Separate Rooms

The corridor fell silent for a moment. Xin Wan stood frozen for a few seconds, then repeated blankly: "Pay... what?"

"Le Xi's breach-of-contract penalty," Ying Huai said unhurriedly, walking past the people in front of him toward the door.

Xin Wan's temple twitched: "Why should he? What does Le Xi's breach-of-contract penalty have to do with you?"

"Right," Ying Huai said, turning at the sound, looking at Wu Tian with a half-smile. "What does Le Xi's breach-of-contract penalty have to do with me?"

Wu Tian choked. He steeled himself and repeated what he'd just said to Ying Huai: "Because the cause of this incident was Mr. Ying, so the company has decided..."

"It's Le Xi who did something wrong. Why is everything being pushed onto Ying Huai?"

Before Wu Tian could finish, Xin Wan cut him off impatiently.

"It's Le Xi who did something shady. The fact that it wasn't exposed back then only proves 'the day of reckoning always comes.' Now that it's out, all you can say is 'serves him right, purely and completely.'"

Xin Wan had just carried things the whole way, and now his temper was thoroughly riled.

He looked at Wu Tian, who was opening his mouth to argue back, and let out a cold laugh: "By your logic, whoever caused it is responsible. So as Le Xi's manager, if he broke the law, shouldn't you go to prison with him?"

Wu Tian: ...?

Ying Huai beamed at him with curved eyes, ignored him entirely, opened the door on his own, and walked inside supporting Liang Shining's arm.

After venting his anger, Xin Wan had calmed down considerably. He picked up the two large bags again and followed, huffing and puffing.

Wu Tian's expression turned terrifyingly dark.

He took a deep breath, just about to step forward and follow, when a phone suddenly rang.

Wu Tian's expression instantly tensed.

He quickly half-turned and hurriedly answered the call.

"Did you resolve it?"

"It's being handled right now, almost done," Wu Tian said from his end of the line, nodding and bowing. "The main issue is Ying Huai isn't alone—Xin Wan suddenly tagged along, so it's a bit tricky."

The voice on the other end paused for a few seconds, then let out a soft laugh: "Then forget it. I'll find a way to handle Le Xi's matter myself."

Wu Tian was startled.

"Xin Wan and Ying Huai haven't seen each other in a long time. Let them catch up properly," the voice on the other end said warmly. "But don't forget to remind Xin Wan about those past matters between him and Ying Huai."

Wu Tian paused, his expression suddenly lighting up with understanding.

He listened as the voice on the other end spoke unhurriedly: "I'm sure Xin Wan will be moved."

·

Xin Wan set the things in his hands down on the table and subtly scanned the room.

The last time he'd come to Ying Huai's home was before they had debuted. Xin Wan looked at Ying Huai, who was lazily reclining on the sofa, and his expression grew momentarily distant.

Beside them, Wu Tian finished his call and walked back up to Ying Huai with renewed confidence.

"Forget about not signing Le Xi's contract for now. The variety show starts filming in two days. Sign these contracts first."

Wu Tian said this while handing over a stack of documents.

Ying Huai was still wearing the cream-colored sweater Xin Wan had given him, sitting on the sofa holding that giant Bouquet cat.

He glanced down at the documents and let out a light laugh: "A variety show now has this many clauses?"

"Mr. Ying should consider his own situation. Being able to get on a variety show is already good enough. This is also to prevent you from causing more trouble for the company and to minimize losses," Wu Tian said coldly.

Xin Wan came back to himself at those words, his gaze also turning over for a cursory scan.

His brow furrowed instantly.

Those clauses covered every aspect—from the small stuff like interaction requirements with other artists on the variety show and daily dietary restrictions, to the big stuff like song copyright limitations. Everything was there.

Ying Huai said nothing. He set the Bouquet cat aside, casually picked up a pen, but was suddenly stopped by Xin Wan: "Did you sign with a management company, or did you sell yourself to them?"

Although he was dissatisfied with Ying Huai, he had always been the most protective back in the day. After what happened to Ying Huai, that protectiveness had gradually evolved into a strange sense of possessiveness.

Xin Wan stared at Ying Huai and said mockingly: "Didn't you skip straight to the Lu Group through upper management back then? How did it end up like this?"

Ying Huai pulled his hand back, looked at Xin Wan, and curved his eyes carelessly.

"How would I know? Shixiong might as well ask my manager."

Xin Wan's expression darkened.

But before he could speak, Wu Tian suddenly said coldly: "Mr. Xin, don't let yourself be used as someone else's weapon."

Xin Wan froze.

He turned sharply: "What did you say?"

Wu Tian stared at Xin Wan and laughed coldly: "Mr. Xin is helping Ying Huai so much now—is he expecting him to be like he was before?"

Xin Wan's hand at his side clenched suddenly.

Wu Tian watched with satisfaction as Xin Wan's expression instantly fell: "Mr. Xin shouldn't forget how Ying Huai abandoned you all back then."

Beside them, Liang Shining frowned and was about to speak when he suddenly felt a light pat on the back of his hand.

Liang Shining paused. He looked down and saw Ying Huai raise his eyes, smiling at him with an unhurried expression.

On the other side, Wu Tian snatched the pen back from Xin Wan and said slowly: "I'd advise Mr. Xin not to meddle anymore. Ying Huai won't show any sentiment for the past..."

Before he could finish, he suddenly felt something bounce up from the sofa.

Immediately followed by a 'meow,' the large Bouquet cat suddenly jumped down from beside the sofa, disdainfully skirted around Wu Tian, and came to rub against Xin Wan's feet.

