After reading this piece of entertainment news, I angrily crumpled the newspaper into a ball and threw it onto the floor, exclaiming, “This bastard is truly shameless!”
Tongzi asked me solemnly, “Brother Yang, what he said isn’t true, right? He’s framing Leyao for cheating?”
My heart burned with anger again. This second-rate male celebrity claimed that the reason Leyao and he broke up years ago was because she wanted to cozy up to a famous director, and heartlessly dumped him. That was complete nonsense! If she had truly been the one to dump him, would she have ended up destitute, in a strange city, drinking herself into oblivion at a bar surrounded by strangers? It simply didn’t make sense logically.
Finally, I nodded and told Tongzi, “Your Leyao sister isn’t the kind of person he described.”
Tongzi said excitedly, “Brother Yang, you must know the truth. You should hurry up and help Leyao clear her name. Otherwise, her public image will be completely ruined!”
I remained silent for a long time before responding, “She’s a celebrity. In the face of such malicious rumors, it’s best to leave it to the professional PR team. Unofficial clarifications might have the opposite effect.”
“Don’t make excuses. Don’t think I don’t know you’re refusing to help her because you two had a falling out!”
“You silly kid, would I really be that narrow-minded when it comes to important matters? It’s just that my words carry little weight. I can’t help, do you understand?”
Tongzi shouted at me illogically, “If you weren’t hiding something, why wouldn’t you help her clarify as her friend?… It’s because Leyao likes you, and you’re afraid of getting involved, aren’t you? I know all about your selfish little calculations!”
“You little brat…”
Tongzi stuck out his neck and retorted, “You old brat…”
“Alright, alright, I’m the old brat… Can you just let this old brat have some peace and quiet, please?”
Tongzi didn’t leave. Instead, he stubbornly took out his phone and dialed Leyao’s number in front of me, activating the speakerphone function. However, moments later, the call was rejected. I was shocked to discover that even Tongzi’s number had been blacklisted by Leyao.
After a while, Tongzi ended the call and looked at me in confusion…
At that moment, I truly believed that “hope to meet again” was indeed a hopeless farewell, with no room for any leniency. Leyao had decisively placed everyone related to me onto her “hope to meet again” list. I suspected even CC and Rob couldn’t be spared. From then on, her life had finally completely detached from the circle she had before she became famous…
Tongzi still refused to give up. He persistently borrowed someone else’s phone and dialed Leyao’s number again, but this time, too, the call was rejected with a voice prompt. Without thinking, I knew she had activated the function to block unknown numbers. At this moment, she must have been enduring endless harassment from entertainment reporters. And certainly, some ill-intentioned people would seize this opportunity to ruin her public image.
I truly began to worry for her… but still felt powerless!
…
After Tongzi left in anger, I was once again alone for the night. I lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. I knew clearly that I had completely lost contact with Leyao, but I kept flipping through my phone, hoping to receive a message from her accidentally. However, until morning, my phone never rang again. I gradually realized that she had truly vanished from my world.
Therefore, on this rainy morning, I decided not to think of her anymore and calmly continued with my life. So after getting up, I calmly brushed my teeth, calmly washed my face, calmly finished breakfast, and calmly dressed myself neatly. Finally, I sat calmly under the rain shelter on the balcony, holding my guitar and singing a calm song.
I originally thought I could spend this morning peacefully, but Rob ruined my calm with his inconsiderate interruption. He said angrily, “Zhaoyang, you really can keep your cool. Did you know a big shot was tricked by some bastard?”
“You’re supposed to be focused on your creative work, not paying attention to outside news. How do you know about these gossip stories?”
“Don’t talk nonsense with me. I’m asking you now, are you going to do something about this or not?”
I didn’t answer Rob directly and changed the subject, asking, “Can you still get in touch with her now?”
“I can’t get in touch… but isn’t that normal? After such a mess, who would still be in the mood to keep their phone on, waiting for others to ask questions?”
“Then what do you think we should do now?”
“Go to Beijing and beat the crap out of that bastard… Let me make one thing clear, if I don’t knock all of that bastard’s rotten teeth out, I won’t be considered as having lived in Beijing!”
I remained silent, thinking Rob was just talking tough. If he really did that, the entertainment media might come up with another story about Leyao hiring thugs for revenge.
Rob’s temper suddenly flared up and he kicked me, saying, “Say something clearly, are you going to Beijing or not?”
Although I really wanted to go to Beijing with Rob, another force was pulling me back, making it impossible for me to face Leyao in Beijing calmly, and I was even more worried that Mi Cai would feel uncomfortable because of this.
“Say something, damn it!”
Finally, I looked up at Rob and said after a long pause, “To be honest, I’m really torn… Whether I go or not, I feel like a bastard!”
“You’re just worried that Mi Cai will talk behind your back, right? But Zhaoyang, a person should be loyal and righteous. Do you really not remember how the big shot treated us all these years? Moreover, the only people who know the truth about what happened back then are you and me. Back then, she was so poor that she only had the clothes on her back. How could she have hooked up with a director and dumped that bastard? It’s completely fabricated! At a time like this, if we don’t stand up for the big shot, we’d be betraying our own conscience!”
Moved by Rob’s heartfelt words, I began to have an intense inner struggle. Thinking that Rob would be with me, it wouldn’t be easy for Mi Cai to misunderstand anything, so I gritted my teeth and said, “Alright, let’s go to Beijing now.”
“Great, pack your bags in five minutes, and we’ll set off immediately.”
…
After Rob left, I immediately sent a message to Mi Cai: “I’m going to Beijing for some business. I might not be around Xitang for a few days, and I won’t be able to go to Suzhou either. Take care of yourself and don’t catch a chill again!”
After sending the message, I put my phone into my pocket, temporarily relieving the burden on my mind, and went to my room to pack my luggage, beginning this destined-to-be-unpeaceful trip to Beijing!
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