FIG CHAPTER 79

All the songs for the new album had already been recorded. To match the pace of the upcoming concert, different versions of the choreography still had to be created, so Zhu Lianzhen had been going to the company’s dance studio quite frequently lately.

He had just finished a rehearsal with the dance instructors and was rolling his shoulders and neck as he stepped into the elevator.

Just as the doors were about to close, the gap slowly widened again, and Zhu Lianzhen saw someone walking in. He couldn’t help but put on a polite expression and greeted the person, “CEO Chu.”

Chu Yu saw him and gave a slight nod.

Normally, he only saw the boss at the annual company parties. Zhu Lianzhen stood a bit stiffly, but since this barely counted as a chance to communicate, he gathered his courage and started a conversation. “CEO Chu, may I ask about Tan Qing’s new film and television contract? Will his filming schedule in the future conflict with the group’s activities?”

Zhu Lianzhen picked a question that seemed insignificant, but also the most tactful. Chu Yu glanced at him and didn’t answer directly. He only said, “He showed you the contract.”

Zhu Lianzhen had nearly forgotten that the document was covered by a confidentiality agreement. He hurriedly explained, “No, he didn’t show it to me on purpose. It was on the table, and I saw it by accident.”

To his surprise, as soon as the words left his mouth, Chu Yu immediately picked up on the key detail. “On the table? You two live together?”

Zhu Lianzhen’s lips stiffened, and he was at a loss for words, regretting having said anything at all.

When the elevator reached the intended floor, the doors opened. Chu Yu said to him, “It just so happens that all of you are nearing the contract renewal period. Come to my office for a chat.”

In the brief half-minute walk down the hallway, Zhu Lianzhen’s mind was racing, trying to figure out how to defend himself in case he got scolded by the boss. Once they entered the room, Chu Yu told him to pick any chair and sit, then added, “The last time you were here, it was about that situation with Tan Qing, wasn’t it?”

Zhu Lianzhen couldn’t tell if that was a casual remark or had some hidden meaning. Either way, all he could do was nod obediently.

“The group’s earnings will still be split evenly among the five of you, but the profit share from the renewal will be increased. Aside from that, do you have any other requests?” Chu Yu didn’t look at him and instead focused on sorting the documents on his desk.

Normally, the lawyers helped Zhu Lianzhen analyze contracts, and he didn’t have any professional input to offer. “Not at the moment.”

Chu Yu gave an “Mm” and sat down across from him. “Then let’s talk about what you were just about to say. What’s going on with Tan Qing?”

Zhu Lianzhen didn’t like the atmosphere of serious conversations, but if he didn’t speak up, keeping it bottled inside felt worse. “I just want to know about Tan Qing’s new contract. Is he signing it completely of his own free will? Or is the company asking him to do it for the sake of exchanging resources?”

His words carried a sting, and only then did Chu Yu lift his eyelids. “You’ve all been at the company for a long time. Your status and treatment are plain for all to see. Do you really think we’d go against an artist’s will and treat him unfairly?”

“That’s not what I meant.” Zhu Lianzhen pressed his lips together. “Sorry.”

The air seemed to freeze for a brief moment before Chu Yu spoke again. “You think he should refuse it, don’t you? On what basis?”

Zhu Lianzhen had no real basis. He stumbled to come up with an answer. “Based on… my understanding of him?”

“He has his own considerations. If there’s a difference in opinion between you two, it only means you don’t understand him well enough.” Chu Yu didn’t even seem to have the patience to let him finish speaking, refuting him without haste.

The remark left Zhu Lianzhen momentarily speechless. He held no resentment toward the company, but he sometimes did feel the coldness of decisions driven by capital. It made him instinctively resistant. The man in front of him wasn’t just a superior who could influence his future, but also an elder who knew about his secret relationship with Tan Qing. As the tension in his chest slowly eased, Zhu Lianzhen instead found the courage to speak honestly.

Zhu Lianzhen: “Tan Qing’s been working at high intensity for the past two years. Anyone else in his place would’ve already pushed their body past its limit. Shouldn’t the company be prioritizing his health? And once his film and TV contracts are managed separately, how can we be sure his solo work won’t affect Acemon’s activities? I think, as a member of the group, I have a right to know that in advance.”

He emphasized the last part of his words, as if trying to prove that he wasn’t speaking out of personal interest.