Xin Wan's previously dark expression went blank for a moment.

"Bouquet, come back," Ying Huai said with a half-smile, glancing at Wu Tian, his tone casual.

The Bouquet cat only looked up at Ying Huai for a moment, let out another coquettish 'meow,' and its fluffy big tail swept directly across Xin Wan's calf.

Ying Huai said nothing more. He lowered his eyes, watched the Bouquet cat circle around Xin Wan for a few seconds, and suddenly laughed softly.

"It still remembers shixiong's scent," Ying Huai said lazily, yawning. "Then please keep shixiong company and play with it for a while."

Xin Wan raised his head, somewhat dazed.

He watched as Ying Huai casually twirled the Hongyu Jewel Pendant at the end of his hair, slowly curving his eyes: "It rarely takes a liking to someone from the past."

A memory suddenly flashed through Xin Wan's mind.

The day after Lu Jing officially announced the Lu Family Heir Announcement, Ying Huai suddenly called him.

On the phone, Ying Huai's voice trembled uncontrollably, but he still barely maintained his composure: 'Shixiong, can you save me?'

'I don't want to stay in the sanatorium. Can shixiong take me away?'

Xin Wan didn't know what this 'sanatorium' in the memory was, but he instinctively felt he had to agree.

But Xin Wan could only watch helplessly as his past self said coldly: 'If you're sick, you have to stay in the sanatorium, little shidi.'

'That way I can... visit you anytime.'

The warm touch on his calf brought Xin Wan back to the present. He stared blankly at the person in the cream-colored sweater on the sofa, his eyes inexplicably reddening.

Wu Tian stared in disbelief at Xin Wan, whose expression had shifted from dark to bright in an instant.

He forced out: "It's just a cat. You wouldn't..."

"What do you know? Cats are most sensitive to scent. They won't get close to an unfamiliar smell," Xin Wan said, picking up the cat and giving Wu Tian a dark look.

"Little shidi must have been thinking of me all these years."

Wu Tian: ??

Ying Huai curled back up on the sofa, his fingers brushing over the cream-colored sweater, the corners of his lips curving slightly.

The warm light from the ceiling briefly spilled down from behind Ying Huai.

But that bit of light didn't reach his eyes. Ying Huai's peach blossom eyes remained indifferent, his whole person languid, as if he didn't care about anything.

Xin Wan looked at Ying Huai and frowned.

—This wasn't the Ying Huai from his memories.

The little shidi in his memories had always been wild and unrestrained.

—He shouldn't look so languid, as if barely holding on to complete something.

Xin Wan thought about the contracts Wu Tian had just shown, and suddenly realized something. His expression darkened again: "Have you all been forcing little shidi these past few years, which is why he couldn't see me?"

Wu Tian: ...?

Before he could speak, he watched Xin Wan step forward directly and say warningly: "Take your contracts and get lost."

The room was suddenly in an uproar. Amid the chaos, Liang Shining turned back and looked at Ying Huai with a complicated expression.

"Is there something Mr. Liang wants to ask?" Ying Huai yawned.

He thought Liang Shining would expose his little trick from earlier, but unexpectedly Liang Shining suddenly said: "This cat is really called 'Bouquet'?"

Ying Huai was slightly taken aback. He nodded, bewildered.

Liang Shining stared at him for a few seconds, then said slowly: "What a lazy name."

Ying Huai: ...

He took a deep breath, about to say something, when he suddenly heard Liang Shining say in a low voice: "So why didn't you let me hold it last time I came?"

Ying Huai: ?

He inexplicably detected a strange hint of jealousy in Liang Shining's voice: "Where am I worse than Xin Wan?"

Ying Huai was silent for a few seconds: "You're jealous of a cat?"

Liang Shining, who hadn't meant that at all: ??

·

The room finally quieted down with a muffled 'bang.' Liang Shining turned his head,

"What are you taking?" Xin Wan stared at the medicine in Ying Huai's hand and suddenly spoke.

Beside him, Liang Shining also frowned.

—These medicines didn't seem quite the same as the heart medication he'd seen last time.

"Vitamins." Ying Huai glanced at him, tilted his head back slightly, and swallowed a handful of pills without hesitation.

"Mr. Liang and shixiong, remember to close the door when you leave. I'm a bit sleepy. Going to rest first."

Xin Wan frowned, but before he could say anything, he watched the person curled up in the blanket close their eyes, and within moments their breathing evened out.

The memories kept circling in his mind. Xin Wan subconsciously didn't want to disturb Ying Huai's rest, and reluctantly let it go.

Beside him, Liang Shining stared at the Medicine Bottle clutched in Ying Huai's hand, his expression growing somewhat grave.

·

The variety show arranged by the Lu Group officially began filming on schedule two days later.

Except for one guest who would only be able to come after a few episodes, Lu Jing, Liang Shining, and Xin Wan all participated as scheduled.

—Even Le Xi came, though he looked much more haggard.

Lu Jing had been on the phone with his father, brows tightly furrowed, discussing something unknown.

Ying Huai yawned. He'd been feeling nauseous from that medicine these past few days and had thrown up all night last night.

He pressed his brow, mentally calculating how to catch up on sleep later.

"Alright, today is the first episode of our variety show. We'll introduce the specific rules to everyone in a moment, but first—" the Director said excitedly, looking at the script.

"We need to arrange accommodations. Two people per room."

Ying Huai, who had been tucked in a corner slacking off, paused, a sudden ominous premonition rising in his heart.

The next second, he heard Liang Shining, Xin Wan, and Lu Jing speak simultaneously: "I'm rooming with Ying Huai."

Ying Huai: ...