6
Xu Zhaixing was very confident in her plan.
“You’re Uncle’s only son, his only tie in this world. My dad places great importance on family bonds. If you ask him, how could he not lend you the money? And it can’t be a small amount, at least three million!”
Xu Yan: “…………”
Xu Zhaixing shrugged: “Anyway, if you don’t borrow it, he’ll just give that money to Xu Zhiwen for venture capital. He’ll lose everything in the end, so he might as well lend it to you.” The more she spoke, the more she felt it could work. “And strictly speaking, this isn’t lending to you, it’s an investment! He’ll get shares and dividends, too, right?”
With that, she gave Xu Yan an encouraging look: “Brother, it’s time to test your abilities. As long as you can convince my dad that you can build up the company, he’ll definitely agree.”
Xu Yan thought about this for a long moment, then realized: “You mean, if my dad doesn’t lend the money in the end, it’s because I lack ability?”
Xu Zhaixing: “…That’s not what I meant.”
Xu Yan turned to look at the pile of math test papers and English textbooks on her bed: “Are you really just a high school student?”
Xu Zhaixing: “…………”
Mother Xu called from outside the room: “Zhaixing, have you packed up? Get ready to go.”
“Almost! Right away!” She hurriedly stuffed the textbooks into her backpack, slung it over her shoulder, and patted Xu Yan on the shoulder: “I’ll help blow some ‘pillow talk’ wind for you too. Hang in there, Brother, I’ll be waiting for you in S City!”
Xu Yan watched her running back helplessly: “That’s not how you use ‘pillow talk,’ is it?”
Xu Zhaixing didn’t look back, just waved her hand behind her.
Both Father Xu and Xu Yan needed to stay behind to handle the elder brother’s funeral affairs. Mother Xu took Xu Zhaixing and boarded the plane home. By the time they arrived in S City, it was almost midnight. As soon as they got home, her mother urged her to take a shower and go to bed, since she still had school the next day.
After her shower, Xu Zhaixing locked the door, placed her completely untouched pocket money from the week on the desk, and opened her piggy bank to pull out a few hundred-yuan bills. She gathered them together and counted them.
For her current situation, plane tickets, accommodation, and meals added up to a significant sum. Although her parents spoiled her and bought her whatever she wanted, they never gave her extra pocket money—anything she needed was simply bought for her directly.
Her New Year’s money was deposited in her mother’s bank card and couldn’t be touched, and any spending on her supplementary card would trigger an instant SMS notification to her father, so she couldn’t use it either. The only cash she had free rein over was her weekly pocket money.
No matter how many times she counted, she was still short.
Xu Zhaixing felt nothing but frustration. Why couldn’t Cen Feng’s agency be in S City?
B City was so far away, and plane tickets were so expensive!
For a moment, it almost felt like those days of saving every penny just to follow his activities. (Manual smile.)
These days, without even an app, she had to go to a ticket agency after gathering enough money tomorrow just to buy a plane ticket.
There was no way she could let her parents know about going to B City this weekend. Xu Zhaixing’s parents were very traditional although they doted on her and raised her in comfort, they had their “three no’s” rule: no reckless spending, no extravagance, and no staying out overnight.
Even for summer camp, her parents would double-check with the homeroom teacher, then the group leader, then the camp coordinator… Let alone allowing her to fly to B City alone.
But Xu Zhaixing had already thought it through. Her father was still in their hometown this week and wouldn’t be back. She could just act cute with her mom and say she was going to a classmate’s house. On Saturday, she’d first go to Cheng You’s place, call home to report in (with proof), then head to the airport. She’d return Sunday afternoon, hopefully, no one would find out.
Even though making this trip might not guarantee she’d see Cen Feng…
She simply couldn’t wait any longer.
It felt like something lost and found again—a mix of wild joy and tormenting longing.
Carrying these complicated feelings, she went to bed. The next day at school, Xu Zhaixing approached Cheng You to borrow money.
