CEFYMA: Chapter 95

In late autumn that was almost early winter, the wind was freezing.

There were two huge French windows on both sides of the warehouse. The light that wasn’t dazzling fell on You Mian’s shoulders.

You Mian was quickly sketching out a preliminary draft of the Star Cup finals sculpture on paper. As he lowered his head, his curly hair gathered up at an angle and blocked the light from falling in his eyes.

The young man’s pair of amber eyes looked extremely serious. Only under a sunny perspective would the little bits of green shine through, as beautiful as a pebble with mottled colors.

In the quiet sculpture room, the screen of the phone that You Mian put on silent mode in his backpack would light up from time to time.

But You Mian was now focused on his sketches, oblivious to the outside world.

It wasn’t until the sunlight started to hit the wall in a slanting manner that the intermittent rustling of pencils in the warehouse finally stopped.

After the preliminary draft was completed, You Mian put away his pencil with a satisfied expression on his face.

The smooth and beautiful piano sound came from the headset. Accompanied by the clear and sweet pure music, You Mian kept reviewing the pencil sketch.

You Mian finally took off the headset when he couldn’t find any corrections.

It was only then that he noticed his phone in his backpack kept lighting up.

But there wasn’t much surprise on You Mian’s face. It was because so many people contacted him in the past two days. There was comfort and encouragement among them.

You Mian opened his phone. He saw that among the contacts who sent messages were friends such as Guan Tong, Fang Xiaofeng, and Liu Hao, who was close in age, as well as elders like Lin Yuqing and Qin Lan.

His brow relaxed. Finally, he started to reply to the text messages that had been ignored.

After replying to everyone except Guan Tong, You Mian finally sent a message to this overly lively child.

The reason for doing this was just because Guan Tong was too excited.

From the first day when the incident was exposed, Guan Tong was so angry that he almost started to argue with those who scolded You Mian on Weibo using his account that had millions of fans.

In the end, You Mian finally stopped the other person by calling him.

Guan Tong was like a lively little firecracker, sparing no effort to help You Mian change public opinion.

You Mian was wrapped in this frank kindness. He wanted to rub Guan Tong’s head like he did before, but he couldn’t do it because reality didn’t allow it.

Sure enough, the moment You Mian’s reply was sent, Guan Tong suddenly called him.

“Honey?” The loud sound of car horns came from Guan Tong’s phone. You Mian sat in the quiet sculpture room and hummed. Then he asked, “Are you outside?”

Guan Tong smiled mysteriously when he heard this. “That’s right.”

Doubts rose in You Mian’s heart.

Guan Tong didn’t continue to keep him in suspense and said with a smile, “I am preparing to conduct an outdoor live stream to give benefits to fans. After all, the third episode will be aired soon.”

You Mian understood and said with gentle eyes, “Pay attention to safety.”

Guan Tong seemed to be walking. His voice stopped for a few seconds before he spoke again. “By the way, Honey. I saw that the official website of the Star Cup has started selling tickets for the finals. I happen to be free in November. I will go to the venue to support you.”

You Mian’s eyes fell on the sketch on his knees. “Okay.”

Guan Tong laughed. “Don’t worry. I must be your best support!”

The moment the words ‘best support’ appeared, Guan Tong suddenly changed his eyes. “No, I should be the number two support. There is someone else with the title of best.”

Guan Tong’s voice was laughing and contained a bit of cute teasing.

You Mian was stunned for a moment before smiling helplessly. He pinched his neck , tired from being lowered for a long time, and asked, “Who?”

Guan Tong made a sound as if complaining about You Mian’s doubts at this moment. “Of course, it is Chairman Pei!”

You Mian was slightly stunned. Then he laughed in a soft and helpless manner.

He didn’t speak, but the young man seemed to have already agreed with Guan Tong’s words in his heart.

Guan Tong said in a lively manner, “The matter of Chairman Pei and Xiuming terminating their cooperation was on the hot search, but it was suppressed after a short time.”

You Mian immediately frowned when he heard this. “Terminate the cooperation?”

“Yes, there is a lot of speculation online. Many business analysts have given up on them.”

You Mian frowned before saying softly, “I didn’t look at my phone.”

He hadn’t paid attention to the turmoil on the Internet since posting on Weibo last night. Judging from Pei Huaiji’s performance tonight, it was impossible to tell that such a big thing was happening at the same time.

You Mian knew how intricate the cooperation between the two companies was. The word ‘termination’ was easy to say but involved a lot.

Unexpectedly, JL actually terminated the cooperation with Xiuming. Was it because of himself?