“We’ll prioritize the group’s development; otherwise there would’ve been no point in having your comeback this year.” Chu Yu looked at him. “You seem quite concerned about him. In that case, you should be asking him why he refuses to rest. I heard from your manager that there were several times she tried to turn down some non-essential jobs for him, but he wouldn’t let her.”

Zhu Lianzhen didn’t know how to respond. He knew he wasn’t the type to chase fame and fortune, and one thought immediately surfaced in his mind. He remembered Tan Qing had once said that playing different roles in films made it easy to forget who he really was. So was the reason he refused even the slightest bit of downtime because he wanted to stay completely immersed in the identity of being an actor?

Seeing the distracted look on his face, Chu Yu seemed to pick up on something. “When did you two reconnect?”

Zhu Lianzhen snapped out of it, thinking he was being interrogated, and answered truthfully, “The beginning of this year on Valentine’s Day… The day Pei-jie held the press conference.”

“From when you went solo to when the group came back, the two of you never spoke about anything in between?”

Zhu Lianzhen shook his head.

Chu Yu lowered his eyes and said to him, “Tan Qing came to me on his own last year. He said he wasn’t planning to stay with the company any longer.”

Zhu Lianzhen froze. “Why?”

Given Zuige Entertainment’s current standing and treatment of its artists, almost no one would choose to leave voluntarily.

“Judging by his past level of activity and commercial value, I believed he was planning to use himself as leverage to negotiate for more benefits. So I told him to name his terms.” Chu Yu looked at Zhu Lianzhen. “He did as I asked. What I didn’t expect was that his demand was very simple—he only asked the company to consider bringing the group back.”

Zhu Lianzhen’s lips parted slightly in surprise. What Chu Yu revealed made him instinctively recall that conversation he’d had with Tan Qing on the day they reunited earlier that year.

When he first heard from Pei Qiao that the group would be making a comeback, the first thing he did was turn to Tan Qing and ask if he’d known about it in advance.

…He remembered clearly that Tan Qing had denied it.

So he had lied?

Chu Yu continued, “The company regularly evaluates the risks and value of a group comeback. To be honest, keeping you all on solo careers would’ve been a more stable strategy than bringing back the group. I think Tan Qing understood that, but even so, he insisted on using contract termination as a condition to make this unreasonable demand. I could only assume he had some special motive.”

Zhu Lianzhen said nothing.

“What do you think, Zhu Lianzhen? Based on your understanding of Tan Qing, can you tell me what exactly he had in mind?” Chu Yu asked.

Zhu Lianzhen felt his heartbeat falter slightly. He started speaking words he himself didn’t fully believe, “I… I think maybe Acemon holds special meaning for him. He was always very serious during vocal and dance practice. He’s someone who really loved being on stage.”

“I looked into his schedule over the past two years. He rarely performed live, and among the group, he released the fewest singles. Doesn’t quite seem like someone who ‘loves being on stage,’” Chu Yu dismissed his answer with effortless ease.

Then he added, “But it’s also true that his value has skyrocketed over these two years. Acting and endorsements have done a lot to boost his profile. If he really chose to terminate his contract at such a peak, the company would likely feel the impact for several years.”

Zuige Entertainment hasn’t been a publicly listed company for long, and it had already suffered major losses two years ago when a member left Acemon. Now, no matter what, they had to hold on to their top artists.

“Acemon does have irreplaceable commercial potential. But because of all the risks in the past, we probably shouldn’t have made such a big change like a comeback,” Chu Yu told Zhu Lianzhen. “I’d say Tan Qing got lucky. Using himself as a bargaining chip showed he had real confidence and a good grasp of the company’s financial situation. In the end, during the internal review, his proposal was approved.”

Zhu Lianzhen finally couldn’t help but ask, “That was the only thing he wanted?”

“More specifically, he also volunteered to reduce his profit share. But that would’ve complicated the contract too much,” Chu Yu said. “His determination to bring the group back has gone beyond what seems reasonable. That’s when I remembered the relationship between you two wasn’t ordinary.”

Chu Yu shifted the focus of the conversation directly onto him, and Zhu Lianzhen froze completely. Shock filled his eyes, making it impossible to maintain his composure.

“I still remember asking him that day whether it was because he hadn’t let go of past feelings. He said no.”

Chu Yu retained a clear memory of that moment. Tan Qing had sat right where Zhu Lianzhen was sitting now, his face expressionless. For someone trying to negotiate contract terms with the company, his attitude had come across as rather indifferent.

