Outside the door stood two police officers in uniform.
Seeing Xiao Can lying on the floor and He Xingzhou rolling around, they were astonished.
“He tripped,” Xiao Can said awkwardly as he sat up, “Please take him to the hospital quickly.”
The police had been attracted by the alarm function of the pheromone detector. He Xingzhou’s punch had been quite effective, activating all the functions of that broken thing.
In the middle of the night, Xiao Can was taken to the police station and had to explain the situation. He omitted the details of their uncontrollable pheromones and simply stated that there was an elevator malfunction. He had tried to use the pheromone detector to call for help, but accidentally triggered the alarm and then He Xingzhou fell.
There were no surveillance cameras, but his explanation gained the police’s trust.
After all, He Xingzhou’s left shoulder blade had shattered into three pieces, which was a clear result of falling. It was unlikely that such an accident would occur just from fooling around in the elevator.
The elevator they were in did have a malfunction and could only be opened from the outside. All the floors on the ground were marked with “Do Not Use” warning signs, but the staff had forgotten about the underground floor.
The pheromone detector, clearly subjected to external force, also provided evidence for his words.
Finally back at the hotel, Xiao Can felt physically and mentally exhausted.
He comforted himself in his heart that although this night was unfortunate, he was at least luckier than He Xingzhou.
Regarding He Xingzhou’s injury, he learned some vague details from the police.
After washing up, he lay on the bed, hesitating whether to contact He Xingzhou. In the end, he decided against it.
They had barely endured a hardship together, but the process was too embarrassing, and Xiao Can didn’t want to face it.
There were more important things on his mind than caring about that Alpha.
With such a big event happening, what great material it was! He had to quickly film a Vlog and tell his fans about it.
The head of Baitao contacted him the next day after hearing about the incident, asking if he needed a break.
Xiao Can decisively declined the kindness.
Being unexpectedly marked in the hotel didn’t prevent him from attending the ceremony that night, so such a trivial matter naturally wouldn’t affect his work.
In the afternoon, when he arrived at the recording studio, he found that He Xingzhou was not there.
Chatting with Teacher Xia, Xiao Can learned that He Xingzhou needed surgery for his shoulder and was still in the hospital.
Recalling his desperate push, Xiao Can felt guilty.
Tan Zhen was also absent.
This had been confirmed yesterday. Unlike him, Tan Zhen’s recording was almost perfect and had already been finished ahead of time.
Whether it was due to He Xingzhou’s guidance working effectively or because he was the only one left and felt more relaxed, after trying to rearrange the two lines of lyrics He Xingzhou mentioned last night, the part he was least satisfied with had a qualitative leap. Finally, everything was completed smoothly that day.
Xiao Can felt relieved.
As the tension in his heart relaxed, fatigue surged, and he just wanted to go home and get a good night’s sleep.
But unexpectedly, Mr. Ma, whom he had met before, hurried over and said that as a token of gratitude, he wanted to treat everyone to a meal.
The other staff members eagerly accepted the invitation, and Xiao Can naturally wanted to give the client some face.
On the way there, he unexpectedly received a call from He Xingzhou.
He Xingzhou had just finished his surgery, and Xiao Can wondered if he hadn’t fully regained consciousness from the anesthesia, as his tone sounded somewhat lazy.
After learning that everything had gone smoothly in the studio, He Xingzhou seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and then asked, “Did you change the order of the lyrics?”
“Yes,” Xiao Can rarely showed such enthusiasm when facing him, “The effect is very good!”
“…It’s over,” He Xingzhou said, “Tan Zhen needs to re-record.”
“…”
Damn, why didn’t he think of this? The recording engineer didn’t remind him either.
“I’ll go talk to him and ask him to take another day to make up for it,” He Xingzhou said. “You don’t need to worry about it.”
Xiao Can felt a bit embarrassed, comforting himself in his heart that it was He Xingzhou who asked him to make the change, so the responsibility lay with He Xingzhou, and it was only right for him to coordinate it.
“Then I’ll trouble you with that,” he said.
He Xingzhou paused for a moment and said, “Why so polite? Is there someone else beside you?”
Xiao Can was speechless. He was indeed sitting in the car with someone beside him, but the politeness he had subconsciously expressed just now was merely out of habit.
In fact, his explosive and aggressive behavior towards He Xingzhou earlier was just a stress response, not his true nature.
At this moment, he wanted to retort, but hesitated because he might be overheard, so he had to endure it.
“Not satisfied, huh? That’s fine, hold it in,” He Xingzhou seemed to be smiling, “You’ve worked hard for two days, go back and rest early.”
For a moment, Xiao Can didn’t know how to respond.
The teacher sitting beside him turned his head and asked, “Is it Mr. He?”
Xiao Can nodded.
