"I understand." Song Nian took the contract back and stood up from the sofa. When she looked up again, she regained the confident smile that an actress should have. "I struggled for a long time before coming here today. But I don't regret it."
After Song Nian left, Zhou Ziheng immediately called Jiang Yin.
"Sister-in-law, help me check Song Nian's team. I want to know which investors they are in contact with now." Thinking of what Song Nian said before, Zhou Ziheng spoke again, "Also, if there are any media reports about Xia Xiqing's private life recently, please help me with the public relations."
Just as he finished speaking, Xia Xiqing pushed the door open and asked, "Why is Xiao Luo standing outside..."
Seeing this, Zhou Ziheng hung up the phone.
"When did you buy these foods?" Xia Xiqing sat down, cut a small piece of cake with a fork and put it into his mouth, "I'm really a little hungry."
Zhou Ziheng smiled and sat next to him, without saying anything, silently taking his left hand.
The two of them rested in the lounge for a while and prepared to leave the TV station. Xia Xiqing's phone rang again, he hung up, turned to Zhou Ziheng and said, "I have something important to deal with, you go home first."
Zhou Ziheng nodded, his mind full of what Song Nian had said before. If he stayed with Xia Xiqing in this state, he would definitely discover something.
"It just so happens that I have to go to the company as well."
The two of them went their separate ways. A large group of fans gathered downstairs of the TV station, and they finally waited for their idol to show up, but Zhou Ziheng was the only one there.
"Why did Hengheng come down alone?"
"Yes, where is Brother Xiqing?"
Zhou Ziheng got into the car with a smile, "Your brother Xiqing has something to do and has to leave first." After the car door closed, he waved from inside as a farewell to his fans.
After returning to the company, Zhou Ziheng went straight to Jiang Yin's office. Jiang Yin, who had just finished a conference call, came back from the meeting room and saw Zhou Ziheng. She immediately understood the seriousness of the situation.
"Since Song Nian said so, she must have heard some rumors." Zhou Ziheng sorted out his thoughts, "She doesn't have any backing, and she didn't have many film contracts before. This means that at least before this, Song Nian didn't have any sponsor behind her, or her sponsor was not very powerful."
He looked at Jiang Yin, "You have contacts in many media outlets, but even you didn't get wind of this explosive news that exposed the sexual orientation of a popular actor, but Song Nian knew about it."
Jiang Yin crossed her fingers and placed them under her chin. "What if she is lying?"
"I thought about this when she said it. First, she was very sincere when she expressed it, and second, she really didn't need to." Zhou Ziheng breathed a sigh of relief. "If she just wanted to use the matter between me and Xia Xiqing to cheat me into becoming a contract couple, she could have just threatened me directly. This approach is too unsafe. If I sign a contract with her, but no homosexual news is exposed later, what she said will be automatically exposed. Few people would do such a stupid thing."
"So," Zhou Ziheng expressed his conjecture, "I think the only reasonable possibility for Song Nian to tip off is that the person who attempted to create this riot and the person who attempted to support Song Nian are the same person. Song Nian must have accidentally learned the news at a dinner party or some other opportunity, and then came to tell me."
Although Jiang Yin knew that her brother-in-law was smart, she was still a little surprised this time. She originally thought that Zhou Ziheng would be overwhelmed by his emotions when he encountered Xia Xiqing's matter, which was always a concern of her. However, his careful thinking made Jiang Yin have to admit that she had indeed underestimated Zhou Ziheng.
"I will ask someone to investigate this, but if it is really as Song Nian said, there will be movement in the next two days, and it may be too late for me to investigate."
Zhou Ziheng frowned and thought, and was silent for a few seconds before speaking, "I have an idea."
"you say."
"There are always reasonable motives for man-made things. If reporters took some photos of me and Xia Xiqing, they would release them for profit, so before actually leaking the photos or videos, they would definitely contact the parties involved. If the parties involved are willing to pay a high price to buy the evidence, their purpose would be achieved. But no one has contacted you now."
"This means that the media didn't discover this first." Jiang Yin quickly understood what Zhou Ziheng meant. "If the media really filmed something, they would contact us first, not any other financial sponsor or investor, so..."
Zhou Ziheng said confidently, "So the media didn't capture anything at all. It was just someone who knew the inside story who was interfering."
The scope was shortened all of a sudden, and Zhou Ziheng had almost confirmed in his mind who was the suspect causing the trouble.
"Wei Min is a scumbag who refuses to repent." Zhou Ziheng clenched his fists tightly, "I should have beaten him to death in the first place."