Cheng You held a grilled sausage between her teeth, dug into both pockets of her uniform, and pulled out a total of seven yuan and five jiao. With a solemn expression, she handed it over. “Everything I have. Take it!”
Xu Zhaixing: “…”
Cheng You looked at her curiously. “Isn’t your weekly allowance enough?”
Since Xu Zhaixing needed Cheng You to provide an alibi over the weekend, she told her the truth, omitting only Cen Feng’s trainee status. Cheng You was stunned. “You’re going to B City to find Cen Feng? So, he’s not from around here? No wonder! I was wondering why Zhou Mingyu couldn’t find him these past couple of days.”
Xu Zhaixing froze. “What does Zhou Mingyu have to do with this?”
Cheng You finished her sausage before answering. “Him? He hasn’t been to school for two days. He’s been leading his little gang, searching for Cen Feng in the neighboring First, Second, Third, and Fourth High Schools. Swears he won’t give up until he finds the guy who ‘interfered with his epic love.’”
Xu Zhaixing: “???”
How was this damn thing still not over?!
When they were together before, she never noticed he was this devoted to her!
Fuming for a while, Xu Zhaixing warned Cheng You, “Don’t tell him anything about Cen Feng ever again!”
Cheng You quickly raised her hand in a vow. After lowering it, she leaned in, eyes gleaming, and whispered, “Zhaixing, how did you meet that Cen Feng guy anyway? Is he super handsome? How old is he? Is he good at school?”
Xu Zhaixing pushed her head away dismissively. “Go on, get lost. Adults’ business is none of a kid’s concern.”
Cheng You pouted unhappily. “You’re half a year younger than me!”
With her poor desk-mate broke, Xu Zhaixing fortunately had a circle of well-off girlfriends. Using the excuse of wanting to buy some celebrity’s newly released album poster—something all her star-chasing friends understood they generously chipped in, pooling together the exact amount she needed.
Right after school, she rushed to the ticket agency and bought a plane ticket for B City departing the next day at noon.
That night, after half an hour of Xu Zhaixing’s persistent begging, her mother finally agreed to let her stay overnight at Cheng You’s house.
She and Cheng You had already rehearsed their story. The next morning, after arriving at the Cheng household with her backpack, Xu Zhaixing first used their landline to call her mom, then went out with Cheng You—both with backpacks—telling Cheng You’s parents they were heading to the library to do homework and wouldn’t be back until evening.
After completing all the preparations, the two parted ways at the street corner—one heading to the airport, the other to the library.
It was only afterward that Cheng You realized how risky this plan might be. Grabbing Xu Zhaixing’s hand, she nervously instructed, “You absolutely must be careful! If you run into any bad people, scream for help, okay? I heard B City has good security and lots of police officers, so don’t be scared!”
Xu Zhaixing nodded and slipped into the taxi.
Cheng You watched her anxiously, looking close to tears. “Zhaixing! You absolutely must not get into any trouble! If something happens to you, I’ll be an accessory to the crime! Wuwu…”
Xu Zhaixing stuck her hand out the car window, gave a thumbs-up, and was then whisked away as the taxi sped off.
The journey went smoothly all the way onto the plane. The flight attendant, noticing there was an unaccompanied minor on board, checked on her several times and even arranged for someone to escort her to the exit after landing.
Pointing at a middle-aged woman talking on the phone near the restroom in the distance, Xu Zhaixing said, “That’s my aunt. Thank you, sister. Goodbye!”
Then she hoisted her backpack and dashed off.
After getting into university, she had lived in B City for years and was very familiar with it. She headed straight for the subway.
Cen Feng’s agency was called Zhongtian Entertainment, an established company in the industry. It had produced award-winning actors and launched several household-name actresses, but its influence had waned somewhat in recent years, with several of its TV dramas failing to make much impact.
The head of Zhongtian was still forward-thinking. He immediately launched a trainee program, aiming to follow the Korean wave of idol training, so Zhongtian Entertainment established a trainee division.
