Chapter 34: CH 34

Chapter 34: The Xue Family’s Invitation

Bai Xiaozhi and Yu Ruize met on a music focused website devoted to singing and song writing. At the time that Bai Xiaozhi joined Nova Entertainment as a trainee, he liked to write demos and post them online. During the same time period, Yu Ruize was also posting his vocals on the site. As two sides of the same coin, they naturally noticed each other’s work. As they became better acquainted with one another, they realized they lived in the same city. Their friendship quickly developed from online acquaintances to real-life friends.

On their days off, they would occasionally meet for food and drink during which, they happily talked about their current projects and offered each other support.

When Bai Xiaozhi heard about Yu Ruize’s departure from vocals in favor of an acting career last year, he felt sad. Yu Ruize gained some popularity from his acting work. Conversely, Bai Xiaozhi’s pop group YJB was a complete mess.

Bai Xiaozhi made the call and Yu Ruize immediately came over by taxi.

After understanding the situation clearly, Yu Ruize thanked Yin Chang and Bai Xiaozhi directly: “It’s great to meet you in advance. To be honest, I was nervous when my agent told me that I was going to be on “Idol Face to Face”. Last night, I complained to Xiao Bai for a long time. ”

“What were you complaining about?” Jia Siqi asked curiously.

“Wang Chen’s agent sent him a word document yesterday of a dozen pages full of Wang Chen’s personal information,” Bai Xiaozhi replied for him with a shrug of his shoulders. “He was told to read it carefully and memorize important points so he could prop Wang Chen up and give him a helping hand when an opportunity came up.”

Yu Ruize smiled awkwardly. He was a little embarrassed and said to Bai Xiaozhi, “Wang Chen and I are in the same company anyways and it’s ok that I talk to you as friends, but this information…. In front of others, it’s not something to talk about.”

Bai Xiaozhi squinted his eyes: “What’s the matter? We are telling the truth. We didn’t orchestrate anything behind his back.”

Frankly speaking, Bai Xiaozhi originally thought the roles he and Jia Siqi were going to play were the same as Yu Ruize. As a result, he wasn’t very optimistic. It wasn’t until he met Yin Chang today that he realized things were different from what he had imagined.

Turning round, Yin Chang asked Lu Lingxuan to order a pot of Earl Grey tea for Yu Ruize then smiled. “Speaking of which, if we do meet privately without Wang Chen, indeed, it could cause a misunderstanding. Do you have his contact information? Call and invite him over.”

Everyone: “……”

No one could get in touch with Wang Chen including Yu Ruize even though they were in the same company. Since Wang Chen’s popularity was high, his schedule was arranged well in advance. He probably didn’t have time to come over at the last minute.

Even so, it was important to inform him. As Yin Chang said, if Wang Chen knew they were meeting without him, he could think they were doing something malicious behind his back.

Yu Ruize thought about it for a while and offered, “Should I ask my agent to get in touch with him?”

Yin Chang looked at Lu Lingxuan in thought.  It was a bit troublesome because this meeting was something between “friends” and not something official from the company. There was no need to involve them.

“Didn’t you get his Weibo before? The social media site also has a private message function. Can you leave a message for him there?“ Lu Lingxuan suggested.

“Okay,” Yin Chang said than asked Lu Lingxuan to help him write up a message asking Wang Chen if he is free right now.

Without waiting for a reply, the group of them started chatting. They talked about their families, their experiences in the industry and what they hoped for in the future.

Since Yin Chang wanted to focused on getting to know them first, he tried to simply listen and talk very little.  However, everyone at the table wouldn’t let that happen. Being the most popular amongst them, the young men were curious about Yin Chang’s life.

When Bai Xiaozhi heard Yin Chang say that he was still learning to sing and dance, he couldn’t believe it. He roasted Yin Chang. Fortunately, Yin Chang was friendly by nature and thus, he was able to become close friends. Becoming serious once again, Bai Xiaozhi offered his assistance with singing and dancing if Yin Chang ever needed it.

Even after an hour, Wang Chen hadn’t responded. Lu Lingxuan asked Yin Chang what to do.

Yin Chang said, “Send him another message saying that I am the one who is inviting him out for afternoon tea. Ask him if he will come or not.”

