Ren Bai looked at him and shook his head.
It wasn’t until the two of them entered the elevator and saw that he still hadn’t moved that Ren Bai sighed and said, “Qi Taihua is really a beast, pushing someone to this point.” But there was nothing they could do. In the entertainment industry, this big muddy pool, many people were helpless. Even Yu Shiqing had only just escaped the fire pit.
When they got downstairs, Ren Bai saw the staff member named Le Yang walking over, holding a cardboard box. He guessed it must be Yu Shiqing’s trophies and certificates. He quickly took the box and smiled. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” Le Yang replied. “Goodbye, Brother Yu, Brother Ren!”
“Goodbye?” Ren Bai glanced around the grand lobby of Huaze, let out a long sigh, and laughed loudly. “It should be goodbye forever!”
After speaking, he saw Yu Shiqing already walking a few steps ahead, so he didn’t continue talking to Le Yang and quickly caught up.
Yu Shiqing walked out of the Huaze building, facing the cold light of the setting sun. It was a dry and chilly winter day. As soon as Ren Bai stepped outside, a gust of wind made him shiver.
But even with thick clouds and sudden winds, Yu Shiqing slowly walked down the steps.
His heart, at that moment, was calm.
The heavy chains on his shoulders finally fell away.
Feeling that long-lost lightness, he realized he still cared.
Their car was still parked by the road, looking small in the distance.
Ren Bai asked him, “Yu Shiqing, do you want to look back?”
“No.” Yu Shiqing’s smile was always faint, but this time, that light smile reached his eyes. “Let’s look ahead.”
Ren Bai walked beside him and glanced at his side profile, which looked no different than usual. But somehow, when he saw the curve of Yu Shiqing’s lips, his eyes began to sting. He lowered his head to adjust the box and fell a step behind, hiding the emotion on his face.
Yu Shiqing’s voice came from in front of him.
“Ren Bai.”
Ren Bai pretended to be normal. “Yeah?”
“These years… you’ve had a hard time.”
Ren Bai looked at that upright back. From that year to this one, he had always watched that figure carry those heavy chains day after day.
He had actually wanted to ask long ago:
Yu Shiqing, was it hard for you?
Even now, he still wanted to ask.
Or maybe just say one simple thing:
Not as hard as it was for you.
But he was afraid that the moment he opened his mouth, Yu Shiqing would hear the years of pain he had kept inside.
Ren Bai tightened his grip on the box again and again, but even so, his vision began to blur.
Hearing the short, broken breathing behind him, Yu Shiqing paused slightly.
He still didn’t turn back and simply said,
“Let’s go home.”
Ren Bai bit his trembling lips. He couldn’t speak, so he nodded hard.
“Okay!”
Once they got in the car, Ren Bai didn’t say a word. He placed the box on the passenger seat, started the engine, and turned the wheel onto the main road.
His presence felt heavy. Jiang Yu frowned slightly and looked at Yu Shiqing.
Yu Shiqing smiled. “Did you wait long?”
Jiang Yu could never read his emotions from his face, so he asked directly, “Did you terminate the contract?”
Yu Shiqing replied, “Yes.”
Then… what about Ren Bai?
Jiang Yu accidentally saw Ren Bai’s red-rimmed eyes through the rearview mirror. He understood and said instead, “Congratulations.”
Yu Shiqing smiled and looked at him. “I still have to thank you.”
Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow. “You’ve said that a lot. Aren’t you afraid I’ll take advantage of that?”
Yu Shiqing thought for a moment. “Even if you did, it would be fair.”
Jiang Yu paused. He was quiet for a moment, trying to think how to respond.
Seeing the conversation die down, Ren Bai said, “It’s already this late. Why don’t we find an office to go over the contract first?”
When Yu Shiqing and Jiang Yu didn’t object, he deliberately took a detour and found a place far from Huaze.
After reading the contract, Ren Bai was finally at ease. But by the time they returned home, it was already getting dark.
So, he invited Jiang Yu to stay for dinner before leaving.
“I’ll cook myself,” Ren Bai said. “I promise it’ll taste great!”
The drama had just wrapped up two days ago, and Ren Bai had already stocked Yu Shiqing’s fridge, so it came in handy today.
It was hard to turn down such hospitality, Jiang Yu thought.
Once they arrived at Yu Shiqing’s place, Ren Bai hadn’t even had time to sit down and rest before his phone started ringing.
He answered, said just a few words, then his expression changed in surprise and he became serious.
After hanging up, he looked at Yu Shiqing, still confused. “What’s going on? Someone just asked about your signing intentions.”
Yu Shiqing asked, “Which company?”
Ren Bai gave a name. It was a fairly well-known agency. Then he frowned. “Could it be a scam call?”
Yu Shiqing said, “Unlikely.”
Ren Bai nodded, then suddenly had an idea. He took out his phone again, and his face quickly turned speechless.
“I knew it,” he said to Yu Shiqing. “You’re trending again.”
