“Divorce is possible, but before that, you need to join me in a variety show,” Lu Yiwei said.
“Join a variety show? You never participate in variety shows,” Mu Zhengqing asked in confusion.
For the past three days, he had been thinking about what condition Lu Yiwei might propose, but he never expected that Lu Yiwei’s condition would be for him to join a variety show together.
If it weren’t for the fact that Gu Da and Lu Yiwei weren’t familiar with each other, he would have suspected that Lu Yiwei was sent by Gu Da.
“It feels like the previous path was wrong, so I want to try a different one,” Lu Yiwei replied, looking at him.
“You took the wrong path? If you took the wrong path, then there are very few people in the world who are on the right path,” Mu Zhengqing said with some envy.
That’s right, he was actually a bit envious of Lu Yiwei.
Lu Yiwei gained fame with his first TV drama, and his first movie became the annual box office champion.
Don’t look at the fact that his current fan base is comparable to Lu Yiwei’s; that’s because he took the idol route. He doesn’t know how much of it is inflated, but he is sure that it’s much more inflated than actor Lu Yiwei’s.
Moreover, he was three years older than Lu Yiwei. When he was Lu Yiwei’s current age, he was just an unknown minor celebrity, while Lu Yiwei was already being called a powerful actor.
At 24 years old, the youngest Best Actor, and he still said he took the wrong path before. He really doesn’t plan to leave any room for others to survive.
“Yes, not only did I take the wrong path, but I also got further and further away from my goal,” Lu Yiwei said affirmatively.
“I’m very curious, what is your goal?” Mu Zhengqing asked curiously.
“You will know soon,” Lu Yiwei said, looking at Mu Zhengqing.
Seeing Lu Yiwei like this, Mu Zhengqing muttered softly, “If you don’t want to say it, then don’t say it. Why keep us in suspense?”
Through several interactions, he discovered one thing: Lu Yiwei always liked to look at him when talking to him.
Hmm, he figured out the reason for his awkwardness.
Being looked at like this, it’s strange not to feel awkward, especially when Lu Yiwei looked at him so seriously, as if he were some rare treasure.
After hearing the name of the variety show from Lu Yiwei, Mu Zhengqing confirmed that it was a slow-paced variety show.
He calculated that the variety show filming time was right after his vacation ended, so he readily agreed to Lu Yiwei’s condition.
There were reasons why he agreed so readily.
First, he didn’t want to be nagged by Gu Da all day long anymore. Although he could automatically block out his nagging, having someone who wasn’t particularly pleasant to look at hovering around you all day could still be a headache.
Second, with Lu Yiwei participating in the show with him, what did he have to worry about? Lu Yiwei wouldn’t set him up and drag himself down too, right?
However, to be on the safe side, Mu Zhengqing still signed a contract with Lu Yiwei. After the variety show ended, they would go to the Civil Affairs Bureau to get a divorce immediately.
If either party breached the contract, they would transfer all their assets to the other party.
After getting the contract, Mu Zhengqing was completely relieved.
Thinking about Lu Yiwei’s net worth, he was even a bit looking forward to Lu Yiwei breaching the contract.
After confirming his participation in the variety show, Mu Zhengqing did not immediately tell his agent.
He could already imagine Gu Da’s reaction when he found out he agreed to participate in the variety show . He still wanted to enjoy some peace and quiet during his vacation.
He delayed it until the last day of his vacation, which was the day before the variety show recording.
Just after Mu Zhengqing finished breakfast, Gu Da came in with a stack of materials.
“Take a look and pick one you like,” Gu Da said, placing the materials in front of Mu Zhengqing.
This time, he changed his strategy. Since talking didn’t work, he would let him choose directly.
Today, no matter what, he had to make him choose a variety show to participate in. If Mu Zhengqing remained stubborn, he would have to resort to his ultimate skill—throwing a tantrum.
It wasn’t surprising that he was so eager to get him to join a variety show ; this matter couldn’t be delayed any longer.