"Don't act rashly." Jiang Yin was thinking about a way out. "If things are the same as we analyzed, the media should not have any solid evidence of you and Xia Xiqing. This will make things easier. I'll go check if Wei Min has any relationship with Song Nian's team recently." After saying that, Jiang Yin started making phone calls one by one.
When thinking about it again, Zhou Ziheng hesitated again. If Wei Min was really the mastermind, how could he dare to touch him.
In an instant, Song Nian's words emerged again.
[You are the second son of the Zhou family and no one dares to touch you, but have you ever thought about Xia Xiqing? In the entertainment industry, being rich is nothing, only powerful people have a golden bell cover.]
Jiang Yin has been in the circle for so many years and has countless informants.
"Don't worry, you help me this time. If you want to find me for something next time, I, Jiang Yin, will definitely not refuse." Seeing his sister-in-law hanging up the phone with a smile, the smile on her face instantly turned into a cold expression, and Zhou Ziheng understood.
"Wei Min really wants to support Song Nian recently. She didn't lie."
After hearing Jiang Yin's words, Zhou Ziheng stood up immediately.
"You are not allowed to go to him now." Jiang Yin shouted, "Since Wei Min dared to mess with you, he must have been prepared. He must have been holding a grudge against you for a long time because of the last time you beat him up. If he plants a reporter now and then provokes you, you will be the one on the headlines."
"I don't want to look for him." Zhou Ziheng turned around, "I want to look for Xia Xiqing."
Jiang Yin sighed, "Xia Xiqing is a troublesome matter. Although he is Xia Yunkai's son, online public opinion is something that cannot be suppressed by money. Sometimes even power cannot suppress it."
Zhou Ziheng didn't say anything, his mind was full of countermeasures.
"I will contact Wei Min on your behalf to see if he has any terms of compromise."
Zhou Ziheng felt sick at the thought of compromising with someone like Wei Min, but he didn't want Xia Xiqing to get hurt.
After a long silence, Zhou Ziheng whispered thank you and left Jiang Yin's office.
It was already 11 o'clock in the evening when Zhou Ziheng returned home. He pressed the doorbell opposite but no one answered. He turned on his cell phone and found that he had received a message from Xia Xiqing.
[Little Rose: I have something important to do today, so I might be back very late. Go to sleep first. We still have a commercial shoot tomorrow. Good night.]
On weekdays, Zhou Ziheng didn't ask much about Xia Xiqing's work. He seemed to be busy recently and was often not at home.
His birthday is coming soon. In the past, as long as he was not on the crew, Zhou Ziheng would be called back to Xishan by his parents on his birthday. But this is his first birthday with Xia Xiqing, and Zhou Ziheng wants to spend it with him no matter what.
I fell asleep without realizing it and fell into a deep dream.
In the dream, Xia Xiqing was pushing a huge cake towards him.
He put his arms around his neck as usual, smiled in a rogue manner, and kissed him.
This dream was so real that Zhou Ziheng could almost feel the touch of the kiss exactly. It was long, moist, and carried the familiar scent of Xia Xiqing.
"Why are you sleeping so soundly..."
Zhou Ziheng frowned and opened his eyes with difficulty, and saw Xia Xiqing's beautiful peach blossom eyes.
"Awake?" Xia Xiqing, who was lying on top of him, smiled like a successful little fox, lowered her head and kissed his lips hard, "What kind of dream did you have that makes you so reluctant to wake up?"
Zhou Ziheng rubbed his eyes, put his arms around Xia Xiqing's waist, and buried his head in his neck, "I dreamed about you." Xia Xiqing was still wearing yesterday's clothes, and the perfume on his body already showed a warm aftertaste.
He didn't come back all night.
"Why are you acting like a child?" Xia Xiqing touched Zhou Ziheng's head, then turned over and slept next to Zhou Ziheng, sighing tiredly, "I'm so tired, hug me."
Zhou Ziheng held him in his arms and ruffled Xia Xiqing's hair. The two said nothing and each of them buried their thoughts in the warm quilt.
Xia Xiqing's breathing gradually calmed down. Zhou Ziheng gently let go of him, lay on his side and stared at him quietly, as if he was staring at his most cherished work of art.
Originally thinking that Wei Min would make some moves, Zhou Ziheng was a little uneasy during the filming of the commercial, but what he didn't expect was that he waited for a whole day and there was no ripple on the Internet, it was too calm. Various fan comments and videos of the previous recordings were circulated wildly on the Internet, and with Zhou Ziheng's birthday approaching, the popularity of the Zixue CP on the Internet remained high.
