Chapter 35: Romantic Suspense
Screwed, but not completely.
Rong Xingyi, the oblivious true fan, was a ticking time bomb. Early in the morning, while he was still half-asleep, his brother dragged him out of bed.
“Aaaaaah!” Rong Xingyi roared, struggling. “Let me sleep—”
“Do you want a new phone?”
Xi Leng’s one sentence ended the fight.
The two quickly got ready and went out. Xi Leng maintained a stern expression the whole way, and Rong Xingyi, suspecting something, tentatively asked: “Your money was earned legally, right?”
“…” Xi Leng paused, then briefly replied with an “mm-hmm.”
This made Rong Xingyi anxious on their way home, constantly stealing glances at his brother.
“I don’t want the phone anymore, my old one still works.” Rong Xingyi made a difficult decision, suddenly becoming sensible. “And we don’t need to live in such a nice place, it’s too big, I’m not used to it…”
Xi Leng hurriedly stopped his brother from returning the phone, saying helplessly: “I earned this money through work, the phone is yours.”
Rong Xingyi confirmed a few more times, then smiled, a dimple appearing on one cheek as he carefully examined his new gift.
Back at the apartment, Xi Leng casually tied his hair back, standing by the window, his expression serious, seemingly deep in thought.
Rong Xingyi had already tried out all the new phone’s features, even taking dozens of photos of his brother from similar angles, unable to choose, so he kept them all.
After a while, bored, he started playing a game. In the midst of an intense battle, Xi Leng’s phone suddenly rang. He quickly lowered the volume and looked over.
Xi Leng’s expression didn’t change, but the voice coming from the speakerphone made his scalp tingle. His game character, out of control, was killed by his opponent.
“Rong Zhao! Where the fuck did you move to!?” Rong Haigao shouted, his demand blunt and greedy. “I’m out of money, give me everything you have…”
Xi Leng calmly said: “Stop looking for me, you won’t find me. This is the last time I’ll answer your call.”
Rong Haigao immediately became anxious: “Do you know where I am now?”
Rong Xingyi on the sofa curled up into a ball, his throat tightening, far more nervous than Xi Leng, who was on the phone.
“Fuwen Middle School.” Rong Haigao said word by word. “Junior high department, Class 2 (19)…”
Clatter!
Rong Xingyi’s new phone fell to the floor.
Xi Leng glanced at the sofa and saw Rong Xingyi trembling as he hugged his knees, his usually bright peach blossom eyes shimmering with tears, looking at him pitifully.
“He’s on summer vacation now, you won’t find him.” Xi Leng looked at his younger brother, calmly and unhurriedly saying to the person on the phone, “I’ll transfer him to another school next semester, don’t worry, it’s definitely a place you can’t enter. And he has no money. Looking for him will only get you detained for assaulting and threatening a minor.”
Rong Haigao naturally understood this, these were just his threats against Xi Leng, but who knew this heartless person would be so cruel, not even caring about his own brother’s life!?
“Rong Zhao!”
Masking incompetence with anger was human nature.
Xi Leng lowered his eyes, then suddenly changed the subject: “I’m on a TV show, the pay is very good.”
Once “Unlimited Escape Room” aired, it would be impossible for Rong Haigao not to find out. If he became famous in the entertainment industry, there was no telling what the desperate Rong Haigao might do. Their blood ties couldn’t be erased; it was a huge hidden danger.
Moreover, he knew that unlike him, who was only doing it for the money, Rong Xingyi genuinely dreamed of becoming an idol. Reputation was crucial.
After considering all factors, Xi Leng took the initiative and revealed the truth.
The other end of the line was silent for two seconds, then a surprised and delighted voice erupted: “Wh-what did you say!?”
“But right now, I don’t have any money to give you, they only paid part of the fee, and I’ve used it all to pay off debts and rent.” Xi Leng said slowly. “This time next year… I’ll give you one million.”
“And then, we’ll cut ties, Xiao Yi and I, you’re not to contact him again. Do you agree?”
Gambling was a bottomless pit.
With the lure of one million, Rong Haigao wouldn’t easily let go of this cash cow.
As expected, Rong Haigao immediately changed his tone. Xi Leng could almost picture his greedy and oily smile, hypocritically agreeing and making worthless promises: “Okay, one million, as long as you keep your word, I’ll keep mine…”
The most untrustworthy people in this world were violent people and gamblers.