You Mian’s mind was filled with complicated thoughts, but Guan Tong’s voice continued to ring in his ears.

“There are many internal staff members of Xiuming who have posted gossip on the Internet. It is said that their chairman is very angry.”

You Mian heard this and couldn’t help putting away his thoughts. He wanted to sneer.

The next second, Guan Tong was heard cursing the words he didn’t have time to say.

“He deserves it!” Guan Tong said with a laugh.

Guan Tong’s only feeling about this matter was ‘refreshing,’ but You Mian thought deeper than him.

Xiuming was originally a listed company that advertised itself as a high-end show brand. It was extremely dependent on investors’ funds. Once its reputation was damaged, the blow they would face would be devastating.

This was why Xiuming’s public relations team had always been very famous throughout Huajiang City.

You Mian realized that Xiuming was at the end of their rope. Without other subsequent financial support, it would be difficult for them to survive this crisis.

Now with the news of Xiuming’s stock price falling, the entire Huajiang City business district must be trembling.

JL’s move to withdraw its investment was like a weather vane. People who didn’t know the inside story would just follow as always, believing in Pei Huaiji’s vision. They would withdraw their investment or switch to other brands one after another.

So at this moment, the reputable people of Huajiang City must be avoiding getting more involved with You Jiyuan.

You Mian hung up the phone and looked up at the giant, elevated structure in front of him.

These things had long been unable to stir up trouble in You Mian’s heart. He now had much more important things to do than these annoyances.

You Mian looked up with a determined gaze.

He had a bigger stage.

—

The bright and spacious boxing gym was filled with the sound of thumping.

The tall, muscular man stood naked under the boxing ring and vigorously hit the punching bag hanging in front of him.

Huo Yanzhi didn’t hesitate to take action. His stern eyebrows and strong muscles were arrogantly saying that he was in an extremely irritable mood at this moment. He didn’t want anyone to disturb him.

Huo Yanzhi punched the sandbag harder than ever before. It was with such force that he could punch through the sandbag in front of him.

The trainer was standing not far from him with arms folded across his chest. He was looking at Huo Yanzhi with a sad face.

Huo Yanzhi had been in this state for a long time.

He couldn’t vent the pent-up emotions in his heart. At first, he just stayed in the venue to hit the sandbag for half an hour after training every day. But now, instead of getting better, the situation got worse and worse until it almost affected normal training.

The middle-aged trainer approached Huo Yanzhi when he finished hitting another set of sandbags and was bending over to pick up a water bottle and fill it with water.

“How are you today? Start in the boxing ring in the afternoon? I have chosen your opponent.”

Huo Yanzhi pinched the water bottle with great strength. His rough eyebrows furrowed, and his hormones were almost exploding from him.

The depressed mood made it difficult for him to sleep these days. The trainer’s question at this moment made Huo Yanzhi frown uncontrollably.

He replied in a hoarse voice, “I’m not ready yet.”

Huo Yanzhi’s forehead was hot, and his expression looked strange.

“Then I’ll postpone it first?”

Huo Yanzhi said sullenly, “Yes.”

The trainer suddenly squinted. He stepped forward quickly and put his hand on the other person’s forehead for a test. Then his prediction came true and he hurriedly said, “Don’t you know that you have a fever?”

The trainer immediately made a stop gesture. “Go to the hospital with me right now. Your condition is too wrong.”

Huo Yanzhi shook off the trainer’s arm. “It is just an ordinary fever. I checked it before I came. It didn’t exceed 38 degrees.”

Huo Yanzhi’s attitude was resolute. The trainer brought a thermometer and checked that it really wasn’t over 38 degrees.

“Then it is time for you to rest,” the trainer said solemnly.

Huo Yanzhi saw from the trainer’s expression that it was impossible for him to continue fighting here today, so he put on his coat, placed a backpack on his left shoulder, and walked out.

Huo Yanzhi put his coat and hat on his head. The tall man walked out of the boxing gym indifferently. Unexpectedly, he saw someone outside the door whom he never thought he would meet here.

Huo Yanzhi walked slowly down the steps. His eyes were puzzled for a moment. He lowered his eyes and asked coldly, “Yan Tingxuan, why are you here?”

Yan Tingxuan stood under the tree in a brown coat. From the cigarette butts scattered on the ground, it could be seen that the other person had been waiting for a long time.

Huo Yanzhi furrowed his brow in disgust. “What are you doing? Looking for me?”

Yan Tingxuan heard Huo Yanzhi’s very strong nasal sound. He said with a gloating smile, “You are quite embarrassed.”

Once Huo Yanzhi heard this, he pursed his lips and held down his hat, showing an extremely cold aura.