Idols rely on their youth, and Mu Zhengqing was already 27 years old. If he didn’t transition soon, he would start to decline.
Variety shows were the stepping stones.
It was truly a case of the eunuch being more anxious than the emperor (皇帝不急太監急, huáng dì bù jí tài jiàn jí).(1)
“So many options, I just started working, and you’re already enslaving me,” Mu Zhengqing said disinterestedly, hugging a stuffed toy and not moving.
“I’m not asking you to take all of them, just choose one,” Gu Da said, stuffing a stack of materials into Mu Zhengqing’s hands.
“You’re being so agreeable this time. Is there some trap waiting for me?” Mu Zhengqing asked, looking at Gu Da with suspicion.
“Trap? What trap could I have? These are all variety shows that are about to start airing. Hurry up and pick one,” Gu Da said, somewhat guiltily.
He was already prepared. As soon as Mu Zhengqing put down the materials, he would start his performance—first throwing a tantrum, then rolling on the ground. If that didn’t work, he would resort to crying, making a fuss, and threatening to hang himself.
But what he didn’t expect was that Mu Zhengqing started looking through the materials with great interest.
This wasn’t right. This was very wrong.
Having forgotten to tell his agent that he had already decided to participate in a variety show, Mu Zhengqing planned to give him a surprise.
He also wanted to see what kind of variety show he was about to join.
That’s right, when he said he was on vacation, he really took a vacation and didn’t do any work-related things.
“Stop Moving Forward,” Mu Zhengqing read slowly from the materials in his hand.
“This one won’t do. It’s not suitable for you,” Gu Da said.
Seeing the materials in Mu Zhengqing’s hands, Gu Da quickly snatched them away and said, “Why is it not suitable for me?”
Seeing Gu Da’s strong reaction, he suddenly had a bad feeling.
“Stop Moving Forward, it can’t be about running, right?”
“This is a divorce variety show. By the way, have you and Lu Yiwei finished your divorce?” Gu Da asked after explaining.
Mu Zhengqing had only mentioned that he and Lu Yiwei would get divorced after some time, but he didn’t specify how long that would be, leaving his agent unaware of his marital status.
“You said ‘Stop Moving Forward’ is a divorce variety show?” Mu Zhengqing asked, emphasizing each word.
“That’s right. I don’t know what the production team was thinking. The original ‘Goodbye Lover’ was changed to ‘Stop Moving Forward’. For those who don’t know, they might think it’s a leisurely slow-paced variety show.”
Gu Da didn’t notice his artist’s unusual reaction and explained slowly.
Well, this is worse than running.
“You still haven’t told me if you and Lu Yiwei have divorced. Seriously, what am I thinking? Even if you two got divorced, you wouldn’t participate in a divorce variety show together.” Not hearing Mu Zhengqing’s voice, Gu Da continued speaking.
“Lu Yiwei,” Mu Zhengqing said through gritted teeth.
“Lu Yiwei? What’s wrong with Lu Yiwei? Why do you look so upset?” Gu Da finally noticed something was wrong with his artist.
Mu Zhengqing ignored Gu Da and got up to walk out the door.
“Wait, where are you going? Shoes, you haven’t put on your shoes yet. Where are you going?”
Seeing Mu Zhengqing storming towards the door, Gu Da quickly followed after realizing what was happening.
When he caught up, he saw his artist banging on the door across the hall.
“What did these people do to make you so angry? You go back, and I’ll handle it…”
Before Gu Da could finish his sentence, the door was opened from the inside.
“Lù Yǐngdì(2), why are you here?” Gu Da asked in confusion upon seeing the person who opened the door.
“This is my home,” Lu Yiwei replied, bending down to pick up the slippers behind the door.
Lu Yiwei squatted down and placed the slippers at Mu Zhengqing’s feet and said, “Put on the slippers.”
“I won’t,” Mu Zhengqing said angrily.
