HTI: Chapter 14

Xie Yang asked Qiu Xing to borrow the Century membership. Qiu Xing didn’t reply but He Jun called a few minutes later to indicate the box had been arranged properly. Xie Yang thanked him and hung up. Then he sent the box number to Hu Biao, Ke Lan and Tong Jian, asking them to come talk.

Hu Biao came in a rush.

“What the hell is going on?” Hu Biao sat on the big sofa in the middle of the meeting room and stared at the three rebellious little brothers lined up opposite him. “Tell me clearly! Tong Jian first!”

Tong Jian nervously straightened his back and glanced between Ke Lan and Xie Yang before saying, “Just, that is, Brother Lan and I don’t want Yang Yang to get the blame for the breakup. He is still young…’

“Yet he has big ideas!” Hu Biao hit the sofa, his anxiety and surprise turning into raging anger. “I have been busy contacting the company, contacting the media and appeasing the fans but all of you are doing things behind my back. Isn’t that right?”

Xie Yang interjected. “Brother Biao, do you know why you can’t be a first-class agent valued by the company?”

Hu Biao raised his eyebrows. “What did you say?”

“It is because you can’t control your temper and your thoughts are too kind and naive. In fact, you are actually Buddha, thinking of universal treatment for all living things.”

“…Cough.” Tong Jian suppressed his laugh.”

“……”

Hu Biao shouted angrily, “Xie Yang!”

Xie Yang felt that Hu Biao’s current state wasn’t conducive for communication. He looked sideways at Ke Lan sitting on the single person chair and motioned for him to appease Hu Biao. Ke Lan nodded, got up and sat next to Hu Biao.

The waiter brought refreshments and fruits. Xie Yang called Tong Jian to the side and as he ate the fruit, he pulled out some well-arranged songs and asked Tong Jian to pick one. Tong Jian was pleasantly surprised. “You want to give me a song?”

“Yes, I’m going to give you a single that will grab the heat of IUD’s fifth anniversary.”

Tong Jian was so crazily excited that he reached out in a desire to hug Xie Yang. “Yang Yang, you really are—”

“Don’t you dare try and touch me.”

Tong Jian braked in time and turned to the sheet music, shaking his head. “I won’t touch, I won’t touch. Yang Yang, you slowly eat while I first look at the songs.”

Xie Yang stopped his defensive gesture and forked up a melon to his mouth.

Half an hour later, Hu Biao finally calmed down and came over with Ke Lan to find Xie Yang and Tong Jian.

Tong Jian had chosen a song. Although he might be naive about the world, he was very sensitive and professional when it came to singing. Out of all the songs, he chose the one most suitable for his tone and style. Xie Yang was very satisfied.

Hu Biao walked in front of Xie Yang, his expression deep and solemn. “Xie Yang, are you really going to start a company?”

Xie Yang nodded.

Hu Biao asked sharply, “What capital do you have to start a company?”

He couldn’t talk with Hu Biao about his business. Xie Yang just took out a black card from his wallet and said, “There is 200 million in here.”

“……”

Hu Biao dug at his ears. “How much did you say?”

“200 million.”

Hu Biao stared at him in a speechless manner.

Xie Yang carefully drew the big picture. “Brother Biao, now the artists are ready-made and the start-up funds are ready-made. I can also create resources for the artists myself. Everyone still has feelings for you after several years. I am convinced that if you come to me, you will be an elder of the company and can lie down to succeed.”

Hu Biao was moved but…

Ke Lan’s phone suddenly rang. He glanced at it and looked up. “Chenhao messaged me. He said he bought a plane ticket for tonight and will be in B City tomorrow. He asked where we can meet.”

Xie Yang stared at Hu Biao. Ke Lan and Tong Jian also stared at Hu Biao.

“…You cubs!” Hu Biao exhaled fiercely and gritted his teeth. “I’ll do it! I brought you out and I’ll take you with me to fight again!”

Tong Jian cheered and Ke Lan clapped. Xie Yang also smiled and patted Hu Biao on the shoulder. “You won’t regret it.”

The four people once again sat down on the big sofa in the meeting room and Hu Biao analyzed the situation for everyone. “The company wants to protect IUD but Mo Bin is engaging in such a thing. The company is actually very dissatisfied. They talked to him a few times and stopped a few of his activities but Mo Bin is acting silly. No one can talk to him.”

Ke Lan calmly speculated, “He might’ve found his next home. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be so unbridled.”

Hu Biao nodded grimly. “Yes, that’s my guess as well. I was worried about your development and didn’t want IUD to disperse, so I couldn’t force Mo Bin too much. I was afraid that he would really leave. But now… I want to ask. Do you really want to break up?”

Ke Lan and Tong Jian glanced at each other before Ke Lan answered, “Brother Biao, IUD can’t be complete anymore. It is better to disperse like this. In addition, Xie Yang is still young and he’s so excellent. He shouldn’t be dragged down by us.”

“I understand.” Hu Biao’s voice was solemn. “Tong Jian, Ke Lan, if you don’t renew your contract then I suggest you talk to the company in advance. After all, it was the company who let you debut. It is easy to meet in the future and you should look after feelings. As for Xie Yang, wait for them to talk with the company about disbanding and then suggest terminating the contract. I will talk to the company and they won’t force you to stay.”

