“Ahhh! It’s really Brother Bai! Brother Bai, look at me!”
“Baby, Mommy’s here!”
“Baby, Daddy’s here!”
…
Fans of all ages had gathered together at this moment, their burning gazes fixed on the handsome young man on stage with healthy, chocolate-toned skin.
Hearing the familiar cheers from below the stage, the young man lifted his head and flashed a brilliant smile, revealing neat, pearly-white teeth. The smile curved his slightly round eyes into crescents, and paired with his well-built physique, it made him exceptionally charming.
Bathed in that sunshine-like smile, the fans below erupted into another wave of screams. Their passionate voices seemed powerful enough to lift the entire ceiling of the mall.
Their excitement was understandable, today was the annual life-size figurine launch event of Lin Haobai, Best Actor Lin, the star they had watched grow stronger year by year.
The event was held in the largest shopping mall in the capital.
It housed the biggest figurine marketplace in the country, where all kinds of figures could be found. Besides hosting various life-size figurine launch events, it also regularly held launches for anime and other [1]ACG stands for Anime, Comic, and Games. It’s a term used to describe the collective culture and media related to Japanese-style animation, comics (manga), and video games. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_1733827_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_1733827_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });ACG-themed figures. Its foot traffic ranked among the highest nationwide.
As soon as Lin Haobai arrived at the venue, he didn’t even take a break. He first interacted with the fans who had come specifically for him for half an hour before temporarily leaving the stage amid their excited screams.
The stage had been set up right at the front of the figurine marketplace, located in the mall’s central atrium. After stepping offstage, Lin Haobai went straight to the office behind the figurine market.
He truly didn’t expect so many fans to show up today. When he arrived that morning, the sheer crowd density had shocked him.
“Haobai, close your mouth. Don’t look so [2]“green” means inexperienced, naive, or immature. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_1733827_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_1733827_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });green, remember your image,” the chubby man Wang You said as he wiped his sweat with a small white cotton handkerchief, reminding his artist not to lose the bearing of a Best Actor.
“Brother Wang, why are there so many fans today?” Lin Haobai quickly ate a few small wontons.
He would have to return to the stage shortly to continue interacting with fans. In recent years, his figurine sales had steadily increased, largely thanks to his soaring popularity in the country. But he distinctly remembered that there hadn’t been nearly this many fans last year. Why was the turnout so much higher this time?
After neatly folding the handkerchief he had used to wipe his face, his manager Wang You smiled. “With your popularity, you still don’t have a clue? A lot of the ones who came today are your ‘[3]“Mom fans” and “dad fans” refer to adult fans who support a younger celebrity in a caring or protective way—“mom fans” are usually women, and “dad fans” are usually men. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_1733827_1_3').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_1733827_1_3', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });mom fans’ and ‘dad fans.’ Didn’t you notice?”
Hearing that, Lin Haobai couldn’t help but break into a wide smile.
Those fans who had supported him since he was young, without them, he would never have been able to reach where he was at such a young age and become a Best Actor skilled in both singing and dancing. Thinking of those fans who cared so much about him, he was reminded of the twelve figurines he had personally crafted.
For this figurine launch event, he had specially followed the design company’s blueprints and personally crafted twelve figurines modeled after himself.
Although learning to make figurines had been extremely demanding and he had endured quite a bit of hardship along the way, the thought that these figurines would ultimately be delivered into the hands of fans who liked him made it all worthwhile. If it weren’t for their love and support, he would never be living such a happy life.
Shaking off the jumble of thoughts in his mind, Lin Haobai finished the last few bites of wontons and glanced at the time. He called over the makeup artist to touch up his makeup, and sure enough, before he had even rested for two minutes, a staff member came to invite him back onstage.
Returning to the stage once more, Lin Haobai smoothly took the microphone from the host and began a new round of interaction with the fans below. While playing small games with a few fans who had come up onstage, his gaze unintentionally caught sight of a tall figure on the second floor of the mall.
It was a man who appeared to be over 1.8 meters tall, nearly 1.9.
From his back view, one could see that he was dressed in a black suit, leaning slightly against the transparent glass railing on the second floor. His pale, slender fingers tapped lightly against the railing.
Standing on the elevated stage, and blessed with excellent eyesight, Lin Haobai found his attention drawn to the man’s silhouette.
As if sensing Lin Haobai’s gaze, the man slowly turned around and looked straight at him.
With that turn, under the lighting, the man seemed almost to glow with whiteness. Lin Haobai couldn’t clearly make out his facial features, but that fair complexion left a deep impression on him.
Snow Prince.
The two words suddenly popped into his mind.
Lin Haobai shook his head with a laugh. He had been making figurines for over a month, had he still not stepped out of that little figurine kingdom in his head?
When he looked up again, the man with the luminous fair skin had already disappeared.
He couldn’t help but marvel at how naturally beautiful the man’s fair complexion had looked. Unlike himself, though not dark, his skin was a wheatish tan. Fans often joked that he must have eaten too much chocolate and turned his skin chocolate-colored.
Only he and his mother knew that this complexion was a mark carved onto him by fate.
With Lin Haobai’s reappearance, the figurine marketplace grew even more lively. The noise drew most of the people in the mall over, while only a small number who disliked crowds headed straight for the specialty stores they were interested in.
