.
Watching Zheng Dong leave, Ye Shanshan gestured to Xu Luoyang.
“Come on, tell Ye-ge what this show is all about.”
“…”
1TL: YSIAD “Belated Happy New Year! May the new year carry you one step in the direction of your wishes :>
“You can support me if you like my translations by leaving a comment below, or by sending me a Ko-fi. Thank you ❤️”