Xi Leng only smiled and said: “Okay.”
Then he hung up and blocked the number.
He naturally didn’t intend to give him any money, just using an empty promise to stall Rong Haigao.
“O-one million?” Rong Xingyi repeated, stunned.
“I lied to him.” Xi Leng sat down beside him.
Rong Xingyi blinked, his racing heart calming down, his tense shoulders relaxing.
He slowly moved closer to Xi Leng, inch by inch…
Xi Leng shifted away, picking up the dropped new phone and handing it back: “The quality is really good, it didn’t break.”
Rong Xingyi blinked again, his eyes inexplicably reddening: “Gege…”
Xi Leng didn’t have time for sentimentality, getting straight to the point: “Xiao Yi, there’s something I need to tell you.”
He appeared incredibly serious, yet the next topic started with a strange question: “Why do you like Min Zhi?”
“Huh? I think he’s amazing, talented, I want to be like him… most importantly, make a lot of money like him!” Rong Xingyi’s eyes darted around, then he suddenly added, “I don’t mean I want to be a celebrity too.”
Xi Leng ignored the unconvincing save, murmuring: “Then you’re probably the kind of fan he likes…”
Rong Xingyi’s feelings were pure admiration and adoration for his idol. He didn’t have any unrealistic romantic fantasies, and Min Zhi treated him well.
Then the problem arose.
Xi Leng said seriously: “He probably thinks I’m his girlfriend fan.”
“?” Rong Xingyi wrinkled his nose, instantly noticing the biggest flaw. “Shouldn’t you be a boyfriend fan?”
“…”
Xi Leng recalled the thirsty comments on his Weibo, not explaining, looking away vaguely: “Pretty much.”
“That’s completely different… one is you wanting to top him, the other is you wanting to be topped by… Mmmph!”
Rong Xingyi’s mouth was covered.
He frowned, blinking a few times. As he looked at his brother, he gradually understood.
The scent of gossip.
“He didn’t seem… very angry. I signed the contract for the whole season of ‘Unlimited Escape Room’ a long time ago, I’m not worried about them breaching it…” Xi Leng said slowly. “The problem is…”
“Wait! Stop!” Rong Xingyi hurriedly interrupted.
Xi Leng stopped.
Rong Xingyi looked at him appraisingly: “I almost forgot, I wanted to ask you, since when were you his fan? You chased stars? You even went to the airport pickup? It wasn’t staged, right? Or did you switch careers and become a paparazzi?”
Xi Leng repeated his earlier answer: “Pretty much.”
Rong Xingyi, like an interrogator, moved closer, his eyes fixed on him, waiting for any sign of a lie.
Before he could question him, Xi Leng spoke first, confessing the truth: “I’m not Min Zhi’s fan.”
Xi Leng briefly explained how Min Zhi mistook him for a fan and how he went along with it, joining the variety show.
His deception was understandable, born out of necessity. Their current comfortable and carefree life, their ability to pursue their dreams, all depended on this lie.
“If you tell him, he’ll definitely be angry. He’ll hate me, and he’ll hate you.”
Rong Xingyi closed his mouth and listened quietly.
“Everything I’m saying is true.” Xi Leng looked at him seriously, saying word by word, “At first, I just wanted to earn some money, and I did feel a little guilty… now, even if you tell him, I can still earn the money from the show. But he’ll be angry, he’ll hate us, and I don’t want that.”
“I think we’re… considered friends now.” Xi Leng lowered his eyes slightly, unconsciously rubbing the calluses on his fingers. “I finally adapted, and if we just cut ties like that, it would be like a breakup, and I’d have to adjust all over again.”
“Last night, when he suspected I was his girlfriend fan, honestly, I panicked. I know he hates being objectified. But the biggest problem is that it’s all fake… the deeper his misunderstanding now, the angrier he’ll be when he finds out the truth.”
“Then tell me, why did he suspect you were his girlfriend fan?” Rong Xingyi, his 15-year-old brain confused, asked. “What did you guys talk about?”
“…” Xi Leng paused. “That’s not important.”
“What’s important is that I want to maintain my relationship with him for as long as possible.”
“Really?” Rong Xingyi looked shocked, then stuttered, “Y-you’re not… frigid?”