Lu Lingxuan nodded and did as Yin Chang said. At this time, the young men pulled out the script for ‘ Idol Face to Face’ to talk about it and discuss a plan for the broadcast.

When the meeting was about to end, Lu Lingxuan cried out “Ah! Wang Chen replied! ”

Yin Chang: “What did he say? ”

Lu Lingxuan frowned. She showed Yin Chang the phone.——

Wang Chen: “This is his agent. Wang Chen said he’s busy now and he doesn’t have time. In the future, ask your agent to make an appointment with him in advance. [Smiles]”

Noticing everyone’s curious glances, Yin Chang turned the phone around and showed them what he said. His condescending and lofty tone made them feel a little uncomfortable. Bai Xiaozhi bluntly said: “This guy is just pretending! ”

Yin Chang smiled and retracted his phone: “Maybe he really was busy. It’s okay anyways. I called him and he refused himself. Yu Ruize, you don’t have to stress over it. ”

Yes, only Yu Ruize wasn’t from their company and as a result, the position he was in was somewhat difficult. However, listening to Yin Chang, Yu Ruize felt his good intensions. He felt relieved. Before the group dispersed, they added each other on the messaging platform, WeChat. In order to contact each other at any time, they set up a group chat.

That night, Yu Ruize shared the document he received earlier in the day to the group: “Wang Chen’s Personality Version 2.0.doc”

Everyone: “???”

Yu Ruize: “This is the information about Wang Chen that my agent gave me before. You can also take a look if you are interested. It’s a pity that Wang Chen didn’t come for tea today. I’m afraid if you don’t know him well enough that when the time comes, he won’t talk.”

Yu Ruize: “After all, since he is the star of our company, I’m bound to him. I don’t want to go down together on a sinking ship. Today, we talked so happily with one another. It would be great if we could do the same on the show. Brothers, help me! [Plead]

Bai Xiaozhi: “…”

Yin Chang: “Okay, let’s study it.”

Bai Xiaozhi originally wanted to complain about Yu Ruize’s duty to his ‘highness’, but seeing Yin Chang’s generosity, he could only reluctantly respond: “Okay.”

Jia Siqi couldn’t wait to look at it: “Version 2.0? Is there a 1.0? ”

Yu Ruize: “I don’t know. That’s all I got.”

Jia Siqi: “Hey, wang Chen’s actual height is only one seventy-seven?” [Screenshot]”

– Height of Wang Chen: 182cm (actual 177cm + the height of the sole of his shoes) (177cm ~5’8”)

-Note: I hope that Yu Ruize can wear shoes below 2cm heel on the day to set off Wang Chen’s height

Bai Xiaozhi: “Damn, does this guy wants you to wear flip-flops on stage?”

Yu Ruize: “…”

Jia Siqi quickly sent another message to the group: “Isn’t Wang Chen a dog lover? If I remember correctly, in one of the “Absolute Idol” TV episodes, he was gently stroking a golden retriever. Super Loving! [screenshot]”

-Wang Chen’s image – he loves pets: I had a dog at home when I was a child so I like dogs very much.

-Note: But Wang Chen is actually very afraid of dogs, even a dog as small as a Chihuahua. If there are pets on stage, I hope that Yu Ruize can help out.

Bai Xiaozhi: “How are you supposed to help? Interact with the dog? If you do, then his fans will definitely hack you to pieces saying you robbed him of the spotlight. Don’t you think?”

Bai Xiaozhi: “Who the heck made this comment. Are they just dumb ?”

Yu Ruize: “…his agent.”

***

At noon the next day, the official blog of “Idol Face to Face” issued an announcement: “Fortunately, I invited several celebrity guests to participate in our next program! @Wang Chen @Yin Chang @Yu Ruize @Bai Xiaozhi @Jia Siqi  Do you have any hot questions you want to ask? What sparks do you hope will ignite between your idols? Leave a message below. The questions with the highest number of likes will be selected by our host and asked to all of the idols on the show! [Happy][happy]”

Jia Siqi immediately informed everyone in the WeChat group: “The official blog has made an announcement!”