“If all he wanted was to keep developing a relationship with you, there was no need to involve the entire group. Personal matters between two people should be handled privately. Even if the company is cautious about the uncontrollable factors in celebrity relationships, we’re not so intrusive as to interfere with private lives to that extent.”

After a moment of thought, Chu Yu said to Zhu Lianzhen, “Look at it another way, if the same conditions had come from you, it would’ve made much more sense. I know how much you value Acemon’s future. But Tan Qing told me you two hadn’t been in contact for a long time. He said the idea of the group’s comeback was entirely his own will.”

At those words, Zhu Lianzhen furrowed his brows.

He knew Tan Qing was lying.

“In the end, whose wish it was doesn’t really matter. As far as I see it, what Tan Qing has done already shows he no longer sees himself as just an artist. Do you understand what I mean?” Chu Yu looked him directly in the eye.

Zhu Lianzhen’s fingers unconsciously curled inward, and his chest felt as if something had sunk inside it. He finally understood why Tan Qing had pushed himself beyond a normal workload over the past two years—it wasn’t the kind of reasonable effort expected of an artist. It felt more like he had turned himself into a pure commercial tool, with the sole goal of increasing his own value as bargaining leverage.

But on the other end of that scale had never been Tan Qing’s ambitions; it had always been Zhu Lianzhen’s wish.

The answer was so simple, yet it struck Zhu Lianzhen like a heavy blow to the heart. What followed was an indescribable sense of powerlessness.

Not long ago, he had confidently told Tan Qing that he would get to know him all over again. But the truth was, once Tan Qing chose to keep something hidden, there was no way for him to truly get close.

Zhu Lianzhen stood up and politely said goodbye to Chu Yu. “Thank you for taking the time to speak with me. I need to head to the dance studio now, so I won’t take up any more of your time.”

“You’re going to see him, aren’t you?” Chu Yu could instantly tell that he didn’t actually plan to go to the dance studio.

After a brief sigh, Chu Yu said earnestly, “Maybe Tan Qing understands what you want better than you do. Since he’s willing to go this far, I imagine he hopes you can stay rational like him. So why expose the kindness behind what he did?”

Zhu Lianzhen paused at the door. He didn’t turn around, but he maintained a polite tone. “Thank you for the advice, but I don’t think what Tan Qing did counts as rational.”

“And, he doesn’t understand me at all.”

–

The trip from the company to Tan Qing’s place only took about ten minutes, and the whole way, Zhu Lianzhen kept thinking about the lies Tan Qing had told him. Things like “I like working with you guys” or “I only check up on your news when there’s a news alert”… all lies.

Zhu Lianzhen realized this was exactly what made Tan Qing so excessive—insisting on caring so deeply about him while keeping him completely in the dark. At the same time, he finally saw that he himself wasn’t much better than Tan Qing. Maybe… he was even worse.

From childhood to now, love had always come rushing toward him from all directions, including from his parents. No one had ever demanded that he return the same depth of feeling. He’d come to see this as normal, never once considering… that it was only Tan Qing, only this one person, who held such a special place.

Had he ever properly responded to him? Zhu Lianzhen’s memory clouded over like fog, a complete haze.

He parked the car, took the elevator, his palms slightly sweating, and soon stood in front of Tan Qing’s door.

He entered the passcode and went in without warning.

Tan Qing didn’t seem to be home. Zhu Lianzhen called him, but then heard a ringtone coming from the bedroom. He followed the sound and found it coming from inside the wardrobe.

He pressed the red “hang up” button, and the buzzing from inside the wardrobe stopped instantly. He crouched down and reached out to slide open the wooden door, letting light spill inside.

The person leaning inside seemed to have just been woken up by the noise. His eyes were hazy with sleep, and his voice was a little hoarse. “What are you doing?”

“Why are you sleeping in here?” Zhu Lianzhen asked, only to remember that he’d noticed last time that this wardrobe was completely empty. So it turns out Tan Qing had a habit of retreating to strange corners like this.

Tan Qing didn’t answer, just shifted a little as if to come out. But Zhu Lianzhen reached out to hold him in place. “If you feel more comfortable staying in here, then stay.”

After a moment’s thought, Zhu Lianzhen added, “There’s still a bit of space. How about… I come in too?”