He glanced at the cigarette butts scattered at Yan Tingxuan’s feet and the cigarette that had just been lit up between Yan Tingxuan’s fingers. He shot back, “You aren’t much better.”

Yan Tingxuan narrowed his eyes. His eyes were blurry behind the gold-rimmed lenses.

“You also forwarded that Weibo post,” Yan Tingxuan’s words weren’t a question but a statement.

It seemed that they were looking for a way to start a topic that both of them knew well at the moment.

Huo Yanzhi sighed mercilessly. “After all, my father doesn’t care much about me.”

Yan Tingxuan’s eyes were fierce. He threw the cigarette burning between his fingers at his feet. Then he stepped on it with the toe of his leather shoe.

“No more beating around the bush.” Yan Tingxuan got straight to the point. “Have you contacted him?”

“Or…”

“Did you apply to be his friend?”

Huo Yanzhi glanced over coldly. Of course not.

Yan Tingxuan observed Huo Yanzhi’s expression before smiling after a few seconds. He was in a hurry to seek medical advice.

If You Mian hadn’t accepted him then he naturally wouldn’t have accepted Huo Yanzhi.

What type of slim hope was he holding onto?

Huo Yanzhi asked, “What? Did you think he would accept me?”

Yan Tingxuan turned around. He was about to leave but threw out one more sentence. “I saw that you were quite confident in the show before. It seems like you were just happy in vain.”

Huo Yanzhi’s surging emotions in recent days reached its peak when Yan Tingxuan provoked him.

Yan Tingxuan seemed to have sorted out his emotions toward You Mian early on, but Huo Yanzhi was different. He was slow and stubborn, just like the other person scolded him. Now he was like a dog wagging his tail and begging for mercy, but was blocked at the door.

Huo Yanzhi hadn’t expected that he would be the one to wake up the latest.

He watched the episodes of the show dozens of times, pausing, replaying, and reflecting on every frame.

It turned out he had been kicked out so early.

But Huo Yanzhi only belatedly felt the pain now.

“Do you think it is too late?” Yan Tingxuan snorted. “You can’t even find where he lives now, right?”

Huo Yanzhi grabbed Yan Tingxuan’s collar, his eyes twisted viciously.

“What position do you have to say these things to me? Don’t you feel the same way?” Huo Yanzhi shook this person again and watched Yan Tingxuan almost fall to the ground in embarrassment. He said with happiness and pain, “In any case, he will never forgive you.”

He will never forgive me, nor should he forgive me.

The moment Huo Yanzhi saw the surveillance video of Bai Lin breaking into the sculpture room and smashing the works, he was at a loss as if he had been smashed by a heavy hammer.

The blank and helpless emotions completely engulfed him.

Was Bai Lin such a person in the past? Did he stand beside such a person in the past and stayed away from You Mian?

Regret and sadness rushed into his brain together. The intense pain made Huo Yanzhi almost retch in front of the computer.

He went crazy looking at all the oil paintings and sculptures that You Mian had created before.

Then he found that he no longer had the heart and soul tremor as before.

It was as if a road was closed. Huo Yanzhi lost the miraculous supporting powers, leaving only nothingness and blankness.

Huo Yanzhi lay in the bathroom and vomited until he almost lost consciousness.

Huo Yanzhi didn’t dare to think carefully about whether the person he hated was Bai Lin or his own actions.

Yan Tingxuan looked Huo Yanzhi up and down. “I now understand how You Mian felt when he looked at me.”

Huo Yanzhi lowered his eyes silently.

Yan Tingxuan smiled very gently, but his words were extremely cruel.

“It turns out that the way the perpetrator looks when begging for forgiveness is so disgusting.”

“No wonder he kicked me that way and told me to get out.”

Huo Yanzhi pursed his lips. He raised his hand and hit Yan Tingxuan’s nose hard, making a loud bang.

Yan Tingxuan wasn’t to be outdone, so he also grabbed Huo Yanzhi’s collar and hit him.

In the fierce scuffle, neither of them could hold back their strength. The punches hit flesh, and there seemed to be the sound of bones breaking. The faces of the two men looked so fierce that it really seemed like they would kill each other. They were in a state of utter embarrassment.

The first snowfall of winter in Huajiang City fell at this moment in an untimely manner.

Yan Tingxuan’s glasses were smashed off. The snowflakes fell slightly on the broken lenses.

He saw in his tear-filled eyes that Huo Yanzhi seemed to be crying too.

In this first snow, they were heartbroken and crying for the same person, who would never be possible again.

White Lily

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