By nine o’clock in the evening, Wang Chen returned home to take a shower and catch up on Social Media. The other four guests already posted to social media, forming a lone column.

@Yu Ruize: Looking forward to meeting +3//@Bai Xiaozhi: looking forward to meeting +2//@Jia Siqi: looking forward to meeting +1//@Yin Chang: looking forward to meeting

The posts were more than half an hour ago, less than ten minutes apart.

Wang Chen: “???” Damn… are those people dating? Why did they repost each other? What does this mean? Also, Yu Ruize followed up back-to-back even though he is from a different company. What’s all the excitment?

Wang Chen just ignored them and went to the official blog by himself—— I’m coming!!! @ Idol Face-to-Face Program Group

The morning before the program was recorded, Yin Chang received a message from Teacher Lin.

“Tomorrow is Shao Junling’s 11th birthday. Do you have any plans for your brother? Every child here has a birthday celebration in the class. If you are too busy at work to come to see him, I suggest taking the time to call me. I’ll let him answer and you say Happy Birthday to him.

Yin Chang was taken back. Tomorrow? Yes, it was December 29th… If Teacher Lin hadn’t mentioned it,  he would have forgotten.

Yin Chang asked Lu Lingxuan about the specific timing of the shows’s recording then replied to Teacher Lin: “Thank you, Teacher Lin, for reminding me. I will be recording a program tomorrow afternoon, but will be able to pick him up at school later when it’s over.”

After Yin Chang returned home, he greeted Yang Na and asked her to order a cake and cook good some good dished for Shao Junling’s birthday tomorrow.  In the evening, Yin Chang will celebrate with him at home.

At two o’clock in the afternoon on Thursday, the recording of “Idol Face to Face” officially began.

When the five of them came on stage, thunderous applause and screams erupted from the audience. The loudest of which were Wang Chen and Yin Chang.

Since the program was called “Idol Face to Face”, it was only natural that they were required to sit opposite each other. The sectionals were arranged like a figure eight with three of the guests on one side, two on the other, and the host in between.

After the routine opening remarks, advertisements and introductions, the host pretended to pick up the question card: “The first question, who do you want me to ask the first question to?”

Listening to the aggressive shouting from the audience, the hostess deliberately slowed down her tone. Her eyes slowly shot back and forth among the guests and eventually landed on Yin Chang. When everyone thought she was going to ask Yin Chang a question, she suddenly called out the name “Wang Chen”, and then looked towards Wang Chen.

This move simply whetted everyone’s appetite. Wang Chen’s fans in the audience cheered for a while. Wang Chen was smug and smiled…. As expected, he was the most shining protagonist of the show!

With a mysterious smile, the host asked: “This is a question that comes from fans in the hot comments section of our official blog.

-Wang Chen. After the announcement was made the other day on the program’s official blog, everyone responded together. You are the only one who responded separately. Is there any meaning in doing so? ”

Wang Chen was caught off guard by this unscripted question. His smile froze for a moment. After a few seconds he said: “Ha-ha. There was no deeper meaning. I didn’t see their line of messages until after I posted mine. I was embarrassed to post another one!”

The hostess smiled at Yin Chang and the others again: “Then how could you guys do it so quickly, playing Repost Solitaire? I heard that you just met five days ago. ”

Hoping that Yin Chang would speak up, she looked to him. However, Yin Chang tilted his head, giving Jia Siqi the signal for him to speak.

Jia Siqi had a baby face with short golden-maroon curly hair. He was the shortest of the five in height and was sandwiched between Yin Chang and Bai Xiaozhi. The contrast in body types made him appear extremely petite.

Since it was the first time Jia Siqi was on a mainstream TV show, he was very nervous. However, Yin Chang’s encouraging look made him feel confident. He took the initiative to answer: “I sent a message in our WeChat group to let Yin Chang go first. Bai Xiaozhi and I live in the same dormitory so we were able to repost after him right away.”

Since the three of them were from Nova Entertainment, the hostess assumed the group was only comprised of the three of them. She turned to Yu Ruize and asked, “What about Yu Ruize?”