“Brother Biao.”’

Hu Biao shook his head, expression lost and bitter as he sighed. “I can’t believe IUD is scattering in my hands.”

Ke Lan and Tong Jian were silent.

“In any case, be mentally prepared.” Hu Biao quickly cheered up and continued to analyze things. “If you tear apart your surface relationship with Mo Bin, you will definitely have to fight against public opinion. In addition, if you don’t renew the contract and with Mo Bin making all this trouble, the company is likely to cancel your fifth anniversary performance. When the time comes—”

“I’ll pay privately for IUD’s memorial concert.” Xie Yang interjected.

Hu Biao glanced at Xie Yang and the last of his worries disappeared. He hit his thigh and exclaimed, “I’m relieved with this sentence! Once Chenhao returns tomorrow, you will concentrate on preparing for the concert. I’ll do the other things for you!”

***

Rongding.

Qiu Xing closed his laptop and frowned at the fish food in front of him.

He Jun watched him silently.

Qiu Xing slowly reached out, dipped his finger into some fish food and brought it to his lips.

He Jun took a step forward. “Boss, don’t—”

Qiu Xing closed his eyes and placed his finger in his mouth. After staying still for two seconds, he turned his head and spat out all the fish food. He took the water from He Jun and gargled it before speaking. “What is so delicious about this time? Remembering bitter sweetness… What normal person would eat this? Is the Xie family so poor that they would give their children fish food?”

He Jun couldn’t answer.

Qiu Xing became angrier the more he thought about it. He opened the computer, saw Hu Biao and the others discussing things and tapped a finger on the table as he ordered, “Go and have the manager give them something delicious to eat. I’d like to teach the country bumpkin who eats fish food about what delicious food really is!”

He Jun, “……”

***

Xie Yang received compensation for the last circuit failure one day after it happened—a pile of snacks. He looked at the manager and asked, “Is this really compensation?”

The manager replied, “Of course. We really feel bad for the bad dining experience we gave you last time.”

Xie Yang glanced silently at the four corners of the meeting room and received the snacks. Then after the manager left, he grabbed his phone and sent Qiu Xing a red envelope worth one yuan.

Bang!

Qiu Xing slammed his phone on the table.

***

After discussing the matter, Hu Biao invited everyone to dinner but Xie Yang refused.

Hu Biao wondered, “Why are you so anxious to leave? You just started your senior year and there are no classes. You alone… wait, are you in love?”

“No.” He was just married.

Hu Biao was relieved and left him with a few more words. Seeing that he couldn’t really keep Xie Yang, he let this person go.

There was a traffic jam on the way back. Although Xie Yang headed back before 5 o’clock, by the time the car entered the gate of the community, the hour hand had mercilessly skipped past 7 o’clock.

Wu Shui blamed himself. “It is my fault. It would’ve been better if I took the detour.”

“A traffic jam isn’t something you can calculate—wait, Qiu Xing hasn’t left yet.”

He saw Qiu Xing’s car slowly appear from the fork in front of them. Wu Shui’s spirit was refreshed and he turned the steering wheel to head to Qiu Xing’s car.

The two cars met on the road and stopped separately. Xie Yang picked up the snacks brought back from the club and walked to the door of Qiu Xing’s car. He bent over and knocked on the window.

The window lowered, revealing Qiu Xing’s cold face.

“What is it?”

Xie Yang raised the snack box in his hand. “I packed this for you. I asked the waiter and he said the ingredients are fine. Even those who need to be careful about their diet can eat it directly.”

Qiu Xing looked at him. “No need.” as he spoke, he prepared to raise the car window.

Xie Yang quickly threw the snacks in.

Qiu Xing’s face was dark. “I said no—”

“It is as if I had dinner with you.” Xie Yang backed away and waved. “Have a safe journey. Go early and return early.”

“…So perfunctory.”

Qiu Xing pressed the snacks under his hand and straightened his cuffs. He stated, “I will stop in M Country and Y Country for a few days on this business trip. Perhaps I might bring some specialty products back… is there anything you want?”

Liu Sha, who was accompanying Qiu Xing on the business trip, glanced sideways at Qiu Xing.

Xie Yang asked, “Are you going to bring me a gift? Can it be discounted directly?”

“……” Qiu Xing raised the window and let Zhou Miao spray exhaust on Xie Yang’s face.

The next afternoon, Xu Chenhao landed in B City in a low-key manner and met Xie Yang at Century.

Xu Chenhao’s appearance wasn’t as bright as the other three IUD members but his temperament was outstanding and he spoke well. After a brief chat with Xie Yang, he directly said, “I will arrange the place where you practice songs and record. I can also help you after your company is established but I will only work behind the scenes. I won’t go to the stage in the future.”

Xie Yang asked, “Have you decided?”

“I’ve decided.” Xu Chenhao smiled shallowly. “The prosperity in front of the stage is easy to dazzle the eyes. If I stay there all the time then I might never be able to write a good song again. In addition, Tong Jian and Ke Lan are still there. I am satisfied watching them and seeing them do what they like.”