“It’ll be cramped,” Tan Qing replied softly, still sounding a bit sleepy. But he moved aside to make room for him anyway.

The two of them sat facing each other in the small, dim space. Because he couldn’t clearly see Tan Qing’s expression, Zhu Lianzhen’s nerves eased. On the way over, he had gone over so many things he wanted to say, so many questions he wanted to ask… but seeing that Tan Qing had just woken up, Zhu Lianzhen didn’t want to bother him.

Tan Qing leaned his body back against the innermost side of the wardrobe and said in a low voice, “Weren’t you going to dance practice?”

“Mm, but something urgent came up that I wanted to tell you.”

Hearing that, Tan Qing sat up straighter and asked, “What is it?”

Zhu Lianzhen adjusted his breathing and said energetically, “Let’s go see the snow!”

Tan Qing stayed silent for several seconds, trying to process what this so-called “urgent matter” was, like he was trying to remember what season it was.

“That time we planned to go to Iceland, remember? We didn’t end up going. There’s still some time before we release the new song, so there should be a period where we don’t have to rehearse singing or dancing. If we start preparing now, the visa won’t take too long.”

This idea had only occurred to Zhu Lianzhen a few minutes earlier, but now that he’d said it out loud, he genuinely felt it was doable. “Let’s go! If we don’t go this year, who knows when we’ll have time again?”

Seeing how excited he was, Tan Qing became even more certain that this was a spur-of-the-moment idea. He let out a soft laugh. “Even if we don’t get time off in the summer, there’s not enough time for concert rehearsals, so let’s put the trip on hold for now.”

“No. I want to go this year.”

“It’s too rushed. You won’t enjoy it that way.”

“Then give me a specific date.”

“Our schedule for next year isn’t even out yet. When the time comes—”

“I don’t want ‘when the time comes,’” Zhu Lianzhen interrupted. “Promise me that you’ll pick a proper time.”

Tan Qing didn’t respond.

Zhu Lianzhen fell silent as well, then softly asked, “Do you not want to go with me?”

“If you need someone to go with, of course I’d be willing,” Tan Qing said.

Zhu Lianzhen couldn’t help but curse “Idiot” to himself.  No, “playing dumb” was more like it. So he replied, “If I just needed someone to go with, I wouldn’t necessarily pick you. I’ve got plenty of friends…”

After saying so much in one breath, Zhu Lianzhen felt like a lot of oxygen had been used up in the cramped space. He reached out and pulled the wardrobe door open a bit more. The light was still dim, but he could just barely make out Tan Qing’s face.

Zhu Lianzhen’s voice grew much softer. “Come to think of it, you never really liked traveling far. But you still went on so many trips with me, I started thinking we’d still go to lots of places together.”

As he spoke, he looked over at Tan Qing, who silently looked back at him. Those calm eyes helped Zhu Lianzhen settle down. He went on, “Actually, it’s fine even if we don’t go anywhere. Just staying at home—watching movies, cooking, playing with the cat… those are the things you like doing, right?”

Tan Qing’s gaze shifted slightly away from him. “Just ordinary ways of passing time.”

“Mm, but maybe because they’re so ordinary, I never realized how important they were,” Zhu Lianzhen said. “Last year, I went to see a play alone once. As soon as I sat down, I started worrying if I would run into you. It was definitely the kind of show you’d like. So I kept secretly watching the audience as they came in. Only when the show started could I finally be sure you hadn’t come…”

In the dim space, Tan Qing looked at him again.

It was obvious that Zhu Lianzhen was acting out of character today. Besides his unusually high spirits, he had even taken the initiative to bring up feelings from the time of their breakup, which he normally avoided.

Tan Qing followed up with a question, “So you felt relieved when you didn’t see me?”

“Mm, for the first few minutes, I was really glad I didn’t run into you.” Zhu Lianzhen gradually relaxed his posture, leaning against the inner wall of the wardrobe just like Tan Qing. “But then I couldn’t help wondering about what you were doing? Did you not even have time to watch a play? Or were you just tired from work and resting at home?”

Zhu Lianzhen murmured his scattered thoughts from back then in a low voice. “The more I thought about it, the more distracted I got. I missed a bunch of parts in the play. It felt like I wasted the ticket. I think that’s your fault.”

Tan Qing smiled faintly. “Mm.”

After a few seconds of silence, Zhu Lianzhen added, “Next time, let’s go together.”