Yu Ruize knew the politics of the industry, so he didn’t mention the fact he was in the same group. He just smiled and commented: “Bai Xiaozhi and I friends from before. When I saw his retweet, I just added a number to make it lively. ”

The hostess realized there was nothing more to it and quickly changed the topic. She looked at the camera: “I wonder if their answers satisfy the audience’s conjectures? But no matter what, I’m glad that these five handsome guys can be guests on the show together! Now, let’s get straight to it and start the quick question and answer round on “Idol Face to Face” !”

There were shouts one after another from the auditorium again. The hostess swept her eyes across the guests back and forth until they finally landed on another target………

At five o’clock in the evening, after three hours of recording, the session finally ended.  Although they recorded a lot of footage, the production team will edit the video down to a runtime of 90minutes.

“Thank you all for your hard work. Today’s recording went very smoothly!” The hostess hugged and thanked them one by one.

What she said was not idle talk. Most of the time, young artists on the show leave little to remember them by, but todays guests were very involved. It was an unforgettable recording session.

When hugging Yin Chang, the host was particularly excited. She originally thought he was a vain second generation star. However, after this recording, even the host who has interviewed countless stars beforehand, has become his fan.

“Can you sign a few things for me later?” the host whispered beside him, “I’m afraid, I won’t get the chance to get your autograph again.”

Yin Chang: “……”

The program team planned a dinner party for the staff and celebrities, but both Yin Chang and Wang Chen bowed out. They had other arrangements for the evening so after saying their goodbyes to everyone, they left first.

When Wang Chen got into his car, he quickly closed the door. Instantly, his smile vanished.

The agent thought it was strange and asked: “Why do you look so unhappy? Didn’t the recording go quite well?”

Wang Chen said, “Do you think so? ”

Agent: “I don’t know if it was bad, but the vibe was very cheerful!  You were doted on today.”

Wang Chen: “Doted on? Are you fucking kidding me? I feel like they were trolling me! ”

Thinking about the experience on the show of being scolded over and over, being one-upped by Yin Chang, and being punished by the shows team for lack of interaction, Wang Chen felt utterly defeated.

The agent solemly said: “Think about it. You are all young. A little bit of bulling and fighting is a natural way for young guys to express kindness to each other. If they were polite to you, the audience will feel weird when they watch it. ”

Wang Chen: “…Really?”

Agent: “Eldest young master, I have been watching for a long time. Trust my judgment. There were several scenes with great climaxes because of you. You will definitely gain fans after the show is broadcasted!”

Wang Chen couldn’t help worrying again. He said: “But I don’t think my timing was good today. Sometimes, the audience reactions were a little bland. “

His agent said: “Don’t worry about it. In the past, there were many more stars that performed worse than you. The most awesome thing about the show is not the host and lineup, but their production team. No matter how bad you think you performed during the filming, after the production polishes the footage, the program is always extremely lively and funny. I have specially asked them to portray you as a likeable character to help with your image.”

After listening to the agent’s long-winded analysis and explanation, Wang Chen was finally comforted alittle: “Okay…”

When thinking about dinner at his sister’s house later, Wand Chang’s mood improved. Since the stylist created a bird’s nest head of hair, he tried to flatten it by combing his fingers through it.  He said, “Just take me to my place. I will drive myself to my sister’s place later. ”

At the same time, Yin Chang got in his own car after returning to drive to Shao Junling’s school.

In the past two days, because of his work on “Idol Face to Face”, he was too busy to buy a birthday present for Shao Junling himself. Last night, Yao Manhuai helped him choose an appropriate gift. Then, he placed an order online. It should have been delivered during the day.

When it was almost time to reach his school, Yin Chang sent a message to Teacher Lin: “Is Shao Junling out of class yet?”

Teacher Lin quickly called him back: “Yin Chang, what did you mean just now? ”

Yin Chang: “Hmm? ”

Teacher Lin: “Didn’t Shao Junling leave an hour ago? ”

“He’s Gone?” Yin Chang stomped on the brakes urgently at the red light. He asked, “Where did he go?” ”

In a confused tone, Teacher Lin said: “After school today, Shao Junling told me that he was leaving. I confirmed it with you yesterday and thought you were here to pick him up, so I let him go. ”

Yin Chang: “…I just finished recording the show and I’m on my way to the school now. ”

Upon hearing him, Teacher Lin became very concerned and nervous.