Zhou Ziheng returned home after finishing the filming of the commercial and found that Xia Xiqing was still not at home. He called her and heard that she seemed to be very busy.
"Okay, I'll be there right away." Xia Xiqing leaned closer to the microphone again, "Ziheng, I may not be able to go back tonight, you should get some rest first."
"That… "
So will you come back tomorrow
Xia Xiqing on the other end of the phone seemed to be very busy, half covering the microphone, "Don't leave this here, wait a moment, wait a moment."
In the end, I couldn't ask because I didn't want to be as willful as a child.
"You keep busy." Zhou Ziheng smiled and said, "Don't stay up too long. Be sure to call me if you have anything."
The call was hung up so quickly that even Xia Xiqing on the other end was stunned.
At twelve o'clock in the morning, many artists and directors he had worked with before sent birthday greetings on Weibo. Zhou Ziheng was in no mood to reply and covered his head with the quilt, pretending that he was not online.
After a sleepless night, Xiao Luo came with his father's driver to pick him up the next morning. Zhou Ziheng had no choice but to get in the car.
"Madam said she has prepared a large table of dishes for you," the driver was in good spirits and chatted with Zhou Ziheng while starting the car. "Young Master will be back later as well."
"Isn't he in the United States?" Zhou Ziheng looked out the window absent-mindedly.
"The plane will land at three o'clock, and I will pick it up then."
Birthdays are something that should be celebrated with the whole family, and Zhou Ziheng has always been a filial child, but now his mind is full of Xia Xiqing, and he really has no mood to celebrate. No matter what, he still has to tell him.
When he opened WeChat, there was still no movement in Xia Xiqing's message column. Zhou Ziheng thought about the wording and edited a few words.
[I am going back to my dad’s place to celebrate my birthday today, you… ]
He deleted each word one by one and typed a new line.
[I may have to go back to my dad's place today. I'm not in the apartment and may not be back in the evening.]
I wanted to give a few more instructions, but my heart was so choked up that even my fingers became sluggish.
"Why is there such a big truck?" Xiao Luo rolled down the window. "Is someone moving?"
The driver also honked the horn, causing Zhou Ziheng to look up.
"Hey, please hurry up and drive. Don't block the door." The driver rolled down the window and said a few words to the other party. The other party also bowed repeatedly, "I'll drive right away, I'll drive right away."
Through the car window, Zhou Ziheng vaguely saw that there seemed to be many picture frames in the container with the door closed.
He climbed up the window and saw a man's face vaguely on the painting.
My heart suddenly started to panic, as if I was struck by lightning without any warning.
Could it be that Xia Xiqing was moving away? Was he busy with moving these days
Although he knew it was not good to have such wild thoughts, Zhou Ziheng just couldn't control himself. After entering the tunnel, the heavy shadow that had been brewing in the narrow corridor for too long suddenly covered Zhou Ziheng's face, dark and without light. He thought about a way out for Xia Xiqing and his own affairs every day, but he overlooked an important point.
Is Xia Xiqing like him
He took himself too seriously. Xia Xiqing had said that he was just in the probation period. Love during the probation period could be abandoned at any time. He was the only one who took it so seriously.
After passing the tunnel, the weak autumn sunlight appeared again, illuminating every corner of the narrow space. Zhou Ziheng sent out the message he had edited several times, and his phone turned off automatically due to lack of battery.
It was God's will. Zhou Ziheng pulled down the brim of his hat and ignored everyone.
When he got home, Zhou Ziheng forced himself to put on a happy face and smiled at the dinner table. His mother kept asking him about his filming in another city, but Zhou Ziheng answered absentmindedly. He was preoccupied with something on his mind and couldn't be happy. Zhou Zijing and Jiang Yin came back at dinner time.
Jiang Yin took off her coat and handed it to the servant. After saying hello to her parents, she walked to Zhou Ziheng's side and said in a low voice, "Xia Xiqing just said that you don't answer his calls. When I called you, your phone was turned off."
"I forgot to charge it," Zhou Ziheng just charged his phone at this time. When he heard Jiang Yin talking about Xia Xiqing, he felt a little bit rekindled. "What did he say?"
"Nothing. Just let me tell you, call him back when you have time." Jiang Yin forked a small piece of cantaloupe from the fruit plate on the coffee table and stuffed it into her mouth. She took out her cell phone and said casually with her head half lowered, "He seems to be very busy. He was not clear on the phone."
Zhou Ziheng nodded and waited for his phone to turn on.