“I simply admire him. I admire his talent, and our personalities are quite compatible. We should be able to be good friends?” Xi Leng said helplessly. “Anyway… you have to keep this a secret for me, if you let it slip, we’re both screwed.”
He added in the end: “This has nothing to do with being frigid.”
“Oh.” Rong Xingyi stroked his chin, then smiled confidently. “So, you’re still frigid.”
Xi Leng: “…”
“Get out.”
Like father, like son. A family of weirdos couldn’t raise a normal child.
Rong Xingyi, surprisingly reliable, agreed to keep Xi Leng’s secret.
After calming down and thinking about it, honestly, he felt that Xi Leng constantly playing Min Zhi’s songs at home already made him a fan, but since Xi Leng insisted… He couldn’t lie, he couldn’t keep secrets, so for the new phone, he could only grit his teeth and suppress his urge to rush next door and chase stars.
Min Zhi didn’t see the brothers next door for the next few days.
The older one was in creative mode, staying at home, the younger one, feeling guilty, avoiding him.
The chat history with Xi Leng remained at that night of interrogation.
Xi Leng gave the official explanation, claiming those shocking comments were just online banter.
Even his simple-minded brother wouldn’t believe that, would he? Heh.
Soon, before the second recording of “Unlimited Escape Room,” the official Weibo account released the trailer for the first episode.
Sheng Jiao sent a message in the group chat, asking everyone to repost it.
Xi Leng, the dedicated yet nonchalant worker, this time, out of curiosity, watched the trailer before reposting.
He didn’t know how he would appear on camera, how all that footage would be edited.
Unexpectedly, the first scene was his post-interview with Min Zhi at the beach. They were sitting on rocks, a certain distance apart, turning to look at each other because of a question about each other.
But the screenwriter’s voice was edited out, leaving only the swaying leaves, the changing light, their handsome faces, like a scene in slow motion.
Xi Leng turned up the volume but could only hear the gentle sounds of waves and sea breeze.
Just as he was frowning in confusion, a slightly distorted voice suddenly sounded.
“I’ve liked him for three years.”
It was his own voice, recorded and now playing through his phone’s speakers.
Xi Leng: “…?”
With the transition of crashing waves, the scene changed to the art hotel, their seemingly frozen, eternal gaze on the piano staircase.
A soft chuckle, he couldn’t tell who it was, then Xi Leng’s voice again: “…So, this is the helping hand of a friend?”
The art hotel, magnificent and romantic, beautiful like an illusion. The next second, the bright and beautiful image shattered, turning into butterflies, fluttering away, accompanied by Dr. Jia’s voice, bringing the audience to the gloomy and oppressive Ren’ai Mental Hospital.
Such a stark contrast, like suddenly falling from heaven to hell.
Thick fog, flickering lights, static and snow, Luo Jiayan and Jiang Songnan’s panicked faces as they were dragged away by nurses, Qiaoqiao alone, leaning against the office door, desperately tugging at her pigtails.
The sound of two girls laughing and playing came from a distant, dreamlike place, friendship, dreams, future, talking about everything, their imaginations running wild…
But a group of people in white, with cold metal instruments, entered, the laughter abruptly ending, replaced by desperate screams and cries, begging, pleading, sobbing, “Never give up.”
A familiar painting appeared in the center of the screen, “Ophelia in the Woods,” painstakingly created by Xi Leng.
The painting faded, darkness spreading from the four corners. The clinking of chains brought a new scene, three people forming a stable triangle in the darkness, Qiaoqiao leading her two companions slowly.
In the darkness, the sound of heartbeats, thump, thump, thump, growing louder, turning into visible ripples. After an almost imperceptible creak, the faint outline of the metal locker appeared, Xi Leng frantically pulling Min Zhi inside, closing the door.
The inside of the locker wasn’t visible, but a suggestive dark gap remained on the door, revealing Min Zhi’s fingers, his signature tattoo on his middle finger.
The camera zoomed in.
Keep silent.
As if these were the words he wanted to tell the countless viewers: Shh, keep silent.
Thump, thump, thump…
Their mingled heartbeats, their rapid breathing, every sound was clearly audible, carrying a burning heat, palpable, blowing into the viewers’ ears.
Xi Leng: “…”
This felt a bit like a romantic suspense film.
The comment section exploded with exclamation points, even seasoned fans were more shocked than him.
【Holy shit! Did I just witness Min-ge falling in love?!】
Xi Leng: “?”