As the light turned green, Yin Chang said, “I’m almost there. Teacher Lin, come meet me at the front entrance in five minutes.” After speaking, he threw the phone on the passenger side seat and stepped forcefully on the accelerator, speeding away towards Dee-International School.

When they arrived at the school, Yin Chang and Teacher Lin anxiously searched for Shao Junling. He was no longer at the entrance of the school.

Teacher Lin stammered: “Don’t worry. There are surveillance cameras in the school. Let’s go to security now and check the footage.”

Although Teacher Lin advised Yin Chang not to worry, she herself broke out in a cold sweat. Fortunately, the video quickly showed them where Shao Junling had gone. The result surprised both of them.

“Shao Junling… He went with Xue Zi?”

The Surveillance video showed Shao Junling following Xue Zi to his family’s Rolls-Royce that had come to pick up Xue Zi at five o’clock.

Teacher Lin wondered, “Since he went with Xue Zi, why did he lie to me that he was going home?”

Yin Chang frowned: “He lied to you?”

Teacher Lin: “Yes…”

Yin Chang thought of the previous entanglement between Shao Junling and Xue Zi. He couldn’t help but worry: “Has the conflict between them been resolved?”

He was worried Xue Zi stirred up trouble by tricking Shao Junling into going home with him. Lagging behind his peers, Shao Junling wouldn’t know the nuances of social norms. Why else would he lie otherwise?

While Teacher Lin looked up Xue family’s phone number, she said, “On the surface, there shouldn’t be any problems. These days, they have been playing together in class.”

“Here it is.” Teacher Lin said and quickly called the Xue Family. Once the call connected, Teacher Lin confirmed Shao Junling whereabouts. The two breathed a sigh of relief.

Yin Chang listened while Teacher Lin talked on the phone: “Excuse me, may I ask how Shao Junling came to be at your house?  …… Ah, this.. Yes, today is Shao Junling’s birthday. His brother came to school to pick him up, but Shao Junling wasn’t there waiting for him, so we were very anxious. Well…. Okay. I’ll tell him.”

After hanging up the phone, Teacher Lin explained the situation to him: “Knowing it was Shao Junling birthday today, Xue Zi asked him if he wanted to come over for dinner so the boys made plans. Shao Junling’s was going to spend the night at Xue ZI’s house then go to school together tomorrow morning. Mother Xue was surprised to learn that you weren’t informed of the boys’ plans.  She said that if you still want to pick up your brother, you are welcome to come over and visit now.”

Yin Chang was taken aback…. go to the Xue household for a visit?

There was more and Teacher Lin continued: “Mother Xue also said that her younger brother has just arrived. You should know that her brother is Wang Chen. ”

Yin Chang suddenly pursed his lips together. He and the other artists from Nova Entertainment just finished recording the TV show together. Thinking about the hot-seat that Wang Chen experienced on program, Yin Chang thought he was the last person Wang Chen wanted to see.

“I’m really sorry. It was because I didn’t confirm the details with you that such a misunderstanding occurred.” Teacher Lin looked guilty, “Yin Chang, what do you think is best thing to do now?” ”

Yin Chang thought to himself, ‘What else could be done?’ Despite his own efforts of having a small party for Shao Junling, he was in Xue Zi’s house. Was it possible Shao Junling simply ignored his brother? Biting the bullet, Yin Chang hardened himself. He reluctantly made a decision.

After asking Teacher Lin for the correct address, Yin Chang returned to his car and got in. He took a deep breath. He drove slowly out of the school, to the main road and headed in the direction that the GPS said to go.

——————-

【Vignette】

Wang Chen’s thoughts when he received Yin Chang’s private message on Weibo——

The guy actually sent me a private message!

Ask if I am free? Ha! This Young Master is so busy, of course, I have no time!

What? You want to invite me to tea? Why the attention? You must want to flatter me! Let’s hang him out to dry!

After a few hours have passed, Wang Chen couldn’t help it. He picked up his phone and replied to Yin Chang like he was an agent.

Lashing out, he felt better. Take that! Feel my anger about you when we first met!

……But, I wonder why that guy wanted to have tea?