Zhongtian’s main building was in the city center, but the trainee division was in the suburbs, separate from the signed artists.
After all, the trainee system wasn’t yet popular domestically. Zhongtian was still exploring the model, with its main investments still going into traditional projects. The trainee program remained under observation.
After S-Star became popular, Zhongtian released a documentary showcasing the training rooms and group dormitories before the members’ debut. The goal was to show fans how difficult the trainee path was and to encourage them to cherish their idols.
Later, many fans made pilgrimages to the building and dormitory.
This was where their idol had trained hard, sweating and pushing himself.
Xu Zhaixing had been there too. She knew exactly where it was.
She arrived as dusk was approaching. The temperature in B City was already quite low this season. Hugging her coat tight and shivering under her backpack, Xu Zhaixing stopped in front of the training building.
All Kites (Cen Feng’s fandom name) knew that during his trainee days, their idol had trained extremely hard. He’d sustained injuries from dancing, often skipped meals, and was always the first to arrive and the last to leave the training room every day. In group variety shows, his teammates mentioned that Cen Feng had been the one in charge of the training room key back then.
Someone so diligent, clearly the most talented in the group, ended up being the least popular.
Back when he gave everything he had, he surely never imagined that would be his future outcome.
Xu Zhaixing looked up at the towering building under the overcast sky. As she stared, she felt the urge to cry again.
A chilly wind swept by, freezing her tears before they could fall.
Xu Zhaixing took out her phone to check the time. At this hour, Cen Feng should still be training. She decided to wait here a few more hours. Once it got dark, he’d probably come out.
She looked around, then sat down on a stone platform to the right of the main entrance. Pulling out the homework her teacher had assigned, she started working on it while she waited.
Several hours passed. The sky was completely dark now. Quite a few people had come and gone; Xu Zhaixing even spotted some future S-Star members. But there was still no sign of Cen Feng.
A security guard came to lock up. Seeing her, he asked, “Little girl, what are you doing sitting here?”
Xu Zhaixing rubbed her numb legs. “I’m waiting for someone, uncle.”
The guard began locking the doors. “It’s dark already. It’s not safe out here. You should head home.”
Xu Zhaixing quickly grabbed her backpack and ran over. “Uncle, is there really no one left inside?”
The guard finished locking up and checked. “Long gone. Everyone’s off work already.”
“What about… the trainees? Have they all left too?”
The guard seemed a little surprised that a young girl knew about trainees. He looked at her for a moment. “They left a while ago. Are you waiting for one of our company’s trainees?”
Xu Zhaixing paused, then shook her head. “No. Thank you, uncle. Goodbye.”
She shouldered her backpack and limped toward a nearby hotel. Halfway there, unwilling to give up, she turned around and headed for the trainee dormitory.
She had to go back tomorrow. She only had tonight and tomorrow morning. If she missed him tomorrow morning too, she’d really have no chance left.
The dormitory was just behind the company building, separated by a street.
She couldn’t just walk in. Pausing under a streetlamp outside the gate, she thought for a moment, then took off her backpack to use as a cushion. Testing its softness, she resigned herself to waiting another two hours. But just as she was about to sit down, a figure walked out of the dimly lit entrance.
He was wearing black hoodie and sweatpants, tall and slim, with a guitar slung across his back. His hands were stuffed into his pockets, his head slightly bowed, bangs brushing against his eyelids, casting a shadow across the bridge of his nose.
Before Xu Zhaixing could even register sitting down, the person she had longed for, the one who had occupied her thoughts day and night, walked right past her with an indifferent expression.
A faint scent of tobacco brushed her nose in the cold wind, fleeting.
Her breath hitched. Sound stuck in her throat. She felt frozen in place, unmoving, staring at the back that was moving further and further away.
Her mind erupted—landslide, devastation—then with a deafening roar, everything went blank.
**