As soon as the screen lit up and before he had time to call him back, he heard Jiang Yin, who was sitting next to him, say, "Oh no."
"What's wrong?" Zhou Ziheng turned his head and saw Jiang Yin had stood up. "Sister Hong, please hold my coat for me." She lowered her head and shook her head at Zhou Ziheng. "I thought Wei Min had given up because he hadn't made any move in the past two days. I really, really didn't expect that."
Jiang Yin's words suddenly woke Zhou Ziheng up, and he immediately logged into Weibo. The first item on the hot search list was written with a line of words.
[The internet celebrity surnamed x is suspected to be gay]
The first Weibo post I clicked on was from a marketing account. The text did not mention anyone by name, but every sentence could be linked to Xia Xiqing.
[Gossip headline: The most popular gay couple in the entertainment industry right now—the hottest actor x who became an overnight “artist” is a household name and has an enviable traffic. But according to insiders, this young man named x is actually gay and has had many same-sex partners. I wonder what the other male star who hyped up a couple with him would think if he knew about this?]
Zhou Ziheng clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
"I'm going back to the company right now. I'll take care of this matter," Jiang Yin put on her coat in a hurry. "Zhou Ziheng, you are not allowed to go anywhere. Just wait for me at home."
Xi Hui took a car to the new site of the Pulito Art Museum. The art museum was originally a four-story garden house, which was bought by Xia Xiqing, who designed it personally and used it as the new venue of Pulito.
"Why are there so many people?" Although he had expected the grand opening of the art museum, Xi Hui became suspicious when he saw the huge crowd of reporters outside the car window. He told the driver, "Go downstairs and find out what happened."
"yes."
As soon as the driver left, Xi Hui called Xia Xiqing, but the other party was busy on the phone and could not be reached.
Not long after, the driver came back, "President Xi, there are entertainment reporters outside, it seems... it seems to be because of Master Xia's private life..."
Xi Hui frowned.
"What a disappointment." He sighed and called another person, "Bring a group of people over here, I'll give you the address."
Xia Xiqing never expected that within half an hour of his opening dinner, he would be surrounded by a large group of reporters. He didn't even know why these reporters came until his assistant showed him the hot discussions online.
The Weibo post that exposed his sexual orientation has now been forwarded over 20,000 times.
Seeing that the guests were talking about the chaos outside, Xia Xiqing was confused, but he pretended to be calm. He straightened his suit and tie, took the microphone from the emcee, stood in front of the main collection in the first floor hall and said, "I'm sure you are all wondering why there are so many reporters outside."
Xia Xiqing had a calm and gentlemanly smile on his face. "This art museum has opened here after an absence of 15 years. I personally participated in the completion of every detail in the museum, including the selection of guests. Therefore, everyone present here today is an artist and collector in my mind, and someone I respect very much."
"The charm of art comes from the freedom of tolerance and the resonance of emotions. My creations have always been based on these two points, so here I would like to explain to you that, like many well-known people in the art world, I am also a member of the LGBT community."
Looking at the discussion of the guests below, Xia Xiqing raised his eyebrows, "I thought that one's sexual orientation would not be criticized at least in the art world, isn't it?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the place suddenly fell silent. After this big hat was put on, no one dared to say another word. Even those who had read the online revelations at the beginning and were laughing at the joke did not want to be accused of "discrimination" or "unfreedom".
"Thank you for your understanding and respect. Then please continue to visit our museum. The first, second and third floors are open, and the fourth floor has not yet been completed. The staff will lead you, so please enjoy yourself." Xia Xiqing smiled impeccably, said "enjoy" and handed the microphone back to the staff.
"You are not allowed to go to the fourth floor. If anyone is causing trouble, please leave immediately." Xia Xiqing gave a few instructions and picked up a glass of champagne and drank it all.
The current situation can still be controlled, but if Zhou Ziheng comes, it will be all over.
Xia Xiqing took out an invitation that he had not sent out from the inside pocket of his suit, looked at it, and put it back.
"Call Zhou Ziheng's assistant and tell him to keep an eye on Zhou Ziheng and not come looking for me."
In this kind of situation, public relations is a dead end. Xia Xiqing knows that Jiang Yin must be helping him with public relations now, but if he just suppresses the hot searches and related revelations, it will only backfire.
The sky gradually darkened and suddenly there was a sound outside. Xia Xiqing, who was standing at the floor-to-ceiling window on the second floor, looked down and saw a group of people in bodyguard uniforms driving away the reporters outside the door. From a distance, he saw Xi Hui's car.