The teacher smiled and leaned over, shouting into the phone, “Comrade He, I’ll come to see you in a couple of days!”
He Xingzhou heard it and asked Xiao Can, “Are you still in the recording studio?”
“No, I’m going to have dinner with Bai Tao,” Xiao Can said.
“It’s a good thing I got injured,” He Xingzhou said, “I hate this kind of socializing.”
Xiao Can thought to himself that as painful as socializing was, it was still easier than surgery.
“Would you go if you weren’t injured?” he asked, “I don’t believe you’d give face like that.”
He Xingzhou smiled and said, “That’s it then, nothing else, I’ll hang up.”
After ending the call, Xiao Can sighed deeply.
He Xingzhou could act however he pleased and not give others face, but he couldn’t. In just these two short days of contact, Xiao Can repeatedly marveled at the talent of this Alpha.
But he was different. His current level of fame was largely due to luck. If he didn’t cherish it, he could be abandoned by the flow at any time. He had to keep his tail tucked and stay grounded to maintain his success.
It was already past 10 p.m. after dinner.
He had been persuaded to drink a lot, and although he had a good tolerance for alcohol, he couldn’t help but feel a bit unsteady as he walked.
During the meal, Mr. Ma mentioned his nephew, who was still in college and a fan of Xiao Can’s, and asked if it was convenient to exchange contact information.
Xiao Can thought “not convenient” in his heart, but his face was full of smiles as he enthusiastically nodded in agreement.
The restaurant was not close to the hotel. Xiao Can pondered for a while and decided to take a taxi home directly.
It was a bit far, but it didn’t matter. He could take the opportunity to sleep.
After driving for over an hour, when he was about to reach his destination, Xiao Can, who had fallen asleep completely due to both mental and physical fatigue, was awakened by the ringing of his phone.
The dual fatigue of mind and body catalyzed by alcohol made his head ache fiercely when he opened his eyes.
Picking up his phone, he couldn’t help but furrow his brow, then reluctantly answered, “Hello?”
“Already sleeping?” A familiar voice sounded from the earphones. “Have you changed your schedule?”
“Planning to sleep,” Xiao Can said. “What’s the matter, Mom?”
“Just checking in on you,” his mother said on the other end of the phone. “You never contact me proactively.”
Xiao Can knew her too well. If she just missed him, she wouldn’t suddenly call so late at night. There must be something going on.
“I’ve been busy these days and I’m really tired,” Xiao Can said. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll—”
“Can’t we talk for a bit?” his mother interrupted him. “You’re being so aloof?”
“If there’s something, just say it,” Xiao Can said.
“Ahem,” his mother cleared her throat. “Well, it’s like this. Do you remember your cousin’s son, Xiao Yi? You used to play together when you were kids.”
“I don’t remember,” Xiao Can said truthfully.
His mother ignored his response. “Xiao Yi wants to come to your place to find a job. Prepare a room for him to stay first.”
“Huh?” Xiao Can frowned. “Don’t joke around, it’s not convenient.”
“What’s not convenient? Don’t you have a spare room where you live now?” His mother was very displeased. “I’ve already promised him. You figure it out.”
“I…” Xiao Can was at a loss. “How do I figure it out? Do I pay for him to rent somewhere?”
“I heard from someone that you guys doing this can make tens of millions just by selling a few products,” his mother said. “Isn’t this small amount of money acceptable?”
“I don’t have that much money!” Xiao Can said. “I don’t sell products!”
Click.
“Why don’t you sell?” his mother asked.
“I can’t explain it to you,” Xiao Can was impatient. “Anyway, I can’t accommodate him here.”
“I’ve already promised him, so you figure it out,” his mother’s tone was firm. “Also, your money for this month hasn’t been transferred yet, don’t forget.”
“It’s only the third today, why the rush…” Xiao Can held his forehead. “I’m really tired, just let me off.”
“Alright, don’t overwork yourself too much, take care.”
After hanging up the phone, the car happened to stop outside the residential area.
Xiao Can rubbed his temples and forced himself to be alert as he got out of the car. The cold night wind blew, and with a start, he became considerably more awake.
As he walked back home, he transferred money to his family through mobile banking, then sent a message emphasizing not to let that “Xiao Yi” come to find him; he couldn’t help.
Xiao Can’s current income was indeed quite substantial compared to his peers, but not as much as his family thought.
During this time, many businesses approached him to promote their products, but he turned them all down. All along, he barely even accepted advertisements. Compared to other internet celebrities with similar popularity, his income could only be described as “meager.”
It wasn’t that he didn’t like money, nor was he pretending to be lofty; he just had higher goals in mind and didn’t want to rush to cash out.
But these words, if said to his family, they wouldn’t understand.
As the people who should have been closest to him in this world, Xiao Can had never been able to communicate with them.