“Haha, he’s joking. Quickly put on the slippers and don’t waste good intentions,” Gu Da said, trying to smooth things over as he saw the two of them standing and squatting without moving.
He really didn’t expect that Lu Yiwei lived right across the hall.**
Of course, that wasn’t the most shocking thing. The most shocking thing was that Lu Yiwei actually squatted down to give Mu Zhengqing slippers.
If Lu Yiwei hadn’t been possessed by someone, then…
Alright, he could only think of the possibility that Lu Yiwei had been possessed by someone.
It couldn’t be that Lu Yiwei liked Mu Zhengqing, right? He still preferred to believe that Lu Yiwei had been possessed.
In fact, during their three years of marriage, he could sense that Lu Yiwei was somewhat avoiding Mu Zhengqing.
“Even if you’re angry, don’t joke with your health. The floor is cold and you might catch a cold,” Lu Yiwei said, looking up at Mu Zhengqing.
Lu Yiwei’s gaze made him embarassed so Mu Zhengqing put on the slippers, ignoring Lu Yiwei’s hand.
“Come in and sit down,” Lu Yiwei said after Mu Zhengqing put on the slippers.
“No need, we can talk at the door,” Mu Zhengqing said with a stern face just as Gu Da was about to step in, making him silently put his foot down.
Gu Da was curious about what Lu Yiwei had done to make Mu Zhengqing so angry. Although “Noble Young Master” was just a nickname given by fans, most of the time he really looked like one. He had never seen Mu Zhengqing this angry in front of others.
“Although the security measures in this community are very good, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Let’s go inside and talk,” Gu Da said, concerned about safety.
“What are you afraid of? It’s going to be known to everyone soon anyway,” Mu Zhengqing glared at Lu Yiwei and said.
“I’m sorry, I should have explained it to you earlier,” Lu Yiwei apologized before Gu Da could ask what he meant.
“This isn’t just a lack of clarity; this is deception. I’m officially informing you that I will not participate in the recording,” Mu Zhengqing said seriously.
“Are you planning to breach the contract?” Lu Yiwei asked, looking at Mu Zhengqing.
“Breach what contract? I didn’t sign a contract with the production team,” Mu Zhengqing said confidently.
He was now very glad he hadn’t signed a contract with the production team; otherwise, he would have to pay a penalty.
But even if he had to pay a penalty, he wouldn’t participate in this variety show .
After all, he was a top star now, and he could afford that amount of money.
“Although you didn’t sign a contract with the production team, we signed a contract earlier,” Lu Yiwei reminded him.
“Our contract states that after recording the variety show , we would get divorced…,” Mu Zhengqing started to say, then realized.
He remembered that the contract stated that he and Lu Yiwei would participate in “Stop Moving Forward” together and then immediately get divorced. If either party breached the contract, they would transfer all their assets to the other party.
The breach of contract here included not only the divorce but also participating in “Stop Moving Forward” together.
If it were just a penalty, he would grit his teeth and pay it, but all his assets…
Even if he had to grind his teeth to dust, he wouldn’t let Lu Yiwei get away with it so easily.
He had underestimated Lu Yiwei. To get him to participate in this variety show, he really put himself on the line.
Author's Note:
Lu Yiwei: As long as I can be with you, I’ll give you my life.Mu Zhengqing: ……
Gu Da: Such a chūnibyō statement. It's definitely a spirit possession.(3)
Footnotes:
皇帝不急太監急 (huángdì bù jí tàijiàn jí): "The emperor is not anxious, but the eunuch is anxious"; someone who is not directly involved or affected by a situation is more concerned or anxious than those who are actually involved. [T/N: an english alternative would be “it’s always calm at the centre of the storm”]
陸影帝 (Lù Yǐngdì): Emperor Lu; as in movie emperor, because he won Best Actor award at just 24.
中二 (zhōng èr): chūnibyō, a term used in Japanese and Chinese internet culture to describe someone acting childish or overly dramatic
No comments:
Post a Comment