The carefully planned opening was messed up like this. Xia Xiqing was filled with resentment. His anger was like a tide that never went away. When the tide receded, a huge sense of loss enveloped him.
As it got late at night, the guests left one after another, and even the staff went off work. Xia Xiqing just sat at the door of the fourth floor, smoking one cigarette after another.
He was not worried at all about his sexual orientation being exposed. Based on his previous behavior, it was only a matter of time before these things were exposed, but he did not want to implicate Zhou Ziheng, and even more so did not want it to be exposed today.
He finished the pack of cigarettes on his body and Xia Xiqing looked down at his watch.
It was ten minutes to twelve.
He had never felt so lost.
Walking down the stairs step by step, Xia Xiqing finally understood the feeling of loving someone. It's not the boundless sweetness when surrounded by love, but the moment of loss when you find that everything you have done for him has become in vain.
The empty art gallery was filled with collections that were priceless and precious, but in his eyes they were nothing more than lifeless objects piled up in this magnificent building.
He turned around, closed the door, and was ready to end the day with his stupidity and persistence, but suddenly a voice came from behind him.
"Xi Qing."
Xia Xiqing turned around in disbelief and saw a man who had just got out of a taxi, panting. He was wearing a hat and a mask, covering himself tightly.
"Ziheng? Why are you here?" He was still frightened and pulled Zhou Ziheng into the art gallery. Zhou Ziheng took off his mask, smiled, and explained breathlessly, "I, I was locked up at home by my brother. I just found a chance to climb over the wall and sneak out. I went back to the apartment, and you, you were not there. I saw this place on the news, so I wanted to give it a try to see if you were here."
Looking at the thin layer of sweat on his forehead, Xia Xiqing suddenly seemed to have lost the ability to speak and could not utter a word. He turned around and glanced at the antique clock hanging in the hall.
The pointer has not yet reached its end point.
Fortunately, there is still time.
Grabbing Zhou Ziheng's wrist, Xia Xiqing dragged him up to the fourth floor and opened the door. Zhou Ziheng was full of doubts, but he still noticed the cigarette butts on the ground.
"Why did you pull me up here?"
Xia Xiqing opened the door to the fourth floor.
"Happy birthday."
The moment the door was fully opened, Zhou Ziheng was stunned. The entire floor was filled with countless paintings of all sizes, either watercolors or oil paintings, the only thing they had in common was the people in the paintings.
Every picture is myself.
"This is what I drew for you. There are ninety-nine pictures in total, from when you were little to now. Luckily you are a child star, otherwise I really wouldn't be able to record what you have looked like all along."
Zhou Ziheng couldn't help but think of the night when Xia Xiqing took him to the shooting range, the gun he pointed at his chest, and his momentary joke.
[Buy all the paintings Xia Xiqing drew for me and bury them with me.]
Xia Xiqing walked forward alone and stopped in front of an exhibit that was taller than him. It was covered with a layer of black silk and glowed delicately under the dazzling crystal lamp.
"This is also made for you." Xia Xiqing raised his hand and gently pulled off the silk.
In front of him, there appeared a pure white plaster sculpture. It was a tall man, his face facing forward, as if he was looking at something, with a smile on his three-dimensional features, as beautiful as an ancient Greek classical sculpture.
He held a rose in his hand, gentle and powerful.
"Happy birthday." Xia Xiqing walked towards him, "I'm sorry, I ruined your birthday." He finally walked in front of Zhou Ziheng and took out a dark blue invitation from his suit pocket. The seal on it was stamped with a rose.
"I stayed up all night, originally thinking of inviting you today to hand it to you personally, but I didn't expect you to be away, and... these things happened again." Xia Xiqing lowered her eyes, her eyelashes trembling slightly, "Happy birthday. My surprise is really terrible."
It turned out that he had not forgotten his birthday.
"I chose today to open the art gallery on purpose. My mother named this art gallery after me. I, I want it to be reborn on your birthday."
At the last second on October 20, he got the gift he wanted most.
Zhou Ziheng opened the belated invitation in a daze, and a handwritten letter fell out of it.
[I give you the core of myself that I have managed to preserve—a core that does not deal in words, does not trade with dreams, and is untouched by time, joy, and adversity.
I give you the memory of a yellow rose that you saw one evening many years before you were born.
I give you an interpretation of your life, a theory about yourself, your true and amazing existence.
I give you my loneliness, my darkness, and the hunger of my heart.
I try to impress you with confusion, danger, and failure.]
The author has something to say: The poem on the handwritten letter is excerpted from Borges's "What Can I Do to Keep You"