Ren Tianxing was one of those drawn by the commotion.
However, after a single glance and realizing it was a figurine launch event, he quickly lost interest. Thinking of that chocolate-toned figure, a playful smile tugged at his lips. He didn’t expect that the current trend in the domestic entertainment scene favored male stars with healthy, tan skin and well-built physiques. He had thought the public preferred fair-skinned, slender pretty boys.
“President Ren, this way please.”
His assistant, Xiao Cha, had come up from the first floor. Ren Tianxing followed his lead toward his company’s specialty store. This time, having returned to the country, he would be reorganizing the company’s retail operations.
Listening to the store manager’s report beside him, Ren Tianxing nodded as he listened. Whenever they passed the trial area, he would carefully inspect the condition of each sample product.
“All right, I’ve heard your report. Go back to your post for now. Organize the detailed data today and send it to my email.”
After giving his instructions, Ren Tianxing prepared to leave.
Walking out of his company’s specialty store, as if possessed by some inexplicable impulse, he once again turned his gaze toward the central atrium on the first floor. However, the chocolate-toned man on stage had already left. The fans who had been making all that noise were now weaving through the marketplace.
After the daytime figurine launch event, Lin Haobai had left the venue for his next work location. By the time he finished, it was already past nine at night.
He didn’t mind the busy pace of life. To him, being busy meant he could take care of his mother, it meant he was a real man. Still, he was especially tired today. The moment he walked through the door, he didn’t even bother to eat. After a quick shower, he dove straight into his comfortable bed.
Then he heard a low, husky male voice by his ear, deep and pleasant.
Half-asleep, Lin Haobai felt his ears itch from the sound and instinctively wanted to raise a hand to rub them, only to realize he couldn’t move his hand at all.
That startled him.
Just a second ago he had been sleeping at home, how could he suddenly be unable to move?
He tried again to shift his arms and legs, only to find that he truly couldn’t move; even his head was the same. The sensation of being restrained all over left him at a loss, and anxiety welled up uncontrollably.
He opened his eyes. It was pitch-black all around. His nose caught no particularly strong scent, and he couldn’t make a single sound with his mouth. Aside from that occasional pleasant male voice drifting over, he had no other way to determine where he was.
This was bad.
He had only recently become a Best Actor, his life finally getting better, how had it turned into this? Had he been kidnapped? Was that pleasant male voice the kidnapper? Was he calling his family and friends to demand ransom?
Having weathered the entertainment industry for years, the young Best Actor Lin Haobai fully put his professional imagination to use at this moment, spinning an entire kidnapping scenario in his head. The most terrifying possibility of all was being robbed of both wealth and virtue.
What rotten luck!
I haven’t even been in a relationship yet, am I going to die a [4]“wizard” is used metaphorically to express Lin Haobai’s fear of being alone or unlucky in love—he’s joking that if he never experiences romance, he might as well remain like a magical, … Continue reading jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_1733827_1_4').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_1733827_1_4', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });wizard?
Before he could finish lamenting, the door creaked open.
Bright light flooded in, and he saw a large dark shadow on the ground.
Before he could think further, Lin Haobai felt himself flipped upside down, suspended in midair, and shoved into a pitch-black space. He could even feel his entire body being lightly patted.
The sound of “tap, tap” footsteps rang out. When he regained awareness again, he realized he seemed to have been placed somewhere soft all around. It should be very bright here, although he couldn’t see where he was, his eyes sensed an intense glare.
A humming voice—”la la la…”, echoed around him, and Lin Haobai instinctively strained to listen.
It was that same familiar, pleasant male voice. Judging by the slight echo in the singing, he seemed to be in a relatively small space.
Had he been kidnapped to a private KTV room? So the kidnapper was a singing enthusiast?
Lin Haobai pushed his five senses to their limit, trying to find a way out.
The next second, he heard the sound of running water.
Soon after, he felt the temperature around him gradually rising. He seemed to be getting hotter and hotter. Even the soft place he had been lying on no longer felt pleasant.
“Tch, how annoying! Those people today were all idiots.”
The pleasant voice suddenly blurted out that sentence, startling Lin Haobai. Before he could think further, the man began singing another song. Lin Haobai could only lie there, completely unable to move, listening to the singing, the water, and the occasional complaints.
As the moisture in the air grew heavier, he felt as though his entire body was covered in droplets.
A wave of fragrance drifted over, it smelled like body wash.
Lin Haobai roughly figured out where he was.
But this kidnapper had way too much nerve!
To actually tie up a hostage and bring him into the bathroom, could he call that boldness backed by skill? All Lin Haobai could do was lie there and pray that this pleasant-voiced kidnapper would hurry up and finish his shower so he could be taken out. Being drenched all over was extremely uncomfortable.
Since he might very well lose his life, he hoped at least to go comfortably.
“Ah! I almost forgot the little thing I bought today?”
The voice rang out abruptly.
Then Lin Haobai felt as if he had been hoisted up by stage wires, his whole body spinning uncontrollably. The next second, like bungee jumping, he plunged straight downward from somewhere above.
In the second before he passed out, he seemed to see… something plump that could not be described.
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