Being on the hot search had happened so often recently that he wasn’t even excited anymore. He was almost used to it.
But when he saw the headline, he was a little surprised.
#YuShiqing suspected to have terminated contract with Huaze#
Ren Bai frowned. “How did Liu Mingguang’s secret get leaked?”
He clicked on the post and saw that it happened when he was carrying the cardboard box—someone had secretly taken photos again.
And it was the same marketing account as before.
Morning Gossip V:
#Fan Submission# #YuShiqing suspected to have terminated contract with Huaze#
Amid rumors of the parking lot incident, Yu Shiqing appeared at the Huaze building for the first time, followed by his agent. They stayed less than fifteen minutes before leaving together.
According to sources, the agent was holding a box with Yu Shiqing’s trophies, which have now been removed from the “Art Hall.”
There were four photos attached.
The first two showed the two entering and exiting Huaze; the last two were “Art Hall” comparison shots before and after.
Yu Shiqing’s section, once in the most visible spot, had now been cleared, obviously empty.
The post blew up. Not only were Qi Taihua’s fans going crazy, but gossip-loving netizens were also drawn in.
“Huaze just said the fight was a misunderstanding, and now they’ve cut ties with Yu Shiqing? Smells fishy!”
“OMG, does that mean Yu Shiqing did hit someone? Wow, who would’ve thought such a good-looking guy was violent.”
“He terminated his contract with Huaze? Isn’t his career basically over now? If even Huaze couldn’t support him, who else can?”
“Don’t support violent guys anymore. Who knows who he’ll hit next! [dog head emoji]”
The marketing account followed up quickly:
“Private deal? After hitting someone, Yu Shiqing quietly leaves Huaze, rumored to have terminated his contract.”
“Once a five-time best actor, now quietly exiting. Dubbed a box office poison, where will Yu Shiqing go next?”
Meanwhile, the “quietly exiting” Yu Shiqing was being tightly held by Ren Bai.
“Another one!” Ren Bai’s phone kept ringing. He didn’t even have time to look at Weibo anymore.
“What do we do? It’s endless!”
Yu Shiqing said, “You can turn off your phone.”
Ren Bai replied, “How could I? These are all potential opportunities!”
But after answering seven calls in a row, he finally set up an auto-reply message and turned on airplane mode while drinking water.
In just that time, when he reopened the hot search, the rankings had already changed.
Furious fans of Qi Taihua, believing their idol was wronged at Huaze, had quickly pushed two more hashtags to the top:
#Huaze come explain#
#YuShiqing get out of showbiz#
Ren Bai clicked into Yu Shiqing’s trending topic and saw the page full of fans angrily criticizing him.
“Has that violent freak Yu Shiqing been kicked out of showbiz yet?”
“Why does hitting someone only result in a contract termination? Get out and apologize!”
“Ughhh I’m so mad!! Qi Taihua got hit and still had to help Huaze cover it up??? Imagine how he feels—Yu Shiqing can go die!!”
The comments were getting worse and more out of control.
Ren Bai’s heart sank, just as another ringtone rang out.
He was startled. “Wait, my phone’s on airplane mode.”
Then he realized it was Yu Shiqing’s phone ringing.
He glanced at the caller ID and asked, “Why is it him?”
Jiang Yu also looked over.
Wang Ling.
The omega that Yu Shiqing saved?
He raised his eyes to look at Yu Shiqing again, his gaze dark.
Yu Shiqing had already answered the call.
Ren Bai leaned over and turned on speaker.
Wang Ling’s voice came through right away.
“Brother Yu, I saw the hot search. I’m sorry.”
Yu Shiqing said, “I told you, you don’t need to apologize to me.”
There was a short silence.
Then Wang Ling asked, “Brother Yu… will it be hard?”
The question came out of nowhere. Ren Bai was still wondering what he meant when Yu Shiqing responded.
“It will be hard.”
Wang Ling was stunned, then quietly said, “Even now, you still won’t lie to me?”
Yu Shiqing replied, “I only hope you won’t regret your choice.”
Wang Ling gave a bitter laugh. “I understand.”
The call ended.
Ren Bai immediately searched Wang Ling’s Weibo.
At that exact moment, a new post appeared.
Wang Ling V:
It was very hard to make this decision.
But for the first time, someone told me I could choose my own life.
The so-called parking lot incident was Qi Taihua sexually harassing me, and Yu Shiqing, a stranger, stepped in to help.
From yesterday to today, I’ve felt grateful to Brother Yu and ashamed of how I hid like a coward.
If I could go back, I wouldn’t let others control me. I would speak the truth from the start.
I’m sorry for the negative impact I caused him, and I’m sorry I didn’t stand up sooner to set a good example for my fans.
From now on, I’ll let fate decide but I won’t regret it.
Thank you.
The moment the post went live, the internet exploded.
The gossip crowd was stunned and excited.
“Qi Taihua?? Sexual harassment?? Oh my god!!!”
